Chapter 32 The Heavenly God Temple monopolizes materials, and the 10x markup rips off casual players.

The day after Qin Wentian conceded, all the players on the server thought that good times were coming.

But Lin Ye knew that for a person like Qin Wentian, conceding was only temporary. He was waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity to make a comeback.

Sure enough, early on the third day, Fatty Wang ran upstairs in a panic: "Brother! It's bad! The material prices at the Trading House have risen again! And this time, they've risen even more viciously than before!"

Lin Ye walked to the window and opened the Trading House to take a look—Iron Ore had risen from 1 gold coin to 10 gold coins, herbs from 50 silver coins to 5 gold coins, and Repair Stones from 10 silver coins to 2 gold coins. The prices of all basic materials had increased tenfold.

"It's not just price hikes," Su Qinghan said as she walked over, her face grave. "The material drops from all dungeons in the main city have been monopolized by people from the Heavenly Temple. When casual players enter dungeons, all the materials they obtain are taken by them at low prices. Want to keep them for yourself? No way. Dare not to sell? They'll kick you out of the party directly and hunt you down until you quit the game."

Fatty Wang became anxious: "Then what about our Commoner Supermarket? Without a supply source, what are we going to sell?"

Lin Ye didn't speak, continuing to stare at the Trading House. He noticed a detail—although the material prices in the Trading House had skyrocketed, the quantity listed was very low. There were only a few dozen Iron Ore, only a dozen herbs, and not even a single Repair Stone.

"Qin Wentian is hoarding," Lin Ye said.

"Hoarding?" Fatty Wang was stunned for a moment.

"Right. He's not selling materials; he's controlling the price. He's buying up all the materials on the market so that casual players can't buy any. Then, he'll wait for the price to rise tenfold or twentyfold before slowly releasing them. This way, he can make money while choking off our supply."

Su Qinghan frowned: "This move is too ruthless. Casual players can't afford materials, can't repair their equipment, and can't enter dungeons, so they are forced to work for the Heavenly Temple. They either join the Heavenly Temple or quit the game."

Fatty Wang's face turned pale: "Then what do we do?"

Lin Ye thought for a moment, and a wicked smile curved the corners of his mouth: "Since he's monopolizing materials, we'll help the casual players get them."

"How?"

"Mining."

Fatty Wang was stunned: "Mining? With just the three of us, how much can we mine?"

Lin Ye took the [Eye of the Undead] out of his backpack and weighed it in his hand: "Not ordinary mining. It's a hidden mine. The kind that the Heavenly Temple can't find."

That afternoon, Lin Ye took Su Qinghan and Fatty Wang and quietly slipped into the mountainous area east of the main city. This place was full of wild monsters above level 40, which ordinary players wouldn't dare to approach. But Lin Ye wasn't afraid; he applied debuffs to the wild monsters along the way, sweeping through them and reaching the depths of the mountains in half an hour.

"We're here." Lin Ye stopped in front of a stone wall.

Fatty Wang looked left and right: "Where's the mine? Isn't this just a wall?"

Lin Ye scanned it with the [Eye of the Undead], and a golden dot appeared on the stone wall. He patted Fatty Wang on the shoulder: "Fatty, you do it. Put your hand on the light spot."

Fatty Wang walked over, half-doubting, and placed his hand on the stone wall. The next second, the stone wall cracked open, revealing a pitch-black entrance.

"Holy crap!" Fatty Wang was startled. "What's going on?"

Lin Ye laughed: "A hidden mine. Let's go in and take a look."

The three walked into the cave, and after about five minutes, the view suddenly opened up—a massive underground mine appeared before them. Everywhere in the mine were exposed veins of ore; Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Silver Ore, Gold Ore, and even Mithril Ore and Adamantite Ore were densely embedded in the rock walls, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Su Qinghan gasped: "This... this is too rich, right? It's ten times bigger than the main city's mine!"

Fatty Wang's eyes went straight: "Brother, is all of this ours?"

Lin Ye nodded: "It's all ours. Let's get to work."

