Chapter 515: The House of Nieyan!

Crossing a square, Nie Yan entered the central and most prosperous commercial street of the Hilton Fortress. At the corner where the commercial street connected to the square, a luxurious three-story villa came into Nie Yan’s view. Surrounded by walls, the villa’s interior was filled with various plants, blooming flowers, and fluttering colorful butterflies. This area occupied a vast space, approximately 30 by 30 yards.

The beautiful scenery here resembled a paradise amidst the bustling city.

A villa like this standing right in the heart of the commercial district was naturally very conspicuous.

If this land were converted into shops, it would be very valuable. Unfortunately, although Nie Yan could use the villa, he had no authority to demolish and convert it into shops because this building had a long history and was a landmark that had survived multiple wars without destruction.

It was said that six legendary mages had cast protective barriers around this place, which is why it remained undamaged during the monster siege.

This three-story villa would make a good temporary base for the Bull Tribe in the Hilton Fortress, Nie Yan thought as he walked toward the villa’s entrance.

A large group of players had gathered at the entrance, discussing something.

Nie Yan was quite surprised; what were these people doing here?

As he approached, he overheard their conversation.

“Nieyan’s Home—could this Nieyan be an NPC or the infamous thief Nieyan?”

“It probably isn’t the infamous thief Nieyan. This villa is an important landmark in the Hilton Fortress. The surrounding area is all commercial street; as the area develops, it will surely become extremely valuable. Even if the infamous thief Nieyan had money, he should buy shops instead of buying a villa with little practical value.”

“It is said this villa is over two thousand years old and has had more than twenty owners. Some NPCs say there is a hidden treasure inside the villa. If that’s true, it would make sense for the infamous thief Nieyan to buy this villa.”

Hearing these discussions, Nie Yan looked toward the plaque at the villa’s entrance. A wooden sign, simple yet exquisite, was hanging high on the pillar beside the door, inscribed with the words “Nieyan’s Home.”

Generally, any well-known NPC would have a wooden plaque outside their residence indicating their name.

Since this villa belonged to Nie Yan, naturally such a plaque had been placed there.

After a while, patrolling guards came and dispersed the gathered players. From then on, the area within a five-yard radius of the villa’s entrance became private territory. No player was allowed to approach without Nie Yan’s permission.

Nie Yan walked around inside the villa. It was very spacious, with all the necessary furniture and a large empty space in the garden.

He announced within the Bull Tribe that this villa would serve as a temporary base for Bull Tribe players in the Hilton Fortress. It could easily accommodate hundreds of people.

The guild chat buzzed with excitement. Owning such a detached villa in the bustling commercial district of the Hilton Fortress was such a cool thing!

The official forums also erupted into heated discussions. Everyone envied Nie Yan’s detached villa. Some wealthy players even offered to buy it for 500,000 to 600,000 gold coins, but Nie Yan refused. He wasn’t short of money, and besides, this villa couldn’t be transferred to another player.

This villa symbolized Nie Yan’s status in the Hilton Fortress. In the future, Bull Tribe players coming to the Hilton Fortress would all gather here. This building would also become one of the Bull Tribe’s honors. Currently, no player enjoyed such prestige in a city.

Earlier, he had heard players mention that there was a treasure hidden inside the villa. Nie Yan didn’t believe it lightly, as these were likely just rumors passed around. But to say he wasn’t even slightly intrigued would be impossible.

Nie Yan searched through the villa’s rooms. The furnishings were simple yet elegant. He found no secret passages or hidden mechanisms and gave up, clearing out the main hall and arranging the tables and chairs slightly, intending to use it as a meeting room.

“I heard you got a villa in the Hilton Fortress?” Cui Can Dao Guang sent Nie Yan a message.

“It’s a reward from a quest. I’ll use it as a temporary base. I’ve asked Guo Huai to send someone over to manage it,” Nie Yan replied.

“That’s great. We were in need of a base in the Hilton Fortress,” Cui Can Dao Guang said. Earlier, he had heard the news and thought it might be a rumor, but now he realized it was true. With such a villa, conducting operations in the Hilton Fortress would become much more convenient.

“How are things on your end?”

“We’ve already defeated two monsters and are now going after the third. A level 90 lord isn’t that impressive,” Cui Can Dao Guang chuckled lightly.

Nie Yan smiled. It wasn’t that the level 90 lords were too weak, but rather that the Bull Tribe’s elite was just too powerful. In his previous life, Nie Yan had never seen any guild with a lineup as strong as the Bull Tribe’s. Combined with Cui Can Dao Guang and others’ unbeatable gear, challenging level 90 lords was indeed not a difficult task.

