"I'm seventeen."
Chu Tian almost couldn't hold back upon hearing this answer.
He hadn't expected this kid to be only seventeen, but he looked too mature!
Chu Tian examined him closely, feeling he wasn't being deceived. However, he still asked again, "Really or not!"
The young man, who had forgotten to bring toilet paper to the main restroom, probably understood the situation. He said embarrassedly, "Really, I just look a bit mature."
Chu Tian thought to himself: You're more than mature, you're growing up too fast!
While they were talking, they had already arrived at the shop management center.
Chu Tian asked him to wait outside for a moment and went in alone.
Guided by a system NPC, Chu Tian arrived in front of a four-dimensional stereoscopic sand table.
There were six plots of land displayed in gold, indicating they were available for operation.
These were Chu Tian's six prime locations in Shengjing City, plots numbered 1 through 6.
Plot number one was a reward for the first player to reach the main city globally.
Plots two and three were rewards for completing the City Lord's quests.
Plots four, five, and six were ones he had purchased with money.
Chu Tian considered it and first chose plot number two, directly establishing an Engineering shop. Engineering produced consumables like bullets, mechanical arrows, and cannonballs. For the large player base of Sharpshooters and Gunners, it could generate considerable profit.
For players who learned the Engineering profession but didn't pursue advanced levels, mindlessly crafting these items was a profitable lifestyle profession.
This was because their products had significantly higher attack power than the system's arrows and bullets. Furthermore, they could be imbued with different attributes according to player requests, allowing for a customized service.
After plot number two was constructed, Chu Tian chose plot number three and built a pharmacy.
Medicine was a necessity in the Heavenly Dao. When leveling up in the wild without a healer in the party, you'd need to consume medicine to maintain your health. If Engineering bullets and arrows catered to the Sharpshooter and Gunner professions,
then the pharmacy catered to all players. Not only were potions needed for leveling in the wild, but they were also essential for clearing team dungeons.
The pharmacy was something Chu Tian had planned for a long time; the Engineering shop was just a spur-of-the-moment idea.
The shops were built at level one and cost fifty gold coins each, a total of one hundred gold coins for both. However, Chu Tian only needed to pay ninety gold coins.
This was because, according to the contract agreement, the City Lord of Luo would cover ten percent of the costs for Chu Tian's shops.
At this time, players near the teleportation point were either setting up stalls or strolling around when a squad of guards appeared.
Simultaneously, they unfurled a notice and read: "To eradicate violations of the Shengjing City Management Law, private stalls are prohibited within a five-hundred-meter radius of Level 2 shops. Violators will be apprehended and imprisoned for three days. You have three minutes to dismantle your stalls."
Everyone heard this and exclaimed, "What's going on?"
"Are you kidding? Where are the Level 2 shops?" one player voiced the thoughts of everyone present.
But then another squad of labor NPCs arrived, carrying wood and tools.
They went to the locations of shops two and three, directly pointing their tools at the ground and making sounds. Without doing anything visible,
two buildings, section by section, rose from the ground.
In less than a minute, two brand-new, two-story buildings appeared.
The crowd saw the signs of the construction companies: "Everything Pharmacy, Everything Engineering."
"This... is this person incredibly wealthy? Both shops have the same name!"
"More than wealthy, someone offered three thousand gold coins for these two plots yesterday, looking to purchase them from the owner."
"Yes, I saw it yesterday while setting up my stall. I don't know if it was bought by someone else or if the original owner opened their own shops."
"Damn, three thousand gold coins? That's equivalent to 12 million RMB!"
"Yeah, if it were me, I would have sold it. The system purchase price was probably less than a thousand."
"That's why they say you have limited vision. Only a fool would sell! But this person's naming sense is a bit... odd."
"Alas, the construction cost alone is probably something we can't afford. Building to a Level 2 shop costs five hundred and fifty gold!"
"Regardless of anything else, we no longer have places to set up our stalls. This is the area with the most foot traffic! It's truly infuriating."
As all the players chattered, some with envy, some with jealousy, and naturally some with hatred,
Chu Tian paid no mind to any of this. He was well aware of the city management law and could guess what the players who had been setting up stalls were regretting at that moment.
With nowhere to set up, their goods couldn't be sold. If they moved to another location, other shops would eventually be established there as well. Ultimately, they would only be able to congregate in the market district, which was reserved for players to freely set up stalls.
It was precisely because he knew the city regulations that he directly upgraded his shops to Level 2, aiming to create a sense of disparity in their minds.
At this moment, Chu Tian opened the first prime plot and selected an option for construction.
After the labor NPCs on the plaza finished constructing those two locations, the players had already withdrawn from the areas covered by the two shops. They all gathered to the north, shaking their heads and sighing as they set up their stalls again.
The five-hundred-meter coverage radius couldn't encompass the entire plaza, which was approximately a thousand meters in scope.
At this point, everyone was crowding on this side, making it impossible for pedestrians to pass. There were more sellers than buyers.
Just as they finished setting up their stalls, they saw that squad of labor NPCs heading directly towards them.
Under their shocked gazes, they again pounded the ground of plot number one with their tools.
A building even larger than the previous two shops rose from the ground. Since plot number one had a larger land area,
this building, upon its appearance, looked particularly magnificent.
"Everything Auction House"
All eyes were focused on the sign.
"Holy crap, 'Everything' again, and it's an auction house!" one player exclaimed in shock.
"I guessed they would build an auction house here because this is the only location in the entire Shengjing City that allows for the construction of an auction house based on its land area."
"You guessed? What nonsense are you talking about? Everyone knows that, why do we need you to guess?"
"Exactly! What shocks us is the construction cost. Level one costs two hundred gold, and Level two costs two thousand gold. Look at the name, it starts with 'Everything' again, and it's the same person!"
"Three prime plots for shops, how rich is this person?"
Amidst everyone's boundless astonishment, a voice called out, "Hey, why are you arresting me?"
Everyone turned to follow the sound, and their necks all snapped back.
They saw a player being held by the neck by guards, with handcuffs on.
Then a second person was apprehended by the guards.
Everyone quickly gathered their stalls. They had been so engrossed in their shock that they had forgotten to pack up.
These two unlucky individuals, being closer to the guards, were immediately cuffed.
The arrest meant three days of imprisonment, and they had to be online during this period, or their sentence would be extended.
Three days of inactivity meant they couldn't do anything, and the losses would be immense.
Thousands of players who had been setting up stalls quickly got to their feet, none daring to confront the guards.
Everyone wore crestfallen expressions. If they sold their items elsewhere, the speed of sales would be at least halved.
Should they consider consigning items at the auction house? They heard there were handling fees, but there were also benefits. The advantage was that once consigned, they wouldn't have to worry about it and could continue leveling or doing other things.
As everyone was contemplating, a person in a black cloak appeared, followed by a man in his thirties.
The two walked directly into the auction house, and in no time, a subtitle appeared above the auction house's sign.
"Auction House Trial Operation: No handling fees will be charged within seven days!"