Gundam: From Piece to Player

"Then I'll show you around... As payment, you have to treat me to a meal."

The officer had already spoken, but they hadn't recognized each other just now, so the two could only admit it with tears in their eyes.

Nia placed her hand on the doorknob, and after the live biological authentication was completed, the door opened automatically. As everyone entered, the curtains also opened.

A gentle artificial light streamed in through the window screen.

"Xiao Ai, turn on all the lights."

After Colonel Hima made his statement, the artificial intelligence responded.

"receive."

Everyone saw the bathroom light up on the right. The bathroom wasn't particularly large, but it was fully equipped with a sink, washing machine, and shower.

Further inside, there's a television on the left and a simple sofa on the right; further still is the bed, with a pull-out partition separating it from the living room; and further out are the windowsill and the outdoor balcony.

"This place is a bit small," commented Ms. Yoshino, whose father was a diplomat at SIDE6.

“This is the basic allowance for every commoner. If you want more space and a larger place to live, you have to pay a basic fee every month… I don’t have any requirements for housing; I want to spend the money elsewhere. I think this is already very good. Larger houses are also more troublesome to clean,” Sima said. “What more could you want in 40 square meters of free housing?”

Hearing that it wouldn't cost money, even the young lady shut up.

She could understand that no other country on Earth would dare to offer such citizen benefits.

Nia An was unable to speak. This place was three times the size of the room she lived in on Side 6... The rent there was equivalent to one-third of her monthly income.

I didn't study it carefully at the time, but now I can understand why immigration slots are so fiercely contested.

"Who will pay for the construction of the houses?"

“The state builds these houses as part of the citizens’ welfare program. The ownership still belongs to the state. For example, if you want to move to a bigger house or apply for a double room after getting married, the place will be taken back. If any damage is found, the repair fee will be charged through the payment terminal. Depreciation fees during the use of the property will also be charged according to the extent of the damage. The property will be renovated and thoroughly cleaned before it is handed over to the next resident.”

"That makes sense."

"Come on, I'll show you around the city."

The garage platform was made of a steel structure hidden underground, and they soon saw Ms. Sima's car being brought up.

Even Ma Qiu, who came from a well-off family, couldn't help but be amazed.

Wow, a supercar? Did you rent this?

“This is what I bought. It’s just a regular electric sports car, I think it’s called something like Veyron,” Xima said. “It costs about 1 Energy Coins. It would depreciate if I left it unattended, so I bought one to use for transportation.”

"What's the top speed? And the horsepower?"

"430 km/h, but there is an electronic speed limiter on the Trantor, so the speed cannot exceed 150 km/h. At most, you can only run it on the tunnel highway. As for horsepower, it should be around 1000 hp."

"Can I drive it for a bit?"

"Then go ahead and drive... Wait, do you have a driver's license?"

"I can drive an MS, so driving a car is a piece of cake."

"No, no, no, if the surveillance camera catches you driving without a license and you get a ticket, I'll pay for it."

What a pity, such a nice sports car couldn't be driven—Ma Qiu opened the gull-wing door in the front and got in, while Nia An obediently sat in the back seat. When Sima actually held the steering wheel, the two of them realized how wrong they had been.

Although sports cars have electronic speed limits, driving 150 km/h on the highway is a completely different experience from driving 150 km/h on a regular road. The Cimar skillfully throttled the sports car, and the acceleration of the car reached 1.9 G under the drive of the high-speed motor. Occasionally, when cornering, you could feel your neck being pulled.

Of course, for the other two drivers, G-force is probably the least worth mentioning.

"Slow down, Sister Sima, we're going to crash!"

"What are you talking about? How could I possibly have hit something?"

With a light flick of the steering wheel, Xima overtook the car, getting as close as possible to the car next to her by no more than 15cm. Despite her speed, she didn't forget to turn on her hazard lights.

Seeing the green light about to disappear, Xima floored the accelerator and sped across the intersection before the yellow light ended.

Compared to Ma Qiu, who was shouting and yelling in the driver's seat next to her, Nia was wearing her seatbelt and sitting in the back seat.

When she used her Newtype abilities, she realized that Sima was also releasing brainwaves to detect things while driving... like a radar, no wonder she didn't crash... because everything was under control.

After arriving at the shopping district in Trango, Sima slowed down. What would have been a 30-minute drive was shortened to 10 minutes by Sima, showing how much she valued time.

“Let’s get off here,” Sima said. “I don’t want to go too far.”

"Sister Sima, the car isn't parked yet."

"This... The car has an automatic driving system, but I'm not used to this new thing. It feels like slow motion."

What slow motion? You just like driving like that, don't you?

Maqiu and Niaan expressed almost the same sentiment.

Chapter 335 Trantor: Clothing and Food

"Can you make these pants cheaper?" Sima picked up a pair of ripped jeans. "200 Energy Coins."

"I'm sorry, sir, these pants are our latest style. Trying to haggle down to half price is really going too far."

"Isn't this just a pair of pants with a few holes? How can they sell it like this?"

"This is the core artistic gene of ripped jeans. Traditional clothing pursues smoothness, cleanliness, and seamlessness, while ripped jeans introduce the concept of deconstructionism—breaking the original closed structure of clothing through artificial tearing and wear. This 'incompleteness' forces the viewer to think about the fabric and the body, which is very suitable for your indomitable spirit."

