Chapter 500: Be Careful With Your Words

Chapter 500: Be Careful With Your Words

The fact that selling water could bring huge profits made many feel like they ’d unknowingly missed out on a fortune worth a hundred million. This was especially true for small online stores run by adventurers themselves. Generally, veteran adventurers had such stores to sell unique items they encountered during their expeditions.

Most of the time, these stores were like “jiangshi stores” – basically lying dormant. But now, with water selling becoming wildly popular, even adventurers out in the wilderness couldn’t resist trying to get in on the action. Why not? Just idly filling containers for an hour or two could earn several or even more than ten silver coins!

Stepping into it, however, turned out frustrating. They awkwardly discovered they couldn’t compete with the big merchant guilds. These adventurer-run jiangshi stores usually had zero activity, visited only occasionally by bored people actually “treasure hunting,” who would snap up any good deal they found. But now, who would dare buy water from them?

No star rating at all? Who knew where they sourced it? Was it poisonous? Safe to drink? Did it contain something weird? Water was cheap, but essential. No one would risk their health to save a few copper coins. Buying from unrated jiangshi stores? People would rather pay a premium at guild-run stores with guaranteed star ratings.

Online stores run by major merchant guilds, established through long effort, weren’t something newcomers could just jump in and challenge during a trend.

Ignorant of business operations, the casual jiangshi stores hoping to follow the trend only ended up eating dust. Attempting it for a while, they found sales stubbornly stuck below ten. It simply wasn’t worth it. Eventually, they gave up. The water sales market was firmly dominated by the big guilds.

Other competitors? The established ones didn’t even need malicious tactics. Just brandishing their star ratings was enough to crush hopeful newcomers. Water was about cheap mass sales. Getting “gouged” wasn’t too severe – just a few extra pennies. So with better-guaranteed options available, why would anyone choose something slightly riskier?

Therefore, there was no need for malicious suppression. Suppression required armies of fake reviewers and cost money. Online stores were a damn good system! Traditional business competition involved veiled conflict and maneuvering, requiring adherence to strict rules. But now? A star rating simplified everything immensely.

Maintaining this rating required effort, sure, but the rules were simple. The anti-cheat measures were tight – no brushing with fake bad reviews. Improving the rating depended solely on merit and proper management. Previously, the true advantage of the star system wasn’t fully apparent. But with mass-selling goods like water, its power became absolute.

The established stores barely lifted a finger to suffocate countless competitors. Unfair? Not really. They paid a price maintaining their high ratings. It was just business practice evolving into a more streamlined form – simpler process, not less effort.

On the contrary, to protect this highly valuable rating, big guilds had to manage other aspects even more meticulously, avoiding errors. Mistakes in physical shops? Manageable. Mistakes online? The fewer the better. Because if an online product had problems, resolving it was complex. The Magic Weapon Summoning Book eliminated the need for Magic Weapon Summoners to travel vast distances to shop, but ironically, this caused communication issues if problems arose. Many Magic Weapon Summoners weren’t easily contactable.

For those who didn’t grasp the online rules, malicious intent wasn’t even necessary. The star system itself, crucial during such times, neatly sorted all online stores into clear tiers. Working within the Creator’s rules? For merchants, that wasn’t an issue.

As long as it brought more profit, whose rules did it matter? They used to operate under individual countries’ rules. Different countries had vastly different policies and taxes – the burden! What could be sold one place was illegal another. A hot selling tactic failed elsewhere. Different customs tariffs and transport costs…

Price varied. Dealing with clueless buyers was the worst, especially travelling adventurers. Seeing something, they’d exclaim, “Damn! I bought this for much cheaper in XX place! Why double here?!” Muttering was one thing, saying it loudly? Claiming the guild shop was ripping them off? Did they have any sense?

Didn’t they know some countries had brutal taxes? Without raising prices, merchants would go bankrupt!

So what’s wrong with operating under Zheng Yichen’s online store rules? They made profit, that’s what mattered. Could they convince various countries to revise tariffs just because of one unique Magic Weapon Summoning Book? Could they achieve unanimous agreement?

No, right? Then nothing more needed saying.

Now, merchants just hoped Zheng Yichen wouldn’t introduce overly harsh rules. Minor adjustments to fill loopholes? They didn’t care, as long as it didn’t harm the big picture. The foundation was laid; minor issues were manageable.

Therefore, adventurers’ jiangshi stores largely became stores for “taobao” – treasure hunting. The Trading Module now informally had a “Taobao” nickname. After all, jiangshi stores were rampant; anyone with spare mana could open one. This led to an extreme flood of stores in the Trading Zone. While rated stores enjoyed priority visibility, the sheer number of others caused clutter.

“Taobao” itself came from the Forum. The Forum generated tons of terms. Truly, the terms revealed by the Creator affected a generation. Many Magic Weapon Summoners constantly used terms which left ordinary folks impressed but baffled. Used frequently within a circle, these terms became widespread. Not understanding? Not knowing how to use them? Randomly saying them? Could make someone seem backward. People inevitably followed such trends sometimes.

