34: Chapter 34 Verbal Battle

A full week passed.

Zhou An precisely controlled the lifeline of commodity prices throughout the entire region.

Without the interference of a behemoth like the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce maliciously snatching up supplies, Zhou An's reselling plan proceeded extremely smoothly.

Relying on his absolute advantage in synthesis, he flooded the market with massive amounts of Level 3 supplies, like a bottomless black hole, greedily devouring the last remnants of Level 2 materials from the 800,000 survivors.

When the exchange rate on the Trading House was once again forced down to the "synthesis break-even point" of 1:2.1, Zhou An finally stopped his operations.

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the string of numbers in his system warehouse that were enough to trigger megalophobia, and let out a long, heavy sigh.

[ Total storage of Level 3 core supplies: 3.15 million units! ]

[ Total storage of Level 2 core supplies: 480,000 units! ]

" 3.15 million units of Level 3 supplies... "

Zhou An closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of extreme wealth expansion.

Compared to the 600,000 supplies he had when he first upgraded to LV3 a month and a half ago, his assets had increased fivefold!

Even more terrifying was the golden Hextech [ Compound Interest ].

As the base amount skyrocketed like a snowball effect, Compound Interest finally revealed its extremely exaggerated side.

It automatically generated 1% interest every day!

This meant that now, whenever Zhou An opened his eyes each day, he didn't have to do anything; the system would stuff over 30,000 units of Level 3 supplies into his warehouse out of thin air!

Meanwhile, over the past few days, the regional public forum had been a tale of two extremes.

On one hand, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce and some large-scale hoarders lost everything and were venting their impotent rage on the forum.

On the other hand, countless solo players and small teams struggling on the edge of death were frantically thanking this mysterious "philanthropist."

" Thanks to the big boss for crashing the market! If the ratio hadn't dropped to 2.5, I would never have been able to gather enough materials to upgrade to LV3 in my entire life! "

" Even though the big boss is doing this to make money, his release of supplies at a high level saved the lives of at least a hundred thousand solo players! Those big guilds only know how to suck our blood! "

" That's right! That mysterious big boss is my savior! "

However, amidst this atmosphere where some rejoiced and others mourned, someone finally followed the clues and cast suspicious glances toward that unbelievable name.

A post titled "In-Depth Analysis: Who Is Manipulating the Region's Commodity Prices?" was pushed to the top of the forum's home page:

" Everyone, besides those top-tier guilds, there is only one person capable of handling millions of units of supplies. Have you forgotten that monster from last month's settlement who, as an unaffiliated solo player, took sixth place in the entire region and crushed seventh place with a comprehensive score of over 20 million? "

" That's right, I suspect that reseller is — Zhou An! "

As soon as this post appeared, it instantly ignited the gossip-loving hearts of everyone present.

Soon, the senior management of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, like sharks smelling blood, immediately began aggressively steering the narrative in the post.

[ Four Seas Chamber of Commerce · Procurement Department Manager ]: " It must be this kid! I knew a solo player couldn't possibly get a score of over 20 million! He's definitely the one pulling the strings behind the scenes! "

Zhou An had been watching the show on the sidelines while munching on melon seeds, and when he saw this comment, he immediately chuckled.

He tapped a line of text onto the system panel.

[ Zhou An (Solo Player) ]: " Don't just open your mouth and start splashing dirty water! What market manipulation? I fly my broken helicopter every day, working hard and risking my life in the abyss to scavenge for junk and play as a 'knife runner' to save up some materials—do you think that's easy? You lost money on your own business, and you're blaming me, a scavenger? "

Seeing Zhou An's response, the people from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce became even more aggressive.

[ Four Seas Chamber of Commerce · Vice President ]: " Don't play the victim! If you have nothing to hide, do you dare to post a screenshot of your system warehouse and let everyone see exactly how many assets you have?! "

" Look at my warehouse? " Zhou An curled his lips; this request was so stupid it was laughable.

[ Zhou An (Solo Player) ]: " Moron. "

These two extremely short, extremely crude words directly broke the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce Vice President's composure.

[ Four Seas Chamber of Commerce · Vice President ]: " Who are you cursing?! How dare a solo player be this arrogant?! You are definitely feeling guilty! Everyone look, he doesn't dare to post a screenshot; he is that profiteer! "

Zhou An's interest was piqued. Back when he played LOL on Earth, he was a famous "Zaun pianist."

Zhou An placed his hands on the virtual keyboard, his fingers becoming a blur as he directly activated "debate against the masses" mode.

[ Zhou An ]: " I think the water pipe in your brain must have burst, right? If I asked to see your wife's panties, would you show them to me? If you don't show me, does that mean you have something to hide?! "

[ Zhou An ]: " What can you people from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce do besides barking in the channel? If you have the ability, take out your own supplies and crash the market! If you don't have money, stop acting like a big shot, you poor losers! "

[ Zhou An ]: " I'm just a scavenger, and you can't even beat a scavenger—do you even have the face to call yourself a Chamber of Commerce? You should just change your name to 'Four Seas Shelter'! "

This rapid-fire sequence of insults, like a machine gun, had no pauses and every word struck at the heart.

This left the other big guilds and solo players who were watching the show in the channel stunned.

[ Hongyan Pavilion Master Minister Su Hongye ]: " This Mr. Zhou's eloquence is... quite unique. "

[ Tianqing Guild Leader City Lord Zhao Tianyu ]: " Hahahaha! Well scolded! Someone needs to put these bastards from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce in their place! "

The war of words on the forum escalated completely.

