Chapter 1 Afternoon of May First

On the afternoon of May 1st, Brother Jue arrived at the meeting room established by Kuang Zong Jian Ying.

When he entered, Jian Shao was already sitting at the conference table waiting.

"Yo, long time no see," Feng Bujue greeted.

"Hey~ been busy lately," Kuang Zong Jian Ying replied, "There are too many things to deal with in the studio, and there's almost no time to go online during the day." He paused. "I can only concentrate all my game time in sleep mode. Now I have to play for seven or eight hours every night, spending three days and three nights in the game, which makes me lethargic the next day..." It seemed he was indeed exhausted and had a lot of complaints.

Brother Jue didn't say much, just listened silently and sat down with a calm expression. He also understood that every industry has its own hardships, and the gaming industry is definitely not as simple as outsiders imagine—"making money by playing." The pressure of leisure and profession is very different, which he, as a novelist, could also empathize with.

"Ah... sorry, I started complaining without realizing it." Kuang Zong Jian Ying quickly realized his mistake after saying a few words. He smiled sheepishly and said, "Let's talk business."

"Okay." Feng Bujue continued, "I think this kind of business is commonplace for you studio owners."

"You could say that, after all, it's a source of income." Kuang Zong Jian Ying said, "But... I really didn't expect that Brother Feng would come to me to trade game currency."

It turned out that Feng Bujue's purpose in coming here today was to sell game currency.

"What? Do I look like a rich tycoon who doesn't lack money?" Brother Jue replied.

"You do." Kuang Zong Jian Ying widened his eyes and smiled, "Of course, you do... It's impossible for ordinary casual players to get your equipment and skills without spending RMB, right? And your leveling speed is also amazing, haven't you used double experience cards?"

"Ah... well..." Feng Bujue really couldn't explain it clearly. He couldn't just say, "My Fear Rating is 'Dauntless' every time I clear a scenario, and those equipment, skills, experience, etc., are all basically my bile juice"...

"That's because... because I'm strong." This was the only reason Feng Bujue could think of.

"Heh... I might not believe it if someone else said that." Kuang Zong Jian Ying smiled, "But if Brother Feng says it... it's quite convincing."

Feng Bujue didn't want to dwell on this topic, so he quickly changed the subject, "Let's not worry about whether I'm an RMB player or not. Anyway, I have a seven-figure sum of game currency that I want to sell. Let's get straight to the point and talk about a price that both sides can accept."

"Don't worry." Kuang Zong Jian Ying said, "The buyer should be here soon. Wait a few more minutes, and you can talk to her directly."

"Ah?" Feng Bujue was stunned when he heard this. Several thoughts flashed through his mind. "Oh... you're not trading with me?"

"No, someone in the guild wants to buy it." Kuang Zong Jian Ying replied and immediately added, "We have more non-studio players in our guild. We don't require these members to integrate resources with the studio's internal players."

"In other words, they are economically independent." Feng Bujue said, "That's good too... They manage themselves, so there won't be any disputes."

"Yes, today's buyer is a non-studio player in our guild." Kuang Zong Jian Ying continued, "Actually, she's already a main force member of Jianghu. We in management originally wanted to allocate some funds to her for free for this competition, but she insisted on refusing and would rather buy it herself. So... I'm connecting you two this time. Anyway, you happen to have game currency you want to sell, so why not sell it to her?" At this point, Jian Shao changed the subject, "But... Brother Feng, I'll warn you in advance that exchanging game currency for RMB is not based on the official exchange rate."

"Ah, I know that. It's at least a 70% price." Feng Bujue replied. Before selling the game currency, he had naturally done some research online.

As mentioned earlier, Dream Inc. only provides a one-way exchange of RMB for game currency. That is, players can only buy game currency with RMB, but they cannot exchange game currency for RMB. If someone wants to sell game currency, they can only sell it to other players. But since people can buy from the official website, why would they buy yours? Therefore... you have to have a price advantage.

Currently, the official exchange rate in Thriller Paradise is 1:1900, which means one yuan can buy 1900 game coins on the official website. And most players who sell game coins offer a "70% price," which is 30% cheaper than official channels. Buying from them, you can get 1900 game coins for seventy cents.

This kind of transaction is very frequent online and can be done through some public trading platforms. The transaction steps are: both parties first reach an agreement online, and then the buyer pays, and the money is temporarily held by a third-party platform. Then, the seller sends the game coins to the buyer in the game, and then the buyer confirms receipt, and finally, the money enters the seller's account.

It wasn't that Feng Bujue couldn't do this online, but... he's famous now. If the person buying the game currency sees that the email was sent by [Feng Bujue] when they receive it, who knows what news they'll post on the forum...

Furthermore, transactions through third-party platforms take a long time and are subject to various variables. In contrast, direct trading in the game is simpler.

So, Brother Jue contacted Jian Shao today, and the other party arranged this transaction for him.

"Sorry, I'm la..." The door of the conference room opened, and [Cai Bu Pa Ne] walked in. The first word of the sentence "I'm late" stopped, her face sank, "It's you..."

