288: Chapter 288 Monopolizing the Newbie Village! I'll Make Other Players Work for Me

Volume 8 Chapter 74: Monopolizing the Novice Village! I'll Make Other Players Work for Me

Three minutes after Lin Chen became the new owner of the Novice Village bar, the first wave of guests arrived at the door.

They weren't there to drink; they were there to interrogate him.

Three players rushed into the bar, led by a burly man with a face full of rough features, followed by a man and a woman. They were clearly the earliest group to band together in the Novice Village, and everyone's equipment was a notch better than ordinary players—their weapons were silver, and their clothes had protective halos.

The burly man slapped the bar counter: "Are you the new boss? I heard you bought the bar? How did you buy it? What right do you have to buy it?"

Lin Chen slowly poured himself a glass of wine: "By the fact that I have money."

"Money?" The burly man sneered, "Everyone only starts with 100 game coins in the Novice Village. Where did you get the money?"

Lin Chen pointed to the loan record above his head: "Borrowed it. The interest rate is 10% per hour. Want to learn more?"

The burly man was stunned.

The woman behind him pulled him back and whispered: "Don't be impulsive. If he can get a loan, it means the system's assessment of his credit rating is very high. This kind of person isn't easy to mess with."

The man was unconvinced: "Then are we just going to watch him monopolize the bar? The bar is the only information distribution center in the Novice Village. If he takes it over, how will we play in the future?"

Lin Chen listened to their whispering, smiled, took out a wooden board from behind the bar, and wrote a line of words on it with a pen:

「New Rules of This Shop:

1. Entry requires purchasing a 'Membership Card,' 100 game coins each.

2. Members enjoy priority browsing of information, priority acceptance of tasks, and product discounts.

3. Non-members please leave voluntarily.」

He hung the wooden board at the entrance.

The burly man's face turned ashen: "This is robbery!"

"Clearly marked prices, honest to all." Lin Chen pointed at the door, "Those who don't buy a membership can leave. There are many monsters outside, stay safe."

The burly man wanted to lash out but was stopped by the woman behind him. The woman stepped forward and stared at Lin Chen: "Aren't you afraid of offending all the players by doing this? The Novice Village is only so big. If you offend everyone, who will come to your shop?"

Lin Chen smiled: "You're wrong. You three aren't the only players in the Novice Village. There are currently 47 newcomers in total, most of whom are still wandering around outside, not knowing what to do. My bar is the only safe haven. If they want to survive, they have to come in. If they come in, they have to buy a membership."

He paused: "As for those of you who band together... I welcome you to buy a membership, and I also welcome you not to. Either way, the ones who won't survive in the end are yourselves."

The woman fell silent.

The burly man gritted his teeth: "Let's go!"

The three left the bar.

Lin Chen watched their departing figures, shook his head, and opened the system's back-end.

The player list for the Novice Village was clearly visible: 47 people, among whom 23 already showed 'fatigue too high,' 11 were 'injured,' and 7 were 'hungry.' These were all in urgent need of rest and supplies.

He sent a mass message to all players:

「The Novice Village Bar is now open for business, providing a safe rest area, affordable supplies, and information trading. To enter the shop, you must purchase a Membership Card (100 game coins). Quantities are limited, first come, first served.」

Within three minutes after the message was sent, 12 people arrived.

Five minutes later, another 17 arrived.

An hour later, out of the 47 players in the Novice Village, 41 had become bar members.

Membership fee income: 4,100 game coins.

Lin Chen used this money to pay back the loan principal of 600 + 60 interest (for one hour), making a net profit of 3,440.

Now he had 3,440 in cash, plus the continuous income from the bar.

Li Mo—the analyst who had been rejected by him before—proactively came to his door.

"Boss Lin, I can help you."

Lin Chen looked at him: "How can you help?"

Li Mo pushed up his glasses: "I've observed for three hours and found that the assets of the Novice Village aren't just limited to the bar. There's also the Weapon Shop, General Store, Clinic, Stable, mine... a total of 17 core assets. If you can buy them all and monopolize the Novice Village economy, your funds in 24 hours will be at least a hundred times more than everyone else's."

Lin Chen raised an eyebrow: "Nice analysis. But why should I use you?"

"Because you're short on manpower." Li Mo looked directly at him, "You have money and vision, but you can't handle it all alone. Acquisitions require negotiation, calculation, and prevention of others from snatching them. I can do these things. I'll only take 50% of the market rate as commission."

Lin Chen looked at him for three seconds and smiled.

"Deal. First task: Go make an appointment with the Weapon Shop owner; I want to talk to him about the acquisition."

Li Mo nodded and turned to leave.

Ten minutes later, the Weapon Shop owner—an NPC with a face full of bushy beard—was brought to the bar.

Lin Chen got straight to the point: "I'm buying your Weapon Shop. Name a price."

The NPC sneered: "The Weapon Shop makes a daily profit of 120 game coins, with an appraised value of 1,800. You want to buy it? 2,000, non-negotiable."

Lin Chen didn't haggle and transferred 2,000 directly.

The NPC was dumbfounded.

Lin Chen said: "The Weapon Shop is mine now. I'll give you three minutes to pack your personal belongings and then leave."

Carrying the money, the NPC walked out of the bar in a daze.

Li Mo whispered from the side: "Boss, wasn't 2,000 expensive? The appraised value was only 1,800."

