Working at an otherworldly junkyard, making a fortune by collecting trash.

Falling back onto the familiar sofa on Blue Star, Chen Chen didn't even bother to take a shower, and fell asleep with his eyes closed, covered in dust.

With Chen Chen away for the past two days, Ji Yunli simply set up a recliner in the living room at night and slept there with the air conditioning on.

She vaguely heard noises coming from the sofa. Just as she propped herself up to sit up, she saw Chen Chen sleeping soundly.

She quietly took the thin blanket that was placed aside and carefully covered Chen Chen with it. Then she moved the recliner next to the sofa and sat quietly watching him for a long time. Looking at the weariness that could not be hidden between his brows, she felt a pang of tenderness.

Finally, she lay down on the recliner, facing Chen Chen, and fell into a deep sleep amidst the quiet of the room.

Around midnight, Ji Yunli got up and went downstairs to store supplies. When she returned, the sofa was empty. She knew without a doubt that he had gone to work at the waste disposal center again.

The sky was still shrouded in darkness, and the four o'clock clock had not yet struck, but Ji Yunli was wide awake.

She simply strolled into the kitchen, tied on an apron, and began to simmer a pot of warm soup for Chen Chen.

Meanwhile, Chen Chen was woken up at 2 a.m. by a work notice and rushed to her post without even having a sip of hot water.

He huddled in the seat of the utility cart, clutching the pie Ji Yunli had made a while ago, mechanically repeating the actions of transporting garbage while mumbling something into his mouth.

"Even the donkeys in the production team don't work this non-stop!"

He forced a self-deprecating smile, his voice tinged with a helpless, wry smile.

"Chen Chen, Chen Chen, you're worth billions, how come you live a life more toil and struggle than an ox or a horse?"

He asked and answered himself, then solemnly muttered, "When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a person, it first tests their resolve..."

He gave up halfway through his rambling, letting out a long sigh: "I'm so tired!"

Even though he was just sitting in the tool vehicle directing transportation, he felt like his bones were filled with lead, heavy and sore.

He couldn't help but wonder if the wide variety of products in the StarNet Mall might include any medicine that could relieve mental fatigue.

Yes, there are, and a wide variety of products are available, but the prices are not exactly ordinary.

However, this expense is nothing to Chen Chen now.

He casually swiped two thousand star coins to buy the lowest-grade mental recovery potion—not because he was unwilling to buy the high-grade stuff, but because the energy concentration of the high-grade potions was too high, and his body simply couldn't handle it.

As the medicine entered my throat, a refreshing coolness spread from my throat to my limbs and bones, instantly clearing my muddled mind. The previous drowsiness and soreness vanished, and I felt full of energy.

"Little Bu," he called out.

"Chen Chen, I'm here," a mechanical electronic voice replied.

Chen Chen ran his fingertips along the cold window of the utility vehicle, and suddenly a thought popped into his head: "If I paid back the 2000 star coins I owed the interstellar waste disposal company all at once, wouldn't I be spared this suffering?"

His Star Coins in his Star Network account are increasing daily, and he can buy almost anything he wants. His Blue Star account has an even more substantial balance, and even if he doesn't have enough Star Coins, exchanging them is just a matter of moving his fingers.

Thinking this, he casually opened the redemption page on his personal interface, and his eyes widened instantly when he glanced at the string of numbers.

One Star Coin can be exchanged for 2 US Dollars?

"Holy crap!" Chen Chen exclaimed, nearly biting his tongue in shock. "Is this company some kind of robbery ring?"

He used to be so smug, thinking that earning 40,000 yuan a month was an incredible achievement. But now he realizes he was just a fool!

It was supposed to be calculated in US dollars, but I ended up receiving Chinese currency instead, and it was even halved.

"I quit! I'm resigning right now!" Chen Chen was so angry his chest felt tight. He slapped his thigh and stood up. "It's just two thousand star coins, I have plenty of money now!"

He was furious and was about to go to his friends list to tell Rabbit Nine to submit a termination request to the interstellar waste disposal company.

Xiao Bu's voice rang out again, his indifferent tone only adding fuel to the fire.

"I'm sorry, Chen Chen, but you have signed an interstellar contract with the Interstellar Waste Disposal Company. Article 666 of the contract clearly stipulates that early repayment of debts is not accepted; only debt settlement through work is supported, with a construction period of 20 years. Those who violate the contract will be subject to penalties including but not limited to..."

"Alright, alright, is this how you play it?"

Chen Chen was so angry at this unfair clause that he laughed, and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

"Such a large interstellar company, does it need more employees? Why are they targeting me to fleece me?"

Chen Chen couldn't catch his breath and almost passed out on the spot.

He stared at the cold, hard Article 666 on the virtual screen that Xiao Bu had opened, his fingers trembling: "Really? So such a large interstellar waste disposal company can be this short-staffed?"

"Yes," Xiao Bu's electronic voice remained flat and monotonous, without the slightest hint of emotion.

"Because the salaries offered by the interstellar waste disposal company are too low, apart from interstellar wanderers and some races with low mental strength and no planet, no living beings are willing to come."

"In the past three interstellar years, you are the only employee to pass the probation period."

Chen Chen's breath hitched, as if someone had grabbed her throat. It took her a long time to find her voice: "How much are the other employees paid?"

He suddenly remembered the lowest-grade nutrient solution on the StarNet, a small bottle costing 2 Star Coins, barely enough to sustain life for a day.

Xiao Bu's mechanical voice paused, as if retrieving some data, before resuming after a few seconds: "ranging from one thousand to ten thousand star coins."

"Pfft—" Chen Chen almost spat out the pie he had just eaten, so angry that his vision went black and his heart ached.

This isn't Zhou Bapi, this is clearly Zhou Bapi's ancestor!

A nutrient solution costs 2 star coins a day, which adds up to more than 700 star coins a year. Those employees who earn 1,000 star coins a month can barely make ends meet.

He only earns four star coins a month now. So, after working hard for a month, he can't even afford a decent meal in interstellar space? He'll just starve to death?

I can't think about it anymore!

Chen Chen shook his head violently, trying to shake off these thoughts that were giving him a heart attack. If he continued thinking about them, he was afraid he would faint on the spot.

I'm so regretful! I shouldn't have asked that question today!

The overwhelming anger seemed to have found an outlet, transforming into immense power.

Chen Chen's speed was ridiculously high, which caused the efficiency of the utility vehicle to soar as well.

What would normally take a day and a half to complete was finished in a single day by him, fueled by his resentment.

After the last box was stored in his spatial ring, Chen Chen slumped down next to the tool cart, letting out a long sigh of relief. Although he was full of energy, he felt as if all his strength had been drained.