Capítulo 71: Multiplayer Mission
"Boss, the amount of gold coins from some recent reservations has reached 80,000. When will you take care of it?" Irene asked as soon as she saw Bai Yi.
Bai Yi approached, picked up the appointment form, glanced at it, and then set it down. "I'll take care of it in a moment."
"Okay." Irene nodded, her eyes sparkling. "Boss, do we really not have to pay rent to live here?"
"Hasn't the room been renovated?" Bai Yi replied, then paused as if thinking of something. "How long will it take for you to grow up? It's been almost a year, and you haven't gotten any taller."
"I want to, but I'm only ninety, and there are still twenty years to go," Irene sighed, disappointment flickering in her eyes. She hated the long adolescence of the elves and wondered when her latent talents would awaken.
She knew she was also a genius.
Bai Yi reached behind the front desk, grabbed a bottle of milk, and walked out. "I haven't been going out much recently. If you need anything, just have the shops deliver it. Remember to reach out to Orr if anything comes up."
He inserted the straw into the bottle and took a sip as he walked toward the assembly line. He stored the Barretts into his space ring before heading out.
It was daytime, and Shengwu Street was busy, though the initial enthusiasm had settled into a more respectful calm. The neighbors now regarded him with greater reverence.
Bai Yi was content with this change. He strolled into a small alley, turned a few corners, and arrived at a more bustling street not far from Shengwu Street.
This street differed from the one he had just come from. Here, most shops dealt in raw materials and strange oddities, while Shengwu Street was more focused on finished products.
The two streets were only separated by a few blocks. Further down the road were the entertainment district and the homes of wealthy merchants, eventually leading to the city wall.
Business was steady on the materials street during the day, but at night, some shops conducted less savory transactions. This was no secret—anyone with any influence knew it. Yet, the three federations had no restrictions on most items, except for those involving evil gods, ancient gods, or the abyss.
The black market, while generally ignored, existed openly. Many of the items sold there were stolen, looted, or exceptionally rare. Most violent crimes occurred outside the city, where the authorities couldn't trace them.
Bai Yi approached a shop that specialized in old machinery. A narrow alley led to a door. After knocking twice, the door opened, revealing a young man cloaked in black. His bloodshot eyes made it clear he was a member of the dark races, avoiding daylight.
They exchanged no words as they walked into a dim study, the faint smell of rust permeating the air, a trace of blood left behind but quickly wiped away.
"Soul crystal cores—how many do you have?" Bai Yi asked directly.
"Three," came the quiet response, "two small ones and one medium-sized."
Ma Yuan slowly removed his hood and mask, revealing a handsome face with red eyes and unnaturally pale skin—he looked like a drug addict.
Bai Yi thought for a moment before offering, "I have some blood essence that should be valuable to you vampires. How much is it worth?"
He placed a test tube on the desk.
Ma Yuan immediately picked it up, opened it, and a strong, blood-like smell filled the study. His face shifted into a look of intoxicated pleasure as he took a deep breath, trying to suppress the bloodthirst that surged within him.
Closing the lid with difficulty, he said, "One tube for fifty gold coins. I'll take as many as you have."
Bai Yi nodded. He had over 3,000 liters of the blood essence, but the test tube only contained 100 milliliters. At fifty gold coins per tube, the price was far higher than the five gold coins per liter he had gotten from the system.
"I'll give you what I have now. If I get more, I'll sell it to you later," Bai Yi said calmly. He wasn't in a hurry to make the transaction. The blood essence had no expiration date and was still in the process of upgrading. Once it reached the gold-grade, its value would multiply.
He and Sabo considered this blood essence a trump card.
Ma Yuan, his depression gradually fading, nodded. He carefully put the test tube in a drawer, then took out a small box from another drawer and placed it on the desk.
"The official price for a small soul crystal core is 100,000 gold coins, and for a medium one, 700,000 gold coins."
Ma Yuan opened the box, revealing two crystal-clear cores—one ten centimeters in diameter and the other twenty—protected inside a transparent cover.
"Prices on the black market are usually higher. Since I treat Mr. Bai Yi as a friend, I'll sell them to you for one million and five hundred thousand gold coins."
