Chapter 29: A Grand Deal, Midnight of Demons

Staring at the wrinkled blind box in Qiao Jia's hand, the students and teachers in the Giantwood University auditorium could not help but look on with skepticism.

"Sorry, it's a little squashed," Qiao Jia said as she patted the dust off the blind box and began to introduce it to the people watching through the drone.

There were over three thousand people at Giantwood University, far more than her small town. Their purchasing power must be impressive.

"Let me demonstrate for you. Look, this blind box is only this big." Qiao Jia untied the straps on her bundle, jumped down, and placed the weapon blind box on a patch of open ground.

Under the drone's watchful gaze, Qiao Jia opened the low-durability weapon blind box. From the small container, she pulled out a massive iron hammer, over a meter long!

She gave it a few experimental swings and found it much less handy than her butcher’s knife; the hammer was so heavy that after only a few swings, her arm felt like it would come off.

With a casual motion, she stuffed the iron hammer back into her bulging bundle, which looked ready to burst.

"Apart from the low-durability weapon blind boxes, I also have regular weapon blind boxes, food and drink blind boxes. If you buy a regular weapon blind box, you’ll get a low-durability weapon blind box free, plus two food and one drink boxes."

Considering the circumstances inside Giantwood University, Qiao Jia proposed a new sales promotion.

The profit margin on the weapon blind boxes was so high she didn’t mind giving a little away.

On the other end, the teachers and students of Giantwood University were left dumbfounded by Qiao Jia’s demonstration.

"Is this magic?" a short-haired girl stammered. How could such a small box produce something so enormous?

"I don't think so," a bespectacled boy said hesitantly.

They had just watched her smash a concrete block with that hammer.

"Why don't we buy two and see? She also throws in a drink blind box," someone suggested.

"If we get a powerful weapon, maybe we can escape," said a sports science student, his voice full of hope. They had been trapped in the school for a long time.

Qiao Jia had a point. Inside the school, only the lowest-level zombies roamed; no other creatures could get in. There used to be a banyan tree spirit, but one night it was suddenly killed—the whole tree reduced to ashes. That tree had lived for over six hundred years and was one of the university’s famous landmarks. But overnight, it was inexplicably gone.

And every couple of days, another person disappeared from the school.

"But ten crystal cores for one blind box? Isn't that too expensive?" A slick-haired boy spoke with his hands behind his back. Every crystal core in the school was earned at great risk. Was it wise to hand them over to this woman so easily, especially when they couldn’t verify the goods, separated as they were by a screen?

"Ask her if she can deliver. She walked untouched through a horde of zombies; she should be able to enter the school," someone suggested.

"And we need to call everyone to discuss this. The crystal cores were hard-won by all," the elderly dean said, adjusting her glasses. She was respected in the school, and after the apocalypse, many students and teachers still trusted her. She had led survivors in repelling zombie attacks and had tried several times to help everyone escape, though each attempt ended in failure.

The drone was her project, built with the help of faculty and students from relevant departments using whatever materials they could find.

"Should we buy?" Qiao Jia glanced up at the darkening sky. It would soon be night—time to return to her town and restock the vending machines.

"Flash once for yes, twice for no," she said to the drone. The drone flashed once—an affirmative.

"Five types of blind boxes. Tell me how many you want and have your crystal cores ready. If you want delivery, there's a two hundred crystal core courier fee."

Qiao Jia glanced at the system at her feet. The system looked at her in disbelief, pointing at itself.

Me?

She nodded. There was no one else.

[Don't worry, you get the whole courier fee,] Qiao Jia assured it.

[That's not the point! If I go, I'll be torn apart!] the system protested, shaking its head fiercely. Even systems have their limits!

Meanwhile, at Giantwood University, students and teachers balked at the courier fee. Two hundred crystal cores—a small fortune, enough for a regular weapon blind box!

"If we're buying this much, shouldn’t she deliver for free?" a student muttered quietly.

But they all understood why Qiao Jia charged for delivery: it was dangerous. Without delivery, both payment and goods could be intercepted. That fee was necessary.

And this mysterious woman seemed connected to the monsters that had suddenly appeared. If she could provide such items now, might she offer even better things later? Novels always said as much.

Most teachers and students agreed to pay the fee, though a few begrudged Qiao Jia, considering her a greedy profiteer.

Little did they know, the system was even more reluctant to deliver than they were to pay the fee. Both Qiao Jia and the system were still traumatized by their earlier beating—attacked out of nowhere, still not sure why.

Despite being a system, it now had a physical form and could feel pain.

When they first entered this scenario, neither Qiao Jia nor the system had planned to sell blind boxes. They were ambitious—punching zombie kings and kicking survivors. And then they had been smacked senseless.

Afterward, they decided it was best to keep a low profile.

[Don't worry, if you die, I'll cover the points for your new body,] Qiao Jia crouched down and told the system.

The system was so distressed it nearly burst into tears. This was treating the system like a slave! Other systems just lounged about, eating virtual sunflower seeds while their hosts did all the work.

[I'll buy you a hundred packs of e-seeds, any flavor you like.]

[Really?] The system immediately stopped crying, looking at Qiao Jia with suspicion.

The Prime God forbade systems from eating e-seeds, fearing they’d break their processors. Systems weren’t allowed to buy them or ask their hosts for them. But if the host offered voluntarily, that was different.

