The next day, before leaving with her suitcase, Song Shi first searched the rental platform on her wristband for a suitable monthly rental.
The first requirement was that the rent had to be affordable. She only had a little over 30,000, so saving as much as possible was essential.
Secondly, the place needed to be as close as possible to Renxi High School, where she attended.
After entering her requirements, the platform displayed a list of rental options.
What caught Song Shi’s eye immediately were the bold red numbers after each listing, indicating the monthly rent.
20,009 Federation coins, 19,999 Federation coins, 30,000 Federation coins...
Song Shi: ... Now she had a rough idea of how much value her mother’s 30,000 really had.
She added another filter: Monthly rent less than or equal to 10,000 Federation coins.
After the new filter, only four listings remained.
Song Shi decided to visit each one.
Dragging her suitcase, she opened the door to the living room, which was empty.
Glancing at the two tightly shut bedroom doors, she recalled how she had woken up very early and hadn't heard anyone leave. The others were still in their rooms.
They didn’t want to see her.
Song Shi didn’t care. She picked up her suitcase and left.
After dragging her suitcase down seven flights of stairs, Song Shi didn’t break a sweat.
She ran into an elderly woman coming back with soy milk and fried dough sticks.
The woman’s eyes scanned her from head to toe, then lingered on her suitcase before she discreetly rolled her eyes and brushed past her into the building.
Song Shi ignored her, continuing toward the community exit with her suitcase.
She passed by several people, all of whom glanced sideways at her, especially at her suitcase, with looks of reassurance on their faces.
Song Shi hadn’t realized her presence in this neighborhood had such an impact. She quickened her pace to leave.
The first rental she had chosen was only 2,000 meters from this neighborhood, so Song Shi decided to walk.
She deliberately wanted to work on her physical endurance, lifting her suitcase as she moved swiftly toward her destination.
Fifteen minutes later, Song Shi stood at the door of the first rental with the landlord.
The apartment was 25 square meters, with small divided sections for different areas. However, it was fully furnished, move-in ready, and only 4,000 meters from her school. The rent was 8,999 per month.
This was the largest and best-equipped of the four apartments she had shortlisted. If it matched its description, she wouldn’t need to waste time looking at the others.
"Are you renting, little girl?" The landlord, a middle-aged man with a fat face, leaned against the doorframe, picking dirt from his fingernails and whistling at her.
Song Shi made up her mind.
"I’ll rent it."
"OK~" The man tapped a few times on his wristband, and a scanning beam shot out from a small hole on its side.
"Place your device here."
So this thing is called a device, Song Shi thought.
She complied, placing her device on the scanner.
A ding sounded from the landlord's wristband, indicating the scan was complete. Then she noticed the landlord’s face turn red as he stared at the display.
Not the type of red that comes from heat or embarrassment, but from the red glow of the screen.
"You...you, you!" His voice suddenly rose, and he repeatedly looked up at her and back at the screen.
"You’re actually..."
Song Shi stood obediently behind her suitcase, gripping the handle, blinking in confusion.
"I’m not renting it anymore!" He dropped his hand, slamming the half-open door shut with a click.
"Why?!" Song Shi, now agitated, protested.
The man grew impatient.
"Someone just offered three times the price you did. Highest bidder wins. Please leave."
"I reserved this first!" Song Shi argued. In her previous life, she had rented apartments before and had never seen such a breach of contract.
"That’s not how things work here." The landlord waved her off dismissively, effectively evicting her.
"There are plenty of rentals in the area. Go find another one."
Song Shi clenched her teeth, forced to drag her suitcase to the next rental.
But the same thing happened again.
After scanning her device, the landlord claimed there was a problem with the water system and that the apartment was temporarily unavailable, suggesting she look elsewhere.
Song Shi vaguely guessed the reason.
She carried the genes of the berserker type. The residents of her old neighborhood couldn’t tolerate her, and the same was true for people in other places.
She originally thought that by moving elsewhere, keeping a low profile, and staying anonymous, no one would know she had a high probability of berserker differentiation.
However, she hadn’t anticipated that a simple scan of her device would reveal all of her differentiation information.
The so-called someone offered three times the rent and the water system has issues were just excuses from the landlords.
Understanding this, Song Shi proceeded to the third apartment.
The process of viewing the apartment was the same as before. This unit had a monthly rent of 7,600, only 15 square meters, located on the basement level, with no windows, no living room, just a narrow one-bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom.
When she expressed her intention to rent the place, the landlord, unsurprisingly, requested to scan her device.
Song Shi remained still.
“I’ll transfer half the rent at the beginning of each month and the other half in the middle. No contract.”
The landlord gave her a once-over. Typically, those who refused to sign contracts had something to hide.
"That’s doable, but the price..."
"9,000 a month." Song Shi offered.
"10,000."
"Deal." Song Shi had intentionally left room for negotiation, expecting to give the landlord an extra 1,000.
The landlord’s curly hair bounced slightly as she laughed, clearly pleased with the price.
She opened her device, “Let me scan yours.”
Seeing Song Shi’s wary expression, she explained, “I’m not signing a contract, just processing the payment.”
Only then did Song Shi reach out her hand.
She thought everything was settled.
But!
“I’m not renting this place anymore. I’ve got something to take care of. I’m leaving now.” The landlord, with her large frame, began squeezing toward the stairs.
Song Shi, unable to tolerate it any longer, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.
“Why? I can pay more!”
As soon as Song Shi’s hand touched her arm, the woman’s body jolted, and the fat on her face quivered.
Song Shi, startled by the reaction, quickly let go.
The woman could no longer control her legs, collapsing weakly at the stairwell.
“What are you doing? There’s surveillance here!” She stammered.
Song Shi glanced in the direction the woman pointed and withdrew the hand she had intended to offer for help.
“Calm down. I just want to know why.” She hadn’t signed a contract, so how did the landlord know about her differentiation?
Seeing Song Shi pull back, the woman seemed to calm down a bit and shakily opened her device to public mode.
First, Song Shi saw a payment page, then noticed that next to her profile picture was a bracketed label: High-Risk Individual.
Song · High-Risk Individual · Shi: ...
What’s wrong with this world? Is there no regard for basic rights? At this rate, even someone who wasn’t dangerous would be forced into desperation.
While Song Shi was hanging her head in frustration, the woman took the opportunity to get up and attempt another escape.
Song Shi called out, “I’m leaving now. You don’t need to run.”
If she fell, she’d better not blame Song Shi for it.
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