Chapter 6: Super Tycoon

"The Ancient God World" always had a free-style gameplay option, which was innovative, but it also came with its fair share of issues.

In the past, pro players stood out for their gaming experience and superior strategy, but otherwise, their handling of the game was no different from ordinary players.

Even athletes or those in other special professions had a distinct advantage in the game.

As for the free-style mode, if you wanted decent equipment, you had to kill bosses. Now, that was practically impossible.

With the new broken slot setting, this scenario amplified. Eventually, everyone would adapt and improve, but currently, the server had been open for just three days. If someone managed to acquire a Green Weapon, it was due to sheer luck.

For regular players seeking Blue Equipment, their only option was to luckily crack open a treasure chest.

The vice president of the Caesar Guild, Godzilla, saw the other elite raptor materials on the stall and asked, "Do you sell these materials for credit points?"

"I only sell these materials for game coins." Li Yao needed to study engineering, and he could not do it without a hefty sum of cash. At the moment, he wasn't part of any guild. If he sold stuff for credit points instead of in-game currency, it could jeopardize his game development plan.

"Alright, give me a moment to gather the funds," Godzilla replied.

"Okay, I guess I'll be waiting here for about two hours."

"That should be enough." Godzilla hurriedly left.

Godzilla had been gone for quite a while. With the high price of a crown, there were hardly any players who could afford it. Only about ten were sold after an hour.

"Sigh, but only players from the Beginner Village are available here. If I could advertise worldwide, I estimate that I could sell out in ten minutes. This is such a waste of time."

He wasn't worried about the price drop for Spirit Weapon and Guardian Soul, consumables were always welcomed in bulk.

However, he was worried about selling the over three hundred elite raptor crowns in his hands immediately as their price would drop dramatically otherwise.

"Guild Leader, look! That's my dagger. Yes, that's right, that's the one that he killed me twice with!" Thumb Explodes shouted at Li Yao.

Li Yao raised an eyebrow and responded, "You're a rogue and you stealthily approach me within ten yards, sit in the bushes for five minutes, and expect me not to kill you first? Are you new to gaming, kiddo?"

Thumb Explodes trembled with anger and screamed, "You are so rude! What do you mean 'new to gaming'? I am the main rogue of the Brilliant Team!"

With a smile, Li Yao replied, "Wow, that's impressive! You are from a pro team. I've been hearing about you guys."

Thumb Explodes fumed with rage. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like a compliment.

Boundless Sky shot a warning glance at Thumb Explodes, who was about to retort again, and said, "Bro, you're amazing! You didn't let Thumb get near you. Regardless of whether we knew each other in the past, let's become friends now, okay?"

"No problem." Li Yao readily agreed, and quickly added him as a friend. "Is Brother Sea trying to 'save face' for your boy?"

Li Yao certainly knew who Boundless Sky was—the Guild Leader of the top guild under the Brilliant Club. The Brilliant Guild alone was ranked among the top-fifty guilds in China. If you took into account all the guilds under the Brilliant Club, their combined power could rank within the top-ten. Moreover, Boundless Sky was among the top-three talented commanders in the national server.

Although he did not achieve Divine Enthronement in the Divine War ten years later, his influence was no less than those who did.

In the last world-league, Li Yao and Boundless Sky knew of each other, but they did not have any interactions. Boundless Sky's personality was great, which was why he could gather a group of good brothers around him.

"To kill or be killed in this game is normal. In fact, I was hoping for Thumb to keep competing against you, brother. But it turns out you're the solo boss killer—Starfire, brother. Therefore, there's no need for further competition. Thumb didn't die in vain." Boundless Sky chuckled. "So, that's what it is. I'd like to buy back this dagger."

"Sure, Brother Sea, just name your price." Li Yao definitely wouldn't make a fuss about selling, nor would he be hot-headed enough to make peace with Thumb Explodes and return the dagger.

