In the end, someone bought the [Silver Wolf Bracelet] for 20,000 yuan, leaving Wu Shaozhen baffled. Even this could sell for twenty thousand? He could only marvel at how rich people were. After grinding silver wolves for another hour or so, he finally couldn't keep going. He really wanted to keep grinding-he didn't have a job to go to, after all, and he would be making his living from the game now. With his current lead, this was the perfect chance to earn money.
But his body simply couldn't handle more than ten hours of fighting in a single day. He listed the [Silver Wolf Armor] that had just dropped on the Auction House. Since he already had the [Boar King Armor], he had no need for this [Silver Wolf Armor], which gave +80 HP and +2 defense. Still, its stats were decent and leaned toward HP. It might just push someone's HP up to the next threshold and give them a little more health regeneration.
Anonymous listing, auction mode, confirm, log out...
Wu Shaozhen took off his helmet and rubbed his head, feeling groggy. It looked like he needed to save up for a gaming pod. He had heard that playing while lying in one kept the player's real body in optimal condition. Gaming pods also contained nutrient solution to replenish what the body needed. However, gaming still took a heavy mental toll, so players generally had to log out and rest after three days. That was still pretty good, though-at least it was much better than a gaming helmet. Unfortunately, gaming pods were ridiculously expensive, costing a million yuan each. They were strictly for the loaded.
Wu Shaozhen opened his phone and checked his bank balance: 307,300 yuan. Excitement lit up his face. He had never imagined he would earn three hundred thousand from the game on the very first day of launch. Three hundred thousand! With his old salary, it would have taken nearly ten years to earn that much, even without spending a penny on food or drink. Yet he had earned it in just one day in the game.
What now? I was so sleepy a moment ago, and now I suddenly can't sleep.
Oh well, I'll browse the forums...
Wu Shaozhen opened the forums. Sure enough, the first pinned post was about him again.
[How was the terrifying Boar King defeated?]
The post contained all sorts of analyses of the Boar King's stats, ending with a conclusion: no one could possibly defeat the Boar King at this stage. Still, they didn't dare accuse him of hacking. Everyone had felt how different this game was. It was truly a product ahead of its time, and cheats simply couldn't exist in it.
The post ended with an emphatic demand for Dustseal to share his strategy for defeating the Boar King.
Countless replies followed beneath it, all asking Wu Shaozhen to share his strategy, offering every lofty-sounding justification imaginable.
Wu Shaozhen smiled faintly after reading it. He couldn't be bothered to respond and continued browsing for posts that interested him.
After browsing for another ten minutes or so, Wu Shaozhen finally felt sleepy again. He set an alarm for six hours, then flopped onto his bed and fell fast asleep.
He slept until the alarm rang. Opening his eyes, he saw that it was still pitch-black outside. Although he wanted to sleep more, he couldn't afford to, or the lead he had worked so hard to build would disappear. When he logged out, the average level in the Novice Village had probably reached 4, while the stronger players were likely level 5 already. Although later levels required more experience, players were gradually getting stronger too. Six hours was plenty of time to gain a level or two.
Putting on his helmet, Wu Shaozhen quickly entered the game. A system notification soon sounded.
"Ding! The item you listed on the Auction House has been purchased by a player for 30,000 yuan. After deducting a transaction fee of 4,500 yuan, the remaining 25,500 yuan has been transferred to your linked account."
"Nice! Money waiting for me as soon as I log in." After thinking it over, he figured most players should have reached level 6 or even 7 by now. It was time to put that weapon up for auction.
Wu Shaozhen hurried toward the Novice Village. Ugh, all this running back and forth is such a hassle. Why doesn't the Novice Village sell town return scrolls?
As he passed through the Boar Forest, he found people everywhere. It seemed everyone had a particular fondness for boar equipment. Boars were quite difficult to farm, after all. Without enough agility, it was hard to dodge their Brutal Charge, and its 150% damage and one-second stun weren't something the average player could withstand. They would be better off fighting spiders. The spiders' skill only trapped people in webs, so with enough players, fighting spiders was much safer than fighting boars.
But none of that concerned Wu Shaozhen. Plenty of people had boar equipment by now, and his Boar King equipment looked much the same as the regular versions, so he couldn't be bothered to take it off anymore.
He soon returned to the Novice Village and retrieved the weapon, then listed it directly on the Auction House in auction mode with a ten-minute bidding period. After confirming the listing, Wu Shaozhen headed toward Silver Wolf Valley again.
As expected, the listing of the first black iron equipment caused a huge sensation. The regional channel instantly exploded.
"Holy shit, black iron equipment!"
"It adds 30 attack and another 10 strength-that's equivalent to 50 attack! This weapon alone gives more attack than all my gear combined. Black iron equipment really is badass."
"This must be the drop from killing the Boar King, right? So the expert who killed it really is in our Novice Village."
"Why would an expert sell such an awesome weapon? Does he already have something better?"
"No way. How could there be a weapon stronger than black iron equipment right now?"
"Who knows? Whatever, I'll try to buy it first. If I get my hands on it, I'll shoot straight to the top."
"Keep your eyes on it! I'm getting this weapon no matter what." Young Master Huang was already seething after other people had repeatedly snatched up the equipment he wanted lately. The appearance of this weapon excited him as though he had popped a Viagra. With this weapon, all those earlier pieces would be trash.
"Why did he wait so long to sell this weapon? Did he really find something better?" Lin Zi asked, looking puzzled.
"That's impossible, isn't it? Ordinary monsters in the Novice Village shouldn't drop black iron equipment. Unless he killed another black iron boss," Hao Ran said.
"How could there be that many bosses in the Novice Village? He's selling it now because players weren't high enough level to equip it earlier. It wouldn't have fetched much then. Now is the best time to sell, because most players have leveled up and need a powerful weapon to improve their grinding efficiency. As for whether he has a better weapon, who knows? Maybe the Boar King dropped more than one weapon," Jun Lin explained.
Probably none of them could imagine that the expert they admired was still hacking away at monsters with a Newbie Wooden Sword-and had never once broken through their defense.
"So are we going to bid on this weapon?" Xiao Bei asked.
"Of course we are, but its price is going to soar. We're professional players, after all. Although we've made some money over the years, we still can't compete with the truly wealthy. Let's do what we can," Jun Lin said gravely. Clearly, he wasn't confident they could win this weapon. They had only managed to buy a few pieces of equipment earlier by being clever, but that had also shown him how many rich players this Novice Village had.
"Miss, this weapon..." Uncle Liu approached Su Muxue, hesitating. He wanted to urge her to secure it at all costs, but worried she would want to weigh its value. His young lady had always been rational and rarely acted on impulse. That was actually an excellent trait, so he didn't know how to persuade her.
"Bid!" Su Muxue said.
Uncle Liu's eyes lit up at her words. "Yes, miss. Just wait for my good news."
The price of the [Tusk Greatblade] kept soaring. It was the first black iron weapon, and its bonus stats were simply irresistible. Whoever obtained it would see their attack roughly double, which would undoubtedly be an enormous improvement for early-game grinding.
Before long, its price surpassed the Auction House's previous record of 60,000 yuan and reached 80,000. By this point, there were noticeably fewer bidders. After all, not everyone could treat money like it was nothing.
Before you continue