Chapter 66

Chapter 066: It’s All the Fate Wheel Mirror’s Fault!

How outrageous!

After a fierce internal struggle, Yan Cang ultimately refrained from shifting his gaze back to the mirror surface that he shouldn’t have been looking at.

Instead, he clearly issued a command to the [Fate Wheel Mirror]: “Close the live feed and immediately restore the attribute panel interface.”

Following that,

After the initial shock, his young and easily agitated heart gradually calmed down.

He took a deep breath, feeling the heat on his face subside slightly, though the roots of his ears still seemed to burn.

Thanks to the advancement of the modern internet, Yan Cang was no longer an ignorant youth clueless about matters between the sexes.

Before this Civilization Trial,

In the information-explosive online world, he had naturally come across plenty of deliberately provocative borderline short videos.

But the impact they brought was far less intense than this fleeting, hazy glimpse of scenery veiled by swirling water vapor.

It was only faint and indistinct…

How strange…

He sat in a daze for quite a while,

Then shook his head, forcibly dispelling those inappropriate lingering images from his mind.

In the end, he reached a conclusion about this matter:

“It’s all the [Fate Wheel Mirror]’s fault!”

He glared at the mirror in his hand, its luster restrained, and muttered under his breath, “Right! It must be Little Fate’s poor understanding.”

“I’ll need to gather some more [Comprehension] power later to enhance its intelligence!”

[Fate Wheel Mirror]: …

Little Fate thought it over carefully and decided not to refute its master’s words.

After all, it was just a mirror—how could it possibly speak?

Better to just behave!

The [Fortune-Bearing Golden Mother] on his wrist couldn’t help but flash with a glint of golden light.

Then,

After repeatedly confirming that the mirror surface was normal,

Yan Cang, with a hint of distrustful caution, cast his gaze back onto the mirror.

Fortunately, he once again saw the text information of Teacher Qiao Yue’s attribute panel.

Everything was as usual!

“Phew—”

Yan Cang let out a complete sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it was just a false alarm—the mirror had returned to normal.

Calming his somewhat chaotic emotions, he mentally clicked on the detail expansion symbol behind the talent column [Flower Charm Demon].

Following that, a very detailed piece of information appeared on the mirror surface:

[Talent: Flower Charm Demon]

[Core Ability: Can establish deep mental connections with plants, enabling simple communication and mental manipulation.]

[Active Ability One (Vine Lord): Consumes one’s own life energy to significantly accelerate the growth of designated plants, or manipulate their vines and branches for movement or attack.]

[Active Ability Two (Flower Essence): Can secrete various plant hormones, including but not limited to active substances with functions such as hallucination, calming, marking scents, and attracting insects or animals.]

[Passive Ability One (Photosynthesis): When in sunlight or a bright environment, can perform efficient photosynthesis through the skin, converting light energy into one’s own life energy, accelerating recovery of physical strength and injuries, and slightly boosting basic attributes.]

[Passive Ability Two (Vine Demon): A special life form, nearly immune to all conventional poisons, bacteria, and viruses, possessing superhuman self-healing abilities.]

[Note: When the talent was activated, it triggered a beneficial and deep adaptive adjustment in the host's body.]

...

Vine Control, like a demon or a spirit!

Looking at the detailed description, Yan Cang forcefully suppressed the awkward ripples in his mind from earlier.

This powerful and unique talent energy occupied all his thoughts at the moment.

"Controlling vines? Manipulating plants?"

He analyzed each point, "Just this core ability alone is already very strong! Especially in environments like forests and grasslands, it's practically a home field advantage!"

"It's a pity Sister Qiao is in the Gobi Desert..."

Yan Cang couldn't help but feel regretful, "With so few plants there, this ability will be greatly limited!"

"It looks like she'll have to buy plant seeds from the Trading House and then grow them herself."

"But even though the impact is significant, it's not unusable."

"Moreover, this talent allows Sister Qiao to get stronger through photosynthesis! What kind of superwoman is she?"

"Although it's not that powerful, and sunbathing mostly just provides energy, it can be used to grow plants and aid recovery. The endurance and support capabilities aren't bad either!"

"From this perspective, when Sister Qiao activated this talent, her body should have been strengthened and transformed by energy. That's probably why her three attributes far exceed those of ordinary people."

He thought it over, "After all, it only says it can slightly boost basic attributes."

"However, the ability to secrete flower essence also seems very powerful and practical?"

"Having effects like hallucination, calming, marking scents..."

He pondered these effects, "It should also include various toxins, and even more complex pheromones."

"And it can attract insects or animals?"

Seeing this, Yan Cang's train of thought couldn't help but veer off again: "If that's the case, won't Sister Qiao naturally have a body scent from now on?"

"!!"

As soon as this thought emerged, he forcefully extinguished it himself.

