Chapter 70

Chapter 070: Trade Alliance

"That's right, I can make this money too!"

"Aren't they just Good Fortune Coins? I've got freshly minted ones here, as many as needed!"

As he spoke, Yan Cang's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Previously, when Good Fortune Coins were suspended from sale and their price in the Trading House had directly multiplied several times, he hadn't initially thought of flipping them.

But he quickly dismissed the idea.

For that bit of Fate Points, it simply wasn't worth it.

Now, however, it was clearly not a normal market situation.

Naturally, he had to intervene forcefully.

After all, why not take the money if it's there for the taking?

"And judging by the Trading House's momentum, once the selling price of Good Fortune Coins falls far below double, they get sniped instantly..."

Yan Cang rested his chin on his hand, staring at the interface on the mirror:

"It seems like there's a force in the market maintaining the price at double the original or higher—are they trying to offload their stock?"

"At this point, if I use a price slightly lower than theirs to dump a large number of Good Fortune Coins on the Trading House..."

"Not only would I make a killing, but I could also break their pricing power... Wait!"

Then he suddenly thought, "I should sell slowly at first, so I don't scare them off. That way, I can still screw over those merchants."

"Then let them sit on the stock they hoarded at high prices, trying to steal a chicken only to lose the rice!"

"Hehe, that's even more fun than making the money itself!"

Yan Cang's excitement grew.

For some reason, he always had more enthusiasm for doing this kind of "bad" thing than for proper business.

Of course, it couldn't exactly be called bad.

It was more like fighting evil with evil!

As for accidentally hurting innocent people who bought Good Fortune Coins at high prices?

Well, so be it.

If they're that dumb, let them learn from their mistakes!

Yan Cang thought to himself.

Even though he had been full of a sense of justice earlier, wanting to uphold fairness...

Now that he was the one making this money, he figured it was just them paying tuition.

But people are always hypocritical.

He was no exception, carrying a bit of that trait.

And with that, it was time to act!

Yan Cang rubbed his hands excitedly and immediately gave an order to the [Fortune-Bearing Golden Mother] on his wrist:

"Little Fortune, time to work!"

"First, give me... one million Constant Fortune Coins! And one hundred thousand Auspicious Fortune Coins!"

This quantity was enough to overwhelm the current circulation in the Secondary Market.

At least for a short while.

As golden light flowed, the Five-Coin Bracelet trembled slightly.

Yan Cang clearly sensed the energy in the Energy Pool being quietly drawn, flowing through a mysterious connection into the Golden Mother.

One coin, ten coins, a hundred coins...

In just a moment, a massive pile of brand-new Good Fortune Coins, adorned with golden specks, appeared in his Mental Space.

At a glance, they formed two small mountains of coins.

They were [Constant Fortune Coins] and [Auspicious Fortune Coins].

As for higher-tier Good Fortune Coins, he didn't generate them because they weren't needed.

Their base prices were too high and harder to sell—they weren't the merchants' targets.

"Alright."

Yan Cang looked at the pile of money in his Mental Space and nodded with satisfaction.

Then, with a thought, he switched to the Trading House Interface.

He began to operate: "First, put up ten thousand Constant Fortune Coins... to test the waters."

[Listed Item: Constant Fortune Coin x 10,000]

[Seller: Anonymous]

[Price: 19 Fate Points per coin]

The seller couldn't be bothered to write a description, since the item details column would automatically display the real information anyway.

Confirmed the listing.

The next second.

"Ding ding ding—"

A dense, crisp series of transaction success notifications rang out almost simultaneously with his listing action.

It was astonishingly fast!

Ten thousand Constant Fortune Coins were sniped within seconds.

"Heh, fast hands indeed."

"Looking at the transaction records, aside from a few scattered ones, most are big orders of hundreds or thousands per transaction."

Yan Cang rubbed his chin: "As expected, someone is indeed maintaining the pricing of Good Fortune Coins in the Trading House market."

"And they're watching it closely."

"Alright, alright, since you're so enthusiastic, I won't hold back..."

With that, he directly listed ten times the amount.

[Listed Item: Constant Fortune Coin x 100,000]

[Price: 19 Fate Points per coin]

Listed, confirmed.

This time, it sold out just as quickly.

In less than a minute.

"Impressive!"

Yan Cang grinned as he looked at the transaction records.

Making money!

Meanwhile, during this time, he had also listed the [Auspicious Fortune Coins] simultaneously.

[Auspicious Fortune Coin x 10,000, Price: 190 Fate Points per coin]

This one sold a bit slower.

And the quantity per order dropped from hundreds or thousands to tens or hundreds.

But due to the price difference, the total amount didn't decrease.

