Chapter 179: E-commerce, Reshaping the Trade Landscape [Two-in-One]

Chapter 179: E-commerce, Reshaping the Trade Landscape [Two-in-One]

Returning to No. 11 Bone Street, Ron was sitting listlessly on the front steps, chin propped on one hand, his expression dull.

When he saw Daisova return, Ron immediately stood up, his face full of guilt. "Archmage Daisova, I'm sorry, I—"

"No, I should be the one apologizing. I lost my temper earlier. I'm sorry."

Daisova walked over, ruffled Ron's hair, and spoke the apology with ease.

—Two years ago, he would never have been able to utter those words.

Ron froze for a moment, then grinned, flashing his bright white front teeth. "It's fine! The future Saint Magus Ron forgives you!"

Daisova flicked his forehead with a finger. "Don’t push your luck. Did you finish watching the public lecture?"

Ron clutched his forehead and protested, "You’re just taking revenge!"

After shouting, he ducked his head and darted into the house.

Daisova chuckled and followed him inside.

His decision to break through to the Archmage realm before returning home wasn’t just about pride—he knew all too well that a Grand Magus’s influence on his family was limited.

Only by becoming an Archmage could he wield significant power.

Especially at his age.

When he told his mother it would be "soon," it wasn’t just to comfort her.

With the internet and the Q&A community, mastering fifth-level spells wasn’t particularly difficult for him. All he needed was a little more time for research and consolidation.

He was brimming with confidence!

Settling back into his chair, Daisova opened the internet and checked the Interconnected Grand E-commerce platform.

As for magic cultivation?

There was no rush. He preferred to study quietly at night, when everything was still.

The icon for the Interconnected Grand E-commerce was quite interesting:

It depicted a pair of trading hands—one holding a money pouch, the other cradling goods.

The meaning was clear at a glance.

Upon opening it, a densely packed interface greeted him.

On the left side of the homepage was a list of main product categories, including [Food & Grains], [Weapons & Armor], [Industrial Manufacturing], [Magic Artifacts], [Magic Materials], [Daily Necessities], and more.

Clicking on any main category immediately revealed a subcategory list.

For example, selecting [Food & Grains] brought up options like "Meat," "Grains," "Fungi," "Aquatic Products," "Fruits & Vegetables," "Processed Foods," and other finer subdivisions.

The sheer variety and comprehensiveness clearly reflected meticulous planning.

What surprised Daisova the most was the rotating display of products in the center of the webpage, featuring items like "bicycles," "firearms," "airships," and "seeds."

The last one, "seeds," left him stunned.

Because the advertisement showed a graceful woman holding several floating seeds in her hand, the image animated.

In the picture, the seeds bobbed gently, the woman’s long hair flowing, her smile radiating warmth.

That woman was none other than the girl who had once pursued him—Dorothea!

Clicking on the ad redirected him to an exquisitely designed webpage.

At the top, it read:

—Magic Forest, the multiverse’s seed experts!

Beneath the header, countless products were displayed. At a glance, most were seeds or seedlings of special magic plants.

He clicked on a product labeled "Black Grain 6-11 Seeds," and the webpage redirected to a subpage.

This page was filled with descriptions extolling the superiority of the "Black Grain 6-11 Seeds," including a video.

In the video, Dorothea stood beside a four-square-meter time rain farm enclosed by a glass cover, introducing the seed's features.

As she spoke, she activated the time rain farm, accelerating the crop growth cycle to visually demonstrate the seed's advantages.

Daisova wasn’t interested in the superiority of the 6-11 seeds—no matter how scarce food became, he would never go hungry.

He was simply surprised by Dorothea’s transformation.

In the video, Dorothea smiled gracefully, her hands clasped at her waist, exuding intelligence and elegance.

Her enunciation was clear, and the terms she occasionally used—"accumulated temperature," "self-pollination," "net weight after shelling"—felt fresh to him.

It also made him realize that Dorothea had ventured far into a field he knew nothing about.

The little girl who used to follow him around, annoying him, had unexpectedly carved out her own path.

A genuine smile spread across Daisova’s face, happy for Dorothea’s achievements.

At this moment, Daisova hadn’t yet realized the seismic waves the Magic Forest seeds—which he found uninteresting—were stirring across the multiverse!

No!

It would be more accurate to say that the launch of the Interconnected Grand E-commerce had completely shaken the multiverse!

……

……

"Respected Baron Walker, we sincerely apologize. It’s not that we refuse to sell you grain, but the mountain roads are too treacherous! Transporting grain here results in a 30% loss along the way. And with this dreadful weather, the loss rate could even exceed 50%. So..."

In the castle hall, the Second Manager of the Golden Spike Merchant Guild spread his hands helplessly, though a hint of smugness lingered at the corners of his mouth.

Baron Walker’s facial muscles twitched violently upon hearing this, his rage nearly driving him to murder.

A 50% loss?

Did they take him for a clueless child?

These bastards were clearly exploiting the situation!

He longed to draw his blade and behead this scoundrel, but he didn’t dare!

Because if he killed the Second Manager, the starving commoners in his territory would be the ones to take his head.

