6: Chapter 6: Whoever buys this is a fool?

Before the fatty could open the blind box, an incredibly piercing and mockingly surprised voice ruined the good atmosphere that had just been established at the stall.

"Oh! Isn't this our Jianghai No. 3 Middle School's famous theoretical genius, Lin Fan?"

The voice was highly recognizable, carrying the superiority of a second-generation rich kid and a deliberately raised pitch that instantly drowned out the surrounding noisy peddling.

Lin Fan didn't even lift his eyelids; he pressed his palm onto the fatty's shoulder, signaling him not to move yet.

In his peripheral vision, several figures rudely pushed through the crowd.

The leader was none other than Wang Teng.

This guy had clearly dressed up meticulously tonight, his hair combed to a greasy shine—how could someone so young be so greasy?

He had his arm around a girl wearing heavy makeup and a revealing camisole dress, followed by three or four lackeys in matching training uniforms. He walked with his nose in the air, looking as if he wanted to carve the words "I am a rich heir" onto his forehead.

Enemies truly meet on a narrow path.

Lin Fan sneered inwardly. Jianghai City was neither too big nor too small, yet just when he least wanted to cause trouble, this piece of dog shit just had to shove itself under his feet.

"Oh my, honey, is this the classmate you mentioned who awakened an F-Rank Talent?"

The girl in Wang Teng's arms covered her nose as if she smelled something foul. Her eyes, lined with heavy eyeliner, swept over Lin Fan and finally landed on the shabby street stall, letting out a scoff.

"How did he end up like this? Setting up a stall in a place full of sewage? How embarrassing."

"It's more than embarrassing; it's practically bringing shame to our Jianghai No. 3 Middle School!"

Wang Teng walked up to the stall, his shiny beast-hide shoes unceremoniously kicking the cardboard in front of Lin Fan.

Thud.

The cardboard was kicked half a meter away. The four large characters "Defying Fate" on it were stained with mud from the ground, looking exceptionally pathetic.

This kick felt like it had landed right on the fatty's heart.

The fatty had been immersed in the tragic emotion of "betting it all," but now he snapped back to his senses. His round face instantly flushed the color of pig liver, and he lunged to his feet: "Wang Teng! What the hell are you doing? Looking for a fight?"

"Sit down."

Lin Fan's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable cold hardness.

His palm, which was already on the fatty's shoulder, suddenly exerted force, making the 180-pound fatty unable to move.

The fatty looked back in shock, only to see Lin Fan still standing there, lightly patting his shoulder to tell him not to act rashly.

Lin Fan's dark eyes were calmly gazing at Wang Teng.

"Oh, the fatty is here too?"

Wang Teng acted as if he had just noticed Zhang Hao, the mockery on his face deepening. "What, two losers gathering together to form a Loser Alliance? Or did you awaken a useless talent too and plan to follow Lin Fan around swindling people?"

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the three pitch-black wooden boxes, his grin nearly reaching his ears.

"Everyone, come and see! Come see something rare!"

Wang Teng suddenly raised his voice, turning to the surrounding crowd and shouting loudly, gesturing with exaggerated movements.

"This is this year's top theoretical student from our Jianghai No. 3 Middle School! He awakened an F-Rank Talent and apparently read himself stupid, actually bringing out a few pieces of junk wood to scam people for money!"

"Ten thousand a piece? Ha! Why don't you just go rob someone?"

"These wooden boxes—I'd say they'd produce too much smoke even for firewood. Are you using them to hold the ashes of your F-Rank Talent?"

The surrounding crowd had just been watching for fun, but with Wang Teng's instigation, the tide turned instantly.

In this world where strength was everything, an F-Rank Talent was a sin in itself, a synonym for incompetence.

An F-Rank loser actually dared to sell high-priced blind boxes for ten thousand—in the eyes of ordinary people, this was a blatant 'IQ tax,' treating them like fools.

"So it's an F-Rank student, no wonder."

"Tsk tsk, he looks decent enough, but how can his heart be so black?"

"Young man, just pack up and go home. Don't embarrass yourself here. Ten thousand? I have to move bricks for two months to earn that much!"

Pointing fingers and cold mockery ensued.

The harsh discussions were like a swarm of flies, buzzing into his ears.

Wang Teng enjoyed this thrill of controlling public opinion and trampling a former genius under his feet. He looked down at Lin Fan with a gaze like he was looking at a maggot struggling in the mud.

"Lin Fan, if I were you, I'd find a hole to crawl into right now."

Wang Teng pulled out a stack of brand new cash from his pocket. It was a thick wad, at least twenty or thirty thousand. He toyed with it in his hand, making a rustling sound, his face full of playfulness.

"Short on money, are you? If you're short on money, just beg me. For the sake of being classmates, if you kneel down, kowtow to me, and call me Brother Teng, I'll reward you with this money. How about it?"

