Chapter 212: Gold Coin Merchant Society, Trade Initiated

The location for the trading center has been selected, and its development model has already been clearly planned.

The group members unanimously supported "Lord Shou Jili" serving as the president of the merchant society.

Subsequently, the topic of discussion shifted to what name to give the merchant society.

During this period, group members proposed various ideas, and finally, a vote determined that the merchant society's name would be: Gold Coin Merchant Society.

Named after the fifth-generation Primordial "Gold Coin," this was also the original source of motivation for the group members wanting to become merchants.

After the group name was changed, Lord Shou Jili, who was now the group leader, began explaining the merchant society's regulations in greater detail.

Lord Shou Jili (Group Leader):

Since everyone has decided to form a merchant society and work together to make it big and strong.

It is better to clarify certain issues in advance to avoid various conflicts arising from trivial matters in the future.

First is the matter of personnel changes within the merchant society.

After the merchant society is formed, our interests will be bound together, but incompatibilities may still arise during development.

For example, some players joined early but made no actual contributions, yet still wish to continuously profit from the merchant society's growth.

Such members must inevitably be kicked out.

Therefore, we need to establish a comprehensive contribution point system.

Points will be calculated based on the activities of merchant society members, including but not limited to going out to sea to solicit clients, constructing the trading center, and connecting the trading center with alien races; these methods will earn points, and I will detail this part later.

Henceforth, we will review each player's contribution based on their points every three months; anyone falling below the passing line for two consecutive periods will be expelled from the merchant society.

Secondly, there are potential conflicts regarding decision-making.

In the future, regarding the development of the merchant society, disagreements in opinion will certainly arise among us.

As for how to resolve issues, I believe we can do so through voting.

Since everyone has elected me as the president of the merchant society, I boldly propose that I hold five votes, while each member in the group holds one vote; henceforth, disagreements will be resolved by voting, and actions will be taken according to the results.

The third issue is the management of common funds.

The fourth issue is the expenditure related to infrastructure construction.

Finally, Lord Shou Jili presented his own proposal.

He stated that since everyone chose him to serve as the president of the merchant society and be responsible for future developmental decisions, he wished to possess a fixed 5% share of the profits, with other earnings calculated separately based on contribution.

After reading the content, the group members realized that the new group leader, Lord Shou Jili, was absolutely a professional expert.

They unanimously expressed that a fixed 5% income posed no problem whatsoever.

With the operational rules of the merchant society clarified, Lord Shou Jili immediately began arranging the construction of the trading center.

The first step was the raising of funds.

There were a total of 87 members in the group; Lord Shou Jili stated that each member should contribute ten thousand Sacrificial Power as the merchant society's startup capital.

Ten thousand Sacrificial Power was obviously not a small number, and many players in the group could not afford it.

However, Group Leader Lord Shou Jili gave the group members two days to prepare.

Group members could gather the full ten thousand points of Sacrificial Power through hunting, clearing out their Storage Items, borrowing Sacrificial Power from friends, and other means.

During this period, some group members expressed a desire to contribute an additional portion of Sacrificial Power to purchase a fixed 1% future income share.

But this idea was rejected by "Lord Shou Jili," who stated that doing so would undoubtedly affect the future earnings of other group members.

Apart from the president, no other members of the merchant society would have a fixed income.

However, as long as one could secure a stable trade route, one could thereafter obtain long-term trade profits through that stable channel.

Unless, of course, the race providing the trade was exterminated and ceased to provide trade profits to the merchant society.

Two days later.

The Gold Coin Merchant Society was officially established.

President Lord Shou Jili (A Lan) decided to meet with the group members on Dreamy Island.

Dreamy Island was located 13.7 kilometers due north of the Colorful Mist Coast, making it one of the islands relatively close to the Colorful Mist shoreline.

Surrounded by azure seawater, the island was covered with towering ancient trees reaching into the clouds, as well as low-growing clusters of colorful flowers and grasses; the air was filled with a faint fragrance emitted by the plants, mixed with the salty moisture brought by the sea breeze, creating a unique scent that refreshed the heart and mind.

As soon as he stepped onto the island, A Lan was captivated by the scenery before his eyes.

Recalling his vehicle, he looked up toward the front.