The thought filled Baron Walker with bitter resentment.

Since inheriting his noble title from his father, he had governed his territory diligently—cracking down on bandits, developing commerce—only for a flood to wash everything away.

The flood led to famine, famine to riots, riots to unrest, and unrest gave his enemies an opportunity.

He knew the solution to his current predicament.

Grain!

As long as he had grain, no amount of enemy slander would matter.

Those timid commoners wouldn’t dare rebel as long as they could survive.

Yet, adding flowers to brocade was common, while offering fuel in snowy weather was rare.

No—when you were down, what you faced was more like adding stones to a drowning man.

The Golden Spike Merchant Guild was doing exactly that.

His gold coin reserves were already limited, and now they were gouging him further.

Even if he purchased this batch of grain, it would at most delay the immediate crisis. Once the grain was consumed, the commoners, with no seeds to plant, might still overthrow his rule.

These damned Merchants only sought to squeeze the last drop of profit from him, utterly indifferent to his survival. For a moment, overwhelming despair clouded his heart.

Forcing himself to appear composed, he said, "I understand the difficulties your Merchant Guild faces, but now is also the best opportunity for you to gain the friendship of the Walker family, which has endured for 216 years, is it not?"

The Second Manager of the Golden Spike Merchant Guild glanced at Baron Walker, a mocking smile curling his lips. "The friendship of the Walker family is worthless!"

At these words, Baron Walker's aged face flushed crimson. His right hand instinctively gripped the hilt of his waist knife.

The Second Manager sneered, tilting his chin up defiantly, staring at Baron Walker without a trace of fear. He was certain Baron Walker wouldn’t dare kill him—doing so would be cutting off his own lifeline!

"Haah... haah..." Baron Walker's eyes burned red as his mind raced with furious calculations.

"Tap, tap, tap!"

Hurried footsteps echoed as a white-bearded mage rushed into the castle hall. With excitement written across his face, he leaned close to Baron Walker and whispered urgently.

Baron Walker listened in silence. His years of high station kept his expression unreadable, though his pupils trembled slightly.

"Haah..."

After a long pause, he exhaled softly, his grip on the knife loosening.

Noticing this, the Second Manager’s disdain only deepened, though he had no idea what had transpired. He guessed Baron Walker’s territory must be stirring with unrest again.

Of course. Those lowly commoners only behaved when their bellies were full. Starvation made them reckless.

Baron Walker took a slow breath. "The Golden Spike Merchant Guild’s doomsday has arrived."

"What?" The Second Manager gaped, then looked at Baron Walker as if he were insane. "No, no, no. Baron Walker, perhaps Aubrey Territory will face doomsday, but the Golden Spike Merchant Guild never will!"

"Is that so? But yours has come."

With that, Baron Walker’s relaxed fingers suddenly clenched the hilt. Drawing the blade, he thrust it forward in one fluid motion.

"You—"

The sudden attack left the Second Manager clutching his abdomen, eyes wide with disbelief.

Baron Walker snapped his fingers, and a Virtual Screen materialized before him. With a flick, he swiftly located a grain supplier on the Interconnected Grand E-commerce platform.

"One hundred thousand dan of grain, one ton of gold, delivered via portal. Could the Golden Spike Merchant Guild, which only exploits desperation, ever match this?"

Baron Walker stared at the Second Manager’s face, relishing the moment.

"No... impossible...?"

As the Second Manager gazed at the Virtual Screen, his consciousness faded into darkness. He was dead.

The mage who had rushed into the hall watched the Second Manager’s body slump to the ground, his expression unreadable.

"Lord Walker, apart from grain, I consulted the Dragon Factory’s customer service. They said if we purchase one hundred thousand dan of grain, they’ll allow us to buy firearms in small batches—one thousand firearms with ten thousand bullets included, all for one thousand gold coins."

Baron Walker’s eyes instantly lit up.

With grain and firearms now in hand, would the troubling situation still persist?

No!

Absolutely not!

He could even seize this opportunity to sweep away the rats hiding in the shadows.

Praise be to you, Internet God!

All of this has come at the perfect time.

At this moment, was Baron Walker the only one praising the Internet God in his heart?

……

……

"I'll take all of these. What do you want in return? Grain? Or water?"

The words of the mage from the Keville Empire on the Azarea Continent sent the dog-headed tribe chieftain into a frenzy of excitement.

These blue stones before him weren’t exactly littered across the Gobi, but with careful searching, they could still be found in abundance.

In the past, the tribe had collected them merely as ornaments.

He never imagined that these unremarkable trinkets were actually a precious magical material. Just this small bag alone could fetch a fortune in grain.

Thank the Internet God!

The Interconnected Grand E-commerce is simply marvelous!

"Grain, water, firearms, bicycles, and seeds from the Magic Forest—I want them all. But first, you’ll need to give me an estimate!"

The dog-headed tribe chieftain spoke cautiously.

He wasn’t afraid of being cheated!

First, thanks to the internet, he had already researched exactly what Gobi blue stones were and their true value.

Second, when the other party’s spiritual body descended, they had signed a confidentiality contract.

