"Boss, give me two of your most expensive buns."
"Young man, back for more?" The bun stall owner grinned.
"Mm. And a cup of soy milk."
"Coming right up."
…
Yuzhou sat at the roadside stall, calmly chewing on hot steamed buns. At his feet sat a bulging cloth sack — inside was the massive crystal he had smuggled back from the M78 Nebula.
In no time, the buns and soy milk were gone.
"Well, kid, how are they? My buns are the best, right?" the stall owner asked proudly.
"They're good," Yuzhou admitted. "But, Boss… you're a real pricing genius."
"Huh?"
"One bun is 3.25. I buy two, and you make it six flat." Yuzhou squinted.
"Thank you for the compliment," the owner said, not a shred of shame in his voice.
"…I wasn't complimenting you. Forget it."
Shaking his head, Yuzhou hoisted the cloth bag with one hand — something the old him could never have done — and headed toward a jewelry store.
But just as he left the stall, a desperate shout rang from above.
"Don't come any closer! If you do, I'll jump!"
Heads turned instantly. Even Yuzhou glanced up — a man stood at the edge of a tall building, one step away from falling.
"…Great. I've stumbled into a jumping-off-a-building drama."
Instead of rushing to help, Yuzhou sat back down, ordered another soy milk, and watched the show like it was theater.
The crowd swelled. The bun shop's seats filled, and the boss even sold out his entire stock thanks to the excitement.
On the roof, people tried to persuade the man. He seemed calmer, eyes closed, as if reconsidering.
"Looks like it's working," someone beside Yuzhou muttered.
"Yeah, he's calming down."
Then, a woman burst onto the scene below, screaming upward.
"Darling, don't do it! We still have such a long road ahead of us!"
At her words, the man froze — then his face twisted into despair.
"…I f***ing knew it," Yuzhou thought, eyes wide.
Without hesitation, the man jumped.
Thankfully, he landed tangled in an iron security grille halfway down, alive but stuck. The crowd sighed in relief.
"Darling, I'm coming to save you!" the woman shouted.
"No! Don't! Let me die!" the man wailed, thrashing against the bars, desperate to fall further.
Just then, a firefighter in orange uniform rappelled down from above. With expert timing, he kicked the man through a window and into safety. The drama ended, and the crowd dispersed.
Yuzhou stretched, ready to leave—only to realize his cloth sack was gone.
Not far away, a shifty-eyed thief struggled to drag it, panting with every step.
"…Seriously? You picked the wrong bag to steal."
Yuzhou walked over. The thief tugged desperately, but Yuzhou casually lifted the sack with one hand. The thief froze, dumbfounded.
"Now," Yuzhou asked coldly, "what do you think I should do with you?"
The thief forced a smirk. "Heh. Go ahead. I only need one punch to make you beg for mercy."
Yuzhou blinked. "…What?"
Instead of humoring him, Yuzhou pinned him easily and pulled out his phone."Yes, police? At the building where that jumper was just now. A thief. Uh-huh. Okay, I'll wait."
Minutes later, the thief was hauled away. Yuzhou made a quick statement at the station and reclaimed his crystal, describing it as a "personal collectible" he wanted to sell.
Soon, he was seated with the manager of a jewelry store.
"This crystal is stunning," the manager admitted, inspecting it closely. "But… I've never seen this type before. It's definitely valuable, but rare."
"It's one of a kind," Yuzhou said smoothly.
"Mind if I test it?" the manager asked, holding up a glass plate.
"Go ahead."
The manager scratched the glass with the crystal's edge. The pane split cleanly in two.
"The hardness… this is practically diamond-level!" the manager gasped. "Or maybe it is diamond."
After a pause, he leaned in. "What's your asking price?"
Yuzhou shrugged. "I'll leave it to you. As long as it's not dirt cheap."
The manager thought, then nodded. "Three million upfront. Later, after experts confirm, I'll make up any difference if it's worth more."
"Deal."
Three million wasn't astronomical, but for Yuzhou, it was plenty. He had bigger horizons now — money was just a tool. Even if he'd undersold it, he wouldn't lose sleep.
Walking out, phone buzzing with the deposit alert, he couldn't resist muttering a line he'd always wanted to say:
"I, Yuzhou, have no interest in money."
Still, the first thing he did was transfer rent to his landlady, then head off to replenish his space bracelet's supplies.
With this funding, he could finally upgrade his gear.