Say Something Harsh

Say Something Harsh

"May I ask your surname, sir? Our team leader is on the phone. He told the two of us to take good care of you and not neglect you."

Fortunately, the two of them took the initiative to greet him first.

Wang Wen relaxed the corners of his eyes and nodded. "No need for formalities. Just call me the intelligence seller."

"Alright, Mr. Seller." One of the two, a tall man, extended his hand for a handshake. "Rest assured, we won't restrict your freedom. We just want to ensure that no unrelated outsiders disturb you before our team leader finishes his call."

They were afraid certain interested parties would swoop in and steal the deal.

Wang Wen smiled and said he understood.

Elsewhere.

Luo Shan, hiding among the crowd as he quietly made his call, patiently waited for the noise on the other end to die down.

The First Consortium's Intelligence Department was divided into the Upper Group, Central Group, and Lower Group. The Lower Group handled miscellaneous fieldwork such as collection and transactions; the Central Group was responsible for verification and analysis; the Upper Group handled deduction and practical testing.

At that moment, after receiving Luo Shan's call and learning that it concerned intelligence on the 69th Floor, the Central Group immediately convened an emergency meeting to discuss the intelligence's importance.

The 69th Floor within the World Tower's first hundred floors was rather special.

It was a Toxic Gas Chamber!

From the moment someone entered, it began releasing poisonous gas. As the concentration rose, it caused varying degrees of harm: coughing, dizziness, suffocation, shock, and finally death.

Holding one's breath or using simple filtration had some effect, but unless one had an oxygen mask and protective suit, this floor was a race against time.

Without a faster way to solve the mechanisms and enter the next floor, death was only a matter of time.

That was why the 69th Floor was called the "Life Reaper."

So far, the fastest record for solving all its mechanisms was eight minutes. It was the final plan created through countless generations of people continually improving upon the route that began with Three Arrows.

Later Tower Climbers only considered how to survive those eight minutes.

No one thought about changing the plan anymore.

Because among the routes beginning with the Three Arrows mechanism, the current plan was already optimal. There was no faster one.

Unless they abandoned Three Arrows, the simplest mechanism, and studied other, more complex routes.

That would mean sacrificing an unknown number of lives all over again.

Besides, no one dared to guarantee there was a route faster than one beginning with Three Arrows.

What if countless people died, only for them to discover in the end that they had merely been trial and error?

This wasn't like calculating decimal places to prove a circle wasn't a circle. If the digits eventually repeated, at worst the circle would turn into a polygon.

But if the routes other than Three Arrows were ultimately proven not to exist, then the people who died...

It was a terrifying proposition.

Originally, there had been no route, so everyone could only grit their teeth and carve one out.

Now that there was already a route, who would waste lives looking for another?

Even if that route might be a little shorter?

The 69th Floor wasn't worth paying such a price.

Eight minutes was enough. It was just enough to test each Tower Climber's strength. Those weaklings who couldn't endure it should obediently stay below the 69th Floor.

The floors above could be conquered by their older brothers and sisters.

But.

Now.

Someone had appeared and claimed to have found a new, faster route through the 69th Floor's Disordered Mechanism?

If this intelligence was real, how much was it worth?

The Central Group discussed it for ages but still couldn't settle on a price.

By rarity or difficulty alone, this intelligence could probably be called priceless.

Yet it was only intelligence from within the first hundred floors.

No matter how valuable it was, there had to be a limit.

Surely it couldn't cost more than intelligence from the four- or five-hundredth floors?

At most, possessing this intelligence would allow the consortium to train more low-floor Tower Climbers.

And in today's world, what was truly valuable were high-floor climbers.

A hundred million people who had reached the hundredth floor couldn't compare to one person who had reached the seven-hundredth!

Luo Shan held the phone as he listened to the noisy commotion on the other end, his heart burning with anxiety.

He had no idea what those Central Group bastards were arguing about. He only knew that if they didn't set a price soon, this deal might fall through!

