145: Chapter 145 Smuggling in the Abyss? We'll Crack Down on Them All at Once

The hype surrounding Holy Light City had yet to fade.

The message left by the future Crown Prince still hung at the very top of the world channel. Fireworks went off in waves across the square, and the server stuttered from time to time as players spammed gifts, blessings, and "Boss Lin Zhe is awesome."

Yet beneath this fervor, the materials market on the other side had quietly fallen into chaos.

The first to explode were the players of dark classes.

"Holy crap! Why did the price of High-grade Shadow Crystal Cores go up again?"

"It was three thousand copper a piece yesterday, and today it's eight thousand? This is insane!"

"I'm about to go bankrupt just trying to change my class to Shadow Hunter!"

"Don't even mention the price; the two I just bought were fakes! The dark energy inside dissipated as soon as I touched them, and they shattered the moment I tried to socket them into my weapon!"

A wave of curses soon flooded the world channel.

Many players with dark classes were planning to upgrade their gear, but their faces turned pale when they saw the auction house.

High-grade Shadow Crystal Cores usually had a stable market price of three thousand copper coins each.

Now, the price had been driven up to eight thousand.

And it wasn't just the price.

Many players only realized after buying them that while the shells were indeed Shadow Crystal Cores, they were filled with grayish-black impurities. The dark energy was pitifully low, and they cracked upon contact during crafting, making them completely unusable.

On the east side of Holy Light City's trading street, over a dozen Abyss shops were packed to the brim.

A pale-faced Assassin player clutched a core broken in two, his hands trembling with rage.

"You're selling fakes and you dare to deny it?"

The Abyss merchant behind the counter, clad in a black robe, grinned coldly. "What fakes? Shadow Crystal Cores naturally have fluctuations in quality. Who are you to blame if your luck is just bad?"

"I paid eight thousand copper for this piece of junk, and you're telling me it's just bad luck?"

"If you can't afford it, don't buy it."

Several thugs in black armor stepped forward, their gazes menacing.

"Next."

The Assassin player's face flushed with anger, but seeing the thugs' equipment, he could only grit his teeth and back away.

Similar scenes were playing out in more than one place.

In just half a day, complaints flew toward Falling Maple like snowflakes.

On a small hill, Lin Chen was holding some Spirit Honey Cake while checking the player gift data when his light screen suddenly flashed red repeatedly.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!"

Dozens of complaints from dark class players popped up simultaneously.

Lin Chen's little brows furrowed. He clicked on the first one, which was filled with screenshots.

Transaction records.

Price hike announcements.

Adulterated Shadow Crystal Cores.

There were also screenshots of the arrogant remarks made by those Abyss merchants.

"Get lost if you want to make a scene. All the High-grade Shadow Crystal Cores in Holy Light City are in our hands."

"Buy it or don't. If you don't buy, then don't even think about leveling up your dark classes."

"We have people backing us; it's useless even if you report us."

After reading them, Lin Chen's little face turned cold.

"They actually dare to hold the players by the throat."

Lin Yueyao sat nearby, clutching her scepter, and whispered, "Bad."

"Yes, bad."

Lin Chen raised his hand and tapped. Pale gold threads of the Power of Rules instantly spread out, sweeping into the entire server's transaction backend.

Whoosh!

A whole string of data popped up.

The six Abyss merchants involved had bought up over eighty percent of the city's High-grade Shadow Crystal Core supply in the last three days.

They didn't just hoard and hike prices; they also specifically collected a batch of low-quality impure crystals to mix in and sell as genuine products.

More importantly, as Lin Chen traced their transaction chain upward, his gaze grew even colder.

Their financial backing and supply channels actually had links to the Rebel Elders of the Dragon Domain.

"As expected, they're no good."

Lin Chen gave a small wave of his hand. "Ban them."

Buzz—

The next second, a bright red server-wide announcement dropped.