The three began to mine frantically. Lin Ye was responsible for using his Talent to blast open the rock walls, Su Qinghan was responsible for sorting the ore, and Fatty Wang was responsible for loading it into their backpacks. Fatty Wang's lucky constitution was practically cheating in this situation—others had to mine ten pieces of ore to get one premium piece, but he got one after mining only three. Others had to mine a hundred pieces to get one rare ore, but he got one after mining only twenty.

In just two hours, the three of them had mined a full backpack of ore. Iron Ore, Copper Ore, Silver Ore, Gold Ore, plus dozens of pieces of Mithril Ore and over a dozen pieces of Adamantite Ore. At market prices, it was worth at least several hundred thousand gold coins.

"That's enough," Lin Ye said, clapping his hands. "Let's go, back to the city."

"That's enough?" Fatty Wang was not yet satisfied. "We've only mined a small section; there's still a huge area left unmined."

Lin Ye laughed: "No rush. Let's go back and test the waters first. Let's see how Qin Wentian reacts."

The three returned to the Commoner Supermarket, and Fatty Wang sorted and displayed the ore, marking the prices—Iron Ore 1 gold coin, Copper Ore 2 gold coins, Silver Ore 5 gold coins, Gold Ore 10 gold coins. The Mithril Ore and Adamantite Ore wouldn't be sold for now; they would be saved for later use.

As soon as the prices were listed, the Trading House exploded—

[world channel]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": Holy crap! The Commoner Supermarket has listed materials! Iron Ore is only 1 gold coin! That's ten times cheaper than the Trading House!]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": For real? Let me see... Holy crap, it's true! I bought ten pieces!]

[Player "Milk Tea Without Sugar": Brother Ye is awesome! Finally, there's a place to buy cheap materials!]

[Player "Yes Little Follower": Brothers, hurry to the Commoner Supermarket! If you're late, they'll be gone!]

As the news spread, a long line instantly formed in front of the Commoner Supermarket. Casual players flooded in from every corner of the main city, scrambling to buy materials. Fatty Wang was so busy his feet barely touched the ground; he was collecting money and handing out goods, unable to stop grinning.

"Brother! Business is too good! Half of the Iron Ore has already been sold!" Fatty Wang's voice changed from excitement.

Lin Ye nodded: "Continue. Don't stop."

Su Qinghan was calculating the accounts on the side: "At this rate, we can sell several hundred thousand gold coins today. Added to the previous protection fees, our assets will soon surpass one hundred million gold coins."

Fatty Wang's eyes went straight: "One hundred million?! Doesn't that mean... two hundred million in real-world currency?"

Lin Ye laughed: "Just about."

Meanwhile, at the Heavenly Temple headquarters, Qin Wentian was staring at the price trends in the Trading House, his face livid.

"Where are the materials in the Commoner Supermarket coming from?" he asked his lackey behind him.

The lackey wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Can... can't find out. They seem to have found a hidden mine, and our scouts can't find the location."

Qin Wentian clenched his fists, veins bulging. He had spent hundreds of millions of gold coins to hoard materials, hoping to drive up the price, but as soon as Lin Ye made a move, the price was directly knocked back to its original state. All the materials he had hoarded were now stuck in his hands.

"I can't let him continue like this," Qin Wentian said through gritted teeth. "Lower the material prices by another half. 5 gold coins. No, 3 gold coins. I want to crush his Commoner Supermarket."

The lackey hesitated: "Guild Leader, at 3 gold coins, we'll suffer huge losses..."

"Let it be a loss. It's better than letting him steal the market," Qin Wentian sneered. "Doesn't he want to fight a price war? Then I'll play along. Let's see who can't hold on first."

That evening, the material prices at the Trading House plummeted across the board. Iron Ore fell from 10 gold coins to 3 gold coins, herbs from 5 gold coins to 1 gold coin, and Repair Stones from 2 gold coins to 50 silver coins. People from the Heavenly Temple began to sell frantically, trying to steal the business back from the Commoner Supermarket.

But Lin Ye had long anticipated this move.

"Brother, the Heavenly Temple has lowered their prices!" Fatty Wang was pacing anxiously. "Should we lower ours too?"

Lin Ye shook his head: "No need. Our prices are already the lowest. Lowering them further would mean a loss."

