The Legendary Mechanic, page 105
The outrageous price of 250,000 caused a wide discussion. The average value of a player at the time was about 3,000 to 5,000, so it was not difficult for guilds to gather 250,000 since the number of players was increasing continuously.
However, most of the guilds didn’t feel it was worth it, buying an organization referral letter for 250,000 was too luxurious, the situation was not clear yet, they decided to wait and see.
Han Xiao had quite an influence on normal players, but guilds had always been very logical, considering everything with the benefits they could earn. Other players were playing a game; they were running a business.
Compared to the outrageously priced referral letter, players paid more attention to the information Han Xiao shared about the war between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization. They were in an uproar.
After playing the game for a few days, players on Planet Aquamarine all knew that the conflict between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization was the main storyline, but war broke out when nobody expected it to, an expedition even, which proved that the battlefield would be in Andrea. Many players at the time had yet to even join an organization, and their strength was far from being enough to join the main storyline mission.
In the original storyline, war would only break out a few months later, and every continent played a part in the battle. Thus, players from everywhere had been able to join in. But with Han Xiao’s interference, not only did the war break out much earlier, it also became an expedition. The impact players had was minimized from what Han Xiao felt.
Most importantly, most of the players had yet to even trigger the main storyline mission between the Six Nations and Germinal Organization.
Black Phantom said that the Germinal Organization would certainly lose, which made many players hesitant to join them, but there were also some players who preferred the evil organizations and wanted to join the Germinal Organization
However, Han Xiao’s influence played its part. More players became hesitant. If they were to join the Germinal Organization, there was the risk of getting beaten horribly, then they might as well join the law-keeping organization of Six Nations.
With just one sentence, the Germinal Organization lost many potential supporters.
The influence that Han Xiao had on players grew as he maintained his image, and his position in the players’ heart grew stronger.
The things that he said would become important information for the players.
Chapter 195. Bundled Sales Are So Damn Great. I Should Always Use Them. |
Han Xiao had seen the impact that the leaked information had brought on the forum. It was just as he had expected it to be.
He had successfully sabotaged the Germinal Organization secretly again, and they did not even know who was doing it and what went wrong.
Doing evil things to the Germinal Organization secretly made him feel really good.
However, the referral letter was not popular. Han Xiao was somewhat surprised, but after he contemplated for a while, he realized the reason behind it. It was because of the current financial situation of the players. Although guilds could come up with 250,000, it was quite a risk for them. If the referral letter did not have a good effect, it would slow their progress down by a huge portion.
The price that he had set for the time being was too high, and the risk of buying the referral letter would only decrease when the average asset level of the players increased. At that time, there would be guilds that would try buying it.
At this price, the first person to eat the crab will take too long to appear. Han Xiao bit his nails and started pondering. The best solution was to lower the price…
That’s impossible! Not going to happen!
I could use some sales strategy, giving out other benefits together with the referral letter.
The first thing Han Xiao thought of was giving relationship points as a reward, such as when someone bought a referral letter, he would give some relationship points. Relationship points were the prior requirements of buying high-level equipment in his store—it was all part of the profit chain.
But on second thought, giving relationship points would not be a very good idea. They were maxed at one hundred points, so he had to treasure them. The relationship points that he gave to normal players were ten at most. He did not want the players to get them so easily.
If he used them with the referral letter, one or two points would be too few and unattractive, but giving too many would be disadvantageous to him as well.
What about giving bonus equipment? The moment this thought came up, it was rejected by him. He had to be a qualified businessman, so he should never have such good morals.
He had fused some blueprints recently, but he had not built any of them, so he could not sell those either.
And in terms of drugs, it was not a good time to sell them. Some drugs that gave enhancements based on percentage would have a much bigger market once the players reach a higher level. The pro players who had to compete in matches would be his target consumers.
As he was wavering, a surprise notification appeared on the interface.
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[Source of Stone Plague] Completed
Requirement One: Find the source of the plague. Completed.
Requirement Two: Suppress the spread of the plague. Completed.
Requirement Three: Cure all the people who are infected. Incomplete.
You received 60,000 experience, +400 relationship with the Black Pine Colony
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Han Xiao stood in place with surprise.
This mission was what he had given to Frenzied Sword and Bun-hit-dog. They had completed it!
It seems I chose well. Han Xiao laughed. Their level was around 15, so this mission would have been quite difficult for them. Although they did not complete it perfectly, it was already a pleasant surprise. Since Han Xiao had not been involved in this mission at all from the beginning, the rewards dropped from the sky!
Wait a minute!
Han Xiao’s eyes sparkled.
He was inspired and had another idea of promoting the referral letter!
“Nice one Frenzied Sword!”
