Chapter 27: The Gang-Controlled City

"Leng Ye, you're back."

At that moment, a group of figures that Ye Yu and his companions had known before they left appeared before them. This caught "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" off guard, as the figures appearing before him were all female characters—in other words, female players.

It was "Nuan Liang's" fixed team.

"Long time no see. How have you all been? You should have saved up quite a bit of experience by now, being at level 40."

The first to speak was not Ye Yu, but Huang Hong. Looking as if he had never seen a woman before, he took the initiative to greet Nuan Liang and her team.

"That's right, what about you guys? As the first players to reach level 40, you should have at least enough experience for level 50 by now, right?"

However, just as Nuan Liang began to speak, she spotted "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" behind Ye Yu's group. She asked with curiosity, "Huh? You're a level 40 player too. Your ID looks familiar; I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

At this, Wushan Yunyu, standing beside Nuan Liang, exclaimed, "Are you the Shaman King?"

As soon as Wushan Yunyu's words fell, the slightly noisy atmosphere of the small tavern quieted down instantly, and the gazes of everyone in the room turned toward them.

Most of the players in this tavern were newcomers to the "Purple Void Mirage" guild. These novices had never seen players from the high-level fixed teams in person, though they had chatted in the guild channel and were fortunate enough to see Nuan Liang's team.

"It's Sister Nuan Liang! Why have you come to the tavern?"

A player who had just entered asked. They were level 35, which was considered a slightly slower leveling pace in the current "Xuantian" server, but the player seemed quite cheerful and didn't sound very old.

"It's nothing, just some business. You all go back to your drinks."

Nuan Liang smiled slightly as she spoke. The others tactfully looked away. Although they hadn't seen Ye Yu and his group before, and their IDs were hidden, only guild members could enter the "Purple Void Mirage" guild territory.

"So many ladies, hello there. I'm 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero,' you can also call me the Shaman King."

After looking around at Nuan Liang's fixed team, "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" said with a smile, "I look forward to working with you all. From now on, I'm a member of 'Purple Void Mirage.' But come to think of it, this guild is truly lively; it seems there shouldn't be much of a problem if you're looking to gather resources."

Ye Yu, meanwhile, greeted some of the veteran members sitting in the corner of the tavern before turning to Nuan Liang and asking, "By the way, do you know where 'Understanding Warmth' is?"

Hearing Ye Yu's question, Xiao Mo nodded and replied, "Yes, he should be on the top floor of the tavern right now. This time is usually reserved for meetings of the guild's top brass, and we came here to attend that meeting."

"I see. Let's head up then, as there are some matters that need to be discussed by everyone."

Subsequently, Ye Yu’s group and Xiao Mo’s group walked up to the top floor of the tavern. As they disappeared from the first floor, the newcomers began to discuss them heatedly.

"Didn't they say Sister Nuan Liang is the future wife of our guild leader? Why is she being so intimate with a stranger who hides his ID?"

"None of us know, but since they hid their IDs, I'm afraid they don't want to reveal any information."

"Maybe we shouldn't pry into these things."

"Could it be that he is our guild leader?"

"No way. I heard the guild leader went to a high-level wilderness area to level up for the new stage; he should be in the Mount Tai map."

"..."

Ye Yu was unaware that while they were heading to the top floor, the players on the first floor had already started a heated discussion about them. Ye Yu had intentionally masked his ID; he didn't want to attract too much attention from guild members, as he had begun to worry that people from the "First Power" might have infiltrated "Purple Void Mirage." He needed to guard against such things as early as possible.

***

"Boss, you're finally back! I've missed you so much. I thought something had happened to you; I couldn't even reach you for a while."

When "Understanding Warmth" saw Ye Yu's group, he was the first to stand up, his eyes seemingly welling with tears. He was a player who genuinely wanted to follow Ye Yu, even reaching the point of blind worship. Because of this, the entire high-level leadership of "Purple Void Mirage" respected Ye Yu; if not for Ye Yu leading the first guild dungeon run, the current members of "Purple Void Mirage" wouldn't have such a great environment for leveling.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you all about it when I have time."

