Last time, on Apocalypse Lord: And if you said, this town ain’t good enough, I would give my coins to rank it up. I would use my life (skills) to better make you food. Because you’re so smooth. And Rising Cloud’s got some ocean under the moon. It’s the same as the location that I gave to you. You got the kind of lovin’ that can be so smooth, yeah. Give me your heart, make it real.

Yun Ling: ?????

Lu Chuan: Or else forget about it.

Chapter 61 | Table of Contents | Chapter 63

This chapter has been brought to you by me and Smash10101.

Chapter 62 – Market

The moment the left foot stepped onto the territory, the system suddenly notified, [You have found “Rising Cloud City.”]

Chai Fei Hu felt heartsore, and almost cried. He had finally come here!

He looked around, and stopped an old man, asking politely, “Please, could you tell me which large teams there are?”

As he asked, he handed over 10 copper coins.

The old man took the coins and looked at Chai Fei Hu. “You come from another territory?”

Chai Fei Hu nodded. “Yes, I came today.”

The old man asked, “Why are you looking for large teams?”

Chai Fei Hu answered, “I have a friend in one of the top teams of Rising Cloud City, I wanted to get to him, but I do not know the name of the team. I only know the general area, so I am investigating.”

So that’s how it was.

“There are many large teams in Rising Cloud City,” the old man said.

“At the start of the game, some people gathered good groups, and started teams. Because they were lucky to be in Rising Cloud City, they developed well, and the teams have grown.”

“Some killed bosses and got S-rank skills, purple equipment, and using this, they managed to start an empire.”

“Some did not do well at the start of the game, but after coming to Rising Cloud City, their luck turned. They walked around outside, and coincidentally picked up A-rank skills. After that, they lived well, and managed to start a good team.”

Chai Fei Hu thought there were just a few large teams, but the old man spoke for half an hour without stopping.

Chai Fei Hu was shocked. “How come Rising Cloud City has so many large teams?”

Wouldn’t they fight?

The old man said, “This is nothing. I just mentioned half of the total.”

Chai Fei Hu was speechless.

The old man said, “There were people who caught the chance and managed to get rich by selling rain gear. There are those who dug fish ponds before everyone else and then mined to get rich. There were those who did not live well in other territories, and came to the Rising Cloud City to make a living. I have not even spoken of them?”

Chai Fei Hu, “……”

At this time, he felt very sad. For a moment, he felt that Rising Cloud City was so large he could not find the person he was looking for.

Just as he was immersed in his sorrow, he heard the old man say, “But speaking of this, Boy, why are you asking about large teams?”

“You are in Rising Cloud City. Why don’t you just enter the other person’s name and add them as a friend?”

“You can add them as a friend and talk after, you do not have to go around like a headless fly.”

Chai Fei Hu looked dumbly at the old man, and was unable to speak.

His expression clearly said “there is such a contact method?!”

The old man understood. “In the past, you were in other territories, and the other was in Rising Cloud Town. The system will show ‘you are too far away’.”

“When you are in the same territory, you can successfully send a request.”

“If there are others with the same name, it does not matter, you can just add all of them. A familiar person will confirm.”

Chai Fei Hu, “!!!”

Then what was he doing searching for his friend. He would first add all his friends and relatives!

“Thank you, thank you so much!” Chai Fei Hu said. He thought the 10 copper coins were very worth it.

Then he walked into the corner and started trying to add his friends.

[Player “Chai Fei Hu” requests to add “Chai De Hai” as a friend.]

The system notification, [The distance is too far, please wait and try again.]

[Player “Chai Fei Hu” requests to add “Chai Fei Xing” as a friend.]

The system notification, [The distance is too far, please wait and try again.]

[Player “Chai Fei Hu” requests to add “Zheng Ming Yue” as a friend.]

Unlike before, the system responded, [The friend request has been sent. Waiting for the other’s response.]

[The other has confirmed the request. Conversation is now possible.]

They were added?

The good fortune came so suddenly that Chai Fei Hu did not know what to do.

The other quickly sent a message, “It is Little Hu?”

Chai Fei Hu knew he had found the right person from the tone. “It is me, where are you in Rising Cloud City? How about we meet?”

Zheng Ming Yue gave an address, and then said, “This is my house, I am living with my girlfriend.”

