14: Chapter 14 VIP Freedom

Li Taiping didn't hesitate at all, his fingers moving rapidly.

The ten stalls originally listed on the trading post for trading energy stones were all marked "delisted" at this moment.

Replacing them was a neat row of new orders.

[Transaction Initiator: Anonymous]

[Item: Mineral Water (500ml) × 3] — Demand: [trading post VIP Black Card (Ordinary) × 1]

[Item: Cooked Meat (Ordinary) × 3] — Demand: [trading post VIP Black Card (Ordinary) × 1]

[Item: Seashells × 3] — Demand: [trading post VIP Black Card (Ordinary) × 1]

...

All ten stalls were exclusively buying VIP Black Cards.

And the price offered could be called "tempting".

Trading three bottles of water for a one-time use card that was "useless except for increasing stalls" was practically charity!

Li Taiping looked at these rows of orders and chuckled softly.

He certainly wasn't stupid.

In a normal trade, the drop rate for this VIP Card wasn't high, and its value was definitely worth more than three bottles of water.

But in the apocalypse, value is determined by "demand".

For those ordinary Survivor who were still struggling on the line between life and death with few resources in their hands, what was the use of increasing ten trading stalls?

They couldn't even scrape together ten items to sell!

On the contrary, food, water, and even ship conversion materials were the hard currency that could save lives.

"Three to one, this price is just right."

Li Taiping's eyes were deep, "It can make people feel it's profitable, without making me look like a fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered.

After all, don't show off your wealth; on this sea, keeping a low profile is the way to go."

Currently, most Survivor could only rely on fishing to obtain treasure chests, and the items opened from the chests might not be the conversion materials they urgently needed,

Therefore, everyone was constantly paying attention to the chat channel and the trading post to exchange what they had for what they needed.

As soon as Li Taiping's orders were listed, the trend in the chat channel shifted instantly.

[Regional Chat Channel:]

"Holy crap! Everyone, look at the trading post! An Anonymous big shot has gone crazy!"

"Saw it! Three bottles of water for a crappy Black Card? Was this guy's brain smashed silly by the waves?"

"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter. I just opened a chest and got one of these VIP Cards, I was worried about where to throw it, and now someone is actually buying it? And trading with conversion materials that are tied to life?"

"This must be some brainless person who thinks everything with 'VIP' in the name is a divine artifact. Little do they know this thing is just a piece of junk! Who has that many supplies on hand right now that they need to list twenty stalls?"

"Exactly, the top priority is to gather raft conversion materials! The 'black tide' is coming in half a day, if you don't convert the raft into a boat, are you keeping this Black Card to use as your funeral portrait?"

"Don't be jealous, person above, what if they think this card has hidden attributes?"

"What the hell, hidden attributes! The system description is written clearly, it just increases the stall limit! This is just a pure sucker!"

"Regardless of whether they're a sucker, I traded! Got three bottles of water, nice! Now I don't have to worry about dying of thirst!"

"I traded too! Thanks to the stupid... oh no, thanks to the boss for sending warmth!"

Looking at the barrage of mocking and schadenfreude comments on the screen, Li Taiping didn't get angry; instead, he laughed out loud.

"Laugh, laugh to your heart's content."

"How can the sparrow know the ambition of the swan?"

"What you see are just ten stalls, but what I see is the power to monopolize the entire regional economy."

This group's imagination was ultimately limited by poverty.

They simply couldn't understand that when a person's supplies are "infinite", and when a person can occupy an "infinite" number of stalls.

The market would become this person's sole domain!

For Li Taiping, these ten stalls were the biggest shackles.

As long as he broke these shackles...

"Ding!"

"Transaction successful! Obtained VIP Black Card × 1!"

"Ding!"

"Transaction successful! Obtained VIP Black Card × 1!"

The notification sounds rang out like a machine gun.

The power of the masses is terrifying.

Although the drop rate for the VIP Card was low, the base number of Survivor was huge.

There would always be some lucky people who opened this currently seemingly useless item.

In less than ten minutes.

Li Taiping's Black Card reserves directly broke through that critical number.

36 cards!

"Enough!"

Li Taiping sat up straight suddenly, the laziness in his eyes swept away, replaced by the sharp gaze of a hungry wolf.

He flipped his palm, and that [treasure basin] with a primitive shape and mysterious aura appeared out of thin air.

"Come on, it's time to witness a miracle."

He grabbed that thick stack of black cards and threw them all into the [treasure basin] at once.

Hum—!

The rim of the basin shone brightly, and the originally cold metal surface rippled with a strange shimmer.

[Detected 36 of the same item "trading post VIP Black Card (Ordinary)".]

[Causality locked.]

[Infinite Replication Mode, activated!]

The next second, a crisp, pleasant sound exploded in Li Taiping's mind; it was the beautiful melody of gold coins falling into a bag.

[Output: VIP Black Card × 1]

[Output: VIP Black Card × 2]

...

The numbers started jumping wildly!

One per second! Never stopping!

Li Taiping watched that long string of constantly increasing numbers and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Hahahaha! It worked!"

"VIP freedom! Stall freedom!"

He grabbed a freshly minted Black Card and crushed it directly.

[Trading stall limit + 10]

Crushed another one.

[Trading stall limit + 10]

...

In just a few minutes, his trading stall limit skyrocketed from the original 10 to 1000!

And this number was still increasing as time passed!

What did this mean?

It meant he could spread all the mountain-like materials, food, and fresh water in his warehouse all over the trading post!

He alone was a shopping mall!

In the future, whoever wanted to buy something would most likely only be able to buy Li Taiping's goods!

He could even easily influence the market and seize pricing power!

"Awesome! This is real cheating!"

Li Taiping took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to look up and howl.

Because he still had many things to deal with.

"I wonder how things are going on Su Mei's side? Just 12 more energy stones and I can achieve energy stone freedom!"

"With that, the second-tier many children, many blessings ship is in sight!"

Pushed open the cabin door.

A faint, delicate fragrance rushed towards him.

Inside the cabin, Su Mei was sitting cross-legged on that large double bed, with several virtual screens floating in front of her.

Her state at this moment was somewhat subtle.

The shirt she had draped over her shoulders had slipped halfway down, revealing her rounded, fragrant shoulders. Her long hair was casually tied behind her head, with a few strands hanging at her collarbone, adding a bit of messy beauty.

But her expression was unusually serious, even carrying a hint of murderous aura.

Her fingers tapped rapidly on the light screens, and she was still muttering to herself.

"Want to trade two wooden planks for my water? Keep dreaming!"

"This person is interesting, actually has two energy stones... need to find a way to swindle them."

Hearing the door open, Su Mei paused and turned her head back.

Seeing it was Li Taiping, her originally sharp peach blossom eyes instantly curved into two crescent moons, the murderous aura on her face instantly melted away, turning into a pool of spring water.

"Yo, the busy man is back?"

She stretched, that exaggerated curve tracing a breathtaking arc in the air.

"What? Is the wind and waves outside too big, and you want to come back and ask for comfort from big sister?"

Li Taiping ignored her teasing, his gaze falling directly onto the trading panel in front of her.

"How is the situation?"