I Can Get 1,000,000x Returns from Selling Anything!-Chapter 37 --Purchasing Polaris City and Hiring Top-Tier NPCs
Developing a domain safely in the heartland would take at least several years before one could accumulate enough merit to be promoted to Marquis.
But the frontier was different!
As long as you could fend off invasions from other races, your merit would skyrocket! Even long-established Marquises and Dukes mostly held domains in the borderlands.
For them, the other races were both a threat and a source of glory.
Augusta, however, shook his head. "Young man, having courage is admirable, but the frontier is no easy place. You could lose your life at any moment."
Daniel smiled. "I know."
A flicker of admiration crossed Augusta’s eyes.
"Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, I won’t stop you."
He tapped on the map, and the territory of Polaris City immediately lit up.
[Polaris City (Basic City)]
[Area: ~500 square kilometers]
[Population: ~30,000 (Humans)]
[Current Status: Normal]
[Purchase Price: 100 million gold coins (10% discount for Counts)]
[Lord Rights: Collect taxes within the domain (up to 10%), manage industries, recruit armies (up to 5,000 troops), issue quests, etc.]
Daniel paid immediately.
[Gold Coins -90,000,000]
[Ding! Congratulations! You are now the Lord of Polaris City!] 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
[Current Territory: Polaris City and surrounding areas]
[Lord Rank: Count]
[Term: Lifetime (non-hereditary)]
[...]
Daniel exhaled deeply after reviewing the territory information.
With the status of Count and his own domain, many things would now become much easier!
At that moment, Augusta also closed the map. After a brief hesitation, he looked at Daniel.
"By the way, there’s something I’d like to ask you for help with."
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."
"Luminara has run into some trouble recently."
Augusta paused. "The Intelligence Bureau discovered some anomalies while investigating the other races. But we’re short on manpower, and need someone to assist."
He looked at Daniel. "Are you interested?"
[Ding! Special Quest Triggered: Augusta’s Commission]
[Quest Objective: Report to the Intelligence Bureau for detailed instructions]
[Accept?]
Daniel’s heart stirred.
Information on the other races? Judging by Augusta’s hesitant expression, if his status and rank hadn’t just been elevated, he would never have been entrusted with such a sensitive mission.
And naturally, for a mission of such significance, the rewards would surely be considerable.
"I’ll take this quest!" he said.
...
After leaving the Lord’s Manor, Daniel didn’t rush to the Intelligence Bureau.
There was something more important he needed to handle first.
The Commercial Management Office.
It was a refined two-story building next to the Lord’s Manor. Pushing open the door, Daniel entered a tastefully decorated space with redwood floors and oil paintings on the walls.
A middle-aged man in a well-tailored suit stood behind the counter, smiling at him.
[Stephen, Chief of Luminara Commercial Management (Epic-Grade NPC)]
"Welcome, Your Grace," Stephen greeted respectfully. "How may I assist you today?"
Daniel withdrew his thoughts and spoke directly.
"I want to hire NPCs."
"Very well. What rank of NPCs do you require?"
"The top-tier."
Stephen’s eyes widened slightly. "Top-tier NPCs? Your Grace, hiring top-tier NPCs is... not inexpensive..."
"Money isn’t an issue," Daniel interrupted. "I need the following types: Commercial Management, Financial Auditing, Store Operations, Logistics Coordination, and City Construction."
"At least ten NPCs in each category—all top-tier."
Stephen froze for three seconds, then took a deep breath.
"Your Grace, are you certain?"
"Certain."
"Then... please wait a moment."
He turned and went into a back room. A few minutes later, he returned holding a thick stack of documents.
"This is the current list of available top-tier NPCs—127 in total. Their hiring costs vary, but on average, each requires about 100,000 gold coins per month."
127 NPCs at 100,000 each—a total of 12.7 million gold coins per month.
Stephen expected Daniel to be intimidated by the number.
But Daniel simply nodded. "Hire them all."
"All... all of them?!"
Stephen’s hand shook so much that the stack of papers nearly fell.
"Your Grace... are you sure it’s all of them?"
"Absolutely."
Daniel opened the transaction interface and transferred the funds.
[You have transferred 15,000,000 gold coins to the Luminara Commercial Management Office (including deposit).]
Stephen stared at the string of zeros on the screen, utterly dumbfounded.
He had been Chief of Commercial Management for ten years and had seen countless wealthy individuals.
But someone spending like this—this was a first.
"Your Grace... what exactly are you planning?"
Daniel smiled. "To be a relaxed boss."
"A relaxed... boss?"
"Yes."
Daniel stood up. "All the player-run shops in the nine main cities require management. I have neither the time nor the patience to handle them myself."
"These top-tier NPCs will manage them for me."
He paused. "Additionally, I need you to recruit NPCs willing to develop Polaris City. Top-tier, of course."
"Engineers for city construction, merchants for commercial development, soldiers for security... at least twenty in each category, with generous compensation."
Stephen opened his mouth, then closed it, finally squeezing out:
"Your Grace, are you planning to build Polaris City from the ground up?"
Daniel smiled. "Something like that."
Over the next half hour, Stephen, in a state of stunned numbness, helped Daniel complete all the hiring procedures.
127 top-tier commercial NPCs, all signed five-year contracts.
60 city construction NPCs, signed three-year contracts.
50 security NPCs, signed five-year contracts.
30 agricultural and mining NPCs, signed three-year contracts.
A total of 267 top-tier NPCs, with a monthly payroll exceeding 20 million gold coins!
After signing the last contract, Stephen’s hands were still trembling.
"Your Grace... you’re... extraordinarily generous."
"Of course!"
Daniel smiled, putting away all the contracts.
Each of these top-tier NPCs was priceless.
Crucially, these top-tier NPCs were not easily hired.
If he were an ordinary person without a title, no matter how many Contribution Points he had, the NPCs would at most treat him politely.
But hiring them to work for him? Sorry, these individuals serve nobles exclusively.
This was one of the reasons Daniel had sought to elevate his rank.
With status and rank, he could call upon the best talent. As his noble rank rose further, these top-tier NPCs would even compete to serve him!
Above them, there were epic-grade and legendary-grade NPCs—each possessing extraordinarily specialized skills.
Stephen before him was an epic-grade NPC, overseeing all commercial operations in Luminara.
Epic-grade NPCs were common in Luminara’s main cities.
This was the hidden power of a main city. Many NPCs players see every day were actually top-tier talents that most players could never approach.
Even so, the NPCs Daniel had hired were far more capable than normal NPCs and could handle extremely complex tasks independently.
With them, managing the commercial operations of the nine main cities was no problem.
With them, building Polaris City was secure.
All Daniel had to do was set the objectives and rules, let them execute, and simply collect the rewards.
...
