Chapter 163: The Players’ Short Clips
City of Light Chasing, Obsidian Shop.
On the bustling commercial street with people coming and going, the three-story Obsidian Shop had been open for quite some time and done a lot of promotion. Luo Qi had even displayed many weapons she had crafted in the shop, yet it was still deserted. Many people only went in to take a look, then turned around and left.
Several days of running the business left Luo Qi, who had originally been quite confident in her weapon crafting, standing behind the counter deeply worried.
Previously, after a trip to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, Lin Qi had given her five million bit to purchase equipment for manufacturing type B weapons and equipment. She had thought she could really show her skills, but to her surprise, the top-grade A6 weapons and armor she made hardly sold at all.
It could be said that the money earned from the sale of weapons and armor over these days was less than the money being spent to enroll in the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
In just these few days, the class fees for Xiao Ling and Luo Shuangyan had already exceeded one hundred thousand, and the only set of A6 armor sold had been bought by Xiao Ling.
If they did not sell some weapons and equipment soon, they would not even be able to afford Luo Shuangyan’s class fees at the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
“Sis, I’m going to class.”
After school, Luo Shuangyan left her schoolbag directly in the shop and happily ran off to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall without another word. At the entrance, Xiao Ling, with her lively big eyes, had already been waiting for quite some time.
“Be careful on the road.”
Watching Luo Shuangyan heading to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, Luo Qi did not know whether to laugh or cry.
It had to be said that the teaching at the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was very effective. Just a few days of guidance from the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall disciples had brought Luo Shuangyan’s Crushing Stone Fist to 64% of entry-level. Her speed of progress was simply astonishing.
As for Xiao Ling, she was even more terrifying. Because she had been instructed more frequently, her Crushing Stone Fist had already reached 5% proficiency in tests, meaning she had mastered the first level of Crushing Stone Fist. Among the first-year new students at Zhuguang High School, she was already one of the very best.
“Luckily the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall doesn’t teach cultivation methods, otherwise I’d definitely go bankrupt.” Luo Qi opened the savings on her smart watch and could not help but sigh.
Having worked in the City of Light Chasing for so many years, she had accumulated some savings. They were originally meant to cultivate Luo Shuangyan so she could enter a martial arts high school, but Luo Shuangyan chose to attend an ordinary high school in the suburbs with a martial arts class. So this money had been saved instead and used specifically to purchase blood essence rice to help Luo Shuangyan improve.
But now this savings was probably only enough for Luo Shuangyan to learn the apprentice-level martial skill Crushing Stone Fist.
“Who said our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall doesn’t teach cultivation methods?” Lin Qi, walking into the hall, said with a smile.
“Lin, what are you doing here?” Luo Qi looked at Lin Qi in surprise. “Didn’t you say before that the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would not be teaching cultivation methods for the time being?”
She had asked Lin Qi before whether the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall would teach cultivation methods, as that was typically the main source of profit for martial arts halls.
But Lin Qi had said not for now, which she had found a pity.
In an era when everyone wanted to become a martial artist, compared with learning various martial skills, people desired cultivation methods even more. After all, cultivation methods could tangibly enhance physical fitness, whereas martial skills only increased combat power.
This was also why many people who came to the Obsidian Shop would first ask what cultivation methods were taught and then ask about martial skills.
In fact, these days, as the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s reputation grew, many people came to the Obsidian Shop to inquire. But once they heard that the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall did not teach cultivation methods and then saw the prices for learning martial skills, they were all scared away.
If the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall taught cultivation methods, then even if the price was high, many people would probably still be willing to come and learn. After all, the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall had destroyed the Great Ape Gang in the wilderness and won against superior numbers, and Hall Master Lin Qi was a martial artist. It was clear that the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s cultivation methods were extraordinary.
“That was before. Now our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall will also teach cultivation methods. However, outsiders can only learn apprentice-level cultivation methods. Anyone who wants to learn martial artist-level cultivation methods must officially become a disciple of the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.” Lin Qi spoke with a smile.
Previously, he had not offered them mainly because the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was not strong enough and the player count was too low. If they really absorbed a batch of local residents and something happened, they would not be able to suppress it.
But now the number of players had already reached three hundred sixty and would soon reach five hundred. He could not have players doing patrols and guard duties forever, especially since they had to log off and rest, and could not stay online twenty-four hours a day.
So future guard work and management work had to be handed over to local residents.
Compared with vagrants and faction members taken in halfway, local residents cultivated from scratch would undoubtedly have a stronger sense of belonging to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall.
Not to mention he also had advanced chained hidden tasks that required specifically cultivating local residents. By then, players would focus on offense, and local NPCs would be responsible for defense. Only then would it be a proper game.
“Really? Then can my sister and I learn as well?” Luo Qi could not help looking at Lin Qi, her eyes full of excitement.
In this world where martial artists were revered, it was extremely difficult for ordinary people to become martial artists. Setting aside the vast resources needed, even the cultivation methods that could lead to becoming a martial artist were not something one could learn just by wanting to.
