Chapter 66: New Magical Use of the Bracelet

Chapter 66: Chapter 66: New Magical Use of the Bracelet

She reached her hand out to the kitten, terrified of startling it. Her voice was incredibly gentle. "Do you need me to help you down?"

"MEOW!" The kitten cried out, took two wary steps back, and leaped from the first-floor windowsill, its paws going PATTER PATTER as it ran off. It was clearly a very smart cat, fleeing in the opposite direction of the chasing tomcat.

Yun Zhen marveled once again. She wondered how there could be such a clever kitten. Regardless of whether it could hear her or not, she murmured, "I hope you can find your way home."

A pampered pet wandering outside alone would not only have to brave the elements but also suffer beatings from its own kind. Besides, with the weather being so freezing, it wouldn’t survive for more than a few days.

Yun Zhen arrived at the classroom early to review yesterday’s coursework. Today, they were still watching the character animation of *Doraemon*. She thought about how smart the people in this world were to enhance students’ knowledge in such an entertaining way. Watching the little figures jumping and bouncing across the canvas, she didn’t feel the slightest bit tired or sleepy.

After class, she grabbed her mesh bag and went to collect scrap. Chen San was sitting in a chair, leaning back with his legs crossed and his arms folded, basking in the sun.

"Hello, Uncle Chen," Yun Zhen greeted him.

Chen San nodded and shared some good news with her. "Hello to you too. Go on in. Someone is moving today, and I saw them bring down a lot of things and leave them next to the trash cans instead of throwing them inside. It’s obvious they’re usable items meant for someone to pick up. You might just score some good stuff today."

Yun Zhen felt a burst of joy upon hearing this. The people in this world were so generous; they would toss sellable cardboard boxes and colored cans straight into the trash. If they left things out because they considered them still usable, those items were definitely priceless treasures. She couldn’t wait to get in there and hunt for bargains.

"Uncle Chen, I’m going to go in and take a look right now."

Chen San opened the side door for her, and Yun Zhen hurried over to the trash cans with her mesh bag. The cardboard boxes, colored cans, and transparent bottles could wait until later—no one was going to fight her for them anyway. In front of the trash cans, a chaotic assortment of items was spread across the ground like a flea market stall. She quickly squatted down to rummage through the pile.

There was an iron pot the size of an adult’s head. Next to it sat a bulging bag stuffed full of clean bedding. There were also three pairs of slip-on shoes with exposed insteps; their material was similar to the cotton shoes she had bought, smooth and shiny as snakeskin. The shoes had a unique style and bright colors, with sparkling Shitous decorating the vamps.

Inside a large, round bag, a fragrant scent hit her as soon as she opened it. Unbelievably, it contained clothes without a single tear or hole! There were garments for both summer and winter in vibrant colors, smooth and soft to the touch. Yun Zhen couldn’t recognize the fabric. She wondered if it was the legendary silk. Unfortunately, she could only tell the difference between coarse linen and fine cotton.

"Such lovely clothes, and they just threw them away," she murmured, thinking the owner was far too extravagant. However, she also felt a stroke of luck, realizing she was the one benefiting from it. Thrilled to pieces by her good fortune, Yun Zhen’s heart bloomed with joy.

She turned to rummage through a cardboard box nearby that looked brand new. "WOW!" Inside were beautiful bags. She pulled them out and counted them; there were exactly six. Three were large: one black and one white made of fine cotton, plus a stiff, bulky green bag made of some unknown fabric. The three smaller ones were all made of a snakeskin-like material. The only difference was that one had a slightly gritty, matte texture and felt a bit softer. The other two were so glossy they could serve as bronze mirrors, clearly reflecting a person’s silhouette, and were slippery to the touch. She was going to take them all back!

Aside from that, she found another box containing bamboo baskets and porcelain dishes, a pile of clean chopsticks sealed in a transparent bag, half a packet of refined salt, two unopened packets of spices, a bottle of thick liquid that smelled richly of oil, a kitchen knife, a wooden cutting board, several clear plastic boxes, and two palm-sized pieces of cloth.

