A Smile of Poverty

After parting ways with Luo Mang, Xu Nan did not leave Lost Paradise immediately.

He found a coffee shop by himself and rested for a while, needing to process what Luo Mang had said about the prophecy.

Trusting Luo Mang, he had no doubt that Luo Mang was lying.

He was just thinking about his future plans.

As he thought about it, he suddenly felt much more cheerful.

At least the future seems to be full of hope again.

There's still a month until the Third Day, giving him plenty of time to grow stronger before the Pro Gods brutally transform the Earth!

Ron Sorcerer has already reached level six, and it will be difficult for him to level up in a short period of time.

But don't forget, the Initiate Sorcerer seems to be a class that can become stronger by spending money!

Xu Nan thought he'd try leveling up his rockets when he got back later. He wanted to see just how shameless the Protoss really were!

Of course, Xu Nan would welcome it if spending money could make him stronger!

After all, there are always some terrible games where you can spend money and still get crushed!

After resting for a while, Xu Nan leisurely ran to the Lost Paradise Trading Market, which was open to second-tier sorcerers.

Because his strength has increased to the second tier, his Bloodline Power allows him to stay in Lost Paradise for a longer period of time, and more buildings and facilities are now open to him.

The previous online trading model was too crude, and many things could not be verified by hand. Although Ron Sorcerer generally do not cheat their own people, and counterfeit products are rare in the trading market, information asymmetry still exists.

Xu Nan still prefers to conduct on-site inspections and visit three different suppliers.

Moreover, the things he wants to buy cannot be purchased through the transaction heart.

"The relocation of the underground city is complete; it's time for vigorous development."

"Although those mentally challenged children laughed it off and didn't take it seriously, as the city lord, I still have to be aware of my role as the underground city lord."

"If you want to expand the population, you either have to buy slaves directly, or you can only buy [Wandering Altar]!"

After careful consideration, Xu Nan decided to spend a lot of money to buy a Wandering Altar!

Buying slaves seems more direct, convenient, and safe, but it's not suitable for Xu Nan right now.

Firstly, the slaves he bought in Lost Paradise would have to be transported to Earth at an exorbitant cost. Xu Nan might as well go to some remote and underdeveloped place abroad and fool the natives there himself...

Secondly, we are a socialist country, and slavery was abolished many years ago. Xu Nan doesn't really like the idea of turning back the clock. Although he used to fantasize about beautiful female slaves when watching online movies...

Thirdly, most of the slaves in Lost Paradise are beings from secondary planes, whose potential is obvious at a glance. Xu Nan still hopes that some useful talents can emerge from the first batch of residents of his underground city.

Therefore, he chose to Wandering Altar!

The Wandering Altar, as the name suggests, is a last resort for those wanderers who are heading towards their end!

The inventor of the Wandering Altar is unknown. Xu Nan only remembers that during the colonial and pioneering eras, the Arcane Empire built a large number of Wandering Altar to attract refugees from all over the multiverse.

The Wandering Altar can be specifically divided into City Lord Altar and Wilderness Altar.

The Wilderness Altar were provided for those who had nowhere else to go. The wanderers could pray at the altar, offering their loyalty and labor, just to gain a place to stay.

These altars can be found all over the multiverse, and they seem to have been built on a large scale by the Arcane Empire of yesteryear.

What Xu Nan needs to purchase is the City Lord Altar.

Using the City Lord Altar, there is a certain chance to summon those wanderers to his dungeon, and then it's time for both parties to sign a contract.

Generally speaking, homeless people who have just escaped their predicament are the easiest to bargain with, and they are also Xu Nan's ideal residents of the underground city.

Only those who have lost their homeland can live and work in peace and contentment in their own territory!

However, what troubled Xu Nan was that the price of the City Lord Altar was extremely high!

A few million Constant Gold Coin can only buy the worst City Lord Altar, while those high-quality City Lord Altar with serial numbers cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions!

The one in front of Xu Nan, for example, is a featured model in the central square of a certain shop. Not only are there eight hot Snake Woman standing by, but there are also eloquent salespeople guiding potential buyers.

"Greetings, sir. The Crimson Lotus Altar before you is one of the thirty-six SS-grade City Lord Altar built by the Arcane Empire back then..."

Xu Nan understood the altar's powerful attributes at a glance, without needing many salespeople.

[Crimson Lotus Altar]

[Type: City Lord Altar]

[Quality: SS grade]

[Effect 1: Summons approximately 20 ordinary wanderers per quota]

[Effect 2: Has a 5% chance to summon 1 elite wanderer]

[Effect 3: There is a 0.1% chance to summon 1 Leader-level Wanderer]

[Effect 4: Red Lotus Everywhere - Provides a small ecological improvement to your dungeon]

[Effect 5: Crimson Lotus Festival - A Crimson Lotus Festival can be held once a month. After the Crimson Lotus Crimson Lotus Festival, the enthusiasm of the wanderers summoned through the Crimson Lotus Festival for work and invention is greatly increased.]

