Translator: Lonelytree Editor: Millman97
In the afternoon of the first of May, Brother Jue entered the conference room of Flashes of Sword. When he entered, Mr. Sword was already seated at the side of the conference table.
“Yo, long time no see,” Feng Bujue said in greeting.
“Hi. It’s because I have been really busy lately,” Flashes of Sword replied. “I had to deal with so many things back at the gaming studio, so I did not have much time to go online. I was busy especially during the mornings.” He paused for a moment. “Therefore, I can only play at night in sleeping mode. Now I have to log on for at least seven to eight hours every night, and that translates to almost three consecutive days and nights in gaming time. One can imagine how exhausted and drained I would be the next morning when I wake up.” Looks like the man was indeed whipped, like a well-worked donkey, and there were many things he wanted to complain about.
Brother Jue did not make any comments, but he offered a listening ear and quietly sat down, looking casual. He understood that every occupation had its own fair share of difficulties and hardships. The gaming industry was not as easy as outsiders perceived it to be.”One does not earn money by playing games.” That’s true and simple. Professional players are more pressured than casual players, and they led different lives. As a novelist, Brother Jue was able to relate to this.
“Ah… I am so sorry. Before I realized it, I have started to complain again,” Flashes of Sword grumbled before he caught himself. He smiled bashfully before continuing. “Let’s get back to serious business.”
“Okay.” Feng Bujue nodded. “I believe this kind of business is not very uncommon for gaming studios and companies like yours.”
“You are not wrong about that. After all, it is one of the more common ways to earn income,” Flashes of Sword admitted. “But I am truly surprised that, you, Brother Feng, would come to me to trade Game Coins.”
The reason Brother Jue was there that day was to sell his Game Coins.
“What? Do I look like someone who has plenty of money to throw around?” Brother Jue asked rather pointedly.
“Of course, I would expect you to be swimming in money,” Flashes of Sword commented as he widened his eyes and smiled cheerfully. “After all, for a casual player, it is practically impossible to get the equipment and skill that you own without burning through some RMB, wouldn’t you agree? Other than that, the speed by which your level has increased is exceptionally fast. Don’t tell me you have not used a double EXP booster before?”
“Erm… About that…” Feng Bujue did not know how to explain this clearly. He could not just admit that every time he cleared the scenario, he would get the Embodiment of Valor rating. His equipment, skill, and EXP were all results of his courage (or illness) and not RMB.
“That is because I am that powerful.” That was the only reason Feng Bujue could think of.
“Well, if it was another person who said that, I would not have believed him.” Flashes of Sword laughed and said, “But to hear that coming out from the lips of Brother Feng, it sounds quite convincing, I have to admit.” Feng Bujue did not wish to dwell on this topic any longer, so he quickly switched the topic. “Just ignore whether I am an RMB player or not. In any case, at the current stage, I have Game Coins up to seven digits that I wish to sell. I do not want to beat around the bush. Just give me a reasonable price and let’s get this over with.”
“There is no need to rush, my friend,” Flashes of Sword said with a smile. “The buyer should be joining us soon. Wait a few minutes, and you can talk to her in person.”
“Oh?” When Feng Bujue heard that, several thoughts crossed his mind. “Hmm…You are not the one whom I will be dealing with?”
“Yes. Another member of my guild wishes to purchase the Game Coins from you,” Flashes of Sword answered. He explained further, “Our guild contains quite a number of players that are not directly under our gaming company. This percentage of players—we have never asked them to share their wealth and resource with the players who are part of the gaming company.”
“In a way, it is economic independence within the guild,” Feng Bujue commented. “That is not a bad idea. Everyone is responsible for their own business, and that will prevent any form of conflict or altercation.”
“Yes, and today your buyer is one of our non-gaming studio players in our guild,” Flashes of Sword said. “She can be considered one of our best players already. For this tournament, our management initially planned to assign her some free resources, but she refused us adamantly. She would rather spend her own money. Therefore, that is why this transaction is happening today. Since you have Game Coins that you wish to sell, why don’t you sell it to her?” At this point, Mr. Sword’s tone suddenly turned more serious. “However, Brother Feng, I have to remind you beforehand. Using Game Coins to exchange RMB—that will not be according to the official exchange rate.”
