Chapter 53:Money and Talent Pour In

      

            Chapter 53: Dokdok Coin (4)

A quiet day passed.

September 12th.

DokDok Coin continued its downward slide. With no sign of the masked man, debate about his luck carried on in the coin café forums.

- *A god-given money spirit? Lol*

- *Turns out investing just comes down to who’s lucky*

- *Even coins follow the “born to win” rule lol*

- *Doubting him at this point just makes you look dumb…!*

- *He made over 300 million yesterday and just casually walked away. So cool I almost fell for him lol*

- *I already fell for him…!*

- *So when is he coming back I haven’t sold yet *

- *He has this uncanny knack for never buying when it’s in free fall. Is there something going on? *

- *Maybe he’s a shaman…?*

- *King spiciously God suspicious!*

And then the next day arrived.

“Phew.”

Ryuseong woke up early, took a deep breath, and steadied his mind.

**[September 13th]**

**[8:00 AM Korean time — Nicolah Corporation CEO posts a drunken photo on Starstagram.]**

**[8:30 AM — Drops a bombshell statement.]**

**[Announces plans to pursue a partnership allowing all Nicolah products to be purchased using DokDok Coin.]**

**[Investors from around the world pile in, triggering a massive surge.]**

**[Exactly 20 minutes later, a post goes up saying it was a drunken joke, and the price crashes.]**

This was the last day recorded in his coin journal.

It was going to be a loud one.

It was currently 8:00 AM.

He checked Starstagram — the Nicolah CEO had already posted a photo of himself visibly drunk.

“It’s started.”

He put on his mask and went live. When the viewer count crossed 1,500, he left one meaningful message:

“Everyone, I only have one request today.”

The chat flooded with question marks.

“Buy when I buy, and sell when I sell. Do that, and we’ll all have a happy ending. Trust my luck and follow along. Understood? Don’t get greedy — just follow me.”

A flood of *”got it”* responses filled the chat.

*Good. That’s enough.*

If some people still got greedy after hearing that, there was nothing he could do. He couldn’t track each one down and talk them out of it.

Investment was ultimately a personal choice.

Excessive interference was pointless.

“Alright then — let’s buy.”

The amount: **1,223,889,928 won** — over 1.2 billion.

He put it all into a single buy order.

> *[Purchase executed.]*

> *[Purchase executed…]*

It went through in an instant.

There was only one thing to remember.

**Sell before 9 AM.**

As long as he did that, this trade would be a success.

“Buy is in. Let’s watch for a bit.”

He chatted casually, and before long, 8:30 arrived. The Nicolah CEO’s post appeared on Starstagram.

The reaction was explosive.

Translations poured into the coin café non-stop.

> **Title: Is this real?? Did everyone see the Nicolah post??**

> **Title: No way, is this actually happening????**

> **Title: They’re partnering with DokDok Coin??**

One post had the highest views:

> **Title: Nicolah is a major corporation — this is MASSIVE**

>

> Body: They dominate daily goods across Japan and just entered the self-driving car market. If they actually let people use this coin in their ecosystem, this is an absolute mega-hit!

**[Comments]**

- *UpOnly: LET’S GOOOOO!*

- *NaRok: I… huh. Unbelievable.*

- *└HodlGuy: Weren’t you the one talking trash on DokDok Coin?? Lol*

- *└NaRok: Ha, I can’t even.*

- *└HodlGuy: Nothing to say, huh?*

- *└NaRok: Nothing, yeah lol*

- *└HodlGuy: So you’re not buying?*

- *└NaRok: Already bought*

- *└HodlGuy: Madman lol*

- *└NaRok: Had to buy, come on lol*

- *└HodlGuy: LET’S GOOOOO!*

- *└NaRok: LET’S GOOOO!*

> **Title: I TOLD you guys to buy!!**

> Body: The Info Guy already bought! You idiots lol

**[Comments]**

- *SnakeYear: Am I the only one… kinda tired of hearing about this “Info Guy” constantly? Doesn’t it get old?*

- *ImCoin: Not for me*

- *└SnakeYear: Ugh, I’m so sick of it!*

- *└ImCoin: Jingle!*

- *└SnakeYear: …What?*

- *└ImCoin: Sick-jingle-bells! You don’t know that dad joke?*

- *└Wanderer: lol*

- *└CoinGod: Ugh, I didn’t want to laugh… lol*

- *└MINE: I spat out my drink lol*

- *└SnakeYear: Damn it, I laughed too. Ha lol*

- *└ImCoin: See, so just buy DokDok Coin already haha*

- *└SnakeYear: Fine fine lol*

DokDok Coin’s price shot up to the sky.

But only for exactly 20 minutes.