Han Xiao laughed. It was just the right time for the mission to be completed. It had inspired him at a crucial moment.
At this time, the players in the novice village were learning [Energy Training Technique] one by one and were swing at the price of the referral letter.
“The flow of time carried everyone forward; the truth of the past has been buried and forgotten by the people who never stopped,” Han Xiao suddenly yelled. “I need a number of trustworthy people to help me with some things.”
As he was speaking, he distributed the five hidden main storyline missions from [New Era—Origin] that he had just received into new missions: [Ending of the Survivor], [The Key of Misplacement], [Sealed Past], [Mysterious Prisoner], and [Same Type of Person].
[New Era—Origin] was too cumbersome, and it would waste a lot of time if Han Xiao did them himself. Furthermore, it was only the first round.
Han Xiao decided to distribute the targets of the missions and let the players do it. This way, he could save time and get the rewards without doing much. The success of Frenzied Sword proved the idea, and he found out that he could still get the rewards even if the players completed the mission.
Just like the evil capitalists who used benefits to attract others to work for them but still ended up earning the most.
Furthermore, Han Xiao stated clearly that this was a Main Storyline Mission, which would increase his status among the players again.
An NPC that gives out main storyline missions. Damn, he has got to be someone important! was what Han Xiao expected the players to think.
The players saw the mission and froze in place. Then they became overjoyed.
“Main storyline mission!”
“God! This is another main storyline!”
“The rewards are plenty!”
“Quick, accept the mission!”
However, the players noticed that the mission was in gray color, which meant that it could not be accepted.
“Why can’t I accept the mission? Why‽”
The confusion was solved within a short period. They soon realized that the missions had a prior requirement—buying the referral letter!
That’s… that’s too greedy!
The players turned furious. How are they going to play 250,000? Who the hell could afford that!
Seeing the expression of the players, Han Xiao smiled secretly. Because of the quota, his Main Storyline Mission could only be given to a limited number of players. Thus, he had to target the elites, so he had decided to attract the pro players. Pro players had large guilds behind them, and it was perfect for promoting the referral letter and making bundle sales.
You want the main storyline mission? Okay, buy my referral letter.
Don’t want to spend money? Then why do you deserve to become stronger?
Pro players were willing to grow through any means; they would never give up the main storyline missions.
Another reason Han Xiao was doing this was that there was a chance for the normal players to fail the mission, which would result in him also failing the missions. However, pro players had higher skills on average, and they had guilds behind them who would help them with the mission. Clearly, they were more reliable.
Those that were rare were those that were treasured. He also added another important line in the mission introduction, which was that there was a chance to earn Black Phantom’s favor. This was an obvious hint that accepting the mission might trigger his ‘hidden storyline’.
Frenzied Sword, Bun-hit-dog, and Maple Moon were not attractive enough as examples. Very few highly skilled players came. Maybe it was because they felt triggering hidden storyline required luck; therefore, they did not take it seriously.
Han Xiao decided to go for a strong approach, to let the highly skilled players see that there was a way with a higher chance to trigger Black Phantom’s hidden storyline.
This is a good strategy. It’s killing two… many birds with one stone. Han Xiao was satisfied.
Even this won’t attract you‽ I doubt that.
…
The forum had a chat room function. At this time, there was a room with a password that had people joining in continuously, and the notifications kept popping up.
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Jade Green Sky entered the chat room.
Jupiter entered the chat room.
Morning Snow Twilight Frost entered the chat room.
Your Mom Collapses When I Cry entered the chat room.
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About a dozen people entered the chat room. They were all chairpeople of famous guilds in China, and they formed a circle themselves.
“Is everyone here?” Mountain Rain, the chairman of Drizzling Rivers Guild, spoke first.
“Nope,” Your Mom Collapses When I Cry said.
The chairman of Nine Gates Guild, Three Times Three Equals 9, asked, “Where’s Old Qi? Did anyone invite him?”
“Never mind, he spams all the time. We would never get things done with him joining in,” Cowherd Star, the chairman of Chrysanthemum Guild, said.
“Who opened the chat room? What serious matter are we talking about?” Jupiter asked.
Jade Green Sky cut in and said, “Yo, isn’t this the rich house of esports? I heard you have not been running your God squad well recently. Lousy chairman. When you step down, I will light firecrackers in front of your club doors to celebrate. @Jupiter”
“Fu*k off,” Jupiter snapped back.
Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.
“@Mountain Rain, Rainy Kim of your Thunder Storm has been quite active lately and always goes on TV shows. Can you help me ask for a signature?” Your Mom Collapses When I Cry asked.
“One for 3,000, no negotiating,” Mountain Rain answered.
“Damn, are you robbing me? Can you have some morals?”
Cowherd Star cut in and said, “My signature is free, do you want it?”
