Surprise

Lawless's latest offer surprised Qin Ran.

Never mind that the offer was already close to Qin Ran's target price.

The other party's approach alone was enough to make Qin Ran take notice.

After all, among the valuable private messages, Lawless was the only one to make a direct offer. The rest were either vague or deliberately mysterious.

Clearly, Qin Ran had asked for an outrageous price, and these likely veteran players were all haggling him down.

And if they could, they would not mind taking advantage of Qin Ran.

Qin Ran had experienced such things more than once in reality.

But the player nicknamed Lawless was different. These consecutive offers showed that he was extremely eager to buy the [Iron Fist-II]—he had practically handed the initiative to Qin Ran.

That was not something a shrewd person should do!

If Qin Ran had been an experienced merchant, he could have squeezed even more benefits out of the other party.

Although Qin Ran was not an experienced merchant, now that he held the initiative, achieving the same result would not be difficult.

He might even achieve a better result.

After thinking for a moment, Qin Ran sent the other party a private message and began communicating through text—

2567: You there?

Lawless: 10,000 Points and 5 Skill Points is a bit too expensive!

2567: It isn't expensive!

Lawless: It really is! Although the [Iron Fist-II] has powerful attack power and attributes, it can only fire one rocket. If it can't kill in one hit, you'll need other methods to follow up. Besides, even standard rockets in the [Shop] cost at least 500 Points each. It burns through money!

What the other party said was true.

But that was not a reason for Qin Ran to lower the price.

Between the lines, Qin Ran once again sensed the other party's impatience.

The other party desperately needed this equipment!

Perhaps he was about to face some monster.

Or perhaps he needed to solve some problem.

But that had nothing to do with Qin Ran. He only knew that the other party had not shown enough sincerity, and that he could get more!

Just as Qin Ran organized his thoughts and prepared to type another reply—

Ding!

"The [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher listed by the player has been sold. Please collect 10,000 Points and 5 Skill Points!"

After the crisp chime, the mechanical voice in Qin Ran's room sounded.

Qin Ran froze.

The next moment, the corners of his mouth curled up into a brilliant smile.

This was an unexpected windfall!

He had never expected the [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher to sell at that listed price.

Qin Ran knew very well that the price he had listed was inflated for the [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher—7,000 to 8,000 Points and 2 to 3 Skill Points would have been more reasonable.

Qin Ran lacked enough experience to accurately judge the value of Skill Points.

But as something necessary to raise skills to the "Mastery" level, Qin Ran believed they were extremely valuable.

At the very least, far more valuable than Points.

That was why he had never expected such an inflated price to sell.

Unless someone urgently needed it!

Even more urgently than Lawless, who was talking to him!

Subconsciously, Qin Ran thought of the two guilds currently fighting.

Steam City and Steel Chariot!

Individual players and guilds were entirely different concepts.

To an individual player, a price that high was astronomical. To a guild, it might merely be a little expensive.

Never underestimate the power of a group.

Before one reached the point of crushing everything, strength in numbers remained the truth.

It was like when Qin Ran faced more than a dozen rebel soldiers at once in the Beginner Instance.

Even though he could easily kill any one of them in a one-on-one fight, once more than a dozen of them gathered together, Qin Ran still had no choice but to retreat in disgrace.

"Have the two guilds' battle really become this intense?"

Qin Ran muttered to himself.

Although Qin Ran occasionally heard explosions, he had not thought the fighting would be so fierce.

Direct battles between guilds could sometimes be childish. Even a single insult could spark a fight.

But once the initial anger faded, things would quickly settle down.

Qin Ran had also experienced guild wars while working at a gold-farming studio, but most of them started with a bang and ended with a whimper.

Unless... there was something they could not give up.

That something included, but was not limited to, equipment, territory, talent, and women.

Especially the last one. Its power was immense and unpredictable.

And now, one of Steam City and Steel Chariot had spent a huge sum to buy the [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher. Add in the price of a large number of rockets—

It was obvious they intended to fight to the death!

This [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher would inevitably fall into one side's hands, leaving the other side in a position where it could only take a beating.

What if another [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher appeared at this moment?

Immediately, Qin Ran looked at the remaining [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher, his eyes gleaming with gold.

Qin Ran saw another ten thousand or more Points, along with even more Skill Points, waving at him.

As long as one side was hurt badly enough, even if Qin Ran raised the price a little, they would not mind.

Narrowing his eyes, the smile on Qin Ran's lips grew even brighter.

