Chapter 22: Chapter 22: All In
"You should just open the recycling tab in the Shop and sell directly to it."
"Huh? Then why do so many people still list items for consignment?"
"That’s because the Shop’s buyback prices are too low. Some people just can’t stomach it."
"Then how much can my jewelry sell for?"
"It depends on the quality and color. Artworks and materials here are all graded: White, Blue, Purple, Red, Orange, and Gold. The higher the grade, the higher the buyback price. Equipment doesn’t have a grade, but you can still sell it back to the Shop. No sane person would do that, though, since you can trade gear with other players."
"I see."
...
Hearing this, Long Ming found the recycling interface in the Shop.
Gold Nugget (White): 300 1D Coins
Rough Necklace (White): 200 1D Coins
Unidentified Ring (Blue): 7,600 1D Coins
Golden Scepter (Purple): 100,000 1D Coins
Long Ming’s brow furrowed as he looked at the offered buyback prices. ’So cheap.’ No wonder so many people were reluctant to sell back to the Shop.
But that player had been right. Items like these artworks were completely useless to players.
At least, no one was buying them for now. So Long Ming decisively chose to sell. A notification immediately popped up on his wristband.
"Notification: You have received 108,100 1D Coins."
After selling his items, Long Ming looked around. There had to be someone nearby buying currency.
Sure enough, he soon found several players holding signs that read, "Buying 1D Coins at high prices." One of them, a male player with dyed-yellow hair and a leather jacket, was using Mountain Coins.
Long Ming walked over and asked.
"Excuse me, what’s your buy rate?"
The player glanced at Long Ming, yawned, and held up one finger.
"100 1D Coins for 1 Mountain Coin. If you have a large amount, I can go a little higher."
Long Ming’s heart sank when he heard the exchange rate.
"Isn’t that rate a little too low?"
"Don’t complain. This is the market rate right now. Go ask around if you don’t believe me."
"Fine."
Long Ming didn’t say anything else and quietly moved to the side.
He currently had 108,600 1D Coins. At that exchange rate, it would only be 1,086 Mountain Coins.
Excluding his gear, that meant he had earned just over a thousand Mountain Coins in two days.
Honestly, while that income might seem decent, it was only for an average person. For Long Ming, it was far from ideal.
Income from the game was incredibly unstable. He couldn’t count on being lucky enough to find valuable items and extract safely every single time.
Besides, he’d only earned this much because Gu Yi and his team hadn’t wanted the loot.
Meanwhile, his own expenses were non-negotiable.
Long Ming sighed, a wave of melancholy washing over him at the thought.
He had hoped to change his life with this game, but he never expected the road to be this difficult.
For a moment, Long Ming’s confidence wavered.
Just then, an excited shout came from the distance.
"Hahaha, it sold!"
"I got 500,000 1D Coins!"
...
Hearing their excited shouts, Long Ming walked over, a little curious.
He saw a group of players crowded around one guy, showering him with praise.
"Brother Cui, you’re amazing!"
"Fucking incredible!"
"Help us get rich too!"
...
"Of course!"
Brother Cui replied, in extremely high spirits.
Long Ming curiously asked a player beside him who was green with envy.
"Hey man, what did that Brother Cui sell that was so valuable?"
"Dumb luck. He got his hands on an old submachine gun and sold it to some whale."
The player said, his voice tinged with jealousy.
"An old submachine gun sold for that much?"
"What’s so surprising? Weapons are always expensive, and it’s not like you can always find one for sale even if you have the money."
"Thanks."
Hearing this, Long Ming thanked him excitedly.
His gloomy mood was instantly swept away. An old submachine gun sold for 500,000 1D Coins. In that case, the M24 he’d picked up had to be worth at least a million, right? ’This game is insane!’
At this thought, Long Ming prepared to open the Shop to list the M24, but he hesitated at the last second.
Selling it now would certainly net him a fortune, but it would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. He’d be left without any gear.
The hard-won advantage he had would vanish, and he would likely fall behind everyone else.