The system started counting on its fingers—a hundred packs! That would last ages. It could even share with the other systems, who would be green with envy.

Watching its shifting expressions, Qiao Jia realized she’d offered too much. She should have started at ten. Who would have thought the system would be unmoved by two hundred points’ worth of crystal cores but tempted by a hundred points’ worth of e-seeds? Clearly, e-seeds were contraband. Otherwise, the system would have had points to buy them. Next time, she’d avoid using them as bait—it wouldn’t do to break the system.

The system, unaware, was already planning to show off to the other systems. It had no idea Qiao Jia would never buy it e-seeds again.

While they squatted by the roadside, another drone arrived with a list specifying the quantity of blind boxes needed.

The survivors, unexpectedly wealthy, ordered only regular weapon blind boxes, not the low-durability kind. They wanted two hundred weapon blind boxes, a thousand food boxes, and five hundred medical boxes.

This was a huge deal—worth fifty-two thousand. She’d make twenty-four thousand five hundred in profit! That was almost enough to open ten landlady blind boxes.

But there was one issue: Qiao Jia didn’t have enough crystal cores to restock.

"Alright, understood," she replied calmly.

Then she looked at the system, which immediately stood at attention.

[Rest assured, I’ll get it done!] the system declared. It knew the plan—collect the crystal cores in batches, then go restock.

"Have your crystal cores ready. I need to see them before I deliver the goods. The courier will arrive at the Giantwood University auditorium before nightfall," Qiao Jia told the drone as she shouldered her bundles.

She had to head back. As for the system, it would have to make its way to Giantwood University alone.

From a business perspective, Qiao Jia would have preferred them to buy low-durability weapon blind boxes. They broke quickly, so people had to buy more—fewer profits per box, but higher volume. But she was short on crystal cores, so she leaned toward selling regular weapon blind boxes.

In the long run, survivors buying regular weapon blind boxes made more sense, but for Qiao Jia, the low-durability boxes brought bigger profits. For now, the situation was reversed.

The system set off for Giantwood University, while Qiao Jia returned alone to Jia Jia Town.

As night fell, Qiao Jia walked down the empty roads, accompanied only by the wind. At midnight, chaos reigned.

This was the state of Giantwood City.

As midnight approached, the city grew lively. The neon-pink lights of a bar flickered on ahead, and Qiao Jia passed by without a glance. The monsters inside, however, had no intention of letting her go.

A humanoid creature in a revealing dress blocked her path, giggling coyly.

Qiao Jia looked up from her bundles, her eyes as still as death.

"Your bones are lovely—clear and bright. They must hit very hard," she said.

"Girlie, you have a way with words. Why not come in for a drink?" The two skeletons, flattered, had the soul fire in their skulls flare red with embarrassment.

Though they were nothing but bones, Qiao Jia couldn’t help but see a certain coquettish charm in them.

"What's so good about wine? Why not buy a bowl of soup from this old woman instead?" a hoarse, sinister voice croaked behind her. Qiao Jia turned to see a hunched old woman with a face glowing green, grinning wickedly in front of an ancient, dilapidated two-story tavern. Two burly, lumpen men stood at her side, clearly her muscle.

"You old hag, here to steal our business again? We'll tear your old bones apart!" the skeleton sisters snapped, clearly displeased.

"Ladies, why not hear me out first?" Qiao Jia set her bundles down and pulled out a few blind boxes, her tone unhurried.

"Blind boxes—interested in learning more?" she asked, her lips curving in a calm smile.

...

By the time Qiao Jia left Giantwood City, every blind box she carried had been sold.

Monsters were simply wealthier than humans, she mused.

When the system returned, she’d be able to open several landlady blind boxes. Hopefully, she could get a few more multi-unit rental homes.

Meanwhile, the system had run a gauntlet of monsters’ attacks and harassment before finally reaching Giantwood University.

According to the plan, the system arrived at the dark, silent auditorium. Surrounded by the eerie gloom, it quietly turned on its flashlight function.

"Who turned on the lights?!"

"Turn it off, quick!"

A chorus of panicked shouts erupted in the hall. After searching for a while, they finally spotted a little dog system.

"Wait, is this dog the courier?" the students asked in astonishment, gathering around the system.

"Look, there’s a note on it!"

"Hand the crystal cores to the little dog—your goods will arrive in ten minutes."

Reading the note aloud, the students eyed the system with suspicion.

"Is this some scam to steal our crystal cores?"

"We're so many—what could a little dog do? If it meant us harm, why bother with such a ruse?" the muscular boy reasoned, his mind as sharp as his physique.

"That's true."

"Dean, what do you think?" the teachers asked, turning to their leader.

"Give it to him," the dean decided, eyes deep with resolve.

Soon, a large sack of crystal cores was dragged out by the students. At Qiao Jia’s price, it came to fifty-two thousand.

The little dog system ambled over, opened its mouth, and swallowed the entire sack in one gulp!

Head held high, the little dog system radiated pride—bow before the mighty System Lord!

A collective gasp swept through the crowd as they marveled at the system. How could such a small body contain so many crystal cores? Its proud little expression was utterly adorable.

The tense atmosphere in the hall instantly relaxed.

But the survivors had no idea that, above them, a dark shadow crouched in the rafters, watching their every move.