"No problem, but who is this..."

"Understanding Warmth" noticed "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" behind Ye Yu and asked, looking a bit dazed.

Since this was a meeting place for the high-level members of "Purple Void Mirage," players who weren't in the inner circle were generally not allowed to step foot here—a strict rule no one dared violate. However, since Ye Yu had brought him in, they said nothing.

"This is 'Cup of Wine Traps the Hero.' I think you might not be familiar with the ID, but for a title—the soul of a certain guild—I think you'll know who he is."

"May I ask who you are, sir..."

Another high-level member of "Purple Void Mirage" bowed and asked "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero" for his name.

"Because I had no choice, players gave me a title: the Shaman King."

Once these words were spoken, everyone's pupils constricted. Nuan Liang's group already knew, so they weren't as surprised, but "Understanding Warmth" and the other leaders of "Purple Void Mirage" didn't. They all stood up, their faces filled with deep respect as they looked at "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero."

They stood out of respect for "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero," because he was worthy of such treatment.

"So it is the Shaman King himself, the soul of 'Eternal Loyalty and Righteousness.' I never expected to meet you in person. It is an honor, a great honor."

"Understanding Warmth" walked up and shook hands with "Cup of Wine Traps the Hero," a sincere smile on his face.

"The pleasure is mine."

"Alright, let's skip the pleasantries. Now, I need to discuss something important with everyone. It's about the city we can build on the 'Ancient Heaven and Earth' map, right?"

"Of course. Since you were the one who conquered 'Ancient Heaven and Earth,' the decision naturally rests with you. We would never interfere or stand in your way."

"However, some things have happened."

At this point, "Understanding Warmth" said with a grim expression.

Seeing the look on "Understanding Warmth's" face, Ye Yu frowned slightly and asked, "What happened?"

"Because 'Ancient Heaven and Earth' allows the transfer of city-building rights—though the supreme ruler of the map remains with whoever holds the power—many factions have offered large sums of money to discuss whether we could transfer the building rights to them. Since the map is yours, we put them off, waiting for your return to make the final decision."

Ye Yu nodded slightly after hearing this, and "Understanding Warmth" continued, "Because you disappeared for a while, some people started to think you might have quit the server, or that something had happened to you. I don't know who spread that rumor, but when many factions came to negotiate with us, their attitudes were extremely arrogant. I later sent people to investigate and discovered that the 'First Power' was pulling strings behind the scenes."

"That's normal. To the 'First Power,' a map segment that allows city construction is a cash cow. The resources earned go without saying; even though the costs are astronomical, once the city is perfected, those costs are nothing compared to the unimaginable resources gained. What’s a little bit of capital to them?"

Luo Feng stroked his chin and asked, "Did they say how much they were offering?"

"One hundred thousand China currency."

"Understanding Warmth" said with a bitter smile.

"It's a good thing you waited for us to return. They wanted to buy our city-building rights for a mere 100,000? They shouldn't even dream of discussing this for less than a million."

Ye Yu and Luo Feng both shook their heads helplessly upon hearing this. Fortunately, they had waited for them to decide, or they would have suffered a massive loss.

"Wushan Yunyu" spoke up, "How could it be worth so much? A million? Establishing a second-tier club only costs a million. It’s actually worth more than a second-tier club?"

"Building a city provides significant income. As long as there are players in the city's territory, the income is constant. Plus, the system automatically deducts a 5% transaction fee from the auction house transactions within the city and gives it to the governing faction."

Luo Feng explained, and everyone suddenly realized the truth. Although the official website of "God's Fall" had mentioned something similar, it wasn't nearly as detailed, which led to the situation they had encountered.

Furthermore, this amount of money would only grow more optimistic as the number of players stationed in the city increased. Given the current popularity growth of "God's Fall," even if it remained popular for another ten years, it wouldn't be an issue. And since "Ancient Heaven and Earth" is a map for late-game players, the conclusion was self-evident—even one million China currency was arguably an undervaluation.