Sacred Souls: Genesis

Chapter 137: Chapter 136: The Value of a Stubborn Stronghold Seed (2nd Update)

Jiang Qiao sat down on a chair made from a tree stump.

After the players completed the battlefield task, the initial base welcomed its first upgrade, which was the addition of over fifty wooden tables and chairs made from stumps.

These common park seating arrangements were not just for show; Jiang Qiao also had a small game system in mind to add to the base.

The idea was that when players had nothing else to do, they could sit here and play cards or mahjong, so that Queen Mei wouldn’t get too bored in the base every day.

Another upgrade was the addition of four black cells in the base, which held the Magic Thieves captured by Xia Shan.

They were still unconscious, and Jiang Qiao hadn’t yet decided what to do with them.

For now, Jiang Qiao was busy observing the players’ reactions after obtaining the “Enduring Rock Base Seed,” focusing on posts related to base construction on forums and Weibo, as well as the reaction of the person who had the “Enduring Rock Base Seed”… namely, “Extra Cream No Charge.”

“Are you really not going to sell it?” Jiang Qiao said, glancing at “Extra Cream No Charge” who was busy sorting through her fifty bags, while browsing through posts.

Zhao Mingwei and Lin Xi were currently busy leveling up around them, while Xia Shan had gone to exchange her fifteen hundred yuan.

Jiang Qiao, alone, happened to meet a Mercenary returning from the forest, “Extra Cream No Charge,” who was still dressed as a village girl, with extremely low-key equipment.

That equipment must be an illusion, an illusory transformation of a level one novice nurse’s clothes.

“Sell what?” “Extra Cream No Charge” didn’t even lift her head to look at the wooden table, her fingertips trailed over its surface, a motion Jiang Qiao knew meant she was organizing her inventory.

“This.” Jiang Qiao sent the data for the “Enduring Rock Base Seed” to “Extra Cream No Charge.”

“Oh, this? President, are you thinking of building a base?”

“Extra Cream No Charge” saw that Jiang Qiao had brought up the “Enduring Rock Base Seed” and her eyes lit up as she looked at him.

At that moment, Jiang Qiao felt like an old farmer targeted by a landlord, who was trying to squeeze out the farmer’s last bit of value.

And also…

You still remember that I’m your president, huh?

“If the down payment is six hundred thousand, I definitely can’t afford it,” Jiang Qiao waved his hand immediately, suggesting to forget about it.

There was already a post on the player community forum titled “Wanted: Enduring Rock Base Seed, 600,000 cash! Meet at Lionheart City·Biland Island for payment!” Poster: Cola Fanatic Guild official.

This post alone drove the price of the “Enduring Rock Base Seed” above six hundred thousand without the need for any hype.

Jiang Qiao… couldn’t really come up with that much money in real life, even though he could produce countless “Enduring Rock Base Seeds.”

“I see.” “Extra Cream No Charge” smacked her lips, looking somewhat disappointed as she continued to organize her bags.

“If you really want to sell, you could sell it to the Cola Fanatic Guild,” Jiang Qiao said while still scrolling through the replies to the forum posts below.

‘It’s here! A game prop as a down payment for my house.’ Replier: General Lindon Wan.

‘Cola Fanatic? It’s time to post “truly the big boss of bubbles.jpg”!’ Replier: Search Jun.

‘Who can give me a Holy Spirit Activation Qualification? I feel like I’ve missed out on a couple of million these past few days.’ Replier: The Impulsive Drill.

‘Playing Holy Spirit, overnight riches are what you deserve.’ Replier: Quan Jiu.

“Guild leader, I’ve been thinking about something,” Add Milk Without Price Increase had finished organizing her backpack and began browsing the player community forums. “Do you think I’d make more money by setting up my own base, or by selling it?”

It turned out Add Milk Without Price Increase wasn’t thinking about selling the land, but about becoming a real estate developer.

“I don’t think this base system land is worth much, not being a key location like Lionheart City. It’s deserted with only high-level players able to enter. It seems there’s not much profit to be made,” murmured Add Milk Without Price Increase, analyzing to herself. “Those big guilds build bases just for the prestige, but if you want the land to be really valuable, you have to develop a commercial chain. Although the official website says players can build whatever they want in the base, will building a shop really turn a profit?”

“So, have you decided to sell the Stubborn Rock Base Seed?” Jiang Qiao did not deny Add Milk Without Price Increase’s analysis.

After all, the eight major guilds were scrambling to establish bases just for popularity, and popularity was equivalent to income in the eyes of club members.

“Let me think about it. Logically speaking, Biland Island should be the endgame map. There’s not much money to be made from new players, only max-level players have some savings to buy homemade potions and the like. A base is equivalent to a town; if you could really open a shop, there should be a cut of the profits. But the problem is, how long will this endgame map last? Guild leader! I need to ask my doll sister!”

Add Milk Without Price Increase looked at the continuously refreshing bounties on Weibo and forums, struggled for a long time, and finally decided to stand up and go ask Fureya about it.

“Can you really get the answers from Fureya?” asked Jiang Qiao.

“That’s my secret.”

Add Milk Without Price Increase waved to Jiang Qiao and ran towards the tree hole.

Jiang Qiao watched Add Milk Without Price Increase’s departing figure and involuntarily sighed the same way she did when she was with Zhao Mingwei, that was impressive.

“What’s she asking Fureya for?” Hai Lan, in her ghost form, had been floating beside Jiang Qiao. After Add Milk Without Price Increase left, she sat down where Add Milk Without Price Increase had been.

“Because she knows this world is real, in a sense, real. Therefore, she believes the value of the Base Seed shouldn’t just remain at the game level,” Jiang Qiao interpreted Add Milk Without Price Increase’s thoughts. “Essentially, she still wants to maximize the benefits of the Stubborn Rock Base Seed.”

“But what does that have to do with asking Fureya?” Hai Lan always felt Jiang Qiao didn’t address the crux of the question.

“At this stage, the only NPC related to the main quest is Fureya. Fureya’s thoughts can somehow… reflect our own thoughts,” Jiang Qiao said as she opened another window with a wave of her hand.

There were a total of five hundred and seventy-two Fureyas residing on Biland Island and to Jiang Qiao’s surprise, all of them were in the green, which meant healthy.

On one hand, you couldn’t accept the third phase of the main quest without fully healing Fureya. On the other hand, players’ feelings for Fureya were growing deeper.

“I hope Add Milk Without Price Increase’s Fureya gives her a suitable answer,” Jiang Qiao remarked, being able to only observe the life status of the Fureyas for now. However, their thoughts were perceptible only to the original Fureya.

The original Fureya would immediately report back to Jiang Qiao about any Fureya exhibiting abnormal thoughts, but as it stood, all the Fureyas were in the stage of innocently exploring the new world.