He had a girlfriend……

Chai Fei Hu was in a suspicious silence.

“I will wait for you at home. When you come, tell me,” Zheng Ming Yue said.

“Okay, I am coming now.”

After the conversation ended, Chai Fei Hu was very excited — after the Apocalypse Calamity had been going for 200 days, he finally found his relatives!

**

“Your cousin is coming?” Hearing the news, You Qing Wen had a stunned expression.

“I have not met him yet, I do not know if it is him.” Zheng Ming Yue was slightly excited, but also afraid that this was for nothing. “The game started so suddenly, I lost contact with all my relatives and friends. It would be so good if I could encounter one.”

You Qing Wen thought of her own relatives, and sighed, “I really hope that they will be okay.”

While she said so, she was not very confident — they were in Rising Cloud City and had been almost killed by the game. Other people had gone to other territories, would they still be alive? She feared this boded ill.

As they talked, the system notified, [Player “Chai Fei Hu” requests to enter the room. Will you allow it?]

At the same time, he received a message, “I am here.”

“He is here.” Zheng Ming Yue took a deep breath and then stood to open the door.

When the door opened, Chai Fei Hu had an ecstatic expression. “Brother, it really is you?!”

Seeing this person, Zheng Ming Yue was reassured. “It is me. I did not expect to see you again in my life.”

“Yes, Brother! The trash game is so hard, I almost died several times.” When Chai Fei Hu saw his relative, he could not help but state his sorrows.

“Do not stand outside, come in and talk,” You Qing Wen told the two.

Zheng Ming Yue refocused and invited his cousin in.

Chai Fei Hu walked in, and found the residence was large and outfitted with furniture. He was shocked inside.

Sitting on a chair, he held warm water as he slowly talked about his experiences.

“When the Apocalypse Calamity started, I was eating. I saw the monsters charge into the school dining hall. A student touched a card and learned a skill. I copied them, and picked a skill card to use.”

“Later, I fled out of the school, and moved through many territories. My teammates left or died, and in the end, I was the only one left.”

“Before coming to Rising Cloud City, I was living in Osmanthus Town. There are less than five hundred people there, all of them elite. Those who were not skilled enough have all died.”

“I felt that if I stayed there, I could not make it through the winter, so I packed up and came to Rising Cloud Town.”

“I originally wanted to head to my friend, but after I asked, I learned if we are in the same area, you can add people by their names. I tried for a while, and managed to get in contact with you.”

“Lucky that I live in Rising Cloud City.” Zheng Ming Yue rejoiced.

“Yes, otherwise, we would not have met.” Chai Fei Hu asked curiously, “I saw from the rankings that Rising Cloud City has 10 buildings. What are they? Can you tell me in detail?”

“Of course.” Zheng Ming Yue introduced the buildings in the territory.

Hearing that the territory had wood houses, stone houses, and that the players could possess their private space, Chai Fei Hu sighed in surprise. “I went to so many territories, but none of them had unlocked residences. Just now, standing outside the stone house, I thought the players had built them.”

“Normal players cannot build something like a house.” Zheng Ming Yue then told his cousin about the other buildings and concluded, “Rising Cloud City has many functions, the residents are friendly, and this is a good city to live in.”

“Just settle down and do not worry. Tell me what you need.”

But then Chai Fei Hu had a hesitant expression. “This place has everything, but why not the ‘market’?”

“Market?” Zheng Ming Yue stilled. “What is that?”

Chai Fei Hu explained, “Of the territories I went to, some unlocked the market.”

“Level 1 can be in contact and have transactions with the surrounding territories. Level 2 means that you can have transactions with players of the same city, and the maximum limit for transactions will increase greatly. I have never seen level 3 before. Someone guessed that you could then do business with all players in the game.”

“Before coming, I thought that Rising Cloud City definitely had unlocked ‘market’ and traded with the other territories to get enough resources, so the city was able to be far ahead of the rest.”

“I had not expected…”

Chai Fei Hu was stuck and did not know what to say.

Zheng Ming Yue finished for him. “You did not think that Rising Cloud City does not have ‘Market’ at all?”

Chai Fei Hu asked in puzzlement, “If you did not trade resources, how did you manage to survive?”

“The territory is full of talented people, they sell all kinds of materials, equipment, and tools. Without being in contact with the outside world, we could overcome the obstacles,” Zheng Ming Yue said.

