Chapter 1 Kingdom of Star-Moon, Zero Wing City

Because gold coins were plentiful and players didn't need to build them personally, high-rise buildings began to spring up within Zero Wing City as Aqua Rose directly paid the gold.

Shops for two-star NPC merchants generally cost between 500 and 1,000 gold, with two to three floors. Meanwhile, shops for three-star NPC merchants required 2,000 gold and had five or more floors.

In less than fifteen minutes after the gold coins were paid, all the NPC shops were completed, instantly transforming the somewhat empty Zero Wing City into a bustling metropolis.

In particular, the shops of the two three-star NPC merchants in the central area of Zero Wing City—one with five floors and the other with six—were exceptionally conspicuous on the main street of the City Lord's Mansion. They were second only to the Candlelight Trading Firm in terms of architecture, and even more magnificent in style, making them stand out.

One of these shops was a general store, and the other was a magic shop.

"Hmm, when did these two NPC shops appear here?"

"This building is so luxurious, let's go take a look."

Passing players couldn't help but walk into the two shops out of curiosity.

And when these players entered the two shops, they were completely stunned by the scene before them.

The variety of items inside the shops surpassed even those in the royal city, and many of the items displayed in the crystal cabinets were things they had never seen before.

"Isn't this a basic magic array? Is this even for sale?"

"Damn! This is a Tier 1 AoE magic scroll!"

"Awesome! This is a Bronze-grade pickaxe. If I had this, the speed and ore yield of mining would definitely increase a lot."

"No way, do they even have basic trap devices?"

Everyone looked at the items displayed in the dozens of crystal counters in the first floor lobby, their eyes almost popping out.

Basic magic arrays were hard to find on the market because it was difficult to collect a complete set. Usually, only the major guilds could put together a set, making them a coveted treasure for free players and adventure teams.

Although it was only a basic magic array, it had no problem suppressing a Grand Lord, allowing them to take down Grand Lords in the wild that were previously impossible to kill.

As for Tier 1 magic scrolls, they were also rare items that could be used to save lives in critical moments.

Basic trap devices could be used to set traps that were quite effective against both players and monsters.

All of these items were rare and hard to come by on the market, but now they were displayed in crystal counters for sale, and the prices were even slightly cheaper than the market price, which couldn't help but excite people.

"Quick! Contact the leader! We must buy this entire set of basic magic arrays!"

"Guild Leader? I found some Bronze-grade items in a general store in Zero Wing City."

For a time, the players who came to the store were busy contacting their companions or guild executives, reporting everything that was happening here in detail.

"How can this be! Zero Wing City actually has such a store?"

"I'll have someone send the money over right now, you must keep an eye on that item for me!"

…

The major forces were filled with desire for the NPC shops that suddenly appeared in Zero Wing City, and ordered their subordinates to take down these items.

In less than ten minutes, the two major NPC shops, which had originally had few people, were now crowded with players, and their popularity was even higher than that of the Candlelight Trading Firm.

And this news quickly spread throughout the Star-Moon Kingdom.

Perhaps many players disdained storing double experience points, or were not interested in the Orc Empire, but they had always been very interested in rare items, especially items such as Tier 1 magic scrolls or basic magic arrays that could help players deal with powerful Bosses.

These props were usually only used by guilds and were not items that could be easily bought with money.

And the most important thing was that having these props would help them deal with some monsters they couldn't deal with before.

"Guild Leader, all the NPC merchants' shops are now open. Aren't we really going to buy some ourselves?" Although Aqua Rose had known about the items sold in these shops for a long time, she couldn't help but feel a little tempted now that she could actually buy them.

The rare items sold in these NPC shops were rarely seen even in auction houses. If they were all bought up and then sold in auction houses, they would definitely make a lot of money.

"There's no need. Compared to earning the price difference on these items, it's more important to attract more players to Zero Wing City." Shi Feng smiled and understood Aqua Rose's thoughts, but doing so would be penny-wise and pound-foolish.

The reason why NPC shops were the lifeblood of guild cities was because these NPC shops could constantly sell rare items every day, which could attract players to come and bring popularity to the city. This popularity could drive many of the city's revenues. The entrance fee alone was probably more than earning the price difference of these shops' items.

Aqua Rose thought about it and felt that it was true.

The number of players attracted by the NPC shops alone had exceeded 300,000, and the entrance fee alone had collected more than 1,800 gold. More players would come later, so there was really no need to earn the price difference on rare items.

"By the way, you should withdraw some funds to purchase these materials. Buy as much as you can, as long as the price does not exceed the market price by 10%. Then send them all to me." Shi Feng looked at the materials for making the Magic Light Set in his hand and then gave an order.

Although he had Youyu Weisui constantly stockpile materials here, the cost was too high after all. A set cost 300 gold, and the main cost was magic crystals, so he only prepared more than a hundred sets of materials. Now that he had money, he would naturally prepare as much as possible.

"Okay, I'll have them collect them." Aqua Rose was a little taken aback when she saw the required materials, but now that Zero Wing City's income had skyrocketed, she was full of confidence, not to mention that the main material was magic crystals.

While Zero Wing City was becoming more and more popular, the president's office in the Heavenly Burial's residence in Gu Rock City was unusually depressing.

"What's going on with this Zero Wing Guild? Could it be that there's some big consortium supporting them in secret?" Yi Xiao Du Zang sat on the president's throne and looked at the latest Zero Wing information in his hand, feeling puzzled and under pressure.

The Zero Wing Guild was clearly on the verge of collapse before.

Now it had become vigorous and even distributed more than 100,000 gold worth of guild points to its guild members, and built a large number of NPC shops in Zero Wing City. It was simply unbelievable.

It gave people the illusion that the more they fought against their Heavenly Burial, the more money they had.

"President, we have had people secretly investigate, and so far, there is no big consortium secretly funding Zero Wing. Blackwater is also very sure." Wu Xia shook her head and answered very definitely, "The Zero Wing Guild's income mainly comes from Zero Wing City..."

"Zero Wing City?" Yi Xiao Du Zang looked at the Zero Wing City information sent by Wu Xia, his face indescribably gloomy.

Although he didn't want to admit it, the potential of Zero Wing City was beyond his expectations. He didn't expect a guild city to develop to this point, and it was even faintly surpassing Gu Rock City now.

"This is a bit interesting. It seems that the Zero Wing Guild's foundation is deeper than we imagined." Lei Jingyang sitting next to him smiled slightly, "But that's all they can do. Since they don't want to surrender, can we take action?"

"Indeed, you can lead the demonic army to attack the Zero Wing Guild directly!" Yi Xiao Du Zang nodded and then sneered, "It's time to let the Zero Wing Guild see how terrifying the wild demonic army is!"