My Counterattack System After Reborn

Chapter 26: The Golden Nugget

Todd thought that there had to be other changes that he could make to his lifestyle to make things more cost-efficient. After all, while he was making thirty thousand dollars a week and struggling to make ends meet, he knew that other people were able to get by and be happy on much less.

He returned to the Mall and began to check out all of the icons that were on display under the Groceries column. There were a thousand items to choose from. If you wanted to see more, you had to request a Page Refresh, but that cost 30,000 Slap-Face Numerical Value, which was too rich for his blood.

The list that he did have access to was twenty pages long, and the first five were dedicated to metals such as iron, aluminum, platinum, silver, copper, and gold. The prices were uniform. Each metal cost ten Slap-Face Numerical Value per gram, regardless of its chemical composition. For Todd’s needs, gold was his best option. Outside of his head, Platinum was worth more, but it was hard to find a buyer for it.

The fifth through thirteenth pages was dedicated to different types of wood. Sandalwood and Hainan Huanghuali were worth the most, but they were worth less than gold. There were also stones and biological specimens, but there was not much there that caught Todd’s attention. 

There was one thing that piqued his interest, though: He noticed that all of the metals and woods were worth the same amount, but the biological specimens each had their own individual prices listed, and the gaps between their Slap-Face Numerical Value was quite significant.  

Within minutes, Todd had formulated a plan, and the first thing that he did was purchase one gram of gold.

Suddenly, the mechanical voice in his mind spoke up. It said, “Host is applying to exchange ten Slap-Face Numerical Value for one gram of gold. Say ‘Yes’ to confirm.” 

“Yes,” Todd whispered.

The mechanical voice spoke again: "The exchange is successful. Say ‘Yes’ to process the raw materials?"

What? – Todd was confused. He had not been aware that the material would need to be processed. He had already paid for the gold, though, so he had no option but to say ‘yes.’

Two or three minutes passed, and then the metallic voice said, “Say ‘Yes’ to confirm your decision to enter the processing program."

“Yes,” Todd hissed. He was getting frustrated, and it was getting harder and harder to reply at a volume that was imperceptible to his classmates.

Suddenly, the Mall’s interface closed, only to be replaced by a three-dimensional image of a small grain of gold. It floated in Todd's field of vision, and he could see that there was a row of data imprinted on it. It said: One gram of standard gold; standard spherical shape with a radius of 0.235 cm."

Todd looked at the gold and thought – Stretch.

Almost immediately, the round form began to elongate, and as its shape changed, so did the data that was imprinted on it.

One minute it said, "One gram of standard gold; an ellipsoid. The major axis is 0.3 cm. The minor axis is 0.21 cm, with a flatness of 0.3 cm."

Five seconds later, it said, "One gram of standard gold; an ellipsoid. The long axis is 0.4 cm. The short axis is 0.14 cm, with a flatness of 0.65 cm."

Five seconds after that, it said, "One gram of standard gold; An irregular cylinder with a shaft length of 2 cm and a maximum thickness of 0.09 cm."

Todd frown and he thought – Stop doing that! The gold had done exactly what he had wanted it too, but he was starting to feel like the Magician’s Apprentice in Disney’s Fantasia. That is to say, it felt as if things were getting out of hand.  

Very quickly, the gold returned to a spherical shape.

Todd gave himself a moment to settle down, and then he thought - Rectangle, square, diamond, cone! And the gold piece shifted shape according to his commands.

Todd was like a child with a new toy, and it was not long before he had figured out the metal’s full capabilities. His only limit was his imagination. If he willed it, he could form the gold piece into a thousand tiny, perfectly formed flowers.

This is going to make me a fortune! – thought Todd. He transformed the gold piece into a single flower. It was the most beautiful flower that anyone had ever seen, and the shape would add value to the metal. One gram of gold was initially worth up to 300 dollars, but this work of art could be sold for as much as 1,000 dollars!

Todd was so excited that he couldn’t contain it, so he lifted his hand, and when he was called upon by the teacher, he said, “Excuse me. I have a stomachache. May I go to the bathroom?"

The politics teacher was a woman, and she generally did not refuse students' requests, so she nodded and said, “You may go.”

After Todd left the classroom, he ran towards the wall on the east side of the campus, and when he got there, he jumped over it. Students had been using this wall to get out of school for years, and Todd had skipped classes hundreds of times. Once he was on the street, he stopped a taxi and asked to be taken to the Urban South's Pedestrian Street, which crossed through one of the oldest and poorest parts of the city.

Todd walked from Pedestrian Street to Antique Street. Apart from the sparse shops on both sides of the street, mobile stalls occupied half of the street, which was why he could not take a taxi straight there.

All around him, men and women shouted to get his attention. Down here, it seemed that everything could be purchased for a price. Compared with a mall or Farmer’s Market, this was much less prosperous, but it felt real in a way that no other places did.

One stall was selling recycled gold and silver. Another claimed to have bronze coins from the Ming Dynasty. There were books, new and used. Many were signed, rare, and out of print. There were places that Todd knew to stay away from, where murder could be arranged, or a child could be bought if the price was right. He often thought about calling the police in such places, but by the time they got here, the criminals would be gone, and he would never be able to feel safe again.

Todd walked around for a bit until he found a stall with a specific sign above it: "Acquisition of works of Art." The boss was sitting on a stool looking at his phone, and he didn't even look up when Todd approached his stall.

Todd cleared his throat and showed the man the golden flower.

The man looked up. “Can I help you?

“Would you be interested in this?” Todd asked.

The man took one look at it and said, “Piss off. I have no use for fakes.”

Todd grinned and said, “Take another look.”

Normally the man would not have, but there was something about the confidence in Todd’s voice that caught him off guard. “Alright,” he said. “Let me see what you’ve got there.”

The man took the golden flower carefully, took out a magnifying glass from his jacket pocket, and looked at it for a long time. Finally, he looked up. "Good, God!” he exclaimed. “Young man, where did you get this?"

“It is a family heirloom,” Todd explained.

The stall owner nodded. Todd’s explanation was completely believable.