I'm doing engineering in the instance.

With 68 hours left in the countdown to #004, he decided to make a trip to Yuan City.

It wasn't because he couldn't sit still. It was because he went through his notes twice in his personal space and found something in the "Pending Verification" section that hadn't been changed—"Information Market Price Changes · #003 Countdown · No Recorded Baseline Value".

He didn't take notes at the time because he didn't expect the data to be useful.

Now he finds it useful.

He picked up his toolbox and walked into the teleportation node.

---

There are more people in Yuan City than last time.

It wasn't just a little bit more; it was a significant increase in density that you could immediately sense at a glance. He stood at the exit of the teleportation node, not moving immediately, but letting his eyes scan the area—the direction of the flow of people, the density of people staying, and the gathering points in front of the stalls.

Thirty seconds.

Then he walked toward the information booth area.

---

The scarred man was still in the same old spot, with his folding stool, wooden plank, and the old scar that slanted from his left eyebrow to his cheekbone.

The words on the wooden board have changed. Last time I came, he was selling information related to #003; now it says:

"#004 Related Rules Information: 180 Source Coins per item, 700 Source Coins for a bundle of five items"

Xie Chengzhou stopped in front of the stall without saying a word, glanced at the numbers on the wooden board, then moved half a step to the side, pretending to look at other stalls.

The scarred man looked up and sized him up: "What are you looking at? If you want to buy, just say so. If not, don't block the way."

"What's the current price for #003, based on the information from last time?"

"#003?" The scarred man scoffed. "#003 has already passed, Article 51, do you want it?"

Xie Chengzhou did not respond.

The scarred man understood, leaning back in his chair: "#004 is different. You saw it yourself, the number of people asking about it today is more than double what it was before #003 started. Supply is limited, demand is high, so prices naturally go up. This is the market, not something I set."

"180 yuan per message? Where did you get this information from?"

"Compiled by eyewitnesses"

"Which eyewitness?"

The scarred man paused for a second, then shifted his posture: "Buy it if you want, otherwise don't ask where it came from. The source is my capital, I'm not selling it."

Xie Chengzhou nodded and turned to leave.

"Feed him," the scarred man called out to him. "Five packs, 650."

"You just said 700."

Are you a returning customer?

"no."

"That 650 is because I like you." The scarred man raised his chin. "Five rules, 650, take it. Rule framework, threat entity perception mechanism, roadmap, two known security nodes, packaged together."

Xie Chengzhou mentally reviewed the five points. He had a deduced version of the rules framework and perception mechanism in his own database, with a 65% confidence level. He didn't have a roadmap or safe nodes—but without a source, he wouldn't dare use a roadmap directly on-site. What if it was a dead end that the previous group had taken, and they compiled it into a "safe route" and sold it? That would be paying to buy a trap.

"No."

The man with the scar didn't call him again.

---

The second stall, a young woman with her hair tied up high, had a whiteboard and markers.

"Threat Entity Behavior Log - Dam Copy - Full Version - 180 Source Coins"

Xie Chengzhou stopped.

Have you ever entered the dam instance yourself?

The woman froze for a moment.

"I've been there."

"several times?"

"once."

"Are you out?"

"I'm out." Her tone was a little harsh. "Otherwise, what would I be selling here?"

"Thirty-seven entries, 180 Source Coins." Xie Chengzhou glanced at the whiteboard. "You observed thirty-seven records of threatening entity behavior in one instance?"

The woman did not answer immediately.

This pause speaks louder than any explanation.

Xie Chengzhou didn't ask any further questions. He took out the memo and wrote down a line: "#004·Record of Threatening Entity Behaviors·Full Version·180 Source Coins·37 Entries·Claiming to be an eyewitness·One copy·Quantity questionable·"

He closed the memo and nodded to the woman: "Thank you."

"Aren't you going to buy it?"

"I won't buy." He paused for a moment, "But next time you set up your stall, sell your firsthand experiences and what you've collected separately. Price firsthand data separately; it's more valuable than selling them together."

The woman stared at him for two seconds.

Xie Chengzhou had already turned and left.

---

He walked through the entire area of ​​stalls listing "the third way" but only found one.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man, silent. There were no signs in front of him, only a chair and a wooden box on the ground. Xie Chengzhou walked over and asked, "Do you have any information on the unconventional solution for #004?"

The middle-aged man looked up at him.

Then he looked down and glanced at Xie Chengzhou's wrist.

It wasn't the kind of casual glance; I paused, read it, and then looked up.

"One, 500 Source Coins."

Xie Chengzhou didn't answer immediately. He mentally went through the sequence of actions—the man looking down at his wrist, reading the serial number, and then offering a price. This sequence indicated that he knew who C-0047 was, and he was making a judgment based on this information. The result of his judgment was: 500 source coins.

This pricing is not random.

"source?"

"My own."

"Can you verify this?"

"cannot."

Xie Chengzhou wrote half a line in his memo: "#004·Unconventional solution·500 Source Coins·Source: Claimed eyewitness·Knows C-0047·Pricing is not random·"

Then he closed the memo and walked away.

