Chapter 2481: Panic

Chapter 2481: Chapter 2481: Panic

The hall suddenly became quiet, the boiling water from before now transformed into a calm lake.

They need to pay tax, need to hand over Black Crystal Stone to the City Lord Mansion, yet none of them are willing. But to sell assets is also not a decision made impulsively. What if the Hongmeng City Lord Mansion gets utterly enraged and goes all out, then none of them would have a good outcome.

Nie Quan observed the merchants who had closed their mouths one by one, and he was not surprised by their reactions.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Nie Quan spoke again.

"The normal routes won’t work for us, the Hongmeng City Lord Mansion won’t refrain from collecting taxes just because we put a little pressure by forming an alliance. If we don’t want to pay taxes, the only way is what I mentioned. We sell our assets together, and that will certainly disrupt Hongmeng City’s situation, but at that time the value of properties will drastically shrink, what can the City Lord Mansion do then? We are selling assets, which is not against any city law, could it be that the City Lord Mansion would prohibit us from selling assets?"

"If the City Lord Mansion really does that, this city would truly be destroyed. In the future, who would dare to do business in Hongmeng City? Therefore, the only law the City Lord Mansion can think of, is to cancel the tax collection decision."

"Friends, what is there to hesitate about? Let my Jade Flame Treasure Tower lead the way, even if the City Lord Mansion goes mad, the first target they’ll deal with will be my Jade Flame Treasure Tower. If the City Lord Mansion takes action against us, you’ll know what to do when the time comes." Nie Quan said with a smile.

His words resonated with the hearts of the majority.

Many people nodded secretly.

"Manager Nie Quan, we will do as you say."

"Right, we will follow your arrangements. The friends here have some influence in Hongmeng City, if we unite and move forward together, even the City Lord Mansion will have to yield!"

"..."

Nie Quan and the merchants conspired in the Jade Flame Treasure Tower for an afternoon and a whole night.

The following morning, the Jade Flame Treasure Tower resumed business as usual, but a prominent large sign was hung.

The Jade Flame Treasure Tower is set for transfer.

Not just this building, at the same time all the properties acquired by Jade Flame Treasure Tower in Hongmeng City hung out signs, many of which directly marked a transfer price. This price seemed very appealing, about one-tenth lower than normal.

"Is the Jade Flame Treasure Tower leaving Hongmeng City?"

"What happened?"

"I don’t know, just heard... all the properties under the name of Jade Flame Treasure Tower are being transferred. Among them, many properties have transfer prices one-tenth lower than the market price."

"Isn’t Jade Flame Treasure Tower the biggest force in Hongmeng City besides the official? Are they actually leaving Hongmeng City?"

"I know some reasons behind this, it seems related to Hongmeng City’s plan to collect business tax. The Jade Flame Treasure Tower probably doesn’t want to pay the tax."

"The Jade Flame Treasure Tower is backed by the Jade Flame Business Association, almost a superpower-level large force. They might not care much about business in Hongmeng City."

The news that Jade Flame Treasure Tower intended to withdraw from Hongmeng City swiftly spread within the city. The influence of Jade Flame Treasure Tower remained significant, attracting the attention of many cultivators.

Because the transfer prices of some properties under Jade Flame Treasure Tower were relatively low, some people showed interest in taking over.

However, by that afternoon, the situation sharply worsened. It suddenly emerged that numerous shops had hung up signs indicating they were for transfer. These shops were sizable and quite reputable.

Many cultivators realized that Hongmeng City might be facing serious issues.

On the first day, over twenty shops listed for transfer. On the second day, the number of shops listed for transfer exceeded fifty. By the third day, nearly a hundred shops were up for transfer.

The shops listed for transfer included not only business premises but also various properties they owned. In Hongmeng City, merchants or small forces who ran larger businesses had purchased properties in the city to varying extents. Now, they were selling them off.

On the first day, some still showed interest in taking over these properties. But by the third day, almost nobody wanted to take over due to the chaotic situation that left them uncertain. Some wondered whether Hongmeng City was going to crumble internally.

If everyone starts selling off properties, the prices might plummet sharply! Then, the entire economic system would be in jeopardy. The collapse of property values would spread to other industries.

City Lord Mansion!

"City Lord, the worsening situation is faster than we imagined," Grand Steward Bai Han stood before Jing Yan.

Supervisor Ru Li was also present.

"City Lord, according to the information we have, ordinary cultivators have begun selling properties," Ru Li said.

Bai Han and Ru Li were evidently worried!

If handled poorly, Hongmeng City might indeed be internally destroyed!

After several days of fermentation, ordinary adventurers and cultivators had indeed started selling properties. These ordinary cultivators have limited financial capacity, fearing a property crash in Hongmeng City. Many of them, besides their usual Magic Treasures and resources, only have properties in the city to rely on. If the property market crashes, they can’t bear such losses. Therefore, those with smaller courage began selling off their properties to seek escape.

"Don’t rush, wait a bit longer! Haha, let them make a little more fuss. You need to remain calm," Jing Yan said slowly.

Jade Flame Treasure Tower!

Manager Nie Quan and a group of merchants spent most of the recent days there.

"Excellent!"

"The current situation is exactly as we anticipated," Nie Quan laughed.

"Haha, Manager, now Hongmeng City is already in chaos, better than we anticipated. Moreover, the City Lord Mansion seems to have no significant moves," a leader of a small force laughed heartily.

"I would like to see how long our City Lord Jing Yan can hold out." Nie Quan sneered and continued, "This fire has started burning, but it’s not intense enough yet. Next step, we need to be more ruthless. We... need to make the City Lord Mansion主动 contact us."

"Manager, what should we do next?" a merchant asked.

"Continue to lower the prices! We need to make the whole city panic. Isn’t the City Lord Mansion still undergoing city expansion? We’ll make sure no one takes over inner city properties; let’s see what else they can expand!" Nie Quan waved his hand.

Property prices in Hongmeng City fell once more. Now, the price of a courtyard had already dropped by ten to twenty percent compared to before. However, this trend didn’t stop, but accelerated as if diving downward.