Rebirth of the Thief Who Roamed the World

「Of course. Or do you really think I’m that rich?」Nie Yan chuckled. No merchant could become successful without a bit of cunning. Both Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine would inevitably fall under his control. Borrowing the name of the Dragonsoar Financial Group simply made the pill easier for them to swallow. Truthfully, it didn’t matter whether the investment came from Asskickers United or the Dragonsoar Financial Group. A guild without a powerful backer could only last so long. With Sleepy Fox and Fa Lan’s financial abilities, it was only a matter of time before their members would move on to greener pastures. Just having a powerful ally wasn’t enough to keep a guild afloat.

Many financial groups recognized the current climate in Calore. Asskickers United held tremendous sway over the decision making of both Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine. Even if you did invest in these two guilds, their fates were subject to the whims of an outside party. There would be no way to safeguard your interests. Given the situation, who would be willing to throw in their money just to watch it float away?

Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine were stuck in an awkward predicament.

Fa Lan couldn’t help but feel dejected after thinking to this point. But what other choice did he have? It wasn’t like he was swimming in a sea of options. So what if Asskickers United acquired Sapphire Shrine? All it would do was solidify their alliance!

Sleepy Fox also clearly understood his current position. As a professional player, his prime focus lay in securing the best deal. By allowing Asskickers United to invest in Holy Empire, it would remove the final barriers between them. And with him still owning 40% of the guild, he would continue to receive benefits well into the future.

Asskickers United would surely also have to depend on Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine at times. When the several of them joined forces, they didn’t lose out in the slightest to Bloodlust Blades, Divine Protectors, and Alliance of Mages.

「What’s their offer?」Fa Lan asked. Sapphire Shrine and Holy Empire currently had four strongholds between them. This was their leverage!

Finances were tight for both Sapphire Shrine and Holy Empire. Developing their strongholds required tens of thousands of gold. Currently, the vast majority of their income came from the contributions of guild members. This amounted to roughly 2,000 gold a day, which wasn’t anywhere near enough to meet their demands. They would only have a reliable source of income after their strongholds were developed. This is what led to the current situation where they were struggling to make ends meet. If they ran out of capital mid-way through, what awaited them was bankruptcy. They attempted to find funding through the Credit Exchange before, but practically all of the gold on the market had been snatched up by the large financial groups. There was nothing left for them!

Nie Yan was also aware of their situation. He carefully thought things over, only to find that he had been too kind in how he dealt with these matters. When Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine allied with Asskickers United, he didn’t intefere with their plans out of principle. But in reality, he should’ve put them firmly under his grasp from the start. This would’ve been beneficial for both sides.

Sapphire Shrine and Holy Empire brought in several thousand gold a day at most. All they could do was tighten their belts and hope their days of hardship would quickly come to pass. They weren’t like Nie Yan, who had mountains of gold flowing in from his various properties like the Starry Night Potion Shop, along with other sources of income.

「We’ll invest 150,000 gold into your guilds over two months spread out across 20 installments, with the first installment being 30,000 gold for each guild. It will be delivered immediately after signing the contract. Naturally, all expenditures will be recorded. We’ll appoint a supervisor to both your guilds to handle all administrative affairs related to Asskickers United and the Dragonsoar Financial Group. We’ll also subsidize the costs of your contracted members, up to 5,000 credits per person with a quota of 500 players for each guild. Control over the development of the real-world business districts in your strongholds will be handed over to Asskickers United. Finally, we’ll continue to support you financially after the initial investment by paying out a bonus of 100,000 gold for every additional stronghold you capture,」Nie Yan replied. 150,000 gold was a monumental sum to both Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine. It was like a bright light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Both Sleepy Fox and Fa Lan were pleasantly surprised by Nie Yan’s generous terms, especially the subsidy for their contracted players. This was timely assistance for Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine. Like this, they could secure the loyalty and devotion of their elites.

The vast majority of players joined Conviction with the aspiration of making a living out of it. If Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine were slow on providing them with benefits, and there were no other gains for being in the guild, players would seek their fortune elsewhere. This held true not just in the game but also in reality. With a monthly salary of 5,000 credits, who in their right mind would leave?

Nie Yan wouldn’t lose out either. The Dragonsoar Financial Group highly valued every real-world business district. For each one he acquired, they would pay him a tremendous sum. He would make a killing selling four real-world business districts to them.

