The guild territory of the Rattlesnake is located in the main city of the ninth district they govern.
During the first season when Jiang Shi was still playing, there wasn’t even a concept of a professional guild, and the game had just been released with only a few maps, let alone any notion of territorial jurisdiction.
So, in a way, this was his first time setting foot in the official territory of such a prestigious guild.
It has to be said that the luxury and grandeur here were indeed beyond what small guilds like Seven Silver Coins could compare to.
Just the size of the territory alone was more than ten times larger, not to mention the imposing appearance of various architectural structures.
It’s no wonder the top guilds went all out to fight for jurisdiction over the top ten districts. The monthly revenue share in the direct districts is not to be underestimated; this is the real deal!
Leading the way, Jiang Shi proceeded towards the reception hall, discreetly observing the Rune Master behind him.
Seeing the curious look on Jiang Shi’s face, as if he were a country bumpkin entering the city, he couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly and suddenly felt that recruiting might still have a chance.
Upon arrival, he lightly knocked on the door and called out, “Snake God, we’ve arrived.”
The voice of Snake Scorpion Curse came from inside, “Come in.”
Chuang Shi Jie stood still and gave Jiang Shi a signal.
Jiang Shi understood and pushed the door open and entered.
The first thing he saw was the four men sitting on the sofas on both sides.
Initially, he was told that it was Snake Scorpion Curse who was looking for him, but he didn’t expect that the other two gods of the Rattlesnake, No One and Twilight, were also waiting here, and the one next to them was the guild leader, Knife Five Vertical.
When these four people made their appearance, from various angles, they all presented a strong presence.
As soon as Jiang Shi entered, everyone’s eyes were on him.
Among them, Knife Five Vertical, the guild leader of the Rattlesnake, was the most bewildered.
Before this, Knife Five Vertical had probably only heard about Jiang Shi finding a high-quality Rune Stone with good attributes, but he didn’t know much about what had happened afterward.
Just a moment ago, the Snake Scorpion Curse suddenly sent him a message to come to the reception room to receive someone. This made him extremely curious about this Rune Master he had never met.
Jiang Shi naturally felt the scrutiny in those gazes.
He politely nodded to the others and, seeing that no one was speaking, he confidently stood there, showing no signs of impatience.
The instigator, the Snake Scorpion Curse, remained silent.
No One, on the other hand, was accustomed to being the spokesperson. He greeted Jiang Shi warmly, “Hello, Material, nice to meet you. I’ve heard from the Old Poison that you recently declined our guild’s invitation. Is that true? You’re a returning player, so you might not be aware of our guild’s internal benefits. To avoid you missing out on anything, shall I explain them to you?”
“Thank you for the kind offer,” Jiang Shi smiled at him, “I’m not very familiar with the guild’s benefits, but it probably won’t affect my final decision. While the opportunity to join a professional guild is rare, I think Seven Silver Coins is quite good as well.”
The use of the word also was quite subtle.
No One, for the first time, saw someone comparing a regular guild like theirs to the Rattlesnake, and he hesitated for a moment.
He then looked to the Snake Scorpion Curse beside him and said with a wry smile, “It seems that talented people tend to be a bit unconventional.”
The Snake Scorpion Curse did not respond but kept a close eye on Jiang Shi from a distance.
When he spoke again, he changed the topic directly, “During the First Kill competition, the Rune Stone you used, did it have spatial attribute effects?”
Jiang Shi, being in their territory, was not afraid of retaliation, and he replied openly, “Yes, the two-dimensional field is synchronously converted. It is only one-way.”
The Snake Scorpion Curse pondered for a moment and asked cautiously, “…Is it of purple quality?”
Jiang Shi replied, “It’s gold quality.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the others changed to one of astonishment.
Among the Rune Stones brought back by Chuang Shi Jie, the highest quality was purple. In this situation, as long as their technical team could research the material formula and crafting methods, with the Rattlesnake’s abundant resources, mass production would not be a problem.
But if it was of gold quality, the significance would be entirely different.
Top artisans on the Genesis Continent were always scarce, and the main reason was that the crafting process of any gold-quality item was incredibly demanding.
Fully manual labor.
This meant that every step had to be done by hand.
And in this entire process, if even one step produced the slightest flaw, the final product would be doomed to not meet the gold quality standard.
