The leader of the Dead Leaf Studio was someone called Shuise Yantou, who ranked third on the professional players’ leaderboard, even higher than Aiqing Shangshang and Banxing Huli. These top-tier studio leaders were figures that ordinary players only knew by name but had never seen in person. Shuise Yantou had always maintained a low profile, differing from Aiqing Shangshang and Banxing Huli’s aggressive strategies for dominance. Dead Leaf Studio was an elite group, often hired by major corporations to assist in completing various tasks and raiding dungeons.
To them, there were no distinctions between enemies and allies; as long as the client paid a sufficient price, they would carry out any request. It was said that Dead Leaf Studio generated enormous wealth daily for the Tuoba family.
“I don’t have time today. Let’s talk when I get back,” Nie Yan replied. Logically, a set of level 30 epic gear shouldn’t have drawn such attention from the leader of Dead Leaf Studio. Could there be another reason?
“You’re awesome,” Tuo Ba shrugged, rolling his eyes. In the game, any guild leader would be ecstatic upon hearing that Shuise Yantou wanted to meet them. There was no doubt about Dead Leaf Studio’s power, and having no conflict of interest made them an ideal ally to cultivate. Yet Nie Yan had the audacity to decline outright, claiming he was too busy.
Tuo Ba relayed Nie Yan’s response to Shuise Yantou.
After a while, Nie Yan received a voice call—it was from Shuise Yantou—and he accepted it.
“Hello, I’m Shuise Yantou,” the voice was calm yet carried an air of authority.
From Nie Yan’s perspective, the leader of Dead Leaf Studio was fiercely protective of his people and extremely aggressive. In a past incident, a guild had killed a member of Dead Leaf Studio, and Shuise Yantou had retaliated by destroying their fortress, despite the risk of severing business ties. His famous words, “Harm anyone from Dead Leaf, and I’ll end you,” had made the studio widely known.
Nie Yan had expected Shuise Yantou to be a tough, intimidating figure, but he turned out to be quite refined and approachable.
“Hello,” Nie Yan responded, wondering why Shuise Yantou was so eager to meet him.
“I have some business dealings with Aiqing Shangshang and know about the Assassin’s League. Name your price—I need a Prince title,” Shuise Yantou said. The future of the Assassin’s League was promising; joining such an organization would greatly benefit Dead Leaf Studio. However, if they didn’t join, many future business opportunities might be taken by the Assassin’s League. Despite Dead Leaf Studio’s strength, it couldn’t rival such a massive alliance of professional players. Currently, the Assassin’s League was already far stronger than Dead Leaf Studio.
Nie Yan quickly realized that Shuise Yantou had probably learned about the Assassin’s League from Aiqing Shangshang and wanted to join. With Dead Leaf Studio’s strength, it wouldn’t be much weaker than Aiqing Shangshang’s Kuangzhan Alliance. A Prince title would be crucial for Dead Leaf Studio’s status in the Assassin’s League.
Knowing Shuise Yantou’s desire to join the Assassin’s League and obtain a Prince title, Aiqing Shangshang couldn’t make the decision alone. However, Dead Leaf Studio was too important to the Assassin’s League. If they joined, the League’s player base and business would expand by at least 30%. Aiqing Shangshang wouldn’t dare to reject such an opportunity and thus passed the decision to Nie Yan.
“Don’t worry, I promised Aiqing Shangshang that I wouldn’t reveal your identity,” Shuise Yantou assured Nie Yan, clearing up his doubts.
“I can give you a Prince title, but Dead Leaf Studio must do something for me,” Nie Yan replied thoughtfully. Since Dead Leaf Studio had a request, he might as well take this opportunity to benefit Cowherd Tribe.
“Speak. If I think it’s worth it,” Shuise Yantou replied. Dead Leaf Studio’s principle was always equal exchange; they never engaged in unprofitable deals.
“Have Dead Leaf Studio join Cowherd Tribe,” Nie Yan made a bold demand, watching Shuise Yantou’s reaction.
“That’s impossible,” Shuise Yantou refused outright. Dead Leaf Studio’s wide business scope was partly due to their neutrality. Joining Cowherd Tribe would cost them many clients.
“Joining the Assassin’s League could bring many new clients to Dead Leaf Studio. Even if you lose some by joining Cowherd Tribe, what’s the harm?” Nie Yan countered, as if reading Shuise Yantou’s thoughts. Bringing in such a major leader would significantly boost Cowherd Tribe’s strength, nearly matching the power of the Empire of Triumph. However, Nie Yan understood that Cowherd Tribe was still too weak to attract Dead Leaf Studio. In the previous timeline, Dead Leaf Studio had remained neutral until hired by Cao Xu, becoming a significant force under him. This time, Nie Yan was determined not to let that happen. For Dead Leaf Studio, Nie Yan planned to gradually win them over.