Each group got what they wanted out of this deal. Nie Yan obtained control over Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine. The Dragonsoar Financial Group obtained four real-world business districts. Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine obtained the investments they so desperately needed, and their players received a significant boost in salary. And last but not least, Fa Lan and Sleepy Fox’s shares would rise in value, which meant they would net a larger profit. Everyone was happy.

Nie Yan had settled the matter of face. On the surface, it looked like Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine simply received the investment of the Dragonsoar Financial Group instead of being swallowed up by Asskickers United.

Holy Empire and Sapphire Shrine would have an incredibly difficult time developing without an investor. On top of this, their real world business districts would be rotting away without buyers. Wanting to support a guild’s expenditures with just the daily taxes from their strongholds was wishful thinking.

「I agree to these terms, but I want to add in another clause. Sapphire Shrine will remain independent. It won’t be forced to merge with Asskickers United,」Fa Lan said. Even though he sold 60% of the guild’s shares to ensure its prosperity, he wasn’t quite willing to see the name disappear.

「No problem. But if war breaks out, I hope Sapphire Shrine will have Asskickers United’s back.」

「Naturally, so long as it doesn’t harm our interests,」Fa Lan agreed.

「Then I guess we’re more or less done. All that’s left to do is iron out the finer details. Sleepy Fox, what are your thoughts?」Nie Yan asked. The business world was cutthroat. Everyone only looked out for their own interests as they tried to navigate this complex landscape. Things that weighed you down like friendship had no place here.

「I’m fine either way. I’m an organization owner, after all. I only established Holy Empire to secure the livelihoods of the people under me. It doesn’t matter who we receive an investment from. As long as my brothers can comfortably put food on their tables, I’m satisfied,」Sleepy Fox replied. He was quite open minded about the offer. In fact, Nie Yan mentioning the subsidy for his contracted players was what sealed the deal. He didn’t care where the money came from, only that his brothers could put food on the table.

「Well, I suppose that settles it. I’ll have Watchful Snail draft up the contracts, then send it over for you guys to look at. I hope we can continue to get along for a long time to come,」Nie Yan said. He began his preparations for the signing of the contracts, relaying everything back to the guild headquarters.

When Sleepy Fox and Fa Lan signed the contract, Sapphire Shrine and Holy Empire would truly be bound to Asskickers United. Their alliance was previously shaky at best, with very few interlinked interests. But now, these three guilds were inseparable allies, becoming an unprecedented powerhouse. Even conquering the entire Viridian Empire wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities.

Nie Yan chatted a bit more with Fa Lan and Sleepy Fox about the particulars of the buyout, then hung up. This time, he had come out with a considerable harvest.

…

Nie Yan and his group continued to travel deeper into the Crystal Caverns. For the time being, they didn’t require him to personally take action. These members easily dispatched the monsters they came across.

Nie Yan withdrew to the back of the group, his attention on another matter of importance. He was starting a new chat server, different from the Union of Assassins but similarly an amazing money-maker. Its foundation was based in auction houses, a Super Trade Channel!

He first made a directory with various filters which included: chest armour, gloves, shoulder guards, weapons, crafting materials, and so on. Numerous pages were created, each filled with various items that showed a detailed description and a price. It aggregated all the data from the three auction houses he owned in Calore. Anything listed there would show up in this channel, and anything sold would automatically disappear.

The system’s amazing computing ability was seemingly limitless!

Nie Yan planned to open this chat server to the public. Players could freely enter and browse through a wide selection of items. If something caught their eye, they could simply hit purchase and however much it cost would be deducted from their account. After which the staff in the auction house would mail the item to the buyer’s personal storage to complete the transaction.

The chat server allowed players to shop while out levelling in the wilderness. Anything they purchased would be waiting for them in their personal storage when they returned to the city. This was extremely convenient. With the help of this trade channel, Nie Yan could exponentially increase the amount of sales in his auction houses. At the same time, he also got to collect an additional service charge.

The Super Trade Channel would never gain the same market dominance as the Union of Assassins. But with the support of the three largest auction houses in Calore, he believed no other auction house could match his catalogue. As the channel gained recognition among the player base, it would increase the number of transactions made by his auction houses, which in turn would encourage more players to list their items up for sale in them, forming a virtuous cycle. From then on, the gold would keep pouring in from all sides!