164: Chapter 164 Speculating on Resources? Enough to Make Players Quit

The first Dark Seal Array of the Dragon Domain had just shattered.

Not long after the server-wide announcement was posted, the world channel was already flooded with messages like "Keep pushing," "The Dragon Domain rebellion is as good as suppressed," and "Buy more supplies and head to the front line."

It was at this time that the trading zones in Holy Light City and Luofeng Village suddenly began to descend into chaos.

"What's going on? magic-breaking arrowss were 20 copper each yesterday, how did they become 68 copper today?"

"Weren't Nature Resistance Potions 80 copper a bottle? Now they're selling for 260?"

"Are they crazy! I was just about to sign up for the Vanguard Army, and the supply costs have tripled?"

"Who is behind this!"

At the eastern entrance of the Holy Light City trading street, a dozen usually inconspicuous small shops had all changed their signs today.

[Exclusive Supply for the Dragon Domain Front Line]

[Stock is Tight, First Come First Served]

[Unified Price Increase for magic-breaking arrowss, Nature Resistance Potions, and Detox Bandages]

Behind the counters, several merchants looked calm, but their words were more outrageous than the last.

"Buy now, or it'll be more expensive tomorrow."

"This war in the Dragon Domain will last at least a year. Supplies will run out sooner or later."

"Even the great Lin Zhe has personally gone there. Do you know how high the consumption on the front line is? We bought these at high prices too."

"If you think it's expensive, don't buy it. There are plenty of people queuing up behind you."

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of a group of solo players preparing to head to the front line turned green.

Some grit their teeth and bought a few bottles of potions, turning around to curse on the world channel.

Others simply gave up on signing up, standing in front of the stalls trembling with rage.

"My entire net worth is only three thousand copper. It was enough to buy two sets of arrows and potions, but now I can't even afford half!"

"How the hell are we supposed to fight!"

"They're still buying up stock! They've cleared out the other shops too!"

The world channel quickly exploded.

"magic-breaking arrowss have gone up more than three times!"

"Nature Resistance Potions are being scalped like crazy too!"

"I can't even buy fairly priced goods in Luofeng Village anymore!"

"Someone go file a complaint! These bastards want to block all solo players from the front line!"

In less than fifteen minutes, the complaint channel was completely overwhelmed.

On a hill in Luofeng Village, Lin Chen had just finished processing a batch of government data when the Power of Rules light screen in front of him began flashing red repeatedly.

One message.

Ten messages.

Hundreds of messages.

The little guy looked down, and his round little face immediately darkened.

"Someone is trying to throttle the supply again."

Lin Yueyao sat beside him holding her scepter and whispered, "Bad merchants."

"Yes, bad."

Lin Chen took a bite of Spirit Honey Cake and tapped his small hand, instantly spreading out the transaction back-end.

Swish!

Row after row of transaction records filled the screen.

The flow of the magic-breaking arrows supply.

The accounts sweeping up Nature Resistance Potions.

Associated warehouses.

Associated alt accounts.

Associated guilds and shop contracts.

Everything was crystal clear.

Lin Chen looked for less than half a minute before he had singled everyone out.

A total of seven speculative merchants.

Three were in Holy Light City, two were at the trading point near Luofeng Village, and the other two were hiding under the guise of Lifestyle Guilds, specifically responsible for sweeping up stock and hoarding it in warehouses behind the scenes.

Not only had they bought up all the stock of magic-breaking arrowss and Nature Resistance Potions in advance, but they were also deliberately manipulating the narrative on the world channel and in several trade groups.

"The Dragon Domain war will last for a year."

"Front-line supplies will be cut off."

"If you don't hoard now, you won't be able to buy them for ten times the price later."

One sentence after another, they literally scared many players into panic-buying.

Then they took the opportunity to hike the prices.

The most ruthless was a bottle of Nature Resistance Potion; originally 80 copper, it was listed for 299 copper.

Lin Chen narrowed his eyes and checked further down the warehouse coordinates.

Good grief.

South of the city, east of the city, and the Falling Maple outer warehouse—a total of five hoarding points.

The goods were piled up to the ceiling.

They just wouldn't sell, specifically waiting for the prices to rise.

Lin Chen's small face turned completely cold.

"Ban them."

Hum—

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

[Server-wide Announcement: Upon investigation, seven speculative merchants, including players 'Wealthy Under Heaven' and 'Arrows Bring Fortune,' have maliciously hoarded urgently needed supplies for the Dragon Domain rebellion, hiked the prices of supplies such as magic-breaking arrowss and Nature Resistance Potions, and spread false rumors of stock shortages. The evidence is conclusive!]

