Chapter 2: The Second Day of Lying Flat

A familiar set of footsteps broke the silence of the small shop.

The sound came from far away, likely beyond the hearing of any ordinary person. However, Lu Yuan’s keen senses caught the rhythm, jolting him awake from his slumber.

The shop’s other resident was returning.

Reluctant to move, Lu Yuan clutched his quilt and rolled over with his eyes closed. With a head of messy hair, he tried to bury his face deeper into the pillow.

He didn’t need to lift a finger to open the door.

For the sake of convenience, he had long ago finished retrofitting the shop to perfection. Sensing the approach of the other resident, the shop door slid open automatically.

Outside, the darkness was absolute, with the milky ribbon of the galaxy stretching across the zenith. This Desolate Planet had no satellites in its sky and no streetlights on its land. Combined with the thin atmosphere, the naked eye could capture faint stars down to the eighth magnitude, making the starry sky appear exceptionally brilliant and magnificent.

The shop lights flickered on quietly, illuminating a small patch of the street. A figure approached from the distance, casting a long, stretching shadow.

“Back?” Lu Yuan spoke up once he estimated the figure was close enough. “You’re late today.”

“We had a meeting,” a tall, burly man said as he stepped through the door, cradling a small vegetable basket that looked comically out of place against his massive frame.

The moment he entered, his sharp eyes spotted the coins on the counter.

“Oh?” he remarked in surprise. “Actually made a sale today?”

“Mm,” Lu Yuan grunted, still not moving. “Another month has slipped by without me noticing.”

Every month, the big man held a meeting for his subordinates.

Yet, it felt like the last meeting was just yesterday, and here they were having another one.

I really am losing my sense of time by lying around all day… Lu Yuan’s gaze drifted for a moment before he quickly made peace with it. It wasn’t as if a sense of time was particularly useful anyway.

The big man set the basket on the counter and swept the money into his own pocket. He scanned the nearby shelves, trying to figure out exactly which item had been sold.

“Stop looking at the TV dramas, it wasn’t one of those,” Lu Yuan said, quickly shattering his illusions as if he had eyes in the back of his head. “It was a game console.”

“Oh.” The big man shook his head. “I thought someone had finally recognized true art. But still, someone actually bought a game console?”

“A little girl,” Lu Yuan answered casually. “Black curly hair, round face, dark eyes, a small mole on the inside of her right eyelid. Literate, left-handed, calluses on her left middle finger… It’s rare to find someone on a Desolate Planet actually teaching their kids how to write.”

“Oh, her,” the big man said with realization. “That’s Zhu Rong. I know her.”

“You do?”

“Her mother raised her alone,” the big man recalled. “Now that’s a tough character. She looks thin and frail, but she’s likely an Awakener. You know Old Niu and Old Ma? Those two bruisers with arms as thick as logs?”

The big man gestured with his hands. “The two of them combined couldn’t beat her. I had to step in personally before she backed down… But that was before you arrived, Boss. Since you got here, we’ve been ‘persuading people with reason¹.’ Purely with reason.”

“Persuading with reason, huh?” Lu Yuan repeated tonelessly. He shook his head and abruptly changed the subject. “By the way, today’s groceries look unexpectedly lavish.”

“Smelled it? Sharp nose,” the big man replied. “It’ll stay lavish for a few days. It’s autumn, and the mountains are covered in mushrooms. Everyone’s been up there foraging lately.”

At this, he couldn’t help but shoot Lu Yuan a disdainful look. “And then there’s you, still lying around doing nothing even at a time like this.”

“Lying down is more comfortable,” Lu Yuan said, unabashed. “Besides, didn’t you guys have time for a meeting? It’s not like everyone is on the mountain.”

“The meeting happened after the foraging, obviously,” the big man snorted. “How else do you think I got so many varieties of mushrooms? Everyone pooled what they gathered and divided it up.”

He picked up the basket and headed toward the kitchen in the back, talking as he went. “We talked it over. Foraging individually is too slow. People end up walking over spots that were just picked over, wasting time, or missing areas entirely. So, starting tomorrow, we’re going to organize the townspeople. We’ll divide the areas and assign tasks to save everyone time!”

“Also, I’ve arranged for Ergouzi, Sangouzi, and Sigouzi² to keep the cameras rolling to record our labor. I’ve already thought of the title for our next show! It’ll be called ‘The Mushroom Pickers of the Desolate Planet’!”

“…” Lu Yuan chuckled. “Sounds good.”

The big man’s name was Goudan³.

