Chapter 211-3: Black Market Trading Center (3) |
He promptly switched goods, purchasing a stick of energy paste similar to those produced by the Anti-Tide Legion, priced at 11 sacrificial power in the shop.
Taking the energy paste, the old chief’s gaze wandered over him as if searching for a spatial tool. Then, with suspicion, he took a bite.
This time the old chief’s eyes lit up. He nodded excitedly.
“The energy content of this food is very high. Our Night Sky race needs it very much.”
“How many Kacrisp Fruit can it be exchanged for?”
The old chief did not answer directly. Holding the energy paste in his hand, he muttered. A white mist spread from his palm, covering the energy paste.
“Based on the energy content of the food, give me 15 sticks, and I can give you one Kacrisp Fruit.”
This answer made Zhong Yi instantly overjoyed.
The reasonable price in his mind was around 200 sacrificial power.
What Zhong Yi did not know was that in the production process of such energy foods mixed from spiritual materials, there was inevitably a certain loss.
The old chief was not stupid. The price he gave took potential production loss into account, which was why he set it at 15 sticks.
With the other party’s willingness to trade confirmed, the next step was how to trade.
If he handed goods over directly, Zhong Yi feared he would not get the goods back. It was better to inspect the goods first.
He currently still had 7,612 sacrificial power on him, enough to buy 693 sticks of energy paste.
“Old chief, this is our first trade. How about you give me 46 Kacrisp Fruit, and I give you 693 sticks of energy paste?”
“Alright, come with me.” The old chief nodded without hesitation.
Following the old chief to a house piled of stone, the old chief pushed open the door. A rich fragrance rushed out at once. Inside, the room was piled with Kacrisp Fruit wrapped in leaves.
Zhong Yi’s heart pounded. He suddenly understood why plunder was the main theme of the Monster World.
Trade was troublesome, and the profit was not high.
Plunder was different. That was the path to getting rich in one wave.
At this time the old chief entered the house and began carrying out Kacrisp Fruit, placing 46 of them before Zhong Yi.
Zhong Yi did not hesitate either. After opening the shop and sweeping up goods, with a wave of his hand, 693 sticks of energy paste were piled in front of him.
But just as he was about to pick up the Kacrisp Fruit on the ground, the old chief’s withered hand grabbed his wrist in one move.
“Foreign guest, the spatial device on your body, how many Kacrisp Fruit can it be exchanged for?”
Seeing the greed on the old chief’s face, Zhong Yi could not help but sigh.
“Old chief, I know what you are thinking. Do you want to gamble with the lives of your entire race?”
Seeing the calmness in Zhong Yi’s eyes, the old chief hesitated, then finally withdrew his hand resentfully.
The greed in his heart briefly took the upper hand, but was ultimately suppressed by dread. He did not dare gamble the race’s future for immediate profit.
Zhong Yi appeared calm on the surface, but inside he was panicking like crazy.
If he got robbed, more than seven thousand sacrificial power would be gone.
That would be worse than killing him.
Once he got back to the little black room, he would bawl for three days before he could recover.
Stowing the 46 Kacrisp Fruit into his inventory, Zhong Yi turned to leave accompanied by Night Wolf.
Along the way, he summoned the Trading House and began listing goods.
He consigned each Kacrisp Fruit at a price of 220 sacrificial power.
The proceeds from 46 Kacrisp Fruit, after deducting the handling fee, came to 9,614 sacrificial power. With the Gold Coin Inherited soul’s bonus added after the transaction, that was 10,767 sacrificial power.
After subtracting costs, the profit was 3,155 sacrificial power.
He had struck it rich.
He now had to sell the Kacrisp Fruit as quickly as possible, then return to the Night Sky race to continue trading.
He would strip away all the Kacrisp Fruit except what the Night Sky race needed to offer up, then come back for the next round a few months later when the Kacrisp Fruit ripened.
Facts proved that the mysterious merchant route was completely viable.
One round of trade could earn at least several tens of thousands in profit.
The only problem was that safety was not very high.
A race as weak as the Night Sky race dared to harbor thoughts against him. If he encountered a stronger race, they would probably strike directly.
Not long after the small boat left the island, trade notifications from the Trading House kept ringing in his mind.
All 46 Kacrisp Fruit were sold out in just five minutes.
