After some time, Gentle Snow released a small sigh.

Shi Feng could see the helplessness Gentle Snow struggled with through the screen. However, her reaction was only natural. After all, who would willingly merge the Guild they had spent an endless amount of effort to establish with another Guild?

However, Shi Feng had his own considerations as well.

Even if Zero Wing and Ouroboros were allies, the Guilds resided in two different cities. And as no one could predict the future, both Zero Wing’s upper management and its Guild members had to keep up their guard constantly. In order to avoid adding to Zero Wing’s worries, the best result would be to annex Ouroboros.

It was truly hilarious.

A little Guild like Zero Wing actually dared to annex a first-rate guild?

However, Shi Feng possessed the strength and confidence to succeed.

Zero Wing currently possessed many experts. There was also a continuous supply of funds from the Candlelight Trading Firm, so Zero Wing could afford to annex a gigantic existence like Ouroboros. Moreover, after receiving Ouroboros’s trade channels, the Candlelight Trading Firm could profit further.

In addition, after operating in the virtual gaming world for so many years, Ouroboros must have accumulated plenty of old customers, who were very rich and willing to spend lots of money in virtual reality games, as well as corporate sponsors. Otherwise, the Guild would not have such an impressive income.

Zero Wing Workshop was currently still developing their customer base. If the Workshop could claim Ouroboros’s old customers, it could very quickly earn large sums of Credits, unlike the Workshop’s current state where it was without a stable income and required Shi Feng to look for a source himself.

“Guild Leader Black Flame, I need some time to consider this matter,” Gentle Snow said after calming down. “Since Guild Leader Black Flame has no intentions of selling the Candlelight Trading Firm’s shares, may I purchase some Coins from you?”

Although there were plenty of people selling their Coins on the virtual trade center, the available volume was very small. Moreover, every other Guild in the game was also attempting to purchase Coins in bulk, making it practically impossible to purchase large sums. Thus, Ouroboros could only rely on its own money-farming teams to cover the Guild’s daily expenses.

“Miss Snow, you should know how tight the various Guilds are for Coins right now. However, if you’re only interested in purchasing a small sum, there should be no issues. May I know how much you are looking to buy?” Shi Feng asked.

Although he had spent quite a lot of money already, both the Starstreak Trading Firm and the Candlelight Trading Firm provided him with a significant daily income. He could easily sell one or two thousand Gold.

“I don’t want much; 5,000 Gold will do,” Gentle Snow stated after giving the matter some thought. “I can transfer 50 million Credits for them immediately.”

With 5,000 Gold, she should barely be able to stabilize Ouroboros’s current situation. If she established a Guild Residence and gave the Guild members some hope, it would make it more difficult for Cao Chenghua to lure players away.

“Five thousand? Miss Snow, you think too highly of me.” Shi Feng smiled bitterly. “How about this; I can sell you 2,000 Gold at market price. However, I will require Ouroboros’s help to purchase a few plots of Land in Star-Moon Kingdom’s top ten cities and to promote the Candlelight Trading Firm.”

Coin’s market value constantly depreciated. Currently, 1 Gold Coin was worth about 6,000 Credits. One could roughly purchase a piece of Level 25 Mysterious-Iron Equipment or Level 20 Secret-Silver Equipment with that kind of money.

Gentle Snow’s offer to purchase 5,000 Gold at 50 million Credits was far above market value. However, even if she had 50 million Credits, she couldn’t even purchase 4,000 Gold, much less 5,000. Otherwise, those corporate giants would have long since bought up all the available Lands in major cities.

One could say that Coins were at their peak value right now. If one could purchase a good plot of Land now, they could earn back the money spent by ten, or even dozens, of times. These massive corporations naturally would not hold back from spending their Credits. Unfortunately, such a thing was simply not possible.

“Two thousand Gold?” Gentle Snow was immediately stunned.

Before, she had only mentioned 5,000 Gold with the intention of probing Zero Wing’s bottom line. Throughout God’s Domain, there was not a single Guild that was capable of revealing 5,000 Gold, yet Shi Feng had just casually mentioned that he would sell her 2,000 Gold.

