At this stage, several gold coins are a huge sum for a team, even a guild. After all, the revenue from a raid’s next instance is at most just a few dozen silver coins, and when divided among so many team members, there’s barely anything left. Moreover, most players aren’t wealthy right now. Their money must be used to purchase various equipment, skill books, potions, and consumables from shops, often leaving them with little to spare for guild donations. Meanwhile, guild operations require significant expenditures, especially the establishment of guild warehouses, which have drained their funds. Occasionally, they even have to buy game currency on the black market using credit points to make ends meet.
At this time, guilds require substantial financial support. However, game currency on the black market has long been sold out and is practically unobtainable. Players can barely support themselves, and few have surplus game currency to sell. Guilds are like massive money-consuming machines, causing guild leaders endless headaches. Without continuous investment, guilds will quickly disintegrate. However, they are optimistic about the guilds’ future potential. In the later stages, when guild wars begin, each city will introduce various strongholds. Whichever guild captures and holds a stronghold will gain ownership of it, along with the rights to tax all transactions, land, and shops within. At that point, guild revenues will be staggering.
Because of this promising outlook, although guild leaders feel the financial pain, they continue to pour substantial money and effort into their guilds. Under such massive expenditure, they cannot afford to buy land and establish shops. Their decision to start shops was purely inspired by the popularity of the Star Pharmacy.
Due to insufficient funds, the land they purchased is located in remote areas, and their pharmacies have only reached level one. Moreover, most of their alchemists’ output must first meet guild needs before any surplus is sold, resulting in mediocre business performance.
In the future, production professions won’t be limited to alchemists alone. Although professions like tailors, alchemists, and blacksmiths already exist, they haven’t developed much in the short term. These professions produce little while in the apprentice stage, and their early creations are of such poor quality that nobody wants them. For example, weapons crafted by blacksmith apprentices barely reach the level of beginner equipment, while those crafted by novice blacksmiths are only of bronze quality, earning minimal profits in the market. Therefore, only alchemists are currently in high demand, as even low-level potions offer some effect.
Nie Yan definitely plans to expand into tailoring, alchemy, and blacksmithing, but he currently lacks sufficient funds. For now, he will invest his money in land purchases. Once he owns land and shops, there will be many independent blacksmiths in the market. If necessary, he can always lure away skilled blacksmiths from other shops or guilds with high salaries, a tactic frequently used by Cao Xu in a previous life.
Nie Yan withdrew all his remaining money from the store—approximately thirty-six gold coins—and teleported to Nisord, the second-largest city in Griland. Karol City, Nisord, and Heishan City were the primary strongholds of Cao Xu’s influence in the previous life, where he purchased over 50% of the land. Nie Yan’s land purchases in these cities would undoubtedly undermine the foundation of Cao Xu’s development.
When Nie Yan arrived in Nisord, he found that most small plots of land had already been sold, while larger plots valued at over ten gold coins remained untouched.
Nie Yan had his eyes on a prime plot located in the heart of Nisord, valued at 28 gold coins. The price was astronomical, and even the major guilds couldn’t afford such a plot at the moment. Nisord’s population was much smaller than Karol’s, and despite its commercial prosperity, there weren’t many wealthy individuals.
This central plot, known as the “King of Land,” would become the site of an auction house in the future, serving as a landmark building for the city. Purchasing this plot was equivalent to owning half of Nisord!
Nie Yan bought it without hesitation. Once this land appreciates in value, the monthly property tax will be a significant expense. The Main Brain is clever; the starting price of a property is relatively low, but the future property taxes are substantial. These taxes are collected monthly, ensuring a steady revenue stream. Players who fail to manage their properties and can’t afford the taxes will have to sell them, promoting commercial circulation.
In addition, Nie Yan purchased some cheaper plots of land, leaving him with one gold coin, and then teleported back to Karol.
Nie Yan checked his status. Killing thirty-level elites to reduce his red name status had been effective; his red name had faded to yellow. While in yellow name status, city NPCs would issue warnings or show hostility toward the player, but this only affected him when taking quests; otherwise, it posed no significant issues.
When in red name status, killing thirty-level elite Linwa had a chance of dropping the Maniac Medal, but Nie Yan’s luck wasn’t great, and he failed to obtain it, which was quite regrettable. He would have to try again tomorrow. If he still couldn’t get it, there was nothing he could do. Perhaps his red name points were insufficient to meet the requirements for dropping the medal. After all, that accessory had excellent attributes and a very low drop rate.
Looking at his skill list, the Tian Shen Arbitration on the Chapter of Courage had finally changed from gray to bright, meaning it was now usable.
