The sudden transformation of Zero Wing didn't just catch Heaven's Burial off guard — every major guild was equally stunned.
No one had expected Zero Wing to possess such hidden depth.
The Tower of Magic Power built in Zero Wing City, in particular, had caused the city's magic power density to skyrocket, instantly making Zero Wing City far more popular.
All the major factions and players who had previously looked down on Zero Wing now felt that the guild had a real chance.
"Who would've thought Zero Wing had this kind of card up its sleeve?"
"Now that Zero Wing City has the Tower of Magic Power, the player population has exploded. Their daily income must be surging along with it. Looks like Heaven's Burial won't be able to crush Zero Wing anytime soon."
"Surging is an understatement. Have you seen how many players are teleporting to the Beastman Empire through Zero Wing City? I heard that the number of players who've registered as teleportation members of Zero Wing City alone has already exceeded five thousand."
"That's right. The border beastmen in the Beastman Empire are getting more numerous and harder to deal with by the day, and the journey there takes forever. Compared to teleporting directly into the Beastman Empire's outer zone through Zero Wing City, the old way is a nightmare — not only does it waste over ten hours of travel time, but you also have to worry about beastman ambushes along the way. The only problem is the price. Regular players like us can't afford it."
…
Everyone couldn't stop talking about Zero Wing City. Whether it was major factions or independent players, they all desperately coveted the city's teleportation service.
The Beastman Empire was currently the focal point of competition between several neighboring countries and two great empires, and travel time had been a constant headache. After all, they weren't like Heaven's Burial, which had already seized Ancient Rock City — guild members there could teleport directly to Ancient Rock City.
Everyone else had to spend at least ten-plus hours on the road. On top of that, the Beastman Empire's environment was terrible, making it impossible to grind and fight there for extended periods.
Although there was Ancient Rock City occupied by Heaven's Burial and various small towns held by other guilds, the inns in those towns could only accommodate so many players. Compared to the total number of adventurers in the Beastman Empire, capacity fell far short.
This meant most players had no choice but to return to their own kingdom cities to rest, then spend another ten-plus hours making the trek back.
But Zero Wing City's emergence had changed all of that. Not only was travel time slashed, but players could also bypass the increasingly numerous mutant beastmen along the border.
As a result, more and more players were flooding into Zero Wing City.
The only issues were the extra cost and the matter of actually reaching Zero Wing City.
While players could teleport to Zero Wing City directly from Everdark City, getting to Everdark City still required a lengthy journey from Star Moon Kingdom's capital.
Those major factions and adventure teams that had originally had no interest in the Zero Wing Auction now swarmed into the Zero Wing Auction House in Stone Forest Town like madmen.
With over an hour still remaining before the auction began, the enormous advanced auction house was already packed with players. Among them were members of major guilds, as well as renowned adventure teams from several neighboring countries and two great empires, making the Zero Wing Auction a truly unprecedented event.
"Shui Se, the number of attendees has already surpassed fifty thousand. By the time the auction starts, breaking sixty or even seventy thousand shouldn't be a problem," Ya Ya reported excitedly, glancing at the statistics report in her hands.
Zero Wing was indeed hosting the auction, but not just anyone could attend. Certain conditions had to be met.
Namely, one had to carry a sufficient amount of gold. The minimum for this auction was set at one hundred gold, while the minimum for a VIP box was ten thousand gold.
The advanced auction house was far larger than the Candlelight Trading Company in White River City. The premier auction hall alone could accommodate up to a hundred thousand people, and there were as many as a hundred VIP boxes. Even so, every single one of the hundred VIP boxes was fully occupied…
Watercolor Rose was stunned when she saw these numbers.
An auction on this scale would be difficult to pull off even for a super guild.
Only now did Watercolor Rose begin to understand why Shi Feng had said this was merely the beginning.
With so many people competing for the private residences and shops in Zero Wing City, sky-high prices were all but guaranteed.
As time ticked by, the Zero Wing Auction commenced under Watercolor Rose's orderly command.
Though it had been organized on short notice, the quality of the auction items was impressive. They consisted of treasured items from various guilds and players, including numerous Level 45 Dark-Gold weapons and equipment and Level 50 Mythril Rank weapons and equipment up for sale, with Zero Wing earning commissions on each.
"Next up is our auction house's grand finale — private residences in Zero Wing City, situated right next to the city's arena! Starting price: 1,500 gold! Minimum bid increment: 50 gold!"