Chapter 1996 – Popular Auction House
Due to the appearance of the Candlelight Auction House, the players viewing the Purple Thorn Kingdom’s official forums were in an uproar, especially the ordinary independent players. Once they read the forum thread, they headed to Glory Town.
Normally, these independent players struggled to earn money, yet God’s Domain had many aspects that required Coins. Exchanging Credits for Coins wasn’t easy either since most Workshops and money-farming teams sold Coins at a minimum of 5 Gold. Sellers very rarely sold small amounts, such as 50 Silver or 1 Gold. Players from ordinary households couldn’t afford to spend the Credits on 5 Gold, and although they were willing to purchase individual pieces of Bronze or Mysterious- Iron Equipment with Credits, such opportunities were incredibly rare. Most players only sold Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment for Credits when they were selling in bulk.
Although it was possible to purchase individual Bronze and Mysterious-Iron Equipment with coins in Guild Towns’ Auction Houses, there was generally a limited supply. Furthermore, traveling to Guild Towns wasn’t very convenient.
Now that the Candlelight Auction House had appeared in an NPC town and had a large stock of items, Purple Thorns Kingdoms’ general populace couldn’t sit still and do nothing.
In less than half an hour, Glory Town’s sparsely populated streets had become crowded with players. Everyone visiting the town swarmed toward the Candlelight Auction House to purchase and sell items. The town had become even more lively than Zero Wing City.
Shi Feng was overwhelmed as he watched from within the Auction House.
According to the Auction House’s statistics, over 30,000 items had been put up for auction, and over 50,000 items had sold. Meanwhile, the Auction House had collected over 200,000 Credits from processing fees and over 100 Gold in consignment fees.
Glory Town’s Candlelight Auction House made even more money than Zero Wing City’s.
Suddenly, Melancholic Smile contacted Shi Feng and demanded, “Guild Leader, what did you do in the Purple Thorns Kingdom?! The Candlelight Auction House has gained several thousand members in the last few moments! We’ve earned over 40,000 Magic Crystals via membership fees alone! In addition, the total trade volume for the Auction Houses in Zero Wing City, Silverwing Town, and Stone Forest Town has increased drastically! It’s 30% higher than usual!”
The Auction Houses in Zero Wing City, Silverwing Town, and Stone Forest Town were some of Zero Wing’s main income sources. However, the trade volume for these Auction Houses had increased by 30% and continued to rise. At this rate, the three Auction Houses would soon generate half of Zero Wing’s Credit income.
At that time, Zero Wing would no longer have to sell Secret-Silver and Fine-Gold Weapons and Equipment to maintain the training ground. The Guild might even be able to afford to recruit more internal members.
“A 30% increase in trade volume?” Shi Feng chuckled. “That’s only the beginning. If everything goes smoothly, we should see an increase of 70% at the very least. Oh, right. Send someone out to collect Phantom Flowers. As long as they don’t cost more than 5 Silver per stalk, buy as many as possible!”
An ordinary Guild City couldn’t compare to the convenience of owning an Advanced Land in an NPC town or city. This was even true for Zero Wing City, which had a player population of over 10,000,000. No other Guild had built a Guild Auction House in an NPC town in the Purple Thorns Kingdom, and Shi Feng’s success would attract a large number of players to Glory Town. Soon, the NPC town would see more player traffic than Zero Wing City, and almost every player that visited had done so specifically to use the Candlelight Auction House.
Melancholic Smile was dazed when she heard that the trade volume would increase by at least 70%. If it really were possible to secure so much income, they wouldn’t have to worry about the new training ground’s operation costs.
“Phantom Flowers? I’ll have my people purchase them via Secret’s channels,” Melancholic Smile said after recovering from her shock.
“No! We cannot purchase the flower through Secret. I don’t want to attract any unnecessary attention. Have people purchase the flowers from the various kingdoms and empires in secret, but try not to affect the market price,” Shi Feng said.