Guo Huai had just received news that the Magic Alliance, who arrived in the area earlier than the Bull Tribe, had defeated seven level 80 lords, while the Sacred Guardians had defeated six. Their main shield warriors were nowhere near the level of Cui Can Dao Guang, Leng Ao Ying, Yi Yan, and others. Thus, they dared not challenge such high-level lords as the Bull Tribe did.

This was the gap!

The Bull Tribe’s top-tier members far surpassed those of other guilds.

“Be careful not to draw attention from the Magic Alliance and the Sacred Guardians. Also, watch out for Blood Demon and his group. Be wary of them ambushing you,” Nie Yan warned. He and Blood Demon’s fight video had already been seen by Cui Can Dao Guang and others, so they should have realized the seriousness of the situation. If those five thieves decided to ambush them, it would be almost impossible to prevent.

The Bull Tribe’s act of defeating level 90 lord monsters would surely have been noticed by the Magic Alliance and the Sacred Guardians. It was possible they might try to sabotage them, so Cui Can Dao Guang and others had to be cautious.

After chatting with Cui Can Dao Guang for a while, Nie Yan disconnected the voice call and then connected with Guo Huai to discuss some matters regarding the Hilton Fortress, including the villa’s management and how to utilize the six plots of land.

“How are the gemstones selling?” Nie Yan asked Guo Huai.

“All the ones we put up for sale have been sold out. The demand is still very high. High-quality gemstones are mostly with us. Players can’t get them easily. Should we release more?”

“Release another 5% or so. Transfer one million gold coins to me.”

“Why do you need so much money?” Guo Huai was taken aback and asked.

“I’m going to build an auction house. I just acquired six plots of land in the Hilton Fortress. Three of them are suitable for building auction houses. You can handle the remaining three. I’ll give you the management authority.”

“You managed to get six plots of land in the Hilton Fortress? I thought the land there wasn’t for sale,” Guo Huai asked in surprise.

“I completed a quest here,” Nie Yan briefly explained how he obtained the six plots of land.

Guo Huai nodded and said, “I see. I’ll transfer the money right away.” Now, raising one or two million gold coins for the Bull Tribe was very easy, and there was no financial pressure at all.

After a while, one million gold coins were transferred. With this money, Nie Yan immediately started building auction houses on those plots of land. Building a level one auction house required about 10,000 gold coins, and upgrading it to level five needed about 30,000 gold coins. Three magnificent and grand auction houses were erected.

The auction house was undoubtedly the most profitable business. These three auction houses had excellent geographical locations and were the first to open. Being a chain of three stores made it easier to establish brand recognition among players. As long as Nie Yan managed them well without any problems, they would at least capture over 80% of the market in the Hilton Fortress.

Regarding the utilization of the remaining three plots of land, Nie Yan and Guo Huai discussed and decided to set up shops for raw material collection, equipment processing, alchemy enchantment, and other services. Compared to auction houses, these industries earned less but were still popular.

How much money could be made in the Hilton Fortress still needed time to verify, but the future prosperity of the Hilton Fortress would definitely rival Carol City, and making a fortune was certain.

After arranging the six plots of land, Nie Yan prepared to kill one or two monsters and continue leveling up. He was just one step away from level 100. After reaching level 100, he could pursue the Saint Shadow Dancer class.

“Nie Yan, where are you now?” The message came from Xie Yao.

“I’m in the Hilton Fortress. How is your quest going?” Nie Yan asked. During this period, Xie Yao had been doing quests, and when Nie Yan sent messages to her, they showed that she was in the middle of a quest. Although he could forcibly connect the voice call, Nie Yan chose to hang up to avoid disturbing Xie Yao’s quest.

“I’ve completed part of it. I’ve already collected three pieces of that set, and the fourth piece can only be obtained after reaching level 100,” Xie Yao replied.

“Come and level up together,” Nie Yan suggested after thinking for a moment. Xie Yao’s leveling speed was definitely not slow. With a rogue and a high-damage ranged Holy Word Mage, their combined leveling speed would be faster.

Nie Yan checked Xie Yao’s level. She was already level 79, and she already had three legendary items, so her spell damage must be extremely high.

“Okay, I’m about twenty minutes away from the Hilton Fortress,” Xie Yao replied. She summoned her horse and rode toward the Hilton Fortress.

In his previous life, when Nie Yan was approaching level 100, he had spent some time around the Hilton Fortress and had some vague memories of the area. From his memory, after the monster siege of the Hilton Fortress, some underground players gradually arrived on the surface and engaged in several major battles with the surface players. Later, after the monsters were cleared, the area around the Hilton Fortress completely became a battlefield for surface and underground players.

The inter-faction battles would likely begin soon.