Seeing Bai Qingxue's confident smile, Shi Feng couldn't help grinning to himself.
The money ultimately came from the wealthy. If he wanted to make money, he had to earn it from people with money, and Snake of the Void, a first-rate guild, was undoubtedly an excellent choice.
From what Shi Feng knew, Snake of the Void had already conquered more than ten virtual games. However, the arrival of God's Domain had caused a sensation in the virtual gaming world. It was hailed as humanity's second world, driving countless other virtual games out of business. Afterward, countless major financial groups had poured into God's Domain like mad, cultivating their own guilds and building up their influence in hopes of establishing themselves in virtual finance. Naturally, Snake of the Void had entered God's Domain as well, hoping to claim a share of the spoils from the many financial giants.
Moreover, Snake of the Void had not only deep pockets but powerful connections. It had more than a thousand gaming experts under its command, all of them renowned throughout God's Domain as the God-Slaying Army. Their presence had enabled Snake of the Void to build a sizable virtual empire, ruling over more than eighty major cities in God's Domain, each with populations exceeding one million. It was a true overlord of God's Domain.
At the height of its power, Snake of the Void's territory had been as vast as the entire Star-Moon Kingdom. At its peak, Shadow Studio had only established itself in ten cities with populations under a million, and even that had made it a giant in the real world. Snake of the Void's status was almost unimaginable.
The Star-Moon Kingdom was not a small one among the hundreds of kingdoms in God's Domain. It could be considered upper-middle-tier, which showed just how powerful Snake of the Void was.
How could Shi Feng not want to work with such a powerful, wealthy guild? However, working with Bai Qingxue carried too much risk. She had access to a great deal of intelligence about God's Domain, and given her extraordinary background, he had to be careful. That was why he had deliberately let a few things slip, especially the Basic Strength Potion formula, to see how she would react. If things went poorly, he could simply refuse and be done with it.
The situation now was exactly what Shi Feng had hoped for.
"Since you put it that way, I won't ask for much. Twenty silver coins," Shi Feng said calmly.
Twenty silver coins was already the full assets of a small guild. It would put even an ordinary guild in a difficult position, and even a hundred-player Gold Farming Group would need two or three days to save up that much. A run through Dead Silence Forest on Normal difficulty earned only one or two silver coins. Still, he felt the price was reasonable. The Dead Silence Forest instance was special; clearing it would lay a solid foundation for the future.
Hearing Shi Feng casually ask for twenty silver coins, Zhao Yueru sucked in a sharp breath. She was so furious she nearly jumped up and glared at him. "Why don't you just rob us? You'd make money faster that way."
"If robbing people could get me that much money, I'd do it too," Shi Feng said with a smile. "You have to understand, this is Dead Silence Forest. There are a lot of skill books inside that can equip players and rapidly increase their strength. Getting an early clear of Dead Silence Forest would obviously benefit our future development."
"You... Can't you make it any cheaper? This is twenty silver coins! Even Snake of the Void can't just pull out that much money all at once." Zhao Yueru had grown thoroughly disgusted with Shi Feng, but when she thought of how important Dead Silence Forest was, she still swallowed her pride and tried to negotiate.
"Sorry, the price is firm. If you won't agree, I'll have to consider working with another guild." Shi Feng wouldn't budge. He had already shown Bai Qingxue plenty of goodwill. If this didn't work out, he could consider the Assassin Alliance. It was also a wealthy guild; it had spent more than twenty silver coins to buy that Level 5 Bronze Greatsword Shield earlier.
"I understand. Twenty silver it is. But we'll need time to gather the money. Snake of the Void's sphere of influence isn't near White River City; it's in Royal City, Star-Moon City. There aren't many members of Snake of the Void around White River City. Give me a day. Here are seven silver coins as a deposit. I'll give you another fifteen silver coins tomorrow as compensation." Bai Qingxue hadn't expected Shi Feng to make such an outrageous demand. Even twenty silver coins was a strain for her, but clearing Dead Silence Forest was too important to put off. She also knew that silver coins were more valuable the earlier the game was, so she offered some extra interest.
"Fine. Here's a map of Dead Silence Forest, along with the things you need to watch out for when fighting the boss."
Shi Feng knew Bai Qingxue was telling the truth. Coming up with twenty silver coins at once wasn't easy. The Assassin Alliance, by contrast, had a considerable presence in White River City and far more funds at its disposal than Bai Qingxue did. He then sent Bai Qingxue an email with a detailed guide to Dead Silence Forest. With Bai Qingxue and the others' strength, they should be able to clear it on Normal difficulty without much trouble.
After receiving the Dead Silence Forest guide, Bai Qingxue skimmed through it and was secretly astonished.
She hadn't expected Dead Silence Forest to be so dangerous. There were thirty-six paths, and thirty-three of them were dead ends. On top of that, a Dark Night Ranger lurked in the shadows, waiting for a chance to strike. The guide even detailed the boss's moves and the timing of each one. Twenty silver coins was indeed money well spent. Sending people to scout and map out the instance bit by bit would cost even more.
Bai Qingxue's opinion of Shi Feng changed again. He seemed extraordinary—definitely an expert. Only a true expert could understand an instance so thoroughly. Yet, as far as she could remember, there wasn't any famous Swordsman whose appearance matched Shi Feng's.
"Three days from now, Snake of the Void plans to attempt the first Level 5, twenty-player team instance, Dark Moon Graveyard. Would you be interested in joining us?" Bai Qingxue looked at Shi Feng with her beautiful eyes and invited him to join the team. She had already recognized his strength. With Shi Feng along, the Level 5 team instance might be easier to clear.