"Since it's a normal business transaction, I won't let you suffer. The average price of Blue Equipment is around seven thousand credit points, but the dagger is relatively expensive. How about nine thousand credit points?"

"Deal." Li Yao nodded in agreement. As a lone wolf player, he was unable to enter the core circle of the major guilds, but based on his understanding, nine thousand was already considered a high price.

After receiving the payment message, Li Yao handed over the dagger to Boundless Sky.

Boundless Sky casually handed it to Thumb Explodes.

"Brother Sea, this…" Thumb Explodes was on the verge of tears.

"Take it. It's out of the guild's accounts because technically, you lost the equipment during a guild activity, and it is unrelated to personal matters. Don't feel like I'm showing favoritism—I treat all guild members equally."

Thumb Explodes accepted the dagger without saying a word.

Li Yao gave a thumbs-up in secret. As expected of Boundless Sky—meticulous in command, generous in person, and friends far and wide.

Poaching is a common occurrence amongst clubs and guilds, but after several years of operation, it was a rare sight for poaching to occur from the Brilliant Guild.

Boundless Sky finally noticed the elite raptor crowns on the side. "It's indeed worthy of a solo boss killer. You actually have twenty crowns of elite raptors. The price is also reasonable; I'll take it," he said, eyes twinkling.

A broken slot piece from an elite not only granted an extraordinary green equip, but also potentially a weapon, if you were lucky. The most important thing, however, was that it could provide experiential buff effective till level 10. Even though the buff was only a three percent experience increase, leveling was tough, so this buff could prove invaluable.

"Hold on, those crowns of the elite raptor are what we, the Caesar Guild, have our eyes on," Godzilla shouted anxiously as he returned and heard Boundless Sky's words.

Startled, Boundless Sky chuckled, "Since when did your Caesar Guild become so overbearing? Just because you have your eyes on it, we the Brilliant cannot buy it?"

Caught off guard, Godzilla hurriedly explained, "I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I was just too anxious. I had already discussed the price with this brother here, and he agreed to wait for me here. I have gathered enough funds now. Let's make the transaction."

"Hold on, if the trade hasn't been successful, I should also have the chance to trade." Sea and Sky said, "As one of the top ten in Europe, the Caesar Guild must understand the value of elite void-breaking items. If I may ask, how many void-breaking items has your guild obtained in the past three days?"

Godzilla hesitated before answering, "In the past three days, our guild has obtained just over twenty void-breaking items."

"Similar to us at the Brilliant Guild, to achieve void-breaking damage, a lot of skilled players must have suffered significant level drop, right?"

"Yes, these monsters won't yield any profit if they're attacked by more than a small team, but it's incredibly dangerous for a small team to fight them too. Many attempted to void-break but ended up dropping levels," Godzilla said softly. The game was challenging and had even gained the support and promotion of the government. They knew that the game served a significant political purpose and that other games stood no chance against it.

On the flip side, the game was full of immense opportunities. The entire earth, including the planets in the Solar System that had just been opened, existed on a single server. It was a natural advantage for the game guilds and clubs. They had a massive advantage and were investing aggressively into the game.

"In that case, you should understand why we at the Brilliant Guild can't abandon this trade," Sea and Sky turned to Li Yao, and sincerely said, "Brother Starfire, regardless of the circumstances, you must trade part of these crowns with our Brilliant Guild, even if they're a bit more expensive."

"So, you're the Starfire who's challenging the boss solo. As a skilled player like you, surely you wouldn't break your promise. Of course, we from the Caesar Guild wouldn't put you in a difficult position either. Whatever price Mr. Sea offers, we'll match it," Godzilla seemed anxious. Although they were all part of the same country, it was really just in name only. Regional and clan differences still existed among the people.

If they could purchase these crowns, including those from their guild, the Caesar Guild could equip at least fifty people with equipment and buff. Such a team, whether in leveling or running dungeons, would gain a significant advantage.

