The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 1524: Chapter 1524: The Scalper Problem

Jona couldn’t hold back her tears, and they immediately rolled down.

Qiao Yan was taken aback, feeling a bit helpless.

Jona covered her face, ”Brother...”

Brother, it’s truly wonderful that you’re pulling yourself together again. Really, it’s wonderful.

Jona had thought this sentence in her heart for a long time, but never said it out loud. Looking at Qiao Yan’s slightly thin and anxious face, she suddenly broke into tears and smiled, saying, ”Brother, I’m fine, you don’t have to worry.”

Seeing his sister’s expression, Qiao Yan also smiled and said, ”I’ll go make tomato scrambled eggs for my Nana.”

Then.

He opened the fridge, only to find it empty except for a few low-level nutrition solutions, so empty that even bacteria were too lazy to visit.

Qiao Yan: ”...”

Jona followed behind, seeing this scene, couldn’t help but laugh and said, ”Looks like I’ll have to drink the nutrient solution water made by my brother.”

”...” Qiao Yan sighed slightly, smiled and said, ”That’s so hard to eat. That was what we did when we had no money, to save money. We don’t eat like that anymore.”

”Let’s go.” Qiao Yan took the basket from the shelf, saying, ”Let’s go buy vegetables at the market.”

Jona was genuinely surprised.

Brother was actually willing to go out?

In the past, no matter how she begged him to go out, he was unwilling. Now, he even wanted to go to the busiest market to buy food, clearly indicating he’s truly decided to pull himself together.

Yes. Once, even doing hard labor on the Star Network was impossible for her brother, let alone finding other jobs, because every job required spiritual power and Physical Strength. Years of decadence had made his Physical Strength extremely weak, even walking a few steps made him gasp for breath, let alone looking for work.

...

Tightly following behind Qiao Yan, Jona was filled with a myriad of emotions along the way: excitement, joy, sadness, heartache... all mixed together.

Next.

The two arrived at the market, where elderly men and women were selecting vegetables. Most were synthetic vegetables and meats, with a small amount of natural food supplied.

However, the bestselling items were synthetic because of their low price. As for the expensive natural food, since most people remaining on Sky Dome Star were low-income impoverished groups, very few wanted to spend money on it.

However, not everyone refrained from buying; some would buy a little for a treat every ten days or half a month to satisfy their cravings.

So, natural food still had a market here.

Jona and Qiao Yan walked along the shelves, continuously flipping through the synthetic vegetables, mainly selecting tomatoes from a basket. Qiao Yan carefully examined the ingredient list on the synthetic tomatoes; those with good composition and appropriate proportions would taste better. Therefore, even synthetic food varied slightly in price.

Qiao Yan carefully picked two tomatoes, smiled at Jona, and said, ”These two have a bit more sugar and should be less sour.”

Jona quietly watched her brother’s actions, feeling both heartache and moved.

Next.

The two also picked out some eggs, potatoes, and other vegetables. During the selection, they encountered many acquaintances who were curious about Qiao Yan’s unexpected appearance. Qiao Yan was always taciturn and only occasionally smiled at his sister Jona. Toward others, he remained silent and withdrawn. Jona smiled throughout, politely greeting neighbors around them.

Then, when heading to checkout, they found discounted vegetables by the cashier’s counter. Qiao Yan seemed tempted to exchange some from the basket, but Jona stopped him, saying, ”Brother, I’m about to get my salary. Let’s eat something good today, without sparing these few credit points.”

Qiao Yan was somewhat unwilling.

Looking at her brother, Jona sighed internally. Once, Qiao Yan was never thrifty nor knew how to save money. After the incident, he refused to spend even a single extra credit point.

To avoid her brother’s stubbornness, Jona turned to block the discounted items, then noticed inside some withered vegetables and several almost-rotten radishes. These were natural food items, with prices close to synthetic ones due to imminent spoilage.

Jona’s eyes lit up, and she selected a relatively good radish, a bunch of hollow vegetables, and half a broccoli.

The machine cashier system quickly calculated the bill: a total of 207 credit points, with the discounted natural food costing 103 credit points.

Jona was delighted, while Qiao Yan was slightly displeased.

But!

Now, it’s the sister earning money to support the family; Qiao Yan’s opinion was overruled.

The siblings returned home and happily had a meal.

Jona put down her chopsticks, saying, ”So, after watching Green Glaze Master’s Array Diagram twice, brother’s spiritual power truly recovered a bit?”

Through Qiao Yan’s narration, Jona learned that her brother had luckily secured a 10-credit point ticket, watched with curiosity and anticipation, then slept for a day, awakening to find a slight relief in his spiritual power pain.

That relief was very small, very weak.

However, for someone suffering from spiritual trauma pain for years, even the slightest relief was enough to grasp onto!

So, Qiao Yan was genuinely surprised.

Then. He quickly realized there might be a cure for his spiritual power issue, eager to buy more tickets promptly.

But the tickets were already sold out.

No choice, Qiao Yan had to buy one at a high price of 20,000 credit points from scalpers. The 20,000 credit points were the living expenses his sister saved and sent home, spent painfully by Qiao Yan, hurt more than cutting his own flesh.

Upon using it again, Qiao Yan’s feelings became more pronounced! This Array Diagram indeed had effects, very faint but truly effective.

As hope rekindled in Qiao Yan’s heart, he noticed the scalpers had raised the price to 100,000 credit points.

100,000!

This was his sister’s half-year salary, saved without spending or eating.

Qiao Yan dared not purchase anymore.

Facing his sister’s inquiry, Qiao Yan nodded, gritting his teeth and said, ”Those scalpers really went too far, deliberately hoarding Green Glaze Master’s tickets, then selling them at exorbitant prices, profiting thousands of times over! Green Glaze Master offered them at such low prices, surely not just to sell to wealthy families.”

”Now, only the affluent class can afford to buy.” Qiao Yan was angry, infuriated, not only because his hope was artificially severed but also feeling Green Glaze Master’s intention was betrayed by those scalpers.

Meanwhile ——

Ji You listened to Cheng Yu’s report, paused momentarily, and said, ”So, now those scalpers have raised the ticket price to 100,000 each?”

Cheng Yu’s chubby face was knotted like a bun, indignant, ”Not just that, it’s already hiked to 150,000 each, and they’re still in short supply, so the price might rise further.”

Saying this, Cheng Yu cautiously glanced at Green Glaze Master, whose face was hidden behind a mask, expression unseen.

”Master, you’re aiming to recruit students across All Star, but with those scalpers messing things up, you’d be forced to look for students among the wealthy class. I feel this not only damages Master’s reputation but also disrupts your student recruitment plan. Should we think of a way to stop the scalpers?” Cheng Yu asked.