The stockpile of the Wandering Merchant Shop completely exceeded Shi Feng's imagination. Even he fell silent for a long while upon seeing the numbers.
"No wonder the factions that obtained Wandering Merchant Shops developed so quickly in my previous life. It really is a hidden gold mine." Shi Feng suddenly had an epiphany.
In his previous life, there had been no shortage of first-rate and second-rate guilds that operated in the Free Zone. These guilds clearly hadn't occupied any strategic resource points, nor could they dominate empires and kingdoms, yet they had managed to establish themselves in the neutral zone — where superpowers stood in abundance — and even become new superpowers themselves.
The Wandering Merchant Shop had undoubtedly played a major role in that.
He had only entered the Four God's Tower a little over twenty days ago, yet the shop's ancient gold coin reserves had already reached over twenty-seven thousand. That meant a net profit of more than one thousand ancient gold coins per day. In all of Dragon Heart City, probably no other shop could match that figure — perhaps only the fortresses in the Earth Core Mountain Range could surpass it.
And this was only a Two-Star Wandering Merchant Shop. Once it advanced to a Three-Star shop, the items sold inside would be enough to tempt even superpowers.
Most importantly, the Three-Star Wandering Merchant Shop represented a qualitative leap. Upon reaching Three-Star, the shop would periodically host a small-scale black market fair. It might not compare to directly teleporting into the Black Market, but there were no teleportation restrictions — anyone who became a paying member of the Wandering Merchant Shop could attend directly. At that point, the shop's income would surge dramatically.
As for the twenty-seven thousand-plus ancient gold coins, Shi Feng withdrew all of them without a second thought and headed straight for the City Hall.
Originally, he had planned to purchase a guild territory on the outermost edge of Dragon Heart City, giving guild members a free resting area within the city. But now, with this many ancient gold coins, the plan naturally changed.
Dragon Heart City was a neutral free-trade metropolis. Besides its inner and outer districts, there was also a special zone — the area surrounding the World Tower.
Because of its proximity to the World Tower, not only was entering and exiting the tower extremely convenient, but the ambient magic density was also remarkably high. And there was a hidden secret as well: the tolerance threshold of the World's Power.
This phenomenon wasn't obvious on the first underground level of the Earth Core Mountain Range, but the moment players entered the second underground world, they would feel the ever-present malice of that realm — the World's Power rejecting and resisting intruders.
It wasn't quite like the foreign energies found in other neutral zones, but players in this environment would find their physical stats reduced and their five senses dulled to some degree. The impact was anything but negligible.
Of course, these effects could be mitigated through special food and drink available in Dragon Heart City, but the cost was staggering. A moderately skilled player could easily spend every last copper coin just on meals and beverages.
Over the course of extended exploration in Dragon Heart City, people had discovered something: resting in the area around the World Tower reduced the suppression from the World's Power upon entering the tower. It still affected players, but roughly halved.
This way, even without paying exorbitant food costs, players could manage inside the World Tower.
Because of this, shops and properties around the World Tower were wildly sought after. Superpowers spent fortunes converting existing shops into inns. If guild territories had been permitted in the vicinity, the area would have become a concentrated camp of guild headquarters in Shi Feng's previous life.
Even so, the area around the World Tower had become something of a tourist destination, entirely filled with inns catering to resting players.
In his previous life, these inns had been completely beyond the reach of first-rate guilds. Even many superpowers couldn't secure one, because the World Tower's surroundings held only thirty-four plots and shops — not a single one more. Their sizes were fixed from the start, with no possibility of expansion.
The major factions in Dragon Heart City hadn't caught on yet. Shi Feng certainly wasn't going to miss this opportunity.
Previously, with only ten thousand ancient gold coins, purchasing anything around the World Tower — let alone in the outer district — had been out of the question. Now, with over twenty-seven thousand, he finally had the means to buy in that area.
In the second-floor VIP meeting room of City Hall, after waiting only a short while, an elven beauty wearing a crescent moon insignia walked in.
This elven beauty was different from ordinary stewards. She was a senior steward affiliated with City Hall, the NPC responsible for selling properties and plots around the World Tower, and she herself was a Level 180 Tier 4 Magic Archmage. An ordinary player coming here would be fortunate to even exchange a word with her, let alone secure a meeting.
Shi Feng's status as a Bronze Legacy Holder was the only reason he had been granted an audience.
"Honorable Bronze Legacy Holder, here is the information on all thirty-four plots and shops around the World Tower. Which one would you like to purchase?" Senior Steward Lorelyn asked, looking at Shi Feng.
Shi Feng studied the list, his heart sinking in prolonged silence.
He had known the properties here were expensive, but he hadn't expected them to be this expensive.
A completely empty plot — nothing built on it whatsoever — was priced at twenty-four thousand ancient gold coins, and that was a small one. A medium plot cost a full forty-five thousand. And as for shops that were already constructed, the cheapest was a small One-Star restaurant at forty thousand ancient gold coins. The price of a medium Two-Star inn soared to a staggering one hundred and twenty-eight thousand...
Looking at these figures, Shi Feng suddenly felt that even with the Wandering Merchant Shop, he was still a pauper in the grand scheme of Dragon Heart City.
"I'll take this small plot," Shi Feng said through gritted teeth, selecting the one closest to the World Tower.
Plots and shops around the World Tower were worth their weight in gold. Their scarcity was on par with the Wandering Merchant Shop itself. Buying one meant massive returns, not to mention a significant boost to the guild.
"Very well. The total is twenty-six thousand five hundred ancient gold coins," Lorelyn nodded.
Shi Feng paid the ancient gold coins in silence, leaving himself with just over a thousand. But Lorelyn paid no mind to that — after receiving the coins, she produced an ancient contract and handed it to Shi Feng.
Reading the information on the contract, Shi Feng felt his heart spasm.
Even an empty lot with nothing on it required a monthly management fee of ten thousand ancient gold coins — steeper than the Wandering Merchant Shop itself.
"Fine. You have to spend money to make money. At least in my previous life, superpowers were willing to pay millions of ancient gold coins for a single plot," Shi Feng reasoned, concluding he had still gotten a great deal. "Next, I just need to earn another four thousand ancient gold coins, and I can build a high-grade inn there and begin full operations."
Just as Shi Feng finished signing all the contracts and was about to leave City Hall, a call notification suddenly chimed in his ear. It was Bai Qingxue requesting a communication. He immediately accepted.
"Guild Leader, we've arrived in Dragon Heart City," Bai Qingxue said.