"Hey, hey... what's with that disgusted expression..." Feng Bujue also recognized the Bu Pa sister. He complained inwardly, but his expression remained calm. "Hello, nice to see you again."

Bu Pa walked to the conference table, went to the right side of Kuang Zong Jian Ying, and deliberately sat down one person away from Feng Bujue. She squinted and glanced at Brother Jue, "It seems that after scamming me twice, you remember me..."

"Huh? When did I ever scam you..." Feng Bujue's bluffing began. He said in a very innocent tone, "That time on Hunter Island, I didn't even know you and that what's-his-name... oh, [Yi Jian Qing Cheng], I didn't even know how you died... Can you blame me for that? And I finally cleared the level by myself, letting everyone share the experience, right?" He paused. "That time in Gotham City, although it was a Survival Mode, you and I hardly met, right? It was 'God's Web' who captured you, and [Shiva] finished you off. How does that have anything to do with me?"

Bu Pa waited for two seconds and asked in a rhetorical tone, "Um... are you trying to say... that your actions in that scenario of robbing a bank, killing police officers, scattering money on the street; executing Robin, blowing up buildings, and claiming that all the other players were your accomplices... had no impact on me?"

"Damn..." Kuang Zong Jian Ying broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. He turned to Brother Jue and complained, "How many things did you do during a Survival Mode? And none of them sound like good things!"

"Hmph... what he did is more than that." Bu Pa continued, looking at Feng Bujue, "After I left the scenario, Shiva and Qisha were both taken care of by you, right?"

There was nothing to hide about Feng Bujue's current situation... who was in second place on the Combat Strength Ranking was basically an open secret. So he simply replied, "Yeah... I took care of them all. After I finished, I was ranked second on some list."

"Brother Feng..." Kuang Zong Jian Ying said, "If you hadn't been chosen as a special guest player, were you planning to keep these things a secret?"

"Yes..." Feng Bujue said, "Too bad I'm famous now."

"Tsk..." Bu Pa muttered, "Acting innocent after getting an advantage." As she spoke, she actually put both feet on the table, not hiding her tomboyish style. "I was just thinking... everyone's been buying game currency these days; and today, someone's selling game currency, and it's a seven-figure sum... Now I get it. It's you, the guy who doesn't need to play the preliminaries."

What she said was right. A big reason why Feng Bujue was selling game currency was because he didn't need to play the preliminaries.

Feng Bujue had entered the competition just for fun. He hardly prepared for it at all. He didn't even know about the "special guest player" thing until the official announcement. If Brother Jue really wanted to compete for a place, he could have swept the level rankings in the past week, becoming the first player in Thriller Paradise to reach level 40 and establishing an unshakeable advantage in level first.

But the actual situation was... other than occasionally being Xiao Tan's sparring partner, he still played the game as usual. He didn't save up equipment or buy skills. On the contrary, he lost a lot of things on the slot machine... sorry, the [Type Zero Magic Annihilator]. It could be said that from the beginning, Brother Jue had never considered how far he could go in the Peak Battle.

What would someone with this attitude think after learning that he could directly enter the top 100?

Even if he lost in the [Butterfly Battle] as soon as it started, he could still get the top 100 prize... which was ten 24-hour double experience cards, 200,000 game coins, and a limited edition t-shirt.

For Feng Bujue, with these guaranteed rewards, he had no more desires. In the next half month, while others were busy preparing for the competition, he... would probably only be busy deleting emails.

Therefore, Feng Bujue came up with the idea of selling game currency. It just so happened that the price of game currency was rising during this period, and he didn't need to spend money to improve himself. So, he might as well sell some of the idle funds of over two million he had on hand (Feng Bujue currently had over 2.4 million game coins).

"Um... that's how it is." Feng Bujue didn't want to argue with Bu Pa. He followed her words and replied, "Then... let's not beat around the bush and talk about the price."

"Okay, how much are you planning to sell?" Bu Pa asked.

"Two million." Feng Bujue quoted a round number.

"Um... then let's go with the general market price..." Bu Pa was at least a first-line player in Jianghu, a well-known figure on the Combat Strength Ranking. She wouldn't lower her standards for the sake of a few dollars' difference, so she didn't plan to lower the price.

"Let's say it's 700 yuan." Feng Bujue said, "The extra 100,000 is compensation for me scamming you twice."

"Huh?" Bu Pa jumped on the table and pointed her arm. "So, you really admit it... What compensation? I'll get back what I lost myself! I'll give you 800! Keep the change! Wash your neck and wait for me! When I enter the Butterfly Battle..."

Bu Pa's girl-bandit aura was fully displayed, and Brother Jue, who saw her go wild for the first time, was really shocked.

Seeing this, Jian Shao quickly followed onto the table and stopped Bu Pa with one hand, advising, "Um... calm down..." He turned to Feng Bujue and smiled awkwardly, "Brother Feng... don't argue with a woman..."

"Calm my ass!" Bu Pa used a cross armlock with lightning speed, controlling Jian Shao's right hand. "Calm your [BEEP]!"

