28: Chapter 28: This time, I'm betting my dignity as an unlucky player.

The night market was still as bustling as a boiling pot, the heat waves mixed with the charred aroma of grilled squid and the salty smell of sweat, hovering over the heads of the crowded throng.

"Don't push! Everyone, stop pushing! Today's numbers are all handed out! If you want to buy, come early tomorrow!"

Zhang Hao shouted with his raspy voice, waving a fluorescent baton he had swiped from Wang Teng's shop, acting like a traffic cop directing traffic, desperately trying to maintain the order that had long since spiraled out of control.

His broad and stout frame now served as the best roadblock, forcibly clearing a vacuum zone amidst the surging crowd.

Lin Fan sat on a small stool behind the stall, holding a cup of iced lemonade he had just "friendship-exchanged" from the milk tea shop next door, leisurely taking a sip.

Slurp.

Comfortable.

Looking at the balance numbers constantly ticking up on the system's back-end, Lin Fan felt that this lemonade was sweeter than an '82 Lafite.

Ever since he trashed the Treasure Pavilion's reputation last night, today's business had been so explosive that not only the low-level warriors of Jianghai City, but even many children from wealthy families wearing brand-name battle suits had sneaked over to queue up, wanting to see just how uncanny this legendary "one cut for poverty, one cut for wealth" god and demon blind box really was.

Just then.

Whoosh,

A sudden, strange wind rose from the ground.

This wind came from an extremely tricky angle, unerringly weaving through the gaps in the crowd like a slippery loach, forcibly blowing several burly men at the front of the line off-balance.

"Crap! Who is it?"

"Are you blind?! Why are you pushing!"

"Which blind fool... uh, so cute?"

The originally irritable cursing came to an abrupt halt the moment they saw the newcomer.

A young girl wearing a complex Lolita dress with twin tails stood prettily right in front of the stall.

She had her hands on her hips, her face as delicate as a doll's with a bit of baby fat, and because of her high-speed movement just now, her cheeks were still flushed from the intense exercise.

Chu Yaoyao took a deep breath, her large almond eyes staring fixedly at Lin Fan, as if she were trying to see a flower bloom on his face.

"Lin Fan! I want to buy the biggest one!"

The girl's voice was as crisp as an oriole's, yet it carried a bossy tone that didn't match her appearance.

Her slender finger pointed straight at the center of the stall, at the black cube that Lin Fan had specifically placed on a velvet cushion.

The entire scene fell silent.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden line-cutting. Whose young miss was this? So lacking in manners? But looking at her outfit and that Wind-element movement technique she just showed, she was clearly not a girl from an ordinary family.

Lin Fan put down his lemonade, not even lifting his eyelids.

"Get in line."

Two words, as cold as a frozen fish just taken out of the freezer.

"I..."

Chu Yaoyao choked for a moment, then puffed out her overly ample chest, "This young lady never queues, and I'm specifically here to support your business! Do you know how many fans I have? As long as I pull something good and post it on my social feed, your stall could go public tomorrow!"

Lin Fan finally raised his head.

The S-Rank Talent, Eye of True Sight, quietly activated.

In an instant, the originally cute and lovely girl turned into a pile of red and green data streams in his eyes.

[Target: Chu Yaoyao]

[Race: Human]

[Realm: Sixth-grade Martial Apprentice]

[Talent: A+ Rank Wind Spirit (Extremely High)]

[Current State: Competitive desire overflowing, Rationality -20%]

[Luck: E- (-50, The Ultimate Unlucky Soul, even drinking cold water gets stuck in her teeth)]

Pfft.

Lin Fan almost spat out a mouthful of lemonade.

Negative fifty? Even lower than what he saw yesterday?

In all his time running the stall, this was the first time he had seen someone with a negative luck value! Even the unluckiest normal person would have a luck value of zero at most; this girl had managed to drop straight through the earth's core.

At this moment, in Lin Fan's vision, Chu Yaoyao's head wasn't topped with golden auspicious clouds like Su Qingxue's; instead, it was shrouded in a mass of dark clouds so thick they wouldn't dissipate, with occasional bolts of black lightning crackling inside.

What was this?

This was the legendary "Humanoid Walking Bad Luck Magnet"!

"Cough."

Lin Fan forcibly suppressed the smile at the corner of his mouth and pointed to the price tag written on a piece of cardboard nearby. "It's fine if you don't queue. That's a different price. Also, the biggest one you want is one hundred thousand. No bargaining."

"One hundred thousand?!"

Chu Yaoyao's voice instantly rose an octave, making Lin Fan's eardrums ring. "Why don't you just rob someone? This is just a slightly larger box; is there dragon meat inside?"

The surrounding onlookers also gasped.

"One hundred thousand? Wasn't it only ten thousand yesterday?"

"This boss raised the price too ruthlessly, didn't he?"

"Shh, what do you know. This is called differential pricing. Didn't you see the golden patterns on that box? There must be something good inside!"

Lin Fan face did not change.

This was indeed a strategy he had just adjusted. Since he had the Eye of True Sight, he could precisely control the drop rate of the blind boxes.

