After kicking the man for revenge, Kael quickly left the area and regrouped with his parents.
During a scavenging hunt, getting fixated on a single target for too long was a bad idea.
If you get what you want, retreat.
If you failed, try retrieving it; if you succeed, retreat. If you still fail, then retreat and find another target.
Almost every scavenger knows this rule, and those who don't know it yet will know it soon enough.
Just like he anticipated, the man that set the same target as him did not pursue him any further and instead found another target to lock on.
Having obtained his preliminary target, Kael quickly regrouped with his parents.
Since he targeted the farthest dump truck, his father, mother, and the little gremlin have already returned before him.
Glancing down, Kael saw the solid trash bags they had obtained.
His father, Garet, the one who had the most experience, brought two solid bags directly.
His mother, Rufia, on the other hand, only brought a small trash bag, but it looked clean and not crumpled. It was possible that the trash came from a wealthy person. No matter what it was inside, it should be something valuable.
What the little gremlin, Mila, obtained was pretty straightforward. It was a broken cell phone that looked entirely damaged. However, if sold to the right person, it should still fetch a good price for something already broken.
Looking back at the dumping site, those who were not able to secure the 'good' trash were still rummaging to get what was left behind.
Friday was the most lively and chaotic time at the dumping site.
Since they obtained good 'trash' already, they had no plans on staying here for long as it might attract unwanted attention and they might get targeted for what they had obtained.
As for the other remaining valuable trashes, Kael and his family did not plan on rummaging for them, at least not for now that the place was still very chaotic.
They did not inspect what they got, and instead, the family of four quickly left the dumping site and safely returned to their small home.
The moment they arrived, they quickly took out and inspected what they had obtained from the dumping site.
Of course, as scavengers, they don't expect something crazy like a real stack of money or real gold.
From time to time, they get some money or gold accessories, but that does not happen often, and it could be considered a jackpot.
The real valuable thing in their 'profession,' though, was probably damaged electronics or even appliances.
As a whole, they might not function, but broken into parts and sold to the right person, they could still fetch a decent price.
This was one of the reasons why scavengers like them would often look for something solid in their first target, as those trash bags mostly contained broken electronics or appliances.
The scavenger's situation was truly the embodiment of the saying, "One man's trash is another one's treasure!"
One of the trash bags his father obtained contained a broken portable fan and some dirty linen. Dusting it off, his father surmised that only its blades were broken, and if they could find blades that suited it, the fan would surely work again.
As expected of wealthy people. A fan with just a broken blade was discarded directly. They must have bought an entirely new fan already.
Something like this could be sold for five to seven dollars, barely enough to last them for one or two days.
The other bag did not contain much value, only adding up to five dollars at most.
His mother's trash bag contained an old rice cooker unit. Although it looked functional, it did not come along with the inner pan. Its value would be higher than the portable fan, but searching for the right buyer would be hard for it.
Kael's eyes lit up upon recalling something.
"Where is the aluminum pan Mila found a week ago? Maybe it'll fit?"
It was during the last scavenging hunt that Mila found that aluminum pan. She even used the aluminum pan as her helmet for a few days before she got bored of it.
"No, blo, that my pan!" Mila protested, even raising her small fist toward Kael as if as a threat.
Kael chuckled.
"Don't worry, we're just going to test it. You got bored with it already anyway."
Mila pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"How about I buy you a lollipop in exchange?"
This little gremlin was still wet on her pants and didn't know the concept of bribes.
Upon hearing the word lollipop, her eyes immediately lit up in joy. "Leally? Plomise?"
'Easy!'
"Yeah, really!"
"Awlight!" Mila chuckled and immediately sprinted off to fetch the aluminum pan herself.
After she came, Kael tried to fit the aluminum to the rice cooker unit, but unfortunately, it didn't fit.
Seeing that, Mila began to worry. She looked at Kael with a pitiful expression and pleaded, "Blo, you plomise!"
Kael nodded, "Don't worry, I got it!"
"Yayy!"
Mila cheered and took the aluminum pan and used it as a helmet.
His mother picked Mila up as she began to skip around playfully.