"20% off".

Thank you for your patronage.

Ma Qiu, who was standing to the side, thought to herself that Sister Xima was really petty. Was she the type to like cool outfits?

"Are you done, Nia'an?"

"All right."

Nia changed into a light blue denim jacket in the dressing room, paired with black denim shorts, and nervously scratched her long hair.

"Wow, this is really cool too... I feel like you've become much more 'assertive' now," Ma Qiu said. "How about you dye your hair or something?"

“Dyeing your hair…” Nia An was clearly not interested in this.

Ma Qiu's natural hair color is black, but she couldn't resist her pursuit of something extraordinary, so she dyed her hair red.

"Hey, don't force others."

How can dyeing your hair be considered forced?

"Aren't you going to pick out some clothes here?" Sima said. "It's rare for Nia to live next door to me, so I'll pay for everything she buys at the store today as a small gift. Aren't you going to buy anything?"

"Hmm... I prefer clothes with lighter, more vibrant colors." Maqiu glanced at the saleswoman, then telepathically told Sima: [The clothes here are too monotonous.]

Okay, I'll take you to another store later.

In the end, Niaan picked out five outfits. Sima stopped Niaan, who kept thanking her, saying, "I'm a more mature adult, so it's only right that I take care of you juniors."

You look only a little older than me, don't you? Ma Qiu was speechless.

After paying 500 Creative Coins, the shop assistant became very enthusiastic and then took Ma Qiu to another more vibrant shop.

Ma Qiu saw a long white top with a side slit and openwork butterfly elements—it looked a bit like a cheongsam, but with a yellow skirt on the bottom… The clothes were originally very nice, but the red hair on her head ruined the overall aesthetic.

She tried several outfits, but the result was the same... However, Sima glanced at the wardrobe and immediately came up with a solution.

Sima put a hat from the shelf on Macho's head.

"Let's buy a hat."

And believe it or not, the problem was solved.

I spent 300 Creation Coins here.

We found the most unique local restaurant to eat at – the one that Sima highly recommended.

I tried the grilled meat made with "cooking stones" heated to 600 degrees Celsius, and it felt like teppanyaki.

Then there's the special drink made with water extracted from the frozen ice layer, mixed with synthetic flavored drops of algae unique to the Space Alliance... Nia and Ma Qiu frowned as they drank it, but Sima looked delighted.

Then there's the special dumplings from Chuantuo... The filling is said to use "devil's filling," made from a special strain of bacteria cultivated on a local farm.

When you bite into it, you feel a slight numbing sensation, and an electric shock-like pain hits your head. This made Nia and Ma Qiu dislike it at first, but they kept eating it despite saying they didn't like it.

As she pulled out her wallet to pay, Sima asked, "How is it? Is it delicious?"

“It’s certainly unique, and the experience is quite special.” Ma Qiu considered for a moment, “but it’s hard to say whether I’ll come back a second time.”

"So you're a traditionalist. I thought you were more avant-garde."

"how much is it?"

"Approximately 150 base coins."

Sima hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Can I pay here with Creation Coins?"

"Our shop doesn't accept this; the owner is rather conservative."

"Okay, I'll find a bank to exchange it online right now."

"Thank you for your help."

Nia noticed that the currency charged for this transaction was base currency, not creation currency, and couldn't help but ask Sima about it.

"Well, you can get base coins by doing ordinary work, while creative coins require some pioneering work to obtain, or you can put them into the investment market. However, some people don't like the depreciation characteristic of creative coins. If you don't spend them, they will depreciate every year. Base coins, on the other hand, will not depreciate. Depreciation is indeed a disadvantage of creative coins."

"However, if one can purchase certain services or make investments, this currency has an unparalleled advantage over the base currency... Some citizens choose to preserve their principal and exchange it for the base currency after earning enough Energy Coins, while others will use this currency to continuously profit, hoping to become millionaires."

The rules for making money here are quite unique.

Because of her experience as a refugee, Nia An was very interested in making money, but as a newcomer, what kind of job would be a good starting point? Fortunately, she had earned a large sum of money fighting on the battlefield.

What special advantages does she have? Connecting this to her own experience at SIDE6, Nia quickly came to the answer.

"Sister Sima, I'd like to know if an MS driving school can be opened here?"

"MS Driving School... There seem to be a few here, but they all teach driving civilian machinery."

"You said the three of us could partner up to open an MS driving school, but not one that mainly teaches civilian mechanical pilots. We could also train combat MS pilots for events like those on the moon and in SIDE6. This kind of model has provided a lot of income for the local area. I think it's only a matter of time before MS competitions and betting are held here. My point is that we can start here first."

Sima was stunned after hearing this. She hadn't expected that this dark-skinned little girl, though not talkative, would speak so insightfully. This was indeed a rare opportunity.

The remaining question is whether or not it can be opened, which involves a business license... so who should one ask?

Sima took out her phone, checked her call history, and discovered that she did indeed have such a young and incredibly powerful "little friend." She asked her if she could open the account; if she could, then she would truly seize this opportunity.

It's like winning a bet you were sure to win.