Chapter 12: Tea Leaves with Game Attributes!
Chapter 12: Tea Leaves with Game Attributes!
Lu Feng entered the jewelry store, donned the military camouflage and protective gear he had stashed there, and then picked up his steel blade before heading back out. He had already cleared out most of the zombies on this floor; only a few remained, wandering aimlessly. To be safe, Lu Feng lured these remaining zombies over one by one and dispatched them.
[Congratulations on killing a zombie! Gained 5 experience points!]
...
[Congratulations on killing a zombie! Gained 5 experience points!]
After killing the last zombie, Lu Feng checked his character attributes; his experience had reached 125/400. He had killed a total of 25 zombies. With this, as long as no more zombies were lured up from the stairwell, this floor was completely clear. Lu Feng felt at ease and began to explore.
Aside from two jewelry stores, there were over 20 shops on this floor. However, they were quite scattered, lacking any organized floor-by-floor categorization. The jewelry store was flanked by a snack shop and a clothing store. The clothing store contained many styles of apparel, but unfortunately, they were ruined, covered in dust and cobwebs. As for the snack shop, it was completely empty; the shelves were overturned, and two zombies were crushed beneath them, indicating that a struggle had taken place. It made sense—in the world of "After the Apocalypse," food was a necessity. This shop would have been the first place survivors visited; it was impossible for anything to remain. He wondered if those who had raided this shop had escaped the department store or had become part of the undead.
Lu Feng inspected the shops one by one, but they only held common daily items that were now too old and worn to be of any value. He eventually stepped into a cosmetics store. The merchandise was neatly arranged; clearly, no one had visited this place since the collapse of civilization. While the outer packaging was covered in dust and grime, the products sealed inside remained pristine.
[This is a common cosmetic product, a necessity for many ordinary women. Unfortunately, in the apocalypse, it can no longer win a girl's heart!]
After seeing similar descriptions for several products, Lu Feng lost interest. Common cosmetics were abundant in reality and held little value. Moreover, they had expiration dates, and he had no way of knowing if they were still safe to use. He soon finished exploring all twenty-plus shops on the 13th floor, but he found nothing of worth. Most items were either past their expiration date or had deteriorated over time.
Lu Feng decided to head to another floor. He checked the status of the floors above and below from the stairwell and ultimately decided to move up to the 14th floor, as the 13th floor had significantly more zombies. Upon entering the 14th floor, he saw several zombie corpses scattered on the ground, their skulls crushed or pierced. This floor had clearly been cleared before, leaving only about a dozen zombies. When he noticed several food shops nearby, he understood why—they were all completely picked clean. After clearing the remaining dozen zombies, his experience rose to 195/400.
Soon, one shop on the 14th floor caught his attention: "Qingfeng Tea Flagship Store."
It was clearly the headquarters of a tea company, and it was massive, occupying nearly a third of the floor. It wasn’t strange for a tea company to have a flagship store in a department store; in reality, brands like Bama Tea, Xiao Guan Tea, or White Tea Shoumei did the same. After all, the primary requirement for a tea shop was a bustling commercial center, and this department store fit the bill perfectly.
Lu Feng entered the shop and saw tea tables, chairs, and tea sets arranged in the center, while the surrounding shelves were packed with tea. There was a sign pointing to a warehouse in the back. He carefully opened the door, and finding no danger, shone his phone’s flashlight inside to reveal piles of boxes filled with tea.
Lu Feng’s eyes lit up. Tea had a very long shelf life; varieties like white tea and black tea had no upper limit. Furthermore, tea wasn't cheap in reality. Aside from basic everyday tea, common narcissus tea cost over 500 yuan a box, with higher-end ones reaching over 3,000 yuan—and that was only for about 16 servings. High-end cinnamon tea could cost over 4,000 yuan. He wondered what price point Qingfeng tea occupied. The shop only carried this one brand, and the packaging was consistent, suggesting they were either a specialized company or a new one that hadn't yet diversified its product lines.
[Qingfeng Tea: A tea crafted with a special secret recipe. Due to its unique processing, the quality exceeds that of ordinary tea, and it has a shelf life of several decades. The brewed tea has special effects: Tea Aroma +1, Sweet Aftertaste +1, Refreshing and Mind-Sharpening +1!]
"???" Lu Feng was stunned by the information from his exploration function. Were these game attributes? Right, in the game "After the Apocalypse," many items had attributes, like various fruits that could restore stamina or heal wounds, all displayed with "+X" indicators. From this, it was clear that Qingfeng tea was exceptional. The aroma and aftertaste were what people looked for in tea, and a "+1" meant a significant upgrade. Furthermore, good tea could truly refresh the mind, and the "+1" attribute confirmed this quality.
Naturally, that wasn't the most important part. More importantly, tea usually only had the production date on the outer packaging, not the inner packets. Qingfeng tea was the same. As long as he repackaged it and sent it for inspection to obtain a certificate of compliance, he could sell it legally.
Lu Feng immediately took off his protective gear, sheathed his steel blade, and with a thought, brought the box of Qingfeng tea into reality. Opening it, he found 16 individual servings, boiled water, and brewed a pot. Lu Feng rarely drank tea, but after two sips, his eyes widened. Even with his limited experience, he could taste the difference; it was intoxicating. The aroma and the lingering sweetness were far superior to the tea he had drank at Chen Bo’s tea house. Even the 1,500-yuan-a-box narcissus tea Chen Bo had served him and his cousin couldn't compare. Moreover, he felt significantly more alert after drinking it—that was the effect of the "Refreshing and Mind-Sharpening +1" attribute.
It was truly miraculous for tea to have such a tangible effect. Later, Lu Feng hurried out to three local reputable tea houses and bought their most expensive tea, each costing 5,000 yuan for 12 servings. In a county-level city like Yucheng, 5,000 yuan was quite expensive. He brought the three boxes home and brewed them to compare. While the 5,000-yuan teas were indeed aromatic with a good aftertaste, they paled in comparison to the Qingfeng tea, especially lacking its refreshing effect.
In other words, he could easily sell the Qingfeng tea at the same price point as these premium teas, if not higher. He had already processed the gold from the two jewelry stores, and until he found new ones, he could sell this tea. The quantity on the shelves and in the warehouse was likely worth more than the gold from the previous stores combined. Unlike gold, he could sell this openly once repackaged, which would also provide a perfect cover for the source of his funds should he ever find a bank vault in the future.
If he could only learn the production method, he could even open a tea factory, though that was just a pipe dream for now. His immediate focus was on how to sell the tea. Since it was an unknown brand, he needed people who truly understood and loved tea to taste it. Once they did, they would surely realize they could get higher-quality tea at a lower price. He pondered marketing strategies online—should he ask his cousin to have some of those outgoing "socialite" girls help promote it?