“Ah, that I already know. It will only be around seventy percent of the rate, isn’t it?” Feng Bujue asked. Before he decided to sell his Game Coins, he had already conducted his own research online. He was not someone who would rush into things without preparing for it first. As mentioned in the previous chapter, Dream Inc. only provided the channel for players to exchange Game Coins using RMB and not the other way around. So, if a player wanted to sell Game Coins, they could only sell them to other players. Since they could buy the Game Coins directly from the official gaming company, why would they choose to buy them from you? The only reason had to be because your price was lower than the official exchange rate. Currently, the official exchange rate for RMB to Game Coins was 1:1900. In other words, you could use one RMB to buy 1900 Game Coins. Players who sold Game Coins to other players most often gave a price of about seventy percent of the official exchange rate, or, thirty percent cheaper than the price you would have to pay at the official channel. In other words, you would be able to purchase 1900 Game Coins using seventy cents RMB from other players.
This kind of transaction happened quite often in-game, and it could be conducted through public trade platforms. The trading process was conducted in this manner: both parties would reach a consensus online, and then the buyer would pay the money. This money would be kept by a third party temporarily. The seller would mail the Game Coins to the buyer through the in-game mailing system, and after the buyer had confirmed the purchase, the third party would issue the RMB into the seller’s account.
Feng Bujue could have done that on the Internet, but the problem was he had gotten too famous for that to work. If a potential buyer saw that the seller’s ID was Feng Bujue, who knew what kind of rumors would start to infest the gaming forum?
Furthermore, this kind of transaction done through a third party usually took a long time. There were different kinds of risks, and they were all inevitable. In comparison, it was much simpler to make the transaction directly in-game. Therefore, today,, Brother Jue found Flashes of Sword and asked the man to arrange this transaction.
“I am so sorry for being late.” The conference room door opened, and Not a Scaredy Cat walked in. The rest of her sentence was stuck in her throat and her face also darkened for several degrees. “Oh, it’s you…”
Hey, hey, hey. Why are you looking at me like I am some kind of annoyance to you? Feng Bujue naturally recognized Not a Scaredy Cat as well. He had plenty to say regarding this encounter, but on the surface, he did not let anything show. “Hello. It is nice to meet you again.”
Not a Scaredy Cat walked to the conference table, walked around Flashes of Sword, and purposely sat away from Feng Bujue. She narrowed her eyes as she gave Brother Jue a side-eye. “Looks like after you have scammed me twice, you have managed to remember me for this.”
“Huh? When have I ever scammed you?” Feng Bujue started to muddle the waters again. He said in a very innocent tone, “During that scenario on the Hunter’s Isle, I had no idea how you and that…what’s his name…yes, Falling the Castle with One Sword…died. Can you really blame me for that? Furthermore, in the end, it was me who singlehandedly cleared the scenario and helped everyone earn their respective EXP, haven’t I?” He paused. “And regarding the scenario at Gotham City, even though it was a Killing Game, we have not really met in person in that scenario, have we? It was God’s Web who had captured you alive, and you were killed by Shiva, so what does that have to do with me?”
Not a Scaredy Cat waited for two seconds and shot back with a pointed question. “Hmm. So what you are saying is…The fact that you have robbed the bank, killed the police, spread money on the streets, openly executed Robin, destroyed a whole building, and announced that every other player was your teammate…all that would not have affected my performance in that scenario at all?”
“What the…” When Flashes of Sword heard that, his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He turned to tell Brother Jue. “Just how many things were you able to fit into a Killing Game? And none of those things you have done sound good at all!”
“That is not even the worst thing that he has done,” Not a Scaredy Cat said as she turned to Feng Bujue. “After I was kicked out from the Scenario, it was you who killed Shiva and Seven Kills right?” Well, there was nothing for Feng Bujue to hide anymore. Basically, it was an open secret. The player in second place on the combat stat ranking answered openly, “Yes, I have killed them both. After that scenario, I was moved up to the second place of some kind of ranking.”
“Brother Feng…” Flashes of Sword said. “If you are not exposed as one of the VIP players, do you plan to keep this hidden until the end?”
“Naturally,” Feng Bujue admitted. “Unfortunately, I have gotten too famous for that to happen.”
“Tsk…” Not a Scaredy Cat grumbled. “I have not met a person as shameless as you in my life.” As she spoke, she laid both of her feet on the table, not covering up the fact that she was not as girly as she appeared anymore. “That’s why I was wondering why everyone is buying Game Coins. Today, I was told there is someone who wishes to sell Game Coins and that they have around seven digits to sell. Now, I finally get it. You’re the one who doesn’t need to participate in the preliminary round.”
