"Community 8... The Community 8 from our original area isn’t particularly strong, probably not capable of retaining its original core, and besides, I’ve never heard of this player."

"He most likely comes from another area or joined during the second stage."

Ye Lin thought to herself while sitting down in her seat.

"Hello."

Xu Yiheng smiled warmly, looking very polite, in stark contrast to the cold demeanor of another auditor, Shen Qingyun.

Ye Lin knew, of course, that in the game, attitude doesn’t mean much; there are many players who act polite but are scheming behind the scenes. However, regardless, a courteous demeanor from a good-looking player could still leave a positive impression.

Ye Lin was still contemplating how to start the topic about medicine, but Xu Yiheng continued speaking:

"In the previous round of the game, I first met with a doctor.

"The doctor had the most basic Type I painkillers, and I bought two bottles.

"Do you need them? If you do, I can sell them to you at the original price, which might help you somewhat."

Ye Lin was taken aback; this was a bit unexpected.

The other person had already taken out a small white bottle from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Ye Lin picked it up carefully to examine it, finding that this small bottle was identical to the four types of medicine she had obtained, except its label was changed to ’Type I Painkiller.’

Unscrewing the cap to check, this bottle was unopened.

This sample was very important to Ye Lin.

Although the rules stated that the doctor had a basic medication while the sales held four special medications, the specifics—what the basic medicine was and its effects—were unknown to the sales.

Sales must sell their medication to the doctor, but not the other way around.

If the specifics of the doctor’s medicine couldn’t be obtained, then the sales might not be able to adopt a targeted strategy when selling it.

So, Xu Yiheng appeared to be a relatively kind, cooperative player.

As an auditor, his strategy was to maintain good relations with both doctors and sales, thereby acting as a connecting bridge and gaining as much as possible from the game, ensuring a win-win situation.

Thinking of this, Ye Lin also took out the four types of medicine she carried with her and placed them on the table.

The game rules clearly stated that sales had access to four types of medicine, deliberately not showing them all would inherently send a signal of unfriendly intent.

In the face of the other’s demonstration of sincerity, that would not be wise.

Xu Yiheng picked up each of the four bottles for a closer examination.

"...completely identical, can’t tell anything apart."

He unscrewed the cap for a look, finding these also were unopened.

Ye Lin asked, "I have opened ones, would you like to take a look?"

Xu Yiheng nodded: "Sure, let’s take a look, though we might not glean much."

Ye Lin retrieved an opened bottle of Type M painkiller she had taken from, handed it over, and kept her eyes on Xu Yiheng’s actions.

Xu Yiheng carefully poured out a tablet from the bottle, placed it in his palm to inspect.

After staring at it for a long time, he reluctantly put the tablet back in the bottle, blinking as his eyes grew strained from prolonged scrutiny.

"Just little white tablets, can’t discern any differences.

"Forget it, I’ll leave these issues for the doctor to fret over.

"The doctor I met in the last round should possess some professional knowledge, might be able to identify the differences in these medications.

"If not, then it’s not my issue."

Xu Yiheng returned the opened bottle of Type M painkillers to Ye Lin, continuing: "For now, I will take one bottle of each of your four types of medication.

"I’ll check out the situation first; if it suits me, I’ll look to buy more from you later, and then you can offer me a discount."

Ye Lin nodded: "Sure.

"As this is our first cooperation, I’ll sell them to you at the lowest price, totaling 2000 medical points for all four types.

"The Type M medicine is the most expensive, 1200 for one bottle, these three are cheaper, at 500, 200, and 100 respectively.

"How much for the Type I Painkillers?"

Xu Yiheng said: "The price sold to me by the doctor was 600; I have no idea whether this is the lowest price."

Ye Lin was slightly surprised, as logically, the medicine sold by a doctor should be the most basic, yet the price wasn’t cheap.

Perhaps the doctor encountered by Xu Yiheng saw an opportunity to overcharge him intentionally.

Nonetheless, Ye Lin said nothing further, the Type I Painkiller’s medical value or practical usage might not be high, but its information content was still valuable.

The transaction was completed at such a price.

Since the negotiation went smoothly without any haggling, it was not yet the time to return to the room and endure the pain.

Xu Yiheng cautiously packed the medications away, asking: "Any more information we can share?"

Ye Lin thought for a while: "At least keep one tablet for yourself, if you need anything, feel free to come to me."

Xu Yiheng, though unsure what Ye Lin meant, nodded: "Alright."

The two waited for a brief moment, marking the end of this round’s meeting, and Ye Lin got up to return to her room.

...

Huang Shengjie pushed the door open to enter the lounge.

Other patient room doors gradually opened, yet Huang Shengjie noticed the VIP room door on the far right remained closed.

"That’s odd, is this VIP player perpetually meeting with the doctor? Regardless of whether I offer high or low prices, the doctor doesn’t see me?

"That doesn’t add up, the doctor should meet with several patients in the first few rounds of the game to discuss different prices right?

"Or could it be the doctor and the VIP patient are from the same community, forming an alliance immediately after their first encounter?"

Huang Shengjie was puzzled, finding many uncertainties in the lounge setting, making it hard to clear his thoughts.

At this moment, Zhang Yuan exited the room beside Huang Shengjie, swiftly advancing towards one of the vending machines, starting to operate it to purchase medication.

In the previous round, Zhang Yuan was the only player who couldn’t buy medicine, thus his quick reaction now had him rushing to the machine closest to him, taking the initiative.

Everyone instantly realized, dashing towards the other vending machine.

Zhou Xiaoying was initially the closest, but Qian Li, emerging from the VIP patient room, managed to aggressively squeeze past her, inserting her Medical Card into the machine first.

"You..."

Zhou Xiaoying was bumped slightly, puzzled as she waited, but no penalty announcement came forth.

— This kind of ’musical chairs’ level of bumping didn’t bring any real injury or life threat to the players, so the system wouldn’t classify it as a discernible violent act necessitating fatal punishment.

Evidently, as a veteran player, Qian Li had mastered this aspect well.

New players would inevitably face minor losses in this regard.