Chapter 55 Advertisement Space For Rent

Before entering the "Safe and Sound Every Year" dungeon, Wu Chang had spent all his decayed silver coins, intending to use them as capital to make a fortune.

As it turned out, he really did make a fortune.

One B-rank growable prop, two C-rank powerful auxiliary props, and a set of offensive cultivation techniques.

If evaluated by other players, this was not just making a fortune; it was making a ridiculously insane fortune.

Ordinary players might not even yield such high-value drops after clearing an A-rank dungeon.

However, he had zero decayed silver coins left.

To clear the "Safe and Sound Every Year" dungeon, he had paid with a set of Earth Lizard Leather Armor and three bottles of Healing Potion Type I, totaling 9,000 decayed silver coins.

Yet the return was only 6,000.

The props he obtained were indeed remarkably powerful, and precisely because of that, Wu Chang could never bring himself to exchange them for decayed silver coins.

The practical dilemma, however, was that after upgrading the incomplete Thunder Technique manual to rank E, he only had 5,000 decayed silver coins left in his hands—not even enough to repurchase a set of Earth Lizard Leather Armor.

To novices who had only cleared two dungeons, 5,000 decayed silver coins could be considered an astronomical figure.

For Wu Chang, however, this paltry sum of decayed silver coins was far from enough. Even if a zero were added to the end, he could easily spend it all.

Purchasing more insightful Abyss Game walkthroughs, upgrading cultivation techniques, and expanding his spatial backpack all required vast amounts of decayed silver coins.

Putting aside those long-term goals for a moment, right now, before entering the next dungeon, he had to figure out a way to acquire new defensive gear and medicine.

Wu Chang sighed, his wide-open eyes filled completely with two words:

Make money!

Depending solely on dungeon clear rewards could no longer satisfy his exuberant material demands; he had to visit the public area to see what ways there were to make a quick buck.

As soon as he stepped into the public area, deafening cries of peddling came from all directions.

Just like in other games, becoming a life-style player was the most solid and reliable source of extra income.

Players possessing special skills such as forging, tailoring, and alchemy could collect raw materials, process them into finished products, and sell them to other players for profit.

Crafting a set of Earth Lizard Leather Armor required only 5,000 decayed silver coins in material costs and 30 days of manufacturing time, yielding a profit of 1,000 decayed silver coins.

However, being solid and reliable meant low efficiency and slow speed.

Not to mention that acquiring special skills took a tremendous amount of effort, even if one managed to craft a set of Earth Lizard Leather Armor, making 1,000 decayed silver coins in 30 days was nowhere near enough money.

He needed a path to get instantly rich!

There were many paths to sudden wealth, but very few suited him.

The bounty board in the public area, the collection of high-difficulty dungeon intelligence, as well as the lucky draw and Crimson Card games in the entertainment district, were all avenues that could make someone rich overnight.

Yet he had only been through two dungeons, and he had completely broken the game in both.

Breaking the game meant that both the real dungeon and its derived projection dungeons would completely disappear, rendering the intelligence within them utterly worthless.

As for the lucky draw and Crimson Card games, if the Dice of the Goddess of Fortune could be used in the Crimson Courtyard, he might have given it a try.

Unfortunately, they could not.

He spent the entire morning wandering around the public area, yet still failed to find a suitable way to make money.

Figuring that this trip could not be in vain, Wu Chang walked into the public area bar, hoping to overhear some interesting intelligence from the boasting of surrounding players.

The public area bar was equivalent to a gathering of all functions within the entire public area.

It featured both a spacious bar hall for ordinary players to chat and exchange intelligence, and luxury private rooms on the upper floors for high-level players to conduct business negotiations.

Any hot topic within the Abyss Game, once published, was guaranteed to be heard being discussed in the public area bar within half an hour.

The hottest topic at the moment was undoubtedly the breaking of the C-rank dungeon speedrun record.

Eighty percent of the players in the bar were discussing this record.

Not only ordinary players cared, but various factions were also extremely concerned about it.

For instance, "Hot Topics Every Period," currently broadcasting on the bar's video wall, featured the C-rank dungeon speedrun record as its cover story.

This was an information-roundup program originally founded by several celebrity players. Its content consisted of reviewing the latest developments in the Wasteland Realm and dropping some harmless or declassified juicy secrets.

The show received an enthusiastic response. Relying on advertising and merchandise sales, several solo players who founded the program established a company named United Information, whose strength ranked in the upper tier of the third echelon among various factions.

Later, because the show became too popular, the seven major organizations of Blue Star successively invested in it, and the program gradually transformed into a semi-official broadcast.

Besides entertainment and gossip, it also served as a window for major organizations to express their demands to freelance players.

After all, not every player would look at the bounty boards, but very few players did not watch "Hot Topics Every Period."

Today's hosts were heavyweights: "Tongue of God," ranked eighth among the most popular players, and "Intent to Kill," ranked fifteenth.

Tongue of God wore a pristine white chef's uniform and sported a meticulously neat handlebar mustache. Without even speaking, just standing there, he looked at least like an executive chef.

