52: Chapter 52 I've laid my cards on the table, and I've struck it rich!

"Holy shit! Brothers, look quick, some idiot actually placed an order!"

On the campus forum, in the discussion thread about the "Ghost Chamber of Commerce," a new screenshot had been pinned to the top.

The screenshot clearly showed the product page for the "ghost no. 1 qi-blood pill," and in the monthly sales column, the number had changed from 0 to 1.

2nd Floor: Pfft! Who is so desperate to throw away their money, joking around with their living expenses?

3rd Floor: I bet it's some clueless freshman who just enrolled, tricked by the 50% off gimmick.

Once he receives a Maltesers candy, he'll learn how cruel the world is.

4th Floor: @The Warrior Who Ordered, when you receive the goods, remember to come and livestream the unboxing!

Let us see what a thousand-dollar pill looks like!

5th Floor: Hilarious, unboxing? I bet that store has already been canceled and run off by now.

Everyone treated this as a joke, a classic case of a stupid freshman getting scammed.

And that "stupid freshman," Sun Hao, was lying on his bed, listlessly scrolling through the posts, his heart dripping blood as he saw these comments.

He had completely given up hope.

Ding-dong—just then, his dormitory doorbell suddenly rang.

"Who is it?" Sun Hao shouted weakly.

The other three roommates in the dormitory were all out on missions; it was impossible for anyone to have returned.

A plain, unremarkable voice came from outside the door.

"Ghost Express Delivery."

Sun Hao bolted up from his bed!

He didn't even have time to put on his shoes; he rushed to the door barefoot and yanked it open.

A man was standing at the door.

"Are you Student Sun Hao?"

"Yes... it's me." Sun Hao replied, stammering.

"Your 'ghost no. 1 qi-blood pill,' please sign for it."

The man handed him a black metal box the size of a palm, along with a signature pad.

Sun Hao's mind went blank.

Really... it was really delivered?

He mechanically took the box and scribbled his name on the signature pad.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

The man took back the signature pad and turned to leave, his steps steady, disappearing at the end of the corridor in a few breaths.

Sun Hao stood there blankly, looking down at the metal box in his hand.

The box felt cold and heavy in his hand.

"Gulp."

He swallowed hard, his hands trembling as he opened the box.

Inside the box was a black velvet lining, and in the groove in the middle, a pill the size of a longan lay quietly.

The pill was entirely crimson, its surface smooth and round, as if a faint halo were flowing over it.

A rich medicinal fragrance instantly permeated from the box, filling the entire dormitory.

Sun Hao only took one breath, and he felt a sense of comfort radiating through all his limbs and bones; his qi-blood, which had been somewhat unstable due to hunger, settled down significantly.

"This... this..."

Sun Hao's eyes widened to the size of copper bells.

Although he was poor, he still had some knowledge. He had seen the ordinary qi-blood pills that Danbao Pavilion sold for two thousand dollars.

They were just grayish, nondescript pills that smelled like burnt dregs.

Compared to the one in front of him, it was like the difference between clouds and mud!

He carefully held the pill, closed the door, drew the curtains, and then sat cross-legged on the bed.

Without the slightest hesitation, he swallowed this "ghost no. 1 qi-blood pill" directly into his stomach.

Boom!

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, and an incomparably pure, incomparably massive warm current instantly swept through his entire body!

This energy was not as violent and difficult to control as the inferior pills he had taken before.

It was gentle yet domineering, like a rushing Yangtze River, scouring every one of his meridians and nourishing every inch of his flesh and blood!

Sun Hao's body uncontrollably flushed with a healthy red. He could clearly feel his internal qi-blood value soaring crazily!

150 cal!

160 cal!

170 cal!

...

He had been stuck at the bottleneck of a First-Rank Martial Artist, middle stage, with 180 cal of qi-blood, for a full three months.

But now, driven by this medicinal power, that solid bottleneck was like paper!

"Pop!"

A soft sound, as if breaking through some kind of shackle.

Sun Hao's whole body shuddered.

181 cal!

182 cal!

...

The medicinal power was still continuing!

Finally, his qi-blood value stopped steadily at the height of 275 cal!

He was only one step away from becoming a Second-Rank Martial Warrior!

"Hoo—"

Sun Hao let out a long breath of turbid air.

This breath of turbid air actually carried a faint trace of black and emitted a foul smell.

This was the pill toxins and impurities that had accumulated in his body for years!

At this moment, he felt refreshed, his whole body filled with explosive power, as if he could kill a cow with one punch!

"Too... too awesome!"

Sun Hao jumped off the bed and rushed to the public strength testing machine downstairs in the dormitory building.

