Volume One, Chapter 56: What? You Have Objections?

Page 1/3

It turns out that most people are indifferent when their own interests are not at stake. They simply do not meddle or argue on behalf of others unrelated to them. They remain aloof and detached. But once their own interests are involved, their sense of justice or desire to defend those interests instantly ignites.

Take the current situation, for example. Lin Yifan’s “King Ginger Soup” for sale touches on the interests of many, so those who had been quietly observing suddenly began to speak up. Lin Yifan, however, felt neither pleased nor disappointed. To put it bluntly, others’ indifference towards him was met with his own lack of enthusiasm toward them. Even now, presenting the “King Ginger Soup” was a means of exchanging resources, not an act of charity.

Thus, no matter if others liked or disliked him, he never took it to heart. Still, humans are emotional creatures, and having been subjected to constant mockery and insults before, he naturally felt a bit unsettled. Now that the situation had reversed, the view before him was undeniably satisfying.

Lin Yifan knew exactly what those defending him wanted. So, he did not disappoint them and promptly sent out a message:

“It seems our district has more clear-headed people than I thought. Thanks to everyone for not being brainwashed by the Heaven and Earth Society. Brothers and sisters wanting [King Ginger Soup] can leave bids directly in the auction house. I will trade directly with suitable offers.”

Currently, the entire survival realm lacked a unified currency; everyone had to barter, which made the market chaotic. For someone like Lin Yifan, exchanging one item for another depended entirely on mutual agreement. Each person valued things differently, so all trades were voluntary.

This made transactions quite troublesome, forcing Lin Yifan to spend a great deal of time sifting through others’ offers item by item. He even found himself nostalgic for the currency systems in online games—at least those were less of a hassle!

Nonetheless, Lin Yifan believed that one day, currency would be unified. Regardless of other races or humans, at least those born in the Huaxia nation had always been passionate about unification.

At present, everyone was still struggling to survive; otherwise, those with ambition would have acted long ago. Take the “Father of God” from the Heaven and Earth Society, for example—clearly a man with grand ambitions. Not only was he ambitious, but also formidable, having attracted thousands to join the Society in such a short time.

If he continued unchecked, the entire District 10086 would eventually fall under his control. Lin Yifan didn’t particularly care who ruled District 10086, as long as they left him alone.

Page 2/3

But it absolutely could not be the Heaven and Earth Society! That was why Lin Yifan had come out without hesitation to suppress them. Yet, looking at the current situation, mere suppression was far from enough.

District 10086 had only one guild—the Heaven and Earth Society. Without another guild to counterbalance them, the future power structure would remain unchanged.

The problem was, Lin Yifan truly didn’t want to involve himself in guild affairs, which gave him a headache. Perhaps he could support the creation of a new guild? That was actually a good idea.

But whom to support? If he backed the wrong person and got stabbed in the back, it would be a costly mistake. He needed to observe and find someone ambitious yet principled to support.

At present, the only two people he barely trusted were Hong Shaoqiang and Ruan Qingtan. Neither had great ambition, though, so asking them to form a guild and challenge the Heaven and Earth Society seemed a bit forced.

Finding a new candidate wouldn’t happen overnight; this matter couldn’t be rushed.

With these thoughts temporarily set aside, Lin Yifan opened the auction house. Though chaotic due to the barter system, it had one advantage: no transaction fees. Plus, the auction house had a search function—enter keywords to find listings.

The whole setup was like a simplified version of some major online marketplaces.

After a few minutes, Lin Yifan entered “King Ginger Soup” and immediately saw a flood of purchase requests. He examined them carefully.

Some displayed genuine sincerity. Even if their offered goods weren’t urgently needed by Lin Yifan, he still chose to trade. Since the resources he desperately needed were scarce in the market, it was better to accept whatever worthwhile offers he could and later trade those items for what he needed.

It was just a bit more troublesome, that was all.

At this stage, those seeking the ginger soup were mostly in severe condition—without that soup, they might not survive.

Page 3/3

Of course, there were some opportunists trying to take advantage, whom Lin Yifan simply ignored. Also rejected were a batch of buyers from the Heaven and Earth Society.

Lin Yifan noticed that as his vitality level improved—from suboptimal health to excellent—even without boosting intelligence, his memory had noticeably sharpened. Earlier, he spent over ten minutes reviewing chat logs because once he saw a name, it left an impression in his mind. Upon encountering it again, he recalled it immediately.

Despite having explicitly declared refusal to trade with members of the Heaven and Earth Society, many still placed purchase orders for the “King Ginger Soup.” Some even offered generous terms.

One member, for instance, offered one unit of ceramic to purchase the soup. Ceramic was a resource Lin Yifan desperately needed to build a restroom; it was essential.

Yet, so far, he had acquired less than five units—not enough even for a single flush toilet.

That ceramic offer was tempting, but even so, Lin Yifan refused the trade. To establish authority, one must be consistent!

His refusal caused the chat channel to flood with messages again:

“Lin Yifan, why did you reject my purchase request? I saw many others offering five units of primary pig iron, and you agreed to trade. Why reject mine?”

“He refused me too! I once offered six units of primary pig iron, yet was still turned down.”

“The guild leader claims to be righteous but treats people differently—what a hypocrite!”

“I don’t think he truly wants to help us; he’s just playing us for fun!”

“Having King Ginger Soup doesn’t make him special! This behavior is outrageous!”

...

After selling all his “King Ginger Soup,” Lin Yifan finally had the leisure to check the chat channel. Seeing the messages, he laughed and sent:

“Yes! I’m playing you all. I look down on you. I refuse to trade with you.”

“What? Any objections from you Heaven and Earth Society dogs?”