Here, in stark contrast to the hustle and bustle on the beaches of the Colorful Mist Coast, one could feel only the tranquil atmosphere of nature.

Before choosing this island, he had conducted a detailed investigation.

It was certain that no races inhabited the island, nor were there any spiritual resources available for exploitation.

This was obviously the reason why no racial powers were willing to develop Dreamy Island, leaving its original ecology intact.

In fact, Dreamy Island had once enjoyed considerable popularity on the forum.

The cause had nothing to do with the island itself, but rather because an extremely lucky "Control Style" player had found a dying cultivator near Dreamy Island.

He had successfully implanted a "Control" brand into the cultivator's remains, obtaining the first super pet since the server launched.

Thus, the Ascended Clan faction made its debut in the players' field of vision.

After that, apart from occasional visits by fishing-enthusiast players, basically no players came to explore Dreamy Island.

Because this island was too ordinary, lacking any highlights whatsoever.

This was also the main reason A Lan chose to establish the black market trading center on Dreamy Island.

The process of developing the island did not require clearing out natives, saving a great deal of unnecessary trouble.

Secondly, since there were no spiritual resources on the island, it would not attract the attention of those powerful races; after all, occupying this island offered no profit for powerful races to gain.

Having arrived early, A Lan stood by the beach waiting for the arrival of the merchant society members.

At this moment, the number of members in the merchant society group had reached 128.

Among them, 41 players had joined later through the forum, likewise submitting ten thousand Sacrificial Power as their membership fee.

As the merchant society gradually grew larger, A Lan felt that the current foundation was still far from sufficient.

Although the trading center he envisioned could not guarantee the personal safety of the traders, it absolutely had to ensure the safety of the resources brought by the alien races.

This would require many members in the future to serve as mobile warehouses.

Apart from the initial barter model, subsequent transactions would basically be completed by players serving as mobile warehouses.

For example, when the Night Sky Clan landed on the island, they would submit resources to the player serving as a "mobile warehouse" on the shore, and the resource amounts would be recorded.

After entering the island, all trade between the various races within the trading center would be conducted using record slips.

Upon leaving the island, the players serving as mobile warehouses would hand over the goods obtained from the completed transactions to the Night Sky Clan on the shore.

Throughout the entire trading process, there were no physical goods present, ensuring the absolute safety of trade resources within the island.

However, once off the island, no responsibility would be assumed.

Even if plundering occurred the very second after handing over goods and leaving the island, the losses would be borne by the clans coming to trade themselves.

This was merely the preliminary trading model in A Lan's conception.

To make the merchant society develop better and better and elevate its influence to the next level, he would need to consider issues such as client privacy and resource delivery in the future.

Regarding client privacy.

A Lan considered that certain clans might possess rare resources in their hands.

But regardless of whether these clans could use such resources or not, they could not easily display them to the outside.

Perhaps after contacting the black market trading center, such clans might have the idea of bringing out rare resources to exchange them for daily life resources, yet they would also fear that this action might attract the attention of other clans, leading to a crisis of extermination.

Therefore, they were unwilling to bring their rare resources to the black market trading center for sale.

After all, although there were no physical goods during the transaction process, as long as clients had encountered each other, too much information would inevitably be leaked.

It was unavoidable that some powerful clan would note the discovery of the trading market and, after leaving the island, lead their clan to plunder it.

In the Monster World where the strong prey on the weak, keeping wealth hidden was an important rule of survival.

It was best for both parties in a transaction not to meet, to avoid leaking too many secrets of their respective clans.

The services the trading market could provide were, in essence, inconsistent with the operating laws of the world.

But who made them players? They could possess many overpowered settings.

There were many ways to solve the problem of reducing Iron Face-to-Iron Face meetings between clients.

For example, building a digitalized trading market.

Technological products in this regard could be completed in the future through the Mechanical City of the Underground World.

Assembly lines would mass-produce technological products to be deployed to the trading center.

Henceforth, every client landing on the island would be issued a tablet.

Just like players purchasing goods in the Auction House, they could place orders directly, and then players would be responsible for connecting the two trading parties.

Even if the buyer had thoughts of bargaining, or the seller had thoughts of negotiating prices, these could be indirectly conveyed through the player handling that specific transaction, without the need for direct meetings.

