Cathulhu Online, MUNYA!

Chapter 3 – Cat Dad’s Investment

Pangu Online 2

The first game of this series came out a decade ago. A hundred million players around the globe jumped into this game because of its realism and the stunning universe.

The game featured a massive universe sandbox and a bit of wuxia fantasy elements. Players could freely explore the universe and discover many secrets, which could affect the real body of the players!

Many players found themselves getting stronger after playing the game. Several middle-aged game-addicted men turned into handsome young men. Even medical experts were baffled by the phenomenon.

Because of these mysterious perks, the popularity of the game reached a new height that no rival game company could contest against it.

Unfortunately, after the game had been operating for two years, Pangu Universe Incorporation, aka the owner of the game, suddenly shut down the servers even though the company made a hundred million dollars of profit every quarter.

Many gamers protested the decision of Pangu Universe Incorporation’s CEO. However, the CEO publically stated that the game’s mechanics were broken and couldn’t bear to continue giving services to a bad game.

And now, the sequel of the game appeared, and the gamers went crazy over it. Even after the game added the cryptocurrency and NFT features to the game, no one complained.

It had been two months since the game had been officially released. Xiaomao was eager to check the game’s status and its cryptocurrency tokens.

Xiaomao opened his laptop, which he had bought with his own money, and checked the crypto trading site. He searched for several keywords.

“As expected. It’s crashed.”

Xiaomao glanced at the token pairs. The number was red as usual.

PACT (Pangu Contribution Token) / USDT (Tether USD)

0.05

-15.5%

The number told Xiaomao that one PACT could be exchanged for 0.05 USD.

It was worthless. This token was the same as other shit coins in the crypto market.

Xiaomao remembered this token well. The price would continue to go lower, but it would stay at 0.04 to 0.05 there for about 10 months. The insiders of Pangu Universe Incorporation would secretly buy and horde the coins before the major update while players continued to make profits from selling the tokens they earned from the game.

At one point, the game company would publish a piece of news, and gamers around the world, including crypto-investors, would jump on this ship..

Then, the price would climb from 0.05 USD per token to 2 USD per token within ten months!

That was a huge opportunity! Even a kid could tell that any investor could get a lot of money if they bought it now.

In addition, the price would continue to rise from that point. 2 USD per token would be considered cheap by then.

Looking at the screen, Xiaomao grew impatient. He couldn’t wait for the price to get to the lowest point anymore. He purchased 3,500 USD worth of PACT coins right away!

Amitabha Buddha All In!

Praise Jesus All In!

Allahu Akbar All In!

Xiaomao prayed and pressed the market purchase button.

CHA-CHING

Though, from a calculator, Xiaomao should have gotten 70,000 tokens.

However, because of the exchange site’s algorithm, Xiaomao managed to purchase 69,500 tokens after the gas fee and the slippage charge.

After getting the tokens, Xiaomao leaned back and rested his arms on top of his head. He pursed his lips and began to imagine his future.

‘Should I do nothing and grab the easy cash in 10 months? If I wait, these digital tokens will be transformed into 139,000 USD. After that, it will gradually increase in value. In two years, the price will be 20 USD per token, and I will have…’

Xiaomao could have waited 10 months for the price to jack up to 2 USD per token. Then, he would have earned 139,000 dollars! Then, two years later, it would become 1.39 million USD!

Still, Xiaomao knew that he could earn more from the game. The 69,500 tokens would generate millions of tokens if his game character was good enough.

“UGH! What should I do?! A guaranteed 139,000 bucks? I can continue working part-time and convert all my money into crypto. Then, I can get more. Before the price jumps, I have 6-7 months to work. I could have like… three grand to invest. And that money would become a half a million…”

“But if I invest in the game, I can quit my jobs. I don’t have to go to college and waste my time. I can even earn a million dollars a year at the minimum if I get to THAT point!”

“Or, I can keep half of my coins and invest another half to the game. That should be the ideal choice.”

This was a common dilemma of amateur investors and GameFi players.

Greed

Had Xiaomao had the mind of a veteran stock investor, he would have taken the safest route and waited three years. Then, he could have walked away with a guaranteed profit.

However, Xiaomao knew about the potential of the game and the future development of Pangu Online 2, including its secrets.

It was not all about money.

It was not about having a dream job as a pro-gamer.

It was an opportunity of a lifetime!

In his previous life, he regretted that he didn’t play the game earlier. He missed so many good perks that came with the game that benefited his body in the real world.

It was about immortality!

Xiaomao continued to grumble as he closed his laptop. He couldn’t do anything to the tokens right now, so he went to sleep.

This matter needed to be considered carefully.

But as Xiaomao was about to fall asleep, he had an idea.

‘Why shouldn’t I think of this earlier!?’

…

The next day, Xiaomao consulted his parents.

“I’m going to invest in crypto. Can I borrow some money?”

“No.”

Miao Damao instantly rejected him.

