49: Chapter 49 The tea at the City Lord's Mansion wasn't good.

Jianghai Lord's Manor.

Side hall.

The clock hands had already turned twice.

"Tick, tock, tick, tock."

The monotonous sound of the ticking clock echoed in the empty room, as if trying to grind down one's patience bit by bit.

A classic "taming the hawk" tactic.

Leaving someone hanging, using unknown fear and the passage of time to slowly dismantle their psychological defenses. By the time the host appeared, a single look was often enough to make the other party crumble.

Unfortunately.

This trick didn't work on Lin Fan.

He was strolling around the room with great interest.

Touching the blue and white porcelain vases on the curio shelves, tapping the red sandalwood tables and chairs, and even leaning in for a closer look at the ink-wash landscape painting on the wall.

[Low-level spiritual energy item detected: Tranquility Porcelain Vase.]

[Age: 120 years.]

[Material: Porcelain clay mixed with trace amounts of Void Spirit Stone.]

"Tsk."

Lin Fan curled his lip, a look of disdain on his face.

The dignified Jianghai Lord's Manor actually displayed such street-stall junk?

This value wasn't even as high as a jade pendant Su Qingxue had casually given him.

He walked over to that painting again.

[Fragmented Visualization Map detected: Vigorous Pines of the Verdant Mountains.]

[Contains a weak spiritual imprint.]

[Evaluation: The painter's skill is average, but it counts as the work of a Martial Master Peak.]

"Trash."

Lin Fan shook his head, his finger brushing against the frame, coming away with a layer of dust.

The cleaning lady at this Jianghai Lord's Manor isn't very good.

Just as Lin Fan was about to study whether that huge floor-standing vase could be stuffed into the system space.

"It seems the Jianghai Lord's Manor's collection isn't good enough for young friend Lin."

The voice wasn't loud.

But it exploded in Lin Fan's mind like a muffled thunderclap.

The air instantly became thick.

Gravity seemed to increase tenfold at this moment.

Lin Fan's knees buckled suddenly, and his bones let out a soft creak. However, he forced himself to stop from kneeling, his spine ramrod straight like a spear that would rather break than bend.

He's here.

Li Zhen walked out from behind the screen with his hands behind his back.

He wasn't wearing a military uniform, just a loose martial arts suit. His gray hair was combed meticulously, and a faint smile played on his lips.

He looked just like an old man from next door practicing Tai Chi.

Grandmaster.

Blood qi like a sea, spirit interfering with matter.

That moment of gravity change just now was the pressure of Spiritual Telekinesis.

"The Jianghai Lord must be joking."

Lin Fan took a deep breath, the blood qi in his body circulating frantically to counter that invisible pressure.

He turned around, wearing his trademark business-like fake smile, "I'm just a junk collector, what do I know about collections? I just thought that if this vase were smashed and made into a blind box, it might yield a 'Safe and Sound' result."

Li Zhen was stunned for a moment.

Then he laughed out loud.

"Interesting."

He walked to the main seat and sat down, and that terrifying pressure dissipated, "Sit."

Lin Fan wasn't polite either, plunking himself down on the armchair opposite.

"Lin Fan."

Li Zhen picked up his teacup and gently blew on the foam, "Straight talk between honest people. I called you here tonight for two things."

"First, those shadow guards from the Wang family—they died well."

Li Zhen lifted his eyelids, a sharp glint flashing in his cloudy old eyes, "Publicly using heavy firearms and death soldiers in the Jianghai area, Wang Tianba has crossed the line. I will suppress this matter. The Wang family won't dare to move against you openly for a short time."

Lin Fan nodded: "Thank you, Jianghai Lord."

This was a bargaining chip.

The authorities would clean up after him and block the Wang family's open attacks.

Then, it was time to talk about the price.

"Second."

Li Zhen put down his teacup, the bottom clacking against the table with a crisp sound.

The atmosphere froze instantly.

"Your blind box."

Li Zhen stared at Lin Fan, his tone flat but carrying an unquestionable dominance, "The uncontrollability is too strong, and the profits are too high. Such things circulating among the people are a hidden danger."

"Someone suggested that you hand over the technology to the state. As compensation, you can receive a medal of honor plus five hundred in cash."

"Others suggested that the Jianghai Lord's Manor take over management. You would only be responsible for production, while sales and pricing rights would belong to the authorities."

The knives were out.

Lin Fan sneered inwardly.

"Five hundred? Not five million? So just five hundred bucks?"

With the explosive advertising effect he had tonight, tomorrow's turnover could exceed ten million.

As for handing over the technology?

This wasn't technology at all; it was a cheat!

Even if you sliced my brain into pieces, you wouldn't find a shred of technology.

"Jianghai Lord."

Lin Fan's smile faded.

He leaned forward, looking directly into the eyes of this Grandmaster Level Expert.

Cold sweat slid down his temples, but his gaze didn't waver in the slightest.

"The blind box isn't a technology."

Lin Fan pointed to his head, "It's a talent."