This skill, with a cooldown of ten natural days, had made Nie Yan wait a long time!
Nie Yan was thrilled. If he simultaneously activated Tian Shen Arbitration and Death Strike, with a bit of luck, the damage output would be tremendous. Combined with his Pickpocket skill, these abilities should be sufficient to meet the requirements of the next task.
Tian Shen Arbitration combined with Death Strike was terrifying. Tian Shen Arbitration would instantly increase Nie Yan’s health by 500 points, bringing his total health to nearly 900. Thirty percent of that was 270, and then using Death Strike for a critical hit multiplier… as long as there were no misses, this skill could kill an opponent in one hit.
Nie Yan’s vision was gradually becoming a reality. Perhaps he wasn’t the strongest now, but once he completed all his plans and revealed himself to the world, he would make everyone tremble.
That would be an entirely new thief, built upon ten years of experience and countless bursts of genius!
In this life, he would leave no regrets behind. He would become a godlike figure, surpassing even Shadow Dance!
After checking the time, Nie Yan hurriedly finished his tasks and gave instructions to Bird No More Eggs before logging out of the game.
After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he drank a can of nutrient solution and tidied up his house a bit. Then the phone rang.
“Nie Yan, I’m downstairs. Hurry up and come down.”
“Coming right away.” Nie Yan put on his clothes and went downstairs. As he reached the entrance of the residential complex, he spotted a black sports car. It was massive, with a sleek, streamlined body resembling a steel beast. This was a limited-edition domestic Tiger, representing the pinnacle of China’s technological advancement. Its price was more staggering than many foreign cars. Equipped with a micro-nuclear battery, it had a top speed of 1,800 kilometers per hour, faster than an airplane, and its body was made of bulletproof material capable of instantly crashing through concrete walls over thirty centimeters thick.
Tang Yao got out of the car and patted the big machine beside him, asking, “What do you think? Pretty impressive, right?”
Nie Yan glanced at it and nodded, “Not bad, but this isn’t your car, is it?” In a previous life, Nie Yan’s father had also ordered a Tiger, which was indeed very stylish.
“How come you’re not even a bit surprised? That’s disappointing. Indeed, it’s not mine; it’s my dad’s. The rich are different. Even borrowing his car for a day costs me twenty thousand yuan in rent.” Tang Yao shrugged. Since Tang Yao turned sixteen, all the money he spent was earned through his own part-time jobs and stock trading. His father hadn’t given him a single penny, so speaking in this tone was understandable. “But driving this car is so cool and stylish. Whenever I see a concrete wall or an obstacle, I just want to crash into it.”
Hearing this, Nie Yan couldn’t help but laugh and said, “If your dad finds out how you treat his car, you’re done for.”
Tang Yao shrugged helplessly and said, “What can I do? I don’t have any status at home. I’m not even as valuable as his car. Anyway, let’s stop chatting. Get in the car; they’ve been waiting for a long time.”
Tang Yao gradually realized that in the past, he had always dominated the conversation with Nie Yan. However, now the dynamic was subtly changing. But he didn’t think there was anything wrong with their current relationship. Nie Yan’s position in his heart was slowly rising.
After getting into the car, there was no sound at all. The Tiger started up and shot forward like lightning.
Their meeting place was a restaurant in the suburbs of the provincial capital. Once the Tiger switched to autonomous driving, it would take at most half an hour to get there.
The Bishui Yunjian Restaurant was hailed as the crown jewel of the provincial capital. In fact, it was a high-end entertainment club, covering dozens of acres with comprehensive entertainment facilities, making it an ideal place for gatherings and consumption.
The Tiger parked in the square. Looking around, the square was packed with cars of all kinds. Although the Tiger was impressive, it wasn’t the best model around. Among the thousand or so cars in the square, at least ten were more powerful than the Tiger.
“There are so many rich people,” Tang Yao turned back to Nie Yan, “Let’s go.”
“I can’t afford a place like this, so all the expenses will be on you,” Nie Yan said.
“You’re pretending to be poor again. If you sold your in-game currency, you wouldn’t know how much money you could make. You still have the nerve to mooch off me.”
“I will never touch my in-game currency. It can generate more money within the game. Every single coin can turn into more,” Nie Yan shook his head.
Tang Yao thought for a moment and nodded, saying, “I understand. It’s like the money in my stock portfolio. Usually, my monthly expenses don’t exceed 30,000 yuan, and that’s from my part-time work. I rarely touch the money in the stock market. Alright, I’ll mooch off your in-game equipment, and I’ll cover all the expenses today.”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage