Chapter 584 - 549: Sniper at the Auction
Giant Electric Eel! Just the thought of the electric eel and its near-futuristic plasma cannon sent chills down Da Fei’s spine! Da Fei couldn’t answer whether he feared the Eight-Headed Snake or the electric eel more. The key issue was that he was in the crucial stage of preparing to kill the Eight-Headed Snake; where could he find the time to catch this electric eel now?
Savaran continued, "Mr. President, this electric eel is exceptionally strong, and it’s indeed somewhat challenging for you to deal with it in your current state. However, there’s no choice. As the Ultimate Sea Monster Hunter, you must take the lead, and you must succeed. Otherwise, both you and our guild will suffer a significant decrease in reputation, perhaps even becoming a laughingstock of deceit. But, Mr. President, do not worry. You are not fighting alone. Our guild will also do everything possible to assist you!"
— System Prompt: You have received the urgent Sea Monster Hunter quest "Kill the Giant Electric Eel."
— Task Hint: The Giant Electric Eel frequently appears near the waters of Elorin, in the Andria Sea, posing a severe threat to maritime safety. You must kill or drive it away, or you will face serious reputation penalties.
Good grief! In the end, the mess I made has to be cleaned up by myself?
Da Fei said frustratingly, "So, Mr. President, when should this mission be completed?"
Savaran said solemnly, "The sooner, the better! You must act quickly before the victims’ anger targets you. When the situation becomes so serious that maritime activities have to be halted, our time will become even tighter!"
At this point, Savaran said excitedly, "Right, the three bundles of C-level strategic treasure golden spider silk you handed over to our guild last time have been successfully transformed and upgraded. This will undoubtedly be of great assistance in our hunt this time. Please see the attributes—"
After speaking, Savaran waved his hand, and the image of the Golden Spider Web appeared before Da Fei.
Da Fei was stunned! Oh my, this old man is quite impressive! Without thinking much, Da Fei hurriedly checked the equipment attributes:
— Golden Spider Web: B-level strategic treasure, fishing gear, hunting gear, ship auxiliary equipment. A very resilient fishing net with barbed sharp teeth. The barbs prevent prey from escaping easily while causing minor continuous damage to the prey and accelerating the prey’s stamina consumption. Resilience value: can absorb damage of 10,000 points within 10 seconds.
It upgraded to B-level equipment! Da Fei exclaimed, "What does this resilience value of absorbing 10,000 points of damage in 10 seconds mean?"
Savaran marveled, "The net is different from usual equipment; it has resilience. If a sea monster trapped in the net cannot output 10,000 points of damage within 10 seconds, the sea monster cannot damage the net. Conversely, if the sea monster exceeds 10,000 points of damage within 10 seconds, the net will suffer damage. The resilience value of an ordinary shark-fishing net reaching even 10 seconds at 1,000 is already considered a top-notch conventional fishing gear, but this can’t be compared to the Golden Spider Web, which is a treasure. If Mr. President can provide more sources of golden spider silk, this net will become our guild’s signature specialty."
I see! The net doesn’t have a durability value; either it takes no damage at all, or it’s completely destroyed! However, for God-level sea monsters like Leviathan, which can one-shot BOSS in seconds, the resilience of 10,000 in 10 seconds does not seem sufficient!
Da Fei hurriedly asked, "If B-level has such attributes, what about A-level, S-level?"
Savaran shook his head and smiled, "If a fishing gear can be promoted to a strategic treasure, it is already extraordinary. Reaching B-level is something I rarely see. Ultimately, the net’s utility limits its strategic value. I can’t even imagine what A-level or even S-level would be like."
Da Fei realized. So, this fishing net is actually like my C-level Spiderman Cliff Walker Backpack, almost a divine artifact for solo use, but limited in strategic combat use. A climbing tool reaching C-level is already peak. Ultimately, this game evaluates treasures based on their wartime utility, and both tools and fishing gear are vastly inferior to war weapons in rank.
