As soon as Ernis displayed his limited-edition blind boxes, the atmosphere at the offline counters became even more heated.
Everyone began to fantasize: Since all those who drew the hidden edition were Fish fans, why couldn’t the next lucky Fish fan be me?
However, with the new purchasing limit in place, each person could only draw five boxes at a time, allowing the fans in the queue behind to also experience the thrill of opening a spiritual treasure blind box.
“What a coincidence! You and your friend got the very last set of blind boxes! Please pay over there.”
Ater dragging Huo Ting to line up, Yu Mian managed to snag the last two sets, making ten blind boxes in total.
“Wow, thank you!”
Yu Mian accepted the blind boxes and sincerely expressed his gratitude. Looking around at the crowd digging through their boxes in all sorts of postures, he also wanted to find a place to try his luck.
Although the Huanyu editorial team would definitely send him a full set of figurines, when it came to blind box toys, drawing them personally was undoubtedly the most fun.
The joy of the unknown was boundless.
There were also quite a few people live broadcasting their blind box openings at the scene, generating a lot of buzz. After all, “The Vast Immortal Path” was a recent hit, and anything tagged with it would gain instant popularity.
“You take five, I take five.”
Yu Mian found a table and fairly divided the boxes, giving five to Huo Ting while keeping five for himself.
However, the moment Huo Ting received the blind boxes, his instinct was to use his mental power to scan them, but he was immediately stopped by Yu Mian: “You can’t cheat with mental power.”
“There’s a special setting?” Huo Ting, whose little trick was discovered, lowered his eyes and examined the small box in his hands. He didn’t expect that the people at Huanyu had considered things so thoroughly.
It seemed the boxes had been specially processed. While their weight was uniform, they also blocked mental power scans, ensuring they truly functioned as blind boxes.
“Of course! If people like you, who have awakened their mental power, could just scan the boxes, wouldn’t that be cheating?”
After calling out Huo Ting for trying to “take shortcuts”, Yu Mian made him open the box properly and dig through the contents the old-fashioned way.
“Hahaha, I also just discovered that mental power doesn’t work on these blind boxes. Huanyu really did a thorough job.”
A strong-looking Fish fan nearby, who was also busy digging through his box, overheard their conversation and chimed in with a laugh.
As he met eyes with Yu Mian, both realized that they were heavily disguised and found themselves eyeing each other curiously.
Omirs, known by his pen name “Stellar Medal,” had also come to the collaborative ink painting exhibition of “The Vast Immortal Journey” after finishing his manuscript.
Back when he published his thrilling crime novel “Stellar Justice”, Omirs gained a large following of military fans. Many even assumed he was a retired Federation military veteran.
It wasn’t until he attended a Huanyu offline event that people discovered he was not only not a retired soldier but actually a former space pirate who had since turned over a new leaf. This revelation only further fueled the popularity of “Stellar Justice”.
For a time, he became a benchmark for the prodigal son finding new employment. Who would have thought that Fish Soup Noodles’ novel could have such power?
Omirs was also quite satisfied with his current life. As long as he finished his daily updates to sustain himself, he could go out and enjoy life, no longer having to live on the run in fear of being captured.
Even so, Omirs couldn’t help but glance at Huo Ting a few more times.
Something about this guy’s aura made him feel extremely uncomfortable and it brought back many unpleasant memories from his days as a space pirate roaming the universe.
So before Yu Mian, who seemed to find him somewhat familiar, could get a closer look, Omirs quickly put on a cold and tough expression, turned away, and avoided eye contact.
“This person seems a little strange.”
“Yes.”
Yu Mian whispered to Huo Ting, who also furrowed his brows in agreement.
If he wasn’t mistaken, there was a long scar under the man’s mask, and his build and temperament didn’t resemble that of an ordinary citizen.
But Central Star’s security was excellent. There was no way a fugitive could just walk around so brazenly.
Besides, the lively atmosphere quickly pulled Yu Mian’s attention away from Omirs, as the crowd of blind box buyers began unboxing various spiritual treasures one after another.
Excited exclamations filled the venue, though unfortunately, no one had managed to draw the hidden edition.
Even so, one lucky person did pull the rare “Bronze Nine-Legged Cauldron.” While not as valuable as the hidden edition, its resale price on the second-hand market was still incredibly high, making it highly sought after.
Those who were live broadcasting immediately turned their cameras toward the lucky fan holding the delicate pink jade cauldron, and started interviewing him.
