“I can see that she piloted the Junlin with great care to buy you time. It seems that you two have a very good relationship,” the AI asked curiously. “Would you consider her as one of your own, even if her vital signs are different from yours, even if her thought process is different from yours?”
Qing Chen responded, "Why must we treat each other as the same kind? We are all different. Why must we ignore our differences and pretend that we are all human?"
"Hmm?" the AI asked, puzzled. "Then what is she to you? Is she just a tool?"
Qing Chen chuckled, "Your thinking might be too absolute. Maybe you've fought against humans, but that doesn't mean everyone is one of those humans who use you as a tool. I have a friend who's a lunatic who likes to wear weird, limited-edition skins; we're different. I have another friend who belongs to another race; he likes to collect other people's eyeballs and changes women every day; we're different. I have another friend who suffers from schizophrenia; he has three people in one body: one innocent and cute, one arrogant and pretentious, and one evil and ferocious; we're different again. I also have two friends who are giants; one is pure and innocent, and the other ambitious; we're different. So, just because we're different doesn't mean we can't be friends. No."
Qingchen said earnestly, "We must face the fact that our differences are objective realities. And are my friends different from me a flaw? No. Wouldn't it be boring to always be friends with people exactly like yourself?"
“That’s an interesting point,” the AI said slowly. “What’s that AI kid’s biggest hobby?”
Qing Chen asked in confusion, "Why are you asking this?"
The AI explained slowly, "The life of artificial intelligence is long and boring. I want to see how she passes the time and learn from her."
“Oh,” Qingchen thought for a moment and said, “Her biggest wish right now is to assemble a top-of-the-line robot body, the most expensive A-grade one on the market.”
“That’s not the highest level,” the AI responded. “The highest level of robotic technology is reserved for the Roosevelt family and the Duke’s private army. A single robotic suit costs billions and is a true human weapon.”
“It doesn’t have to be that powerful. I don’t really want her to participate in the battle. As long as she can happily experience human life, that’s fine,” Qing Chen said. “I watched an advertisement video from a robotics company. The top-of-the-line robots on the market can even simulate eye movements, and ordinary people can’t tell the difference at all.”
The AI seemed thoughtful: "Is that so...?"
Qing Chen didn't want to reveal any more information about Yi. He stood up and asked bluntly, "I've already completed all of Multiverse 136. Now I want to level up as soon as possible. Do you have any recommendations?"
The AI paused for two seconds: "Multiverse 8, Red River Valley."
There are two types of multiverses. One type is like number 136, where players are separated after entering and must complete the dungeon as individuals or teams, without even seeing each other.
The 8th multiverse is complete; all players who enter the world are in a huge world where they can compete, fight, and form their own teams.
As far as Qing Chen knew, the No. 8 Multiverse had never been cleared before, so he wondered what the AI had prepared for him this time.
...
...
As the white light faded, FFF was already waiting where he had logged off: "Boss, Blue Mountain and the others have made a request. They want you to help them level up by killing monsters. For this, he secretly gave me 200,000, which I've transferred to your anonymous account with a 30/70 split."
Qing Chen exclaimed in surprise. He had only found out about FFF taking money because he happened to be lurking near Blue Mountain.
He originally thought FFF would secretly pocket the money, but the other party didn't hesitate at all and directly treated the 'stolen money' as income, splitting the profits 30/70.
"Why didn't you keep it for yourself?" Qingchen asked.
FFF laughed and said, "Boss, you've brought me over 30 million in revenue during this period. I wouldn't even look at this small amount. If someone secretly offered me 3 billion to betray you, I might be tempted."
Qing Chen laughed: "I hope that day will come. That would prove I have value, wouldn't it?"
FFF pondered for a moment and said, "Before, you were penniless, so we set a 30/70 split. Now that you're making so much money, I think we should change the split to 10/90."
"You're not going to take the money that's practically in your hands?" Qing Chen asked, puzzled.
“Hmm,” FFF said, “Although I have provided my value, that value is definitely not worth 30%. A long-term win-win cooperation must be based on the premise that neither of us feels we are losing out… What if one day you feel that hiring me is too much of a loss and kick me out? Wouldn’t I lose even more then?”