Chai Fei Hu, “???”

So strong!

He muttered, “Rising Cloud City is good, but it does not have a market. If the ‘Market’ building is unlocked, it would be even better. You can trade resources, and even more importantly, you can talk to others and share game experience.”

“It was not unlocked before, but it does not mean that it will not be unlocked in the future,” You Qing Wen comforted. “Maybe, after a while, the market will come?”

“I hope so.”

As he spoke, Chai Fei Hu thought, when did the system not unlock buildings based on its mood? He should not have hope.

**

“Unlock ‘Market’?” Yun Ling was shocked. “Why?”

You Qing Wen said, “Someone I know came from other territories to Rising Cloud City. They said that if the market is unlocked, you can do business with the players of other territories and send messages. I thought, isn’t this like the world channel?”

While she felt that the lord did not have a reason to refuse her request, just to make sure, You Qing Wen said solemnly, “This is just my own suggestion. It is up to you if you follow it or not.”

Yun Ling was speechless for a while.

You Qing Wen looked and asked carefully, “Why not unlock the ‘Market’? Do you think it is not necessary?”

“During the beta, there was not a structure like the ‘Market”, so I did not know its use.” Yun Ling sighed. “The window only has a simple description, it is unclear, and so I could not have unlocked it.”

The building slots were limited, and a slot could not be wasted.

“What does it say? May I see?” You Qing Wen tried to to discuss.

“Yes.” Yun Ling tapped.

[Market: Can buy all kinds of resources. Requires 100 copper coins to build.]

“With it written like this, how do I know that it is to do business with the players of other territories?” Yun Ling felt very helpless. “I thought that Rising Cloud City has many players, and can forage all materials needed. There was no need to purchase from outside, and no need to waste a slot.”

So she had just read it, and then completely forgot about it.

You Qing Wen, “……”

The introduction was so simple. Was it on purpose?

She immediately had a new understanding of the game’s shamelessness.

“Then will you unlock it?” You Qing Wen asked.

“Yes,” Yun Ling said without hesitation. “Before, I did not know. Now that I do, I will leave a space for the market.”

“I once hired residents to test. After you are a distance away from Rising Cloud City, even if you have added people as friends, you cannot send messages. The system will say ‘The distance is too far, please wait and try again.'”

“With the market, you should be able to communicate at a distance.”

At the end, Yun Ling sighed. “Now, it appears that the system territories have their advantages.”

“The player lords will not know the traits of the buildings, and will not rashly unlock. The system does not care, and randomly unlocks.”

“Sometimes, accidents will uncover useful buildings.”

“Pity that the territories nearby have not unlocked the market. Otherwise, the news would have spread long ago, and we would not have been in the dark.” You Qing Wen felt great pity.

If she had not met Chai Fei Hu, she would not have known that the market was so useful.

“Lucky that I have an empty building slot, and it is not too late to unlock it.” Yun Ling opened the territory window.

In the next second, -100 copper coins, and the market was quickly built.

Seeing another building in the list, Yun Ling tapped with her finger and kept on going.

铜币-10000。

Copper coins -10000.

[The Market is upgraded to level 2.]

[Long distance control is officially open. Even when not in the market, you can make transactions through the window.]

[Each day, at most 50000 unit transactions can be made. (Buying and selling are counted separately)]

[The transaction range is expanded to S City.

(Note 1: Both parties in the transaction must be in unlocked markets.)

(Note 2: If the distance is far, both parties must have level 2 markets.)

(Note 3: The lord can set an access list and allow specific people to use it, or open the market to all residents)]

Yun Ling thought for a moment and set it to “open to all residents.” And she did not set up a maximum transaction limit.

**

Chai Fei Hu walked around the territory with his cousin to get familiar with the environment. Then they went to the wood house to rest — the house was in You Qing Wen’s name, and usually used for storing things. Once it was cleaned up, it could be lived in.

Chai Fei Hu had been worn down on the road, and had received too many shocks after reaching Rising Cloud City that he was very tired mentally. Not long after he laid down on the bed, he fell asleep.

When he woke up, the sky was dark.

Chai Fei Hu yawned and slowly got up.

Opening the door, he was going to find firewood to roast sweet potatoes when he saw the people of the territory coming and going. There were all kinds of small stalls along the street with people selling their goods.

