Chapter 2234 – Purchasing a Shop

Dark Night Empire, Starlink’s Residence in Dark Night City:

As soon as Lu Xingluo entered his quiet office, he noticed someone sitting in the room. As Bright Dawn noticed the visitor as well, he positioned himself in front of his Guild Leader.

Starlink’s Residence was heavily guarded, and the Guild had a rule that no one was allowed in the Guild Leader’s office on their own without the Guild Leader’s permission. Not even Bright Daw, Starlink’s Vice Guild Leader, was an exception.

And yet, someone sat, apparently waiting, in the Guild Leader’s office.

Even more frightening, this player wasn’t wearing Starlink’s Guild Emblem, and if Bright Dawn hadn’t spotted this player, he wouldn’t have noticed their visitor at all. It was as if this person did not actually exist inside this room.

Although Bright Dawn wasn’t a Domain Realm expert, he was a Void Realm expert, a peak expert. He had sharpened his five senses to their very limits. He’d notice a tiny fly, let alone a living person. However, when it came to the young man in silver leather armor, he couldn’t sense the youth even as he looked straight at him.

As Bright Dawn stared, he felt cold sweat drip down his back, yet he couldn’t sense where the danger came from.

While Bright Dawn struggled with what he should do, Lu Xingluo spoke, “Dawn, leave us.”

“Understood!” The command informed Bright Dawn that his Guild Leader was acquainted with this stranger. Before he left, however, he spared one last glance for the thin young man on the sofa.

Once Bright Dawn left the Guild Leader’s office, Lu Xingluo took a seat opposite of the youth.

“Why are you here, Blue Mask?” Lu Xingluo asked frostily.

“I’m here to ascertain your progress with the task that great personage has assigned you, of course,” the youth, Blue Mask, replied, unperturbed by Lu Xingluo’s cold treatment.

“Rest assured, everything is progressing smoothly. I will personally report on this matter. You don’t need to concern yourself,” Lu Xingluo said.

“Good.” Blue Mask nodded. Smiling, he continued, “However, I’ve heard that Zero Wing has defeated your Guild. This is quite interesting.”

“I am merely letting Zero Wing live a little while longer,” Lu Xingluo said, his expression darkening. “Once I’ve finished my tasks, I’ll teach Zero Wing the meaning of despair!”

He had no choice but to surrender to keep his trump card hidden. There was no way he’d let Shi Feng and Zero Wing off the hook. When the time was right, even Unyielding Soul and Crimson Emperor would meet their doom, not to mention Zero Wing.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to mock you. I am merely talking about Zero Wing. Despite its lack of background, it has developed with such ferocious speed and nurtured so many powerful experts. Zero Wing has even defeated your subordinates,” the youth said, shrugging.

Every existing superpower had only developed into such due to an abundance of capital and resources. This was especially true when it came to nurturing experts. Money wasn’t enough to accomplish this feat.

However, despite lacking investors, Zero Wing had repeated displayed an astonishing growth rate. No one believed that Zero Wing wasn’t hiding some kind of secret.

“What? Are you actually interested?”

Blue Mask’s comment surprised Lu Xingluo. The young man had never paid attention to anything outside of his own concerns and had zero interest beyond his own.

“I’m on the one who’s interested. That great personage is,” Blue Mask said, smiling faintly. “That great personage will likely seek out Zero Wing for a chat.”

“That great personage is interested in Zero Wing?” Lu Xingluo was stunned.

Lu Xingluo was the Starline Corporation’s heir and enjoyed high status and an immense amount of influence in the real world, but compared to that person, he was little more than an ant. Lu Xingluo had never thought that an insignificant pest like Zero Wing would catch that person’s interest.

“That’s right. I’d suggest that you avoid messing with Zero Wing. At least, not until you’ve completed your tasks,” Blue Mask said.

“I understand.” Lu Xingluo nodded.

Since that great personage had decided to make a move on Zero Wing, there was nothing Lu Xingluo could do about it. If negotiations were successful, he’d be fine, but if they failed, Zero Wing would be doomed, even if he didn’t make a move.

While the Dark Night Empire was in an uproar about the match between Starlink and Zero Wing, Shi Feng secretly arrived on Dragonheart Island in the Sea of Death.

Dragonheart City was currently crowded with people, and as Shi Feng wandered down the city streets, he could tell that the city was even more prosperous than empires’ imperial capitals.

As the only large-scale independent NPC city in the Sea of Death, many powers had gathered here. Even the rarely- seen neutral powers and naval powers frequently visited, especially the neutral powers.

Neutral powers were strong enough that not even superpowers dared to provoke them at sea.

These neutral powers consisted of non-human players. Unlike on land, non-human players weren’t restricted at sea. With the superior racial traits, it was easy to imagine how powerful these non-human powers would be on the open ocean.

Non-human players were superior to human players in both leveling speed and combat power achievements. The only downside these players had to deal with was the Promotion Quests, which were far more challenging than those human players had to face.

As for naval powers, they spoke with their ships. Naval powers fought in such a way that made individual players’ strength nearly ineffective.

This was why it was so difficult to secure a foothold on Dragonheart Island and why so many powers tried to do so, regardless.

Shi Feng hadn’t had an opportunity to establish a foothold on Dragonheart Island in his previous life. At most, he had been able to lead teams to the island to challenge the World Tower. His Guild hadn’t even had a temporary Residence on the island.

However, Shi Feng had reached Dragonheart Island much sooner in this life. Moreover, he had the ability to establish a foothold here. He couldn’t help but sigh ruefully at the situation.

I missed the best chance to prepare for the Tier 3 promotion in my last life. I won’t let it happen this time, Shi Feng swore to himself as he gazed at Dragonheart City’s City Hall, his heart pounding with excitement.

Completing the Tier 3 Promotion Quest was an intense challenge. Not only did players need a certain degree of strength, but they also needed the help of specific external items.

Fortunately, Dragonheart City had a large variety of items to offer. As long as he could purchase a Shop here, he could buy many of the items NPC had for sale. It was one of the most reliable methods of acquiring items in Dragonheart City. Of course, the quality of the items available would largely depend on the Shop’s location and rank.

Many powers had failed to establish a Shop in Dragonheart City in the past, and as a result, they had lagged behind when it came to Tier 3 players. Shi Feng would not miss this opportunity in this life.

Shi Feng quickly entered the City Hall, and following an NPC administrator, he arrived in an elegant reception room. The NPC administrator then retrieved a list of available Shops in Dragonheart City, allowing Shi Feng some time to browse through his options.

Purchasing a Shop with a high star-rank was the most important thing to Shi Feng right now, but considering the amount of Ancient Gold he had on hand, his choices were limited. If he wished to purchase a 2-star Shop, his only options were grocery stores. He simply couldn’t afford a 2-star alchemy workshop or smithy.

Sure enough, I’m limited to a grocery store in the city’s inner area. After browsing through the list for some time, Shi Feng felt like a pauper.

Almost all of the 2-star Shops available cost more than 10,000 Ancient Gold. Some of the more expensive Shops even cost upward of 30,000 Ancient Gold.

However, as Shi Feng considered purchasing the 2-star grocery store, he noticed a 1-star Shop at the very bottom of the list. Unlike the other Shops, this 1-star Shop’s name was written in gray. When he read the Shop’s name, Shi Feng was stunned.

The Wanderer’s Shop?