"Stop right there! Don't think nonsense!"

Yan Cang chanted inwardly and quickly moved his gaze down.

He looked at the next information note:

"When the talent was activated, it triggered a beneficial adaptive adjustment in the host's body..."

"Beneficial body adjustment?"

"This should refer to the increase in basic attributes!"

He felt that his earlier guess was indeed correct.

This talent also brought Sister Qiao an increase in basic attributes.

Then.

To avoid any dangerous thoughts from popping up again, Yan Cang directly closed Sister Qiao's attribute panel.

After that, he summarized: "This talent is very strong!"

"It feels even stronger than Yu Jing's 'Digital Heart' or even my 'As You Wish Body'?"

A thought of comparison flashed through his mind.

But soon, he shook his head and dismissed this idea.

These three talents each have their own focus and cannot be simply compared in terms of strength.

In short, the talent Sister Qiao obtained was also a top-tier item from a Golden Chest.

Knowing that was enough.

Yan Cang's mood improved.

Then, he switched the interface of the [Fate Wheel Mirror] back to the bustling Fate Net Forum.

A torrent of newly refreshed posts instantly flooded into view.

After calming the lingering awkwardness still echoing in his mind, Yan Cang began browsing the latest developments on the Forum.

By this time, the chain reaction from the sudden suspension of Good Fortune Coin sales was already clearly visible on the Forum:

[Latest Report! Food and tool prices in the Trading House have stopped falling and are rebounding sharply! They've recovered about ten to twenty percent from the lowest point!]

[What's going on? Why are prices rising again? Weren't they still dropping before? What happened to the promised price halving?]

[Go up! Good Fortune Coins are a limited item! A lot of people won't be able to grab them tomorrow, meaning most will still fail to open good stuff—prices better go back up!]

[Come out, you bastards who posted earlier shouting "Sell off quickly!" I believed your nonsense, sold all my supplies at low prices, and now they're rising again! I'm screwed!]

[Don't get so worked up. No one could have predicted Good Fortune Coins would be limited! It's like before the Fate Net update—who could have foreseen a "Black Swan" event like Good Fortune Coins causing prices to crash? Market fluctuations are just like this!]

[Regret! I should have hoarded some supplies when prices were low! No! I should have exchanged for Good Fortune Coins immediately!]

[Holy crap! The impact of Good Fortune Coins is huge! One suspension, and the entire Trading House's prices changed instantly.]

...

"Prices are rebounding already?!"

Bombarded by all kinds of discussion threads, the stray thoughts in Yan Cang's mind vanished completely.

His attention was now fully captivated by the vivid economic phenomenon unfolding before him.

Clearly, this was due to a change in the market's expectation of "continuous Good Fortune Coin supply."

Initially, when Good Fortune Coins were first launched, everyone assumed they would be steadily supplied,

accessible to all, leading to a surge in material output.

This triggered panic selling,

and prices plummeted!

Now, with Good Fortune Coins suddenly suspended, and the message [Today's quota sold out] displayed,

it looked like a daily limited item!

The market shifted accordingly, and prices bounced back in response.

"These reactions sure are fast."

Yan Cang stroked his chin, starting to seriously consider the specific time for relaunching the Good Fortune Coin System.

It definitely needed to be as soon as possible...

"Reopen at ten o'clock tonight?"

"That's still five or six hours from now. The Energy Pool should recover quite a bit—maybe enough to support a massive wave of exchanges?"

"Besides, there's no entertainment right now, and a lot of people have gone to sleep. It should be fine!"

But soon, he rejected this idea himself: "Not safe enough!"

"By the time the news spreads, everyone will definitely wake up their friends and family, and all users will rush to exchange at once..."

"There's a risk of the Energy Pool being drained dry!"

Yan Cang made this judgment.

And if he had to suspend sales again at that point, it would be too embarrassing!

At least, he felt that wouldn't be good.

"Hmm... I already hinted at 'tomorrow' earlier. Better to hold off for another two hours and wait until midnight!"

"By then, most people will be asleep. Even if some get woken up by acquaintances to exchange, they should have already topped up their Fate Points before bed, so the Energy Pool can handle it!"

"Settled. Let's go with that!"

After weighing the options, he decided to choose a more stable time point.

After all, it didn't matter if it took a little while; ensuring the Energy Pool fully recovered and maintaining a stable supply was more important.

Once he made up his mind,

he continued refreshing the Forum, and his attention was soon caught by a post with a peculiar style:

"Help! The Withdrawal Interface won't open. How do I exchange my Auspicious Fortune Coin back into Fate Points? Urgent!"

Clicking into it, the poster seemed to be someone who was a bit strapped for cash and urgently needed Fate Points to tide things over.

He had one [Auspicious Fortune Coin] in hand, but since the exchange interface was completely shut down, he couldn't convert it back into Fate Points.