The final haul was still 1.9 million Fate Points.

It didn't take much longer to sell out either, just over a minute.

Still quite capable!

"Keep going!" Yan Cang, in high spirits, listed another batch of the same quantity.

But this time, the sell-out time stretched longer.

It took over three minutes, and the transaction records clearly showed many orders of just one or two coins each.

Obviously, those were individual buyers.

"That's all they've got?"

Yan Cang questioned inwardly.

Then, he started reflecting: "It's not that the merchants lack strength; it's that my 90% premium price is too high. After all, they have to pay a 10% transaction fee for reselling."

"This is my fault..."

"Time to lower the price!"

He reluctantly thought of the merchants.

Immediately, he dropped the premium from 90% to 80%.

[Constant Fortune Coin] at 18 Fate Points, [Auspicious Fortune Coin] at 180 Fate Points.

As soon as he listed them, another small surge hit.

They were sniped instantly.

Then he listed another batch, and the speed slowed again.

The next batch was even slower.

So he kept lowering the price...

While Yan Cang was happily earning Fate Points on his end.

On the other side, in a newly created group chat channel, hundreds of people were cursing.

Group Name: [Trade Alliance]

This wasn't just any ordinary trading group.

Those who can enter here are all big merchants who have accumulated a large number of Fate Points in a short time within the Trial Ground.

These individuals are either business elites from before the transition or new major players who seized the early opportunities of the Trial Ground.

And the ones who had been buying up Good Fortune Coins against the trend were them.

It was also their doing to create the public sentiment of anxiety over Good Fortune Coins on the Forum.

The goal was simple: to drive up the Secondary Market price of Good Fortune Coins, then sell off to recoup funds.

After all, holding a large amount of Good Fortune Coins now comes with a high cost.

In fact, just an hour or two ago, the group was still debating the pros and cons of the sell-off strategy.

Someone questioned, "Brother Zhang, is it necessary to sell so urgently? I think Good Fortune Coins will most likely still be in Limited Sale tomorrow, and the price could double or triple, earning us even more."

The group leader, Zhang Yunteng, originally the richest man in China on Earth, held considerable prestige in the group.

He replied with just one sentence: "Can you be sure that Good Fortune Coins will be limited tomorrow?"

That person shut up.

"Sell off a portion first to recoup funds and reduce risk," Zhang Yunteng made the final call. "Keep the rest for tomorrow. If it's truly limited, the remainder will bring huge profits; if not, we've already broken even."

The strategy was clear, and no one raised any objections.

Then, they executed the plan, selling off in batches and stages.

At first, it went smoothly.

Those whom they had pre-arranged, the carefully crafted anxiety-inducing information, and the Fate Net users who were already uncertain about whether Good Fortune Coins would be limited...

Seeing Good Fortune Coins at least at a double Premium, and the price trending even higher, they leaned toward believing Good Fortune Coins would still be limited.

After all, if it weren't limited, why would the price be so high!

Afraid they wouldn't be able to buy tomorrow, they scrambled to take over.

So, their sell-off went very smoothly.

But soon,

the situation took a sharp turn.

"Something's off! I can't sell anymore over here!"

"Same here! I've had listings up for minutes, and not a single order has gone through!"

"What's going on? Isn't the Forum sentiment still brewing? Weren't they just scrambling to buy?"

"Wait... take a look at the Trading House! Why are there suddenly so many Good Fortune Coins?"

Someone spotted the anomaly.

[Constant Fortune Coin] 19 Fate Points, 100,000 units.

[Auspicious Fortune Coin] 190 Fate Points, 10,000 units.

"Who's selling?"

"Is a brother in the group selling at a low price?"

As soon as this was said, the group fell silent for a few seconds.

Then it exploded.

"Who? Who the hell is undermining us?"

"We agreed to sell together, and someone is Backstabbing?"

"Actually, I noticed a batch of Constant Fortune Coins at 19 Fate Points for sale earlier, but it was only 10,000 units total."

"I had the brothers responsible for Price Hiking Snipe them immediately. Now it's happening again? And directly 100,000 units!"

"Who is it?"

"I'll check the transaction records..."

"What's there to check? Someone must be secretly selling!"

Zhang Yunteng frowned and spoke up, "Don't jump to conclusions. It's probably other merchants. Let's all work together to Snipe this batch and stop the price from crashing."

His prestige was high, and as soon as he said this, voices of agreement followed.

"Alright, we'll follow Brother Zhang's lead."

"Not bad, stabilize the price first, we'll settle the score later!"

"I can still scrape together some funds here."

"Snipe him! Let's see who can hold out."

...

Thus, in the following tens of seconds, the group chat was filled with successive good news.

