Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Advertising Space for Rent
Before entering the Safe and Sound Dungeon, Wu Chang spent all his Rotten Silver Coins, planning to use them as startup funds to make a big profit.
As it turned out, he did make a profit.
A B-Level growth item, two C-Level powerful auxiliary items, and a set of aggressive cultivation techniques.
If other players were to rate this, it’s not just a profit; it’s hitting the jackpot.
Ordinary players might not even get such high returns even if they clear an A-Level dungeon.
But, there’s no Rotten Silver Coins.
For clearing the Safe and Sound Dungeon, he sacrificed a set of Earth Lizard Hide Armor and three bottles of Healing Type I, totaling 9000 Rotten Silver Coins.
Yet the returns were only 6000.
The items obtained were indeed very good and powerful, precisely why Wu Chang couldn’t convert them into Rotten Silver Coins.
But the real dilemma is, after upgrading the Thunder Technique Fragment to E, he only has 5000 Rotten Silver Coins left, not even enough to repurchase a set of Earth Lizard Hide Armor.
For those newcomers who have only cleared two dungeons, 5000 Rotten Silver Coins is practically astronomical.
But for Wu Chang, this amount of Rotten Silver Coins is nowhere near enough; even if you add a zero, he could easily spend it all.
Purchasing more substantial Abyssal Game strategies, upgrading cultivation techniques, expanding inventory space—all require large amounts of Rotten Coins.
Putting those distant needs aside, let’s talk about now; before the next dungeon entry, he’s got to figure out how to procure new armor and potions.
Wu Chang sighed, his wide-open eyes filled with two words.
Make money!
Just relying on dungeon rewards is no longer enough to satisfy his growing material needs; he must turn to the public area to see if there’s a way to make money.
As soon as he entered the public area, the deafening cries of vendors came from all directions.
Like other games, being a Life System player is the most solid and reliable source of extra income.
Players with special skills like forging, sewing, and alchemy can collect raw materials, process them into finished products, and sell them to other players for profit.
Creating a set of Earth Lizard Hide Armor only costs 5000 Rotten Silver Coins in materials and 30 days of crafting time, yielding a profit of 1000 Rotten Silver Coins.
But solid and reliable means low efficiency and slow speed.
Not to mention that acquiring special skills takes a lot of effort; even if he completes a set of Earth Lizard Hide Armor, earning 1000 Rotten Silver Coins in 30 days is still not enough.
He needs a way to get rich quick!
There are many ways to get rich quick, but few suitable for him.
The reward board in the public area, gathering high-difficulty dungeon intel, and the entertainment area’s luck-based lotteries and Crimson Card Games are all ways to get rich overnight.
But he has only been through two dungeons and completed Breakthroughs in both.
Breakthrough means that the True Dungeon and its derived Projection Dungeon will completely disappear, and the information in the dungeon will lose its value.
As for the luck-based lotteries and Crimson Card Games, if the Dice of the Goddess of Fortune could be used in the Crimson Courtyard, he might give it a try.
Unfortunately, it can’t.
He wandered the public area all morning, still unable to find a suitable way to make money.
Not wanting the trip to be in vain, Wu Chang entered the public area bar, hoping to hear some interesting intel in the boasting of surrounding players.
The public area bar is like a microcosm of all functions in the public area.
It features a spacious bar hall for ordinary players to chat and exchange information; the upper floors have luxurious private rooms for high-level players to conduct business negotiations.
Any hot spot in the Abyssal Game, once made public, can definitely be heard in the public area bar within half an hour.
The hottest topic at the moment is undoubtedly the speedrun record of the C-Level dungeon being broken.
Eighty percent of the players in the bar are discussing this record.
Not only are ordinary players interested, but various forces are also very concerned about it.
For instance, the television wall in the bar is broadcasting "Each Issue’s Hotspot", with this episode’s live broadcast featuring the C-Level dungeon speedrun record on its cover.
This is an information-summary program, initially founded by several celebrity players, summarizing the latest developments in the Desolate Realm and sharing some juicy but harmless or expired confidential information.
The show received a warm response, and through advertising and merchandise sales, the solo players who created the program established a company called United Information, ranking at the forefront of the third echelon of the various forces.
Later, as the show became too popular, the Seven Major Organizations of Blue Star gradually acquired shares, and the show has gradually become semi-official.
Besides entertainment and gossip, it also serves as a window for major organizations to express their needs to independent players.
After all, not every player checks the reward list, but very few players don’t watch "Each Issue’s Hotspot".
Today’s program hosts are heavyweights, namely Divine Tongue, ranked eighth among the most popular players, and Killing Intent Fluctuation, ranked fifteenth.
Divine Tongue is dressed in a crisp white chef’s outfit, sporting a meticulously trimmed handlebar mustache. Without saying a word, just standing there, he’s at least at an executive chef level.
