That night, Shen Qiong sprawled on his newly bought sofa and laughed. "You really do get what you pay for! This softness is amazing..."
He rested his laptop on his legs and skimmed the novel on the screen at lightning speed.
"Grave Robbery Notes is incredible. How can the author make it so terrifying? Can anyone really sleep after reading this at night?"
Just then, a local news alert popped up: "A gang of habitual thieves was cornered by police on Hongqiao Street today. A large number of stolen electronic goods were discovered, including LCD screens, computer motherboards, and more..."
Shen Qiong hesitated for a moment, then clicked on it. After all, Hongqiao Street was close to Shili Street.
The news footage showed a car parked beside the entrance to a dilapidated warehouse. One by one, the gang members were led to police cars with their heads covered.
As a longtime netizen, Shen Qiong knew the real highlights were always in the comments.
"I swear I've seen that building in the photo somewhere. It's over by the Seven Days Hotel..."
"Holy crap, look at all those motherboards! Anyone got a colorful one to spare? My computer's been struggling lately."
"Everyone, look closely. There's a local-registered Audi in the corner. The owner might be the gang leader."
The comments below made Shen Qiong's eyes light up.
"That Audi looks familiar. A kid almost got hit on Gudao West Road today, and it was the same car."
The user Neighbor Li wrote: "Audi A4, license plate XXX1342. This car was parked outside the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion this morning. The owner once yelled that Master Shen was a fraud. Here's a Weibo link with a video of him causing a scene. It's hilarious, go check it out..."
"Seconding the comment above. This person's a genius!"
"I watched the Weibo video. The person above nailed it. But who's this Master Shen, anyway?"
Shen Qiong hurriedly clicked the Weibo link provided by "Neighbor Li." The page opened to Chen Yuxiang's Weibo profile.
He hadn't expected the man to actually have posted the video from that morning. He clicked on it.
"I'm not a shill. I'm a businessman, and this is my car. Take a good look! This car wasn't cheap, either. I swear I'm not a shill. On my honor, that so-called Master Shen is absolutely a fraud, a complete fraud." In the video, Xiao Chengzhou stood beside the Audi, anxiously trying to clear his name.
Shen Qiong took a closer look at the license plate. What a coincidence—it was exactly the same as the one on the car in the news footage of the arrests.
The video ran for about a minute and thirty-four seconds. It also captured the internet café owner and the surrounding crowd laughing at him.
"Isn't that an Audi? Even a cheap one would cost two or three hundred thousand!"
"Even beggars own cars and houses these days. What's so strange about that?"
The video showed Xiao Chengzhou looking thoroughly humiliated. The more Shen Qiong watched, the happier he got. He quickly hit the like button.
Over three thousand others had liked it, too...
The comments under the Weibo post were even funnier. Shen Qiong read through them one by one.
Auntie, I Like You: "I came here through a link in the comments on the news about the gang of thieves getting arrested. I've found a whole new world!"
"I'm fully behind Master Shen. Too bad I wasn't there!"
Wang Erdan: "I don't get why you're supporting a fortune-teller..."
Wang Erdan's comment was immediately flooded with downvotes. Someone replied, "You don't know shit!"
Reply to Wang Erdan: "Bro, check the Weibo owner's earlier posts first. He mentioned Master Shen."
Reply to Wang Erdan: "If you don't know what you're talking about, shut up."
Reply to Wang Erdan: "You want to smear Master Shen? Watch the video and you'll see what happens."
After Shen Qiong finished reading, he burst out laughing. He ran a hand over his freshly shaved stubble, then eagerly continued reading the comments.
Detective Conan: "Listen up, everyone. There's only one truth. I've pieced together what really happened using reverse deduction."
"Here's what happened. The man in this video was probably a businessman who wanted to buy stolen goods. Why do I say he was the buyer? Simple. The police usually make their move during a transaction, catching everyone in the act. So, besides the gang of thieves, the only person at the scene would've been the buyer."
"Why did this businessman who wanted to buy stolen goods show up at Master Shen's shop and make a scene, shouting that Master Shen was a fraud?"
"Simple. Buying stolen goods is risky, so this businessman went to the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion specifically to ask Master Shen for a fortune reading, just to put his mind at ease. I have to say, all these unscrupulous businessmen are the same. They pray to the gods and Buddha for protection while doing shady things."
"The outcome is obvious. When you ask someone to read your fortune, you generally get one of two results: good or bad. I could figure out with my toes that Master Shen gave this businessman the latter."
"People go to get their fortunes told because they want a good result, and this businessman was no exception. But Master Shen's reading wasn't what he wanted to hear. So the buyer got angry and started calling Master Shen a fraud. I'm not trying to malign his character, but think about it: what kind of character does a businessman who made his fortune buying stolen goods have?"
"With the money practically in his hands, this businessman definitely wouldn't abandon the deal just because Master Shen gave him a bad reading. So he still showed up at the agreed-upon place to meet the thieves, and the police caught him red-handed."
This long post from a user named Detective Conan won widespread praise, earning a flood of likes.
"Brilliant! You're the only deduction expert I respect..." one comment read.
"Top commenter, that was as entertaining as a novel."
"Hey, if you're this brilliant, does your mom know?"
Even Shen Qiong had to applaud. "Impressive, impressive! It's not exactly the whole truth, but he got about eighty or ninety percent right."
Shen Qiong had already checked Xiao Chengzhou's Luck Value on WeChat and confirmed it was only 2. There'd also been a warning that he faced imprisonment, so Shen Qiong had been able to guess what had happened. Still, it was impressive that this netizen had figured out so much.
Shen Qiong then read the two Weibo posts Chen Yuxiang had written about him. At last, he found the source of his growing fame.
Beep, beep, beep. A notification popped up on his phone.
Shen Qiong took out his phone and checked. As expected, his Fame and Reputation had risen from 536 to 1,347.
Congratulations on leveling up!!!
User: Shen Qiong
Level: 2 (Making Steady Progress)
Increase your Fame and Reputation to raise your level. Current Reputation Value: 1,347 (Making a Name for Yourself)
Tip: You can unlock one of the following:
1. Athletic Skill
2. Life Skill
3. Romantic Luck
Shen Qiong hesitated. Of the three options, Romantic Luck was the easiest to understand, but it definitely wasn't the best choice.
After leveling up twice, Shen Qiong had already figured out that each new level required ten times as much Fame and Reputation as the previous one: from 100 to 1,000, so the next level would require 10,000. That wouldn't be easy to reach.
Life Skill?
Or Athletic Skill?
Before you continue