"My mutated talent is Equivalent Exchange. The flesh and blood of the myriad races are the sacrifices, and the blind box is the container. Only through my hands can those corpses become blind boxes. You can have any expert verify this."

"Kill me, or imprison me, and the blind box will completely disappear."

Li Zhen narrowed his eyes.

He was scrutinizing him.

Mental power swept over Lin Fan's body like an X-ray, attempting to find traces of lying from his heartbeat and blood flow rate.

Lin Fan accepted it calmly.

The system was his greatest secret and his most perfect disguise. In this high-martial world with all sorts of strange talents, even the most outrageous abilities could exist.

"A talent..."

Li Zhen's finger tapped lightly on the table, "If it's a talent, then it's even more dangerous. You are an uncontrollable variable."

"No, it's a win-win."

Lin Fan interrupted Li Zhen.

"The Jianghai Lord is worried about nothing more than two points: first, that blind boxes will make thugs stronger and disrupt public order; second, that the huge profits will cause instability."

"But have you ever thought about this?"

"What is the annual beast tide casualty rate in Jianghai? What is the equipment loss rate for front-line soldiers?"

"If there were something that could exchange the cheapest exotic beast corpses for precious pills, weapons, or even talents... how much of an improvement would that be for the overall combat power of Jianghai?"

Lin Fan's voice rose slightly.

"I'm doing business, but I'm also adding weight to the scales on humanity's side."

Empty words mean nothing.

Lin Fan knew that for a pragmatist like Li Zhen, sentiment was hollow; only solid benefits could move him.

"Seeing is believing."

Lin Fan reached into his shirt.

He took out a pre-prepared blind box from the system space.

It wasn't large.

Its entire body displayed a deep purple-gold color.

This was a top-grade blind box he had pieced together using a piece of flesh dropped by the "Abyssalized Wang Teng" collected during the Grand Competition, plus a C-rank exotic beast inner core from his previous inventory, utilizing the "Tier 2 Synthesis" function the system had just unlocked.

Even before it was opened, a faint energy fluctuation radiated out.

"This is..."

Li Zhen's gaze changed.

A master knows at a glance.

The energy density inside this small box was actually higher than some C-rank alloy equipment.

"Tier 2 Peak Grade Blind Box."

Lin Fan pushed the blind box in front of Li Zhen, "A meeting gift for the Jianghai Lord. Please open the box."

This was a huge gamble.

The system's hundredfold return was for the host, but the items customers opened were random.

Although a Tier 2 blind box had a decent guaranteed floor, Lin Fan wasn't sure if it could produce something that would even move a Grandmaster.

But he had to gamble.

Gamble on that damn luck.

Li Zhen looked at the purple-gold box.

He reached out his hand.

That palm, which could even crush steel, was actually somewhat cautious at this moment.

*Crack.*

The shell shattered.

There were no dazzling golden light special effects.

Only a crisp, clear fragrance instantly filled the side hall.

That fragrance was too pure.

With just one breath, Li Zhen felt the bottleneck of his realm, which had been stagnant for three years, actually loosen slightly. The Grandmaster blood qi in his body, which had been like stagnant water, began to surge joyfully.

"This is..."

Li Zhen stood up abruptly, his movement so sudden he almost overturned the red sandalwood table in front of him.

In the center of the blind box.

A crystal bottle the size of a pinky finger lay quietly.

Inside was a drop of golden liquid.

Although it was only one drop, that majestic vitality was like a miniature sun.

[Grandmaster Level Spiritual Qi Recovery Fluid (Concentrated Version)]

[Effect: Instantly restores 30% of a Grandmaster Realm expert's blood qi, with a slight chance to cleanse hidden injuries.]

Li Zhen's hand was shaking.

At his level, ordinary pills had long since become like jellybeans, completely useless. To make even an inch of progress was as difficult as climbing to heaven. And the hidden injuries left from his early years of warfare tormented him constantly.

This single drop of liquid.

To him, it was a second life.

"This thing... was also opened from a blind box?"

Li Zhen's voice was a bit dry.

"Good luck."

Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed the Goddess of Luck was wearing her underwear today, "I haven't seen this thing many times myself. It seems the Jianghai Lord's fortune is profound."

The flattery was very timely.

Li Zhen gave Lin Fan a deep look.

The scrutiny and pressure in his eyes had completely vanished, replaced by a burning gaze as if looking at a "Bringer of Fortune."

He carefully put away the crystal bottle, keeping it close to his body.

Then he sat down.

This time, his seat was inclined forward slightly.

This was the posture of an equal dialogue.

"What do you want?"

Li Zhen asked directly.

"Exclusive Operating Rights."

Lin Fan held up two fingers, "Myriad Treasures Pavilion wants to become a major legal taxpayer in Jianghai. The authorities must provide protection to prevent unfair competition like that of the Wang family."

"In return."

Lin Fan smiled and threw out the real trump card.

"I will launch a Military Special Supply Program."