Chapter 16: Titanium Alloy Bionic Ox

A row of shelves was displayed before her.

Wherever Yan Yu pointed, the corresponding shelf would move closer.

She browsed through them one by one.

【Rice – 2.8】【Flour – 2.4】【Salt – 1】【Soy Sauce – 1.2】【Rice Vinegar – 0.9】【Ground Sichuan Pepper – 24.4】【Chili Powder – 13.9】【Cumin – 13.8】【Chicken Essence – 3.7】

There was even chicken essence, all unpackaged and scattered around.

【Eggs – 0.5】【Pork – 11.9】【Chicken – 7.9】【Fish – 9.9】

There was a basket of eggs, about seven or eight in total? The pork, chicken, and fish were all frozen.

【Iron Wok – 22】【Wooden Bowl – 0.2】【Ceramic Bowl – 0.8】【Ceramic Basin – 30】【Kitchen Knife – 25】【Scissors – 16】

Nice, even dining utensils were available.

【Coarse Cloth – 15】【Cotton Cloth – 23.5】【Linen – 6】【Raw Cotton – 12】【Cotton Quilt – 196】【Hemp Shoes – 67】【Straw Sandals – 4.8】【Cloth Shoes – 12.8】【Cotton Shoes – 18.8】【Single-layer Clothing – 72】【Cotton Padded Clothing – 198】

They really didn’t want people to go without clothes!

【Bamboo Mat – 34】【Straw Mat – 22】【Bamboo Basket – 29】【Bamboo Backpack – 66】

Didn’t seem particularly useful.

【Bamboo Slip 1 – 500】【Bamboo Slip 2 – 500】【Bamboo Slip 3 – 500】…

【Handwritten Book 1 – 2000】【Handwritten Book 2 – 2000】【Handwritten Book 3 – 2000】…

The last row was filled with stacks of bamboo slips and dozens of books, all labeled simply as handwritten manuscripts.

After browsing through everything, Yan Yu was deeply impressed by the platform’s intelligence.

Look at all these items—none of them seemed out of place.

The fabrics and clothes were all in shades of blue, black, and gray, their styles highly similar to what people were currently wearing.

What moved her the most were the bowls—wooden bowls, ceramic bowls…

A big thumbs-up to the platform! It was seriously dedicated to blending into the environment.

As she browsed, Yan Yu quickly relayed the items to her parents, finally stopping at a particularly eye-catching row of vegetables.

【Sweet Potatoes – 2.2】【Potatoes – 1.8】【Corn – 1.9】【Baby Bok Choy – 2】

Though the selection was small, they all shared one trait—high yield!

She wondered if the items obtained from the platform could be planted…

“There’s a lot of stuff, but nothing we urgently need!” Li Xuemei was a little disappointed. What they wanted most was—toilet paper.

“Daughter, see how we trade? What can we use to exchange?” Yan Lao’er asked anxiously.

At the bottom of the screen, Yan Yu noticed a row of five slots.

Tentatively, she placed an egg she had picked up earlier onto one of the slots.

She had grabbed it casually, without much thought.

Unexpectedly, the balance in the lower-right corner jumped from 【0】 to 【1】…

Before she could continue experimenting, she suddenly noticed a flashing option labeled Free Market in the upper-right corner.

Curious, she tapped on it.

—Whoosh!

The entire screen instantly switched to a video call!

A cyberpunk-style uncle appeared on the other side.

Before Yan Yu could react, he fired off words like a machine gun:

“Oh my god, finally connected! What category are you? Let me see—time travel, ancient setting. Who are those two people next to you? Never mind, not important.”

“A newbie? First time logging into the platform?”

Yan Yu nodded blankly.

He quickly tapped something around him, and a virtual screen whooshed over, floating in front of her. Speaking at lightning speed, he explained:

“You can only stay on the platform for an hour each time. Besides the official store, you can connect with three users in the Free Market—each for 20 minutes. See the countdown timer in the upper left? That’s how much time we have left.”

“In the next slot, you’ll connect with the second and third unlucky folks. Yes, that’s right, we’re all Summer Nation people flagged by the platform as struggling with basic survival.”

“The official store’s shelves adjust to match your environment in real time. The more times you log in, the more accurate the offerings get. Basic survival is guaranteed. Later, if the platform detects that you have the ability to regenerate resources—like farming—it’ll provide more seeds.”

“I’m categorized under time travel, tech-focused. My world is overdeveloped, full of pollution and radiation. We survive on nutrient solutions every day.”

“Needs: food—any kind of meat and vegetables will do. Also, long-term bulk purchases of ores and metals.”

“I can provide a lot of mechanical creations, but given your environment, you probably won’t need them. I once connected with a guy in a similar ancient setting. He ordered bionic oxen, horses, and donkeys from me. Great for transport and farming, all voice-controlled with smart recognition, solar-powered—three hours of charging for a month of plowing! They can guard homes, take care of kids, and if you want to make them blend in, just feed them grass. The feed gets compressed and dried for later reuse. They have titanium alloy frames, are heat-resistant, oxidation-proof, and their size and weight can be adjusted on the spot to match the ox in your courtyard exactly…”

“How do you know I have an ox in my courtyard?”

Damn, Yan Yu was nearly swayed by his sales pitch.

But she still sharply caught onto this key detail.

“Forgot to mention, little sister. To make trading easier, the default setting scans all materials within a hundred-meter radius. You can adjust it to ten meters, a hundred meters, or a thousand meters—whatever you prefer. Just swipe left on the hidden materials list to see mine.”

Yan Yu swiped with her finger—and was stunned by the sheer variety of nutrient solutions displayed!

“Why is it all nutrient solutions?” She scrolled down until she finally saw some mechanical products—household service robots, bionic mechanical oxen, bionic mechanical horses, bionic mechanical donkeys, exploration and collection robots, hover cars…

“That’s why I need food! Eating this stuff every day—I can’t even stand the smell anymore!” The uncle clearly despised nutrient solutions, his face full of resentment.

“Aren’t there food items in the official store? Rice, flour, vegetables, meat, eggs—they have everything.” Yan Yu asked in confusion.

The uncle swallowed with difficulty, eyes full of envy. “For safety reasons, the official store won’t sell anything that’s incompatible with your world. That’s why you time travelers and reincarnators are so lucky! Your difficulties are temporary—with platform support, basic survival isn’t a problem. But do you know what’s on the shelves in my official store?”

“What?”

“Vegetable juice, fruit juice, oral nutrient solutions…”

How tragic!

For the first time, Yan Yu actually felt a sense of happiness in comparison.

“How do I trade for your bionic ox?” No doubt about it—the bionic ox was incredibly tempting.

“First, let me confirm—does the ox in your courtyard belong to you?” the uncle asked cautiously.

“Yes, we just bought it today. The ox and the cart were really expensive!” Yan Yu replied.

—

(End of Chapter)