By the time Xiaofeng got online, the auction at the Treasure Pavilion"s headquarter had already ended. He had missed out on all the fun. His only option now was to get in touch with Qian Duoduo in private.
"Couldn"t you have just negotiated with the War Spirit Hall? Why did you still auction your guild token?" Xiaofeng asked in a puzzled tone as he hurried towards the Holy City.
Qian Duoduo"s answer came almost instantly. "Oh, I negotiated with them, that"s for sure, since you instructed me to do so, Brother Xiao," she said. "But an auction is a necessary process to go through because it would showcase the Treasure Pavilion"s strength. Like it or not, we still have to go through that process. We can always agree with a price that we"re happy with later."
That was the dark truth behind auctions. She wouldn"t usually say it out loud; but of course, she wouldn"t hide anything from Xiaofeng.
That was mainly because it was Xiaofeng who had brought out the guild token. It wouldn"t pose any problems no matter how shady the price negotiation turned out to be.
"Brother Xiao, has the head priest of the War Spirit Hall caught your eye?" Qian Duoduo asked with a pout. "You seemed rather taken with her considering how thoughtful and attentive you are with her. Even I feel very envious of her body. I bet you love her type the most!"
"Stop making wild guesses," Xiaofeng said. "One more thing. I need you to keep an eye out on certain items."
"What items?" Qian Duoduo asked immediately. It was rare for Xiaofeng to be needing her help for something.
Xiaofeng paused briefly in thought. "Anti-stealth equipment or items," he said. "Consumables, too." Naturally, he had the idea of countering the guardians of a.s.sa.s.sins in mind.
Qian Duoduo was once again quick to answer. "Anti-stealth equipment? No problem. I"ll put out an advertis.e.m.e.nt for those immediately." After that, they both chatted for a bit before ending the conversation.
Xiaofeng hung out in the Holy City for a while. After spending time with Xiaobai, he purchased a backpack filled with Water for Life and Water for Purification. He then sent the backpack to Qian Duoduo.
Other than the headquarter, Qian Duoduo would also hold auctions at the subsidiary buildings in the Treasure Pavilion during the buildings" launching. The whole idea was to provide the new establishments with more publicity. Such auctions were no different than public announcements made by players which went along the lines of: "Hey, I"m now an owner of a building in the Treasure Pavilion!"
The auctions always involved those two highly rare potions. As the number of auctions grew, so did the total consumption for either potion; Xiaofeng had no choice but to help Qian Duoduo restock the supply of potions.
There was a huge demand for rare potions since it provided nearly double the amount of HP regen compared to the best healing potions currently in the market. In fact, the market of rare potions was currently experiencing demand-pull inflation. Supplies of rare potions would be sold out quickly after its release. After that, these potions couldn"t be found anywhere, not even on the black market; hence, the potions were the perfect tools to help promote the launching of a subsidiary building in the Treasure Pavilion.
Once, Qian Duoduo had asked Xiaofeng for advice about a dilemma she was in. Apparently, the administrators of large guilds had contacted her in private many times, offering to purchase a batch of rare potions from her at a high price. The potions would then be used to complete instance zones or to fight against BOSSes. Each and every one of those guilds who had made the offer was exceptionally powerful and influential, which was why Qian Duoduo found herself in a dilemma. That led to her seeking Xiaofeng"s advice.
After giving the problem some thought, Xiaofeng found that agreeing to the deal wasn"t a bad thing at all. For one, it would serve to strengthen the connection between the Treasure Pavilion and various powerful guilds. It would also mean that each of those guilds now owed the Treasure Pavillion a favor; these guilds would be unlikely to become Treasure Pavilion"s enemy during unforeseen events. In the end, Xiaofeng agreed to the deals but set strict limits to the number of potions sold to each guild. The reason for the restriction was twofold: One, to prevent the depreciation of the rare potions" value (a likely occurrence if there wasn"t a limit to the supply); and two, Xiaofeng was just too lazy to be bothered with the logistics of the goods delivery.
With all that happening, the demand for rare potions had once again risen. As a result, Xiaofeng would always leave with a backpack full of potions every time he came to visit Xiaobai nowadays.
