Ignatius was the owner of a leather goods shop. The previous news about the monster siege of the fortress was spread by Nie Yan through Ignatius, who held an extremely high status in Hilton Fortress. According to the progression of the game in Nie Yan’s previous life, after the monster siege, nearly all the NPCs inside Hilton Fortress would perish. However, in this life, due to timely reinforcements from various cities, about one-tenth of the NPCs in Hilton Fortress survived, including several powerful overseers and high-ranking overseers. This was all thanks to Nie Yan. Naturally, the leaders of Hilton Fortress would want to offer some rewards; otherwise, they would seem rather ungrateful.
Ignatius was looking for Nie Yan, most likely regarding the reward.
Nie Yan still needed another day before he could re-summon his Forcena warhorse, so he activated his Haste ability and ran swiftly toward Hilton Fortress on foot.
Before long, Nie Yan entered Hilton Fortress. Cui Can Dao Guang (Blazing Blade) and others had already formed a group and headed out to clear monsters. Their target was the Kruthi Beast, a giant subterranean beetle and a level 90 boss, located in the dark cave outside Hilton Fortress.
Yi Chui Ding Qing (One Hit Affection) had already scouted the exact location of the Kruthi Beast and gathered relevant information before Cui Can Dao Guang and his team set out.
Nie Yan had full confidence in the leadership abilities of Cui Can Dao Guang and Shui Se Yan Tou (Smoke of Azure). He then made his way toward Ignatius’s leather goods shop.
In recent days, the gemstone market had heated up again. Players had finally realized they had been deceived—the so-called secret shop was entirely a fabrication. Rumors spread that Century Financial Group had orchestrated the entire scheme, manipulating the market by spreading rumors. When gemstone prices plummeted, they bought large quantities and planned to sell them later at higher prices for significant profit.
Originally, Century Financial Group could have cleared their names by presenting some evidence. However, they had indeed purchased large quantities of gemstones when prices dropped, gaining some profit. This made them unable to clear their names no matter how hard they tried. Cao Xu had never anticipated this. He had merely viewed the purchase of gemstones as an investment strategy and had not expected someone to deliberately frame him. However, he had too many enemies, making it impossible to determine who was responsible. Their gemstone purchases had not been discreet enough, so he could only swallow his anger and frustration.
Century Financial Group, the Mage Alliance, Sacred Guardians, Zhu Shen Zhi Jian (God-Slaying Sword), and Light and Darkness Empire—all those with foresight—had all dabbled in the gemstone market to varying degrees. It had become impossible for players to determine who had orchestrated the conspiracy. Those who had sold their gemstones regretted their decisions bitterly, while those who had held onto theirs felt relieved.
After a rollercoaster ride, the gemstone market began a strong upward trend, with prices more than doubling compared to their previous peak.
“I lost so much. If only I had bought gemstones when the prices were lowest. Now they’ve multiplied several times over, and some have even increased by dozens of times!” a rogue player lamented.
“What a pity I didn’t have any money back then. If I had, I would have bought them. Now it’s too late to regret.”
“We need a few fire resistance gems for our next raid. What should we do?”
“Just buy them. What else can we do? If we don’t buy now, prices will keep rising.”
“Damn it! Century Financial Group took all the profits.”
Players vented their frustrations on Century Financial Group, which was already the largest virtual financial conglomerate and had long since gained a terrible reputation, so they didn’t care about adding another accusation.
The pent-up demand in the gemstone market suddenly exploded. All the gemstones on sale were quickly snapped up, causing prices to skyrocket. Gemstones became so scarce that they were nearly impossible to obtain. Players needed them for their raids, as gear lacking sufficient fire resistance, ice resistance, or physical defense wouldn’t meet the raid requirements, leading to wiped parties. Thus, they had to compensate using gemstones or potions, with gemstones being more cost-effective than potions. Gemstones provided fixed attribute boosts when embedded into gear, and the enhanced gear could still be sold, whereas potions were consumables that disappeared after use.
“Nie Yan, should we start selling now?” Guo Huai messaged Nie Yan. The gemstone market had become extremely active.
Nie Yan checked the current gemstone prices, which had already more than doubled. If prices rose further, they would exceed what players could afford. He replied, “Start selling, but be careful not to expose ourselves.”
“Understood. Leave it to me,” Guo Huai said excitedly. The gemstones in their possession would soon be converted into gold coins. To raise funds for purchasing gemstones, the Bull Man Tribe had been in a tight financial situation and had even taken out high-interest loans. Now, these issues could finally be resolved. After paying off the debts, they would still have enough money to last an entire year.
