Chapter 7: First Bucket of Gold.

Wu Shaochen is swiftly harvesting wild boars at a rate of one every two minutes. Each boar yields at least two copper coins and a fang, which is not bad.

"This is the thirteenth one." Wu Shaochen calmly poisons another boar and walks over to collect the spoils.

"Oh, equipment again!" Wu Shaochen happily picks up the equipment beside the corpse and examines it.

[Pig Slaughter Knife]

Quality: White

Physical Attack +12

Equipment Requirement: None

Hmm, is that it? It doesn't seem useful to me. A few extra points in attack or fewer points in attack, it doesn't make a difference to me since they won't penetrate defenses anyway.

Looking at the ugly Pig Slaughter Knife in his hand, which is even less appealing than a beginner's wooden sword, Wu Shaochen can't be bothered to equip it. Maybe he should check the auction house to see if anyone wants it?

The Divine Oracle Auction System is very convenient. Players can summon the auction interface to see what is available in the auction house. They can search for desired items by category and directly purchase them without needing to go back to town. Unwanted items can also be directly listed for auction. Players can choose between cash transactions and in-game currency transactions. After a successful cash transaction, the amount will be automatically transferred to the linked bank card. Players cannot recharge directly; they can only use money to buy other players' coins and equipment, which greatly limits the rise of many big spenders.

Wu Shaochen opens the auction interface and finds it empty. He feels a bit confused for a moment. Why is no one selling anything yet? How much should I list this Pig Slaughter Knife for? There is no reference price.

"Let's try listing it for 500 yuan. After all, it's the only equipment in the auction house. It should sell for that price. The drop rate in this game is so low." Wu Shaochen mutters to himself. He urgently needs money, so he'll disregard in-game currency. He lists the Pig Slaughter Knife, selects cash transaction for the auction currency, and chooses the auction mode.

"Oh, there are two modes to choose from: fixed price or bidding. Since I don't know the market price, why not go with the bidding mode? That seems good." Wu Shaochen compliments for once.

"Damn, 10% commission for fixed price mode and 15% for bidding mode. Are they that greedy?" Wu Shaochen complains again right after praising.

"Well, if it's black, it's black. Who said they were the developers."

Anonymous listing, bidding mode, bidding time of 10 minutes, confirm, and back to hunting boars.

At the entrance of the newbie village, in the Rabbit Grassland...

"Huang Shao, Huang Shao, there's a weapon listed in the auction house with +12 physical attack!" A young boy excitedly runs over to Huang Shao.

"What are you waiting for? Just buy it immediately! Or are they asking for in-game currency?" Huang Shao anxiously asks.

"It's not that. It's a cash transaction, but the seller set it to bidding mode. The bidding time is 10 minutes," the boy explains.

"Since it's a cash transaction, it doesn't matter. Make sure to buy it for me." Huang Shao calmly says. If money can solve the problem, then it's not a problem at all.

"Understood."

On the other side, five young men are systematically killing rabbits. Suddenly, one of them frowns.

"Junlin, there's equipment listed in the auction house."

"Oh? Based on our observation and analysis during this period, the rabbits in the newbie village shouldn't drop equipment. Could it be that someone killed a level two mountain goat?" Junlin, a handsome man, wonders.

"It's unlikely. With our current strength, we still can't deal with those goats unless we all reach level 1. It's probably just a lucky drop from killing rabbits," another young man says.

"Can we contact the seller and spend some money to get information?" Junlin suggests.

"No, the seller listed it anonymously," the young man replies.

"Well, then there's nothing we can do. We'll have to buy the equipment when necessary. Although it's a white-grade equipment, +12 attack is still significant in the early stages," Junlin says seriously.

"Okay."

Meanwhile, a middle-aged man walks up to a woman with a white veil, tall stature, and exceptional elegance. He says, "Miss, there's equipment in the auction house."

The woman casually opens the auction interface, glances at the only listed equipment, and says, "Let's play within our means."

