The Fourth Calamity: Starting with Dungeon Slimes

Chapter 168 News about the Mech

After some deliberation and weighing the pros and cons, they made their decision.

Naturally, they chose to agree to the leader's request, handing over the production line to the leader, while they would mainly be responsible for the later supply of parts and other related matters.

It can only be said that although this production line will certainly not generate as much profit as before, it still provides some income.

"Moreover, although this production line looks like it generates high revenue, in reality, if the leader were to operate it, its fees would absolutely not be high, because what the leader needs is to ensure that every player can have one."

"So apart from having to gather the materials yourself, I estimate the rest of the costs will be very cheap."

"But our parts are different. We can raise the price of our parts as long as the performance meets the standards. We can justify the price."

As he spoke, the amateur welder began to make calculations, while Tianqiong, standing to the side, was filled with questions.

"If it's not a brother, what exactly is going on? Tell me, you're making me feel a little confused."

""

Not only Tianqiong, but the others were in a similar situation, all quite confused.

They certainly knew that selling parts could be profitable, but they always felt that what they were thinking was not the same thing that the amateur welder was thinking.

Seeing the puzzled expressions on everyone's faces, the amateur welder was speechless.

Can't you even figure this out? In that case, I'll give you a different perspective, and you'll probably understand.

"Mecha parts are like car parts; there are good and bad ones, and prices vary. As for what level we sell, isn't that up to us?"

"Let's take an example. We can first divide the mech's components into three categories: attack, defense, and general."

"Take offensive accessories for example. They can be divided into several different models, each with different attributes, but the differences shouldn't be too great."

"Take the most basic model as an example."

"This model is definitely designed for the ultimate cost-performance ratio. Simply put, it's not only cheap, but it also delivers pretty good performance. Then there's the mid-range model, which offers 20% better performance than the original model, but at 50% more expensive."

"Finally, there is the highest-end series. In fact, when we get to the mid-range models, we will find a very serious problem, that is, we can't improve it much further. So according to my estimate, the final improvement will be about 10%."

"Then here comes the key point: although the final increase is not high, we can talk about premium, we can talk about high-end, in short, we have a lot to say. The price is increased by 100% on the basis of the mid-range."

Upon hearing what the amateur welder said, everyone present couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment.

"Hey bro, wouldn't it be too shady to do it like this? How could they possibly buy high-end stuff?"

'

What does this mean? It's like selling something for 100 for the cheapest, 120 for the mid-range, and 240 for the highest-end.

.

However, the reality is that the performance difference between something you buy for 100 and something you buy for 240 is less than 30%, but the price difference is as high as 140%.

It's no longer a question of whether it's cost-effective or not. Anyone willing to spend the money would be absolutely wronged to call it a huge rip-off.

Seeing everyone's expressions, the amateur welder naturally guessed what they were thinking. To put it bluntly, who would want to buy something with this kind of cost-effectiveness? But the amateur welder was very confident about this matter.

"We really don't understand gamers. Even if the performance difference is only 10%, many gamers would rather spend more money to buy a better product with a smaller performance improvement."

"For them, the extra money they spend is a guarantee of quality and high performance. Moreover, when we recommend these equipment, we have a principle: we cannot use numbers to explain it."

"If we use numbers to illustrate, as long as the amount is not small, people will definitely weigh the pros and cons. We directly create a five-dimensional chart to express it, which gives buyers a more intuitive and impactful experience."

Hearing the amateur welder speak so confidently, everyone couldn't help but look at each other in disbelief. This tactic was indeed very unethical.

However, based on the operation of amateur welders, things could actually turn out as he described. The reason why they think this way is actually quite simple.

This tactic is exactly the same as the tactics they encounter when buying various things online.

Unlike some games, in games with a large number of players, some content creators in strategy sections will specifically take out each character or each piece of equipment and make horizontal comparisons, including aspects such as damage.

This allows players to clearly feel the differences between characters or equipment.

However, it's obvious that this approach won't work here. Firstly, there's no accurate damage figure; without an anchor, it's impossible to arrive at the most precise number.

Even if there were damage testing machines that could be used while standing still, they wouldn't be of much use.

So ultimately, the final result is that the power of discourse belongs to them.

This design, which covers multiple different levels of consumption, also serves another purpose: it allows you to "show off," and that's the most crucial aspect.

Seeing that you're decked out in the best gear, most players will naturally perceive you as a tycoon, and they'll call you a big shot. There are plenty of people willing to pay for emotional value. In short, this approach can essentially take many aspects into account simultaneously.

On one hand, people may not be willing to pay, but on the other hand, they might be willing to pay.

This would significantly increase these players' spending opportunities.

They naturally had no reason to refuse such a proposal.

So after some discussion, they decided to just use this approach from now on.

Once the plan was finalized, the rest was quite simple.

The first step is to build a production line, which is not difficult, as they have experience in this area.

And so, they immediately got to work. The mecha production line would take about a month to build, and then there would be the production line for some parts.

According to the estimates of the Night Rain Welders, the problem can be solved in two months at most. This means that after two months, with some effort, everyone can have a mech. Of course, this is under the condition that you have enough resources. However, the Night Rain Welders will naturally lend a hand in this matter in secret.