Long Ming stood rooted to the spot for a good ten minutes before his gaze hardened with resolve.
He decided against selling the gear. ’Since this game offers a chance at such high returns, I might as well go all in. Maybe I can really fight for a new life here.’
Long Ming then opened the Shop, preparing to purchase some supplies for the next instance.
He typed "bullets" into the search bar.
SWISH!
A list of all the bullets on consignment appeared.
Long Ming immediately started looking for the 12-gauge shells his golden double-barreled shotgun used.
But unfortunately, he searched for a long time and couldn’t find them.
There were plenty of bullets on the market, but not a full range of calibers. There were no 12-gauge shells.
However, he did find 7.62mm rounds for the M24, but the price made him gasp.
Each bullet was priced at 5,000 1D Coins.
Next, he checked the price of a common axe and found that even one that could be found anywhere cost 3,000 1D Coins.
It was just as that player had said: only useful things like gear were actually worth anything.
Long Ming took a deep breath, then searched for food, water, and other supplies.
Compressed Biscuits: 1,000 1D Coins.
Mineral Water: 1,000 1D Coins.
Canned Military Beef: 5,000 1D Coins.
Medical Kit: 50,000 1D Coins
...
A moment later, after Long Ming finished looking at all the things he needed to buy, the corner of his mouth twitched.
’Essential goods are always expensive, aren’t they?’ The problem was, he had no choice but to buy them.
But just then, Long Ming noticed a special note on some of the consigned items.
"Accepting offline payment!"
Long Ming understood at once. The supply of Game Coins was limited, so more people opted for offline cash payments.
However, this method of paying with Mountain Coins was useless to Long Ming. He was trying to cash out his game assets, not spend more real money.
Long Ming pondered for a moment, then began his shopping.
BUZZ BUZZ~
His wristband continuously displayed notifications.
"Notification: You have spent 100,000 1D Coins to purchase 20 bullets. They have been automatically stored in your warehouse."
"Notification: You have spent 5,000 1D Coins to purchase 5 packs of compressed biscuits. They have been automatically stored in your warehouse."
"Notification: You have spent 3,000 1D Coins to purchase 3 bottles of mineral water. They have been automatically stored in your warehouse."
It pained Long Ming to see he only had 600 1D Coins left, but he couldn’t do anything about it. These were all necessities.
He raised his hand to open his warehouse and stored the golden double-barreled shotgun inside. Since he didn’t have any ammo for it, there was no point in taking it with him. Losing it would be a massive setback, so it was better to keep it safe.
Then, Long Ming packed all the purchased items into his backpack.
He quickly organized everything, then took out the invitation he had obtained from the supply pod.
Compared to the Random Level 1 Civilization Experience Voucher, this invitation looked far more exquisite and high-class.
Long Ming scanned the invitation with his wristband, and its information immediately appeared.
Anfa Civilization Invitation.
Civilization Level: 1.
Note: Using this civilization invitation allows for targeted travel to the Anfa Civilization.
Long Ming studied the information. ’If I’m not mistaken,’ he mused, ’even though this also leads to a Level 1 Civilization, it’s probably a higher-tier one than what I’d get from a random voucher.’
Therefore, he planned to use this invitation for his second instance.
At that moment, a prompt popped up on his wristband’s interface.
"Activate Anfa Civilization Invitation?"
Long Ming looked at the prompt. Just as he was about to tap "Yes," he suddenly stopped and chose "No."
He had refused because he remembered something.
During his exploration of the Wabijia Civilization, he had nearly run out of time. It would be foolish to make the same mistake twice.
Moreover, he was using a much more precious invitation this time. The longer he could stay, the better.
That meant he couldn’t use the helmet to play. He’d have to switch to a game pod to maximize his gains.
This thought troubled him. He had struggled just to get his hands on the helmet; a game pod was on a whole other level.
But Long Ming quickly thought of a way that might actually work. He immediately tapped his wristband to log out of the game.
