PDLP Chapter 20: The Misprinted Game is a Bit Expensive
Chapter 20: The Misprinted Game is a Bit Expensive
Lin Ximeng took the items out of the water tank and first peeled off the outermost layer of transparent tape.
The tape was wrapped quite tightly, around the foam paper five times.
"The foam paper and tape are still quite new; they must have been hidden away recently."
Lin Ximeng muttered to himself, then tore off two more layers of bubble wrap, finally revealing a black game box with colorful printing, featuring the cover art for Grand Theft Auto IV:
Airplanes, speedboats, dogs, and a host of characters—classic scenes that look no different from the regular version.
He hooked the case open with his finger, and the disc inside popped out a little with a "click".
Lin Ximeng's eyes lit up as he picked up the disc.
The normal version of the disc features printed characters with realistic skin tones such as white and yellow, but this disc is entirely composed of pink skin tones, even the game logo is slightly pink.
"Compare it online."
Lin Ximeng took out his phone from his pocket and found the comparison pictures on the player forum: Sure enough, this was the wrong version mentioned in the intelligence.
"I've got the stuff."
Lin Ximeng stuffed the disc back into the case and was about to put it in his inner pocket when he suddenly heard a muffled "hmm" sound behind him.
He turned around and saw the man in the pink dress on the ground swaying as he raised his head, seemingly about to wake up from his unconsciousness. "No...don't go, my sweetheart..."
Lin Ximeng frowned, not wanting to stay in this place for even a second longer.
He got up and walked towards the door, but just as he took a step, a hand suddenly hooked his ankle: "Sweetheart... come with me to the movies..."
Without saying a word, Lin Ximeng took a half step back with his left foot and stomped down on the back of the other's hand with a "thud".
The man in the pink dress suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream: "Ah! My hand. It's broken, it's going to break!"
The man's hands were clenched into a ball, and tears and snot mixed with the lingering eyeshadow streamed down his face.
Lin Ximeng ignored him and left the bathroom.
After they came out, they found that the three people, including Resmia, had disappeared.
However, the paint buckets of various colors they brought are still here, indicating that they left in a hurry.
"What a pity, I should have taken a picture and asked the black guys in the poor neighborhood if anyone was interested and offered a reasonable price."
After walking along the road for a while, Lin Ximeng turned into the park at the street corner and sat down on a park bench.
After sitting down, Lin Ximeng immediately opened a second-hand trading app on his phone.
After searching for about ten minutes, Simon Lin found several records of transactions for misprinted copies of Grand Theft Auto IV, with prices around $80 or $90.
After observing for a while, Lin Ximeng found that the main difference was the age of these misprinted discs.
Most of the CDs sold were less than 60-70% new, while the one that sold for the highest price of $95 had only some light stains and could be considered 80% new.
Lin Ximeng took out his CD case and waved it at an angle towards the sun:
The case is completely free of creases, and the print on the dial is very clear; it looks like it's 90% new.
"It should be able to sell for at least $100, maybe higher than these previous records?"
If I earn another $100, I can buy myself a new set of clothes.
Although the outfit fit him fairly well, Lin Ximeng worried that if he continued to wear it, it might end up looking like West Coast fashion.
Lin Ximeng thought this, but then frowned when he looked at the transaction time column.
The last three transactions took an average of seven days from listing the item to selling it, with the longest one taking a full ten days.
What's worse is that all payment methods require linking to a bank card, but he doesn't even have a proper identity, so where would he get a card?
"Online transactions require bank cards and take a long time to complete, which is not suitable for us homeless people."
Lin Ximeng rolled his eyes, opened the map app, and started searching.
A moment later, they finally found a shop nearby that could buy and sell used games: "Super Block Game Shop, buys and sells used games/anime merchandise".
It's only 800 meters away, a ten-minute walk.
Lin Ximeng acted immediately, grabbing his phone and CD case and rushing to the shop.
The game store is located in a less busy area away from the main road, and several posters of the latest game releases are pasted on the glass door.
Lin Ximeng pushed open the door and walked in. He saw that the store was quite spacious, with three rows of shelves clearly dividing the space into three areas.
The area closest to the entrance is the current-generation console section, with PS5 and Switch consoles displayed in glass cases, and rows of shrink-wrapped new games stacked on the shelves next to them, the majority of which are racing, shooting, and sports games.
He walked along the shelves, and the second section was filled with slightly dusty, old consoles. Next to the black PS2 console were several boxes of game discs for "Final Fantasy X" and "Gran Turismo," as well as a boxy GameCube console, along with a cartridge of "Super Plumber Sunshine," all placed in a transparent display case.
In the far corner, there was a gold-plated red and white mobile phone covered with yellowed stickers, with a handwritten note underneath that read: "For display only, not for sale."
Further inside is the merchandise section, with stacks of D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) board game boxes. The gold-embossed covers of the D&D core rulebooks gleamed, and behind them were figurines from anime such as Naruto and Demon Slayer, and even some robot model kits, ranging from chibi SD to MG. The boxes were stacked neatly, with different prices marked on the labels.
Lin Simon's gaze finally settled on a large box on the top shelf, which was Gou Dai's PG series Golden Bird Unicorn Phoenix.
The box is printed with a bright gold body, but there is a white sticky note in the lower left corner that reads "Special price for damaged box: $840".
"Dude, you have great taste."
A somewhat muffled voice suddenly came from the side.
Lin Ximeng turned his head and saw a white man wearing black-rimmed glasses standing behind the counter. He was more than half a head shorter than him, had slightly curly hair, wore a gray hoodie with the "Star Wars" logo printed on it, and was holding a Switch game console in his hand.
"I am the shop owner, Leo."
Leo introduced himself with a slightly shy smile, but it didn't diminish the enthusiasm in his eyes at all. "This PG Phoenix box originally cost $899. The corner of the box is a little dented, but the inner panels and instructions haven't been touched. It will definitely look cool when you put it together."
He sighed, clearly regretful: "I want to keep them myself, but I already have six piled up at home."
Lin Ximeng quickly waved his hand: "Sorry, I'm not here to buy anything."
Leo said "Oh" before finally shifting his gaze from the model to Simon Lin.
He squinted and looked at it carefully, his gaze first sweeping over Lin Simon's somewhat worn hoodie, then landing on the crumpled bubble wrap in his hand. His smiling face slowly lost its expression, and a hint of tension appeared in his eyes.
Lin Ximeng, with his sharp eyes, saw him quietly reach under the counter and grab a baseball bat, his fingers still slightly tightening.
Is he treating himself like a homeless person who came to buy something for free?
"So, buddy, what can I do for you?"
Leo's voice was noticeably colder than before.