"Snipped two thousand Constant Fortune!"

"I've also bought a thousand here."

"I swept three hundred Auspicious Fortune!"

"..."

"Is it all bought up? I just went to the Trading House and couldn't see any!"

"Yeah, I sniped five hundred Auspicious Fortune."

"You guys are awesome, I was just a bit slow, and it said sold out!"

"Same here, is that all the opposition has?"

"Over before it even started? That soft? Are they even men?"

"Haha, the bears can't handle it either!"

The group erupted in cheers, the atmosphere heating up considerably.

However, before they could celebrate for even ten seconds,

Bad news came again.

"Damn, another batch popped up! Still at this price!"

"Don't be afraid, keep sniping!"

"I just bought a lot, it's up to you guys now."

"No problem, there are plenty of brothers in the group!"

"There! It's over again!"

"..."

"Fuck! Another batch, and the price dropped!"

"I can't keep up with the funds..."

"Now it's 18 Fate Points for Constant Fortune, 180 for Auspicious Fortune. At this price, we can still flip for a profit. Brothers with spare funds, don't hold back, right?"

"Buy fast, don't let the price crash!"

"I've already bought everything, what are you still shouting about here?"

"Damn! Sniped in an instant?!"

"It's already all sniped? I just raised the funds..."

"I just borrowed some from someone too."

"No need to be surprised, this is the real strength of our group. Remember, move fast on profitable deals!"

"Uh... no need to remember this time either, another batch of goods is here."

"Brothers, charge!"

"Buy at this price without any hesitation!"

"Heh, bought two hundred Auspicious Fortune at 180 Fate Points, listed them at 222 Fate Points, just waiting to collect the money."

"I also sniped two thousand Constant Fortune, feeling great."

"Bought a thousand Auspicious Fortune."

"Gone again? You old-timers are too strong!"

"666!"

But before they could catch their breath,

Bad news kept coming.

"On the market, another batch of goods with only an 80% premium appeared..."

"Brothers who missed out, you can charge now!"

"I'll buy a thousand Constant Fortune right now, my funds are bottoming out. The rest is for you guys to profit."

"Bought five hundred Constant Fortune, it's up to you old-timers."

"Scanned another three hundred Auspicious Fortune! Damn, it's really expensive..."

"..."

After that, the group chat was filled with more good news,

But the tone was increasingly strained.

Although they ultimately succeeded smoothly and not too slowly, without much impact on market pricing,

This time, the group didn't immediately erupt in cheers and laughter.

Everyone was staring at the lowest-priced Good Fortune Coin items on the Trading House.

They all had a very bad feeling about it.

Sure enough!

In an instant, another hundred thousand [Constant Fortune Coins] and ten thousand [Auspicious Fortune Coins] appeared.

And the selling price is only at a 70% premium!

"Damn!"

The group chat was instantly flooded with various expletives.

It wasn't that they couldn't secure the goods at all, but rather that this completely deviated from their plan:

"What's going on? Where did all this stock come from?"

"Didn't we agree that there wouldn't be much circulation in the market today, and we could buy it all up?"

"Was our earlier estimate wrong? Or was the intel off?"

"@Zhang Yunteng, Alliance Leader Zhang, aren't you going to say something?"

Zhang Yunteng's tone was also very unpleasant: "Stop being sarcastic. Most of today's Good Fortune Coins were used, and very little actually entered the market. Plus, during that price crash earlier, about 70% to 80% were bought up by the authorities as a Strategic Reserve—this intel is accurate."

Hearing this, everyone was puzzled.

Right!

The reason they dared to effectively monopolize the Good Fortune Coins was because they knew the "supply was limited."

And as the former richest man, Zhang Yunteng had connections everywhere.

His sources of information were naturally reliable.

Everyone could trust that.

But what was going on with the Trading House?

The limited circulating supply should have been in their hands by now.

"Where is this endless stream of goods coming from?"

The group buzzed with discussion.

"Could it be from other factions?" someone speculated wildly.

"Are you crazy? Other factions don't even have the Fate Net, so where would they get Good Fortune Coins?"

"Check the Leaderboard, buddy. The other factions are in such a bad state, don't make them take the blame."

"Then..."

They went around in circles but couldn't figure it out.

So they circled back.

This time, no one questioned the accuracy of the intel; they just suspected something had gone wrong.

"Could it be the authorities offloading their stock?"

"Yeah, maybe those reserves were released?"

"Surely not? Would they really use the Strategic Reserve to make money?"

"That's actually possible. The authorities are also desperately short on Fate Points right now!"

"@Zhang Yunteng, Brother Zhang, what do you say?"

A minute later,

Zhang Yunteng directly denied this: "I asked. That's not the case."

