Thus, while riding the Wind Spirit Hoverboard through the sky, Bai Qiu opened the forum and contacted the player responsible for publishing the intelligence weekly.
He asked: “Do you accept information about fruits?”
In another region, a man wearing glasses sat behind a desk.
When he saw the name [Bai Qiu] appear in his private messages, he couldn’t help but shake his head.
Lately, who knew how many “Bai Qius” had appeared?
Since nicknames could be changed freely, plenty of people had been using Bai Qiu’s name to scam and deceive others.
The real Bai Qiu was celebrated as a great hero in reality.
But on the forums, “Bai Qiu” was practically a rat everyone wanted to beat.
Still, out of professional ethics, he didn’t ignore the message and replied:
“We do. We accept information on fruits and medicinal herbs above D+ quality, whether they’re found in dungeons or the open world.”
“However, if the item has already been recorded in our database, there won’t be any reward.”
The bespectacled man secretly thought to himself:
Let’s see what kind of trick you’re trying to pull. If you’re messing with me, I’ll roast you alive.
Thanks to past experiences, many of the rules established by the intelligence weekly were, in one way or another, related to people pretending to be “Bai Qiu.”
The real Bai Qiu knew nothing about this.
He simply held up a Fragrance-Gathering Fruit, took a photo using the system, then captured a screenshot of the fruit’s description and sent both images to the intelligence weekly’s registration office.
He wasn’t worried that they would pocket his reward.
A popular intelligence organization couldn’t survive long if it relied on fraud and deception.
When the man with glasses saw the two system screenshots, he froze.
After examining them carefully, he couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
“Could this actually be the real one?!”
Shock filled his face.
At present, system images and screenshots were the biggest obstacle for scammers.
The system supported video editing and frame manipulation, but it still lacked image-editing functions.
As a result, screenshots like these couldn’t be forged.
Anyone trying to scam others generally had to find ways around this limitation.
Not only was the Fragrance-Gathering Fruit itself a massive revelation, but even the small portion of the image visible in the corner was enough to leave people astonished.
The sender was actually flying through the sky.
Were there already humans capable of flight?
The man’s thoughts remained unsettled for a long time.
Finally regaining his composure, he quickly replied:
“I need to check our database. Please wait a moment.”
The instant he sent the message, he contacted his boss—the original founder of the intelligence weekly.
After forwarding Bai Qiu’s two screenshots and adding the note “Possibly the real Bai Qiu,” he opened the database and entered the words:
Fragrance-Gathering Fruit.
The search result displayed a single word:
[None]
This indicated that no information regarding the Fragrance-Gathering Fruit had been recorded so far.
After adding the fruit’s information to the database, he transferred the appropriate reward to Bai Qiu.
30,000 Sanctum Coins.
The intelligence weekly calculated rewards based on value.
- D+ information: 100 Sanctum Coins
- D++ information: 300 Sanctum Coins
- C- information: 1,000 Sanctum Coins
- C information: 3,000 Sanctum Coins
And so on.
The rewards for C+ and C++ information were 10,000 and 30,000 Sanctum Coins, respectively.
The reason the intelligence weekly had become so popular was simple:
The rewards for submitted intelligence were extremely generous, attracting countless contributors.
After all, once people had already earned so many Sanctum Coins through the organization, buying a weekly issue for just 100 Sanctum Coins didn’t seem unreasonable.
Each issue listed the nickname of the intelligence provider, though contributors could choose to remain anonymous if they wished.
The weekly compiled information gathered from all directions, including:
- Monster Compendiums
- Material Compendiums
- Resource Compendiums
It had become the premier intelligence hub, updated in real time every week.
Its popularity was immense.
Most players bought a copy and treated it like a novel.
Although 100 Sanctum Coins didn’t seem expensive, the profits added up through volume.
Once operations stabilized, they could raise prices further.
For now, however, the priority was building a strong reputation.
Who knew?
The forum itself might expand even further in the future.
…………..
Qin Baoguo and his team had just finished killing a Hydra Serpent, finally allowing themselves to relax.
He let out a sigh and muttered to himself,
“Good thing we found it in time. I never expected this beast to reach Level 40 in just ten days—and even grow another head!”
“Yeah. Fortunately, the Transcendent Trait it obtained was only an incomplete version. Otherwise, we’d have been in serious trouble this time.”
“Mm. We’ve used up all our items too,” the other members of the team chimed in.
These people weren’t Qin Baoguo’s subordinates.
Rather, they were top-tier players from other safe zones.
When Qin Baoguo proposed forming a team to kill the same Hydra Serpent that had breached a safe zone during the previous monster tide, elite players from all over came on their own initiative.
In total, the strongest players from twenty-one safe zones had gathered here.
During the previous monster tide, among the fifty regions they belonged to, only two regions had fallen.
While they lacked an overwhelmingly powerful outlier like Bai Qiu, there were still quite a few players comparable to Li Qingshan and Zhang Shiyao—individuals capable of carrying the equivalent of two or three regions’ worth of combat strength.
In the end, only two regions had been overrun because they lacked sufficient manpower.
As a whole, their group of regions was considered one of the strongest among Regions 2200–2250.
Qin Baoguo had also been among the first to establish an intelligence weekly, gathering information from the various safe zones.
His business model was simple.
In the early stages, he spent money purchasing intelligence for himself.
After reviewing it, he recruited lifestyle-oriented players skilled at organizing information and sold the compiled intelligence for Sanctum Coins.
That way, he gained access to intelligence without losing money.
If the brand became popular enough, it could even turn a profit.
It was the best of both worlds.
After confirming with the other twenty players that the area was secure, Qin Baoguo finally noticed that he had received a private message.
Opening it, he froze.
“The real Bai Qiu?”
He couldn’t help but blurt it out, drawing everyone’s attention.
Someone in the team laughed and teased him.
“Haha, Brother Baoguo, don’t tell me you’ve been fooled again. There are plenty of scammers using the name [Bai Qiu] these days.”
Qin Baoguo replied impatiently, “I already sent the screenshots to the group chat. Look at them yourselves and stop talking.”
He carefully examined the two images.
Then he searched the forum for information regarding Bai Qiu’s appearance and equipment.
It didn’t take long for him to reach a conclusion.
The person providing this intelligence was the genuine Bai Qiu.
The realization instantly filled him with excitement.
Hurriedly, he said, “I’ve got something important to deal with. I’m heading back first. You guys do whatever you need to do.”
“Huh? We’re not splitting the loot?” someone asked in confusion.
They couldn’t understand why Qin Baoguo had become so excited.
“You guys divide it up and send me my share afterward! See you!”
Without stopping, Qin Baoguo sprinted away into the distance.
After all, what valuable treasures could possibly remain when more than twenty people were splitting the loot from a two-headed Hydra Serpent?
Compared to that, Bai Qiu was far more important.
Among five hundred regions, there wasn’t a single person who could compare to him.
The intelligence he provided carried far more weight than that of ordinary players.
Who knew?
Perhaps this opportunity would allow Qin Baoguo to ride the rising tide and soar to even greater heights.
— The end of the Chapter–
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