Chapter 22

"Fatso, come over here, I can't handle it." Wang Fusheng wiped the sweat from his forehead and sent a message to Taohuayan.

"Can't handle it? You should be very familiar with firearms. Just talk about the quality of the bullets, and the other party should lower the price, right?" Taohuayan asked, puzzled.

"I am very familiar with firearms. I can even accurately measure the weight of sniper bullets to seven decimal places, but I only understand firearms and bullets. I don't understand the values of a seasoned gamer. Our minds are in completely different spaces, how can we communicate?" Wang Fusheng said helplessly.

"Uh... I forgot. Seasoned gamers are very good at bargaining. They can talk the dead into being alive. Wait a moment, I'll come over."

Soon, Taohuayan came to the stall and said, "How much for this box of bullets?"

"300 points, not a point less."

"300 points for a box of bullets is quite a lot. A single bullet costs 8 points. Sniper bullets are rare in the early stages, only bosses can drop them. And sniper rifles are even rarer. You only use a few bullets when you're sniping. Now, no one is extravagant enough to use a sniper rifle to shoot rabbits. We'll take this price, if you don't sell, we'll leave."

"Can you add a bit more? My companion and I spent over two hours killing a boss to get this. Dropping from 300 points to 240 is a bit harsh. Can you add a bit more?" The stall owner said helplessly, seeing the fat man's determination and reasonable analysis.

"I think this is already a good price. One shot costs 8 points. In a low-level war zone, you'd need to kill 8 ordinary zombies. Will you sell or not?" The fat man said, unmoved. Seeing the stall owner hesitate, he signaled to Wang Fusheng, and the two of them got up to leave.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go! I didn't say I wouldn't sell. I'll sell it to you for 240 points, consider it a loss to make a friend." The stall owner knew that in the early stages, it was unlikely for anyone to buy 30 sniper bullets at once. Seeing the fat man and Wang Fusheng about to leave, and the price they offered wasn't low, he gritted his teeth and pretended to be selling at a loss.

"Is it done like this?" After the transaction, Wang Fusheng asked, somewhat surprised.

"What else could you do? If we weren't in a hurry to do other things, I wouldn't even buy them at 8 points per bullet. Anything over 7 points is out of the question. There's a technique to bargaining. For example, 240 points compared to 300 points, a drop of 60 points seems significant. But if you talk about the unit price, 8 points versus 10 points is only a 2-point difference, which doesn't feel like a big drop. But in reality, 2 points less per bullet, 30 bullets still save you 60 points. That's the art of negotiation."

"No wonder you kept talking about the price per bullet, while the stall owner emphasized the total price. There's a lot to it."

"Not just that. In the game, there are many small tricks. For example, when pricing items. If you buy something for 2000 points, and the person next to you sells it for 1999 points, the difference of one point is negligible. But you can't deny that 1999 looks cheaper than 2000. 1999 is still over a thousand, but 2000 is over two thousand. This small difference makes people more likely to buy the 1999 item."

"It does seem that way." Wang Fusheng imagined two identical items, one priced at 1999 and the other at 2000. Even though the difference is just one point, people are more inclined to buy the 1999 item.

After all, saving one point is still saving. This gives people the impression that they are getting a better deal, even though one point is indeed a small saving. But this small saving can create a psychological price difference.

"What do we do next?" In combat, Wang Fusheng was the absolute authority, but in the game, the fat man was clearly more experienced. Wang Fusheng wasn't a dictator and wouldn't make the mistake of an outsider directing an insider.

"It's past midnight. I have things to do tomorrow, Monday. How about we play the game and start the main quest tomorrow night?" The fat man yawned, checking the time. Although this time was just the beginning of the night for night owls, it was time for working people to rest.

"Sure, tomorrow night." Wang Fusheng nodded. He had classes tomorrow. Even though he could stay awake for days, it wasn't a sustainable strategy. Arranging his schedule, he would burst during weekends and holidays, which would allow him to play the game for a long time.

"Private 5th Class." The fat man looked at the top ten rankings on the electronic device and said, "We're almost ready. Your skills are well-distributed. We need to level up tomorrow, or we'll fall behind. Higher levels mean higher points for killing higher-level monsters."