Those "premium corpses" that had a high probability of yielding good items would naturally be priced high, while those that were likely junk would be sold at low prices for volume.

Inside that black blind box was the head of a D-Rank Mutated Shadow Leopard, and it was extremely well-preserved; the probability of pulling a D-Rank speed-type Combat Skill was very high.

One hundred thousand was actually a fair price.

"Too expensive?"

Lin Fan picked up his lemonade again and said nonchalantly, "If you think it's expensive, you can go to the Treasure Pavilion across the street. Although Young Master Wang has many fakes, they're cheap."

"You!"

Chu Yaoyao was so angry her cheeks puffed up like a pufferfish. "Who cares about the money? This young lady has plenty of money! I'm saying there's a problem with your attitude! I'm Su Qingxue's best friend. For Qing Xue's sake, give me a discount. How about fifty percent off?"

At the mention of Su Qingxue, a hint of craftiness appeared on Chu Yaoyao's face. She didn't believe there was a boy in this world who wouldn't give Su, the Campus Beauty, some face.

Lin Fan looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"A discount..."

He drew out the last syllable, and under Chu Yaoyao's expectant gaze, heartlessly spat out the second half, "Even if she came, it would still be the original price. How about I give you a 'bone-breaking' discount instead? Besides..."

Lin Fan pointed to Chu Yaoyao's forehead, his tone suddenly becoming like that of a fortune teller.

"Classmate, I see your face is a bit dark today; I'm afraid you won't pull anything good. As a conscientious merchant, I suggest you go home, wash up, and go to sleep. This opportunity is something you can't handle."

This was by no means alarmist.

Opening a blind box with -50 luck? If that wasn't giving money away, what was?

If this girl really pulled a pile of junk and started throwing a tantrum in front of his stall, it would be bad for his reputation.

However, these words were like the last spark that ignited a powder keg.

"Who are you saying has a dark forehead?"

Chu Yaoyao bristled.

She hated it most when people called her unlucky! From childhood to now, she always hit the pity threshold in gacha games, it always rained during her exams, and she could even be accurately bombarded by bird droppings while walking down the street. This was the pain of her life!

"Your face is dark! Your whole family's face is dark!"

Chu Yaoyao suddenly pulled a glittering gold bank card from her cute little bag and slammed it onto the weathered folding table in front of Lin Fan with a "thwack."

The force was so great that the blind boxes on the table jumped twice.

"Swipe it, now, immediately! Right now!"

"This young lady insists on buying it today. I'm going to prove to you what the strength of a Lucky King looks like, and what it means to defy fate and change one's destiny!"

Her voice echoed in the wind, carrying a tragic sense of determination.

The surrounding crowd was dumbfounded.

"This girl... has she been triggered by something?"

"So tragic, another child ruined by a gambler's mentality."

"The boss is too black-hearted; this is a provocation tactic! The little girl fell for it!"

Lin Fan sighed.

Good advice can't save a ghost determined to die. Since someone insisted on giving him money, he had no reason to push it away.

"Fatty, take the money."

Lin Fan moved extremely fast to take the gold card, skillfully operated the POS machine, and then stuffed the card back into Chu Yaoyao's hand before she could even react.

"Beep. Transaction successful."

"No returns or exchanges."

Lin Fan pushed the black blind box labeled with a price of one hundred thousand over, looking merciful. "A friendly tip: you'd better go wash your hands in the public toilet next door before opening it. Or pray to the God of Wealth."

"None of your business!"

Chu Yaoyao snatched the blind box as if she were reclaiming her dignity.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and started chanting, "Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, let the Great Supreme Elder show his power... Bless me with a Golden Legend! Bless me with an SSR! As long as it's gold, I'm willing to trade ten years of my brother's single life for this One-pull wonder!"

The whole crowd: "..."

To open a blind box, she even sacrificed her own brother?

Prayer finished.

Chu Yaoyao snapped her eyes open, and a faint green glow actually flickered in her originally dark pupils.

That was the sign of her A+ Rank wind-element talent operating at full power.

"Open... for me!"

She didn't tear the seal like a normal person; instead, she formed her fingers into a claw, and five incredibly sharp miniature wind blades condensed at her fingertips, slashing down fiercely at the blind box.

Violent unboxing!

The moment her fingertips touched the surface of the blind box.

Lin Fan, who had been keeping the Eye of True Sight active, was suddenly stunned.

He saw that the mass of bad luck clouds above Chu Yaoyao's head, which had been as thick as ink, suddenly seemed to receive some kind of intense stimulation the moment it touched the blind box, and began to churn frantically.

[Extreme luck fluctuation detected]

[Target's bottoming-out rebound mechanism triggered]

[Extreme adversity brings prosperity; a pity pull is guaranteed after being an Unlucky Soul]

The data stream in Lin Fan's vision suddenly exploded.

That mass of black representing extreme bad luck, after being compressed to the limit, actually erupted with a point of blindingly bright golden light from its very center.

That light was so brilliant it even surpassed Su Qingxue's luck at the time!

"Holy crap?"

Lin Fan subconsciously sat up straight.

This is even possible?

A double negative makes a positive?

Is this the legendary "when bad luck reaches its peak, good luck naturally follows"?