[The penalties are as follows:]

[1: Permanently ban the trading permissions of the involved accounts across the entire server!]

[2: Permanently ban the involved accounts' right to use maple coins!]

[3: Confiscate all hoarded supplies and consolidate them into the Public Warehouse!]

[4: The involved merchants are blacklisted server-wide and strictly prohibited from participating in any public welfare activities!]

[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 zone fell silent for a moment.

Then, it erupted!

"Banned!"

"Hahahaha, I knew Lord Lin Chen wouldn't just ignore this!"

"Even the right to use maple coins is banned? These bastards are completely finished!"

The smiles on the faces of those merchants who were still putting on airs in the Holy Light City trading street froze on the spot.

"My... where is my trading panel?"

"Why is the maple coin bar grayed out!"

"Warehouse permissions are gone too? Impossible!"

One of the fat merchants was about to turn and run when a red light exploded over his head. He was forcibly kicked out of his stall permissions by the system, and the goods in his crates were instantly swept away by a surge of Power of Rules.

The surrounding players were stunned for a moment, then burst into collective laughter.

"Go on, keep raising the prices!"

"Didn't you say if we don't buy we should get lost? Who's getting lost now?"

"Stock shortage? Why don't you run out of breath first!"

Meanwhile, at the Luofeng Village Public Warehouse, a new sales panel had been updated simultaneously.

[magic-breaking arrows: 20 copper/each]

[Nature Resistance Potion: 80 copper/bottle]

[Purchase Limit Rule: Each person is limited to 10 of each type]

Not only was the original price restored.

But purchase limits were also added.

This completely prevented anyone from taking the opportunity to sweep the stock again.

When the players saw this, they instantly rushed forward like crazy.

"The original price is back!"

"Quick, quick, quick, let me buy ten first!"

"Now we can finally go to the front line!"

Just as everyone was scrambling to place orders, a second announcement popped up.

[Server-wide Announcement: To stabilize the rear supply order, starting today, all players on the server will enjoy a 20% discount on Dragon Domain-related supplies for 3 days!]

[Scope of Application: magic-breaking arrowss, Nature Resistance Potions, basic detoxification supplies, and other designated front-line supplies]

The world channel completely blew up.

"Holy crap! A 20% discount on the original price?"

"Is Lord Lin Chen afraid we're spending too much?"

"The God of solo players!"

"Whoever says the Lin family doesn't care about solo players, I'll be the first to flame them!"

At the warehouse entrance, the players who were originally looking worried were now all smiling.

"I originally only had enough for five portions, but now I can buy eight!"

"I can sign up for the Vanguard Army again!"

"Thank you, Lord Lin Chen!"

On the other side, the seven speculative merchants were completely dumbfounded.

Their goods were gone.

Their trading rights were gone.

And their maple coins could no longer be used.

Worst of all, the money they spent hoarding the goods was all sunk in, with no way to get it back.

One person stood in the middle of the trading street, his face pale and his lips trembling.

"It's over... everything is over..."

"I borrowed money to buy those goods!"

"Without maple coin permissions, my account is ruined!"

One of them with a bad temper had just managed to type half a curse word on the world channel with bloodshot eyes before being automatically muted in the next second. The surrounding players laughed even louder.

"Serves you right!"

"Why weren't you crying when you were trying to make blood money?"

"The ban is too light. If you ask me, they should have been sent away sooner!"

By evening, the shops of the seven speculative merchants were all empty, and they had all gone offline.

New posts quickly appeared on the forum.

['Wealthy Under Heaven' has deleted his account and quit the game]

['Arrows Bring Fortune's' warehouse was raided, his account is grayed out, and I heard he owes a mountain of debt in real life for the goods]

[The seven unscrupulous merchants have collectively quit the game, dying of laughter]

The comments below the post were full of cheers.

"Good riddance!"

"Get lost sooner, saves you from harming others."

"With Lord Lin Chen around, anyone who scalps front-line supplies is dead."

On the hill, Lin Chen looked at the stabilized transaction curve, nodded his small head with satisfaction, and took another bite of Spirit Honey Cake.

"That's more like it."

"Dad is fighting at the front, and they're in the back hiking prices. They sure have high hopes."

Lin Yueyao sat beside him, her deer-like eyes curving into crescents.

"Brother is amazing."

Lin Chen huffed, but his small face was clearly very pleased.

The night deepened.

War reports from the Dragon Domain front line continued to stream back, but the supply order in Luofeng Village and Holy Light City had already stabilized. Long queues still formed in front of the Public Warehouse, but this time, there were no more curses on the players' faces, only the excitement of having secured fairly priced supplies.

The world channel was flooded with the same sentence.

"Lord Lin Chen, the guardian deity of solo players!"