346: Chapter 346 The End of the Void! I Harvest Destruction with Time Futures

Three minutes after the short-selling options sold out, the Void Entity finally realized it was trapped.

It no longer charged toward Lin Chen and Lin Xiao, but stopped in place, the mass of darkness—larger than the stars—beginning to contract, expand, contract, and expand—as if breathing, or perhaps gathering strength.

Each time it contracted, the surrounding starry sky dimmed by a fraction.

Each time it expanded, those stars that had just been repaired would tremble.

Lin Xiao's expression changed.

"Senior, it is devouring the options themselves."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Devouring the options?"

Lin Xiao pointed to the frantically fluctuating option data.

"Look, the option price is falling. It's not because it's dying, but because it's devouring those who are shorting it."

Lin Chen stared at the data.

Sure enough, the option price had plummeted from its opening of 1000 points to 800, then to 600, falling sharply all the way.

Those investors who had shorted the Void Entity were currently being backlashed.

"How is it doing that?" Lin Chen asked.

Lin Xiao shook his head.

"I don't know. But it has consciousness; it can fight back."

As soon as he finished speaking, the mass of darkness suddenly exploded.

It wasn't an explosion, but a splitting—countless tentacles shot out from the center of the darkness, extending in all directions.

Each tentacle was ten thousand zhang long, its tip as sharp as a blade, stabbing toward the civilizations that were trading the options.

Lin Chen's system instantly popped up hundreds of red alerts:

[Warning! Heavenly Secret Civilization option trading terminal destroyed!]

[Warning! God Realm of Light option traders have collectively lost contact!]

[Warning! Quantum Financial Center has suffered Void Erosion; losses are immeasurable!]

Lin Xiao's face turned pale.

"Senior, it's attacking our investors!"

Lin Chen was silent for a second.

Then he smiled.

That smile left Lin Xiao stunned—at a time like this, how could Senior still smile?

"What are you smiling at?" Lin Xiao asked.

Lin Chen pointed to the tentacles that were frantically fleeing.

"It's attacking the investors, which means it's desperate."

Lin Xiao was stunned.

"Desperate?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"If it could truly devour everything, it would just come and devour us directly. Why go through the trouble of attacking those investors scattered everywhere?"

"Because—it can't devour us."

Lin Xiao's eyes lit up.

"You mean..."

Lin Chen interrupted him.

"It is now like a beast locked in a cage. The cage is our Capital Law. It can't get out, so it can only stick out a few claws to scratch people."

He opened the system and pulled up a new file.

The file title was:

"Void Entity Time Futures Contract"

Lin Xiao looked at the file, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Time futures?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Yes. There are many kinds of futures—commodity futures, financial futures, index futures. But the most ruthless one is time futures."

He pointed to the first item of the file:

"First, issue futures contracts based on the Void Entity's remaining existence time."

Lin Xiao was stunned.

"Remaining existence time? How do you calculate that?"

Lin Chen smiled.

"No need to calculate. Let the market calculate it itself."

He pointed to the second item:

"Second, establish a 'Time Exchange'. Any investor can buy or sell the Void Entity's time futures. Those who buy bet that it will live longer. Those who sell bet that it will die soon."

Lin Xiao was thoughtful.

"Then how is the price determined?"

Lin Chen pointed to the third item:

"Third, the price is determined by the market. Every time the Void Entity struggles, its energy consumption increases by a fraction, and its survival time shortens by a fraction. Those who short it will make money. Those who go long will lose money."

"In this way, every struggle of it is just handing money to those who are shorting it."

Lin Xiao's eyes lit up completely.

"Senior, are you... making it short itself?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Yes. The more it struggles, the faster it dies. The more it doesn't want to die, the more it has to endure. If it endures without moving, it can't attack us."

"This is a true—deadlock."

Three seconds later, the time futures went live.

First issuance volume: 100 million lots.

Each lot represents: 1 second of the Void Entity's remaining existence time.

Initial pricing: 1000 dimension points/second.

In the first second of going live, the trading volume exceeded 10 million lots.

Some went long, some went short, but more were watching from the sidelines.

The Void Entity saw the futures data and was clearly stunned for a moment.

Then it began to struggle frantically.

Tentacles danced wildly, darkness surged, and the surrounding stars were devoured one by one.

Every time it devoured a star, the futures price fell by 10 points.

Those who were shorting it began to make money.

Those who were going long began to lose money.

Those losing money panicked and began selling to close their positions. The more orders sold, the faster the price fell.

The faster the price fell, the more violently the Void Entity struggled.

The more violently it struggled, the faster the price fell.

A vicious cycle.

Three minutes later, the futures price had fallen from 1000 points to 37 points.

The Void Entity's struggles had clearly slowed down.

It was tired.