She hit the nail on its head. One of the biggest reasons why Feng Bujue was selling his Game Coins was because he did not need to participate in the preliminary round. Feng Bujue registered in the tournament mainly because he thought it was interesting. He did not specifically prepare for the battle before. Before the official news was announced, he did not even know about anything regarding ‘VIP Players.’ If Brother Feng had really intended to make a name for himself in the tournament, he would have spent the last week climbing his way up the personal player level ranking. He could have become the first player to reach Level forty on Thriller Paradise, and he could have gained an incontestable advantage in terms of his level. But the reality was that other than occasionally helping Xiao Tan with his training, he played the game like any other regular player. He did not spend money on any equipment, and he did not waste money on buying skills. He spent more resources on the slot machine, the Magical Disintegrator Prototype Zero. That thing had consumed things that he could have used to prepare for the Tournament. Therefore, one could see that from the very beginning, Brother Jue did not really care how far he could go on the Tournament for the Best.
A person with this kind of attitude…After he was told that he would be granted entry into the Top 100…what would a regular player think?
Even if he lost directly in the Battle of the Butterfly, he received the prize for Top one hundred players, which were the following: ten Double Exp boosters that last for twenty-four hours, 20000 Game Coins, and a limited-edition T-shirt. Feng Bujue was happy with these prizes. He had nothing more to ask for. For half of the month when most players were busy training and preparing for the tournament, Brother Jue…had spent most of his time deleting emails.
It was then that he considered selling his Game Coins. During this period, Game Coins had become more expensive, and he did not have any use for the Game Coins to purchase anything to upgrade himself. Then why not sell some of his Game Coins that were just sitting around gathering dust? Feng Bujue currently had over 2,400,000 Game Coins.
“Well, I can’t say that you are wrong.” Feng Bujue did not plan to get into an argument with Not a Scaredy Cat, so he turned the focus back to the transaction. “All right then. Let’s not waste time on other things. We should discuss the prices.”
“Sure. How many Game Coins do you plan to sell?” Not a Scaredy Cat asked.
“Two million Game Coins.” Feng Bujue gave a number.
“Hmm… then we will calculate it according to the market price.” Not a Scaredy Cat was a professional player, and she was a famous character on the combat stat ranking. She was not going to ruin her reputation for some money, so she did not ask for a discount.
“I will sell them to you for seven hundred RMB,” Feng Bujue said. “Consider the additional 10,000 as compensation for the two times that I have allegedly scammed you.”
“What?” Not a Scaredy Cat jumped onto the table and pointed her finger at Brother Jue. “Now you finally admit it. You referred to it as compensation! What I have lost, I will eventually ask for it back in person! I will give you eight hundred RMB and keep the change! You just wait and see! After I enter the Battle of the Butterfly…” The female gang leader personality of Not a Scaredy Cat was exposed. She wasn’t holding back. Brother Jue, who experienced this for the first time, was truly surprised and in awe of the explosion of her temper.
Seeing this, Flashes of Sword quickly jumped onto the table and held Not a Scaredy Cat back. He tried to console her. “Hey, calm down.” He turned to Feng Bujue and awkwardly said, “Brother Feng, just ignore her. I am sure she is just acting out of anger.”
“Calm your head!” Not a Scaredy Cat employed a hand lock on Flashes of Sword with a speed of lightning and pressed his hands behind his back. Beep Beep Beep!
This was outside the game, and their physical capabilities were how they were in everyday life. In other words, if this was the real world, Not a Scaredy Cat would also only need two seconds to take down Flashes of Sword.
“Ah… Help, help. Pain, pain.” Flashes of Sword struggled on the conference table, but he was unable to shake loose from the girl’s vise grip.
Almost the same second Not a Scaredy Cat made her move, a guard robot materialized inside the conference room. Its mechanical eyes turned around before saying, “Since you two are in each other’s friend list, I will have to confirm beforehand…” The guard’s intelligence was very high. It would not attack for no reason. It first turned to Flashes of Sword and asked, “Do you wish for me to intervene?”
“Erm…” Flashes of Sword hesitated for a second.
Not a Scaredy Cat employed more force and demanded, “You dare?”
“Of course I don’t.” Flashes of Sword quickly turned to the guard and said, “I…I am fine.” The look in his eyes likened that of someone standing before their noose just right before execution.
“Another question—is it true that we shall continue to not intervene in the future should this situation happen again?” the guard asked. “This is the fifth time something similar to this has happened. If both of you agree to this, in future, we will choose to ignore this supposed altercation between the two of you.”
