Sudden Wealth

In the City of Chasing Light, within the Crystal Race's abandoned sector.

"Brother Hou Fei, one of the White Feather Gang's cultivation bases was wiped out by a mysterious force. All five Apprentice-level experts and over forty members, not a single one escaped," a tall Crystal Race woman with a ruby embedded on her forehead said urgently as she entered the room, nearly bumping into Hou Fei, who was resting.

Hou Fei had initially intended to reprimand the Crystal Race woman before him, but upon hearing the news, he shot to his feet.

"What did you say? One of the White Feather Gang's cultivation bases was wiped out, and no one escaped?" Hou Fei sounded incredulous. "That was one of the White Feather Gang's cultivation bases! How could it be that not a single person escaped?"

Hou Fei was very familiar with the White Feather Gang, having encountered them the most in the wilderness, and they often clashed.

Because of these constant frictions, Hou Fei knew very well how strong the defense of a White Feather Gang cultivation base was. Normally, at least one Intermediate Apprentice would be stationed there, and that Intermediate Apprentice could hold their own against a High-level Apprentice without protective gear for a short period.

With such a powerful expert stationed there, if they detected an attack by a High-level Apprentice with their subordinates, even with signal jamming, they would choose to evacuate immediately. If forty or so people scattered and fled, it would be extremely difficult to capture all of them.

Even the fastest High-level Apprentices could only catch about four or five fleeing individuals at best. To capture all forty or so meant the attacking side either had a very large number of people and had completely surrounded the cultivation base beforehand.

Or, it would require over ten Apprentice-level experts coordinating with dozens of Quasi-Apprentices to possibly eliminate everyone within the White Feather Gang's base.

Either of these scenarios would be astonishing news.

"Yes, the White Feather Gang people came over and notified us, saying they are willing to reward 100 kilograms of monster meat and one million Bits for anyone who can provide even a single concrete clue!" the Crystal Race woman nodded emphatically, looking quite pleased. "Brother Hou Fei, if we can find out which gang did this, then you'll have a shot at becoming a Quasi-Martial Artist!"

"It's not as simple as you think. Since they could silently destroy a White Feather Gang base, their strength is not to be underestimated. If we find out the concrete information and hand it over to the White Feather Gang, we'll be offending that force," Hou Fei shook his head, but he still instructed, "However, you should still tell everyone to be careful when they go out. Even if you find out any intelligence, don't rush to claim the bounty."

"Understood." The Crystal Race woman then left the room.

"Another gang rising in the wilderness?" Hou Fei watched the woman leave, his gaze becoming serious.

The wilderness cake was only so big. For every gang that rose in the wilderness, another would fall. And when that happened, other wilderness gangs wouldn't just stand by; they would definitely interfere, making the wilderness even more dangerous.

In the abandoned sector, outside the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

"Little Lin, you guys need to be careful during this period. The wilderness probably won't be peaceful anymore," Qin Mu said to Lin Qi, speaking earnestly. "The White Feather Gang is probably going all out this time. One hundred kilograms of monster meat and one million Bits—even many people from the major gangs in the suburbs will be tempted. They'll be investigating this matter with all their might, and the force that wiped out the White Feather Gang's base will likely be found out soon. That mysterious gang is also very powerful, and there will definitely be a major battle in the wilderness. You guys shouldn't get involved in anything like that."

"Don't worry, Brother Qin. We'll be careful," Lin Qi nodded and smiled. "We're just a small gang, so we definitely won't get involved in the struggle between wilderness forces."

"It's good that you understand," Qin Mu said with relief, his gaze sweeping over the completely transformed Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, the medium-sized transport vehicles and three Big Three-Wheelers parked inside, and the dozens of players constantly moving things. He couldn't help but sigh, "I really didn't expect that after just a few days, your base would look so presentable, and its scale would grow so quickly. It's almost comparable to some ordinary gangs in the wilderness."

Qin Mu remembered that just a few days ago, the entire Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was in a state of disrepair, without even a complete wall, with the interior exposed to the elements, and only about ten people.

Now, the walls of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall were all repaired, and even five to six tenths of the martial arts hall's walls had been fixed. In the abandoned sector filled with ruined buildings, this was quite luxurious, comparable to the strongholds of some major gangs in the wilderness.

However, what was even more astonishing was the personnel and equipment of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall. With a staff of thirty people now, plus a medium-sized transport vehicle and three Big Three-Wheelers, this foundation was already comparable to ordinary gangs in the wilderness.

"We were lucky and took on a few big jobs, so we just rented a few more vehicles," Lin Qi replied with a smile.

The income of wilderness gangs, besides cultivating Blood Essence Rice in the wilderness, also included transportation. After all, many raw materials were in the wilderness, and numerous companies and suburban gangs needed some daredevil vagrants to complete these low-level jobs. Thus, wilderness gangs became the best choice.

With a certain level of strength and a disregard for their lives, they were perfectly suited to complete many dirty and arduous tasks, and this income was a substantial amount for wilderness gangs.

Extreme Apprentices like Qin Mu would also take on transportation and escort jobs. However, the items being transported were of very high grade, commissioned by some major gangs in the suburbs, and ordinary wilderness gangs were not qualified to take them.