He took a deep breath, gathered all his strength into his right fist, and threw a fierce punch!

Bang!

A loud noise!

The numbers on the screen of the strength testing machine jumped crazily and finally settled.

[Fist Strength: 1600kg]

[Qi-Blood: 275 cal]

[Rating: First-Rank Martial Artist (High Stage)]

Looking at the data on the screen, Sun Hao was so excited he almost cried.

He had broken through!

He had really broken through!

The bottleneck that had plagued him for three months had been directly shattered by a one-thousand-dollar pill!

Moreover, the efficacy of this pill was more than ten times stronger than the two-thousand-dollar pill from Danbao Pavilion!

The key was, there were no side effects at all!

High quality and inexpensive! No, this is a god descending to earth to help the poor!

He rushed back to his dormitory like a madman, picked up his phone, opened the campus forum, and found the post that mocked him.

His fingers flew, typing out the most emotional text he had ever written in his life.

[New Post: I am that idiot who bought the ghost pill! I'm laying my cards on the table, I made a killing!]

Original Poster (Sun Hao): Brothers! I, Sun Hao, am that first person to eat the crab!

Just half an hour ago, I received the pill sent by the Ghost Chamber of Commerce! No more words, straight to the pictures!

Below, I have attached a dozen high-definition pictures.

There are close-ups of the exquisite metal packaging box.

There are close-ups of the blood-red, halo-shimmering pill.

There is a screenshot of the strength testing machine showing 180 cal of qi-blood before he took the pill.

And even more, a screenshot of the strength testing machine showing 275 cal of qi-blood after he took the pill!

Finally, there is a line of bold, red, large text.

[One thousand dollars! Only spent one thousand dollars! I broke through the bottleneck that had me stuck for three months!

The effect of this pill is at least ten times that of the two-thousand-dollar pill from Danbao Pavilion!

Even if it were poison, I would accept it!

Buying this kind of effect for one thousand dollars, why don't those bloodsuckers at Danbao Pavilion just go die?

Enough said, I'm going to grab a second one, you guys keep laughing, a bunch of idiots!]

Once this post was published, it instantly ignited the entire forum.

1st Floor: Holy shit?! Real or fake? Isn't this effect too exaggerated?

2nd Floor: Photoshopped, right? I don't believe it! A one-thousand-dollar pill can have this effect? The alchemy masters at Danbao Pavilion can all collectively quit their jobs!

3rd Floor: Whether it's photoshopped or not, look at his ID yourselves, Sun Hao, freshman class 7 of the Mecha Department, if you know him, just go ask him and you'll know, right?

4th Floor: Look at the app quick! The inventory moved!

Three seconds later.

Every student at Magic City Martial Arts University, whether they were in class, cultivating, on a date, or in the restroom... everyone made the same movement.

They pulled out their phones like madmen, opened the campus black market app, and searched for "Ghost Chamber of Commerce"!

When they saw the qi-blood pill still showing a price of 1000 yuan, everyone's eyes turned red!

"Grab it!!!"

An unprecedented online shopping frenzy erupted!

Countless hands, at the same time, clicked on that "Buy Now" button!

The server of the campus black market app only lasted less than 0.1 seconds.

[Ding! 'ghost no. 1 qi-blood pill' inventory - 1000]

[Ding! 'ghost no. 1 qi-blood pill' inventory - 5000]

[Ding! 'ghost no. 1 qi-blood pill' sold out!]

[Ding! 'ghost no. 1 alloy blade' sold out!]

Then... the server crashed.

A red 404 page appeared on everyone's phone screen.

"Holy shit! It's gone?"

"Who the hell has such fast hands! I just clicked in and it was gone!"

"I grabbed one! Hahahaha! I grabbed one!"

"Brother, sell it to me for five thousand! I'll pay five thousand!"

"Get lost! I won't sell it even for ten thousand!"

The entire Magic City Martial Arts University was completely plunged into madness.

Those who grabbed one were ecstatic, and those who didn't were beating their chests and stomping their feet.

And at this moment.

In the office of the Student Union president.

Young Master Zhao Tianfeng was holding a glass of red wine, listening to his assistant report that the sales of "Danbao Pavilion" and "Divine Weapon Society" had hit new highs today.

His face wore a smile of victory.

"That trash Lu Chen is probably hiding in his villa eating steamed buns right now, right?"

He said smugly to his assistant.

"Daring to fight with me, he's still too green."

Just then, the office door was slammed open.

An officer responsible for monitoring market dynamics, face pale, scrambled in, holding a tablet computer in his hand.

"Pres... President! It's bad!"

The officer's voice was trembling.

"Something... something big has happened!"