Chapter 2

In the small forest outside the village, Gao Yang spent 1 energy point to buy a set of Republican-era men's clothing: a light blue long robe, a dark hat, and a scarf. The Origin Point gave the lowest price, 20 points for the set. "Why are a few pieces of clothing so expensive?" Gao Yang was puzzled. Just now, a silver dollar worth one yuan only cost one point, and 20 silver dollars could buy several sets. "Can you explain this?"

"Energy points are charged based on the consumption required to manufacture the items. Manufacturing a silver dollar consumes 1 point, and manufacturing three pieces of clothing consumes 20 points. You can first exchange for silver dollars and then buy clothes," the Origin Point explained in detail and provided a good solution to reduce costs.

"Forget it, the clothes are too different from this era. Taking silver dollars into the village to buy things might still be old, and there's a risk. I'll just buy them. Hmm, where should I put the down jacket?" Wearing the long robe, wrapping the scarf, and putting on the hat, except for his slightly pale face, he should look like a local. But where should he put the down jacket?

"You can store it in my built-in storage space. This space is used to store manufactured items, a cubic sub-dimensional space with dimensions of 100 meters in length, width, and height. Any object without a life reaction can be placed inside. Parts exceeding 100 meters in length, width, or height will decompose and disappear. The storage space can be expanded with energy points, and storage and retrieval are controlled by your thoughts." The Origin Point provided another good thing.

With a "swish," the down jacket in Gao Yang's hand disappeared. Through his thoughts, Gao Yang "saw" the black down jacket floating quietly in a bright cubic space, slowly landing in a corner as his gaze followed. Outside the space was a void of black, a black without any sense of existence.

After exiting the space and standing quietly for a while, he stepped into the village. In the winter, every household in the northern village was huddled at home. Walking along the muddy village road to the threshing ground in the center of the village, someone finally approached. Bowing, he said, "Sir, what brings you to our humble village?"

Gao Yang bowed and said, "Old sir, I have come from Dagou to the north. Could you tell me how to get to the Northern Capital?" "Ha ha, I am the village head of Liu Family Village. To go to the Northern Capital, go 7 li from here to the county town of T County. There are special carriages to the Northern Capital in the county town, and you can reach the Northern Capital before sunset." The old man pointed to the northwest.

"Thank you, old sir, for your guidance. Goodbye." Gao Yang bowed and walked towards T County. The winter village road was not easy to walk. The 7 li road was not long, but it was not short to walk. Gao Yang had eaten a pancake in the morning, and now the sun was high in the sky.

Biting his teeth, he persisted until he reached T County. Using the Origin Point, he created a silver dollar and had a delicious meal of donkey meat soup and baked buns at a baked bun shop in the county town. When getting change, he asked for the location of the carriage station and went there directly. The county town was small, and he spent 60 cents to get on the carriage.

A carriage left every hour. While waiting, he leaned against the carriage wall, thinking about how to get a good identity after arriving in the Northern Capital. The carriage driver cracked the whip, and the carriage slowly moved forward. Gao Yang, relaxing his mind, fell asleep.

Waking up from his sleep, he yawned and looked up at the sky. The moon had already risen. It was late, and he couldn't do much. He got on a rickshaw at the carriage station and said, "Beidu Hotel."

He had passed by this famous century-old hotel in the original timeline. Now that he had the means, he naturally wanted to experience it. It didn't take long to reach the Beidu Hotel on Dong Chang'an Street. After paying the fare, he looked at the French-style building and sighed, "I have to waste energy points again."

He gently patted the long robe and walked into the Beidu Hotel as the doorman bowed to welcome him. "Bonjour," the elegant hall manager with a noble air greeted him in pure Parisian French, but his eyes revealed the arrogance characteristic of white people.

Why could Gao Yang understand French? The Origin Point provided simultaneous translation. "How many energy points does it cost to learn French?" "To learn an unknown language, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, and to use it proficiently, it costs 400 energy points."

"Is that so little?" Gao Yang was surprised, thinking it should cost more. "Learning a language costs very little, mainly to develop the language learning part of your brain. After that, each new language you learn will double the energy points required," the Origin Point's words made Gao Yang's head ache.

"Do you want to learn?" The Origin Point's words were as cold as ever.

"Sir, do you need accommodation?" The French manager spoke fluent Beijing dialect. "Commercialleraupetitcoin" in pure Parisian French, he walked into the restroom, surprising the manager.

When he came out, he already had 200 pounds. He chose the best room, which cost 35 silver dollars per day. He gave the waiter 5 pounds as a tip. He took a comfortable hot bath in the bathroom, put on silk pajamas, and lay on the soft bed.

So much had happened today that even Gao Yang, with his strong heart, found it hard to calm down. He didn't immediately go back to find his girlfriend because he sensed that she didn't really want to leave. Encountering such a strange situation, Gao Yang was also conflicted. "If she still wants to be together, I will love her for life. If she wants to go her own way, then so be it."

Determined, Gao Yang fell into a deep sleep. The next day, he bought a well-fitted, high-end suit at a tailor's shop, put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, and wore shiny black leather shoes, looking like a successful person.

