Although selling equipment was easy money for Shi Feng, things over at Yichui Maimai were a completely different story.
To keep competing against Shi Feng, Yichui Maimai had to keep forging new Barbarian Chest Armor. The silver coins in his hands weren't silver coins anymore — they were copper coins, vanishing in a constant stream. He even had to spend Credit Points to buy materials, and the sight of it made his heart ache. But whenever he thought about how Shi Feng was spending even more, he felt a little better. He was determined to drive Shi Feng into bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng himself had left behind the increasingly bustling Auction House.
After arriving at the bank vault, he deposited the Decks and hard stones he'd collected. Gazing at the vault that already held over a thousand slots' worth of items, Shi Feng felt a thrill of excitement.
This was the benefit of rebirth. In his previous life, he hadn't known about any of this and had been screwed over by ignorance. Now, these things had become one of his most important sources of income.
They might not be worth much right now, but in the future their value would skyrocket — tenfold, even fifty-fold. Decks in particular: once assembled into a complete set, they would sell for dozens of times the price of individual cards, and even then the major guilds would struggle to get their hands on them.
After storing his items, Shi Feng headed to a general goods store and bought five stacks of blank paper and one stack of ink and brushes. Blank paper and ink were dirt-cheap at the general store — a stack of two hundred sheets went for just ten copper coins, a stack of twenty bottles of black ink for fifteen copper, and even the best quill pens were only twenty copper.
Just this small purchase cost more than an average player's entire daily income.
An ordinary player would never stomach that, but for Shi Feng, these copper coins hardly counted as money anymore. Besides, these were essential materials for crafting forging schematics — he'd buy them even if a stack cost ten silver.
With his supplies in hand, Shi Feng made his way toward the Forging Association.
"Sir, would you like a cold drink? I've got the best Ice Juice in Red Leaf Town — it tastes amazing, and it's only one copper per cup." A thin, frail girl held a small basket in her hands, her bright, lively eyes filled with hope as she asked a male knight with a hint of nervousness.
"Beat it. Don't bother me — it's just a virtual drink. One copper for a cup of cold juice? I wouldn't want it even if it were free." The male knight spat a few angry words and shoved the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl aside, not forgetting to add, "What rotten luck. If you make me miss the chance to buy a Gleaming Breastplate, you'll see what I do to you."
The girl stumbled to the ground but didn't cry. She stood back up with quiet resolve, brushed the dust off her clothes, and put on a smile as she approached another player.
Shi Feng blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected her to be so tough. Female players rarely took on this kind of hard labor, let alone endured being cursed out by other players.
Seeing this girl reminded him of his former self.
So he cast Eye of Observation on her.
Ziyan Liuyun, Level 1 Priest.
The name made Shi Feng's heart skip a beat. This girl was none other than Ziyan Liuyun — one of the Ten Great Divine Priests. If he could recruit her, his future team would have a rock-solid guarantee.
"Hahaha, this is a virtual game and you're out here selling cold drinks? Do you think you're some kind of milk-tea girl? Only an idiot would buy from you. You're not bad-looking, though — why don't you come to my place tonight? I'll even toss you a silver coin." A sleazy man in his thirties walked up to Ziyan Liuyun, drooling as he catcalled her.
"Sir, I'm only selling cold drinks. Please control yourself." Ziyan Liuyun took a step back, her voice firm.
"I'm doing you a favor and you're getting cocky? You're nothing but a low-life life-skill player. If you don't agree today, don't ever think about doing business here again." The sleazy man flew into a rage, blocking Ziyan Liuyun's path. His eyes lingered on her snow-white neck as he licked his lips and threatened her.
"How can you be like this? You're absolutely shameless!" Ziyan Liuyun's eyes burned with anger, but she couldn't fight back. If she kept wasting time like this, even her last hope would slip away.
"Heh heh, so what if I'm shameless? What are you gonna do, bite me?" The sleazy man grew even more delighted at the sight of Ziyan Liuyun's distress.
Watching her fight back tears, her eyes brimming while she refused to let them fall, only made her more endearing.
"Sorry, sir, but could you step aside? I'd like to order one thousand cups of Ice Juice." Shi Feng cast Eye of Observation on the sleazy man. The name displayed was Ximen Piaoxue, Level 3 — a decent level for this stage of the game.