Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou had some breakfast and went downstairs. As soon as they walked out of the B&B, they heard a fierce quarrel coming from the pedestrian street——
A young man pointed at the menu and yelled: "Is this a money grab? I used to get 800 gold coins for a bowl of rice noodles, but today they charge me 3,200! Boss, are you crazy about money?"
The boss explained with a grimace: "The price of buying rice noodles this morning has quadrupled, and there's nothing I can do about it. If I sell it at the previous price, I will lose money! Now the price of everything has increased, and the business is almost gone."
A young man next to him was so angry that he threw the bowl on the ground: "I don't want to eat anymore!"
The boss immediately chased after me: "Damn it! I smashed the bowl and wanted to run away. Stop and pay me!"
The young man turned around and ran away quickly, while the fat boss chased after him panting. When several customers in the rice noodle shop saw the boss chasing him out, they all finished eating and ran away. They failed to catch up with anyone, but when they returned to the shop, they found that all the customers had run away.
The frustrated boss, whose face was as black as the bottom of a pot, frustratedly asked the waitress to clear away the empty bowls, then simply closed the door and put up a "Closed for Business" sign.
Going further, an aunt and a young man were quarreling. The reason was that the young man was not paying attention while walking and bumped into her, breaking her basket of eggs. She asked her to pay 10,000 gold coins. When the young man refused, the aunt tore off his eggs.
Yi Xiu refused to let him go.
There were many people watching around, and the crowd was talking about it: "Are these prices crazy? Fortunately, I went to the supermarket yesterday and bought a lot of instant noodles..." "I bought hundreds of eggs yesterday, how can I sell them now?"
Isn’t it rising?” “Don’t be in a hurry to sell it, what if it still goes up tomorrow?” “Oh my god, it’s still going up?! This makes it hard for people to live!”
The pedestrian street belongs to the old city and has many small-scale shops.
Because many people skipped orders at the rice noodle shop early in the morning, and a steamed bun shop was smashed by customers. The bosses were so frightened that they closed down shop. As Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang walked along, the pedestrian street that was quite lively yesterday suddenly became very deserted. A family
Another shop put up a "Closed for Business" sign to avoid the limelight, and pedestrians on the road also had faces full of panic.
Shao Qingge was waiting for them downstairs in the hotel. When he saw the two of them, he immediately approached them and asked, "How was last night? Did you meet any thieves?"
Xiao Lou shook his head: "No, it's very quiet at Shanshui B&B."
Shao Qingge rubbed his temples with a headache: "I didn't sleep last night. The two girls next door cried all night. It seems that all the supplies were stolen... It seems that the thief had a great harvest yesterday, so I won't plan on it for now.
Take action against Shanshui B&B?”
Yu Hanjiang frowned and said: "After all, Shanshui B&B is the place where the challengers are most concentrated. There are more than 20 people living there. If everyone joins forces to deal with him, the thief will not be able to take advantage. This thief is very smart. He probably specializes in picking people.
Let’s start when we’re alone.”
Shao Qingge sighed: "I knew I would have put all the supplies at your place."
Xiao Lou smiled and comforted him: "It doesn't matter. What was stolen is less than one-tenth of our reserve supplies. As long as the warehouse is fine."
Yu Hanjiang said: "I'll go to the warehouse and take a look. You all should act together and pay attention to safety."
***
Shao Qingge and Xiao Lou came to the stock market again.
Today's real estate-related stocks are still very stable, and some stocks actually have an upward trend - for example, stocks such as Tianhong Real Estate, Rongguang Real Estate, and Fangke Real Estate Group that Shao Qingge paid attention to yesterday all rose by about 5%.
A 5% increase in the stock market in one day is already a very high dividend. Many investors discovered this and commented: "Why not sell all other stocks and buy real estate stocks?" "The food stocks I bought have fallen to
25%, what a huge loss! I would have known better to buy real estate stocks..." "Yeah, prices are going crazy, but house prices are stable."
When Xiao Lou heard these discussions, he really didn't know what to say.
The scary thing is not falling into despair at the beginning, but constantly giving people hope and then destroying it bit by bit.