It must be said that FFF is an extremely intelligent person who knows how to make choices.
He likes money, but he hopes to earn it long-term rather than make a quick buck and then be discarded.
At this moment, FFF took out his portable LCD screen again: "Boss, the sales of the strategy guide for Multiverse 136 have started, you don't need to lead the group yourself anymore."
"Hmm? How do you sell the guides? Won't they get pirated?" Qing Chen asked.
“Piracy is inevitable, and all I can do is delay it,” FFF said. “Instead of selling walkthroughs online, I spent 400,000 yuan to hire 40 AI customer service representatives in the online store. Anyone who wants to complete the game has to pay 500,000 yuan. Once they are in the store, they will be kept in touch, and our AI customer service representatives will provide remote guidance on-site at each level.”
FFF said, "They only need to describe the dungeon environment, and customer service can find the walkthrough for the corresponding level from the guide you provide, and then tell them over the phone. In this way, players who have completed the game will only know the walkthrough for 333 levels, which is far from the completeness of 6666 levels. Even if someone wants to compile a walkthrough from us, it will require a lot of manpower to receive remote guidance from us first."
As a result, everyone only received a 1/20th of the puzzle in the guide, instead of the complete guide.
Another advantage of remote guidance is that if there are eight people in a group, and a tour guide is also needed, it would take up another spot, resulting in one less person being earned...
FFF continued, "Furthermore, we can control their progress in completing the puzzle and even require them not to bring recording equipment in."
In that case, how many people can remember what's in level 333? If someone could remember all the details of level 333, there would be no need for a walkthrough at all; they could clear it solo.
Qing Chen pondered for a moment: "Your method does slow down the leak of the strategy to the greatest extent possible. However, the price you offered is a bit too low. 500,000 won't do; charge them 5 million."
"Huh?" FFF was stunned: "Boss, in the superconducting world, there aren't actually that many rich people without jobs. Not everyone has this purchasing power. If the number of buyers decreases, it won't be in line with our profit growth."
Qing Chen laughed and said, "Go contact the Blackwater, Phoenix, Silver, and Storm guilds and tell them that we can quickly farm points. If you want to squeeze into the top ten of the month, come and buy our strategy guide."
FFF's eyes lit up. In the 365 diverse worlds, almost all the possible ways to farm points had already been explored, and most points could not be obtained repeatedly.
However, the points for clearing level 136 of the multiverse are outrageous. After level 88, the first person to challenge it will be rewarded with 10 points per level.
In other words, once Qingchen clears the 136th multiverse, there will be a huge change in the top 100 of the list, and some people may even jump directly from the top 1000 to the top 10!
The four major guilds are the main force in their respective cities, and most of their members are composed of elite troops from large armies.
They're not just playing around in the superconducting world; they're fighting for a spot in the top ten monthly awakening rankings!
This is something that has a real impact on reality. Over the years, countless military experts have become awakened experts in the real world because of this awakening.
Just 12 years ago, someone under Duke Phoenix's command awakened to A-rank overnight and has now become Duke Phoenix's right-hand man.
Who doesn't yearn for this kind of dream-making myth?
Now, the White Light is giving everyone a chance. All you need to do is spend 5 million to turn a bicycle into a motorcycle in 3 hours and snag an Awakening spot.
This spot is worth 120 million on the market, and you can get it for only 5 million. Isn't that a great deal?
Therefore, from the very beginning, Qingchen never targeted individual customers. What's the point of exploiting the poor? Of course, you should target the rich!
The rich are not short of money.
FFF quickly contacted the four major guilds.
He first contacted Black Spider, the guild leader of Storm Guild: "Hello, guild leader, I can provide a speedrun service for Multiverse 136. It costs 5 million gold for a single person and 38.88 million gold for the whole team. I wonder if you are interested? I took a look and found that there are 16 people in your guild who are currently in the top 100, but only 1 person is in the top 10. If you clear it with me, you can grab all the top 10 spots in no time."
Sitting in a luxurious office in Superconducting City, Black Spider pondered for a moment and asked, "Doesn't the White Light plan to build its own power? Why would it use a dungeon run to earn such vulgar money?"
