Chapter 252: The Battle of the Newbie Village (Bonus for Ally Huang Wei Cleon)

A new day arrived, bringing with it the dawn of the membership system. This fell entirely outside the scope of shop missions, a pure and simple upgrade to the shop's mechanics following the establishment of the branch, requiring no extra worry on Fang Qi’s part: old customers whose total consumption at the shop exceeded eight hundred crystals could obtain a membership card free of charge.

Of course, if they were new customers, they could advance a deposit of eight hundred crystals into the shop to become eligible for a membership card just the same.

In the crisp early morning, Boss Fang was brewing a cup of instant noodles while watching Zou Mo stand alone by the shop entrance, deeply engrossed in deciphering the Divine Sword Technique.

"Eight hundred crystals?!" Ruan Ning desperately wanted to play, but during the day she had her own shop to tend, so she could only step in to take a look and appease her craving eyes.

At this moment, hanging right outside her own shop front was a matching emblem of a Dragon Slaying Saber, which appeared exceptionally overbearing.

Yet the moment her eyes caught the membership conditions in Fang Qi’s shop, her pupils nearly popped out of her head: "Why does it cost so much money?! Guild Master! Is there a discount for our own guild members?"

Fang Qi expressed his deepest regrets: "Apologies, but there really isn't."

Ruan Ning flared with righteous fury. To demand eight hundred crystals upfront without giving any discount to his own guild members, what kind of logic was this?!

Meanwhile, at the Jiuhua City shop.

As soon as Song Qingfeng and his group stepped inside, they caught sight of a line of delicate new handwriting on the small blackboard: "Total consumption over eight hundred crystals grants a membership card free of charge?!"

A membership actually yielded two additional hours of playtime, and those who had already obtained a trial membership card could even upgrade it, gaining yet another two hours after the upgrade.

Ten hours of gaming time a day, rounded up, was nearly double the original six hours!

Furthermore, the processing method was remarkably simple. One only needed to sign their name upon that card of peculiar material, and possessing this card allowed them several hours more of computer time than ordinary people.

Song Qingfeng’s consumption had long surpassed eight hundred crystals. After completing the process, he held the black card in his hand, able to play for ten hours a day, filling him with sheer excitement!

By then, Tao Kun, Huang Shan, and others had also arrived with a large entourage, their eyes instantly locking onto the information displayed on the small blackboard: "..."

Granted, it did offer an extra two hours, but advancing a deposit of eight hundred crystals to transform from a new customer to a quasi-old customer was fine for them individually, but bringing so many people along meant that if everyone had to dump eight hundred crystals into the shop...

Sinking tens of thousands of crystals into this shop all at once was a gamble they dared not take for the time being!

Even though they had witnessed yesterday's scene, this was still an emerging power after all, leaving an impression that its foundations were somewhat unstable.

"That... Brother Tao... what do you think?" Huang Shan asked hastily.

Tao Kun, however, turned his gaze toward a middle-aged cultivator beside him who wore a deep blue, broad-sleeved robe, possessing a prominent forehead and a countenance of great nobility.

"Allow Tang to try it. If it truly is as the Second Manager claims, the elites of our Yuanheng Pavilion are well worth this price!" Tang Yuan was none other than the master of Yuanheng Pavilion. Yesterday, he had naturally caught wind of the destruction of the Red Forest Medicine Shop, and upon hearing Tao Kun mention this establishment, he decided to follow along to see exactly what kind of hidden deity resided here!

Huang Shan’s face twitched. As expected of someone fabulously wealthy, proposing to sink tens of thousands of crystals with a single breath!

Seeing his followers still standing there dazed, Tao Kun immediately barked in reprimand: "What are you still standing there for? Take the Pavilion Master to level up!"

"Oh... ah... yes!" The crowd finally snapped out of their stupor.

Only then did Tao Kun step forward, pulling out his coin bag while greeting Fang Qi with cupped hands: "Boss Fang, with so many of us signing up for membership cards together, can't you give us a little discount?"

