Seeing the fervent gazes of these players, Nie Yan rubbed his chin. It wouldn't take much time to buy a few things on their behalf. More importantly, he could make some coin.
Even though Asskickers United and the Starry Night Potion Shop were raking in large sums of gold every day, that didn't mean he should turn a blind eye when an opportunity for profit presented itself.
"Hand me a list of the items you need. I'll buy them for you. I charge a 50% commission fee, non negotiable. I'm only doing this once. I won't be coming back here a second time," Nie Yan said. No one could identify him in his black cloak anyway. So, there was no issue charging a high price.
Hearing Nie Yan's words, several people shirked away. A 50% commission was a bit steep. However, after thinking the matter over, most of the players still decided to take him up on his offer. After all, the goods being sold in the secret shop were simply irresistible.
Most of the players gathered here were rich. They wouldn't bat an eye over a few gold more. Learning Nie Yan wouldn't be coming back again, they planned to buy more and had their subordinates bring over some more gold.
Before long, the players in the crowd started handing over their lists to Nie Yan.
Normally, there would be a contract between the middle-man and client, in order to avoid the client suddenly backing out. However, Nie Yan completely ignored this procedure. If someone didn't want the items, he would just keep them for himself.
As Nie Yan scanned the lists, he discovered these people meant business. The lowest order was several thousand gold. Some lists even had him buying over a hundred thousand gold's worth of items. It was about 600,000 gold in total. Considering he got a 50% discount while purchasing items from the secret shop and he was charging a 50% commission, that meant he was making a 200% profit. In other words, 600,000 gold would be flowing into his pockets through this one transaction.
Wow, so many rich people. Nie Yan couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Many high level players were fairly wealthy. Those with net worths of hundreds of thousands of gold could be found everywhere, even up to a million gold. They often had gold farming teams supporting them. The captains of top teams had it especially good, splashing money left and right on high level items.
After learning someone was acting as a middle-man, many wealthy players among whom were several team captains came rushing here from all over. They'd been drooling over the goods in Okoron's secret shop since the moment it opened for business.
Nie Yan took the lists and headed back inside the shop. A few minutes later, he walked back out and started distributing the orders he received. Another 20 minutes later, he was finally finished and 600,000 gold richer.
Before he could leave, he was immediately beset by a second group of players looking to acquire his services.
Three trips later, Nie Yan had made a profit of 1,300,000 gold.
Only then did the crowd outside the secret shop disappear. Nie Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the gold in his bag, this money-making speed was even faster than that of the Starry Night Potion Shop, not to mention there was no production costs. One could imagine how valuable the title of Marquis was.
However, this wasn't a sustainable venture. After buying all they needed, these players wouldn't buy again for the foreseeable future. Not to mention most players couldn't afford the items in these secret shops.
Nie Yan spent this 1,300,000 gold on items in the secret shop. Afterwards, he delegated the task of reselling them all to Guo Huai. Like this, they could earn a decent profit.
After settling this matter, Nie Yan headed over the to transfer point in Okoron and teleported away.
With a flash of light, Nie Yan stepped out of the transfer point in Orc King City. He gazed around in wonder at his surrounding. The square around him was bustling with player activity. Some were passing by, while others were gathered in groups chatting about who knew what.
The players here were different from the ones that could be found in the Viridian Empire. Big burly bodies, green skin, and a pair of sharp tusks like beasts, these were orcs. There was also another race a bit taller than orcs with heads of oxen and simple minded appearances, the minotaurs. Orcs and minotaurs were fairly ugly races, so few people picked them. Those who picked one from these two races either had certain tastes or peculiar personalities. However, the innate skills of these races were better than humans. For example, both orcs and minotaurs received huge boosts in health and strength. This was one of the aspects that attracted people to this race. They were most suitable for the Warrior class.
Of course, not every race in the Satreen Empire was as ugly as the orcs and minotaurs. There were also the always beautiful elves, with their long, pointed ears and fair faces. The men were unreasonably handsome, and the women were kingdom-toppling beauties. If a player selected elf as their race, their real life features would be enhanced by 10%-30%. This attracted many female players. Of course, there were male players too, albeit much fewer in comparison. Despite knowing this was a virtual world, the pursuit of beauty was eternal. Elves received an innate Cloaking bonus which was suitable for the Thief class. Though there were also many elven Mages and Priests.
