Chapter 261 I Picked Up Trash on the Battlefield of National Fortune 17
the next day.
Zhou Jue, once again in the guise of 0714, diligently cleaned up the "garbage" in the D-12 area for a whole day.
By the time the mission ended in the evening, her points balance was approaching seven thousand.
Back at the cabin, without a moment's rest, she immediately transformed into itinerant merchant 1024. With a flash of teleportation light, she reappeared in the player town.
As soon as I stepped out of the logistics corridor, a wave of heat hit me.
Today's flea market is completely different from yesterday's. The once quiet corners are now crowded with people, almost blocking half of the market's passageway.
"Here he comes! The boss is here!"
Someone shouted, and the crowd instantly erupted in excitement, with everyone's eyes shining like searchlights.
"Boss! I've been waiting for you all day!"
"How much stock do you have today? I want it all!"
"Don't push! Line up! Don't you know the rules?!"
Zhou Jue looked at the scene before him, a slight smile playing on his lips beneath his hood.
She walked slowly to her stall, and the crowd automatically made way for her, their eyes filled with awe and anticipation.
She bent down and laid the gray cloth on the ground.
"Make way! Make way, everyone!" A sharp voice forcefully cut through the noisy crowd.
Market Administrator-03, dressed in a silver-gray uniform, walked in expressionlessly, followed by Pharmacist-44, who looked gloating.
Pharmacist No. 44 looked down at Zhou Jue with an arrogant air, as if he could already see Zhou Jue being driven out of the market in a pathetic state.
Administrator-03 walked up to Zhou Jue, and a cold, mechanical voice sounded.
"NPC-1024, we have received a real-name report alleging that you are involved in malicious price wars, dumping of substandard goods, and seriously disrupting market order."
He raised his hand and pointed to the goods that Zhou Jue had not yet taken out.
"Now, a routine compliance check is in progress. Please cooperate."
The surrounding players immediately erupted in chaos.
"What the hell? A malicious price war?"
"A life-saving drug worth 20 points, and you call that disrupting the market?"
"Exactly! You ignore the vampire next door that sells for eighty, but you care about this charity worker?"
"It must have been that guy, number 44, who reported it! That bastard is so heartless!"
The crowd was in a frenzy, and the players surrounded the administrator and pharmacist-44, practically drowning them in their spittle.
Pharmacist-44 didn't expect such a strong reaction from the players. He shrank back, but seeing the administrator next to him, he regained his confidence.
He jumped up and down, shouting, "What's all the noise about! You get what you pay for! If he sells it so cheaply, it must be a cheap product! What if someone dies from drinking it? Will you take responsibility?"
"If you get sick from drinking it, you'll regret it!"
Administrator-03 raised his hand, and the bracelet emitted a piercing buzzing sound, forcefully suppressing the surrounding noise.
"Silence." He swept his gaze across the room, and the players were forced to quiet down.
"The market management office only looks at the evidence."
The administrator turned to Zhou Jue: "Bring out your goods for inspection."
All eyes were on Zhou Jue.
There were concerns, there was a desire to watch the show, and there was also the malicious malice of Pharmacist-44, who was waiting to see the joke.
Zhou Jue remained calm as she slowly pulled two bottles of light blue medicine from her wide sleeves.
One bottle was the kind that was sold yesterday, and the other was the "premium" kind that she specially made last night.
"Basic stamina recovery potion, 20 points; Advanced stamina recovery potion, 50 points." After the introduction, he handed over the two bottles of potions.
Pharmacist No. 44 scoffed at the flimsy packaging: "Look at this! Not even a proper label, a counterfeit product! If this passes inspection, I'll eat the bottle!"
Administrator-03 took the medicine and took out a portable detector from his waist.
He inserted the medicine into the slot, and a red scanning light illuminated.
"Beep beep beep—"
The detector started working, and the data on the screen jumped rapidly.
The surroundings were deathly silent; everyone held their breath, staring at the small screen.
Pharmacist-44 crossed his arms, a cold smile playing on his lips, already mentally rehearsing how he would humiliate this arrogant competitor.
A few seconds later.
"bite!"
A crisp beep sounded, and the indicator light on the detector lit up a comforting green.
Administrator-03 calmly announced the test results while looking at the data on the screen.
Product Name: Unknown Recovery Solution
"Ingredients: Pure activated water (high purity)."
"Effect: After oral administration, it can restore about 25% of the user's physical strength within ten seconds, without any side effects."
Before anyone could react, the administrator tested another bottle.
"bite!"
Administrator-03 looked at the data on the screen, and this time, even that unchanging metallic face seemed to freeze for a moment.
