After it had completely emerged in the spotlight, the Fire Exchange was no longer a maverick.

The opening time as well as the time to issue shopping guides had unified with the top ten exchanges and became nine o’clock.

As winter approached, there were many who were still out to trade. However, very few people actually made transactions.

Most traders treated products as stock funds and kept repeating the process of buying low and selling high, with the delusion that they could earn the difference that others wouldn’t be able to see.

Even Turner who stood in the back room and was not very sensitive to the market disagreed with that trading style.

“Their approach is too simple. Although it seems like they are profiting every day or aren’t losing money, in fact, their profit could not meet the speed of depreciation of contribution points.

“Freedom City has already built everything, except for some regulated commodities that cannot be traded. Why would such a large market accept these commodities and trade them around in the market? Every day, different people buy the item and keep trading it around. The market circulates, but actually, the things in the store were the same as when Harl had left it.”

He pointed toward the “expensive” things in the room as someone happily made a purchase on them, with a face excited to make a fortune. Turner rested his forehead and sat back on the counter.

Turner was ambitious to earn 200,000 contribution points after he had experienced the exhilaration of getting more than 100,000 contribution points in one day. He was excited to show off his skills and increase the transaction volume on the first day of Su Mo’s departure.

The reality and results were not much different from what he had expected.

He relied on the previous day’s promotion, and the popularity continued on to the following day. He was able to sell goods that totaled up to 150,000 points and earned a profit of 30,000 points in one day.

How much was 30,000 point?

According to the basic labor in Freedom City, a level three dwarf craftsmen that lurked in the dwarf clans could make 80 contribution points in one day.

It would cost 100 contribution points to maintain the template for three days, but the salary alone would total up to only 240 points. The profit that one could get per day after the deduction was…

46 contribution points!

That would mean a dwarf would have to work for two years continuously without any rest, accidents, and any other expenses to be able to earn 30,000 contribution points.

Turner was unable to sleep that night.

The thought of sitting on millions of contribution points and getting a level seven template stayed on his mind after midnight.

His eyes were still open at eight o’clock in the morning and had no hint of sleepiness yet.

He washed up and had breakfast.

It was slightly after eight-thirty in the morning, but Turner was excited to head out to the top ten exchanges to buy another batch of goods.

However, this time the reality was slightly different from what he had expected.

Yesterday, the other party was happy to sell him goods and did not even request advance payment, yet today they refused his purchase with a smile and gave him a kind reminder.

“Wait until the end of the day before you decide whether to purchase.”

Turner returned to the Fire Exchange doubtful after he received their warning.

At the end of the day, he had completely understood what market trading was all about.

The sellers were familiar faces while the buyers were also old acquaintances, and even the goods were those that he had just sold yesterday.

When they closed in the afternoon, Turner had calculated over and over again only to find out that despite the cash flow being around hundreds of thousands, the profits in his hand were only…

30,000 points!

The whole market was like a stagnant pool. The goods he sold that cost more than 200,000 points and made a profit of 30,000 points that day had a turnover of more than 100,000 points. The profit that he had earned remained unchanged.

Taking into consideration the inflation, the transactions that he had made today did not earn him anything, and instead, he lost about three percent!

The third day was the same as the day before.

The traders were the same people who showed up on the first day of business and purchased the materials for 200,000 contribution points.

The profits had risen simply because of the price regulation of the top ten exchanges. It had offset the reduction in profits caused by the inflation compared to before.

A market without consumption and demand would remain unchanged because of the fake prices.

The Demon clan who stayed in the city did not dare to use their contribution points to improve their strength. They went to the outside world to battle and brought the benefits back to the city.

Without a territory lord to manage the land, Freedom City had nothing but a fragile foundation that would fall with a gentle touch under its bright and beautiful appearance.

“Where’s the territory lord? Where did the territory lord go?”

Subconsciously, Hao Qiang was curious about the whereabouts of the Demon clan’s territory lord.

Fortunately, Su Deben’s training had an effect on him. Hao Qiang was fast to stop himself from blurting out the question and instead asked only the second half of it.

