Corridor No. 1, near the edge of the Wanxiang Celestial Tower, in front of a prime piece of land.
After William replied to Lilith's inquiry, he refocused his attention on the plot for sale marked on the virtual light screen before him.
The geographical location was impeccable, with convenient transportation.
Located in the premium commercial area of the plaza's inner ring, it had massive potential for foot traffic; the plot was regularly shaped and large enough to plan a fully functional architectural complex.
After selecting the area, William's finger hovered over the virtual "Confirm Purchase" button.
"Hey, you over there."
A gruff voice with an obvious commanding tone interrupted his focus, speaking in broken English.
William glanced sideways and saw five or six people surrounding a middle-aged man with a shaved head and a face full of scars walking over.
The man wore an expensive custom combat suit, and his eyes held a condescending look born from long-term command and privilege.
"We're taking all the land in the inner perimeter of the plaza! You can go to other Trading Platforms or check out the outer perimeter."
The bald man looked at William, his tone brook no argument.
The several people behind him either crossed their arms or wore playful expressions, looking as if they had William right where they wanted him.
Behind them was the entire Dragon Country; they had specifically come on orders from above to purchase land under Dragon Country's control on every platform.
Dragon Country even intended to buy up an entire Trading Platform plaza's land to serve as its base of operations.
For Dragon Country, which could mobilize hundreds of millions of players nationwide, this was no difficult task.
Originally, such a lucrative task would never have fallen to him; after all, it concerned the future development of Dragon Country and would typically be handled by professional surveyors and negotiators to discuss trades with surrounding Factions.
But in today's world, no one cared how much talent you had or if you were a professional.
Background and Factions were everything.
He had directly used his connections, getting the green light through layers of selection to replace the original professional candidates.
Now that he held such a large project in his hands, just a little bit of embezzlement would be enough to significantly upgrade the strength of himself and his team.
Furthermore, he could keep this lucrative credit firmly in his own hands, laying the foundation for his future development.
The people around the bald man were well aware of this, and they were all sucking up to him now.
They wanted to become his loyal subordinates to receive rewarded Points and thus improve their own strength.
William's gaze swept indifferently over the bald man's face; his eyes were calm and waveless, showing neither anger nor fear.
He didn't even respond with a single word; his index finger lightly tapped the "Confirm Purchase" button.
[Ding! Purchase successful! Plot "A1-073" now belongs to Player William. Deducted Points: 1,200,000.]
The system notification chimed clearly.
The arrogance on the bald man's face instantly froze, then transformed into a rage at being completely ignored!
In Dragon Country, with his background, strength, and the Knife Gang he founded, he was always the one giving others attitude; when had he ever been so contemptuously brushed aside?
Even those Hunters from humble backgrounds were always respectful when they saw him!
"What I just said, are you fucking deaf or..."
The bald man took a step forward, his voice suddenly rising, spittle nearly splashing onto William's face.
William finally looked at him again and spoke in surprisingly fluent Chinese, his tone calm.
"Any form of fighting or attacking is prohibited throughout the entire Trading Platform."
Having said that, he even gave a polite, slight nod, as if reminding a barbarian who didn't know the rules.
Moving his gaze away from the man's flushed face, William calmly pulled up the management interface for the newly acquired land, carefully reviewing the construction options and resource delivery lists provided by the system, entering a full state of handling official business.
Ignored! Complete and utter disregard!
The faces of the bald man and those behind him turned from red to green, then from green to black.
They felt a tremendous sense of humiliation.
Not only was the other party defiant, but he also used a detached attitude—like a high civilization treating uncivilized barbarians—turning all their threats and clamor into a laughable monologue.
Under the no-combat rule, they had plenty of strength and arrogant tempers, but it was like punching cotton—no, like punching transparent bulletproof glass—frustrating them to the point of nearly exploding.
"You... you brat, if you have the guts, tell me your name! Which Factions do you belong to!?"
The bald man panted, gritting his teeth; right now, he wished he could tear the other man apart to establish his authority. Had this been in Dragon Country, he would have done so already, but here, he couldn't make a move.
And the other party was relying precisely on this protection; otherwise... a cold light flashed in the bald man's eyes.
William acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, letting the other party bark.
He had already begun calculating the Points needed for construction and planning how to most quickly mobilize Apocalypse's construction teams and resources.
Arguing? That was a waste of time and meaningless.
The land was in hand; the current priority was to transform it into a practical advantage.
He closed the interface, stepped forward, and walked straight toward the bald man and his group.
The group subconsciously tensed up, thinking he was finally going to make a move.
However, William simply walked through the gap between them as if passing several obstructive pillars, without even his clothes brushing against them; his gaze had long since locked onto the petite figure strolling toward them from a distance.
"Damn it..."
A lackey cursed under his breath but was stopped by the bald man's fierce glare.
They couldn't afford the price of fighting within the platform, but they would remember this grievance.
William came before Lilith and bowed slightly.
"Miss."
In different situations, William would address Lilith with different titles to help hide her identity and prevent drawing unwanted attention or investigation.
"It seems something unpleasant just happened over there."
A faint smile appeared on Lilith's face, looking so cute, yet it gave off a low, oppressive feeling that made it hard to breathe.
William was stunned for a moment. Was the Leader... going to vent her anger for him?
William suppressed his speculation and spoke in a flat tone.
"I saw a wild dog barking on the road, but I didn't have time to pay them any mind."
"Oh! Is that so? Since a wild dog is barking, it probably needs a lesson."
The red pupils beneath Lilith's military cap swept over the Dragon Country players nearby, whose faces were extremely unsightly, her gaze indifferent.
Their conversation wasn't concealed at all; by now, even if the bald man were an idiot, he would know they were hurling indirect insults!
They glared viciously at William, then turned to the white-haired girl beside him, Lilith, who was wearing a Gothic military uniform, their eyes gleaming with danger.
Since they had gone this far, he didn't mind getting his revenge on this seemingly weak little girl.