Wang Fusheng took off his game helmet, washed up, and lay down on the bed. He woke up at six in the morning. After doing some push-ups and sit-ups for an hour and a half, he headed to the university canteen, which was a 20-minute walk from his apartment. He had a cup of soy milk and four large meat buns, eating as he walked to the classroom.

Many students, like Wang Fusheng, were eating breakfast and rushing to class. However, compared to Wang Fusheng, who was energetic after his exercise, these students looked tired with panda eyes, clearly having stayed up all night gaming. If not for class, they would still be gaming.

"What level are you in Destiny? I'm already a Private 3rd Class. Sigh! Levels are easy to gain, but the points needed to upgrade skills are painful. If you don't upgrade, you can't fight monsters, and no one wants you in a team, which is very frustrating."

"You're only a Private 3rd Class? I'm halfway to Private 4th Class. My skills are not low. I chose the Mutant class and got a starred claw yesterday. The damage is amazing. What class did you choose?"

On the way to the teaching building, discussions about the game were more common than discussions about studies, among both boys and girls, and even those applying makeup. This wasn't due to a lack of academic atmosphere but because the freshmen, who had just escaped the intense pressure of high school, needed some time to let loose.

"Hey, Fusheng, have you played Destiny?" Wang Fusheng, who was walking and eating his breakfast, was tapped on the shoulder. The name "Fusheng" was somewhat outdated and even a bit old-fashioned. A few students turned to look at Wang Fusheng, their eyes clear but with a hint of superiority, as if having a more fashionable name made them more successful.

"I've played, but I'm only a Private 1st Class." Wang Fusheng didn't mind the looks and turned to respond. The person who tapped him was his classmate, Qitianyang, a studious and honest boy with thick glasses, from a modest but not poor family, considered middle-class.

"Look, it's Ouyang Ningjing." Qitianyang grabbed Wang Fusheng's shoulder, excited as if he had discovered a world wonder. Even the thick glasses couldn't hide the sparkle in his eyes.

"See her every day, what's so surprising?" Wang Fusheng turned and looked, then shrugged. It wasn't that he was indifferent to Ouyang Ningjing, but he was puzzled by how people could still be surprised by seeing her every day.

Ouyang Ningjing was indeed beautiful, standing at 1.75 meters tall, with a youthful and gentle demeanor. She was more beautiful and graceful than any A-list actress, princess, or pure maiden. However, as a classmate, Qitianyang always acted as if he had seen a superhero every time he saw her outside the classroom, and then became extremely shy inside the classroom, which confused Wang Fusheng.

However, Ouyang Ningjing's presence was indeed a beautiful sight at Fudan University. Beauty attracts beauty, and the girls around her, like Meng Qin, were also very attractive, one of the Fudan campus beauties.

Unlike Ouyang Ningjing's gentle demeanor, Meng Qin gave the impression of a well-bred lady from a scholarly family. Standing at about 1.7 meters, she had a reserved but genuine smile, appearing graceful and dignified. She was said to be a descendant of Mencius, with a very distinguished family background. Although she was also beautiful, she was slightly less striking than Ouyang Ningjing, perhaps because her large glasses seemed to obscure something.

"Wait for me, Ningjing." As everyone paid homage to Ouyang Ningjing's beauty and made way for her, a handsome young man with a few followers hurriedly appeared. This scene played out every few days, but the "audience" never got tired of it, as the story of a princess rejecting a prince and preferring a commoner was a timeless and popular theme.

Han Hao was a well-known rich second-generation in Shanghai, with a businessman father and an official uncle, a typical Chinese official-merchant family. Though not a prince, he was certainly a nobleman. Ouyang Ningjing, the princess of the Ouyang family, made Han Hao feel like he was reaching too high. So, the notorious playboy since elementary school became a gentleman when he met Ouyang Ningjing, extremely well-behaved.

"We'll be late if we don't go now." Wang Fusheng glanced at Ouyang Ningjing and her group, then patted Qitianyang's shoulder. Qitianyang checked his watch, gasped, and gave Ouyang Ningjing a lingering look, as if he might never see her again, before hurrying to catch up with Wang Fusheng.

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