Before leaving, Jiang Kai went to visit his older brother, who was currently undergoing some preliminary examinations.

The attending doctor said Jiang Lan's condition wasn't too good, but fortunately, he was brought in just in time. Now, as long as he actively cooperates with the treatment, there shouldn't be any major issues.

However, the doctor also mentioned that after the preliminary examinations, some targeted treatment would be necessary, and it might lead to an artificial organ transplant surgery. The hospital had no issues with this, but Jiang Kai needed to quickly gather enough funds.

After leaving the hospital, Jiang Kai headed straight to the Login Gate Hall.

After a full twenty days of waiting, today was finally his turn.

He stored his clothes in a locker and queued up among the crowd.

While waiting, Jiang Kai noticed a few people glancing at him from time to time.

"People from the Black Tortoise Guild?" Jiang Kai couldn't determine their identities, but it wasn't hard to guess that there were likely spies from the Black Tortoise Guild among them.

"It seems they're just waiting for me to log in! Black Tortoise Guild, if you're so eager to take me down, let's see how this plays out!" Jiang Kai snorted coldly and continued to queue up leisurely.

Over an hour later, Jiang Kai entered the Login Gate. As the white light and slight dizziness faded, he opened his eyes again to find himself at the teleportation plaza in the main city of the Eighteenth District.

As soon as he appeared, he noticed a dozen or so people in various directions of the plaza looking his way.

Most of these people indeed had the "Black Tortoise Guild" insignia on them.

"Just as I thought, they're waiting for me here." Jiang Kai frowned slightly.

If he left the main city now, he might immediately be surrounded by the Black Tortoise Guild, not even reaching the Safe Zone!

With this in mind, Jiang Kai calmly put on his tracksuit, placed the card pouch in his sleeve, donned the Arsonist's Gloves, and after some thought, headed towards the Trading District.

This time, logging out cost Jiang Kai 1.35 million Alliance Coins, leaving him with 500,000 Alliance Coins, which could be directly converted to 50,000 Star Coins.

While wandering around the Trading District, Jiang Kai could feel several pairs of eyes constantly watching him. He was mentally prepared for this and pretended not to notice, continuing with his business.

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In front of a general store, Jiang Kai pondered for a moment and went inside.

The store was quite busy. General stores typically operated on a low-margin, high-volume model, offering a variety of items to meet different needs.

They not only had some crafting materials but also low-cost auxiliary products from tech companies like the Golden Compass and Sharp Creation, glass bottles for storing Nuclear Soil, appraisal cards, information cards, and other items.

"Boss, how much for an appraisal card?" Jiang Kai asked.

"Fifty for one, ten percent off for more than ten," a middle-aged man busy with a customer in front of him loudly replied to Jiang Kai's question.

"If I buy a hundred, is there a discount?"

The boss paused his work, looked at Jiang Kai.

He scrutinized Jiang Kai, focusing on whether there was a guild insignia on his chest, and found that Jiang Kai was not only young but also guildless, causing him to frown.

He instructed a staff member to continue with the checkout and walked over himself.

"Young man, are you a newcomer this year? Unless it's a guild bulk purchase, you won't be able to use so many appraisal cards on your own."

The newcomer trial had just ended this month, and seeing that Jiang Kai wasn't in a guild, the man assumed he was a newcomer.

Jiang Kai smiled slightly, "Just tell me if there's a discount."

"There is, ten percent off."

Jiang Kai calculated in his mind. Lu Jun had told him not to buy a new watch, so he could only use appraisal cards to identify equipment and items. Appraisal cards were essential.

Moreover, the watch's appraisal function relied on comparing the item's shape and features with historical data to determine its attributes. If a new item appeared, the watch couldn't appraise it; an appraisal card was necessary.

So, appraisal cards were a must!

With this in mind, Jiang Kai said, "Get me a hundred."

The boss wanted to say something but, seeing Jiang Kai wasn't asking for his opinion, hesitated and fetched a hundred appraisal cards from the warehouse.

"Do you need anything else?" The boss was still keen on making a sale.

Jiang Kai noticed some strange snacks on the shelf and asked, "You have snacks here?"

The boss couldn't help but laugh, "These aren't ordinary snacks; they're functional foods made by a Gourmet. After eating them, you can gain certain abilities for a limited time."

"For example, these dried dragon eyes can give your attacks a flame attribute for 10 minutes and also increase your resistance to cold." The boss picked up a dark red "chocolate bean" and introduced it.

"This one is called Spirit Chestnut. Consuming one can increase your Mental Strength by 1 point for 10 minutes, and depending on your Physique level, you can take up to 10."

"This is Blood Drop Fruit, quite expensive, accelerates wound healing for 10 minutes, and works better with medical treatment."

Jiang Kai's eyes widened. Gourmet had such abilities! The potential of Chinese foodies was not to be underestimated.

As the boss introduced the items, he noticed a food resembling dried sweet potatoes and quickly picked one up, introducing, "These are Numbing Fries, exclusive to our store. The Gourmet signed a contract with us, so only we supply them. They just arrived today; usually, they're out of stock."

Jiang Kai frowned slightly, "Fries... what do they do?"

"They have two effects. One is to block your nerve sensations. If you're about to die, eating a Numbing Fry can reduce your pain sensation by 50%. If you die quickly enough, you might not even feel the pain before you're gone!" The boss's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Jiang Kai was speechless. Was this function worth mentioning? But thinking about it, the process of dying in one's Calling was identical to real death, and the pain of being bitten and eaten by monsters was indeed terrifying.

"Uh, I still don't want to die. What's the other effect?"

"Numbing Fries significantly block your neural responses and lower your body's metabolism, so they also have another effect: hiding your presence. They're excellent for evading beasts with keen senses of smell!"

Jiang Kai became interested.

"So, how much do these fries cost?"

"100 Star Coins each, and one lasts for 5 minutes."

Other foods were tens of Star Coins per kilogram, but this was 100 Star Coins per "piece"! This was probably the most expensive fries ever.

"That Gourmet only provides 200 pieces a month, and 120 are already reserved. If you want to buy, don't hesitate, or else..."

"How many are there?"

"Uh... about 30 pieces." The boss estimated.

Jiang Kai grabbed the fries and stuffed them into a special bag beside the shelf. He also picked up a barbecue set from another shelf, grabbed a box of seasonings, turned them into cards, and placed them in his card pouch. Finally, he looked calmly at the boss.

"I'll take them all, plus this barbecue set and seasoning kit, along with the appraisal cards, for a total of 7,500 Star Coins!"