“Go away, your signature is not even worth enough to be used as toilet paper. I could consider if it’s from lady Yao Yao. @Seven Colors of a Peptachord[a] 1 ”
“Stop insinuating. She’s not even here.” Cowherd Star was upset.
Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.
“Stop talking nonsense, let’s talk about the matter, I’m very busy,” Jupiter said.
“You? You’re basically a mascot,” Jade Green Sky sneered.
“Go away!”
“Okay guys, I will pull us back to the topic,” Mountain Rain declared. “You guys have all seen the posts in the forums about the main storyline missions from Black Phantom.”
“Yes, we saw it, what are you saying?”
“We should come up with the money together. Then we let the pro players accept the main storyline missions from Black Phantom.”
“You want to share the risk? But only one person can accept each mission.”
“No, what I mean is that the pro players can form a team to complete it. It’s positive competition.”
“That sound pretty good, I will have to ask the expedition group for their suggestions,” Jade Green Sky said.
“I’m in. There definitely won’t be any objections from the club,” Cowherd Stars said.
“I’m fine with anything, smile!” responded Three Times Three Equals 9.
“Haha, I remember the pro players of Guild of Gods is all in Southern Continent. They can’t meet Black Phantom. You can’t play with us @Jupiter. Quickly kick him. He’s a spy here to collect intelligence,” Jade Green Sky mocked.
“You motherfu…”
_____________
Jupiter has left the chat room.
_____________
Morning Snow Twilight Frost sent a funny smiley face.
[a]Google is suggesting that this should be Pentachord, is that right?
Chapter 196. It's the Tanabata Festival Tomorrow. I'm upset. |
Han Xiao was about done with harvesting the players in this novice village. He smugly counted the experience—he had gotten a huge amount yet again.
However, nobody had bought the referral letter so far, but Fisherman Han was patient—him giving out main storyline missions had already made a storm on the forums. Sooner or later, someone would come.
One last novice village left. Maybe I should delay it a while so that these large guilds have enough time to raise the money, Han Xiao thought.
This time, two players walked toward Han Xiao next to each other. Their IDs were Wind Chaser and Dragon Tail, which attracted the attention of other players. They were rather famous players of the Nine Gates Guild and the Fanatics Guild.
Han Xiao’s eye twinkled. The highly skilled players have finally come.
“Black Phantom, we want to buy the referral letter,” Wind Chaser said.
“Sure.”
Wind Chaser and Dragon Tail had received the funds from the guild of their clubs. A team was the face of a club, so as pro players, they were treated well. They took out 250,000 each.
The players around looked at them with envy. They had never seen such a large amount of money.
“Can’t believe someone can actually afford it.”
“Large guilds are really rich.”
“No wonder pro players are stronger than us. If I had such resources, I would be able to go pro, too.”
“You think just anyone can be signed by a club?”
“If we rob their money, we’ll be crazy rich.”
“Don’t be stupid. Putting aside the fact that pro player would completely skunk you, even if you succeeded, the guild will chase you everywhere, or maybe Blank Phantom will kill you first.”
The crowd talked among themselves.
He received 500,000 in one shot, then wrote the referral letters on the spot and gave them to the two pro players. He told them the location of a Dark Net stronghold in the Western Continent and said, “Take my letter there, and you can join the Blood Pact Society.”
He paused and then said, “Seems like I can trust you. I have some tasks here. Would you like to help me?”
“That’s what I’ve been waiting for.” Dragon Tail immediately accepted the mission. He wanted to accept one after another but was notified that only one mission could be accepted.
This had been set by Han Xiao—one referral letter for one mission.
“Shit, only one mission can be accepted. I thought I could accept all of them.” Dragon Tail was unhappy.
Han Xiao raised his brows and said, “Leave it if you don’t want to do it.”
Dragon Tail shut up. If he did not accept the mission, the money would have gone to waste.
Wind Chaser had no choice but to choose the same mission. The two clubs behind them had joined forces to do the mission as a team. Luckily Dragon Tail accepted a mission that was in the Western Continent.
“If you can complete the mission, there might be more things you can help me with.” Han Xiao hinted that in order to unlock his ‘hidden storyline’, first they had to complete this mission.
Pro players were always in a rush. They left immediately after accepting the mission.
Five mission targets, two in the Western Continent, two in the Northern Continent, and one in the Southern Continent—he had to make sure they were all accepted by someone. Fortunately for him, all these continents were part of his schedule.
Although the main storyline mission was A-grade, this was the easiest first round. Han Xiao separated the mission targets into many smaller missions that had a difficulty of around grade D, so the single mission experience quota could suffice for the experience he was rewarding.
In the later rounds, when the difficulty becomes higher, my quota might not be enough by then.
