Lately, Melody Summers had been busy every day, catching seafood in The Arcadian Sea and shipping it to The Nimbus Hotel on schedule.

Nourished by the special waters of Arcadia, the seafood caught from The Arcadian Sea was of the highest quality—every single piece a premium product. Combined with the principle that "rarity creates value," the seafood instantly became The Nimbus Hotel’s new signature offering the moment it was available. It was constantly ordered by the hotel’s guests, and for a time, demand far outstripped supply.

And so, in just a few short days, The Nimbus Hotel’s daily seafood order increased from 400 to 500 kilograms, and then from 500 to 750 kilograms. Melody Summers’s daily income also rose from 12 million to 20 million Currency.

The Nimbus Hotel was also very prompt. They transferred the 20 million Currency payment into Melody Summers’s account every day right after receiving the seafood. Just like that, Melody easily hit a few more of her "small goals."

What Melody Summers hadn’t expected, however, was that news of The Nimbus Hotel’s high-quality seafood would spread like wildfire, even becoming a top trending topic online.

However, the topic was quickly taken down by a PR team. Flaunting such a glaring wealth gap at a time like this could easily stir up conflict, which was something many people wanted to avoid.

Although the trending topic was removed in time, the seafood affair still attracted public attention. After making numerous inquiries, some people managed to track down Melody Summers, wanting to buy seafood from her directly.

While most people had lost everything and become destitute in the past two years, wealth doesn’t just vanish into thin air. It only transfers into the hands of a select few through various means. As a result, many people had transformed overnight into the new rich.

And now, with the ongoing natural disasters, these wealthy people had no idea which day would be their last. So... of course they had to relax and enjoy themselves!

When they heard seafood was still for sale, of course they wanted to eat it!

So, over the past two days, Melody Summers had received a steady stream of inquiries from other provinces. They asked if she could ship her seafood out of province and offered very attractive prices.

[User xxx: Hello, we’re from the Kanton Grandview Hotel. Our hotel needs 1,000 kilograms of seafood daily, with a payment of 30 million Currency settled each day. Would you be open to a partnership?]

[User xxx: Hello, we’re from the Seraphall Grand Hotel. We’d like to order seafood from you. We need approximately 2,500 kilograms per day. The price is negotiable. Can we discuss this further?]

[User xxx: We’re from The Tranquil Hotel in Hillcrest. Can you supply to Hillcrest? We need 1,000 kilograms of seafood daily. Could you share your contact information?]

[...]

Reading these messages, Melody Summers sighed with a sense of helplessness.

As more areas in The Arcadian Space were unlocked, Albus’s abilities had grown considerably, and he could now transport products from the space to other provinces. Even so, Melody still temporarily rejected these out-of-province orders.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to make money; it was that her yacht had a limited carrying capacity!

When she had first bought the yacht at auction, she never imagined she’d be using it for fishing. A recreational yacht wasn’t a professional fishing vessel. Melody was afraid that if she hauled in too large a catch, the yacht might capsize.

Gazing at the distant sea, Melody Summers said to Albus, who was beside her, "It’s a shame our yacht is too small. If only we had a large fishing vessel..."

With a fishing vessel, not only could she catch more seafood, but she could also sail to more distant places and explore farther seas.

Albus had previously told Melody Summers that beyond The Arcadian Sea lay the deep sea, and even further beyond that was the mysterious Dark Sea.

Unlike the calm sea they were in now, The Dark Sea had a harsh environment with turbulent, surging waves and monstrous tsunamis.

Melody Summers was tempted after hearing Albus’s description. She had once seen a documentary about crab fishing in treacherous seas and knew that king crabs bred in just these kinds of harsh waters.

She wanted to catch king crabs, but she also knew that going there in her current yacht would be a suicide mission!

This recreational yacht was fine for a spin or two on the water, but as for anything else... whether it was large-scale fishing or exploring the deep sea, it was all just wishful thinking.

At this thought, Melody Summers shook her head helplessly. She put away her phone, returned to the cockpit, and started the journey back.

...

But to her surprise, as she was passing Odyssey Station, Melody Summers was thrilled to discover that the large ship docked there had returned once again!

Melody Summers quickly adjusted the yacht’s course and headed for Odyssey Station.

After mooring the yacht at the dock, the girl and her cat ran into the trading hall and dashed toward The Trading Floor.

But as she approached The Trading Floor, Melody Summers was shocked to find it completely empty, where new items should have been displayed.

Seeing this, Melody Summers blurted out in shock, "Wh-what’s going on?! How could it not bring anything back this time?"

’This shouldn’t be happening!’

Last time, Melody Summers had placed a rare Top-grade Red Diamond on The Trading Floor. If converted to Currency, it was estimated to be worth at least several billion.

Logically, a payment that large should have brought back at least a few bottles of S Level Far Sea Secret Medicine. So why was The Trading Floor completely empty now?

Melody Summers grabbed the nearby Albus in desperation and asked, "White! Don’t tell me the system just swallowed my diamond... I worked so hard to dig that up!"

Just then, a mechanical voice sounded in Melody Summers’s mind—

[DING! The item you last offered for trade has received high recognition from the Trade Center. You have now been upgraded to a premium member of the Trade Center!]

Melody Summers listened to the mechanical voice in her mind, surprised. ’Trade Center? Recognition?’

’What is all this?’

Before Melody Summers could figure it out, the system voice in her mind continued:

[As a premium member of the Trade Center, we are now opening the "Product Catalog" to you. You may use the "Product Catalog" to select items for trade.]

As the system voice faded, a large light screen slowly unfolded above The Trading Floor. It hung in mid-air like a giant, disembodied monitor.

The light screen was like a promotional flyer from a supermarket, filled with a dazzling array of goods: beautiful gems, strange and exotic herbs, bizarrely shaped clothing, and more.

Seeing this trade catalog, Melody Summers finally understood. Being a "premium member" meant she could now choose the items she wanted to trade for herself.

Her previous two trades had been like opening blind boxes. Melody was only responsible for placing the funds on The Trading Floor; she had no control over what items she received in return.

By using a Top-grade Red Diamond as the offering for her third trade, she had made all future transactions open and transparent!

’What a bargain!’

Melody Summers held Albus in her arms, beaming with delight as she scrolled through the trade catalog.

The trade catalog contained all sorts of items. Melody went straight to the end, planning to browse backward from the last page—a habit she had from looking at supermarket flyers.

Unexpectedly, however, when she flipped to page 11, all the items were encrypted. She couldn’t see a thing.

Melody Summers pointed at the screen full of pixelation on page 11 and asked Albus in a puzzled tone, "White, what’s going on? Why can’t I see anything past page 10?"

Albus replied:

[Host, you don’t have enough points right now. To unlock the content beyond page 10, you need to increase your trade volume.]