Chapter 549: Intelligence Trading and Invitations
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 549: Intelligence Trading and Invitations
As soon as the girl calling herself Xing Anlei arrived, I could clearly see Daphne breathe a slight sigh of relief, as if she had finally found her pillar of support.
The purpose of this girl—the Vice President of the Jack-of-all-trades Club—was easy to discern. She made no effort to hide it, coming over primarily to feel out my situation. After all, while the Jack-of-all-trades Club hadn't had much overlap with me before, my current identity was something they couldn't afford to ignore.
It was only after talking with them for a while that I realized they had actually been looking for me for some time. Their main goal had been to facilitate exchanges between teaching assistants and the like, but the process hadn't been smooth—and I hadn't even known about it!
Thinking back, it made sense. Given my usual daily routine, I used teleportation spells to go everywhere or simply stayed cooped up in my underground laboratory. I never just loitered around the Witch Academy. It was only natural that I was oblivious to their attempts to reach me.
The older witch sisters hadn't mentioned it to me either. Perhaps... they didn't think it was particularly important for me.
Then again, contacting the Jack-of-all-trades Club wasn't exactly a high priority for me. If something actually came up, I could deal with it then; there was no need to go out of my way to establish contact.
However, when she asked about my future plans, I didn't hide anything. I told her I intended to leave the Witch Academy to investigate and make contact with those "players" from before.
Of course, on the Jack-of-all-trades Club's side, these "players" were referred to as... Invaders. Their information-gathering capabilities seemed even more impressive than I had anticipated.
"Teacher Xiao Han doesn't seem surprised by that term at all. Do you perhaps know more than we do?" Xing Anlei had been watching my expression closely ever since she swapped my description of "rogue transcendent terrorists" for "Invaders from outside the world."
"I know a little. I assume you were able to get this information because you've had contact with those fellows, right?" As I spoke, I glanced at the quiet Qiu Ruxin sitting nearby. She had been a member of the Jack-of-all-trades Club for a while now, but it seemed she hadn't shared the concept of "players" with them.
"We have indeed had some contact. That specific group is small in number and scattered across the globe. Moreover, they've become much more low-profile recently. This shift seems to have started right after you stepped in to save Tan Han and Xia Li. You likely know more than we do... To be honest, we've reached out to Tan Han and the others, but they weren't willing to share much."
"That’s only natural, isn't it? From what I heard about how that incident started, your Jack-of-all-trades Club was essentially the fuse," I countered with a smile.
If the club hadn't contacted the shopkeeper in the first place, the incident might never have happened. Then again, some unlucky soul was bound to be targeted eventually; if it wasn't Tan Han and Xia Li, it would have been someone else.
"You're joking, Teacher Xiao Han. I hope you won't hold a prejudice against our club because of that. None of us wanted that to happen..."
"I know. Someone always has to be the unlucky scapegoat. If not them, then someone else."
"Thank you for your understanding. We can discuss Tan Han's situation later. I wonder... would Teacher Xiao Han be willing to share intelligence regarding those Invaders? Giving everyone a deeper understanding of those people would be beneficial for us all. We personally feel this is an issue that cannot be ignored, but the Mentors..."
"The Mentors won't lift a finger, will they?" I finished for her.
"Yes. The Mentors scoff at even our worst-case conjectures. But this situation might be far worse than they anticipate. I know they possess the absolute strength to deal with an extra-worldly invasion, but the society outside cannot withstand that kind of upheaval."
"So, the Jack-of-all-trades Club's stance is that even if the Mentors are there to clean up the mess, you'd rather steer everything in a better direction yourselves?"
"Exactly. That is why I sincerely hope you will accept our proposal for information sharing, Teacher Xiao Han."
"I recall your club saying that even intelligence has a corresponding value." I wasn't about to be a sucker. While I wasn't obsessed with money and lived by the philosophy of 'enough is plenty,' I wasn't going to give them this information for free.
I might give away a [Great Knowledge Seed] for nothing, but I wouldn't just hand over intelligence like this.
Giving away the seeds was part of my broader long-term plan, but I had no such plans for the information regarding the players. Furthermore, I had no further designs on the Jack-of-all-trades Club for the time being. Once I left, their business would have nothing to do with me. I wasn't going to play the philanthropist just to earn some trivial reputation.
Xing Anlei wasn't surprised by my response. Our previous conversation had laid the groundwork, and she had only managed to fish out insignificant details so far. If I truly didn't care about the information or its dissemination, I wouldn't be this difficult to deal with.
As for purchasing the intelligence... the money itself didn't matter. They just needed an opportunity to acquire information faster. Knowing something early provided a level of convenience that no amount of money could buy.
Sometimes the truth is just that seductive—its perceived value often far exceeds its actual worth.
"Of course! We respect the value of every piece of intelligence. We will offer a price that satisfies you. How would you like to settle the payment?"
"What are my options?" I asked.
