25: Chapter 25 Top-Grade Snake Venom? A Bit Salty

"Lin Fan!"

Wang Teng, seeing that Lin Fan remained silent, thought he was scared witless. He walked over even more arrogantly and shouted across the street, "Well? Do you admit defeat? If you kneel and beg me now, I might be in a good enough mood to grant you a job as a shop assistant. Looking at your build, you'd be quite suitable for washing dishes in the back kitchen."

A burst of laughter erupted from the surrounding crowd, and many who had bought open-faced boxes joined in the jeering.

"That's right, Boss Lin, just give up. They are the real deal."

"Your blind boxes are such a scam; open-faced boxes are much more practical."

Facing the widespread mockery, Lin Fan slowly stood up.

He brushed the dust off his trouser legs, picked up the megaphone, and walked into the middle of the street.

"Young Master Wang, did you just say that your open-faced boxes are honest and fair to everyone?" Lin Fan's voice wasn't loud, but through the megaphone, it clearly reached halfway down the street.

"Nonsense! When I do business, I value integrity above all else!" Wang Teng held his head high like a proud rooster.

"Fine."

The corner of Lin Fan's mouth curled into an extremely dangerous arc—the smile of a hunter watching his prey step into a trap.

"Since Young Master Wang is so confident, do you dare to play a game with me?"

"What game?" Wang Teng frowned.

"Appraisal."

Lin Fan pointed at the dazzling array of shelves inside the Treasure Pavilion, his voice suddenly rising. "I'll stand right here and won't touch your things. If I point out a single fake, you'll eat it on the spot. If I'm wrong, everything on my stall, plus my life, will belong to you."

"Do you dare?"

The crowd erupted in an uproar.

Everyone looked at Lin Fan in disbelief. Appraising treasures without even touching them? Even a Grandmaster Level appraiser wouldn't dare make such a boast, right? Had he gone mad?

Wang Teng was stunned for a moment, then burst into wild laughter.

"Hahaha! Lin Fan, have you gone crazy from poverty? Are you trying to scam me?"

Wang Teng was very confident. Although these goods had been tampered with, they were the work of a master forger within his family who used the latest concealment techniques. Forget a high school student; even ordinary instruments couldn't detect anything.

"Fine! Since you're looking for death, I'll fulfill your wish!"

Wang Teng's face twisted into a hideous grin. "Everyone, be my witness! Today, I'll let this kid know that while you can eat whatever you want, you can't just say whatever you want!"

"Splendid."

Lin Fan snapped his fingers, his gaze like a blade instantly locking onto the burly man paying at the counter. In the man's hands was the "Wind Wolf Leg Bone" that had been praised to the heavens.

"Brother, could I borrow that bone in your hand for a moment?"

The burly man hesitated for a second and instinctively handed the bone over. "This... this is a premium item appraised by a master..."

"Premium?"

Lin Fan took the bone without even glancing at the old man with the goatee. He gripped both ends of the bone with his fingers, and his blood energy suddenly erupted.

"Young Master Wang, open your dog eyes and look closely. Is this what you call a premium item?"

*Crack!*

A crisp sound rang out.

Under everyone's horrified gazes, the exotic beast leg bone, which was claimed to be "harder than gold and stone," was snapped by Lin Fan's bare hands like a brittle biscuit.

No marrow flowed out.

At the break, there was only a clump of black, moldy cotton padding and a few thin iron wires used for support.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

The entrance to the Treasure Pavilion, which had been bustling just a moment ago, was now so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

The burly man looked at the black-hearted cotton on the ground, his expression shifting from a daze to extreme distortion and fury.

"This... this is a premium item?"

The burly man whipped his head around, glaring at the sweating Appraisal Master. The fire in his eyes was almost ready to erupt. "This is what you called 'faint sounds of wind and thunder'? I think you want to hear the sound of my fists!"

It was over.

Wang Teng's face instantly turned as pale as paper.

Looking at Lin Fan's smiling face, he suddenly felt like he wasn't facing a human, but a demon who was peeling skin and pulling tendons.

