Merchant Guild

Merchant Guild

The side effects of becoming a Kabaneri were severe, while Kabane flesh was practically a guaranteed drop from Kabane, with enough from one Kabane to divide into five portions.

So no matter how effective it was, it could not sell for too high a price. In fact, for such a shockingly common "white-grade" item, the Space itself imposed a cap on its selling price, just as the Sharingan had a minimum selling price.

Five hundred Reincarnation Points!

That was the price cap for Kabane flesh!

Xu Yue had obtained Spider Serum before. In terms of effects, if used by rookies, Spider Serum could only barely raise someone to the level of a Genin. Becoming a Kabaneri and then undergoing targeted training for a while could likewise bring someone close to that level.

In other words, as long as a rookie obtained one of these two items over the course of three missions, then supplemented it with some skill masteries, they would have a high chance of passing the Promotion Mission.

Yet the price gap between the two was like heaven and earth. Of the mere three bottles of Spider Serum in the auction house, the cheapest required one B-Rank Plot and 4,000 Reincarnation Points. The most expensive had been crazily priced at three B-Rank Plots and 10,000 Reincarnation Points, reaching the serum's maximum price.

The reasons, aside from Kabane flesh being too easy to acquire, were the severe side effects of becoming a Kabaneri: needing to drink human blood regularly, reduced lifespan, the latent risk of completely turning into a Kabane, low potential for growth, and so on. These were its greatest limitations.

By comparison, Spider Serum could raise a Genin to an elite Genin, and if used by an elite Genin, might even bring them to the level of a Chunin. Furthermore, as the first serum-type item someone used, it had no side effects. These were all things Kabane flesh could not offer.

Even official Reincarnators would covet it and fight over it.

"The auction house price is currently three hundred apiece. Looks like quite a lot of Kabane flesh had been stockpiled before. The fluctuations from a few dozen to three hundred have been pretty significant."

After glancing over the Public Auction House listings, Xu Yue did not treat the displayed prices as the current market price for Kabane flesh.

This stuff was most effective when aimed at rookies. Official Reincarnators who had passed their Promotion Missions would definitely look down on it, yet rookies did not have the right to use the Public Auction House!

"Looks like I need to contact someone..."

Having completed his training and achieved his main goal for this mission interval, Xu Yue immediately entered the only communication number he had memorized inside the wooden cabin...

"Brother, you can ask around about the prices. If you bought this set of equipment separately, it would cost at least two hundred more points. I'm only giving you a hand because you're a rookie."

A righteous-looking middle-aged man with a square face earnestly persuaded a clearly tempted rookie before him. He then smoothly talked him into completing the transaction, selling a "rookie three-piece set" gift pack.

Just then, his Space communicator rang. Looking at the display on the portable watch on his wrist, worth 300 Reincarnation Points, surprise appeared on his face.

"Anonymous? At least Second Lieutenant authority. Who's looking for me?"

Muttering to himself, he accepted the call. A voice that had clearly been mechanically altered sounded in his ear.

"Are you Icarus? Want to discuss some big business..."

Within an illusory space of darkness, six or seven figures with indistinguishable faces appeared one after another.

"Mental Cabin? Renting a Mental Cabin for ten people costs a thousand points. Looks like they really aren't trying to toy with us."

A similarly mechanically altered voice came from one of the pitch-black figures.

Through Icarus's network, this group consisted of distributors specializing in selling information and "rookie three-piece sets." One of them was even Icarus's superior's superior!

The others held more or less the same status.

"Probably another big shot who wants us to help sell rookie sets. Unfortunately, the shares in District E have already been carved up by several major legions. We all have agreements and affiliated factions."

Another rookie distributor spoke coldly. Although none of them showed their faces, because this was Icarus's line, most of them had a rough idea of everyone's identities. They worked in this business, after all. If they could not manage even that, they might as well quit.

"Please don't rush to answer. Listen to me first, then decide."

At that moment, the owner of this rented Mental Cabin appeared. His body was clearly concealed beneath flickering light of different colors.

"I'm sure you all know that weapons which can be mass-produced in the real world have continuously been sold into the Reincarnation Space, causing Reincarnation Points held by the major legions to inflate and depreciate somewhat."

Xu Yue slowly stated a fact. No longer a complete rookie, he had developed a keen sense for market prices in the Reincarnation Space.

For example, the exchange of mission Plot Points for Reincarnation Points was always empty. No one had listed even the 4,000 Reincarnation Points at the upper limit of C-Rank missions. Even if someone desperately needed Reincarnation Points and listed them, they would probably be instantly bought by people waiting for such opportunities.

The Space's direct-purchase store only sold beginner skill books. It did not even carry some special beginner skill books!

For instance, Body Mastery did not appear in the Space's direct-purchase store. Those were all sold by Reincarnators in the Public Auction House.

Body Mastery was cheap because it put a heavy burden on the body. The Sharingan was cheap because of the lack of Single Tomoe Sharingan.

But compared to other things related to improving one's strength, prices had become somewhat inflated. Spider Serum was one example. There were only three bottles, and two of them were outrageously expensive.

Even relatively common things like Advanced Fighting Mastery required prices starting at B-Rank mission points, plus Reincarnation Points. This was only because directly using Plot Points to improve skills had a standard price, allowing skill books to be priced slightly below that.

In Xu Yue's view, one major factor behind this situation was that some powerful figures in the real world used their own military factories to mass-produce weapons and sell them into the Reincarnation Space. They sold them to rookies in exchange for Reincarnation Points, continuously accumulating wealth and causing market prices to become unbalanced.

