Poverty makes me capable of anything.

Chapter 12 The Future Boss? Even When Poor, You Still Have to Work

Anran dragged her tired body home as the sun was about to set.

Her clothes were covered in dust and looked filthy. When she walked on the streets of Twin Moon City, she looked exactly like a homeless girl.

The pistol was hidden in her clothes, and An Ran's entire being screamed "poverty."

They were extremely poor.

Looking at her somewhat empty home, Anran was speechless.

Without that handcart that always occupied the kitchen doorway, it was really hard to adjust at first.

Those are tools for making a living.

Damn Leonard, I'm finally out here now, you just wait.

I endured my hunger and made a few pastries. After eating them, I finally regained my energy, which had dropped to less than half. I took a shower, changed into my pajamas, and went straight to sleep. I didn't feel like thinking about anything anymore.

This tiring day passed peacefully in a deep sleep.

When I woke up, it was June 4th. There were still two days until the official launch. Since the game hadn't officially opened yet, the time flow in the game was exactly the same as in reality. Once the official launch was over, the time ratio would become 10:1.

An Ran checked her personal panel and saw that the "Administrative Detention" status had disappeared. Her attribute panel had also changed in the short span of one day.

六围变成了力量3、敏捷7、耐力5、智力9、精神5、魅力4。

The game's review reads, "Feeling like you've gotten stronger? But you're still a weakling and a poor guy."

(▼へ▼メ)

I'm so angry! Even if we're poor, we won't eat your rice. Do you have to complain like this every day?

An Ran felt motivated, stimulated by the game's ratings; she was determined to shed the label of "poor ghost" one day.

Additionally, the main profession section now includes an apprentice mechanic, who has 255 experience points remaining that can be freely allocated, but cannot be used to upgrade any profession or skill.

Let's save it for now.

After washing up, Anran changed into casual clothes.

That was a fitted sportswear outfit she bought three years ago, and she can still fit her whole body into it now.

That sounds a bit pitiful.

But Anran didn't care. Engineers and mechanics don't need to dress fancy at work; it's meaningless and only affects their work.

After finishing breakfast, she set her sights on the 1886 Hermit pistol she had casually picked up.

First, gain experience by repeatedly disassembling and reassembling the pistol to familiarize yourself with its internal structure. Then, use the [Basic Analysis] tool to obtain the blueprints.

During this process, An Ran gained 276 experience points and, after failing three times, successfully unlocked the blueprint for the pistol.

【1886隐士手枪：品质-绿。弹匣12/12，口径7.65mm，攻击力12～15】

An Ran had a clear understanding of all the materials needed for the production process, including the production techniques.

However, things weren't as good as she had imagined. She didn't have the equipment to make these parts, and if she were to rely on hand-grinding, she didn't know how many days it would take to make one.

I'm a little depressed.

Buying materials costs money, building a workshop also costs money, but the key issue is that we don't have any money.

Now that the handcart is gone, it's hard to sell cakes anymore. I have to find a way to make money.

Before I knew it, Anran had arrived at the entrance of Colin's repair shop.

The sun was shining brightly, and the door of this shabby repair shop was wide open, exuding a sense of antiquity.

Colin, the mustachioed shopkeeper, remained seated in his rocking chair behind the counter, a newspaper propped up to obscure his face, exuding a languid air.

An Ran walked up curiously. What did the bi-monthly morning paper say? Was there any news of an attack on the police station?

As soon as she stuck her head over, she saw two large, white things.

That's the milk that humans crave...

Well, anyway, it's that thing, white, smooth, and round, lying on a piece of colored paper.

A book was hidden behind a newspaper.

Colin watched intently, occasionally gesturing with a piece of paper.

An Ran immediately spotted the title on the book page: "In the New Generation, What Kind of X-Shape is Most Popular?"

"..."

What the heck? Last time I came here I was reading something really erotic called "Practical Technology of Bionic Machinery," and this time it's even more blatant.

What does he want to do?

