Chapter 8: Logistics First
1124 Words
Blue Starry Sky was a company that Chu Ge had heard of. In fact, it was hard not to know about them. They were one of the earliest companies to emerge when the game started, likely backed by a real-world conglomerate.
This company was unique in that it only recruited women and had a strict policy against hiring men. Their recruitment slogan focused on hiring beautiful and elite women, although the criteria for being an "elite" were never clearly defined. The identity of the company's CEO was unknown to the public, but Blue Starry Sky had certainly made a name for itself with a few significant achievements.
The most notable of these was about half a month ago when the company undertook an exploration mission in the western dark zone of Illusory Moon City, developing the famous "Saint Laurent Highlands." The ordinary monsters there were level 50, while the boss, the Icefire Demon Wolf, was level 62. Considering that the top players were only around level 20 at the time, the difficulty was immense.
According to players who witnessed the event, Blue Starry Sky didn't use the traditional "swarm tactic." Instead, they sent a combat squad composed of seven women, who managed to defeat the boss without any casualties. The player even posted a video on the forums, although only the backs of the women could be seen. They were dubbed the "Seven Assassins" by the player community and idolized by female players as the "Seven Fairies."
Following this event, Blue Starry Sky paid a substantial sum to the federal government and dispatched a team of senior engineers to construct a three-way port on the highlands. This port connected Dream Star City and Illusory Moon City, renaming the highlands to "Saint Laurent Port," under the jurisdiction of Blue Starry Sky.
This achievement significantly boosted Blue Starry Sky's reputation, giving them a substantial influence in every area of the game.
Many players who specialized in non-combat professions visited Saint Laurent Port and marveled at the company's engineers' ability to construct such a high-tech port. Other corporate groups also saw the business opportunities this move represented. Chu Ge himself was astonished at the time; these "Seven Fairies" were likely around level 23 at most, undoubtedly elite fighters with excellent equipment and exceptional personal skills. Most importantly, their teamwork was top-notch; otherwise, it would have been impossible for just seven people to defeat a level 62 boss.
Considering that even ten players with Malagob's complete set of purple equipment would struggle against a level 38 boss, it was clear how formidable the "Seven Fairies" were. Moreover, it had been half a month since then, and while others were advancing, so were they.
After some thought, Chu Ge smiled and said, "Alright, I'll keep the card. If I ever head to Illusory Moon City, I'll count on Sister La, Sister Shi, and Big Sister Oath for any help."
Crazy Bomb gave him a thumbs up, "Good, you can count on me, straightforward!"
Oath couldn't help but laugh when he called her "Big Sister."
The Star Dream Shopping Center was located in the most bustling area of Dream Star City. This luxurious shopping center, covering 240,000 square meters, offered a "one-stop" service. Whatever your profession or needs, you could find it here, along with the best and most comprehensive after-sales service.
Of course, the prices here were always the most expensive in the city.
For example, Chu Ge's "Mauser C96," which typically sold for 100 credits in an average weapon shop, was priced at 300 credits here. However, the higher prices came with benefits. If you bought an AK-series assault rifle, they would throw in gun oil, crystal oil, a holster, gloves, and a protective case for free. They also offered maintenance services, something regular weapon shops couldn't provide.
The NPC saleswoman at the shopping center enthusiastically introduced everything to Chu Ge. He felt a bit embarrassed as Crazy Bomb insisted on using her card to compensate for Chu Ge's lost equipment. Meanwhile, plenty of other affluent players were shopping. Chu Ge witnessed a handsome guy spending 40,000 credits on an "Armani" suit while his girlfriend admired it. The guy kept asking everyone, "Do I look good?" making Chu Ge feel nauseous.
This fool spent a fortune on a practically useless item. Chu Ge could only sigh at the guy's wealth; after all, with money, you could do as you pleased. The handsome guy even looked at Chu Ge with envy:
"Look at him, just wearing red underwear and shopping with three beautiful women. That's the ultimate goal of being a man. Respect, bro, are you married?"
After a long day of shopping, Chu Ge chose a simple blue-and-white shirt and vest, the cheapest option at just over 400 credits—probably the least expensive item in the mall.
While Crazy Bomb was clearly wealthy, Chu Ge still adhered to his principle of saving whenever possible.
In the end, Crazy Bomb and the others got caught up in a shopping spree, planning to buy a lot of clothes. Chu Ge politely bid them farewell.
He had no intention of buying equipment there, not because of the high prices, but because everything was low-grade. Even the most expensive items had poor attributes. The real good stuff was definitely not sold here, and he had a better place to go.
That place was the black market!
Every bustling city had a black market, and the virtual world was no exception. The black market wasn't truly "black" but rather offered cheaper prices and better attributes than the stores. Otherwise, players would lose a lot of money selling their good gear to stores.
Chu Ge noticed that Crazy Bomb's MP5 was actually a standard white weapon. People like her were probably used to shopping at high-end malls, bringing their real-world habits into the game.
Of course, the black market had its downsides. You couldn't expect to find extremely powerful gear there; the best items were only available at big company auctions, where the prices were sky-high.
From his buying and selling experiences over the past month, Chu Ge had learned a few rules: check the goods at the shopping center first, as they had everything except rare items; don't buy unless necessary because it's too expensive; buy common equipment from weapon shops, as they were often run by high-level players selling surplus items; transition gear should be bought from the black market, where you could haggle; and if you had enough money and level, the auction was the best choice for top-tier gear.
Chu Ge urgently needed at least three items: a powerful gun, a good combat suit, and a pair of fast-running boots.
As they say, "An army marches on its stomach."
- Writer
