Chapter 57: Uncovering the New Player Character of Mysterious Origin
In the dim and unlit market, sacks of medicinal herbs were piled up everywhere, and one could trip over them at any time.
Ye Xuan looked at Xiao Qin groping as he walked, sighed, and turned on the flashlight on his phone: "Xiao Qin, use your phone to shine, be careful not to fall."
Unlike Ye Xuan, the boy had both hands full of plastic bags. Although the bags were not too heavy, it was difficult to free his hands with so many of them. The winding road also made it inconvenient for Ye Xuan to light the way for Xiao Qin, who was leading the way in front.
Qin paused, put down the bag first, and then chose to hold the mobile phone with the flashlight on in his mouth, barely using the weak light to illuminate.
Ye Xuan couldn't help but feel a little distressed. When he first entered this script, Director Qin was still a proud young genius who dared to express his dissatisfaction even when his leader spoke. Now, under his leadership, he has become so obedient...
Then he really taught well.
After walking for a while, Ye Xuan could tell without being reminded that the small light in front was the cashier counter. I don't know if it was to save electricity, but it seemed that this was the only area in the entire market with lights on.
The dim light just happened to shine on the cardboard with the words "Cashier" written on it, but the figure was standing in the shadow and could only be seen vaguely.
Well, it's quite weird.
Ye Xuan found it difficult to understand why a wholesale market for Chinese herbal medicines had to be so mysterious. From selection to payment, customers seemed to be conducting some unspeakable strange transactions, and the atmosphere was rendered weird.
Aren't the herbs bought from this kind of place really used to make poison?
It looks more like the birthplace of "zombies" than a research institute!
Although they felt a little uncomfortable, they had no choice but to buy medicine from here in order to continue the treatment.
Xiao Qin was fooled by the so-called "expert" and did not feel much psychological burden when he walked over. However, Ye Xing thought much more than him. After all, even if they were players in the same script, they could not all be friendly. What if the other party cheated and intended to attack them?
Given their ability to attract hatred, the possibility is not low.
Ye Xing deliberately slowed down his pace so that if the other party attacked Xiao Qin, he could react immediately to ensure the safety of both of them.
Don't get me wrong, he didn't intentionally ask Xiao Qin to be a "bait". Firstly, the kid ran too fast and he didn't have time to discuss with him; secondly, he knew Xiao Qin's fighting ability and knew he could still hold his own in ordinary close combat.
Xiao Qin did not care why the senior suddenly walked so slowly. He was only thinking about finding the master as soon as possible to ask him clearly why the method given by the other party had not been heard of by the senior, a professional Chinese medicine practitioner. In his mind, the senior was the most authoritative and powerful Chinese medicine practitioner.
Ye Xing watched Xiao Qin warily as he walked forward quickly step by step. Even though he was anxious, his steps were steady. It seemed that he had practiced some etiquette before.
By the way, non-industry insiders who have been exposed to scientific research since childhood must be either rich or noble, right?
According to the information he had obtained previously, Xiao Qin's involvement in scientific research at a young age was not "family inheritance", but rather he had such an interest and hobby.
It is not difficult to see that his family background is extraordinary since he can obtain better resources than adults who have been in the industry for many years just by relying on his "hobby".
However, after problems with the drugs occurred, after Xiao Qin was caught in a whirlpool of public opinion, and after he voluntarily left the research institute, none of his "family members" stood up.
To this day, Xiao Qin still lives in the clinic with a Chinese medicine doctor, and is exposed to Chinese medicine and acupuncture every day. Others seem to think that he has given up. Even the media, who knew a little bit about what happened, accused him of shirking his responsibility by exaggerating.
Only Ye Xuan knew that Xiao Qin had not given up his scientific research career and he still wanted to continue on this path.
The road of life is never straight, there will be countless forks.
But even if you take a side path at this moment, you might end up back on the "main road" soon.
Qin has chosen to try traditional Chinese medicine at this time, but will most likely continue his research after this is over.
In fact, it is difficult for others to influence his decision. Ye Xing has jokingly asked him more than once whether he has considered changing his career to become a Chinese medicine practitioner. Every time, he said very seriously that scientific research is his eternal pursuit.
It's just temporary.
The Chinese medicine practitioner looked at the young man carrying the Chinese medicinal materials, thinking that they would go their separate ways after the treatment.
Traditional Chinese medicine in this city is still at a very "traditional" stage, with no new technologies, but it has been passed down very well, and even some skills and prescriptions that were almost lost have been preserved.
Speaking of "innovation", he may be the first person to use traditional Chinese medicine to treat zombies.
He has been studying the things left by his ancestors, and rarely thinks about what new he can leave for future generations.
Xiao Qin has been developing new drugs, and he hopes to cure more diseases.
Perhaps, not only Xiao Qin learned something from him, he also learned a lot from him.
He wants to try out more possibilities of Chinese medicine.