“Not possible for now,” Shuise Yantou shook his head.
“How about this: let Dead Leaf Studio join Cowherd Tribe for a month. Cowherd Tribe will purchase all the equipment you replace at market price. All honor points you earn from expert-level dungeons will go to Cowherd Tribe. Cowherd Tribe won’t interfere with any of your business. We can discuss further cooperation after a month. What do you think?” Nie Yan proposed. After all, Dead Leaf Studio could continue their business as usual, making this arrangement more palatable to Shuise Yantou. “One more thing: I’ll send some promising members from Cowherd Tribe to join your dungeon teams. Of course, they’ll be paid.”
Cowherd Tribe had many talented and promising players. Letting them raid dungeons with Dead Leaf Studio would accelerate their growth under the latter’s influence.
After hearing Nie Yan’s proposal, Shuise Yantou pondered for a while. Cowherd Tribe’s offer wouldn’t interfere with their business and even solved their equipment sales issue, which was beneficial for Dead Leaf Studio. Although bringing in new members might be a hassle, especially if they were inexperienced and only slowed things down, some compromise was necessary for Nie Yan to grant him a Prince title in the Assassin’s League. He considered that if Nie Yan sent a novice, he could simply assign them to follow the team without doing anything.
Such a crucial decision naturally required time for Shuise Yantou to consider.
“I agree to your proposal. Let’s sign the agreement,” Shuise Yantou finally decided after consulting with the leader of the Tuoba family.
The Tuoba family seemed particularly interested in the background of the rising Cowherd Tribe.
“Go to Cowherd Tribe’s headquarters. I’ll have Wangfeng de Woniu add you,” Nie Yan said, feeling delighted. Shuise Yantou’s agreement was a significant opportunity for Cowherd Tribe.
After they signed the agreement and confirmed it with their fingerprints, it became effective. Nie Yan added Shuise Yantou to the Assassin’s League. The number of Princes had originally been set by Nie Yan, so adding Shuise Yantou increased their count.
It seemed that the number of Princes might need to increase in the future, as there were many influential and capable players on the professional leaderboard. The Assassin’s League’s influence would inevitably attract more studios to join. However, aside from the founding members, later entrants generally wouldn’t receive shares.
Shortly after Shuise Yantou joined the Assassin’s League, a series of messages appeared.
System: Player Kuye Fengxing has joined the Assassin’s League.
System: Player Kuye Zhangshuo has joined the Assassin’s League.
Within moments, the Assassin’s League gained over 600 new members. Checking the total, the number of players had reached nearly 3,900.
The addition of Dead Leaf Studio would undoubtedly drive the Assassin’s League’s growth.
Looking at the player list below, several players in the professional and client categories had already attained Baron titles. Among them, Luonan Qingwa was progressing the fastest, having joined the Assassin’s League not long ago and now being just a step away from a Viscount title. This was mainly due to the valuable items he had, which were sold on the Assassin’s League’s trading platform, generating significant revenue through commissions. As his contributions increased, clients were already offering high prices for him to assist with quests.
The Assassin’s League’s revenue had already reached around 50 gold coins. At a 60% commission rate, Nie Yan could earn 30 gold coins from this. This massive money-making machine had only just begun to show its potential. According to information from Falan, venture capitalists had taken notice of the Assassin’s League and attempted to acquire it, but Falan naturally refused. Selling the Assassin’s League was out of the question; Falan and his team weren’t fools.
After finalizing the details with Shuise Yantou, Nie Yan watched as Shuise Yantou and the Dead Leaf Studio players headed to Cowherd Tribe’s headquarters.
At Cowherd Tribe’s headquarters in Karol City, which had recently upgraded to a level 2 guild, the space had become much larger. It was bustling with activity, showing the vibrant energy of a newly rising guild.
“Boss Xiaochong, I’m here to submit my guild task.”
“Me too.”
A group of guild members surrounded Zhao Li, who now managed the guild tasks and distributed rewards to players. For instance, if Xingkong Pharmacy needed certain herbs, he would post a task to collect them from players, offering rewards in guild contribution points.
“Is Wangfeng de Woniu around?” a voice called from the guild entrance.
A group of Cowherd Tribe players turned toward the entrance. Standing there were dozens of players dressed in neatly coordinated sets, all of at least epic quality, gleaming with dazzling metallic luster. The gathered players gasped in awe—what an impressive group!
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