15: Chapter 15 Out of Stock

Night fell over Jianghai City. The neon signs of the West District night market buzzed and crackled.

But tonight, the usual hustle, bustle, and chaos were absent.

Dead silence.

As Lin Fan stepped into that familiar corner of the night market, his footsteps couldn't help but pause.

Before him was a long queue. There were at least a hundred people: mercenaries in worn leather armor, dust-covered workers just off their shifts, and even a few students in school uniforms who had clearly skipped class.

They weren't being noisy; they were simply staring fixedly at the empty patch of ground, their eyes glowing green like a pack of wolves that hadn't eaten for half a month.

“He's here! Boss Lin is here!”

Someone shouted at the top of their lungs.

Boom!

The crowd instantly erupted. Countless gazes hit Lin Fan like searchlights, the heat of their desire almost enough to melt him.

“Boss Lin! I want to pre-order! No matter the price, save one for me!”

“I've been waiting for four hours! My legs are numb. I have to pull a C-Rank Talent today!”

“Get lost! I was here yesterday! Boss Lin, I'll pay twenty thousand, give me one!”

The waving banknotes looked like green snowflakes.

This was the charm of the blind box.

Or rather, the charm of gambling.

After a night of fermenting, the fat guy's counterattack from yesterday had already turned into a legend.

In this desperate wasteland era, everyone felt they could be the next protagonist. For just ten thousand yuan, they could buy a chance to crawl out of the mud pit.

The fat guy followed behind Lin Fan, his Adam's apple bobbing violently as he watched this crazed scene.

“Brother Fan, this... this is all money.”

The fat guy's voice was trembling. If they had stock on hand, they could make at least five hundred thousand from this wave tonight.

Lin Fan didn't speak.

He walked to the stall and, expressionless, pulled a piece of cardboard from his canvas bag and set it on the ground.

On it were four large black characters written with a marker, the handwriting scrawled with a sense of finality.

【OUT OF STOCK TODAY】.

The air froze.

All the noise was forcibly cut off in that second.

Then came the explosion.

An explosion even more violent than before.

“What do you mean? Are you playing with us?”

“Why did you come if you don't have stock? I took time off work to be here!”

“Are you trying to jack up the price on the spot? Fine, name your price. As long as it's not too outrageous, I'll pay it!”

The crowd began to stir. A few hot-tempered mercenaries even started rolling up their sleeves. It looked as if this stall wouldn't survive the day if Lin Fan didn't give them an explanation.

Lin Fan stood in the center of the storm, his expression as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

This was exactly what he was waiting for.

“I want to sell them too.”

Lin Fan spoke. His voice wasn't loud, yet it was exceptionally clear amidst the noisy crowd.

He spread his hands in a helpless gesture, his tone carrying thirty percent grievance and seventy percent resentment: “But I can't. Someone doesn't want you to be able to buy them.”

“Who?”

A mercenary with a face full of scars roared, “Who the hell dares to block my path to fortune?”

Lin Fan didn't answer directly.

He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag. Amidst the swirling smoke, his gaze swept over the crowd with a desolation that suggested they were all in the same boat.

“As for today's raw materials, I couldn't buy a single scrap.”

“Every scrap yard and material supplier in Jianghai City received a warning this morning.”

Lin Fan flicked the ash, his voice turning cold. “Word was sent out. Anyone who dares to sell me a corpse won't be able to survive in Jianghai City anymore.”

“Who's so overbearing?” someone in the crowd pressed.

“Who else could it be?”

The fat guy chimed in at the right moment, looking righteous and indignant. “Aside from the Wang Family, who monopolizes the city's low-end material market, who else has that kind of power?”

The Wang Family.

As soon as these two words were uttered, the expressions of many in the crowd changed.

In Jianghai City, the Wang Family were the local tyrants. They controlled medicine, materials, and even land. Which low-level martial artist or mercenary hadn't suffered under the Wang Family's exploitation?

“Those bloodsuckers from the Wang Family again!”

“Damn it! It's bad enough they sell high-priced potions themselves, but now they won't even let us buy a blind box?”

“They're trying to drive us into a dead end!”

The fire had been lit.

Lin Fan watched the agitated crowd, the corner of his mouth twitching imperceptibly.

This was the power of public opinion.

He didn't need to fight the Wang Family himself. He only needed to tell these people who were desperate to change their fates: It is the Wang Family who has cut off your only hope.

Hatred is the cheapest yet sharpest weapon.

“Everyone, please disperse.”

Lin Fan sighed, looking as if he had accepted his fate. “The Wang Family is a great power; little people like us can't fight them. This blind box business... I'm afraid it can't go on. You all should just honestly go buy the Wang Family's potions. They're a bit expensive, but at least they're something to hope for.”

Retreating to advance.

These words were like a bucket of gasoline poured directly onto a volcano about to erupt.

“Based on what?!”

