54: Chapter 54 Grand Opening, Queues All Over the City

"The brother in charge of picking up goods from the collection stations just called... there's no stock left."

Lin Fan’s smile didn’t fade, but his eyes narrowed slightly. "No stock? Every collection station in the Jianghai is empty?"

"Empty. Not even a single hair is left."

Fatty stomped his feet in anxiety. "They say someone started sweeping up goods at high prices since last night. No matter the grade of the mutated beast carcass, even if it's stinking rotten meat, as long as it has a bit of spiritual energy, it’s all been bought up!"

"And..."

Fatty swallowed hard. "The other party sent word: they'll take all low-level materials in Jianghai Jianghai from now on at twenty percent above market price. Anyone who dares to sell to the Myriad Treasures Pavilion is making an enemy of them."

Cutting the ground from under one's feet.

This move was ruthless and absolute.

The core of the blind box business lies in 'raw materials.' Without mutated beast carcasses, Lin Fan’s system is just a decoration, and the Myriad Treasures Pavilion is just an empty shell.

"Who is it?"

Su Qingxue heard their conversation, her brow furrowing slightly as a faint chill surged around her. "In Jianghai Jianghai, there aren't many families who would dare to monopolize things so blatantly."

"Who else could it be?"

Lin Fan chuckled, pulling a coin from his pocket and flipping it skillfully between his fingers.

"Besides the Head of the Wang Family who just lost his son... oh wait, whose son was just crippled—who else would hate me enough to want to tear down this shop?"

Wang Tianba.

This old dog's reaction was quite fast.

Knowing he couldn't move against Lin Fan, who had an official background, with force, he started playing dirty within the business rules.

Smashing him with money.

Using the power of capital to cut off the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's supply chain and starve Lin Fan to death.

If it were an ordinary merchant facing such capital suppression, they would probably have no choice but to close down.

Unfortunately.

He met Lin Fan.

"Brother Fan, what should we do?"

A shop without a source of goods is like a fish out of water.

"What's the panic?"

Lin Fan reached out and pressed Fatty's shoulder. The steady and powerful grip instantly calmed Fatty's racing heart.

"If Wang Tianba wants to play, then we'll play with him."

Lin Fan turned his head to look out the window.

In the distance, the Wang Family's building, though sealed off, still stood tall, casting a massive shadow in the sunset.

"He thinks that by cutting off the low-level materials on the market, I'll be out of options?"

The smile on the corner of Lin Fan's mouth grew deeper—a mockery similar to a hunter watching his prey fall into a trap.

"Fatty."

"Prepare a car."

"Where to?" Fatty was stunned.

Lin Fan straightened his collar and turned toward the main door.

The sunset stretched his shadow long, like a sharp blade about to be unsheathed.

"To pick up goods."

"To pick up a batch of top-tier goods that Wang Tianba won't be able to buy in his lifetime, nor will he dare to..."

At the same time.

Outside the Jianghai, on the transport route dedicated to the Third Field Army.

A heavy truck laden with the scent of blood and slaughter roared through the twilight mist, racing toward the Myriad Treasures Pavilion.

...

"Don't push! If you keep pushing, I'll hack you down like mutated beasts!"

The captain of the Third Squadron of the City Defense Force roared hoarsely, slamming his alloy scabbard hard against the barrier.

It was useless.

There were too many people.

Just as dawn broke, the queue in front of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion already stretched to the next block. Traffic was completely paralyzed, and the honking of hovercars rang out in unison, yet it couldn't drown out the near-boiling frenzy of the crowd.

Lin Fan stood before the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor, holding a cup of freshly brewed hot tea. The green tea reflected the distorted, longing, and even bloodshot faces below.

"Madness."

Su Qingxue stood by his side, her cold gaze sweeping over the crowd. "Half of these people are low-level martial artists who can't even afford rent. They've brought their entire net worth just to gamble on a one-in-ten-thousand chance."

"Allow me to correct you."

Lin Fan blew the froth off his tea, his tone indifferent. "It's one percent. My conscience is a little bit larger than that of the Wang Family's bloodsucking capitalists."

"The auspicious hour has arrived!"

Fatty's raspy, broken-gong-like voice echoed from downstairs.

The noisy crowd instantly fell silent. Everyone's necks seemed to be pulled up by invisible strings as they stared intently at the slowly opening glazed doors.

There were no firecrackers.

Only two rows of fully armed City Defense Force soldiers marched from the end of the street with steady steps.

The leader was none other than Iron Pillar Zhao.

He held a plaque wrapped in red silk, his expression as solemn as if he were escorting a nuclear button.

