CloseCanvas Delisted
What the hell is going on?
Once the duel was over and everyone who was going to leave had gone, the first thing Jisu did was fire up Bitstorm. The moment he logged in, the graphs of several coins glowed a deathly blue — like watching the death rattle of something already halfway in the grave.
Even in the chat flooding in at breakneck speed, one word snagged Jisu's eye and refused to let go.
CloseCanvas is getting delisted? Isn't that the one I bought?
The thought had barely formed before he slammed his status window open.
Strength and Agility, are you kidding me?
He'd expected them to drop. He hadn't expected them to hit rock bottom. No wonder none of his attacks had landed. No wonder he'd eaten every single hit that came his way.
Stamina and Mentality, which he'd figured would have climbed quite a bit, hadn't risen as much as he'd hoped. Of course, they were still enormous numbers — a little over double what they'd been — but while he'd actually been in combat, they'd been higher than this.
He quickly converted every last bit of CloseCanvas and MidnightRainbow he was holding back into stats. Next to the name of CloseCanvas — the coin he'd poured his Strength and Agility into — a tag had appeared.
A delisting wasn't exactly unheard of. All these bizarre virtual cyber bazaars with no floor, no ceiling, and even less of an answer, churned out by people nobody had ever heard of who slapped on titles like "expert" and "Fourth Industrial Revolution" and printed coins like there was no tomorrow — of course some of them would blaze like stars in the sky only to crumble and vanish. If anything, having launched on a giant market like Bitstorm even once already put a coin in the upper ranks of everything out there.
That was how lawless the coin market was: a space where you couldn't see an inch in front of your face. Even the old lawless hunter days couldn't have matched this kind of frenzy.
Fortunately, the delisting hadn't gone through yet, so recovering his stats was still possible. In the end, it seemed he was an SS+ rank hunter once more.
Thank god Stamina and Mentality had gone up. If those had tanked too — he didn't even want to think about how close it would have been. The realization that he was the one who would have been helpless under Woohyuk's assault, the one whose life would have been on the line, sent a fresh chill through him.
Yeah. I really can't afford to take this market lightly.
With things as they were, he found himself wondering how the leading room was taking it.
Someone's probably losing it over why they're leading a delisting coin, and then if anybody says the info already dropped in the paid room, they'll seize on that and start another free-room-versus-paid-room brawl.
Jisu pulled up the open chat that Wildcat was leading on his phone.
Wow. How is there not even a hair of difference from what I predicted?
Watching them behave this exactly according to script was creepy in its own right.
It had sounded fairly gentle, all things considered. Wildcat's loyalists showed no such mercy.
Beyond the ones who'd spoken mildly, several more people were banished from the room — including the person who'd just raised the issue. Seven or eight, maybe. And aside from them, not a single person pushed back against the heavy-handed atmosphere.
The people still in that room wanted to keep receiving "information," no matter what.
It's a little ugly, but if you want to keep investing in coins, you probably don't have a choice. It's not like I don't get it.
Jisu was no different. Looking at it coldly, if the free room and the paid room offered the same information, the people paying for the leading room would be the ones with a right to feel cheated. Whether that was self-justification or not, he couldn't say — but wasn't that what investing was? Every decision, in the end, was one you made yourself. Nobody made it for you.
Anyway. I think it's about time I started angling for the paid room.
Wildcat's leading wasn't always perfect, but compared to the subpar rooms Jisu had been running into all this time, it was in a different league. And whether they were shills or not, the paid members' satisfaction seemed fairly high.
If spending a little money meant getting more accurate information, wasn't that a fair trade? Besides, from the moment his salary from the Hunter Association had started coming in, Jisu had more or less climbed out of poverty.
Yeah. It's about time I inquired about the paid room. I'll ask when I get home.
A genuine resolution, at last. If he could download accurate information from Wildcat's paid room and ask Seyeon about coin prices in real time, he wouldn't be stuck with this half-baked way of fighting — he could actually fight with strategy. And if he could do that, couldn't he become the strongest hunter on earth?
Of course, that future rested on a couple of conditions.
That Wildcat's paid-room leading was accurate. That, at least, he could verify once he was inside.
That Seyeon would help him. If he could just get her cooperation, it would make an enormous difference.
Alright. First up: joining the paid leading room.
And so, having more or less wrapped up the match, Jisu was on his way out of the Seongwol Society building when a familiar face came into view.
"Jisu! You worked so hard!"
Smiling and waving was the blonde beauty he'd grown quite used to by now — Seyeon.
"Seyeon, when did you get here?"
"I got here before you did, you know? Today's your duel day! Where did you think I was watching from?"
"Well, I mean, that's true, but…"
"Anyway! You worked so hard. The ending was a bit much, but still. So what technique did you even use?"
"Technique?"
"Yes! You said you didn't want to take a life, remember?"
Right. He had said that. Jisu answered without so much as a flicker in his expression.
"It's nothing special, really."
"?"
Seyeon studied his face for a beat, then broke into a bright smile.
"Oh, you don't have to explain in detail! You might have trade secrets and all. I totally get that!"
"Thank you."
If she was fine without an explanation, he might as well take the courtesy. There was a more important matter at hand.
"Right, Seyeon. There's something I'd like to talk about. Are you busy right now?"
"Huh? No — looking after you is my job, after all!"
"Understood. Then would you mind following me for a moment?"
He led Seyeon to a cafe nearby. The instant they stepped inside, a murmur rose around them.
"Whoa, who's that girl? Is she a celebrity?"
"She's insanely pretty…!"
"Her clothes look like they're about to burst."
Seyeon is pretty, I'll give them that.
It wasn't something he usually thought about, but she was an extraordinary beauty. Honestly, if she quit being an operator and went into cam streaming, she'd probably make more money. Her chest was on the larger side, and she had that smiling-face look guys went for — she'd be popular anywhere she went.
The female part-timer working the counter had a distinctly sour look in her eyes. She was looking at Seyeon, of course.
"Welcome. What can I get for you?"
"Ah, yes. Um…"
?
Seyeon was hovering over the menu, unable to pick anything.
"Just pick whatever you like. It's on me."
"Huh? No, but… it's coffee, and everything's so expensive."
"Sorry?"
What was this now?
"This isn't coming out of my paycheck, is it?"
"What? Of course not! It's just coffee. I'll pay with my own money."
"Then… an Americano…"
Even after he'd offered to pay, she timidly picked the cheapest thing on the menu!
"What size would you like?"
At the employee's question, Seyeon looked completely lost.
"Size? Uh, um…"
"…I'll handle it. Two Talls, please."
"Of course."
Unable to watch any longer, Jisu stepped in, finished the order, and found them a seat.
What was this? Was this her first time in a place like this? Had she really never set foot in a coffee shop at her age? It didn't seem like she was putting on an act.
"Ah, um… thank you. I don't really come to expensive coffee shops like this."
He thought, so people like this still exist these days — then immediately set the thought aside. The more he considered it, the more he realized how rude that assumption was. Who was he to go around deciding things about other people's lives?
"Don't worry about it. That happens. I was a little surprised, that's all."
"I…"
Seyeon turned the handle of her Americano cup between her fingers as she spoke.
"Ever since I came of age, all I've done is chase whatever path would make money. I have much younger siblings I have to put through school. So places like cafes, or spots where people my age hang out — I've never really been."
"I see."
He didn't know the particulars of Seyeon's family situation, but he could relate, at least a little. Hadn't he, too, bounced from job site to job site after his family's downfall, working every part-time gig under the sun?
Anyway. He'd called her out here, so it was time to get to the point.