Chapter 27: Money Makes the Mare Go
Hang Yu did not act immediately.
After all, the Midnight Pig Slayer had just been captured, and had not yet been sent to Hexi Village.
At this moment, he still did not know the exact location of that village and needed to continue observing through the Lord’s Vision.
Moreover, after eight hours of continuous battle, the players’ bodies both in-game and in reality needed rest, so it was not suitable to immediately embark on a long journey to execute a mission.
“The Lord said.”
“We'll move out in two hours.”
“For now, we can do some preparations.”
This time, after hunting dozens of Mountain Goats and Wild Bulls, they obtained dozens of Horns of Skeletal Goats, Scorpion-Tailed Bull Hides, and hundreds of pieces of beef and mutton ingredients.
Additionally, they harvested as many as forty pieces of high-quality leather and ten gems for weapon enhancement, a bountiful harvest indeed.
Of course, not all materials had been brought back.
For instance, the high-quality leather and gemstone materials dropped by the BOSS.
Although Mad Blade Old Wang picked them up in time, due to his death, about thirty percent of them were lost.
The players then brought their loot to the Alchemy Workshop, only to be blocked outside by two NPC soldiers.
Zhang San said expressionlessly, “Please stop. Her Excellency Yan Ling fainted from overwork just now and must rest for some time. If you want to buy equipment, you may choose outside. If you need forging services, please come back tomorrow!”
“What the hell!”
“What happened!”
“Our little forger girl fainted?”
“Do NPCs work this hard?”
“Third Brother, Fourth Brother, please help us. I'll treat you to a meal later!” Black-Eyed Rui Ge said flatteringly to the two NPC soldiers.
“We just got a lot of materials and really need forging services. Could you at least report for us?”
Zhang San said emotionlessly, “No. This is the Lord’s order!”
Li Si said emotionlessly, “Her Excellency Yan Ling needs rest!”
This was a bit troublesome.
Zhang San and Li Si, as personal guards around the Lord, were like emotionless machines.
They would execute the Lord’s orders without any reservation or compromise, with no room for negotiation, and they could not be bribed.
“I have rested enough!”
A slightly weak but crisp female voice sounded.
The players saw a petite yet voluptuous, cute yet seductive fox-eared girl walking out on her own.
Although her face was pale, her eyes were shining, like a starving person suddenly seeing a flock of fat sheep.
Zhang San and Li Si were momentarily at a loss.
The Lord forbade players from disturbing the forger, but if the forger insisted on working, they had no way to stop her and could only tacitly allow it.
Yan Ling asked enthusiastically, “What do you want? Forging, repairing, or strengthening?”
Such professionalism!
Even though she was just an NPC.
It made people feel a bit guilty.
“Are you sure your body is okay?” Little Bell couldn’t help but express her concern.
The other players were also worried.
There was only one forger in the territory.
If anything happened, it would be a major problem.
Yan Ling said indifferently, “I'm not that fragile. Even if I really can't hold on, I have a few recovery potions prepared at home. Right now, working is my top priority!”
Respect!
Truly a model of hard work!
An NPC dedicated to serving players raised everyone's affection for her greatly.
The players did not waste time.
They immediately took out related materials and began asking questions.
“These are all equipment materials. Horns of Skeletal Goats can be forged into mid-grade gray staffs or wands.
Ordinary Scorpion-Tailed Bull hides can be made into mid-grade gray leather armor.
As for high-quality Scorpion-Tailed Bull hides, they can even be crafted into low-grade white leather armor.”
Yan Ling’s eyes twinkled as she said, “However, these two new materials are a bit unfamiliar to me. I need some time to master their properties. I suggest you exchange them at the hall for Contribution Points.”
Black-Eyed Rui Ge asked, “Can't they be forged directly into equipment?”
Yan Ling patiently explained, “Tier-One normal and high-quality materials are relatively common, so the cost of custom equipment and direct purchases is not much different. While bringing materials to me for custom forging can avoid others snatching the best items first, there is still a risk of forging failure and losing everything.”
