Chapter 321 - 300: So Busy After Going Online
Da Fei had a period of time in the past when he was crazy about gaming, which left his family extremely dissatisfied with him—a past he’d rather not revisit. So even though Da Fei still loved gaming, he dared not show it in front of his family anymore.
Even now, with 2 million in his bank account, Da Fei has made some headway through gaming, but the shadows in his mind remain. And besides, a mere 2 million is hardly enough to buy a house and settle down in Shendong. The road to success is still long and he needs to keep striving. Unnecessary arguments, troubles, and explanations are best avoided if possible. In short, for the time being, Little Li must not find out that he’s still gaming. But even if she eventually finds out, at least with a net worth of 2 million, I’ll have enough clout to hold my head high. Isn’t that like moving bricks for decades?
Anyway, that’s what I’ll do.
Da Fei stretched and yawned, opened the window, and looked down at the bustling street he had rented on for years. Gazing at those familiar faces of the busy snack shop owners, he couldn’t help feeling reluctant to leave. Brother’s going to move out and terminate the lease! I won’t be able to enjoy Boss Wang’s braised beef noodles, Mr. Li’s sizzling rice noodles, or Boss Liu’s chive steamed dumplings anymore! Oh well, I haven’t had breakfast, so let’s have a big lunch at all three for one last memory!
Hmm! Wait! What lease am I terminating? A sly rabbit has three burrows. Now that I have money, I don’t care about a few thousand in rent. I’ll just buy another computer for the new place. I can play games at both places, and if Little Li sees that I leave early and return late, she’ll still think I’m busy working! Wahaha, now that’s more like it! It might be a hassle to run back and forth, but let’s just consider it physical exercise. As a pro gamer, being a shut-in with no day and night is definitely not okay!
After deciding on the plan, Da Fei was in high spirits as he went downstairs to order a "triple meal in one go", then returned home refreshed to continue playing. There’s a competition this afternoon, and I need to get my equipment sorted out. That Skyshattering Thunder, sell it or not, just say the word—if you’re gonna show off your Divine Artifact in front of me then get lost.
Da Fei logged in and appeared in the Radiant City, where his friend requests and messages were flashing non-stop! Come on, what kind of frequency is this? I barely have a few friends.
When Da Fei clicked open and saw a swarm of Guild messages flooding in, he took a sharp breath. Is this the rhythm of a guild disbanding? Nope! The guild didn’t collapse! When Da Fei saw the Guild announcement from Coltner, he finally got it. So the bold idea he spoke of at the restaurant was this, huh? Damn! Talk about your bold balls shattering on the ground! I know they’re undercover, but just leaving like that is too much of a slap in my face, right? How will others look at me?
Then, there were messages from Invincible Soldier, Invincible Wei, and One Sword Eastward, basically saying, "Brother Fei, we will support you resolutely, we will register dozens of sockpuppet accounts on the forums and give those trolls a good fight!"
Damn it! As I thought, there are trolls! These must be those undercover guys kicking me while I’m down, taking the chance to tarnish my reputation! Well, my reputation is only so-so anyway.
Next are messages from the new friend Harem Beauty: "Brother Fei, don’t worry, keep it up!"
Cut it out! Keep it up, my ass! Oh wait a second! Now’s the time to see if you’re a true fan or just a hypocrite!
Moved by this thought, Da Fei replied: "Beauty, those idiots don’t understand the benefits of my Guild and all took off. We’re short on members now, do you want to join?"
Hmph, the world’s leading Guild master, the top amateur gamer, is personally inviting you. If you dare ask what’s good about joining my Guild, then get lost! Gamers, unreliable! Female gamers, even more unreliable!
Just then, Da Fei’s messages chimed again, and it was Hemorrhoid Ointment! Oh yes! Surely you’ve taken care of the small matter of equipment, haven’t you?
Dragon Scale replied with a smile: "Brother Fei, you’ve finally logged on. I’ve been waiting for your good stuff and couldn’t even enjoy my lunch! By the way, I’ve got the equipment you wanted all prepared. It’s just a little something for Brother Fei!"
Oh yeah! It is such a great relief to see some good news after a bunch of bad ones! Da Fei laughed and said: "Boss Ma, you’re too polite, too generous. It’s really great to know you, Boss Ma. Since you’re busy, let’s talk fast and settle the matter quickly. Just name your price!" Da Fei then sent him the image of the vampiric legacy to take a look.
And the messages rang again, this time, it was Da Bing.
Invincible Soldier: "Brother Fei, you’re online! There was a bit of trouble in the guild last night, and we’re fighting with the trolls!"
Damn it! Like I need more chaos! I’m in the middle of a big deal! Da Fei replied, "It’s okay! No big deal! Just a trifle, you guys do your thing, I’m busy with something now."
"Oh, then Brother Fei, get to it."
Then another message popped up, it was Skyshattering Thunder!
Skyshattering Thunder: "Divine Artifact for Divine Artifact, deal?"
Fuck me! I waited all morning just for you to say this crap? Of course not! Boss Ma has prepared a set of Blood Equipment for me, not to mention a lot, there should always be 100 hit points, right? Once I regain 100 health points, my life will be worry-free above the standard. Who cares about your gun? Besides, I’m counting on the Divine Artifact to compete and aim for the championship!
