Chapter 48

Chapter 48: Blowing Up

Right now, everyone’s attention was still focused on the game and the players, especially with the top ten earning special rewards. That excitement would keep people occupied for a while.

But once word of the Water-Chilling Stones spread further, more people would start hunting for Soy Sauce Drunk. Before that happened, Ling Mo needed to stockpile coins.

She checked her shop and found the first ten Water-Chilling Stones were already gone. She’d earned two hundred fifty coins and a heap of gold, jade, and gemstones.

At this pace, to reach thirty thousand…

Thirty thousand minus two hundred fifty, divided by fifty…

She grabbed her phone, tapped open the calculator, and got her answer.

She’d need to sell five hundred ninety-five more Water-Chilling Stones to make up the difference.

And that was assuming everyone paid in coins.

With a grim little sigh, Ling Mo listed ten more Water-Chilling Stones, this time demanding coins only.

Staring at the limited slots in her shop, she briefly thought about upgrading it, then shoved the idea aside. Next time.

Given how powerful the stones were, individuals really shouldn’t buy them. Frostbite was one mistake away. Luckily, individuals couldn’t afford them anyway.

But malls, supermarkets, and other public spaces? If those places could use Water-Chilling Stones, the strain on the power grid would drop immediately.

Hospitals too. From the news, Ling Mo could see hospitals were overflowing. Hallways were crammed with patients, most of them suffering from heatstroke. Even people who’d been hospitalized before the extreme heat had begun were deteriorating under the conditions.

If she could think of it, the people in charge could think of it too.

So when the shop [Don’t Miss Out] listed Water-Chilling Stones again, 123 Wood immediately ordered his people to buy every single one.

Ever since [Don’t Miss Out] had sold interstellar machines, the store had been under heavy surveillance. Whatever it listed, someone was supposed to report it immediately.

They’d missed the first wave of the Water-Chilling Stones due to other issues, but once 123 Wood confirmed the effect himself, he reported it at once.

The higher-ups made the decision on the spot: contact Soy Sauce Drunk, and secure the Water-Chilling Stones at any cost.

The obvious point person was 123 Wood, since he was the one who’d spoken with Soy Sauce Drunk before.

Collecting game currency was a nightmare now. A single silver coin on the market had surged to nearly fifty thousand, and even then, it wasn’t guaranteed anyone would sell. Regular money was losing value by the day, and both the military and major corporations were hoarding coins.

At least gold and other precious metals could still be exchanged in the shop system.

Just then, the person monitoring [Don’t Miss Out] shouted, “Old Boss! Soy Sauce Drunk listed Water-Chilling Stones again!”

“Then buy them,” 123 Wood snapped. “Didn’t we prepare gold already?”

The monitor shook his head hard. “This time they won’t take gold. Only coins.”

“What?”

123 Wood’s expression tightened. He opened the shop himself, and sure enough, it was coin-only.

So Soy Sauce Drunk was short on coins now? Or had the earlier listings been market testing?

Either way, they needed those stones.

“Coins aren’t a problem,” 123 Wood barked. “Buy them. Now. Don’t let anyone else grab them.”

At the same time, he pulled out his phone and ordered his people to keep buying up game coins. If Soy Sauce Drunk truly needed coins, future listings would likely demand the same.

After hanging up, 123 Wood opened the game’s messaging system and sent another message to Soy Sauce Drunk.

No response.

Not just him, either. Anyone trying to contact Ling Mo received only silence.

Because Ling Mo was busy. Busy listing Water-Chilling Stones.

Every batch she put up was instantly bought out. Watching them get snatched up in seconds, she couldn’t help thinking she’d underestimated how many rich people existed in the world.

After about half an hour, the buying finally started to slow, like the market had been squeezed dry. Only then did Ling Mo rub her aching fingers and check her private messages.

She opened 123 Wood’s chat. The newest message, from twenty minutes ago, read: “How many Water-Chilling Stones do you have left? I’ll take them all.”

Ling Mo replied: “You still have coins?”

The response came almost instantly.

123 Wood: “None left. (T_T)”
123 Wood: “Will you take gold and jade? We can provide as much as you want.”

Ling Mo glanced at her haul from the past half hour.

She’d listed more than three hundred Water-Chilling Stones and earned seventeen thousand coins.

She knew they still had coins somewhere. They’d be keeping reserves for emergencies.

Which meant the rest of the cloak price would probably have to come from energy rawstones.

She typed: “Besides Water-Chilling Stones, I have other good stuff too. Interested?”

123 Wood: “What good stuff?”

Ling Mo: “Waterwood Stones. They can keep plants healthy and cut their growth cycle in half.”

This time, there was a long pause.

Ling Mo wasn’t worried. She hadn’t exaggerated. If they knew what they were looking at, they wouldn’t refuse.

Finally, 123 Wood replied: “Can we buy one Waterwood Stone first to test the effect?”

Ling Mo: “Of course.”

Real goods didn’t fear testing.

And since they were short on coins, Ling Mo generously allowed the purchase to be paid in gold.

On the other end, 123 Wood stood with a short-haired, round-faced young lady beside him. She looked utterly pleased with herself.

“Well, Old Boss?” she said smugly. “Isn’t the chat style I taught you way better? Your old way of talking was so stiff. Not charming at all.”

123 Wood wasn’t used to it, but he had to admit: it worked.

He hadn’t expected a few cute stickers to soften the other side’s attitude so much that Soy Sauce Drunk would offer a new product: Waterwood Stones.

If Waterwood Stones really worked the way Soy Sauce Drunk claimed…

Then maybe the crops really could be saved.