My bizarre resurgence: My price is the ability to trade everything.

The battle between Zhao Tiezhu and the leader of the Night Ravens broke out in an instant.

The fierce attacks of the Guardian Fist forced the tall, thin man to take them seriously.

"The Zhao family is indeed quite capable." The tall, thin man took a few steps back, his previous disdain gone.

"But are you sure you want to go against us?"

"Enough with the nonsense." Zhao Tiezhu charged forward again.

Taking advantage of a lull in their fighting, I quickly considered a strategy.

Five members of the Night Raven.

Zhao Tiezhu was engaged in a fight with the leader and couldn't attend to the others for the time being.

I must help him share the burden.

"Shadow!" I shouted.

The shadow was still standing in the corner, seemingly observing.

"I need a favor," I said. "Consider it an obligation I owe you."

The shadow remained silent for a moment.

Then, he moved.

A dark shadow flashed by, and a Night Raven member groaned and fell to the ground.

"Interesting." The tall, thin man's face darkened as he witnessed this. "Mr. Shadow, are you determined to oppose us?"

The shadow did not answer, but continued to attack.

Another member of the Night Raven has fallen.

The remaining three members started to panic.

"Retreat!" the tall, thin man shouted. "Let them go for now!"

Several dark figures quickly retreated and disappeared into the night.

The tall, thin man glanced at me before he left.

"Balancer, next time we meet... you won't be so lucky."

After saying that, he disappeared into the darkness.

The warehouse returned to silence.

I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to the shadow.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome," said Shadow. "I just didn't want the Night Raven to succeed."

"And..." he looked at me, "you can keep that concealment talisman in your hand."

"Didn't you want 5000 CP?"

"Consider it a small gift."

I froze for a moment.

You're giving me something worth 5000 CP for free?

"Why?" I asked.

The shadow remained silent for a moment.

"Because you are the balancer," he said.

"Furthermore... I don't want the Void to succeed."

That's all.

After saying that, he turned and left.

I watched his retreating figure, my mind filled with doubt.

Who exactly is this "shadow"?

Why should you help me?

Why go against the Night Raven?

How much does he actually know?

But now is not the time to think about these things.

Zhao Tiezhu's injuries haven't fully healed yet; he just fought Night Raven again...

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"It's nothing," Zhao Tiezhu shook his head. "It's a piece of cake."

"The Night Ravens and their ilk aren't really that capable."

"They're just taking advantage of their numbers to bully the few."

I nodded without saying anything more.

But he knew in his heart that today's events meant that the Night Raven had already begun its operation.

They knew I had come to the suburbs.

This means someone is following me.

There really is a mole within the General Administration.

After returning to headquarters, Su Mingyue waited for me.

"How is it?" she asked as soon as she saw me.

I told her what had happened.

The appearance of the night raven, the help of the shadow, the concealment talisman...

And there's that mystery that's never been solved—who exactly is the shadow?

After listening, Su Mingyue fell into deep thought.

"This shadow..." she said, "may not be from Guixu."

Why?

"If he were from Guixu, he wouldn't be helping us tonight."

"And..." she frowned, "the things he said..."

"'I don't want the Ruins to succeed'..."

"This suggests there might be some kind of conflict between him and Guixu."

"Or... he might be from another faction."

"Another force?" I was taken aback. "Besides Guixu and the General Bureau, there are other forces?"

"I'm not sure," Su Mingyue shook her head, "but according to the information I have, there are more than just Guixu and the General Bureau in this world."

"There are also some... independent entities."

"They belong to no one; they act solely for their own purposes."

"Perhaps the shadow is one of them."

I was lost in thought.

Anyway, I'm so grateful for his help tonight.

Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous.

The next morning, I was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

It's Su Mingyue.

"Something's happened!" Her face turned pale. "Come quick!"

I followed her into the analysis room.

The screen displays the market information for CP (Consumer Rights).

Life freight rates: increased from 100:1 to 150:1.

Prices rose by 50% in a single day.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Gui Xu is manipulating the market," Su Mingyue said. "Last night, they suddenly started buying up large amounts of Life CP on the black market."

"This led to a sharp decrease in supply and a surge in prices."

I stared at the screen, a sense of unease rising within me.

A 50% increase...

How can ordinary people afford this?

"What consequences will this have?" I asked.

"Many people will die." Su Mingyue's voice was cold.

"Those who rely on CP to prolong their lives...are terminally ill cancer patients..."

"They could have barely survived."

"But now that prices have increased by 50%, their CP (Consumer Rights) isn't enough."

"At least several hundred people will die within three days."

I was silent.

Is this the method of Guixu?

Using market manipulation to drive ordinary people to their deaths?

"There's something even worse," Su Mingyue continued.

"This price increase isn't just about making money."

"What do you mean?"

"I analyzed last night's trading records." She pulled up another set of data.

"When Guixu acquired Life CP, it didn't use money."

"It is... a fragment of the rules."

I was stunned.

Fragments of rules?

"Yes." Su Mingyue nodded, "They exchanged fragments of rules for a large amount of lifespan CP."

"In other words..."

"They're using CP to collect rule fragments."