The dad knew: Cryptocurrency trading was not suited for beginners and amateur traders. Every crypto investor always advised others to only use cold money, which they could afford to lose. They should never use borrowed cash or use the hot money to invest in cryptocurrency, EVER.

“But I know the inside news.”

Xiaomao’s father glared at him, “If you want to play with fire, do it with your own money. And if you lose everything, it’s your fault. But if you succeed, then you owe me 50% of your profits.”

“Huh?”

BONK

Xiaomao’s mother hammer-fisted the dad’s head and smiled, “Which token are you investing in, Xiaomao?”

“PACT.”

Miao Damao’s expression changed. On the other hand, Xiaomao’s mother widened her eyes.

Miao Damao put down his phone and stared at Xiaomao’s face, “How much do you need?”

“…Never mind. I’m not going to trouble you. Forget it, dad.”

Xiaomao’s mother, aka Katerina, beamed him with a bright smile. She opened a cabinet and pulled out an envelope.

In there, Katerina pulled out ten stacks of RMB cash. She tossed them to Xiaomao.

Miao Damao’s face was ashen. That was his secret stash.

Katerina giggled, “I won’t give it for free, but I’ll give you a loan.”

“A loan?”

“I’ll loan you 100,000 RMB. The interest rate is 10% per month.”

“Are you a loan shark?!” Xiaomao was shocked. The interest rate was too high.

“Will you take it or not?!”

“Can I pay you everything next year?” 𝐟𝙧ee𝔀e𝐛𝓃𝐨𝚟𝑒𝗹.c𝗼𝚖

“Sure, but you’ll have to pay me 260,000 RMB in total. If you were to fail to return the amount, you will be disowned and kicked out of the house. Is that alright?”

“…”

Katerina’s eyes were cold and scary. Xiaomao regretted asking his parents for money now.

But in the end, Xiaomao’s mother gave him a harsh sermon and shoved the money to him.

Now, Xiaomao received a harsh real-life quest. He needed to turn the 100,000 RMB into 260,000 within a year, or he would be kicked out of the house.

He didn’t notice the faint smile of Miao Damao. Katerina also giggled as she glanced at her husband’s company ID.

Pangu Universe Incorporation

Miao Damao was an insider, and this couple had been collecting the tokens as well.

…

“Hehehehe!”

Xiaomao walked out of the bank after he had deposited all RMB into his account. Converting RMB to USD, he got 16,000 USD richer. Combining with his own money, 17,500 USD glittered in the bank.

He swiped his phone and checked the trading site. The PACT price dropped to 0.045 per USD, which was cheaper than yesterday.

Xiaomao checked the total tokens in the market.

1,000,000,000,000 tokens

This was the initial amount of tokens that the game company had minted, but Xiaomao didn’t believe in the number. After all, the real circulated tokens in the market should have surpassed that.

A player could earn up to 100 tokens every week, depending on their game progress. 100 million players were still playing the game, and an average of 2,000 million new tokens were minted and released to the market every Sunday.

This was why the price sank so quickly.

‘Idiots. The game will not die. Why are they selling the tokens? The liquidity is high, and the market cap is solid. Did they even read the whitepaper and roadmap? Do your research, fools!’

Xiaomao scoffed at the panicking investors who had sold their tokens for quick cash. But since it was none of his business, he ignored them and rushed back home.

…

Later that day, a delivery package arrived at the front door. Five middle-aged men in a technician company uniform pressed on the doorbell.

The VR game capsule had arrived!

Xiaomao’s father guided the crew to Xiaomao’s room. As for Xiaomao, he had moved out a bookshelf and a table to clear a space for the gigantic sci-fi game capsule.

The crews installed the modules for hours. After they were done, the room looked cramped as it could only accommodate a bed, a closet, and a giant capsule.

Xiaomao gazed at the small room. Then, he looked at his father.

“Should I move the bed out and sleep in the capsule?”

The father scoffed, “If you want to have a bad back, go ahead.”

“But the game capsule comes with a built-in auto-massage bed.”

“You know what? That is my bed now! You can move out!”

Before Xiaomao’s father could evict him, Katerina pulled the dad’s ear and dragged him to the living room.

Once his parents were gone, Xiaomao rushed into his room and closed the door.

He grabbed his laptop and sat on the bed. Then, he browsed the internet and accessed the exchange website once again.

This time, he deposited 17,000 USD to his trade account, leaving only 500 USD as his pocket money.

Without hesitation, Xiaomao bought PACT tokens with all his cash!

Amitabha All In!

CHA-CHING

377,500 tokens were added to his account. Now, he had 417,000 tokens in total.

Xiaomao gulped. His hands trembled in excitement.

Soon, these 417,000 tokens would be worth 834,000 USD!

The profit was right in front of him.

“VIVA TRANSMIGRATION! VIVA REGRESSION!” Xiaomao celebrated.

“SHADDAP!!”

The voice of his father stunned Xiaomao. He covered his mouth and widened his eyes.

Still, he couldn’t stop smiling.