The man did not call out to him.

About fifty steps north of the information booths area is the props trading area.

He had only browsed the information booths in the city before, never heading this way. This time, he came over because he wanted to know how items brought out of the dungeon circulated among players.

The stalls in the prop trading area are different from those in the information stall area. Most of the stall owners in the information stall area are sitting, with a sign in front of them, quiet, as if waiting for customers. In the prop trading area, most of the stall owners are standing, some props are placed directly on the ground, and some are hung on temporary racks. Occasionally, someone will squat down to pick up an item and look at it, and the stall owner will squat down as well, the two of them talking to each other about that item.

It's a bit noisier than the information booth area.

Xie Chengzhou paused at the entrance and scanned the overall layout.

Most of the stalls sold consumable items—the ones he recognized included: Perception Enhancer (small bottle, semi-transparent liquid, label says "single use, perception range +15%, lasts for three minutes"), Vibration Suppression Pad (thin sheet, material seems to be some kind of composite rubber, label says "contact area ≤0.5㎡, vibration transmission attenuation about 60%)), and several other things he couldn't name, all with different shapes and descriptions on their labels that he didn't understand.

He stopped in front of a stall.

The stall owner was a man in his thirties with an old scar on his arm, arranging the items on the shelves. There were seven or eight props hanging on the shelves, and one label in particular caught Xie Chengzhou's eye:

"#004 Dam Instance Applicable to Water Pressure Sensing Ring Single Use 50 Source Coins"

He didn't ask immediately; he first went over the label in his mind.

The name "Water Pressure Sensing Ring" indicates that this item is related to water pressure. In the dam instance, water pressure is a key variable. If this item is real, buying one before entering the instance allows you to sense changes in water pressure in advance, making it practically valuable.

However, the label says "#004·Dam Dungeon·Applicable"—is this "applicable" label added by the vendor or is it part of the item's attribute description? If it's added by the vendor, then this "applicability" is not guaranteed at all.

"Have you ever used this device yourself?" Xie Chengzhou pointed to the water pressure sensing ring.

The man with the arm scar turned around: "I've used it."

"In the dam instance?"

"right."

What are the effects when using it?

The man with the arm scar thought for a moment: "After putting it on, you can feel the direction of the water pressure. It's not a number, it's a sense of direction, like something is pushing you, but it's very light, and the direction of the push is the direction of the water pressure."

"How long will it last?"

"The label says three minutes, but it took me about two and a half minutes."

"The margin of error." Xie Chengzhou nodded. "How many times have you entered the dam instance?"

"first."

"You came out on your first try?"

"I'm out." The man with the scar on his arm paused. "I'm the only one who came out."

Xie Chengzhou did not respond to that sentence.

He noted down the information about the water pressure sensing ring in his memo: "#004 Item - Water Pressure Sensing Ring - 50 Source Coins - Single Use - Senses water pressure direction (not numerical value) - Lasts approximately 2.5-3 minutes - Source: Claimed to be an eyewitness - Obtained from a single instance - Credibility to be verified."

He then closed the memo, glanced at the other props on the shelf, asked no more questions, and continued walking forward.

The man with the arm scar didn't call out to him; he just glanced at him and continued tidying up the shelves.

---

Further into the item trading area, there is a place that is clearly different from the surrounding stalls.

It's not a stall.

It was a fixed platform, about two meters high, made of what appeared to be dark metal, with a smooth surface, no welds, no screws, as if it had been cast from a single piece. Above the platform hung several rows of glowing text, not handwritten, but emanating light from the material itself—uniform, stable, and without flickering.

Xie Chengzhou stopped in front of the platform.

This was his third time coming to the city; the first two times he had only visited the information booths and hadn't come this far. He glanced at the text above the table:

"Essential Mall - Official Channel - Source Coin Settlement"

The front of the stand features a display panel divided into three columns:

The left column is for "Items": Perception Enhancer (Official Version) - Single Use - 120 Source Coins; Vibration Suppression Pad (Official Version) - Single Use - 90 Source Coins; Structural Stress Marker - Single Use - 200 Source Coins; and a few other items he hadn't seen before, with the label "Limited to Tier 1 Players" after their names.

The middle column is for "Abilities": Rule Analysis - Beginner - Single Activation - 500 Source Coins; Perception Extension - Beginner - Single Activation - 600 Source Coins; Stress Resonance - Beginner - Single Activation - 800 Source Coins.

右栏是「信息类」：#004副本基础规则框架·官方整理·300源币；#004威胁实体行为模式·官方整理·350源币；#004已知安全节点·官方整理·280源币。

Xie Chengzhou read through all three columns from beginning to end.

Then he stood in front of the platform for a while without moving.

He was thinking about something.

The information item in the right column—"#004 Copy Basic Rules Framework - Official Compilation"—is 300 Source Coins. This price is higher than the 180 Source Coins from the guy with the scar, but the source is "Official Compilation," meaning it comes from the original structure, making it the most credible of the three channels.

but.

