171 Chapter 171 - A Rare Commodity Presides Within (2/2)
In the blink of an eye, the two guilds' respective rendezvous points had already amassed thirty-seven different names for the Mage. The contacts in charge were no fools either and also realized that things had not gone according to plan upon seeing the situation at hand.
These contacts also did not know if the information that they were getting held some truth, so they were truly stumped on whether to accept it or not.
Some of those who had come to make a quick buck somewhat felt guilty upon seeing the situation and opted to just leave. The remaining players were those who had placed money over their morality and insisted that the information that they had provided was factual, demanding to receive the expected reward. They even tried to discredit their fellow swindlers by calling one another as liars. This was precisely how Carouse and Cloud Herder ended up with thirty-seven different IGNs.
Seeing that the matter was about to escalate into a PvP when these swindlers did not get their reward, Brave Surge and Foe-herder each brought their men to their respective rendezvous points.
The two were wringing their hands regarding their plight when they saw the listed names that their contacts had collected. Society was truly in a decline. This situation was a visible representation of the death of morality! The general etiquette that the people practiced in-game was no longer like before. Brave Surge attempted to add these IGNs, yet none of them were online. There was even someone called 'Butterfly Blue' that the system had stated did not exist in-game.
”Who gave me this name?!” Brave Surge asked genially.
Someone's eyes flashed, as he hurriedly bounded over, ”Me! Me!”
”You g*dd*mn idiot! You don't even know how to swindle properly, providing a name that does not exist in the game at all! I'll show you what 'does not exist' mean!” Brave Surge casted a series of spells in his anger and bombarded the man to his death right there and then. He then slammed the butt of his magic staff on the ground as he shook the list of names in his other hand: ”Who else claims that the IGN he or she has given is real?”
No one dared to say a word. The swindlers stuck their tongues out as if this was all a prank and quickly made their escape.
”Looks like this method isn't working,” Brave Surge sighed as he furrowed his brows.
”I think we need them to provide us some concrete evidence,” someone suggested.
Brave Surge nodded his head. Evidently, those who had just left were swindlers. Had he the heart, he would give them all a good tongue lashing for their lack of morals.
Not all the players had scheduled to meet up this time. When that bunch of swindlers was chased off, others tried to muddle their way through this. Learning that they were swindlers as well, Brave Surge only awarded them his brutal threats.
Furthermore, the posters' content was revised, such that players could not attempt to bluff their way through. In half an hour's time, the rendezvous point that Brave Surge had set became crisp and quiet.
”How are things on your end?” Brave Surge messaged Foe-herder.
”I'm super busy!” Foe-herder hurriedly replied.
”Ah? You've received news?” Brave Surge asked, stunned.
”I'm erasing my points! I currently have 28 PK points!” Foe-herder choked back his sob, adding, ”I thought the patrolling soldiers would arrest me just now!”
Brave Surge could not stifle his laughter. It seemed that Foe-herder had a shorter fuse than him, killing all those who had attempted to bluff their way to get the reward.
Could it be that no one in Yunduan City knows this person? Brave Surge thought to himself, That's just not possible. Those who know him must be offline right now… Or the ones online are all good friends of his… Sigh!
Brave Surge immediately realized that their approach was a double-edged sword. Because they did not want other guilds to get a wind of such a powerful Mage, they refrained from mentioning the Mage's fighting prowess and only identified him as the sole male player of Amethyst Rebirth. Anyone who saw the posters would immediately assume that a bunch of players was looking for the Mage to get revenge. In such a scenario, any friend of the Mage would not betray him. Who would even think that a large guild was looking to recruit him?
Brave Surge felt frustrated. He had originally thought that this method was rather comprehensive, yet it was actually filled with pros and cons. In the end, there were hardly any pros in this method, while all the cons were blatantly revealed.
With the contact person not having anything to do for over half an hour and the lateness of the hour in-game, he continued to nod off like a chick pecking on rice and could not hold himself back from yawning. He was soon sprawled on the table, fast asleep. Even Brave Surge felt lethargic as well. He had done nothing of value this whole night and wasted his time on a fruitless approach. Perhaps, this method would be best employed at daytime when more people were online.
Someone slipped into the room for their rendezvous point just as he was about to call it a night. Brave Surge turned his head and felt surprised, ”It's you.” It was the beautiful lady at the tavern.
The beauty still had a mischievous grin on her face as she regarded Brave Surge, ”How's the result of your posters?”
Brave Surge stayed silent. This woman at least had the confidence to mention that the Mage they were looking for was at level 39, which made her more trustworthy than those players who had come to him today. It was quite possible that she indeed knew who the Mage was.
