God's Imitator

Chen Guangming paused slightly and continued, ”You deliberately held back and steered the conversation toward Type M through roundabout questions, then pretended to decide on buying more of it based on information I had let slip, all to conceal the fact that you already knew Type M was special.

”Unfortunately for you, I am a Sales player. A simple little manoeuvre like that doesn’t escape my notice.”

Zheng Chunhua let out a quiet breath. So it was as he had suspected. Chen Guangming had not brought any Type M from the start, and the high purchase price and thin margin were only part of the reason, or perhaps just a pretext.

The real reason was that he had already worked out this medication was special, and had deliberately chosen not to stock it.

But now that both sides had shown their hand, there was no need for either of them to keep up any pretence. The exchange had become a more direct confrontation.

Zheng Chunhua let his expression settle and said, ”Fine. Since you’ve laid it all out, I won’t dance around it either.

”I only want Type M. I don’t want Type O or Type F.

”If you sell to me, I’ll allow you a reasonable profit margin, and I can certainly absorb all of your current Medical Point inventory. You’ll earn a little less, but you’ll still earn.

”But if you won’t sell, that’s fine too.

”Because there is another Sales player.”Her attitude is considerably better than yours, and the prices she quoted are clearly more reasonable.”

As far as Zheng Chunhua was concerned, Chen Guangming had no real alternative.

The Reviewer occupied a strategic position. To get medication into Zone D, one had to go through the Reviewer.

Chen Guangming and Bai Zhilan were from different communities and did not know each other, and there was no door connecting the two Sales rooms, so they had no way of communicating directly.

This could be seen as a kind of small-scale prisoner’s dilemma, and the Reviewer held the unambiguous advantage.

Technically, the rules did allow for one theoretical means of communication: a player could first use the monitor to identify who was in a particular room, and then initiate a call. But that required knowing the other person’s community and name in advance, since those details appeared on the name badge in the room but not in the monitoring feed.

Chen Guangming and Bai Zhilan were clearly from different communities, and the likelihood of them knowing each other and colluding was very low.

An ordinary player in Chen Guangming’s position would have had no choice but to give in to the Reviewer.

Chen Guangming, however, appeared entirely unconcerned. He shifted his posture with a relaxed ease and said, ”That’s fine. Go ahead and get your supply from that other Sales player then.”

Zheng Chunhua paused. That was not the reaction he had expected.

Was it a bluff? Or was there something else behind it?

Chen Guangming gave a small smile and said, ”No need to guess. I’ll tell you why.

”Because I’ve already fully opened up the supply chain in Zone C.

”The Reviewer, the Doctor, and even the patients, every link in the chain is flowing smoothly. So as long as I keep selling into Zone C, I can earn all the profit I need.

”As for Zone D,

”You can keep holding out for Type M only, but I won’t be selling it to you.

”The thin profit on Type M is not worth my attention.

”And yes, I already know Type M is special, and that it matters to you. But that is precisely why I won’t sell it.

”If you can get Type M from another channel, I have nothing to say about it. Business is business, and you win some and you lose some.

”That said, I’d still advise you not to be too optimistic.

”In this game, the players who ended up as ’Sales’ are in all likelihood the same kind of people.

”What you can’t get from me, you’ll probably find you can’t get from the other Sales players either.”

The round came to an end. Neither side had reached an agreement.

Every medication Chen Guangming had brought was something Zheng Chunhua had no interest in, so no transaction took place.

Chen Guangming stood and prepared to leave.

But just before he did, he turned back and said, ”Your approach is admirable. I respect it, I truly do.

”But in the Gallery’s life-or-death game, does it really accomplish anything?

”Give it some thought. When you’ve worked it out, come find me.

”I can take you along to make a real windfall. At least thirty or fifty thousand minutes of visa time in this game alone.”

Watching Chen Guangming leave, Zheng Chunhua let out a quiet sigh.

Each Reviewer faced two Sales players, but each Sales player also faced two different zones.

If what Chen Guangming had said was true, and all of Zone C had already been completely captured, with the Reviewer-Doctor-Patient chain running entirely in his favour, then the profit from Zone C alone was already substantial enough.

Chen Guangming truly had no need to sell Type M into Zone D. Rather than holding onto a negligible slice of income, it was more worthwhile to give it up entirely in exchange for a higher-return possibility.

The possibility of Zone D falling completely as well.

Zheng Chunhua and Qin Cheng naturally had no desire to see that happen. Fortunately, they still had another option: the other Sales player, Bai Zhilan.

Fifth round.

