Both Shui Se Qiang Wei and Bai Qingxue were deep in thought after hearing Shi Feng's suggestion, their minds a tangle of excitement and anxiety.
"Guild Master, this plan isn't bad — letting these guilds and factions compete for settlement slots while we reap the benefits — but some of the smaller guilds that know they can't compete might simply give up. Right now, the guilds approaching us are mostly small ones. They may be individually weak, but when pooled together, their collective strength surpasses even the large guilds." Shui Se Qiang Wei was quick to identify the crux of the issue. Her acuity when it came to management and operations was, if anything, sharper than Shi Feng's.
"Exactly. Small guilds think nothing like the big ones — they won't act unless they're absolutely certain of the reward, and they don't think about long-term development. Immediate profit is all that matters to them." Bai Qingxue nodded in agreement. "A twenty percent discount on the city entrance fee probably won't be enough to tempt them. After all, these smaller guilds have very few top players to begin with, and even fewer that can venture into the Bottomless Abyss. The return simply doesn't justify what they'd have to invest — they'll almost certainly refuse. If it comes to it, they'll do what those adventurer teams did and just head to Stone Forest City on their own."
Shui Se Qiang Wei and Bai Qingxue's observations cut straight to the bone. Shi Feng had only given a brief outline, yet the two had already identified a host of problems — far beyond what Hei Zi or Liang Jing could have managed.
"You're both right. A discount on a single city's entrance fee alone probably won't be enough to draw in these small guilds. But this isn't just any city — it's Stone Forest City. Even if they wanted to refuse, it won't be easy." Shi Feng smiled faintly.
Listening to their suggestions, he gained a better understanding of why, in his previous life, these two had been able to lead their guilds to steady growth, each developing theirs into a quasi-super-first-rate powerhouse.
For a guild to grow and thrive, it needed not only formidable players — management and operations were equally critical. If he hadn't been a reborn individual, with forward-thinking management concepts and knowledge of future developments, he would never have been able to match their abilities in those areas.
"This…" Shui Se Qiang Wei and Bai Qingxue exchanged a look, their expressions tinged with confusion after hearing Shi Feng's words.
"Didn't all these guilds come to discuss cooperation? Then let's hold the negotiations at the Candlelight Trading Company in Stone Forest City." Shi Feng chuckled.
"All right, we'll bring them over now." Though the two women didn't fully understand his reasoning, they were well acquainted with Shi Feng's style. If he had made this arrangement, he clearly had his plans, and Stone Forest City was destined to be Zero Wing's key development focus going forward. As core members of the guild's leadership, they naturally needed to familiarize themselves with it thoroughly.
The two ended the transmission and promptly contacted the representatives of every major guild, instructing them all to proceed to Stone Forest City to discuss cooperation.
"What exactly does Zero Wing mean by this? They could have negotiated directly, but instead they're dragging us all the way to Stone Forest City — what a waste of time!" A gorgeous female Elementalist of level 68, draped in an ornate light-red mage's robe, glared at Shui Se Qiang Wei in the reception hall, irritation clear in her voice.
The cavernous hall held over two hundred representatives from various guilds, yet apart from Bu Mie Zhan Xin and Mu Lingsha, none of the others dared meet the woman's fiery gaze. They lowered their heads as though they had encountered some kind of monster, terrified of drawing her ire.
This was no ordinary woman. She was Yan Yun Shi Liu Meng — the Second Vice President of the newly ascended superpower Tiger Shine, known as the Flame Empress. Originally a once-in-a-generation genius nurtured by a top-tier super guild, much like Feng Qianyu of the Dragon Phoenix Pavilion, she had midway defected to Tiger Shine and conquered a sizable territory for them.
Though Tiger Shine was not yet as powerful as Star Ring, it ranked among the top of the newly risen superpowers. It held outright dominion over four kingdoms and had established a considerable foothold in the Glory Empire as well — making it even more formidable than the Battle Soul guild.
"Vice President, we're here this time to assess Zero Wing thoroughly, to see whether it really is as formidable as the White Tiger Dojo claims. Let's bear with it for now." A level 68 male assassin sitting beside her spoke in a placating tone, behaving much like a butler — clearly long accustomed to Yan Yun Shi Liu Meng's explosive temperament.
Across from them, Bu Mie Zhan Xin regarded the middle-aged man with heightened wariness.
The man's background was even more imposing. His name was Chi You, and he had risen to fame long before Bu Mie Zhan Xin himself had. A genuine monster of an assassin who specialized in decapitation strikes, he had personally slain no fewer than six high-ranking figures of various superpowers in recent times, derailing many of their plans.
"How strange," Bu Mie Zhan Xin thought to himself, studying Yan Yun Shi Liu Meng and Chi You. "Tiger Shine has always been developing in the Glory Empire. Why would they come all the way here to cooperate with Zero Wing? Could Zero Wing have some secret arrangement with Tiger Shine?"
Though Tiger Shine was a newly risen superpower that had started its ascent later than Star Ring, its growth had been no less explosive. Standing behind it was the world-class Radiance Corporation — a conglomerate that, like the Heishui Corporation, had made its fortune in combat sports and private security. It was flush with elite player talent, giving it an even greater edge over other major corporations.
If the Radiance Corporation hadn't entered the scene a touch late, it would likely have already grown into a superpower on par with Star Ring and Heishui.
While Bu Mie Zhan Xin's thoughts churned, Yan Yun Shi Liu Meng finally settled back into her seat, making no further fuss.
"Fine, fine. I was just saying." She pouted at Chi You and fell silent.
She had zero respect for guilds like Zero Wing that lacked any powerful backing. Having come from a super guild herself, she knew full well what such organizations were capable of. A guild like Zero Wing might have made a splash, but whether it could endure was another matter entirely.
Opportunities were unpredictable — they could catapult a guild to the heights one moment and leave it crumbling the next. Guilds like Zero Wing that had seized an opportunity and risen suddenly were hardly rare in the history of virtual gaming, yet those that ultimately became super-first-rate or true superpowers were vanishingly few.
In her eyes, Zero Wing was nothing more than a nouveau riche outfit, not remotely on the same level as those established powers with real heritage.
If the White Tiger Dojo hadn't vouched for Zero Wing's exceptional ability to cultivate top-tier players, the guild would never have sent her here — let alone to discuss a partnership.
With Yan Yun Shi Liu Meng's complaints silenced, the atmosphere in the reception hall finally calmed. The guild representatives followed Shui Se Qiang Wei out of the hall and headed toward the teleportation hub in White River City, preparing to see Stone Forest City for themselves.
Meanwhile, far away in the Black Dragon Empire, Bai Qingxue was similarly leading representatives from various factions toward Stone Forest City.
More than two hundred faction representatives had gathered in Nightfall City of the Nightfall Empire, and the sheer scale of the assembly sent ripples across the entire empire.