Game: Civilization Paradise

Chapter 95: Chapter 95: Settlement

At that moment, however, Qin Ying complained to Qin Ye, clearly unhappy.

"Brother, you’re being too stingy. Is that all you’re giving him? Add some more!"

"I’m already giving him a lot. I didn’t even complete my quest,"

Qin Ye replied with a dark expression.

"You didn’t complete it, but I did! Max out the reward!"

Qin Ying said cheerfully.

"This..."

"I don’t care. Just max it out."

"Fine, 60 million it is, alright!"

Qin Ye was helpless against Qin Ying.

Long Ming couldn’t help but glance at Qin Ying. ’I didn’t expect her to be so decent, actually sticking up for me.’

"Mr. Red Ghost, can I add you as a friend?"

Qin Ying asked, looking at Long Ming with admiration.

"Mm."

Long Ming didn’t refuse. He raised his wristband and accepted Qin Ying’s friend request.

Just then, Qin Ye raised his wristband, transferred 60 million 1D coins to Long Ming, and said,

"Sent."

"Received. Our contract is over. I’m leaving now!"

Long Ming checked his wristband and said hoarsely.

"Wait!"

Qin Ye quickly called out to stop Long Ming.

"Is there something else?"

Long Ming asked, looking at Qin Ye.

"Ahem, brother, how about you carry me through the Observatory one more time? I still haven’t completed my quest."

Qin Ye invited Long Ming once again.

"Not going."

Long Ming refused without a second thought. ’Are you kidding me? Whoever wants to run that instance can go right ahead. It’s not meant for humans. I almost took a huge loss this time.’

"Don’t be like that! We can talk this over! If you think the pay isn’t enough, I can add more!"

Seeing Long Ming refuse, Qin Ye grew anxious.

"I can’t take the job right now. You should find someone else."

Long Ming felt that Qin Ye was a decent client, so he turned him down tactfully.

"No, wait. If you’re not satisfied, we can negotiate the reward,"

Qin Ye said, still unwilling to give up.

"I really can’t take it. I have other things to do, so I’m leaving."

Long Ming shook his head, his attitude firm.

’I haven’t even completed my own quest, so how could I be in the mood to escort someone else?’

"It’s over."

Hearing Long Ming’s words, Qin Ye turned and walked away, looking dejected.

Qin Ying sighed and said to Long Ming,

"Mr. Red Ghost, I’m going to go console my brother. See you next time."

"Mm."

Long Ming gave a slight nod and turned to leave.

Just then, Qin Ying ran to catch up with Qin Ye and tried to comfort him.

"Brother, look on the bright side. Don’t be so sad."

"Bright side? Is that even possible? I’m going to settle the score with the Iron Shield Guild right now! If it weren’t for those bastards, I would’ve completed my quest long ago! I’m so pissed! If I don’t crush them until they disband, I’ll write my name backward!"

He was about to die from frustration. Qin Ying had managed to complete her quest just by following Long Ming. If he hadn’t been screwed over by that bunch from the Iron Shield Guild, he definitely would have completed his quest too.

Qin Ying was speechless at her brother’s words.

...

A moment later, Long Ming found a deserted spot and unequipped his gear.

This set of gear was just too conspicuous.

After unequipping his gear, he began to tally up his earnings from this run.

Viridian Stone Bracelet (Red), Unopened File Pouch, TK-01 Automatic Pistol: Backlight, Advanced Military Body Armor, Observatory Base Map.

Long Ming opened the marketplace’s recycling interface and saw that the Viridian Stone Bracelet’s recycling price was 1 million. He immediately clicked recycle.

Next, he searched for the Unopened File Pouch to check the market price.

But when Long Ming saw the listed price, he was stunned. This thing was listed for 5 million?

’It’s that valuable?’

Long Ming found it a little hard to believe, but he decisively listed it for sale anyway.

Then, he took the Observatory Base Map out of his backpack.

Although the map’s grade wasn’t that great, its value was immeasurable. But what price should he list it for to make it worthwhile?

As Long Ming toyed with the map, deep in thought, he inadvertently flipped it over. He then saw a simple map drawn in pencil on the back.

He froze for a second, then quickly scanned it with his wristband. A notification immediately popped up.

"Notification: You have discovered the map to the Observatory Base - Underground Secret Base."

Seeing this notification, a smile appeared on Long Ming’s face. He spent 100 1D coins in the marketplace to buy an eraser and erased the map on the back.

He raised his wristband to scan the back again. Seeing no notification, he folded the map with satisfaction.

Next, Long Ming opened the marketplace and began to research map prices.

Just then, he noticed that the marketplace had opened an auction function. He immediately clicked on the auction interface.

One auctioned item after another came into view.

LSC-01 Recon Drone

Current Bid: 900,000

Underwater Frogman Suit

Current Bid: 1,200,000

...

Long Ming was surprised as he looked at these items. This equipment was much better than what was sold in the regular marketplace.

He then tried to list the map.

A notification immediately popped up on his wristband.

"Notification: Auctions are subject to a ten percent commission fee. If the fee is less than 100,000 1D coins, a minimum of 100,000 will be charged. Please note that the commission fee must be paid even if the item is not sold."

After reading the notification, Long Ming decisively listed the map, setting the minimum price at 10 million and the auction duration for 24 hours.

HUFF.

After he finished, he tapped his wristband a few times and logged out of the game.

「Private Room 666.」

HISS~

With a faint hiss of depressurizing air, the game pod’s lid opened.

Feeling slightly fatigued, Long Ming climbed out of the game pod, put on his shoes, opened the door, and left the room.

A short while later, Long Ming came down the stairs and arrived in the first-floor lobby.

The entire lobby was bustling, with a large crowd gathered around a projection screen.

Seeing the commotion, Long Ming walked over curiously to take a look.

On the projection screen, combat footage from the Observatory, recorded from Pilates’s point of view, was playing.

Long Ming was taken aback. ’I didn’t expect someone to be streaming our battle footage.’

The crowd was watching the footage while analyzing and discussing how to clear the Observatory instance.

"This Observatory instance is insane. If a solo player wants to do the safe box quest, they’d have to lie low until the very last second, just like Red Ghost did."

"Heh, you think you can just lie low whenever you want? Without a team, you can’t even get out of town. Even if you get lucky and make it out, you won’t get past the bridge. It’s full of old gatekeepers."

"That’s not all. Even if you manage to survive until the final showdown, you’d still need the ability to take on everyone else by yourself."

"Damn, what if the winning guild still has a bunch of people left? You can’t expect me to take them all on alone, can you?"

"It’s too hard."

"Let me tell you guys something even more heartbreaking."

"What is it?"

"Don’t even think about trying to pull a fast one. There’s a price for that, unless you’re a total badass."

"How so?"

"Red Ghost is a badass, right? Well, let me tell you! He’s been added to the enemy lists of the All Stars Guild, the Sin Abyss Guild, and the Star God Guild all at the same time. On top of that, he’s on their internal kill-on-sight lists."

"Damn, they’re such sore losers."

"Bro, if you were the one who got completely humiliated, you’d be a sore loser too."

"Sigh, looks like those three big guilds are going to have this instance on lockdown from now on."

...

The crowd discussed worriedly.