Chapter 33: Taobao Customization

Monday.

The first day after becoming a martial artist!

Wang Teng had just woken up, his mind still a bit hazy.

After a moment, the flood of events from last night finally surfaced in his mind.

"So, I really am a martial artist now!"

Wang Teng clenched his fists, feeling the latent power within his body, finally finding a sense of reality.

Martial artists absorb primal force into their bodies to temper their physical forms, causing qualitative changes in their bones, muscles, and other tissues, making them incomparable to martial apprentices.

However, in this era of martial arts, becoming a martial artist was merely the starting point!

Wang Teng got up, washed, and went downstairs for breakfast.

"Mom, hasn't Dad come back yet?"

At the dining table, Wang Teng stuffed an egg into his mouth and asked Li Xiumei curiously.

"He said a project didn't go through, so he'll be delayed for a few days," Li Xiumei said while sipping bird's nest porridge.

Wang Teng nodded. Since it was a company matter, he didn't press further.

After breakfast, Wang Teng drove toward Donghai No. 1 High School.

The College Entrance Examination was drawing closer.

The atmosphere in school grew more tense by the day; students studied desperately, fighting for a chance at a better future.

They say the Gaokao is the turning point of one's life!

Many scoffed at this. So what if you worked hard to get into a university? Once you graduated, wouldn't you just be earning a meager salary of three, four, five, or six thousand a month?

Living frugally, saving for ten years, and then thinking about buying a house or a car.

And they'd all be bought on freaking loans!!

As for those earning a hundred thousand a month or a million a year, they were, after all, the minority.

Weren't they all top-tier geniuses graduating from prestigious schools?

How could anyone compete?

Just ask—how *could* you compete?

So, was the idea that "knowledge changes destiny" just a lie to fool people?

Wrong!

Because if you don't go to university, you'll find that you only end up doing even worse...

Lin Chuhan arrived even earlier than Wang Teng.

In the past, Wang Teng only thought she was diligent.

But now, knowing that she worked part-time late into the night and still woke up earlier than most to study the next day...

It was no wonder she was a "study god"!

If this were his past life, when Wang Teng was still a profligate young master, he would have only felt contempt for Lin Chuhan's behavior at this age.

What was the use of studying so hard?

The money earned from a lifetime of hard work after graduation might not even buy him one of his supercars.

But after experiencing the downfall of the Wang family, he realized he was utterly useless. Without the Wang family, he was nothing.

He was simply too pathetic!!

Watching Lin Chuhan bury her head in her books, Wang Teng felt a wave of emotion.

Without disturbing her, he sat in his seat, took out his phone, and logged into Taobao...

He intended to see if there were any specialized containers for carrying weapons.

Given the characteristics of the system, Wang Teng's future development would only become more comprehensive, and the combat techniques he learned would only increase.

He already had two types of weapons—a combat sword and gauntlets—and he would certainly have more in the future.

He couldn't exactly have them hanging all over his body whenever he went out, could he?

He scrolled through the app.

Taobao truly had everything; you could find just about any nonsense there.

He entered some keywords, and a pile of similar items quickly appeared.

However, they were all things like scabbards, sword sheaths, or staff covers, which didn't meet Wang Teng's requirements at all.

The morning study session ended, and the first class began shortly after.

Wang Teng was still browsing Taobao, with no intention of paying attention to the lecture.

Lin Chuhan found it a bit hard to watch and frowned slightly, but she merely sighed inwardly and said nothing.

Suddenly, a sharp light flashed in Wang Teng's eyes as his gaze landed on a specific item.

"Weapon Storage Box?"

Looking at the style, it was a long wooden box with a quite vintage design.

He checked the description.

This storage box actually claimed to be able to hold fourteen different types of weapons.

It even had a mechanism; with one press, the required weapon would pop out.

"That impressive?"

As he read further, Wang Teng realized with a wry smile that the so-called "fourteen types of weapons" were actually just various types of swords and blades, covering fourteen different categories of lengths and styles.

"Buy it or not?"

Wang Teng hesitated.

"Forget it, I'll just ask the merchant if they can do a custom order."

The shop was called [Master Lu], and it was a Gold Crown flagship store with consistently positive reviews.

The reviews also mentioned custom-made items.

So, Wang Teng clicked the chat box and inquired.

"Are you there?"

"I'm here, dear (づ￣3￣)づ╭～"

"Can you do custom weapon storage boxes here?"

"Weapon storage box?"

"...You don't know??"

"Hold on a moment, dear, let me check."

...

Wang Teng was somewhat speechless. This shop didn't even know what it was selling; was it even reliable?

A moment later, the other party replied.

"Dear, are you there?"

"I just checked for you. It turns out the weapon storage box you're talking about is this thing." A photo was attached.

In the photo was a wooden box piled in a corner of a warehouse, covered in dust.

Wang Teng finally understood why the merchant couldn't remember.

"How many years has it been since you took this thing out?" he asked suspiciously.

"Ahahaha, don't mind the details. This storage box was something my grandfather made when he suddenly had a burst of inspiration. No one bought it afterward, so it's been sitting in the warehouse. I didn't expect someone to ask about it after all these years," the merchant replied with an awkward laugh.

"May I ask how many years of history this thing has?"

"Not many, not many, just about ten years!"

"Hiss!" Wang Teng winced and said, "Alright, then ask your grandfather for me if he can make a custom one according to my ideas."

"...I'm afraid not."

??

"Why?" Wang Teng asked.

"Uh, I don't want to go see my elderly grandfather that early just yet. (ω)"

"My apologies!" Wang Teng said, somewhat helpless.

"Then never mind."

As he prepared to go offline, the other party hurriedly sent another message.

"Wait!"

"If possible, tell me your ideas. I'll see if I can make some modifications based on this storage box. If I can actually sell it, I think my grandfather would be very happy in the afterlife."

"Oh!" Wang Teng felt a surge of interest.

He might as well try his luck!

So, he told the merchant his requirements.

There was a long silence on the other end before the merchant spoke: "Are you planning to use this as a collector's item?"

"You could say that," Wang Teng replied.

"Alright, I'll try my best. I'll notify you once the modifications are done," the merchant said.

"What about the price?"

Seeing that the merchant was in such a rush to go study how to modify the box that they didn't even discuss the price, Wang Teng suddenly got a vague idea of this person's personality...

They were probably a bit of a dummy!

"Oh right, I forgot o(╯□╰)o"

The other side thought for a moment and responded.

"Anyway, no one wants this thing, so just give me a random labor fee of eighty or a hundred thousand."

"Fine. As long as the item satisfies me, I'll buy it for a hundred thousand."

Wang Teng didn't hesitate to agree.

Those rune weapons often cost hundreds of thousands or even millions; a hundred thousand for this storage box was acceptable.

Besides, his requirements were quite extensive and required customization, so a higher fee was justifiable.

(End of Chapter)