Chapter 17: “Dynamic Lightwave, Divine Ox Online.”

The uncle heard something was off and asked doubtfully, “Your family can afford an Ox Cart, so how were you determined by the platform to be living in dire straits? No, I mean, our platform specializes in poverty alleviation. Sigh, in short, it’s for those with problems with basic necessities, harsh environments, and so on.”

Yan Yu’s small face wrinkled up. “All the land was sold. Drought. Preparing to flee from famine.”

Upon hearing this, the uncle stopped asking. What else was there to ask? This certainly met the poverty alleviation criteria.

No land, suffering from disaster, displaced.

“I have a guess, not sure if it’s accurate, little sister, listen and judge for yourself. Didn’t I say? The previous guy ordered bionic oxen, horses, and donkeys. The reason he ordered so many was because he wasn’t sure which one to use to exchange with me. That guy said his family was dirt poor. There was a donkey next door, a rich family in the village had an ox, and there was a post station about four or five li away from their village, which would definitely have horses. He was figuring out which one to steal, so you see, I had them all ready here. But after that time, that guy never appeared again… Our platform opens every half month, and various shopping festivals also come. The Free Market seems random, but there are still some patterns. For someone like me, whose environmental background is too different from the original, there will always be at least one fixed connected user with a background similar to China, whether modern or ancient. This is for our mutual help: you help me with food, and I provide you with some daily conveniences. But that guy never appeared again, and then I connected with you. I’m guessing something bad happened. If it wasn’t a problem with himself, could it be that he was… kicked out by the platform? After all, he wanted to… do something bad.”

Yan Yu thought the uncle’s guess made sense. Strictly cracking down on illegal activities and crime—no problem there.

“So, Uncle, you want to trade an ox for an ox?”

“What ‘uncle’? I’m not that old! Sigh! Never mind, the address isn’t important. Right, right. Don’t think bionic technology isn’t high-tech for me; I can just whip it up. But according to the platform’s exchange rules, only equally valuable beef can complete this transaction.”

“Beef?”

“Did you think the ox would still be alive after the exchange? The platform can’t trade living creatures, otherwise, how great would it be if I could just trade myself over?”

“I need to discuss it with my parents,” Yan Yu said.

The person on the other side became even more envious. While the family of three discussed, he kept chattering, “Still a whole family transmigrating? That’s right, if they weren’t your original parents, how could you feel at ease having them by your side? Sigh! What great luck! Little sister, let me tell you, your whole family working together will get rich quickly. Once you’re prosperous, don’t you want to add some servants or something? Your brother here has household service robots. It’s a matter of minutes to wrap them in bionic skin. They can cook, do laundry, feed pigs and chickens, make clothes and quilts, chop firewood, do accounting… There’s nothing it can’t do, only things you haven’t thought of. How about checking out its intelligent learning capabilities?”

“Want pet cats and dogs? They don’t shed fur, and they’re especially good at acting cute… Can also make lizards, spiders… Customized appearances are also possible…”

After the family of three quickly discussed, Yan Yu looked at the time in the upper left corner of the screen and said quickly, “Uncle, your bionic donkeys and bionic oxen have pretty much the same built-in functions, right? But donkeys and oxen have a huge price difference on my side. One ox is worth several donkeys. It would be too much of a loss for me to trade like this. How about you wait until I buy a donkey next time, and then we can trade?”

The uncle got anxious. How can a donkey compare to an ox? The meat difference is huge!

“Oh, little sister, you can’t just look at the price; you also have to consider practicality. My mechanical livestock definitely has higher hauling capacity than the original. If it were a bionic donkey, try pulling a thousand catties with it, and it would definitely be exposed. But an ox is different. The original has a hauling capacity of over a thousand catties. The parameters I’ve set for this bionic ox are not exaggerated. Moreover, its biggest selling point is that it’s equipped with an intelligent recognition system. It will automatically scan its surroundings, and when outsiders are present, it will behave exactly like a normal ox. Little sister! You’re paying the price of one ox and getting a free upgrade to an AI ox!”

“My ox poops, does yours?” Yan Yu negotiated seriously. “My dad says ox poop can be used for composting, for starting fires; it has many uses. And it’s a long-term renewable resource; as long as the ox is there, it’ll always be available.”

