If someone had the money to buy those dumplings, they might as well buy instant noodles—or even bread. A loaf of bread was only 10 copper coins.

Just as Ji He finished sighing over the absurd prices, the dumplings in front of her vanished.

Ji He: “!!!”

Without a word, she silently opened the trading interface and placed a few portions of smashed cucumber salad up for sale. Then, she set the price:

1 silver coin.

The system approved the listing.

If someone bought it, great. If not… she’d just lower the price later.

Of course, she made sure to choose anonymous trading. She just wanted to live peacefully and avoid drawing attention to herself.

Ji He listed 10 portions of smashed cucumber salad.

When she tried to list an 11th portion, she hesitated and chose the barter option instead. On the right side, she wrote: 2 liters of gasoline.

The system rejected it as too low in value.

She kept increasing the amount until 5 liters, at which point the system finally allowed the trade.

Ji He then listed 10 more portions of smashed cucumber salad in exchange for gasoline.

She wasn’t planning to abandon her spatial ability. If she could level up her space this way, it would be worth it.

After setting up all her trades, Ji He started feeling drowsy. She closed the marketplace and shut her eyes to sleep.

She had set her alarm for 3 PM. Lying on her bed, she quickly drifted off.

She had no idea that, in the outside world, the moment people realized they could trade gasoline for food, chaos erupted.

Gasoline was expensive, sure—but there were so many cars outside! Any random car had plenty of fuel inside, right?

Compared to vegetables, gasoline suddenly seemed like an abundant resource.

But food was different.

In just a few days, people had grown sick of eating biscuits and instant noodles.

They craved a real meal!

The price of meat and vegetables had skyrocketed—almost to the point of being unaffordable!

So when they saw smashed cucumber salad, how could they resist?!

Sure, it was just a vegetable dish—but it was still fresh food!

People rushed to siphon gasoline from their own cars in exchange for something better to eat.

Before, when food was abundant, people were picky. Ten kilograms of rice seemed like it could last for months.

But after being stuck at home for just a few days, they realized their food was disappearing at an alarming rate.

Even girls who had once obsessed over dieting completely forgot about losing weight. In a time of hunger, even plain white rice with pickled vegetables became a delicacy.

Ten kilograms of rice, without any meat, vegetables, or fruit, would barely last a family of three for three days—even when paired with pickled side dishes.

So when people saw fresh vegetables, they couldn’t resist!

Their only fear was not trading fast enough!

---

Meanwhile, following Long Country’s (Dragon Nation’s) public announcement, several major nations held their own press conferences, officially revealing the existence of gifted individuals.

At the same time, many game players began confessing to their families.

Suddenly, these players became the “golden children” that relatives bragged about!

The governments had no choice but to go public. The game had recruited players worldwide, targeting all individuals between 18 and 40.

As long as someone met the age requirement and had agreed to participate, even if they failed the first instance, they still had knowledge of the game.

Trying to keep it a secret would only make the situation worse, fueling endless speculation and panic.

It was better to be upfront.

By increasing public awareness, they could also reduce fear of the unknown.

Gradually, society began to accept game players as part of reality.

More and more people learned about the “official players”—what kind of people they were and what their missions entailed.

For some, the revelation was a blessing.

While ordinary people struggled to buy food, game players could still purchase food through the marketplace!

But for others, the news brought worry.

Because the missions were dangerous—and if they failed, their lives were at risk.