"Master, it's really you!" Xiao Qin had already walked to the cashier counter. "I carefully selected the herbs according to the method you taught me. Can you help check them?"
"The medicinal materials here are all top-grade." The man didn't even bat an eyelid, as if those medicines were not worth his inspection at all.
"Then why do you still teach me how to choose?" Xiao Qin asked puzzledly.
"As for medicine, it's best if you have a connection with it," the man knocked on the table and said, "Have you ever heard of drug allergy? That means you have no connection with it."
Qin himself is a medical researcher, so he certainly knows how serious drug allergy is, and it can even cost lives if one is not careful.
So he was very convinced by this explanation and nodded repeatedly.
Ye Xuan saw this scene and was worried that his protagonist had been deceived, so he hurried over.
He piled several bags of herbs on the table: "Let's pay for them together."
"Senior, this is the master I was talking about..." Xiao Qin lowered his voice and spoke in Ye Xuan's ear. He was afraid that this strange master was dissatisfied with Ye Xuan's attitude and would not even sell the herbs to them.
"Don't worry," Ye Xuan looked at the player logo on the other person's head, "I know my limits."
Since he is a player, he can't just buy things and leave. Maybe he, as a real NPC, will have to issue tasks or rewards to the other party.
However, if the other party's task is only to sell medicinal herbs, then it should be fine as long as the money is paid.
But an ordinary cashier doesn’t need the whole “expert” setting. Maybe it’s not that simple?
He was confused again.
"Senior?" Seeing that the master had weighed the herbs, Xiao Qin reminded Ye Xing, "It's time to pay, but the budget is not enough..."
"Why is it not enough?" Ye Xuan came to his senses. He looked at the account book before leaving, and the money allocated for purchasing was more than enough.
"The city has been closed in recent days, and the storage and sale of medicinal materials have been affected. The prices have just been adjusted up moderately." The man showed an expression that said, "You haven't seen the world."
"Appropriate amount?" Ye Xuan pulled over the price list and took a look. This was simply taking advantage of the situation. Some of the drug names were not written correctly, and the unit prices were far different from the past. "This fluctuation is like an electrocardiogram on a roller coaster. It seems that your pricing is very arbitrary. You have to make major changes every few days."
The man said unconvincedly: "The city has been under lockdown for so long. If the ban is not lifted, there will be no business. If there is no business, we will naturally have to--"
"The more money I make, the better it is?" Ye Xing sneered, "Even if the city is closed, it won't stop me from suing you at the Price Bureau."
The man muttered, "You can't sue me anyway, so it's up to you."
Ye Xuan is not a person with sharp ears, but the employees in the game can always hear more than ordinary players.
He pondered over this sentence, which was short but seemed to contain a lot of information, and suddenly came up with a bold guess.
Could it be that this person is not an employee of the Chinese herbal medicine wholesale market at all, but a "thief" who is taking advantage of the situation and trying to make more money?
Then there is an explanation for the creation of mystery to deceive Xiao Qin. People who don't want their true identity to be easily discovered will often make up a more outrageous identity for themselves, so that even if others doubt this superficial identity, they will not think about the other person's true identity.
Tsk, it's getting more and more complicated. The planning team must have put a lot of thought into every update. What kind of trust makes them feel that their real-life NPC colleagues can lead players to successfully complete the plot without knowing the situation?
Ye Xuan felt a sense of powerlessness, and he found that the game was not a very suitable place for him to rest.
Even a program-controlled NPC knows what to do next, right? But he is even more helpless than the player.
At least the player has a guide like him, but now he himself doesn’t understand what to do. What is the meaning of this new character?
"Senior?" Xiao Qin looked at the "expert" who was ruthlessly exposed, and was a little confused. "Should we still buy this medicinal material?"
"If the price is reasonable, we'll buy it." Ye Xing glanced at the man, who was looking down, thinking about something. "Besides, it's too dark here. I think it's a bit weird. Cashier, can you show me your ID? In these days when everyone is in danger, I don't feel safe buying medicine."
"What ID do you want to show me?" The man avoided looking at Ye Xuan. He glanced at the herbs on the table and said, "You tell me the price. I don't think you are an amateur."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you're panicking now? I think you're admitting it yourself." Ye Xuan's guess was basically confirmed, "You're not actually a cashier, and you're not a so-called 'expert'. Tell me, why did you lie?"
"For money, is that hard to understand?" After being thoroughly exposed, the man was not so panicked. He raised his eyes and said, "No one is in charge here now, and the epidemic came suddenly. I thought I could make a lot of money by selling medicine, so I 'took over' this place."
"You still didn't tell the truth." Ye Xing shook his head in disappointment.
"Most people today don't even leave their homes, let alone come to remote wholesale markets to buy raw materials for making medicine." Xiao Qin responded, "Besides, Chinese medicine is rarely promoted in news reports. It's not common to choose to make medicine yourself to prevent infection."
"So," Ye Xing smiled at the other party, "what is your real purpose?"
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