After tasting the thing he had made, Adrian looked at little Levi in front of him.

"Here! Give it a try, it's ready," Adrian handed Levi a small brown object.

"Mhm", Levi accepted what Adrian offered and placed it in his mouth.

"Oh my God! This is incredibly sweet."

"How did you manage it, boss?"

The sweetness lingering in Levi's mouth lit up his eyes.

He hadn't anticipated Adrian actually being able to produce sugar from wheat.

What Adrian had made was maltose.

In the underground, and even throughout the entire above-ground enclosure, items like sugar were incredibly luxurious.

It was also the most profitable item he could currently produce.

That's why he had purchased two bags of husked wheat, solely to prepare maltose.

As he gazed at the small amount of syrup in the barrel, a faint smile crept onto his face.

He had been elated the first time he successfully created it.

Shortly after, Adrian poured the syrup into several small wooden molds.

"Your shoes are worn out too?"

Adrian finished packaging all the sticky maltose and felt drained.

He sat down on a chair and suddenly noticed Levi's foot with a prominent toe.

Hearing Adrian's remark, Levi's eyes flickered as he tidied up the room, lowering his head to wipe the floor, and responded with a smile:

"I can still manage with these."

"I'll fix them up later using the method my older brother taught me," Levi said with a small smile.

Adrian didn't press further.

He glanced around the cramped and dimly lit room, observing Levi's calloused big toe, with a small determination forming within him.

He believed that one day, he could lead Levi out of the underground and into a brighter place.

Speaking of which, he himself had yet to see the sun.

Three days later...

Adrian was walking slowly on the street, wearing a pair of newly purchased leather shoes.

He also carried another pair of smaller shoes.

Despite the unattractive appearance of the shoes made by the old man Coric in the underground street, they were remarkably comfortable.

Feeling the long-lost warmth and comfort on his feet, Adrian couldn't help but feel a twinge of happiness.

For the first time in many years, he wore such comfortable shoes.

Previous shoes either leaked or failed to provide insulation.

Most of the time, he had been barefoot.

Pushing open the door, Adrian spotted Levi helping to boil sugar.

"Oh! Welcome back, big brother." Levi's face brightened. "Today, I caught a little girl snooping around."

Seeing Adrian return with stuff, Levi rushed over to assist him with his belongings.

As he took several items from Adrian's hands, he recounted what had happened to him that day.

"Look! Here are boots made for you. Hehe! Try them on and see if they fit."

Adrian handed the boots to Levi, paying little heed to the sneaky little girl Levi had mentioned.

Several individuals who had spied on him like that had met their demise in the past year.

He had exchanged a piece of candy for 2 steel coins from the Old man Acker of the shop.

And the wheat he had purchased for ten steel coins earlier had yielded fifty pieces of candy.

He quickly earned nearly ten times the profit.

However, he refrained from selling the remaining sugar in the underground street; it was too risky.

Even to that Old man, he claimed that his candies were a gift from Levi's uncle.

With ten steel coins in hand, he changed into his cleanest attire.

For the price of five steel coins, he obtained permission to venture out to the underground shopping mall.

The passage from the underground street to the surface was monopolized by underground merchants.

Anyone entering or exiting the underground shopping mall had to pay tolls.

With fifty candies on his person, Adrian ventured into the outside world for the first time and beheld the sun for the first time.

He had wanted to explore the outside world before, but Adrian hadn't considered his scant funds at the time.

He had shelved that extravagant idea, but now, with something to rely on, he stepped out of the underground street.

Yet Adrian didn't linger in Wangdu for too long.

He returned to the underground mall shortly after selling his candy.

In Wangdu, his candy fetched the highest price of a copper coin.

That amounted to ten steel coins.

He hadn't sold all forty-nine pieces of candy in one place; Adrian had changed locations almost a dozen times.

Adrian realized the enormity of his sugar profits.

Nearly fifty times the profit.

Thus, he needed to tread cautiously, at least until he was strong enough; he had to approach things with care.

This world was too perilous.

"Thank you, big brother."

Levi held the new boots that Adrian had bought for him, a hint of reluctance in his expression.

He knew that such boots would suffice as food for at least two of them for a week before they could be exchanged.

Adrian found it amusing to watch Levi's reactions.

"Here!"

"This is the money we earned this time."

"Just buy new ones when they wear out."

After purchasing shoes and some food, Adrian had 460 steel coins remaining.

He tossed a steel coin, the clatter echoing on the ground.

"Is this real?"

"So much money, big brother, you're incredible."

Levi opened the bag and gazed at the steel coins inside, disbelief evident on his face.

After all, just three days ago, they had been worrying about food.

Yet now, Adrian had earned so much money in just a few days.

This bag of steel coins, if exchanged for the most basic food, would sustain them for several years.

"Look at this, what do you think?"

Adrian retrieved a small paper package from his pocket and unwrapped it.

Almost immediately, a tantalizing aroma wafted through the air.

"It's meat, actual meat, this..."

Levi stared at the meat Adrian placed in his hand, overwhelmed.

The last time he had tasted meat was a year ago when his mother had passed away, and his uncle Kenny Ackerman had given it to him.

♦♦♦♦

P.S: Sad life...*cries in pain*