196: Charcoal trade

Shen Xiaochuan opened his eyes, his head a little dizzy.

The lights in the lounge were still on, and the room was very quiet.

He sat up and moved his shoulders, his bones creaking.

He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was 4:03 PM.

He walked outside, where the heating pipes in the hallway were still hissing.

There were no problems in the main control room.

He walked to the console and sat down, placing his fingers on the terminal.

Messages from the Blue Star Channel popped up automatically, along with a few intermittent distress signals.

He read through them one by one without replying, merely noting down the times and locations.

When he scrolled to the trading area, he stopped.

[High price for Fine-grade charcoal! One piece for one gold coin! Urgent!]

[Who has charcoal? The elderly at home can't take it anymore, willing to pay double!]

[Does Skydome City have any stock? Heard you have electricity, can you spare some?]

Below were many similar messages, all sent from different divine domains.

Some marked their locations, while others offered prices directly.

Shen Xiaochuan frowned and opened the warehouse System, checking for "Fine-grade charcoal."

The quantity displayed: 300,072,000 pieces.

These were emergency fuels prepared earlier, each piece capable of burning for six hours.

Now that power was stable, these charcoals were no longer needed.

But it was different outside.

He saw that some were willing to trade one gold coin for one piece of charcoal.

A gold coin could buy half a ton of water or three days' worth of rations.

Using it now to trade for firewood showed they were truly out of options.

He entered the Faith Mall backend and created a new product.

He listed "Fine-grade charcoal" with a quantity of 10,000 pieces at a price of 5,000 gold coins.

This was half the market price.

He didn't explain much, only adding one line: "In-stock, direct shipping, limit one purchase per person."

He clicked to list it.

Eight minutes later, a notification indicated the transaction was complete.

5,000 gold coins were credited to his account, and the warehouse had 10,000 fewer pieces of charcoal.

He immediately created a new order: 100 million pieces for 50 million gold coins, again labeled "In-stock, direct shipping, limit one purchase per person."

He clicked to publish.

Just as he closed the interface, an announcement suddenly popped up on the trading area homepage:

[Huaxia · Skydome City is dumping 100 million pieces of Fine-grade charcoal! Unit price 0.5 gold coins, the lowest price on the entire server!]

The news exploded immediately.

Within two minutes, his terminal popped up over thirty transaction requests.

He activated automatic shipping; the System deducted the stock from the central warehouse while simultaneously marking the buyers with the "Skydome City Official Certification" tag—only legitimate sources could use this identifier.

The first batch of 5,000 transactions was completed, and the System took seventeen seconds to update the data.

Some began to suspect it was fake news.

[This price is too outrageous, it must be a scam!]

[Wait and see if anyone actually receives it.]

[I tried it, just paid 100,000 gold coins, the order is "Shipped"...]

Three minutes later, the first buyer uploaded a screenshot: their warehouse had 10 million more pieces of charcoal, and the source was listed as "Skydome City Official Supply."

The trading area boiled over instantly.

[It's real! I received it!]

[Skydome City is awesome!]

[List more stock! We can still take 50 million pieces!]

Shen Xiaochuan didn't reply to any messages.

He looked at his gold coin account; the number had already risen to 50.03 million and was still climbing.

These 100 million pieces of charcoal were just the first step.

He opened the combat readiness list and found the "Azure Dragon Legion."

This unit had 3,200 people and currently had no missions.

They were fully equipped with logging machines, chainsaws, warm clothing, and snowmobiles, capable of working in the wilderness.

He pressed the communication button.

"Connect to Shen Yan."

Within ten seconds, the connection was established.

A man appeared on the screen, wearing a thick combat suit, half his face covered, revealing only his eyes.

He stood in an open area with a full team of soldiers behind him, and vehicles were starting up.

"Boss." Shen Yan's voice was a bit hoarse. "Inspection complete, everyone is here."

"Depart," Shen Xiaochuan said. "Go to the Eastern Barren Forest Belt, chop trees, and collect logs to ensure uninterrupted charcoal production."

Shen Yan paused for a moment: "We aren't short of fuel right now, why do we still need to chop trees?"

"Because others are short," Shen Xiaochuan said, looking at the transaction data.

"Right now, one piece of charcoal can trade for one gold coin."

"We have electricity and don't need to burn charcoal for heat, but they are freezing. If they are willing to pay, we will sell."

