Upgrading Again

That evening, Shen Qiong lay on his new sofa and laughed, "You really get what you pay for! This softness, so satisfying..."

He placed his laptop on his lap, scanning the novel on the screen at lightning speed.

"This Grave Robbery Notes is truly amazing. Can the author really sleep at night writing something so terrifying?"

Just then, a local news alert popped up, "A group of habitual thieves was surrounded by police today on Hongqiao Street. A large quantity of stolen electronic products was discovered, including LCD screens, computer motherboards, and more..."

Shen Qiong hesitated for a moment, then clicked on it. After all, Hongqiao Street was very close to Shili Street.

The news footage showed a small car parked next to the entrance of a dilapidated warehouse. Thieves, with their heads covered, were being led into police cars one by one.

As an old internet user, Shen Qiong knew that the comments section below was the real highlight.

"I feel like I've seen that building in the photo somewhere before, near the Seven Days Hotel..."

"Holy crap, so many motherboards. Anyone got a spare RGB motherboard? My computer's been struggling lately."

"Everyone, pay attention to the local license plate Audi in the corner. The owner might be the ringleader of the gang."

The comments below made Shen Qiong's eyes light up.

"I think I've seen that Audi somewhere before. Today, a child was almost hit on Gudao West Road, and it was this car."

Netizen Big Brother Li Next Door: "Audi A4, license plate XXX1342. This car was parked outside the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion shop this morning. The owner once loudly cursed Master Shen as a fraud. Here's a Weibo link with a funny video of him causing trouble, you guys should check it out..."

"Upstairs, truth-teller!"

"Watched the Weibo video, upstairs is a truth-teller. But who is this Master Shen?"

Shen Qiong quickly clicked on the Weibo link provided by "Big Brother Li Next Door." The page immediately switched to Chen Yuxiang's Weibo interface.

He was surprised that this person had actually uploaded the morning's video to his Weibo. He clicked on the video to watch.

"I'm not a shill, I'm a businessman. This is my car, look closely! This car isn't cheap either. I'm really not a shill, I swear on my honor, that so-called Master Shen is absolutely a fraud, a complete fraud." In the video, Xiao Chengzhou stood next to the Audi, anxiously trying to clarify himself.

Shen Qiong looked closely at the license plate. Coincidentally, it was exactly the same as the license plate of the car at the arrest scene in the news.

The video was about one minute and thirty-four seconds long. It also captured the laughter of the internet cafe owner and the surrounding crowd.

"That's an Audi, right? Even the cheapest ones are twenty to thirty thousand yuan!"

"Even beggars can afford cars and houses now, what's so strange about that."

The video clearly showed Xiao Chengzhou's embarrassed state. Shen Qiong became happier the more he watched and quickly gave it a thumbs-up.

Over three thousand people had also given it a thumbs-up...

The comments below the Weibo post were even funnier. Shen Qiong read them one by one.

Auntie, I Like You: "Came here from the link in the news comments about the theft ring being arrested. Discovered a new world!"

"Strongly support Master Shen, too bad I wasn't there at the time!"

Wang Erdan: "I don't understand why you guys support a fortune teller..."

Immediately, Wang Erdan's comment was flooded with downvotes. Someone replied, "You know nothing!"

Reply to Wang Erdan: "Brother, you should check the Weibo owner's previous posts first, they mention Master Shen."

Reply to Wang Erdan: "Don't spout nonsense if you don't know."

Reply to Wang Erdan: "You trying to blacken Master Shen? Look at the video and you'll see the consequences."

Shen Qiong burst out laughing after reading it all. He rubbed his freshly shaved stubble and continued reading the comments with anticipation.

Detective Conan: "Everyone listen to me, there's only one truth. I've deduced the truth of the entire incident using reverse deduction."

"Actually, it's like this. The man in this video is likely the boss who wanted to buy stolen goods. You ask me why I say he's the boss? It's simple. We know the police usually act when both parties are transacting, catching them red-handed. So, besides the theft ring, the buyer must have been present at the scene of the arrest."

"Why would this boss who wanted to buy stolen goods appear at Master Shen's shop and make a scene, calling Master Shen a fraud?"

"It's actually very simple. Buying stolen goods is risky, so this boss specifically came to Heavenly Secrets Pavilion to ask Master Shen for a fortune telling to ease his mind. I have to say, this is how all these unscrupulous businessmen are nowadays, praying to gods and buddhas for blessings while doing shady business."

"The outcome is then obvious. When you seek a fortune telling, there are usually two possibilities: good or bad! I can tell with my eyes closed that Master Shen's divination for this boss was the latter."

"Everyone who seeks a divination wants a good outcome, and this boss was no exception. But Master Shen's divination was not what he wanted. This made the boss angry and he started calling Master Shen a fraud. I'm not maliciously slandering this boss's character; think about it, what kind of good character can a merchant who got rich by buying stolen goods have?"

"With the money almost in his grasp, this boss certainly wouldn't give up the deal just because Master Shen's divination was unfavorable. So, the boss still arrived at the agreed location on time to trade with the thieves, and was finally caught red-handed by the police."

This lengthy post by the netizen "Detective Conan" received unanimous praise from many netizens, with countless likes pouring in.

"Awesome, I only respect deduction masters like you..." the comments below read.

"Top floor, this is as exciting as a novel."

"Floor master, does your mom know you're this awesome?"

Even Shen Qiong had to applaud this guy: "Amazing, amazing! Although it's a bit off from the truth, this guy guessed eighty to ninety percent correctly."

Shen Qiong had already confirmed Xiao Chengzhou's Luck Value was only 2 in his WeChat profile, along with a warning of imprisonment. Therefore, he could guess the cause and effect of the incident, but it was impressive that this netizen could guess so much.

Next, Shen Qiong read the two Weibo posts by this user, Chen Yuxiang, about himself, and finally found the source of his growing fame.

Beep beep beep, a message box popped up on his phone.

Shen Qiong took out his phone and saw that his fame had indeed increased from 536 to 1347.

Congratulations on leveling up!!!

User: Shen Qiong

Level: 2 (Getting into the groove)

Increase your level by gaining Reputation Value. Current Reputation Value: 1347 (Showing promise)

Hint: You can unlock one of the following pieces of information:

1. Athletic Skills 2. Life Skills 3. Charm with the opposite sex

Shen Qiong hesitated. Of the three options, only "Charm with the opposite sex" was easy to understand, but it was definitely not the best choice.

After the previous two level-ups, Shen Qiong had already guessed that the Reputation Value required for each level was ten times that of the previous level. From 100 to 1000, the next upgrade would require 10,000 Reputation Value, which wouldn't be so easy to achieve.

Life Skills?

Or Athletic Skills?