Chapter 34: The Opening of a Commoners' Supplies Supermarket – 0.5 Discount Breaks the Monopoly

The day after Qin Wentian joined, Lin Ye did something that shocked the entire server—the Commoner Supermarket officially opened.

It was not the small-time street stall operation from before, but a large-scale supermarket in the true sense. Lin Ye converted the first and second floors of the Commoner Supermarket into a material marketplace, the third floor into a VIP customer service area, and the fourth floor into an office area. A huge sign hung at the entrance, with eight big characters written on it—

"Commoner Supermarket, the Light of the Solo Players."

On the day of the opening, Lin Ye set a pricing system that shocked everyone—all materials were sold at 5% of the market price. Iron ore had a market price of 10 gold coins, but he sold it for 50 silver coins. Herbs had a market price of 5 gold coins, but he sold them for 25 silver coins. Repair Stones had a market price of 2 gold coins, but he sold them for 10 silver coins. Even the rare material Mithril Ore, with a market price of 500 gold coins, he sold for only 25 gold coins.

When the news spread, players across the entire server thought they were dreaming.

[world channel]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": 5% of the market price? Did I read that right? Iron ore for only 50 silver coins?]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": Is this for real? Is Brother Ye doing charity?]

[Player "Milk Tea Without Sugar": I do not care if it is real or not, I am rushing in! If I am late, it will be gone!]

[Player "Yes Little Follower": Brothers, rush! There are already hundreds of people lined up at the entrance of the Commoner Supermarket!]

As the news spread, the entrance to the Commoner Supermarket was instantly packed. Solo players flocked from every corner of the main city, and the queue stretched from the supermarket entrance all the way to the teleportation plaza, winding around several times. Some even teleported from other main cities just to buy cheap materials.

Fatty Wang stood behind the counter, too busy to even take a breather. He collected money while shipping goods, his mouth unable to stop grinning: "Do not push! Everyone, do not push! One by one! There are plenty of materials!"

Su Qinghan was also helping out; she was responsible for maintaining order, preventing anyone from cutting in line or causing trouble. Qin Wentian stood in the corner, watching this heated scene with a complex expression. When he used to monopolize materials, he had also seen queues, but that was the despair of solo players forced to buy expensive materials; now, it was the excitement of scrambling to buy cheap materials.

"At this price, are you not losing money?" Qin Wentian could not help but ask Lin Ye.

Lin Ye laughed: "Losing money? Calculate the cost of these materials of mine."

Qin Wentian was stunned for a moment, then calculated—Lin Ye's material sources were threefold: first, mined from hidden mines, where the cost was almost zero; second, dropped by Abyss Dungeon bosses, where the cost was also zero; third, stockpiled by the Heavenly Temple previously, where although the cost was high, that was Qin Wentian's money, not Lin Ye's. Calculating it down, Lin Ye selling iron ore for 50 silver coins meant a profit margin of at least 90%.

"This business of yours..." Qin Wentian gave a bitter smile, "is much more ruthless than mine."

Lin Ye shrugged: "It is not ruthless, it is professional."

He walked to the entrance, looked at the queuing crowd, and said loudly: "Everyone, the Commoner Supermarket is officially open today. All materials are at 5% of the market price. From today on, you will never be ripped off by black-hearted guilds again. Materials should be priced like this!"

The solo players erupted into deafening cheers—

"Brother Ye is awesome!"

"Long live Brother Ye!"

"The Light of the Solo Players!"

Lin Ye waved with a smile, like a triumphant general. Fatty Wang was sweating profusely behind the counter, but the smile on his face never stopped. Su Qinghan maintained order, occasionally looking back at Lin Ye with a smile in her eyes.

Qin Wentian stood in the corner, watching all this, feeling a strange mix of emotions. He used to stand on high, looked up to by countless people. But that was built on money, built on the foundation of bullying solo players. And Lin Ye had won everyone's respect through his own ability.

"Guild Leader..." Pojun approached and whispered, "The material prices on the Trading House have collapsed."

Qin Wentian opened the Trading House and saw—iron ore had plummeted from 10 gold coins to 1 gold coin, herbs had fallen from 5 gold coins to 50 silver coins, and Repair Stones had dropped from 2 gold coins to 20 silver coins. And they were still falling because all the solo players had run to the Commoner Supermarket, and no one was buying anything on the Trading House.

"He is forcing all material merchants to their deaths," Qin Wentian said in a low voice.

Pojun hesitated: "Then those materials we stockpiled before..."

"Lost," Qin Wentian smiled bitterly, "all lost."

