Chapter 559: Chapter 559: Hoarding Medicine

After entering the lounge, Huang Shengjie instinctively observed the expressions of all the players.

They didn’t seem too different from before.

"As expected, it’s still impossible to tell if there’s a new infected here."

Huang Shengjie gave up on this attempt. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

This is the 13th round of the game, which means the game time is already halfway through. After entering the third hour, a new infected might have already appeared.

But the players entering the lounge all looked normal.

Moreover, the Sales, the Doctor, and the Auditor might also be chosen as infected.

So, finding the infected after attempting and failing seemed pointless, and Huang Shengjie didn’t continue.

The door of the other VIP room still hadn’t opened, and Zhang Yuan was still being ostracized by the group.

The group once again sat down on the folding chairs as if going through the motions.

Huang Shengjie got up and went to the vending machine, lost in thought.

Due to the existence of special medications, the Class I painkillers, limited to purchases in the lounge, were no longer as precious.

Although still limited, players were no longer scrambling for them like before; sometimes there were even leftovers.

Huang Shengjie had been using Class I painkillers to deal with regular pain, and now he only had one left.

Logically, he should purchase more immediately, but Huang Shengjie hesitated.

"Should I buy it or not?"

The Class I drugs purchased in the lounge cost 800 points per bottle, with only 2 pills in a bottle, which is 400 points per pill.

According to the game rules, the Doctor also holds Class I drugs. Although the price isn’t mentioned in the rules, logic suggests it’s probably cheaper than in the lounge.

But the problem is, Huang Shengjie hadn’t even met the Doctor yet and naturally couldn’t buy Class I drugs at a cheaper price.

So, the pricing question inevitably had to be considered.

After all, the Class O painkillers obtained from Qian Li cost 500 points per bottle, which is only 100 points per pill.

The Class I drugs from the vending machine were four times as expensive.

A single Class O pill could completely eliminate the special pain and naturally handle regular pain as well.

Any way you look at it, continuing to purchase Class I drugs in the lounge seemed like a wasteful decision.

But after serious consideration, Huang Shengjie finally made up his mind and bought another bottle of Class I drugs.

Simultaneously, Zhou Xiaoying approached Qian Li:

"Sister Qian Li, could you sell me two more bottles of Class O drugs?"

Qian Li nodded: "Of course, how many do you want?"

Zhou Xiaoying said, "Two bottles, at the same price as before?"

Qian Li nodded: "A total of 1000 points."

"I’ve already told you all, the price already includes the profit margin; these drugs were cheap to begin with.

"Although I could ask for a higher price, there’s no need. After all, we’re all players. It’s not easy in such a life-and-death game; we should help each other."

Zhou Xiaoying looked very moved: "Thank you, Sister Qian Li!"

The two completed the transaction at the trading machine.

Qian Li indeed seemed to have restocked a lot of Class O drugs; after selling to Zhou Xiaoying, there still seemed to be stock left.

As for Zhang Yuan, up to this point, he hardly interacted with the group and didn’t buy drugs from Qian Li.

However, he got special drugs from the Doctor, even though Qian Li mentioned that the F-class drugs he had had stronger side effects, which had yet to be proven.

Zhang Yuan’s special pain should have already been cured, but it’s impossible to determine if it was through F-class drugs.

After seeing Zhou Xiaoying finish buying the drugs, Du Peng seemed intrigued but did nothing, just kept silent.

Qian Li looked at him: "Do you need to purchase anything?"

Du Peng shook his head: "Thank you, but not for now."

Qian Li didn’t say anything more and just returned to her seat.

Huang Shengjie looked at Du Peng, somewhat envious: "Such good luck; hasn’t been infected so far.

"Neither transmitted by other players nor randomly selected by the system."

In truth, Huang Shengjie couldn’t be 100% sure of this, as Du Peng might have been infected and quietly cured using previously purchased Class O drugs, making it invisible to other players.

But the bigger possibility was that Du Peng had never been infected.

Because Du Peng had only bought one bottle of Class O drugs from Qian Li. If he had been infected, he would have used 3 pills and likely opted to restock by now.

Since he hadn’t restocked, it meant Du Peng still had his pills.

Moreover, Du Peng’s game strategy seemed more conservative and cautious compared to others.

When he needed Class I drugs, he entered the lounge first to grab the first bottle from the vending machine, thus minimizing his risk of infection.

But clearly, as the regular pain worsens, turning into special pain is just a matter of time.

...

After Qian Li returned to her seat, Huang Shengjie hurriedly pulled Du Xiaoying aside.

"Do you plan to use Class O drugs to replace Class I and directly treat regular pain?

"But, aren’t you worried about potential side effects of the drug?

"Class I drugs, though expensive, should be the safest as they are basic drugs."

Zhou Xiaoying whispered back: "That’s true, but it’s still important to stock up on some drugs in advance, just in case.

"Though Qian Li seems generous now and sells to us at a fair price, who knows what will happen in the future?

"If we get infected again and urgently need drugs to save our lives, what if Qian Li suddenly turns hostile? What if she suddenly raises the price tenfold? Do we buy or not?

"By buying drugs now, it’s like buying an umbrella on a sunny day, ensuring that even if we’re infected later, we have lifesaving drugs.

"Of course, Qian Li may continue selling at this price, being content with the current profit, but why risk it?

"These drugs are unlikely to get cheaper in the future; they’ll only get more expensive.

"As for the side effects...

"We have no idea what the original components of these drugs are or if they have any side effects.

"All I can say is that my body currently feels fine.

"As long as we don’t overuse them, there shouldn’t be any major problems.

"If you’re really concerned, you can alternate them with Class I drugs."

Huang Shengjie thought for a moment and found Zhou Xiaoying’s reasoning to be sound.

The sales channel for Class O drugs was firmly in Qian Li’s hands; she hadn’t raised the price yet, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t in the future.

After a few more game rounds, she might claim they’re nearly sold out and increase the price.

Creating a bit of artificial scarcity can easily hike up prices, making it impossible not to buy them when needed.

But for now, there were temporarily no infected in the lounge, and everyone was healthy, so even if Qian Li wanted to raise the price, the timing wasn’t right.

So, buying drugs from Qian Li now would likely still be at the original price, avoiding suspicion.

Like Zhou Xiaoying, stocking up two bottles of Class O drugs is indeed a way to mitigate risk.

If infected with special pain later, you can use the pre-prepared Class O drugs to save a life.

If not infected, the drugs are still useful in completely eliminating regular pain, sparing oneself from suffering.

Without professional knowledge, the looming prices are more pressing than uncertain side effects.

Thinking this, Huang Shengjie approached Qian Li: "Hi, I’ll take one more bottle as well."

He felt there was no need to hoard too much at once since he still had two pills left in his previous bottle, and buying another bottle would make it seven pills, enough to cure special pain twice.

Qian Li didn’t say much, just nodded and quickly completed the transaction with Huang Shengjie.