"Fair enough," Bai Yi said, nodding. The black market premiums were often extreme, but this price was reasonable, given the scarcity of the items.
He took out two Dawn Badges, adjusted them briefly, and placed one in front of Ma Yuan. After a moment of preparation, Bai Yi placed the three soul crystal cores into his ring.
Seeing Ma Yuan's curious look, Bai Yi explained, "I have over 200 Barretts. I'll deduct 100,000 gold coins from this purchase."
Ma Yuan nodded, rising from his seat. "Earlier, you mentioned you needed something... illegal. What is it?"
Bai Yi smiled, and they began negotiating the price for another deal.
When Bai Yi left Ma Yuan's residence, his expression was solemn. The auction had netted 90 million gold coins, with 12 million going to Sabo. The expenditure for this transaction was 2 million, leaving around 76 million contribution points.
With no further financial worries, Bai Yi was still processing some surprising news he had just received.
About 100 kilometers southeast of Dongwu City, a mutation zone had appeared.
Mutation zones were areas where the power of the abyss had corrupted the land. Creatures in the area—whether animal, plant, insect, or intelligent being—would transform into monstrous versions of themselves, driven only by instinct and thirst for blood. These mutations were fueled by the abyssal force, reshaping the creatures into forms suited to the current rules of the Xia continent.
The strength of the Abyss Lord in the area determined how quickly these changes would accelerate.
These zones were where powerful Abyss Lords were bred, quickly growing and causing chaos. Such mutations were a grave danger, especially since they could spill over into the Federation.
No wonder the Adventurer's Guild had been so busy when Bai Yi went to buy [Evil Thoughts]. The mutation zone was likely the source of their concern.
After considering the situation, Bai Yi decided to disregard it for now. The mutation zone was still new, and with the intercontinental orbital cannon under construction, its immediate threat was minimal.
But Bai Yi was also thinking about another notorious location: the grave of a necromancer, rumored to contain a powerful contract. This place was known for housing undead equipment and a pact with a bone dragon. In the previous life, a lucky player had discovered the tomb and, despite the lack of a contract system, managed to loot the items without consequences. Unfortunately, the guild involved suffered an instant demise when the dead world's forces retaliated.
Bai Yi remembered this story well, and now that the players were arriving, he had set his sights on the bone dragon. However, preparations were needed.
Three days passed. During this time, Bai Yi kept himself busy, sending tasks to players whenever he had the chance. His knack for deduction allowed him to accurately take 30% of their rewards each time.
Through his studies, he discovered that players could only accept three tasks per day, and posting more would cost him experience points.
Though players were mostly low-level, still between levels two and three, they had been helping around the outer city, completing small tasks. As a result, their reputations had grown.
With fewer than 10,000 players online at any given time, the game had become a mix of fun and financial opportunity. Gold coins were a rare commodity, with one coin now worth a thousand RMB.
Bai Yi, leveraging his reputation as the game's "boss," had been selling gold coins for substantial amounts, making 12,000 RMB daily from just twelve coins. The influx of wealth caught the attention of many.
At this point, Bai Yi, having exchanged enough gold coins to fund his plan, set off toward the guard brigade, ready to take the next step.
Wei Lu, emerging from the Hall of Knowledge, sighed again, marveling at the game's realism. "Look at this—The Ancient Gods' Book of the History of the Xia Continent I. It's outrageous. Each god has their own story, and even the ones marked as dead are threats in certain versions. In some, they'll actually come to this world…"
His thoughts were interrupted by the prompt in the live stream chat. Turning around, he saw Bai Yi approaching.
"Mr. Bai Yi," Wei Lu said, bowing slightly.
Bai Yi smiled and nodded, his thoughts momentarily distracted by the task at hand.
"I remember you mentioned a network that connects wonders, right?" Bai Yi asked.
"Yes," Wei Lu replied, his expression brightening. "We can indeed communicate between them."
"Great," Bai Yi said, a plan forming. "I need your help with something. There's a ruin filled with contract power, and I think it would be useful to you. Can you help me retrieve something
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