001 Picking up trash

Star Calendar 1307, Garbage Planet 101.

The scorching sun was high in the sky, and the air was extremely oppressive. Suddenly, a massive Alliance-standard spaceship pierced through the atmosphere and dove towards the ground. When it was less than five hundred meters from the ground, the cabin door opened, and a huge amount of garbage poured out—

Boom, boom—

It was like the sound of thunder, and it lasted for twenty minutes before ceasing.

After dumping the garbage, the spaceship closed its doors and soared back into the atmosphere—

But less than half an hour later, another spaceship followed closely behind—

Again, boom, boom—

The spaceships carrying garbage continued to descend and take off, whipping up gusts of wind that swept up countless sand and massive amounts of trash… rampaging across Garbage Planet 101.

It was a dark pressing scene, overshadowing the sun—

Ji You, shielded by a protective barrier, watched the apocalyptic scene across from her, yet her eyes remained calm. No matter how spectacular the view, if you watch it long enough, it becomes dull.

Having been transferred to this garbage planet labeled 101 for half a year now, every day she witnessed spaceships dumping garbage onto Planet 101, so this scene occurred daily.

When the last spaceship left, the violent winds gradually subsided… Ji You, who was waiting beside the protective barrier, suddenly saw a spark in her eyes: it was time to cross the barrier and scavenge the trash on the other side, she thought today she might find something valuable.

Not only Ji You was waiting by the barrier to scavenge the trash, but also her three neighbors: the middle-aged man with a weathered face, Uncle Xie Yi, Grandma Jenny with her silver hair, and a tall and upright young man with a handsome face but a very serious expression, Ryan.

After the storm ceased, the group wordlessly began to put on their armor, as the environment outside the protected area was extremely harsh. It included sand, trash emitting a foul stench, severely polluted air, and cosmic radiation… Leaving the protected area without wearing armor was simply suicidal. Silently suited up, Ji You turned to the others; Xie Yi and Ryan were already ready, only elderly Grandma Jenny was a bit slower. Seeing everyone looking at her, Grandma Jenny smiled and said, "I'm ready, let's go."

Ryan stepped forward, walking out of the barrier first.

Xie Yi followed closely behind.

Ji You hesitated whether to cover the rear, but Grandma Jenny smiled and said, "You, go ahead, I'll follow behind."

Ji You nodded: "Okay."

Among the four, except for Ryan, Uncle Xie Yi, Grandma Jenny, and Ji You's original self, were native inhabitants of Planet 101, their ancestors had rooted on this planet, and they were very familiar with each other, hence they often went scavenging together, which was convenient for looking out for each other. As for Ryan? Ryan had only immigrated to Planet 101 this year. It was said that he was formerly a soldier of the Alliance, but he retired due to injury. As for why Ryan chose to immigrate to the garbage planet 101? No one knew the specific reason.

Ryan was unwilling to share, and the neighbors did not pry into his secrets. Moreover, since the powerful Ryan joined the scavenging team, everyone's safety was much more secure, and everyone was very grateful for it.

The four passed through the protective barrier and entered the trash mounds, spreading out to search in every corner.

Outside the protected area, the environment was harsh; even through the armor, they could smell the stench emanating from the pile of trash. Ji You bent over, furrowed her brow, and carefully searched for anything useful, like discarded Mechanical Materials or home robot spare parts—these were the most valuable items in the trash pile and their main target.

Tick-tock~

Tick-tock~

Tick-tock~

Time quietly slipped by, and after a lot of effort, Ji You hadn't found any useful scrap. She was very disappointed, squatting down to rest for a while before she continued her struggle.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared in front of her eyes. Ji You's eyes lit up, thinking it was something good. She hurriedly stepped forward but just as she was about to get closer, she suddenly felt a strong gust of wind. Realizing something was wrong, Ji You tried to dodge but it was too late. Her arm was viciously bitten by the attacking object, but fortunately, her armor protected her and it didn't tear. At that moment, Lea from next door arrived just in time. He raised his Energy Sword and decisively struck, the object attacking Ji You clanging to the ground, instantly cut into two halves, with dark greenish-black blood flowing on the ground...

This is—

Lea said with a stern face, "Level 1 Carrion Rat, be careful."

Luckily, it was just a level 1. If it were level 3 or above, their teeth could bite through the armor and Ji You could have said goodbye to her arm. She was still in shock, her eyes filled with gratitude as she said, "Lea, thank you."

Carrion Rats resembled rats from the 21st century in appearance but were significantly larger, typically weighing about five pounds each. They are the most common Star Beasts in the garbage heaps, able to withstand radiation and harsh environments with a strong reproductive capacity. Moreover, Carrion Rats feed on the residual energy on various materials in the garbage heaps, often consuming the materials before scavengers can find valuable waste. They also actively attack humans, making them a very troublesome and disliked species.

Lea nodded his head and promptly left.

Watching Lea's tall figure, Ji You felt grateful but couldn't help envying him. How great would it be if she also had an Energy Sword? However, a poor person couldn't possibly afford such an expensive energy weapon.

After composing herself, Ji You continued to rummage through the garbage heap.

Five minutes passed—

Ten minutes passed—

Thirty minutes passed—

…

Yet, Ji You still found nothing.

She felt helpless.

At this moment, Grandma Jenny suddenly exclaimed, drawing the attention of the other three. She bent over and used pliers to clear the garbage under her feet, exposing a well-preserved alloy box.

Xie Yi said enviously, "Aunt Zhen Ni, you're really lucky."

Grandma Jenny's face also showed joy, and then she asked in confusion, "What is this?"

Lea glanced over and said, "It's a Level 1 Mechanical Energy Box, not much energy storage, but there's no damage to the box and the energy inside should not have leaked." These Level 1 energy boxes could maintain a Low Star Mecha's energy consumption for a week, but for Mechas over three stars, they could only last a day, hence they were not very valuable, priced at around 500 Alliance Credit Points.

However—

500 credit points were already enough for Ji You's living expenses for more than two months!

Upon hearing this, Ji You's eyes widened with envy, looking over the Level 1 energy box from left to right, liking it more and more, and hating why it wasn't she who had found it.

As soon as Grandma Jenny heard this, the joy on her face couldn't be stopped: "This is great, now I have the money for Lea's school fees." Lea is Grandma Jenny's granddaughter, her only relative in this world, and is especially cherished by Grandma Jenny. She chose to risk scavenging in order to afford private tutoring classes for Mecha Materials for Lea.

PS:

In the early chapters, the story mainly focuses on the protagonist's struggles on the garbage planet and the pace is somewhat slow. Those who are not interested in this part can skip to Chapters 60 or 70 where the school plot begins.

Please be kind to authors who put their hearts into writing, criticize less, my heart can't take it π_π.