Chapter 3: Cen Junfei’s Mission Assignment in the Apocalypse

To sell something valuable at the highest price, an auction is the most suitable way.

Yun Zhi returned to her residence and approached the window with the best lighting. Carefully, she retrieved a stamp from her personal space.

She also held a flyer to hold the stamp so she wouldn’t touch it directly, as that could cause oxidation.

Soon, a vintage-looking nationwide “Red Rivers and Mountains” stamp appeared before her eyes.

Yun Zhi’s family was fairly well off, and while she didn’t know much about antique collecting, she had some basic knowledge.

What amazed her was that this stamp didn’t look like it had only been kept for four years—it seemed to have truly lived through more than half a century of history.

Beforehand, Yun Zhi had worried: if the stamp looked too new, how could she explain that?

She could guarantee its authenticity, but others might not believe her!

A stamp issued in 1968, looking as fresh as one stored for just a few years by 2024, would make anyone suspect it was a fake.

Professional appraisers could roughly determine the stamp’s age.

Now, seeing the stamp so well preserved yet with a strong sense of history, Yun Zhi felt temporarily reassured.

She placed the flyer on the windowsill, chose a plain background, took several photos, and sent them to Tao Qi.

Tao Qi was speechless for a moment. For a rare stamp worth millions or even tens of millions, didn’t it deserve at least a proper album?

Besides, just from photos, it was impossible to verify authenticity. All he could confirm was that Yun Zhi indeed had such a stamp, and it appeared to be in excellent condition.

Tao Qi quickly replied, “I’ll contact two experts in this field first. When the time comes, bring the stamp over for a professional appraisal.”

“Oh, and make sure to get a stamp album! If you really can’t afford one, just keep it in an envelope—anything but wrapped in a milk tea shop flyer, that’s just embarrassing.”

Yun Zhi responded, “Okay, thanks, Boss Tao! Could you possibly advance the appraisal fee for me? I’ll repay it with the commission later.”

Tao Qi knew Yun Zhi’s situation well—she was truly too poor even to cover the appraisal fee. He replied simply, “Sure.”

As long as the stamp was genuine, he had no fear she would shortchange him on the fee.

But if the stamp turned out fake…

He wouldn’t push a young girl to despair over a little money.

Tao Qi thought that if it was fake, he might ask her if she wanted to work at his pawnshop. The base salary wasn’t high, but the commission was decent, and room and board were included.

He couldn’t just stand by and watch her fall into ruin.

Since stamps were small and easy to dirty or lose, Yun Zhi had initially planned to wrap it in the flyer but remembered Tao Qi’s advice. Instead, she went to the drawer where she stored important documents, found an old envelope, and placed the stamp inside.

After confirming that she could really retrieve and store items in her personal space with just her mind, Yun Zhi packed all her important belongings in bags and placed them there.

These included personal identification documents and family photo albums.

Just to be safe, she also stored a change of clothes, shoes, some bread, and drinking water in her personal space.

The space was vast enough to hold everything, with time standing still inside. Storing food there was even more convenient than a refrigerator.

After finishing all that, Yun Zhi started her computer. While there were no more orders for writing papers, she still had a part-time job as an online commentator.

At that moment, she had a task helping a popular singer counter negative comments.

She didn’t accept jobs attacking others, fearing backlash if exposed.

The account was provided by the commentary company, and they gave a rough template and key points for what to post. Yun Zhi sent out the replies and took screenshots. Each comment earned five cents, with extra rewards for meaningful anti-black comments that received many likes.

Though the pay was small, every bit helped.

Yun Zhi switched between dozens of Weibo accounts, engaging in fierce battles with internet trolls—hundreds of rounds of fiery exchanges.

Although, aside from a small number of genuine haters, most of the opposition was likely paid trolls themselves...

Making money was tough!

Meanwhile, her computer’s WeChat was open to receive new instructions from the commentary group leader at any time.

A new message popped up, and Yun Zhi thought it was another order. She sent off a reply to a troll and switched to the WeChat interface.

It turned out to be a pinned message from the “Time Traveler Chat Group.”

In fact, the group had been chatting for quite a while.

The chat group had notifications muted by default, but someone had @mentioned her, prompting an alert.

Tang Panpan, who had traveled back to the 1970s, was currently tending pig grass while leisurely browsing the chat group.

Her “Time Traveler Chat Group” didn’t appear as a typical WeChat group but was bound to her soul. By silently invoking it, a translucent light screen appeared before her eyes.

