Chapter 1 Meeting

On the afternoon of May 1st, Jue-ge 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's too much to handle at the studio, I barely have time to go online during the day." He paused. "I can only concentrate my game time in sleep mode, so I'm playing for seven or eight hours every night, spending three days and three nights in the game, which makes me feel listless the next day..." It seemed he was indeed exhausted and had a lot to complain about.

Jue-ge didn't say much, just listened quietly, sitting down with a normal expression. He understood that every profession had its own hardships, and the gaming industry was not as simple as outsiders imagined—"making money by playing." The pressure of leisure and professional work was very different, and as a novelist, he could empathize with that.

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

"Yeah," Feng Bujue replied, "I think this kind of business is commonplace for those of you who run studios."

"Kind of, it's a source of income after all," Kuang Zong Jian Ying said. "But... I really didn't expect you, Brother Feng, would come to me for game currency transactions."

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

"What? Do I look like a rich tycoon who doesn't care about money?" Jue-ge retorted.

"You do," Kuang Zong Jian Ying opened his eyes wide, with a smile on his face. "Of course you do... It's impossible for a casual player to get your equipment and skills without spending RMB (Chinese currency), 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 level, and those equipment, skills, experience, and so on are all my bile..."

"That's because... because I'm strong," Feng Bujue could only think of this reason.

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

Feng Bujue didn't want to dwell on this topic, so he quickly changed the subject, "Never mind whether I'm an RMB player or not, the fact is... I have seven figures worth of game currency that I want to sell. Let's get straight to the point and discuss a price that's acceptable to both sides."

"Don't rush," Kuang Zong Jian Ying said, "The buyer should be here soon, wait a few 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, immediately adding, "We have more non-studio players in our guild, and we don't require these members to integrate resources with the studio players."

"So, you are economically independent," Feng Bujue said, "That's pretty good... everyone minds their own business, so there won't be any disputes."

"Right, today's buyer is a non-studio player from our guild," Kuang Zong Jian Ying continued, "Actually, she's already a core member of Jianghu, and we, the management, originally wanted to allocate some funds to her for free for this competition, but she insisted on refusing, preferring to buy it herself. So... I'm just connecting you two. Since you happen to have game currency to sell, you might as well sell it to her." Jian Shao changed the subject, "But... Brother Feng, I have to warn you in advance, exchanging game currency for RMB is not based on the official exchange rate."

"Ah, I know that, it's at least a seventy percent price," Feng Bujue replied, naturally having done some research online before selling the game currency.

As mentioned earlier, Dream Inc. only provides a one-way exchange of RMB for game currency. In other words, 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 channels, why would they buy from you? So... you have to have a price advantage.

Currently, the official exchange rate in Thriller Paradise is 1:1900, meaning one yuan can buy 1900 game currency points on the official website. And most of the players who sell game currency offer a "seventy percent price", which is thirty percent cheaper than the official channels. Buying from them, 0.7 yuan can buy 1900 game currency points.

This type 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, then the buyer pays, and the third-party platform temporarily holds the money. Then, the seller mails the game currency to the buyer in the game, and the buyer confirms receipt, and finally the money enters the seller's account.

It wasn't that Feng Bujue couldn't do this online, the problem was... he was now famous. If the person buying the game currency saw that the email was sent by [Feng Bujue], who knew what news they would post on the forum...

Furthermore, transactions through third-party platforms take a long time and are subject to various variables. In comparison, it was simpler to trade directly in the game.

So, today Jue-ge approached Jian Shao, and the latter arranged this transaction for him.

"Sorry, I'm la..." The meeting room door opened, and Cai Bupa Ne walked in. The word "late" was only the first word, and her voice stopped, and her face sank. "It's you..."

"Hey, hey... what's with that disgusted expression..." Feng Bujue also recognized the fearless girl. He cursed in his heart, but his expression remained calm. "Hello, we meet again."

Bupa walked to the conference table, went to the right hand side of Kuang Zong Jian Ying, deliberately sitting one person away from Feng Bujue; she narrowed her eyes, looked at Jue-ge sideways and said, "Looks like after scamming me twice, you actually remember me..."

"Huh? When did I ever scam you..." Feng Bujue's coaxing began. He said in a very innocent tone, "On Hunter Island, I didn't even know you and that what's-his-name... oh, [Yi Jian Qingcheng], I didn't even know how you died... can you blame me for that? And I finally cleared the level with my own strength, so everyone got experience, right?" He paused. "In Gotham City, although it was a slaughter game, you and I hardly met, right? 'Shen Wang' captured you alive, and [Shiva] finished you off, what does that have to do with me?"

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

"Holy crap..." Kuang Zong Jian Ying broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. He turned to Jue-ge and complained, "How much did you do during a slaughter game? And it doesn't sound like any of it was good!"

"Hmph... that's not all he did," Bupa continued, and she also looked at Feng Bujue, "After I left the scenario, Shiva and Qisha were also taken care of by you, right?"

There was nothing for Feng Bujue to hide now... who was ranked second on the combat power list was basically an open secret. So he simply replied, "Yeah... they were all taken care of. After I finished, I was ranked second on some list."

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

"Yeah..." Feng Bujue said, "Too bad I'm already famous."

"Tch..." Bupa muttered, "Acting all innocent after getting the advantage." As she spoke, she put both feet on the table, not concealing her tomboyish style at all. "I knew it... everyone's been buying game currency lately; and today, someone suddenly pops up selling game currency, and it's seven figures... now I get it, it's you, the guy who doesn't have to play the preliminaries."

She 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 signed up for the competition simply for fun. He had hardly prepared for it at all. He didn't even know there was such a thing as "special guest players" until the official announcement. If Jue-ge had really wanted to compete for a place, he could have swept the level rankings in the past week and become the first player in Thriller Paradise to reach level 40, establishing an unshakeable advantage in level.

