Chapter 70

Chapter 70

Chu Yue’s interest was piqued. “What about it? Tell me more.”

Shen Yubi cleared his throat and whispered, “This guild was founded by Guan Doujin.”

This was quite unexpected for Chu Yue, but on second thought, the name was a blatant declaration to everyone that the guild was his.

“The name ‘Daily Gold Rush’ reflects their dream. Every member lives for that daily influx of gold, diligently completing missions and grinding for Points in Instances.

“They all have a decent amount of Points, but they’re a bunch of cheapskates. The whole group is notorious for being stingy.”

Chu Yue gave a faint smile; he had experienced this firsthand.

He had already felt Guan Doujin’s stinginess back in the Instance.

He didn’t know if Guan Doujin was actually short on Points or just naturally cheap.

Even Chu Yue, whose Points were currently in the negatives, didn’t calculate his expenses as meticulously as that man.

Shen Yubi also seemed to recall his friend’s embarrassing performance in the last Instance.

He let out an unkind laugh. “You might not know this, but to ensure every Point is spent where it counts, that guy has memorized every single item in the System Mall.”

He did it so he could precisely buy the most suitable item for the lowest amount of Points whenever the need arose.

“For real?”

It wasn’t that Chu Yue didn’t believe him, but it was truly incredible.

The items in the System Mall were divided into several categories. There were lifestyle items, like the light stick he had purchased before.

There were also medicinal items, like the ointment Shen Yubi and Guan Doujin had used on his shoulder.

And then there were other categories-actual virtual items.

For instance, items for saving lives or increasing one’s Luck Value. If you could think of it, you could buy it in the Mall.

All the various categories added up to over ten thousand different items.

Guan Doujin hadn’t just memorized every item in the Mall; he had even memorized their prices and could perform price comparisons while shopping.

You couldn’t achieve that without being stingy to an extreme degree.

Chu Yue didn’t know whether to praise him or laugh. He looked at the two Ranking Lists together.

“Could it be that most of the people on the individual Ranking List are guild founders?”

“No,” Shen Yubi said. “People who join a guild don’t appear on the individual Ranking List. Daily Gold Rush was founded by Guan Doujin, but he’s not the current guild leader. There were some internal conflicts, and he’s working solo now.”

“Does it have something to do with Chen Dongran?”

Shen Yubi glanced at him and nodded. It had been quite a big deal at the time.

Since it involved personal privacy, Chu Yue didn’t ask further.

“What about the fifth one? The name alone gives off an uncomfortable vibe.”

[Rank 5: Ghost]

A cold glint flashed in Shen Yubi’s eyes.

“That lot.

“They’re essentially an assassin syndicate. Aside from the guild leader, no one knows the identities of the other members. They primarily take on assassination contracts.

“If Players develop a grudge against each other, they can hire people from this guild to carry out a hit.

“As long as they enter the same game as someone from that guild, the target rarely makes it out alive.

“Compared to the third-ranked Eighteen Hells, these people are more like a bunch of pests hiding in the underbelly of the Nightmare Trading Center.”

Shen Yubi’s assessment was blunt and harsh.

It was clear he had a strong dislike for this guild.

Chu Yue didn’t ask for more details; the current location wasn’t right for it.

Their conversation was extremely quiet, but it was still overheard by someone nearby.

“This young brother speaks so boldly. If members of that organization heard you, you’d better watch your life.”

Someone behind them spoke in a sarcastic tone-it was unclear if it was a warning or just schadenfreude.

Shen Yubi glanced at the person, and Chu Yue followed his gaze.

When the masks on their faces were revealed, the man’s eyes suddenly widened, and he involuntarily took a half-step back.

“I-it’s you. I misspoke, please don’t take offense.”

With that, he lowered his head and scurried away in embarrassment.

Chu Yue reached up and touched his mask. He hadn’t expected the mask to have such an effect.

In that case, hadn’t they been the center of attention from the moment they stepped into the Mercenary Hall?

“Finished looking?” Shen Yubi asked him.

“Yes.”

The Mercenary Guild only had five rankings, and the operating styles of each guild were quite distinct. Once Shen Yubi explained them, Chu Yue committed them to memory.

“I’ll give you more data to look over once we get back. Also, take a good look at the people on the individual Ranking List. Even if you don’t know them personally, you need to remember them and know their basic information.”

Chu Yue gave a nod of acknowledgement.

After leaving the Mercenary Hall, the two went straight to the Mall.

The Mall wasn’t far, located right across from the Mercenary Hall. It had five floors and was quite large, similar to a mall in the Real World, with each floor dedicated to different types of goods.

By the time they arrived, it was close to dinner time.

The Mall wasn’t particularly crowded, but it wasn’t deserted either.

However, without exception, the shopkeepers in every store were incredibly enthusiastic. Whenever a customer passed by their door, a chorus of hawking could be heard.

It was understandable. In this world, they weren’t earning money-they were earning their lives.

After buying the necessary items, the two headed back.

By the time they came out, it was already getting dark. The neon signs in front of the roadside shops flickered to life. Chu Yue sat in the car and looked out the window.

The streetlights washed over his face repeatedly before quickly pulling away. Watching the scenery recede rapidly, Chu Yue felt an indescribable sense of unreality.

“What’s over there?” Chu Yue asked, looking toward a direction where the lights were exceptionally vibrant.

“The Entertainment District. It’s the Money Pit I mentioned before-places like the game arcade, KTVs, and so on.”

“Are there illegal grey-market transactions?”

Shen Yubi smiled. “Here, there is only ‘can’ and ‘cannot.’ As long as the System hasn’t explicitly forbidden it, every action is permitted.”

When they returned to the Blank Tavern, Guan Doujin and Jiang Jiu had already eaten. The two of them prepared something simple to eat and then retired to their rooms.