In the end, he decides that he will try to convince someone to buy his mech. It didn’t cost any money and he already had a “Mech” to sell. He believed that with the right people he could sell it. probably.
First Jay changed his shirt, no one would bat an eye at a chrome he had but walking with his heart exposed didn’t feel safe for him. The fabric didn’t do much to protect it but it’s better than nothing. He also changed his radioactive pants to something nicer, trash pants. His appearance is no better than a beggar.
Still as comfy as ever. Let's get going.
Jay decides he has to visit the place in person if he calls in they are not going to answer him. Alex factory is his first stop. A mech manufacturer that has some reputation in the local area. They handle about 10% of the mech use in Zember. So they might take his trash. Jay arrives at the receptionist sitting in the middle of a room behind her table. The whole room is covered with well-maintained metal. It has a welcoming atmosphere suitable for greeting customers.
“Hello, are you lost?”
“Um..” Her question throws Jay off balance but he manages to recover “I’m here to sell a mech”
“Singular mech?” She asks with a high level of doubt in her voice.
“Yes,” Jay nods, “About a meter tall.” Jay uses a hand gesture to give a height scale.
“Do you have the spec or picture?” Jay could tell that she didn’t like him one bit. His desperate look and C class look kinda pathetic to her.
“I… don't,” Jay said “But I could describe it for you, it’s a bipedal mech with comfortable seats”
“Anything more specific?” her eyebrow pushed high.
“I can’t remember the specific specs…”
“Well, the only thing that got from this is that the mech you’re trying to sell is a pilot seat on legs.”
You ain't that far off. Jay thought inside
“Well it could be a good art piece to show what you could make with trash” Jay scrambled to find the right word to sell his piece.
“So it’s just a pilot seat with legs? Made with Trash!?” She facepalms “No wonder they call you clown class. Just do me a favor and don’t waste my time, OK?”
“Well, the mech….”
“We won’t buy it, just get out!”
Jay walks out feeling a bit discouraged. It could have gone worse but having them reject him right in his face still hurts.
I’m sorry [Couch with leg]
Jay didn’t let himself dwell on it since this wasn’t the only place he planned to sell his mech. He goes to another district by walking. The public transport would be much faster but he couldn’t afford it. A long walk takes him through the labyrinth that is the city. Jay couldn’t imagine how one would navigate through this without a smartwatch. The journey took him about 2 hours and he arrived at another mech manufacturer. This K.O. corp is known for its boxing mech. Jay entered the building through a sliding door and greeted a guy receptionist.
“This is not a place for C-class to walk in” The guy didn’t even look at Jay's face and only his rank. The rank is displayed to anyone that wishes to know through their smartwatch so it’s pretty easy to judge someone.
“I’m here to sell a mech”
“You?” The guy stops his game to take a glance at him and goes back to his game. “Don’t you have a better joke than this? If you make me laugh I’m willing to gibs you.”
“Well. it is a bipedal mech with a comfy pilot seat.. really comfy seats.”
“Anything more specific?”
“Well…” Jay thinks hard but anything more than this would just reveal that it’s just a chair with legs. “ It is made out of trash”
“HAHAHAHA” The guy burst out laughing upon hearing that phrase “Do you know where you are?”
“K.O Corp?”
“Yeah, and a mech that doesn’t even have a means to fight is useless here.” The guy said without much care, he was still half focused on his own game.
“Well, it could kick?” Jay didn’t give up.
“HaAhHAhA” the guy laughed even harder than before. “That's not better, from the sound of it, it's just a sofa that is attached with legs. You really want that money huh?”
“Some would be great, actually” Jay blurted out.
“Wow,” The guy seemed bewildered. “You really are a clown class. Tell you what, tap your smartwatch here, I’ll give you 200 and you can get out of my sight. Deal?”
Jay silently taps his watch on the counter and 200 gibs transfer into his bank account. Jay is shocked, he expects the guy to prank him.
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Now, get the hell out of here!”
Jay didn’t want to stay any longer either. He exited the room with a smile on his face. He didn’t make the sale but at least he wouldn’t have to worry about 2 meals. He looked at his clock and it was already past lunch.
7:21 DL
The clock runs on a Daylight and nightlight system. The Day has 22:30 hours and nights have another 22:30. So they will count the Day as Daylight and the night as Night Light. Usually, people would work a half day shift. from 1:00 DL to 9:00 DL then the switch out with another team in the other half from 12:00 DL to 20:00 DL. That’s a regular shift for a day working in an office. The same timetable could be applied to the night shift. So lunch is usually eaten at 7:00 DL,
Jay is right on time to have another nutrient bar before he goes to another place. Luckily the sale for the ORJ bar is still going on so he got a nice meal out of it. The next place to visit is an art museum. He plans to pitch it as an art piece as the system calls it.
