Chapter 403: Turnip Meltdown! Save the Vegetable Farmers! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Animal Forest offers very free and life-like gameplay.

Befriending little animals, DIY crafting, purchasing various rare furniture, and enriching the museum's collection.

Of course, in the early stages, when everyone was very short on money.

The game features a very user-friendly system.

That is, selling turnips.

Every Sunday before noon, a piglet girl named Daisy Mae appears on the island, selling an item called turnips.

The prices are random, and after a week, these turnips will rot away.

Meanwhile, in the island's store, there are different turnip prices each day. As long as the selling price is higher than the purchase price, it's essentially a guaranteed profit.

It can be said that this is a relatively important source of income for players in the early game.

But the key point is, this thing is risky.

Just like stock trading.

Where there's profit, there's naturally loss.

At his home in the Imperial Capital, an alarm clock rang, and Zhang Yi yawned as he climbed out of bed.

Although it was Sunday, and only eight o'clock, that wasn't the main issue. Next to him, Wang Han also rubbed her eyes, still a bit groggy.

“Found her!” Opening the Switch by the bedside, Wang Han saw the piglet girl Daisy Mae on the island.

“Damn profiteer, the turnip prices are over a hundred now! But I've already gone all-in!” Zhang Yi's face was also smiling.

Starting at eight in the morning on Sunday, after a week of anxious waiting, it was definitely time to go all-in.

Easy money one moment, turnips the next.

They also needed a sense of ritual, lining up the turnips in the field. Zhang Yi and Wang Han both looked very happy.

Monday and Tuesday, two days of joy, as they patrolled the island's fields full of turnips, making cheering expressions.

Turnip Estate, cheers!

Getting rich overnight was within reach. Waking early and sleeping late, they naturally couldn't forget to inquire about the day's turnip prices.

“Ninety Bells, it'll double tomorrow!” Wang Han said with a smile.

“One hundred and thirty Bells? Too low, let's wait.” Zhang Yi decisively quit the game.

Wednesday and Thursday, they fished and caught bugs, asking about turnip prices before sleeping.

Eighty and seventy. Why are the turnip prices constantly decreasing? Could there be a meltdown!?

By Friday, with the week almost over, Zhang Yi looked at the Switch in his hand, took a deep breath, and pressed the button.

‘The current price for turnips is 19 Bells per piece! Per piece!’

Timmy and Tommy's voices were still as full of vitality as ever.

But Zhang Yi's heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice hole.

One must know, he had bought these turnips from Daisy Mae for 102 Bells each!

And he had gone all-in when buying them.

And today was already Friday. If there wasn't a good price tomorrow, these turnips would rot in the ground.

His heart was trembling, his hands shaking.

All the money he had was now in the form of turnips before his eyes.

“It's up to you!” Zhang Yi looked at Wang Han next to him, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Wang Han, leaning on the sofa, held the Switch she had just managed to get last week.

Entering Nook's Cranny, her hopeful hand clicked to check today's turnip prices.

‘The current price for turnips is 34 Bells per piece! Per piece!’

The merciless numbers crushed the last hope of the two turnip farmers.

“It's okay! We still have Old Song!” Zhang Yi took a deep breath, looking at the equally despairing Wang Han.

They hadn't lost completely yet; they still had Old Song, who was also playing the game.

However, no sooner had he spoken than his phone rang.

In the group chat, Old Song, Joey, and others all sent their respective messages.

“Old Zhang, how are your turnip prices today? Save the kids! The turnips have already melted down! It's only 22 Bells today!”

“Sister Han, how's your situation? My turnip price is 26!”

Looking at the messages from Old Song and Joey in the group, Zhang Yi couldn't help but sigh and sent a message back: “Say no more. Grab your turnips, rare furniture, and Nook Miles Tickets, and go find some kind islanders with high turnip prices!”

Like Zhang Yi's and Wang Han's predicament, their experience was clearly just a microcosm of what was happening in the game. On major forums and Tieba.

There were countless messages left by ACNH players, detailing their island's turnip prices for the day.

All for one reason: to prevent their turnips from rotting away.

Of course, reality was cruel, and more often than not, there were wailing islanders who couldn't sell their stock in time.

‘I once lived a moderately prosperous life through farm-style leisure, with modest savings and full of hope for the future, until that day I met a sister named Daisy Mae!’

‘Turnips melted down! Save the turnip farmers!’

‘Capital is a rich man's game; because of debt, I've lost even my underwear!’

‘Brothers, let's meet on the rooftop. I'm going ahead!’

‘Turnips are unsold, help us!’

‘Cherish your Bells, stay away from turnips!’

‘One all-in bet: win, and pay off the full loan; lose, and go home to grow vegetables. No more talk, brothers, it seems I can't live anymore.’

It can be said that although turnip trading is just a simple gameplay mechanic in Animal Forest, it ignited many players' desire for online multiplayer.

As for why?

Either cut your losses, or your turnips rot away.

Otherwise, you'd have to find an island with higher prices to sell them.

Thus, the internet was filled with posts from players requesting to visit islands to sell turnips.

And players whose turnip prices reached four, five, or six hundred instantly became the coolest kids around.

However, even if you found a place to visit an island to sell turnips, that wasn't the end of it.

Facing a kind player who let you visit their island to sell turnips, you'd have to give them a little gift, right?

Rare furniture or Nook Miles Tickets bought with Nook Miles, you'd at least need some.

Besides, you weren't the only one selling turnips on the island. When people queued to board planes, the game would enter an animation, making you 'stand still as punishment' to welcome the new turnip seller.

Emptying out all your turnips would take quite some effort.

And after all that was done, a new Sunday would arrive again!

This stock-trading-like gameplay directly made many players a bit unable to stop, even obsessed.

As time progressed, topics about Animal Forest became more numerous and hotter.

While domestic players were engrossed in fishing, bug catching, and selling turnips.

A piece of news that greatly excited and thrilled overseas players also emerged.

That is, with the exception of a few regions, the overseas version of the Switch had passed review and was gradually being rolled out for sale.

Accompanying this news, many overseas players were ecstatic.

Heaven knows how they had gotten through this period. It would have been fine if they hadn't known about the Switch and its games.

But the crucial point was that Nebula Games, after all these years, along with last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Red Dead Redemption, also had numerous followers overseas.

Under such circumstances, these Nebula Games fans naturally kept a constant watch on its new game developments.

This included GameSpot's previous wave of high-score reviews, which directly made overseas players so preoccupied they could neither think of tea nor desire food.

And now the Switch and its two exclusive games were finally released in their regions.

(End of Chapter) <>