The fact that this entity is selling this information means it knows what information players want. Knowing what information players want means it knows what players are worried about. Knowing what players are worried about means it's observing player behavior—not just behavior in dungeons, but also what they buy, investigate, and pay attention to in Source City.

You went to the store and bought "#004 Threat Entity Behavior Pattern", so our body knows you are worried about threat entities.

If you buy "Rule Analysis - Beginner" from the store, the prototype will know which approach you are using to process the instance.

This online store is not just a sales channel. It is also a data collection node.

Xie Chengzhou went through this logic in his mind, and then wrote a line in his memo:

"The official channels of the Steingou Mall offer the highest credibility for informational products, but the act of purchasing itself reveals the direction of Steingou's needs. Using official channels is equivalent to actively submitting behavioral data."

He closed the memo, stood in front of the table for a few last seconds, then turned and left.

He didn't buy anything.

He stood by a stone platform for a while, going over in his mind what he had seen that day.

Three regions, three sets of logic.

Information Stall Area: Players sell information; the sources are opaque, prices fluctuate with demand, and quality cannot be verified. A scarred man sells for 180 Source Coins, a young woman for 180 Source Coins, and a silent man for 500 Source Coins—prices are rising, but the reason for the price increase is not that the information is becoming more accurate, but that buyers are becoming more impatient.

Item Trading Area: Players sell items, and the source is relatively verifiable (the items are physical objects that can be seen and touched). However, the "applicability" label cannot be guaranteed, and the effect of the same item may differ in different dungeons. For example, the Water Pressure Perception Ring costs 50 Source Coins. The guy with the arm scar said it was effective, but he only used it once, so the sample size is insufficient.

Stigma Mall: Officially sells information and items, with the most reliable source, but the act of purchasing itself is a form of data submission.

When he was in charge of procurement at the construction site, he encountered a similar situation: the materials specified by the client were of guaranteed quality, but they were expensive. Moreover, once the client knew that you were using their products, they would assume that you would use them again next time, which would reduce the room for negotiation.

The logic of the constitutive marketplace is the same as this.

Just as he was about to leave the stone platform, he caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of his eye.

The man stood in front of the scarred man's stall, buying things. Not looking—he was buying. He pulled a handful of Source Coins from his pocket, counted them, handed them over, took a folded piece of paper, opened it, glanced at it, closed it, and stuffed it into his memo pad. Then he took two steps to the side, went to another stall, and continued buying.

Xie Chengzhou stared at him for about two minutes.

The person bought at least five items from three different stalls. Judging from their actions of counting source coins each time, each purchase was between 100 and 200 source coins. After five items, the total cost was estimated to be over 600 source coins.

After buying the last item, the man closed the memo and headed towards the teleportation node. As he passed Xie Chengzhou, Xie Chengzhou glanced down at his wrist—the serial number was clear, unobstructed, a four-digit number starting with "first".

More than a thousand.

He wrote a note in his memo: "Newcomer procurement · 600+ Source Coins · Five requirements · No ability to verify the source."

Then he paused, and added three words after the line: "Systemic."

It's not that person's problem. It's the market's structural trap for newcomers—you lack sufficient experience to verify the accuracy of the information you buy, yet you desperately need information to fill that gap in experience. This closed loop has no exit in the city of Origin.

He closed the memo.

---

The stall owner selling vibration isolation pipes is still at the same old spot.

Xie Chengzhou walked over and glanced at the stall. Compared to last time, there was one more item on the stall—placed in the inconspicuous left corner.

He recognized the material; it was like rubber waterstops, used in dams or underground waterproofing projects for waterproofing expansion joints. It was elastic, pressure-resistant, and expanded when exposed to water. But the cross-section of this part was wrong. Standard waterstops are strip-shaped with a dumbbell-shaped or hollow cross-section. This thing's cross-section was irregular, as if it was custom-made to a specific contour, or deformed after being pressed by something.

He neither picked it up to look at it nor asked any questions.

The stall owner didn't look up.

Xie Chengzhou memorized the shape of the cross-section and then continued walking forward.

---

He stayed in Source City for about two hours, then entered the teleportation node and returned to his personal space.

#004 Countdown: 48 hours and 22 minutes remaining.

He sat down at the table, opened his memo, organized what he had written that day, and then wrote a line at the end:

"Information market prices are a projection of collective judgment. They don't tell you the truth, but they do tell you what most people are worried about. The Constitutive Mall is another kind of mirror—it tells you what the constitutive thinks you should be worried about, and how the constitutive wants you to solve it. Neither of these mirrors directly reflects the truth."

He put down his pen and closed the memo.

The toolbox sat on the table, its lid closed. He placed his hand on the lid, feeling the temperature of the metal—room temperature, about twenty-three degrees Celsius, dry and stable.

48 hours.

The tightest deadline he ever experienced on the construction site was completing the structural acceptance of an underground utility tunnel within 48 hours. When those 48 hours were up, he stood at the entrance of the completed tunnel, folded the inspection report twice, stuffed it into his pocket, and then went to find the next job.

He removed his hand from the toolbox, picked up the memo, and wrote a line on the last page:

"#004 Countdown: 48 hours. Waiting."