GOR

“I didn’t realize you fellows could be so rich.” Chen Xiaolian leisurely lifted up a cup of tea to blow at the hot vapour wafting off the surface of the tea. “Logically speaking, when you fellows split up from Thorned Flower Guild, you should not be able to take much with you, right?”

Chen Xiaolian did not choose to have Jiang Long go to their hotel. He also did not take another trip to Jiang Long’s hotel. Instead, he had found a coffee shop in the surrounding area and reserved a private space for them.

“The Awakened ones within Thorned Flower Guild do not have high positions. Even so, we are still members of Thorned Flower Guild. Taking out 20,000 points is still within our capacity.” Jiang Long was seated opposite of Chen Xiaolian. A cup of coffee was placed before him, untouched. “If I may, where did the Star Sand come from?”

“You are interested to find out about that?” Chen Xiaolian raised his brows slightly as he looked at Jiang Long.

“Do not misunderstand.” Jiang Long smiled and continued, “I have no intentions of prying into the secrets of your guild. I just want to check the possibility of having a stable supply of these Star Sand. If possible, I plan on signing a long-term supply agreement.”

“Let’s hear what you have in mind,” said Chen Xiaolian with an impassive expression as he took a sip of his tea.

“You know as well, using Star Sand on ordinary items like sword and armour will not do much. However, if you plan on using it to enhance tech-based equipment, the endeavour will become a bottomless pit. Fighter jets, tanks, even mechs… … thus, I have to know, how much more Star Sand can you provide? As for the price…”

Jiang Long smiled before continuing, “Is there a wholesale price?”

“Be it wholesale or retail, the price is the same,” Chen Xiaolian replied with a smile. “I am sure you are aware how popular this stuff is. Even if I do not sell it to you, I can still find other buyers. I may have to expend a little more effort to find buyers, but that is about it.”

“That is OK as well.” Jiang Long nodded his head. “Now, to the main point. How much more can you provide?”

“The base amount is 10 kilogrammes per month. It should be enough for you,” said Chen Xiaolian calmly.

“Ten kilogrammes, that’s 10,000 grams. Mm…” Jiang Long considered the amount with a frown on his face. “Is more impossible?”

“That is the base amount. Of course, I am not ruling out the possibility of getting more on certain months.” Chen Xiaolian stared at Jiang Long and said, “You have quite the appetite. It is getting close to that of the resident guilds of Zero City.”

“Far from it.” Jiang Long smiled in response. “Although I have never entered Zero City, it’s not as though I had never confronted those resident guild fellows before. The present Starfall Guild’s foundation cannot be compared with the foundation of the resident guilds.”

“The present?” Chen Xiaolian smiled.

Naturally, Chen Xiaolian understood what Jiang Long meant.

At present, our guild’s foundation still cannot stand on equal terms with that of the resident guilds of Zero City. However, there is no telling if that will remain true in the future.

“All right. Let’s cut down on the chatting. These days, there are a steady number of guilds that want to make contact with my guild. There are some that I have to personally welcome. Let’s hurry up and finish this transaction. I have to return soon.” Jiang Long straightened himself. “Let’s check out the goods.”

Chen Xiaolian nodded his head before pulling out a handful of Star Sand from his storage space. Placing the sand on a tray, he then pushed the tray before Jiang Long.

The Star Sand was a transparent powder, which glittered with a prismatic quality. Jiang Long reached out to gently take a pinch of the Star Sand and rubbed them for a bit before nodding his head. “Yes. It’s level of purity is very high. You have 20 kilogrammes with you now?”

“Naturally,” Chen Xiaolian replied with a smile. “I can’t go as far as to worry about you robbing me.”

Jiang Long laughed. “Naturally, that will not happen. Accept the transfer.”

After he said that, Chen Xiaolian received a system prompt from his personal system, which revealed that Jiang Long had already sent over 20,000 points.

“You sent over the points before even seeing all the goods. You are quite the magnanimous character,” said Chen Xiaolian coolly as he pulled out two Kevlar suitcases from his storage space. “Each suitcase contains 10 kilogrammes of Star Sand. You can check them.”

Jiang Long opened the two suit cases and gave their contents a brief glance before nodding his head. Closing the cases, he said, “I hope we can steadily continue this pleasurable cooperation in the future.”

“Me too.”

Jiang Long took the suitcases and made to leave. Seeing that, Chen Xiaolian called out to him, “Wait a bit. At present, there is only one more day left until the opening of the instance dungeon. How many guilds have contacted you?”

