"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Aalto, an information broker. Pay me enough, and I can get you any information you want." Aalto adjusted his sunglasses and spoke confidently.
Lu Li scoffed. "Tch... you've never even heard of my illustrious name, yet you dare make such wild claims."
Aalto curled his lip and sneered. "Are you really as impressive as that post made you out to be?"
Before Lu Li could answer, Encore tugged at his clothes beside him.
"Big brother, you haven't answered me yet. Do you want to join the Black Shores?"
"I already belong to an organization," Lu Li said regretfully.
Aalto froze at that. "Don't tell me you're a member of the Fractsidus?"
Lu Li shook his head. "Actually, I'm a member of the West Coast. They call me Tupac!"
"West... Coast?" Encore blinked, then turned to Aalto. "What's the relationship between the West Coast and our Black Shores?"
"The West Coast?" Aalto gave Lu Li a skeptical look.
Then he noticed the corners of Lu Li's mouth twitching as he struggled to hold back a smile.
Realization immediately dawned on Aalto. "Oh, you! Making up stories again, are you?"
As an information broker, Aalto had encountered all sorts of people.
Plenty of them spun lies off the tops of their heads, but even they mixed truth with fiction, making it hard to tell what was real.
Lu Li, though? Not a single word out of his mouth was true!
"Encore, stop trying to persuade him. How could someone who lies through his teeth join the Black Shores?"
Lu Li wore the expression of a lone sober man in a world of drunks. "To tell you the truth, I'm actually an information broker too."
"?"
At that, Aalto pushed his sunglasses down with a finger, revealing his amber eyes. He wanted to see just how shameless this man could be!
Chixia: You really do have a lot of identities!
"Do you know who the current Magistrate, Jinhsi, is looking for?" Lu Li asked.
"What, are you going to tell me you're the one Magistrate Jinhsi is looking for?"
"Of course not. Though I, too, am the embodiment of strength and wisdom, Magistrate Jinhsi is looking for someone else."
"Oh? Do tell."
That certainly interested Aalto. He already knew that Magistrate Jinhsi was looking for the same person he was, but he had yet to find them.
After Magistrate Jinhsi's earlier citywide announcement, she presumably had some leads by now.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Lu Li clicked his tongue and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.
"You mean... you want money?"
"Of course. This is exclusive information from the future top editor of the Jinya Forum."
"I don't believe you. Who knows if you're about to make something up again?"
"Hey, I traveled with that person for a while. Ask her if you don't believe me." Lu Li pointed at Chixia.
"Traveled together?" Aalto's skeptical gaze shifted between Chixia and Lu Li.
He knew Chixia. She was a Jinzhou Patroller and had a good reputation among the locals. If both of them had traveled with that person for a while, they probably weren't lying.
Aalto hesitated briefly. "All right, then. Name your price."
Lu Li smiled in satisfaction and held up two fingers.
Although he felt that scamming people wasn't very nice, fake information was still information!
Charging two hundred thousand wasn't unreasonable, right?
That was more than two days' earnings from his "Never Underestimate a Poor Youth" talent!
It could buy thirty-three bowls of Jinzhou Stew!
"Two million? Fine."
Aalto felt that two million Shell Credits was nothing if he could get information about that person.
Besides, since they had traveled with that person, they ought to have noticed something unusual.
Calling it exclusive information really wasn't an exaggeration.
Lu Li froze. He had meant two hundred thousand, but he quickly recovered.
"Deal!"
After receiving the two million Shell Credits, Lu Li grew rather excited. He decided to tell a little truth and cleared his throat.
"Ahem."
"Listen closely."
"In the mountains was a woman who had lost her memories. She knew neither her name nor whence she came."
"She encountered two people of Jinzhou, named Xia and Yang. Seeing her condition, they asked what had happened. The woman was bewildered and could not answer. The two invited her to travel with them, and, grateful for their kindness, she agreed."
"The party reached a Tacet Field, where they met Zhi and Li. A monster was wreaking havoc there. Though the woman had lost her memories, her chivalrous spirit remained undimmed."
"A strange wind howled, and the monster appeared. It was enormous, with a hideous face, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws as it lunged straight at them."
"Unperturbed, the woman drew the treasured sword at her waist and charged to meet it. Her blade flashed as she engaged the monster. Not to be outdone, Yang wielded her own treasured sword and fought at the woman's side. Fierce though the monster was, it was no match for their valor..."
Lu Li's voice rose and fell dramatically, leaving his audience utterly spellbound. He was every bit as good as Jinzhou's storytellers.
Encore tugged at Lu Li's clothes. "And then? And then?"
"To learn what happened next, tune in for the next installment!"
Encore: "?"
Aalto: "?"
Chixia: "..."
"That's it? Two million for barely two hundred words of information? So each word costs ten thousand Shell Credits?"
"Knowledge is priceless, child. You've gained so much information for a mere two million Shell Credits. You should feel honored."
"Honored, my ass! Give me back my two million!" Aalto moved to draw his weapon.
"Hey, hey, hey, wait..."
Lu Li freed himself from Encore's grip, slipped over to Chixia, and pointed at her.
"Do you know who she is?"
Aalto's hand paused as he reached for his gun. "Of course. A Jinzhou Patroller."
"And you still dare attack me? Besides, this is Jinzhou, not your blasted West Coast!"
"It's the Black Shores!" Encore corrected him.
Aalto snorted. "You're a con artist. Even if I attack you, I'm sure Jinzhou will see justice done."
Well, well, what an arrogant fellow!
How dare he show such disregard for my darling Chixia!
[Ding! Options triggered!] [Option 1: Leave with Chixia. Reward: Talent "Strong to the End"] [Option 2: Abandon Chixia and leave alone. Reward: The finest cremation service] [Option 3: Fight Aalto. Reward: Fifty thousand Shell Credits]
Lu Li snorted. "The tables will turn. Just you wait!"
Lu Li did want to see whether Aalto's gun was faster than his Comrade's Hammer.
But he still had to show the system some respect. Compared with fifty thousand Shell Credits, Strong to the End was far more intriguing.
After delivering his parting threat, Lu Li scooped Chixia up and used Run Like a Boss, vanishing from Aalto's sight in a flash.
Aalto withdrew the hand reaching for his gun. He hadn't actually intended to do anything; he had only wanted to scare Lu Li.
"Why did he make it sound like he was the victim? I'm the one who got scammed out of two million."
"Aw... big brother left," Encore said regretfully.
"Let him go. Those two million were a bit of a waste, but they weren't entirely useless..."
Before you continue