*

Ryuseong completed his sell without a moment to spare.

| **Ticker** | DokDok Coin (DDC) |

| **Purchase Amount** | ₩1,223,889,928 |

| **Return Rate** | 49.51% |

| **Profit/Loss** | +₩605,947,903 |

| **Total Value** | ₩1,829,873,831 |

Any moment now, the post would go up — *sorry, that was just a drunken joke.*

“I have clearly sold.”

- *AlTang: Ugh, the moment of truth…!*

- *StockNewbie: Screw it… ㅠ Sold, following along!*

- *SugarCube: Sold too! Happy with this!*

- *AlTang: Fine, sold ㅠㅠ*

A fair number followed him out.

But plenty didn’t.

- *VenomFan: Why are you pushing others to sell just because you did?*

- *MoonShot: You’re really selling during insane news like this? Lost your mind? Lol*

- *VenomFan: I’m holding no matter what! Everyone hold!!*

- *MoonShot: Only idiots sell right now lol*

Ryuseong quietly noted their usernames.

- *StockNewbie: Ugh, fine… ㅠ Sold, following along!*

- *SugarCube: Sold too! Happy with this!*

- *AlTang: Alright, sold too ㅠㅠ*

A fair number followed him out.

But plenty didn’t.

- *VenomFan: Why are you pushing others to sell just because you did?*

- *MoonShot: You’re really selling during insane news like this? Lost your mind? Lol*

- *VenomFan: I’m holding no matter what! Everyone hold!!*

- *MoonShot: Only idiots sell right now lol*

Ryuseong quietly noted their usernames.

*Wonder if they’ll show up in the next stream.*

With that thought, he waited.

Three minutes later, the bomb went off.

 *[I got drunk and made an irresponsible joke. Nothing related to DokDok Coin will ever be made reality. The name is just cute, that’s all.]*

It was a new post from the Nicolah CEO on Starstagram.

“Well. There you have it.”

The game was over.

The initial capital he’d put into DokDok Coin was 800 million won. His final profit came to roughly **1 billion won**.

*

The whole world erupted.

It was a bomb of historic proportions.

Only one line burned itself into people’s minds:

*[The name is just cute, that’s all.]*

The options were few.

Sell.

Or watch.

Most people could only watch — because they missed the window entirely. The price dropped over 20% in under a minute. Those who caught the news late and scrambled to sell just stared at the red numbers, frozen. It was already far too late.

951… 926… 903… 884… 852…

An unstoppable freefall.

Everywhere crypto was discussed, the same story played out.

> **Title: I just… ha… seriously…!**

>

> Body: Down 26% ㅠㅠ What do I do? Should I sell now? Ha, I’m losing my mind… you all said to HOLD!!!

**[Comments]**

- *RichKid: Welp, looks like holding didn’t work out this time ^^;*

- *CryBaby: Hold on, just hold!!*

- *└Villain: You’re genuinely awful lol*

- *└CryBaby: Only hodlers win!*

- *└Villain: This one’s already done*

- *└CryBaby: Come on, just hold!! Lol*

> **Title: Scam… it’s a scam…!**

>

> Body: DokDok Coin is a scam, a scam, a scam… ha… hahaha…

**[Comments]**

- *Doodler: I’m laughing too. Let’s just laugh.*

- *OP: Down how much for you?*

- *Doodler: -26%. Wait, now -27%. Now -28%…*

- *OP: Ha, I’m tearing up lol*

- *Doodler: Now it’s -30% ㅠ*

- *Salmon: Not really a scam, it was just… cute lol*

- *OP: Cute my ass *

The price, which had been plummeting at terrifying speed, stabilized slightly.

Peak: **1,075 won.**

Current: **575 won.**

It hadn’t fully returned to pre-news levels, but it was close — meaning most of the gains had been completely wiped out.

Some people cut their losses with tears in their eyes. Others just paced helplessly. And of course, some were still buying in. There’s always someone flying into the flame, no matter where you are.

Amid all the chaos, one post stood out.

This time, it wasn’t about the coin.

It was about one person.

The masked man. The Info Guy.

> **Title: Turned out the masked guy was right all along**

>

> Body: At the start of the stream he said something that seemed random at the time. Buy when he buys, sell when he sells. Do that and it’ll be a happy ending.

>

> I thought it was nonsense, but wow lol

>

> And now I can’t stop thinking about what he said when he sold.

>

> A true quote for the ages:

>

> *”I have clearly sold.”*

>

> Remember that? Lol

>

> Hearing him say that, I honestly started wondering if all that “Info Guy” talk was just made up.

>

> Sell THIS? SELL THIS?

>

> At the time I genuinely thought it made zero sense. I thought he’d lost his mind! With news this big? You’re SELLING? Are you stupid?

>

> Funny thing is, a lot of viewers seemed to think the same as me. Two in particular kept telling him to stop making everyone nervous. Called him an idiot for selling lol. Said they were holding no matter what.

