Currency Exchange

Judging from the intense bidding wars among anonymous high-level members, it was evident that rare Tier-2 Apocalyptic Shards were highly sought after in the market.

Xu Mo had initially thought that with the dozens of Tier-1 shards and a single Tier-2 shard in his possession, he would be considered part of the wealthy class within the World Fruit Trade Alliance. However, compared to those high-level members who could casually throw around tens of thousands of Fruit Coins, he was nothing more than a pauper… It was a serious blow to his self-esteem.

Practically drooling over the high-demand premium shards in the consignment section, Xu Mo then shifted his attention to the information trading board.

The so-called information trading was primarily conducted in two ways. First, registered members could pay a certain amount of Fruit Coins to purchase information of interest from the alliance. Second, members could submit information they possessed to the alliance for review. If the alliance verified the information as exclusive and up-to-date, they would list it on the trading platform for sale, rewarding the submitter with 50% of the sale proceeds in Fruit Coins, along with corresponding membership points.

Xu Mo spotted a few information titles that piqued his interest, but his empty pockets forced him to abandon the idea of making a purchase.

Just as he was about to close the information trading page, he suddenly recalled his experiences in the two Apocalyptic Mirages he had encountered. Though he wasn't sure if anyone had previously submitted similar information, he still decided to provide a detailed report on the locations, internal environments, species, and power levels of the "Mass Grave" and "Biohazard Crisis" mirages. Using concise and precise language, he divided the details into two separate posts and submitted them for alliance review.

Unofficial transactions for exchanging Fruit Coins into Huaxia currency typically took place in the "Other Transactions" section. Upon opening the page, Xu Mo was greeted with numerous buy requests such as: "High-price exchange for Fruit Coins—settlements available in Euros, USD, Yen, and other foreign currencies. Special bonus rates for Huaxia currency settlements!" Some of these listings were even pinned to the top of the page through paid advertisements.

It seemed that the alliance was well aware that their official low exchange rate could not prevent private currency transactions. Rather than restricting them, they chose to facilitate these trades on their official platform—at least this way, they could still collect transaction fees.

Although the listed exchange rates varied slightly, they remained within a stable range. To Xu Mo's surprise, the latest offers indicated that the exchange rate had reached 1 Fruit Coin = 600 Huaxia Yuan. That meant that with just 600 Fruit Coins, he could obtain 350,000 Huaxia Yuan!

Given that the value of Fruit Coins was still rising, Xu Mo exchanged exactly 600 of them—just enough to lend Lin Yijing 350,000 Huaxia Yuan for her debt repayment while keeping 10,000 for his own expenses.

The transaction required about ten minutes to process. With nothing better to do, Xu Mo continued browsing the "Other Transactions" section, checking out various buy and sell listings to pass the time.

Initially, he had assumed this section would mainly feature items related to Apocalyptic Shards. However, the more he scrolled, the more astonished he became. This so-called "Other Transactions" section was practically a black market in disguise!

Assassination contracts, smuggling operations, private security services, rare art thefts—there were all sorts of high-risk missions that would be considered life-threatening for ordinary people. Not only that, but there were actual records of people accepting and successfully completing these tasks, earning hefty rewards in return.

Clearly, this was one of the ways lower-level members earned Fruit Coins.

Ten minutes later, the alliance sent an online notification informing Xu Mo that his transaction was ready for pickup at the front desk. Coincidentally, Du Zhizhang and Chang Ziteng had also completed their currency exchange transactions, so the three of them headed to the front desk together.

After presenting their membership cards, the front desk staff handed Xu Mo and Chang Ziteng each a gold card from the Huaxia Central Bank. They were also reminded that these cards, being entirely anonymous, could not be reported lost. To avoid risks, they were advised to transfer the funds into their personal accounts as soon as possible.

Next to the front desk were a few ATMs designated for balance inquiries and withdrawals. Xu Mo quickly changed his gold card's default PIN and checked the balance.

360,000 Huaxia Yuan.

Even though he had already mentally prepared himself, seeing this glorious six-digit balance still gave him a small thrill of excitement.

"I can finally afford to buy a bowl of soy milk just to spill it!"

However, compared to Xu Mo, Du Zhizhang and Chang Ziteng at the neighboring ATM had an even more exaggerated reaction. The two of them hugged and kissed for a full three minutes, only stopping when the ATM issued a warning that their card was about to be retained.

"Brother Du, Sister Chang, how much did you guys exchange?" Xu Mo leaned in curiously.

Du Zhizhang shifted slightly, allowing Xu Mo to see the screen. Pointing at the displayed balance, he said excitedly, "Check this out!"

8,350,500 Huaxia Yuan.

The long string of numbers nearly blinded Xu Mo.

"8.35 million?! You two are officially rich! I swear, today I'm taking it upon myself to rob the rich and eat at your expense!" Xu Mo was completely stunned.

"Haha, no problem! Once we get out, I'll treat you to a month of feasts!" Chang Ziteng laughed gleefully.

By this time, it was already close to midnight. The three decided to take a break, grabbing a hearty late-night meal at the R1 leisure dining area before heading to the final stop of their alliance visit—the Apocalyptic Shard Derivatives Trading Zone located in L9 and L10.

Apocalyptic Shard Derivatives referred to unique products manufactured using Apocalyptic Shards as raw materials. These items shared the same ability as the shards to be stored within a wielder's shard space and possessed an almost limitless self-repairing function. Because of their convenience and practicality, they were highly favored by Apocalyptic Shard wielders at all levels.

Unlike the previous trading sections, which still carried some semblance of the shard trade, L9 and L10 looked like nothing more than a massive flea market. There were no shards in sight—only piles of miscellaneous goods and crowds haggling over prices. At a glance, it was no different from a rural marketplace on market day.

Most of these derivatives were common household items, but due to the shards' unique infinite energy-supply properties, they were extremely practical. With reasonable prices, it was hard for any wielder to resist making a purchase.

Xu Mo wandered through the bustling market, spending 400 Fruit Coins on a few useful and amusing items:

A rainbow-colored glowing clay that could be molded into any shape and levitated in mid-air.

A kung-fu alarm clock that would relentlessly punch anything within five meters when it rang.

A high-powered outdoor flashlight capable of shining as brightly as a searchlight.

A power socket that provided a continuous 220V AC supply.

Of course, he didn't forget about self-repairing and self-cleaning derivative clothing and the infinitely refilling lighter that Du Zhizhang had once mentioned.

Now, Xu Mo finally understood why Du Zhizhang had urged him to prepare extra shards for sale. With these incredible items unavailable anywhere else, it was impossible to resist the urge to buy.

As he passed by a stall selling universal firearm silencers, Xu Mo suddenly recalled the nineteen pistol magazines stored in his shard space. Deciding to test the waters, he rented a booth and set up shop himself.

Laying out the nineteen magazines, Xu Mo instantly attracted attention. Every wielder carried a gun, after all, and extra magazines were always in demand.

However, when he tried to price them based on the exchange rate he had seen earlier—three raw shards for 190 bullets—people nearly cursed him as a lunatic. The crowd dispersed immediately.