"Brother Yi, I still don’t quite understand what this 'false inflation of value' means?"
Violet Cat perched on Chen Yi’s shoulder, watching Chen Dalei study how to uproot the Loveflower Gu’s roots, her eyes flickering with confusion.
What did this have to do with what Brother Yi called "false inflation of value"?
Though the Loveflower Gu was deeply tied to the local ecosystem, at its core, Chen Dalei’s current work was just a normal research project!
And "false inflation of value," as the name suggested, should be related to the manifestation of the region’s overall fortune!
But after staring for a long time, she couldn’t spot any issues...
Yet she knew full well—if Brother Yi said there was a problem, then there had to be one. She just couldn’t see it yet!
"Look at you, always so impatient." Chen Yi shook his head and sighed. "Fine, since the old man’s already playing around, I doubt he’ll get to the main point anytime soon. Let me explain it to you properly."
"First, due to the upheaval ten years ago, the Daughter Kingdom has been sealed off ever since, and its internal development has stagnated for a full decade!"
"You could say it preserves the most basic ecological environment from ten years ago. While the outside world has undergone earth-shaking changes, none of that has touched this place. Have you noticed any differences between the Daughter Kingdom and the outside world?"
Violet Cat pondered for a moment. With the ultra-powerful processing core of her Starflight Talisman, she quickly compiled the disparities between the two.
"The differences are massive. Outside, with the progression of time, the refinement of the Incense God System, shifts in production structures, the emergence of new industries, and the establishment of high-efficiency transport routes—all of it has greatly fueled the flourishing of fortune..."
"But in the Daughter Kingdom, due to its decade-long stagnation, even though young deities with new knowledge and ideas arrive to take office every year, the entrenched class divisions rooted in the local ecosystem remain unchanged. As a result, the fortune within the kingdom’s borders has been in a prolonged state of decline, barely sustained by constant external support..."
"But Brother Yi, I don’t get it!"
"The Daughter Kingdom is just an isolated case, with limited impact. The broader environment’s fortune is still surging upward—almost reaching its peak, in fact. If we don’t seize this moment to ascend and carve out a new realm, the momentum of rapid development will rebound once it hits the ceiling. That’s when things will get difficult, no?"
"See? Still impatient!" Chen Yi chuckled, tapping the cat’s head lightly. "A sponge soaked with water is heavy—say, ten pounds on a scale. But if you squeeze all the water out, will it still weigh ten pounds?"
With a wave of his hand, Chen Yi conjured a projected scene.
It showed a real-time event unfolding somewhere in the Daughter Kingdom.
In the scene, Sun Kongkong, who was searching for carriers of the Loveflower Gu’s roots, had grown so wary of the kingdom’s ravenous women that he draped himself in a loose black robe, completely concealing his masculine aura to move about discreetly.
Alas, it was futile.
A monkey as dashing as Kongkong stood out no matter where he went—like a firefly glowing brightly in the night.
His burly frame, brooding gaze, the few coarse hairs peeking out, and that long, gleaming Golden Cudgel... all of it ensnared the hearts of every woman in the city.
"Is that... a man? Not sure, let me look closer..."
"Pfft, you’re really desperate for a man, huh? Since when does the Daughter Kingdom have men?"
"Who says there aren’t any? The City God enshrined at Yufen Avenue’s temple is male! So handsome and divine—just a shame he’s a spirit and can’t, you know..."
"Enough yapping! I don’t care, that robed figure has to be a man. Let me check..."
A female rogue whistled and sidled up behind Sun Kongkong, raising a delicate, jade-white hand.
Slap!
"Oho! Such a firm feel—quit pretending! Let’s see what’s under that hood!"
Sun Kongkong: "......"
Bold.
He wasn’t sure before, but now that you’ve come to me...
"Eh? A monkey?"
The moment the hood was yanked off, the rogue froze, then shuddered, her expression shifting dramatically.
Sun Kongkong dropped the act. "Hah! You fiend! Still gawking? Your Grandpa Sun is here to claim you!"
"Brother Yi, honestly... I didn’t follow that."
Violet Cat was baffled, watching Sun Kongkong unleash his might in the projection. She couldn’t grasp what Brother Yi was trying to convey.
This looked... suspiciously like Brother Yi’s twisted sense of humor.
"If you didn’t get it, that’s fine. I was just enjoying the show—this monkey’s hilarious." Chen Yi’s lips curled into a faint, amused smile.
Violet Cat: "......"
Yep. Definitely his mischief.
He’s as petty as ever. Five hundred years later, he still remembers how Sun Kongkong wreaked havoc in the Illusory Star Cave, and he loves seeing the monkey humbled...
That said, as the Violet Heavenly Dao, she knew Brother Yi well. The more he delayed and dodged explaining something, the bigger the matter was.
And now her curiosity was thoroughly piqued.
"Aiya, Brother Yi, quit teasing! Just tell me already—I really want to know what 'false inflation of value' means!"
Violet Cat deployed her ultimate weapon—acting cute!
She nuzzled Chen Yi’s cheek relentlessly with her fluffy head, refusing to stop until he surrendered.
"Sigh, you’re hopeless..." Chen Yi pressed a hand atop her head. "What comes next might shatter your understanding. Brace yourself—we’re setting off!"
"Meow!" Violet Cat excitedly clasped her tiny paws.
In the next instant, the projection shifted away from Sun Kongkong, focusing instead on a grain store in the street.
A professional weaver entered and bought ten pounds of grain for twenty coins.
After cooking and eating the grain at home, she regained her strength and began weaving a dress.
She spent most of the night crafting a gauzy gown, then priced it at twenty coins.
Soon after, the grain store’s owner came to the weaver’s home and bought the gown.
The scene ended there.
Chen Yi asked quietly, "What do you see in this process?"
The Violet Heavenly Dao pondered before answering, "A simple cycle of supply and demand. Ten pounds of grain cost twenty coins. The woman’s labor produced something of equal value—twenty coins. The store owner spent twenty coins to buy the gown, but that twenty coins was originally hers from the grain sale..."
"It’s basic equivalent exchange—each party gets what they need. The consumed materials are provided by the world, and labor is compensated accordingly, generating corresponding value... Wait!"
Violet Cat’s eyes suddenly lit up. "I get it now! This is what you meant by 'inflation of value'!"
Chen Yi arched a brow. "Oh? Then tell me—what have you realized?"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
