Chapter 102: Chapter 102: The Lord God Guild
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That afternoon, the official website of the Huaxia Exchange was as busy as usual, with a massive number of transactions taking place. Individuals, organizations, and guilds filled the platform, and the online user count had reached 31 million.
The official forum was constantly being refreshed with new purchase requests and sales posts.
At 3:15 p.m., many users suddenly received a notification:
[The private sales space you follow, 'The Corner Shop,' has updated with new products.]
———
In Shangjing City, Huaxia, inside the procurement department of the Sky Sword Guild, Liu Hongyu was holding a meeting with his subordinates.
"There are twenty days left until the guild challenge tournament. The military has already announced new rules: battles will now be determined by kill count." Liu Hongyu set down the document in his hand and looked at the group.
"In addition, the military has also summoned representatives from all the guilds nationwide to propose the 'Connection Login Gate' reward program. Whoever finds a connection portal, their guild will receive 1,000 guild points."
The room immediately erupted in gasps of shock.
"1,000 points? That high?"
"A summoned skull only grants 10 points, but finding a login gate earns 1,000 points from the military?"
Liu Hongyu interrupted their discussion. "Surprised? Skulls are everywhere; it's just a matter of whether you can get them. But five years ago, when the Nordic countries discovered a connection login gate, the world followed, and now 49 countries have found connection portals."
"Once 80 countries have discovered portals, the Global Conquest Tournament will commence. Yet we, mighty Huaxia, haven't even found a single login gate. Of course, the military is getting anxious."
He paused for a moment, then added, "If we rank in the Global Conquest Tournament, we qualify to explore the Lost Lands… and those are public zones, highly likely to contain powerful new job advancement materials."
Everyone's expressions turned serious.
While some had suggested international cooperation before, reality was far from ideal.
First, the territories in Ghost Star were scattered among different countries, and the professions that emerged in each region varied greatly. This made it difficult for nations to find a foundation for collaboration.
Second, the Beast God faction was rising, expanding aggressively, conquering territories. This made it increasingly hard for nations to maintain diplomatic ties while struggling to defend themselves.
The race for Ghost Star exploration and development was no trivial matter. For resource-starved nations, this competition could determine the future survival of an entire country.
Liu Hongyu, seeing that the atmosphere was just right, continued,"Everyone here can feel the pressure, right? Our Sky Sword Guild's leadership is well aware of this too."
"For us, the coming period will see a greater resource consumption than ever before. As the procurement department, we need to ensure enough supplies. So, this month, each of you will increase procurement quotas by 40%!"
"In particular, our focus should be on rare resources. No matter if it's from the Exchange, the four major black markets, or online buy requests—increase acquisition efforts."
The team members all nodded, some diligently jotting down notes.
At that moment, a long-haired woman in business attire knocked a few times before pushing the door open.
Liu Hongyu frowned impatiently. "Lili, don't you know I'm in a meeting?"
Zhang Li looked slightly wronged. "Boss Liu, the The Corner Shop has reopened."
"The Corner Shop? Opened for business? I'm in a meeting, and you're bothering me with—wait! The Corner Shop? That The Corner Shop?"
"The private sales space on the Exchange," Zhang Li confirmed.
Liu Hongyu's eyes widened. He shot to his feet and shouted, "Why didn't you say so sooner?" Then, without another word, he rushed out of the meeting room.
Opening the The Corner Shop page, Liu Hongyu was stunned by the array of rare minerals listed. He didn't dare to blink.
"Tin concentrate—damn! Already sold out?"
"Black Xuan Iron. There's more Black Xuan Iron—Damn! Out of stock again? 12 kg gone in 45 seconds?"
"This is… The Butcher's strongest weapon, Cleaver? I… I… I can't take it! Supreme snatched it? That bastard actually got Cleaver?"
Luckily, Zhang Li had alerted him in time. In the end, Liu Hongyu managed to grab 1.8 kg of Moonstone and two Tier 3 pieces of equipment—not a total loss.
After confirming the payment, Liu Hongyu finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Boss Liu, who owns this The Corner Shop?" Zhang Li asked in confusion. "How do they have so many rare minerals? With these resources, why aren't they using them to grow their own influence?"
Liu Hongyu shook his head. "How would I know? But this is already the second time the The Corner Shop has opened. Everything was sold out in 13 minutes."
"This time, we were still too slow. The best items are gone… Lili, draft a request immediately. We need a The Corner Shop exclusive membership. We must receive real-time updates from now on."
"Got it, Boss Liu. I'll prepare it right away."
———
Meanwhile, Jiang Kai was at the main city Exchange in Zone 18.
"Kai, did you sell everything?" Hu Yan asked anxiously, seeing Jiang Kai frowning as he walked out. "Is there a problem with demand?"
Jiang Kai furrowed his brows. "I don't know… I'm just thinking. The account manager suggested I set up a membership area… but if I do, I'll have to pay 100,000 Star Coins per year in management fees."
"100,000 Star Coins per year?" Yuan Zhu's eyes widened. "That expensive? Are they robbing people? What's the benefit?"
Jiang Kai explained, "If I set up a membership area, anyone who applies will have to pay me 10,000 Star Coins per month, even if they don't buy anything."
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "Forget it. It's not a big deal. I knew from the start that private sales spaces are just traps to get me to spend money. No matter how much they sugarcoat it, I'm not setting up a membership."
"Yeah! No way we let them scam us!" the others agreed.
"By the way, I've bought all your job advancement materials." Jiang Kai handed over a batch of Tier 2 equipment to his teammates.