Then he added: "Never mind the source, everyone keep sniping!"

"Brother Zhang is right. Don't let that 70% premium number sit on the Trading House for too long."

"Exactly. If that price stays up too long and too many people see it, our goods will be even harder to sell."

"Yeah... I refuse to believe that person's Good Fortune Coins are endless!"

After hearing this, the group felt a bit more at ease.

So they gritted their teeth and bought another batch.

Then.

Another batch of Good Fortune Coins was listed.

This time, it was 16 Fate Points and 160 Fate Points, with only a 60% premium.

"Damn it, I've noticed that if we're even a little slow, the other side drops the price. Fuck!"

"Brother Zhang..."

"Keep going!"

This repeated twice more, but they were met with yet another batch of goods.

And the price kept dropping!

A 50% premium.

"Brother Zhang!!!"

"..."

Zhang Yunteng fell silent.

Their funds were almost depleted.

And the seemingly endless supply from the other side continued.

"Who the hell is this?!"

Someone completely lost it and started spouting nonsense.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"No individual seller could have this much stock! The officials haven't released any either! What, is it a ghost?"

"Could it be... the Chief?"

"Yeah! It has to be the Chief!"

The moment those words were spoken.

The previously noisy group chat fell instantly silent.

A deathly silence.

A few seconds later.

[Group Notice: User "Jia Xiao'er" has been removed from the group by the group owner.]

Zhang Yunteng: "Stupid idiot, talking pure nonsense! I've checked—it's some local merchant alliance trying to block us. I'll settle accounts with them later."

"Right, right! That must be it!"

"The Alliance Leader kicked him out well!"

The group echoed in agreement, and the atmosphere warmed up instantly, as if that sudden silence had never happened.

Everyone present was sharp as a tack!

They all knew that whether it was the Chief or not, even if it really was, they had to pretend it wasn't.

Otherwise?

Go confront the Chief?

Were they crazy?

Zhang Yunteng sent one last message: "Stop buying the stock. Let's see what tomorrow brings! If Good Fortune Coins go on limited sale, the stock we have will definitely turn a profit; if you're worried they won't be limited, you can sell yours off now."

"That's it for tonight."

...

On the other side.

Yan Cang was staring at the Trading House, muttering, "Why isn't anyone buying?"

Of course, it wasn't that no one was buying at all.

It was just that the massive bulk purchasing from earlier had dwindled to a scattered one or two coins.

Though transactions were still happening at a decent pace, they were clearly all from individual buyers placing orders.

"What's the deal? What's the deal?"

"Did they give up?"

He couldn't help but switch to the backend to check the data.

Soon, he noticed a growing number of new Good Fortune Coin listings appearing on the Trading House.

With premiums less than half the original price, slightly lower than what he was currently offering.

And the quantity was increasing rapidly.

It looked like a large-scale sell-off, clearly those merchants couldn't hold out and were dumping their stock.

"Boring!"

Yan Cang curled his lips in disdain.

He had thought they were some kind of capital sharks, ready for a good game.

Turns out they were just a big goose.

Their bite wasn't that big after all. He'd even been thinking of having the [Fortune-Bearing Golden Mother] generate another batch of Good Fortune Coins.

But it was still fine now.

Aside from the remaining stock on the Trading House, he had just sold off the entire batch of Good Fortune Coins.

"So how much did I actually make?"

Yan Cang's thoughts turned to that question.

"Hmm... Even without counting the profit from the coins themselves, the net premium alone is enough for several days' worth of Golden Chests."

"That's over ten million Fate Points!"

After a rough calculation, his mood instantly brightened.

"Not bad, not bad!"

With that, Yan Cang pulled down the unsold Good Fortune Coins and recycled them all.

The [Good Fortune] power within them turned into a golden stream of light, flowing back against the current into the Energy Pool.

It was almost midnight, and he couldn't be bothered to lower prices and fuss around.

Less than a quarter of an hour quickly passed.

...

Midnight struck.

In the Withdrawal Interface, beneath the five Good Fortune Coins shimmering with golden light, the gray Exchange Button lit up once again.

At the same time, a brief prompt appeared:

【The Good Fortune Coin System is now officially online, with long-term exchange availability starting today.】

Countless Fate Net users immediately clicked in to check, then frantically pressed the Exchange Button.

As it turned out, everything went smoothly.

The Forum instantly erupted:

"Hehe! Got five Constant Fortune Coins exchanged."

"Hahaha, I snagged some too."

"What's there to be happy about? The Chief didn't even set a limit!"

"Damn! I just bought some Good Fortune Coins at a high price."

"To the one who said there'd be a limit, I curse your ancestors!"

"..."