Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Is the Streamer Going to Be Taken Away?

The older policeman fought his body’s conditioned reflex, forcing himself not to dodge. He could only watch helplessly as the knife flew toward his eye. If it hit, he’d be a one-eyed man for the rest of his life.

CLINK!

As the knife clattered to the ground, the older policeman finally blinked... his eyes.

His neck was sore, his eyes stung, and the tension finally drained from his entire body.

The onlookers saw it clearly. As the knife neared his eye, it seemed to hit some kind of resistance.

This resistance didn’t just block it; it slapped the knife down to the ground.

That’s why the clinking sound was so crisp.

The safety talisman paper in the older policeman’s hand had already burned to ash.

Without needing an explanation from Wen Ying, the two men thanked her, took the remaining talisman paper, and left the clinic.

Uncle Zhang watched this scene with satisfaction. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Wen Ying, his eyes swept around the clinic, noticing that many of the previously empty spaces were now filled with various items.

Uncle Zhang walked over to the wooden shelf where these items were displayed and picked up a small, gourd-shaped object. "What era is this from? Do you like antiques?"

"But what’s painted on this... What is it? Looks like a spider? No, wait, is this Spider-Man?"

Uncle Zhang couldn’t stop the corner of his mouth from twitching. They say men are boys until the day they die, and their love for great sci-fi movies is beyond imagination. Of course he knew the superhero Spider-Man, but to see such a hero simplified and painted on such a tiny gourd?

Though it was simplified, Uncle Zhang was certain it was Spider-Man. All the iconic features were there. He had to admit, Wen Ying’s hands were truly masterful...

"Spider-Man is pretty awesome. Uncle Zhang, didn’t you say the little animal designs were too childish? So I picked some popular sci-fi heroes. You have to keep up with the times, you know."

"..." It really was keeping up with the times. At the very least, the craftsmanship was enough to make Uncle Zhang’s heart itch with desire.

"How much for this little gourd?"

"Ten thousand."

"That expensive?" After the words left his mouth, it dawned on Uncle Zhang. "So this is an enhanced version of the talisman paper? Ah, no, it’s medicine!" Uncle Zhang was a bit frustrated with himself for always misspeaking.

"This little gourd is a special medicine. It can protect you twice and passively attack one malicious target once."

Uncle Zhang was shocked. "It’s that smart?"

After running the calculations in his head a few times, Uncle Zhang still felt he had to buy it.

’After all, this is more than just one life we’re talking about!’

’If I hadn’t bought that talisman paper in advance, my son might have... It would have been a parent burying their own child. How could we bear that?’

But then he thought of his secret stash of money. Uncle Zhang looked at the little gourd, his heart aching. His entire stash was exactly ten thousand. If he bought it, he wouldn’t even have enough left for a pack of cigarettes. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

’Why did the price have to be exactly what I have?’

"Little Ying, what about this sword?" Uncle Zhang was referring to the sword that everyone in the livestream chat had seen, the one they guessed had been picked up from a mass grave.

"One hundred thousand."

"This pen?" On a pen that couldn’t have looked more ordinary, a mouth was drawn...

Yes, a mouth.

"Fifty thousand."

"This piece of paper?"

"Sixty thousand."

"This jar!"

"Eighty thousand."

Looking at the remaining items, Uncle Zhang immediately stopped asking, afraid that if he kept going, the price of the gourd might go up too. "I’ll stop asking! I’ll take the gourd! I’m paying now!"

After he left with his purchase, Wen Ying started her livestream.

[The streamer wasn’t actually taken away?]

[Exactly ten minutes! Doctor Wen is so punctual, I’m a fan! I’m officially a fan! My fave is going to be a huge streamer with millions of followers!]

Wen Ying looked at her viewer count. It was already approaching 600,000!

’I can’t believe it. In the few minutes I was offline, not only did I not lose viewers, but the count has been climbing like crazy?’

"Same rules as always. Two patient slots for today."