As the Elf Race escaped, Li Fan had already quietly returned to the stable.
He wasn't worried that the plan would fail.
He had done everything he needed to do; the rest was up to the Elf Race to prove herself.
Just as Li Fan was thinking this, a system prompt echoed in his mind.
"Success!"
Li Fan couldn't help but grin; the Elf Race had indeed successfully escaped, and his Emergency Pill had not been wasted after all.
Everything tonight was essentially a huge gamble, and it was clear that Li Fan had won.
What Li Fan had gambled on was that instead of selling the pill to a Slave Merchant of unknown allegiance, it would be better to directly save the Elf Race.
Humans and the Elf Race were hostile to each other; most of the Elf Race were indoctrinated from a young age with the idea of being enemies with humans, making it incredibly difficult to gain an Elf Race's friendship.
However, even an Elf Race who hated humans, when in despair, if a human could rescue her from that despair, she would surely develop a sense of gratitude towards that human.
This was the instinct of all living things; even irrational beasts were the same, so how could an Elf Race be an exception?
It was like the classic hero-saves-the-beauty trope: two opposing sides, through one act of self-sacrificing rescue, turn from enemies into friends.
After all, a small step of gratitude is a big step towards friendship!
Li Fan even deliberately avoided meeting the Elf Race at the valley entrance after she escaped.
This was a tactic similar to playing hard to get; the more Li Fan showed that he expected no reward, the more grateful the other party would be to Li Fan, and the more she would trust Li Fan.
Thus, under the influence of various factors, Li Fan was very certain that he had gained a shred of friendship from that Elf Race.
This shred of friendship might never be used now that the Elf Race had left.
But Li Fan's true purpose was to activate the system, and for that, this shred of friendship was already enough.
Just like now.
Li Fan, full of excitement, opened the system panel.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for gaining the friendship of the Elf Race! Affinity Value +1!"
"Ding! Affinity System activated!"
"Ding! System Mall opened!"
"Elf Race Affinity detected, activating Elven Talent!"
"Ding! Host Panel generated!"
"Host: Li Fan"
"Realm: None"
"Strength: 1"
"Constitution: 1"
"Agility: 1"
"Spirit: 1+1"
"Talent: Elven Talent 0.1% (Natural Affinity: In a jungle environment, all attributes are boosted by 0.1 times; Longevity: Affinity insufficient, not activated; Magic: Affinity insufficient, not activated; Archery Master: Affinity insufficient, not activated)"
"Affinity Value: 1 point"
Li Fan looked at the system panel, unsure whether to say he was satisfied or not.
His spiritual power had doubled, and the effect was obvious: the fatigue of a sleepless night instantly vanished, his spirit was full, his thoughts were extremely clear, and he felt as if he had become smarter.
In addition, he had also gained a talent called [Natural Affinity].
It seemed like he had gained quite a bit, but Li Fan thought carefully.
At this moment, he still seemed to be... a weakling?
???
This was his reward after sacrificing his life-saving Emergency Pill?
Confused.
"Alas, no reaching the heavens in a single bound, huh?"
Li Fan sighed and opened the System Mall to browse.
Upon seeing it, Li Fan finally became a little interested.
The items in the System Mall were much richer than he had imagined.
There were all kinds of food and crops inside.
Most prices were not expensive; one Affinity Value could buy a bag of candy or two catties of potatoes.
Even a sharp machete only required a few Affinity points.
In addition, there were various books, such as "An Actor's Self-Cultivation," "Postpartum Care for Sows," "Great Lord of Different Races"...
It was clear that these were all extremely 'useful' books, but unfortunately, Li Fan did not like reading.
In comparison, the items that followed were more interesting to Li Fan.
He could even purchase 21st-century electronic products, and these things could even be used in another world, which was undoubtedly the best news Li Fan had heard in recent days.
He seemed to see a future where, after gaining more Affinity Value, he would embrace young ladies of different races in another world, happily binge-watching anime, reading novels, and playing games.
The only pity was that Li Fan did not find any hot weapons; otherwise, he could have played the 'My Lord, eat shit' meme.
Besides various products from Earth, the System Mall also contained many items unique to other worlds, but their prices were relatively expensive.
"low-grade energy potion: 10 Affinity Value, Healing Potion: 10 Affinity Value... Yellow-tier Battle Qi cultivation method: 50 Affinity Value, Yellow-tier Magic cultivation method: 50 Affinity Value, Yellow-tier Qi and Blood cultivation method: 50 Affinity Value, Yellow-tier Body Tempering cultivation method: 50 Affinity Value..."
As he looked, Li Fan suddenly widened his eyes and shouted, "What? Emergency Pill: 1000 Affinity Value?!"
Upon seeing this, Li Fan was completely dumbfounded; just now, he had actually used 1000 Affinity Value to save a stranger from the Elf Race?
That was 1000 Affinity Value! It was even enough for him to buy a computer and continue being a shut-in in another world, or to buy various cultivation methods and embark on the path of cultivation.
However, for such a precious pill, he ultimately only exchanged it for 1 Affinity Value. If he had known earlier, he would have saved his money and bought the cheapest alien from a Slave Merchant.
As soon as he thought of this.
Li Fan instantly felt a heartache so intense he couldn't breathe.
Fortunately, it was not long until dawn, otherwise he might have been unable to resist singing 'Heart-wrenching Pain' all night in the stable.