31: Chapter 31 A Million-Dollar Gamble to Cure the Dissent

"He's crazy, Lin Fan has absolutely lost his mind."

In the livestream, the bullet screen exploded instantly.

"Comparing the total value of blind boxes to someone's carefully selected open boxes? Isn't that like racing a tractor against a Ferrari?"

"He's confused; Brother Fan was too impulsive this time. Wang Teng came prepared!"

"A million! If he loses, not only is the money gone, but his reputation will be ruined too. How will he show his face in Jianghai City after this?"

The atmosphere at the scene froze to the breaking point. Zhang Hao was sweating profusely from anxiety, grabbing Lin Fan's sleeve and hissing, "Brother Fan, don't be impulsive. Those things that bastard brought are definitely top-tier. You don't even know what's in our blind boxes, do you? Mathematically, we're bound to lose!"

Lin Fan gently patted the fatty's hand away, giving him a "stay calm" look.

Probability?

Sorry, but in the face of a cheater, probability is just a joke.

"Come then, Young Master Wang."

Lin Fan made a "please" gesture, his posture as elegant as if he were inviting the other to dinner. "For the sake of fairness, you pick your own items. As for my boxes... you pick those too. How about it?"

"What?"

The surrounding crowd let out another gasp of shock.

Letting the opponent pick the blind boxes?

Isn't that just handing the other guy a knife to stab you with? Wang Teng could easily pick the boxes that looked poorly packaged, small, or light.

"You're the one looking for death."

Wang Teng was stunned at first, then became ecstatic. He had originally worried that Lin Fan might be hiding some premium items, but he hadn't expected this idiot to be arrogant to such an extent.

"Good, everyone be my witness, he said it himself."

Fearing Lin Fan would back out, Wang Teng immediately called over the goatee-wearing appraiser. "Master Liu, pick for me. Pick the ones that look the most worthless."

The goatee-wearing old man had been suppressing his anger for a long time; hearing this, he immediately lunged toward Lin Fan's stall like an old dog.

He felt them, smelled them, and even pulled out a portable energy detector.

"This one, the energy reaction is weak; it's definitely trash."

"This one, light as a feather, probably just some rotten bones."

"And this one, the packaging is torn; it's absolutely scraps."

Before long, twenty blind boxes identified by Master Liu as "industrial waste" were picked out and neatly arranged on the table.

On Wang Teng's side, he brought out twenty exquisite crystal boxes.

Through the crystal, various materials could be clearly seen: glowing red Salamander Skin, perfectly preserved Wind Wolf Fangs, and even several Spirit Herbs emitting a medicinal fragrance.

"Everyone, look!"

Wang Teng pointed at his items triumphantly. "These are all D-rank materials I carefully selected from my family's warehouse. Every single one has a market price of over five thousand. These twenty pieces together are worth at least a hundred and fifty thousand."

One hundred and fifty thousand.

This was a very safe number.

In Wang Teng's eyes, if Lin Fan's twenty crappy boxes were worth ten thousand in total, he should consider himself extremely lucky.

This was a total dimensional strike.

"One hundred and fifty thousand, huh..."

Lin Fan rubbed his chin and nodded thoughtfully. "That is indeed quite a bit. It seems the Wang family really went all out to beat me."

"Cut the crap and open the boxes."

Wang Teng couldn't wait to see Lin Fan kneeling and begging for mercy.

"Then... let's open them."

Lin Fan snapped his fingers.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the seals on those twenty blind boxes deemed "trash" were torn open simultaneously.

There was no world-shaking light.

Nor were there any strange phenomena.

It was just like opening ordinary packages, revealing the contents inside.

"Hahahaha!"

Wang Teng took one look and burst into wild laughter. "Trash as expected, I told you—"

His laughter had just started when it stopped abruptly, like a duck being strangled by the neck.

In the first box sat a pitch-black stone.

It looked ordinary, but under the light, the stone's surface actually shimmered with wave-like patterns, and the faint sound of tides could be heard.

"This... this is..."

The goatee-wearing old man, who had been full of disdain, suddenly widened his eyes. He lunged forward, his hands trembling as he stroked the stone.

"Deep Sea Sunken Silver. This is Deep Sea Sunken Silver!"

"What Sunken Silver? Isn't it just a piece of scrap iron?" Wang Teng's heart skipped a beat.

"What do you know?"

Master Liu's beard shook with excitement. "This is a top-tier auxiliary material for forging C-rank or even B-rank water-attribute weapons. This small piece is worth at least thirty thousand!"

Thirty thousand!

Wang Teng's face instantly turned green.

Just this one stone was worth six of his materials?

"Don't be in such a hurry, there's more."

Lin Fan pointed smilingly at the second box.