It would be night-time soon, by which time Xiaofeng had to go offline, so he didn"t take on any complex missions. Instead, he went to Bone Mountain and spent a while there trying to up his level.
Xiaofeng was already at Level 19 now. He would be able to learn a new skill once he gained another level. This would also be a major upgrade. In fact, Xiaofeng already knew what he would do once he hit Level 20: learn a new healing skill. To him, healing skills were the best, be it in terms of regenerating an ally"s health points or in terms of causing severe damage to BOSSes with Dark and Undead attributes.
While Xiaofeng was quietly levelling, another major event was happening in the Huaxia District; namely, the encampment defense of the Dynasty guild.
Shockingly, the number of players involved in this encampment defense was more than a whopping thirty million! That exceeded even the total number of creeps in each creep wave. The entire compound outside Donghuang City was now flooded with players. The sheer number of it was terrifying!
This showcased the Dynasty guild"s true strength as the number one guild in the Huaxia District. It also showcased just how influential Dynasty was. More than ten guilds had decided to a.s.sist the Dynasty in their encampment defense; hence the huge crowd now surrounded the Dynasty guild"s encampment at the moment. Needless to say, the success of the encampment defense was pretty much guaranteed considering the staggering number of players involved. In a situation where the number of players exceeded the number of creeps in each creep wave, the creeps couldn"t even get pa.s.s the perimeter of the encampment.
Some claimed that even the BOSSes leading the creep waves got their a.s.ses handed to them, including the few Level 30 BOSSes during the final creep wave. They couldn"t even make it pa.s.s the refresh point before they succ.u.mbed to the attacks of the players swarming them in all directions. There wasn"t a single opening in the players" formation that the BOSS could utilize to break through the defense. Helpless and dissatisfied, the BOSSes could only watch their bodies disappear as the countdown for the end of the battle began.
Thus, Dynasty became the first guild in the Huaxia District to successfully defend their encampment. A lot of players had gained a lot of experience after the battle. In a blink of an eye, many guilds were established. Two guild tokens had been sold out in the auction at Treasure Pavilion that morning. By night-time, the top ten positions in the Huaxia District"s guild ranking table were filled up.
Still, there was an interlude amidst all that action; namely, the shocking re-establishment of the Midsummer Guild. This unexpected comeback of the Midsummer Guild had surprised a lot of other major guilds. A lot of players with malicious intent even posted new threads on the game forums in order to "summon" the Master Healer.
Xiaofeng had heard about all that from Qian Duoduo, of course. But he didn"t find it in him to bother with this news. Instead, he focused all of his attention on upping his level. Qian Duoduo headed back to the villa at night. She was the auctioneer for the weekly auctions back at the headquarter. Since the auctions had all ended, she wanted some downtime. She figured she would stay at the villa tonight.
"Xiao Ling, you look so pretty today. Where"s Brother Xiao? Is he still online?"
Qian Duoduo had come bearing gifts, most of which were delicious foods. She began to b.u.t.ter Xiao Ling up the moment she entered.
"Hmph! At least you have enough foresight to pay me respect. And since, I, your Royal Highness Ling, is satisfied with you, I shall accept you as my maidservant."
Xiao Ling was playing a video game in the home cinema when Qian Duoduo arrived. When Qian Duoduo pulled out a huge bag of junk food, Xiao Ling glanced around -like some kind of thief- to her left and right. Once she was sure that Xiaofeng and Ning Keke was nowhere to be seen, she began to hide the snacks all over the place: under the couch, inside the box of the gaming console, literally all over the place.
Once she finished hiding the snacks, Xiao Ling gave Qian Duoduo a satisfied look and began singing Qian Duoduo"s praises, like some kind of self-important elderly. Qian Duoduo had no idea whether Xiao Ling was praising her for her good looks or for the snacks.
"Thank you, Xiao Ling!"
Qian Duoduo broke into a grin and stepped around Xiao Ling and ma.s.saged Xiao Ling"s shoulders obsequiously. Her actions made Xiao Ling even more satisfied with her.
Moments later, Xiaofeng stepped out from his room. At the same time, he saw Ning Keke stepping out of the kitchen to start serving dinner. Surprisingly, Ning Keke had managed to get her hands on a maid uniform, which stunned Xiaofeng momentarily.