“At the time of my coming here, 23 guilds. The total number of members is 256 people. There are also 13 solo Awakened ones.” Jiang Long saw the slight frown forming on Chen Xiaolian’s face and smiled in response. “Do not worry. By my estimate, there are many more guilds that have yet to reach the instance dungeon area. The number will continue to grow.”

“Are there any famous guilds?” Chen Xiaolian put on a façade of nonchalance and said, “Or perhaps, are there any infamous figures?”

Jiang Long cast a long look at Chen Xiaolian before revealing a smile. “The question you really want to ask is: Are there anyone from Zero City, right?”

Chen Xiaolian shrugged, choosing not to answer.

“Stop dreaming.” Jiang Long shook his head. “Those fellows from Zero City have not revealed themselves for a long time now. Who knows where they are hiding? Even if they happen to be hiding within the radius for participant selection, they will never contact us.”

“Maybe.” Chen Xiaolian nodded his head. “If there is any new information, please tell me. If I recall correctly, the agreement also includes information sharing, right?”

“Naturally. Even if we ignore this instance dungeon, we are still long-term partners for key resources,” said Jiang Long with a smile. “All right, I am going back now. If there is any news, I will inform you of it.

…

Chen Xiaolian returned to the hotel his guild was staying in. After pushing the door into his room, he did not even have the opportunity to sit down before Roddy rushed over to stand before him. “How was it? You didn’t get screwed over, did you?”

Every member of the guild was gathered in the room, awaiting Chen Xiaolian’s return.

“How can that be?” said Chen Xiaolian with a smile. “Twenty thousand points are now in my hands.”

Roddy clenched his fists and his eyes stretched widely with excitement. “Twenty thousand points! So easy?”

“After the improvements I made to the mine, the monthly output is over 50 kilogrammes for a cost of 3,000 plus points. If we sell those, we can earn 50,000 points!” He stretched open his palms and began counting before inhaling deeply. “From this day forward, we can officially be considered high society!”

“Dream on.” Chen Xiaolian shook his head. “There is no way we will sell so much. Firstly, Star Sand is important, true. However, in the past, most of the Star Sand produced will be used by the powerful resident guilds of Zero City to improve the power of their guild. Thus, the amount that flowed out of the city had been very little. Regardless of what the item may be, rarity meant expensive. If we release too much of it out into the market, the price will immediately fall.

“Secondly, points can only be used to strengthen ourselves in the early stages. It is not omnipotent. Otherwise, why would the resident guilds keep using every means available to compete for the resources that Zero City provided? This is a very valuable resource. Changing all of them into points is a highly wasteful action. We need to use part of it to enhance our own equipment. It will be for the better for us to leave a portion behind to be used for bartering in the future. Some items cannot be bought using points. Do you not want to improve your own equipment?”

“All right.” Roddy was very pleased with the decision as well. “So, how much Star Sand do you plan on selling out in the future?”

“I reached a verbal agreement with Jiang Long. I had guaranteed a base amount of 10 kilogrammes per month. Even after deducting the cost, we are still getting 10,000 points per month.” Chen Xiaolian paused for a moment before continuing, “I did say that there is a possibility of providing more. However… … this matter is quite strange.”

“It is indeed.” Lun Tai, who was standing nearby, nodded his head as he interjected. “This amount… … it is quite weird.”

One kilogramme of metal would require only 15 grams of Star Sand to enhance. Chen Xiaolian had sold 20 kilogrammes of the Star Sand, which was enough to enhance over a tonne of metal.

The conventional melee weapons such as swords and blades weighed at merely a few jins per weapon (1 jin = 0.605 kilogrammes). Even for the heavy war axes and tomahawks, a weight of 30 jins would already make it very heavy. Besides, not all equipment was worth enhancing. If their plan was to enhance those types of weapons, given the amount of Star Sand they already bought, it should be enough for all their equipment. There was no need for them to buy more.

However, if their plan was to enhance tech-based equipment, the contract for 10 kilogrammes per month was simply insufficient. How long do they have to keep the Star Sand before they could fully enhance even the lowest-level of mechs?

“When you look at it that way, it is indeed weird,” Roddy spoke up as well. “So, what exactly are they planning on using the Star Sand for?”