"Hahaha, Brother Teng is so generous!" the lackeys behind him immediately chimed in.

"Exactly, with an F-Rank Talent, your destiny is just to sweep the streets. Kowtowing to Brother Teng isn't embarrassing!"

The fatty was trembling with rage, his eyes bloodshot and his teeth grinding. If Lin Fan hadn't been holding him down firmly, he would have rushed forward to fight these bastards to the death.

Lin Fan finally moved.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the stack of cash and landing on Wang Teng's arrogant face.

"Are you finished?"

Lin Fan's voice was very soft, as cold as the wind sweeping through the Wasteland Zone at night, without a trace of warmth.

Wang Teng was stunned, clearly not expecting Lin Fan to remain so calm under these circumstances.

"If you can't afford it, get lost."

Lin Fan calmly spat out seven words. "Don't block my business. Your spit is getting my stall dirty."

Silence.

A deathly silence.

The eyes of the surrounding crowd widened instantly. Was this kid crazy? An F-Rank Quasi-Martial Apprentice actually dared to speak to the Young Master of the Wang family like that?

Wang Teng's face darkened visibly, and the veins on his temples throbbed.

He was ignored.

He was publicly ignored by an ant, a loser in his eyes!

This feeling was ten thousand times worse than if Lin Fan had jumped up and cursed him. It was like punching cotton; not only did it not hurt the opponent, but it made him look like a clown.

"Good... good... very good."

Wang Teng laughed out of extreme anger and suddenly slammed the stack of cash in his hand onto the ground in front of Lin Fan.

Slap!

The pink bills scattered all over the ground, some even fluttering onto Lin Fan's legs.

"I have plenty of money! This ten thousand is enough to buy your pathetic life ten times over!"

Wang Teng pointed at Lin Fan's nose, spit flying everywhere. "But I wouldn't deign to buy your garbage boxes! I want everyone to know that you, Lin Fan, are a fraud! You're trash!"

He turned around and roared at the crowd: "Everyone, look closely! This is just a loser trying to scam money! Whoever buys this is an idiot! I, Wang Teng, am putting it out there: if anyone dares to buy his things today, they are making an enemy of the Wang family!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the few passersby who were curious about the blind boxes immediately shrank back and kept their distance.

Although the Wang family wasn't a top-tier elite clan in Jianghai City, they had some influence that ordinary martial artists couldn't afford to provoke.

A large empty space instantly cleared in front of the stall, leaving only the scattered cash and the three lonely wooden boxes.

"This is too much!"

The fatty could no longer hold back. He let out a beast-like roar, violently broke free from Lin Fan's hand, grabbed half a brick from under his seat, and prepared to charge. "Wang Teng, I'm going to kill you!"

"Fatty!"

Lin Fan was quick. He grabbed the fatty's back collar, used the momentum to pull him back, and slammed the irrational fatty down to the ground.

"Brother Fan! Don't stop me! This bastard is being too much!" The fatty's eyes were red, and tears were welling up.

"Fighting will get you caught by the city management, and you'll have to pay medical bills."

Lin Fan crouched down and looked directly into the fatty's eyes, his tone terrifyingly calm. "We don't have the money to pay. Besides, going to the station for a piece of trash like this isn't worth it."

"But..."

"No buts."

Lin Fan stood up, his gaze sweeping over the cash on the ground and then toward the smug Wang Teng.

He didn't pick up the money, nor did he explode in rage.

He was just silently calculating in his mind.

Wang Teng, peak Quasi-Martial Apprentice.

If he made a move here, he could cripple one of Wang Teng's legs within three seconds, but the subsequent trouble would be endless. His sister's surgery fees hadn't been collected yet; he couldn't go to jail.

He had to endure. For his sister, he had to endure even the greatest humiliation.

Wang Teng, huh? This grudge is officially set in stone.

Lin Fan plotted in his mind how to make Wang Teng fall into his trap.

Wang Teng, you think you're humiliating me?

No.

You are turning yourself into the most expensive raw material for my future blind boxes.

"Has Young Master Wang finished showing off his might?"

Lin Fan brushed the dust off his clothes, his tone still flat. "If you're done, please move aside. My customer is still waiting to open a box."

Saying this, he picked up the cardboard that Wang Teng had kicked away, rearranged it, and then solemnly pushed forward the blind box that the fatty had been holding in his arms.

"Fatty, ignore the barking dog."

Lin Fan's voice wasn't loud, but it clearly spread throughout the area. "Open your box. Let them see who the real idiot is."

Seeing this, Wang Teng's sneer intensified: "Fine, still acting? Dead fatty, if you can open anything at all from that piece of junk wood, I'll eat the dirt on this ground right here!"

"Good!"

Lin Fan suddenly looked up, staring intently at Wang Teng. "You said it."

"Everyone, be my witness."