Beep beep!

The private message window flashed again. Lawless had contacted Qin Ran once more.

Lawless: ...

Lawless: Guilds driving up prices! Lone wolves have no rights!

The other party's words carried dissatisfaction, but even more self-mockery.

Clearly, he also knew exactly who had bought the [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher.

Qin Ran smiled when he saw it, then raised his hand and sent over a screenshot of the remaining [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher.

Lawless: You still have one?

Lawless: That isn't a screenshot you saved from before, is it?

First surprise, then suspicion.

That was completely understandable. Qin Ran was not angry in the slightest. He directly opened a private trade between them and placed the [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher inside.

Beep beep!

Immediately, the private message window began chiming nonstop.

Lawless: Brother, did you rob an armory or something?!

Lawless: What other good stuff do you have?

Lawless: Take it out and let me see!

Lawless: I'll definitely give you a fair price!

More than ten private messages arrived in a row.

2567: 15,000 Points, 8 Skill Points.

After sending that one reply, Qin Ran left the other party in silence.

Only after a while did the other party respond.

Lawless: Brother, you're way too much of a profiteer! It was 10,000 Points and 5 Skill Points before! This is way too high!

2567: You said it was too high before too!

2567: It won't be long before someone accepts this price!

Qin Ran's reply silenced the other party once again.

If the other party could guess who had bought the previous [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher, Qin Ran believed he could also foresee what would happen next.

They only needed to wait a little longer. This price might not fail to sell.

After a brief silence, the other party replied again.

Lawless: I need it urgently. Can we trade items instead?

Seeing this reply, Qin Ran smiled again and quickly sent a response.

2567: Item trades are fine. Valuable information works too.

After typing those few words, Qin Ran quietly waited for the other party's answer.

Qin Ran knew the remaining [Iron Fist-II] Rocket Launcher could sell for a higher price, yet he was still chatting with the other party because he wanted more useful items and information.

Otherwise, he only needed to wait quietly.

This time, the other party remained silent even longer.

A full five minutes later, he replied.

Lawless: I don't have any valuable information for now.

Lawless: But I have a blueprint here.

[Name: Basic Medicine Crafting Station Blueprint]

[Type: Crafting Blueprint]

[Quality: Common]

[Requirement: Medical and Pharmaceutical Knowledge (Mastery)]

[Remark: It is only a basic crafting platform, so do not expect too much. Bandages are its limit, with a small chance of producing Advanced Bandages!]

...

The other party had made the blueprint's attributes public, so Qin Ran could see them clearly.

"Crafting bandages, with a small chance of producing Advanced Bandages?"

Qin Ran pondered.

Being able to craft bandages, with a small chance of producing Advanced Bandages, was naturally quite good.

Medical supplies sold very well among players.

In the game's [Shop], ordinary bandages cost 5 Points, while Advanced Bandages cost 40 Points.

Among players, the prices dropped slightly. Ordinary bandages cost 3 Points, while Advanced Bandages remained between 30 and 35 Points.

If he could produce them himself, it would naturally be enormously profitable!

However, Qin Ran did not lose his composure over the potential profits.

His previous general understanding of the Underground Game made Qin Ran aware that the crafting process could not possibly create things from nothing. Otherwise, there would be no such thing as raw materials in the game's [Shop].

Furthermore, aside from requiring [Medical and Pharmaceutical Knowledge (Mastery)], building this platform would also cost something. After all, it was only a blueprint, not an item.

Qin Ran had reason to believe that the cost would be considerable.

Otherwise, the other party would definitely have built it himself.

Perhaps the other party was also restricted by the skill requirement.

But regardless, the existence of these factors greatly reduced the blueprint's value.

Qin Ran organized his words and replied.

2567: That isn't enough! I don't have the corresponding skill, and I can't afford the potentially enormous cost.

Although Qin Ran had the skill [Medical and Pharmaceutical Knowledge (Basic)], and could raise it to Mastery in a short time with his current Points and Skill Points—

He would never tell the other party that.

It was a necessary tactic for driving down the price.

The other party did not refute Qin Ran and tacitly accepted his words.

Then, he placed another item in the trade window.

[Name: Solo Instance Cooldown Accelerator Card]

[Type: Card]

[Quality: Common]

[Attribute: Instantly completes the cooldown of a solo instance]

[Remark: It is useless to cowards, but priceless to warriors]

...

The moment he saw this item, a sharp glint flashed in Qin Ran's eyes.