Zheng Chunhua met with Bai Zhilan again.

”Hello, uncle!

”Just like you said, I bought more Type M and Type O this time.”

As she spoke, Bai Zhilan piled several white bottles onto the table all at once.

Zheng Chunhua gave them a quick sweep and noticed that of the nearly ten or so bottles, only two were Type M. The rest were all Type O.

His brow furrowed slightly. He was not satisfied with that.

He had asked for Type O earlier only as a kind of cover. What he truly wanted was Type M, but he had not wanted to ask for it by name and risk revealing unnecessary information to the Sales players.

The Type O request had been a screen for the real objective.

If Bai Zhilan had brought five bottles of each, Zheng Chunhua could have taken all five of the Type M and bought two of the Type O as a token gesture.

But the more pressing question now was, why had she bought so little Type M?

Was it because she, like Chen Guangming, had already worked out that Type M was special and had deliberately stocked less of it?

Zheng Chunhua did not ask directly, because doing so might still give something away. As long as Bai Zhilan had not shown her hand, he needed to keep up his own side of the act.

”Alright. This time I’ll take two bottles of Type M and three of Type O.

”At the prices you quoted before, 1,400 and 300 respectively, that comes to 3,700 altogether. Does that work?

”Though I’m curious why there’s such a difference in quantity between the two types.

”I’d still like a consistent supply going forward, and if that’s something you can offer, I’d consider buying exclusively from you and not meeting with the other Sales player.

”What do you think?”

Bai Zhilan brightened up and said, ”That would be wonderful! Absolutely fine.

”Though, uncle, it seems like you particularly prefer Type M. Why is that? Because it’s more expensive?

”But judging its value purely by price seems a little hasty, doesn’t it? Have you worked out what its real-world counterpart is?”

Zheng Chunhua was quiet for a moment, then shook his head and said, ”No, I’m not yet clear on what distinguishes these medications from each other.

”Haven’t I bought more Type O as well?

”I’m simply a little curious about why the quantities are different. Does the vending machine on your end have some kind of purchase limit?”

Bai Zhilan shook her head and said, ”No, nothing like that.

”But uncle, starting from the next round, 1,400 per bottle for Type M may not be possible anymore.”

Zheng Chunhua’s brow furrowed slightly, ”Why? Are you raising the price?”

Bai Zhilan quickly waved her hands and said, ”No, no, no. It’s just that, the Reviewer in Zone A has also specifically asked for Type M only, and she’s willing to pay 1,800 per bottle.

”I thought that was a fair price, so I’ve already agreed to prioritise her supply first.

”My Medical Points are also limited, and Type M has a high selling price, so stocking too much and sitting on inventory creates a cash flow problem. So,

”I’ve prioritised Zone A for supply, and I can only spare a small portion of Type M for this side.

”Please don’t be upset, uncle. I have to consider the risks I’m taking on too. I’m really very sorry.”

Bai Zhilan apologised with complete sincerity.

Then she seemed to remember something and said, ”Oh, uncle, how about I throw in a sample bottle as a freebie? This is one I used myself earlier. There are still four tablets inside. Why don’t you take it for now, and next round I’ll try to bring you as much as I can.”

As she spoke, she reached into her pocket and produced a bottle of Type M.

Zheng Chunhua reached out and took it, unscrewed the cap to check, and saw that the seal had been broken and only four tablets remained inside.

He thought for a moment, then set it to one side, ”Alright, but I certainly won’t pay full price for something that’s already been opened.

”Squeeze some of that out from the profit margin on the other medications.

”For everything together, I’ll give you 4,500.

”And if the Zone A Reviewer is genuinely willing to pay 1,800 per bottle for Type M, then I can match that price on my end as well.”

Zheng Chunhua was not certain whether the other Reviewer had actually agreed to 1,800. It was possible Bai Zhilan was simply lying to push his price up, or it could be true.

Either way, his most urgent concern right now was getting enough Type M stockpiled, so that when Infected players began appearing in greater numbers, there would be sufficient medication to achieve complete pain relief.

Letting these Sales players earn a little more in the early rounds was a small price to pay. Once there was enough Type M built up in reserve, he would be in a much stronger position to negotiate prices.

Bai Zhilan raised no objections and nodded quickly, ”Yes, yes, of course.”

Zheng Chunhua unscrewed the remaining three bottles one by one and carefully inspected each body and seal for any signs of damage, then put them away securely. Both he and Bai Zhilan swiped their Medical Cards to complete the transaction.

Bai Zhilan gathered up the Type O bottles she had not managed to sell and left the room.