Xie Yao had finally completed the full set of equipment, which was a relief for Nie Yan. With this set, it would be extremely hard to find any rival; across the entire Light Faction, there wouldn’t be more than ten players capable of matching him.
After several days of stalemate with Angel Empire, both sides had accumulated significant losses. Most players were engaged in chaotic battles on the battlefield, leaving only a minority able to maintain their daily leveling routines. Thus, the growth of strength for both factions rapidly slowed down. This was a direct confrontation where both sides were testing each other through attrition.
Under Nie Yan’s guidance, Bull Tribe also launched an economic war against Angel Empire. Using the massive funds at their disposal, they bought up large quantities of herbs, wood, metal, and other raw materials needed for crafting war machines, along with many alchemical items essential for warfare. The prices of these items soared. To replenish resources, Angel Empire had to spend four to five times more money than before, which was unbearable for them. Angel Empire and Century Financial Group had to divert substantial funds into the game daily, purchasing large amounts of in-game currency just to barely sustain their daily expenditures.
This was exactly Nie Yan’s intention. His actions had some impact on Century Financial Group’s financial situation. With setbacks in various investment areas, Century Financial Group’s cash flow had become significantly tighter than before.
Soon, the thieves Nie Yan had dispatched returned with some news. They had located the dragon’s lair, but there were at least seven or eight dragons active there daily, making it too dangerous for them to approach and investigate the interior.
Knowing the exact location was sufficient. Nie Yan himself would have to handle the next steps. The presence of seven or eight dragons at the lair greatly surprised him. It seemed obtaining one or two dragon eggs wouldn’t be an easy task.
Checking his experience bar, he had gained only 5% in these few days. The leveling speed was indeed too slow.
Nie Yan headed toward Starry Sky Pharmacy. He had been very busy lately and hadn’t visited the main branch of Starry Sky Pharmacy in a long time.
Passing through street after street, a magnificent sixteen-story tower came into view in the distance. After an upgrade, Starry Sky Pharmacy looked completely different from what he had seen recently. The clean white walls gave it a solemn and dignified appearance. It was the tallest building in Carol City, and many players visiting Carol City would always take a walk here and take commemorative photos, making it a landmark of the city.
In front of Starry Sky Pharmacy was a spacious plaza, about 30 by 30 yards in size. At its center was a small flowerbed with a fountain and a statue. The statue depicted a thief wearing a black cloak, his face completely hidden beneath the wide hood, making it impossible to discern his features. He was crouched forward, holding a dagger in each hand, like a panther ready to pounce at any moment. This was a classic image of a thief, but the unique aspect of this statue was the two daggers in his hands: one was the Bloodthirsty Dagger, and the other was the Slaughter Dagger. Their eerie curved shapes exuded a deadly lethality.
Everyone knew exactly who this statue represented.
In the Orcish Kingdom, there were no fewer than ten statues of Winged Angels, but in Carol City, there was only one statue of Nie Yan. However, this single statue was renowned.
Because it stood in front of Starry Sky Pharmacy, it held greater symbolic significance.
Nie Yan, starting from scratch, founded Bull Tribe, established a vast empire in the Grinland Empire, and created the commercial monopoly giant—Starry Sky Pharmacy. In terms of personal strength, he had an impressive record of victories without a single defeat.
The name Nie Yan symbolized an immortal legend, filled with many topics of admiration.
Looking at the statue, Nie Yan couldn’t help but smile. Initially, when members of Bull Tribe proposed building a statue for him, he had disagreed. However, he couldn’t resist the collective persuasion of the guild. They had their reasons: if Winged Angel could erect statues in the Orcish Kingdom, Bull Tribe could not fall behind. Constructing such a statue had a certain positive significance. Very few people had the privilege of erecting statues in cities; it was a symbol of honor.
To Nie Yan’s surprise, building this statue significantly increased the popularity of Starry Sky Pharmacy, which turned out to be an unexpected benefit.
Crossing the plaza, he entered the interior of Starry Sky Pharmacy. The inside could be described as resplendent. The floor was paved with a special kind of white tiles, clearly reflecting the images of the players.