The way Plum Blossom A controls the world is exactly as Shao Qingge speculated - he wants to destroy people's psychological defenses step by step. Seeing that real estate stocks are actually rising, many people have begun to switch to real estate stocks. It is conceivable that
, once the real estate market collapses, will these people still have the confidence to survive?
Some smart people sense something is wrong and sell stocks immediately, but there are always some people who are lucky and expect to make money back. This is the same as the "gambler's mentality". When you lose 1,000, you think you can get your money back.
2000, I still thought I could win it back, but because I was unwilling to give it up, I invested more and more - and finally lost everything.
Many investors have been trapped by stocks. How easy is it to get out?
Xiao Lou walked to the window and saw that a large number of investors had gathered on the roof of the building. Today's stock price dropped another 50% based on yesterday. These investors spontaneously organized themselves and put up large banners, demanding the city government to provide financial aid.
a statement.
Some people were also demonstrating in the central square not far away, holding up flags with various slogans: "Strongly demand price restoration!" "Please give us a stable market!" "We can't afford one with a week's salary."
Bag of eggs? How are we going to survive?”
The crowds in the square were agitated, but no bloodshed occurred as the police stepped in to maintain order.
At 8:50 a.m., a middle-aged man wearing a suit and with a dignified appearance suddenly appeared on the big screen in the central square.
Facing a large number of cameras, the man said in a calm and authentic voice: "Good morning, fellow citizens, this is a press conference. I am Liu Qingming, director of the Market Supervision and Administration Bureau of City A. Please don't be excited, let alone panic, because of the financial crisis.
Due to the impact of the epidemic, prices in this city will fluctuate to a certain extent in recent days, but we are working hard to regulate and restore order to the market as soon as possible..."
The people were temporarily quiet and raised their heads to watch his speech.
Director Liu Qingming talked about a lot of financial knowledge that people did not understand, and then said: "Please don't gather in groups to make trouble and make the situation worse. It's best for us to go home now, blow the air conditioner, and watch TV
, this nightmare weekend will be over soon, and I believe prices will return to normal levels soon."
Xiao Lou: "..."
What nonsense are you talking about? Are you deceiving a three-year-old child?
Shao Qingge pinched his eyebrows and said: "Liu Qingming, this name comes from... Visiting the grave during Qingming Festival, do you believe that he is the one who has a ghost?"
Xiao Lou couldn't laugh or cry: "Maybe there is no Qingming Festival in this world? But when challengers hear his name, they will understand - this is a figure deliberately arranged by the Ace of Spades or the Ace of Clubs to temporarily stabilize the situation. Maybe next week he will
Ran away."
Shao Qingge: “………”
The purpose of sending the director to paint a pie and give everyone reassurance is to temporarily stabilize the people's emotions. However, deceiving the people in this way will only cause the people's temporarily stable emotions to explode and counterattack like a hurricane.
Not only did prices rise, but the officials who monitored the market actually deceived everyone. Who could stand it?!
Because Director Liu said a lot of things that people didn't understand, and the police controlled the area, the gathered people quickly dispersed, holding on to luck in their hearts - maybe as he said, price fluctuations would occur in a day or two.
Stabilize?
In fact, everyone has no idea, but human beings are very good at comforting themselves. Sometimes people would rather listen to lies than face the more cruel reality.
The supermarket in the central square is crowded with people.
This morning, the supermarket carried out a material replenishment. Everyone was frantically buying. The shelves were cleared out in the blink of an eye. The order in the queue was far less than yesterday. It can be seen that people's mood was obviously more irritable than yesterday.
Shao Qingge and Xiao Lou glanced at the situation in the supermarket and quickly turned around to go to the Internet cafe yesterday.
The price of Internet access rose to 1,600 gold coins an hour. Xiao Lou still had some change left over, so he paid the Internet fees for two computers. Shao Qingge sat in front of the computer and continued to short real estate stocks, while Xiao Lou checked online.
Got some information.
He found that all he could find was information about the secret world of Spades 3.
The city they are in is called "City A", which should be a small space in the card world. Many people on the forum are swearing, and some media reporters use various slogans to brainwash everyone: "The financial crisis is only temporary, I believe we will definitely
We can get through it!" "Work together to overcome the difficulties and protect the homeland of City A!" "The skyrocketing prices are just to stimulate consumption. Everyone, please be patient and the market will return to normal soon"...
