Chapter 29: Ransacking the Market

Lin Mu was now wealthy and began searching for the things he wanted. First, he checked for construction blueprints.

In the trading market panel, Lin Mu typed: "Territory Construction Blueprints."

The panel immediately popped up the sales information interface.

The number of players in Dongye County should be quite high now, perhaps reaching hundreds of thousands, but the construction blueprints for sale were relatively few. Lin Mu took a look and saw only three pages of sales information, with 20 listings per page. This indicated there were only 60 blueprints available, far below Lin Mu's expectations.

In the past, Dongye County had thousands of pages of construction blueprints. Of course, that was during its peak. Now, with a mere three pages, he felt a bit frustrated. However, only about half a month of game time had passed, and most players' levels were still very low. Their exploration and adventuring were still confined to the areas surrounding the official territories; the desolate lands, steep mountains, and regions infested with demonic beasts had not yet been developed. Those were the places where rich resources lay.

Being a tycoon, Lin Mu didn't even bother looking further and swept up all three pages of blueprints. His backpack immediately filled with 60 construction blueprints, mostly basic structures.

After sweeping up the construction blueprints, Lin Mu entered his command again: "Items."

In an instant, a consignment interface appeared before him, but this time it was even more meager. There was only a single page, and it contained mostly useless items like torches and silk ropes. Lin Mu browsed through them, but since there were no rare items, he skipped past.

In truth, Lin Mu was hoping to see special items like military tallies or general promotion orders appear, so that he could purchase them to increase his territory's military strength. Unfortunately, there were none.

He typed: "Illustrated Manuals."

This time, Lin Mu was also browsing with a sense of curiosity rather than expectation. Illustrated manuals were even more expensive and rare than blueprints.

Blueprints were single-use items; for example, once a construction blueprint was used for an upgrade or completion, the blueprint disappeared. If it were a production blueprint for an item, it could typically only be learned by one person, making its utility relatively narrow. However, they had the advantage of efficiency: once a skill blueprint was used, the skill was learned; once a forging blueprint was used, the craft was mastered; and once a construction blueprint was used, the building would be completed immediately, provided there were sufficient resources.

An illustrated manual, however, could be learned by many characters who met the necessary requirements. For instance, with certain equipment manuals, any craftsman in a blacksmith shop who reached the required level could comprehend the manual. Once successfully comprehended, they could participate in production. This was the beginning of large-scale manufacturing. Consequently, many players referred to manuals as "Seed" blueprints. They were exceptionally precious, with prices often dozens or even hundreds of times higher than standard blueprints.

To Lin Mu's surprise, there was actually one listing in the manual consignment interface

[Azure Wolf Iron Shield] Production Manual, Price: 100,000 Copper Coins.

This was a manual that could be used by craftsmen in a blacksmith shop. The moment Lin Mu saw it, he knew that his greatest gain today was not the copper coins, but this manual!

Hehe, without a word, an ecstatic Lin Mu clicked without hesitation to buy it. The money in his pocket immediately decreased by 100,000 copper coins.

At the same time, in a forest north of Dongye County, Zhen Lin, the leader of the Zhenlin Studio, who was currently surrounding a Mountain Tiger mob, received a system notification

"—System Notification: Player Zhen Lin, your consigned [Azure Wolf Iron Shield] Production Manual in Dongye County has been successfully purchased by player **. After deducting taxes, you have received 90,000 copper coins." The trading market taxed both sides—what vampires!

But even if they were vampires, Lin Mu was willing to be bled.

The trading market's tax rate was high, but players were also clever, inventing many trading methods such as lowering prices to trade, though most were unreliable. This was because, throughout the Huaxia region, there were many professional peddlers watching the market diligently. If you weren't careful and someone snatched your goods in a split second, you would suffer a massive loss! Such things happened frequently in his past life.

...

"Ah!" Zhen Lin let out a cry of surprise. The [Azure Wolf Iron Shield] Production Manual, which his brothers had spent so much manpower and resources to obtain from a very powerful mountain bandit, had actually been bought! What a tycoon!

It seemed the person who bought this manual was that "World's Number Two."

"Brothers, work harder! Kill that Mountain Tiger! I have major news to announce soon!" Zhen Lin shouted to boost morale.

"Alright, Boss!" The brothers erupted with energy, and the Mountain Tiger soon collapsed in a pool of blood.

A small, grayish-white cloth bag popped out from beside the Mountain Tiger. This was the rhythm of a monster dropping loot! Zhen Lin felt a surge of satisfaction; it was a double blessing!

"Boss, look at what dropped!" one of the brothers said urgently.

"Yeah, Boss, quick, loot the corpse!" The brothers were always eager for monster drops.

Zhen Lin walked over, picked up the bag, and opened it. "Alright... Huh? It's actually a piece of armor, [Cast Iron Armor]! Haha, it adds 20 points of defense. Not bad, not bad!" Zhen Lin said in pleasant surprise.

"Boss, you're treating us! Treat us! Such a good item is a must-have for a tank; only the Boss can wear it!" Everyone in the studio were close brothers, sharing a harmonious bond.

"Haha, I should treat you all. Once everyone logs off, we'll go to Longwan Food Street and eat our fill! Wahahaha..." Zhen Lin said grandly.

"Boss, you've struck it rich! Longwan Food Street is quite expensive! Are you paying? Are you using your secret stash? Aren't you afraid your wife will find out?"

"Haha... Boss, aren't you afraid your wife will make you kneel on a washboard?"

"Haha..."

"No, no, don't talk nonsense. If your wife misunderstands, it'll be another tragedy," Zhen Lin waved his hand and shook his head. "It's because the manual dropped from that mountain bandit we killed last time was sold. We got 90,000 copper coins. I'll consign the copper coins to the Black Market later, and we'll have 180,000 RMB! Haha, consider it the studio's biggest glorious income recently; we should celebrate!"

"What? Which tycoon snatched the manual instantly? They're so rich! Nowadays, even if you have RMB, you can't buy copper coins! The copper coins on the Black Market are in high demand but low supply."

"Could it be that World's Number Two?"

"Likely. That mysterious god has been selling top-tier weapons in the market and earning countless copper coins. I think he's scooped up about fifty percent of the copper coins in the market!"

"Hehe, whether it's a tycoon or an idiot, we have money now. Everyone, hurry up! Wash your faces, fix your hair. There are more girls around Longwan Food Street, so pay attention—don't lose face for our studio!"

"Haha, alright! I'll harvest this monster corpse first. There should be tiger blood and tiger bone. To NPCs, these things are very popular!"

"You don't even need to say it! Hurry up, Boss! Wait for us, we'll be ready in a moment, in a moment!" There was a flurry of chaotic excitement and joy.

A win-win situation; everyone was happy!

...

Players who were constantly monitoring the Dongye County trading market were aware of these transactions, which ignited the passion of many players. A single manual could sell for 180,000 RMB; *Mythic Three Kingdoms* truly was a land filled with money. Comrades, work hard—there will be bread, and there will be milk!

Many players began to leave the safety of the government offices and venture into desolate villages and wild forests, hoping to find bosses to kill, thinking that dropping a manual or a blueprint might allow them to catch this wave of sudden wealth.

...

(End of Chapter)