Fatal Shot

“Eye of the Thunder, Level 45 Rare-Grade sniper rifle. Attack power 750, attack coefficient C-, +10 strength, +20 agility, 1300M effective firing distance…”

As the three-dimensional image of the Eye of the Thunder levitated on the screens in front of everyone, the male auctioneer, dressed in white casual attire and possessing an energetic vibe, started to describe it.

“Unique attribute: bullets fired have a 15% chance of having an electrical effect, causing an additional 1500 points of electrical damage!”

“Of course, this is a Perfect-evaluated attribute of the Eye of the Thunder. But even for the Standard-evaluated Eye of the Thunder, the rate of effect of its rare attribute is nonetheless as high as 10%!”

The male auctioneer continuously describing the various strengths and attribute qualities of the Eye of the Thunder, attempting to “heat up” the auction.

“The most important thing, besides the 1500 additional damage, is that the electrical current can also trigger an ‘electric shock’ effect, which can send the target into a state of serious motor damage. I guess everyone would understand the importance of this point to a sniper!”

“Also, perhaps many people would think that a 10% chance is not high. But please note, there is a 35% firing interval reduction in the attributes of this sniper rifle; this means that when other sniper rifles fire two shots, it can fire three shots. This means that the chance of activating the rare attribute is increased by half!”

The male auctioneer enthusiastically continued to dupe his audience.

As a professional auctioneer, it was standard practice to use phrases that clouded buyers’ minds but seemed logical. That was how to be successful!

Once the buyer received and scrutinized the item, then realized that it was actually nothing much, that would no longer be the auctioneer’s problem!

“And a 10% rate is with only one Eye of the Thunder, but everyone please think for a minute; what if it were 10 Eye of the Thunders? The chance of triggering the rare attribute would be increased by 10 times, becoming 100%!”

“Other sniper rifles cannot do this, but the Eye of the Thunder can. Because it is a rare, mass-produced sniper rifle!”

Any math teachers in the audience would be having heart attacks, but the male auctioneer raced on with increasing excitement!

“I believe everyone knows the meaning of ‘mass-produced’ equipment—this is a title only able to be earned by creating a Perfect-Grade Eye of the Thunder!”

“At this auction, we will be providing everyone with a chance to bid on Perfect, Fine, and Standard levels of sniper rifles. In this first round of the auction, we’ve made 10 Eye of the Thunders available!”

“Imagine if 10 Eye of the Thunders were to fire at once, with the 100% rare attribute trigger rate! Whether the target was a player or a monster, they would have no strength to retaliate!”

“Even if it were a high agility Level 50 Elite, Commander, or even a quasi-BOSS, they would all be completely contained, let alone in PK, where they would cease to exist!”

…

The two auctioneers on stage spoke one after another, rapidly praising the Eye of the Thunder—some of the players already had sparkling eyes!

Of course, there were also quite a few people who were clear headed. There were several huge problems with the auctioneers’ claims.

One, it was entirely nonsensical to say that one Eye of the Thunder had a 10% rate, and so 10 rifles would have a 100% rate of triggering the rare attribute.

Two, during PK, the situation of 10 Eye of the Thunders being fired once was totally implausible. Even if the target was a 1000 HP Heavy Armored Warrior, there was no chance he would survive being hit 10 times consecutively by the Eye of the Thunder. There was completely no need to trigger the rare attribute!

Moreover, the “electric shock” effect of the Eye of the Thunder was dependent on the situation. When faced with non-humanoid monsters, larger bodies would take less damage.

Feng Luo had tried before, using the Eye of the Thunder to hit a Level 40 Elite single-horned mutant rhino with a weight of more than a ton; when the electric shock damage was triggered, that mutant rhino’s movement hadn’t been affected at all. The creature was enraged nonetheless, and it wacked several Bladed Beetles and sent them flying.

“F*ck, a sniper rifle with the rare attribute of a controlling effect; if I was really aimed at by 10 of those, I’d die while I was still trying to get away!” Big Pineapple mumbled as he stared at the auction.

Feng Luo had forgotten once again about this fellow beside him who was obsessed with defense.

But Big Pineapple did not know that Feng Luo was the creator of the Eye of the Thunder, as players who created equipment could choose to be anonymous.

Feng Luo did not leave his ID on any of the rifles to be put up for sale.

“Well then, no need to say more, I bet everyone is already very interested.”

“The auction of the first batch of 10 Standard-Grade Eye of the Thunders shall begin!”

“Ten Standard-Grade Eye of the Thunders, starting price of 4,000,000 credits, each raise cannot be less than 100,000 credits!”

“4,200,000!”

“4,500,000!”

“4,800,000!”

