A spread of blueprints covered the forging stone table, every single one of which Melancholy Smile had never seen before.
"This..." Melancholy Smile stared, dumbfounded, the shock in her heart beyond words. "Guild Leader, I'm not dreaming, am I?"
She was a Blacksmith herself and knew full well how valuable these blueprints were.
Blueprints that could be purchased from the Forging Association weren't worth much, but blueprints sourced from elsewhere were extremely valuable. Blueprints had universally low drop rates, and the ones that were actually useful for cultivating a Blacksmith were in even shorter supply. Ordinary designs simply wouldn't cut it, so the prices of forging blueprints remained perpetually high. For designs that had very low drop rates and were broadly useful to the player base, prices could be marked up dozens of times over.
And then there was an even more valuable category of blueprints — like the Primary Reinforced Armor Plate design. Currently, only Horizon Alliance possessed three copies, and nobody else knew where to farm them. The value of such blueprints could multiply by a hundredfold, making them worth more than even Epic-grade equipment.
Melancholy Smile had learned nearly every existing forging blueprint there was. Even the ones she hadn't formally studied, she at least knew about.
But every blueprint on this table — she had seen none of them, nor had she ever heard of them. The value of this haul alone was more than the entire Candlefire Trading company could afford.
Melancholy Smile casually browsed through the designs on the table, and her eyes instantly blazed with brilliant light.
The items these blueprints could produce were exactly what players needed most right now.
"Most of these are Light Stone blueprints," Shi Feng explained with a faint smile. "There are also equipment blueprints for level 25 to 30 Mythril Rank and Mithril Rank gear. The Light Stone blueprints can be learned by any advanced forging apprentice. However, only the three of you can learn the equipment blueprints. A few copies can also be held back as rewards for members who promote to Blacksmith. But anyone who wants to learn these blueprints must sign a new contract. If they want to leave Horizon Alliance, that's fine — but the penalty for the blueprint damages will be twenty times over. If Smile of Purity wants to poach, let them try."
He had long anticipated Smile of Purity's poaching efforts.
Profit could move anyone's heart.
These forging apprentices were people trying to put food on the table. Smile of Purity was offering sky-high premiums and was willing to shoulder the compensation penalties. Naturally, quite a few would be tempted.
The reason Shi Feng had repeatedly warned Melancholy Smile to be careful with personnel selection wasn't actually to prevent people from leaving. It was to make her understand the gravity of the situation.
Even gods couldn't see through the human heart, let alone mortals.
Only through weathering storms could one truly grow.
No amount of talk was enough — one had to experience things firsthand to understand. Now that Melancholy Smile had felt it for herself, she would be far more discerning when selecting and deploying talent going forward.
Right now, he had a massive supply of Light Stone blueprints. If Smile of Purity was willing to pay the price to poach people, Shi Feng would honestly welcome it. Light Stone blueprints were common — in his previous life, a single Light Stone blueprint had been worth only a few gold coins. And that was when the average player level had already reached 45. Not exactly valuable.
The only reason they commanded such high prices now was that players' levels were too low to obtain them. The current estimated price was several dozen gold coins per blueprint. If Smile of Purity poached someone...
Shi Feng would be delighted.
Because whenever he wanted more, he could just go out and grab another batch. That way, he wouldn't have to wait around for Light Stone revenue to trickle in. The twenty-times penalty alone from a single Smile of Purity poach attempt would earn him a massive windfall of Credit Points. He could make a fortune just from selling off advanced forging apprentices. This kind of opportunity was impossible to find even with a lantern, so how could he possibly not be happy about it?
"Guild Leader. I'll be extremely careful with selections this time." Melancholy Smile gazed at the table full of Light Stone blueprints, her heart bursting with excitement she could barely contain. But what made her happiest of all was Shi Feng's forgiveness and encouragement.