Although the Phantom Flower wasn’t particularly special, if Zero Wing purchased the flower in bulk through the Secret Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber’s other members would notice. That could affect his plans to stockpile the Phantom Flowers. He was not willing to take such a risk.
“I understand. I’ll have people collect Phantom Flowers in secret,” Melancholic Smile said, understanding Shi Feng’s intentions. She then disconnected the call and began to arrange the necessary manpower.
Meanwhile, a group of cloaked players had reserved a bar not far from the Candlelight Auction House and had settled in to observe the situation.
“Commander Irontooth, I’ve sent some players to investigate, but we haven’t discovered how Zero Wing got permission to construct the Auction House. We only know that Zero Wing had dispatched a group of architects to construct it on that plot of Land,” a masked, Level 58, Tier 2 Assassin reported. “Zero Wing has also constructed a Residence in the town. By the looks of it, the Guild plans to recruit members from Glory Town and begin its development in the kingdom from here.”
“What an arrogant Guild! First, Zero Wing kills our Guild members, and now, it intends to start a Branch Guild in our kingdom? This is an insult to Sin Realm!” Rage flared within Irontooth as he listened to his subordinate’s report.
“Commander, why don’t we go and kill Ye Feng now?” a Level 58, Tier 2 Ranger suggested.
“No! We’ll wait until he leaves Glory Town!” Irontooth growled, shaking his head. “Although Glory Town is only a town, it is a heavily fortified border town. Moreover, he must be aware that he has a tracking mark on him. He will expect an ambush and remain around a high number of NPCs. He might even have a bunch of companions with him. If we strike abruptly, we’ll just end up like Crocodile Breaker.
“Right now, we need to wait! Once the tracking mark disappears, Ye Feng will sense it. He’ll think that he is free and will act more boldly. That will be the perfect time to take his life. Notify Feather Hunter and tell him to keep a close eye on Ye Feng!”
“Understood!”
The Tier 3 Tracking Scroll Crocodile Breaker had used was incredibly rare and effective, but it had an obvious flaw; the targeted player could perceive the mark. However, Sin Realm used such a Tracking Scroll for that reason, letting their prey know that they were being tracked and hunted. The Tracking Scroll was merely a distraction, a set-up for the true attack that would occur after the Death Mark disappeared.
Their killing move was a special Legacy Sin Realm had obtained-Covert Killer. Not only did the Covert Killer hidden class allow a player to track others without being detected, but it also allowed the player to land a fatal blow from an extremely long distance. The class was almost tailor-made for Rangers.
Sin Realm had nurtured a group of true tracking experts with this special Legacy. Feather Hunter was the best among the players that had obtained the Covert Killer hidden class.
While Sin Realm’s Feather Hunter watched his target, Shi Feng boldly left the Candlelight Auction House and headed for the trading firm a short distance away.
The Candlelight Trading Firm’s interior was finally complete. The first floor would be reserved for selling daily necessities, the second would sell valuable items Candlelight produced, and the third would contain workspaces and a warehouse.
The Shop was also fully staffed by NPCs and Candlelight members from White River City. Now, all that was left was the Shop’s grand openings.
Once Shi Feng entered the Candlelight Trading Firm, he instructed an NPC to purchase materials and focus on buying Phantom Flowers. The Guild members would be responsible for managing sales and producing items. With everything set up, Shi Feng’s true purpose of setting up the trading firm in Glory Town should remain hidden.
I should head to the Icefire Mountain Range now. Shi Feng glanced at the time once he had settled his affairs in Glory Town. Since the tracking mark on him had disappeared some time ago, he decided that it was finally time to leave. He immediately donned his Black Cloak and snuck out of the town. He only called out his Mount and made his way towards the neutral map after he had put some distance between himself and Glory Town.
The moment Shi Feng left the town, Feather Hunter notified Irontooth of the development
“Commander Irontooth, Ye Feng has snuck out of Glory Town!” Feather Hunter reported as he watched the moving red dot on his system map.
“Good! He’s finally getting impatient! Follow him closely! We’ll head to your location immediately!” Irontooth said, laughing as he finished the beer in his hand.