Behind him, two soldiers carried a banner embroidered with a line of gold characters: [Military-Civilian Integration, Strengthening Our Great Wall].

"Is that... the plaque from the Jianghai Lord's Manor?!"

Someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Iron Pillar Zhao walked to the entrance and suddenly tore off the red silk.

Four gilded characters shone brightly in the morning light: [Honest Management].

Signed: Jianghai Jianghai Lord, Li Zhen.

"Boom!"

The crowd exploded.

This was an official endorsement.

In this chaotic world, what storefront sign could be more solid than the personal inscription of a Grandmaster Level Expert? This meant that the Myriad Treasures Pavilion was no longer a small workshop for speculation, but a registered, legitimate force.

Immediately following that.

Two extended luxury cars pulled up.

Su Xiaotian, the Head of the Su Family, and Chu Yunfei, the Head of the Chu Family—two big shots who were usually elusive—actually pushed open their doors and stepped out at the same time.

They didn't say much, simply smiling as they took the gold scissors from Fatty and made a 'snip' at the red silk.

"The Su Family orders 5 Silver Membership Cards," Su Xiaotian spoke calmly. His voice wasn't loud, yet it reached everyone.

"The Chu Family orders 5 Silver Membership Cards," Chu Yunfei followed immediately.

Ten million.

With just two sentences, twenty million in cash flow was instantly recorded.

The spies from various noble families who were still watching from the sidelines turned pale. They frantically pulled out their communicators to report this desperate news to their masters: the Myriad Treasures Pavilion's momentum was now unstoppable.

"Open the doors and welcome the guests!"

Lin Fan's voice broadcast through the loudspeakers.

The doors swung wide open.

The first person to rush in was a middle-aged man with a stubbly face. His leather armor was tattered, clearly marking him as a lone hunter who had struggled at the bottom for years.

"I want one, just one!"

The man's hand trembled as he slapped a bag of blood-stained coins onto the crystal counter. "This is what I saved from killing Rot Wolves for a week. Take it all, give me the best one."

Fatty smiled as he took the bag of coins and casually picked out a pitch-black blind box from the counter.

"Good luck, brother."

The man took the blind box.

His hands were shaking, and his breathing was as heavy as a bellows. A circle of people surrounded him, countless eyes staring fixedly at the box as if it contained their very lives.

*Click.*

The box opened.

A dazzling silver light instantly pierced the dim interior.

It was a pair of boots.

They were entirely silver-white, with a streamlined design that seemed to contain the rhythm of the wind, and faint runes flowed across the surface.

[Item: Gale Warboots (Grade C Alloy)]

[Traits: Increases movement speed by 30%, includes skill 'Flash Step'.]

"Holy crap! Grade C alloy equipment?!"

"This thing sells for at least two hundred thousand on the market! This guy struck it rich!"

"You really can get them! They weren't lying!"

The cheers almost lifted the roof off.

The middle-aged man held the boots and actually knelt on the spot, wailing loudly. With these boots, his survival rate in the Wasteland Zone would at least double. This was his life—a literal second lease on life.

Watching this, the prestige points on Lin Fan's system panel began to jump wildly.

[Ding! Customer opened Grade C equipment, triggering Hundredfold Return.]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Grade A equipment: Voidwalker Warboots (possesses short-distance spatial jump capability).]

Comfortable.

This is the pleasure of getting stronger while doing nothing.

...

Wang Clan Trading House, top-floor office.

"What did you say?!"

Wang Tianba suddenly sprang up from his boss chair, the cigar in his hand crushed into powder.

"Military supply? That old fogey Li Zhen actually delivered military spoils directly to that little brat!"

The butler standing before the desk trembled, not daring to raise his head.

"Yes... yes, Head of the Family. Ten whole trucks. And they're all high-grade goods of Grade C or above. Now the Myriad Treasures Pavilion has put up a 'Military Quality' sign, and those customers who were originally queuing at our place have all run over..."

*Pfft!*

Wang Tianba felt a sweetness in his throat, and a mouthful of old blood almost sprayed out.

He spent three hundred million.

A full three hundred million in liquid capital was used to buy up a warehouse full of low-level mutated beast carcasses at a premium. He thought he could choke Lin Fan, but it turns out the guy doesn't even care for that!

He's eating special military rations!

Now look at this.

The low-level goods he hoarded can't be made into high-end equipment, and because the premium he paid was too high, he can't even sell them off. Like a pile of stinking rotten meat, they're stuck in his hands.

"Lin Fan..."

Wang Tianba gripped the corner of the table tightly, his nails sinking deep into the expensive rosewood, making a tooth-grinding scraping sound.

"Good move. Truly a good move."

"This is trying to drive my Wang Family to death."