Chapter 27: Taking Advantage of the Chaos!

[Global Trading Market].

More and more players had discovered this newly implemented feature, and the world chat channel was flooded with all sorts of messages:

"Whoa, the Global Trading Market is live! Thank goodness I didn't sleep; this is a victory for the night owls!"

"How does this new platform even work? There isn't even a manual..."

"Any lonely ladies looking for a partner? Add me as a friend, and I'll carry you to glory in this apocalypse game~~~"

"To the guy above, have you gone crazy looking for a woman? This is a global trading platform, not your personal dating hotline..."

"By the way, why haven't any newcomers made it onto the level leaderboard in the last two days? Are the Killing Chests not worth it anymore?"

"Hey, the person who mentioned Killing Chests, are you seriously killing people?"

"Wow, top-ranked大佬, please sanction him!!"

"Manually @ Qi Zeyu, the number one on the leaderboard, are you still looking for teammates?"

"Same question! Big Brother Qi Zeyu, please take me with you. I'm soft-spoken, petite, and easy to handle~~~"

On the outskirts of Yong City, inside an unfinished building.

Qi Zeyu stared at the messages popping up in the chat channel. Far from being happy, he felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles. Although he was currently first on the leaderboard, he was, at the end of the day, only a Level 3 player.

Just half an hour ago, he had witnessed three Level 4 players appear at the top of the board, only to vanish from the rankings seconds later. This had terrified him. Three Level 4 players instantly killed—what did that mean? It meant that this leaderboard was completely useless! The true powerhouses were suppressing their levels, lurking in the shadows like soft-shelled turtles in a muddy pond. Only fools like him would stupidly climb to the top, becoming a glaring target.

Fortunately, the player positions on the leaderboard did not update in real-time, which allowed Qi Zeyu to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

"Since it's a trading market, there must be trading information. Let's see if I can swap for something good to boost my strength..."

Skipping over the useless chatter, Qi Zeyu finally found a trade post:

[Origin Crystal Exchange! Tier 1 Origin Crystals for Tier 2 and Tier 3 crystals. Exchange rates: 35:1 and 150:1.]

"Tsk, someone actually wants to trade low-tier crystals for high-tier ones? Do they really think other players are idiots..."

Qi Zeyu scoffed and kept scrolling.

[Origin Crystal Exchange! Tier 1 Origin Crystals for Tier 2 and Tier 3 crystals. Exchange rates: 40:1 and 170:1.]

[Origin Crystal Exchange! Tier 1 Origin Crystals for Tier 2 and Tier 3 crystals. Exchange rates: 45:1 and 180:1.]

[Origin Crystal Exchange! Tier 1 Origin Crystals for Tier 2 and Tier 3 crystals. Exchange rates: 50:1 and 190:1.]

Three consecutive posts, all similar requests, with the ratios getting higher and higher. Other players in the channel noticed this too and began to chime in:

"Trading low-tier for high-tier? What a clever calculation!"

"Who doesn't know about the limit of only absorbing 10 Origin Crystals every 7 days? This person is treating everyone like a fool..."

"But the exchange rate is really high. Setting aside the absorption limit, just looking at the experience value, it's actually quite fair..."

"Hahaha, fair? If it's fair, go trade with them! Then they can sit firmly at the top of the leaderboard while you slowly absorb your Tier 1 crystals!"

"The higher the level, the more experience needed. Tier 1 crystals definitely won't be enough."

"But the quantity is really high; I'm actually a bit tempted..."

"Be tempted then. By the time you get a pile of Tier 1 crystals, you won't even finish absorbing them by the time you're dead, hahaha..."

Qi Zeyu laughed along with the others in the channel. Unlike the rest, however, the observant Qi Zeyu took note of the player who posted the trades. They were all from a player named "Xiao." Unless it was a coincidence, this "Xiao" was likely in a desperate hurry to level up.

Qi Zeyu exited the chat and checked the leaderboard one by one. Before long, his eyes fell on a specific name.

"Xu Xiao, Level 3, location: Yong City No. 1 High School?"

Qi Zeyu rubbed the orange Origin Crystal in his hand. It was his only Tier 3 crystal, and he had intended to absorb it once the 7-day limit passed. But now, he had a different idea.

As the saying goes, people fear fame just as pigs fear being fat. At the moment, being number one on the leaderboard was the most high-profile position, bringing nothing but trouble. Since that was the case, why not simply hand it over?

With that in mind, Qi Zeyu clicked on the post with the highest exchange rate and sent a trade request.

"I have one Tier 3 crystal and would like to exchange it for 190 Tier 1 crystals."

He expected the player using the alias "Xiao" to accept the request immediately. To his shock, not only did the other party refuse, they rejected it outright!

"What the hell? I'm trying to be nice and trade with you, and you reject it? Did you click the wrong button by mistake?!"

Maintaining a rigorous attitude, he sent it again. It was rejected once more. But this time, it came with a friend request:

[Player Xu Xiao would like to add you as a friend. Accept? Yes/No.]

"Fishing? I hope I don't end up being the one hooked..."

Qi Zeyu clicked "Yes" and successfully added Xu Xiao.

In the chat box, Xu Xiao sent a message:

"Sorry, I don't have any Tier 1 crystals on hand right now. However, if you have Tier 1 crystals, I can trade you high-tier ones for them."

Qi Zeyu was covered in question marks. He read the message over and over again, only then confirming that the other party really did want to trade high-tier for low-tier.

What was going on?! Was this Xu Xiao just bored out of his mind? Playing monkey tricks on the global market in the middle of the night?!

Ignoring Xu Xiao's inquiry, Qi Zeyu looked back at the world chat. Several more crystal exchange posts had appeared, all offering low-tier for high-tier at even higher rates than Xu Xiao's. The players posting them had different signatures, but all had the character "Zhao" appended to their names.

"Oh, competitors have appeared."

Qi Zeyu watched with interest as the exchange rates continued to climb. Perhaps because he had just been "toyed with," he was even looking forward to seeing Xu Xiao take a hit. Although, even now, he couldn't figure out if Xu Xiao actually wanted Tier 1 crystals or high-tier ones.

Soon, the exchange rates on the platform stabilized. The rate for Tier 2 crystals hit 60:1, and the rate for Tier 3 crystals reached a staggering 250:1!

Because the rate was so tempting, Qi Zeyu couldn't resist trading his only Tier 3 crystal, receiving 250 Tier 1 crystals in return.

Just then, Xu Xiao messaged again:

"Hello? I'm collecting Tier 1 crystals. Are you interested?"

Qi Zeyu sneered, casually edited an exchange rate, and sent the trade request to Xu Xiao.

[Player Qi Zeyu requests a trade. Content: 180 Tier 1 crystals. Payment requested: 1 Tier 3 crystal.]

This rate was what Xu Xiao had originally posted, which was a far cry from the current 250:1. Qi Zeyu knew that anyone with a brain wouldn't accept this. He was merely trying to mock Xu Xiao.

But to his astonishment, the panel did not display a trade failure or a blocked message. Instead, the unexpected notification appeared: "Trade Successful..."