Da Fei flatly rejected: "I won’t sell the Divine Artifact before the competition!"
Just at this time, the advisors of Radiant City joyfully came to report: "Lord, you’ve arrived! We bring good news, our Teleportation Array has officially been upgraded for military use. It can teleport 500 points of Command Value worth of troops each day. Our defense problems have finally been resolved!"
Shit! Finally, some good news. Although there is a quantity and cooldown limitation, and it can’t compare with the Hell Race’s teleportation array, with Radiant City’s natural defenses, defending with 500 military strength daily should be no problem! Da Fei was delighted: "What about the troops?"
The military advisor smiled: "The Kingdom’s garrison requires Lord to pay. As long as Lord is willing, I can apply right now. But considering the neighboring situation has not deteriorated, my personal suggestion is to postpone the request!"
Da Fei nodded continuously: "Good! Let’s do that!"
The economic advisor counseled: "If Lord is not satisfied with the capacity of the Teleportation Array, you can continue to spend 10 million Gold Coins for an upgrade. Also, each time 500 points of Commander Value worth of troops are teleported, the Teleportation Array will consume 5000 Gold Coins. This money will also come from our city’s funds. Lord must keep this in mind!"
Da Fei laughed: "A mere 5000 Gold Coins, no problem!"
The economic advisor shook his head and seriously said: "Lord, the usage cost for the Teleportation Array comes from the city’s funds, not your personal funds. In reality, city operations are all funded by the city funds. During this special building stage, we can temporarily use Lord’s personal funds as city funds, but once the city is completed, that won’t be possible anymore. City funds must be obtained through taxes, trade, or War Plunder. So, 5000 Gold Coins is not a small amount! In any case, now that we’ve resolved the issues with population, facilities, and defense, the next step is trade. We need Lord to successfully establish a trade route. Then, our city will be officially completed!"
Da Fei was taken aback! There is such a thing as city funds! City funds and Chamber of Commerce funds operate on the same principle – they’re public funds! The operations and construction of the city and the Chamber of Commerce must be done with public funds. Players’ personal money can’t be used for that. Moreover, the Lord or Guild Master can’t withdraw this public money, nor can tycoon players convert the Gold Coins they bought from their studios into it.
Thus, during the public beta, some tycoon players were filthy rich, but due to their lack of gaming skills, the territories they built were desolate. They watched helplessly as their territories could not pay wages, leading to rebellion and then bankruptcy! Right, the wages also come from the city’s funds, and drawing public funds for wages is the only way for the Lord or Guild Master, but the system sets a cap on wages. Even for a Lord, the maximum is only 1000 Gold Coins per month.
Da Fei asked: "So, how do we engage in trade?"
The economic advisor said: "As mentioned before, sell water! Once the purification of the Pool of Radiance succeeds, the water here will be filled with pure and abundant Radiant energy, and the Church needs it very much. If Lord can develop new goods here, that would be even better, but the biggest problem is transportation costs. If we use the Teleportation Array, 1 unit equals 100 portions, costing 1000 Gold Coins – it’s exceptionally expensive. Such high costs would result in loss-making trade, failing to increase city funds. So the only solution is to continue to upgrade the Teleportation Array to reduce teleportation expenses, which will be a huge initial investment, so Lord’s task remains arduous..."
Fuck! Upgrade the Teleportation Array again? Is this city-building task that much of a trap? Da Fei anxiously said: "Can I go down the War Plunder route?"
The military advisor laughed heartily: "That’s exactly what I like! However, War Plunder must be preceded by a declaration of war. Only if war is declared in advance, will spoils of war become city funds, city resources. Otherwise, it will only become Lord’s personal funds. Make sure to keep this in mind, okay?"
Da Fei hurriedly asked: "So our target for declaration of war is the Hell Race of the Pool of Radiance, right?"
The military advisor nodded: "Correct! However, our military strength is currently insufficient and doesn’t have the ability to launch an offensive. So, Lord still needs to wait!"
...
As Da Fei and the NPC advisors were busily working things out, the beauties, big shots, and shrewd merchants opposite him were speechless and dejected!
Faced with the invitation to join Da Fei’s Guild, what should Little Li do? Little Li was working on Little Fang’s farm, selling goods. Joining Da Fei’s Guild would mean handing over 75% of the profits to Da Fei, right? How could that possibly happen! Not to mention that Da Fei’s Guild was being torn apart in posts and comments on forums – how dare Little Li and Little Fang be so bold and foolish to join?
When Ma Yinglong found out that the item Da Fei wanted to sell was yet another legacy artifact, he was left dumbfounded for a while! Go to hell, I’ve stripped down for you and you are showing me this shit? Are you fucking kidding me! This thing was already sold once before, and now another one appears, which means this item could be farmed repeatedly? How much is an item that can be farmed repeatedly even worth? Not to mention that its attributes are not as good as the previous one!
Skyshattering Thunder, needless to say, was in a quandary! Can he only wait to trade after the competition? If Da Fei dominates the competition with the Divine Artifact, its value will certainly skyrocket, and there will be no chance of getting it then. Is the only option to cheat him out of a few Gold Coins?
(Everyone, have a great Spring Festival. I apologize for not having much time during this newlywed month and the end-of-year work in my unit. Sorry to everyone!)(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)