Season 4: Chapter 138. Don’t Play Around (3)

Thump.

“Here are the sales~” Emmental, the admin stationed at the produce stall, placed down an enormous pouch of coins.

“Much obliged~” An avatar scooped it up.

[Sweet Radish]

— Damn...

— No way lol Sweet Radish??

— Uncle Donuts in tears hahaha

— Bear works, tiger reaps...

“

Kehehe.

” Sweet Radish flashed a grin at the viewers. “Too easy~ Eeeasy~~”

His expression looked brighter than ever.

The narrator cut in. “Sweet Radish earned even greater profit by buying when Donuts bought, and selling when Donuts sold. From the start, his farming efficiency was higher, so his stake was larger.”

— Whoa

— A physical skill game lol

— Different farming efficiency hahaha

— Sweet Radish is a natural gamer

Bzzt.

The screen shifted to Sweet Radish approaching someone.

“Good day, boss~”

It was Big Farm, the NPC in charge of early land sales.

[Big Farm]

Sweet Radish immediately said, “I’m here to buy land~”

Bigger fields meant more power for a farmer. He intended to sink his fortune into expanding territory.

“What kind of land are you looking for?”

“The best you’ve got.”

“How good, exactly...?”

Thump.

Sweet Radish placed his pouch down. “This good.”

Big Farm clasped his hands together and deeply bowed. “

Arigato gozaimasu.

”

— HAHAHAHA omg

— That would make anyone bow

— WTF is he lol

— Wasn’t this the guy getting choked earlier?

Clink!

The coins vanished, and Sweet Radish burst out laughing. “

Wahahahaha!

”

Flash!

The screen flipped to sprawling farmland.

“I’m richhhh!” He raised both arms in triumph.

Bzzt...

The scene cut to a dark room. Three men stood together: Donuts, Horn Ramen, and MiddleAgedDetective.

“How many people have you gathered?” Donuts asked.

“About seven on my end.”

“I’ve got five. Three of them are solid.”

Together, they had around twelve members. For an early alliance, this was substantial.

“They were all eager once I told them you were leading,” said Horn Ramen.

Donuts had built up trust by flaunting his success.

The narrator underscored this point. “Yes, Donuts’s show of wealth wasn’t just vanity. It was an advertisement for this very moment.”

— Whoa, so that’s it

— Big-picture Ivy League play

— Insane...

Donuts nodded. “Twelve... good.”

Rustle.

He unfolded a chart.

“With twelve secured, we can begin the plan.”

Whooom.

The frame froze as explanatory graphics appeared.

[This was the Donuts Alliance plan.]

Swish.

A schematic of an agricultural Union model appeared.

[First, pool the twelve members’ capital to quickly purchase a cold storage warehouse.]

Zoom.

The cold storage icon expanded.

[Cold storage allows preservation of perishable crops, letting you respond to market swings.]

Beep!

A red slash crossed a coin pictogram.

[But it’s prohibitively expensive for early play due to heavy maintenance costs and typically unfeasible until the late game.]

The screen resumed.

Donuts firmly said, “But we’ll share it. All of us.”

He stressed that they would do it together.

Thump.

Donuts tapped a spot on the chart.

[Produce Prices]

Everything hinged on this.

“If our alliance stays solid, we can manipulate the prices however we want.”

“Ohhh...”

[Currently, twenty-four farmers affect market prices. With twelve under Donuts’s alliance, they would hold the majority.]

In order to accomplish this, Donuts wanted shared storage and shared crop control.

“Detective, you mentioned two swing votes?”

“Uh... yeah.”

“We must secure them. Whether we cross the majority hinges on that. Even if it costs us more for the warehouse, we

must

persuade them.”

“O-Okay.”

Horn Ramen squinted at the price system and raised a point. “But can we even raise prices right now? If we spend everything on the warehouse, all we can do is sell. We’d only be able to push prices down, not up.”

— Ohhh true

— He’s right lol

— Didn’t think of that

[Once they buy the warehouse, little capital will remain. In this system, prices only rise through purchases. With no cash, raising prices would be impossible.]

Despite the sharp observation, Donuts already had it covered.

He smirked and cryptically said, “That’s the point.”

“What?”

“We’re swatting the flies buzzing around.”

— Holy crap

— No way

— Is Sweet Radish about to get crushed??

— Chills hahaha

— This is insane

“Bring in the twelve.”

— Rally the troops!

— The Donuts call lol

— Uncle Donuts looking badass

— Legendary

Bzzt.

The screen jumped ahead as a caption appeared.

[Two hours later]

At the produce stall, the Donuts Alliance gathered alongside several clueless independent farmers.

Donuts took the stage with a showman’s air.

“

Hehe~

This time it’s carrots. Carrots, huh?”

He always sold precisely at the market’s peak. Everyone watched his move.

“Price change incoming,” Emmental announced.

Those holding carrots rushed forward.

“Me! Me first!”

“Let me sell first!”

Donuts shook his head with feigned regret. “Eh~ It’s a shame we don’t have a single carrot. What a pity.”

The alliance honestly held none. They just watched as others sold. The camera zoomed in on his face before cutting to an interview.

[What was your plan for Sweet Radish?]

“The most important thing was what crop he’d planted. Once we knew, we’d dump it and crash it straight to zero.”

