Courtyard House: Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) Traded for an Aircraft Carrier, the Whole Count

In the stillness of the night, the entire courtyard was asleep, broken only by the occasional bark of a dog.

Jiang Chen drew the curtains tight, and after confirming that the doors and windows were locked, he sat down at his desk. With a thought, he summoned the system space that only he could see.

A semi-transparent cube appeared in the void.

This is his trump card—his personal subspace.

However, looking at the cube at this moment, Jiang Chen's brows furrowed tightly.

too small.

The initial 1 cubic meter space was now crammed full. In one corner was a box of Mauser pistols and bullets seized from Old Li, in the middle were several rolls of top-secret industrial blueprints and a few small yellow croakers that hadn't been processed yet, and the remaining gaps were filled with all sorts of receipts, medicines and emergency rations he needed to survive in this era.

No matter how meticulously he used every inch of space, this place had reached its limit. It was like a fat person who had eaten too much and couldn't even drink a sip of water.

"System, query the price for expanding storage space."

[Ding! Basic space expansion (1m³ -> 10m³), requires 1000 transaction points.]

[Advanced Feature: Basic Processing Plant (can perform simple purification and packaging of raw materials), requires 2000 trading points.]

Looking at those two cold, hard numbers, and then at the pitiful 680 points in his account, Jiang Chen felt a strong sense of urgency.

According to his plan, the next step is to target the Lou family.

Based on the original plot and the current situation, a storm sweeping the nation is imminent. As the former "Half-City Lou," the Lou family is like a fattened pig, now targeted by countless greedy eyes. That idiot Xu Damao will definitely report them, just like in the original story, trying to gain favor through this.

But how could Jiang Chen let such a good thing fall into Xu Damao's hands?

His plan was to "double-cross" the other party.

Before Xu Damao makes his move, or at the most chaotic moment, he needs to seize the Lou family's immense wealth. Those gold, antiques, and foreign exchange reserves, if acquired entirely, will be the most important cornerstone of his future financial empire.

However, the Lou family was extremely wealthy.

The heavy gold bars and boxes of antiques alone would probably fill more than 10 cubic meters, let alone 1 cubic meter. If he had to watch that wealth slip away because of space shortages, or be forced to leave it to scum like Xu Damao and Deputy Factory Director Li, Jiang Chen would definitely strangle himself.

"We must expand capacity. And quickly."

Jiang Chen's fingers tapped rhythmically on the table as his brain raced.

Collecting these beasts' emotional points in the yard every day is a slow and steady process. To accumulate several thousand points in a short period, a large-scale interdimensional transaction is necessary.

His gaze fell upon the interdimensional search list in the system store.

Currently connectable planes:

【1. 21st Century Modern Dimension (Locked, requires Lv3 permissions)】

2. Magic Continent (High Risk, Extremely High Trading Threshold)

【3. Wasteland Dimension (Explored, Low Risk, High Demand)】

Jiang Chen's gaze was fixed on the "Wasteland Plane".

Last time, he only tested the waters briefly, exchanging a few bottles of antibiotics for the gene-enhancing fluid. That dimension possessed extremely advanced technology, but its environment was completely destroyed, radiation was rampant, and plants and animals mutated. For the people there, the scarcest resource wasn't gold, nor technology, but rather—pure, radiation-free food.

In the 1960s, what was the least valuable thing? Or rather, what could Jiang Chen acquire at the lowest cost?

Jiang Chen recalled the scene he had witnessed in the factory warehouse earlier that day.

He went to the logistics department to get a note from Deputy Factory Director Li, and inadvertently saw several hundred kilograms of noodles and dozens of canned goods piled up in a corner. These were supplies left over from last year's flood control efforts; the warehouse had leaked and become damp, and the outer packaging was moldy.

In those days, this was still a valuable commodity, and the workers were eager to have it. But for Deputy Factory Director Li, it was a hot potato. Giving it to the workers risked making them sick and causing them to take responsibility, while throwing it away seemed wasteful, and it would also be difficult to balance the books.

"If I could help Deputy Factory Director Li dispose of this batch of 'scrap' materials..."

A glint of light flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes.

In the wasteland dimension, starch and protein that have become moldy, damp, or even expired in this world are the ultimate delicacy, a divine gift, to those survivors who would even roast cockroaches to eat!

They traded a pile of junk that was about to be obsolete in this era for high-tech and gold that were considered worthless in the wasteland.

This is the real money-making opportunity. This is the essence of the system-based gameplay.

"System, lock the wasteland dimension trading frequency band."

[Locked. Searching for signals from nearby settlements... Search successful. Target: Scavenging team outside Vault 7.]

Jiang Chen stood up, walked to the world map on the wall, and his gaze fell on Hong Kong, where the Lou family would go in the future and where his capital would go overseas.

And now, the ticket to that place is hidden in those damp noodles.

He glanced at the flashing "Wasteland Dimension" icon on the system interface, a ruthless glint in his eyes, and a smug smile curled at the corner of his lips:

"Trading a bunch of nearly expired starch for future cutting-edge technology and gold. What a deal!"