“Confirm,” Not a Scaredy Cat replied firmly and easily.
“Hey, wait.” Flashes of Sword sunk into despair.
Not a Scaredy Cat glared at him and huffed out indignantly. “Hmm?”
“Con… confirm.” Flashes of Sword ultimately chose to surrender.
“Okay. If any of you wish to change this option in the future, you can operate the option in the touchscreen available in the log-in lobby, or communicate with us directly in the market,” the mechanical guard said. It then disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Feng Bujue, who sat at the side of the conference table, watched the show and gave Flashes of Sword a side-eye. Even though Brother Jue had not said anything, it was clear that he was trying to hold in his laughter. It already sold him out.
“Brother Jue, I believe that you understand that as a man, we sometimes need to learn to be patient. Ah!” Flashes of Sword still tried to salvage some of his face and dignity, but the giant force that pressed against his arms caused him to whimper in pain.
“The atmosphere of your guild sure is eye-opening,” Feng Bujue said as he stood up. “As the boss of the gaming company and as a celebrity player, you can put down the difference and ‘play in a tumble’ alongside non-professional players…I am mightily impressed, what else can I say?”
“Humph… Such a hypocrite,” Not a Scaredy Cat said as she shifted from a hand lock to a guillotine lock1.
“Hmm…I think I can start to understand why you have stopped resisting this,” Feng Bujue said as his lips twitched. He lifted his head to look at Not a Scaredy Cat and said, “All right. I won’t stay here to disrupt your wrestling roleplay anymore. In a bit, I will send an email to your inbox with my bank account information, as well as the Game Coins.” Feng Bujue then left.
At the same time, inside one of the scenarios, Xiao Tan was playing his tenth match of the Battle of the Bug. So far, he dueled in nine matches, with eight wins and one loss.
On the morning of the first of May, Xiao Tan finished nine preliminary matches in sleeping mode. Other than the first match where he ran into Seven Kills and lost, he had won the rest of the eight matches. It was unknown whether Brother Jue’s prediction was really that good or his analysis had boosted Xiao Tan’s confidence. In all the other eight matches, Xiao Tan saw himself as a powerful opponent. He believed that he could win and that he had a good probability of winning. With this attitude and presence, Xiao Tan’s performance was above average, and he had won all eight consecutive matches. His opponents were like the many cases that he had studied when he was at medical school. As long as he did not make any obvious mistakes, they could be solved quite easily.
Xiao Tan was preparing for his tenth match. This time, the opponent was a professional player.
In terms of probability, this was fairly common. When Xiao Tan—or any other player—saw the guild logo of Celestia, they would feel pressured.
Celestia was a fair-sized gaming studio. Regulation and Brahman were the top two in the industry. Of the second layer of gaming studios, the best among them was Celestia.
In terms of company resource and player resource, Celestia would probably be equal to two “Jiang Hus.” But this gaming studio had been facing a big problem, and that was the constant loss of potential members. In the past ten years, more than a handful of celebrity players emerged from Celestia. It was the reason why in the industry, Celestia was branded as a ‘celebrity player factory.’
But just like that ‘factory maker’ in the football history, the managing strategy of Celestia was similar to that of a black market.
Whoever rose to become the main player of Celestia needed to be mentally strong to be considered the following year. Even if you were not, you could not guarantee that your contract would be renewed. Celestia was like a supermarket. Every member could be sold. The difference was the price point. To sum it up, if you have the right price, I have the right person to sell.
Regulation and Brahman were common customers of Celestia. For example, the female player who specialized in medic mastery, Ye Zhi, was once a member of Celestia.
One could say that what Celestia did was to encourage and cultivate potential players. They would issue a binding contract, and when their worth doubled or tripled, they would be sold to other companies. That was how Celestia earned its income. This worked on both ends. Many players saw Celestia as a jumping board for them to achieve fame. Therefore, Celestia was never in need of fresh blood.
When you ran into a member from this guild, you had to be exceptionally careful because the opponent might become the best professional gamer in the entire world in the future. Conversely, they might also end up being a worthless investment.
Coincidentally, Xiao Tan’s opponent for this match was Not a Scaredy Cat’s younger brother.
Yes, Not a Scaredy Cat had a younger brother in real life. He was only sixteen, but he was already as good as a professional player. He was one of the rising stars of Celestia. His in-game ID was Sky Song.