Chapter 9: The Organization Manipulating Prices
Of course, manipulating the stock market in the real world is illegal.
The people from the Securities and Exchange Commission wouldn't just stand by.
But here in the game world, there are no regulatory bodies, and the rules of the real world don't apply.
Without legal restrictions, the greed and evil within human nature can amplify infinitely.
If someone really were to monopolize the market, they could drain resources from every player.
Ryan actually had the ability to do that, but he chose not to.
Because after careful consideration, he realized that doing so would only accelerate the players' downfall.
At that moment in the chatroom.
More players began to voice their outrage.
[Damn it, now one piece of wood costs five loaves of bread...]
[You opportunistic vultures, don't buy it! Let's find a way to collect wood ourselves!]
[Exactly, buying it would only encourage these harmful people!]
[Who set up these shops? Can we see the sellers? Let's isolate them in the future!]
[No, it seems like they were established anonymously, so we can't check...]
Ryan suddenly began to doubt.
Is the player named Ethan Hao connected to the price surge of wood in any way?
Could he be pretending to be a good guy?
Ethan Hao had just shared a method for making goggles from wood in the group...
And the next moment, all the wood prices skyrocketed, which is indeed suspicious.
A group can easily manipulate prices.
But if there wasn't any prior planning, it would take time, making it look like a premeditated scheme.
At that moment,
Ethan Hao sent another message in the group.
[Ethan Hao: What's going on? Has someone manipulated the price of wood?]
[Ethan Hao: Actually, you can use some uniformly thick bones as a substitute for wood. If you can't, just wait a bit, the price of wood is really too high...]
Ethan Hao had noticed that the price increase was related to him.
And he suggested that everyone look for alternative materials.
Ryan rubbed his chin, still feeling that something was off about this guy, but he had no solid evidence yet.
Ordinary players typically don't have bones, and supply boxes don't yield that resource.
The remaining players were left with two choices.
Either they could spend days' worth of food to buy wood and craft goggles.
Or they could wait until the sun was weaker before leaving their vehicles to gather resources.
It was already 1 PM.
The sun outside was still scorching, and who knew if it would last until nightfall? Some players in the chatroom had already begun to compromise.
[Forget it, I'll just buy a piece of wood, this shop seems to allow credit.]
[Sigh, my eyes are really starting to fail me.]
[Damn it, we can't wait until it's almost dark to gather resources, can we?]
At this point, Ryan had already prepared a message to sell bone-made goggles.
He knew that if the other side was an organized group, stirring the pot like this would definitely put him on their radar.
There might even be a risk to life.
However, what Ryan found even more intolerable was that this group of people profited from human lives.
Ryan enjoyed competition, he liked to see who was smarter, who had better tactics, and he relished the process.
Ryan sighed softly, "Now, it's my turn to take the stage."
Without hesitation, he clicked to send the message.
...
In the regional chatroom.
[Ryan: I've listed bone-made goggles in my shop, and they cost just 1 unit of any resource.]
[Ryan: If you have bones, you can also ask me to craft them for you.]
Ryan's message received a lot of likes from players.
This helped to pin his message at the top of the chat interface, where there was a daily highlight section for more players to see.
[1 unit of any material? Can I use glass?]
[What about plant fibers?]
[Ryan: Both are fine, just 1 unit will do.]
[Ryan: Food is quite precious for everyone, so feel free to trade materials instead.]
Ryan's store in the trading hall was registered under his real name, so players could view the items he was selling directly through his avatar.
In no time, Ryan sold 34 pairs of the bone-made goggles.
This quickly earned him a variety of materials.
The trading hall had automatic delivery, so Ryan just needed to store the goggles in the system's backpack for them to reach the buyers quickly.
Some quick players in the chat had already received the goggles Ryan was selling.
[Don't worry, brothers, I've tried them, and they really work well!]
[Thanks, Ryan! Once I put them on, the light isn't blinding anymore!]
[Only 1 unit of material for a pair of goggles, and any material at that, it's incredibly generous!]
[Wah, finally some relief! I can't see clearly, damn it! I've been trudging around in the snow with this supply box for almost half an hour!]
[Only Ryan is the real boss!]
[Indeed, I can't even imagine how many resources those greedy merchants would have sucked from everyone with so many goggles.]
In just under ten minutes, Ryan's bone-made goggles sold out completely.
He checked the system warehouse.
He had gained over 250 basic materials.
Although he priced each item at 1 unit, some players, out of gratitude, chose to give a bit more.
Now, his stockpile of basic materials looked like this:
[Plastic materials x54, Metal materials x36, Wood x8, Plant fibers x34, Glass materials x21, Rubber x25, Stones x43, Cloth x29]
Ryan smiled, "This will save me a lot of time collecting materials."
This way, he could focus his energy on gathering blueprints.
Ryan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened them again, he revealed an expression of eager anticipation.
Ryan whispered, "Those hiding in the shadows, come and make this game even more interesting..."
...
At this moment, in an off-road vehicle.
The interior was filled with swirling smoke, obscuring the man's face at the driver's seat.
On the back of his right hand, he had a tattoo of a snake's skull.
In his left hand, he toyed with a pair of bone-made goggles he had bought from Ryan's shop.
"Hmph." He let out a soft grunt and broke the goggles with one hand.
The man picked up a walkie-talkie and said, "Business has been interrupted, did you see that?"
The walkie-talkie crackled with noise, "Zzzz—Boss, what are your orders?"
"After the challenger instance opens tonight, find an opportunity to take him out." The man crushed his cigar in the crystal ashtray with force.
...
"Vroom vroom vroom—"
Ryan's small truck raced down the highway.
He felt relaxed as he looked at the system panel, heading straight for a supply box 20 kilometers away.
That was a B-grade supply box, which contained a telescope.
Now that Ryan was not lacking in food or basic materials, his main collection target had shifted to practical items and various blueprints.
However, the probability of blueprints spawning was much lower than Ryan had anticipated.
It had been almost half a day, and he had only come across one in an A-grade supply box.
It was already 3 PM.
There were just over two hours left until the sun set at 6 PM.
Ryan sighed helplessly, "Geez, it's almost dark, and I still haven't found any items that emit ultraviolet rays..."
He opened the system panel to check if anyone was selling blueprints to him.
Looking at the 84 unread private messages, Ryan felt a bit of a headache.
Fortunately, he found the search function and directly used "blueprint" as a keyword to search.
[Lina: Hello, are you still buying blueprints?]
Ryan immediately perked up and opened the chat window.
[Ryan: Yes, what blueprint?]
The other party quickly replied.
[Lina: It's not something very practical, it's a blueprint for a medical disinfection light box...]
"Medical disinfection light..." Ryan murmured to himself, suddenly excited, "Isn't that exactly what I'm looking for?!"
Ultraviolet light tubes are used in many places.
They also have sterilization and disinfection effects and are commonly used in dishwashers or hospitals.
[Lina: I know this blueprint isn't very practical, but if you want it, could you help me collect some medical supplies?]
[Ryan: Oh? Are you a doctor?]
[Lina: To be precise, I'm a medical student, I don't have a medical license yet.]
[Lina: But I can handle minor injuries and illnesses just fine.]
Seeing that Ryan hadn't responded, Lina worried he might not want to help, so she quickly sent two more messages.
[Lina: I will pay extra for the collected medicines.]
[Lina: As for the blueprint for the disinfection light box, consider it a welcome gift.]
Ryan didn't hesitate and agreed right away.
[Ryan: OK, deal.]