Chapter 115: System Announcement

It was quite late after finishing a late-night snack with Lu Xuehan, and I slept soundly until noon the next day. Upon waking, I saw that Lu Xuehan had already finished her lunch and logged into the game; she had left some food for me on the table, which just needed a quick reheat.

By the time I finished eating and logged into the game, it was already two in the afternoon. Checking the system time, I saw today was Friday, meaning tomorrow was Saturday—the day of the public auction at the exchange. I had to decide today whether to auction the Guild Establishment Certificate or trade it directly to Murong Shan-shan.

I opened my friend list, saw that Murong Shan-shan was online, and sent her the item profile for the certificate.

Her reply came immediately via the communicator, her tone urgent: "Lin Fan, what level boss did this drop from?"

"A level 50 Gold boss that evolved into a level 60 one. Why?"

"Just asking. I took a team to farm a level 60 boss yesterday, and it didn't drop at all! It's so frustrating!"

"Nonsense. Even an 80-level boss only has a 10% drop rate; a 60-level one has at most 3%. It's not that easy to get!"

Murong Shan-shan chuckled. "True, but I don't think I want to buy this Guild Establishment Certificate..."

I was slightly surprised. "Why? Don't you want to be the first to establish a guild?"

"I do, very much. But the value of the first certificate is just too high; I don't want to waste it on myself. You should auction it off tomorrow; it will definitely fetch a sky-high price. As far as I know, this is the first one in all of 'Moon Eternal.' Besides, I'm not really interested in building the 'Number One Guild Under Heaven.' Being second or third is fine by me."

Murong Shan-shan was quite rational. Being the first to establish a guild brings immense exposure, but also the greatest pressure. The proverb says the nail that sticks out gets hammered down—the first team is always the target of jealousy, leading to malicious attacks and slander from both inside and out.

"Fine," I said with a smile. "That works too. Shan-shan, if I manage to get a second one, I'll definitely give you priority and a discount!"

Murong Shan-shan laughed, "Deal. By the way, I'll be out hunting bosses these next few days. If I get one, I'll start a guild, and you absolutely must come join it! Also, how did you level up so fast? Two levels in one night?"

"That's a secret."

"Pfft!"

After closing the communicator, I had to consider the starting bid for the auction.

Checking the rankings, I was now number one in Silvermoon City. The Knight "Let Go of That Girl" was second at level 41, Lu Xuehan third at 39, and Murong Shan-shan fourth at 38. The level gap narrowed significantly after that. There were over a million players at level 30 in the city, and Silvermoon City now hosted over five million players—these were the elite. Establishing a guild early meant every recruit would effectively be an elite player.

I checked my inventory: a level 42 purple axe, a level 36 blue high-end spear, a purple shield, the precious Guild Establishment Certificate, and nearly 30 blue items between levels 30-35, plus over 250 green items. These were all hot commodities right now.

It took over an hour to list everything at appropriate prices. I kept the high-end gear for last. The exchange allowed two types of currency: gold coins or RMB. Since I wasn't short on gold, I listed the rest for RMB. The level 36 spear, with its slowing effect, was listed at a starting price of 20,000 RMB. The level 42 axe started at 200,000 RMB; even if no one was that level yet, there would be plenty of people wanting such a high-end item. The level 40 purple "Ice Shield" was also listed at 200,000 RMB. Whether it sold or not, I would stick to my profiteering principles to the end!

To my surprise, the moment I listed the three items and the certificate, four system-wide announcements rang out in my ears!

"Ding!"

System Announcement: Player XXX has listed the purple equipment "Mad Dark Blade" on the exchange. It has been selected for tomorrow's system auction. Please keep an eye out!

System Announcement: Player XXX has listed the blue equipment "Ice Halberd" on the exchange. It has been selected for tomorrow's system auction. Please keep an eye out!

System Announcement: Player XXX has listed the purple equipment "Ice Shield" on the exchange. It has been selected for tomorrow's system auction. Please keep an eye out!

System Announcement: Player XXX has listed the special item "Guild Establishment Certificate" on the exchange. It has been selected for tomorrow's system auction. Please keep an eye out!

What was this? Was the system giving me free advertising? All four items made the list!

After the announcements, the city erupted in chaos. A player named "Windy Young Master" even paid 5,000 RMB for a system-wide shout: "Listen up, everyone in Silvermoon City! That guild certificate is mine! If anyone dares to bid against me tomorrow, I guarantee you won't have a good time in Silvermoon!"

So arrogant. Truly, he was a piece of work.

I sighed. To think such a person existed in this game. Indeed, it takes all sorts to make a world; all the ugliness of humanity was laid bare in this virtual reality.

Forget about that rich kid; I had a quest to finish! I checked my inventory—

Wait?

I still had 100 skeleton ribs and the Snowman King's Heart!

I was so stupid! Yesterday, while questing with Lu Xuehan, I had forgotten to turn in the Snowman King quest!

I had no choice but to make another trip. Given the difficulty of killing the Snowman King, the reward should at least be a blue item, if not purple.

I repaired my gear and set off on the long journey once more.

Silverpine Forest had become quite lively. Many players were grouping up on the outskirts to fight level 35 undead skeletons. These monsters had low defense but absurdly high attack; low-level mages with poor gear were likely to be one-shot.

Unlike the low-level players on the perimeter, a massive, high-level group had appeared deep in the forest. They ranged from level 32 to 38, totaling about 500 people. They were sweeping through the area, wiping out high-level Fire Dire Wolves in an instant!

Wait, the name of the mage leading them looked familiar...

"Windy Young Master"?

Isn't that the idiot who spent 5,000 RMB just to shout in the system?