Two thousand Gold!

In order to acquire so much money, she would have to spend several days relentlessly trying to purchase Coins and draft the Guild’s money-farming teams and her confidants. On the other hand, even after purchasing so many golden Lands, Shi Feng could still afford to sell 2,000 Gold.

His financial prowess was unmatched…

“Is it not enough?” Shi Feng pondered for a moment before saying, “I can offer you 3,000 Gold at most. If it is still not enough, you will have to look for other avenues yourself.”

Gentle Snow had helped him plenty of times, so he would not kick her while she was down. He would help her to the best of his abilities so long as it was within his capability.

Although he had a lot of money, he needed that money to purchase Lands and set up Shops in other cities. Besides that, he also needed to leave some for the Guild in case of emergencies.

“Thanks, I’ll transfer the money to you right away,” Gentle Snow said, inwardly feeling overjoyed. With 3,000 Gold in addition to the 2,000 Gold she currently had on hand, she would have enough to purchase a plot of Land and establish Ouroboros’s Guild Residence, as well as maintain the Guild’s daily expenses. This way, Cao Chenghua would find it far more difficult to tear the Guild.

\---

After Shi Feng sold 3,000 Gold to Gentle Snow through the virtual trade center, he then teleported to Maple City.

Maple City was also considered a major city in Star-Moon Kingdom’s Eastern Region. The city had nearly one million players. This was also one of the reasons that many people had an optimistic opinion of Overwhelming Smile.

Aside from a few small Guilds, Overwhelming Smile was the only large Guild residing in the city. It had already chased any major competition out of Maple City. One could say that Overwhelming Smile had fortified itself in Maple City. It would be very difficult for other Guilds to cause even the slightest bit of trouble here.

At this moment, as Shi Feng wandered through Maple City’s; streets the majority of the players he saw on his walk consisted of Overwhelming Smile’s members. Every one of these Overwhelming Smile members flaunted their arrogance, and players of other Guilds could only do their best to avoid standing in the way.

“Overwhelming Smile has set up a Trading Firm in Maple City! The Shop’s name is Overwhelming Trading Firm, and it’s in the central district! The items there are much cheaper than the ones in NPC Shops! They also offer plenty of items that are not available in NPC Shops! If everyone is interested, please go take a look!”

Many Overwhelming Smile members loudly promoted the Overwhelming Trading Firm, attracting many players’ attention.

After all, player-owned Shops were far better than NPCs’. In particular, none of the NPCs’ Shops sold Whetstones. Normally, they could only purchase such items from Forging Apprentices. Unlike White River City, Maple City did not possess a Starstreak Trading Firm that allowed players to purchase many items not normally found in NPC Shops.

“Overwhelming really is the dominant force here. Unfortunately, that will only hold true for now.” Shi Feng currently sat under a small outdoor pavilion, sipping wine as he observed the lively streets of Maple City.

In a moment, a middle-aged man close to his forties arrived before Shi Feng. Respectfully, he said, “Hello, Guild Leader Black Flame. My name is Liang Chen. Guild Leader snow has sent me to you. Here is the agreement stating that I will purchase Land on your behalf. Please look through it.”

“Thank you for your efforts.” Shi Feng received the agreement and gave it a quick glance. After making sure that everything was in order, he signed his name and said, “Let’s head to the City Hall and proceed, then.”

* * *

If you like the novel, my translations, and Goblyn's (and sometimes Mind's and Vampirecat's) edits, please leave a vote for RSSG!

Also, take a look at this post and see how you can contribute to some bonus chapters through voting as well!

If you would like to show even more support, please consider purchasing a copy of RSSG's first e-book, second e-book, third e-book, fourth e-book, fifth e-book and even sixth e-book!

We also have a Patreon, so if you would like to get early access to a certain amount of chapters, or wish to contribute to a faster release rate, or both, please consider donating at RSSG Patreon!

* * *

Current release rate: 21 chapters/ week