[Effect 6...]

Xu Nan was overwhelmed by the dozen or so attributes; his saliva was practically dripping onto the Snake Woman's Elder Sister next door.

"How much!" Xu Nan declared, as if he was determined to buy.

The Elder Sister smiled calmly, "Eighty million Constant Gold Coin can buy you a free door installation!"

"This price is incredibly favorable, and we're also including a complimentary VIP annual card for our large-scale shopping mall!"

"By the way, the Crimson Lotus Altar has a high summoning priority and an official serial number, so you don't need to worry about that!"

Xu Nan nodded and slipped away, feeling awkward but polite.

He looked at the three million Constant Gold Coin in his pocket and gave a poor smile.

He understood what the Elder Sister was saying. The Wandering Altar was built by the Arcane Empire. There was a transdimensional summoning network built by the Arcane Empire between all the City Lord Altar and the Wilderness Altar. Its energy source was provided by the energy field of a nebula specially opened up by the Arcane Empire, so it can still operate freely to this day.

However, each City Lord Altar faces the issue of priority and sequence number.

The Arcane Empire was probably afraid of being copied by a certain force, so when designing the Hyperdimensional Summoning Network, it stipulated that each altar had its own serial number. As a result, even if some pirate companies secretly connected the City Lord Altar to the Hyperdimensional Network terminal, it would still fail if it did not have a serial number.

Priority is something else entirely. Generally speaking, the higher the priority of the City Lord Altar, the more the transdimensional network will respond to the city lord's summons and carefully select wanderers from the multiverse to send to them.

As for those with low priority, sorry, they'll only get scraps. The quality of the wanderers they acquire will be very low, and they might even starve to death as soon as they arrive.

"I had overestimated my financial resources!"

For the first time, Xu Nan felt the sting of poverty. With his current wealth, buying even the lowest-level City Lord Altar would be enough to bankrupt him.

That's fine.

"What the hell is this about guaranteeing 0.5 summoned wanderers per altar?! How dare they sell such a trash altar?!"

Xu Nan looked at the drab altar in front of her, the sapphires used for its outer decorations having been secretly pried off by the shop owner, and couldn't help but rant about it.

I thought I had escaped poverty and become rich, but I never imagined that there was still an unimaginable gap between me and truly wealthy people.

"Brother, wanna buy the City Lord Altar?"

Suddenly, a shifty-eyed fellow appeared.

Xu Nan glanced at him. "What? You have some?"

"I don't have one, but I sell genuine serial numbers." The guy chuckled. "See that Crimson Lotus Altar? This thing is basically the store's prized possession, nobody would buy it. My cousin works there, and he got the serial number a long time ago. Well, we seem to have a connection, I'll sell it to you for 100,000 Constant Gold Coin!"

Xu Nan asked in surprise, "What use would I have for the altar's serial number?"

That resilient voice said, "If you buy a replica and then use the genuine serial number to access the Time-Space Network, you can enjoy effects comparable to the Crimson Lotus Altar!"

Xu Nan sneered, "How many people did you sell it to? Even if it's genuine and so many people are using this authentic serial number, it wouldn't be enough to cover a large number of people on average, right?"

The man said seriously, "That's true. It depends on your ability to rob people. I'm not lying to you. So far, eighteen copies have been sold, and nine people have successfully summoned the Wanderer using the genuine serial number. You're all pirate users, so as long as you don't report each other, isn't it good that we all turn a blind eye? As for the issue of robbing people, everyone has to rely on their own abilities. If you don't understand how to operate the altar, I'll also include an instruction manual here, a foolproof Strategy Guide that will definitely work!"

Xu Nan hesitated for a while, but finally bought the genuine serial number of the Crimson Lotus Altar from this person.

I'm so broke anyway, I might as well give it a try.

Then he went to the replica workshop next door and bought a super high-quality replica of the Crimson Lotus Altar. At least it looked exactly the same, and the price was much cheaper, only 800,000 Constant Gold Coin!

After doing all this, Xu Nan deeply felt the power of Constant Gold Coin and decided to work hard to increase his earning ability in the future.

He returned to the dungeon and placed the high-quality replica of the Crimson Lotus Altar in the most conspicuous position.

Then, following the easy- Strategy Guide instructions, he filled in the genuine serial number.

Shortly after, the Crimson Lotus Altar indicated that the connection had been successfully established.

However, when he opened the control crystal panel of the altar, his face immediately darkened.

The slate shows that this genuine serial number was being used by more than ninety people simultaneously!

With a whoosh, the screen refreshed!

New wanderers await their call!

[Fan Gu. Earl /Level 9 Warrior/Elite Wanderer...]

Xu Nan was about to select the summoning option when, to her surprise, it disappeared the next second!

It was stolen!

"Does this require lightning-fast reflexes?" Xu Nan laughed in exasperation.

...!