Inside was a withered little stalk of grass. It looked like a common weed by the roadside, but its roots showed an eerie blood-red color.

"Blood-Withered Grass, a main ingredient for refining Blood Qi Pills. Although it's a bit young, this stalk is worth at least twenty thousand."

Someone in the crowd who knew their stuff shouted in surprise.

The third box...

The fourth box...

As the blind boxes were opened one by one, Wang Teng's face turned from green to pale, and then from pale to ash-gray.

"E-rank Mutant Beast Venom Sac, perfectly preserved. Value: fifteen thousand."

"Is this... Shadow Cat Claws? And it's a full set! This can be made into hidden weapons. Twenty thousand!"

"Heavens! What is that? A fragmented martial technique? 'Crushing Stone Palm'! Even though it's incomplete, as long as it can be finished, it's an E-rank peak-tier battle technique. How much is this worth? Fifty thousand? No, at least eighty thousand!"

Crazy.

The whole place went crazy.

How was this a trash heap? This was clearly a treasure chest.

Even Lin Fan himself was a little surprised.

He had used the Eye of True Sight and knew there were good things in these twenty boxes, but he hadn't expected the goatee-wearing old man's eyes to be so "sharp," specifically picking these "unassuming on the outside, loaded on the inside" types of blind boxes.

This old man was practically an ally.

"No... impossible..."

Wang Teng staggered back, his lips trembling. "Cheating, you must have cheated! How can every single one be premium? The probability is wrong!"

"Probability?"

Lin Fan picked up the Crushing Stone Palm fragment and gently patted the dust off it.

"Young Master Wang, did you forget? These boxes were personally picked by your own man."

"If we're talking about cheating, then it was you guys cooperating with me to put on a show."

Lin Fan turned to look at Master Liu, who had already collapsed limply on the ground, and said with a face full of gratitude, "Many thanks for your help, Master. Your keen eyes truly live up to their reputation, picking only the expensive ones. Impressive, truly impressive."

"I... I..."

Master Liu's eyes rolled back, and he fainted directly from anger.

He was wronged! He truly thought those were trash! Who knew these blind boxes were so wicked?

At this moment, the media person responsible for the notarization swallowed hard and announced the final statistical results with a trembling voice.

"Lin Fan's side, twenty blind boxes, total value... four hundred and thirty-five thousand."

"Wang Teng's side, twenty open boxes, total value... one hundred and fifty-two thousand."

"The winner... Lin Fan."

Boom!

The cheers from the scene erupted like a tsunami.

"Brother Fan is awesome!!"

"Four hundred and thirty thousand! A crushing defeat! This is a total, all-around crushing!"

"Wang Teng, pay up! Pay up!"

Chu Yaoyao was so excited she jumped directly onto a table, waving her small fists: "See that? This is the gap in strength! This young lady said long ago that Brother Fan's blind boxes are the GOAT!"

Amidst the deafening cheers, Wang Teng's face was ashen. It was as if his spine had been removed, and he slumped limply to the ground.

Lost.

A total loss.

Not only did he lose a million, but he also completely lost the Wang family's face.

"Young Master Wang."

Lin Fan walked up to Wang Teng, looking down at him from above, and held out his hand.

"Accept your loss. I'll gladly take that million."

Wang Teng looked up at Lin Fan's face, which still wore that professional fake smile, his eyes full of resentment and unwillingness. But he knew that under the lens of the global livestream and under the gaze of the Chu family's eldest daughter, he couldn't back out.

His hand trembled slightly as he made a gesture. Only then did the bodyguards reluctantly hand over two briefcases filled with money to Lin Fan.

The fatty was quick-witted this time, grinning as he helped Lin Fan take the briefcases.

"Lin Fan... you just wait..."

Wang Teng gritted his teeth, his voice sounding like it was squeezed through the gaps. "This... isn't over..."

"I'll be waiting anytime."

Lin Fan glanced at the briefcases and tapped the cases twice with his finger, making two crisp sounds.

"But remember to bring more money next time. After all..."

Lin Fan turned around, leaving Wang Teng with a dashing view of his back.

"My appearance fee is very expensive."

The night wind blew.

Lin Fan tightly gripped that thin check, feeling the warmth coming from his fingertips.

One million.

Plus the revenue from these past two days.

Xiao Ya's surgery fees were enough.

He could even buy her the best nutritional fluids and get her the best hospital room.

At this moment, Lin Fan's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally dropped back into his chest. But he knew this was only the beginning.

The Wang family wouldn't let it go, and that Black Snake Organization hiding in the shadows wouldn't let him off either.

Now that he had money, he had to have a life to spend it.

"System."

Lin Fan called out in his heart.

"Those twenty blind boxes just sold... isn't it time to settle the return rewards?"

What good things would drop this time?