Nie Yan’s auction house and shops were generating substantial revenue. Combined with contributions from the players of Bull Tribe, these incomes could sustain operations for a long time. After the recent assassination order incident, Assassin Alliance’s income sharply declined. Most of its members participated in the assassination missions, and many lost interest in completing regular Assassin Alliance tasks. All things considered, their daily income was only around forty to fifty thousand gold coins.
“Record the names of all those who donated gold coins. Once this situation is resolved, we will enhance their benefits. These are the true core members of Bull Tribe!” Nie Yan said. These individuals had much higher loyalty to Bull Tribe than ordinary guild members, so they naturally deserved rewards. Creating a distinction between them and regular members was also a way to manage subordinates effectively.
Just then, Burushendan approached with another person, a girl of about eighteen or nineteen years old, whose appearance was quite adorable.
Nie Yan glanced at the girl, who curiously looked back at him, her eyes bright and alert.
Ziyan looked at Nie Yan. His figure matched the videos circulating online—this was indeed Kuang Zei Nieren, the infamous rogue!
“This girl is called Ziyan. She is willing to become your exclusive alchemist. She is one of our three senior alchemists,” Burushendan explained, introducing the girl beside him to Nie Yan.
Nie Yan nodded. She was merely an eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl, making it hard to imagine that she would later become the renowned and wealthy beauty alchemist, Ziyan. Although Nie Yan felt a bit surprised inwardly, he had seen many extraordinary things in his time, so he showed no particular astonishment at her appearance.
“Did you show her the agreement?” Nie Yan asked. Their agreement was extremely strict, and generally, only a few potion makers would sign it. However, Nie Yan offered decent benefits, and more importantly, the agreement stated that he would heavily support the alchemist’s development. Simply using his name, Nieren, should attract at least one or two people.
“She has seen it and already signed,” Burushendan replied. Even he was now unaware of Nie Yan’s true intentions.
Nie Yan turned to Ziyan beside him and said, “Since you’ve decided to become my exclusive alchemist, you should have already read the agreement. You understand the clauses, including the confidentiality principle, right?”
Seeing Nie Yan’s serious expression, Ziyan felt a bit nervous. The person standing before her was the legendary guild leader of Bull Tribe, the renowned rogue, Nieren, which created immense psychological pressure on her.
She had also watched some videos related to Nie Yan. She had a sense of admiration for the formidable figure shown in those videos. Now that Nie Yan was her employer, it was natural for her to feel a bit nervous.
“I understand everything,” Ziyan nodded.
Seeing the girl’s slightly flustered expression, Nie Yan smiled and said, “I’m not some terrifying monster. There’s no need to be so nervous. Just follow the rules outlined in the agreement.”
Girls like Ziyan were quite innocent and trustworthy compared to the seasoned veterans who frequently switched between various guilds.
“This is De La’s magical device manual. Study it, and I will provide the materials. Your upcoming task will be to produce these items, especially the area-of-effect magical bombs. I need a large number of intermediate-level or higher area-of-effect magical bombs—the more, the better!” Nie Yan said. With these area-of-effect magical bombs, many issues could be easily resolved, especially regarding the level progression of the guild players.
The raw materials for producing one area-of-effect magical bomb were not expensive, much cheaper than buying from NPC shops. Even Nie Yan couldn’t help but exclaim that NPC shops were way too overpriced!
Nie Yan traded De La’s magical device manual to Ziyan. As she flipped through it, an expression of disbelief appeared on her face.
A legendary alchemy manual!
Where on earth did he get this from?
Thinking about it, considering that Nieren was the leader of Bull Tribe, it was normal for him to have such resources.
“You just need to work hard. If your output meets the standards I set, I will increase your benefits,” Nie Yan said. Generally, players who chose production professions weren’t wealthy. Production professions were too dull, and most players who chose them wanted to earn some extra money to support their families. People like Ziyan, who could earn such a high salary, were doing exceptionally well.
Ziyan hurriedly nodded, saying, “I will work hard.” As a high school student, earning such a high salary from Faith was truly impressive. Even her parents were astonished, so naturally, she wouldn’t easily give up such a good job.
“You two carry on,” Nie Yan concluded, having explained all the relevant matters.
Burushendan found someone to start preparing materials for Ziyan.
It was unknown how productive Ziyan would be, but as a senior alchemist, producing dozens of area-of-effect magical bombs daily should be no problem. Once Ziyan accumulated a few days’ worth of bombs, Nie Yan could use them for leveling up.
Burushendan and Ziyan busied themselves with their tasks.