That mercenary slammed his alloy warblade into the ground, sparks flying. “I don't believe in this nonsense! If the Wang Family won't let you buy them, we'll buy them! I don't believe the Wang Family can block everyone!”

“Right! We'll go buy corpses! Boss Lin, can we bring our own materials?”

“Boss Lin, don't be afraid of them! We support you!”

Looking at these flushed faces, the heavy stone in Lin Fan's heart finally dropped.

Wang Teng thought cutting off the supply chain would trap him to death.

Little did he know that this actually helped Lin Fan achieve the most perfect hunger marketing and brand solidification.

Now, buying a blind box wasn't just a transaction; it had become a form of resistance against the powerful. This kind of emotional value was priceless.

“Bringing your own materials... it's not impossible.”

Lin Fan seemed to hesitate for a long time before reluctantly nodding. “But the rules have to change. If you bring your own materials, the processing fee is five thousand. And it must be an outsider race that has been dead for no more than three days.”

“Fine! It's a deal!”

“I'm going out of the city to hunt right now!”

The crowd scattered. The original complaints had turned into fanatical motivation. Since they couldn't buy them, they would go kill! For that chance to change their lives against the heavens, these people would dare to empty out every rat hole around Jianghai City.

Just as the crowd was dispersing, Lin Fan's gaze fell on a corner.

A thin, small man was crouching there, a pitch-black box placed in front of him.

It was the unlucky guy who had bought the dagger for eighty thousand yuan yesterday.

But at this moment, the number of people surrounding him was no fewer than those around Lin Fan.

“Twenty thousand! I'll take it!”

“Twenty-two thousand! This is a blind box personally made by Boss Lin, a limited edition item!”

“Twenty-five thousand!”

That blind box, which had clearly been opened before, had been resealed by the man and even polished until it shone with a red cloth.

He was speculating.

Even though there was only a dagger worth nine thousand inside, with the addition of the labels 'Limited Edition blind box' and 'Boss Lin Original,' the price had actually doubled.

A secondary market had formed.

Lin Fan withdrew his gaze, a sharp glint flashing in the depths of his eyes.

When scalpers and speculation appear for a product, it means its brand value has been completely established.

Wang Teng's blockade hadn't managed to kill him; instead, it had pushed the 'god and demon blind box' to a new height.

“Brother Fan...”

The fat guy tugged at Lin Fan's sleeve, his face showing no joy, only deep concern. “We've completely offended the Wang Family now, haven't we? If what you just said reaches Wang Teng's ears...”

“We already have.”

Lin Fan turned around and looked toward the brightly lit city center in the distance. That was the wealthy district, where the Wang Family estate was located.

“From the moment he had Old Chen cut off my supply, this was no longer a business rivalry.”

“It's a struggle for survival.”

Lin Fan's voice was very soft, scattered by the night wind.

The fat guy shuddered. He knew Lin Fan. Whenever Lin Fan showed this expression of extreme calm, it meant someone was going to have a bad time. A very bad time.

“Then what do we do?” the fat guy asked. “Are we really going to rely on those individuals bringing their own materials? That amount won't be enough for Xiao Ya's surgery fee.”

“Better to rely on ourselves than others.”

Lin Fan picked up the cardboard from the ground, snapped it casually, and threw it into a nearby trash can.

“The Wang Family dictates the rules of business. They have money, connections, and channels. If we play that game with them, we're bound to lose.”

“But...”

Lin Fan looked up at the blood-red moon overhead. The blood in his body began to boil, and the sense of power from his Vajra Skin surged through his limbs and bones.

“In the world of martial artists, there's another set of rules.”

“Whoever has the bigger fist makes the rules.”

“Brother Fan, you're going to...” The fat guy's eyes widened.

“Go home and pack your things.”

Lin Fan turned and walked toward the night market exit, his back looking resolute. “Tomorrow morning, we head out of the city.”

“Where to?”

“The Rank 1 War Zone, the Rift Zone.”

The fat guy sucked in a breath of cold air.

The Rift Zone.

That was the most dangerous area in Jianghai City and the entrance connecting to the Ten Thousand Races Battlefield. There were no laws or rules there—only endless outsider races to kill and human mercenaries even more greedy than the outsiders.

It was a true meat grinder.

“Brother Fan, that place is...”

“It's a place where the Wang Family's reach cannot extend.”

Lin Fan interrupted the fat guy, his pace never faltering.

“It's also my natural sourcing ground.”

Want to cut off my food supply?

Then I'll go directly to the source.

Wang Teng, since you want to play, I'll play big with you. I hope your Wang Family can withstand the tsunami when it comes.

The night wind picked up a scrap of newspaper from the ground, swirling it into the sky.

On the front page of the newspaper, a line of eye-catching large characters was printed: 【College Entrance Exam Imminent: Geniuses from Major Families Emerge to Compete for the Top Scorer Title of the Province】.

Lin Fan didn't look at the newspaper.

Because he knew that the era belonging to him had only just begun to be written.