NOVEL WEB Chapter 6: The First Sale
The next morning, Lin Fang sat cross-legged on the floor of his small new room, the faint hum of the city outside, and a sleepy baby panda curled up beside him.
His laptop glowed on the desk, casting a blue light over his thoughtful face as he logged into the NovaMart website.
"Open, Character Interface." He mumbled.
He clicked on Exchange after scrolling down.
It opened two options.
[Exchange Store Earnings] [Exchange Other Credits]
He tapped on the info button, already being aware of what they do, but did it just out of habit.
A small window popped up: Credits earned from registered store transactions can be converted at a rate of 100 Credits = 1 Coin.
Credits earned from all other sources (freelance work, commissions, transfers, etc.) can be converted at 200 Credits = 1 Coin.
"If only I had been more careful in spending those coins gifted in the newbie package… sigh, it's useless to fret over the things that happened in the past. Anyways, since I don't have any system earnings, let's just convert some earnings I had in the bank. But can the system just draw my credits from the bank automatically, or should I use a debit card or something?" he muttered.
Putting away his thoughts, he clicked on Exchange Other Credits.
*Ding!
[Write the amount]
Since he only needed one sale, and he needed 38 more coins to buy an egg from the shop, Lin Fang wrote 7600.
A blinding flash of light filled the screen for a moment before a notification appeared.
*Ding!
[7600 Credits have been exchanged for 38 coins]
At the same time, his phone buzzed. He lifted it to see the message from the bank that 7600 credits had been deducted from the account. Where that money was transferred or how it was deducted. Nothing mentioned in the message, but Lin Fang couldn't care less about that, right now.
He went back to the Character Interface and scrolled down, clicking on Summoner's Shop.
Two products are visible.
[Luminous Panda egg] [Growth potion]
The former costs 100 coins while the latter costs 500 coins.
Lin Fang clicked on the former.
*Ding!
[100 coins were deducted]
[A luminous panda egg has been sent to the inventory]
"Okay, good."
Lin Fang nodded, his lips widening.
He went back to his laptop, opened his shop dashboard: Fang Fang Pets.
No active products.
No followers.
No store badge.
No sales.
Everything is a flat line at the moment.
He clicked Add New Product.
As soon as he did that, a system prompt appeared before his eyes instead.
[Please select the new product you wish to sell through Fang Fang Pets]
He clicked on the inventory. From there, he selected the lone shining treasure of his store:
Item: Luminous Panda Egg
Grade: Legendary
Max Level: 50 (King Tier Potential)
Attribute: Light
Hatch Time: Instant upon bonding
Description: A rare, light-element panda species with natural healing affinity. Ideal for defense-heavy builds and support roles. Limited hatch availability.
*Ding!
[The product has been selected. Please type the Price.]
"This is a tank/healer type monster with King Tier potential.. In terms of store earnings, the production costs are like 10,000 credits, and regarding other earnings, it's 20,000 credits. So, normally, I should sell this for 30 to 40,000 credits," he muttered, "but I'm not trying to be rich yet. I just need to store earnings and make it popular."
He entered:
Price: 15,000 Credits
With a final breath, he clicked Publish.
*
Somewhere far away, deep in the towering skyline of Peking, the capital city of Northern Yan, a luxury apartment complex hovered in the sky.
Inside, a young man in a loose robe lounged on a massage bed with a holographic screen floating in front of him.
He scrolled lazily through NovaMart, the pet supplies section. His golden-brown eyes narrowed as he swiped.
"Boring… boring… overpriced trash… fake brands…"
A lazy yawn escaped him as he scrolled again, and then his thumb paused.
Luminous Panda Egg – 15,000 Credits
Potential: King Tier.
Seller: Fang Fang Pets
New Listing – 32 mins ago
He blinked. "Huh?"
He tapped the listing. The product shimmered in the interface, the soft glow of a Light-element aura rotating behind the egg's image.
"Luminous Panda?" he murmured, suddenly alert. "I know Pandas, but aren't they basically Earth element in nature? I never heard of a light-element Panda before. And since when did a Panda have a King Tier potential? They are at best a Commander Tier. Must be a variant…"
He clicked the seller's name.
Fang Fang Pets
No badge. No reviews. No description.
Registered 33 minutes ago.
"Is this a scam?" He scratched his head, uncertain. The price was suspicious, too.
It was too low.
"Maybe stolen?" he mused. "No… no one posts stolen goods here. NovaMart has AI flaggers. They'll get you locked down before you even breathe."
His thumb hovered over the "Buy Now" button.
There was one thing that pushed him past the hesitation:
COD (Credit on Delivery) – Available (+100 credit Free)
Drone Delivery – Available within the country. (+500 Credit Fee)
"Worst case, I lose 500 credits," he muttered. "Not even enough to pay my bathwater bill."
With a lazy smile, he tapped Purchase and selected his address.
Order Confirmed. Drone in queue.
Far away, back in Lin Fang's residence, a soft ding chimed inside his head as he was in the shower.
*Ding!
[Order Received — Luminous Panda Egg Sold]
Lin Fang froze mid-shampoo. "Wait… what?!"
He fumbled to rinse the soap off his face and scrambled out of the shower like a soldier answering a war horn.
Barefoot and dripping, he dashed across the room, grabbed a towel, and swung into his desk chair with a wet splat.
He logged into his NovaMart seller dashboard.
Buyer: Anonymous (COD)
He stared for a moment. "Someone actually bought it? It hasn't even been an hour."
He wiped his face dry with the towel and immediately switched tabs. The money hadn't yet reached him, of course not until delivery was confirmed, but the order processing window had opened.
Lin Fang took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then placed the arm-sized black/white egg into a normal cardboard box and sealed it with normal black tape.
Then selected on the dashboard: [Ready to Ship > Send to Fulfillment Center #0482]
Since he had no physical storefront and had listed himself as a Cloud Seller, it would route through NovaMart's automated fulfillment center, which would handle the packaging, security, verification, and drone dispatch. He wouldn't have to do anything.
With everything set, Lin Fang sighed and sat back, waiting for the money to drop into his bank account.
Later that Evening – Capital City, Peking
The sky was red with dusk as the highrises of the capital shimmered in amber light. On the 84th floor of a luxurious condo, the young man from earlier, tousled hair, fair skin, and a lean athletic frame, was immersed in battle. Not the real battle, but a virtual battle. In other words, he was playing a game.
"Summon: Flame Chameleon. Tactical flank, right now!"
A holographic battlefield surged with light as his virtual summon darted forward.
But then…
Ding-dong.
The door alert blinked red.
The man sighed and hit Pause, stepping away from the console.
"Must be the delivery."