So he posted asking everyone for a solution!

In response, the replies below took a sudden turn, almost all of them offering Premium Purchases:

"OP, I'll buy your Auspicious Fortune Coin for 120 Fate Points! List it on the Trading House, and I'll snap it up instantly!"

"120? How embarrassing! I'll offer 150! OP, DM me!"

"Don't listen to the guy above, I'll give you 200! Double the price! OP, think about it!"

"I'll go 250! OP, are you selling or not?"

"300! Sincere offer, I'll take it right away if you sell!"

"I'll pay 1000 Fate Points!"

The comment section turned into a small auction.

Prices kept skyrocketing, starting from a 20% premium and quickly breaking through two times, three times...

And from the looks of it, some of them didn't seem to be joking; they were genuinely willing to pay high prices.

Then the poster excitedly appeared in the thread: "Thanks, everyone! I just listed it on the Trading House at double the price, and it was snapped up instantly! Made a clean 100 Fate Points!"

That comment was instantly flooded with a barrage of question marks.

"???"

"Lost out, lost out big time, missed out on 800 Fate Points!"

"Double the price? Selling an [Auspicious Fortune Coin] for just two hundred? It's a limited item—can you even grab one tomorrow?"

"OP, are you kidding? You really sold it for 200 Fate Points? Didn't you see people offering so much higher?"

"Huh? Weren't you all just joking around with those high bids? I saw the prices going up and up, and someone even offered ten times the price, so I thought you were messing around. I figured doubling my money was good enough, so I listed it! What, did I sell it too cheap?"

With that, even if some people were originally joking about the high bids, they had to deny it now!

A flood of replies came in:

"Who was joking! I genuinely need it!"

"Sincere offer, OP, you took a huge loss!"

"Ah, what a pity for OP, you could have easily sold it for three or four times the price!"

"OP got totally ripped off; some guy was offering ten times!"

"I'm not losing out, I made 100 Fate Points! That's enough for me for a few days, thanks everyone!"

...

Yan Cang found these conversations amusing.

This poster was quite a character—content with what he had and seemed to have a good mindset.

As for the comment section, those who thought the poster sold too cheaply—who knew how many were genuine and how many were faking it?

But regardless, that poster had flipped the coin for double the price and indeed made a profit.

This also proved that during the suspension of sales, the Good Fortune Coins already had a clear premium on the Secondary Market.

But this premium was clearly inflated.

But at this moment, only Yan Cang himself could be certain that Good Fortune Coins were not a limited edition.

So, in the eyes of other uninformed users, this thread starter might have really lost out, missing a truly huge opportunity.

And from this, Yan Cang was reminded of the Withdrawal Interface issue: "I'll just turn off the withdrawal function."

"The option to exchange Good Fortune Coins back into Fate Points doesn't actually need to be closed together."

"Although, in such an obvious premium situation, no one would recycle at the original price..."

But he felt it was better to keep it open.

As he pondered, Yan Cang scrolled to another post with a different tone, the poster appearing to be a small-time merchant:

"A Merchant's Confession: Because of the Good Fortune Coins Launch on the Fate Net, I Lost Money Twice! But This Time, I'm Sure I'll Make It All Back!"

[As soon as the Good Fortune Coins launched, my merchant instincts kicked in. I realized the Trading House prices would be under pressure, so I decisively dumped all my inventory at low prices!

Then, the Good Fortune Coins suddenly stopped selling!

Market expectations reversed instantly! No matter, when prices started to rebound, I immediately bought up another batch.

With the back-and-forth price difference, after deducting the Trading House's 10% Transaction Fee, I actually lost over 10%.

But no worries! I believe, based on today's Good Fortune Coins share, most people won't be able to grab any tomorrow. Useful supplies will still be scarce, so prices will slowly rise again, and I'll make a big profit!

So, I'm reminding everyone: current supply prices are still hovering at a low point—it's the perfect time to strike! Don't miss out!]

Below this post, the comments section was quite lively:

[The OP has a clear head, someone who gets things done! I'm in! Already bought some tools to hoard.]

[Yeah, prices are starting to rise again. The OP's judgment is spot on.]

[Marking this! The OP's thinking is solid, I'll keep an eye on it.]

[Haha, I followed the big shot's move right away, and now I'm already in the green a bit, just not enough to cover the fee... Gotta wait and see!]

[Damn! So that's why I can't find affordable supplies—it's because of you merchants buying low and selling high!]

[Profiteer! You just know how to hoard goods and drive up everyone's survival costs!]

[Hey, do you understand free trade? They're making money with their insight and guts. Jealous?]

[We're all from the Huaxia Faction, striving for the faction's victory. Do you think this is appropriate?]

[I strongly suggest the Chief re-establish the "Crime of Speculation and Profiteering" and have people like the OP shot!]

[I second that!]

...