"Or rather... they're using fragments of rules to exchange for CP (couple)."

"And then?" I asked.

"Then..." Su Mingyue's expression turned serious.

"CP is the core energy source that sustains this strange power."

"When a large number of CPs come together, it creates a kind of... resonance effect."

"If this resonance reaches a certain level..."

"It might trigger some kind of ritual."

"What ceremony?"

Su Mingyue shook her head.

"I'm not sure. But according to ancient records..."

"When enough CPs gather together, a passage to the 'Source of Rules' can be opened."

"The source of rules... is the core of this bizarre world."

"This is also something that Guixu has always wanted to control."

I stood in the analysis room, staring at the data.

Guixu's ambitions are greater than I imagined.

They are not just controlling the CP market.

They are gathering strength.

To prepare for some kind of... ultimate goal.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

Su Mingyue remained silent for a while.

"You still have 495 CP," she said.

"Based on last night's prices... if you sell it now, you can get about 3300 yuan back."

"But if we wait for the price to drop... we might only get back a little over 2000 yuan."

"Do you want to arbitrage?"

I thought about it for a moment.

Arbitrage can indeed generate a profit.

but......

"If I sell now..." I asked, "wouldn't that exacerbate market panic?"

Su Mingyue nodded.

"Yes. But it won't change anything."

"The control over the Void won't be disrupted just because you have a few hundred CP."

"And..." she looked at me, "haven't you always wanted to accumulate resources?"

"This money can be used to buy more equipment and intelligence."

"It will be helpful for future actions."

I thought about it for a moment and nodded.

"Then sell it."

That afternoon, I sold all of my 495CP.

At a ratio of 150:1, I got back more than 3300 yuan.

Although it's not much, it's still a considerable income.

Su Mingyue used the money to buy a lot of useful things—

Detection instruments, communication equipment, and a set of protective clothing.

"What do we do next?" I asked her.

"Wait," she said. "The Ruins won't let prices stay this high forever."

"If prices rise too drastically, ordinary people will rebel."

"They also need to control the pace."

"Prices will drop within a week at most."

"We'll buy them back then."

"We can make another fortune."

I nodded.

This is market competition.

Whoever has more information will have the upper hand.

But I've always had a question in my mind.

Guixu uses rule fragments to exchange for CP... Where do rule fragments come from?

"I've investigated," Su Mingyue said. "The main source of the rule fragments is bizarre events."

"Every time a strange incident occurs, some fragments are left at the scene."

"These fragments contain strange, unsettling power governed by rules."

"Ordinary people would be corrupted by contact, but the Void can purify them."

"Then... use these fragments to exchange for CP."

"So..." I said slowly, "they're creating strange events?"

Su Mingyue did not answer.

But her silence said it all.

That night, I stood alone on the rooftop.

Looking at the night view of Jiangcheng, I felt heavy-hearted.

Guixu is not just manipulating the market.

They are creating disaster.

Every bizarre event results in casualties.

These casualties were transformed into fragments of rules by them.

Then use the fragments to exchange for CP.

Then use CP to open the door to the "source of rules".

This is a loop.

A cycle that comes at the cost of countless lives.

"I have to stop them." I clenched my fist.

"No matter the cost."

The news of the price increase quickly spread throughout Jiangcheng.

Those who relied on CP (Contentment) to prolong their lives panicked.

My communicator received many messages—

They were all "friends" I had met on the black market before.

Some of them were begging me for help, while others were scolding me for not selling them sooner.

"If I had known the price would go up, I should have listened to you..."

"It's all over now, I can't afford my mom's medicine..."

"My Lord Balancer, please help me..."

I did not reply.

It's not that I don't want to help, it's that I can't.

495CP is practically worthless in a market that has seen price increases.

Even if they were all sold, it would only last for a few days.

A drop in the ocean.

On the third day, the death list began to appear.

I asked Su Mingyue to do the statistics—

Within three days, 127 people in Jiangcheng died because they couldn't afford CP (Cost Per Coin).

The majority of them are patients with advanced cancer or terminal illnesses.

There are also a dozen or so "CP traders" —

Those who make a living by buying and selling content (CP).

They stockpiled a lot of goods before the price increase, thinking they could make a profit.

As a result, after the price surged, the trading volume plummeted.

The goods in hand cannot be sold, and the cash flow is broken.

Ultimately, he chose to... end his life.

"This is the method of Guixu." Su Mingyue's voice was cold.

"Using market manipulation to drive ordinary people to their deaths."

"Let them struggle for survival, and despair for hope."

"Then... use their suffering to obtain what Guixu desires."

I was silent.

127 lives lost.

That's it, gone.

And this... may only be the beginning.

If Guixu continues to manipulate the market...

More people will die.

Current status update:

Remaining lifespan: 25 years and 11 months

CP balance: 0 (cleared after arbitrage)

Cash: 3300 yuan (arbitrage profit)

Cost conversion efficiency: 32%

Concealing Breath Talisman: ×1 (Not Activated)

Market status: Life freight rate 150:1 (50% increase)

Deaths in three days: 127

Crisis countdown: 2 days