Chapter 1037: Insane Woman
Translator: Hellscythe_ Editor: Vampirecat
Chapter 1037 – Insane Woman
Shi Feng’s words caused another commotion in the room.
None of the representatives had expected him to have such intentions from the very beginning. This sudden announcement truly caught them by surprise.
The various company representatives, who were originally sitting close together, immediately started eyeing the people next to them, a wary expression appearing on their faces. At the same time, they were also secretly contacting the directors of their companies, hoping to get a quick reply from them.
Nobody present was a fool. They knew just how much was at stake here.
Just the value of a single town with a Magic Tower could practically rival that of eight player-owned towns. Moreover, capturing eight towns was easier said than done. Even if one managed to seize so many towns, the investments needed to develop these towns were not something an ordinary large Guild could support.
Most likely, only entities like Super Guilds would be able to operate eight towns simultaneously at this stage of the game. However, buying a plot of Land in the towns owned by Super Guilds was nigh impossible for their companies. That was no longer a problem that could be solved with enough money.
Super Guilds operated differently from ordinary large Guilds. They were playing virtual reality games with the intention of monopolizing a large share of the virtual industry and were more than capable of doing so. Hence, why would they want to split their profits with someone else?
On the other hand, Zero Wing only needed to capture one town to gain the economic benefits of eight towns.
If their companies could gain priority in investing in Zero Wing’s towns, they might be able to establish themselves in God’s Domain’s virtual industry. How could they possibly let this opportunity get away?
Seeing Shi Feng remaining silent for some time after his announcement, Aqua Rose could not help but asked softly, “Guild Leader, are you still not going to start the auction?”
“Wait a little. There’s no need to rush this matter. We’ll let them digest this information first. When the time comes, they’ll compete with even greater ferocity,” Shi Feng replied, smiling as he looked at the company representatives busy contacting their superiors.
Originally, this matter of cooperation had been relatively urgent. He had even made plans to risk exposing the City Building Order just to gather enough funds to purchase Ouroboros’s training center.
The existence of a training center was simply too important to a Guild.
This relevance was akin to that of the current dojos. The experts nurtured in dojos would go on to participate in all sorts of competitions. Training centers were similar in this respect, where the experts nurtured in training centers would go on to participate in all sorts of virtual competitions. The only difference was that virtual competitions possessed much greater influence and competitiveness.
Moreover, if Shi Feng had his own training center, he could do things much more conveniently. He would have less to worry about in other matters.
Most importantly, he could recruit and nurture members en masse rather than in limited numbers. He could also attract many more people to Zero Wing. This was also one of the reasons why Super Guilds would never have a lack of recruits each year. After all, nobody would wish to spend their entire life fighting for a half-dead Guild that did not even have a proper workplace in the real world.
Due to this reason, second- and third-rate Guilds would often be a flash in the pan in the virtual gaming world, while first-rate Guilds and above remained as steady as a mountain in the industry.
After Shi Feng waited for a short while, the various company representatives finally completed their tasks. They then turned to look at Shi Feng, their eyes filled with appreciation for his patience.
“It seems you all have prepared yourselves already. Let’s begin, then,” Shi Feng said after getting silent confirmation from everyone present. “The starting bid for the first cooperation spot is priced at one billion Credits. Every increment must be no less than ten million!”
“One billion, twenty million!”
“One billion, thirty million!”
“One billion, forty million!”
…
At this moment, the various company representatives no longer hesitated as they began frantically calling out bids one after another.
There were only ten slots available. Even in the best-case scenario, only ten companies could cooperate with Zero Wing. Meanwhile, there were twenty companies present. If some companies were slightly greedy and were willing to pay the price and gamble on Zero Wing’s future, a single company might purchase two, or even three, slots. After all, however small a town was, there should still be no problem if it had two or three of the same virtual stores. The stores should not affect each other too greatly. Most importantly, the money they invested could still be taken back. They were merely placing a deposit for renting Lands right now.
Moreover, judging by the popularity of God’s Domain, they could already tell what the future of the virtual industry would look like. Most likely, it would be even more profitable than the real-estate industry.
Hence, the various companies intended to obtain as many cooperation slots as they could right now.
Very quickly, the first cooperation slot’s price had risen to one billion, two hundred million. Moreover, the bidders still showed no signs of stopping.
“Aqua, your Guild Leader is simply too good at doing business. He’s practically robbing them at this point,” Alluring Summer said, smacking her lips.
This was not her first time seeing such large transactions taking place. After all, just the construction of a single five-star hotel in the real world cost nearly ten billion Credits. It was even more expensive for six- and seven-star hotels. However, this was definitely her first time seeing a virtual store selling for such a high price.
“This is nothing. Those who want to cooperate with us in the future will have to pay an even higher price,” Aqua Rose said, unfazed by this situation.
Although the towns in God’s Domain were good, they were a far cry from being comparable to a city, particularly the first player-owned city in God’s Domain. If not for the fact that they could not publicize the matter of the City Building Order yet, these companies wouldn’t even have the qualifications to negotiate with Zero Wing.
During the brief moment Aqua Rose was chatting with Alluring Summer, the price for the cooperation slot had hit one billion and three hundred million.
However, as the bids continued increasing and were approaching one billion and five hundred million, the number of people calling out offers started dwindling.
At this moment, a clear voice resounded throughout the lounge.
“Two billion!”
Everyone instantly turned to look at the bidder in shock.
This person was none other than Phoenix Rain!
“This woman has lost her mind! She actually bid two billion!”
“Who is she?”
Everyone was stunned by Phoenix Rain’s bid. Although they also had that kind of money, the more they could save, the better.
“Is there anyone willing to place a higher bid?” Shi Feng asked for confirmation as he swept a glance at everyone present.
He was not particularly surprised by Phoenix Rain’s bid. After all, she was someone capable of obtaining a battle team slot for the Dark Arena. How could her origins be ordinary?
After Shi Feng sought confirmation three times, he sent the first official contract to Phoenix Rain. Afterwards, she simply needed to place her signature on it.
When all the representatives present laid eyes on the contract, envy surfaced on their faces. They then made preparations to bid for the second contract.
However, as soon as Shi Feng announced the bid for the second contract, Phoenix Rain again said softly, “Two billion!”
Silence fell once more. The representatives all felt hatred and frustration towards Phoenix Rain’s actions.
“What the hell is with this woman?”
“She is simply insane. There are ten slots available. I refuse to believe she can take down a third one.”
Everyone initially thought that Phoenix Rain would hit her limit after purchasing a single slot for two billion. They never imagined that she would repeat her feat. However, in their opinion, Phoenix Rain should’ve run through the funds she had on hand after spending four billion. She should no longer be a threat in the following bids.
Unfortunately, reality proved to be far crueler than these representatives thought.
Without the slightest hesitation, Phoenix Rain bought seven slots in succession, each for two billion Credits. Her actions thoroughly frightened all the company representatives. They even started to suspect that Phoenix Rain was merely putting on an act for Zero Wing right now.
However, just as everyone was thinking this, Phoenix Rain suddenly opened her mouth and said, “Guild Leader Black Flame, there’s no need to continue this auction. I want all the remaining slots. I hope that the two of us can sit down and discuss the matter of cooperation further instead of continuing to waste time here.”