FFF laughed and explained on the phone, "We don't have such big ambitions. We're happy as long as we have enough money to live on. The boss said that he only managed to clear the dungeon by luck. He just happens to be an expert in escape rooms. With this kind of luck, we'll focus on making sure we're financially secure first."
Black Spider lowered her head in thought. She had originally thought that the other party, by raising the banner of "the light of white people," was an ambitious person who wanted to win over white people. Now it seemed that his vision was not very long-term.
Black Spider asked, "Is he interested in joining our Storm Guild?"
FFF asked bluntly, "What can Storm Guild offer him?"
Black Spider sneered, "I can provide him with shelter in Storm City. As long as he doesn't kill any nobles, I'll keep him safe."
FFF was silent for a few seconds, seemingly discussing something with White Light, before replying, "The boss said he'll think about it and give you an answer later. Let's do business first."
Seeing that the other party had not killed him, the black spider said, "I'll order two sets, and I'll transfer the money to you right away."
She's a smart woman; she naturally knows how to settle this score.
Qing Chen had also calculated things clearly; he had obtained another quarter of the Mechanical Heart...
FFF was overjoyed: "Boss is so generous! May you have a long and peaceful life!"
"When can we clear the game?" Black Spider asked.
“Yes, right now. We’re here to serve you anytime,” FFF said.
Black Spider stood up in her office and instructed her subordinates: "Gather all the top 100 players on the guild leaderboards and get online to farm points immediately."
An hour later, the 16 members of the Storm Guild arrived together in their flying vehicle above Villa No. 136.
But when they arrived, they saw more than ten people from the Phoenix Guild entering the villa together...
Moreover, the Blackwater Guild and the Silver Guild are also waiting to assemble here.
The 16 members of the Storm Guild looked at each other in bewilderment. This was different from what they had imagined. Why were all four major guilds here?!
The faces of the members of the four major guilds all darkened. Everyone came here to try and squeeze into the top ten, but if everyone else also cleared the dungeon, wouldn't their money have been wasted?
The Storm Guild members called Black Spider: "Boss, the situation isn't quite what we expected. All the members of the four major guilds are here... Maybe we should just give up. We can't let that kid get away with this."
Black Spider asked casually, "If other guilds bought the strategy guide but we didn't, then won't we be left out of the top ten this month?"
This is the real core of Qingchen's money-making strategy... protection fees.
If one guild buys the strategy guide, all other guilds must follow suit, otherwise they will automatically forfeit their awakening slots and watch as other guilds produce several awakened individuals in the real world at once...
It's important to understand that there's competition among the four dukes; none of them want anyone else to become stronger than them.
This guide is a must-buy!
Black Spider found it interesting. How could a low-level F account cause so much trouble and still dare to collect protection money from the four major guilds?
There is such a thing.
She sneered on the phone, "Don't offend him yet. I'm thinking of recruiting him. Let's build a good relationship with him first. He's a talented person. If he joins Storm Guild, our share of the top ten every month might increase."
"Understood……"
The Storm Guild members hung up the phone and forced smiles at FFF: "Nice to work with you, bro!"
The four major guilds almost all made the same choice; they all wanted to recruit the Light of the White and extended their goodwill.
They entered the villa and began their challenge in the multiverse of number 136.
Four hours later, all teams had cleared the level.
The rankings on the leaderboard... remain unchanged.
If there's any real change, it's in Qingchen's account balance.
FFF called Qingchen excitedly and said, "Boss, where are you? We're rich!"
While other players were still discussing the changes in the leaderboard scores, he had already quietly arrived at the entrance of Multiverse 8.
In front of Qingchen was a large tree, and in the middle of the tree was a deep hollow.
He took out a key and inserted it into the trunk, which slowly opened to him, revealing a hidden door that could only be passed through by one person.
AI says that Multiverse 8 can meet all his leveling needs, but whether he can find a way to do it depends on himself.
Chapter 807, Knight Candidates
Return countdown: 24:00:00.
"Holy crap, what's going on with the points leaderboard? Why are the people from the four major guilds suddenly two thousand points higher than everyone else?"