Master of Kaidan
Chapter 149 Bakerland’s Transformation

Chapter 149: Chapter 149 Bakerland’s Transformation

Time had advanced to May 2012, and nearly four months had passed since Feng Xue’s descent into this country. Bakerland had undergone earth-shattering changes.

By this time, Bakerland could no longer find a single building openly displaying a cross; the streetwalkers from the banks of the Tasoke River and the Elizabeth District had long since moved their operations, and many companies had entirely abolished overtime under the pressure of human rights organizations...

In contrast, there had been a significant shift in Bakerland’s dietary habits.

The initial changes began with the well-off housewives and gradually spread to the upper echelons of society as sporadic appearances of "Youthful Cuisine (as named on the internet)" and the phenomenon of reversing aging gained attention. Eventually, these trends trickled down and slowly became a fad.

A key figure in this frenzy was a rich old lady who had purchased a "Demon Coin" for a high price, expressing a wish for the "Demonic Chef to prepare a beauty meal set" for her.

Thus, this nearly sixty-year-old rich woman successfully enjoyed thirteen days of youthful vigor and the subsequent health benefits.

Indeed, thirteen days. Although the Demonic Chef didn’t frequently prepare "Youthful Cuisine," in the past few months, there had been six publicly-known fortunate individuals. With the changes in their (and their families’) physiques, the internet had started to summarize the observed patterns—

Individuals who consumed "Youthful Cuisine" would maintain a body state of around twenty years old for three days, then gradually return to their original age over the next ten days. However, as per the medical reports from hospitals, even after reverting to their original state, the diners’ physical fitness and health conditions had significantly improved, and even some chronic diseases that had emerged due to aging had completely disappeared.

After this became public knowledge, the value of Demon Coins was hyped to an incredibly exaggerated extent. Not just wealthy old ladies, but also many affluent middle-aged and elderly men started to take action. Rumors even circulated that a wealthy septuagenarian from Victoria, after eating "Youthful Cuisine," fathered several heirs for his family within the short span of thirteen days.

In the aftermath, the Demonic Chef and Demon Coins almost became household urban legends in Bakerland. Through the internet, the legends began to spread throughout the entire Victoria and even enticed many wealthy individuals settled in other cities to return to Bakerland.

As all these events unfolded and spread, even the treatment of Chinese residents in Bakerland experienced a terrifying improvement. Initially, it was just the young Chinese men, but later on, as long as one was Chinese, regardless of age or gender, they were included in the ranks of "Coin Demon reserves."

Even those who couldn’t be bothered to help their own parents were now eagerly assisting elderly Chinese ladies across the street, although they displayed vile behavior when they didn’t receive the coveted coins—usually, they were restrained by others who desired the coins just as much.

All sorts of chaos played out in Bakerland, while the mastermind behind everything continued his daily routine without a care.

He cast Gold Coins at night, practiced Qi Cultivation in the early morning, withdrew and scattered money in the late morning, refined fantastical objects at noon, fulfilled wishes in the afternoon, and then chose a lucky housewife to cook a dish for. Although the routine was somewhat monotonous, the sensation of feeling the elements grow livelier every day and the labels becoming more solid kept Feng Xue hooked.

Western countries have many anonymous Storage Lockers that are quite convenient, whether for applying, using, or canceling them. It is now difficult to pin down the original reason for their emergence, but it’s undeniable that they have provided significant convenience for various underground transactions. Many criminals would leave varying amounts of assets in different Storage Lockers, which allows them to trade them to improve their quality of life in prison, even if they are unfortunate enough to get arrested and incarcerated.

The tale of the Demon Coin itself was based on this system. By utilizing storage lockers scattered all across Bakerland, Feng Xue could easily disrupt the rhythm of the investigators, since behind every storage locker there was the involvement of forces from both the underworld and lawful sectors. Even West Vila Field wouldn’t dare issue an order to thoroughly inspect all storage lockers in Bakerland.

"Just one more to collect, I hope it hasn’t been grabbed by some bored hoarder..." No longer needing a map to navigate through Bakerland with ease, Feng Xue followed a path to the storage locker located on the east side of Queen Avenue in Jowood District, murmuring to himself as he checked his surroundings for anyone carrying magical artifacts that could hook onto phantasmal objects.

As the notoriety of the Demon Coins increased, so did the frequency with which he created phantasmal coin artifacts. What used to require crafting dozens without a guarantee of yielding one, now meant that producing three or four could result in a coin with the "trade" attribute.

His "Money Printer" tag also saw significant amplification through this process. Where he originally had to carefully carve each coin bit by bit, now, with just a rub of his two fingers, he could directly transform raw materials into his own designed coins (whether they were phantasmal or not still depended on chance).

However, these were secondary concerns. What mattered most was that as "Demon Coins" escalated to sky-high prices in Bakerland’s upper society, the "hidden face value" of Feng Xue’s phantasmal coins also soared.

While every phantasmal coin’s description simply stated, "You may request the holder to do something within their capabilities for you," in reality, each coin did possess an unseen face value.

In other words, when you used the coin to request a service, if the demand exceeded the "hidden face value," the other party could potentially "refuse the trade." Even if you forcefully placed the coin in their hands, they could just toss it back at you.

But now, Feng Xue could distinctly sense that the coins he held had considerable "weight." If measured in plain money, one phantasmal coin could purchase goods worth "eighty thousand pounds" (approximately one hundred thousand dollars or six hundred fifty thousand RMB).

That amount sounded substantial, but compared to the bounties wealthy collectors placed on Demon Coins, it was a mere drop in the bucket. This realization made Feng Xue understand that the value of these coins was probably not as straightforward as "whatever others are willing to pay."

As for what other conditions could apply, Feng Xue, lacking more reference points, could only vaguely speculate they were related to factors that determine the value of currency, such as "issuance volume," "circulation," and "acceptance."

Therefore, Feng Xue came up with a bold idea—

To disperse the phantasmal coins he had in hand.

After all, currency only holds value when in circulation. However, all of this was predicated on the condition that he must reclaim those coins he had previously given out that did not contain "magic power."

The one remaining coin that still hadn’t been collected was distributed ten days ago and had yet to be wished upon. Feng Xue couldn’t help but suspect whether it had been snatched up by some wealthy individual as a collectible. Of course, this wasn’t really a problem, because once the coins with "magic power" went on sale, those without it would naturally be treated as "fakes."

Just as he checked the area for surveillance and opened the storage locker without much hope, to his surprise, he found a beautifully crafted envelope lying inside. Judging by the traces at the corner of the envelope, it likely contained the coin he had distributed.

"Could it actually have appeared?!"