Chapter 1758 - Treasure Acquired
Chapter 1758 – Treasure Acquired
As he arrived before the Countess’s mansion and disembarked from the advanced horse carriage, Shi Feng noticed several cloaked players enter the mansion under the steward Milton’s lead.
When these cloaked players entered the mansion, they watched their surroundings constantly as if they were afraid of being followed.
When these players noticed Shi Feng, they became alert, their expressions turning somber.
Someone’s already discovered this place? Seeing the party’s wariness, Shi Feng had a general idea of what they were thinking.
Countess Katie Green’s exchange services were a secret. Moreover, every item she offered was a treasure to players. If they could monopolize these treasures, they could profit massively.
However, if others discovered this secret, it would increase their competition and reduce their profits. Moreover, the more people that knew about the Countess, the harder it would be to keep the secret.
Naturally, these six players understood this.
When the Countess’s secret had become public in the past, the various large Guilds had contested for her services, and the competition had become so intense that battles had been waged on the street outside of the Countess’s mansion. In the end, though, the Dragon-Phoenix Pavilion had monopolized the Countess and garrisoned players at the mansion’s entrance long-term, preventing outsiders from entering.
After watching Shi Feng for a moment, the six-man party hastened their way into the mansion. Shi Feng simply chuckled in response and continued onward.
The Countess only offered so many items, and in the six players’ opinion, he must be here to purchase these items as well. They likely wanted to get ahead of him and buy as many items as they could before he reached the Countess.
Unfortunately for those six players, Shi Feng wasn’t here to buy items.
As Shi Feng reached the mansion’s main entrance, he sensed someone’s presence nearby. He immediately activated Omniscient Eyes to inspect his surroundings.
Guild players? Shi Feng quickly discovered a Level 50 Assassin hidden behind a tree roughly 60 yards away from him. This Assassin also wore a Guild Emblem that he had never seen before. It seems this place won’t stay a secret for much longer.
It was evident that some Guild had targeted those six players.
Once a Guild discovered Countess Katie Green’s exchange services, it wouldn’t be long before even more people learned about them. After all, there were simply too many players in a Guild. There were bound to be spies from other Guilds, as well.
This was also why Shi Feng had never told any of Zero Wing’s upper echelons about his business here. This way, none of the spies in Zero Wing could learn about this place.
But he also felt relatively fortunate. Had he chosen to visit the Countess at a later date, there would’ve been a ton of players in the Countess’s mansion. They might even have discovered the secret about the Temporal Sand. If the various superpowers learned about the Treasure of Time and, subsequently, the Seven Treasures, they’d use all of their power to obtain them. If that happened, his quest would become exponentially more difficult.
After waiting at the entrance for some time, Milton returned to greet Shi Feng. Under the steward’s lead, Shi Feng then entered the Countess’s mansion.
…
After Shi Feng entered the mansion, the masked Assassin behind the tree made his way towards the entrance. A sly smile appeared on his face as he watched Shi Feng’s disappearing figure.
“Guild Leader, as you’ve guessed, those people seemed to have discovered some secret exchange point. The exchange point is in Countess Katie Green’s mansion in Lake Heart City,” the masked Assassin reported to the middle-aged man on the screen before him.
“Excellent. Now that we’ve discovered their secret, we’ll have to remove those players from God’s Domain! I will not allow other people access to my treasure!” the gray-robed, skinny man replied, sneering.
“Aside from the people you instructed me to follow, another person has entered the mansion. It seems that person has discovered this exchange point, as well. What should we do about them?” the Assassin asked.
“Someone else knows about it?” the middle-aged man frowned slightly. “Do you know who?”
“They were wearing a Black Cloak. Unfortunately, even after I used my Advanced Identification Skill, I couldn’t see his real identity. All I got was ‘Unknown,’ ” the Assassin reported.