In stark contrast to Tongue of God, Intent to Kill wore a sleeveless combat vest, greasy hair, and a stubbly beard, the epitome of decadence.

With that appearance, if he were to cover himself with a small quilt under a bridge arch, the next morning there would surely be a few steamed buns or two buckets of instant noodles by his side.

As internet celebrities, they were at the very top; as players, they were also among the most formidable in the Wasteland Realm, having both reached the realm's level cap of thirty.

Tongue of God produced two bottles of beer, displayed the logo on them, and said:

"Soul-Burning Beer, burns the soul, awakens energy. A bottle increases temporary willpower cap by 5 points and temporary stamina cap by 5 points. It is the ultimate choice for conquering high-difficulty dungeons. Now added to the mini-cart, grab yours while stocks last."

With that, he finished a can in one go. Accompanied by a satisfied groan, the chef uniform on Tongue of God shattered into pieces, revealing a muscular physique.

Following routine merchandise promotion and clothes-shattering antics, the two began today's program.

First, they reviewed several dungeons whose danger ratings had soared recently, reminding players to be extra cautious if they encountered them.

Aside from warning them to change strategies and prioritize self-preservation, they also advised players to gather more related intelligence, highlighting which organizations were acquiring what kind of dungeon intelligence at high prices.

After the dungeon review came gossip about celebrity contestants and debriefings of declassified dungeons.

Of course, they only told the beginning of the dungeon debriefs, stopping right when it came to the real meat.

A link appeared at the bottom of the screen. Copying the link would redirect viewers to the online course they offered, titled: "Desperate Comeback in High-Difficulty Dungeons—The Only Difference Between Me and a God-Level Game-Breaker is a Few Details."

Consisting of three lessons in total, the registration fee was 5,000 decayed silver coins, and in the blink of an eye, seven or eight hundred copies were sold.

Three to four million in sales revenue easily acquired.

Such efficiency left Wu Chang clicking his tongue in amazement; self-help culture really was lucrative everywhere.

The program quickly approached its finale.

Tongue of God: "Next up is everyone's most anticipated and most heated topic recently. Intent, the speedrun leaderboards updated last night. Did you look?"

"I didn't look, but at least thirty old friends forwarded the leaderboard to me right away," Intent to Kill shrugged, saying somewhat helplessly.

Tongue of God sighed in exclamation, "Clearing a C-rank dungeon in 45 minutes and refreshing the record for the lowest-level C-rank dungeon clear—I seriously suspect that guy was playing on a private server."

"What were we doing when we were level 8 or 9?"

Intent to Kill thought for a moment and said with emotion, "I remember back then I entered a desert-themed dungeon and got lost in the desert for a full five days. At 45 minutes, I should still have been worrying about completing main storyline quest one."

Tongue of God said, "I was pretty much the same. During that same period, I was still conquering D-rank dungeons, and every time I entered one, I pondered how to survive longer. But for certain people, when they enter a dungeon, it's the boss that has to ponder how to survive longer."

The two clinked their glasses together, exclaiming at the unbelievable nature of that record.

Inside the public area bar before the screens, almost all players took a sip simultaneously, followed by a long sigh.

Comparison between people drives them to despair; comparison of goods makes one want to throw them away.

It was just like playing a game: some people were still suffering at the very beginning, while others had already beaten the first playthrough and were considering how to speedrun it.

If it really were just a game, that would be fine—you have your techniques and awareness, and I have my cheat engine; we each play our own way, and everyone has a bright future.

Yet what they were playing was an online multiplayer game where everyone shared the exact same Abyss Game server, and that was truly heartbreaking.

The only consolation was that the big shots on the screen felt thoroughly inferior, so lesser fries like them didn't have to worry about competing with that guy at all.

Near the conclusion, Intent to Kill said:

"The guy who refreshed the C-rank record should, barring any accidents, be the most valuable mysterious newcomer right now. As far as I know, no faction has managed to contact that mysterious newcomer yet."

Tongue of God chimed in, "It looks like he intends to be a solo player. As former solo players, we need to remind him that this path is not easy to walk."

Intent to Kill gave a light cough and said as if casually:

"Our show has witnessed many geniuses, but only this time has my premonition been so strong, feeling that he might soar straight up and beat this abyss."

"Not just for him, but for more talented solo players who are unwilling to be bound, we have a piece of experience to share."

"In the Abyss Game, everyone is a stranger to one another. Pride is the most worthless thing; don't hold onto some ridiculous 'protagonist's reticence.' Look at us—fame isn't meant to be hidden, it can be monetized. High positions on the leaderboard command very high advertising fees."

Hearing these words, Wu Chang froze for a moment, and he quickly realized, whispering to himself:

"Brilliant!"

Ten minutes later, the top nicknames on the C-rank and B-rank dungeon speedrun leaderboards were no longer hidden and became visible.

The player nickname displayed thereon was startlingly:

Ad space for rent, 20,000 per issue, please send cooperation agreements to Temporary Mailbox No. X44.