…

As the male auctioneer opened the bidding, bids were already flowing in, showing up on the screens!

In the number 6 box, a dark-faced September Night Rain sat alone on the sofa, watching the progress of the auction. A subordinate bent towards him and spoke softly.

“Brother Night, these Eye of the Thunders are definitely valuable, and the Chairman would like you to bring 10 to 20 back with you. Also, we need to make people notice that we are bidding. That way, the outside world won’t suspect that we are here for the Whisper of the Wind and your other equipment!”

“Hmph, okay!” September Night Rain placed a finger on a certain spot on the screen, then used his voice to input a price.

“6,300,000!”

Smack!

A roaring cheer sounded in the auction hall; the name of the person who had raised the bid by 1,500,000 credits showed on the screen as September Night Rain. He had used his name to get everyone’s attention, rather than hiding his identity.

“September God!”

“Nine God!”

“September Senior, I love you!”

In the hall, the excited cheering from fans resounded!

This made September Night Rain’s face soften into a slight smile.

…

In the number 10 box, Neutron Star turned to Black Panther.

“Are you still going to raise?”

“This rifle’s attributes are indeed very suitable for me, and it would complement my sniper rifle. But we have no need for ten of them, and the price has already risen too high.”

“I’ll just take one when the Perfect-evaluated Eye of the Thunders are auctioned off one at a time!” Black Panther said, glancing at Red Queen’s impassive face.

…

A minute later, the pack of 10 Standard-Grade Eye of the Thunders had been bought by the people of September Guild at a price of 7,100,000 credits.

“Seven point one million credits, congratulations to guest September Night Rain on winning this auction’s opening item. Our staff will immediately send the Eye of the Thunders to your box, or you may also choose for us to send them to a specific location later!”

Of course, September Night Rain, who had bid aggressively for the 10 Rare-Grade sniper rifles the moment he started, had his ID cheered on by some people below once more.

Furthermore, this opening price naturally quickly heated up the auction atmosphere, and the subsequent equipment prices followed and surged upwards!

Of course, Feng Luo would actually be benefitting from September Night Rain’s aggressive bidding. Feng Luo smiled slightly. He did not say anything, as earning a fortune was more important!

…

“Seven hundred and seventy thousand, done deal!”

“Congratulations, this Excellent quality Eye of the Soul necklace to guest No. 10344!”

On the auction stage, the tall female host, whose face looked flawless after the system’s plastic surgery, spoke in a soothing voice. On the screen behind her, a Level 50 necklace engraved with a black eye showed a “sold” status!

“Hehe!” Big Pineapple in the number 2 box was delighted.

This accessory was his first prize; although it was Excellent-Grade, it could match up with some quality Rare equipment. After all, Rare accessories were too scarce! Of course, he had bought it for only 770,000 credits because there were too many people watching this auction.

In addition to the 50,000 people present, there were a lot of people watching the auction through their personal terminals or the forum. Any product with decent attributes would be receiving bids from a few hundred to a thousand people.

“Old Feng, War is truly f*cked up! In the games I’ve played in the past, even the most precious equipment only costs 20,000 or 30,000 Star Coins per piece. Among today’s solo-auctioned items, more than half of them have gone for 1,000,000 credits or above! Playing this game could bankrupt you!” Big Pineapple lamented.

This point actually wasn’t as strange as Big Pineapple was making it seem; typical virtual games naturally couldn’t be compared to War’s reality at all.

Moreover, there was the Star Federation’s hardcore promotion—everyone in the 17th Executive Star had a War account. A monopolized game which covered all citizens was equivalent to a second-world country in reality.

Other virtual games didn’t stand a chance of matching up to the equipment here!

Despite the continually rising prices of new quality Rare equipment and accessory sets, Feng Luo knew things wouldn’t be slowing down anytime soon!

Due to the constant release of new equipment and the fact that the game was increasingly influenced by the Star Federation’s economy in reality, the prices of new equipment would definitely still be increasing!

Even the Legendary-grade finale item “Desert Crown” would be sold at an unbelievable sky-high price!

After all, there was support from backstage.

…

“The next item up for bids is a Light Armored Warrior armor set!”

Just then, the female auctioneer on stage used a soothing voice as she moved on to a new item, and the huge screen behind her switched.

[SSG-Thunder (Level 50 Rare · 5-piece set)!]

This was a Light Armored Warrior Alloy Armor of a blue-black color. It was very light, with a vintage armor style, while also seeming reminiscent of a technological solo soldier armor.

“Starting at 2,000,000 credits, each raise cannot be less than 50,000 credits!”

“2,500,000!”

Feng Luo sat up straight and named a price for the first time in the auction.