"Ah! Brother Xiao! You! It"s just been a day since we last saw each other, and yet here you are with a new woman! h.e.l.l, she"s even a loli maid?!" Qian Duoduo exclaimed, pointing a finger at Ning Keke.
Qian Duoduo"s exaggerated reaction had startled Ning Keke considerable, leaving her cowering in fear.
Xiaofeng scowled. "Hey, stop making wild guesses," he said. Then, he gave Ning Keke a strange look. "Keke? Where did you find that outfit?"
Ning Keke"s maid outfit looked very cute. The snowy-white, translucent frills; the floral pattern adorning the headwear as well as the hemline; the dark form-fitting fabric; all of which accentuated Ning Keke"s pet.i.te figure.
Although the outfit"s length was perfect for her, it was clearly too tight for her figure; the fabric near her bust looked like it was about to burst apart any second, and it left a huge expanse of her white chest open to view. Her a.s.sets were well-developed indeed despite being only fourteen years old.
"It"s... it"s given to me by Her Highness..." Ning Keke said in a wary and anxious tone. Through the gaps of her slightly curly hair, she glanced at Xiaofeng furtively before lowering her head again.
Xiaofeng nodded, remembering that Xiao Ling did own an outfit like that; it was hung placed together with her princess dress. However, he had never seen Xiao Ling wear it.
Xiao Ling released an ear-piercing shout; from her point of view, Xiaofeng"s eyes were fixed upon Ning Keke"s chest while he nodded.
"Why don"t you pick up your eyeb.a.l.l.s from the floor, you stupid, perverted, male servant!" Xiao Ling shouted angrily. At the same time, she eyed Ning Keke"s chest enviously.
Then, to Ning Keke, Xiao Ling shouted, "Hey, big-breasted Ning! Who gave you the permission to seduce the stupid male servant with those filthy b.r.e.a.s.t.s of yours. I order you to take it off immediately!"
Xiao Ling burst forward and tried to rip the outfit off of Ning Keke"s body. Ning Keke was frightened to the point of tears.
Xiaofeng also realized that the way he had been staring at Ning Keke"s chest just now was less than appropriate. He cleared his throat and stepped in to stop Xiao Ling. "Stop messing around. Time for dinner."
Ning Keke was clever; although she had screwed up lunch, she had learnt how to make porridge. That was their dinner: a huge pot of white porridge.
Since Qian Duoduo was joining them tonight, Xiaofeng took it upon himself to prepare two extra dishes. While he cooked, Ning Keke stood behind Xiaofeng like a good student trying to pick up more culinary skills. By the time Xiaofeng was done, Ning Keke was practically swooning with admiration.
"Master... You"re so skilled..." Ning Keke said softly, now no longer fearful of Xiaofeng. Ning Keke"s beautiful eyes sparkled brightly as though there was a constellation of stars held within her eyes.
Xiaofeng"s hand shook; he nearly dropped the whole plate. "Who asked you to call me that?" Xiaofeng asked, gaping at Ning Keke.
Xiaofeng"s question made Ning Keke anxious once again. "Is... is it wrong to call you that?" she asked, looking at Xiaofeng warily as if she was afraid that she had screwed up again.
"Well, it isn"t wrong, per se. It"s just not suitable, that"s all. Let me think..." Xiaofeng thought for a moment. "Ah, I got it. Why don"t you call me "lord"? "My lord". How about that?"
"My, my lord?" Ning Keke had nearly blurted out that "my lord" seemed too old for him, though she dared not talk back to Xiaofeng.
Xiaofeng nodded. "Mm. Let"s just stick with that, then," he said. "But why do I feel like some kind of old landowner of something?" he thought. Then again, he had always liked being called "lord".
With Ning Keke here, Xiaofeng no longer had to worry about house ch.o.r.es. He didn"t wait for the few ladies to finish dinner; Xiaofeng went back online the moment he was finished. He hadn"t done any instance zone missions today, and the missions would be refreshed at 12 AM later. He couldn"t let the opportunity go to waste. Instant zones missions was a treasure trove of equipment and skill books.