There are many such chicken soups for the soul, and many people in the replies believe them to be true.
People on the forum were divided into optimists and pessimists. The optimists all said that the financial crisis will soon pass, and as long as they have savings and supplies, there is no need to worry.
The pessimist is already thinking of ways to escape from here: "I booked a ticket to go to Moon City tomorrow. The ticket price is extremely high and it is hard to get a ticket, but I believe that leaving City A now is the best choice." "I am here.
I have been living here for many years and I don’t want to leave, but I really can’t bear it anymore and plan to go to my relatives’ house in other places to avoid it for a while.”
These are freelancers who can leave at a moment’s notice.
However, most people’s jobs, relatives, and houses are here—their roots are here, how can they leave in such a cool way?
Xiao Lou tried to buy a ticket to "Moon City" through the online ticket purchase system. He found that after verifying his identity information, the ticket purchase system displayed "You are prohibited from purchasing tickets" - this result was what he expected.
.
He is a challenger, and he certainly cannot just buy a ticket to escape. Those who can escape are free people in this world.
After browsing local forums and news for an hour, Xiao Lou found that there were quite a few free people who bought tickets to escape the city. These people were undoubtedly smart, but the premise was that the current traffic could still operate normally.
Once the traffic is paralyzed, you can't even run away!
Next to him, Shao Qingge had finished operating the stock market, and Xiao Lou got up and left with him.
Shao Qingge asked in a low voice: "Professor Xiao just checked the website, what did you find?"
Xiao Loudao: "Judging from forum replies and information posted on various social networking sites, about 40% of people are currently optimistic and believe that prices will recover; 40% of people are hoarding supplies with the worst plan in mind, and 20% are hoarding supplies in anticipation of the worst.
% of people...are rushing to buy tickets and run away."
Shao Qingge touched his chin and said: "Tomorrow is a working day. There will definitely be a large-scale strike. When the transportation system is paralyzed, optimistic people will turn to pessimism." He thought for a while and suddenly said: "I have to
Make preparations in advance and buy a computer from the Internet cafe owner."
Xiao Lou understood: "Are you worried that the Internet cafe will be closed tomorrow?"
Shao Qingge nodded: "Be prepared."
After all, too many restaurants have put up "Closed" signs today. This Internet cafe is deserted, with only three or five people using the Internet. When the cost of Internet access doubles tomorrow, it will be a problem for people to eat. Who will have time to come here?
Internet cafe?
Shao Qingge came to the front desk of the Internet cafe and said: "Boss, do you have an old computer to sell me? It doesn't require much, as long as it can access the Internet."
The boss asked for a price: "100,000 gold coins, you can choose from a few obsolete machines."
Xiao Lou smiled and said: "Boss, you also know the current market situation. There are more than fifty seats in this Internet cafe. Today, only four or five people are surfing the Internet. Maybe no one will come tomorrow. People can't even eat. Who has spare money?
I came here to surf the Internet, right?"
The corner of the boss's mouth twitched violently, because he knew that the young man was right.
After the electricity and Internet charges have skyrocketed in the past two days, the Internet charges at his Internet cafe have also increased, and his business has plummeted. In the past weekends, the machines were always full, but this weekend, there were only half of them yesterday, and today... only 10%
people.
Looking at the empty Internet cafe, he felt uncomfortable. This was the Internet cafe he invested half his life savings in!
Xiao Lou continued to smile and said: "You have so many computers. If no one uses them, they will be no different from a pile of scrap metal. Sell us one."
The boss thought about it carefully and said, "Okay! Can you give me a price?"
Xiao Loudao: "How about this? I'll give you ten boxes of chocolates in exchange for your old laptop. Chocolates are valuable now. You can go to the supermarket and have a look. They've been out of stock for a long time and you can't buy them at all. These ten boxes of chocolates cost tens of thousands."
The gold coins may rise even more tomorrow."
Shao Qingge was stunned - Professor Xiao is really smart. After the price collapse, "exchanging things for things" is the best way. They can take the extra gold coins out of the secret room and spend them in other worlds.
The boss frowned and seemed to be very confused. Xiao Lou continued: "We don't want a desktop computer that is too high-end. We just need a laptop that can access the Internet. I think yours is also very old, so why not give it to us?"
