Chapter 213: The New Project’s Great Success
“This is… Ah! It’s a Healing Potion!”
“And so many exquisite silver ornaments!”
“Oh my gods! This is incredible!”
“It must be a blessing from the Goddess of Fortune!”
“This is amazing! This is the best day of my life!”
The crowd was abuzz, and a green mist still floated in the air, with what looked like tiny specks of light swirling within.
The moment Marcus opened the lid, he put on a performance worthy of a textbook example.
His face flushed red, and in just a few seconds, his expression shifted from confusion to shock, then to utter ecstasy.
Finally, it settled into an expression of incredibly genuine gratitude and piety.
Meanwhile, the surrounding crowd also got a clear look at what was in his hands.
Just as he’d exclaimed, it was a diluted Healing Potion, plus three exquisite pieces: a Brooch, a Ring, and a waistband buckle.
“Ah, it’s a real Healing Potion! That thing’s worth at least 5 Silver Coins!”
“And those trinkets, they look like they’re made of silver. Even if it’s just a thin silver plating, they’ve got to be worth three or four Silver Coins!”
“Wait, a box only costs 3 Silver Coins. Isn’t he losing money on this?”
“Didn’t you just hear? This is an oracle from the Goddess of Fortune! It’s a gift bestowed by the Goddess herself!”
“And this was just a green box. If it were a gold one, wouldn’t the Value be even higher?”
“Seems that way…”
Looking at the potion and ornaments in Marcus’s hands, the crowd broke into a flurry of discussion.
Some, unable to resist the temptation, were already eagerly pushing their way to the front, desperate to try their luck.
Even those who were still watching from the sidelines, or those who were short on cash, showed a much stronger interest.
A few might have still been skeptical, but their numbers were dwindling.
After all, Marcus had indeed opened a prize with a Value far exceeding 3 Silver Coins.
The proof was right before their eyes. No matter how wary they were, they couldn’t definitively label Lu Wei a Swindler.
From this perspective, it might seem like Lu Wei could have made the effect even more explosive.
For instance, he could have had Marcus draw a “golden legendary” and filled the box with Gold Coins to give the crowd the strongest possible shock.
However, after thinking it over yesterday, he decided against it.
It would have been too obviously fake. It was highly likely to be counterproductive, a classic case of overdoing it.
Besides, if he set expectations too high right from the start, and everyone else who followed opened nothing but “blue skies and white clouds,” the disappointment would be too great and would easily arouse suspicion.
So, in the end, he only put one Healing Potion in the box, along with three “exquisite pieces of junk.”
They were all items whose Value could be recognized at a glance.
And while a threefold return wasn’t exactly shocking, it was more than enough to be enticing.
“My friend, you may take everything inside, but please leave the box.”
Lu Wei exchanged a glance with Marcus, signaling him to proceed to the next step.
“Wait, can I buy another box?”
The actor took the cue, immediately pleading with an urgent expression, “Please let me buy a few more! Even just one!”
“No, each person is limited to one per day. If you’d like to buy another, please come back early tomorrow.”
Lu Wei refused with a straight face. “This is also a requirement of the oracle. The Goddess’s grace should be shared with as many people as possible.”
“Is that so? Alright, I’ll be back tomorrow then.”
Marcus shook his head with feigned regret, then pushed his way out of the crowd under everyone’s envious gazes and walked away quickly.
He kept muttering things like, “My luck is just too good,” “I knew my bad luck wouldn’t last forever,” and “I have to come earlier tomorrow”—all phrases designed to make the crowd’s hearts itch with anticipation.
Even in the final stage of his performance, he didn’t slack off in the slightest, exiting with the utmost professionalism…
‘Now that’s a real actor!’
Lu Wei watched his retreating back, praising him silently, before looking away.
Just then, a burly man pushed through the crowd, holding up three Silver Coins.
“Make way, make way! I’m buying one, too!”
“Of course.”
Lu Wei smiled slightly. “Please, pick any box you like.”
“I’ll take this one!”
The man had probably been observing from the side for a while, as he immediately chose the largest box of the lot.
He probably figured the bigger the box, the higher the Value of the prize inside.
Such a simple line of thinking was, of course, well within Lu Wei’s expectations.
So, the moment the man opened the box, full of anticipation, the expression on his face froze.
POOF~
“It’s white. White is the Low Level one, right?”
“Hmph, I knew not all the boxes could have good stuff in them.”
“Wonder what it is. Probably some worthless junk.”
“Talk about bad luck…”
Seeing the white powder puff out, the crowd once again erupted into discussion.
At that moment, the man, looking very dejected, pulled a Longsword out of the box.
It was of an Ordinary design. The leather wrapped around the hilt was blackened with sweat, and the blade was dull and lusterless, covered in fine scratches and dents.
It was clearly a worn-out, second-hand item.
However…
“Don’t be discouraged. Although it’s the lowest-grade white, as I said before, the Goddess of Fortune does not mistreat any of Her Believers.”
“Frankly, if you polish it up a bit, this Sword would be priced at two or three Silver Coins in any weapon shop.”
“So you haven’t actually lost anything, have you?”
With a smile, Lu Wei’s few words made much of the man’s dejection instantly vanish.