Shi Feng immediately requested two of the hottest plots of land. Melancholic Smile glanced at the price list and couldn't help but gape.
The prices were absolutely outrageous.
Even a regular plot in White River City cost over a thousand gold, and in the densely populated central district, you'd be looking at three thousand gold or more.
As for the two plots Shi Feng had set his sights on, they were each priced at over eight thousand gold. Converted to Credit Points, eight thousand gold was enough to open a respectable large company in a real-world city…
But Shi Feng didn't think it was particularly expensive. These two plots would be worth their weight in gold in the future — in his previous life, he hadn't even been able to snatch them up.
Whether next to the Auction House or the bank, both were places players frequented regularly, guaranteeing a massive flow of foot traffic. If he hadn't been so short on funds, he really would have bought a few more. Once White River City became the number one city in the Star Moon Kingdom, their future value would increase a hundredfold or more.
"My lord, the two plots you've selected are priced at 9,200 gold and 8,800 gold respectively, for a combined total of 18,000 gold. With the ten percent discount, that comes to 16,200 gold," the male administrator said excitedly. "Additionally, after purchasing these two plots, you'll need to pay a fifteen percent property tax each month. If payment isn't made within three months, these commercial plots will be frozen, and if payment isn't made within six months, they will be directly confiscated."
"That's daylight robbery!" Melancholic Smile's face darkened the moment she heard that, barely stopping herself from shouting.
They'd already spent so much on the purchase, and now they'd have to pay fifteen percent in taxes every month on top of that. Combined, the two plots would cost 2,700 gold per month — even a top-tier guild might not have that many gold coins to spare, and this was a recurring monthly payment.
"Here's 16,200 gold." Shi Feng handed over the money without a second word.
He understood the rules of the Divine Realm perfectly well. He was used to it.
The Main God System had implemented this precisely to prevent anyone from becoming too dominant in the early game and buying up all the commercial plots, which was why the fifteen percent monthly property tax existed.
It seemed expensive, but as players in the Divine Realm leveled up, gold coins would become increasingly easy to earn. The value of gold would keep dropping — it would never stay as high as it was now. Paying 2,700 gold a month was really no big deal.
Before long, the administrator handed Shi Feng the contracts for both plots. With these, he could open shops however he pleased, and the two lots were by no means small — easily comparable in size to the Star Trace Trading Company's space.
The Star Trace Trading Company wasn't his after all, no matter how good it was, it belonged to the NPCs. But shops opened on these two plots would be entirely his own. He could do whatever he wanted with them — the convenience was incomparable.
Shi Feng then selected two excellent buildings at the city hall, both three stories tall. The first floor could be used for retail sales, the second for warehousing and the Forging Room and such, and the third for administrative offices.
However, to construct these two shops, Shi Feng spent another two thousand gold, after which he hired over twenty high-level NPCs for daily management and sales.
With all this spending, Shi Feng's funds were running dangerously low. Fortunately, the Dragon Scale sets from Black Wing City were continuously being sold, and gold coins were flowing into his pocket at all times.
"Smile, I'm leaving the management of these two locations to you. I've already granted you the necessary permissions. Start gradually transferring the Star Trace Trading Company's staff over. As for the merchandise, focus primarily on Enhanced Armor Plates — stop selling them at the Star Trace Trading Company side," Shi Feng said.
"Guild Master, if only these two locations sell Enhanced Armor Plates, it'll split the player traffic. That could have a significant impact on the Star Trace Trading Company," Melancholic Smile said with concern.
"That's exactly what I want — to split the traffic. I want to migrate all of Star Trace Trading Company's old customers to the new shops. Just follow my instructions. Oh, and price each Enhanced Armor Plate at seven silver coins or higher. Don't sell at a loss," Shi Feng said with a smile.
The Star Trace Trading Company still served some purpose for him, but its greatest role had been accumulating capital in the early stages. Now that he'd accumulated enough, it was time to gradually abandon it. Once he gathered thirty thousand gold to complete the task, he'd be done with the Star Trace Trading Company for good. If he didn't plan ahead now, it would be too late later.
"Guild Master, rest assured — the Enhanced Armor Plates will absolutely not go for less than seven silver coins," Melancholic Smile said confidently about the plates they produced.
Even among skilled Blacksmiths like themselves, the success rate for a single Enhanced Armor Plate was barely over thirty percent. The material cost alone exceeded one silver coin per plate, meaning the total production cost for one fully enhanced plate came to over three silver coins. Selling it for seven silver coins was practically a steal.
Even without Shi Feng telling her, she'd planned to price them at ten silver coins. Players were higher level now and earning money was easier — ten silver coins would sell just fine.
"Guild Master, these two shops still don't have names. What should we call them?" Melancholic Smile looked to Shi Feng and asked.
"A single spark can start a prairie fire. Let's call it the Candlelight Trading Company," Shi Feng said, gazing at the two golden plots now in his possession, his heart swelling with emotion.
At last, he had capital of his own. With these two prime plots, he was now a full step ahead of every other guild. Going forward, the guild's finances would have a remarkably stable foundation, and he'd have nothing to fear in a war of attrition against any rival guild.
Shortly after, Shi Feng and Melancholic Smile went to inspect the two plots, but the buildings were still under renovation and couldn't yet be seen in their full, polished form. It would take several more hours for the renovations to be completed, after which the shops could officially open for business.
"White River City sure has a lot of players these days," Shi Feng said, surveying the surroundings. The area near the Auction House was absolutely teeming with people — far more than the White River City of his previous life.
"Of course, Guild Master," Melancholic Smile replied. "Zero Wing and Smile of the City have been competing fiercely here, and Zero Wing is the first guild to secure a guild headquarters. Add that to Smile of the City's generous welfare packages, and they've attracted quite a few players from other cities looking to settle here. According to the data from two days ago, White River City has already become the second-largest player city in the Star Moon Kingdom, trailing only the Star Moon Royal Capital."
"The Royal Capital was the Royal Capital — it wasn't something an ordinary city could compare to. Even though White River City held considerable advantages, plenty of players still preferred to make their way in the Royal Capital."
"The Star Moon Royal Capital?" Shi Feng paused at Melancholic Smile's words, suddenly recalling something.
In the Star Moon Royal Capital, he'd made an acquaintance and had been planning to purchase land there. Originally, his goal had been to expand Zero Wing into the Royal Capital, but he'd later scrapped that plan, focusing instead on turning White River City into the Star Moon Kingdom's number one player city — after all, Zero Wing's roots in White River City were already exceptionally deep.
He had no plans to develop in the Star Moon Royal Capital now, but the sheer volume of players there was still tempting. After all, in the major cities of the Divine Realm, players were a city's most valuable resource.
The stronger a city, the more powerful the guild that controlled it.
"Looks like I do need to make a trip to the Star Moon Royal Capital after all," Shi Feng suddenly thought of a plan that could take White River City one step further.
(To be continued.)