Poverty makes me capable of anything.

Yes, that's right.

Grandpa An is not the type to be gentle and weak.

Despite being poor, we will not succumb to this damn game system.

Colin continued to look at his bionic machine, tapping his fingers lightly on the table as he studied it intently, seemingly planning something big.

Anran walked past Colin, shifting her gaze from the jarring image to the shelf in front of her.

The items on the wooden shelf were arranged in a rather messy manner, with various sizes of components placed haphazardly. This detail reveals just how lazy Colin was; it was probably an engineer's habit kicking in, even for aliens.

"Pipe, pipe..."

found it.

An Ran picked up a dusty pipe from the bottom shelf. Luckily it was on the lower shelf, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to reach it.

"Is this thing still usable?"

"Tenfold compensation for any counterfeit product," Colin said without turning his head.

Since that's what they said, An Ran was determined to buy it. What if it turned out to be fake? She'd make a huge profit: "How much?"

"10 piezos".

"..."

It's so expensive, I'd need to sell five mung bean cakes to make it back.

"Could you..." she tried to negotiate.

Colin said firmly, "A discount is impossible. Our store never offers discounts."

"..."

you are vicious.

An Ran reached into her backpack and rummaged around inside.

"Here you go." The hand handing over the money trembled.

Colin took the money and casually put it in the drawer: "Thank you for your patronage."

You're a philanthropist, you're just greedy.

Anran got angry.

Chapter 07 This is unfair, he called for help.

"Thank you for your patronage, I'll come again next time!" Colin said.

When you say this, can you take your eyes off that big, white thing?

Anran remained silent.

Her gaze swept across the table, and she suddenly noticed many useful books.

"Mechanical Stress", "Electric Motor-Based Transmission Systems", "Mechanics: From Beginner to Expert", "Microcircuits: From Beginner to Expert", "32 Fabrics of 1886"...

These books are displayed on a small desktop bookshelf, totaling more than a dozen.

An Ran's eyes lit up immediately.

Experience, skills, new profession!

It's full of professional books!

An Ran stopped herself from taking another step.

"Boss, are you selling this book?" An Ran asked eagerly.

"Hmm?" Colin put down his book, gripped his glasses with one hand, and moved them down a bit, revealing his small eyes as he stared at An Ran. "Why do you want to buy books?"

"Of course I'm going to buy it and take it home to look at. Do you think I have so much money I don't know what to do with it?" An Ran looked at her as if she were an idiot.

Colin coughed. "What I mean is, why would a girl like you read these books?"

"Studying, of course," An Ran said matter-of-factly.

"Oh."

Colin nodded. "Interesting."

“So…” An Ran asked.

Colin crossed his arms: "But I'm not selling."

"you……"

An Ran's eyes widened. "Fine, I'm not one to force people to buy or sell."

She continued tentatively, "Since you won't sell, can I at least borrow it?"

"No." Colin didn't even have time to hesitate.

"..."

How can this person be so stingy!

Anran was unhappy.

However, the book belongs to Colin, and it's his business how he wants to handle it.

An Ran had no choice but to compromise again: "Can I just look here?"

"Heh." Colin looked An Ran up and down with interest. "I didn't expect you to be so persistent."

Colin put down his book for the nth time, resting his chin on his hand: "Alright. We've come this far, it would be a bit unreasonable to refuse now. As long as you don't bother me, it's fine."

Nice!

An Ran clenched her fists tightly, having taken another solid step toward becoming stronger.

"Thank you, boss."

Thinking about the components she hadn't yet returned, An Ran suppressed the urge to immediately start reading. There was still time, so there was no rush.

She rushed home, and the antique television was still in the disassembled state. Anran stood on a stool and skillfully replaced the broken parts.

It only took less than five minutes from start to finish.

"You have completed the repair of the [damaged old television set], rating B, and gained 23 experience points."

The experience points gained from engaging in secondary profession activities can only be used to upgrade the level of the secondary profession, but the same applies to the primary profession.

A main profession often comes with a complete skill tree, and the experience points gained through related activities or tasks can be freely allocated.

It can be used to upgrade the level of your main profession, the level of your skills, and even the level of your secondary profession.

These experiences are like a panacea, allowing you to go wherever you want and wherever you need to go!

23 experience points were far from enough, so Anran chose to save them directly.

I checked the time; it was already noon.

The personal panel displays [Stamina: 40/48].

An Ran ate two ordinary mung bean cakes to replenish her strength to 46.

Constrained by poverty, Anran devised a strategy of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.

We haven't found an open-source solution yet, so cost-cutting must come first.

First of all, there's the issue of food. In the game, hunger is linked to stamina. Eating normal food will replenish stamina and reduce hunger. Anran doesn't plan to eat outside until she vomits from eating mung bean cakes.

……

After resting for a while and when the sun outside wasn't so scorching, Anran pushed her stroller and set off.

In the same old spot, in the box with the highest foot traffic in the old town, Anran sat on a stool, idly gazing at the sky.

If only I could borrow a few books from Colin right now.

An Ran began to plan her career path.

First of all, being an engineer is definitely just a transitional profession.

Although better than other professions, engineers still lack sufficient combat power. Even if they reach a certain level of strength in the late game, they are still far inferior to other powerful damage-dealing professions.

Anran's ultimate goal is to become a high-damage output class.

This makes it inappropriate to shift from engineers to scientists, but professions like mechanics and Paladins are still under consideration.

The Mechanic is relatively weak in the early game, but gradually begins to show its fangs in the mid-to-late game.

With unlimited equipment and endless firepower, one person can easily take on an entire space fleet.

Or pilot a mech, becoming a sharp dagger plunged into the enemy's heart.

Paladins is a class with a relatively stable development curve. Its agile movements and rapid, dense firepower give it extremely high burst damage in PvP, and it requires far fewer resources than the Mechanic.

The problem is that mechanics have a wider range of ways to make money and are more specialized than engineers, which Paladins can't match at all.

This is something to consider, especially since Colin has an introductory book for mechanics.

"Hey, did you hear me?"

The handcart was being banged on loudly, and when Anran looked up, she saw a repulsive face.

A round face, big eyes, a big nose, and a big mouth.

There was another car behind them.

"Is something the matter?" An Ran asked.

"How much is this?" the round-faced man asked, banging on the car.

An Ran answered truthfully: "2 to reveal one."

The man with the round face was shocked: "Holy crap, are you robbing me? Two for one? Rich people don't get their money from thin air."

"..."

Is it really possible to openly declare oneself as wealthy, even though one is indeed richer than me?

An Ran replied coldly, "It's a family recipe. My mung bean cakes are much better than those outside. They're only 2 to 1, which isn't expensive at all. If you don't believe me, go ask the people on this street."