It was a very common name on a Desolate Planet. Much like Tiechui, Tiezhu, or the various “Gouzis,” if you shouted “Goudan” on the street, at least twenty people would turn their heads.

However, this Goudan was no ordinary Goudan.

A year ago, before this district became the quiet and peaceful place it was now, he had been the local boss.

As a rare Mental Power Awakener who had been physically imposing since childhood, he was incredibly strong. In a fight, he had no equal.

Upon reaching adulthood, he gathered a group of powerful men under his command, making him even more lawless in the area. Whether it was the defenseless elderly and children or other petty thugs, everyone had to answer to him.

But now…

Goudan was wearing a pink apron. It wasn’t exactly his first choice, but in a destitute place like a Desolate Planet, finding an apron at all was difficult; having one was better than nothing. He was currently busy slicing mushrooms with rapid precision.

A heavy cleaver danced in his hand, quickly turning the mushrooms into thin, uniform strips before they were tossed into the pot. He stir-fried with a fluid, practiced motion, glancing back at Lu Yuan.

“Boss,” he called out. “Tonight, let’s watch that one… ‘The Underworld CEO and His Little Sweetheart,’ okay?”

That was the reality. Ever since Lu Yuan brought TV dramas to this place, Goudan had become completely addicted.

This was why he was here. He had made a deal with Lu Yuan: as long as Lu Yuan let him watch two hours of shows every day, Goudan would handle Lu Yuan’s dinner.

Lu Yuan was very satisfied with this arrangement. After all, hacking into the StarNet to download dramas only required a flick of his fingers. Exchanging that for a daily dinner was a fantastic bargain.

Seeing that Lu Yuan remained silent, Goudan offered his own reasons for wanting to watch the show. “I remember in the last episode I saw, the male lead was organizing his subordinates to go collect rent. That’s exactly what I need to learn! Tomorrow, I’m organizing everyone to go collect mushrooms!

“Oh, and I need to study the filming techniques too! My previous films didn’t sell, so it must be because my directing skills aren’t up to par yet. I have to improve!”

• It should be mentioned that television dramas had gradually become Goudan’s life’s ambition. These days, his dream was no longer to become a local overlord, nor was it even to eat well, drink well, or wear fine clothes. Instead, he wanted to film a hit drama that would take the entire Desolate Planet by storm!

One could say he had moved beyond low-level material pleasures and become a man with true spiritual pursuits!

“…Fine.” Lu Yuan paused, but he couldn’t be bothered to say much more. “Just find it and watch it yourself in a bit.”

“You got it!” Goudan cheered. He poured a ladle of water into the pot, tossed in a handful of noodles, and rushed out excitedly to pick up the tablet and start scrolling through the dramas.

“By the way, Boss,” he said while searching.

The livestream Lu Yuan had been watching earlier had long since ended, so Goudan naturally hadn’t seen its content – though even if he had, he wouldn’t have been too surprised. Lu Yuan clearly looked like a man of great ability.

As he watched more dramas and gained a deeper understanding of the world outside the Desolate Planet, Goudan had developed his own guesses about Lu Yuan’s identity.

Moreover, Lu Yuan didn’t bother to hide it at all.

What Goudan wanted to talk about was something else. “Do you think if I put my show on StarNet, anyone would buy it?”

The question was a bit abrupt. Lu Yuan finally opened his eyes and glanced up at him.

“Someone would come and take you away,” Lu Yuan said. “A resident of the Desolate Planet wanting to be cultured? In your dreams.”

“So,” Goudan suddenly asked, “did you open this shop on purpose? To bring culture to us?”

“…In your dreams.” Lu Yuan looked away. “I’m just doing this to make money. I don’t want to go out and pick mushrooms.”

“You could sell other things?”

“Like picking up junk from the landfill to sell? I’d rather pick mushrooms.” Lu Yuan gave a short laugh. “Scrap metal that costs nothing, combined with a bit of data downloaded from StarNet, and I can make enough to live a lazy life… What could be better than that?”

“I guess so.” Goudan clicked on his drama. While the opening theme played, he went back to fetch his cooked noodles, poured them into a bowl, set it on the counter, and dragged a stool over to sit down. “That makes sense.”

“So, who told you to ask that?” Lu Yuan asked. “Have there been outsiders around here lately?”

“Yeah, a stranger showed up the day before yesterday,” Goudan said, hiding nothing. “I have to say, he’s pretty good-looking! I wanted to ask him to be the lead in my next drama!

“Of course, he’s definitely not as handsome as you, Boss. But I know you’d be too lazy to be my leading man.”

Translator’s Notes