Chapter 205 – Meeting
When that silly girl resurrected for the third time, Zhou Ning finally couldn't hold back. He grabbed her by the collar and dragged her into the room.
He had discovered that in the Apocalypse world, vampires didn't die instantly when exposed to sunlight—it rapidly drained their HP instead, and only when the HP bar was emptied would they burn to ash.
That made sense, and it was actually a decent mechanic—it gave people a chance to rescue them.
Otherwise, if a player logged out at night while outdoors, then logged back in during the daytime, their gaming experience would probably be… delightful.
After that, Zhou Ning saw Jinse, XB, and the others come out of the shop. Jinse cutely asked Zhou Ning for three days off. As professional players, their top priority was naturally to complete their class quests. This was a perfectly reasonable request, and Zhou Ning had no reason to refuse. Smiling, he took some potions from his backpack and handed them over.
"This quest is extremely dangerous. These potions might help you—take them."
These were buff potions he'd gotten from Edwin during an earlier expedition. Zhou Ning didn't need them himself, but they were quite effective and could provide a considerable boost for players.
"Thanks." After seeing the potions' stats, Jinse and the others lit up with joy, feeling an overwhelming sense of ceremony. As expected of a main storyline quest—the treatment was different, even with the protagonist personally supplying gear.
Seeing this, the surrounding players realized these were the ones who had purchased that hidden quest and looked on enviously.
This little episode only further fueled the players' shopping frenzy. People kept buying items from Zhou Ning's store, with all kinds of stock depleting rapidly—even his previously unsellable medium mechanical constructs sold out.
A glance at the forum told Zhou Ning why: a player had just invented a cheese tactic to solve the problem of low DPS when fighting the subterranean dweller, Grubbis.
The minimum level requirement to use a medium mechanical construct was level 15, and they had high damage output. The only downside was that they were fragile and easily destroyed. Each player could control up to two at once, so if everyone in a party brought the maximum, taking down Grubbis became easy.
The player even posted a video. Their team—two wandering gunners and three warriors, a clear bottom-tier composition—used ten medium mechanical constructs to focus fire. After just two waves of Grubbis's summoned dwellers, the boss fell, dropping a pair of pretty decent boots.
The tactic spread instantly, and players who had suffered under the dungeon's difficulty rejoiced. Medium mechanical constructs sold out on the spot.
Wait, you can do that?
Zhou Ning was shocked. It reminded him of the Saronite Bomb incident back in World of Warcraft.
Back then, in the race for the world-first 25-man Lich King kill, a top European guild came up with a way to use Saronite Bombs en masse to bypass fight mechanics.
That guild was banned for "exploiting game mechanics." Zhou Ning hadn't expected to see the same kind of ingenuity in Apocalypse.
He made a point of remembering the player's ID: Vayne St. Weir. The surprising part—it was a woman.
Zhou Ning: …
He'd been about to give her a like, but now… not so much.
In fact, he quietly committed her name to memory—next time she came to shop, he'd "reward" her with a 20% markup.
Still, her post had created another business opportunity for him.
Starting tomorrow, Zhou Ning planned to produce more medium mechanical constructs and put them on sale in the faction shop, while also leveling up his puppet alchemy skill.
As for simpler manufactured goods, he would hire other NPCs to make them—he couldn't do everything himself.
At one point, John stopped by with his son, Polly. Seeing Zhou Ning busy, he told him to come find him later at the nearby Yu-Gi-Oh! card shop.
Business continued booming, with several players buying invitations to join the Starry Sky Guild. From 2 PM to 4 PM, all ten invitations were sold.
The guild now had twenty-two spots left before upgrading to rank D—about halfway there. Selling ten a day would last two more days, so Zhou Ning wasn't in a rush.
What surprised him, though, was that by 4:30, no other player had bought the main storyline quest. Of course, the high price was a major factor, and even big guilds needed time to gather funds.
As for lowering the price? Impossible. That word didn't exist in his dictionary.
By the time it was nearly 5 PM, Zhou Ning ignored the players trying to make him stay, and left. After some thought, he headed toward the nearby Yu-Gi-Oh! card shop.
To his surprise, the shop's business was excellent. As he walked in, he saw many customers browsing cards—most of them nobles, judging from their clothing, with strong purchasing power.
At the side tables, several NPCs were dueling.
"My turn, draw! I summon 'Harpie Lady'!"
[Harpie Lady, ATK 1300]
"Prepare to lose—your monster can't beat my Harpie Lady's attack!"
"Heh, don't get cocky. I summon the Judge, ATK 2200!"
"What? A monster with 2200 attack?!"
"Didn't see that coming, did you? This is the strength of the Duel King! Go, Judge!"
"They're weak. I think I can beat them," Molly said coldly.
Zhou Ning: …
Where does this brat get her confidence?
"Do you know what the three great illusions of life are?" Zhou Ning asked.
"What?"
"I'm strong. I can do it. I can win." Zhou Ning smiled.
Molly went silent. From over a month of living with her, Zhou Ning knew this meant she was now angry.
He scanned the room and soon spotted John at a booth, chatting with a noblewoman.
Using his Observation Haki, Zhou Ning picked up on their conversation—it was about certain… unspeakable topics.
When John saw him, he quickly excused himself from the lady and walked over.
After a few pleasantries, Zhou Ning smiled. "That your girlfriend?"
John smirked wryly. "She was."
"Broke up?" Zhou Ning asked casually.
"Yeah. Her husband came home early that day."
Zhou Ning: …
As a fellow veteran, he instantly understood—and couldn't help thinking of Marcus Gill. If John could conquer both her and her husband, that would be hardcore. The thought gave him goosebumps.
John sighed, then changed the subject. "Right, Wayne—per our previous deal, here's this month's profit share. We split it 60-40. Guess how much?"
When Zhou Ning shook his head, John grinned. "1,200 Vectas. Your cut is 1,200. And this is just one shop—it's only the beginning."
Not bad. While this wasn't a huge sum for him now, extra income still felt nice.
Zhou Ning took the thick stack of banknotes. With this, his cash on hand rose to 15,765 Veckta—even after buying a house outright.
That gave him the confidence to purchase a powerful transcendent item—since with players around, he'd continue earning well for the foreseeable future, without touching his savings for daily expenses.
"I'm planning to open a few more shops of the same scale, and host a high-level duelist tournament. I want this to spread all over Bryston."
It sounded just like what Zhou Ning had done in the simulator with "Yu-Gi-Oh!"—only, without holograms. He sighed inwardly and let John continue. He already had a good idea of what John was getting at.
"But to make this happen, we don't have enough funds right now. I want to bring in more investors, but that might dilute your shares. What do you think?" John asked expectantly.
"No problem," Zhou Ning replied with a smile. This was extra money to begin with, and he wasn't attached to it.
John's smile widened. "I knew you'd agree. Don't worry, I won't let you lose out. I've found a great investor—I'll introduce you in a few days."
Zhou Ning nodded, not thinking much of it.
After chatting a bit more, he took his leave—he was headed for a transcendent gathering in the old city, hoping to gain something there.
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