Walking through the streets of Orc King City, Nie Yan really felt like a tourist in a foreign nation. The general building style was comparable to the Viridian Empire, but there were also some unique differences. For example, the inhabitants here particularly liked tribal carvings. The buildings, streets, and other places were all filled with fantastic and bizarre totems. Even though there were many, they didn't seem excessive. In fact, the tribal look was pleasing to the eye.
Nie Yan occasionally saw players from the Viridian Empire, but they were few and far between.
A group of orc guards in dazzling armour patrolled past Nie Yan. They were Level 180 Elites and armed to the teeth. They weren't any weaker than the guards in the Viridian Empire.
Occasionally, there were one or two orc nobles walking past. Most of them were large and portly Shamans with luxurious clothing. In this allied tribal nation, Shamans were revered existences.
Nie Yan was a complete stranger to the Satreen Empire. He'd never been here in his past life. Back then, the 300 gold transfer fee was a cost he couldn't bear. He converted most of his gold into credits just to survive. He was embarrassingly broke. Even getting himself new equipment was difficult.
Nie Yan planned to slowly familiarize himself with this place. He planned on staying here for a while anyway.
Hidden behind his cloak, Nie Yan walked the streets. If Soaring Angel or Cao Xu were to know he had come to the Satreen Empire, they definitely wouldn't sit still.
Guo Huai had informed him that Asskickers United had established a base in one of the residential houses in the southern district of Orc King City.
Guo Huai had planted informants in many of the guilds in the Satreen Empire. His information network was extensive and well-hidden. Nothing that happened in the Satreen Empire escaped his ears. He focused most of his efforts on Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group.
At present, Asskickers United's resources were astonishing to say the least. Guo Huai had enough financial backing to freely expand his information network in the Satreen Empire. He had even succeeded in bribing several top players in Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group.
In the previous timeline, the Century Financial Group had used their wealth to slowly eat away at the War God Tribe's foundation. Now, the situation was reversed. Nie Yan was using the same method to infiltrate Angel Corps and the Century Financial Group. He'd make them taste their own medicine.
After passing several streets, Nie Yan entered an alley in the southern district of Orc King city. He was looking for the place Guo Huai informed him about.
「Are you at the meeting point yet?」Guo Huai asked.
「Not yet. I'm heading there right now,」Nie Yan replied.
「I've already let our people know in advance. Two are my trusted aids. The other is a high rank player in Angel Corps. He's in their top 10. If anything happens there or any decisions get made, he'll know. During your stay in the Satreen Empire, he'll be in charge of keeping you safe. If Angel Corps dispatches people to surround or ambush you, he'll warn you in advance.」
「Is he trustworthy?」
「He's absolutely trustworthy. He has already signed a contract with us, and he and his family have moved cities closer to me. Since they're at our side, there's nothing to worry about,」Guo Huai smiled. Like this, there was no way he would dare to betray them.
「Not bad, how did you get him to come over to our side?」Nie Yan asked.
「We were lucky. He had a falling out with another high rank player. When they went to resolve the issue, Soaring Angel was clearly favouring the other player and forced him to back down. That was our cue. It took a little persuading, but he came over to our side in the end. So, that's where we stand now.」
Nie Yan nodded. These sorts of guild disputes were common. If the guild leader didn't handle it properly, there might be grave consequences. Guo Huai's way of ensuring this mole didn't betray them gave him an idea. With so many players from Asskickers United, coming from all over the country, there were bound to be some that interacted with each other in real life. Why not start up a gaming house? He'd provide everyone a fixed salary. Like this, their cohesiveness would be even greater.
His current financial resources was already enough to establish a gaming house. He could have the guild's top players become professional players, offering them high salaries. Of course, many players didn't want to become professional players. Many were well off and would rather not move to a new city. That wasn't a problem. He'd simply focus on the players who were interested.
I wonder how many people I can recruit to the gaming house… Nie Yan explained his idea to Guo Huai.
「Not a bad idea, but you'll have to make a lot of preparations. Hiring them on as professional players is going to be costly,」Guo Huai said. Establishing a gaming house would increase the guild cohesion. Like this, everyone would be marching at the same pace.
「No problem. World Bloc can bankroll it,」Nie Yan said. World Bloc's businesses were expanding at a rapid pace, and their profits were soaring. They were quickly catching up to big names like the Dragonsoar and Glory Financial Groups. At this point, this bit of money was nothing to them.
「Since you already have a plan, I'll support you however I can. When are you planning to establish the gaming house? I'll try to lend a hand.」