Ambushed by a Tycoon

Half a month later, Shen Qiong was leisurely drinking tea. Ever since he got an assistant, his life had become much more relaxed. With Ren Tianxue vetting clients, the quality of his customers had also significantly improved.

Previously, most clients paid between one to two hundred yuan for fortune telling, but now it had risen to three to four hundred, and he even received five hundred yuan twice in one day.

When he calculated it, after deducting Ren Tianxue's salary, Shen Qiong's income hadn't decreased; instead, it was on an upward trend.

Shen Qiong mused that he really wasn't cut out for this line of work. Today was Sunday, and he planned to take the afternoon off. He had already notified Ren Tianxue last night that she didn't need to come in today.

Currently, Shen Qiong was at home reading a novel. After the TV adaptation of Grave Robbery Notes became a hit, the novel had once again become popular. Shen Qiong wasn't very interested in watching TV dramas, but he was engrossed in the novel.

Every time he finished a chapter and clicked to the next, an advertisement would pop up. It was then that Shen Qiong remembered he was reading a pirated copy. He gave a wry smile, "Searching for pirated copies is even easier than finding the official ones. I almost forgot this was a pirated version."

He thought that he was now someone earning tens of thousands a month, and it felt wrong to be reading pirated content. He closed the webpage and searched for the novel again, finally finding it on Dian Niang.

This world was strange. It was easy to find pirated books; you could open one and read from beginning to end with a simple click. However, reading legitimate versions was cumbersome. After reaching a certain word count, when the novel was officially published, you had to log in, register, and top up your account to subscribe to chapters before you could read them.

Following updates daily would cost at most the price of a pack of cigarettes per month, but a major reason many readers chose pirated versions was the lack of complicated procedures, which was undoubtedly more appealing to the masses.

Shen Qiong pondered that if he could simplify these procedures, he would likely be well on his way to becoming rich.

With a foundation of earning several thousand yuan a day, Shen Qiong decided to indulge in the pleasure of being a tycoon. He topped up his account with two thousand yuan and began showering the book with rewards and red envelopes.

The comment section immediately became lively!!!

"A tycoon has appeared!!!"

"Holy crap, please take me in!!!"

"Flowery words, moved to tears, your talent deserves this reward!" As Shen Qiong's rewards poured in, various red messages floated out...

With a "whoosh," a thousand yuan was spent, and Shen Qiong successfully ascended to the rank of Alliance Leader. He figured he had done enough for the day and was about to stop when he noticed someone else was also sending red envelopes.

This book was already old. Although there were new readers every day, most tycoons had already given their rewards when following the updates. It was rare for someone to reward an old, completed book.

Could that person be like him? Had they read too many pirated copies and decided to compensate the author?

A reader named "Searching for him thousands of times among the crowd" also quickly rewarded a thousand yuan, pushing Shen Qiong's Alliance Leader position down one rank, and then stopped.

"What the hell?" Shen Qiong grumbled, watching the other person's fan value exceed his by a hundred and then stop.

Shen Qiong gritted his teeth. "How dare you surpass me? No, I have to get back on top!!!"

With that, Shen Qiong sent ten more 1000-yuan rewards and then threw in another hundred yuan, immediately leaving the other person's ranking far behind.

At this moment, "Searching for him thousands of times among the crowd" got annoyed and started a reward battle with Shen Qiong.

Since the book had been completed for a long time, there weren't many people left in the comment section. Seeing a reward battle between tycoons, they immediately called their friends...

"A joyous occasion, two tycoons are battling rewards on Dian Niang..." someone posted on the Grave Robbery Notes Baidu Tieba.

Shen Qiong was truly frustrated. He had finally managed to show off as a tycoon, only for someone to specifically try and suppress him?

"Applauding with great joy, slapping the table in excitement, only this reward can express my feelings!"

"Flowery words, moved to tears, your talent deserves this reward!"

"Searching for him thousands of times among the crowd" was a true tycoon, starting their rewards at a hundred yuan each, stunning the uninformed readers.

Shen Qiong couldn't compete with such lavish spending. After spending the two thousand yuan in his account, he decisively surrendered.

"You're so amazing, why don't you fly to the sky!" Shen Qiong commented in the review section using his account, "Master Shen."

"I'm on a plane right now," "Searching for him thousands of times among the crowd" replied.

Shen Qiong was truly impressed. This tycoon was so willful, actually flying to the sky when they said so.

"You win, I concede," Shen Qiong typed on his keyboard.

"Searching for him thousands of times among the crowd": "But I'm not having enough fun yet! How about we continue for a while longer!"

Shen Qiong almost spat out a mouthful of blood. Comparing oneself to others was truly infuriating. He had just spent his entire month's food budget, and this tycoon said they weren't having enough fun.

Shen Qiong replied, "Although I'm not having enough fun either, my wallet is bleeding."

Onlooking readers also joined the fun, "Master Shen, your decision is wise. Let me quietly tell you that this great tycoon once rewarded over a million in a single day. I'm talking about RMB."

"Holy crap! Impulsiveness is the devil! Fortunately, I didn't get sucked in."

Shen Qiong mused that if he threw his entire net worth into it, it might not even be as much as someone else's pocket money for a day.

Shen Qiong replied, "Very good, very powerful! Come to Shili Street in Lingxi City, and I'll give you a free fortune telling."

"There's no book called Lingxi City Shili Street?" a reader replied.

Shen Qiong replied with a wry face, "I'm not a writer, I'm a fortune teller."

"Accurate predictions, a thousand gold for a single divination. Young Ye Tian accidentally obtained the inheritance of a physiognomist, understanding the connection between heaven and man, and the changes of ancient and modern times. If you want to know what happens next, please watch ****" Immediately, someone took the opportunity to advertise.

"Searching for him thousands of times among the crowd": "I didn't expect to be arguing with a charlatan. What a waste of time."

Shen Qiong immediately became displeased. What did he mean by charlatan? He replied, "I've changed my mind! I'm not giving you a free fortune telling anymore. It's fifty thousand for one, and I'll pay you ten times the amount if I'm wrong."

Yao Hongguang, sitting on the plane, chuckled. He said, "Interesting."

A reader replied to Master Shen, "You're bragging too much!"

"Are you sure you can afford to pay?" "Searching for him thousands of times among the crowd" replied.

Shen Qiong, intending to promote himself, replied, "If you don't believe me, search for Master Shen, my name. Five million awaits you." He then posted his Weibo link.

Instantly, the book review section erupted like boiling water.

"Holy crap, it's real! I checked Weibo and this guy actually does this for a living," a book friend named "Dreaming While Playing the Qin" exclaimed.

Some book friends scoffed, "He has less than ten thousand followers on Weibo, and who knows if it's just bots. I don't think he's worthy of doing fortune telling for the wealthy patron."

"What's flying in the sky? Is it a cow! Who blew it up there?" commented a book friend named "My Temper is Very Volatile."

Shen Qiong shrugged. He knew this couldn't be clearly explained online and didn't expect the wealthy patron to actually pay him five hundred thousand for a fortune telling. But seeing the constant refreshing of the book reviews discussing him, he knew the effect he wanted had been achieved.

He logged into the WeChat "People Nearby" interface.

User: Shen Qiong
Level: 2 (Getting into the Groove)
Increase your level by boosting your fame and reputation. Current Reputation: 2130 (Showing Promise)

It had increased by nearly a thousand from before, which wasn't bad! He mused that to quickly gain popularity, he needed to break "big news."