“I don’t know. No one knows where our territory lord has gone. Some speculate that the lord is lurking within another territory and he won’t return because he has his reasons.

“Our strategy is to gather and preserve as many resources as possible and start planning after the winter disaster is over.

“However, judging from the current situation, the people outside the city are much more unpredictable…

“Without them, the circulation of commodities will only worsen over time, and the conflict within the city will only intensify.” Turner sighed.

He was full of anxiety, and his animated self of five days ago was gone.

What was left of him was the same as the top ten exchanges’ shopkeepers…

He had nothing left and was full of dissatisfaction!

Change was what he wanted, but he was too insignificant to do so.

“Shopkeeper! There’s a VIP guest at the door. He wants to sign a membership with us. Please do come out and discuss the contract with him!”

The black curtain of the inner hall was lifted, and a cyborg with a silly smile stuck his head out.

“Okay, you can go first. I’ll be out right away!”

Turner sent off the cyborg and glanced toward Su Mo, who was seated calmly.

“I’ll take my leave first?” Turner relaxed.

“Go ahead! Secure the transactions first. Don’t rush!”

“Okay!”

Compared to his previous disguise, Su Mo was more straightforward with his behavior and had given up all the pretentiousness.

Meanwhile, it seemed that Turner had either adapted to his change or was not in the mood to ask questions because of the business.

The black curtain lowered, and only the faint light from the oil lamps remained in the inner hall.

“What’s our next move? What do you think about the current situation?”

Su Mo raised his head after he had memorized which materials had large volumes of transactions and put down the ledger in his hand.

“I have some idea for now, but I’d need enough information to support it. The situation we’re in isn’t that dire. There are many past cases in the history of the Earth that we could use as reference.”

“Oh?”

“The situation of the city is plain as day. It’s because the market is not circulating and has made it difficult for us to make money. If this were the past, this is what I would call a chaotic world!”

“How can we make money and goods circulate in such a chaotic world…”

Hao Qiang paused and shaped his mouth into the word “war”.

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The shopkeeper of the number two Demon Domain Exchange, in charge of weaponry and equipment, had already handed the answer sheet to make a fortune in this situation.

The profitable businesses had already been monopolized in the city.

For example, the food supplies that tens of thousands of people consumed daily were controlled commodities that could not be brought to the market for large-scale transactions.

Most of the other circulating items were materials that could improve personal strength or camouflage, which had no demand at all.

The only way to make people spend money and get people moving was to cause…

External conflict!

The gentle approach to the external conflict could be replaced by infrastructure.

Just like in the basin where everyone earned money and could spend money.

The money you earned through your abilities today could be used to improve your strength tomorrow to earn more or improve your lifestyle, which would create a positive cycle.

The intense external conflict would be the main theme of the New World, war.

Create a common enemy and make a sense of urgency for people to trade their money for items.

Then, through the method of fighting to support the war, the strength of the people would gradually improve during the process.

Moreover, if you conquered an opponent’s territory, you could obtain new resources, and the benefits would be icing on the cake and increase wealth significantly.

“This won’t do. We can’t do this ourselves, and they’re not without enemies right now.

“The Demon Clan is different from us. They’re not born as fighters!”

Su Mo rejected Hao Qiang’s first idea but continued to take on the role of a listener.

The Demon clan had remained calm and continued their days even with a powerful enemy such as the Light Empire.

It was impossible to predict what kind of enemy would be able to give them pressure.

“Without causing an external conflict to allow the market to flow for everyone to make money, what we’re about to do next will be risky.

“If we’re the only ones making money while everyone else isn’t profiting, we’ll quickly become the target of people’s attention and jealousy!

“My advice is to…wait!

“We’re not strong, but our goals are also very small. The chances that we’ll succeed are high if we wait for the right time and become the drive behind it!”

He dipped his fingers into the water of glass and began to write on the table as he muttered.

“The current situation is a bit like the end of a version in a game. Everyone is hoarding and waiting for the next version, but no one knows how the next version could affect the whole game.

“It’s very possible that the value of the things hoarded now will increase dozens of times in the next version. It is also possible that they will become complete garbage overnight.

