Chapter Three: A Billionaire Who Could Not Buy Water

On the first morning after the White Noise Event, Yunhai had two kinds of rich people: those guarding corrupted accounts and repeating what they owned, and those who knew where to find Lin Mo. Tang Li brought him to an abandoned repair shop. Twelve merchants waited inside—grocers, a fuel-station manager, a water engineer, and Old Qin. Each had goods but feared selling them for unverifiable promises. Lin Mo connected the phone to a projector. “I guarantee settlement. You sell at the median price from the thirty days before the collapse. Revenue remains spendable inside the alliance. Hoarding is permitted; price gouging is not. One false transaction means permanent removal.” “Who gave you the right to make rules?” a grocer asked.