At the same time, in every corner of the 8365 newbie village, discussions about the first equipment listed in the auction house are taking place. A single white-grade equipment has caused a stir throughout the newbie village. The auction house only displays items to players in the same area. Currently, it's the same newbie village, but in the future, it will be the same main city.

"Damn, someone listed equipment in the auction house."

"We finally see equipment. What's up with the drop rate in this game? It's been over an hour, and I haven't even seen a single piece of equipment. I thought this game didn't drop equipment."

"Even the lowest-grade white equipment can increase attack by 12 points. If I equip that, my attack will double."

"Wake up, upstairs. Look at the current price. It's already over ten thousand. It's just a white-grade equipment. Rich people don't care about money."

"Damn, really? Then I better hurry and kill. Maybe the next rabbit will drop an equipment for me. Over ten thousand will be enough for me to spend for months."

"Miss, the price has reached twelve thousand. Should we continue bidding?" The middle-aged man approaches the stunning woman and whispers.

"Let's bid up to fifteen thousand. Any higher, forget it. A white-grade equipment isn't worth it. It won't take long for it to flood the market," the woman says calmly.

"Alright."

"Junlin, many people are eyeing this equipment. The price has already soared to fifteen thousand, far exceeding its actual value." One of the young men says.

"Hmm, that's normal. After all, it's the first equipment, and it's a weapon. But it's still important in the early stages, mainly because the drop rate in this game is too low. Otherwise, a white-grade equipment wouldn't be bid up to such a high price." Junlin says.

"Let's add another 2,000. If it goes beyond that, forget it. We'll be able to get plenty of this kind of equipment ourselves soon. Once Xiaobei and Linzi reach level 1, we'll go kill the goats."

On the other side...

"Huang Shao, should we continue bidding?" a young man next to Huang Shao asks.

"Of course, I may not have much of anything, but I have plenty of money. These people also want to compete with me." Huang Shao sneers. To him, it doesn't matter if it's worth it or not. As long as it can be solved with money, it's not a problem. What he wants is the thrill of being better than others.

Meanwhile, Wu Shaochen, who caused all this, remains oblivious and continues using a brute force method to kill wild boars.

"Ah, it would be great if the poison damage could be increased a bit. Then I could kill them in just two hits. Now it takes three hits to kill one. Annoying. It's all because of that damn spider and its weird skills. It's preventing me from leveling up my talents." Wu Shaochen complains.

"This is the 18th one. Once I kill this, I can level up." Wu Shaochen walks his wild boar while keeping an eye on its slowly decreasing health. With a movement speed of 18, killing wild boars is no longer a challenge for him. Soon, the boar falls down unwillingly.

"Ding, congratulations on leveling up. +20 HP, +10 MP, and you've gained 5 attribute points. Please distribute them wisely."

Reaching level 3, Wu Shaochen allocates all five attribute points to Agility, bringing it to 20. His movement speed is now 23, with HP: 150 and MP: 80. Everything else remains the same. Experience: 14/1000.

"To level up to 4, I need 1000 experience points. Killing wild boars at level 3 gives me 26 experience points each. I have to kill 38 of them to level up," Wu Shaochen complains. Just then...

"Ding, the item you listed in the auction house has been sold to a player for 20,000 yuan. After deducting a handling fee of 3,000 yuan, the remaining 17,000 yuan has been transferred to your linked bank account."

"What? 20,000?" Wu Shaochen is shocked. He quickly checks the transaction record to confirm the amount and then opens his bank account balance, seeing 17,700 yuan displayed. He swallows hard and pinches himself to make sure he's not dreaming. Wu Shaochen has a silly smile on his face, realizing that this piece of junk equipment is worth almost half a year's salary for him. No one would believe it if he told them.

"Damn, there are really a lot of wealthy players in this game." Wu Shaochen's mood is great. He looks at the wild boars ahead and feels a sense of fondness. With just this one piece of equipment, he has already covered the cost of the in-game helmet and even made a profit of 7,000 yuan. Finally, he doesn't have to worry about sleeping under a bridge.

He continues to kill wild boars. They are all money.