Genius Mechanic: Chapter 234.2

Slared Contaminated Zone(Territory-Wide Abnormal Move)

234.2: Shopping

The shopping center wasn’t far. Nowadays, most shopping was done via the StarNet, so physical malls like this were rare.

The offline shopping mall was combined with virtualization technology. Its exterior seemed unremarkable, but the diverse shopping center within was vast enough to take three days to explore fully.  

The largest shopping center in Sirius’ District A was located here. While Huo Yan went to park, the others were already planning their shopping routes. Lu Xi had prepared a shopping guide in advance, tailored to everyone’s needs. When they arrived, she distributed a small shopping list to each person. “I need to go to the fourth basement level to buy something else. Let’s meet in a few hours. The higher the shopping district, the more expensive it is. You can shop on the third basement level for better deals.”  

The KID team understood—cheaper goods were always found in the lower levels.  

After Lu Xi left, the group headed toward the furniture section.  

“Tang Jie said all expenses for this trip are on her, but don’t buy anything too expensive. If you overspend, you’ll have to pay the difference,” Huo Yan reminded them before letting them roam. “Once you’re done with this level, meet back here!”  

Before he finished speaking, Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao had already vanished.  

Before his rebirth, Ying Chenlin had rarely left the base. After his rebirth, his time was tightly scheduled, and he hadn’t planned for a shopping mall visit. Lacking preparation, he had to look up a shopping checklist on StarNet. Using the guide Lu Xi provided, he quickly created a needs list and began shopping systematically.  

You Su walked beside him and glanced over occasionally, easily seeing what Ying Chenlin was searching for. When they entered a smart shower appliance store, Ying Chenlin didn’t even look around. He browsed the virtual models at the sales counter, focusing solely on functionality and indifferent to styles or appearances. Guided by the smart shopping assistant, he picked default designs, all in black.  

Ying Chenlin moved quickly, finishing one item before moving to the next.  

“Are you planning to buy everything from one store?” You Su asked.  

Ying Chenlin paused. “This store has it all.”  

You Su cleared Ying Chenlin’s shopping cart with one click and took the lead into the store. “Come here.”  

Inside, the store displayed a wider range of options. Although the styles were similar to those on the sales counter, Ying Chenlin couldn’t help but glance upwards. As a mechanic, he was highly sensitive to smart machinery. The assembly programs displayed at the sales counter highlighted their functionality, which was all he cared about, as most of the devices operated similarly.  

They stopped by a multifunctional toothbrush display.  

“I can handle shopping,” Ying Chenlin said.  

You Su’s gaze shifted slightly. “Pick a color you like.”  

“Black… blue, either works,” Ying Chenlin replied.  

You Su said nothing.  

After a moment, Ying Chenlin decided. “Black, then.”  

You Su added both the black and white options to the cart. “Let’s keep going.”  

“Why buy two?” Ying Chenlin explained, “These devices are updated frequently. There’s no need for a spare.”  

You Su raised his eyes slightly, resting his hand casually on the cart. “Ying Chenlin, don’t I need one too?”  

Ying Chenlin froze for a moment. “Oh.”  

The store was large, designed to replicate traditional shopping from the old Blue Planet times. The shopping carts were smart-enabled with no storage limits, and they could be compacted into storage nodes at any time. Items added to the cart were virtualized, with payment finalized upon leaving the mall.  

After adding the two items, a pair of toothbrushes appeared in the cart.  

“What’s next?” You Su asked.  

Ying Chenlin looked down at his shopping list. “…Cleaning towels.”  

The two continued walking through the store, with Ying Chenlin selecting suitable bathroom utilities on his light brain. “This one works. Tang Jie mentioned we need to buy cleaning machines for the new base.”  

You Su gave a faint response, casually picking two different colors while choosing the style. Pushing the shopping cart, he followed Ying Chenlin, watching as he lowered his gaze to the light brain, occasionally scanning the surroundings. He didn’t seem as youthful as before—having aged two years, he was now taller, with a bit more flesh on his face…  

Today, Ying Chenlin wore a lightweight black-and-white jacket that concealed his prominent mechanical arm. He walked with a straight posture, his complexion no longer as pale as before, but he was still thin—so thin that touching him didn’t feel real. 

