23: Chapter 23 S-Rank Talent, Eye of True Sight

The boy with the severed arm gaped, looking at the empty box on the ground and then at Lin Fan, the expression on his face shifting through a spectacular range of emotions.

It's really a fucking blind box?

You can really fucking open treasures from it?

"Lin Fan."

Su Qingxue suddenly spoke, her tone more serious than ever before. "Thank you."

This 'thank you' carried the weight of a thousand catties.

"Don't mention it."

Lin Fan waved his hand, smiling with casual indifference. "Payment received, goods delivered; no deception for young or old. As long as you pay, we're practically siblings from different parents."

While spouting pleasantries, Lin Fan's heart was already blooming with joy.

Because the moment Su Qingxue grasped the ice crystal, that long-awaited voice finally exploded in his mind.

[Ding!]

[Detected customer Su Qingxue opening an E-Rank blind box (Determined as top-tier E-Rank by the system due to D-Rank raw materials but crude craftsmanship).]

[Obtained Item: delusion-breaking ice crystal (D-Rank Exotic Treasure).]

[Value Assessment: Extremely High.]

[Triggering Hundredfold Rebate Mechanism!]

[Randomizing multiplier...]

[Congratulations Host, triggered A-Rank Luck Critical Hit! Obtained 80x Quality Rebate!]

[Congratulations Host, obtained S-Rank Talent: Eye of True Sight]

Lin Fan's breath hitched violently.

S-Rank!

An S-Rank Talent actually dropped directly!

As expected, rich women are the primary driving force of productivity! The luck of an A-Rank genius like Su Qingxue is truly no joke!

A surge of heat instantly flooded into his eyes.

The world as he knew it underwent an earth-shattering transformation in Lin Fan's eyes.

Data.

Data everywhere.

When he looked at Su Qingxue, he no longer saw just a simple color of luck; instead, rows of detailed analysis appeared.

[Target: Su Qingxue]

[Weakness: Unhealed old injury on the left shoulder, slight stagnation of Qi and blood flow at the Shanzhong Acupoint.]

[Current Emotions: Shock (80%), Gratitude (15%), Curiosity (5%).]

[Personal Items: One high-grade storage ring, containing 200,000 alliance coins...]

Holy shit.

X-ray vision?

No, it's digital analysis!

Lin Fan forcibly suppressed the wild joy in his heart, showing no outward sign of abnormality. The power of these eyes was terrifying; not only could they see through weaknesses, they could even see through wealth!

This was simply a divine skill tailor-made for a "conscientious businessman" like him!

"Alright, the transaction is over."

Lin Fan clapped his hands, looking like a heartless scumbag after getting what he wanted. "Everyone, it's getting late, and we should be heading back. The smell of blood is too strong here; if it attracts something big later, I won't be responsible for saving you again."

After saying that, he gave a look to the Fatty, who was already dazed.

"Ah? Oh, right, let's go, let's go home and count the money!"

Fatty snapped out of it, shouldering his spiked mace and preparing to slip away.

Today's events had given him too much of a shock. He originally thought that awakening a C-Rank Talent meant he was possessed by the Emperor of Luck, but he hadn't expected School Beauty Su to pull out a D-Rank exotic treasure on her first try.

Following Brother Fan really does mean getting to eat meat.

"Wait."

Su Qingxue spoke again.

She walked quickly to Lin Fan, her stunningly beautiful face carrying a hint of hesitation, but even more determination.

"Something else?" Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.

"Can we... add each other as friends?"

Su Qingxue took out her phone, a QR code on the screen. "If you have goods of this level in the future, please contact me immediately. Name your price."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire area fell silent.

The squad members' eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

The cold and aloof school beauty was actively asking for contact information?

And it was this kind of "sugar mommy" style of speaking?

Was this still the Su Qingxue who never gave any boy in school the time of day?

"Add a friend, huh..."

Lin Fan rubbed his chin and said with some difficulty, "My friend slots are very expensive. But considering you spent fifty thousand today, I'll count you as a VIP."

He pulled out his beat-up phone, which had a cracked corner on the screen, and scanned it.

*Beep.*

"Friend added."

Su Qingxue looked at the ID in her list named "The Universe's Most Conscientious Blind Box Shop Owner," and her mouth twitched slightly.

This guy really is... consistent inside and out.

"I'm off."

Lin Fan waved his hand, leading Fatty as they turned and disappeared into the jungle.

His departure was dashing, without a hint of lingering.

He only left one sentence drifting in the wind.

"Remember, with God and Demon Blind Boxes, one cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich. Bring enough money next time, and I'll show you what it means to get rich overnight."

...

Until Lin Fan's figure completely vanished.

"Captain, that kid... was he really Lin Fan?"

The boy with the severed arm swallowed hard, feeling his worldview shatter.

Su Qingxue gripped the ice crystal in her hand, her gaze deep.

"Whether he is Lin Fan or not isn't important."