However, Brave Surge was adamant on admitting that his poster plan had failed, knowing that this woman would seize the opportunity to raise the price once more.
Am I willing to spend 1000 gold coins or not?! Brave Surge asked this question to himself. The positive thing here was that Foe-herder was not present. Although the two now had a rather cordial relationship, Brave Surge would still rather find the Mage while Foe-Herder failed on his search for him. It was a grand opportunity to have this woman before him and not Foe-herder's!
Brave Surge was quite tempted to spend 1000 gold coins for this exclusive information, but after tonight's experience, it could be said that his trust for everyone in-game was at the lowest.
Even if this woman accepted his 1000 gold coins and promised to not leak the information to Foe-herder, how would he know that she kept her word? This lady who was trying to earn a fortune from her information was very likely to look for Foe-herder once she had earned a tidy profit from him. For this greedy woman, it was not past her to do something so unscrupulous.
”Big Boss Surge, what are you deeply thinking about?” The beauty's gaze on Brave Surge was unreadable.
”Darling, your price is just too high,” Brave Surge admitted.
”Is that so?” The beauty laughed daintily, ”I thought that after all that you have experienced, you two would understand the value of the information I have on me.”
”So you've already guessed the outcome,” Brave Surge's expression changed. This woman is pretty farsighted if she has already foreseen this result that neither Foe-herder nor I thought of while executing this plan!
The beauty remained smiling.
”So what do you want to do?” Brave Surge asked.
”Continue selling the information I have on me, of course!” the beauty replied frankly.
”All we want to know is a name, darling. Your price is far too high,” Brave Surge did not back down.
The beauty slowly shook her head, ”Looks like you don't do business a lot. You've at least heard of the story behind 'A rare commodity presides within', right? Although some things appear to be superficial at the start, there will come a time when they rise in value. The only question is that are you able to seize this opportunity in time?”
Brave Surge mirthlessly laughed, ”And you think that his IGN is a rare commodity?”
”You've wasted two days and yet you could not even learn his name; would you not call it a rare commodity as well?”
”I've only busied myself with this matter in this one night. There are fewer people online at night. I'm certain that I will hear something this morning,” Brave Surge justified.
The beauty smiled, ”I think I have a better understanding of his circumstance, so I can safely assure you that the situation in the day will be just the same as tonight. Because no one will even know who you're talking about.”
Brave Surge froze before he suddenly laughed, ”The Amethyst Rebirth's ladies are not online at night. Why would I be afraid to wait and see what happens at daytime? Do you mean to tell me that even the Amethyst Rebirth's ladies don't know him?”
”They do know him.” The beauty chuckled slightly, ”Do you think that I can't tell them to not reveal his identity because someone is trying to poach him? And that the men and women who wish to get to know them will all have ill-intentions….”
”You!” Brave Surge could not believe that their plan was easily uncovered by this woman, ”Just how long have you got your eyes on us?”
”Oh… Not very long. It's only after people kept on asking me if I am a member of Amethyst Rebirth and knowing that the matter pertains to a certain male player in that guild,” the beauty admitted, adding, ”From that moment onward, I realized that I know something of great value. When it comes to such things, it's important to properly manage it. Don't worry, besides me, I guarantee that you won't find another person who will tell you information about him.”
”Are you trying to dupe me? Hmph! I'll have you know that I am not afraid to test whether you are the only one who has that piece of information!” Brave Surge challenged.
”He he! Try it if you wish, but let me tell you; if you have yet to find out anything by the end of the PvP tournament the next night, the price for this information will increase. You should be aware that most guilds that are still in the running are no longer small guilds. They will most likely have the same intentions as you do and will love to poach him away to their guilds. Hmm… Wonder which guild is Amethyst Rebirth matched up with this time? I haven't checked it out yet! He he… No matter. Given the strength he possesses, he is bound to attract attention no matter the match's outcome. I do hope that Amethyst Rebirth wins, though. The more rounds he gets through, the more attention he will get. Can you even imagine how much more I could earn once all the big guilds wish to know about his name?” When the beauty finished her soliloquy, she gave Brave Surge a wink that was full of expectation.
Without waiting for Brave Surge to say another word, she had already waved her sleeves gracefully and turned away. Walking a few steps, she turned back and smiled, ”I'll take my leave first. You better think carefully, Big Boss Surge. The price I have set will still be 1000 gold coins before the upcoming match. You can send me a private message later; my name is Xi Xiaotian.”
Xi Xiaotian then drifted off, leaving Brave Surge and the other members with him rooted to the spot.
One piece of information for 1000 gold coins… To buy or not to buy, that was the question!