"
Xiao Lou said while taking chocolates from his backpack.
Pieces of chocolate that had been sold out in supermarkets made the boss swallow his saliva.
He was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! I have been using this laptop for four years, and it is used to manage customer information. I will copy the information inside to a USB flash drive, and you can take it away."
The most indispensable thing for Internet cafe owners is a computer, not to mention a very old laptop.
Xiao Lou happily exchanged ten boxes of chocolates for a laptop...
It’s unbelievable in the real world.
Shao Qingge held his notebook in his arms and sighed after walking out of the Internet cafe: "Professor Xiao, your reaction was too fast. I almost paid for it."
Xiao Lou smiled slightly: "Mr. Shao usually rarely considers price when buying things. But now, with prices so unstable, we can easily afford to exchange rare items for his extra items, and it is not a loss for him.
"
Shao Qingge was full of admiration: "You are still very economical and exchanged chocolates for a laptop... What a bizarre experience." He put the notebook into his backpack, squinted his eyes and said, "Would you like to exchange instant noodles for two more
A mobile phone?”
Xiao Lou said: "You can go to the second-hand market and have a look."
He just decided to change to a laptop, because the laptop can be charged. If he changes to a desktop, firstly, it will be inconvenient to transport, and secondly, if there is a power outage, the computer will not turn on. Wouldn’t it be ruined?
The notebook has several hours of battery life, and it can be used anywhere else after being fully charged.
A mobile phone is also necessary. After all, Captain Yu always acts alone. He is really worried. Buying Captain Yu a mobile phone that can make calls, and buying one for him and Shao Qingge will make it easier to communicate.
Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge came to the second-hand mobile phone market.
It's very deserted here, with only a few shops open. After all, the market has gone crazy now. Most people are rushing to buy supermarket supplies, and no one pays attention to second-hand mobile phones.
The bosses are also very sick, sighing and have no energy.
Xiao Lou exchanged milk, instant noodles and other supplies for three mobile phones. Based on the price of the supplies at the time, an old mobile phone was only about 50 yuan, but now the price of supplies has skyrocketed... Can instant noodles be eaten, but can broken mobile phones be eaten?
The boss readily gave him three broken mobile phones and three cards.
In this world, the mobile phones used by people are not like the smartphones that can video and WeChat in real life. They can only send text messages and make calls, but it is enough for them. With these three mobile phones, it is convenient for the three of them to move separately.
Contact each other.
****
[Chapter 048, Financial Crisis 8-Mysterious Boy]
Decoration market.
A large number of decoration companies are gathered here, as well as the city's largest furniture mall and electronics mall.
Compared with the chaos in the supermarket, the furniture mall is relatively stable. After all, sofas, beds, cabinets and other items are too large and difficult to move. Kitchen utensils such as pots and bowls, as well as daily necessities such as stools and mops, are not available in most homes.
They are all there, there is no need to drive all the way here to grab them, unless your brain is caught in the door.
However, Yu Hanjiang really saw two people with mental problems.
Instead of going to the supermarket to grab food, they actually came to Electronic City and grabbed a 50-inch LCD TV!
It’s almost the end of the financial world, and eating is a problem. What are you going to do if you grab a TV? If there’s a power outage, can you watch it?!
The two young guys were wearing black vests and black shorts, and black stockings were put on their heads in a pretentious manner, with only two holes dug out, revealing a pair of eyes...
Yu Hanjiang seriously doubted whether these two wanted to rob the bank but ended up in the wrong place.
However, these two strange guys actually picked up a TV and turned around and ran away.
The female manager of the Electrical Appliance City was startled by this sudden turn of events. She obviously did not understand the behavior of the two people. She was stunned for a few seconds before she realized what she was doing and screamed: "Security! Where is the security?! Stop it!"
Them! Someone grabbed the TV!"
The security guard at the door reacted and immediately chased after him.
The LCD TV was quite heavy. The two young men carried the TV and ran a few steps before they were caught up by the security guard and pushed to the ground. The security guard looked at them like idiots and immediately called the police.
Soon, the police came.
The policeman leading the team had a very ugly look on his face and criticized and educated the two people: "How long has it been since this happened? How dare you buy some instant noodles? Why don't you come here to grab the TV? Do you really like watching TV that much?"