“In the past, when we went through a version renewal, nothing changed, and the merchants who maliciously hoarded goods and manipulated prices would lose profits. After all, this will cause turmoil in the game, and many people will quit the game.

“There’s a perfect plan. What is it? Yes, it’s a win-win situation!”

“We’ll plan for some mules to enter and win over a group of merchants on the grounds of ‘insider information’ and disclose to them the information about the next version renewal in advance and which items to hoard. Of course, the information won’t be free. We’ll charge them half of the profit or even 70% if we are extreme!

“What happens to these merchants? We took their profits, and we have information about the items that would be hyped in the next version. In order to make more money, they’ll stop trying to purchase these things and instead will do some reverse thinking.

“They will try to snatch up the worthless items that would drop to a very low cost in the next version, further plummeting the prices of the items they desire.”

“Right before the version update, they will take over these high-priced items to their so-called apprentices, friends, and scattered people, leaving only a small group who got the news.”

“In the end, the merchants we supported will make a lot of money while the other small merchants can only attribute their misfortune to luck and take their anger out on the game planner, announce that they’re deleting their accounts, and quit, which would maintain a great environment in the game!

Without rushing, Hao Qiang explained a sequence of things that seemed to have nothing to do with their current situation.

However, Su Mo, who was seated beside him, glanced at the words written on the table, and his face was filled with thoughtful affirmation.

‘Choosing him over the executive and salesperson, in the beginning, was the right decision!’

What was needed in the current situation was not force but a whimsical plan that could destroy the game.

The game planner had deliberately allowed a market imbalance and let the businessmen go against each other to maintain the game environment.

Hao Qiang’s plan was the same. If they were not going to fan the external conflict but wanted to make money, they would have to force the deaths internally and reduce the number of people who shared the cake.

By doing so, everyone would be able to share the benefits, so even if the Fire Exchange earned more, it would not cause any dissatisfaction.

As the current balance point, the Fire Exchange had a huge advantage in achieving this goal!

“Well said! You’re right! We just have to wait until the right opportunity to take action!”

After seeing that Su Mo had understood, Hao Qiang smeared the handwriting with his hand, and it turned into random droplets of water.

As an undercover spy, Hao Qiang had become more experienced after the tense period of just entering the city.

They both did not rush to leave and sat in the inner hall, having conversations about nonsense that seemed to have no meaning.

Their discussion did not stop until Turner rejoined them at noon.

“How was it? Did the transaction volume change today?”

“It’s the same, except for the three people who came to top up their membership cards with 1000 points. The goods received are the same goods that were temporarily in their hands for a while. ”

“Forget it. Let’s not talk about this. Should we trade some mercenaries and purchase some?

“Okay. I also had that in mind. I can also settle Hao Qiang’s identity on the way!”

Standing up and patting off the crumbs on his body, Su Mo, seemingly indifferent, revealed the real reason why the two were waiting.

Unlike other places where mercenaries were traded, Su Mo could not see the public part of the grounds when he visited the city last time.

This was not something that was unfamiliar to the people in the city.

“His identity? He’s not a mercenary, is he…”

“Yes, I forcibly transferred his identity to him, and he didn’t pay the fine. I need to go deal with it!”

Using the excuses given by the two city guards earlier, Turner was not surprised when he heard it and nodded.

Next, the three walked out the back door, with Turner taking the lead.

Freedom City was much brighter and more beautiful than a few days ago. Today all the exchange centers were open, and a steady stream of people walked in and out with a smile on their faces.

The city guards in charge of patrols wore proper armor and walked across the street with arrogance, maintaining a seemingly chaotic order.

Those in the city played their “roles” day after day.

The city seemed like an open, inclusive, and developed port city to those unfamiliar with it.

However, the three who already understood the truth knew that everything exuded a disgusting and decadent smell.

Su Mo greeted the people around him in a formulaic manner. His eyes narrowed as he recalled the terrain he had previously memorized while he walked down the streets.

It was as he guessed, the place for trading mercenaries was not in a public area.

The guards conservatively controlled the business as it had the potential to generate huge profits. It was no surprise that the location for the trade was…

Inside the walls!