He had stockpiled hundreds of millions of gold coins worth of materials, and now they were all stuck in his hands. Sell them, and he would lose everything. Do not sell them, and the materials would mold in the warehouse. But strangely, he was not particularly angry. Instead, he felt a sense of relief—no more plotting, no more suppression, no more fighting against the market.

On the first day of the Commoner Supermarket's opening, sales exceeded five million gold coins. Fatty Wang was so tired he collapsed on a chair, but the smile on his face never stopped.

"Brother, how much did we earn today?" he asked.

Lin Ye calculated: "Five million gold coins, with costs less than five hundred thousand. A net profit of four million five hundred thousand."

Fatty Wang's eyes widened: "Four million five hundred thousand?! That is... nine million in real currency?"

Lin Ye nodded: "Just about."

Fatty Wang jumped up in excitement: "Brother, we are rich!"

Lin Ye laughed: "This is just the beginning."

Su Qinghan walked down from upstairs, holding a report: "The material prices on the Trading House have collapsed across the board. Iron ore has dropped to 50 silver coins, herbs to 30 silver coins, and Repair Stones to 10 silver coins. Several big material merchants have posted on the forums saying they are quitting the game."

Lin Ye took the report and glanced at it, the corners of his mouth curling into a wicked smile: "Let them quit. The market belongs to the players, not to the profiteers."

Qin Wentian stood to the side, listening to these words, his heart filled with mixed feelings. He used to be one of the "profiteers" Lin Ye spoke of, but now, he was on this side.

"What are you planning to do next?" Qin Wentian asked.

Lin Ye thought for a moment: "The material market is stable, next we should tackle equipment."

"Equipment?"

"Correct." Lin Ye opened the map and pointed to several high-level dungeons around the main city, "The equipment dropped by the bosses of these dungeons is all Blue equipment and purple gear. Solo players cannot afford it and can only be bullied by pay-to-win players. We can drive the prices down so everyone can afford to wear good equipment."

Qin Wentian was silent for a few seconds, then said: "The hunting teams for those dungeons used to be my people. I can have them cooperate with you."

Lin Ye looked at him and smiled: "That is more like it. Let us go, I will take you to meet your old subordinates."

That afternoon, Lin Ye took Qin Wentian to visit the hunting teams of several major dungeons in the main city one by one. These hunting teams used to belong to the Heavenly Temple, and now that the Heavenly Temple was disbanded, they were leaderless and did not know what to do.

"From today on, these dungeons are under the management of the Commoner Supermarket," Lin Ye told them. "Material prices will be purchased at 50% of the market price. Equipment prices will be sold at 30% of the market price. Those willing to work, stay. Those who do not want to, leave."

The members of the hunting teams looked at each other, and in the end, they all stayed. It was not that they were afraid of Lin Ye, but that they could make money following him. The prices Lin Ye offered were low, but the volume was high and stable. Unlike the Heavenly Temple before, which would lower prices every few days and still make them look at Qin Wentian's face.

Qin Wentian stood to the side, watching his old subordinates revolve around Lin Ye, feeling a strange mix of emotions. But he knew that Lin Ye was better at dealing with people than he was, and better at business than he was.

On the third day of the Commoner Supermarket's opening, Lin Ye made another big move—launching the "Anti-Scam Buff Experience Card."

This experience card was specially prepared for solo players. Players who bought the card would enjoy triple protection within a week: first, when their monsters were snatched, the system would automatically hang a Decay Debuff on the snatcher; second, when they were scammed, the system would automatically recover the losses; third, when being hunted, the system would automatically trigger teleportation protection, teleporting the player to a safe zone.

The price of the experience card was—free.

"Free?" Fatty Wang was stunned, "Brother, are you not losing money?"

Lin Ye laughed: "Losing money? Think about it, once players use the experience card and find it useful, will they renew it? Renewing for a month is only 100 gold coins, much cheaper than buying materials. And—" he paused, "the experience card can also help us advertise. Once players are protected, they will definitely tell their friends. Friends will hear about it and come to buy too. Word of mouth spreads, and our business will grow."

Fatty Wang realized: "Brother, your brain is too amazing!"

Su Qinghan also smiled: "You really are... able to turn anything into a business."

On the day the experience card was launched, tens of thousands of players across the server claimed it. The effect was immediate—those bully players who used to specialize in snatching monsters, scamming people, and hunting others were all in trouble. Those who snatched monsters were hit with a Decay Debuff, losing levels and equipment. Those who scammed were forced to return the losses and were also fined. Those who hunted others were teleported to safe zones, wasting their effort.