Killing Intent Fluctuation, in contrast, wears a sleeveless fighting outfit, with greasy hair and a scruffy beard, embodying a sense of decay.
In this get-up, cover him with a small quilt under a bridge, and by the next day, you’d sure find a few buns or two cups of instant noodles nearby.
As internet celebrities, they are top-tier, and as players, they are among the most formidable in the Desolate Realm, both having reached the level 30 cap.
Divine Tongue took out two bottles of beer, showing off the logo on them, and said:
"Soul-Burning Beer, ignite the soul, awaken your energy. One bottle can increase your temporary Willpower Limit by 5 points and Endurance by 5 points, making it the perfect choice for conquering high-difficulty dungeons. Now available on Little Green Car, buy it as soon as possible."
After speaking, he gulped down a can, accompanied by a satisfied moan, and his chef’s outfit burst into pieces, revealing a body of bulging muscles.
After the routine product promotion and outfit explosion, the two began today’s program.
They first reviewed several dungeons with soaring danger values recently, reminding players to be extra cautious in such situations.
Apart from changing strategies and focusing on self-preservation, they also advised players to gather more intelligence and annotate what the organizations are buying at a high price within the dungeons.
After the dungeon review, they moved on to celebrity player gossip, as well as reviews of dungeons past their confidentiality expiration.
Of course, for dungeon reviews, they only mentioned the start, stopping when they got to the real juicy parts.
A link appeared at the bottom of the screen, which, when copied, would redirect to their online course titled "Desperate Turnarounds in High-Difficulty Dungeons – I’m Just a Few Details Away from a God-level Breaker."
The course consists of three lessons, with a registration fee of 500 Rotten Silver Coins, and in no time, seven to eight hundred copies had been sold.
Sales of three to four hundred thousand came effortlessly.
Witnessing this efficiency left Wu Chang in awe, proving that success theories indeed rake in cash everywhere.
The show quickly reached its end.
Divine Tongue: "Next up, it’s time for what everyone has been eagerly anticipating, the hottest topic lately. Killing Intent, did you see last night’s speedrun leaderboard update?"
"I didn’t see it, but at least thirty old friends sent me the leaderboard as soon as it was updated." Killing Intent Fluctuation shrugged, saying somewhat helplessly.
Divine Tongue sighed, "Completing a C-Level dungeon in 45 minutes, also refreshing the record for the lowest level to clear a C-Level dungeon, I’m seriously wondering if that guy is playing on a private server."
"What were we doing at level 8, 9?"
Killing Intent Fluctuation thought for a moment and said with a sigh, "I remember back then I entered a desert-themed dungeon and got lost in the desert for five full days. In 45 minutes, I should still be fretting over completing the main quest."
Divine Tongue said, "Pretty much the same for me; during that period, I was still working through D-Level dungeons, and every time I entered, I was thinking about how to survive longer. But for some, when they enter a dungeon, it’s the BOSS that has to think about how to survive longer."
The two clinked their glasses, expressing their amazement at the record.
In the public bar area in front of the screen, almost all players drank a sip, then let out a long sigh.
Comparing oneself leads to despair, comparing goods leads to discarding.
It’s like playing the same game; some are still struggling in the early stages, while others have already completed a playthrough and are considering how to speedrun.
If it were truly just a game, that’d be fine; you have your techniques and awareness, I have my Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, each doing their own thing, everyone has a bright future.
But they happen to be playing an online game, all on the same Abyssal Game server, and that’s truly disheartening.
The only comfort is that even the big shots on the screen are humbled, so these little guys don’t need to worry about competing against that player.
Approaching the end, Killing Intent Fluctuation said:
"The player who broke the C-Level record, unsurprisingly, should be the currently highest-valued mysterious newcomer. As far as I know, no faction has contacted that mysterious newcomer yet."
Divine Tongue added, "Looks like he’s going to be a lone wolf player. As ex-lone wolves, we’d like to remind him, this path isn’t easy to tread."
Killing Intent Fluctuation coughed slightly, casually saying:
"We’ve witnessed many talents on our show, but only this time do I have such a strong premonition, feeling that he might soar into the sky, breaking through this Abyss."
"Not just for him, but for more talented lone wolves unwilling to be tied down, we have one piece of advice to share."
"In the Abyssal Game, we are all strangers; pride is the least valuable thing, don’t hold onto laughable ’protagonist’s modesty.’ Look at us, our fame isn’t meant to be hidden, but to be monetized; the higher on the leaderboard, the more the advertisement fees."
Hearing this, Wu Chang was startled for a moment, quickly realizing, and whispered:
"Brilliant!"
Ten minutes later, the leaderboard nicknames for the C-Level and B-Level speedrun were no longer hidden, becoming visible.
Displayed there was the player nickname:
"Ad space for rent, 20,000 per issue, please send the cooperation agreement to temporary mailbox X44."