"Oh, it's you!" Colin finally noticed An Ran standing next to him. He calmly rolled up the book with a newspaper and put it into the drawer under the counter.

"I haven't seen you for two days. I thought you weren't coming," Colin said.

We agreed last time that I could come over to read, but Anran was arrested in the afternoon.

The thought of this made An Ran furious.

But you can't lose your temper easily, Leonard, I still remember this grudge.

“I…” An Ran began.

Colin interrupted Anran: "Read whatever you want, but there are three rules: first, don't bother me; second, don't bother the guests; and third, don't get the books dirty."

Once he makes a promise, he rarely goes back on it.

However, An Ran's main purpose in coming here today was not to read books.

She wanted to find a job.

Even if she becomes a great demon king or a big boss in the future, she is currently punished by poverty. In order not to starve to death, Anran has to go out to work and earn money.

Life is always full of hardships.

With savings dwindling, Anran couldn't afford to squander her fortune.

After much deliberation, she still felt that Colin's repair shop was the most suitable place for her to work right now.

There's no doubt about the salary; the key is that the job here is "related to her major." While working, she can also read and study, and perhaps even learn from Colin, who is a senior colleague.

If I'm lucky, I might even be able to use Colin's workshop to build something for myself.

In "Night of the Stars", repair shops and workshops like this are standard features.

"Actually, I came here to look for a job. I didn't know if you were hiring," An Ran said.

"Huh?" Colin was taken aback. A job opening?

"Sorry, I'm not hiring."

"No, no, no, you can consider hiring someone," An Ran quickly advised.

Why would I need to hire people?

Repair shops can be very busy at times, but they can also be incredibly quiet at others. If you allocate your time reasonably, you can manage to get by.

"Hiring can free up your hands, giving you more time to research the practical technology of bionic machinery."

Seeing that Colin remained unmoved, An Ran continued, "Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm also an engineer and a mechanic."

"Wow—" Colin suddenly became interested in An Ran.

It's extremely rare to find such a young woman who is both an engineer and a mechanic.

“I can prove it to you if you don’t believe me,” An Ran said. “Could I borrow a piece of paper and some drawing tools?”

Colin didn't refuse. He stared at An Ran for a moment, then opened the drawer: "Here you go."

A sheet of white paper and a simple set of drawing tools were pushed onto the table.

"Thank you."

Now comes the test.

Chapter 13 The Voyage of the Mechanic

Anran stood in front of the counter, a sheet of white paper spread out, a pen in one hand and a set square in the other.

The counter wasn't very high; at her height, it was just right for her to write and draw in a relatively natural posture, so there was no need for her to move a stone to stand on.

Colin looked at An Ran curiously. Since she had asked for drawing tools, was she planning to write a self-recommendation letter?

An Ran took a deep breath and the pen tip landed on the white paper.

I've never really done serious drawing before, except for the engineering drawing course I took in college, which gave me some experience to draw on.

She first wrote the words "ordinary lighting lamp" at the top of the white paper.

Next came the structural drawings for the lighting fixtures.

This has a reference point; Anran reads the blueprint information from the game panel while replicating it.

Three-view drawing.

Cross-sectional view.

Exploded view.

Cross-sectional views of each component.

This includes various data markings accurate to one decimal place down to the millimeter level.

Since it's just a regular lighting fixture, the accuracy isn't actually that high.

An Ran kept changing positions of the black pen and various rulers in her hands. At first, she was a little clumsy, but as she drew, she developed a kind of mysterious confidence, and even moved the rulers with a graceful feel.

It's alright, it looks quite decent.

Colin, who was watching from the sidelines, remained silent but nodded secretly.

He is a junior engineer, a junior mechanic, and has been a repair shop manager for over twenty years. He has a vast knowledge of blueprints for household machinery and electronic equipment.

Therefore, Colin could tell at a glance that although Anran's drawing skills were a bit rough, the drawing that was gradually taking shape was perfectly fine.

She appears to have come from an unconventional background, but it can't be guaranteed that she simply memorized this blueprint to increase her chances of finding a job.