Sea and Sky had also become anxious and started arguing with Godzilla. The ordinary spectators were dumbfounded. Two major guilds were arguing over these items. More and more players began to gather as the regional channel became busier. Soon, the place was packed.

"Ahem, what are you guys arguing about? How many crowns do you want? I still have a lot that I haven't brought out," Li Yao helplessly interrupted their argument.

Both of them paused their argument and simultaneously asked, "How is that possible? You... you still have more, how many?"

Li Yao sent them a screenshot, and their eyes nearly popped out.

"Over three hundred, oh my god," Godzilla exclaimed, "Do you know how many elite players we lost leveling up for over twenty crowns?"

"Brother Starfire, your... your day's earnings exceed the three-day income of the top ten clubs in the China district," Sea and Sky chuckled bitterly.

Li Yao smiled and said, "So, do you still want to buy everything?"

"I would like to, but our guild can't afford it. Let's stop competing. My limit is one hundred crowns for a ten silver coin each. I'm truly shocked," Sea and Sky was stammering.

"Sir, you've emptied our guild's liquid funds," Godzilla laughed bitterly.

Due to their competition, both guilds each took a hundred crowns. Other small guilds watching each bought some as well. The remaining hundred crowns were quickly sold out.

The ordinary players who were watching had bloodshot eyes. They watched as the usually untouchable guilds openly argued, and saw a lone player drain the resources of several guilds. One person had dozens of gold coins, while they, the ordinary players, barely had a few silver coins.

"Brother, are you interested in joining a guild?" Li Yao, who was packing up his stall, received a voice message from Sea and Sky.

"Sorry, but I currently have no intention to join a guild." Li Yao declined.

"Alright, then how about doing a challenge run together?"

"I'm about to log off, I've got things to do." Li Yao definitely wanted to do the challenge run, but not right now.

"Then next time, if you get any good items to sell, remember to contact me."

"Definitely."

Li Yao glanced at the real-time, and then logged off.

Half an hour later, having leisurely eaten something, Li Yao logged in again.

He opened his bag, and looked at the thirty-eight gold coins inside. He couldn't help but feel excited. While ordinary players barely had a few silver coins, he had dozens of gold coins.

Just these gold coins alone, if converted to real money, would be quite the hefty sum. That was the advantage of being reborn. He remembered that when he had leveled up to level twenty, he had never seen a gold coin in his bag. The contrast with his current state was immense.

As Li Yao was considering his plans, he wandered around other stalls and managed to find several bargains.

For example, he bought ten Roll Skill Books at one silver coin each.

The Roll Skill seemed ordinary because it was easy to roll in free mode, so why bother learning it? But only Li Yao knew that after learning the skill, there was a brief period of invincibility during the roll.

Although the invincibility period was short, it was crucial for expert players. Used correctly, it was a god-tier skill.

Li Yao also bought nearly twenty Dive Skill Books for a few dozen copper coins each. The effect was similar to the Roll skill.

Such incredible skills were currently considered useless by players, who treated them like the gesture and emotes in previous games. Unwanted at the stalls.

Besides finding bargains, Li Yao also found things he could use. He purchased a Strong Strike Aura and a Poisonous Snake Sting.

What surprised him the most was stumbling upon a blueprint for an Exploding Sheep. Normally, a player studying engineering could only sell this as a pet. However, who would spend money on pets in the early stages of the game?

The stall owner clearly knew this, so he only listed it for one silver coin. He probably never thought it would actually sell, but Li Yao ended up buying it.

With the Eye of the Creator, the Exploding Sheep was more than just a toy in Li Yao's hands.

He was even more surprised to find a Hunter's skill book for Throw Trap.

The Throw Trap skill could allow him to throw Ice Traps, Flame Traps, Poisonous Snake Traps, etc. to designated locations, it was very convenient. Unfortunately, he didn't find any Trap skill books...