The solution is simple: announce the event in advance so that interested players can prepare the necessary materials and funds.

Just a few days later, the news had spread to many people.

You can hear players discussing this almost everywhere.

"So the NPCs will open a mecha-making service. We don't need to spend too much money. We only need to pay a small production fee and provide our own materials to build the mecha. The quality of the materials used in building the mecha will directly affect the overall strength of the mecha you build."

"If that's the case, then wouldn't we be able to create top-tier items directly using those high-level magical tools?"

"It's not just about using high-level magical items; some other special things can also be used, such as the core used to create defensive mechs. These things can also increase the strength of the final mech."

"This kind of material is hard to find."

"This thing is definitely hard to find; it's purely a matter of luck. And even if you do find it, the price of the core is outrageous, so putting it in there wouldn't be cost-effective. It would be better to sell it."

"Anyway, if I get my hands on that kind of material, I'll definitely use it myself."

"You wouldn't get much money selling this thing. You'd be better off getting a full set of top-tier gear. But there's no top-tier gear in the game, so what's the point of playing?"

"It really depends on the individual. I think if you're not a big spender, you should definitely prioritize cost-effectiveness. But if you are a big spender and you're aiming for the absolute best, then this is definitely fine."

"And don't forget, the NPCs can only build the mech body. You have to buy the mech parts from amateur welders. The quality of these parts determines the overall performance of your mech, and they're not cheap. I estimate that even if you try to save money, you'll still have to spend a few hundred gold coins to complete a set."

"If you buy top-tier parts and use the best materials to build the mech, I estimate a set would cost at least one or two thousand gold coins."

"By the way, does anyone sell high-quality magical item materials?"

"Brothers, I'm buying high prices. If you have any, contact me. The price will definitely satisfy you."

"We also buy at a high price; not to mention anything else, it's definitely higher than what others offer."

"Guys, you guys are getting all rolled up at a time like this, is that even a little bit ridiculous?"

"Come on, I've seen this kind of pre-emptive stockpiling in other games a lot. It's like when the mechs first come out, everyone rushes to build them. So prices and everything else skyrocket. I'm telling you this: wait until most people have made them before we start. The price of materials and other things will definitely go down. So there's no need to rush and spend money on some expensive mechs in just a day or two."

For a time, players were discussing this matter almost constantly during their leisure time. Some players wanted to stockpile materials in advance, while others preferred to wait until most people had made theirs before attempting to do so, thus saving a significant amount of cost.

Different players have different strategies. In short, what we can see here is that the prices of magic items and materials are rising at a visible rate.

Compared to others, the magical items available to players are completely different from those in the outside world; they are often sold by weight.

For players, the main purpose of this thing is to sell it to amateur welders so they can melt it down and make new weapons.

I had no use for it myself, but now that I can build mechs, it's a completely different story.

Some magical items, such as weapons or shields, can even have different uses because of the mecha.

Suddenly, prices among players began to change dramatically.

While the players were still discussing these things, at this moment, on Salty Fish's side...

The entire succubus race was in chaos, with succubus soldiers conducting a large-scale search of the entire tribe.

"Damn it, we can't let them get away! Those despicable bastards, they actually stole from our succubus race!"

"No place can be left unsearched. Search every house. No matter who they are, they must cooperate with us. Otherwise, they will all be treated as traitors."

"Damn it, how did they sneak in so easily? Who let them in? Everyone involved must be found."

At this moment, the succubus tribe was in complete chaos.

The reason is quite simple: Salty Fish and his gang succeeded and are now trying to escape.

In reality, Xianyu and his team didn't have high hopes for this at all. They felt that the success rate might not be as high as they imagined, and it would most likely end in failure.

Who could have imagined that sometimes you can never predict whether tomorrow or an accident will come first?

The general situation was that Salty Fish and his group felt that staying there any longer was definitely not an option, as they wouldn't be able to gather any intelligence.

There is basically no chance of success.

Ultimately, they decided to risk going to investigate. They figured they could be careful and nothing bad would happen. But who could have imagined that the first...

They were caught red-handed the next time they went out. Just as Salty Fish and his friends were preparing to fight back, one of the team members, on a whim, said the name Lilith.

Honestly, Salty Fish and his crew really didn't expect that Lilith, that piece of trash, would actually have supporters among the succubi, and that the captain who captured them was one of Lilith's supporters.

The specific reason was unknown to the Salty Fish and the others, but after they produced Lilith's personal belongings to prove their identities, the players fabricated a reason: Lilith had sent them to steal something.

Lilith is being hunted down and framed by her own sister. Her goal is to take back everything that belongs to her. That's roughly the template.

This reason is so ridiculous that even a dog would shake its head in disbelief.

However, it was clearly a completely different story when it came to the succubus race, and the captain actually believed it.

Then he became an inside man for the players; otherwise, given their situation, it would have been impossible for them to steal the items from inside.

After stealing the items, the alarm was naturally triggered. If someone hadn't been there to cover for them, Salty Fish and his gang would never have been able to escape. Even so, they remained extremely cautious throughout their journey.

They have now successfully left the most heavily searched area and are now in the middle inner zone. The guard here is relatively lax.