Once privacy was protected, many alien races that originally dared not bring out their rare resources would choose to sell them at the black market trading center, providing more transaction fees for the Gold Coin Merchant Society they had formed.

Regarding resource delivery, he had also considered that the transportation link after leaving the island carried severe risks.

Discovering that no resources could be plundered within the island, powerful races would choose to lie in wait outside the island, ambushing whatever came out and plundering however much emerged.

They would treat the Dreamy Island they had built as a hunting ground.

Addressing these potential issues, the Gold Coin Merchant Society would provide delivery services to clients in the future.

Players undertaking the mobile warehouse task would follow the clients who completed transactions until escorting the resources safely to the islands where the clients' clans resided.

At that time, fees could be calculated based on distance or as a percentage commission.

For example, for one nautical mile, a charge would be levied based on an equivalent amount of resources in Sacrificial Power.

If a single transaction involves a large sum and the distance is short, yielding little delivery profit, a percentage of the resource price will be taken as commission.

Players are responsible for delivery; even if robbed during the voyage, the resources are guaranteed to arrive safely.

At worst, after dying and resurrecting, players can restart from the Colorful Mist Coast and continue delivering goods.

This can significantly increase the sense of security for all races during transactions.

It prevents them from being targeted by clans stronger than themselves, inviting calamity that could wipe out their entire race.

Even after the transaction is complete, there is no need for players to accompany the escort; simply having them handle the delivery suffices.

As long as money is paid, anything can be arranged.

Therefore, the future Black Market Trading Center will require a large number of trade couriers.

Besides the couriers within the guild, A Lan plans to recruit additional non-guild affiliated couriers in the future who will not share in the profits but will be paid sacrificial power based on their labor.

For example, novice players.

Many novice players often cry on the forums that they do not have enough sacrificial power to spend.

He can provide a platform for them to earn extra sacrificial power.

In the future, players with free time can come to the Black Market Trading Center to handle a few delivery orders.

As long as the capacity of their personal space inventory meets the requirements and they provide a deposit to the guild administrator, they can accept orders and depart; specific earnings will be distributed by the guild after the delivery service is completed, from which a certain profit will be deducted.

In A Lan's view, the prospects for the trading market have very broad room for expansion.

A future that can be foreseen.

The Black Market Trading Center will become the liveliest and most bustling location among the nearby sea regions, with large numbers of alien merchant caravans traveling back and forth across these waters.

Dream Island will also become the most lively area for players, second only to the spatial nodes.

It could even siphon various commercial activities from the Colorful Mist Coastline, providing ordinary players with opportunities to contact aliens and sell homemade snacks.

However, before the Black Market Trading Center is established, they still have many issues to resolve.

Pondering the future, the first wave of guild members arrived.

There were three players in total, traveling on a small blue boat.

As soon as they disembarked and saw A Lan standing on the beach, the expressions of the three arriving players became extremely remarkable.

They subconsciously glanced at the player name above A Lan's head to confirm his identity.

"Guild Master?"

"Mm, it's me." A Lan smiled, stepped forward, and nodded in greeting.

"Holy crap, an Upper Realm creature! Aren't you guys playing Version A of Monster World?" the leading man asked with a look of shock.

Hearing this, A Lan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, then immediately explained:

"Version A of Monster World has already ended; in the future, players of the Moon Eclipse Clan will gradually enter Version B, which is the current version."

Facts proved that the Moon Eclipse Clan's impression in the previous few virtual games was too aloof, causing them to become an oddity even in Monster World.

This was not a good phenomenon.

Although players called him an Upper Realm creature, this was by no means a compliment, but rather a mockery of the Moon Eclipse Clan's formerly indifferent attitude.

When players of any race contacted members of the Moon Eclipse Clan, a natural, unspoken barrier existed.

This was a trend A Lan did not wish to see.

In the future, the Moon Eclipse Clan still needed to integrate into the player legions and cooperate with various forces within the player legions for development.

Only through integration was there a future; standing apart and even causing resentment among players of other races would only hinder the development of the Moon Eclipse Clan.

This clearly required him, as well as future Moon Eclipse Clan members who obtained game qualifications, to work together.

To reverse the stereotypical impressions that players of all races held regarding members of the Moon Eclipse Clan.