Hearing that the materials had arrived, Yuan Zhu and the others got excited, eager to try them out.
Jiang Kai shot Yuan Zhu a look. "Yours was the most expensive—10 million Star Coins. You nearly emptied my wallet."
"10 million Star Coins?" Yuan Zhu was stunned.
Jiang Kai muttered, "The military better pay me back. If they don't, I'll camp outside the barracks every day until they do!"
Considering Jiang Kai's obsession with money, everyone believed he would actually do it…
Jiang Kai handed the advancement materials to Yuan Zhu, Nuanuan, and Ruan Yu.
The materials were already processed into liquid form, stored in green glass vials with golden metal caps. One end had a base, and the other could be opened to drink the contents and complete the advancement.
"Advancement takes a while. Drink it back at camp," Jiang Kai said. "For now, come with me to the Guild District."
"Going to the guild district?" Nuan Nuan asked in confusion. Then, she quickly realized that since they were going to participate in the guild challenge tournament, even if it was just the team competition, they still needed to be in a guild.
"Oh, we need to join a guild…" Su Nuannuan muttered. "Jiang Kai, Zhuzi and I have a special situation, so we can only join temporarily… You'd better explain it clearly to them when the time comes to avoid trouble later."
Jiang Kai spoke mysteriously, "I guarantee, there won't be any trouble."
After the five of them arrived at the guild district, Jiang Kai walked in front the whole way, ignoring the buildings on both sides of the street. He seemed to have a clear goal in mind.
"Kai, did you already choose a guild?" Yuan Zhu asked.
"Of course." Jiang Kai kept up his brisk pace. "Stop asking. You'll know when we get there."
More than ten minutes later, they reached the northernmost part of the guild district.
This area only had some vacant buildings reserved for new guilds. Other than that, the only structure present was the "Guild Registration Office."
Jiang Kai led them directly inside.
Upon arriving, Nuan Nuan finally realized something and exclaimed, "Jiang Kai, you're not planning to start your own guild, are you?"
Jiang Kai let out a cold snort. "Back when I wanted to join a guild, none of them would take me. So, I might as well start my own, right?"
"Wait here. I'm going to register."
The four members of Fire God Squad all looked at their captain in shock.
Registering a guild required a registration fund, with a minimum requirement of 10 million star coins or 1 billion Huaxia coins.
The registration fund had to be held as collateral and would be locked in the registration office.
Jiang Kai checked his account.
Originally, he had 1 billion Huaxia coins. After putting items up in the trading house, funds occasionally trickled in. Later, he spent 1.2 billion to purchase job advancement materials… The second-tier materials for Martial Apprentices were just too expensive. Just the materials for Yuan Zhu alone cost him 1 billion.
However, at this moment, his account balance had not only not decreased but had actually increased significantly.
'I have 1.1 billion Huaxia coins now… Did I sell everything in the convenience store?' Even Jiang Kai himself was a little surprised.
While filling out the form, Jiang Kai hesitated for a moment but ultimately chose to register with the minimum 1 billion Huaxia coins.
Even though this money wasn't spent, it would be locked in, meaning he wouldn't be able to withdraw it anytime soon.
The staff member took Jiang Kai's completed form and double-checked the details.
"Applicant: Jiang Kai, Male, 18 years old, resident of Jiangzhong City… Registration fund: 1 billion Huaxia coins… Guild name: 'Black Tortoise, Your Dad!'? … Hiss… Kid, this guild name won't do."
The staff sister looked at Jiang Kai in surprise. "Besides, you're outright antagonizing Black Tortoise. That doesn't seem beneficial for a small guild like yours."
"Black Tortoise's registration fund is 30 billion star coins. And that's just their registration fund. You should have some idea of their strength, right?"
Jiang Kai frowned. "This name isn't allowed?" After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Then how about 'Huang Family Ancestor'?"
"Nope." The staff sister shook her head helplessly. "Guild names with insulting connotations aren't allowed."
Jiang Kai sighed. As expected, those names wouldn't work.
"Then… let's go with 'Lord God Guild' instead."
The staff sister finally let out a sigh of relief. Even though the name was a bit too grand, it was still far better than "Black Tortoise, Your Dad!" or "Huang Family Ancestor."
"Alright, I've completed your registration. You can now collect a guild district land deed, a guild qualification certificate, a guild edition communicator from Chuangrui Corporation, and an integrated data screen." The staff sister skillfully handed over a stack of documents to Jiang Kai.
"Your land deed number is 0319. You now hold the right to use Lot B-319 in the main city's guild district, located in the northernmost part of Section B."
"This is your guild qualification certificate. With this, your 'Lord God Guild' will have the same rights as other guilds, including participating in certain competitions, obtaining special event permissions, accessing a collective account, setting up a guild, a team, a membership ranking board, etc. However, be aware that you also need to fulfill the corresponding responsibilities."
"This is your screen card. Once activated, the physical screen will be approximately 4 meters long and 2.8 meters wide. Guild members can sync it with their data wristbands to share certain information, communicate, and more. However, it requires an initial binding. Most wristbands on the market today support this feature. Additionally, it can display the guild's construction progress, guild and team rankings in Jiangzhong City and Huaxia, individual rankings, and more. It's quite a powerful tool."
"Also, all guild members must publicly display their guild affiliation. If someone is found hiding their guild membership, the guild will be penalized."
Jiang Kai nodded, put away the land deed, qualification certificate, and screen card, then turned and walked out of the registration office.
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