**Chapter 3: Only on a Full Stomach Can You Think About Going Home**

**Chapter 3: Only on a Full Stomach Can You Think About Going Home**

"Growl~~"

Lin Qingshan opened his eyes, rubbing his stomach. "Looks like starving myself to death isn't going to work to get back home. I'm so hungry… Seems like I need to eat a full meal before I can think of a way to travel back!"

He looked outside the window, noticing the dim light of early dawn. He hadn't overslept but instead woke up earlier than usual…

He had been woken up by hunger.

"Alright then… System, anything edible in the shop?" he called out casually.

The system interface appeared once again in front of him, intelligently opening the shop menu.

The system's shop mainly divided items into two categories: abilities and physical goods. However, the items available in the shop weren't always there, and not everything was available; what showed up was mostly a matter of chance.

How to put it?

Basically, the system would automatically refresh the shop's offerings once a month, and Lin Qingshan could also manually refresh it for free once per month, each time bringing up twenty new "items." What would appear was purely luck, though most of the abilities tended to lean towards creation and learning.

For example, the "Master-Level Ability: Crown of Mathematics" was once available for purchase. This ability would allow you to transform into a contemporary Henri Poincaré.

Lin Qingshan had seen it before, but it required a staggering 990,000 points to redeem—an unattainable goal.

He had also figured out that master-level abilities typically started at 100,000 points or more, with the exact cost depending on their value.

Mathematics, as the crown jewel of human intellect, naturally demanded a hefty price.

Even the "Master-Level Painting Kaleidoscope" ability had an original price of at least 100,000 points, but the system had given it to him as a freebie in the newbie package.

As for the physical goods, they were almost entirely random.

For example, the "Clonazepam Tablets" he had redeemed earlier had come from the system shop; otherwise, how could he have possibly gotten his hands on prescription drugs?

In terms of physical goods, the system could offer practically anything in the real world.

Controlled substances, graphics cards, food, phones, luxury cars… Lin Qingshan had seen them all. Last month, it even offered a serving of Longjiang pork rice, which wasn't expensive at all—just 1 point per serving. With the 10,000 points he got from the newbie package, he could have bought 10,000 servings.

Unfortunately, the automatic refresh had taken it off the list this month.

[Translator: sauron]

At the time, he hadn't paid much attention since he was trying to see if he could starve himself to death.

But now, things were rough because there wasn't any food available in the newly refreshed items.

Lin Qingshan decided to manually refresh the shop, and the menu rolled over to show a new set of twenty items.

He carefully browsed the shop, ignoring the abilities and focusing directly on the eight physical goods that were available this time.

These items included "Controlled Substance: Prochlorperazine Tablets," "Artistic Decorative Knife: Damascus Blade," "Longtu Pocket X60 Foldable Phone 8G Edition," "NVIDIA RTX 690i Graphics Card," "Anxin Brand Jasmine Scented Shampoo and Body Wash Set," "Ordinary Glass Cup," "Hongxing Brand 1302D Iridium-Tipped Fountain Pen," and "Shenli Classic Men's Canvas Shoes."

"Damn! No food!" Lin Qingshan pouted. "None of these are any use to me… but…"

He looked down at his bare feet. "I'll be meeting the editor later today. These shoes might be worth redeeming…"

He actually had shoes, but when he had transmigrated into this body, the original owner had been wearing a pair that had since worn out.

Lin Qingshan had bought a pair of cartoon slippers, but he didn't like wearing them much, and his range of activity was extremely limited.

In fact, if Ayumi Ito hadn't called him yesterday, he wouldn't have left the rental room at all and would have continued drawing his manga.

"Alright, I'll redeem the canvas shoes." Lin Qingshan spent 10 points.

[Points: 250 → 240]

A pair of canvas shoes perfectly fitting his feet appeared out of thin air before him.

"Right, I should go to the public bath and clean up before heading out." Lin Qingshan hummed a tune, then redeemed the shampoo and body wash.

[Points: 240 → 236]

The shampoo and body wash also materialized in front of him.

...

In the Manga World Cultural Company's editorial department.

Early in the morning, the manga editors of the Manga World were clocking in one after another, then heading to their workstations to start the day.

Yang Dahai was startled to see Ayumi Ito looking a bit fatigued. "Ayumi, did you stay late at the office last night?"

Ayumi Ito shook her head. "I only stayed a bit late, leaving at 10 PM."

Yang Dahai opened his mouth, surprised. Staying until 10 PM was only "a bit late"? That was practically risking your life working overtime.

But he had heard that in Japan, there was a unique culture of working late. People said to respect the local customs, but Yang Dahai thought that particular custom wasn't necessary at all.

Still, he said, "Ayumi… You're new here, so you can afford to take it easy."

"I just stayed late a little because we're signing the contract with Teacher Qingshan at noon today. I wanted to make sure everything was ready," Ayumi Ito explained.

"Teacher Qingshan?" Yang Dahai looked confused.

"Yes, the original author of *Edge Runners*," Ayumi Ito said.

"Oh, that manga…" Yang Dahai understood.

To be honest, *Edge Runners* was a decent work overall, especially since it clearly showcased the author's impressive drawing skills. The art style was mature, with details that were so intricate they could almost be used for anime production.

However, Yang Dahai wasn't particularly invested. The concept of *Edge Runners* was a bit unconventional—novel and unique, yes, but not something that instinctively appealed to him.

The main thing was that it was a debut work.

A newbie's first piece usually came with plenty of issues, making it rare for a newcomer to have an instant hit.

But *Edge Runners* did have potential. At the very least, Yang Dahai's assessment was that it could compete for this year's Best Newcomer Award in the Republic's manga scene.

Ayumi Ito was also a newcomer, so it made sense for her to guide this mature-style newcomer.

The Manga World Cultural Company was already the leading force in the Republic's manga industry. Signing contracts with new authors no longer required the editor-in-chief's involvement; the company had streamlined procedures, and Ayumi Ito just needed to follow the process.

"Ayumi, you focus on the contract with this new author. Make sure to bring back his original drafts for backup to prevent any potential plagiarism issues later on," Yang Dahai reminded her.

"Got it, senpai," Ayumi Ito responded with renewed vigor.

She then grabbed the contract files and headed straight downstairs to the restaurant where they had arranged to meet.

(End of Chapter)