Looking ahead, rows of counters and shelves filled with an array of bottles and jars stretched for over sixty yards. The neatly arranged shelves looked quite spectacular.
Around the counters were fifty to sixty staff members, mostly players, with about a dozen NPCs. Dressed in neat uniforms, they busily served incoming players at the counters. There were six rest areas in the hall, each with at least a thousand seats, all occupied. Every time a number was called, a player would stand up and proceed to the counter to purchase potions. Due to the heavy business, Starry Sky Pharmacy had to adopt this system to avoid long queues and overcrowding in the hall.
At the edges of the hall were two staircases leading upstairs. Players were continuously coming and going. There was an employee-only passage at the back of the hall, which Nie Yan could use to go upstairs. However, he suddenly felt interested and decided to take the public stairs. Although the staircase was wide enough to accommodate more than ten people walking side by side, it was still very crowded due to the large number of people.
The first floor was the potion trading hall, dedicated to selling potions to the public. The second floor was the raw material trading hall, responsible for purchasing herbs from players. Compared to the first floor, the second floor was much noisier, with players of all kinds bustling about like a marketplace. Five to six hundred herb buyers were busy appraising the herbs, purchasing them, and then handing them over to higher-level traders for verification before they were stored through a complex process.
The headquarters of Starry Sky Pharmacy accounted for as much as 60% of the entire herb purchasing business, so it was normal for it to be so lively.
Continuing upward, the third floor was much quieter, with only a few dozen people. The environment was very quiet, and the seats were all high-quality custom-made chairs. Some employees in uniforms were quietly chatting with them. These were the major clients of Starry Sky Pharmacy, many of whom were procurement specialists from large guilds. Due to the large volume of their purchases, they kept their actions discreet to avoid their enemies discovering their activities.
These employees would verify their identities to prevent potions from flowing into Angel Empire and Century Financial Group, striving to get the best prices during transactions. These major clients often conducted transactions worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins, occasionally even reaching millions. Each transaction yielded substantial profits.
Above the third floor were no longer trading halls but laboratories for Bull Tribe’s alchemists. Statistics showed that Starry Sky Pharmacy had as many as seven or eight hundred laboratories, with thousands of alchemists working tirelessly for Nie Yan, producing an astonishing number of potions daily. Of course, this was only the headquarters’ alchemists. The total number of alchemists under Starry Sky Pharmacy reached as many as fifty or sixty thousand, spread across various locations in the two empires. However, only elite alchemists could enter the headquarters. Any of these elite alchemists, if placed in a guild, would be treated like treasures. Each elite alchemist’s daily production was astonishing, and they enjoyed relatively high benefits, enough to make others envious. Many of them were professional players, and the salaries they earned at Starry Sky Pharmacy were more than enough to support their families comfortably, with many even reaching the golden-collar level.
Continuing upward, passing through corridor after corridor, each lined with numerous laboratories, some doors slightly ajar revealing alchemists working busily inside. Starry Sky Pharmacy implemented a performance-based wage system; the more potions produced, the higher the share of profits, which greatly motivated the alchemists. Many of them were professional gamers, and the salaries they earned at Starry Sky Pharmacy were more than sufficient to support their families comfortably, with many even reaching the golden-collar level.
Thanks to the strong support from the Federation, Faith provided financial services, making game currency transactions very active. Players with large amounts of game currency could easily cash out through trading platforms, thus making the connection between Faith and the real world very close.
Moreover, due to the prevalence of professional players, many people wanted to enter Faith to make money. Of course, only a small minority actually succeeded, while the majority could barely maintain a balanced income. Only truly skilled elites could earn money, and many ordinary players wanting to do better had to invest money themselves.
According to the Federation’s statistics, the consumption and virtual game currency transactions generated within Faith accounted for approximately 20% of GDP—a staggering figure. It was no wonder that major financial groups flocked to Faith, eager to claim their share of the pie. Many financial institutions made astonishing investments in the game. For instance, Century Financial Group’s investment in the game constituted about 25% of the group’s total investment, recently surging to 39%.
Against this backdrop, the Starry Sky Pharmacy created by Nie Yan was undoubtedly a giant conglomerate within the game. However, all the “money” in this conglomerate had to be converted through special channels to become real money!
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