Back in the room, he hung a "Do Not Disturb" sign. The Origin Point activated the time travel and returned to the small alley. The gray, hazy weather and the distant rumble of car engines made him deeply inhale, feeling the atmosphere of the Industrial Revolution.

Back at his place, he saw scattered items, indicating a hasty departure. Sitting on the bed, he silently smoked, smiling bitterly. After packing his things and settling the rent with the landlord, he left the place where he had lived for several years, casually discarding the cigarette butt to end everything.

He came out of the bank with all his savings and went to the wholesale market in the suburbs. He spent over 40,000 yuan to buy 72 high-quality replica Rolex mechanical watches, with chrome-plated cases and pure mechanical craftsmanship, truly high-quality replicas.

He rented a single room nearby, called the factory to say he had an emergency and needed to go home, and gave up his wages. After resolving his work issues, he put the watches in unmarked boxes into his backpack, canceled the coordinates in the alley, and set new ones in the rented room. He activated the time travel and returned to 1924.

He spent the morning leaving the room and exchanging the 72 watches at several pawnshops for 200 silver dollars each, totaling 14,400 silver dollars. To his surprise, he found 20 rare 1-yuan silver dollars signed by Ruerzhige George.

He hurriedly returned to the original timeline, ate a quick meal at a fast-food restaurant, and rushed to Panjiayuan. He sold 8,600 silver dollars at an average price of 650 yuan each to several stores, adding 5.59 million RMB to his bank account. One with Ruerzhige George's signature sold for 100,000 yuan! The 20 silver dollars sold for 2 million RMB!

His bank account now had over 7 million RMB. Gao Yang was very excited, but he forced himself to calm down and continue according to his plan.

He obtained a business card from an antique shop owner and bought 10 kilograms of unmarked small gold bars at 260 yuan per gram. He then went to 1924 with his backpack.

In the room at the Beidu Hotel, Gao Yang asked the Origin Point, "What does the task mean?"

"Actions that can significantly gain energy points will be notified to you in the form of a task. If you can complete it, you will receive a large number of energy points," the Origin Point explained in detail.

The night passed without incident. "Time is running out," the Origin Point reminded him quietly. "I know, I'll go and solve it now."

After breakfast, he picked up the bag with 10 kilograms of gold, got on a rickshaw, and went to the Beiyang Government's State Council at Xiangfang Bridge.

In this world, most things can be solved with money, especially with 10 kilograms of gold. Gao Yang, speaking fluent French, pretended to be a Chinese person living in France, returning to serve the country. After handing over the gold, he drank a bowl of tea in the reception hall.

The official in charge handed Gao Yang an appointment letter with an official seal.

Signing the appointment letter, the official, Mr. Cao, smiled and said, "Colonel Gao, everything is settled. You have two months to reach Feng County and take up your post. The bandits in Feng County are rampant, and Colonel Gao should lead the Feng County Security Regiment to protect the people and suppress the bandits. There is one more thing, Colonel Gao, if you have time, please bring your diploma from the German Army Officer School for a copy. This is not urgent, not urgent, ha ha."

"Thank you, Mr. Cao, for your help. I will wait for you at Donglai Shun tonight. Please honor us with your presence," Gao Yang bowed and thanked him.

Back at the Beidu Hotel, he closed the door and asked, "Origin Point, how many?"

"Based on the identity obtained and the time used, with 750 points as the base, the total is 1,633 energy points, mainly due to the identity obtained," the Origin Point analyzed clearly.

"Oh, if I become the President, how many points will I get?" Gao Yang was fantasizing. "There is no answer to an impossible thing," the Origin Point's response seemed to carry a hint of speechlessness.

Gao Yang touched his nose, got up, and went to the restaurant for lunch. After lunch, the sky, which had been overcast all day, finally started to snow, with new snow falling before the old snow had melted.

Gao Yang browsed the item list in the room, with all items priced higher than his purchasing power shielded, which would make him feel bad.

After careful selection, he manufactured a ring that could absorb physical damage for 1,500 energy points. It could absorb damage from a punch to a tank shell, with an initial capacity of 1,500 points. When full, it would not continue to absorb damage and must be cleared with energy points.

There was nothing else to buy for the moment. He closed the list, took a nap, went out to buy a lot of good things, and returned to the room to wait for the dinner party.

Mr. Cao's name was Cao Shimin, the nephew of the famous Cao Kun. Without this identity, Gao Yang's matters could not have been resolved so quickly.

Gao Yang was eager to ingratiate himself because he knew that the next few years would be Cao Kun's era. It was very useful to establish a relationship with his nephew, who could handle things and appreciated gold. They drank to their hearts' content, one happy to receive money and the other eager to ingratiate himself.

Drunk, Gao Yang firmly declined the proposal to continue drinking in the Eight Great Alleys and returned to his room, activating the time travel to go back to his place. He lay on the bed, wanting to sleep.

"I have to go and handle the visa tomorrow," Gao Yang thought before falling asleep.

Page AD starts

Page AD ends