>

> Yeah… I bet those two are in the exact same boat as me right now.

>

> All I can do is laugh lol

>

> Ha… damn it, I should have believed him!

>

> Should’ve sold with him

>

> God, turns out I was the real idiot.

**[Comments]**

- *Nolak: Sad situation, but yeah, idiot is accurate, nothing to argue with lol*

- OP: Ha, fair lol*

- *2ndYear: Should’ve listened to someone who actually knows what they’re doing*

- *StockNewbie: Haha, when he said to sell I just did it right away!*

- *└OP: Why are you starting with me…!*

- *└StockNewbie: Hehe*

- *└OP: Get lost ㅠ*

- *└StockNewbie: Why are you cursing at me lol*

Similar posts continued to dominate the boards.

> **Title: I TOLD you to just trust and follow the Info Guy, you idiots!**

> **Title: The masked guy is literally a god lol**

> **Title: I'm the idiot for not believing him…!**

> **Title: So which viewers were the ones swearing they'd hold to the end? lol**

> **Title: How'd that work out for you? We all know you're lurking haha**

> **Title: The masked guy is the only real legend now!**

> **Title: Idiots, you literally just had to follow the expert and you'd have made money, smh**

The Masked Man. The Info Guy.

They had become names no one could easily dismiss anymore.

---

*

The limited quest wrapped up cleanly.

> **[Limited Quest Complete!]**

>

> [Measuring viewers who participated in 5 or more live streams on NuTube.]

>

> [Measuring the profits of those viewers.]

>

> [Combining both conditions to calculate result.]

>

> [Calculating…]

>

> [Calculation complete.]

>

> **[You have earned 16 Goodwill Points.]**

He hadn't expected much from this quest, since it was tied to dedicated repeat viewers. He'd only managed to go live four times despite his best efforts, so he assumed not many people would meet the conditions.

"That's… more than I expected."

Apparently not.

The points that came in were far higher than anticipated, bringing his total Goodwill Points to **38**. He'd been accumulating them at a solid pace lately.

"I can already purchase a Talent at this point."

The Information Rights, however, required 60 points — still a ways off.

But that was fine.

In less than half a year, he'd built up assets worth 2 billion won.

There was no need to rush.

He could move forward at his own pace.

*Ding.*

He was in the middle of quietly reaffirming that when his phone suddenly buzzed.

**NEW [Chat — Broadcast Writer]**

A message from the broadcast writer, in their old chat thread.

> *— Masked Man, hope you're doing well?*

He tapped the notification, read it, and slowly typed back.

> *— Yes, it's been a while, Writer.*

>

> *— Hi! You replied so fast, thank you haha. Actually, I've been watching all your streams so I guess that was a silly question.*

>

> *— Oh, is that so?*

The replies were coming in at lightning speed.

> *— Of course! I tuned in every time a live alert popped up — except when I was recording myself ㅠㅠ. Actually, I traded a little following along with the DokDok Coin thing…!*

So she was one of the many viewers who'd contributed to his points. He thought that idly as he typed.

> *— Did you sell in time?*

>

> *— Yes! I sold exactly when you did!*

>

> *— Good call.*

>

> *— Right? I did well, didn't I?*

>

> *— You did.*

>

> *— So… have you given any more thought to appearing on a broadcast?*

>

> *— I have.*

>

> *— Is your answer still the same?*

>

> *— Hmm…*

The truth was, he could purchase the Talent right now if he wanted.

But should he?

Going on a broadcast didn't seem like it would help him in any meaningful way. If anything, there was too high a chance it would just bring unnecessary hassle. Unless some kind of linked quest appeared, that is — but barring that…

Yeah. Sorry, but.

Stalling any longer wouldn't accomplish anything.

> *— I've thought about it for a long time.*

>

> *— Yes…!*

>

> *— I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to appear on a broadcast.*

>

> *— Oh… I see ㅠㅠ*

>

> *— I'm sorry it took me so long to give you an answer.*

>

> *— No, not at all. I'm already so grateful you took the time to consider it at all ㅠㅠ*

>

> *— Thank you for saying that.*

>

> *— Is there really no room to change your mind?*

>

> *— Not right now, no.*

>

> *— Understood…! I don't want to keep bothering you either, that wouldn't be right ㅜㅜ. I'll pop into your live streams from time to time! Hope you keep making lots of money, I'm rooting for you — fighting!*

>

> *— Thank you.*

He closed the chat, and Ryuseong sat quietly for a moment, lost in thought.

Money.

The writer's parting words — *keep making lots of money* — lingered in his mind for no particular reason.

Making money.

That couldn't be the whole of it.

The more pressing question was how to use it.

What would it take to take a bigger step forward than he was taking now?

The method.

And the direction, too.

"Hmm."

It was a night that deepened his thoughts.

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