Lin Chen shook his head: "The appraised value is static, but the value is dynamic. The Weapon Shop monopolizes the equipment supply of the Novice Village. With it, I've cut off the equipment source for other players. 2,000 to buy out a monopoly right is not expensive."

He opened the back-end of the Weapon Shop and started operating.

First thing: Adjust prices. All weapons are 20% off for members and 50% more expensive for non-members.

Second thing: Set purchase limits. Each person is limited to one weapon per day and must present a Membership Card.

Third thing: Post a recruitment advertisement. Recruit a Weapon Shop manager with a monthly salary of 500 game coins.

As soon as the news came out, the players who hadn't joined as members panicked completely.

The burly man's trio came to the bar again, their attitude clearly softened this time.

"Boss Lin, we... we want to join." The burly man said with his head lowered.

Lin Chen looked at them and slowly took a sip of wine: "Join? Sure. 1,000 per person."

"What?!" The man got anxious, "You only sold it for 100 to others just now!"

"That was the early bird price." Lin Chen pointed to the 'floating prices' notice hanging at the door, "The market has changed now. Demand exceeds supply, so the price naturally rises. Take it or leave it."

The woman gritted her teeth: "We only have 500."

Lin Chen thought for a moment: "That's fine. 500 is okay, but you have to do something for me."

"What is it?"

"Go to the mine and dig. I'll buy the mined ore at market price. Once you've mined enough for 1,000 game coins, I'll give you your Membership Cards."

The three looked at each other.

The mine was the most dangerous place, with not only monsters but also environmental damage. But if they didn't go, they couldn't even afford weapons.

In the end, the three still went.

Li Mo watched them leave and couldn't help but ask: "Boss, are you making them work for you?"

"What else?" Lin Chen smiled, "Newcomers are also labor. It's a waste not to use labor when it's available."

Using the same method, he successively acquired the General Store, Clinic, and Stable.

Every time he acquired an asset, he would adjust the prices once and add a membership privilege.

Three hours later, out of the 17 core assets in the Novice Village, 15 were under Lin Chen's name.

Only the mine and the Pawnshop were left—the mine was too dangerous, and no one was willing to go there for the time being; the Pawnshop was the asset of the woman in that trio, and she hadn't returned yet.

Li Mo reported: "Boss, out of the 47 players in the Novice Village now, 44 are your members, and 3 are non-members—that's the trio. They still have their Pawnshop, but they're trapped in the mine and can't get out."

Lin Chen nodded and opened the mine surveillance.

In the footage, the burly man's trio was fighting a group of monsters, already covered in wounds. The Pawnshop woman's arm was bitten by a monster, and she broke free with a scream.

"That's about enough." Lin Chen stood up, "Let's go to the mine."

Ten minutes later, Lin Chen appeared at the mine entrance with Li Mo and two newly recruited bodyguards.

He shouted inside: "You three, do you need help?"

The burly man looked up and saw him, complex emotions flashing in his eyes—resentment, shame, but mostly a desire to survive.

The woman said weakly: "Save... save me..."

Lin Chen snapped his fingers, and the bodyguards rushed in, taking care of the monsters in no time.

The three were brought before Lin Chen.

Lin Chen looked at them and said slowly: "I can send you back to the safe zone for free. But the condition is—sell the Pawnshop to me. The offer is 1,000 game coins."

The woman hesitated.

"1,000 is for now." Lin Chen added, "In another hour, it might become 500. Your injuries won't last much longer."

The woman gritted her teeth: "Deal."

Lin Chen transferred the money, and the Pawnshop was in his hands.

At this point, all 17 core assets in the Novice Village were under Lin Chen's name.

He returned to the bar with Li Mo and opened the asset overview panel:

【Novice Village Core Asset Ownership Rate: 100%】

【Current Net Hourly Income: 38,000 game coins】

【Current Cash Reserve: 127,000 game coins】

【Estimated Total Assets After 24 Hours: 1,032,000 game coins】

Li Mo looked at that string of numbers and gasped: "Boss, this... this must be a record in the Novice Village, right?"

Lin Chen didn't answer.

He was staring at a new message that popped up on the system's back-end.

Message from: True Game Committee.

Content:

「Detected player 'Lord of Capital' completing the Novice Village monopoly at an unconventional speed, triggering a hidden event: Edge World Opening.

The Edge World is located in the deepest part of the Novice Village mine and can be entered by paying 10,000 game coins. In the Edge World, you can purchase real-time information on other players, game insider rules, and even interference items.

Warning: The Edge World is not protected by game rules; enter at your own risk.」

Lin Chen looked at the message, his eyes lighting up.

"Edge World..." he murmured.

Li Mo leaned in: "Boss, are we going?"

Lin Chen thought for a moment and asked: "What's Arrogant Dragon's current rank?"

Li Mo pulled up the real-time rankings: "Ranked 7th, currently in a fierce battle with the Causality Law Controller. They've been fighting for three days and haven't determined a winner yet."

Lin Chen stood up.

"Prepare 100,000 in cash. We're going to the Edge World."

Li Mo was stunned: "100,000? The ticket is only 10,000!"

"The ticket is only 10,000." Lin Chen nodded, "But the information might cost more than that."

He paused and looked toward the mine:

"Arrogant Dragon owes me 16 quadrillion. If he dies, who's going to pay the bill?"