This was outside the scenario, and the physical abilities of the two were at the level of everyday life, which meant... if this was in the real world, it would only take Bu Pa two seconds to knock Kuang Zong Jian Ying down.

"Ah... I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die..." Jian Shao struggled on the conference table but couldn't break free from the other's control.

Almost at the same second that Bu Pa made her move, a guard robot instantly appeared in the conference room. Its mechanical eye rotated a few times, and it opened its mouth, "Since you two are in a mutual friend status, I would like to confirm first..." The guard's intelligence was very high, and it wouldn't act rashly. It said to Kuang Zong Jian Ying first, "Do you need me to intervene?"

"Uh..." Jian Shao hesitated for a second.

Bu Pa put more force on her hand and shouted, "Dare you?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare..." Jian Shao quickly turned his head and said to the guard, "I... I'm fine..." A look of resignation appeared in his eyes.

"If similar actions occur between you in the future, should I also directly judge them as a non-intervention state?" the guard said, "A similar situation has occurred for the fifth time. If you both confirm, we will ignore it next time."

"Confirm." Bu Pa replied very decisively.

"Hey..." Jian Shao fell into despair.

Bu Pa glared at him and snorted, "Um?"

"Con... confirm." Kuang Zong Jian Ying finally succumbed.

"Okay, if you two need to change this option in the future, you can operate it on the touch screen in the login space or communicate directly with us in the mall." After the mechanical guard finished speaking, it teleported away as it had come.

Feng Bujue, who was watching the show on the side, squinted at Kuang Zong Jian Ying on the table. Although Brother Jue didn't say a word, his face, which was holding back a smile, had betrayed him...

"Brother Feng, I believe you also understand that as a man, you have to know how to endure... Ah!" Jian Shao was still trying to save face, but the tremendous force coming from his hand made him scream.

"The atmosphere of your guild is really amazing..." Feng Bujue said, "As the studio owner and a star player, you can still put down your airs and be informal, and 'mingle' with those non-professional players... I admire you, I admire you."

"Hmph... hypocritical." While saying that, Bu Pa changed the cross armlock to a guillotine choke (also known as a headlock, the general movement is to wrap your arms around the opponent's neck and forcefully cradle the opponent's head in your chest, which can cause the opponent to lose consciousness).

"Um... I think I understand why you didn't resist..." The corner of Feng Bujue's mouth twitched, and he looked up at Bu Pa and said, "Okay, I won't disturb you two's judo play anymore. I'll send you an email later with my bank card number, and send the two million game coins over..." After he finished speaking, he got up and left.

***

At the same time, in a certain scenario, Xiao Tan was in his tenth [War of the Insects].

So far, his record was: nine battles, eight wins, one loss.

On the morning of the 1st, Xiao Tan played a total of nine preliminary matches in sleep mode. Except for the first match, where he was defeated by [Qi Sha], he won all the other eight matches.

Whether it was because Brother Jue's predictions were really reliable or because that analysis gave Xiao Tan confidence, Xiao Tan showed the demeanor of a strong person when facing the later eight opponents. He firmly believed that he could win and should win.

With this mindset and momentum, Xiao Tan performed stably and won eight consecutive games. Those opponents were like the cases he studied in medical school. As long as there were no mistakes, they could all be solved easily.

Now, Xiao Tan welcomed his tenth battle.

And this battle's opponent happened to be a professional player.

Statistically speaking, this was quite normal, but seeing the "Star Cluster" badge, most people would feel some pressure.

Star Cluster was also a fairly large gaming studio. If "Order" and "Deus" were the two strongest in the industry, then the leader in the second tier... was Star Cluster.

In terms of company assets and player resources, Star Cluster should be worth two Jianghu. However... this studio had always faced a problem of staff turnover.

In the past ten years, countless star players have debuted through Star Cluster. This studio can be described as a veritable "star-making factory."

But... just like that "arsenal" in the football world, Star Cluster's business strategy seemed to be that of a black shop...

Anyone who becomes Star Cluster's mainstay has to be prepared to be sold the following year. Even if you aren't, there is no guarantee that you can sign a contract at the end of the year... Star Cluster is like a supermarket. There are no non-selling items here, only high-priced goods and affordable goods. In short, people will be released if the price is right.

Order and Deus are frequent customers of the star-making factory. For example, the medical female player "Ye Zhi" that Feng Bujue had encountered was once from Star Cluster.

It can be said that what Star Cluster does is to discover and cultivate those potential players, provide them with a well-paid binding contract, and earn transfer fees after their worth doubles. Many players regard this studio as a stepping stone to their fame, so Star Cluster never lacks fresh blood.

Therefore, you have to be extra careful when encountering people from this guild. Perhaps the opponent you are encountering now will be one of the best e-sports players on the entire planet in the future, of course... it may just be a mediocre person.

And Xiao Tan's opponent in this battle, coincidentally... was the younger brother of [Cai Bu Pa Ne].

Yes, Bu Pa has a younger brother in reality. He is only sixteen years old this year, but he is already a professional player, and one of the new stars that Star Cluster is focusing on cultivating, ID: [Bu Tian Ge].