Chapter 1 A Time of Silence

Shi Feng looked at the ancient stone token in his hand and fell silent for a moment.

“Could it be because I was the first to connect to the NPC auction house, thus receiving a reward?”

Silver-grade auction house permits were rare even among first-rate guilds in his previous life, so it was conceivable how difficult it was to upgrade an auction house permit from bronze to silver.

Aside from the reward for being the first to open an NPC auction house, Shi Feng couldn't think of any other possibilities.

After thinking for a moment, Shi Feng stopped worrying about how it happened and couldn't help but directly click on the auction house permit to check its specific attributes.

Auction House Permit, Silver Grade: A token for managing auction houses. It allows the holder to freely mobilize all resources in the auction house. The NPC auction house exchange fee is 15%, and the NPC auction house's reputation increases by 30%.

"Amazing! It's so much stronger than the bronze-grade permit. No wonder auction houses with silver-grade permits progressed so quickly in my previous life!" Shi Feng was overjoyed after reading the attributes.

A normal bronze-grade permit can only extract 10% of the fees from the NPC auction house, and this 10% only refers to 10% of the handling fee charged by the NPC auction house to players. Compared to auction houses established by players themselves, it is simply incomparable. However, the number of players using NPC auction houses is very large, far exceeding that of player auction houses, so even just 10% is still a very considerable income.

The silver-grade auction house permit directly adds 5%, which is no less than having half the income of an NPC auction house. The extra revenue is self-evident.

It is usually a fierce battle to get an NPC auction house. How easy is it to get more?

If you have two NPC auction houses, plus a silver-grade permit, it would be equivalent to the income of three auction houses.

Moreover, the silver-grade auction house permit can also speed up the increase in the auction house's popularity, allowing the auction house's promotion speed to increase by as much as 30%. This is an effect that the bronze-grade permit absolutely does not have.

You must know that NPC auction houses will become larger and more luxurious as they are promoted, and the number of auction house rooms will also increase, which can greatly increase the auction house's revenue.

Auction house permits are not like NPC auction houses. NPC auction houses may change hands, but auction house permits will not change hands. They are private items, and even if you take over other NPC auction houses in the future, you can still enjoy silver-grade treatment.

"If the various super forces knew that Zero Wing had such a thing, they would probably desperately try to take down White River City Auction House again," Shi Feng smiled faintly.

One step ahead leads to being ahead every step!

Currently, all the major super forces have at least two or more NPC auction houses, and the silver-grade permit allows Zero Wing to have one and a half auction houses. Moreover, as time goes by, the auction house continues to advance, and the revenue ratio of the auction house rooms will become larger and larger. By then, one White River City Auction House will probably be able to抵上(dǐ shàng) (match) two NPC auction houses.

The current super forces only have two NPC auction houses. If Zero Wing takes down another NPC auction house, it would be close to three and a half auction house revenues, which is considered a middle-to-upper level among the super forces, not to mention it is also connected to the guild auction house.

When it comes to comparing the guild's financial resources, even super forces have to think carefully.

Immediately, Shi Feng left the White River City Auction House and went directly to Stone Forest Town.

Although he had an auction house permit, connecting the two auction houses still required opening them through the auction house permit. It's not like using the auction house permit, where you can directly open the resources of the two auction houses with just a thought.

Stoneclaw Mountains, Stone Forest Town.

Shi Feng walked on the main street of Stone Forest Town and could clearly feel that Stone Forest Town was now in decline. On the street, in addition to some players who had just entered God's Domain, there were only some expert players and merchant players walking around. There were no other mainstream players.

Compared to the glorious days of seven or eight hundred thousand players, the current number of players is probably less than three hundred thousand. Moreover, Stone Forest Town was only an intermediate town during its glorious days, but now it is an advanced town, with an area several times larger, but the number of people has decreased to more than a third, making the entire Stone Forest Town even more desolate.

Even the major super forces, who were once somewhat envious, have lost interest in the current Stone Forest Town.

The only reasons that still make players willing to come here are the advanced auction house and the arena. If the Zero Wing City Arena wasn't too crowded, the number of players willing to come here would probably be even smaller.

Before long, Shi Feng arrived at the Zero Wing Auction House, which was the second largest building in Stone Forest Town after the guild residence and the arena.

Walking into the hall, there were only a few players sitting in the hall trading items, and these players were all below level 50. There were even many players in their thirties, which was pitifully weak compared to the current mainstream level of 60.

If Stone Forest Town wasn't backed by the Stoneclaw Mountains and didn't have an advanced auction house where players could exchange goods, these players would probably all run away...

Because there are now many places for players to level up, and expert players can take them to high-level areas, they don't have to worry about low-level weapons and equipment at all. There is no need to level up in the Stoneclaw Mountains.

Perhaps some people value the magic crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains area副本 (fùběn) (dungeons), but the level 50 limit prevents high-level players from entering, and advanced players cannot带小号(dài xiǎohào) (carry newbies). The leveling speed of a player with an expert versus without an expert is like two different dimensions. If you give up catching up with the army's level just for some magic crystals, it is simply putting the cart before the horse, because high-level map resources and opportunities are not only more numerous, but also better.

Of course, there are exceptions, such as工作室 (gōngzuòshì) (studios) and guild打金团(dǎ jīn tuán) (gold farming groups) who刷(shuā) (farm) magic crystals in the Stoneclaw Mountains area dungeons. After all, magic crystals are always a hard currency in God's Domain, and players need them no matter what level they reach. Zero Wing also regularly allows small accounts that enter the guild to farm magic crystals here in exchange for guild积分 (jīfēn) (points).

Scanning the players in the hall, Shi Feng did not stay and went directly to the stairs in the corner, all the way to the top hall of the auction house, which is also where the auction house's most important warehouse is located.

After arriving at the warehouse, Shi Feng took out the auction house permit from his backpack and began to chant the咒文 (zhòuwén) (incantation).

As the incantation echoed in the warehouse, the magic array engraved on the warehouse floor suddenly bloomed with a dazzling silver light, as if echoing the auction house permit in Shi Feng's hand. Until Shi Feng finished chanting the last syllable, a door also appeared in the center of the warehouse. This door was entirely made of obsidian. If you opened this door, you would find that the dream通向(tōngxiàng) (leads to) the warehouse of the White River City Auction House.

After the door appeared, it quickly opened, and a group of well-equipped NPC guards soon appeared from inside. Each one was level 180, and the leader was even a level 180 Tier 3 knight.

The arrival of these NPC guard knights also allowed the NPC stewards working in the White River City Auction House to enter the warehouse one after another, and each began their own work.

Suddenly, a system notification came to Shi Feng's ears.

System: The Zero Wing Auction House传送魔法阵 (chuánsòng mófǎ zhèn) (Teleportation Magic Array) has been connected. Does the player want to open the auction house's shared warehouse now?

"Open!" Shi Feng calmed down and then clicked同意 (tóngyì) (agree).

Suddenly, the system栏 (lán) (panels) of the Zero Wing Auction House in Stone Forest Town and the White River City Auction House suddenly changed, and all the items of the two auction houses were presented in front of the players.