“Of course, I’m happy! This was only my second blind box, and the storybook that came with it is really interesting too. In ancient Blue Star’s Huaxia culture, the cauldron symbolizes…Hey! Someone stole my blind box!”
Before the young man, who looked like an office worker, could finish speaking, he suddenly froze in disbelief as a figure in black darted past him and snatched the blind box from his hands.
“Fuck, someone actually stole a blind box?”
“Quick! Stop him!”
The scene instantly erupted into chaos.
“Someone’s really robbing a blind box?”
Yu Mian could hardly believe his eyes.
Huo Ting instinctively stepped forward and restrained the thief, but to his surprise, the man from who seemed to have a bit of banditry in his temperament from earlier also stepped in, overflowing with righteousness as he helped subdue the culprit.
“Ow, ow! Let go! I’ll give it back, okay?!”
Realizing he had no chance of escape, the thief immediately tossed the blind box away. Omirs caught it in one swift motion and returned it to the office worker Fish fan.
It turned out that the thief was a scalper. After failing to get his hands on a limited-edition box due to the purchasing restrictions, he had lost money. Then, seeing that someone had drawn a rare piece from the very box he passed up, he acted impulsively in frustration.
He never expected to be caught and sent straight to security so quickly.
The entire crowd clutched their blind boxes protectively while collectively condemning the shameless scalper.
As for Omirs, who had personally returned the stolen box, he became the center of attention.
“Wait… Are you Teacher Stellar Medal?”
Soon, a reader who was also a fan of Stellar Medal looked at Omirs and asked hesitantly in a low voice.
“Uh… yes, I am.”
Omirs, who had been full of righteous energy just moments ago, suddenly realized he had exposed himself. He scratched his head, feeling at a loss.
“Wow, today was totally worth it! The hero protecting Teacher Fish Soup Noodles’ new figurines is actually Teacher Stellar Medal!”
“Can I take a photo and get an autograph? Your interactions with Teacher Fish Soup Noodles on Star Blog are always hilarious, hahaha!”
Because Yu Mian and Omirs were on good terms, many Fish fans also followed Omirs’ novels, so the atmosphere at the scene became even more lively.
“Wait, hold on, there was someone else who helped catch the thief too!”
Although Omirs had an arrogant and carefree persona online, being surrounded like this in real life made him shrink back nervously. He started glancing around, trying to find Huo Ting.
“So it’s was Teacher Stellar Medal. This guy has truly turned over a new leaf. Now that his cover is blown, this is going to be interesting, haha.”
Unfortunately, Yu Mian had already dragged Huo Ting to a corner.
After all, if he were recognized here today, the problem wouldn’t just be whether he could finish viewing the art exhibition, but whether he could even leave the venue at all.
With the Freckton Gallery’s ink painting exhibition and the special-edition figurine pop-up store happening simultaneously, the number of Fish fans at the event was overwhelming.
Many had even dressed up in cosplays matching outfits from the novel.
Now that the blind box thief had been dealt with and Omirs’ appearance had stolen the spotlight, it was the perfect opportunity for Yu Mian and Huo Ting to slip away unnoticed.
Yu Mian watched everything unfold with a smile. “So that’s him.”
“You recognize him too?”
Huo Ting did have an impression of Yu Mian’s more famous readers.
Especially Omirs, the former space pirate who, due to his connections with military academy students, had even piqued Secretary Hals curiosity enough to look up the related gossip.
“Mm. According to Hals, several space pirates have developed literary aspirations because of him and are considering a career change.”
“Hahaha, then he is really an industry role model.” Yu Mian couldn’t help but laugh upon hearing this internal statistic.
Well, space pirates having literary dreams wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least they were willing to pursue a proper job now.
With the excitement still in full swing, Yu Mian turned to Huo Ting, urging him to open his blind boxes.
Huo Ting unwrapped all five boxes and carefully dug through the soil, only to find that he didn’t get a single hidden edition…not even one of the more popular figurines.
“Ah, you’re just a little bit unlucky. Maybe there will be a miracle if you open just one more!”
Hearing Yu Mian’s serious evaluation, Huo Ting paused for a moment.
Suddenly, he understood why blind boxes were so addictive.
The uncertainty of possibly creating a miracle with the next one made it very easy to get hooked.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. My luck is good, I’ll help us turn it around!”