She turned and looked deep into the Rift Zone, her tone returning to its usual coldness. "What's important is that a figure who can change the status quo has appeared in Jianghai City."

"Clean up the battlefield and retreat."

...

Half an hour later.

On the way back to the city.

Fatty was still in a state of extreme excitement.

"Brother Fan, fifty thousand! That's fifty thousand! We're rich!"

Zhang Hao waved that stack of receipts, the fat on his face trembling. "Plus the money from selling the scraps earlier, we have nearly a hundred thousand now, right? Little Ya's surgery fee is covered!"

"A hundred thousand?"

Lin Fan walked ahead, a disdainful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

"Fatty, your vision is too small."

He stopped, turned to take a deep look at the pitch-black Wasteland Zone, and then looked back at the towering Jianghai City behind them. The setting sun cast a golden rim over the steel beast of a city.

A hundred thousand?

That's not even enough for the pocket change of Little Ya's first surgery phase.

But this is only the beginning.

With the [Eye of True Sight] and an S-Rank Talent foundation, this city—and even this world—was no longer a battlefield full of danger in his eyes.

Instead, it was a massive gold mine waiting to be developed.

"Go back and get a good night's sleep."

A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

Since Wang Teng wants to play with commercial blockades, then he'll use these eyes to play a good game with this Young Master Wang.

Just then.

*Buzz buzz.*

His phone vibrated.

Lin Fan took it out and saw it was a text from an unknown number.

There was only a short line of text, but it reeked of a thick scent of blood.

[Being able to come back alive, count yourself lucky. However, this was just an appetizer. At tomorrow's school-wide competition, I'll let you know the meaning of despair. — Wang Teng]

Lin Fan looked at the screen and smiled.

He smiled exceptionally brightly.

"Despair, huh?"

His fingers moved lightly as he replied with three words.

[Wash it clean.]

Wash that neck of yours clean.

Because I'm going to take your head and turn it into a blind box.

At the West Gate checkpoint of Jianghai City, the setting sun dyed the steel-poured city walls into a scene of solemn dark red.

Hou San squatted behind a concrete windbreaker, the cigarette butts at his feet already piled into a small mound. He kept shaking his leg, his gaze drifting toward the end of the wilderness every few seconds, the unease in his heart growing like wild grass.

The Black Snake Squad was never late. According to the efficiency of those mad dogs, two F-Rank high school students should have been stripped to the bone by now, with even their marrow sucked dry.

"It couldn't be..."

As soon as an absurd thought surfaced, he ruthlessly strangled it. Impossible. Black Snake was a veteran mercenary at the peak of E-Rank; killing two greenhorns was easier than killing a chicken.

"Looks like they're having too much fun, those perverts." Hou San spat, and just as he was about to light another cigarette, the hand holding the lighter suddenly froze in mid-air.

At the end of his vision, amidst the yellow sand swirling in the air, two figures were walking toward him like spears.

The one on the left was built like a tower, carrying a dark red spiked mace, each step leaving a shallow pit in the ground.

The one on the right was slender, carrying a tactical backpack that rose above his head, walking with a leisurely posture as if he were strolling through his own backyard.

Hou San's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, the lighter falling onto his foot with a *clack*, the heat making him flinch.

"G-ghost!"

He gave a strange cry, springing up from behind the cover and pointing at the approaching pair incoherently. "You... how can you be alive? Where's Black Snake? Where are Black Snake and the others?"

Lin Fan didn't stop, not even giving this clown a direct look. As he walked, he lowered his head to straighten a wrinkle on his cuff, his tone as flat as if he were discussing today's weather.

"Dead."

Two simple words, yet they carried a rushing scent of blood.

"Impossible!" Hou San shrieked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Boss Black Snake has a D-Rank talent, how could you two pieces of trash..."

"Since you don't believe it, you can go down and ask him yourself." Lin Fan finally looked up.

What kind of eyes were those? There was no anger, no killing intent, only a high-and-mighty indifference. Under the operation of the S-Rank Talent [Eye of True Sight], Hou San was no longer a person in his eyes, but a pile of data labeled with prices.

[Target: Hou San]

[Threat Level: 0]

[Value: F-Rank trash, recycling recommended]

Being stared at with such a gaze, Hou San felt as if he had been stripped naked and thrown into the freezing snow, a chill shooting straight to the top of his skull.

He roared with false bravado, "Rebellion! This is rebellion! You dare to curse Young Master Wang's people? Believe it or not, I'll right now..."

*Slap!*

A crisp, explosive sound cut off his shouting.

Zhang Hao had stepped forward at some point, his fan-like hand swinging in a wide arc, landing solidly on Hou San's face.

Zhang Hao used his full strength for this slap. The Qi and blood of a peak Martial Apprentice First Grade combined with the brute force of a C-Rank Talent sent Hou San flying like a ragdoll.

Hou San spun twice in the air before slamming heavily into the turnstile, half of his face instantly swelling into a pig's head, several broken teeth spraying onto the ground along with blood.