"But... they are selling cheaper than us; won't we lose our business?"

Lin Ye laughed: "They are selling cheaper than us? Take a closer look."

Fatty Wang opened the Trading House and was stunned—although the Heavenly Temple had lowered the prices, the quantities listed were pitifully small. There were only a few dozen Iron Ore, only a dozen herbs, and not even a single Repair Stone. Casual players wanted to buy, but they couldn't get any.

Meanwhile, the materials at the Commoner Supermarket, although slightly more expensive than at the Heavenly Temple, had an ample supply—as much as anyone wanted. Casual players would rather spend a little more money than go to the Trading House and try their luck.

"They are just acting," Lin Ye said. "No matter how much material Qin Wentian has hoarded, there's a limit. He doesn't dare to sell at a low price for real, because once he sells it all, he'll have no cards left to play."

Fatty Wang suddenly realized: "So as long as we hold our ground, he can't do anything to us?"

Lin Ye nodded: "Right. He can't afford to drag this out."

Sure enough, the Heavenly Temple's low-price strategy only lasted for one day. The next day, the material prices at the Trading House rose back up. Qin Wentian couldn't hold on—the cost of the materials he had hoarded was too high; every order he sold at a low price meant a loss. If he kept selling, his capital chain would break.

Meanwhile, business at the Commoner Supermarket was getting hotter and hotter. Casual players spread the word, and even players from other main cities ran to Dawn City to buy materials. Fatty Wang was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, and Su Qinghan also came down to help with the cashier.

"Brother, our inventory is almost bottoming out," Fatty Wang shouted. "Should we go mine again?"

Lin Ye nodded: "Let's go. We'll go tonight."

Late that night, the three slipped into that hidden mine again. This time, Lin Ye brought more backpacks, and Fatty Wang also brought several expansion items. The three mined for an entire night, mining the mine empty of all the ore that could be extracted.

When they returned to the Commoner Supermarket, the sky was already bright. Fatty Wang was so tired he collapsed onto a chair, but the smile on his face never stopped.

"Brother, how much did we mine this time?"

Lin Ye calculated: "Five thousand pieces of Iron Ore, three thousand pieces of Copper Ore, one thousand pieces of Silver Ore, five hundred pieces of Gold Ore. Plus one hundred pieces each of Mithril Ore and Adamantite Ore. The total value is at least five million gold coins."

Fatty Wang's eyes went straight: "Five million?! Doesn't that mean ten million in real-world currency?"

Lin Ye laughed: "Just about."

Su Qinghan walked down from upstairs, holding a report in her hand: "Something happened at the Heavenly Temple."

"What happened?"

"Qin Wentian's capital chain has broken. He spent hundreds of millions of gold coins hoarding materials, and now that the materials won't sell, he can't even pay his guild members' wages. Several squad leaders are posting on the forums saying they want to quit the guild."

Lin Ye took the report and glanced at it, a wicked smile curving his lips: "Let him panic. Once he's desperate enough, we'll go and recruit his people."

"You really are..." Su Qinghan couldn't help but laugh. "You calculated everything."

Lin Ye shrugged: "It's not that I calculated it; it's that Qin Wentian is too stupid. He wanted to crush me with money, but he forgot—my Talent doesn't require money."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked toward the Heavenly Temple headquarters in the distance, a wicked smile curving his lips.

"Qin Wentian, didn't you want to fight a price war? Then I'll let you see who the true king of this market is."

Meanwhile, Qin Wentian was collapsed in his chair, staring at the meager remaining balance in his account, his eyes unfocused. He had spent hundreds of millions of gold coins hoarding materials, and now it was all stuck in his hands. He couldn't pay his guild members' wages, and several core members had already quit the guild. The number of online players in the Heavenly Temple had fallen from several thousand to a few hundred.

"Guild Leader, why don't we just concede?" Po Jun said cautiously. "If this continues, the guild will fall apart."

Qin Wentian was silent for a long time, then sighed: "Concede? When have I, Qin Wentian, ever conceded?"

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked toward the Commoner Supermarket in the distance, his eyes cold and sinister.

"Ye, do you think you've won? No, this is just the beginning."