Chapter 68: One Step, One Fee

Someone had mentioned Fortune Pavilion on the forums before — it was similar to an auction house, with branches spread across every corner of the Xingye Continent.

Better to offload it quickly. Liu Kongkong thought to himself.

The price of the Guild Establishment Permit was currently fairly stable — a buy-it-now price of 2,000,000 yuan, which at the current exchange rate came out to about 5,000 gold coins. But if he sold it through Fortune Pavilion, cashing out would mean paying two rounds of transaction fees, and he'd also have to factor in currency depreciation if the auction dragged on too long. The process was a hassle, but there was no other option. Doing a real-world trade with someone was obviously out of the question right now.

He walked into Fortune Pavilion. There were quite a few players inside, though most were just browsing to see if any overpowered gear or items were up for auction — not many actually had the money to buy anything.

"Welcome to Fortune Pavilion. How may I assist you?" A distinguished-looking old man stepped forward to greet him.

Shouldn't a place like this have tall, beautiful women as staff? Liu Kongkong was a little surprised. "I have something I'd like to auction here, but before that, could I find out about your fees?"

The old man smiled politely. "Fortune Pavilion's fees have always been open and transparent. Charges are based on the final sale price of the item. The starting bid for any auctioned item cannot be lower than 100 gold coins. For items sold under 1,000 gold coins, we charge a 5% handling fee. For items sold between 1,000 gold coins and 1,000,000 gold coins, we only charge 1% of the final sale price."

A 1% handling fee was acceptable enough, and since this was an auction, if the right big spenders noticed the Guild Establishment Permit, the price might climb even higher. But Liu Kongkong had one other concern.

After a brief explanation, the old man said with a cheerful smile, "You can rest assured on that point. While items brought out of the Starter Village cannot be used by residents of the Xingye Continent, Fortune Pavilion is simultaneously open to players, who can bid and purchase normally."

Good. Liu Kongkong let out a breath of relief. He listed the Guild Establishment Permit, setting a starting bid of 5,200 gold coins. A new auction interface appeared in his field of view — his item was now in the public display phase.

"Hopefully enough guild leaders are keeping an eye on Fortune Pavilion during this time." Liu Kongkong turned and left. The display period was just long enough for him to go complete his registration. He kept the auction interface open, watching it as he walked.

He hurried along and arrived at the system-marked destination — the Transfer Registry Office.

So this is the place. Liu Kongkong glanced at the drowsy old man by the entrance and stepped right in.

"Hey, hold on there, friend." The old man, who had been dozing, snapped to attention and moved to stop him. "Friend, you can't go in there. There's nothing inside that needs your help. Why don't you go take a look around somewhere else?"

"I'm not a player." Liu Kongkong removed his face guard.

"Then who are you?"

"I'm… uh, I came from out of town. I'm looking for work here." As he spoke, Liu Kongkong pulled his beloved little iron hammer out of his bag — his bread and butter. As for the shop manager back in the Starter Village, that one had its own hammer.

"From out of town?" The old man glanced at the iron hammer in Liu Kongkong's hand. It really didn't look like something a player would carry.

"Ah, so you're planning to move to our Ghost Whisper City? Old rules — pay the 50-silver registration fee first." The old man's expression flipped in an instant. He stuck out his hand toward Liu Kongkong, leg bouncing impatiently.

50 silver? Even the registration fee is that expensive! Liu Kongkong was taken aback, though prices outside were higher in general. Still, how did this old geezer have two completely different faces?

He paid up without complaint. The old man didn't bother with any further pleasantries — he just waved Liu Kongkong through and went back to ignoring him.

Fine, fine. Keep the peace. Liu Kongkong took a deep breath and walked into the Transfer Registry Office.

He hadn't gone more than a few steps before someone else stopped him.

This person was around forty years old, about five feet tall, rail-thin, and bore a distinct resemblance to the old man at the entrance.

Same tone of voice: "Stop. Where are you from?"

"My name is Liu Daqiang. I just spoke with the person outside…" Liu Kongkong gestured toward the door.

"What outside and inside — from the look of you, you're here to register, aren't you? Fill out this form."

Fill out a form? Liu Kongkong took the paper in a daze.

"Pay the paper fee. 50 silver."

Huh, another 50 silver?

Fine, fine. Keep the peace. In Ghost Whisper City, 50 silver was just the cost of a few potions — perfectly normal. Liu Kongkong forced himself to stay calm, paid up, and patiently filled out the form. Then he handed it back.

"Here you go, I've finished filling it out."

"Alright, go on in." The middle-aged man took the form, didn't even glance at it, and tossed it on the floor.

Liu Kongkong was stunned. He's not even going to pretend?!

But since the man had let him through, he continued inside. He pushed open the door to the main hall and looked up to find a young man in his early twenties sitting in the center, sizing him up with a grin.

"Hello, I'm here to register."

"I know…"

"Do I have to pay again?"

The young man blinked at that, then smiled. "One gold coin."

"Your grandfather charged me 50 silver. Your father charged me 50 silver. You're charging me one gold coin. Three doors, three generations of your family, and you've taken two gold coins from me." When Liu Kongkong had seen the middle-aged man earlier, he'd already had a rough idea of how the two outside were related — and the kid in front of him looked exactly like a younger version of the middle-aged man!

"Oh? You figured it out?" The young man blinked, then readily admitted it. "That's right. The Transfer Registry Office currently has three staff members: my grandfather, Niu Dapao; my father, Ye Dingtian; and me — Li Batian!"

Liu Kongkong: "…"

He didn't understand why three generations of the same family had three different surnames, but that wasn't important.

"So I just need to pay and I'm done, right?"

"Of course. You're lucky, kid. My son Sikong Bo hasn't reached working age yet, otherwise you'd have to pay one more round."

"Then give my thanks to your son." Liu Kongkong smiled and handed over one gold coin.

A system notification popped up immediately.

[Congratulations! You are now a resident of Ghost Whisper City. Your profession has been detected as Blacksmith. You are recommended to proceed to the next location to purchase a shop.]

He could finally buy a shop. The registration had cost a fair bit, but it had gone smoothly enough. Before leaving, Liu Kongkong took a long, hard look at all three generations, burning their faces into his memory.

He followed the system marker again and set off at a jog — but he'd only made it halfway when he suddenly stopped.

"Oh? The public display period for the Guild Establishment Permit is already over?"

At that moment, Fortune Pavilion branches across the Xingye Continent were packed with players, including Night's Gentle Chill and Big Dumb Duck.

"Someone's actually selling a Guild Establishment Permit right now?" Big Dumb Duck's face was a picture of disbelief. Was there another way to get one of these? Or had a group of free players in Starter Village No. 0113 already cleared the Void Space? He sent a quick private message to Night's Gentle Chill, who replied that it wasn't them selling it.

When he looked up again, someone had already placed a bid.

Item currently being auctioned: Guild Establishment Permit. Current price: 6,000 gold coins! Bidder: Pure Love Invincible.

Opening bid straight to 6,000 gold coins?! Big Dumb Duck suddenly felt sick, because the Guild Establishment Permit in his own hands had already been pre-sold — and the buyer had only offered 2,000,000 yuan…

At the same time, a crowd of Little Trumpets on the forums began live-reporting the auction of the Guild Establishment Permit.

For a moment, every player was watching with anticipation, wondering what astronomical price this Guild Establishment Permit would ultimately sell for.