At this moment, A Lan chose to lower his stance and actively initiate communication and contact.

Before long, guild members arrived one after another.

After disembarking on the island and seeing him, the first words from most guild members were expressions of surprise at his identity as a member of the Moon Eclipse Clan.

Some guild members even joked, asking if he had any internal modifiers to tweak their attribute data for their enjoyment.

Preferably, they wanted him to add a few zeros to their sacrificial power values.

To this, A Lan similarly responded in a joking tone, saying that if he had any cheats, he would definitely use them on himself first, as he too was troubled by the difficulty of obtaining sacrificial power.

Through self-deprecation, he placed his own needs on the same level as those of the guild players.

This narrowed the distance between himself and the guild members, reducing the barrier.

As communication increased, the sense of strangeness faded.

Once all the guild members had arrived, A Lan stood up and looked up at the lush forests inside the island.

He then summoned the map function, drew a circle in the central area of Dream Island, and shared the display with the already party-formed guild members.

"Let's begin; clear the area according to the region I have planned." After speaking, A Lan led the guild members toward the center of the island.

The island was covered in greenery, with no suitable location yet for building a trading center; the initial stage required felling a large number of trees to clear an open space.

During this period, eight routes connecting to the coast also needed to be reclaimed.

The players following beside A Lan also summoned their weapons at this time and began clearing the greenery along the way.

Chopping with the Strength Barbarian Axe, burning with the Ink Flame Fireball, whipping with the Whirling Wind Whip... the members of the Gold Coin Guild launched their land-clearing operation using their Soul Spirit abilities.

Clearing the island was a significant project, but the members of the Gold Coin Guild could also earn meager profits from it.

The ancient trees felled could be dismantled into wood blocks and listed on the Exchange for sale; various types of players, such as those setting up stalls by the coast to grill fish, those constructing guild bases, or those making sailboats, would spend sacrificial power to purchase them.

However, such ordinary resources, common everywhere in Monster World, did not fetch high prices.

An ancient tree could only sell for a few fractions of sacrificial power.

Listing them on the Exchange was more about clearing space on Dream Island and saving the process of transporting and destroying them externally, so even giving them away for free was something the guild players were willing to do.

During this process, the members of the Gold Coin Guild worked with immense effort.

Their expectations for the future were maxed out; all members felt that their early efforts would inevitably yield high returns in the later stages.

As time passed, the clearing work progressed step by step.

Under A Lan's command, the guild members cooperated seamlessly; felling, dismantling, and listing, every link was orderly.

The central area of Dream Island was originally covered by lush greenery; nearby, huge ferns spread their frond-like leaves, vines coiled around ancient tree trunks like snakes, and hanging root whiskers swayed gently in the wind, with layers of branches and leaves interweaving into an impenetrable green dome.

The ground was also covered with thick fallen leaves; stepping on them felt soft and silent, as if one would sink into them.

Due to the passage of time, the lower layers of leaves had already rotted, and the air was filled with a damp, decaying scent.

As the clearing work advanced, the true appearance of this environment shrouded in greenery gradually revealed itself.

During this period, ancient trees were felled one after another and listed on the Exchange at the lowest price of 0.01, quickly being bid on and purchased by other players in need.

When the ancient trees in the central area disappeared, sunlight poured onto the newly cleared open ground like sharp swords.

This region, which had not seen sunlight for who knew how many years, finally welcomed the first ray of brightness of the new era.

Watching the fine wooden dust floating in the air, the players of the Gold Coin Guild were covered in sweat on their foreheads, yet smiles hung on their faces.

This kind of effort where the future was visible filled their hearts with the desire to strive.

Standing in the center of the site, A Lan also looked around at this time; the cleared open space formed a sharp contrast with the dense jungle surrounding it.

He used his guidance vision to raise his perspective and look down from above.

The open space looked like a sudden blank spot appearing on a carefully trimmed green canvas; sunlight poured down here without obstruction, illuminating the tangled tree roots and mottled moss on the ground.

The air drifted with the fresh fragrance of grass and trees, completely different from the previous stifling and damp atmosphere.

"Everyone rest for a while; we will continue land clearing in one hour."