Artisans who could make purple-quality items might be numerous, with the main difference being their success rate, but for gold-quality items, they were one in a million.
Even within these professional guilds, they were just as rare as top real-world technical professionals.
Before Jiang Shi decided to tell the truth, he had already guessed the reactions of the others.
But now, seeing the Snake Scorpion Curse’s seemingly unsurprised expression, he felt somewhat surprised. However, upon closer consideration, he suddenly understood, “Snake God, the gold-quality recovery stone I put up at the auction house, was that purchased by you?”
Snake Scorpion Curse paused for a moment and admitted, “…It was me.”
Snake Scorpion Curse did indeed know about this a bit earlier than the others.
Coincidentally, it had been a while since he had strolled through the auction house. That day, he decided to take a look at the auction list out of curiosity and immediately spotted a gold-quality Restoration Rune Stone.
He had bought it with a fixed price on the spot.
Upon inspecting the item after purchase, he noticed that the signature of the creator was none other than the previous [Material Main Account.]
Upon hearing this response, Jiang Shi let out a knowing chuckle, “Well, in that case, everything is negotiable.”
He opened his backpack, rummaged through it, and casually pulled out a handful of Rune Stones, placing them on the central table.
The rare gold-quality Rune Stones were laid out in a row.
This seemed a bit too audacious, causing even Knife Five Vertical, the guild leader of this prestigious guild, to raise an eyebrow.
Jiang Shi observed the changing expressions of everyone and spoke with an unhurried tone, “So, as of now, I don’t have any plans to transfer to another guild. I came here primarily to inquire if your guild has any other needs.”
He smiled and pointed to the Rune Stones on the table, “Today, I only have these with me, but I can fetch more from the warehouse if needed. Alternatively, if the demand is substantial, I can even take pre-orders. We can set a suitable time, and I’ll ensure a reliable and timely delivery, no deception.”
Even No One was left somewhat speechless, “Are you here specifically to do business with us?”
“Where there is demand, there is a market. Small-scale businesses like ours naturally don’t want to miss the opportunity to serve prestigious clients like your guild,” Jiang Shi displayed a service-oriented smile, “If I were to send these to the auction house, it would require you to keep an eye on them, and I would have to pay auction fees. Isn’t it more cost-effective to deal directly with me?”
No One: “…”
The logic was sound, but something about the way it was said made it seem a bit off.
Snake Scorpion Curse seemed to have realized that Jiang Shi truly had no intention of transferring to their guild.
His gaze lingered on the gold-quality Rune Stones for a moment before he inquired, “What would be the price if we were to purchase everything on hand?”
Jiang Shi replied, “We can use the price from the auction. Snake God, you should be well aware of that, right?”
Snake Scorpion Curse: “…”
No One sensed something in this subtle silence and turned to ask, “Old Poison, how much did you pay for it?”
Snake Scorpion Curse admitted, “…Fixed price.”
The fixed price at the auction house was certainly not a small sum.
Knife Five Vertical, the guild leader responsible for Rattlesnake’s operations, was always very sensitive to finances. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Isn’t this business a bit too lucrative? Even if it was a fixed price, it was when the single Rune Stone was auctioned. Now, if you want to buy all of them, shouldn’t you consider a wholesale discount?”
“I’m afraid not,” Jiang Shi shook his head and continued, “There’s one more thing I must mention. The fixed price offered earlier by the Snake God was for the Restoration Rune Stones. As for the Spatial Rune Stones, that’s a different price.”
Instead of lowering the price, he was asking for additional payment. Knife Five Vertical felt a rush of blood to his chest and almost spat out blood on the spot, “Why don’t you just rob us?”
Jiang Shi smiled, “You can’t say that. The practical effect of this Spatial Rune Stone, you should have all experienced it during the First Kill competition. With it, even a small guild like the Seven Silver Coins managed to secure a First Kill. In a large guild like yours, the potential could be even greater, despite the cost. This investment might not only secure the First Kill in the next field map but also potentially the third championship in the Century Cup. It’s a win-win, don’t you think?”
Knife Five Vertical: “…”
Snatching their First Kill and then profiting from them, this guy wasn’t an ignorant newbie but a full-fledged profiteer!