For that, he needs to go down. A lot of poorer art museums should be there. He ordered a lift to the 5th floor. The journey down is uneventful but the moment he arrives at the fifth floor he finds someone being chased by the police. The deeper you go, the more desperate people get. And that's a common occurrence down here.
He walked through the corridor and felt a shiver down his spine. He just had a thought that he could be here if he didn’t get more money. The real big possibility.
Soon he arrives beside a cranky museum that displays scrappy art. They call themself Low art. Most of the items here are made on the lower floor, which is made by an amateur artist at best and a beggar with brush paint at worst.
To enter you have to pay an entrance fee of about 100 gibs per person. It’s not much but considering what people down here make, this is a luxury.
Jay stares at the entrance for a long time before the owner comes out and greets him.
“What do you want!?” the old guy said with an annoyed tone
“I’m here to sell a piece of art”
“Oh? What kind?” The owner seemed to be intrigued “I’ll buy anything you got if it looks arty enough”
“Anything?” Jay is a bit surprised that the Information on the Net is accurate. The guy would take anything.
“Nothing too expensive of course, I’d like to keep the low-cost theme,” The owner said, opening his smartwatch and showing Jay his inventory. The cheapest piece of art starts at around 200 Gibs and the highest goes for 1 K.
“I’d like to sell a mech made from trash, a vintage mech. How much could I get?”
“Do you have any pictures?”
“I don’t but it’s a couch with mech legs attached to it and you could only control it using 1 button” Jay changed his pitch this time, he thought it would appeal to the guy more.
“Sound like a real piece of shit” Jay felt a bit let down since the guy didn’t seem to like it “Luckily it belongs right here, I could give 1K flat”
“Deal!”
The enthusiasm from Jay makes the owner doubt. The old guy squished his eyelid and asked.
“Is it obtained through illegal means?”
“No, I don’t think so”
“Are you sure you have the mech?”
“Well, I could give it to you after you pay…” Jay grits his teeth, he doesn’t want that deal to fall apart. And the owner is onto him.
“Where is it?” the owner raises his voice, dead set on getting an answer “If you don’t answer me we don’t have a deal”
“..” Jay didn’t want to answer this question but he had no choice. “It’s in the junkyard”
“Holy stars! How are you going to get it here!?” The owner who got his confirmation felt like he caught a thief.
“Just sign a contract old man If I couldn't bring it here I could work for you or something”
“Look here you brat, you look fresh out of the junkyard, I doubt you have any Gibs so I couldn't get any money from you and I don’t need a slave to run my museum!”
“I need to sell this mech, please, I could pay you more if you buy this mech”
“How would you get more money?”
“...” I couldn’t exactly tell you that I have a super duper high tech system that is helping me, could I?
“Exactly! You got nothing! Get out of my shop you scammer!”
“Old man, I could sell you the mech for a hundred! See it as a donation to a poor soul. If you buy it now and I become a famous mech designer you could sell it for more!” Jay kneels and hugs the man's leg. This is his best chance at selling the mech and he would not let it slip away.
“Brah, you’re not gonna sell me the Galaxy here, quit dreaming and get off me.” The old man shakes his leg to get Jay off but his hand is firm. He survived the outside storm, no way he’s gonna get off that easily.
“Get off or I’m gonna call the police!”
“No, please buy the mech. I'm going to pay you 10 times that when I’m successful!” Jay is almost in tears, he’s gonna need every tactic he can muster.
“That’s it I’m….”
“What’s going on here?”
Another voice chimes in from the other side. Jay's head turns to a man with a charming suit. A tech suit to be exact. The difference is that a tech suit has all kinds of protective measures on them. Still, the person has to be wealthy to afford any of this.
“Mr. Zaud sorry for the innocence this is just a scammer…”
“I’m trying to sell an art piece! I made a mech art a while ago and This museum owner doesn’t seem to want it.”
“That's good then, what seems to be the problem here old Wessi?” Mr.Zaud turns his head to The owner.
“He tried to Scam me! Look, the kid came in and said that he got a mech in a junkyard with no picture! How could I buy it from him when he didn’t even have it in the first place!” Old Wessi explains the whole situation from his side. Mr. Zaud seems to believe the old man.
“I am not lying! I got a mech art piece in the junkyard!” Jay wouldn’t let it go, he really needed this sale.
“No one would….”
“Stop!” Zaud shouts with a commanding voice. Then he turned his head to Jay “Are you sure you got the mech art?”
“Yes!” Jay confidently said.
“Old Wessi will buy it for 10K and if you don’t have the goods You will be working to pay the debt, how’s that? Are you willing to take the bet?”
“....” Jay couldn't resist it, Even if this sounded like a trap “Yes”
“Fantastic” Zaud whipped out a digital contract and sent it to Jay “Sign this”
Jay wisely read the contract first before he signed. The term is very simple and the word couldn’t really be wiggle or bend, Jay decided to sign it.