Da Fei said with sudden understanding, "So, this B-level net is the top tier in the current stage?"
Savaran nodded, "Yes! I guarantee with my lifetime’s honor, at the current stage, there’s nothing higher-end than this net!"
Oh, come on! Can’t you stop guaranteeing with your so-called honor? If you didn’t guarantee me as an Ultimate Hunter back then, I wouldn’t have this headache now!
Savaran continued, "However, the best fishing gear requires corresponding skills, much like fishing itself. Even with the same resilient fishing line, some people can catch big fish, and others break the line. That’s the difference in skill. Similarly, fishing with a net emphasizes skill, the bottom line is you must find a way to prevent the prey from causing 10,000 damage in 10 seconds, which means you need to master extremely high-level Control Net Skill!"
Oh my god! Another life skill? I don’t know it, and I don’t have time to learn it!
Da Fei was astonished, "But President, isn’t time running out?"
Savaran nodded, "As I said earlier, this matter is significant. Our guild will help; leave the control netting to a Grandmaster like me! Moreover, we have three nets, so chances of success are great. The time urgency is high, so Mr. President, please hurry to prepare. At that time, just call to have me sail with you."
Da Fei sighed with relief, as long as there were NPCs to help, it was manageable! Up to now, Da Fei had never failed with NPC assistance.
Da Fei joyfully exclaimed, "Thank you, President! I’ll prepare immediately!"
"Hurry up!"
Da Fei left the Fishing Guild, rushing to the Teleportation Array to prepare. What to prepare? Of course, wrap up the auction house and deal with all the unrelated things in Radiant City regarding sea monster hunting!
Da Fei betted that during the time he hunted the electric eel, the Eight-Headed Snake wouldn’t wake up! After all, it still had half of its heads sleeping, right?
...
With a flash of light from the Teleportation Array, Da Fei returned to the Dwarf Capital Moradin. There was nothing much to say; he headed straight to the auction house.
The auction house only exists in large cities with high prosperity and culture levels. Of course, in Elorin, known as the first harbor city of the Elf Kingdom, there is no auction house. Naturally, if players invested so much that the city’s development level grew higher, all kinds of high-end buildings would appear within the city.
But not just any player could enter the auction house. Only players with very high city reputation or Alliance reputation, or those with special status, were qualified to participate. As for Da Fei receiving a prince’s entry ticket, of course, he could make an exception to enter.
As for what was being auctioned in the auction house, Da Fei, who hadn’t even participated in public beta tests, knew very little, just knowing that it must be very high-end. Naturally, Da Fei, feeling very urgent right now, also had no interest or spare money to mess around in the auction house.
As a well-known player, Da Fei was a dazzling presence in the China Region no matter where he appeared.
Thus, there was quite a spectacle of exclamations:
"Da Fei has appeared!" "Da Fei is here again!" "Did you hear? Just now, over there in the human region, hundreds of people tried and failed to kill Da Fei!" "Whoa, Da Fei can actually enter the auction house!" "Really, Da Fei can enter the auction house!" "What’s all the fuss? He’s someone who can even enter the Royal Palace; what’s an auction house to him?"
Amidst the amazed voices of the players around him, Da Fei expressionlessly handed his entrance ticket to the NPC gatekeeper and entered the venue.
Sigh, whatever Da Fei did was always under the watchful eyes of players; wasn’t there any privacy left? If they hadn’t known Da Fei entered the Duke Mansion, how would they have surrounded and attacked him when he stepped out? Just the thought made Da Fei even more irritable.
At this moment, the auction had not yet started, but the entire auction hall was arranged like a luxurious cocktail party, with elegantly dressed dwarf, elf, and human NPCs toasting and greeting each other.
An attendant approached Da Fei with a tray of wine cups: "Sir, please enjoy!"
Da Fei picked up a glass of red wine and looked around.
