Bai Qingxue's proposal left the corporate representatives and elders in the conference room silent.
They hadn't expected Bai Qingxue to be so decisive, directly using the materials that the guild had painstakingly accumulated. This was no small blow to Snake of the Body itself — it was like tearing down the east wall to patch up the west, hardly addressing the fundamental problem.
But if they could truly secure enough funds to fill that sudden, massive gap in the capital chain and weather this period, the major corporations working together might well be able to stand toe to toe with the wealthy and powerful Hei Shui Conglomerate. Moreover, if Bai Qingxue was right and Snake of the Body could lay claim to several towns in a short time — pushing the guild, which had been hemorrhaging money, into profitability — the corporations would cling to Snake of the Body with a death grip.
Towns conquered in the Divine Realm were nothing like NPC cities. The vast swaths of land could be developed by players without the many restrictions found in NPC cities, and the costs were far lower than building structures in NPC settlements.
The most critical advantage was that the range of goods sold in a town was no longer limited. Shops could offer items beyond what the Divine Realm produced — things like fashion apparel, for example.
This type of fashion, unlike the weapons and equipment in the Divine Realm, carried no attributes whatsoever, and could only be worn within player-controlled territory. The wilds and NPC cities both prohibited their use.
Designing fashion apparel for use in the Divine Realm was no easy task either. While it wasn't as painstaking or intricate as tailoring, leatherworking, or forging equipment with stats — work that even apprentice-level players could attempt — the required materials could only be sourced from within the Divine Realm, and finding suitable materials to create attractive designs was no simple matter.
Another key difference was the currency used. Within towns under player control, sellers could choose their own currency — either in-game money from the Divine Realm or real-world Credit Points for direct transactions. This greatly benefited both players and shop owners.
Take the Stone Forest Town in the Star Moon Kingdom, for example. As the first town conquered in the Star Moon Kingdom, it had already achieved considerable scale. The number of players living there grew day by day. The only problem was that the surrounding monster levels were too high, making it unsafe and preventing lower-level players who simply wanted a peaceful, entertainment-focused lifestyle from entering.
Of course, if teleportation magic circles — that most convenient of amenities — were eventually built into NPC cities, then lower-level lifestyle and entertainment players could also access the towns and enjoy the leisure that NPC cities couldn't offer.
Even so, numerous corporations still clamored to partner with the Zero Wing guild. Clothing industry conglomerates, in particular, were practically desperate to hand over their Credit Points to Zero Wing. Yet for reasons no one could fathom, Zero Wing refused to cooperate, instead pouring its efforts into building inns, blacksmith workshops, bars, and similar structures — nearly filling up the entire town.
Watching the massive influx of players flooding into these establishments every day, many corporate leaders cursed Zero Wing as a bunch of lunatics who didn't dare to seize a golden opportunity to make a fortune.
"We'll contact the higher-ups right away. As for whether they're willing to take the risk, we can't say for certain." The corporate elders all nodded, then logged out of the Divine Realm.
Hearing the elders' words, the guild's senior officers finally felt somewhat relieved.
Inside the God-Demon Arena in the Star Moon Kingdom's capital, waves upon waves of players in their teens and twenties moved in and out of the Trial Tower. These players' levels weren't particularly impressive, and their equipment left much to be desired — but anyone who saw the floors they had cleared would have been shocked.
Among them, even the weakest had already cleared the fifth floor of the Trial Tower and stepped onto the sixth.
"Brother Yi Tao, these people Master Jing sent over are really something else. Their rate of improvement is insane. It probably won't be long before most of them surpass me." A tall, level-39 Ranger glanced over at Qi Yitao with a bitter smile.
He was, after all, a well-known expert in the virtual gaming world. He'd been brought in to personally train these newcomers who had only just been introduced to virtual reality gaming, and he'd originally thought it would be an easy job.
But from the very first moment he'd encountered these people, he could sense an intense killing intent and bloodlust radiating from them — a far cry from the temperament of any ordinary player. It was immediately obvious that these were battle-hardened veterans of real combat. A few of them had even overwhelmed him when they first met.
Now, they had long since surpassed him — a celebrated gaming expert — and reached the realm he had only ever dreamed of.
"That's largely thanks to your teaching. Without it, they wouldn't have grasped the fundamentals of Divine Realm combat so quickly. There will be more newcomers arriving later, so I'll have to trouble you again then." Qi Yitao nodded with satisfaction as batch after batch of new recruits entered the Trial Tower. As long as their levels were raised, he had no doubts about seizing the Star Moon Kingdom.
In truth, he hadn't expected the Divine Realm's immersion level to be this high — virtually indistinguishable from real-world combat. The only differences were players' skill usage and the superhuman physical capabilities that reality could never provide.
For the Hei Shui Conglomerate, this was the ultimate advantage. After all, Hei Shui was a colossus in the world of martial arts. When it came to the number of real combat experts and the facilities to train them, no organization could compare.
Other conglomerates found it nearly impossible to cultivate their own Divine Realm powerhouses. But for Hei Shui, it was child's play. All they needed was for their people to adapt to this fighting style.
"Brother Yi Tao, word has come from Snake of the Body's side. It seems Bai Qingxue is planning to use the guild's collected materials to cover the corporations' capital chain shortfalls. And in White River City, someone is already looking to buy up all of Snake of the Body's rare herbs and rare ores. Should we move to stop Bai Qingxue?" A bald, muscular man hurried over to Qi Yitao's side and whispered.
"Ha ha ha, this Bai Qingxue is quite the character. It seems she's not just a great beauty — she's a bold and decisive one too. She's making me almost reluctant to drive her out," Qi Yitao laughed. "Unfortunately, all she's doing is futile. She has no idea of the Hei Shui Conglomerate's true strength, let alone the real intentions of those corporations."
"Bai Qingxue holds a significant share of Snake of the Body. Even if those corporations apply pressure, they can't stop her from selling the materials. But we can't just let her do as she pleases. Go notify Lie Feng and the others right away — warn off that buyer. I don't want to take over Snake of the Body only to find all the raw materials have been sold off."
"Understood."
As soon as Qi Yitao finished speaking, the bald man left the God-Demon Arena without delay.
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To be continued.