“Don’t sell all the gemstones at once. Release one-twentieth every other day. Sell 70% and keep 30% for ourselves to embed into the guild warehouse’s equipment,” Nie Yan instructed. The fewer gemstones in circulation, the higher prices they could command.
After receiving Nie Yan’s instructions, Guo Huai immediately notified his trusted contacts in various cities to begin selling.
They released the gemstones in small batches into the auction houses, sparking fierce bidding. With so few gemstones available and so many players needing them, the gemstones were quickly snapped up.
The heat in the gemstone market surpassed even Nie Yan and Guo Huai’s expectations. Apart from the Bullman Tribe, factions like Century Financial Group and the Mage Alliance also began selling. However, since the Bullman Tribe spearheaded the operation, they secured the highest-quality gemstones, while Century Financial Group and the Mage Alliance were left with the scraps. As a result, their profits were far inferior to those of the Bullman Tribe.
Guo Huai had his subordinates gather intelligence and compile statistics.
After deducting the 30% they had kept for themselves, the Bull Man Tribe’s profits would definitely exceed 20 million gold coins. If the market continued rising, they might even reach 25 million. Other guilds like the Holy Roman Empire, Garam Temple, Light Holy Flame, and Wild Battle Alliance each made around 3 million gold coins. Century Financial Group and the Mage Alliance each made around 2 million, while Sacred Guardians, Zhu Shen Zhi Jian, and other participants earned around 1 million. Additionally, a dozen or so other guilds made about 100,000 to 200,000 gold coins each.
The Bull Man Tribe got the lion’s share while everyone else got the scraps. Although Century Financial Group, Angel Empire, and other factions also made profits, there was nothing they could do about it.
Nonetheless, the Bull Man Tribe was undoubtedly the biggest winner!
Though 40 million gold coins seemed like a lot, it was nothing compared to the total amount of gold held by all players.
Nie Yan had no concerns about absorbing so much money affecting the overall economy.
Guo Huai monitored the gemstone sales in major cities. Essentially, as soon as gemstones were listed, they were immediately bought up, pouring gold coins into their coffers.
After selling about 3% of their gemstones, they had already earned over 1.6 million gold coins. Selling more the next day would allow them to pay off all their high-interest debts.
“Awesome! This is a seller’s market—monopolistic profit!” Guo Huai exclaimed. The gemstones sold today had cost them only 200,000 gold coins to acquire, yielding an 800% profit—an astonishing figure.
“Send me some screenshots of the remaining gemstones in storage,” Nie Yan requested. He wanted to check their inventory.
“Okay.” Guo Huai sent the pictures to Nie Yan.
The images were quite impressive. Rows upon rows of gemstones were neatly arranged, spanning over thirty pages, glittering and dazzling.
“We’ve monopolized all fire resistance and poison resistance gems of quality five and above, as well as all physical resistance gems of quality six and above. Additionally, we’re the sole sellers of about sixteen types of attack-boosting gemstones. These will definitely fetch high prices. The others are slightly inferior,” Guo Huai explained, summarizing the situation.
“Proceed slowly. Don’t rush. As the saying goes, haste makes waste,” Nie Yan advised. It had taken a rare opportunity to earn this profit, and they needed to maximize their gains. Having been deceived once, players wouldn’t fall for the same trick twice, so this strategy could only be used once.
“Our guild’s elites have also earned quite a bit. Some made thousands of gold coins, while others made tens of thousands. Altogether, they’ve earned millions,” Guo Huai added. The Bull Man Tribe members had tasted the sweetness of profit.
“That’s good,” Nie Yan smiled slightly. Wealth alone couldn’t make the guild truly strong. While ensuring the guild’s financial strength, it was also crucial to guarantee that every member had sufficient funds. Only then could they afford good gear outside the guild warehouse. When every member became wealthy and well-equipped, the guild’s overall strength would rise.
If they successfully secured these gold coins, Nie Yan wouldn’t let them sit idly in the guild treasury, waiting to depreciate. Besides upgrading the Starry Pharmacy, he also planned to recruit numerous production-class players, expanding their industries. Additionally, he would purchase land and build shops, expanding the Starry Pharmacy, general stores, and other businesses to every bustling town and village.
Nie Yan understood the game map far better than ordinary players. He could easily predict which towns would prosper and which would decline. He had a clear grasp of the level 80s to 100s maps—knowing which areas were suitable for leveling, farming loot, or gathering resources.
This was the advantage of being a foreseer. With 20 million gold coins, Nie Yan could expand his business operations more than fivefold. In the future, he could earn returns many times over, even dozens or hundreds of times. Besides expanding his business, he could also spend money purchasing items with appreciation potential, stockpiling them. After all, money in his hands would never be wasted.
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