Just then, a sharply dressed human gentleman suddenly met eyes with Da Fei. He immediately smiled and walked up to Da Fei, raising his glass, "Haha! Look here, isn’t this our human hero, the pride of the Alliance, the one who thwarted a lord of a hundred thousand Demon Race at the Pool of Radiance, Mr. Da Fei?"
Oh! Who is this guy? He knows me? Da Fei’s record at the Pool of Radiance is known throughout the Alliance? But without thinking much, Da Fei also raised his glass, smiling courteously, "You flatter me, sir!"
The gentleman immediately pulled out a business card and handed it over with a smile, "I am Johnny, the Deputy General Manager of the Saint Sword City Mining Company in the Lionheart Empire. It is a pleasure to meet Mr. Da Fei here. If Mr. Da Fei ever has any business to do with minerals, feel free to find me in Saint Sword City!"
Da Fei took the business card and suddenly understood. The benefit of this auction house was that you could meet some bosses and expand business opportunities! Although this Saint Sword City seems to be an inland city, utterly far from Da Fei, a good businessperson never misses a chance to hand out a flyer.
Da Fei happily laughed, "Good! I’ll certainly get in touch with you if there’s a chance!"
Then a elven gentleman, stirred by the human gentleman’s call, came to greet, "Ah, it’s the young hero who’s been very prominent within the Alliance recently; thank you for your contributions to the Elf Kingdom. To show my respect, cheers!"
Da Fei smiled, "Everything for the Alliance, it’s what I should do!"
The elven gentleman also presented a business card, "I am the Procurement Manager of Morning Light Malt Beer Company in Sumilon City, New World. If Mr. Da Fei is interested in purchasing fine wines, please contact our company!"
Da Fei promptly replied, "I will certainly do so if given the chance!"
Then several other individuals came in pairs or small groups to offer toasts and hand out various offbeat, unrelated business cards. Da Fei’s mood suddenly lifted. Wow haha! The auction house isn’t just a place to buy and sell things; it seems like you could hit a manager just by tossing a brick here. This place must be high society, an excellent place for networking and doing business. No wonder Coltner loves attending parties; it’s definitely more than just playing around with girls. By the way, speaking of Coltner, the matter of him getting his grandfather to join the guild is still unresolved?
While Da Fei was happily collecting business cards, more guests entered the venue with a flash of light.
Da Fei couldn’t help turning his head to look, and he was stunned! Damn, who did Da Fei see? Skyshattering Thunder!
Damn! How can a fool like him enter such a high-class place?
At this moment, Skyshattering Thunder gave Da Fei a cold smile, "Fun, isn’t it? First time, right? Never been here before, right?"
Da Fei’s heart sank, is this guy here to make trouble?
With Skyshattering Thunder’s entry, a group of NPCs who had been ignoring Da Fei suddenly smiled warmly and raised glasses, "Oh, it’s Mr. Skyshattering Thunder, nice to see you again, welcome!"
Oh, come on! What’s with the nice to see you again? Does that mean this guy’s a regular here? He mixes this well?
Skyshattering Thunder, while raising his glass to the NPC toasting, turned to Da Fei and gave a cold smile.
He clearly came with ill intentions! This fool must be here to hike up the prices against Da Fei, given his vast network of business acquaintances, he must be extremely wealthy, this is trouble!
Indeed! Just now, as the city channel was buzzing to "welcome" Da Fei’s appearance, Skyshattering Thunder couldn’t sit still and immediately headed to the auction house. Being the owner of the city’s renowned weapon shop, he had long qualified to enter the auction house, but it wasn’t for messing around in auctions, it was for networking.
And today, hearing that a human named Da Fei could enter this city’s auction house could not possibly have been a normal entry, it must have been mission-related! Skyshattering Thunder couldn’t swallow his pride, tonight Skyshattering Thunder was going to clash with Da Fei! If he couldn’t beat Da Fei in other places, could he not outbid him financially?