Even the major gangs in the suburbs could only teach ordinary apprentice-level cultivation methods. The same was true for the major martial arts halls. Unless someone displayed enough talent and loyalty and made great contributions, they would never be taught martial artist-level cultivation methods.
The people in the wilderness who managed to become martial artists were called legends precisely because they had not relied on others’ teaching but had groped their way to martial artist-level cultivation methods on their own.
If now the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall directly taught martial artist-level cultivation methods, even if it was only the first level of the apprentice stage, it would still be an opportunity that was hard to come by.
“Of course. Anyone can come to the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall to learn.” Lin Qi nodded. “But this will only officially start tomorrow. Today you can do some promotion in the shop. Our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall’s apprentice-level cultivation method instruction is four thousand bit per hour for outsiders. For those who join the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall as disciples, it is one thousand bit per hour.”
“No problem. I will have all the staff go out to promote it.” Seeing that Lin Qi was not joking, Luo Qi decided she had to earn more money from now on.
Four thousand bit per hour was indeed expensive for learning an apprentice-level cultivation method. After all, many people could take some risks and try learning it on their own. But for a martial artist-level cultivation method, that price would be very reasonable, even rather cheap.
“Right, I brought some things this time. See if you can repair them.” As Lin Qi spoke, he called to the players outside the door, who carried in storage boxes as tall as a person and set them inside. There were ten large boxes in total, filling the first floor lobby.
“Repairing weapons and armor? Leave that to me.” Luo Qi, seeing the large boxes placed, walked over and opened them.
But when Luo Qi opened a box, she was completely stunned.
Inside, the large box was filled with metal briefcases, clearly each containing an A6 battle armor. There were as many as twenty in a single large metal box.
“Are all of these the same?” Luo Qi looked at Lin Qi in shock.
As a mechanic, Luo Qi knew very well how precious A6 battle armor was. Each piece was worth several million bit. Although Lin Qi was a genius martial artist and the Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was developing well, two hundred sets of A6 battle armor still seemed like a dream no matter how she looked at it.
“Yeah. See if you can fix them.” Lin Qi nodded.
Previously in Emerald Sky, the players had acquired more than five hundred sets of A6 battle armor. He had placed nearly two hundred usable sets in the martial arts hall warehouse and the Crimson Moon Mountain warehouse so players could redeem them.
As for the remaining unusable A6 battle armor, he had brought two hundred sets here to see whether Luo Qi, as a mechanic, could repair them.
“What kind of battle did these go through to have A6 battle armor damaged like this?” Luo Qi examined them and was dumbfounded. Each A6 battle armor either had one large hole or several large holes, and the edges of the holes were charred. It was hard to imagine what kind of attack had caused this. She then said, “The overall damage to these battle armors is minimal, and they are all simple circuit issues. As long as I have some A6 alloy, I can repair them very quickly. Even the mechanic apprentices I hired can do it. This is much easier than manufacturing A6 armor.”
“I need these A6 battle armors repaired as quickly as possible.” Lin Qi’s eyes lit up when he heard this. He had not expected Luo Qi would really be able to fix them. He said directly, “For every set you repair, I will pay you twenty thousand bit. As for how much you pay your employees, that’s up to you. I just hope they can all be repaired within two or three days.”
“Twenty thousand bit is too much. Even counting the materials, the repair cost for these is probably less than twenty thousand.” Luo Qi waved her hand, indicating that Lin Qi did not need to pay that much.
“There’s no need to be polite. You should earn what you deserve. Our Obsidian Martial Arts Hall does have some money now.” Lin Qi smiled at the refusing Luo Qi.
The Obsidian Martial Arts Hall was no longer what it had been. Just the stall fee collected daily at Crimson Moon Mountain exceeded two million bit, not to mention he had also sold some severely damaged sub-A6 weapons and armor to passing caravans.
He currently had sixty million bit on hand. Even if he repaired all the battle armor, it would be more than enough, and it was also enough to expand the martial arts hall.
On this trip, he had even ordered all the pharmaceutical equipment Yaklo needed, spending more than ten million bit in total. Once it was delivered, they could start manufacturing potions.
While Lin Qi and Luo Qi were chatting, a breaking news alert suddenly flashed across the television in the room.
“Hello everyone, I am your host, Dan Lun. Now we will play the hottest video on the internet. This is a video uploaded by an unknown user. Its views have already exceeded ten million, making it the most popular video in the City of Light Chasing right now.”
After the host on the television finished speaking, a video started to play.
In the video was a quiet valley, but blood flowed like a river within it. The road was covered with corpses. Among them were members of the winged tribe and the ape clan. Each wore the badge of one of the three great winged families in the suburbs or the badge of the Gorilla Gang. There were definitely over a thousand people, making it impossible to imagine what had happened there to cause so many deaths.
On the road stood more than a dozen humans wearing silver-gray long-sleeved T-shirts. They were rifling through the corpses, their faces full of excitement, occasionally shouting “we got a drop”…
“Lin, these people aren’t disciples of your Obsidian Martial Arts Hall, are they?” Luo Qi could not help asking as she watched the broadcast.