"Don't be in such a hurry, Young Master Wang."

Lin Fan threw away the trash in his hands and clapped. The crisp sound was like the beat of a death knell. "That was just the first one. Our game has only just begun."

"Next, that bottle of snake venom."

Lin Fan's fingers gripped the bottle of "Premium Snake Venom" that emitted a faint green glow.

"Put it down!"

Wang Teng lunged forward, his voice becoming shrill with extreme tension. "That's E-rank Mamba Snake Venom! It's fatal upon contact! If you want to die, don't do it in my shop!"

The surrounding customers instinctively retreated three steps, fearing they might be touched by even a tiny drop. That was snake venom; it was highly corrosive, and even skin contact would cause ulceration, let alone drinking it.

Lin Fan turned a deaf ear.

In his vision, red data streams flickered wildly on the glass bottle.

[Item: Specially Prepared Mixture]

[Composition Analysis: 95% Saline Solution + 4% Food Coloring (Lemon Yellow + Brilliant Blue) + 1% Industrial Thickener.]

[Toxicity: 0.]

[Side Effects: Excessive intake may lead to high sodium levels. It is recommended to drink plenty of warm water.]

"Highly toxic?"

Lin Fan pulled out the stopper.

A pungent smell of chemical fragrance wafted out.

He raised the bottle and shook it against the light, his movements as elegant as if he were tasting a bottle of '82 Lafite. The green liquid clung to the glass walls, slowly sliding down with perfect viscosity.

"Young Master Wang, since you say it's highly toxic, I'll drink to that first."

"You're crazy!" Wang Teng's eyes widened, and he reached out to grab it.

Too late.

Lin Fan tilted his head back.

The mouth of the bottle was aimed at his mouth.

*Gulp, gulp.*

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

Under the gaze of hundreds of horrified eyes, the bottle of "Premium Snake Venom" that could kill a bull was downed by Lin Fan in one go.

Not a single drop remained.

*Burp—*

Lin Fan put down the empty bottle and let out a loud, long burp.

He smacked his lips twice, frowned slightly, and looked at the completely petrified Wang Teng with a hint of disdain. "A bit salty. And there's too much apple-flavored coloring; it's a bit scratchy on the throat. Remember to add sugar next time."

Silence.

It was as if a pause button had been pressed at the entrance of the Treasure Pavilion.

The burly man who had spent a fortune on the snake venom looked like his eyeballs were about to pop out of their sockets. He stared intently at Lin Fan's face, trying to find any sign of poisoning or darkening.

There was none.

Lin Fan's complexion was rosy, and he even licked his lips as if he hadn't had enough.

"This... this..."

The burly man's hands trembled as he pointed at the empty bottle and then at Wang Teng, the veins on his neck bulging one by one.

"Saline solution?"

"I spent twelve thousand to buy a bottle of diluted saline solution?!"

*Boom!*

This roar was like a spark igniting a powder keg.

The customers who were still holding onto a sliver of hope completely exploded with rage.

They looked at the so-called open-faced boxes in their hands. The crystal packaging they had previously thought was exquisite now seemed like a collection of mocking jokes.

"Refund!!"

The burly man grabbed the dazed "Appraisal Master" and punched the old man in the eye socket. "You damn liar! 'Clinging to the walls'? 'Viscous'? I'll show you viscous!"

"Ouch! Don't hit me! Not the face!"

The old man screamed and crawled under the table, his fake beard torn off to reveal a clean-shaven chin.

The scene instantly spiraled out of control.

The angry crowd broke through the cordon and swarmed into the Treasure Pavilion.

"Fake! It's all fake!"

"This beast hide is pieced together! The smell of glue hasn't even dissipated!"

"This Crystal Core is fucking made of glass! There are even air bubbles!"

As the first fake item was smashed, more and more "treasures" revealed their true nature. For a moment, the sounds of shattering glass, angry curses, and overturning tables and chairs blended together.

The magnificent decoration of the Treasure Pavilion now served as the ultimate irony.