Snake Scorpion Curse could tell that the guild leader was losing it and finally made a suggestion, “How about this, for gold-quality Runes, including blue and purple ones, as long as they’re not the lowest white quality, we can purchase your current stock as well as the production for the next three months. But we’d need a discount of around eight to nine percent on the price.”
“Is that so?” Jiang Shi furrowed his brows in thought for a while and then spoke again, “It seems… acceptable?”
Knife Five Vertical wanted to smack himself in the face.
He was raking in huge profits, yet he pretended to be hesitant. Can’t he just be a reasonable person?
In pain, he subconsciously placed a hand on his chest and then heard Jiang Shi continue, “However, considering how reluctant you are to spend money, I have a more favorable proposal.”
Knife Five Vertical gritted his teeth, put on a sincere smile, and asked, “What proposal do you have in mind?”
“It’s like this,” Jiang Shi explained, “You want to recruit me into the guild, but essentially, you want access to the crafting recipes for these Rune Stones. After all, no matter what, it’s always more cost-effective to produce your own rather than buying from the outside, right?”
Jiang Shi smiled as he looked around and paused before continuing, “Although I have no intention of transferring, I can actually sell the crafting recipes separately. After the network contract is signed and agreed upon, it depends on whether your guild is interested.”
Snake Scorpion Curse raised an eyebrow and glanced, “As long as we can acquire enough Rune Stones, we can fully research the specific recipes ourselves. What makes you so sure we’d need to spend extra money to buy the recipes?”
Jiang Shi grinned, “Is that so? If you can develop them, why go through all the trouble of recruiting me into the guild and contracting for three months of Rune Stones?”
His deception couldn’t fool anyone.
Snake Scorpion Curse remained silent.
He rarely had to massage his temples with a headache, ultimately choosing to compromise, “Speak up, what’s the price for the crafting recipes?”
“Each one will be priced according to the gold-quality of a hundred same-attribute Rune Stones, and if it’s a buyout, the price will be multiplied by five.”
Jiang Shi spoke slowly and logically, “Of course, after the buyout, I will only guarantee not to sell the recipes to other guilds and will not put the finished products on the market. However, I will still retain the rights to independently produce and use them. Additionally, if other guilds’ technical teams develop Rune Stones with the same attribute effects after the sale, I will not be held responsible for such situations.”
Clear terms, clear responsibilities, ensuring he took all the benefits without bearing any losses.
However, even with such terms, Snake Scorpion Curse could not bring himself to refuse. The Restoration Rune Stones were indeed a crucial necessity for their guild, and the Spatial Rune Stones had just cost them dearly in the First Kill competition.
After discussions, Knife Five Vertical reluctantly made the decision.
Not only did he have to pay with a heavy heart, but after arranging for the guild’s internal staff to complete the contract process, he also had to remind Jiang Shi, with a forced smile, that he must prioritize contacting them, the Rattlesnake, in case he developed new Rune attributes in the future.
“Sure, no problem.”
After signing the contract and receiving the money, Jiang Shi handed over the crafting recipes to the Rattlesnake’s technical staff. He smiled and waved to the others, “Well, I’ll take my leave now. It’s been a pleasant cooperation.”
“Indeed, it has been a pleasant cooperation.”
Snake Scorpion Curse and the others watched his departing figure without any expression.
Indeed, leaving with millions of silver coins without losing any Runes or materials, how could it not be considered pleasant?
Knife Five Vertical, due to the hefty expenses, continued to clutch his chest. It was only after he could no longer see Jiang Shi’s figure that he sighed and said, “Honestly, I always thought the Runesmith from five years ago was the darkest-hearted Runesmith. But now, it seems… the degree of darkness in this returning player’s heart is probably beyond measure. Or maybe, are all Runesmiths like this?”
No One asked, “Five years ago? Who is that?”
“PoisonedMilk, the veteran god of the first season,” Knife Five Vertical clarified. “At that time, you hadn’t joined the game yet, so it’s normal not to know. But no matter what… let’s just remember that he’s someone who single-handedly stirred up chaos in the entire server.”
After his words, it was as if he had fallen into a long reminiscence.
After a long while, he looked towards the door that Jiang Shi had disappeared through and mumbled with uncertainty, “By the way, this Runesmith is also a returning player… but their game IDs are different. It shouldn’t be that coincidental, right?”
no it’s a coincidental since it’s the same person lol. curious to see their reactions