Although it was unfortunate that the pan and the cooker did not fit, it did not mean that the cooker unit could no longer be used.
For instance, with a bit of refurbishing, the pan could still fit to the cooker, and it could still function normally. Kael planned to do just that so that they could use it for themselves.
After he shared the idea with his father, his father nodded and approved of it.
"If it fits, make sure to inform the Ardens," his mother reminded gently.
Kael nodded his head.
The Ardens were their neighbors and could be said to be their benefactor.
The small house they were in right now was rented from the Ardens for a very low and affordable price. Their electricity was actually free of charge, but grateful to the Ardens, Kael and his family would do some cleaning to their backyard every now and then as a form of payment.
If the rice cooker got fixed, informing the Ardens about their new appliance was only a given.
Kael then proceeded to check the trash bag that he obtained.
With the gains of his father, mother, and even Mila, he could not help but anticipate what he got as well.
Earlier, it felt heavy and durable. He just knew that there must be something good inside of it.
From the looks of it, there were a lot of items inside the trash bag as well.
Pouring them directly to the ground, an array of items directly presented themselves in front of him.
A casual look, and Kael saw some anime cards encased within some broken acrylic storage cases.
Aside from that, there were also jumbled and broken wires.
Encased with the messy wires was a white rectangular box.
Taking it out, Kael opened it casually and was surprised to see that it was actually a Virtual Dive Gear.
It was a Neuro Dive—the very first model of all Virtual Dive Gears—to be precise.
Virtual Dive Gears were very expensive. Even the most outdated version, the Neuro Dive, was something he and his family could not afford.
Seeing one in person, even his father could not help but grow excited.
The Neuro Dive looked like overly thick sunglasses with a rubber strap attached to it for the head.
Virtual Dive Gears came in a variety of colors, but this one was white.
At the side of the glasses was a thick wire.
Kael took a quick glance at the end of it and realized that it was the Neuro Dive's plug.
Turning it around, Kael inspected it for obvious damage signs but could not find any.
Even if it no longer works, the parts inside of it could still be sold for a high price.
After all, all Virtual Dive Gears were made with sophisticated and highly advanced technology.
"Should we try it?" Kael asked his parent's opinion after some hesitation.
From what he recalled, a brand new Neuro Dive can cost up to $20,000. For a second-hand Neuro Dive, the price would not go lower than $15,000.
It did not look damaged, so he was afraid of damaging it if he tried to plug it.
Even his usually decisive father hesitated after hearing his question. His mother was also a little nervous.
Obtaining the Neuro Dive itself could already be considered a jackpot for their poor family. Even if it doesn't work, selling it for $1000 should not be a problem, and the price might even go up to $5000 if they pitch it well.
For them, even $100 was already a lot; how much more a thousand.
This was potential money, and it might be ruined if they accidentally damaged it while trying.
Kael did not act hastily and eagerly waited for his parent's decision.
Seeing the eager look on Kael's face, his mother took a quick look at his father and finally nodded her head in affirmation.
"Okay. But just for a bit. I heard that Virtual Dive Gears can consume a lot of electricity. Let's not take advantage of the Ardens any further, shall we?"
Hearing that, Kael nodded his head.
Anticipation was apparent on his face as he crawled and plugged the Virtual Dive Gear into the outlet.
The moment he did so, neon lights immediately lit up around the corners of the Neuro Dive.
This was the first time that the family had seen such an advanced gadget up close, so all of them were enamored by the neon lights, especially Mila, who was desperately crawling toward the lights as if a moth was attracted to fire.
Fortunately, his mother was there to stop the little gremlin from her advances.
"It seems to be working properly!"
Kael looked at his parents in anticipation.
Seeing that, his mother sighed and said, "Alright. But go to the Arden's and obtain their permission first. You also need to connect it to the internet, and only they have it."
Kael clenched his fist in excitement upon hearing that.
Without hesitation, he unplugged the Neuro Dive and sprinted out of their small house.
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A/N: Please support my story by adding it to your library and voting for powerstones.
Release schedule is 1-2 chapters per day, more if the novel gets popular.