Seeing through the party list that the fatigue values of the guild players were somewhat low, A Lan immediately called for the players to rest, then also put away his weapon and stopped working.

The land-clearing process could not be completed in a single day.

He felt there was no need to rush; there would be plenty of time in the future to advance the construction of the trading market.

Three days later.

Relying on the attributes and abilities granted by Soul Spirit characteristics, A Lan led the Gold Coin Guild to successfully complete the initial land clearing on Dream Island.

Then, using some of the wood left over from the land clearing, simple sheds were built on the open ground.

This was the prototype of the Black Market Trading Center.

The simplest first step had been completed; next, A Lan began assigning the next task.

The second step was more difficult and also a crucial step for the future development of the Black Market Trading Center.

It required guild members to travel to alien islands in various sea regions in the Cultivation Mode of mysterious merchants to attempt establishing trade connections.

During this period, players would inevitably be killed.

But what players needed to do was to go back and forth repeatedly, conduct transactions on the islands, and gradually attract all races to Dream Island.

This step would also determine the profit-sharing ratios in the early stage.

Every alien client would represent a quota for the player's share of the profits within the Gold Coin Guild.

At A Lan's request, the players, after finishing the land clearing, set out to sea one after another to begin expanding the Gold Coin Guild's market.

At the current stage, three alien races had been confirmed as capable of establishing trade relations: the Night Sky Clan, the Giant Stone Clan, and the Violent Wing Clan.

All three races had previously traded with players in the Gold Coin Guild; the next step was to attempt getting them to come to Dream Island for transactions, offering more profit in the early stage to enhance Dream Island's appeal.

For example, last time the Night Sky Clan spent 46 Crisp Fruits to purchase 693 Energy Paste sticks from Zhong Yi's hands.

This time, following A Lan's requirements, Zhong Yi prepared to inform the Night Sky Clan that if they came to Dream Island for transactions, they could exchange 40 Crisp Fruits for 700 Energy Paste sticks.

Considering the future, early-stage profits were not important; expanding the influence of the Gold Coin Guild was the core key.

Only by establishing sufficient influence could the Gold Coin Guild obtain continuously growing future profits and a stable flow of customers.

This step required the joint efforts of all members of the Gold Coin Guild.

……

Leaving two provisional management layers behind on Dream Island, A Lan also turned back at this time.

Returning to the Colorful Mist Coast space, he used a teleportation array to arrive in the Underground Cave World space.

Stepping out of the space, a scene of dilapidated mechanical ruins presented itself before his eyes.

After regrouping with his teammates, he summoned the map.

The positions of his teammates appeared on the map in the form of blue cursors.

A Lan immediately broke into a light jog, heading toward the area where his teammates were located.

Recently, his main focus had remained on the mechanical ruin scenes within the Underground Cave World.

He wanted to witness with his own eyes whether the Tower of Eternity, as conceived by the Machine Guard Clan, truly existed.

It was now clear that the Star Net could enter the game world by seizing qualifications.

However, it was not yet certain whether entry would be in the structure of an ordinary lifeform, or by replicating the semi-mechanical, semi-biological intelligent brain body from the real world.

Therefore, the Tower of Eternity appeared extremely important.

Assuming the Star Net arrived in the Monster World in the form of an ordinary lifeform, the Tower of Eternity could thereafter bear the Star Net's consciousness, allowing the Star Net to become the ruler of the mechanical ruin city.

If entering with its original body, it could also merge with the mechanical ruin city.

Inheriting the legacy left by the Machine Guard Clan, it would control the vast mechanical city.

Countless arsenals could operate under the will of the Star Net, mass-producing technological products and mechanical troops.

But one thing was certain: repairing this mechanical city would require an enormous expenditure of sacrificial power.

The Gold Coin Chamber of Commerce was one of the funding channels for the Eclipse Clan to repair the mechanical ruins.

Viewing the development of the Eclipse Clan in the Monster World from the perspective of the First Principle, funding sources were certainly important.

But the ultimate goal was still to convert resources into power, so the importance of the mechanical city went without saying.

This might well be the key assistance for the Eclipse Clan to establish initial armed forces in the Monster World.

After meeting up with his teammates, the fusion Cultivation Mode was activated.

A Lan led his teammates toward the central district of the mechanical ruin city.

(End of Chapter)