“Zongzi!¹ Delicious egg yolk zongzi! There are also meat, date and bean fillings!”

“Rice cakes! Oil cakes! Steamed buns!”

“Delicious tea eggs! Fresh Youtiao!² Youtiao with rice cakes. All kinds of food for you to buy!”

Chai Fei Hu immediately woke up.

He smelled the fragrances in the air, and was dazed — was he still asleep, or had he time traveled?

He touched the linen backpack he carried, and confirmed that he was still in the game.

“At night, Rising Cloud Town is like this.” Chai Fei Hu was speechless in shock as he slowly moved along the street.

“Charcoal grilled squid, do you want some?”

“Honey chicken wings in pairs, do you want a pair?”

“Malt sugar! Fragrant malt sugar! You can play with and eat it!”

Chai Fei Hu reached towards his pocket several times, and then took his hand back out. He was slightly unable to control himself.

He had to be calm, calm. Impulse was a demon!

Chai Fei Hu kept on telling himself.

“Delicious soy milk! Delicious tofu pudding!”

“Just made fried pork!”

“Stone grilled pork belly! If you want to eat, come quickly.”

The smells went up his nose, and the string of his reason snapped.

Chai Fei Hu’s face was covered in tears. Wasn’t it just to eat a bit better for dinner? He would buy it!

He ate from the start of the street to the end, until his stomach was bulging out before he stopped.

“So delicious,” Chai Fei Hu thought. “It is worth it to die after eating such delicious things.”

Because he was so full, he was not in a hurry to return to the house, and strolled along. As he walked, he suddenly saw a new building in the territory, called “Market.”

Chai Fei Hu, “!!!”

Just a few hours ago, he had regretted that Rising Cloud City had everything but a market.

A few hours later, the market appeared in front of him.

Was this a miracle?!

Chai Fei Hu’s heart was beating hard, as he quickly walked to the market.

The market was set up like the mission hall, with many windows inside.

Chai Fei Hu casually looked and saw written on there —

[Territory Name: Basswood Town]

[Item For Sale: 1 x Moon Chasing Bow (purple)]

[Price: 2000 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Feng Chen.]

He flipped back, and another page had —

[Territory Name: Almond Flower Town]

[Items For Sale: 1 x Thick Cotton Shirt (blue), 1 x Thick Cotton Pants (blue)]

[Price:400 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Su Yan.]

He kept on looking back —

[Territory Name: Locust Tree Town]

[Item For Sale: 5 x Wood]

[Price: 15 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Guo Song Lin.]

Chai Fei Hu was very happy.

He wanted a market like this!

When he had been wandering, he had seen one like this. But the residents of the territory did not like outsiders, and after staying a short while, he had to leave.

If there was anything different, it was likely that as time passed, the number of territories who could be traded with had increased, and there were more items to trade.

Chai Fei Hu grinned, flipped through all the items, and started to pick suitable equipment. But his hand accidentally shook, and he pressed on the page for the territory he was in.

He was going to switch when he saw the information out of the corner of his eye and was stunned.

[Territory Name: Rising Cloud City]

[Items For Sale: 10 x Cotton Shirt (white), 10 x Cotton Pants (white)]

[Price: 1000 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Qiao Qiao.]

[Territory Name: Rising Cloud City]

[Items For Sale: 10 x Bamboo Spears (white), 10 x Bamboo Shields (white)]

[Price: 1000 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Yang Yong.]

[Territory Name: Rising Cloud City]

[Items For Sale: 20 x Silver Carp]

[Price: 200 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Tian Zhe Han.]

[Territory Name: Rising Cloud City]

[Items For Sale: 10 x Common Carp]

[Price: 200 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Tian Zhe Han.]

[Territory Name: Rising Cloud City]

[Items For Sale: 5 x Perch]

[Price: 200 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Tian Zhe Han.]

The residents of Rising Cloud City had posted so many items that it was not possible to read them all.

Simply said, it was — Rising Cloud City had what other territories had, and Rising Cloud City also had what other territories did not have.

Chai Fei Hu was frozen like a statue. After a while, he jerked his lips, and did not know whether to laugh or cry. “Rising Cloud City has so many items, and sells them for so little. No wonder they do not need the market. Yes, I can just buy in the territory, why spend extra money to buy from other people?”