The uncle on the other side had a look that was hard to describe. He could tell that the little sister on the other side wanted to haggle, but isn’t the reason she gave a bit too powerful?!

“Composting aside, for starting fires, wouldn’t it smell? I’ve also considered the poop aspect. You can set it yourself, whether it excretes or not is up to you. Voice command for ox dung to drop freely and randomly… You’ll harvest dried fodder of various shapes. Not only can it be burned, but it can also be fed repeatedly. Just do it when no one’s looking, ’cause it has no smell, which makes it easy to expose.”

Yan Yu was convinced! Meticulous thinking, truly amazing!

She didn’t dilly-dally anymore and directly stated her conditions: “Find some more for the price difference. I’m almost convinced by you, keep it up!”

For the sake of the beef, the uncle continued to concede: “I’ll add two more wheels for you, iron ones. Just so you know, they’ll rust, because things exposed to the outside still need to look as real as possible.”

Even if someone found out, it was nothing. At most, they’d say her family was wasteful.

“Alright, let’s trade!” Yan Yu was actually very satisfied, but getting a free gift was even better.

“Uncle, what if the ox gets injured? What if the skin breaks and the metal skeleton inside is exposed?” Yan Yu also wanted lifetime after-sales service. After all, this thing was a high-tech product, and without even an instruction manual, she felt uneasy.

“Also, this ox doesn’t age or die. Wouldn’t it be exposed if someone with ulterior motives found out?!”

The punk uncle didn’t have time to be happy and continued to explain patiently:

“The bionic skin has a certain defensive capability. Small injuries won’t break the skin, large injuries will leave scratches. There’s a hematopoietic layer under the skin that will simulate the entire wound closure process. When subjected to significant external force, it will automatically determine whether it needs to shut down. If it shuts down, don’t start it yet. Wait until we connect again, and I’ll replace its skin. The same applies when the ox gets old. Just replace its skin, and it’ll be a new ox again!”

Since the deal was struck, Yan Yu didn’t dally. Under the cover of her parents, she tried to get as close as possible to the ox in the yard.

“A little closer, yes, yes, that’s good.”

A trade option appeared on Yan Yu’s screen. With a decisive tap of her small hand—[Yes].

A soft light flashed across the screen. The yellow ox in front of her suddenly vanished from sight, then reappeared. The whole process took less than two seconds. If she hadn’t kept her eyes wide open, she might have missed it.

Yan Lao’er and Li Xuemei also watched, dumbfounded. It’s already swapped? Their ox, it just became an AI ox?!

Yan Yu reacted the fastest. She motioned for her dad to hide the two large iron wheels that had also appeared abruptly. Following the activation command the uncle had posted on the screen, she quietly recited: “Dynamic Lightwave, Divine Ox Online.”

There were no light and shadow effects, no sparks flying; it just looked over normally.

Yan Yu whispered to the ox, “I am Red Boy.” The AI ox looked at her for three seconds, then nodded.

Li Xuemei said to the ox, “I am Princess Iron Fan.” The AI ox also looked at her for three seconds, then nodded.

Yan Lao’er, who had hastily covered the two large iron wheels with straw, quickly ran over. He excitedly said to the ox, “I am Ox-Demon King.” The AI ox looked at him for a full five seconds, then nodded.

Ugh! What kind of embarrassing recognition lines are these?

No time to study the new ox. The family of three quickly returned to the house.

The 618 shopping spree was still ongoing.
(End of this chapter)

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The phrase “动感光波” (Dynamic Light Wave) comes from the Japanese anime Crayon Shin-Chan, where Shin-Chan mimics his superhero “动感超人” (Action Kamen/Dynamic Superman) and shouts it as an attack move. It later became a popular meme phrase in China.

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These are characters from the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West (西游记).

Red Boy (红孩儿):
Fiery son of the Ox Demon King and Princess Iron Fan. Known for his powerful Samādhi Fire attacks.

Princess Iron Fan (铁扇公主):
Mother of Red Boy, wife of the Ox Demon King. Wields a magical Banana Leaf Fan that creates huge winds.

Ox Demon King (牛魔王):
A mighty demon king and former friend of Sun Wukong. Famous for his strength, combat skills, and role in the Flaming Mountain episode.

They appear in many films, TV shows, animations, and games, often as iconic demon characters in Chinese pop culture.