Chapter 20: The Monopoly's Exorbitant Profits!

Han Xing rubbed his hands together in excitement, his voice trembling. "How long will these materials last me, and how much equipment can I craft with them?"

To date, he had successfully traded for 1052 Spirit Cores, 4362 Rare Earths, 3742 Refined Irons, 5763 Ethers, 3 skill books, 5 unopened Bronze Treasure Chests, 32 unopened Wooden Chests, 7 Green-grade equipment blueprints, and thousands of other assorted materials.

All Han Xing had paid for this haul was 37 liters of Spirit Spring Water.

His remaining stock of Spirit Spring Water stood at 1502 liters.

He hadn't even touched the tip of the iceberg of his reserves.

"Is this the benefit of a monopoly? It feels incredible!" Han Xing marveled.

Currently, in all of District 107, he was the only one selling water in bulk; he had absolutely no competitors.

If this continued, Han Xing could eventually consolidate the fruits of the past two days of labor from all ten thousand people in Channel 107 into his own hands.

It was as if they had all been working for him for the past two days.

Looking at the growing piles of materials on the ground, Han Xing thought for a moment and temporarily removed his Spirit Spring Water listing from the trading channel.

The frenzy that had lasted for ten minutes in the trading channel came to an abrupt halt.

The survivors who were still waiting to trade were suddenly bewildered.

"What's going on? Why was it taken down?"

"@Xinghe, Great God, are you out of water? I haven't had a chance to trade yet!"

"@Xinghe, brother, did something happen? Please let us know, I'm terrified..."

In the chat channel, many were frantically tagging Han Xing, but he was busy organizing his territory and wasn't checking his messages.

With no response from Han Xing, the group grew even more panicked.

Those who had been watching from the sidelines, hesitating whether to trade their own supplies, were filled with regret. They could have slapped themselves for missing such a golden opportunity.

If Han Xing stopped selling, where were they supposed to get water?

"It's over... the Great God isn't responding, he must have really sold out..."

"Damn it, at first I thought his prices were too high and it wasn't worth it, but now I want to slap myself!"

"Me too..."

The survivors who hadn't managed to trade were devastated, while those who had traded the moment Han Xing listed the water were secretly delighted, even mocking the others in the chat channel.

"Hahaha, a bunch of idiots. No matter how good your materials or equipment are, are they worth more than your life?"

"If you lose your equipment, you can always find more, but if you die, you're truly dead!"

"Exactly. Plus, this Spirit Spring Water can heal injuries. In an emergency, it's basically an extra life. You can't lose with this deal!"

Hearing their mockery, the survivors who had been on the fence felt as though their guts were turning green with regret.

***

However, some were not ready to give up. They tried to keep calling out to Han Xing, hoping he would list more Spirit Spring Water.

Misu: "@Xinghe, Great God, please list some more, just a little. I swear I won't hesitate this time."

Sanwangshan: "@Xinghe, brother, you are our savior. The whole Channel 107 is counting on you, please sell some more water."

Whirlwind Potato: "@Xinghe, Father!!!"

...

Yushi: "Dude above, you're ruthless... @Whirlwind Potato."

Whirlwind Potato: "What's wrong with me? Anyone willing to sell water right now is my lifesaver, my benefactor! From now on, he is my Father Xinghe!"

Just then, a familiar name appeared in the chat channel.

Xinghe: "Ahem... what happened?"

Han Xing coughed awkwardly. Seeing him speak, the entire Channel 107 fell silent for a moment.

Whirlwind Potato: "@Xinghe, Father! Did you appear because I summoned you?"

Yuanshen Master: "The Great God has finally appeared. Please, put up some more Spirit Spring Water."

...

Han Xing scanned the chat history and finally understood what was going on.

He said with a smile, "Everyone, don't worry. I still have more Spirit Spring Water, and I will list another batch in a moment."

Douya: "@Xinghe, really, Great God? I'm waiting for your water to save my life!"

Mitu: "Great! This time, I won't hesitate!"

...

In the chat channel, many survivors let out a sigh of relief.

They had assumed Han Xing was sold out and that they had missed a golden opportunity, but it turned out he still had more.

"Great God Xinghe, how much Spirit Spring Water do you have left? Is the price the same as before?"

Han Xing replied, "Don't worry about that. I will list more, but the trading terms will change slightly."

Hearing this, the survivors of Channel 107 feared he was raising prices, and their hearts sank.

Han Xing seemed to sense their anxiety and said directly, "Don't worry, it's not a price hike. I'm just adding some new trade conditions. If anyone has blueprints for furniture, houses, or territorial facilities, you can trade them to me for Spirit Spring Water. The rates will be favorable."

"By the way, whoever has storage chests or blueprints for them, you can have priority to trade with me for Spirit Spring Water."

"A white-grade storage chest can be traded for 500 milliliters of Spirit Spring Water, and a blueprint for 2000 milliliters. A green-grade storage chest can be traded for 2000 milliliters, and a blueprint for 10,000 milliliters!"

***

This was the reason Han Xing had entered the chat channel.

His territory was now piled high with too many materials, and he needed storage chests to organize them.

Hearing the incredibly generous compensation offered by Han Xing, many survivors were shocked.

Previously, the price Han Xing had set was only 500 milliliters of water for a Bronze Treasure Chest, and green-grade equipment blueprints only fetched 300 milliliters.

Now, he was offering 2000 milliliters for a white-grade storage chest blueprint, and a staggering 10,000 milliliters for a green-grade one!

Many wished they could conjure a blueprint out of thin air just to trade with him.

"Storage chest blueprints, who has one?"

"Hurry, the Great God needs them. If anyone has a chest or a blueprint, bring it out now."

In the chat channel, everyone was worried that if Han Xing couldn't get his hands on the blueprints, he would stop selling water, so they began to fret on his behalf.

However, the drop rate for such blueprints seemed quite low.

After all, storage chests were spatial items just like personal backpacks, but with a larger capacity, with the drawback that they couldn't be carried and had to be placed in the territory.

Just then, a survivor named Cream Puff said tentatively, "I think I have a storage chest blueprint. It's green-grade. Is... is that okay?"

Han Xing smiled: "That works. Let's trade."

He immediately sent a trade request, which the other party accepted promptly.

Then, a system notification appeared:

[You have obtained a Storage Chest Blueprint (Green). You have lost 10 liters of Spirit Spring Water.]

His reserves dropped below 1500 liters, but to Han Xing, it was negligible.

Meanwhile, Cream Puff excitedly announced in the chat that they had successfully traded for a full 10,000 milliliters of Spirit Spring Water, leaving the other survivors green with envy.

Han Xing said in the channel: "Everyone, stay calm. I will list another batch of Spirit Spring Water in a moment, just trade with me directly."

"Got it, Great God, we're waiting!"

"@Xinghe, thank you, Great God Xinghe, you are the savior of Channel 107..."

Facing the flattery in the chat, Han Xing smiled. Just as he was about to exit the channel, he saw a familiar name tagging him.

Lei Wei: "@Xinghe, what's going on? Why did you reject my trade request?"