Chapter 419: The Transaction
Chapter 419: The Transaction
On the afternoon of May 1st, Feng Bu Jue entered the conference room established by Kuangzong Jianying.
When he walked in, Jian Shao was already seated at the meeting table waiting.
"Well, long time no see", Feng Bu Jue greeted casually.
"Hey, been busy lately", Kuangzong Jianying replied. "There's way too much work at the studio. I barely have time to log in during daylight hours." He paused. "I can only concentrate all my gaming time in sleep mode now. These days I’ve been grinding seven or eight hours every night, spending three full days in-game, and that leaves me groggy the next day..." He really seemed exhausted, eager to vent his troubles.
Feng Bu Jue didn’t say much, just listening quietly with his usual calm expression. He understood every profession had its hardships. The gaming industry was far from the outsiders' perception of "playing to make money." The pressure between casual players and hardcore players was completely different. As a novelist himself, he could deeply relate to this.
"Ah... sorry, I started ranting without thinking", Kuangzong Jianying quickly realized his misstep, chuckled awkwardly, and said, "Let’s get down to business."
"Sure", Feng Bu Jue agreed. "I imagine this kind of transaction must be pretty routine for a studio owner like you."
"You could say that", Kuangzong Jianying replied. "It’s definitely a revenue stream. Still... I never expected Feng Bu Jue himself would come to me for in-game currency trade."
Actually, Feng Bu Jue had come to sell in-game currency.
"What? Do I look like some wealthy player who’s rolling in cash?" Feng Bu Jue shot back.
"You totally do", Kuangzong Jianying said with a grin. "Of course you do. A regular casual player couldn’t get your gear and skills without spending serious money, right? Plus your leveling speed is insane. Haven’t you used a Double Experience Card?"
"Uh... well..." Feng Bu Jue struggled to explain. He couldn't exactly say, "Every time I clear the game, my fear rating is always 'Fearless,' and all this gear, skills, and experience are just my own Fearless courage..."
"Let’s just say... I’m strong", Feng Bu Jue settled on.
"Hmph... if anyone else said that, I wouldn’t believe them", Kuangzong Jianying laughed. "But coming from you, Feng Bu Jue... it actually sounds convincing."
Wanting to shift the topic, Feng Bu Jue said, "Anyway, whether I’m a paying player or not doesn’t matter right now. I’ve got a seven-digit amount of in-game currency to liquidate. Let’s cut to the chase and negotiate a price both sides can accept."
"Don’t rush", Kuangzong Jianying said. "The buyer should be here soon. Wait a few more minutes and talk directly to her."
"Huh?" Hearing this, Feng Bu Jue’s eyes widened as several thoughts flashed through his mind. "Oh... you’re not the one buying from me?"
"That’s right. Someone from our guild wants it", Kuangzong Jianying answered, adding, "Our guild has many non-studio players. We don’t require these members to integrate their resources with studio players."
"So you’re economically independent", Feng Bu Jue noted. "That’s actually pretty good. Avoids disputes."
"Exactly", Kuangzong Jianying continued. "The buyer today is one of our non-studio players. She’s already part of Jianghu’s main force. In fact, our management originally wanted to give her some funds for free, but she insisted on buying them herself. So... I’m just connecting you two. Since you wanted to liquidate in-game currency anyway, why not sell to her?"
He paused, then added, "But Feng Bu Jue, I should warn you upfront—exchanging in-game currency for real money won’t use the official exchange rate."
"Oh, I know", Feng Bu Jue replied. "At least seven discount, right?" He’d done his homework online before selling.
As previously mentioned, Dream Corporation only allowed one-way conversion from real money to in-game currency. Players could spend Rmb to buy in-game points, but couldn’t exchange in-game currency back to cash. Those wanting to sell had to find other players. But why would anyone buy from them when they could get it cheaper through official channels? There had to be a price advantage.
The official exchange rate in Terrifying Paradise was 1:1900—meaning one yuan bought 1900 in-game points. Most players selling their currency used a "seven discount" rate, 30% cheaper than the official rate. For 70 cents, you could get 1900 points.
These transactions happened frequently online through public platforms. The process: both parties agreed online, the buyer paid first with funds held by a third-party platform. Then the seller mailed the in-game currency, the buyer confirmed receipt, and the money transferred to the seller’s account.
Feng Bu Jue could’ve handled it online himself, but there was a problem—he was famous now. If someone bought from him and saw the package came from 【Mad Bu Jue】’s ID, who knows what news they’d post on the forums?
Plus, these third-party platform transactions took time and had various uncertainties. In comparison, direct in-game trading was simpler.
That’s why Feng Bu Jue approached Jian Shao, who arranged this meeting.
