When Shifeng took out the 4-star Promotion Order, the NPC administrator gave Shifeng a strange look.
"Sir, are you sure you wish to promote your Shop to a 4-star Shop?" the NPC administrator asked for confirmation from Xiang Shifeng.
"Is there a problem?" Shifeng asked curiously.
As far as he could remember, Shop promotions were managed by the City Hall. Although he had never promoted his Shop to 4-star status in the past, there shouldn't be any problems with the process.
"Sir, a 4-star Shop is different from an ordinary Shop. If you choose to promote your Shop to 4-star status, according to the Association's rules, your Shop will no longer be protected by the kingdom's laws. The Shop's land will belong to you, and you will have to bear all the risks," the NPC administrator explained.
"Belong to me?" Realization dawned on Shifeng.
He had never thought that a 4-star Shop would have such a secret.
The 4-star Shops he had visited in the past had been strange. Other Guild's Shops didn't have combat members stationed there. Instead, the Shops were managed by Lifestyle players. However, he had seen many peak experts in 4-star Shops. Previously, he had thought that this was to deter expert players, who didn't care about the NPC guards. Now, however, it seemed that this was to deter all players.
After all, without the protection of the kingdom's laws, players could do whatever they wanted inside a Shop. The NPC guards outside wouldn't care at all. Players didn't have to worry about being locked up for half a month or even longer. Meanwhile, a large Guild's Shop had plenty of treasures. If players could get their hands on some of these treasures, they could make a fortune.
If he didn't have enough strength to protect his 4-star Shop, his hard-earned Shop would go to waste.
"Sir, do you wish to promote your Shop to 4-star status?" the NPC administrator asked once more.
"Let's do it," Shi Feng said without hesitation.
Upgrading his Shop to 4-star status did come with significant risks. However, these risks were nothing compared to the value of a 4-star Shop. The only problem was how to protect the Shop. "Alright.
"Very well. The transfer fee for upgrading the Shop to 4-star status is 5,000 Gold. As for the Shop's reconstruction and territorial expansion fees, this is the list of reconstruction and expansion. You may choose any one of them. If you are not satisfied, you may reconstruct or expand the Shop," the NPC administrator explained in detail as she smiled and took out a list of reconstruction and expansion.
"That's really a lot of money!" Shifeng glanced at the list and couldn't help but click his tongue.
Remodeling basically meant increasing the number of floors in a Shop. There were three options: the twelfth floor, the fifteenth floor, and the twenty-first floor. Among them, the prices were 20,000 Gold, 40,000 Gold, and 100,000 Gold, respectively.
Meanwhile, the cost of expanding the Guild Residence was even more ruthless. A 40% increase in the Guild Residence cost 50,000 Gold, and every 10% increase in the Guild Residence cost an additional 30,000 Gold.
This was even more expensive than building a city!
At this stage of the game, first-rate Guilds would be fortunate to have 30,000 to 50,000 Gold in liquid funds. Yet, the amount of liquid funds they had was only a fraction of the cost of Shops' reconstruction and expansion.
Although Ling Yi had saved up quite a bit of money during this period — a total of 170,000 Gold — she still couldn't afford the luxury of a 4-star Shop. Not to mention, she still had to spend a lot of money to recruit the 5,000 NPCs in her Knight Division.
However, Shifeng didn't hesitate for long. Immediately, they chose to reconstruct the Shop to 21 floors and increase the Shop's surface area by 40%.
Increasing the number of floors in a 4-star Shop wasn't as simple as adding counters. It also increased the number of Special Spaces and Meditation Rooms. Unlike 3-star Shops, the number of Special Spaces and Meditation Rooms was fixed.
For example, the 15th-floor Shop only had 30 Special Spaces, but the 21st-floor Shop had 50 Special Spaces. This difference in numbers was far more cost-effective than the cost on the books.
As for the Meditation Rooms, there were a total of 12 Meditation Rooms on the 21st floor. These Meditation Rooms were more than enough to satisfy the needs of every Lifestyle class. There was no need for everyone to fight over the three Meditation Rooms. In fact, Shi Feng could even create a Meditation Room for himself.