The black stockings on their heads were torn off by the police...
He looks decent and doesn't look like a professional robber.
The two people squatted in the corner with their heads in their hands, accepting the police's criticism and education. Their ears were a little red. One of them said weakly: "We were also impulsive, ahem..." The other person said with a playful smile: "Officer, we did this on purpose.
For robbery, according to local laws, how many days will you be detained for?"
The policeman said: "Brazen robbery and endangering social security will result in a detention of more than seven days."
Not only did the two of them not look depressed, but their eyes were bright, as if they were happy to be imprisoned.
The policeman slapped the two of them on the forehead: "So you like to get into trouble?!"
The two of them immediately hugged their heads and gave in: "No, no, we don't dare to do it anymore..."
The police took out the handcuffs, put the two people into the car and took them away, and returned the LCD TV to the sales manager. The female manager said speechlessly: "Who are these people? They came to grab the TV, but they couldn't run away even after carrying it for two steps?"
Are they here to be funny?"
Yu Hanjiang watched this farce with cold eyes.
These two people were obviously challengers. It was estimated that the supplies had been stolen, so they decided to rob in desperation, and were arrested and sent to the bureau for seven days.
If you have food and accommodation after being detained, you can pass customs smoothly, right?
I really admire the thinking of these two people - should I call them smart or stupid?
Do you think you can spend seven days safely in a detention center?
If that could really happen, all the challengers would join forces to smash up a bank, squat into a cell together, and pass the level after seven days... Is it that simple or is it the Secret Room of Spades?
The strike wave will definitely affect all walks of life, and the police department will certainly not be spared.
By then, the detention center would be paralyzed, and no one would bring water or food to the prisoners. These two smart guys would probably stare at the bars and shed tears.
Yu Hanjiang didn't mind his own business and walked into the decoration market.
When I went there yesterday, there were still many decoration companies and furniture stores open. Some customers who had booked a decoration company came to quarrel. But today, the decoration companies and equipment stores were all closed. The iron gates were down and locked, and they were walking on the road.
Not even a human figure can be seen.
Obviously, after most people knew that prices had doubled again, they immediately went to wet markets, supermarkets and other places to snap up daily necessities. The owners of the decoration market all stopped doing business. After all, the most important thing is to feed themselves and their families.
The most important thing.
In order to avoid being discovered, Yu Hanjiang still used an invisibility cloak in the corner.
He wore an invisibility cloak and came to the underground warehouse. The place was empty. All the trucks unloading and delivering goods were parked in the parking spaces. The drivers were not at work. There were no signs of the locks he had changed being picked. It seemed that the decoration market was a place where
It did not attract the attention of thieves and robbers.
Yu Hanjiang was just about to go to the warehouse to get some supplies when he suddenly heard a burst of light footsteps.
He was invisible now and didn't have to worry about being seen, so he simply followed the footsteps and walked over.
In the underground garage, a guy in dirty clothes was struggling to push a tricycle out of the corner. There were several black garbage bags on his tricycle, which were stained with tomato juice, egg liquid and other stains. The weather was hot.
, these things have begun to rot and emit an unpleasant smell.
He looked around and found no one, so he quickly opened the garbage bag on top and took out a pile of milk, chocolate, biscuits and other well-packaged food from the "garbage bag" at the bottom!
Yu Hanjiang immediately narrowed his eyes.
I saw this guy quickly take out five bottles of milk, a large box of chocolates, six packs of instant noodles, six packs of biscuits and six bottles of mineral water, stuff them into the bag at his feet, and then disguise the "garbage truck".
Push it to the corner of the underground warehouse.
Then, he took off his dirty clothes, took out clean clothes from his backpack, put them on, and turned around to leave.
Yu Hanjiang saw his face clearly.
The handsome face of the young man still had a hint of childishness of a student, but his eyes were dark and bright, full of anxiety. As he walked forward quickly, he raised his ears alertly and observed the surroundings, as if he was the most alert person in the forest.
small animals.
Moreover, what surprised Yu Hanjiang was that this young man's body was extremely flexible, almost comparable to that of an acrobat.
I didn't see him on the road just now because he sneaked in through the hole in the wall behind the underground warehouse. The hole was less than one meter high. He threw his backpack over first, then leaned over and got out.
