Chapter 35: Repair Charcoal (1/2)

Chapter 35: Repair Charcoal

Translator: OneshotwonderEditor: Tehrn

”Are you sure?” Samantha's stern eyes lit up.

Wang Tong did not waiver, and he acted as if he didn't notice her interrogating stare. ”Principal, they say only diamond cuts diamond. At my current state, I am not sure how much use I can be. But once I have learned more, I will strive to earn more honors for our school; you have my words!”

Seeing that Wang Tong was unwavering, Samantha relented, ”You are right, let's leave it for now, maybe we can discuss it later.”

”Sounds good. Is there anything else?”

Samantha shook her head as she watched Wang Tong set off. The youngest principal in the entire Confederation had tasted defeat for the first time.

”You are dead, Wang Tong,” Samantha thought to herself bitterly.

Without looking, Wang Tong could feel Samantha's chilling stare landed on the back of his neck. His hair stood on ends. He wouldn't have to confront Samantha if she hadn't have tried to force him into the limelight again.

The tournament was a waste of time for rich princes and princesses: flaunt and unpractical. Wang Tong's focus was on the Tactics of the Blade and TPA. The latter was not only a great place for sparring, but it also allowed Wang Tong to do so anonymously.

The monthly test was over, and Wang Tong had left the results to fate. He figured that it was about time to start reviving Charcoal. The astronomical price tag had pretty much ruled out the major department stores and outlets, leaving Wang Tong to try his luck at dingy shops that scattered about in the darkest corners of the city.

Wang Tong had frequented these shops ever since he was little, usually being led by the sleazy Old Fart. Despite the occasional skirmish with the law, these squalid shops had always strived to satisfy the needs of their customers.

As Wang Tong searched every corner of the city, he stumbled upon a grocery store that he had frequented with Old Fart years ago. Disguised as an ordinary grocery store, the owner's supply was far more diverse than a grocery store should be.

The owner was an old man, older even than Old Fart. He wore a pair of ancient and heavy far-sighted glasses on his face like wearing a badge that honored his old, albeit stubborn, ways.

”Little Tong Tong, long time no see!” The old man smiled, revealing a row of crooked yellow teeth. Some teeth were missing, leaving only a dark hole gaping toward Wang Tong.

”Old Bonehead, do you think you can fix this for me?”

Old Bonehead studied Charcoal's mainframe for a moment and replied, ”The C model, it was discontinued a while ago, it’s a bugger to fix you know.”

Feeling that he was about to arrive at another dead end, Wang Tong quickly digressed, ”It doesn't have to be the same replica, as long as it works.”

”If that's the case, I can give it a try. I have a lower tier cleaning robot that's just lying around collecting dust; I can use it for parts.”

Old Bonehead was referring to an ancient floor-cleaning machine that was three feet tall. It lacked the joints that Charcoal had and therefore would be even clumsier than the C models.

“A robot even clumsier than Charcoal...” the thought made Wang Tong cringed. But considering that this might be Charcoal's only chance of being revived, Wang Tong had to compromise. ”How much?” he asked.

”You have been my loyal customer, so I am just going to be honest. The parts are not expensive, but the labor is. Say I will give you 20 percent off that will be thirteen thousand, omitting the extra three grand for the sake of a smooth transaction, and I will throw another twenty percent off on top of that, the final price would be eight grand. Just the labor would cost that much; you are practically getting the parts for free.”

Wang Tong shook his head and extended only two fingers.

Old Bonehead was flustered after being low-balled by Wang Tong. ”No way!” he yelled out and extended all five fingers at Wang Tong.

Seeing that Old Bonehead had quickly slashed three grand off the original offer, Wang Tong was confident to haggle even further. He shook his head and said, ”Twenty-eight hundred; a discount for my kindred.[1] That's all I have; you know how poor I am, I really can't afford anymore.”