"Apologies, no." Fang Qi made it clear that even group applications were useless; no discount meant no discount!

Tao Kun’s face fell into gloom: "Boss Fang, doing business this way is far too ungenerous!"

Fang Qi pointed toward the blackboard, where six characters were written plain as day: Play if you want, beat it if you don't.

"..."

"How long would it take to burn through eight hundred crystals?!" Ruan Ning grumbled. "Storing it with you is worse than keeping it myself. What if you abscond with the funds one day? This young lady possesses meager cultivation and can't beat you in a fight! Wouldn't all my savings go down the drain then?"

By this time, the instant noodles were ready, and the lid of the noodle bucket was peeled open.

"What is that?! Why does it smell so fragrant?!" Ruan Ning’s nose twitched, following the scent until she was right in front of Fang Qi, crying out in surprise, "What is this you're eating?!"

"Instant noodles." Fang Qi chose this moment to open a box of spicy sticks as well. With the instant noodles paired with spicy sticks, two distinct aromatic waves continuously invaded her nostrils until Ruan Ning could no longer restrain herself: "As a fellow guild member, surely you can share a bit of your food with me!"

"Strictly limited to one strand," Fang Qi said. "If you want to eat more, buy it yourself!"

"Stingy!" Even as she said it, Ruan Ning hurriedly snatched a strand with her chopsticks.

Fang Qi casually gestured for Xiao Mo to come over and have a few strands as well.

"How can it be this delicious!" Taking a bite of the spicy stick and chewing that unique, pungent, and savory flavor, Ruan Ning nearly screamed aloud!

"How much for a box?!"

"Fifteen crystals!" Fang Qi spoke indistinctly while munching on his instant noodles.

"Give me a box!" Ruan Ning gritted her teeth. "And the instant noodles!"

"Do you want to add a sausage?" Fang Qi picked up a ham sausage and took a bite.

"How much in total?!"

"Twenty-one crystals."

"..." Ruan Ning suddenly felt that spending eight hundred crystals might not take very long at all...

"Why does it smell so good?!" At this moment, Tao Kun, Huang Shan, and the others who were just about to log onto their computers could no longer resist either: "Boss, bring us a serving too!"

Very quickly, the entire internet cafe was suffused with the mixed aroma of instant noodles and spicy sticks!

"Ah—! So fragrant!"

"Too delicious!"

"Tsk-tsk! It can even purify the spiritual energy within the body! How can such a wondrous thing exist?!"

...

Finishing his noodles, Fang Qi found a seat and logged onto his computer to play the game once more.

Meanwhile, a crowd of about sixty or seventy people, save for a few who had swapped to iron swords or ebony swords, were uniformly dressed in cloth armor and holding wooden swords, standing in neat, orderly ranks at the entrance of the Novice Village.

"Brother Huang!" Tao Kun had not even wiped the grease of the instant noodles from his mouth, his face entirely solemn. "Where on earth are those Jiuhua Army bastards you spoke of yesterday who hacked at you?! They even dared to boast that they would kill anyone they saw from our Morning Star Sea Realm? I would like to see just how many they can kill!"

Standing dead center was a middle-aged man wearing a set of small cloth armor, likewise grasping a small wooden sword in his hand, a Mage whose ID was Yuanheng: "According to what you all have said, slaying a monster here can elevate one's cultivation. I have already tried it, and the effects are excellent! By the same token, no one knows if there are other treasures hidden away in this world! Therefore, we must establish our own power within this realm as early as possible!"

"Only in this way can we elevate our strength even faster!"

"Since those fellows have sworn to exterminate everyone from our Morning Star Sea Realm, then today, we shall give them a powerful counterattack!" He raised his small wooden sword high into the air. "Kill! Anyone claiming to be part of the Jiuhua Army, kill them on sight! Better to kill by mistake than to let them slip away!"

"Uh... Pavilion Master, then what about us...?" Tao Kun asked.

"Dispatch a few elites to escort me to kill Rake Cats!" Tang Yuan declared with powerful resonance.

"..."

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