Chapter 1405: Zero Wing Auction House
Translator:Exodus Tales
Editor:Exodus Tales
Hearing Melancholic Smile’s report, Shi Feng could not help but grow joyful.
He had been waiting for this moment for a long time now.
"Good! Send a few advanced NPCs from the Battle Arena to manage the Auction House’s affairs right away. Afterwards, announce to the public that we are only collecting a 1% processing fee. If one becomes a member of the Zero Wing Auction House, they can have the processing fee for the first five items they consign each day waived. Meanwhile, those wishing to become a member only need to pay a one-time fee of ten Magic Crystals," Shi Feng said. "It’s about time we kick Red Iron Town out of the competition."
"Guild Leader, isn’t this going a little too far?" Melancholic Smile was somewhat astonished by Shi Feng’s declaration.
The Auction Houses of NPC cities generally charged a minimum processing fee of 15%; those in capital cities charged at least 20%. On the other hand, Red Iron Town’s Auction House charged a 10% processing fee. Although a 5% difference seemed small, that was far from being the case. For example, if one were to sell an item that was worth one Gold, they would end up earning an additional five Silver Coins if they sold their items in Red Iron Town rather than an NPC city. Moreover, items that were put up for sale in Auction Houses were generally of high value. A 5% reduction in processing fees could allow the seller to save a large sum of money.
Meanwhile, if Zero Wing’s Auction House were to collect only a 1% processing fee, it would be lucky to earn enough to maintain its operations. After all, there were only so many players in a town; thus, there was a limit to the number of items that would be put up for sale each day. Besides which, the Advanced Auction House itself was a very large building requiring hundreds of NPCs to manage.
Although they could oppress Red Iron Town by doing so, Zero Wing wouldn’t be able to earn any money, either.
"Don’t worry about it. Just get it done," Shi Feng said, chuckling, not bothering with explanations. He then took out a Guild Transfer Scroll and teleported to Stone Forest Town’s Guild Residence.
In God’s Domain, the building that brought a Guild town or city the most profits would always be the Auction House. Even the income of a Battle Arena could not compete with that of an Auction House.
This was also the reason why the various major powers and many independent players believed that Heaven’s Burial would one day surpass Zero Wing. After all, financial strength and resources were a Guild’s foundations. Without those, a Guild would not be able to develop whatsoever.
While collecting only a 1% processing fee might seem very little, and with Stone Forest Town’s player population, Zero Wing would indeed be very fortunate to break even, it did not possess only Stone Forest Town. The Guild still had a Small City that was soon to be completed. Luring more players to Stone Forest Town would also help attract more players towards Zero Wing’s new city. At that time, Zero Wing’s overall income would naturally increase. Not to mention, as more Guild towns started obtaining their own Auction Houses, their Guilds would also lower the processing fees charged in order to be more competitive. What Shi Feng was doing was simply accelerating the inevitable.
Unfortunately for Heaven’s Burial, while he could afford to take such an action, the latter could not. It would definitely deal a fatal blow to Red Iron Town’s Auction House. Hence, making this move was equivalent to killing two birds with one stone.
"Understood." Melancholic Smile could only reveal a bitter smile as she disconnected the call. If Heaven’s Burial were to find out about this, the upper echelon of the Guild would most likely faint from anger.
Meanwhile, inside Red Iron Town’s Auction House, Daybreak Fog announced the new regulation of the Heaven’s Burial Auction House. The original 10% processing fee was lowered to just 5% now. This change immediately caused a commotion among the players inside the Auction House."Heaven’s Burial is so generous! They actually halved the processing fee they’re charging! It seems Heaven’s Burial is trying to put pressure on Zero Wing."
"Hahaha! My timing is simply impeccable! With this, I get to save a few more Silver Coins!"
"Isn’t this processing fee a little too cheap? Even if I import items from cities other than Star-Moon City, as long as I sell them at a sufficiently high price, I can still make quite a profit."
"Red Iron Town’s rise is definitely unstoppable now."
Many players inside the Heaven’s Burial Auction House were surprised at Heaven’s Burial’s crazy move.
Meanwhile, news of the change also quickly entered the ears of the various powers of Star-Moon Kingdom.
"Have the higher-ups of Heaven’s Burial lost their minds? Are they not afraid of not making money by pulling such a stunt?"
"It seems Zero Wing has truly angered Heaven’s Burial this time. Although Heaven’s Burial will lower their profits by doing so, the number of players visiting Red Iron Town will definitely reach scary heights in the future. The town’s player population might even exceed Stone Forest Town’s. With this, Stone Forest Town’s position as the number one town will no doubt get stolen very quickly."
"Hahaha! This will most likely put Zero Wing in a predicament. Heaven’s Burial has actually played such a move right before the start of the Candlelight Auction. The number of players willing to purchase Stone Forest Town’s private houses and Shops will surely decrease significantly. Zero Wing must be fuming right about now."
The various major powers within Star-Moon Kingdom were greatly shocked by Heaven’s Burial’s crazy actions. However, they also felt joyous about this development.
Currently, the players selling items at Red Iron Town mainly consisted of Star-Moon City residents; very few players from other NPC cities were willing to visit Red Iron Town just to utilize its Auction House. The main reason for this situation was the expensive teleportation fees. With the processing fees charged by the Heaven’s Burial Auction House halved, the money saved could be used to cover the teleportation fees. This change would definitely attract large groups of players from other NPC cities. Hence, it was only a matter of time before Red Iron Town surpassed Stone Forest Town.
Once the independent players and adventurer teams based in the various NPC cities of Star-Moon Kingdom received this information, they started organizing their items, prepared to make a trip to Star-Moon City.
In less than half an hour since the announcement was made, Red Iron Town’s player population increased by over 50,000. Now, the town’s total population was only a little over 100,000 away from catching up with Stone Forest Town’s.
"Big Sis Fog, the rare items the Guild Leader had us send over have arrived. Moreover, based on the reports we’ve received, many merchant players in Stone Forest Town have already begun leaving the town. By the looks of it, they are planning on going to Red Iron Town," a Level 30-plus female Assassin reported.
"Good. Put the items up for sale in batches. After this, I want to see if there are still people willing to purchase the private houses and Shops of Stone Forest Town," Daybreak Fog said, nodding.
Although Heaven’s Burial would not earn much by lowering the processing fees to such a level, being able to lure away the merchant players of Stone Forest Town was already more than enough, as doing so would decrease Stone Forest Town’s popularity in turn.
Meanwhile, in front of Stone Forest Town’s Advanced Auction House, the massive size of the building had attracted the attention of many players.
"What a huge building! It’s practically as large as the Battle Arena. Could Zero Wing be planning on setting up another Battle Arena?"
"That shouldn’t be the case. Towns and cities are limited to only one Battle Arena each."
"Quick, look! The magic barrier hiding the building is starting to disappear!"
Just as the passersby were discussing the newly constructed building in Stone Forest Town, the gigantic barrier shrouding the entire Advanced Auction House began shattering.
A moment later, a building that could rival Stone Forest Town’s Battle Arena in grandeur appeared before everyone’s eyes.
Meanwhile, at the entrance of this majestic building, the words "Zero Wing Auction House" were carved in large letters.