Being guided to the VIP Room, Xu Feng knew the mission was anything but simple.
Only the most difficult type of mission would require a player to go to the VIP Room.
After all, not only was the room soundproof, but it was also an indication of the severity of the matter, as well as proof of one's status.
Not just any random players were eligible to be in the VIP Room, especially at this stage of the game.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that even with his Baron status, he still wasn't eligible to be here.
And yet here he was, sitting by the couch as Jessica offered while she went to get the manager.
As Xu Feng glanced around his surroundings, memories of him having to go through a tough time surfaced. 'Ugh, the last time I was here was when I accepted a worldwide quest on behalf of the Reaver Guild. I lost so much at the time while undergoing the quest.'
Had he known this was going to happen, then he would have delayed his arrival at the Adventure Association.
Alas, it was a little too late for regret and Xu Feng could only pray the mission Sandy gave him wasn't anything too absurd. He was just a level 10 Tier 0 player.
'No wonder Sandy was so willing to offer me five Tier 1 Scrolls or two Tier 2 Scrolls. I've truly been played by that friendliness of her.' Xu Feng laughed silently, realizing that the usual scheme he used on others had come back biting him hard.
Life was unpredictable and the Divine World was a place that he shouldn't have expected to be given a godly item for free.
Time slowly passed by, and Jessica returned to the VIP Room along with a bearded old man. Despite the old man's stature, Xu Feng could sense the underlying danger that emitted from the former.
Upon closer inspection, Xu Feng realized the old man was a Tier 4 warrior, almost on par with the City Magistrate's level.
After the initial surprise, Xu Feng composed himself rather quickly. There was no need to be afraid of the old man, given he had done nothing wrong.
So what if it was a Tier 4 warrior?
They wouldn't attack without any reason, especially when they are in the city's adventure association.
Meanwhile, the old man scrutinized Xu Feng a bit and was slightly stunned by the latter relaxed composure.
'Oh, as expected of the one recommended to help us. A tier 0 adventurer but can remain so composed when exposed to my aura. Not bad.'
Nodding, the old man glanced at Jessica, who quickly introduced him to Xu Feng.
"This person here is our Adventure Association's Manager, Howard." Jessica introduced, keeping a respectful tone.
"Nice to meet you, Manager Howard." Xu Feng unhurriedly greeted, giving his due respect. His noble status might be somewhat useful, but in front of an actual powerhouse, it was nothing.
Howard smiled briefly, "I've heard quite a lot about you. They said you can help us overturn the current situation in the city."
"Heard about me from?"
"That's not important. What's important is that the Guild Hall Charter in your hand does allow you to construct a guild residence anywhere you want but with a condition."
"..."
As expected, there was definitely no way the guild residence would be free.
In the end, he still had to do something in exchange for it. Worse, the task could be even more dreadful than actually paying upfront.
With Xu Feng remaining silent, Howard continued, "There's no need to be overly concerned. All we want is the liveliness of Star Falls City to return, and have at least a city population of 1,000,000 people."
"And what is the current city population?" Xu Feng inquired, knitting his brows.
Toward that question, Howard casually sipped some tea and didn't bother to answer. Instead, Jessica took a step forward and reported the numbers.
"The Star Falls City currently only has a population of around 50,000, with a traffic of less than 3,000 daily. The people who came here simply used the teleportation platform as a short transit to teleport elsewhere."
Having expected the number to be low, Xu Feng brushed aside the population of the city and inquired about another important aspect, "How many merchants do we have, and how many shops are set up in the city?"
Shops and merchants could be considered the lifeline of any city to be prosperous. After all, with goods exclusively available in a certain city, people would naturally flock over to purchase them.
Meanwhile, Jessica's expression slowly turned from solemn to somewhat depressed.
With a slight frown on her face, she explained, "Our city doesn't have much appeal, so only a few merchants have come over to rent the shops for their business. And that is because they had signed a contract long ago when Star Falls City was still at its peak."
"Okay, I've heard enough." Xu Feng raised his hand and stopped Jessica from continuing. More or less, he understood the situation was precisely the thing he had predicted it to be.
Without any appeal or uniqueness, who would want to come to Star Falls City to develop?
There were many better cities, with some even prospering further due to their unique location.
Only those who hate money would come to Star Falls City to develop.
As for the merchants who had signed the contract, believing it to be a worthy investment, Xu Feng could tell how much they regretted it.
Before rushing to the adventure association, he had surveyed the desolate streets, and the shops' items were hot garbage. Even the beginner town's shops had better quality and quantity.
With all these negative things, with zero positive things regarding Star Falls City, Xu Feng finally realized why he was given so much freebie.
'These bunch of lazy folks just want a slave to do all the tedious work with some benefits in return.' Xu Feng twitched his brows.