Only she could see it; no one else.

The light screen showed just one chat group, nothing else. It had mostly been used for casual chats to pass the time.

But now was different! Yun Zhi from Earth had joined the group!

Tang Panpan knew Yun Zhi was in urgent need of money. Cashing in that stamp wouldn’t be easy and would require time and effort.

So, she advertised Yun Zhi’s services in the group, pitching them to Cen Junfei, who was even more desperate for various daily supplies.

Seventies Time Travel Novel—Tang Panpan: “@Cen Junfei, after Yun Zhi privately messages me, I can assign her purchasing tasks. [Task page screenshot]”

“Yun Zhi doesn’t have much money right now and will need time to convert what I gave her into cash before she can buy supplies for me.”

“Xiao Fei, want to try it too? I thought of you first! After all, we’re half-siblings!”

Tang Panpan and Cen Junfei got along best because they both loved chatting in the group.

The apocalypse wasn’t always filled with zombies to kill, and Cen Junfei hadn’t awakened any powers. He only pretended to be a storage-type power user thanks to the personal space linked to the chat group, with a combat strength of only five.

Fortunately, storage-type powers were crucial, making it much easier to collect, transfer, and store supplies. The survivor base never assigned Cen Junfei to dangerous missions. When gathering supplies, he was protected by several highly skilled power users.

When idle, Cen Junfei chatted with Tang Panpan in the group. They were close in age and both transported to a world where basic needs were hard to meet, giving them plenty of common ground to bond over.

Disaster Apocalypse—Cen Junfei: “Sister Panpan, really? How does it work exactly? I’m missing everything here! I want Yun Zhi’s help with purchasing too!”

Tang Panpan explained the process: it wasn’t complicated. Yun Zhi had to message him privately, then click the task assignment button on the chat page to post shopping requests.

However, Tang Panpan advised Cen Junfei not to rush to contact Yun Zhi yet, and gave some important notes.

For example, first prepare a clear list of what to buy.

Most importantly, have the money ready!

Besides the capital needed to buy supplies, Yun Zhi deserved a tip. Cross-dimensional purchasing was a rare service!

If there was no benefit or the tip was too small, why would Yun Zhi bother?

Cen Junfei understood that no one worked for free.

Gold, silver, and jewels were worth less than bread in the apocalypse, but many still collected them out of habit.

Maybe someday, when society was restored, these items would regain their value.

Most people collected only a small amount since carrying too much was inconvenient, but Cen Junfei had personal space, so it was different for him.

He lamented, “I figured gold, jewels, and jade were useless in the apocalypse and took up space, so I only collected a basin full! Can I use this as payment?”

Cen Junfei added, “@Yun Zhi, sister, please message me when you’re free!”

“I’m in my third year of the apocalypse here. Food produced before the apocalypse expired long ago. I’m most in need of rice, meat, vegetables, and fruits. You decide what to buy, Yun Zhi.”

“Jewelry and jade are not easy to convert, so just prepare supplies worth half the value of the gold. Consider the rest the service fee.”

Reading the chat logs, Yun Zhi was stunned.

A basin of gold, jewels, and jade!!!

She instantly lost interest in her online commentary job. Being a keyboard warrior wasn’t as profitable as cross-dimensional shopping.

Yun Zhi sent Tang Panpan a private message with a blowing-kiss emoji, then popped into the group chat: “Got it, messaging you now! @Cen Junfei”

She then opened a chat with Cen Junfei.

Earth—Yun Zhi: “Boss Cen, your Earth-based purchasing agent, at your service!”

Wait, was that a bit too flattering? Then again, a basin full of gold and jewels was at stake!

As long as the money was good, she’d treat him like a king, even a deity.

Yun Zhi, broke as can be, thought so.

Disaster Apocalypse—Cen Junfei: “Yun Zhi, don’t be like that, it scares me! Just call me Xiao Fei!”

Cen Junfei wasted no time and found the task assignment feature, posting a [Request for Rice, Meat, Vegetables, and Fruits] task, paying the fee upfront through the physical item red envelope feature.

He set the task deadline for one week.

Yun Zhi immediately accepted the task.

Seconds later, looking at the basin of gold, jewels, and jade retrieved from her personal space, her beautiful apricot-colored eyes sparkled with golden light! ￥_￥

Ahhhh, the gold was real! The jewels and jade were all genuine!

This must be the legendary moment—money, money, money coming from all directions, from all worlds and dimensions!