[What if he tried to sell later?]

“It wouldn’t matter. Crops rot fast in Cheese Village. It’s enough as long as it stays at zero for that window of time.”

Before the crops spoiled, their grade would drop. Either way, losses were inevitable.

[What crop was it?]

“When I checked Sweet Radish’s fields, it was all one thing.”

The moment Donuts said this, the screen switched to another streamer’s view.

[Sweet Potato]

“Hey... we just follow that guy, right?” Sweet Potato asked Sweet Radish.

“Of course~”

“Dammit... Why’s he only calling carrots? I don’t even have carrots.”

Sweet Radish stood in silence and watched.

‘Why isn’t he moving?’

Then, Donuts gave a subtle signal. Members of his alliance began hauling out boxes to sell.

Clink. Clink. Clink...!

All of it was sweet potatoes, but Sweet Radish didn’t notice because Donuts himself wasn’t moving.

“Price change incoming.”

Just before the change, wave after wave of sweet potatoes hit the market.

Donuts’s voice layered over the footage. “We got lucky. Out of the twelve members, several held large sweet potato stocks.”

“Price change incoming.”

Shhhrrk!

[Sweet Potato] [57%▼]

The price crashed, and murmurs filled the stall.

— Whoa

— Lol wtf

— Insane hahaha

— Is this crypto??

— Unreal lol

Sweet Radish’s face didn’t flicker. He seemed to be waiting and didn’t sell.

“Price change incoming.”

The next hit was even worse.

[Sweet Potato] [87%▼]

— OMG

— Panic sell incoming

— People are dying here!

— Crazy

— Can that even happen??

— Just the Union alone did this??

The narrator explained, “The Union’s twelve members couldn’t have driven the price down that far alone. They only needed to set the tone.”

“

Tsk

, sweet potatoes... seems worthless.”

At Donuts’s casual remark, other farmers rushed in to dump their stock. The Union didn’t need to do anything more.

[Sweet Potato] [100%▼]

— Holy crap

— Now he’s crashing it with words alone

— How do you even fight that???

However, Sweet Radish remained still.

— Is he just... standing there, dead inside?

— Didn’t he go all-in on sweet potatoes?? Why no reaction?

— What is this?

Sweet Radish only glanced sideways with a worried look.

“

U-aaaaaaaahhhh!!

”

A scream erupted from beside him as an avatar collapsed at the stall and began wailing.

[Sweet Potato]

“...?”

“???”

The viewers and the Union froze in confusion.

‘What? Why Sweet Potato?’

‘Didn’t Donuts say that Sweet Radish’s fields were full of sweet potatoes?’

Sweet Radish was supposed to be the victim, yet Sweet Potato was the one crying.

“Sweet... Radish! Please! Just give me one more chance! I’ll pay you back after the harvest! Please!!”

Why was he begging Sweet Radish?

Bzzt.

The screen switched to the interview again.

[Your crops were devastated. Are you alright?]

“Oh, that? Those weren’t mine.”

[Excuse me?]

“I rented the fields to Sweet Potato. Payment was harvest-based.”

— LOLOLOLOL

— No way hahahaha

— What a twist

— Unreal

— Plot twist on top of a plot twist

Sweet Radish smirked and tapped his head. “Why would I take the risk? I’m the landowner.”

— Damn

— Damage evasion king!

— The power of tenant farming lol

— When sweet potatoes fall, a Sweet Potato farmer falls first... love that story

— God-tier play hahaha

— The birth of Potato Servant

Bzzt.

The scene cut to Donuts, Horn Ramen, and MiddleAgedDetective whispering in a corner.

“What the hell was that? Sweet Potato got wrecked instead of Sweet Radish?”

“How did that happen?”

They looked rattled.

Donuts scowled. “Shit... he rented the fields out and made Sweet Potato a tenant farmer?”

Donuts had figured it out fast.

The narrator explained, “Donuts was a sharp and skilled organizer. However, he only trusted his own vision. In the end, he missed what lay beyond. Still, his alliance would remain strong... for now.”

Donuts said to the others, “It’s fine. We didn’t hurt our enemy, but we didn’t lose anything either. Keep up the pressure. He can’t dodge forever.”

Whirr.

The footage sped forward.

“D-Donuts! Can I join the alliance too?”

“Me too!”

Farmers flocked to join, and the Nonghyup Union grew larger.

“Form a line! One at a time!”

“Yes, sir!”

Their influence spread wider with each recruit.

[Donuts’s alliance, the Nonghyup Union, gradually consumed the village. It looked like the system itself had triumphed. At least, that’s what the villagers thought. Until he arrived.]

Bzzzzzzzzzt.

Static flickered across the screen. The camera pulled back and showed the village from afar. In the distance, a lone avatar trudged closer.

“Wow. I finally made it. That was a long trip.”

[Almond]

Finally, he had arrived.

[Movement Speed -30%]

Whatever he was carrying, it slowed him down to a crawl.

Thud.

The screen went black, and a title card appeared.

[Come Visit Cheese Village!]

— Daaamn

— It ends here???

— Finally, the real protagonist!

— Almond spawns, Donuts cries out hahaha

— Over, it’s over T_T

— What the hell is Almond gonna do? lol

— Cheese Village ends today. Tomorrow is Almond Village.

— Everything changes from here