Chapter 530
The Candlelight Trading Firm developed very quickly, and it constantly recruited Lifestyle players.
Despite the Candlelight Trading Firm having two high-end Shops in White River City, they simply did not have enough space to house over a thousand Lifestyle players. For each of the three-story-tall Shops, the first floors were used exclusively for selling products, the second floor housed the various workshops, and the third floor housed the warehouse, offices, and lounges. Hence, not many workshops in each Shop were available for the Firm’s Lifestyle players’ use.
As a result, Melancholic Smile had no choice but to send the Lifestyle players to the various Lifestyle Associations to produce items.
Although the matter of space could be resolved this way, it significantly increased the Firm’s expenditures.
Renting the workshops in the Lifestyle Associations required money. A Basic Workshop’s impact on a player’s success rate was insignificant, so, Melancholic Smile mostly rented Intermediate Workshops for the Firm’s Lifestyle players. Meanwhile, renting an Intermediate Workshop cost 1 Silver per hour. If she rented workshops for 100 people, that was 1 Gold per hour. If she rented enough workshops for 1,000 people, that was 10 Gold per hour.
Ten Gold Coins…that was almost a small Guild’s total liquid funds.
Melancholic Smile even considered suggesting that Shi Feng purchase a few more plots of Land and establish more Shops. Unfortunately, in order to satisfy the current number of Lifestyle players they had in the Firm, they would require two or three plots of Land.
However, the situation had changed.
Now, the Candlelight Trading Firm next to the Auction House had been promoted to a five-story building. Although it seemed that it had only gained two more floors, it was equivalent to having two more Shops’ worth of workshops. In fact, the space inside the Shop had also grown; it was now roughly a little more than twice the original size.
With so much space, the Candlelight Trading Firm could save a lot on rental fees.
Melancholic Smile only wished that Shi Feng would upgrade all of the Candlelight Trading Firm’s Shops. That way, the Firm would not have to spend any money on renting workshops.
Shi Feng could not help but laugh at Melancholic Smile’s reaction.
In the past, even after God’s Domain had operated for over a year, countless players were unable to promote their 1-star Shops to 2-stars. It was purely due to luck that the Candlelight Trading Firm had obtained the Promotion Order so quickly.
It was practically impossible to obtain another Shop Promotion Order from the Twilight Treasure Chests.
Though, if he could upgrade the Icarus’s Heart to Epic rank, there might be a small chance for Shi Feng to obtain a second one.
Shi Feng then had Melancholic Smile meet him in the meeting room on the fifth floor of the Firm with Cream Cocoa and Roasted Ironheart.
The benefits a 2-star Shop offered were not limited to an increase in space. Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been so many players desperately trying to upgrade their 1-star Shops to 2-star Shops in the past, willingly spending tens of thousands of Gold to obtain a Shop Promotion Order.
—
Meanwhile, the news of the Candlelight Trading Firm owning a 2-star Shop spread quickly. After all, all of White River City knew of the Candlelight Trading Firm. A majority of the players residing in the city had shopped at the Trading Firm at least once before. Now that one of the Shops had mysteriously grown, it would definitely attract a lot of attention.
“Young Master Feng, there is some movement over at the Candlelight Trading Firm. They have actually managed to establish a five-story Shop. When I went over to investigate, I found that the first floor has doubled in size. The number of items they can put on display has also significantly increased,” a player specifically tasked to investigate the Candlelight Trading Firm reported.
“Five-stories? Larger than before?” Feng Xuanyang could not help but sneer. “The Candlelight Trading Firm is certainly ambitious. While producing Light Stones, they also expanded their Shop to prepare for the new sales. What a pity. Truly a pity. So what if they have a larger space? Now that I have stolen the three of the Advanced Forging Apprentices capable of producing the Light Stones, that Shop will only have empty shelves to show off.”
He still felt the sting from the large amount of money he had spent to poach those three Advanced Forging Apprentices. However, the thought of how the Candlelight Trading Firm could no longer produce the Light Stones soothed the pain in his heart.