But the reality was... apart from occasionally sparring with Xiao Tan, he still played the game as usual. He didn't save up equipment, nor did he buy skills. On the contrary, he lost a lot of things on the slot machine... sorry, the [Zero-Type Magic Destroyer]. It could be said that from the beginning, Jue-ge had never considered how far he could go in the Peak Tournament.

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

Even if he lost as soon as the [Battle of the Butterflies] started, he would still get the prizes for the top 100... which were ten 24-hour double experience cards, 200,000 game currency, and a limited edition T-shirt.

For Feng Bujue, he had no desires or wants after getting these guaranteed rewards. In the next half month or so, everyone else would be busy preparing for the competition, while he... might only be busy deleting emails.

Therefore, Feng Bujue had the idea of selling game currency. It just so happened that the price of game currency was rising during this time, and he didn't need to spend money on any upgrades. So, he might as well sell some of the idle funds he had on hand (Feng Bujue currently had more than 2.4 million game currency).

"Yeah... that's it." Feng Bujue didn't want to argue with Bupa, so he replied along with her words, "So... let's stop beating around the bush and talk about the price."

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

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

"Well... then let's follow the usual market price..." Bupa was a first-line player in Jianghu after all, a well-known figure on the combat power list, and she wouldn't ruin her reputation for a few dozen yuan difference, so she didn't plan to bargain.

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

"Huh?" Bupa jumped onto the table, raised an arm and pointed. "You actually 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 Battle of the Butterflies..."

Bupa's aura of a female bandit was on full display, and Jue-ge, who saw her lose it for the first time, was genuinely startled.

Seeing this, Jian Shao quickly followed onto the table, stopping Bupa with one hand and said, "Um... calm down..." He turned to Feng Bujue and smiled awkwardly, "Brother Feng... don't be so serious with a woman..."

"Calm your head!" Bupa used a cross armlock with lightning speed, controlling Jian Shao's right hand. "See your [beep]!"

This was outside of the scenario, and both of their physical abilities were at the level of everyday life, meaning... if this were the real world, it would only take Bupa two seconds to take down Kuang Zong Jian Ying.

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

Almost at the same second Bupa made her move, a guard robot instantly appeared in the meeting room. Its mechanical eye rotated a few times, and it said, "Since the two of you are in a friend relationship, I'd like to confirm first..." The guard's intelligence was very high and wouldn't act rashly. It first said to Kuang Zong Jian Ying, "Do you need me to intervene?"

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

Bupa increased the strength in her hand and shouted, "Dare you?"

"No, no, no..." Jian Shao quickly turned his head and said to the guard, "I... I'm fine..." His eyes revealed a look of resignation.

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

"Confirm," Bupa replied decisively.

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

Bupa glared at him and snorted, "Hmm?"

"C-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 landing space, or communicate with us directly in the store." After the mechanical guard finished speaking, it teleported away like it came.

Feng Bujue, who was watching the show from the sidelines, looked sideways at Kuang Zong Jian Ying on the table. Although Jue-ge didn't say a word, his face that was holding back a laugh had already betrayed him...

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

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

"Hmph... hypocritical." As Bupa said this, she switched from a cross armlock to a headlock (also known as a guillotine, the general movement is to wrap your arm around the opponent's neck and forcefully tuck their head into your chest, which can cause the opponent to pass out).

"Hmm... I think I understand why you guys aren't resisting..." Feng Bujue's mouth twitched as he looked up at Bupa and said, "Alright, I won't disturb your Judo play any longer. I'll send you an email later with my bank card number, and then I'll send you the two million game currency..." After he finished speaking, he got up and left.

…………

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

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

On the morning of the first, Xiao Tan played a total of nine preliminary matches in sleep mode. Except for the first match, which he lost due to encountering [Qi Sha], he won all eight of the subsequent matches.

It was unknown whether Jue-ge's prediction was really reliable, or whether that set of analysis gave Xiao Tan confidence. When facing the eight opponents who came later, Xiao Tan adopted the posture of a strong person. He firmly believed that he could win, and should win.

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

Now, Xiao Tan was ushering in his tenth battle.

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

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

Xingchen (Star) was also a large-scale game studio. If "Order" and "Gods" were the top two powers in the industry, then the leader in the second tier... was Xingchen (Star).

In terms of company assets and player resources, Xingchen (Star) should be able to match two "Jianghu". It's just that... this studio has always faced the problem of personnel loss.

In the past decade, countless star players have debuted through Xingchen (Star), and this studio can be described as a veritable "star-making factory".

But... like that "arsenal" in the soccer world, Xingchen's business strategy seemed to be the model of a black shop...

Whoever became the mainstay of Xingchen (Star) had to be prepared to be sold the following year. Even if you weren't, there was no guarantee that you could sign a contract at the end of the year... Xingchen (Star) was like a supermarket. There were no non-sale items here, only high-priced and low-priced items. In short, they would let people go if the price was right.

Order and Gods were frequent customers of the star-making factory. For example, the medical female player "Ye Zhi" that Feng Bujue had encountered was once a member of Xingchen (Star).

It could be said that what Xingchen (Star) did was to discover and cultivate those players with potential, provide them with a bundled contract with decent treatment, and then earn transfer fees after their value doubled. Many players regarded this studio as a stepping stone to fame, so Xingchen (Star) never lacked fresh blood.

Therefore, you had to be extra careful when encountering people from this guild. Perhaps the opponent you were facing now would be one of the best esports players on the entire planet in the future, but of course... they might just be mediocre.

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

Yes, Bupa 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 talents that Xingchen (Star) focuses on cultivating, id: [Bu Tiange].