"Sorry, I’m la—" The conference room door opened as 【Caibu Painotafraid】 walked in. She hadn’t even finished saying "late" before her voice stopped, her expression darkening. "It’s you..."
"Hey, why the look of pure disgust?" Feng Bu Jue recognized the fearless girl, mentally rolling his eyes but maintaining his calm face. "Hello again."
Fearless walked to the conference table, purposefully sitting one seat away from Feng Bu Jue on Kuangzong Jianying’s right. Glaring sideways at Feng Bu Jue, she said, "So after screwing me twice, you actually remembered my face..."
"Huh? When did I ever screw you?" Feng Bu Jue began his usual act, feigning innocence. "On Hunter’s Island, I didn’t even know you and whoever that was... oh, 【Yijian Qingcheng】. I didn’t know how you two died. Can you blame me for that? And didn’t I solo the entire game in the end, letting everyone share experience points?"
He paused. "As for Gotham City, though it was a kill game mode, you and I barely crossed paths. Net of Gods captured you, and Shiva got you in the end. What does any of that have to do with me?"
Fearless waited two seconds before sarcastically asking, "So you’re saying... robbing banks, killing police officers, throwing money into the streets, executing Robin, blowing up buildings, and declaring every other player your accomplice—none of that affected me at all in that scenario?"
"Whoa..." Kuangzong Jianying broke into cold sweat after hearing this. Turning to Feng Bu Jue, he grumbled, "How much chaos did you actually cause in that kill game mode? And it sounds like not one thing was even remotely good!"
"Hmph... he did even worse things than that", Fearless added, staring at Feng Bu Jue. "After I left the scenario, didn’t you deal with Shiva and Seven Kill too?"
Feng Bu Jue had no reason to hide now—the second spot on the combat power leaderboard was an open secret. So he simply replied, "Yes. I took them both out. After that, I got ranked second on some leaderboard."
"Feng Bu Jue..." Kuangzong Jianying said. "If you hadn’t been chosen as an invited player, were you planning to keep all this a secret forever?"
"Exactly", Feng Bu Jue admitted. "Too bad I became famous."
"Tch..." Fearless scoffed, crossing both legs onto the table with her tomboyish attitude fully on display. "I knew it... these days everyone’s buying in-game currency. Now suddenly someone’s selling, and it’s a seven-digit amount... Now I get it. You’re the guy who didn’t have to do the preliminaries."
She got that part right. One major reason Feng Bu Jue was selling in-game currency was precisely because he didn’t need to participate in the preliminary rounds.
Feng Bu Jue had signed up for the tournament purely for fun and hadn’t invested much effort in preparation. He hadn’t even heard about the concept of “Invited Players” before the official announcement. If he truly wanted to compete for a top rank, he could have easily dominated the Level Leaderboard in the past week—becoming the first player in Terrifying Paradise to reach level forty and securing an unshakable advantage in leveling up first.
But reality painted a different picture… Besides occasionally serving as a sparring partner for Xiao Tan, Feng Bu Jue spent most of his time playing casually. He hadn’t rushed to farm equipment or purchase skills. Instead, he’d squandered a significant portion of his resources on the slot machine—no, the [Zero Magic Crusher]. It was safe to say Feng Bu Jue had never seriously considered advancing far in the Peak Conquest Tournament.
So, how would someone with this mindset react upon learning they’d qualified directly for the Top 100?
Even if Feng Bu Jue lost his first match in the [Butterfly Arena], he’d still receive the Top 100 prize: ten Double Experience Cards valid for twenty-four hours, two hundred thousand game currency, and a Limited Edition T-Shirt. For Feng Bu Jue, these guarantees were already enough to satisfy his desires. While others spent the next half-month frantically preparing, Feng Bu Jue… would probably only be busy deleting emails.
Thus, Feng Bu Jue decided to sell off some game currency. Coincidentally, the market price was rising, and he had no need to spend money on upgrades. With over 2.4 million game currency in his possession, selling off two million seemed reasonable.
“Yeah… that’s the plan,” Feng Bu Jue said, choosing to avoid conflict with Fearless. “Let’s skip the small talk and discuss the price.”
“Sure. How much are you selling?” Fearless asked.
“Two million.” Feng Bu Jue named a round figure.
“Let’s go at the standard rate…” Fearless, a top-tier player in Jianghu and a prominent name on the Combat Power Leaderboard, wouldn’t stoop to haggling over a few dozen currency points. “I’ll give you seven hundred thousand.”
“Keep it at seven hundred,” Feng Bu Jue replied. “The extra hundred thousand is compensation for the two times I scammed you earlier.”
“Huh?” Fearless leapt onto the table, arm raised. “So you’re actually admitting it? What compensation? I’ll take back my losses myself! I’ll give you eight hundred! No change needed! Mark my words—you’d better stay ready. Once I enter the Butterfly Arena…”
Fearless’s fiery demeanor as a female bandit leader was on full display. Feng Bu Jue, witnessing her fury for the first time, was genuinely taken aback.