Oh, speaking of, the Magic Weapon Summoning Book had recent changes, though not to the Trading Module but the Forum. Thus, major guilds remained unconcerned…

“Not just water prices, some food delivery costs have risen too.” Being idle, Green and the others were gathered, browsing their Magic Weapon Summoning Books. Each had one – they were all High-Rank Professionals, having traveled extensively since the book’s appearance, easily getting hold of it. If not initially, then during its mid-stage, realizing its convenience prompted early adoption.

“Perfectly normal,” said Dan Marina. “The Undying Witch affair just ended, now this, plus unsettled situations in several countries – price adjustments are expected. Not just goods, even Enchanted Material resources will likely rise.” Green and the others listened, captivated. Her analysis hinted at profitable opportunities…

“Ah, forget it,” Green sighed, shaking his head wistfully. “Getting a store star rating is too much trouble. Only rated stores are proper online stores. Without it, it’s just a ‘taobao’ flea market stall.”

Green had a tiny store himself, rarely checked, not even posting like some adventurers did. By the way, as Forum posts piled up, change seemed imminent – likely section divisions. The Creator had already outlined upcoming changes. This gave users time to adjust. The change wasn’t huge, aimed to streamline the Forum, preventing countless posts from accumulating in one section where threads sank instantly.

The future change was structural. Posts would be categorized into specific sections: News, Discussion, Spam/Jokes, Casual Chat, Help Requests, Resource Sharing, etc. While cross-posting wouldn’t be restricted, under the Creator’s strict oversight, no one dared flout the new rules immediately. Who’d risk being permanently muted?

The benefits were clear. Segregated sections meant users needing specific things could go directly there, instead of endlessly scrolling, paging through random threads. Searching often yielded irrelevant results too. Not everyone could keep their posts permanently pinned! The targeted sections were obviously beneficial. Vast majority of Magic Weapon Summoners supported it wholeheartedly. Who wanted more complexity? Convenience improvements were always welcome!

Opposing it? That was just weird. It was an improvement, not some mana-draining burden!

Green glanced at others’ Magic Weapon Summoning Books. Ever since the Skin Feature appeared, gatherings previously involved many identical books leading to comical mix-ups. People constantly picked up the wrong projections! “That’s my book!” was embarrassingly common at Magic Weapon Summoner meetups (yes, they had meetups; the book’s diverse features naturally spawned communities).

This problem dwindled after skins. Each book now had distinct cover art. Take Oss’s book: the cover featured a cute-looking “little sister” with a big head proportional to her body – a unique art style. If such a being existed, she’d be seen as a monster. Those huge eyes covered most of her head! Only creatures like Beholders had eyes like that, and they had MANY eyes, no distinct head!

Despite the odd style, viewed purely as art, it felt quite cute. It portrayed Oss’s sister. Oss got lucky – his name was drawn when the Creator held a skin lottery on the Forum. Concerns about the Creator’s artistic skills? Unnecessary. Clearly stating requirements, you trusted the Creator wouldn’t produce something embarrassing, right?

So, Oss got this distinctive illustrated skin. The back cover featured a taller figure in the same style. Turning one’s sister into his book’s skin? It reminded Green of a term from the Forum: “siscon”!

Recalling Oss’s stories about his adventures – even his goals often centered on his sister! Even becoming a Cultist for her sake… the label seemed entirely accurate. Oh, and the Creator had vaguely mentioned another related term: “German Orthopedics.” Asked for meaning, the Creator declined, calling it “uncivilized, immoral.” Pestered further, the Creator reluctantly explained: “siscon” could be neutral or negative; “German Orthopedics” was pure dark humor… if it happened…

Tsk. As always, Otherworldlings weren’t fools. Zheng Yichen told a short illustrative story. The audience understood instantly. Such events, while disgraceful enough to warrant metaphorical “burning alive,” tragically happened periodically. Following the story, Zheng Yichen got endlessly grilled about what country “Germany” was. Getting annoyed, he eventually logged off.

That day spawned a new Forum meme.

So, Otherworldlings adapted quickly. Green knew Oss’s “siscon” tendencies were positive. He sacrificed immensely for his sister’s future – unquestionably noble. When Otherworldlings used memes like this from the Forum, outside of outright slander, they generally avoided twisting words maliciously towards unintended meanings.

Firstly, it was deeply hurtful. Otherworldlings weren’t desensitized by long internet cultural exposure. Secondly, saying the wrong thing provoking someone could lead to a duel – and heated duels could be fatal… Therefore, using these unique Forum terms required considerable caution.

Right now, Green felt like teasing Oss about being a siscon. But considering they were a new team still learning about each other, misunderstandings were easy. Better to wait until they were fully familiar. Oss truly did prioritize his sister constantly… Tsk.