He looked up and announced the test results in a slightly odd tone.
Product Name: Unknown Recovery Solution
"Ingredients: Pure activated water (extremely high purity)."
"Effect: After oral administration, it can restore about 75% of the user's physical strength within ten seconds, without any side effects."
Dead silence.
The sneer on Pharmacist Number 44's face froze, like a cracked mask hanging on his face.
"How much...how much?" He suspected that his hearing module was malfunctioning.
"75%." Administrator-03 repeated the data, even adding, "Effectiveness rating: A-".
The crowd erupted instantly.
"Holy crap! 75%?!"
"The effects of a Grade A potion?! Selling for fifty points?!"
"This isn't just charity, it's like a living bodhisattva descending to earth!"
"Boss! I'll offer a hundred! No, two hundred! Sell it to me!"
The players who were just looking for cheap deals a moment ago now had their eyes red with envy, looking at Zhou Jue as if he were a moving gold mine.
Pharmacist No. 44 was completely dumbfounded.
The "Advanced Stamina Potion" he sells himself only restores 60% of his stamina, and it costs 200 points per bottle!
How is that possible?
The machine must be broken!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" He rushed forward, trying to snatch the detector. "This must be cheating! How could he possibly have something this good!"
Administrator-03 shoved him aside and said coldly, "The testing equipment is working properly, and the data is accurate and valid."
The first accusation—selling inferior goods—is self-defeating.
It even became the best official advertisement.
But Administrator-03 did not leave. He put away the detector and his gaze fell on Zhou Jue again.
"The product quality is up to standard."
"But regarding the second charge, malicious price war."
The administrator's voice remained cold: "According to market guidance prices, the minimum retail price for basic recovery potions shall not be lower than 50 points, and the minimum retail price for Grade A recovery potions shall not be lower than 280 points."
"Your pricing of 20 points and 50 points is too large a price difference, which does indeed raise serious suspicions of market disruption."
Pharmacist-44 jumped up as if grasping at a last straw.
"Yes! He's disrupting the market! This is unfair competition! He must be severely punished! Get him out of here!"
The surrounding players were on edge again. Good quality was a good thing, but if it was banned because the price was too low, then they would still get nothing.
"These rules are way too rigid!"
"Can't they sell it for a lower price if they're willing?"
Faced with the administrator's questioning, Zhou Jue raised his left hand and showed his bracelet.
"According to the 'NPC Itinerant Merchant Management Regulations'."
Her hoarse voice rang out clearly in front of everyone for the first time.
She slid her finger across the virtual screen, bringing up a densely packed document, then precisely zoomed in on one line and projected it into mid-air.
That was an appendix that was easily overlooked.
[Supplementary Provision 7.3: Itinerant merchants have the right to set their own prices for "self-procured non-standard products" in a "cost recovery" manner to clear inventory. This behavior is not subject to market guidance prices.]
Zhou Jue pointed to the line of words, then to the medicine on his stall.
"Self-sourced raw materials, non-standard industrial products, and handmade cooking."
"I'm in a hurry to clear out my inventory and get my money back."
"Is there a problem with the price of twenty?"
Administrator-03 stared at the clause, his core processor whirring as he searched the database.
A few seconds later, the red light in his eyes flickered twice.
"Clause search completed, applicability confirmed."
"The products sold by NPC-1024 meet the definition of 'self-procured non-standard products'."
"The allegations of malicious price war are dismissed."
After saying that, he turned around, not even glancing at the stunned Pharmacist-44, and made the announcement directly.
"Report invalid, team withdraw."
The administrator came quickly and left quickly, disappearing into the crowd in the blink of an eye.
Only Pharmacist-44 remained, standing alone like a clown stripped naked.
He stared at the [Appendix 7.3] still suspended in mid-air, his expression incredibly complex.
From shock to resentment, and then to despair.
He lost, he lost completely.
Instead of driving away their competitors, they ended up helping them achieve the most authoritative official certification.
Zhou Jue put away the projector without even glancing at him.
She bent down again and slowly placed the bottles of medicine she had prepared for the day on the stall.
"Open for business."
She uttered two words softly.
The next second, the frenzied crowd, like a tsunami, completely engulfed her stall.
"Give me five bottles of 20-yuan bottles!"
"I want ten bottles at 20 yuan each!"
"I want five bottles of the 20-yuan bottle and two bottles of the 50-yuan bottle!"
"Don't fight over it! I saw it first!"
The notification sounds of points being credited to accounts formed a pleasant symphony.
Pharmacist-44, standing on the periphery, watched the bustling scene and listened to the constant "clattering" of virtual coins. His vision blurred, and he almost fainted.
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