Qi Xu sucked in several sharp breaths, stopping only when she was on the verge of sneezing.
That didn’t make sense. She had spent only 36 Survival Coins in total. How could the wealthiest Fox Family give away their Supreme VIP Card so easily?
The Fox Family owned plenty of businesses. Banks, repair shops, Monster Stores—those three giants all belonged to the Fox Family. They had other industries too, though Qi Xu didn’t know much about them; as a lone wolf, her access to resource information had been very limited.
Qi Xu hadn’t had any close friends either. Once Guilds and War Zones appeared, people mostly chatted inside their own Guilds and War Zones. Qi Xu had only had the chat channel for a single major region, so she had missed out on a lot of news.
Her guess was that it still came down to the Beginner Protection Period.
The Survival Coin prices she was seeing were probably different from the ones this Purple Fox saw.
On his end… it was probably showing the original prices for these Boost Packs.
Viewed that way, there was nothing surprising about it. Even the big shots from her previous run wouldn’t have dared buy sixty at once; at most, they’d use a few at the end of the month to make a final push.
As for the price difference in between… could the middleman be subsidizing it? Other middlemen made money off the markup; this one was paying a subsidy. How generous!
The Purple Fox merchant bowed slightly. “Honored customer, please scan here to pay.”
The payment screen showed a deduction of 28.8 Survival Coins. Thirty-six Survival Coins with a 20% discount came to 28.8 on the dot. The discount was even being applied to this purchase.
Qi Xu generously scanned 30. Why let a subsidy go to waste?
“Keep the extra as your tip. Thanks for your hard work—I really liked your service.”
The Purple Fox beamed with an indulgent smile. “Thank you very much, honored guest. Meeting you is truly my great fortune.”
The instant Qi Xu turned around, an announcement sounded in her mind.
[Congratulations, player, on unlocking Monster Affinity]
Qi Xu opened the affinity list.
Right at the top was the Purple Fox she had just met.
[Gas Station Manager Purple Fox: Affinity 29]
[Garbage Station Manager Mr. Elephant: Affinity 17]
Qi Xu looked baffled. Why was Mr. Elephant’s affinity so high? Could her performance at the Garbage Station have been so heroic that it caught his attention?
And why was the Bull-Headed Monster from the one-star instance sitting at negative affinity toward her?!
I even took first place in the whole region! And it’s still negative? How is that reasonable?
Qi Xu racked her brains without figuring it out, but right now, time mattered most. It was currently 9 a.m., leaving twelve hours on the dot until dark at 9 p.m.
Just to be safe, Qi Xu planned to start with a 5-hour acceleration card. While a Boost Pack was active, players couldn’t get out to pick up supply crates, but by the same token, driving didn’t consume the Vehicle’s own battery or fuel.
It also ran on autopilot; she didn’t even need to mind the steering wheel. She could just lie down in the cargo bed and go to sleep.
Qi Xu planned to check the situation once the five hours were up and then decide whether to use more Boost Packs. Since she had already made the investment, she had to lock down first place on the rankings during this Beginner Protection Period!
Qi Xu had never bought a Boost Pack before—after all, she had never been able to afford one.
Whenever she actually got her hands on Survival Coins, she would rather check a monster merchant to see if they had anything edible or a handy weapon.
Once outside, Qi Xu didn’t stand on ceremony. She climbed straight into the more comfortable cargo bed of the three-wheeler and tapped to use an Advanced 5-Hour Boost Pack.
Instantly, a strong surge pressed her back, though thankfully, something like a protective barrier wrapped around the three-wheeler.
Aside from a slight dizziness before her eyes, she felt no discomfort at all.
After a moment to adjust, she got used to it. As long as she didn’t stare at the highway, looking at the light screen or closing her eyes kept the dizziness away.
Qi Xu was still buzzing with excitement, so there was no way she was falling asleep right now.
She opened the public screen to check the chat channel and the Trading Hall.
The chat channel was completely taken over by talk of Green Fur.
Donut: “@Peppy Girl Guo Degang Why are you collecting so much Green Fur? Does it do something? Don’t be so selfish—if you know something, share it with us. If I knew, I’d definitely tell everyone.”
Light Shines on Everyone: “Seconding this. Little sister Donut has a great mindset. Now that we’re all stuck here, surviving is hard enough as it is—we really should stick together!”
Possessed by Lady Luck: “Why don’t you two post your supply lists first and let me have a look? I need a bottle of water. Who wants to share one with me? Meeting here is fate—don’t be so stingy!”
Player 0117: “Honestly, I’m pretty curious what Green Fur is for too. Can I trade supplies for the info? @Peppy Girl Guo Degang”
Light Shines on Everyone: “Everyone, don’t get so heated. It’s my fault for not wording it clearly. If someone’s willing to share, we’ll all appreciate it, and if not, that’s their personal choice too. Please don’t guilt-trip people!”
Peppy Girl Guo Degang: “Good grief, stay away from me, you idiots. I’m broke as hell too, okay? I’m literally just trying to invest in a bit of Green Fur and see if I can strike it rich overnight. No way the Green Fur dropped by the Green-Furred Monsters I busted my ass killing in the Instance is completely useless! Maybe one lucky gamble is all it takes to hit the jackpot! If the gamble actually pays off, I’ll be living large, and I’ll make sure to post pictures in the group every single day.”
Player 0117: “Good lord, here I thought you were some big-shot expert, and you’re just a degenerate gambler.”
Peppy Girl Guo Degang: “Lol, big-shot experts are people like Invincible Black Whirlwind or War Wolf 009, right? When have you ever seen them chatting in the Public Chat?”
Retired Magical Boy: “What’s there to hold on to this Green Fur for? I’ll sell mine to you. Who knows when it’ll ever be useful? I’d rather trade it for food. My inventory backpack doesn’t even have an empty slot left!”
Retired Magical Boy hadn’t taken part in the Instance challenge. There wasn’t even enough fuel for normal daily driving—joining an Instance challenge on top of that would’ve been a joke. Naturally, there wasn’t any Green Fur in that inventory either.
The only reason for chiming in like that was having traded with Peppy Girl Guo Degang a few times and feeling they got along pretty well.
With a shill in the crowd, business was much easier to do.
Seeing how lively the chat channel was, Qi Xu jumped in to stir the pot too.
Invincible Black Whirlwind: “@Peppy Girl Guo Degang I’ll trade with you. I’ve got a lot.”
Peppy Girl Guo Degang: “Ahhh, got it, big shot!”
Once Qi Xu threw a wrench into things, the people still sitting on the fence couldn’t stay calm anymore. Invincible Black Whirlwind was No. 1 in the entire major region! How much Green Fur did he have to be sitting on?
If they didn’t trade now, that silly Peppy Girl would run out of supplies to trade with, and then there’d be nothing left!