Chapter 287 - 286: Jingtuan’s Hand-Speed Supermen

Chapter 287: Chapter 286: Jingtuan’s Hand-Speed Supermen

Shi Tiexin was up bright and early. Old Tang had helped him with the paperwork with remarkable speed, and by the time everything was settled, it was only around nine-thirty. After leaving the Jingtuan backyard at 9:30, Shi Tiexin started cruising the streets of the Upper City District on his bike.

Once his Basic Driving skill reached the Excellent level, a simple map function had automatically unlocked. However, he had to physically travel a route to record it. The more familiar he was with the roads and the more carefully he observed, the more precise and comprehensive his self-drawn map would become. Once Basic Driving reached the Perfect level, this mind-art could even automatically plan the optimal route, making it incredibly useful.

Apparently, there were specialized mapping mind-arts on the market that allowed users to directly load map data from the relevant associations or corporations. This way, one could obtain a relatively accurate mental map without having to travel the area in person.

But for one, he had no idea how expensive such a mind-art would be. For another, the built-in map function from his Driving skill was good enough for the simple task of food delivery. So, Shi Tiexin decided to familiarize himself with the terrain first.

The only job of a Jingtuan Outer Disciple was to deliver food.

When it came to food delivery, the most important locations were where the food was cooked and where it was eaten.

The places where food was cooked were relatively centralized, such as in major dining centers and on food streets.

The eating locations, however, varied. Lunch orders mostly went to business and industrial districts, catering to people working through the day who didn’t cook for themselves. Dinner orders, on the other hand, mostly went to residential areas and housing complexes, for people who didn’t feel like cooking after a long day of work.

Shi Tiexin started riding through the Upper City District, traveling down one street after another, his eyes carefully observing the restaurants, residential complexes, and landmarks on both sides of the road. An occasional notification would chime, and Shi Tiexin would spare a glance at his wristband, only to find that the order had already been snatched by someone else.

It wasn’t peak mealtime yet, so he didn’t pay it much mind and simply continued to familiarize himself with the terrain.

Shi Tiexin wasn’t trying to cover a huge area all at once. Instead, he meticulously expanded his map’s range bit by bit, ensuring every section he charted was accurate and detailed. As the time crept toward eleven o’clock, Shi Tiexin had recorded all fourteen main roads and the detailed layouts of two entire city blocks.

For a newcomer, his efficiency was already extremely high.

’Jingtuan’s rules state that the maximum time from accepting an order to its delivery is half an hour. At my speed, that should be more than enough time. Nothing to worry about.’

Tumu Castle was a Space City, after all, and possessed a fairly comprehensive, multi-level traffic system that separated pedestrians from vehicles. If he really let loose on his bike in the vehicle lanes, it wouldn’t even take half an hour to cross the entire Upper City District.

’It’s about time. Someone should be placing an order soon.’ Shi Tiexin glanced at his wristband. It was already 10:50. He waited patiently for the peak hours to begin.

According to Teacher Tang, the noon and evening rushes were the two major peak periods, the best times for accepting orders. For Jingtuan’s members, this was like the high season for fishermen—a crucial time to make a fortune.

The midday rush started at around eleven o’clock.

The seconds ticked by. Shi Tiexin stared at his wristband screen, completely focused, ready to pick out some suitable orders.

’It’d be best to find orders where both the pickup and drop-off points are in areas I’m familiar with. It’d be even better if I could stack a few orders in the same vicinity.’ Shi Tiexin mused, mentally weighing the pros and cons. In the end, he concluded that this food delivery gig really wasn’t all that difficult.

’As long as I pick up the order quickly and deliver it quickly, how hard can it be? Compared to my stiff, monotonous security job, the Gang Contribution here is practically a giveaway. No wonder everyone wants in.’

Just as he was thinking this, DING! A notification appeared on his wristband.

An order came in!

Shi Tiexin’s eyes shot wide as he tried to examine it, but before he could even make out a single word—seeing only the outline of the notification box—the order vanished.

Someone else snatched it!

Shi Tiexin froze. ’Whoever snatched that order has incredible tapping speed, and their eyes must be sharp as hell, too.’

’But whatever, this is just the beginning. With so many people in the Upper City District, there will be plenty more orders!’

In this frame of mind, Shi Tiexin immediately saw a flurry of delivery orders appearing like snowflakes. Then, he watched them vanish just as quickly.

Shi Tiexin was stunned. He held his finger poised over the screen, ready to snatch an order at a moment’s notice.

Pop-up notifications for new orders appeared one after another, surging like endless waves, a testament to just how many people wanted to avoid cooking.

But the pop-ups also vanished in sheets, like bursting soap bubbles. Shi Tiexin couldn’t even make out a single specific word, let alone discern the pickup and drop-off locations.

Holy crap!

"No way!"

Shi Tiexin was genuinely stunned.

He realized the biggest obstacle between him and his Gang Contribution wasn’t picking up and delivering the food—it was that his tapping speed was too slow to even claim an order in the first place!

’If I can’t even snatch an order, how can I even think about delivering it?’

WHOOSH! A small vehicle shot past him like the wind. Shi Tiexin looked up to see a large, yellow Jingtuan emblem disappearing in its wake. Members were already rushing toward the major restaurants and food stalls.

The number of midday orders was immense, and the Jingtuan members were a blur of activity. For a while, they were like busy little bees, zipping through streets and alleys, their feet barely seeming to touch the ground as if they were about to take flight.

And yet, Shi Tiexin hadn’t managed to snatch a single order!

’What the hell is going on?! Are all these Jingtuan people tapping-speed superhumans or something?!’

Shi Tiexin abruptly realized he had gravely underestimated the competition. ’It makes sense, though,’ he thought. ’If some skinny kid forced to do laundry could have a Leg Technique as swift as the wind, wouldn’t the people powerful enough to bully him be even more exceptionally skilled?’

’Snatch, snatch, snatch! Just let me get one!’

Shi Tiexin mashed the screen relentlessly.

He no longer cared about distance or special requests; he just tapped blindly, hoping he could somehow snag one.

However, reality dealt him another harsh lesson. Five minutes later, his finger was aching from all the tapping, yet he still hadn’t managed to claim a single order.

DING! Another order appeared.

This time—perhaps because the other members had already snatched enough orders to be "full"—the new notification stayed on screen long enough for the text to become visible.

’I’ll get it!’

He jabbed a finger at the screen, the motion so fast it seemed to break the air, almost hard enough to shatter the display.

DING-DONG! Amid the pleasant chime, Shi Tiexin realized he had actually gotten it.

I got an order!

It was such a simple thing, yet Shi Tiexin was so overjoyed he felt like jumping for joy.

’That was so hard! I finally got one! My very first order since joining Jingtuan!’

Shi Tiexin hurriedly checked the details. His heart leaped as he saw that the pickup point was located in one of the blocks he had meticulously mapped out. Better yet, the drop-off was in a well-known residential area, so there was no chance of him getting lost.

’Perfect!’

Shi Tiexin glanced at his wristband screen again. The lightning-fast tappers seemed to be back in action. Pop-ups flashed into existence and vanished again, not even giving the text a chance to load.

Seeing no chance of snatching another order, Shi Tiexin decided to focus on his first one. With a push of his foot, he rode off toward the pickup point.