“Right, how are we developing in Maple City?” Feng Xuanyang asked the somewhat chubby man beside him. “I heard that the Candlelight Trading Firm has set up a Shop close to the Overwhelming Trading Firm. This should have significantly impacted the Overwhelming Trading Firm’s business.”
“Young Master Feng, please rest assured. Although the Candlelight Trading Firm is impressive, Maple City is our home ground. Moreover, Miss Youlan has succeeded in inviting that great personage to help us. The Magic Damage Potions they have produced have singlehandedly driven the Overwhelming Trading Firm’s business. Candlelight has no chance against us. It won’t be long before the Overwhelming Trading Firm stabilizes its status as Maple City’s number one Trading Firm. Also, when that great personage’s Alchemy Proficiency advances or when we obtain an item that increases success rate, he will be able to produce that item. At that time, not even the Candlelight Trading Firm in White River City will be a challenge,” the chubby man said, giggling.
“Good. It’s as expected of the woman who the higher-ups favor. As long as the Overwhelming Trading Firm conquers White River City, my status will rise along the tides. At that time, my succession of the household will be set in stone.” Feng Xuanyang’s eyes suddenly glowed.
He truly never expected that Youlan would successfully recruit that great personage from Underworld.
That great personage was only a Lifestyle player. However, by relying on his superb talents, he had profited Underworld in many virtual reality games, and gradually throughout the years, he had become a force to be reckoned with in the organization. Even Underworld’s upper managers tread carefully when around him. Although Feng Xuanyang had thought of trying to invite that great personage before, he simply did not qualify to do so. Meanwhile, the fact that Youlan had recruited that great personage’s help showed just how capable she was.
It seems that I’ll have to rope that woman in in the future. Feng Xuanyang licked his lips as he pondered. Although he had only been interested in Gentle Snow in the past, Youlan’s temperament, figure, and appearance were not one bit inferior to Gentle Snow’s. In certain aspects, Youlan was even superior to the Snow Goddess. If he could make Youlan his woman, it would benefit him greatly in the future. His chances of becoming the master of his household would increase.
—
In the meeting room on the fifth floor of the Candlelight Trading Firm, Shi Feng noticed Melancholic Smile and the others stand to greet him the moment he entered.
“Guild Leader, seeing as you were in such a hurry to look for us, do you have some sort of surprise for us?” Cream Cocoa revealed her anticipation as she gazed at Shi Feng with her large eyes. She knew that Shi Feng would never call for a meeting with them for no reason, and in every meeting, Shi Feng always had something prepared for the three of them. Hence, she very much loved meetings.
“You really are perceptive,” Shi Feng laughed faintly. He then said, “Follow me, then. I’ll show you guys something.”
Shi Feng then led the three forgers out of the meeting room, arriving before a room a short distance away.
The Candlelight Trading Firm’s reconstruction had only completed a short while ago. There were still many areas inside the Shop that Melancholic Smile and the others were unfamiliar with. In particular, there were some rooms that Shi Feng had locked; not even Melancholic Smile was allowed to enter.
The room he led the forgers to was one such location.
“Guild Leader, isn’t this a workshop?” Cream Cocoa asked curiously.
“You’ll understand once you enter,” Shi Feng laughed as he slowly opened the door.
Once the door opened, the trio behind Shi Feng was stunned by what they saw.
A completely different world awaited them beyond the door. When the door opened, a fragrant smell and beautiful scenery greeted each of them. The room even contained a small creek. The most incredible part of the room was the ball of water floating in the middle of the room.
“That’s a Simulation Device!” Melancholic Smile was immediately surprised when she saw that floating ball of water.
Originally, Simulation Devices could only be found in the Library of White River City. It was a tool that allowed players to learn or craft their own spells. Melancholic Smile had never imagined that this workshop would also contain one.
“Simulation Device?” Cream Cocoa asked, confused.
“White River City’s Library also has a waterball. The Simulation Device there allows players to learn or create spells. However, the Simulation Device here is slightly different. It is meant to assist Lifestyle players with producing items. Through the simulation, you guys can discover the flaws you have when producing an item. At the same time, it can also aid you in creating a completely new item. With this, you won’t have to waste a lot of materials and can freely try producing as many items as you want. This is a function that only Special Workshops possess,” Shi Feng explained.