Under the night sky, Ranxing was still ablaze with lights. The door to the Qixing Company's workshop slowly closed, signaling the end of the workday. Xiang Fan, exhausted, dragged himself along, clutching a pile of spare parts in his hands. They were of various shapes, rusted, and some even cracked, looking like they'd just been plucked from a scrapyard.
Engineer Hong, smoking a pipe, leaned against the doorway. Seeing him happily hugging a pile of "junk," he couldn't help but shake his head: "Boy, are you really planning to use this junk to repair the mecha? Even Qixing Company's garbage recycling system wouldn't bother to handle the pile you have."
Xiang Fan chuckled and held the parts in his arms tighter. "Engineer Hong, this is something you approved. Even if I can't fix it, I can still gain some knowledge by studying it."
Engineer Hong took a deep drag on his cigarette, exhaling a wisp of white mist. "Alright, all this junk is destined for the trash can anyway, so I might as well let you work on it. But don't push yourself too hard. Young people need to know how to rest."
"Thank you, Engineer Hong!" Xiang Fan grinned, and ran towards the bus stop, carefully holding the parts as if they were a treasure.
The night sky of Ranxing was ablaze with neon lights. Countless lights flickered on the flight tracks in the sky. Hovercrafts in the distance shone like a stream of light. Atop a tall building, a giant psychic billboard tirelessly played a promotional video for the latest mecha—"Qixing X300 Mecha, the best combat partner for Jindan cultivators!"
Xiang Fan squeezed into a crowded bus, carefully protecting the spare parts in his arms, afraid that a piece would get squeezed out. A well-dressed middle-aged man nearby glanced at him, frowned, and muttered, "These days, even scrap metal is being rushed home by people?"
Xiang Fan took a look and said nothing, only holding the parts in his arms tighter. What others saw as junk was, to him, a treasure that could bring the mecha back to life.
The bus stopped in an old residential area, and Xiang Fan jumped off and walked along the dim alleyway to his temporary residence. The narrow alley was filled with various suspended wires and old psychic streetlights, which occasionally flickered and emitted a faint "sizzling" sound.
His residence was small, with only a bed and a small table. The windows were dilapidated, and the wind made a humming sound. In the open space outside, the shabby mecha stood alone, like a frail old soldier, covered in rust and even with obvious cracks in some parts.
Xiang Fan carefully placed the parts on the table, patted the mecha's legs, and said with a smile, "Old buddy, I brought you some supplements today. Although they are some barely usable things, as long as they can be repaired, you can move your muscles again."
The mecha did not respond, but just stood there quietly, as if it was really waiting for that day to come.
Xiang Fan breathed a sigh of relief, pulled out his terminal, and checked his account balance. Qixing Company's salary had just arrived, and he happily opened it, but his excitement instantly vanished. After rent deductions, the remaining money was only enough to buy him twenty days' worth of steamed buns.
He scratched his head and began to think about how to save money. After rummaging around for a while, he pulled out a bag of pickles his father had sent him, along with a small bottle of spicy meat sauce.
Xiang Fan's eyes lit up. "Luckily, we still have this! Steamed buns with pickles and meat sauce should be enough to last us until the end of the month."
He opened the bag of pickles, took a little and put it in his mouth, his mouth grimacing at the saltiness. He then carefully opened the bottle of spicy meat sauce, dipped a little with his chopsticks, and just as he put it in his mouth, he gasped at the spiciness. "It's still Dad's style, this spicy...amazing!"
After taking a cold shower, he changed into pajamas, tore the steamed bun into small pieces, and ate it with relish while dipping it in pickles and spicy meat sauce. While eating, he fiddled with the parts on the table, picking up a piece from time to time to gesture.
"If this psychic conduction module can be repaired, it should improve the old man's movement fluidity." He muttered softly, picked up another damaged energy center, looked at it for a long time, and frowned. "This is a bit difficult, but it doesn't hurt to give it a try."
He ate his simple dinner while studying the parts carefully, his eyes full of concentration.
The night sky was still bustling with activity. Psychic vehicles hovered in the sky, their endless streams of light weaving into a dazzling Milky Way. The towering psychic towers radiated a soft glow, casting a mystical pale blue hue over the entire city. On the streets, monks of all colors and races mingled with ordinary people, some hurrying, others strolling leisurely. The city's bustle seemed to never cease.
Xiang Fan stood at the door of the cabin, his hands in his pockets, quietly looking at the brilliant scene in the distance, with complex emotions flashing in his eyes.
He had been in Ranxing for a while. During the day, he repaired mechas in the workshop, and at night, he lay in his shabby room studying those "junk" parts. Although his life was poor, he did not feel miserable.
He liked this kind of busyness, liked the mecha, liked the process of repairing it, and even liked the surprise when he took apart those broken parts - every time he found that a seemingly scrapped part could still be used, the satisfaction he felt was even more exciting than winning a game in the spiritual battlefield.
He always felt that as long as he continued to work hard, one day he would be able to change the status quo with his own hands.
He shook his head, put these random thoughts aside, turned and walked into the house, and patted the shabby mecha casually, as if patting a loyal old dog.
"Old buddy, I don't have time to repair it for you today. Wait until I gather some more materials and see if I can replace it with a decent core for you."
Of course, the mecha did not answer, but just stood silently in the night, as if it was really waiting for that day to come.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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