Chu Ran went home, took off her shirt, and stood in front of the mirror to examine herself carefully.
There was no trace of anything unusual on her left chest.
She squinted, thoughtful.
Earlier, when she had used her Spiritual Power, she could feel something inside her heart stirring, but the instruments hadn't detected it.
So did this thing belong to the original owner, or to the self that had been resurrected?
"Let go, let go of me..."
Suddenly, Chu Ran remembered the weak wail that had sounded in her ear before she lost consciousness in her previous life.
So was it related to her resurrection?
But in that former world, there was nothing non-scientific. Or perhaps that world had two layers: inside and out?
Chu Ran stared at herself in the mirror with great interest. What could it be?
After a moment, she tried to circulate her Spiritual Power through her heart, but it elicited no reaction. So there must be a trigger condition.
If she could find the pattern... she still had a chance to invoke a deity!
Chu Ran's heart stirred.
She loved the feeling of controlling her own life and having the ability to eliminate all interference. Unfortunately, she was too weak now, so she had to tolerate the Chu family leaping and bouncing around like a toad.
She had originally planned to use the path of Artificer to save her first pot of gold, but if she could invoke a deity, she would have better options.
Chu Ran put on her clothes, her hand brushing over her heart. Her gaze turned cold. There was no such thing as a free pie falling from the sky, but even if it were poison, she would turn it into harmless food to fill her stomach.
Thinking of this, Chu Ran's stomach suddenly grumbled.
...
Oh, right, she hadn't eaten dinner yet.
Chu Ran opened her Light Brain and browsed food that could be delivered immediately.
The tempting food came with extraordinarily high prices.
The tempting prices came with food that was hard to recommend.
Given her account balance, low-grade nutrient fluid was her only choice.
Chu Ran finally chose a flavor among the low-grade nutrient fluids that had average reviews—God's Grace.
One box of ten bottles, twenty carats per bottle. As a new customer, she could get a 10% discount. Chu Ran decisively ordered three boxes.
Delivery time showed one hour. Chu Ran considered going downstairs for a stroll. Maybe she could pick up some gossip from the neighbors.
Like about the Third Prison.
When she had searched on StarNet, she discovered that information about the Third Prison had level requirements—only students and public officials could view it.
The restaurant downstairs was quite crowded now.
A group of elderly men and women sat around tables, holding bowls of noodles, eating and chatting.
A screen in the shop displayed the menu with corresponding images. Light yellow noodles were topped with large pieces of tender, fatty, glistening meat. Each bowl cost 150 carats, and for an extra 20 carats, they could add two leafy greens.
The price was cheaper than on StarNet, but still much more expensive than nutrient fluids.
Perhaps she had stared at the price list too long; the shop owner, an older woman, called out to her, "Want a bowl?"
Chu Ran scratched her head, about to refuse, when the woman added, "My treat."
Chu Ran was taken aback. Before she could react, the woman pressed her into a chair. "Eat up. Today, I'm doing a good deed."
"That's right, girl, don't be polite with Aunt Huang," another older woman eating nearby shouted. "She's usually so stingy!"
Aunt Huang brought over a bowl of noodles and set it on the table with a bang, but the soup didn't spill. She shouted with confidence, "Wang Cuihua, stop lying about me. None of you on Old Street are a match for this tightwad!"
Chu Ran looked at the steaming noodles and hesitated to pick up her chopsticks.
Why were these pies in the sky coming one after another?
Aunt Huang, experienced with crowds, said, "Don't worry about me drugging you. I'm in a bad mood today, so I'm doing a good deed."
Chu Ran's face turned a bit green. A good deed from a bad mood seemed even more like a poisoned pie.
"Young but quite cautious!" Aunt Huang pulled over a chair and sat down casually. "Everyone living on Old Street is elderly who can't use Spiritual Power or have extremely weak Spiritual Power."
"People with high Spiritual Power won't bother coming here. Young people with low or no Spiritual Power either find basic work or make a living at the Garbage Dump."
"So, given your current physical condition, you could take on the two of us. Eat in peace."
The elderly men and women eating fell silent for a second, then slurped their noodles again.
When Chu Ran had first entered Old Street, she noticed that compared to other areas of the Seventh Sub-Star, Old Street had a strong sense of disconnection.
Time here seemed sluggish or even frozen in its original state. The elderly preferred to come out and chat rather than stay home and use StarNet. Important news broadcast on StarNet was passed around by one or two people after they'd seen it.
It was less that they had been abandoned by this society and more that they had abandoned it themselves.
Chu Ran took a bite of noodles. "Why are you in a bad mood?"
"I didn't expect to misjudge someone," Aunt Huang said, anger suppressed in her tone. "I never expected Chu Dao to treat He Yi's descendant this way. That child called him 'Grandfather'..."