Unfortunately, the addition of floors did not increase the number of Research Workshops. There would only be one Research Workshop.
Meanwhile, the only reason the Shop's surface area increased was to accommodate more players. Hence, he prioritized increasing the number of floors first.
"Very well. You'll need to pay a total of 155,000 Gold," the NPC administrator said, smiling after Shi Feng had finished reconstructing the Shop. "Once you've paid, we'll send someone over immediately. Due to the scale of the Shop's renovation, you'll need to wait for half an hour. During this time, no one will be able to enter the Shop."
"That won't be a problem." Although Shifeng's heart ached, he quickly paid the full amount.
He might have spent a lot of money, but with the power of a 4-star Shop, he could most likely earn it all back in a few days. After all, the Research Workshops were extremely rare in God's Domain.
This was especially true in a situation where mainstream players had yet to reach Level 100. The value of a Research Workshop was simply immeasurable.
After Shifeng paid the Coins, the administrator gave Shifeng proof of the Candlelight Shop's title deed. Once the Shop's renovation was complete, White River City's Candlelight Shop would become Shifeng's personal property. At that time, Shifeng would have to protect Candlelight himself.
After dealing with the Shop, Shifeng left the City Hall and returned to the Shop to deal with the security issues.
However, as Shifeng was halfway to the City Hall, he received a call request from A Melancholy Smile.
"Guild Leader, two representatives from Dark Pursuit are looking for you. They say they wish to discuss a partnership with us," A Melancholy Smile reported excitedly.
Every player in the virtual gaming world knew about Dark Pursuit. After all, Dark Pursuit was a Super Guild that focused on support classes. Although Dark Pursuit was not active on the main continent of God's Domain, no power dared to underestimate it.
If Candlelight could partner with such a Super Guild, it would definitely benefit the Candlelight Shop immensely.
"A partnership?" Shifeng could not help his surprise. He had never thought that Dark Pursuit would take the initiative to partner with him. "Got it. Have them head to Candlelight. I'll be there in a moment."
Following which, Shifeng hastened his footsteps towards Candlelight.
Meanwhile, the street in front of the Candlelight Trading Firm was a complete mess. After the Candlelight Trading Firm's reconstruction, all of the Shop's players had been teleported out. Whether they were players purchasing items or Candlelight's members crafting items, every one of them was dumbfounded. They had no idea what was happening.
"What's going on?! Why am I out?! "
"Crap! I haven't finished shopping yet! What is Candlelight trying to do?! Do they want to sell their items or not?! "
The players who had been teleported out of Candlelight were furious. They cursed and swore in front of Candlelight, all of them trying to reason with Ling Yi.
"Ling Yi's Guild Leader isn't toying with us, is he?" Cold Memory, the female Druid who had arrived before Candlelight, demanded angrily.
She had already investigated Zero Wing's Candlelight Trading Firm thoroughly. The Candlelight Trading Firm's production standards were excellent, and it even had a Meditation Room. However, it was still a far cry from Dark Pursuit's.
Not only did Dark Pursuit have a Basic Meditation Room, but it also had an Intermediate Meditation Room. The Intermediate Meditation Room was far superior to the Basic Meditation Room. Take Yan Xiaoqian, Silent Wonder's opponent, for example. With the support of a Guild boss, she could use the Intermediate Meditation Room for two to three hours a day.
"I know President Hei Yan quite well. He isn't that kind of person. I'm guessing that the Shop has been temporarily renovated. Let's wait for a while," Silent Wonder said.
"Renovated? Do you think he'll make a flower out of it? "Cold Memory sneered.
It was true that the various major powers would reconstruct their Shops to attract more players, but no matter how they reconstructed their Shops, they would only change the appearance of their Shops. They wouldn't change the conditions for Lifestyle players.
Shortly after Cold Memory finished speaking, the magic barrier around the Candlelight Trading Firm suddenly lifted its seal.
Immediately, a hundred-meter-tall building appeared before everyone's eyes. The surrounding player Shops, which only had four or five stories, and the NPC Shops, which had more than a dozen stories, looked like children as they stared at this towering giant …
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