“No matter what, we can only sell it first,” said Chen Xiaolian with a smile. “We’ll have to take it one step at a time. We do need a large number of points. We can’t just give up on eating for fear of choking. All right! Let’s discuss how we should use these 20,000 points. Anyone wants anything special? Hurry up and tell me.”

“You are the Guild Leader. You should be the first to make the necessary arrangements,” said Lun Tai seriously.

“Fine.” Chen Xiaolian did not evade it and simply nodded his head. “Firstly, I intend on leaving 3,000 points as backup. For this instance dungeon, it is highly likely that we will not be getting any quest reward. Thus, these 3,000 points can ensure the operation of the mine for at least another month.”

“Makes sense.” Roddy and Lun Tai nodded their heads.

“Next… … Xia Xiaolei, go check and see if the upgrade for your skill can be purchased from the system.”

Xia Xiaolei quickly nodded. “Yes. However, the cost for the upgrade is the only thing that I cannot use my discount skill for. I had checked it long ago. Currently, my skill is at the basic level, allowing for a 20 per cent discount. In order to upgrade it to the second level, I need 1,000 points. It will allow for a 25 per cent discount. The third level requires 5,000 points, allowing for a 30 per cent discount. Fourth level requires 20,000 points, allowing for a 35 per cent discount. Fifth level…”

“All right, no need to go on!” Chen Xiaolian quickly waved him off. “We will not be doing anything with the later levels for now. We have yet to reach the point where we can burn so much points. Let’s upgrade your skill to the second level first.”

Despite saying that, Chen Xiaolian had already made up his mind. When they obtain more points, they must upgrade Xia Xiaolei’s Haggling skill as much as possible.

Although upgrading his skill consumed quite a number of points early on, they can obtain those points back through the discounts.

Xia Xiaolei nodded his head. After receiving the 17,000 points that Chen Xiaolian had sent over, he used 1,000 points to upgrade his skill to the second level.

“All right, now you can get a 25 per cent discount when you purchase items. Check to see if there is anything that suits you…” Chen Xiaolian was halfway through his words when he suddenly shook his head. Turning to face Lun Tai, he said, “No, Lun Tai, you have more experienced. You should do it.”

The Exchange System that GM had made for Chen Xiaolian was not perfect. With the exception of spicy bars (healing substance) and other consumables, there were only some other normal and low-level equipment. While they were indeed useable, the props needed to upgrade their skills, high-level materials and equipment, all of those can only be found through a real Awakened’s Exchange System.

Lun Tai shut his eyes and pondered for a moment before slowly speaking up, “I think these two items are quite good.”

As he spoke, he shared out the purchase tab through the guild channel.

The first item was an armour, Fragment Armour. It was a [B+] class protective equipment priced at 5,000 points. According to the description of the system, it could reduce the damage from cold weapons by 50 per cent, firearms by 30 per cent, energy-based weapons by 25 per cent. The Fragment Armour also possessed an energy storage system, allowing for the storage of part of the reduced damage values, which could be unleashed all at once.

Naturally, the energy storage system did not possess an unlimited capacity. There was a progress bar. Should the amount of damage value exceed the upper limit of the energy storage system twice, the Fragment Armour will break apart.

The second item was a skill, Elemental Shift, a [B] class skill. By utilizing the skill, its user can transform his or her body into an elemental state to become immune to all physical attacks. However, depending on the level of the skill, there were varying types of restrictions. The basic skill required 3,500 points. However, the transformed state could only be maintained for five minutes and its cool down was a whopping 24 hours. Additionally, the offensive part of the skill must be purchased separately.

“Guild Leader… … Brother Lun Tai…” Xia Xiaolei hesitated. “Just now, you have already used up 1,000 points on me… … to further purchase such expensive items on me now, I…”

Lun Tai interrupted Xia Xiaolei,” Although your current level of strength is not high, your skill is too important for our future development. Thus, we must place a high level of priority on your survival. This is all for the sake of the guild’s development. There is no need for you to feel ill-at-ease about this.”

Having said that, he turned to Chen Xiaolian and said, “The two items are mainly defense-oriented with very little offensive options. The former’s immediate combat power is stronger. However, it does not have much room for improvement in the future. As for the Elemental Shift, although its present level of restriction is higher, with further investments in the future, its ability can be further improved. Guild Leader, what do you think?”

Chen Xiaolian hesitated for a moment. Suddenly, he recalled something and said, “Help me check. Is there a prop named Bug Armour?”

[TL: If there are any discrepancies in details, all I can say is… … keep calm and blame magic! =P]

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