The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce could no longer maintain its dignity.

Finally, the Vice President, who had been rendered speechless, was enraged by his own humiliation and brought out his trump card.

" You ignorant little beast! Do you really think that hiding in the shadows means no one can deal with you? Regional bounty! Whoever can provide Zhou An's real-time coordinates, the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce will reward them with 1,000 units of Level 3 materials! As soon as the location is confirmed, the payment will be made immediately! "

Once these words were spoken, the channel went quiet for a moment, but immediately after, there was a chorus of boos even crazier than before.

" Only a thousand? The dignified Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is offering a bounty for the sixth-ranked big boss in the region, and they only offer 1,000 units of Level 3 materials? Are you trying to get rid of a beggar?! "

" I just spent 800 to upgrade my LV3 main cannon; the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's strength is... tsk tsk, it seems they really are close to bankruptcy from being resold by that big boss. "

" Exactly, it's not even as much as I just exchanged at the Trading House; the poor Chamber of Commerce is confirmed. "

Looking at the screen full of ridicule, the senior management of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce must have been infuriated. Within two minutes, the bounty amount jumped again.

" Five thousand! I'm offering 5,000 units of Level 3 materials! Whoever can report his coordinates, this 5,000 is yours! "

This price finally made some solo players shut up; after all, 5,000 units of Level 3 materials was definitely a huge sum at this stage.

However, Zhou An sat on the massage chair in Cloud Top Fortress, sneered at the panel, and casually typed a few keys on the keyboard.

[ Zhou An (Solo Player) ]: " Five thousand? You're not embarrassed? Since everyone is so interested, I'll join in the fun too. "

[ Zhou An ]: " Reverse bounty! Whoever can provide the coordinates of that Procurement Department person-in-charge from the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce, the one called Manager Liu, I will pay 10,000 units of Level 3 materials! As long as the location is accurate, I, Zhou An, will transfer the funds in public, and I will never go back on my word! "

" Boom! "

The entire regional channel completely boiled over!

10,000 units of Level 3 materials!

You have to know, all the advancement materials for Li Muzi's private aircraft didn't even cost 10,000 units of Level 3 supplies. These 10,000 materials were enough to force a small warship from LV2 to a fully equipped LV3!

" The big boss is awesome! The big boss is generous! "

" 10,000 Level 3s! Manager Liu, hurry up and sell me your coordinates; we can split it 50/50, and you don't even need to be a manager anymore, you can just take off right there! "

" This is what true wealth and arrogance look like! The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was just trying to get rid of a beggar earlier, but Big Boss Zhou is literally creating wealth! "

[ Zhou An ]: " You surnamed Liu, you'd better not run. I'm going to go knock on your door right now to see if your mouth is tougher than your armor. "

The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's Procurement Department Manager Liu was obviously angered by this 10,000-unit bounty on his life, but more importantly, he was provoked by Zhou An's public humiliation in front of hundreds of thousands of people.

Manager Liu directly posted his coordinates.

[ Four Seas Chamber of Commerce Manager Liu ]: " You surnamed Zhou! Stop acting all mysterious! I'm waiting for you right here, and the entire team's elite warships are here escorting me! If you have the guts, come over now! Let's see if you're going to single-handedly take on our entire Chamber of Commerce, or if you're coming to deliver supplies to us! "

" Boss, he posted his coordinates; are we really going? "

Luo Ning was standing on the side, her eyes shining.

Zhou An sneered and directly closed the system panel.

" Go my ass. I'm not a moron. That side is obviously the entire Chamber of Commerce's turtle formation; even if I have money, I'm not brain-dead enough to drive a ship and ram into their nest of tens of thousands of people. Let him wait slowly. "

After speaking, Zhou An stood up, twisted his neck, and walked straight toward the fitness equipment nearby.

" Muzi, Luo Ning, go do whatever you need to do; we'll just hang out here and see who gets anxious to death first. "

Zhou An began his routine strength training; his strengthened body needed constant honing to fit perfectly.

Li Muzi, who was organizing petri dishes on the side, asked with some hesitation: " Boss, actually, I've always wanted to ask... with our 3 million units of Level 3 supplies now, is it already enough to rival a big Chamber of Commerce like Four Seas? I saw them gritting their teeth just to offer 5,000 materials. "

Zhou An stopped his one-handed push-ups, let out a long breath, and shook his head: " Muzi, you think too simply about these guilds. "

He wiped his sweat, his eyes clear: " Our 3 million is indeed the ceiling among solo players in the entire region. But you have to understand, the survival landscape has changed. There are only over 500,000 people left in the region, but over 300,000 of them are under the banner of 'The Five Great Guilds.' What does this mean? "

Li Muzi was stunned for a moment: " It means... resources are highly concentrated? "

" Correct. "

Zhou An walked to the panoramic porthole, watching the floating clouds pass by outside, " All the resources collected by these 300,000+ people, apart from the tiny bit needed to maintain their own survival, will likely flow into the hands of the few hundred people at the top through things like guild contribution points. "

" The Four Seas Chamber of Commerce is stingy in the channel because they are putting on a show for the public, and also because their resources need to be prioritized for the Guild Leader's flagship and elite troops to upgrade to LV4. If I could really get all 500,000+ solo players to sell their goods to me, then my warehouse would definitely have more than 3 million Level 3 supplies. "

Zhou An held up a finger and shook it.

" At least add a zero, and then multiply it several times over. "

" So, don't be fooled by their crying about poverty in the channel. The private funds held by these Guild Leaders are absolutely beyond your imagination. "