"This must be the inheritance site on the island," Jun Wuchang said, staring at the towering spire hidden in the center of the canyon, excitement flickering in his eyes.
The greatest inheritance in the entire Sea Dragon Secret Realm had been found by Shi Feng without breaking a sweat.
Last time, his Third Fleet had spent over four hours passing the test, and after boarding the inheritance island, they'd spent the remaining time failing to locate the inheritance site. Instead, they'd lost several people to magical traps.
Now Shi Feng had found it in less than three hours. It was practically a miracle.
Although it stung to let Shi Feng claim the greatest inheritance, on second thought, it was far better than letting Shang Buyan and his people get it. Plus, with Shi Feng's help going forward, securing the inheritance in the fifty-meter cave should be effortless — and that would solidify the Freedom Alliance's third-place position.
Without this cooperation with Shi Feng, his Third Fleet would likely have plummeted to seventh or even eighth place, losing even the right to use the large shipyard.
Shi Feng gazed at the Star Descent Tower with some excitement of his own, but rather than rushing over, he calmly turned to Jun Wuchang and asked in a low voice, "Brother Wuchang, how would you feel about making a deal?"
The Sea God's inheritance was essentially secured — their initial goal for coming here had been achieved.
But Zero Wing needed money and resources to develop, and the Torchlight Trading House had basically hit its revenue ceiling. To increase income, they needed to expand the Torchlight Trading House.
The Freedom Alliance controlled three of the twelve major cities in the Ending Sea Area. If they could open shops in those three cities, the revenue would be beyond imagination.
But opening shops in those major cities wasn't as simple as on the mainland, where you only needed enough reputation and gold. In all NPC cities in the Ending Sea Area, reputation wasn't required, but you needed the city manager's approval — much like player-built towns.
This was exactly why commerce in the Ending Sea Area remained underdeveloped.
To get a city manager's approval, you typically had to agree to a revenue split. Since there was no competition, these managers held all the cards. The generous ones took a 70-30 split in their favor; the greedy ones flipped it entirely. The norm was 50-50. This was why most players chose to set up street stalls instead — no revenue splitting, just a small stall fee.
"A deal?" Jun Wuchang looked at Shi Feng, curiosity piqued. "What kind of deal did you have in mind, Brother Ye Feng?"
"Would you be interested in becoming the leader of the First Fleet?" Shi Feng said with a smile.
"The leader of the First Fleet? Brother Ye Feng, you can't be serious. You've seen Shang Buyan and Bai Ye's strength. After getting this inheritance, I'll barely be able to hold on to third place, let alone compete for first. Becoming First Fleet leader is impossible." Jun Wuchang shook his head.
"That's exactly why I'm proposing this deal," Shi Feng said, his expression turning serious. "Brother Wuchang, you've seen my strength, and you know Zero Wing stands behind me. If I threw my full support behind you — how high would you say your chances of becoming First Fleet leader are?"
Shi Feng's words left Jun Wuchang silent.
Without Shi Feng's help this time, his Third Fleet would have been in dire straits.
"I don't know the full extent of Zero Wing's power, but in my estimation, a twenty percent chance would already be optimistic. Shang Buyan isn't as simple as he seems," Jun Wuchang said.
"Twenty percent?" Shi Feng merely smiled. "Even twenty percent isn't bad — at least the hope isn't insignificant, right? If I help you become First Fleet leader, I want management rights over the cities under your command. The revenue, we split fifty-fifty. What do you think?"
The Freedom Alliance wasn't like a guild. Becoming First Fleet leader didn't automatically grant control over all three cities, but it did mean taking charge of Haitian City — the one with the highest player population. The remaining two cities were jointly managed by the other ten fleet leaders.
This was precisely why even the Holy Law Hall had gotten involved.
Becoming the First Fleet leader meant sole control over one major NPC city. Managed well, the wealth it generated would be beyond imagination.