[world channel]

[Player "Brick-Moving Expert": Holy crap! This experience card is so useful! Someone tried to snatch my monster just now, and they were hit with a Decay Debuff on the spot and dropped three levels! Hahaha!]

[Player "Invincible Sword God": Me too! Someone tried to scam my equipment, and the system directly recovered the money and fined him ten times!]

[Player "Milk Tea Without Sugar": Brother Ye, your experience card is so conscientious! I want to renew! How much is the annual card?]

[Player "Yes Little Follower": Brothers, you must buy this card! With it, you will never be afraid of being bullied again!]

The popularity of the experience card directly boosted the business of the Commoner Supermarket. When players came to claim the card, they would casually buy some materials, equipment, and potions. Fatty Wang was busy running around, and Su Qinghan also came down to help with the cashier. Even Qin Wentian was pulled in to act as customer service, responsible for answering players' questions.

"This business of yours is getting bigger and bigger," Qin Wentian could not help but exclaim.

Lin Ye laughed: "It is not big, it is stable. Materials, equipment, protection fees, three lines making money at the same time. If one line has a problem, the other two lines can still hold up."

Qin Wentian looked at him and suddenly asked: "When you first entered the game, did you think you would achieve what you have today?"

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "I thought about it. But I did not expect it to be this fast."

"Are you not afraid the officials will ban you?"

Lin Ye shrugged: "If they could ban me, they would have done it long ago. My Talent can not even be checked by GMs. Banning my account? That does not exist."

Qin Wentian smiled bitterly. He used to think money was omnipotent, but now he knew that there were some things money really could not buy.

One week after the Commoner Supermarket opened, sales exceeded thirty million gold coins. Lin Ye's assets had already exceeded one hundred million gold coins. At the current gold price, it was worth at least two hundred million in real currency.

Fatty Wang had gone from an ordinary player to an "European Emperor God of Wealth" with a net worth of tens of millions. Su Qinghan had also gone from a lone wolf to the second-in-command of the Commoner Supermarket. Even Qin Wentian had found a new position—responsible for connecting previous resources and connections, helping Lin Ye expand the business to the entire server.

That night, Lin Ye stood on the top floor of the Commoner Supermarket, looking at the night view of the main city, feeling indescribably happy. Three months ago, he was still an unemployed youth who could not even pay the rent. Now, he was the largest material merchant on the server, the hottest protection fee provider, and the most awe-inspiring wicked big shot.

"What are you thinking about?" Su Qinghan walked up and stood beside him.

Lin Ye laughed: "Thinking about the past. Three months ago, I was still worrying about a few hundred bucks for rent. Now..."

"What about now?"

"Now, I have rented the whole building. And I have expanded the business to the entire server."

Su Qinghan looked at him and could not help but laugh: "You really are... going from one extreme to another."

Lin Ye shrugged: "It is not an extreme, it is a counterattack."

He turned around, looked at the lights of the main city in the distance, and the corners of his mouth curled into a wicked smile.

"Qin Wentian has been incorporated by me, the Heavenly Temple has been disbanded, and the material market is stable. Next, it is time to do something bigger."

"What is it?"

Lin Ye took [Eye of the Undead] out of his backpack and weighed it in his hand: "Have you heard of the Abyss Dungeon?"

Su Qinghan's expression changed: "Are you crazy? The Abyss Dungeon is a top-level dungeon for level 40 and above, and there are not many people in the entire server who can clear it. Moreover, the monsters inside will corrode players' equipment and attributes, and dying will cause a loss of levels."

Lin Ye laughed: "That is why we have to raid it. Others cannot do it, I can. Others are afraid of corrosion, I am not. My Talent is specialized in countering Abyss Monsters."

Su Qinghan looked at him, was silent for a few seconds, then sighed: "Fine. Anyway, following you, I have gotten used to causing trouble."

Lin Ye turned around and walked downstairs.

"Let us go, call Fatty and Qin Wentian. Tomorrow, we go to raid the Abyss Dungeon."

Su Qinghan followed behind and could not help but laugh: "You really are, cannot stay idle for a single day."

Lin Ye turned his head, the corners of his mouth curled into a wicked smile: "It is not that I cannot stay idle, it is that I am professional."

At this moment, in another corner of the main city, several mysterious players were staring at the direction of the Commoner Supermarket, their eyes cold. There were no guild badges in front of their IDs, but their equipment was all top-tier Epic sets.

"Is it him?" one of them asked.

"Yes. It is him. The holder of the only SSS-level Talent on the entire server, Ye."

"Interesting. The Abyss Dungeon is about to open. When the time comes, let him see what real strength is."

The group turned and disappeared into the night, as if they had never appeared.