Chapter 59

"Forget it, let's just sell as much as we can. As long as we don't lose money, it's fine." The scavenger finally said helplessly.

"So I discussed with Trigger whether we should sell the design outright."

"Sell it outright?"

"Yes, sell it outright. Now other players also have the design for the energy furnace core. Although the system hasn't officially recognized the legitimacy of any guilds yet, such organizations are already numerous. They have a large player base and their own logistics infrastructure. It's very easy for them to experiment and obtain the basic data for some materials, after all, they are all initial materials. And they don't just have one mechanic."

"So instead of selling a few mechs and letting others imitate and improve our energy furnace, producing more new mechs to compete with us, we might as well sell our current experimental results outright and then focus on other research. For example, research on equipment attribute enhancements, where we have core data that others can't imitate in the short term."

"I have no objections to your decision. Now let's talk about the issues after the level cap is lifted." The scavenger, who was not good at business, decided to leave everything to Peacheye.

"I really need your help this time." Peacheye said with a smile.

"Why?"

"Because we don't know any major forces and haven't had any contact with them. If we go to trade rashly, there's a high risk of being cheated or having our prices suppressed. Aren't you a gambler? They seem to be organized. Contact him and see if it can be successful. The sooner this research result is sold, the more valuable it is."

"Okay, send me the data and images you can share, and I'll ask." The scavenger nodded and then contacted the gambler, sending the data that Peacheye had organized, which would allow a comprehensive understanding of the mechs produced by the modified energy furnace without revealing any key information.

"I can't judge its value. Let me consult with others." The gambler said after a quick look at the data.

"Alright, I'll wait for you." The scavenger nodded, closed the chat window, and said to Peacheye, "Let's talk about the issues after the level cap is lifted. We need to wait for a bit on that side."

"This is all the information I've gathered about the issues after the level cap is lifted. After upgrading to a sergeant, each profession will gain a talent skill. There's too little specific information on their effects, so we'll observe them gradually. They won't go anywhere anyway.

So our focus should be on the two dungeons that will open after the level cap is lifted. The first dungeon will have special rewards for completion. At the same time, there will be rewards for each innovative record set in the dungeon. This will be the main source of player leveling and equipment acquisition for a period of time. Therefore, we need to seize this opportunity.

The two dungeons are [Decapitation Operation] and [Hostage Rescue]. The content of these dungeons can be inferred from their names. The difference is that [Decapitation Operation] takes place in a jungle, while [Hostage Rescue] is in a modern city. This is all the information we can gather about these two dungeons so far." Peacheye quickly typed on the computer and brought up the investigation data.

[Decapitation Operation]: Eliminate the No. 3 leader, Fly, who is conducting terrorist activities in the border region of China.

Fly (codename): Real name unknown, age unknown, origin unknown. A foreign infiltrator who has caused unrest in the Chinese border region. Has been responsible for multiple kidnappings and explosions. A-grade wanted criminal in China, with a bounty of 100,000 points.

Mission Requirements: Eliminate the target, Fly. Pay a 10,000-point deposit. If the mission is successful, the reward and deposit will be given to the player. If the mission fails, the deposit will be deducted.

[Hostage Rescue]: Wealthy businessman Arthur has been kidnapped by a group of unknown bandits and is hiding in a city. The police have been involved in the investigation, but there has been little progress. Arthur's family has secretly offered a 200,000-point reward for the successful rescue of businessman Arthur.

Mission Requirements: Successfully rescue businessman Arthur. Pay a 30,000-point deposit. If the mission is successful, the reward and deposit will be given to the player. If the mission fails, the deposit will be deducted.

"Deposit required?" The descriptions of the two missions were simple and could be read at a glance. Seeing that a deposit was required for these dungeons, the scavenger frowned. This wasn't a good thing, especially since it was the first time doing these dungeons. The scavenger might be able to handle the decapitation mission, but the hostage rescue mission couldn't be guaranteed to succeed.

"Although the game officials haven't opened the exchange between game points and real currency, other trading platforms have already started. Now players' combat capabilities are quite good. Basic consumption can basically be self-sufficient. The system's means of recovering points are only consumables and skill learning. And consumables are being replaced by players who have the ability to produce them. If some stable measures are not taken, the game's financial system will continue to expand until it eventually collapses.

After all, no one knows when the real war will start. The game officials must ensure the stability of the financial system before the war. It's impossible to let players only gain points without consuming a large amount. So I can guarantee that this is just one of the initial measures, and the system will announce other measures."

"Let's start with the decapitation dungeon. I have more confidence in this one. I'll provide the points, as I've earned quite a few from completing tasks. Do we have a map to enter the dungeon?"