“Given the current small population of the territory and the abundant supply of materials, there won't be a shortage of equipment in the short term. Rather than risking forging, it’s better to exchange for Contribution Points at the hall.”
“There are two advantages to this.”
“First, you can obtain a sum of Contribution Points to be used for other expenses.”
“Second, these materials will still flow into the workshop, and in a day or two, you can directly buy finished equipment from me.”
So that’s how it was!
Yan Ling really treated players as her own people, genuinely thinking for their sake!
Seeing that the players were persuaded, Yan Ling secretly felt proud.
As expected, she was extremely clever!
She wanted to earn Contribution Points from the players.
To earn Contribution Points, players first needed to have Contribution Points.
If all players were broke, how could the workshop generate more revenue?
Thus, encouraging players to exchange materials for Contribution Points would ensure players had enough Contribution Points to spend.
Moreover, the materials would still flow back to the Alchemy Workshop.
After being forged into equipment, the finished products would be slightly more expensive than custom ones, thus boosting sales performance.
After all, players buying finished equipment did not have to bear the risk of forging failure.
Even a mosquito is still meat.
She now only wanted to do three things.
Earn Contribution Points, earn Contribution Points, and earn even more Contribution Points!
After some discussion, the players felt that Yan Ling’s words made sense.
Since they could not immediately forge equipment, it was better to exchange for a large number of Contribution Points to purchase other equipment or services!
Every ten pieces of Tier-One normal materials could be exchanged for 10 Contribution Points.
Every piece of Tier-One high-quality material could also be exchanged for 10 Contribution Points.
Some players even started doing business, with each Contribution Point currently being hyped up to over 100 yuan.
Although Contribution Points could not be traded directly, players could trade materials or Abyssal Magic Crystals for them.
For ordinary players, this was definitely a blessing.
Although Contribution Points were scarce, earning them was not too difficult.
Killing a few chickens could pay for a child's annual tuition fees.
If one hunted monsters day and night without rest, it would easily become a job with a daily salary of ten thousand or even tens of thousands.
Who wouldn’t be tempted!
Quit the job!
Must quit the job!
Play the game full-time!
That damned job wasn’t worth another day!
Twisted Three Kingdoms was fun and could make money—where else could you find such a good thing?
Wives wouldn’t even complain about gaming?
They might even sponsor their husbands!
This was the heartfelt voice of many players!
Although the number of players was not large at present, players like Ye Li Meng and the super-rich Little Bell had no shortage of money.
They were fully capable of absorbing all the circulating resources.
Given the scarcity of Contribution Points,
It was entirely possible that the price would continue to rise in the future!
Twisted Three Kingdoms truly had infinite potential.
Even before a large-scale public beta, its economic value was already emerging.
Hang Yu watched his citizens' actions and thought it was not a bad thing for now.
After all, profit was the primary driving force of productivity, whether for NPCs like Yan Ling or for players.
Of course.
He would continue to monitor the situation.
If players later engaged in over-speculation or hoarding that affected material circulation, Hang Yu would take necessary measures, such as setting daily material task limits.
“I’ll log off and grab some takeout first.”
“I’ll also log off and rest for a bit.”
“Sigh, I’ve been awake for almost twenty-four hours... If only staying up late cost me leg hair instead!”
“Anyone staying online? If the mission starts early, please notify me immediately! I don’t want to miss such a major storyline!”
“Don’t worry!”
“For sure!”
“……”
The players bid each other goodbye, some going to eat, others to the restroom, and their in-game bodies placed in the barrack dormitory to recover stamina.
About an hour later.
Xiao Ba prompted, “Master, the Midnight Pig Slayer has arrived at Hexi Village.”
Through the Lord’s Vision, Hang Yu located the Midnight Pig Slayer, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Finally, he had found a good area to occupy.
The territory was about to take its first step toward expansion.