Back at the initial point.
When she saw the bustling, boiling crowd, a sea of people gathering from all over the island, the ranger was shocked.
Though she was unwilling to admit there was a gap in intelligence as vast as a chasm between herself and Weilin, the girl’s cleverness and sharpness had deeply won over the ranger.
So having more money didn’t necessarily mean being dumb.
On the contrary, those who prejudicially assumed others were dumb just because they had money were the real frogs at the bottom of a well, whose imaginations were limited by their poverty.
“Nothing surprising. Besides the winning seat, the rewards for the top ten are enough to make ordinary people flock like ducks. Those hopeful of breaking into the top ten will often go all out, buying Snow Essence at prices even higher than the 100 Gold Coins offered by the nation… And this plays right into the hands of the vast majority who came solely for the gold.”
“Transactions don’t have to be equivalent exchanges. Willing buyer, willing seller—getting what each needs is the true kingly way.”
Even if the ranger was somewhat slow, she understood after this explanation from Weilin. Her expression couldn’t help but turn excited, “Then doesn’t that mean we’re sure to win?!”
“Not necessarily…” Weilin frowned slightly.
“Eh, does Weilin have no money left?”
“No, I was thinking… how many among these ten thousand are the Second Prince’s men…”
Don’t be fooled by how Wu Gu and the Imperial citizen didn’t seem to care at all about collecting Snow Essence. As long as he had enough dogs under his command, relying on Airi alone would be absolutely no match.
＃
Take things one step at a time.
Weilin squeezed into the chaotic crowd and randomly grabbed someone to ask, “Hey, little brother, got any goods?”
“…Goods… oh!” The youth slapped his head in sudden realization, then pointed to a lean man leaning against a tree not far to the right. “Unfortunately, you came a bit late. Most of the Snow Essence around here has been bought up by him.”
“Him alone…?”
“No, no, how could one person swallow that much stock? There are thirty or forty merchants just like him.”
The youth then noticed that the girl asking him was uncommonly cute and charming, making his heart flutter. Out of goodwill, he quietly added a reminder: “…Poor schmucks wanting to compete for ranking all have to get fleeced by these guys.”
“How much are they buying it for?” The girl raised her delicate brows slightly and asked.
“110 gold.”
“And their fleecing price?”
“Usually 115 or 120… 130 should be the absolute ceiling. After all, if they bid too high and no one buys, it’s them left holding the bag at a huge loss.”
“Do you remember how much Snow Essence it took to win last year?”
“Of course, I remember last year’s event. It was around 3000, I think. Second place was way off, just a bit over 1000.”
Seeing the young man’s sincerity, Weilin casually tossed him a 5000-Gold Coin denomination Cloudstride Merchant Guild Gold Coin Card as thanks. Her gentle voice drifted past the young man’s ears like a dream, “Thanks.”
Ah, to actually be thanked by such a beautiful and elegant girl. The youth stared blankly at the 5000 Gold Coin Card in his hand, suddenly feeling his life was without a single regret…
?
Weilin went straight to the lean man. Before she could even speak, the rat-faced man recognized her first and cackled, “…Well, well, if it isn’t the rich, generous young lady who threw down 300,000 gold to hire a helper. What, interested in the competition rewards? I can sell you a batch of Snow Essence at a low price, guarantee you’ll get into the top ten.”
Weilin smiled faintly, “Alright then, what’s your ‘low price’?”
He held up two fingers, his shifty eyes squinting in a smile.
“Straightforward. 120, I’ll take them all.”
“Hold on, young lady, you seem to have misunderstood. It’s 200, not 120.”
“…Are you serious?” The girl’s fine brows furrowed, her smile gradually turning cold.
“You’re so rich, a little extra doesn’t matter, right? How about this then, I can see you’re a straightforward person. How about 170? I have 450 Snow Essence here, 170 each, all yours.”
If there were thirty-four such merchants and only ten spots in the top ten, and not all of those ten were necessarily buying their way up—for instance, Weilin, holding 1200 Snow Essence, was firmly in the top ten. If she wasn’t aiming for first place, there’d be no need to buy at all.
This was a classic buyer’s market!
Even if she seemed flush with cash, how dare this bastard make such an exorbitant demand?
Or was he so sure Weilin would swallow this humiliation just to compete for the winner’s seat?
“……I’ll take them.”
When Weilin agreed, the lean man’s face lit up with joy, his eyes flickering covertly.
“But…” Weilin smiled faintly and stated calmly, “First, I won’t short you this money. Second, I won’t pay you just yet. If you truly want to sell, just follow me. I’ll handle a few things first, then naturally I’ll pay you.”
The lean man was puzzled about what Weilin was plotting, but after a brief consideration, he agreed.
There’s no reason not to fleece a fat lamb that delivers itself to the door.
＃
There was still time. Weilin wasn’t in a hurry.
Weilin found the young man who had given her the information earlier again.
He seemed to harbor some unrealistic fantasies about her. When Weilin asked him to ‘find and bring all the merchants here,’ he agreed with an expression of undying loyalty and solemn vows, even pulling a few of his teammates into action.
Airi was assigned the same task.
In less than fifteen minutes, Weilin actually managed to assemble all the merchants selling Snow Essence in one place.
Thirty-seven people in total—warriors and mages, men and women, with some strange genders mixed in. Merchants from all walks of life, all gathered here. Every single pair of eyes was uniformly fixed on the black-haired girl, Lega Weilin, who stood calmly at the head of the group.
The lean man seemed to realize something; a flicker of fear crossed his eyes.
Weilin’s attention wasn’t on this insignificant person. It didn’t matter whether she caught that hint of unease or not.
“Everyone, please report your Snow Essence numbers in order.”