"No map. All maps are random. The decapitation dungeon map is random in the wilderness, and the rescue dungeon map is random in the city. The only thing we know for sure is that in either dungeon, the enemies you face will not just be monsters but also people, like us, with professions."

"In that case, we'll have to see once we're inside. Oh, right, I drew a design blueprint from the task lottery. Trigger, take a look." The scavenger frowned, feeling that the difficulty of these dungeons was a bit beyond his imagination. But if he found it difficult, others would too, so the scavenger wasn't too worried.

"Transport rocket!" Trigger exclaimed when he saw the design blueprint the scavenger handed over. Then Peacheye and Kantu looked stunned, and their expressions became strange.

Yes, strange, not excited. This strange expression wasn't because the transport rocket had little value, but because its value was too great, beyond the capacity of ordinary players. Even with the design blueprint, a transport rocket is something that even a small country can't produce. And with only four of them, they could only look at the gold mine and sigh.

"See if there's anything in the design blueprint that can be used, and then let's sell it." The scavenger rubbed his nose and said. This time, the scavenger's luck was good, drawing a grand prize. This was definitely the highest level of technology that even a country could control at present. However, this reward was a bit too much for an ordinary player to handle.

"Right now, no force would be interested in such a good thing. In the early stages, no player can produce this. Even if all the players' financial resources were combined, it would be a stretch, as many advanced materials haven't even appeared yet. So unless we sell it directly to a country, there's little chance. But if the country knows we've seen the design blueprint for the transport rocket..."

Each game region has its own country, and each country's starting point is post-war reconstruction. The transport rocket is top-tier national technology, which requires strict confidentiality. Without a certain level of strength, this would be a death warrant, even in the game. As soon as this design blueprint is exposed, the scavenger and his team would likely live under surveillance in the game, and might even be exiled for treason.

"Then forget it, let's put this thing aside for now. Maybe it will be useful in the future." Drawing this headache-inducing item left the scavenger speechless, unsure of how to handle it.

"8 million game points, if you want RMB, at the current 20:1 ratio, I can give you an extra 50,000. How about it?" The gambler sent a message.

"8 million points, at a 20:1 ratio, plus an extra 50,000 RMB. Should we sell it?" The scavenger looked at Peacheye, who was best at such transactions.

"It should be about right." Collecting and analyzing information was Peacheye's strength, and he was also good at small-scale transactions. But when it came to transactions over a million points, Peacheye was a bit unsure.

"Actually, I think we can sell it for more." Just as everyone was deep in thought, Kantu hesitantly spoke up.

"Oh, tell us why." Everyone looked at Kantu, making him a bit nervous.

"Previously, Brother Peacheye mentioned the price of the mech. The cost to produce a mech is around 3,000 points. If a large organization can produce all materials themselves, the profit would be 2,000 points. According to the current research progress of players, it would take about a week to crack and imitate the modified energy furnace.

So, at the gambler's price of 8 million points, it would mean selling 4,000 mechs to break even. Their minimum production capacity is around 600 mechs per day, to ensure profitability before other players can imitate it. And this is their quoted price, which is definitely not the limit they can bear in a week. There's a lot of room for negotiation.

Even if this is their limit, an organization that can produce 600 mechs per day in the early stages is definitely a major force. They will certainly use this to build their brand. After all, the development of a major force not only involves attracting players to join but also absorbing points from players, which is an essential element of their development.

So, while the technical content of this generation of mechs may not be very high and will be quickly imitated after release, the first force to release this mech will attract the attention of all players and generate many additional values. This value is sometimes even higher than the value of selling the mechs themselves." As a high-achieving student who got into Fudan University on his own merit, and influenced by his family environment, Kantu's grasp of business was far beyond Peacheye, a small-time player.

"Good job, kid. You have a good eye. What do you think the price should be?" Peacheye patted Kantu on the shoulder and said.

"I'm just guessing... If I were to set the price, 3 million RMB would be appropriate. It might be a bit high, but haggling is normal in negotiations." Kantu said a bit embarrassedly.

For the past week, Kantu had felt like a supporting character. Although he was the scavenger's helper, he mostly learned from the scavenger. He couldn't contribute much to Trigger's research, and Peacheye's intelligence gathering and material acquisition didn't involve him. Kantu always felt a bit redundant.

Although the scavenger and his team never said anything and taught Kantu without holding back, Kantu always wanted to show his worth and prove his value. So, he was a bit excited at this moment, feeling that he was starting to integrate into the team.

"Let's have you negotiate with him. I don't understand the intricacies of this." After sending Kantu's analysis and quote, the gambler gave the scavenger a player's name after much deliberation. Clearly, like the scavenger, the gambler was not good at such business negotiations.

"You go negotiate." The scavenger told Kantu the name and took a hands-off approach.

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