“White one?” Ying Chenlin picked up a model.

You Su replied, “The black-and-white one. Deep blue works too.”

Ying Chenlin grabbed two and placed them in the shopping cart.

You Su’s gaze lingered on the cart, which now contained identical cleaning machines in different colors, along with other matching items neatly paired up. With a slight movement, he disrupted the arrangement of some products.

After finishing with the store, the two moved on to purchase other items.

This time, Ying Chenlin didn’t select everything at the guided shopping station but followed the store layout. He focused on picking items while You Su trailed behind him at a leisurely pace.

Suddenly, You Su tugged on Ying Chenlin’s hand.

Ying Chenlin was pulled back a step, narrowly avoiding a robot blocking the way ahead.

Ji Qingfeng entered the store, pushing a shopping cart, while Lin Yao rushed in with another cart in tow.

Ji Qingfeng glanced at Lin Yao’s cart and almost lost his composure. “Yao Bao, are you decorating a new house? The way you’re shopping, it feels like you’re preparing for a wedding suite!”

“Huh?” Lin Yao didn’t think there was anything wrong. “My old man said decorations should be festive—classic but with character.”

Ji Qingfeng then turned his attention to Ying Chenlin and You Su’s cart. Black, white, blue, purple, red—there were all kinds of colors.

Looking at the mix… would these two even remember who bought what later? Ji Qingfeng didn’t dare question You Su, who was nonchalantly pushing the cart. It was obvious he was just tagging along, and most of the choices were likely made by Ying Chenlin.

Lin Yao added, “I just saw discounted virtual pods on the second floor!”

Ji Qingfeng was still browsing. “Don’t even think about it unless it’s a 30% discount.”

“It’s 40% off!” Lin Yao exclaimed.

Ji Qingfeng: “Fuck! Let’s go!”

Ying Chenlin stopped in his tracks, and his attention shifted toward the discounted virtual pods.

You Su: “Want to buy some?”

“Buy what?” Ying Chenlin paused.

You Su redirected the cart, “Discounted virtual pods.”

Ying Chenlin murmured, “The base’s virtual pods are indeed old. A discount is worth checking out.”

At the discounted virtual pod store, Lin Yao and Ji Qingfeng squeezed their way in.

“How about a discount for three units?” Ji Qingfeng asked.

Lin Yao: “How about six units? Will you give us 50% off?”

Ji Qingfeng: “Fifty percent isn’t enough—make it 60%.”

The smart shopping robot assistant: “…..”.

Huo Yan noticed the commotion and joined in. “Buying virtual pods?”

“This one’s good.” Ying Chenlin crouched in front of a performance-packed virtual pod. “Just a bit pricey.”

Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao shifted their focus. Ji Qingfeng pointed to the one Ying Chenlin was looking at and said to the robot, “This one—six units, 60% off.”

Lin Yao: “Seven units, 50% off.”

Ji Qingfeng: “Yao Bao, how can there be such an asking price.”

You Su:  “…”

While the KID members were immersed in their shopping spree at the Sirius Shopping Center, a crowd of netizens camped outside KID’s online store on StarNet.

The Slared incident had become widely known. As the news spread, people learned it was a Star Alliance Special Mission, and that the incident occurred during one such task.

Unlike the Mecha League, the Star Alliance Special Missions—dangerous and never broadcast to the public—came to light through the Slared incident, albeit known to only a small portion of people.

For netizens in the Dawn Galaxy, this was completely foreign. If the Slared incident hadn’t been so sensational, they wouldn’t have paid attention to events in the Third Star Domain, let alone secretive missions in which only top Mecha League teams participated—a mystery even to most mecha pilots.

It wasn’t until they noticed KID’s online store listing presale materials from Slared’s pollutants that they finally connected the dots.