"Understood," Shen Yan nodded. "You want to trade charcoal for gold coins and stockpile resources?"

"Not just that," Shen Xiaochuan said. "I want Skydome City to become the sole supplier."

"In the future, if they want to buy charcoal, they will only be able to come to us. But the prerequisite is that we must control the timber ourselves."

Shen Yan was silent for two seconds: "I'll take 3,000 people to the Eastern Barren Forest Belt. There are many trees there, but the wind and snow are heavy, visibility is poor, and work will be slow."

"Collect at least 5 million logs every day," Shen Xiaochuan said.

"Rotate every ten days; come back to rest if you're tired. Safety first; if the weather is bad, withdraw immediately."

"Got it." Shen Yan turned and waved his hand. "Get in the vehicles! Destination: Eastern Barren Forest Belt! Execute Level 1 insulation protocols!"

The convoy started, tracks pressing into the snow as they moved forward slowly.

The screen shook a few times before finally disconnecting.

Shen Xiaochuan turned off the communication and returned to the Faith Mall.

The notification for the completed bulk transaction was still flashing.

100 million pieces of charcoal were sold out, with a revenue of 50 million gold coins.

The number one trending topic was still "Skydome City Dumping Charcoal," and below it were many new posts; some were asking for other supplies, some were asking about the source of the goods, and others were guessing if Skydome City had found a new forest area.

He did not respond.

Karl's name popped up, but he didn't pick up.

He knew what Karl wanted to ask—why suddenly sell charcoal? Why not distribute it for free to the affiliated divine domains? Why insist on gold coins?

These questions didn't need to be answered now.

He opened the energy monitoring chart; the power was normal.

The voltage in the old city area was stable, the five subordinate divine domains were connected smoothly, and the load was safe.

He also checked the community feedback; the nursery, Hospital, and sanitation team all reported "operating normally."

Everything was under control.

He opened the internal accounts and transferred the 50 million gold coins into the strategic reserve account, with the note "Initial revenue from basic energy trade."

Then he created a new expenditure plan: spend 20 million gold coins to buy high-purity gold.

Gold was more valuable than gold coins now.

It could be used to make circuits and instruments, and could also be stored for the long term.

Gold coins were just circulating currency; they would depreciate if kept for too long.

He planned to use this money to hoard enough gold first.

Just as he was about to submit the application, a message popped up in the trading area:

[Northern Remnant Joint Statement: Willing to trade three tons of gold for 50 million pieces of Fine-grade charcoal, payable in installments.]

Shen Xiaochuan glanced at it and didn't reply.

He knew this was just the beginning.

More divine domains would come to negotiate trades later; some would trade with ore, some with technology, and some might even gamble with Believers.

But he wouldn't agree easily.

The most important thing now was to control production, master the rhythm, and keep the market in a state of shortage.

He opened the map and marked the Eastern Barren Forest Belt.

It was three hundred kilometers away from the city, a wilderness with many trees and no one occupying it.

It would take Shen Yan about six hours to lead the team there.

He set a reminder: check the first transmitted data after twenty-four hours.

After doing this, he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

The lights were still on, and the room temperature was twenty-three degrees.

It was still snowing outside, the patrol team's lights were moving, and the signs of the small shops along the street were also lit.

He touched the copper gear pendant on his cuff; it had blackened and was stained with blood and melted snow.

He didn't take it off, just wiped it with his finger.

The frostbite on his hands was still aching, like needle pricks.

But he was used to it.

He opened the Faith Mall backend, preparing to list the second batch of charcoal.

Quantity: 200 million pieces, price unchanged, shipping time listed as "within 72 hours."

Just as he was about to confirm, the terminal vibrated.

Shen Yan sent the first report:

[Arrived at the outskirts of the Eastern Barren Forest Belt, discovered large areas of dead forests; the wood is dry and suitable for making charcoal. Operations have begun, expected to collect 4.7 million logs today. Weather is normal, communication is clear.]

After reading it, Shen Xiaochuan clicked confirm.

He closed the message and continued filling in the listing information.

200 million pieces was not the end.

As long as Shen Yan could continue to collect timber there, this number could still be increased.

He wasn't afraid of selling too much; he was only afraid of no one buying.

Now, the entire server was watching Skydome City.

He pressed the confirm button.

Product listing successful.

He stared at the screen, motionless.

The wind and snow outside hadn't stopped, and the city was brightly lit.