[System Alert · Delegated Trade Chain · Day 3 Settlement Irregularities]
❗[Warning]30% of your delegated potion batch has failed to trade due to a "price collapse."Current item value has dropped to an all-time low (1 copper per bottle). Player trust rating declining.
Alliance asset flow status: ⚠️ Critical
Jiang Ci's fingers paused above the virtual keyboard.
He knew this wasn't just market fluctuation—it was a coordinated precision strike.
The Delegated Chain system had only been live for 72 hours, and already the gray market was flooded with anonymous low-price listings that pushed potion values nearly to zero. Someone was deliberately trying to crash Jiang's liquidity and shake player confidence.
[Gray Market · Enemy Emerges]
Tracing the source, Jiang quickly pinpointed most listings originated from a single node:
[Node 02 · Zero Border Logistics - Codename: W]Ownership: Sunshine Group – Controlled NodeActive Traders: Whiteblank, Mayfly, Ash03(All top-tier capital agents in Jiang's previous life.)
Jiang sneered.
"This is just a probe—a first real clash."
He knew: if he couldn't hold the line here, not only would players walk away, but the trust in the entire Delegated Chain would collapse.
[Jiang Ci's Counterstrike · The Undervalued Crash Gambit]
In the server-wide trade channel, Jiang issued a public notice:
"Effective immediately, Jiang Trading Co. will initiate a [Value Protection Protocol]:Any failed potion orders will receive +5 Trust Points, redeemable for alliance gear in the next cycle.Additionally, we will repurchase all inventory at a flat rate of 2 copper per bottle.We do not survive on market pricing—we survive on trust."
"Boss, we're gonna lose money doing that!"Mo Bai was stunned.
"Yeah," Jiang nodded. "But not entirely."
"They're crashing the system with fake listings. We counter with loyalty and compensation."
"Once the crash clears, I'll buy back all the low-priced stock they offloaded—then flip it for double."
"We don't obey market prices. We create our own market."
Silently, he thought:
"I didn't understand the rules in my past life.This time, I am the rules."
[Reality · Lin Wanzhou's Meeting]
Meanwhile, in the real world, Lin Wanzhou stood in Sunshine Holdings' glass conference room during a "special operations" briefing.
A man's cold face filled the screen.
"You should've expected this after Jiang rejected our partnership," he said."We've deployed three capital agents to his gray zone. He'll run out of cash by week's end."
"Either bring him back under control… or prepare to exit the Sunshine Protocol."
Her fingers curled into a fist.
When the meeting ended, she stood alone by the window overlooking the skyline, earbuds playing Jiang's latest broadcast message:
"The real enemy in this game isn't monsters.It's not even other players.It's the ones you can't see—the price-setters, the silent rule-makers.If you want to join a true free market—come find us."
Her mind flashed back to that night on the tower.
"You're not stupid," Jiang had said. "You're just too obedient."
And for the first time—her resolve cracked.
[System Alert · Rebound Triggered]🎉[Special Flow Reversal Quest Unlocked: White-Tier Market Manipulator]You've leveraged minimal resources to disrupt gray-market trade flow.Player trust has recovered to 82%.🎁 Rewards: Observer Level +1Current Standing: Virtual Economy Candidate Rank #2Would you like to challenge the current #1 candidate, Whiteblank?
Jiang clicked [NO].
He didn't need fame. He didn't need to be first.
What he needed—was time.
Time to turn every exploited, underpaid player into a shareholder of his own trading empire.
And tonight's livestream was only the beginning.
[Jiang Ci · First Public Livestream]
"Hey everyone, I'm Jiang Ci—founder of Jiang Trading Company."
"We've just been hit by a massive market crash. We lost money—but we're still here."
"Here's what I want you to understand: in this game, resources lose value, currency fluctuates…"
"But what doesn't lose value—is trust."
"We're not just a merchant guild—we're your bank.A system built by and for everyday players."
"You might've lost a bottle of potion today,But tomorrow—that trust might just save your life."
The chat exploded.
[Let's go, Boss Jiang!][I just got my $7 payout—I'm in tears][He's not rug-pulling us. I'm all in][Sunshine tried to crash him and got reverse-punched—satisfying AF]
[Lin Wanzhou's Decision]
After Jiang logged off, he received a private system message.
Sender: Zhōuyǐng (Boatshadow)Message:
"Does your player-run bank… accept financial advisors?"
Jiang chuckled.
"You finally made it."