This made Zhong Yi feel he had left too early. He immediately turned back to Night Sky Island, ready for the next round of trading.
The trading continued into the next day.
The old chief was dumbfounded the entire time.
He could not understand why this self-proclaimed merchant had to rest for a while after each transaction, then continue trading.
Why could he not complete the trade in one go.
The next day, after Zhong Yi left the island, the goods that the Night Sky race could sell had been completely bought up by him.
Total profit reached: 31,700 points of sacrificial power.
The positive flow of fortune qi generated 38 Gold Coins for him, which, after sacrificing to the Emperor’s Sign, yielded 3,800 points of sacrificial power.
With wealth skyrocketing, Zhong Yi gained confidence in the trade route.
Facts proved that the mysterious merchant route was practically a shortcut to getting rich. Making money was too easy.
Summoning the map, he began selecting the next island.
Two days later, Zhong Yi set foot on Volcano Island.
This was an island covered in active volcanoes, with waves of heat rolling through the air.
After finally making landfall, Zhong Yi was not so lucky this time. Before he could make contact and communicate with the island’s alien race, he was swiftly sent back to Emperor’s Mound Village.
So angry he cursed aloud, he felt he had wasted a huge amount of time.
But after the anger passed, he shared his situation in the Merchant Group and then began scrolling through the chat logs of group members.
He discovered that over these days, group members had already summarized three ways to obtain extra profit through the Gold Coin trait.
The first method, which group members called: Goblin Merchant.
The term Goblin Merchant originated in Earth’s ancient era, that is, the period before joining the Earth Alliance.
At that time there were also game players on Earth, playing mobile and PC games.
He did not know the history of that time in detail, only that goblins were a type of monster in fantasy works and were often used to describe players who were greedy, shrewd, and adept at doing business and hoarding wealth.
This term passed down through the changes of the times to the present.
Goblin players are very similar to Hamster Party players, but the feature of Hamster Party players is hoarding, being reluctant to use various resources, and enjoying the sense of security brought by the growth of supplies.
Goblin players, on the other hand, like wealth appreciation.
Therefore, the term Goblin Merchant carries both a teasing meaning and recognition of their business acumen.
The Goblin Merchant playstyle does not produce goods. It makes profit by buying low and selling high, operating on goods listed in the shop.
For example, hoarding Iron Shell Bug silk in the early stage and selling it at several times the price when it rises, thereby earning considerable profit.
The Goblin Merchant playstyle requires players to monitor price fluctuations of Trading House items in real time and to have keen judgment about market changes. If played poorly, it is easy to lose money.
The second method, which group members called: Mysterious Merchant.
The Mysterious Merchant is a character commonly present in many games, a special NPC designed by the game officials for fun.
Mysterious Merchant trading has three notable characteristics.
The first characteristic is appearing at random locations and times, giving players a sense of anticipation and increasing fun.
The second characteristic is that the goods sold by the Mysterious Merchant are difficult to obtain through regular in-game channels, such as rare equipment, special materials, limited items, and so on.
The third characteristic is time-limited trading. Mysterious goods usually stay at a location for only a limited time and then disappear, making it easy for players to miss them.
The Mysterious Merchant playstyle requires the player to play a merchant roaming around to contact alien races in different regions.
Sell goods that alien races cannot obtain through normal channels, and then earn profit from them.
Just like Zhong Yi selling energy paste developed by the Anti-Tide Legion to the Night Sky race, which was a special product the Night Sky race could not obtain from other channels.
The third method, which group members called: Trade Merchant.
This playstyle is the most difficult and requires one team or even multiple teams to cooperate.
Negotiate with the strong races to establish stable trade channels. It is an upgraded version of the Mysterious Merchant model, increasing one’s own bargaining power through cooperation among players.
At present, the players in the group were all playing the Mysterious Merchant model.
Among these three models, the most unstable is the Goblin Merchant.
Trading House item price changes are affected by multiple factors, especially sudden updates that can make the price of a certain item surge, which cannot be predicted.
Version updates are too fast, making it hard for players to grasp opportunities.
Moreover, this playstyle is not favored by mainstream players.
In the game Monster World, all players are one whole. The behavior of hoarding and reselling goods internally will inevitably be condemned.