Chapter 56: A Scam?
Chapter 56: A Scam?
As soon as the old man finished speaking, the passengers who heard the conversation immediately lowered their heads, chatted, or played with their phones, pretending they hadn’t seen anything.
Everyone minds their own business and doesn’t worry about others’ problems—an age-old principle, especially in today’s self-centered society. Although the old man’s wife seemed to have been in an accident and urgently needed money, who knew if it was true? Maybe it was just a scam.
And even if it wasn’t a scam, what did it have to do with them? No one’s money came easily, especially since Credit Points represented valuable Yuan Crystals, which meant faster cultivation speed, increased strength, and longer life. Who would donate money to a stranger?
The scene made the old man smile bitterly, but he didn’t seem to mind. He reached into a worn-out bag under his seat and pulled out something wrapped in layers of old cloth, clearly showing he valued it highly.
As he unwrapped the layers of old cloth, he gradually caught the attention of the surrounding passengers. They wondered what the old man was up to. Wasn’t he asking for donations? Why was he taking this out now?
Layer by layer, the old cloth was removed, and in the old man’s hand appeared a bronze Alchemy Furnace. It looked ancient and had three layers, shaped like a gourd. The bottom layer had two dark golden handles on the sides and three legs. It felt heavy, old, and carried a sense of history.
“An antique? It looks pretty convincing. I didn’t expect this old guy to have something like this. Is he planning to sell it for money to save someone? Feels like a familiar trick.”
“Definitely a scam, no doubt about it. Just watch, soon there’ll be a plant saying it’s some priceless relic from the Yellow Emperor or the Xia Dynasty, worth tens of millions, but because of the emergency, the old man will only ask for a few million. This trick is so old, isn’t he embarrassed to use it?”
“Haha, well said. It’s definitely that routine. But how many people in this carriage are rich enough to have over a million in assets? These scammers picked the wrong place—pure waste of time.”
“Maybe they only want a few hundred thousand or even less. Every little bit helps, right?”
…
The passengers, having been exposed to all kinds of media, seemed to see through the old man’s scam at a glance. They chattered noisily, causing a bitter smile to flicker across the old man’s face.
Under the mocking gazes of the passengers, the old man didn’t try to sell his Alchemy Furnace. Instead, he lifted the lid, reached inside, and pulled out a few fingernail-sized, pitch-black, dull stones of an unknown type. “Everyone has misunderstood. Although this Alchemy Furnace is an antique, it isn’t worth much—only a little over a hundred years old. What I want to sell isn’t the furnace, but the Yuan Crystals inside.”
“These Yuan Crystals were discovered by accident while I was herding sheep in the mountains. I don’t know what kind of stones they are, but they are indeed Yuan Crystals. Each one has a Primordial Force content of over 99%. What’s more, each of these Yuan Crystals is a Third-Grade Yuan Crystal, suitable for Primordial Warriors in the Bone Training Realm to use for cultivation. They are extremely valuable and precious. Originally, I planned to take this furnace of Yuan Crystals quietly to Tianhai City and ask an old friend to sell them for me so my sons could live a better life.”
“But I didn’t expect this to happen, so I had no choice but to take out this furnace of Third-Grade Yuan Crystals. If any of you are interested, I’ll sell them to you at a lower price. I just want to raise the surgery fee quickly. Once I have enough, I won’t sell another piece.”
After the old man finished speaking, the entire carriage fell silent. No one had expected that what the old man wanted to sell was a furnace of Third-Grade Yuan Crystals. Third-Grade Yuan Crystals were treasures that could be used for cultivation by experts in the Bone Training Realm and Cloud Condensation Realm, and their value was unimaginable.
“If you don’t believe me, you can check for yourselves whether these Yuan Crystals are real. If they’re not, I’ll eat every one of them right now.” The old man spoke sincerely, his simple words making it hard not to trust him.
“I’ll check to see if they’re really Third-Grade Yuan Crystals.”
“Me too.”
…
Soon, two men from among the passengers stepped forward. Each took a fingernail-sized Yuan Crystal and examined it carefully. After a few minutes, both showed ecstatic expressions. “They’re Yuan Crystals, definitely Yuan Crystals, and Third-Grade ones at that! Old man, how much for one?”
“Normally, one Third-Grade Yuan Crystal costs 50,000 Credit Points. Each of mine is larger than a standard Third-Grade Yuan Crystal. If sold in Tianhai City, each could fetch at least 55,000 Credit Points. I’m not asking for too much—I’ll price each one as a standard Third-Grade Yuan Crystal, 50,000 Credit Points apiece.” The old man said earnestly, “I don’t want cash. I have a phone here; you can transfer the money directly to my Shenxia Tongbao. That way, I can send it to my wife. If you can’t transfer it to my Shenxia Tongbao, then forget it.”
“Alright, old man, I’ll transfer the money right now. I want two.” One of the men who had checked the Yuan Crystals quickly said, “I don’t have much money, so I’ll just take two for now. At least I can make over 10,000 Credit Points. Such a good opportunity to earn money—it’d be a shame to miss it.”
The old man smiled slightly. “Good. My Shenxia Tongbao number is 16288977825. Once you transfer the money and I confirm it, you can pick any two Third-Grade Yuan Crystals to take.”
The man nodded and, in front of everyone, transferred the money. Soon, he sent 100,000 Credit Points to the old man, happily selected two Third-Grade Yuan Crystals, and left.
As for the other man who had checked the Yuan Crystals and the surrounding passengers, they still watched coldly, as if observing a play.
“This is so fake. How can you be sure they’re real Third-Grade Yuan Crystals just by checking? Besides real Yuan Crystals, there’s also something called Mutated Yuan Crystals—harmful and useless. If you get one and use it, you might not even know how you died.”
“We haven’t checked them yet. Who knows if those Yuan Crystals are real or fake? I don’t dare to buy.”
“Since ancient times, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. This is clearly a scam, and it’s different from the usual ones—it’s innovative and groundbreaking, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a scam.”
…
All the passengers still didn’t believe it. They gossiped among themselves, and no one stepped forward to buy the so-called Third-Grade Yuan Crystals. Just then, a rather stylish and beautiful woman walked over from a corner and scoffed, “Whether it’s real or fake, we’ll know once we check. Most people don’t bring Yuan Crystal detection equipment on trains because it’s expensive and inconvenient to carry. But as it happens, I’m opening a Yuan Crystal shop at home and just bought a detection device. Could one of you gentlemen lend a hand? Let’s bring the device over and test them properly. Then we’ll see what’s what—the truth will come out immediately.”