Chapter 283: The Righteous Blacktiger Ford

Chapter 283: Chapter 283: The Righteous Blacktiger Ford

[Blacktiger Ford]: Why do you insist on my silence? I’m just a solo player. You do your business, I live my life. Wouldn’t it be better if we didn’t interfere with each other?

[Artemis]: Because of your influence, Blacktiger. You were number one in the novice dungeon. You’re a bellwether for many strong solo players and those watching from the sidelines. Your attitude directly affects market expectations and the confidence of the independents.

[Artemis]: Your silence is a form of tacit approval. The moment you publicly object, or even show a hint of non-cooperation, you’ll cause us immense trouble.

[Artemis]: We need a stable market environment with predictable expectations to successfully drive up the price and profit. Therefore, you remaining harmless is of the utmost importance to us.

’How refreshingly direct.’

The curve of Seraphina Sinclair’s lips deepened. ’If I’m so important, are they really trying to buy me off with a thirty-percent cut? They must really underestimate me.’

[Blacktiger Ford]: Thirty percent... sounds good.

[Blacktiger Ford]: But I’ve changed my mind.

[Blacktiger Ford]: I want fifty.

[Blacktiger Ford]: Otherwise, I don’t mind being that destabilizing factor. For instance, I could post a message in the group chat right now, telling everyone the truth about the Expansion Crystal monopoly. Or... I could wait until you’ve finished stockpiling your goods, pick a member of your group that I find particularly ’agreeable,’ and use an arena challenge on them?

[Blacktiger Ford]: Cooperating with you is certainly convenient, but silence is, in essence, abetting evil. Since I stand to gain either way, why not choose a path that brings both fame and fortune? The righteous Blacktiger Ford, punishing the wicked monopolists. Just listen... I can already imagine all the praise on the regional channel, not that I care.

Once the message was sent, the stone house fell silent.

Seraphina Sinclair could just imagine the priceless expression on Artemis’s usually calm and gentle face on the other end of the screen.

She had made an offer they could never possibly accept.

A fifty-percent cut was tantamount to asking them to hand over half their fortune.

She had no intention of making a deal in the first place.

She was simply, mercilessly, tearing away all pretenses.

She was telling them in no uncertain terms: ’Enough with the charade. I see through your little game, and I’m not impressed.’

Either play by my rules, or we go to war.

A full five minutes passed before Artemis’s reply appeared. It was a single, short line. All the previous gentleness and calculation had vanished, leaving only a cold, sharp edge.

[Artemis]: You will regret this, Blacktiger Ford.

Seraphina Sinclair scoffed and closed the private chat window.

’Regret?’

She rolled her wrists, her eyes flashing with eager anticipation.

’Perfect. It’s gotten a little boring living in this stone house anyway.’

’I hope you’ve stockpiled plenty of Expansion Crystals.’

After closing the private chat, she didn’t immediately go to the group chat to "uphold justice."

Exposing them now would certainly cause chaos, but they would likely just move or hide the crystals, or even lash out in desperation.

What she wanted wasn’t the fleeting satisfaction of a verbal takedown, but tangible spoils of war.

She needed to let them stockpile more, cast their net wider, and drive the price higher... so high that everyone else would be priced out, so high that even they themselves would be reluctant to let go of their stock.

That would be the perfect time to reap.

Seraphina Sinclair opened the regional and trading channels, quickly scanning the messages.

Discussions about the Expansion Crystals were starting to heat up. There were more and more posts complaining about the high prices and low stock, but things hadn’t reached a boiling point yet.

Someone was selling them in dribs and drabs, the price twenty percent higher than a few days ago. It was obviously the cartel, testing the market and releasing a small supply to create the illusion of scarcity without making the item seem completely unobtainable.

"Pretty strategic of them."

Seraphina Sinclair chuckled, closed the regional channel, and began to eat under the waiter’s gaze.

Breakfast was especially lavish today. Seraphina Sinclair picked up a piece of golden, crispy bread and leisurely spread a thick layer of creamy honey on it.

The waiter stood silently in the corner, like a breathless statue. Only the silhouettes of bizarrely shaped birds occasionally flitting past the window added a touch of eerie life to the stone house’s silence.

After completing her daily move, Seraphina Sinclair opened the regional channel again. The messages were flying by, and anxiety, like a drop of ink in clear water, was slowly and irreversibly spreading.

"What the hell? There are only three Expansion Crystals on the Trading House, and the asking price is more than I make in three days! How is anyone supposed to upgrade their hut?"

"I just DMed a few people who sold the crystals before, and they all said they’re temporarily out of stock. Either they’re really gone, or..."

"Or someone’s cornering the market! Those sons of bitches! If anyone dares to buy at that price, I’ll hit them with an arena challenge!"

"Tsk, tsk. The price has always been high; a normal person could never afford to hoard them. If someone’s cornering the market, it has to be one of the big shots! Good thing I don’t need to upgrade my hut right now. I just hope the big shots release their stock of Expansion Crystals soon."

While the people on the regional channel could still console themselves with the thought that they didn’t need one right away, the elites in the group chat were like fish frying in a hot pan, letting fly with all sorts of vitriol:

"Let me at my keyboard! I’m about to show you all what a real verbal smackdown looks like! Hoarding, huh? You love to hoard?! Your little stunt is like a toad plopping on someone’s foot—it doesn’t bite, but it’s fucking disgusting! You’re making your bed in a cesspool, you’re not far from eating shit!"

"You can’t possibly think cornering the market makes you some kind of big shot, do you? Take a look in the mirror. You think that face is worthy? Worthy of what, exactly?"

"Oh, real clever. A real master strategist. Your entire operation is as filthy as a septic tank. You really think we can’t smell the stench? You’re choking off survival resources. This is the kind of shit that curses your entire bloodline. When you die, they should hang your name on a pillar of shame!"

"Don’t you worry, I’m taking notes. The uglier your crying is when the reckoning comes will be directly proportional to how smug your face is right now. You’re not stockpiling crystals; you’re stockpiling your own coffin nails, hammering each one in yourself."

"Looks like someone’s getting ready to flip the table because they can’t play the game. But you better think it through, friend. If the table gets flipped, nobody eats, and the first one to starve is the cook. My arena challenge is ready and waiting whenever you want to go head-to-head."

...

Seraphina Sinclair took in all the posts.

She was in no hurry.

The mantis stalking the cicada needs time to gather its strength; the oriole behind it simply needs to wait patiently.

Her stance had been clear enough that Seaview and the others hadn’t contacted her again, and Seraphina Sinclair was glad for the peace and quiet.

She had finished her daily move early, and the rest of the day couldn’t be wasted.

Seraphina Sinclair pulled out an E-level ticket for the Black Mist Coliseum and a Special Area entrance ticket. After a moment of thought, she decided to use the Special Area ticket first.

The feeling from the Moonlight Jellyfish’s Blessing had been undeniably strong. But after discovering the Puppet Paperman, Seraphina Sinclair couldn’t be sure if she’d been led to something good in the special area, or if the Blessing’s instinct to seek fortune and avoid harm had simply helped her dodge a bullet.