"Keep up the good work!" Qin Mu patted Lin Qi on the shoulder. "Once you have some strength, I can introduce you to many good jobs."

"Then thank you, Brother Qin," Lin Qi said, delighted.

He had been a bit worried about how the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would increase its income in the future. After all, the profits from underground cultivation were meager compared to the ever-increasing demands of players for various resources. The income from underground cultivation and transporting ore was not enough to even scratch the surface.

After Lin Qi saw Qin Mu off, he immediately instructed the players to quickly move the spoils from the vehicles.

This kept Lin Qi busy until late into the night before he could truly tally the spoils from the eradication and the rewards for all the players.

"The White Feather Gang is truly rich. No wonder they could easily offer one million Bits," Lin Qi said, looking at the organized items in his notebook, feeling a mix of emotions.

Putting aside the various items, the cash alone from this haul exceeded 200,000 Bits. He wondered what the White Feather Gang planned to do with this money stored in their safe, but now it had all fallen into his hands.

With this money added to the cash he already had, the total amount reached 600,000, which should be just enough to repair the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.

Furthermore, the biggest gain was the three vehicles. Among them, the medium-sized vintage transport vehicle was the most valuable, with even used ones on the market costing over 300,000. Although useless against wilderness monsters, they could withstand attacks from Apprentice-level experts.

Luo Qi had already inspected them thoroughly, and all three vehicles were in perfect condition and could be used freely.

After all, there were too many old vehicles like these in the wilderness. Major gangs would either rob each other or be robbed, making them no different from public property. There was no need to install trackers; if you had the ability, you just went and stole them.

Besides the three vehicles, the next most precious items were the twenty weapons and twenty sets of armor previously crafted by the Green Sparrow Gang.

These were Grade A5 weapons and Grade A4 armor that the Green Sparrow Gang had commissioned Luo Qi to create at a great expense for their gang captains, with a total value exceeding 300,000. Unfortunately, these Grade A5 weapons were all spears, with no other types of weapons. However, the Grade A4 armor would save Lin Qi a significant amount of money.

The price of armor of the same grade on the market was much more expensive than weapons.

Grade A4 armor could be considered standard protective gear for novice apprentices, capable of normally withstanding attacks from novice apprentices.

Although the Grade A4 armor seemed to have little effect against Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei's Black Steel Arrows, if the White Feather Gang's captains had not had Grade A4 armor, they would not have been able to suppress Luo Wu Shang and Zhang Qingwei through their combined efforts. Often, armor could turn fatal wounds into serious injuries, or even minor injuries, and also allow for more freedom in combat.

Adding the weapons and equipment seized from the White Feather Gang members, there were over sixty spears, more than thirty composite bows, over three hundred arrows, and more than thirty sets of Grade A4 armor, which was enough to fully equip all the players.

However, compared to these vehicles and weapons, Lin Qi's attention was focused on the food and electrical equipment listed in his notebook.

"As expected of a White Feather Gang cultivation base. Three large generators, as long as the energy ore mined underground is sufficient, they can normally supply power to three martial arts halls. The inventory of Blood Essence Rice is 454.8 kilograms, immature Blood Essence Rice is 3522.5 kilograms, and Blood Essence Rice seeds are 23549 plants."

"With this haul, the mature Blood Essence Rice can be sold, and the immature Blood Essence Rice can be sold to players to accelerate their physical improvements. Moreover, for a considerable period in the future, I won't need to buy Blood Essence Rice seeds anymore. This saves a lot of trouble."

Looking at the supplies in his notebook, Lin Qi suddenly felt that not only would he no longer need to purchase food for the players, but he could also make a substantial profit from them, and even accelerate their physical improvements. It was truly killing three birds with one stone.

While immature Blood Essence Rice was much inferior to mature Blood Essence Rice in terms of providing vitality, it was still much better than synthesized food.

Of course, the immature Blood Essence Rice sold to players would be much cheaper than what he acquired from them, at 10 points per ten grams of immature Blood Essence Rice.

However, considering that players would privately consume Blood Essence Rice, in the future, when acquiring Blood Essence Rice, in addition to points rewards, he would also give contribution rewards. This way, players, considering the value of contribution, would definitely continue to sell mature Blood Essence Rice to him.

"It seems I need to establish a tiered system for contributions. Players with higher contributions could earn titles like Inner Disciple or Elite Disciple, granting them greater privileges within the martial arts hall. For instance, future contributions could be discounted to 95% or even 90%." Lin Qi mused, realizing this was an excellent way to harvest player engagement.

This would not only motivate players to earn contributions more actively but also boost their sense of accomplishment, killing two birds with one stone.

Status and prestige!

What player could ever resist those two things?

"Hmm, a Martial Artist Level Palm Technique?"

Lin Qi glanced at a heavily wrapped, thick book inside the White Feather Gang's safe. When he saw the words "Martial Artist Level Palm Technique" printed on its cover, he was astonished.

He never expected a mere White Feather Gang to possess a Martial Artist Level martial skill, something incredibly rare even among the major families in the City of Light Chasing.

A new week has arrived! Requesting monthly votes!!! Requesting follow-up reads!!! Requesting recommendations!!! (ㄒoㄒ)/ Read, read, read