Another factor was that the Reincarnation Space's direct-purchase store did not sell advanced skill books.

For example, if one wanted to raise a common skill like Fighting Mastery to the advanced level, aside from buying a skill book at the auction house, the only option was the more arduous method of directly upgrading it with mission points.

That was only for universal skills. If it were some rare skill, there might be harsh conditions similar to the requirements for upgrading the Sharingan, and the price would be astronomically high.

"Of course. You surely didn't bring us here just to tell us this 'common knowledge,' did you?"

Another distributor spoke mockingly. These things might indeed be secrets to rookies, but anyone who had stayed in the Space long enough would naturally learn them.

In any case, they could only scam rookies out of their Reincarnation Points. Veterans would not use things that could be mass-produced in the real world.

"No, perhaps you've misunderstood what I mean. I do have designs on the rookies, but the route I'm taking is not the usual rookie package."

"Then what is it?"

"A stable source of Kabane flesh."

Xu Yue spoke slowly.

"What?!"

"A stable source of Kabane flesh?"

"Could it be that your legion has a stronghold in the Kabane world?"

Startled voices rang out. Xu Yue also keenly caught a piece of information: legion strongholds? It seemed some super legions might possess independent spaces like his, though they did not currently overlap with his.

Hmm, was that how the mecha legions and Jedi Knight legions of the real world had come about...

"More or less. It may not be a high-level space, but it should be good news for all of you."

Xu Yue spoke in an unruffled tone, with no intention of correcting their misunderstanding. Letting them believe that a powerful hidden legion stood behind him would only benefit him.

The several figures concealed in shadow were clearly tempted.

Kabane flesh was obviously most useful to rookies and could be sold at the highest price to them!

"So, I've drafted a contract and used my vacant authority to establish a merchant guild. Would you all be willing to join?"

Those with Second Lieutenant authority could begin forming groups, though the number of people allowed under Second Lieutenant authority was limited to fewer than ten.

In unfamiliar spaces, teamwork naturally produced the best results, but it clearly did not suit Xu Yue. He possessed the advantage of foreknowledge of the plot, and a team might instead become a burden. At least, that was the case at his current stage.

Under such circumstances, there was no problem with taking the authority to form a group, consulting the Space, and modifying it into a loose merchant guild.

Because of price fluctuations in the Space, there were surely many unscrupulous merchants and speculators. His previous life's world had shown that finance made money even faster than running actual industries.

Under such circumstances, forming a merchant guild would be far more effective for Xu Yue than forming a battle group.

With Kabane flesh as a flagship product, a stable supply, and prices below the market rate, the seven distributors who had come here readily signed the confidentiality agreement with the harshest penalties.

After all, it was only confidentiality. The restrictions were not particularly strict and were quite loose. They could make easy money after signing it, so why not?

Once everyone had signed the agreement, Xu Yue began his second objective with satisfaction.

"Now that we're all part of the same circle, I naturally have another product to share with you."

Xu Yue had already pointed out that, throughout the Reincarnation Space, Reincarnation Points alone were experiencing a degree of inflation. The large legion factions had accumulated massive quantities of Reincarnation Points.

If they only had Reincarnation Points, they could not even upgrade skills. There was no point in keeping so many.

Under such circumstances, Xu Yue naturally had designs on the more valuable mission Plot Points! Otherwise, he would not have gone to such lengths to trick that "scientist" into going to Kōkan Station.

When Xu Yue displayed samples of the Black and White Blood Plasma and explained their effects, the breathing of the seven people immediately grew much heavier.

"This, this..."

"This can be mass-produced?"

"The news about the Kabaneri was mainly spread by your legion through those three rookies?"

The moment they saw the Black and White Blood Plasma, these shrewd fellows immediately understood the rumors that had been spreading like wildfire recently.

At first, they had merely thought three rookies had gotten lucky. Now they realized it was very likely all orchestrated by the faction behind him.

By deliberately letting three rookies try such important information, it was obvious that, given the rookies' financial straits, they would sell the intelligence everywhere for money. This would naturally push Kabane flesh onto the rookies and expand the Kabaneri population.

Once that population reached a certain scale, releasing these two types of blood plasma would cause an absolute explosion in demand!

"It can be produced on a preliminary scale. We're still some distance away from large-scale mass production, but we estimate that we can produce ten bottles of each per month starting next month."

Xu Yue neither confirmed nor denied it. At a time like this, he needed to give them confidence and make them work harder to promote Kabane flesh.

Kabane flesh could only be sold to each person once. Once someone became a Kabaneri, they were set. One person could not buy two portions, and the market would eventually become saturated.

But the Black and White Blood Plasma were consumables with outstanding effects. One could sell as much as one had; currently, only production capacity limited them!

Moreover, the greatest demand would shift from rookies directly to those wealthy major legions!

This stuff could instantly turn Kabaneri, who could originally only serve as decent cannon fodder in a legion, into powerful weapons. Even as consumables, people would scramble to buy them.

Seeing the heavy breathing of the group, Xu Yue put away the samples and then said in a seductive tone, "As for these two items, you can reveal them to those legion representatives and let them first understand their effects."

Reincarnation Points alone were useless, but the emergence of Black and White Blood Plasma gave him a channel through which he could acquire mission Plot Points!

And by first revealing news of the Black and White Blood Plasma, some major legions that had been hesitating might make up their minds to organize affordable Kabaneri rookie legions, which would in turn promote sales of Kabane flesh.

The only thing he needed to worry about now was his production capacity...