“Keep an eye on him and figure out a way to uncover his identity. Once you know who he is, get rid of him if possible. We don’t need so many people knowing about the Countess’s secret,” the middle-aged man said after giving the matter some thought, making a slicing gesture across his neck with a hand.
“Understood. I’ve placed a tracking mark on that player. He definitely won’t get away from me,” the Assassin said, nodding.
“Good. I’ll send some people to assist you. Keep an eye on those players,” the middle-aged man said before disconnecting the call.
…
Inside the Countess’s mansion…
Under Milton’s lead, Shi Feng quickly arrived in a lounge decorated with various refined antiques. Currently, Countess Katie Green discussed business with the six players Shi Feng had seen earlier.
Shi Feng noticed more items on display on the table before the Countess than there had been during his previous visit. There were a total of 14 items, ranging from weapons and equipment to various designs and recipes. Every item was worth fortunes and would be extremely difficult to obtain elsewhere.
Meanwhile, not only did the party of six purchase three of the 14 items, but they also purchased 30-plus grains of Temporal Sand.
Each grain of Temporal Sand cost one Mana Stone, which was an item that could only be acquired from killing the Bosses in large-scale Team Dungeons. To independent players, obtaining one Mana Stone was extremely difficult, let alone 30-plus. Moreover, the six-man party had used Mana Stones to purchase the other three items.
The party had spent more Mana Stones than what a party of ordinary experts could acquire.
As Shi Feng approached the table and took a seat, the six players rose from their seats. Just before they left, these players sent Shi Feng gleeful gazes. It was as if they were stating that they had already purchased every item available, and Shi Feng had gotten there too late to buy anything.
However, Shi Feng could only laugh inwardly at their response. Outwardly, though, he said nothing as he watched these players leave the room.
“Demon Hunter, you’re finally here. It seems you’ve acquired the items I’ve asked for?” Katie Green smiled at Shi Feng, who sat before her. Her smile felt incredibly intimate, as if she were greeting a long-time friend.
In response, Shi Feng nodded silently.
The Countess’s words stunned the six players, who had yet to exit the room fully.
“What is going on?” The six players watched the Countess speak so casually to Shi Feng with disbelief.
Whenever they visited Katie Green, the Countess maintained a dignified air. Even when they purchased items, she barely spoke to them, yet the Countess treated Shi Feng like an old acquaintance, warm and friendly. For a moment, they even wondered if the Katie Green before them now was the Countess they knew.
As the six players considered lingering to hear the conversation between Katie Green and Shi Feng, the Countess shot them a glare.
“My business with you has finished! You may leave!” Katie Green snapped with a frosty tone.
Immediately, the steward Milton ushered the party out of the room.
This further stupefied the party of six. They could not help but wonder about Shi Feng’s identity to warrant such treatment from a Countess of the Black Dragon Empire.
However, even if they wanted to know more about Shi Feng’s identity and his purpose here, two guards began to walk towards them. It was evident that the guards intended to use force to evict them from the mansion.
After a short moment, the party of six was chased out of the mansion. Meanwhile, only Shi Feng and Countess Katie Green remained in the quiet, elegant lounge.
“Alright, they’re gone. You can show me the items now,” Katie Green said, anticipation flashing in her eyes as she watched Shi Feng. Her desire for the Eternal Ice Crystals was evident.
Without speaking, Shi Feng retrieved the synthesized Eternal Ice Crystals from his bag and lined them up on the table before him, one after another.
When he placed the ten Eternal Ice Crystals on the table, the room’s temperature fell abruptly. If not for his sufficiently high Ice Resistance, he might have had difficulty moving.
“Wonderful! These are indeed the Eternal Ice Crystals I have been looking for!” Excitement lit up Katie Green’s flawless face. Immediately, she stored the Eternal Ice Crystals away before retrieving a dark-gray pearl bracelet from the void, tossing it to Shi Feng.
The instant Shi Feng received the bracelet, a series of system announcements bombarded his ears, stunning him.