The energy it consumed had already exceeded the energy it devoured.

Lin Xiao looked at the data, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

"Senior, it... it's about to die."

Lin Chen nodded.

"Almost. But not dead yet."

He opened the system and pulled up the last file.

The file title was:

"Void Entity Bankruptcy Liquidation Plan"

[Liquidation Target: All assets of the Void Entity (including the devoured star energy)]

[Liquidation Method: Public Auction]

[Starting Bid: 1 Jing dimension points]

[Auction Proceeds: Used for the reconstruction of the Tenth Dimension and investor compensation]

Lin Xiao looked at the file, completely dumbfounded.

"Senior, you're going to auction it off?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Yes. It's like a company on the verge of bankruptcy. Instead of letting it die on its own, it's better to liquidate it and get some money."

He pressed the confirm button.

The auction announcement instantly spread across all dimensions.

Three seconds later, the first bid came in—from the True Game Committee.

Bid: 1.2 Jing.

Three seconds later, the second bid—from the Cultivation Alliance.

Bid: 1.5 Jing.

The third bid—from the Technological Civilization Coalition.

Bid: 2 Jing.

The price soared all the way.

The Void Entity watched those bids and began to tremble violently.

It wanted to struggle, but it no longer had the strength.

It wanted to devour, but it no longer had the energy.

It wanted to run away, but it had already been locked down by the time futures.

It could only watch helplessly as it was auctioned off.

Three minutes later, the auction ended.

Winning bidder: True Game Committee.

Final price: 3.7 Jing.

It was a full 0.7 Jing higher than the valuation.

Lin Xiao looked at that number, completely dumbfounded.

"Senior, 3.7 Jing... did we strike it rich?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"Yes. Struck it rich."

He opened the capital allocation plan:

1 Jing used for investor compensation (dividends for short-sellers).

1.5 Jing used for the reconstruction of the Tenth Dimension.

1.2 Jing as a reserve fund to deal with future risks.

The remaining 0.3 Jing—he looked at Lin Xiao.

"This is yours."

Lin Xiao was stunned.

"Mine?"

Lin Chen nodded.

"You held on for three years; you deserve it."

Lin Xiao was silent.

He looked at that 0.3 Jing, looked at the dissipating Void Entity, and looked at Lin Chen's calm expression.

Then he smiled.

That smile was exactly the same as it was three years ago—young, stubborn, and carrying a hint of restlessness.

"Senior, you've taught me another lesson."

Lin Chen waved his hand.

"Enough talk. Now, get to work."

He turned around and looked at the slowly dissipating Void Entity.

That mass of darkness, which had once been larger than the stars, was now nothing more than a wisp of faint smoke.

In the smoke, a face could be vaguely seen.

That face had no expression, only a pair of hollow eyes staring fixedly at Lin Chen.

Three seconds later, it dissipated completely.

The entire Tenth Dimension suddenly brightened.

Those stars that had been devoured began to re-condense.

Those civilizations that had been destroyed began to slowly recover.

Those voids that had been eroded began to bloom with light.

Lin Xiao watched all of this, his eyes feeling a bit warm.

"Senior, we succeeded."

Lin Chen nodded.

"Yes. Succeeded."

He opened the communication channel, connecting to all dimensions simultaneously.

"Everyone, the Void Erosion has been cleared. The reconstruction of the Tenth Dimension officially begins."

"Thank you for the support of all investors. Every cent of your money has been used where it matters most."

"Now, disperse."

The communication cut off.

Lin Chen turned around and looked at Lin Xiao.

"What about you? What do you plan to do next?"

Lin Xiao thought for a moment.

"Continue starting a business."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Starting a business? Here?"

Lin Xiao nodded.

"With the Tenth Dimension being rebuilt, there are opportunities everywhere. I want to open a company specifically to help those damaged civilizations recover their memories."

Lin Chen smiled.

"Good idea."

He patted Lin Xiao on the shoulder.

"Remember, starting a business isn't for making money; it's to make this world more interesting."

Lin Xiao nodded.

"I remember."

The two stood side by side in the void, watching the stars that were recovering.

In the distance, a golden light slowly flew over.

That was a messenger from the True Game Committee.

The messenger stopped in front of Lin Chen and handed over a golden invitation.

"Mr. Lin Chen: Congratulations on successfully clearing the Void Erosion. You are now formally invited to join the True Game Committee as a permanent director of the Tenth Dimension. Please attend the inauguration ceremony in three days. —Observer"

Lin Chen looked at the invitation and was silent for a second.

Then he smiled.

"Interesting."

Lin Xiao leaned in.

"Senior, are you going?"

Lin Chen put away the invitation.

"Go. Why wouldn't I?"

He turned around and looked in the direction he had come from.

"But before I go, I need to go back once."

"Someone is still waiting for me."