Chapter 470: The Players Here Are Really Enthusiastic
Even someone like Richie Burke—who had seen similar grand scenes—was stunned, let alone the other NPCs.
Even a king's arrival probably wouldn't draw a crowd like this. Several enforcers from the War God Church's professional squads were already hesitating over whether they should step in to maintain order.
Zhou Ning was a bit taken aback. Even back in Darkland he had never seen such a turnout. A welcome on both sides of the street—if someone handed out flowers, it would be a full parade. Were players from other nations really this devoted to him?
It almost felt like coming home. Was this the warmth of family?
As a livestreamer selling goods today, Zhou Ning really wanted to raise a hand and greet them with a "Hello, family!" But he decided against it.
Otherwise he might go soft on his "family" later and be unable to swing the knife.
Fortunately, two nights ago, thanks to the guild's hardcore grinders, the guild level had risen to Level 3. The player capacity had increased by another hundred slots, bringing the total up to 230.
For this sale, he had prepared a massive stock of universal skills for every class, enhancement potions, high-grade equipment, Starry Sky Guild invitations, and more. He was determined to profit big.
Considering he still had to attend a banquet at Viscount Hall's residence later in the evening, earning two to three hundred million experience in about eight hours didn't seem impossible.
A warm smile appeared on Zhou Ning's face.
Right then, a male player squeezed past everyone to reach the front of the crowd. He was the first to approach and submit the regional quest.
His ID was Malt Sugar, a newly minted Level 14 newbie. A complete nobody who had only joined Apocalypse recently. After learning about Zhou Ning's strength—along with that of wandering gunslingers—from forums and the series, he had held off on choosing a main class and went straight for gunslinger, planning to learn some skills and buy new equipment.
This was exactly the kind of newbie Zhou Ning loved to see. Every new wandering gunslinger was a fresh stalk of chives waiting to be harvested—a long-term investment.
After completing the quest and expressing his desire to view the personal shop, Malt Sugar finally got to see the shop list.
"So many pieces of equipment and potions… you can learn so many skills, too, but I don't meet the requirements for most of them, and they're insanely expensive…"
Staring at his pitiful 100,000 experience, Malt Sugar felt the agony of being experience-poor for the first time.
What confused him was that the prices seemed higher than in earlier videos. For instance, the Demon Fruit he had always dreamed of now cost 1,600 Vecktas. That was definitely more than a 10% markup, right?
He bought a few must-learn skills that forum experts recommended—like several gun arts—but the rest left him dazzled. At the bottom of the list, Malt Sugar was shocked.
"These are… universal skills? Blazing Wave Sword? Scarlet Blade? Rapid Healing? Lightning Strike? And Giant Strength?"
"Whoa, what the heck is this? Zealot's Blade, Justicar… damn, that's so cool! There's even the Phoenix Battle Suit the protagonist wore in episode 4—and again in episode 10! Holy crap, it's a divine artifact! And the price is 12,000 Vecktas? Only an idiot would buy that!"
A hardcore fan of the series, Malt Sugar knew everything about Zhou Ning's gear and couldn't help being stunned.
These had to be special surprises prepared for the players of the Sepharic Kingdom!
He took screenshots and posted them on the forum. After watching Darkland players flaunt their exclusive goods for so long, it was finally their turn.
Even Darkland players felt a twinge of jealousy when they saw the massive selection.
Why didn't they have all this back then?
More and more players pushed forward, surrounding Zhou Ning from all sides as they began frenzied shopping. The numbers on his interface soared nonstop.
Family really was the best! Zhou Ning couldn't help smiling.
He had originally assumed there wouldn't be many un-classed newbies in Nathaniell, but clearly he had underestimated the numbers. After Malt Sugar, many more newbies bought class-change books, bringing both money and experience flowing in.
Veteran players focused on a few key universal skills and equipment. Wayne Six Styles, Blazing Wave Sword, Rapid Healing—these were practically essential. Missing even one meant falling behind.
Among the long queue, Zhou Ning spotted Yanran Weile, Yu Qiwen, and other professional players from the Sepharic Kingdom. He also saw Jinse and Sunken Star Beneath the Water excitedly waving at him from the crowd and smiled back.
[Player Alex purchased your Demon Fruit. You gained 1600 Vecktas.]
[Player Alex purchased a Starry Sky Guild Invitation. You gained 700 Vecktas.]
[Player Sunken Star Beneath the Water purchased Justicar. You gained 8000 Vecktas.]
[Player Sunken Star Beneath the Water purchased the Phoenix Battle Suit. You gained 12000 Vecktas.]
Zhou Ning saw the stock in his shop rapidly falling. With professional players leading the charge, countless others shopped like mad.
The best-selling items were [Rapid Healing] and [Wayne Six Styles]. There were over ten thousand players here today, and just as Zhou Ning expected, the profits were astronomical—over a million experience per minute.
Before arriving, he had intentionally lowered the prices of these popular skills by 10%, setting them around forty to fifty thousand experience. With over a million players gathered in Nathaniell—and removing life-class players and those without enough experience—even if just one-tenth of them purchased the skills, he wouldn't have to worry about experience for a long time.
As someone experienced in such matters, he knew forty thousand experience was just the right amount to squeeze mid-tier players dry. Setting the prices low was all about volume. Otherwise, he might miss out on those who could barely spare the experience—and he wouldn't be able to operate here forever.
Besides that, three Demon Fruits sold for 1,600 Vecktas each. The buyers were pro players from other countries—Alex, Yanran Weile, and Star Moon Club's Moonshadow Starsong. They all intended to keep their fruit abilities secret until the tournament.
Sunken Star Beneath the Water also bought the Phoenix Battle Suit Zhou Ning had phased out. And worth noting—he had earlier purchased Zhou Ning's first-ever weapon, the ivory-handled Colt M1873 revolver. Truly a devoted little fan.
Most surprising of all were the fifty Starry Sky Guild invitations he brought—they sold out instantly. Even though he priced them 200 higher than in Darkland, rampant forum theories about Starry Sky being a secret organization made players rush to buy them anyway.
He kept selling for nearly eight hours. When the clock hit 4 p.m., Zhou Ning finally ended the day's business amid the players' reluctant wails. He had to attend Viscount Hall's banquet, and there were still things he needed to take care of.
Checking his game panel, his balance now showed 479 million.
Considering he had spent all his experience yesterday, this meant he had harvested over 400 million experience from the players of the Sepharic Kingdom—twice what he expected.
How many "family members" had he harvested today?
Zhou Ning silently repented. This—was the power of revenge spending.
Judging from today's turnout, the demand for universal skills was immense. And this was only scratching the surface. Zhou Ning made up his mind: he would come back here every day for the next few days.
Ignoring the players' pleas, he casually posted a long-term quest for collecting rare herbs for his alchemy shop. Anyone submitting herbs would receive small amounts of money, experience, and favorability based on their value. Then he left and took a carriage toward the Adventurer Guild in District Five.
He was poor now—and this kind of win-win business was something he could do more often.
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