Yun Zhen covered her mouth. She felt like a kid in a candy store. She was so overjoyed she wanted to roll around on the ground right then and there! Looking up, she spotted a long bench padded with thick cotton. Yun Zhen sat down on it; the cushion beneath her was incredibly soft and comfortable.

There was also a table with four foldable legs. When the legs were pulled out, the table would stand upright; when folded away, it became a flat wooden board. It was similar to the bed-table she had previously gotten from Sister Huang, just slightly larger. Beside the table stood a solid wood cabinet taller than her. The cabinet could be opened from both sides, and in the center was a massive mirror that offered a crystal-clear reflection from head to toe.

Yun Zhen had already realized that the mirrors in this world were far clearer than the bronze mirrors from her own, and she assumed they must be extremely expensive. Because of this, she had never considered buying one to take back. She never expected such a fantastic surprise to just drop into her lap. A crystal mirror this massive would definitely cost a fortune! And she just found it?

Yun Zhen felt a bit surreal. Gazing at the pile of priceless treasures, she felt slightly distressed. "How am I supposed to take all these good things back? Should I leave them with Uncle Chen for now?"

She was practically scratching her head in frantic anxiety. She still had to go to work, and these treasures weren’t small trinkets; she couldn’t exactly just stuff them into her pockets. She didn’t know the maximum number of times she could travel between the worlds in a single day. She had only tested traveling back and forth four times. If she took these treasures home and couldn’t travel back here, what would she do? She still had a job to do. She couldn’t afford to take that gamble!

Yet, giving up all this wonderful stuff was entirely out of the question. She thought of the character animation Mr. Gao had been showing them over the past two days. Doraemon had a pocket on his belly from which he could pull out anything he wanted. When she first saw it, she had even asked Mr. Gao if such a magical pocket truly existed in the world.

Mr. Gao had answered no. At this moment, however, she desperately wished she had a Doraemon pocket of her own to fit all these treasures inside.

"Huh?" Suddenly, her palm grew searing hot, and a gentle beam of white light enveloped her entire hand. It was the red mole—the one formed by the bracelet—burning up! She remembered that the last time the red mole grew hot, it had brought her to this world for the second time. Was she about to be sent back?

SWISH!

Yun Zhen’s attention had been entirely focused on the red mole in her palm. When she looked up, she realized the things on the ground were gone. What had just happened? Then, her forehead grew warm, and in a daze, she felt something merge with her body. She saw a vast expanse of white emptiness! Surrounded by thick mist, she could only clearly make out a clearing in the very center.

Sitting right in the middle of that clearing were all the treasures she had been agonizing over how to take back! The iron pot, bedding, shoes, bags, clothes, cotton-padded bench, foldable table, and mirrored cabinet. Everything she had touched was there.

Yun Zhen was utterly stunned! She wasn’t seeing things in front of her, behind her, or above or below her. It was as if she was seeing something inside her own mind. Why was there a vast expanse of white space inside her head? She grew anxious, wondering, "Did these things go inside my head? How am I supposed to take them out?"

As soon as she spoke, the items that had been on the ground were restored to their original spots. Yun Zhen blanked for a second. Had she seen wrong? They were clearly gone just a moment ago. Then, a flash of inspiration hit her! Could it be that she had acquired a pocket just like Doraemon’s, only instead of being on her belly, her pocket was inside her head?

Perplexed, she asked, "How do I put the things back into my head?"

WHOOSH! The things she had touched on the ground vanished once again. They all went straight into her head. She could feel it clearly! The pile of items was sitting securely in that vast white clearing.

After repeating the cycle a few times, Yun Zhen was ecstatic. She was absolutely certain now—she had a pocket just like Doraemon’s! The pocket was in her mind, and she could store or take out items at will. It likely had something to do with the tiny, smooth red mole on her palm. Didn’t that mean this was a marvelous new use for the bracelet?