All he needed to do was find a suitable location for the trade to prevent the other party from recording the coordinates via the portal.

"The price of Gobi blue stones—I’m sure you’ve looked it up online—is quite transparent. However, I must remind you: the only one who can handle this much stock while also supplying you with firearms, bicycles, seeds, and other goods is my Keville Empire! So for these blue stones, I’ll offer 10,000 gold coins per pound. This price is fair, and I intend to do long-term business."

The Keville mage spoke confidently.

"Gold coins? No, no—I want goods."

"I know. This is just pricing in gold coins. After calculating the total value, you can purchase my goods—essentially bartering, isn’t it?"

After some haggling, the two sides finalized the deal.

The dog-headed tribe then led their warriors to an underground cavern far from their settlement, where they completed the trade with the Keville Merchant.

When the mountain of goods was hauled back to the tribe,

this dog-headed tribe, dwelling in the desolate Gobi, was utterly stunned and erupted into celebration!

The abundance of supplies prompted the tribe to hold a grand worship ceremony!

The object of their worship? None other than the Internet God!

"We thank you, Internet God, for bringing Manxubu precious grain, water, mighty firearms, and ingenious bicycles! You are the God of Trade, the God of Justice, the Disseminator of Knowledge, the Protector God of the Dog-headed Tribe! Praise be to you, Internet God!"

The dog-headed tribe chieftain stood atop the altar, shouting fervently.

"Praise be to you, Internet God!"

Below the altar, countless dog-headed tribespeople echoed in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

The chieftain trembled with excitement as he watched his fervent people.

He had a premonition—as long as the internet endured, Manxubu would flourish under his leadership!

Under the protection of the Internet God, the barren Gobi would never shackle Manxubu’s march toward prosperity and strength!

……

……

Some places, with the help of the internet, have discovered new paths of development;

Others see hope but fall into hesitation!

Lyle · City of Grantham.

This is a preaching zone of the God of Death.

The residents of this land have always taken pride in their faith in the God of Death, especially after the emergence of the Dark Web, which drove the people of Grantham into fanaticism.

The Dark Web was so powerful!

So dazzling!

Though the internet later spread here as well, the locals dismissed it outright, even cursing the Internet God for copying the Dark Web.

Otherwise, why would the two be so similar?

Through the Followers of the God of Death, the residents of Grantham finally caught a glimpse of the Underworld!

Necromancer Summoners rejoiced at the ease of future cultivation, while commoners marveled at the wonders of the mysterious world, thrilled by the promise of a hopeful future.

Yet when the Four Pillar Gods laid siege to the city, everything turned to dust!

Though the God of Death boasted of commanding the five hundred million calamity, these forces were spread across 27 domains, making their numbers far less impressive.

As the war raged on, the flaws of the Fifth Calamity gradually surfaced.

First, no matter how low the cost of the Fifth Calamity, it still required vast amounts of undead remains.

The God of Death had grown too arrogant—the massive armies gathered by his Followers made him lose sight of reality.

When all his preaching zones were engulfed in war, he realized that even the cheapest forces could not keep up with the relentless loss of battle.

Second, compared to the Fourth Calamity, the Fifth Calamity revealed a fatal flaw.

The Fifth Calamity was incredibly cheap to produce, had no time limits for deployment, and the growth of a fragment of soul could even benefit the main body.

In extreme cases, a fragment could even replace the main body.

But the Fifth Calamity had one critical weakness—it couldn’t afford to die!

Unlike the Fourth Calamity, which controlled puppets through the Six-Senses Sharing Contract,

the Fifth Calamity used fragments of soul to command the undead. Each death inevitably caused soul damage. A few deaths were manageable, but repeated losses left players visibly affected.

Agitation, irritability, hallucinations, neurasthenia, weight loss, and mental confusion became rampant.

At first, this wasn’t a major issue.

On one hand, the God of Death, wielding his soul authority, only severed a tiny portion of a player’s soul fragment.

On the other, souls naturally regenerate, especially when nourished by a living body.

Occasional deaths of a fragment of soul were like losing a few drops of blood now and then.

But war magnified this flaw!

To fend off the Four Pillar Gods, the Fifth Calamity became cannon fodder. Players, desperate to protect their homes, had to revive and die again and again.

Many elderly players even suffered fatal collapses as their main soul fragments deteriorated beyond recovery.

For the residents of Grantham, this wasn’t the worst of it—the true tragedy was starvation.

Under siege by the Four Pillar Gods, no amount of money could buy food.

So when the Interconnected Grand E-commerce went live, the few remaining believers of the God of Death who still paid attention to the internet were stunned.

Should they remain steadfast in their faith in the God of Death?

Or should they turn to the internet for survival?

This became their impossible dilemma.

...

The dilemma faced by the residents of Grantham has also become the dilemma of countless believers in the preaching zones of the gods.

When wealth is easily attainable, can faith remain unshakable?

The gods lack confidence, and the God of Death is furious!

The update of the Interconnected Grand E-commerce has made the Dark Web's situation increasingly difficult. He realizes he must change—or face destruction.

Should he continue copying strategies and introduce an e-commerce section?