Shi Feng turned and prepared to leave.
The members of Snake of the Body were stunned. A man would actually treat Bai Qingxue this way, walking away without a second word and abandoning the chance to cooperate with Snake of the Body?
Zhao Yueru watched anxiously, opening and closing her mouth as she nearly stepped forward to pull Black Flame aside and try to persuade him. But since even the famously brilliant Bai Qingxue hadn't spoken or made a move, stepping in herself would only make things worse. She could only tug on Bai Qingxue's arm and quietly signal her.
What Zhao Yueru didn't know was that Bai Qingxue herself had been momentarily frozen in surprise.
She hadn't expected that Shi Feng's goal from the very start had never been to join Snake of the Body, but rather to establish an equal partnership. But did Shi Feng actually have the qualifications for that?
Snake of the Body was far simpler than it appeared on the surface. It was a colossal force in the virtual gaming world, controlling resources that ordinary players couldn't even imagine. Any force that could partner with Snake of the Body on equal terms would need to be a first-rate guild at the very least.
Yet this man before her was taking it for granted that he could negotiate as an equal.
Could it be that some massive hidden power truly stood behind this man? That would explain his confidence.
It wasn't impossible. Pulling off everything he had done, combined with Black Flame's full set of equipment—there was no way one person could have accomplished all of that in such a short time. There had to be a powerful organization backing him, which was what had created this fierce competition. According to the guild's estimates, the total revenue from the blueprints Black Flame had sold exceeded sixty gold coins, while a first-rate guild's current liquid assets hovered around three gold. If those funds were used wisely, they could propel a first-rate guild past all the others and turn it into a super guild overnight.
Suddenly, Bai Qingxue felt a chill creep up her spine. As the vice president of Snake of the Body, she had failed to notice this hidden powerhouse until now.
If even she hadn't detected it, one could only imagine how deeply concealed this force was. The good thing was, she had discovered it now. The question was whether they were friend or foe.
"Wait." Bai Qingxue spoke up to stop him. "You should know that Snake of the Body is a first-rate guild. Very few forces qualify to partner with us on equal terms. If you can prove you have the strength and the capital, and the cooperation you propose can bring significant benefits to Snake of the Body, I can make the decision to agree."
"Hmph. Snake of the Body talks big, doesn't it? You should know that there's more than one first-rate guild I could choose to cooperate with." Shi Feng turned his gaze toward Bai Qingxue, looking as though he didn't take Snake of the Body seriously at all. He then pulled a Level 10 Iron-rank equipment forging blueprint—purchased from Hei Xu—from his bag and waved it in front of Bai Qingxue with a cold smile. "I wonder what you think when you see this. Do you think I'm qualified enough?"
"No way!" Bai Qingxue could barely believe her own eyes, shock surging through her heart. "A Level 10 Iron-rank equipment blueprint—how did you get this?"
Right now, even the Level 3 Bronze Gleaming Breastplate blueprint was driving people into a frenzy. The value of this blueprint was virtually unimaginable.
The Level 3 Gleaming blueprint wasn't especially useful for a guild's elite members. Its main purpose was earning money and training Blacksmiths to expand the guild's advantages. But compared to this blueprint, the former wasn't even worth mentioning.
One step ahead meant staying ahead—this was the natural law of virtual gaming. Every guild knew that if their main force equipped Level 10 gear, their efficiency in leveling and running Dungeons would skyrocket. The gap between their elites and those of rival guilds would widen effortlessly.
"That's a trade secret. Don't even think about it." Shi Feng put the blueprint away. "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."
There was no way Bai Qingxue could watch someone holding a Level 10 Iron-rank equipment blueprint walk out the door, especially one who might go cooperate with other first-rate guilds. If another guild got their hands on these blueprints and mass-produced the equipment, equipping every elite member with them, there would be no point competing for the Royal City.
"Fine. I agree. Tell me what kind of cooperation you have in mind." Bai Qingxue gritted her silver teeth and finally relented.
"Heh. But right now, I don't want to cooperate with you anymore," Shi Feng said in a low voice.
"You—" Bai Qingxue's face turned cold in an instant, but she quickly calmed herself. Gone was her lofty demeanor, replaced by a faint smile. "I apologize for my earlier rudeness. Would you be willing to reconsider? Snake of the Body is willing to pay twice what any other guild would offer."
Shi Feng nodded and smiled. "Alright. You seem sincere enough."
When the others saw this, they thought they must have heard wrong. The proud, untouchable Ice Goddess had actually yielded—and even apologized for her earlier attitude. Just how terrifying was this Black Flame?
At this moment, Zhao Yueru's eyes were shining, and she felt a growing admiration for Black Flame. She knew full well how proud and brilliant Bai Qingxue was. In all the time she had known Bai Qingxue, she had never once heard her say the word "apologize."
"What kind of cooperation did you have in mind?" Bai Qingxue shot a glance at the snickering Zhao Yueru behind her, then turned to Black Flame.
"Simple. I want to establish a loose crafting organization called the Horizon Alliance, recruiting all kinds of crafting players. You help me publicize and build momentum, and in return I'll give your guild internal pricing—and even equipment and items not available to the public," Shi Feng said slowly.
"You really want to set up an organization like that?" Bai Qingxue was mildly surprised. She didn't think much of Shi Feng's chances, but his offer was undeniably tempting.
Zhao Yueru blinked her large eyes, looking at Shi Feng in disbelief. She felt he was utterly crazy.
Everyone else, upon hearing this, figured Shi Feng had money with nowhere to spend it. He actually wanted to establish this kind of organization.
The plan was too far-fetched. Unifying the entire base of crafting players was simply impossible. The financial resources, manpower, and effort required were enormous. Every guild was already training crafting players, and they only recruited the best to avoid wasting resources. The leftovers were an unruly mob that served no purpose when gathered together, and training them required even more resources—more than any guild could bear.
Of course, if it succeeded, the profits would be beyond imagination.
"You don't need to worry about the details. When the time comes, I'll notify you to help with the publicity. You won't have anything to lose. And I'll give you an advance payment—ten Gleaming Breastplate blueprints should be enough to train quite a few Blacksmiths for your guild." If Shi Feng handled the publicity himself, it would waste time and yield poor results. He would need to build up a reputation slowly. But with Snake of the Body doing the promotion, the coverage could blanket the entire Star Moon Kingdom almost instantly, cutting his accumulation phase dramatically.
Bai Qingxue considered it. Having them handle the publicity wouldn't cost much effort, and she would receive ten Gleaming blueprints right away. During this period, they could pull ahead of rival guilds, train more Blacksmiths, and earn more game currency. As for establishing this crafting alliance and mass-producing crafting players—that was nothing but a money-losing process. It would collapse before long. Training crafting players was grueling work, and without the resources and funding of a major guild backing them, there was no way to achieve anything of note.
Bai Qingxue and Shi Feng then signed a contract. She agreed to help Shi Feng promote the venture with full force across the entire Star Moon Kingdom. In return, Shi Feng would deliver one hundred pieces of Level 10 Iron-rank equipment, and Snake of the Body would have the right to purchase crafted equipment and items at internal prices.
Bai Qingxue received the ten Gleaming blueprints and looked quite pleased. She sent an Assassin to bring the blueprints back to the guild, then turned to Shi Feng and invited him: "I see there are quite a few people here. The levels are a bit high, but it's still a decent spot for grinding. Why not come grind with us? It's much faster than leveling alone."