Chapter 1 A Restaurant Called Forest Traveler

Shi Feng stared intently at a restaurant on the list named Forest Traveler, his eyes filled with a mix of surprise and delight.

The Forest Traveler was currently an insignificant little restaurant in Sea Forest, located in its outer area. The entire restaurant was only two small floors, with dining on the first floor and resting on the second. It was ordinary and unremarkable.

However, when Sea Forest unlocked for the third time, the special nature of this small restaurant was discovered. By then, many players had come to Sea Forest. To stay there as long as possible, especially traveling merchant players who wanted to do business, would stay for several days. So at that time, Sea Forest's hotels and restaurant rooms were overcrowded, not to mention cheap little restaurants.

After the third unlock, the Forest Traveler suddenly launched a package service: accommodation with meals, specifically tied to the few premium rooms, forcing players who wanted to stay in Sea Forest to purchase it.

But after eating the meals provided by the Forest Traveler, the restaurant became famous in Sea Forest.

Because after eating the meal, players gained a special buff called Forest Blessing.

This Forest Blessing could increase a player's Luck by 5 to 20 points, lasting for eighteen hours, with a cooldown of two natural days.

Luck, though ethereal in God's Domain, was omnipresent, subtly influencing players in opening treasure chests, monster drops, crafting, and more. As a result, accessories that added even three to five points of Luck were worth a fortune and could be used indefinitely, never becoming obsolete, though their effects would diminish over time.

Major guilds would desperately hoard such items. After all, a little more Luck might mean a drop of an epic item. Players and guilds alike treasured these items, and very few Luck-enhancing items appeared on the market.

The fact that the Forest Traveler could increase Luck just by eating there was unimaginable to free players and major forces. Even Shi Feng had visited the Forest Traveler many times, especially before tackling large-scale team dungeons. Stopping by the Forest Traveler for a meal was a must. The only downside was the long wait, even after the Forest Traveler expanded. Queues often started at seven or eight hours, a testament to its popularity.

It was known as one of the top hundred epic-level shops in God's Domain.

This ranking was compiled by the Tianji Pavilion based on demand and rarity, and its credibility was very high.

Now that this restaurant was in front of him, how could Shi Feng not be excited and surprised?

However, when Shi Feng saw the rental price, his eyes twitched.

"Are they robbing people?" Shi Feng couldn't help but think.

Generally, renting hotels or restaurants in Sea Forest was done on a weekly or monthly basis. However, the Forest Traveler had no monthly rent, only annual rent, and the annual rent was sixty thousand gold…

Renting a large, high-end restaurant in the inner area only cost four thousand gold a month, but the Forest Traveler was equivalent to five thousand gold a month, and required a lump sum payment of sixty thousand gold, which would eat up half of his available funds.

Sixty thousand gold could rent more than ten other hotels and restaurants.

"Should I hold off and come back next time?" Shi Feng pondered in his heart, looking at the Forest Traveler.

The first month after Sea Forest opened was the most competitive and also the most advantageous. Once a place was rented, the tenant had the right of first refusal for renewal, unless they voluntarily gave it up. Otherwise, other players couldn't take it.

If he waited until his next visit to Sea Forest, the three major guilds might have already discovered the importance of hotels and restaurants, making it difficult for him to rent in bulk. The Forest Traveler, on the other hand, wasn't too much of a concern, as sixty thousand gold was a significant expense even for super forces.

"Respected Demon Hunter, the hotels and restaurants on the last page are our special recommendations, favored by many large clients. If you miss this opportunity, we cannot guarantee they will be on the list next time," the elven man said, smiling seductively as he watched Shi Feng's hesitation.

Shi Feng couldn't help but roll his eyes at the elven man.

What the elven man was saying meant that either he had to give up the Forest Traveler to choose more than ten other hotels and restaurants, or he had to choose the Forest Traveler and give up more than ten other hotels and restaurants. Either choice was a great loss for Shi Feng.

"I'm very optimistic about this Forest Traveler, but why can this restaurant only be rented annually? Can't it be rented monthly?" Shi Feng pointed to the Forest Traveler on the list, hoping to find other options.

"The Forest Traveler?" The elven man adjusted his glasses and explained with a smile, "This shop is experiencing operational problems and urgently needs a large amount of capital, so they came to us for rental. We suggested that they change the annual rent to monthly rent, but they refused. However, you are a Demon Hunter and enjoy noble status in this city. We can negotiate with them to see if we can slightly alter the conditions, but we charge one thousand gold for each negotiation. I wonder if you would like to negotiate?"

"One thousand gold per negotiation?" Shi Feng's lips twitched slightly.

Negotiation was not unfamiliar to Shi Feng. This was why major guilds sent merchant players to purchase shops and land here. The higher the merchant player's level, the stronger their ability to lower prices. They could even use various favorable conditions to lower prices through negotiation with NPCs. Some extremely skilled merchant players could earn considerable brokerage fees through negotiation with NPCs.

But this was the first time he had encountered a negotiation that cost one thousand gold.

"That's right. As a noble of this city, you have the right to negotiate three times. We cannot say for sure what the specific results will be," the elven man explained.

"Alright, then let's negotiate," Shi Feng sighed and took out one thousand gold from his bag.

This kind of negotiation was simply to change the rental conditions. How much more favorable it could become for the player completely depended on luck, and also on what the player was willing to accept.

After five minutes, the elven man walked in from outside and brought out the new conditions for the Forest Traveler.

The annual rent could be changed, but it had to be rented for ten months, with a rent of fifty-four thousand gold. This condition only reduced the number of months, but the monthly rent increased significantly, which was not a good choice.

Shi Feng had no choice but to give up and spend another one thousand gold to negotiate.

The result of the second negotiation was still annual rent, but the rent could be paid in installments, with an initial payment of fifty thousand gold, and then fifteen thousand gold within one month.

Seeing this, Shi Feng suddenly regretted letting Aqua Rose hold the Heart of Icarus. If he had the Heart of Icarus at this time, it might have yielded better results, as the results of each negotiation were random.

Helplessly, Shi Feng gritted his teeth and paid one thousand gold for the third negotiation.

If it really didn't work out, he would have to give up for now. After all, the Forest Traveler restaurant had no income in the early stages, and he was very short on money. Although the Forest Traveler was tempting, he needed to obtain a large amount of gold coins in a short period of time.

Watching the elven man return from outside once again, Shi Feng secretly prayed that some change would occur.

"Congratulations, Demon Hunter, after the third negotiation, the Forest Traveler is willing to change to a half-year rental, but you need to pay forty-five thousand gold. Of course, you can take 40% of the Forest Traveler's net profit during this period."