[Server Announcement: Upon investigation, six involved shops, including the Abyss merchant "Black Tooth Chamber of Commerce," have maliciously monopolized the supply of High-grade Shadow Crystal Cores, hiked prices to 8,000 copper coins, and defrauded players by selling adulterated cores. The evidence is conclusive!]

[The following penalties are now issued:]

[1: Core members of the six involved shops are permanently banned from all server-wide trading, event, and teleportation privileges!]

[2: All illegal gains are confiscated, and all involved items are frozen and removed from the market!]

[3: All players who purchased adulterated cores can receive a full refund based on their records!]

[The final right of interpretation for this penalty belongs to the Archon of Luofeng Village, Lin Chen!]

As soon as the announcement came out, the entire trading district erupted.

One moment, those Abyss merchants were counting money behind their counters; the next, their trading panels turned gray.

"What?!"

"How are my shop privileges gone!"

"Even the warehouse withdrawals are locked?!"

"Damn it! Who did this!"

The surrounding players were stunned for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Hahaha, Lord Lin Chen has made his move!"

"Weren't you acting all tough? Go on, keep acting tough!"

"Eight thousand a piece? Now you won't even make a single copper!"

Several dark class players who had just received their refunds clapped and cheered on the spot.

"So satisfying!"

"All twenty thousand copper I was cheated out of is back!"

"Good riddance!"

But Lin Chen didn't plan to stop at just banning the shops this time.

He continued to investigate the flow of goods through the backend and soon locked onto a storage warehouse.

The warehouse was located beneath an abandoned mine southwest of Holy Light City. On the surface, it bore the sign of a scrap yard, but underground, three entire warehouses were filled with Shadow Crystal Cores.

Genuine ones and fakes were stored separately.

There were even specialized crystal refining tables for mixing in impurities.

After seeing this, Lin Chen spoke in his childish voice, "Seize it all."

The news was quickly delivered to the side hall.

After reviewing the location, Lin Zhe didn't waste a single word and lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingertip.

Buzz—

A pale gold map of rules spread out in mid-air, highlighting the warehouse entrance, secret doors, and guard positions.

Su Ninghua said coldly, "Zhao Feng."

"Your servant is here!"

"Go to the coordinates provided by the Prince Regent and take out both the warehouse and the people."

"Yes!"

In less than half an hour, the Royal Guards had completely surrounded the abandoned mine.

As soon as the underground warehouse door was blown open, the Abyss thugs inside panicked.

"Who leaked the location?!"

"Quick, move the goods!"

"Go through the back door!"

But before they could even move, the guards had already rushed in.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The three crystal refining tables were smashed on the spot.

Box after box of High-grade Shadow Crystal Cores were dragged out.

The adulterated batch was also piled separately to one side, the evidence clear for all to see.

Once the news spread, the world channel exploded with activity.

"Holy crap! There really was a warehouse!"

"Those bastards from the Black Tooth Chamber of Commerce really were smuggling!"

"They hoarded this much? No wonder the prices skyrocketed like that!"

"Well done! Wipe them all out!"

Soon, a second announcement dropped.

[Server Announcement: All smuggled and hoarded High-grade Shadow Crystal Cores from the involved Abyss merchants have been seized, totaling 37,000 pieces!]

[Starting today, all seized cores will be sold to players at the original price of 3,000 copper coins each in limited quantities! Priority will be given to the needs of dark class players!]

Upon the announcement, the dark class players went wild.

"Charge!"

"The original price of three thousand! It's finally back!"

"What are you waiting for? Get in line!"

A long queue instantly formed outside Holy Light City's trading street.

Many players who had been scammed cursed as they waited in line.

"They should have been dealt with long ago!"

"If anyone dares to hold dark materials hostage again, I'll report them directly!"

"If the Lin family hadn't stepped in, these black-hearted merchants would have treated players like pigs for the slaughter!"

As soon as the original-priced cores were listed, more than half of the thirty thousand pieces were snatched up almost instantly.

Price stability was restored at once.