How to earn money to deal with the current crisis was truly a headache. Earning money through quests was tough—most high-difficulty quests only offered around dozens of gold coins. Dozens of gold coins were like a drop in the ocean for the current situation.
Nie Yan reorganized the auction house and shops. In a few days, the level 50 dungeon, Roth City, would open. He had his subordinates stock up on items that would soon be in high demand. With six auction houses, his ability to stockpile goods had significantly improved. Every advance preparation could yield thousands, even tens of thousands of gold coins.
The war between Bull Tribe and Warblade Bloodlust wouldn’t end in just a few days—it might even extend beyond ten days. Nie Yan’s side could at least hold out for ten days. He was unsure how long Warblade Bloodlust could endure.
After wandering around the city for a while, he went to some high-level secret maps to collect rare items, which he auctioned at the auction house. He spent considerable time hunting treasure chests in the wild, treating it as a way to earn some money while also leveling his lock-picking skill.
As Nie Yan was searching for treasure chests outside, the time for the Dark Portal to open arrived.
The Dark Portal opened every five days, remaining accessible for only 20 minutes. If missed, one had to wait another five days. Nie Yan pondered for a long time—should he go underground? There might be unexpected gains, and possibly a large sum of money to be earned!
After much deliberation, Nie Yan decided to let Sun take over the task of collecting the Sogot Shadow Fragments while he prepared to enter the underground world. Communication between the two locations was maintained, allowing him to remotely direct the situation in Karol City.
“Are you going underground?” Guo Huai asked in surprise upon hearing Nie Yan’s words.
“Yes, I’m going underground,” Nie Yan confirmed.
“When will you return?” Guo Huai asked. If Nie Yan stayed underground for too long and something went wrong, he was worried the situation might spiral out of control.
“In five days.”
“That long?” Guo Huai frowned slightly.
“With the assassination order in place, we can at least hold out for more than ten days. We just need to maintain the status quo for these five days. Even if Warblade Bloodlust provokes us, tell the Bull Tribe brothers to stay calm. As long as we hold out, victory will definitely be ours!”
“Alright then,” Guo Huai nodded. He should be able to hold things together for five days.
“Help me get a few backpacks—bigger the better. Collect them from the Bull Tribe brothers. I need the largest backpacks available!” Nie Yan said. Since he would be underground for such a long time, he needed to stock up on consumables. Additionally, the larger the backpack space, the more items he could bring back.
“I’ll get right on it!” Guo Huai replied. He started collecting large backpacks from Bull Tribe members. With so many strong players in Bull Tribe, it was normal to occasionally acquire backpacks with larger storage capacities.
Guo Huai posted a message in the guild chat requesting backpacks. Upon hearing that Nie Yan urgently needed them, many guild members immediately responded.
“How big does Nie Yan need the backpacks to be?”
“I have a thirty-slot one.”
“A thirty-slot backpack won’t impress Nie Yan at all!”
“I have a thirty-six-slot one.”
“I have one too.”
“I have a forty-slot backpack.”
Guo Huai returned equipment or guild contribution points of equivalent value to each member who contributed a backpack. After tallying, he had two forty-slot backpacks and two thirty-six-slot backpacks, which were quite impressive for the current stage.
Knowing that Guo Huai had collected so many backpacks, Nie Yan quickly messaged him: “That’s enough. I also have a forty-slot backpack. Mail everything to my personal warehouse.”
Soon after, Nie Yan received the backpacks from Guo Huai and equipped them.
Nie Yan went to purchase a large quantity of consumables, including various necessary scrolls. His bandages had been upgraded to high-level ones, made from Runecloth into advanced combat bandages. These restored 200 HP per second for ten seconds, with the first 3 seconds being uninterruptible. The cooldown time for these advanced combat bandages was 5 minutes.
Nie Yan purchased a large amount of Runecloth and made three sets of advanced combat bandages, which should last for five days.
In addition to the combat bandages, various consumables were packed in sets, filling up exactly five large backpacks. Out of a total of 172 backpack slots, only five remained empty. It was necessary to leave some space in the backpacks; otherwise, if his backpack was full, he would have to discard items upon encountering new equipment.
After finalizing all matters in Karol City, Nie Yan went to a secluded corner and activated the Dark Portal.
A black portal of light appeared in the air before Nie Yan, exuding a dark aura. This was the power of piercing through space.
The Dark Portal led to the distant underground world!
Nie Yan looked inside. A profound force was guiding him. He lifted his foot and stepped forward. The space violently fluctuated, and his figure disappeared into the darkness of the portal.
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