Gamers Are Fierce
Chapter 63 Broker

Chapter 63: Chapter 63 Broker

Back at home, Li Ang pulled open the door to his study and switched on the light.

The study windows were tightly closed, and thick curtains blocked the view of the utility lines outside. By the lamplight, one could see a giant, person-length glass fish tank placed horizontally in front of the bookshelves.

This glass fish tank had also been bought online, costing Li Ang a considerable sum. Originally open-topped, the fish tank was now sealed with an inverted glass panel, its edges glued to the tank to make it airtight.

A hermetically sealed fish tank naturally couldn’t house fish; instead, it contained a corpse.

Soaking in formalin was the body of Zou Zhengze.

The originally large, inhuman figure had shrunk considerably from being burned. Its head was completely shattered, and its limbs were covered with bone spurs. Large patches of its red-black skin were missing, showing severe burn scars. The thoracic and abdominal cavities gaped open, revealing severely charred internal organs through the wounds.

This twisted and bizarre corpse had been placed in the study for several days. This wasn’t due to Li Ang’s morbid aesthetic or mere bad taste but for another reason.

The Soul Summoning Banner could nourish a Spiritual Body due to its special effect of absorbing Yin energy. Chai Cuiqiao had expended a great deal of energy. To supply the Soul Summoning Banner with sufficient Yin energy, Li Ang had preserved Zou Zhengze’s body as a specimen and kept it at home.

Above the fish tank rested the Soul Summoning Banner, disguised as a large black umbrella. Chai Cuiqiao floated above it, legs crossed, holding a newly purchased smartphone and intently scrolling through romance novels.

Fully immersed as the book’s heroine, she bit her fingernails, her brows knitted in indignation as she muttered, "Fortunes change; don’t underestimate a young girl in poverty. When the day comes for me to take charge in the palace, I will make sure these evil women who bullied my mother meet their end without a proper burial..."

Li Ang cleared his throat. "Ahem."

Startled out of her book’s world, Chai Cuiqiao hastily tucked the phone under her arm, turned to Li Ang, and said, feigning nonchalance, "Ah, you’re back."

"Mhm," Li Ang nodded. "How’s your recovery coming along?"

"Almost there," Chai Cuiqiao said, patting the glass fish tank below her. She pouted. "The Yin energy from this corpse is pretty dense. If I absorb it all, not only will I heal my wounds, but my cultivation could also improve by another level."

Actually, entering the Soul Summoning Banner was more conducive to a Spiritual Body’s self-healing. However, the banner’s interior was empty, offering nothing but sleep, which was far less entertaining than playing on a smartphone in the real world.

"Okay," said Li Ang. "There’s another situation tonight. Get ready."

"Another situation, huh..." Chai Cuiqiao’s expression turned serious. She minimized the font on her reading app and rapidly flipped through the pages—ten lines at a glance. This was Miss Chai’s way of preparing: finish this segment of the story before the mission commenced.

Ignoring Chai Cuiqiao, who had thoroughly degenerated into a couch potato, Li Ang returned to his bedroom, turned on his computer, logged onto the Gamer’s Forum, and sought out a forum member known as "Mule," whose avatar featured a beautiful girl with brown donkey ears.

In the real world, "Mule" was an Information Broker. Her services included, but were not limited to: selling information, arranging false identities, and connecting clients with companies offering special services like assassination or arms smuggling. She also sold special items that weren’t overtly illegal to customers, such as military-grade scopes and thermal imagers.

As long as the price was right, "Mule" would even provide companionship and gaming services—truly dedicated, she had a sterling reputation on the forum.

Li Ang approached Mule in anonymous mode and typed:

"1. Find me the construction completion and renovation project blueprints for Yin City Longheng Mall.

2. Collect all special events related to Longheng Square, including but not limited to homicides, suicides, and accidental deaths, and send me all related information on the people involved.

3. I remember you have a software package for hacking into non-military surveillance systems, right? Help me break into Longheng Mall’s backend surveillance system and make sure the software can be adapted to a smartphone screen.

Can it be done? The price is negotiable."

Within half a minute of him sending the message, Mule replied, "Yes. The mall’s construction blueprints are available at the city’s construction archives, readily accessible. I assume you’re in a hurry and don’t have time to go, so I’ll only charge you 10 Game Coins for this.

People have died nearly everywhere, and the mall is no exception. In the decade since Longheng Square opened, there have been five or six fatal incidents. To be safe, I’ll gather the most accurate and reliable information possible to send you, but that will take two to three hours.

Some of the material is in paper documents not circulating online, requiring special connections to acquire.

For this, I’ll charge you 20 Game Coins.

As for surveillance software suited for a smartphone screen, it’s quite cheap—just 10 Game Coins."

Adding everything up comes to 40 Game Coins, which, according to the typical forum exchange rate, amounts to five or six hundred thousand in cash. Making six hundred thousand in two to three hours—being an Information Broker really is faster than robbing a bank.

"Send me the construction blueprints and the surveillance software first."

Li Ang added Mule as a friend in the battlefield game by searching her ID, sent over 20 Game Coins, and ten minutes later, he received the file package from Mule in the forum chat window.

While checking the blueprints for Longheng Square, Li Ang also tested the surveillance software, peering at the customers currently in Longheng Square through his phone screen.

Two hours later, Mule sent the information regarding the five death incidents at Longheng Square. Li Ang transferred the remaining Game Coins and typed in the forum chat box: "Can I ask if anyone else has approached you today with a similar trade request? I’m willing to pay for that answer."

The chat box on the other end went silent for a long time before Mule typed: "Within half an hour of you sending me the trade information, two other people came to me with nearly identical requests.

However, due to professional ethics and self-preservation, I cannot provide you with their specific player IDs. That’s a basic principle. By the way, there’s no charge for the answer I just gave."

As an Information Broker, protecting user privacy was essential for both her career and personal safety...

At his computer desk, Li Ang reflected for a moment, thanked Mule, and closed the chat window.

He had received the mission at 8 PM, scheduled to start at midnight. He also noted that after he contacted Mule, two other players had also sought her out.

If his guess was correct, then the players who triggered the hide-and-seek mission at Longheng Square must have also visited Longheng Square today. This also meant that the players encountered in this team collaboration task were all residents of Yin City or the surrounding areas in real life. Seeing one’s fellow townspeople often wasn’t a teary matter...

Li Ang checked the time. It was now 10 PM. He called for Chai Cuiqiao, grabbed the large black umbrella, and rode his bicycle toward Longheng Square.

In a gloomy basement, Mule, who had been hunched over her cluttered computer desk, slowly straightened up. She picked up a pen and paper from the desk and wrote "Frenzied Ripper · Li Rising" on a new file, drawing a line beside it pointing to "Longheng Square."

"A Yin City player..." Mule muttered to herself. She then stood up, walked over to the filing cabinet, and placed the document into one of the crammed drawers.

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