"Noticed it quite early..."

In Xuanming Sky.

Above the valley for beginners.

Zhong Shenxiu lay in the thick white clouds, casually picking up a wine pot, and poured a mouthful of clear wine into his mouth.

"The secret of experience points... heh heh..."

The so-called 'experience points' are actually 'Heavenly Show Points' that have been diluted!

The attribute templates on the players are projections of the Light of Order, of course with similar effects to his previous attribute bars.

It's just that they are subsystems, and he has the highest authority over them.

Still, earning some Heavenly Show Points by showing off isn't much of a problem.

'Overall, issuing main quests is a loss, as the experience points come from me, and if there's no income, then I'm compensating the players with Heavenly Show Points...'

'But letting the players explore and earn Heavenly Show Points themselves, I can even take a commission behind the scenes, which isn't bad...'

'However, for me now, the consumption of these Heavenly Show Points is just a drop in the ocean...'

Zhong Shenxiu's gaze shifted, landing on the so-called 'logger' named 'Ada'.

Carrying a load of firewood, this fellow trod along with vigorous steps, clearly accustomed to mountain paths.

When encountering some danger, he could easily get by with the axe in his hand.

Despite this, it still took an entire day's work, and only when the sky was nearly completely dark did he barely reach a small village.

"Oh, head of the household, you're finally back. There's more firewood than usual..."

Outside a thatched hut enclosed by a bamboo fence, a middle-aged woman holding a winnowing basket feeding chickens called out in surprise upon seeing the logger's arrival.

"Yes!"

The logger known as 'Ada' to the players was overjoyed as he set down the firewood, "Tomorrow I'll take these to the city to sell for a good price, and for the New Year, I'll get you and Tang'er a few feet of fabric to make some clothes..."

"Are those mountain people really so easy to deceive?"

The peasant woman asked after a pause.

"Shh..."

Ada looked around, making sure no one else was nearby, before he let out a breath of relief, "Don't let others know about it, I find those folks very strange... each one with shaved heads and odd clothes, not like decent people..."

In this era, many peasants evaded taxes by escaping into the mountains, becoming the so-called 'mountain people'.

Although they escaped taxes and corvée, their lives were quite harsh, with infertile land that could barely sustain many people, and they often suffered threats from fierce beasts and venomous snakes.

They even had to purchase necessities like salt, oil, and medicinal herbs from the outside world!

Ada obviously mistook that group of people as convicts serve their sentences, just that they all seemed tall and robust with rosy lips and white teeth, apparently well-fed before, perhaps the families of officials or nobles who had committed crimes and fled.

However, he did not ponder too much about it.

What he contemplated was exploiting the convenience of being a purchasing agent, to harshly exploit the price difference several times and make a good profit.

Not to mention, dozens of people chopping wood together is faster than one person alone!

Although the handiwork of those people was rather rough, it was better than nothing!

Players like Shaobaitou did not realize that they had been fleeced by a native.

Of course, even if they knew, they probably wouldn't care, as they might treat it as an NPC issuing a quest.

Moreover, the beautiful trade route Ada had imagined was also facing potential immense risks.

For instance, once players started producing their own refined salt, his 'grand plan' would instantly lose a pillar, considering the disparity in productivity and technological gap, modern world technology would likely trounce that of the ancient world...

...

Luo City.

Inside the Special Economic Crime Investigation Bureau, Xie Biqi stared furiously at a rejected application on her desk, then suddenly smashed her fist onto the tabletop.

After hitting a dead end in the investigation of the mysterious hacker known as "Millennium Bug."

This senior inspector immediately changed her approach; she stopped focusing on the banking system, hoping that the culprit would strike again, and instead turned her attention to some leading hackers, preparing to check each one by one.

She was full of energy, yet she exhausted her subordinates to no end.

After all, the hackers had no real-world identities, and although some were not famous, they were true masters, akin to finding a needle in the haystack.

However, the hacking skills of "Millennium Bug," as assessed by experts, were beyond imagination, a master among masters!

The hallmark of this hacker was leaving no trace online, a technology that seemed to surpass the times, or what you might call alien black tech.

But Xie Biqi was notoriously stubborn and tirelessly pursued the investigation.

Then, she finally discovered a clue!

This clue wasn't found by her, but came from a close friend who mentioned a particularly realistic otherworld game.

Moreover, the game's initial promotion was anything but ordinary, hacking into several small gaming forums for free resources.

What's more crucial is that her friend, a forum admin and a decent hacker in Da Xia, noticed something was wrong with the posts yet couldn't delete them. Driven by a competitive spirit, she engaged in a hacking battle with the adversary, only to be thoroughly outclassed, nearly having her IP address exposed online and being defeated without any fight left in her.

Her friend mentioned it as a joke, but while the speaker didn't intend much, the listener took it seriously!

Xie Biqi quickly sensed a connection between that mysterious hacker and "Millennium Bug."

Both were similarly powerful, mysterious, left no traces, and wielded black tech-like skills.

She immediately took an interest and wanted to investigate that game company.

But after submitting her report, she was left dumbfounded.

Firstly, the company was registered overseas with foreign investment, making it difficult to take action... This was the work of Zhong Shenxiu, who had patched up their system, and incidentally included a layer of memetic effect to lower scrutiny.

As a result, Xie Biqi's superiors rejected her investigation application citing insufficient evidence.

The reason was, what did the "Opulent System" and the mysterious hacker have to do with a small gaming company?

Especially since it was a foreign enterprise, without any concrete evidence or leads, all they had was a woman's intuition...

Even if they followed the normal procedure, it would be tough to manage!

"Ah! I just know there's something wrong with that company!"

Having vented her frustration in the office, Xie Biqi gritted her teeth and declared, "If you won't let me investigate, I'll do it myself!"

She took out her phone and quickly dialed a number: "Hello, Chenxi? It's Biqi... Do you have any updates on the matter we discussed last time?"

"Oh, Biqi... Since when have you taken such a liking to gaming?"

On the other end of the line, Lin Chenxi, with a scholarly air and wearing glasses, chuckled, "I've asked around for you, and indeed there's a forum member who's got a VR headset that hasn't been registered yet, and is looking to sell it... The price, well, it's ten thousand yuan..."

This woman was none other than the one Zhong Shenxiu had encountered in Grotto Heaven during his first visit, the one who had been with Luo Xiaoyi.

"He might as well be robbing people!" Xie Biqi exclaimed impulsively.

"Hey... don't put it like that, a sale is all about willing buyer, willing seller. Besides, this game, 'Otherworld Adventures,' is really fun. Even with my high myopia, I don't need glasses when I'm in there, it's definitely worth every penny..."

Lin Chenxi wasn't originally fond of gaming, but after being introduced to it by Luo Xiaoyi, she too had become an enthusiastic gamer.

'My living expenses for two months...'

Xie Biqi lamented inwardly, then resolved herself and said through gritted teeth, "Fine... give me the time and place, I'll handle the negotiation myself!"

Without being able to tap into department funds, she had no choice but to pay out of her own pocket.

She was determined to play to her strengths and drive a hard bargain!

It was just a small game's equipment, after all; it couldn't be sold so shamelessly!

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