The First Consortium's people had always been the focus of countless intelligence hunters in the Grand Plaza.

If the kid could recognize his identity, then that sharp-eyed bunch outside could as well.

If nothing had happened, it wouldn't have mattered. But after he exchanged a few words with the kid, he immediately started making calls. Anyone with eyes could tell they had stumbled upon something good.

Intercepting the First Consortium's deals was exactly what many organizations that considered themselves strong loved to do.

Sure enough, people soon began edging toward the kid.

The personnel he had assigned to him probably wouldn't be able to stall them much longer.

He couldn't wait any longer!

Luo Shan had no time to hear the Central Group's analysis. He turned and walked straight back to Wang Wen. With quite a few "flies" listening intently nearby, he grabbed Wang Wen's arm and whispered, "Five thousand. I'll buy your intelligence for five thousand Points—the highest price for intelligence within the first hundred floors!"

He believed this showed sincerity.

After all, it was only intelligence about the 69th Floor. Offering the highest price was generous enough, wasn't it?

Unexpectedly, Wang Wen looked at him with an odd expression. "Is this the First Consortium's final offer?"

Luo Shan shook his head. He felt there was no need to haggle over this, so he smiled. "This is my personal offer to you. What? You still think it's too little?"

Wang Wen nearly laughed. He raised his brows and, purely out of kindness, advised him, "It's not about whether it's too little. How about this? I have time to wait slowly, so you'd better go back and discuss this with your boss. Don't act on your own..."

"No need to discuss it!" Hearing that same routine again, Luo Shan finally grew impatient. He waved his hand sharply, cutting Wang Wen off. "Enough time has already been wasted. Five thousand. Sell if you want to sell. If not..."

"Are you sure?" Wang Wen interrupted him in return.

Luo Shan leaned closer. His sharp, monkey-like face made him look like a weasel that had become a spirit when he smiled. "Kid, don't be too greedy. How much do you think you can sell intelligence from within the first hundred floors for? Eight thousand? Ten thousand? Let me say something harsh: even if I don't pay a single Point now, I already know the route starts with the Five-Finger Map. I can go back and have the consortium test it directly. Free is pretty nice, isn't it? Why should I waste my breath with you?"

Wang Wen was shocked. "Bro, didn't you go to school?"

"What?" Luo Shan couldn't process the sudden turn.

"There are thirteen types of mechanisms. Even if you know it begins with the Five-Finger Map, there are still over a hundred million possible arrangements left. How many lives are you planning to use to test them?" Wang Wen suddenly felt a little sorry for Luo Shan.

He could tell that Luo Shan had no idea of this intelligence's true value.

If he weren't desperately short on money and in urgent need of selling it, and if not for the consideration he owed his former employer, he wouldn't have needed to waste words with Luo Shan at all. He could simply release the intelligence publicly and sell it to the highest bidder.

Any organization with even a little scale would fight to buy such practical intelligence, even if it wasn't from a high floor.

Intelligence from within the first hundred floors wouldn't threaten lives too badly, after all. It was something money could buy.

Wang Wen thought for a moment, then patiently revealed a little more to Luo Shan. "It's true that the opening changes from Three Arrows to the Five-Finger Map. And I can guarantee you this: with this route, the time will be reduced by at least three minutes!"

"Hey, what exactly are you..." Luo Shan was still stuck on the previous subject when he suddenly realized a basic issue. "What did you say? Reduced by three minutes? You mean the 69th Floor's Disordered Mechanism can be solved in only five minutes?"

Wang Wen spread his hands, shrugged, and looked at him.

Luo Shan stood there with his mouth open, his throat making clicking noises. Then he raised the phone in his hand. No longer bothering to avoid being heard, he said directly to the person on the phone in front of Wang Wen, "He says the new route only takes five minutes."

The chaotic noise on the phone abruptly fell silent.

Then someone said gravely to Luo Shan, "Wait there. The team leader will personally bring people over. You're at the Grand Plaza, correct?"