Then he unhesitantly headed out.

**

Zhang Hong Bo took out straw sandals and straw rain coats from his backpack, and put up posts in groups of five.

[Territory Name: Rising Cloud City]

[Items For Sale: 5 x Straw Sandals]

[Price: 140 copper coins.]

[Inquiries: Zhang Hong Bo.]

Just as he posted, he received a system notification, [You have successfully sold 5 x Straw Sandals. Congratulations, you have received 140 copper coins.]

[Rising Cloud City’s taxes is 5%. You paid 7 copper coins in taxes, and in total, you have received 133 copper coins.]

After the transaction finished, Zhang Hong Bo was in a very good mood. “The straw sandals of Rising Cloud City are so plentiful they are a disaster. The business now is not good, and I can only sell one pair per day.”

“I did not expect the straw sandals to sell well again when the market was unlocked.”

“Once I put up the posts, I need to go home and tell Grandfather the good news!”

Zhang Hong Bo was planning to do this. But just after he posted, half of the equipment showed that they were already sold off.

The efficiency was frightening!

“The territory choosing to unlock the market is so good.” Zhang Hong Bo slowly sighed, his tone joyful.

**

Day 213.

Basswood Town.

As a resident of the second ranking territory in S City, Zhou Xin En did not admire the players of Rising Cloud City at all.

So what if they had a higher level? Did they have a market?

They always ranked first, but they could not even communicate with the players of other territories in S City! They were cut off from the world.

If they encountered danger, they might not know what to do.

How about them? If they were in trouble, help would come from all directions.

No matter what equipment or items they needed, after they flipped through the pages, they always would find something suitable.

Zhou Xin En felt very privileged. He greatly believed that in all of S City, Basswood Town was the best territory!

Until this afternoon, when he saw Rising Cloud City in the market window.

“Meatballs, fish balls, shrimp balls, ham, lunch meat, fish tofu, crab meat, noodles, tofu skin, tofu, gluten, vegetables, vermicelli, spinach, lettuce, mushrooms, black fungus, carrots, kelp, lotus roots…”

Zhou Xin En drooled as he read this. In this moment, he missed spicy hot pot.

He kept on looking. Cotton shirt, cotton pants, wool hat, scarf, gloves, knee pads, cotton shoes, cloaks and all kinds of winter protection gear was present.

Then there was the inexpensive white equipment, lots of blue equipment, and even the rare purple mage robes, purple quivers, and purple cloaks were being sold wholesale.

There were also linen backpacks, cotton backpacks, brown leather backpacks, there were dozens of them for sale. But the price was high, and ordinary players could not afford it.

But……in the past, they had the money but no place to buy storage backpacks!!

Without the market, if they encountered danger, they would not know what to do? Zhou Xin En found that he had thought too much.

Rising Cloud City by itself was enough to equal all the other safety areas in S City.

If even Rising Cloud City was helpless……the world apocalypse was likely starting.

“If my foundations were not here, and I had not planted trees, even I would want to try to move to Rising Cloud City to live.” Zhou Xin En smiled at himself.

He found just how arrogant he had been.

“One cannot be too proud. Otherwise, they will be slapped in the face by reality.”

Zhou Xin En clicked to buy a purple mage robe.

But the system notified, [Rising Cloud City has reached the maximum amount of resources sold. The transaction cannot be completed. Player, please choose another territory to buy from.]

Zhou Xin En, “???”

A level 2 market could have 50000 unit transactions each day. Hadn’t the number just been for show? Someone really reached the maximum and was limited?

Editor’s ramblings: I’ve had Smooth by Santana stuck in my head for the last week or two and now you do too. Young Smash10101 thought the guitar on Smooth and Corazón Espinado was the best thing ever and honestly I’m not sure I can disagree with him. Supernatural just really holds up for me over twenty years later.

Chapter 61 | Table of Contents | Chapter 63

• Apocalypse Lord Chapter 80 “Epilogue”
• Apocalypse Lord Chapter 79 “The Final Battle 2”
• Apocalypse Lord Chapter 78 “Final Battle 1”
• Apocalypse Lord Chapter 77 “Locust Calamity 2”
• Apocalypse Lord Chapter 76 “Locust Calamity 1”