"Gurgle~~"
Ren opened his eyes and rubbed his stomach. 'It seems starving to death isn't a good way to go home, I'm so hungry... It looks like I still need to eat a full meal before I can figure out how to return!'
He looked out the window. It was already early morning, and the sky was gradually brightening. He hadn't overslept; he had woken up early...
Hunger had roused him.
"So... System Master, is there any food in the mall?" he called out casually.
The system panel unfolded before him again and intelligently helped him open the mall.
Items in the system mall are mainly divided into two categories: skills and physical items, but the items in the mall aren't available when you need them, nor are they all available, but they may or may not be.
'How to put it?'
The system will automatically refresh the mall once a month, and Ren can choose to refresh it for free once. Each refresh will generate twenty "goods." What can be obtained depends entirely on luck, but most skills tend to be creative and learning-oriented.
For example, the master-level skill Crown of Mathematics: after exchanging it, one can directly become the contemporary Henri Poincaré.
Ren has obtained it, but it requires 990,000 points to redeem, which is currently beyond his reach.
He also roughly understands that master-level skills require over 100,000 points, and the points required vary based on the value of different emphases.
Mathematics, the most dazzling jewel of human wisdom, is naturally valuable.
Even Kaleidoscope Painting is a powerful skill with an original price of at least 100,000 points, but the system's beginner's gift package directly gives it to him for free.
Moreover, those physical items are almost purely luck-based for renewal.
For example, the "Clonazepam tablets" Ren exchanged earlier were pulled from the system mall; otherwise, how could he casually get that kind of prescription medicine?
As for physical items, the system is practically diverse, and can have everything that exists in the real world.
Ren had seen controlled drugs, graphics cards, food, mobile phones, luxury cars, etc. Last month, he even saw Longjiang pork knuckle rice, which wasn't expensive: 1 point per serving. With the 10,000 points he got from the beginner's gift pack, he could probably buy 10,000 servings.
But, unfortunately, this month it automatically refreshed and disappeared.
At that time, he didn't care; after all, he was trying to starve himself.
But this time was terrible, mainly because there was no food in the newly refreshed items.
Ren simply used the mall's refresh function, and the screen scrolled to display 20 new items.
Immediately, he ignored those functions and carefully examined the only eight refreshed items.
These items were: "Controlled Drugs · Prochlorperazine Tablets," "Art Appreciation Knives · Damascus Knives," "Longtu Pocket X60 Folding Phone 8G Edition," "Invitrogen RTX 690i Graphics Card," "Anxin Brand Scented Shampoo and Shower Gel Set," "Common Glass Cup," "Hongxing Brand 1302D Iridium Pen," "Shenli Classic Men's Canvas Shoes."
"Damn it! No food!" Ren pursed his lips and said, "These are useless to me, but..."
He lowered his head and looked at his bare feet. "I have to meet the editor today, and these shoes can be exchanged..."
He actually had no shoes. When he came to this body, the original owner was wearing shoes, but he wore them out.
However, Ren later bought some cartoon slippers, but he didn't like them, and his range of activities was extremely limited.
It could even be said that if Ayumi hadn't called him yesterday, he wouldn't have left the rental house, but would have continued drawing manuscripts in the room.
'Then, let's exchange them for canvas shoes.' Ren spent 10 points directly.
[Points: 250→240]
A pair of canvas shoes that fit perfectly appeared out of thin air in front of him.
"By the way, let's go to the public bath to shower before going." Ren hummed a tune and then exchanged shampoo and shower gel from the mall.
[Points: 240→236]
Shampoo and shower gel also appeared out of thin air in front of him.
Editorial Department of Akatsuki Cultural Company.
Early in the morning, the manga editors of Akatsuki clocked in one after another and then arrived at their workstations to start the day.
Takashi was surprised to see Ayumi, who looked a bit downcast. "Ayumi, did you work overtime at the company very late last night?"
Ayumi shook her head and said, "I only worked overtime at the company for a while and left at 10."
Takashi opened his mouth, working overtime until 10, and still just "a while"—this is simply working overtime with your life.
However, they say Japan is like this, with a unique overtime culture. They say we should respect regional characteristics, but Takashi believes this regional characteristic is unnecessary.
Even so, he said, "Ayumi... you've just joined the company; you can relax a bit."
"The main reason is that I'll be signing a contract with Mr. Amamiya at noon, so I worked overtime last night," Ayumi explained.
"Mr. Amamiya?" Takashi was stunned.
"He's the original author of "Edge Runner," Ayumi said.
"So it's that manga..." Takashi suddenly thought.
To be honest, although "Edge Runner" is generally not bad, especially due to the author's great drawing skill, the style is quite mature, and the manga has so many details that it could be used as an animation.
But Takashi didn't take it too seriously. After all, the setting of "Edge Runner" is a bit unusual. Although it's very good and novel, he subconsciously doesn't feel it's truly great.
The most important thing is that it's a new work.
A newcomer's first work often has many problems and is difficult to become a hit.
However, "Edge Runner" still has potential. At least, Takashi's opinion is that this "Edge Runner" can undoubtedly contend for the Best Newcomer Manga Award in Japan this year.
And Ayumi is also a newcomer, so let's just let her guide it with maturity. Style.
Akatsuki Culture Company is already the leading manga company in Japan. It no longer requires the chief editor to sign a contract with a new author. The company has a reasonable process. Ayumi just needs to sign the contract according to the process.
"So, Ayumi, you should first handle the contract with this new sensei. Remember to bring his original manuscript as a backup to avoid potential plagiarism in the future." Takashi gave the last instruction.
"Okay, sir," Ayumi responded enthusiastically.
Then she took the contract documents and went directly to the restaurant downstairs.