As flexible as a fish.
Yu Hanjiang frowned and looked at the direction he left, already determined in his heart.
——It’s the boy playing the guitar in the central square.
The idea of using a tricycle to store supplies and disguising the tricycle as a "garbage truck" was indeed a clever idea. After all, no one would want to get close to a smelly garbage truck abandoned in a corner.
Yu Hanjiang waited until there was no sound nearby, then unlocked the warehouse door, took some supplies into his backpack, and turned back to his residence.
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang have come back. They are surfing the Internet on a laptop and saving each other's mobile phone numbers. Yu Hanjiang asked curiously: "Where did the computer and mobile phone come from?"
Shao Qingge said with a smile: "Professor Xiao got it in exchange for chocolate and instant noodles."
Yu Hanjiang: “…………”
It's incredible.
Facing Xiao Lou's smile, Yu Hanjiang believed this statement and praised: "Awesome."
Xiao Lou gave him one of the old mobile phones and said: "Both Mr. Shao's and mine numbers are in the address book. If Captain Yu wants to go out in the future, it will be convenient for him to contact us at any time."
Yu Hanjiang nodded, took the phone and stuffed it into his pocket: "Professor Xiao is still thoughtful."
Xiao Lou asked: "What did you discover today?"
Yu Hanjiang told them about his experience of encountering two young men who deliberately wore stockings on their heads to rob them and then went to jail to pass the customs.
Xiao Lou couldn't believe it and said: "Escape from jail? Once turmoil breaks out, the prison will be very scary. After all, the people detained there are people with questionable character. Beating, smashing, and robbing are still light, and they may directly kill people.
…”
Yu Hanjiang nodded solemnly: "Yes, the prisoners are usually restrained and managed by the prison guards. On the surface, they are quite honest. Once they are not restrained, the consequences are unpredictable. It may become the first place where bloodshed occurs."
Shao Qingge touched his chin and said: "These two are probably lone challengers like me who live elsewhere. Their supplies were stolen last night and they really couldn't survive, so they came up with this helpless method."
The culprit is still the thief from last night. He relied on stealing supplies from other challengers to get through customs. It’s really hateful!
The two girls next door to Shao Qingge cried all night last night and were obviously very desperate.
Don't they know that in this world, stealing supplies is like killing someone?
Xiao Lou clenched his fists hard: "These thieves will do whatever it takes to pass the customs!"
Yu Hanjiang gently pressed his shoulders and whispered: "Don't be too angry. People's hearts are inherently unfathomable. We cannot ask all challengers to abide by human moral bottom lines in the card world."
He changed the topic and said: "I also encountered an interesting thing. The boy who sang in the central square that day also stored supplies in the decoration market. His disguise was very clever - he directly got a tricycle and put all the food there.
Put it in a black garbage bag."
Xiao Lou was stunned: "Garbage truck? It's a shame he wanted to get it."
Yu Hanjiang said: "He loaded the materials into the garbage truck and pretended to be a garbage collector. Moreover, the tricycle can be ridden at any time, which is very convenient. When entering and leaving the underground warehouse, he only uses the back door and changes clothes. He is a bit cautious.
It's too much. If I hadn't happened to see this scene while wearing an invisibility cloak today, I wouldn't have even thought about touching his garbage truck."
Xiao Lou felt that Yu Hanjiang was cautious enough and rented a warehouse to store the supplies separately.
Unexpectedly, this young man would be even more brilliant and directly load a truck of garbage.
Shao Qingge couldn't help laughing: "There are so many talented people among the challengers. He can really make himself dirty and smelly, and push a tricycle to pretend to collect garbage. He can really do it."
Xiao Lou helplessly held his forehead.
There are those who steal other people’s supplies to pass customs, those who pretend to be robbers and go to jail, and those who push tricycles to collect garbage...
It's only the second day, and all kinds of challengers are on the stage, it's really exciting!
Relatively speaking, Yu Hanjiang, Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge have become the most normal-thinking people in the world?
The author has something to say: There are more scenes of the guitar boy in this secret room, and there will be interesting challengers and free agents coming and going in the future.
Today is still Chapter 2 of Fei Fei. Please continue to ask for nutrient solution and leave messages, everyone!