At this moment, Ren Zhong noticed a problem and glanced at his temporary wrist watch, his expression puzzled.
Could it be that there was already 1 point in the temporary wrist watch from the start?
Or perhaps, is my wealth balance now calculated including the value of the temporary wrist watch?
Several seconds later, Ren Zhong's gaze fell on the recycle button on the console. He clicked it, then selected the temporary wrist watch item and clicked confirm to recycle.
The mechanical arm from before descended again, and Ren Zhong placed the temporary wrist watch into it, then immediately put on the official wrist watch.
"Sold one temporary wrist watch, sale price 1 Contribution Point, taxed 0.1 Contribution Point, received 0.9 Contribution Point. Current balance 102.62 Contribution Points."
Ren Zhong was convinced.
It seems the recycling value of the temporary wrist watch hadn't been factored in; his account mysteriously had an additional 1 whole point.
This isn't a small amount, enough to provide ten days of rations for someone at the bottom class, or the average daily earnings of Zheng Tian's team members.
Ren Zhong pondered for a long time but couldn't figure out where the problem lay.
He checked, but there were no transfer records; this 1 point seemed to have been lying in his account all along, much like finding a crumpled dollar from shredded tissue in the wash.
This matter was inexplicable, not due to intelligence, but truly a supernatural occurrence.
For a meticulous academic, such unforeseen circumstances are terribly annoying, much like how Heisenberg was tormented by his obsession when he first discovered the uncertainty principle.
In the early days of the electron double-slit experiment, it was even so bizarre that people resignedly called it God's dice throw.
All things science can't temporarily explain can first be attributed to religious mysticism.
It's just the will of God.
Sigh, in hindsight, when collecting money from Sun Miao earlier, I should have made the voice information report the balance as well.
But eventually, Ren Zhong pulled himself out of this self-torture.
He muttered to himself, "Forget it, it's an extra point, not less. Having more money is always good, even the legs of a mosquito are meat. Besides, didn't the electron double-slit experiment also require many trials before reaching a conclusion? I still have a chance..."
There are 40 minutes left until the meeting time agreed upon with Zheng Tian, not to be wasted. Ren Zhong decided to find a safe and quiet place to try online surfing.
At the side of the supply and marketing cooperative building lobby, there was a quiet, empty tea bar.
Ren Zhong thought for a moment, walked into the tea bar, was stopped by a service robot, ordered a cup of plain tea costing 0.1 Contribution Point, and sat down.
It's not that he's wasting money; he doesn't have his own house. Using the wrist watch causes immersive interference to his nerves and brain from biological electrical signals, necessitating a peaceful and relatively safe environment. The tea bar in the supply and marketing cooperative building suited this need perfectly.
A short while later, the VR megascreen "appeared" again before Ren Zhong's eyes as he feigned sleep, and Deep Communication Group's advertisement once again resounded in his ears.
Skipping the ad, he decisively clicked the internet function.
The city projection in the megascreen disappeared, replaced by a fully black screen.
A melodious synthetic female voice sounded in Ren Zhong's ears again.
"Welcome, new user. This is your first time using the internet function of this self-owned auxiliary brain. Would you like to skip the newbie tutorial?"
"This auxiliary brain supports custom interface functionality. Please follow the tutorial to set up an interface that suits your personal preferences."
More than ten minutes later, Ren Zhong "looked at" the interface, which was identical to the popular Windows system of the 21st century, with a classic and antique style. He felt a genuine sense of contentment and satisfaction.
Various newly downloaded program icons were arranged neatly on his desktop according to different functions and icon colors, a paradise for the obsessive.
If others could see his interface, they'd surely critique his outdated aesthetic.
But that doesn't matter; what one personally likes is best.
Ren Zhong's gaze flickered over an icon named Virtual Life, hesitated for a moment, and did not open it.
Earlier, while searching for essential software, he saw that Virtual Life is the most mainstream communication and social software on Source Star, featuring simulation game, social, advertising distribution, and many other functions, akin to WeChat, QQ, or Twitter from the 21st century, yet infinitely more powerful.
Ren Zhong actually wanted to register a new account and try to communicate with more people online, to climb to a higher perspective and feel the overall social atmosphere of Source Star more quickly.
The pinpoint clearance of the Hunter served as a warning to Ren Zhong.
As early as in the 21st century, artificial intelligence and big data were omnipresently lurking in the social world of the internet.
These big data systems can gather all language, text, pictures, and videos left by user groups online, analyze the thoughts of certain groups or individuals, and in the virtual world, build models representing the thought characteristics of people. Based on these models, they craft various targeted, subtle information flow guidance to control people's thoughts.
This whole phenomenon is also known as an information cocoon.
Ren Zhong suspects that in this distorted world, a similar but more potent information cocoon might exist.
For safety and the purpose of disguised lurking, to avoid premature exposure of himself, he decided to temporarily avoid internet social interaction.
Wait half a year or a year until he fully understands the societal structure and can perfectly disguise himself, then participate in online social interactions.
Meanwhile, his current way of going online already involves risk, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. He'll give it a try first.
If his mere internet browsing also exposes him, he might have to give up using the official wrist watch and continue mingling with the temporary wrist watch for a while.
After waiting another five minutes, the Hunter did not appear beside him.
Alright, Ren Zhong heaved a silent sigh of relief and clicked on the Ruined Beast Database (Public Version) icon in the reference book section.
To do his job well, he must first sharpen his tools.
He has already decided to become a Mechanical Warrior, but before that, he felt that he should gain a deeper understanding of his opponents.
Especially the Crystal Winged Dragonfly with which he has a deep blood feud, and the Blade Mantis, which he might face tomorrow.
Study whether the Blade Mantis has any weak points and whether it can be fearlessly challenged.
If not, strategically retreat; if so, fight enemies stronger than himself.