How were the pollutants in KID’s online store obtained? Long-time fans knew—they were mostly scavenged by KID from the Contaminated Zones. …So KID went to Slared and brought back this many pollutant materials!?

What is a Star Alliance Special Mission? It’s a legendary special mission that gathers elite teams and has an extremely high elimination rate! Under the bombardment of questions from netizens, the First Star Domain, which Dawn Galaxy belonged to, issued an announcement about the Star Alliance Special Mission, revealing that a united team from the four major bases participated in the mission. Along with this, they shared the exciting news that they had secured 20th place and earned additional spots in the Star Domain Tournament for the Dawn Galaxy.

This news shook Dawn Galaxy’s netizens. Their galaxy, that consistently ranked near the bottom of the First Domain, actually participated in a special mission? And they secured 20th place? Against a field filled with top-tier teams? 

For the Dawn Galaxy, known for its poor track record, this was nothing short of groundbreaking news.

【Dawn only seemed to have one competition slot originally, which was KID’s.】  

【…Wait, no way? In this Star Domain Tournament, I’m seeing eight teams from Dawn Galaxy!?!】  

【Extra slots? Did Dawn just max out their wildcard spots? Fuck! What on earth did they do during the Star Alliance Special Mission?!】  

【KID is amazing…】  

【Am I dreaming? Could it be that Dawn Galaxy’s team battles are finally on the rise?】

Regarding the Dawn Alliance’s official announcement, the four major bases merely reposted it without further promotion. But the netizens, overwhelmed with excitement, flooded the official accounts of the four bases daily. While the other three accounts saw little activity, KID’s official account skyrocketed in engagement—far exceeding the past two months.

The reason? Simple. KID’s account used this opportunity to promote their online store, capitalizing on the hype for the Star Domain Tournament. Their sales posts dominated the main feed.

As more people swarmed KID’s account, the day the Slared merchandise went on sale during its promotional window, everything sold out instantly. KID fans were outraged. After camping out tirelessly, they couldn’t snag anything. Worse still, they were competing with countless virtual avatars that clearly belonged to off-domain buyers. They didn’t even have enough for their own galaxy, so why were there so many from other galaxies?

Zhang Ge, after several days of exhaustion, sat in Gale’s conference room with a sense of post-crisis survival.

When Qi Sicheng passed by the room, he saw Zhang Ge staring blankly at the wall. Even on the starship, he had never seen him like this. “What happened?”

“Zhang Ge has been working overtime for five days straight.” The newly promoted intern following Zhang Ge explained. Over the past few days, he had been in remote communication with Zhang Ge. Even while he was still floating in the Third Star Domain, Zhang Ge had started pulling night shifts. He had to avoid Boss Shen who was on the same ship, living a life worse than death. “We just sold out of everything. Later, we still have to set up a VIP system for KID.”

“VIP?” Qi Sicheng paused.

The newly promoted employee explained, “Boss Shen’s business has expanded. To create an internal discount channel, we’re moving to a VIP system, and Zhang Ge has been tasked with handling everything.”

Zhao Lejie passed by with his light brain, not even raising his head. 

“I told him to quit, but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Fuck, this group of poor ghosts are thriving—they’re even shopping!”

“Fuck! Why?” Zhang Ge suddenly shot up. “I’m working myself to death, and they’re shopping!?”

Qi Sicheng glanced over and saw the footage on Zhao Lejie’s light brain. It appeared to be from a mall, showing the KID members crowded in front of a virtual pod special sale store, caught by a passerby and posted on StarNet.

At that moment, a new message popped up at the top of the footage:

【Luobo: Lao Zhao, did you see StarNet?】  

Zhao Lejie quickly replied:  

【The Hardest Man in Dawn: Saw it. Did you count? Five people, four shopping carts. Not naming names, but someone doesn’t have one. Fucking awesome.】

Qi Sicheng: “…”

TN:

Why are these two people’s brain holes so large and deep😭. My man You Su is being all husbandy and helping his little future boyfriend shop(matching items hellloo) and some headless chicken are running around accusing him of bullying🤧.

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