The crowd looked at each other first. Then, starting from the lean man on the far left with his “450,” the 37 people reported their amounts sequentially—some more, some less. The total came to about 14,000 Snow Essence, averaging around 378 per person.
“Very good. Then next, how about everyone reports your desired price in turn?”
The lean man’s face immediately darkened, but he stubbornly held firm and called out 170.
The remaining merchants, however, began quoting prices that plummeted downwards, dropping from 165 all the way to the default minimum of 120.
Even if everyone recognized Lega Weilin, no matter how rich she was, why would she pay more for the same item?
“Then I’ll also… 120.” Soon, the lean man lost his nerve and muttered sullenly.
Weilin just smiled faintly. She raised her hand in a downward pressing gesture, and the scene instantly quieted. Then, the girl spoke, lightly and casually.
“Don’t worry that I’ll snub anyone. As long as everyone’s prices are fair enough, I won’t be stingy…… To be honest, I wish to purchase all of the Snow Essence from every friend here at a uniform price of 120, totaling 1.68 million Gold Coins. How does that sound?”
The expressions on everyone’s faces at that moment looked as if they had seen a ghost.
The girl’s smile remained unchanged, but her slender brows slightly sank. She swept her gaze across the crowd, taking in the shifting, uncertain expressions on every face, and her voice turned slightly cold: “This is clearly a win-win deal to everyone’s delight. Why… does it seem no one is very willing, as if you all have some unspeakable difficulties?”
The ranger standing behind Weilin also looked completely baffled.
“Exchange money for goods on the spot. Don’t worry I’ll short you a single coin… In fact, if everyone truly feels the profit margin is too small, I can even accept prices like 130 or 140. As long as everyone agrees to transfer all their Snow Essence to me.”
“Weilin, don’t do it! Others offered 120, are you out of your mind…!”
Airi urgently tugged on the girl’s sleeve, but under Weilin’s sidelong, icy gaze, she was scared into letting go. Lowering her head, she sulked and didn’t dare utter another word.
Weilin turned her cold gaze back. “Since no one is speaking, I’ll take that as everyone’s silent agr…”
The lean man suddenly interrupted Weilin, sweating profusely as he blurted, “We… we beg your forgiveness, but we cannot comply. We have a standing rule here: we cannot sell all our Snow Essence to a single person…”
“Refusing money and calling it a ‘rule’—are you trying to make me laugh to death?” Weilin’s voice suddenly sharpened. “…I’ll have someone randomly pick a few people from the participants right now. If anyone has ever heard of this rule of yours, I’ll immediately give you one million gold and apologize. If not, you will do the same. Do you dare?!!”
The lean man was scared witless. He looked to his cohorts for help, but every single one of them, cowed by Weilin’s ferocious authority, guiltily turned their faces away, deciding to save their own skins.
The sternness faded from Weilin’s face. She let out a meaningful sigh and said,
“Oh dear… For merchants, you all seem surprisingly unwelcoming of glittering gold coins… Or is there something more important to you than gold?”
“It’s your lives, right?… After all, you need to be alive to spend money. There are quite a few distinguished families from Snow City among you. I wonder, which important figure could possibly command such control over all of you?”
“If I hadn’t gathered all of you together, but instead went to buy Snow Essence from you one by one… when I reached exactly 49.9% of the total stock, the other merchants would probably use ‘sold out’ as an excuse, or simply disappear outright, to refuse trading with me, am I right?”
“At that point, I might hold 49.9% of the Snow Essence, yet narrowly lose to a certain Second Prince holding 50.1%, causing me to miss the Winner’s Seat by a hair… All of you conspiring against a beautiful girl like this… does your conscience really not ache?”
Weilin’s words, her smile, and her gaze, all pierced through everyone’s shaken, guilt-ridden souls like icy blades from the Nine Nether.
“No, perhaps we don’t even have to wait until the competition ends. The moment I can no longer buy any more Snow Essence, someone would probably jump out and say, ‘Relaying a message for a certain Second Prince: Lega Weilin, you have lost again.'”
“And now, everyone, your next line is, ‘Just what else do you know?'”
Right at that moment, the lean man blurted out with a bitter voice: “…Just what else do you know?”
!!
The lean man realized his voice had perfectly overlapped with Weilin’s. Startled, his old face flushed crimson with shame, wishing he could die of embarrassment.
Casting a sweeping glance, Weilin let out a soft, cold snort. Before leaving, she looked over everyone one last time, “…Swear fealty to whomever you wish. Everyone has their own ambitions—what more when faced with such a disparity in national power. But as long as you remain in the Snow Kingdom for a single day, the Illusory Snow Queen will protect you until the very last moment. And should you ever leave the Snow Kingdom, you will not be our enemies… but you will absolutely never be our Illusory Snow subjects!!!”
?
Not long after, the rule-force of the Genesis Island rejected everyone back to the mortal world, returning them to the grand square in front of Frostwinter Magic Academy.
Weilin held 1200 Snow Essence, placing second.
That Imperial named Lord secured the winning spot with a small lead of 1500.
Wu Gu’s maneuvering this time was utterly insidious. If Weilin had used money to force her way up to 8000 Snow Essence, Lord would probably have had 8100… or even 8001.
It was specifically designed to disgust Weilin.
Strangely enough, Wu Gu had quietly departed right after the competition ended, as if his only task was to push Lord onto the Winner’s Seat.
It was over.
Weilin had never imagined this competition would end with such a result.
Airi sighed deeply, her mood low and on the verge of tears: “Weilin, why did things end up like this…”
“Just take it in stride.” Weilin encouraged her quite cheerfully. “You already worked very hard.”
Then her tone shifted, “And besides… the winner’s seat might not necessarily be out of our grasp.”
Airi felt as if she was hearing heavenly music. She grabbed the girl’s arm like lightning. “…Is there still a way?!”