Heizi, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed. He was utterly impressed with Shi Feng. He couldn't believe Shi Feng had won over the goddess in just a few words, to the point that she wanted to invite him to a dungeon run. What an honor! So many men dreamed of running an instance with Bai Qingxue.
Zhao Yueru, however, was in a terrible mood. Shi Feng was only a beta tester. At most, he had spent a few extra days in God's Domain and knew Dead Silence Forest a little better. But the twenty-player team instance had only appeared after the public launch; it hadn't been available during the closed beta. Shi Feng couldn't possibly know anything about it. Besides, he wasn't some great expert. What good would it do to bring him along? He would only waste a slot.
Shi Feng considered the offer. Twenty-player team instances dropped plenty of good items, especially Dark Moon Graveyard, which had lots of great gear for Swordsmen. Instance gear had much better attributes than equipment from field bosses. But he couldn't gather twenty players on his own, so going with Bai Qingxue would be a good option.
"Sure. But save a few spots for my people, and give priority to me for all Swordsman gear and Forging Blueprints." Shi Feng nodded.
"Couldn't you be a little more modest?" Zhao Yueru glared at Shi Feng, cheeks puffed out in anger. She thought he was going too far. When Gentle Snow invited others, they always accepted without a second thought. Some even turned down the gear. But Shi Feng not only agreed; he also demanded first pick. He didn't even try to be polite.
Bai Qingxue hadn't expected Shi Feng to be so different from everyone else. He was refreshingly straightforward, saying exactly what he wanted. It was rather interesting. She glanced at the teammates behind Shi Feng. They were a little underwhelming, but their gear was decent; they could probably manage a twenty-player team instance. "All right. Let's add each other as friends so we can keep in touch."
"Sure. Just contact me a few hours before the instance. I'll be there on time." Shi Feng accepted Bai Qingxue's friend request.
After that, Shi Feng and the others left Small Stone Pond and headed toward Dark Moon Valley.
As they passed the entrance to Dead Silence Forest, Cixin of the Assassin Alliance suddenly called out to Shi Feng.
"Brother Ye Feng, you've changed so much that I almost didn't recognize you. I can't believe you know a big shot like the Ice Goddess. Don't forget about me in the future!" Cixin walked over and joked with him.
"How could I? Miss Bai and I just happened to cross paths," Shi Feng said with a smile.
"Brother Ye Feng, you're too modest. With your strength, you're absolutely worthy of being friends with the Ice Goddess. You're both experts of the same caliber." Cixin thought Shi Feng was very humble. No wonder he was such a great expert; his bearing was extraordinary. Cixin wanted to cultivate the connection as well. "The Assassin Alliance is getting ready to run Dead Silence Forest. Would you be interested, Brother Ye Feng? Of course, you can pick whatever gear you want."
"You're too kind, Brother Cixin, but I have other things to take care of. I'll join you some other time," Shi Feng politely declined.
Cixin had spoken loudly, and all the players nearby had heard him clearly.
They had assumed Shi Feng was just a newbie who'd been invited over by the goddess through sheer luck. But now even Cixin from the Assassin Alliance wanted to befriend him. What was going on?
The Assassin Alliance was a famous major guild near White River City, and Cixin was the deputy leader of its elite team. Someone of his stature would never associate with ordinary players, yet he wanted to befriend Shi Feng—and Shi Feng had turned him down. That was incredibly domineering.
No one would believe Shi Feng was a newbie now. There had to be more to the story.
Everyone guessed that Shi Feng was a hidden expert, unknown to ordinary players. Otherwise, why would one big shot after another seek him out?
"Boss Tian Wang, Cixin actually wants to be friends with that newbie. Am I dreaming?" Bu Yu Xia Ye was stunned. Was this really the same Shi Feng they had known as a newbie?
Tian Wang Hui Hui felt awful. He had still been holding on to some hope, but now Cixin, a major figure, had shattered it completely. Shi Feng wasn't a newbie—he was definitely an expert, just as Lonely As Snow had said, perhaps an even greater one. If they followed Shi Feng, they were sure to have a bright future in God's Domain. But they had driven him away, missing a golden opportunity to befriend an expert.
"Boss, why don't we go apologize? Experts are usually magnanimous. Maybe he'll forgive us, and then we can get on his good side," Yi Zhan Dao Di suggested.
Bu Yu Xia Ye nodded, fully agreeing.
Just as Shi Feng's party was heading for the exit, Tian Wang Hui Hui and the others ran over.
"Big brother expert, we misunderstood you earlier. We apologize. Please forgive us for our ignorance. This one silver coin is just a token of our sincerity. We hope you'll accept it." Tian Wang Hui Hui had completely lost his earlier arrogance. He put on a fawning smile as he spoke.
Bu Yu Xia Ye and Yi Zhan Dao Di also apologized repeatedly and sincerely, hoping to go grind monsters with Shi Feng.
"If you don't have anything else, please leave. I have things to do and don't have time to waste on you." Shi Feng turned and left as soon as he finished speaking. He hadn't paid any attention to Tian Wang Hui Hui and the others' behavior, but there was no way he was taking them along.
Lonely As Snow merely watched Tian Wang Hui Hui and the others and shook his head. He sighed inwardly: if only they had known better sooner.
Seeing Lonely As Snow leave with Shi Feng, Bu Yu Xia Ye curled his lip and said sourly, "Hmph. What's so great about him? I'll become an expert too, one day."
Only Tian Wang Hui Hui knew that Lonely As Snow was destined to rise to great heights. They would never belong to the same world again.