The sky-high price of eight thousand copper in the auction house also began to tumble like an avalanche.

In the side hall, Lin Zhe looked at the stabilizing transaction curve with an indifferent expression.

But this matter wasn't over yet.

In less than fifteen minutes, a familiar, faint, cold fragrance wafted into the hall.

It wasn't a messenger.

It was the person herself.

"Lin Zhe, this time, I have truly been wronged to death."

A charming and lazy voice rang out at the entrance of the hall.

Mei You had arrived.

She wore a dark purple gown with a hem like flowing night. The corners of her eyes were slightly upturned, and her red lips held a smile, though a hint of coldness was suppressed beneath it.

Behind her were two Abyss maids carrying several obsidian boxes. As soon as the lids were opened, a thick scent of dark mineral veins surged out.

Mei You walked in, her gaze first sweeping over Lin Zhe, then Su Ninghua, before she gave a soft huff.

"Those bastards really were connected to the Rebel Elders' side."

"As soon as I found out, I fed all the involved minor leaders to the magic spiders."

With a wave of her hand, a dark purple contract floated out of one of the boxes.

"This is the new contract for the second Shadow Crystal Mine."

"I will grant you an additional ten percent of the mining rights I gave you previously."

"From today onward, ninety percent of the profits from this mineral vein will belong to Falling Maple."

"In addition, all Abyss materials will be permanently thirty percent off for Falling Maple players."

"I only ask for one thing—"

Mei You leaned forward slightly, her eyes captivating, but her tone was unusually serious.

"Don't let these few pieces of trash make you take your anger out on the entire Abyss faction."

The side hall fell silent for a moment.

Su Ninghua glanced at Mei You but did not interject.

Lin Zhe reached out and took the mining rights contract, sweeping it with his pale gold Power of Rules.

The contract was genuine.

The concessions were also real.

He looked up at Mei You and said calmly, "You moved quickly."

The corners of Mei You's lips curled into a soft smile.

"I couldn't help it; I simply can't bear to see you angry."

At those words, the two Abyss maids beside her bowed their heads even lower.

Su Ninghua's gaze turned cold.

Lin Zhe acted as if he hadn't heard, simply putting away the contract. "I'll let it slide this time."

The tension in Mei You's eyes finally dissipated.

Almost simultaneously, a system notification rang in Lin Zhe's mind.

[Ding! Detected that the favorability of the top-tier female NPC, Abyss Witch Mei You, toward the host has increased to 35!]

[The trigger progress for the Sixth Bond has increased to 7%!]

Lin Zhe's gaze shifted slightly.

Mei You clearly noticed the subtle change in his aura, and the smile on her red lips deepened. "It seems my trip wasn't in vain."

She glanced at the boxes again and added lazily, "There are also some rare Abyss forging materials inside as extra compensation. If your people need to get goods from the Abyss in the future, just give them my name."

With that, she didn't linger and turned to leave.

As she reached the door, her hem paused, and she looked back at Lin Zhe once more.

"If anyone else uses my name to provoke you in the future, don't wait for me to investigate."

"Just kill them directly."

As her voice fell, a swirl of dark purple shadow appeared, and Mei You vanished from outside the hall.

The side hall became quiet once again.

Meanwhile, on the world channel, the topic of "the Abyss's smuggling operation being wiped out by the Lin family" had gone completely viral.

"Another one wiped out!"

"Original-priced cores are so good!"

"Even Mei You came in person to apologize? Boss Lin Zhe's prestige is insane!"

"With Abyss materials at thirty percent off from now on, dark class players are going to take off!"

"If anyone dares to hike prices again, they'd better ask themselves if they can survive being wiped out!"

Outside Holy Light City, players who had bought the original-priced cores were clutching their materials and grinning from ear to ear.

Inside the side hall, Lin Zhe lightly tapped the newly acquired mining rights contract with his fingertip.

The Abyss storyline had advanced another step.

And outside the hall door, that crimson dragon aura was still waiting.