Jian Shao quickly stepped forward, blocking Fearless with one arm. “Calm down…” He turned to Feng Bu Jue with an awkward smile. “Feng Bu Jue, don’t take offense at a woman’s temper…”
“Calm this!” Fearless swiftly countered with a cross armbar, locking Jian Shao’s right arm. “Kiss my ass!”
This occurred outside the game scenario, where their physical abilities were at ordinary human levels. In the real world, Fearless could pin Kuangzong Jianying in two seconds flat.
“Argh! I’m doomed, doomed, doomed…” Jian Shao thrashed on the conference table but couldn’t break free.
Almost instantly, a security robot materialized in the conference room. Its mechanical eye rotated as it spoke. “Since you two are mutual friends, I’d like confirmation…” The robot’s AI was sophisticated, avoiding unnecessary intervention. It turned to Kuangzong Jianying first. “Do you require my intervention?”
“Uh…” Jian Shao hesitated for a second.
Fearless tightened her grip. “Dare you?”
“No, no, no!” Jian Shao hastily told the robot. “I’m… fine…” His eyes brimmed with resolute despair.
“May I confirm,” the robot continued, “whether future incidents of this nature should be classified as no-intervention scenarios? This is the fifth occurrence. If both parties confirm, we’ll treat similar cases as ignored moving forward.”
“Confirmed.” Fearless replied decisively.
“Wait…” Jian Shao interjected.
Fearless glared, exhaling sharply through her nose.
“…Confirm.” Kuangzong Jianying ultimately surrendered.
“Understood. If you wish to amend this setting in the future, adjustments can be made via the touchscreen in the Login Space or by contacting us directly at the mall.” With that, the mechanical guard vanished as abruptly as it had appeared.
Feng Bu Jue, observing the spectacle from the sidelines, cast a sidelong glance at the subdued Kuangzong Jianying. He hadn’t uttered a word, but his stifled grin betrayed him.
“Feng Bu Jue, you understand what it means to endure as a man, right? Aah!” Jian Shao attempted to save face but yelped as the armbar intensified.
“You folks’ guild atmosphere truly astounds me…” Feng Bu Jue remarked. “As both a studio boss and a star player, being able to set aside pretenses and mingle freely with non-Class Players… truly admirable.”
“Hmph… hypocrite.” Fearless retorted, switching her hold to a decapitation choke, pressing Jian Shao’s head firmly into her chest.
“I think I get why you’re not resisting…” Feng Bu Jue’s lips twitched as he addressed Fearless. “Well then, I won’t interrupt your judo playtime. I’ll email you shortly to confirm the bank account details and transfer the two million game currency…” With that, he stood and departed.
……
Meanwhile, in another scenario, Xiao Tan was entering his tenth [Bug Arena] match.
His record so far: nine matches, eight wins, one loss.
At precisely 1 a.m., Xiao Tan had competed in nine preliminary rounds while in sleep mode. After losing the first match to [Seven Kill], he’d won the subsequent eight. Whether Feng Bu Jue’s analysis was sound or simply instilled confidence in Xiao Tan, the result was undeniable. Facing those eight opponents, Xiao Tan carried himself as an unshakable champion, convinced he would—and should—prevail.
With this mindset and momentum, Xiao Tan performed steadily, securing eight consecutive wins. His opponents felt like medical case studies—flawless execution guaranteed resolution.
Now, standing at the tenth match, his opponent was a Class Player.
Statistically, this wasn’t surprising, but seeing the Stars emblem did stir pressure in most players.
Stars was a formidable gaming studio. If Order and The Gods were the industry’s two titans, Stars stood as the vanguard of the second tier.
In terms of assets and player resources, Stars could rival two Jianghus. However, the studio struggled with player retention. Over the past decade, countless star players had debuted under Stars, earning it the reputation of a “star factory.”
Yet, like a football club known for selling players, Stars operated with a business model akin to a black market…
Any player rising to stardom faced the risk of being sold the following year. Even fringe players couldn’t guarantee contract renewals. Stars functioned like a supermarket—no “non-sale items,” only premium and budget options. If the price was right, anyone was transferable. Many players treated Stars as a stepping stone to fame, ensuring a steady influx of fresh talent.
Thus, facing this guild’s players required caution. Today’s opponent might become a planetary esports legend—or remain mediocre.
Xiao Tan’s opponent today was no coincidence… He faced [Bu Tian Ge], the younger brother of [caibupainenotafraid].
Yes, Fearless had a younger brother in real life. At sixteen, he was already a Class Player, one of Stars’ rising stars-in-training. His ID: [Bu Tian Ge].
(End of Chapter)
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