"The most common is standard currency. Just give us an account number, and we'll transfer it directly. We can also settle in Red Copper coins. If you want Mithril or Orichalcum coins, there might be a discrepancy in the actual value you receive due to the high entry threshold. You might lose out a bit if you insist on those. Plus, given the limited stock of such precious transcendent materials, we generally don't support that method. However, for Teacher Xiao Han, we'd be willing to take the hit. Also... if you wish to exchange for items of inherent value, like Mana Sources or spellbooks, we can accommodate that as well."
"Red Copper will do," I said.
Since she had laid it out so clearly, I obviously wasn't going to choose the least valuable common currency. And since she'd mentioned the issues with Mithril and Orichalcum, asking for them would be like forcing them to do me a favor. Even if it went unsaid, taking an unfair advantage makes one beholden to others.
My goal was never the money; I just didn't want them to get a free ride. If I were to get bogged down in haggling over every cent and wasting energy on trifles, I'd be the real fool.
"Great!" Xing Anlei was visibly pleased. "Then... shall we get down to business?"
"Yes."
I nodded. Since I had agreed to the trade, I would tell them what they wanted to know.
I had originally come to the Jack-of-all-trades Club to see how much they knew about the players and perhaps pick up a few player-related commissions to earn some extra cash on the side. But who knew they would put me on such a pedestal? I felt awkward competing with students for tasks now, so I simply adapted to the situation and changed my approach.
The intelligence trade was conducted by me giving a comprehensive overview of the general information, followed by her asking targeted questions based on what I said.
The content I shared was largely the same as what I had told Tan Han and the others. I glossed over the fact that I had known about the players from the very beginning, and they didn't press me on it. They were more focused on practical questions: the strength of those individuals, the methods they employed, and so on.
Among their questions was why those people had targeted Tan Han. They already had suspicions that the group was after [Transcendent Knowledge], and they used me to confirm the accuracy of that theory.
Naturally, they also learned the concept of "players" from me. They would have found out sooner or later anyway, and since I had already told Tan Han, there was no point in keeping it a secret.
As for why I was secretive about knowing the players beforehand... that was to prevent them from forming any strange fantasies about me. Whether they knew that detail or not didn't really change anything, and it would be a headache if they started prying into it.
Best not to go looking for trouble.
Before long, the business was concluded. Xing Anlei was beaming with a radiant smile; clearly, she had gained quite a lot.
Heaven knows how much effort it would have taken their people to gather this information. Though she was curious how I had obtained details that clearly couldn't be gleaned from just one or two encounters, she simply attributed it to me knowing far more than they did—perhaps I had heard it from one of the Great Witches.
However, it was clear their understanding of these people was still insufficient. Because of the Q&A format, if they didn't know a key concept existed, they wouldn't know to ask about it, and I wasn't going to volunteer more than necessary.
It was like having a mountain of gold in front of them, but they didn't know how to mine the most valuable parts.
Xing Anlei was certain that Yang Yuehan still held key information, but they didn't even know how to phrase the questions. When they asked broad, open-ended questions, I would just brush them off by saying, "How should I know what you want to ask?" It left them feeling quite frustrated.
In the end, they could only settle for the promise of future cooperation to maintain their access to intelligence.
To ensure they didn't lose out on that potential future information, they couldn't afford to be stingy with the reward for this trade. If I felt they lacked sincerity, I might cut off all future cooperation.
"Thank you so much for providing this intelligence to our club. I will have the value assessed as quickly as possible. As for the payment... shall we mail it directly to the villa where you're currently staying?"
"Yes, that works," I nodded.
As my business concluded, the others nearby also paused their conversation.
"President, are you finished?"
"Yes." Xing Anlei nodded, signaling that the matter was temporarily settled.
She then looked at the two girls beside her. She recognized the girl named Lucianne, and the other as well. They were all roughly the same age, yet compared to the Xiao Han standing before her, the difference was like heaven and earth.
Because of this, the members of the Jack-of-all-trades Club were even more convinced that there were people in this world who could transcend the rules of luck. Luck wasn't an absolute indicator of everything; it just showed that a person was worth investing in.
But the recent death case—or rather, the one that had just happened—had also taught them that even a Child of Destiny wasn't a guaranteed win.
She quickly adjusted her mindset. Regardless, the Jack-of-all-trades Club had to stay on good terms with Teacher Xiao Han. Even putting aside her unbelievable achievements, the relationships she had built with so many Transcendent Mentors made her someone worth befriending.
If the Witch Academy made a major move and you didn't have the right connections, an ordinary student wouldn't even have the right to know about it. Relationships with Transcendent Witches were vital; a stray comment could hint at a major shift in direction.
"Do you have any plans for the near future, Teacher Xiao Han?"
"Plans... well, I haven't quite decided yet. I'm planning to leave the academy to look into some things I'm curious about, but nothing is set in stone... Oh, actually, there is one thing I need to do right now." As I spoke, I reached out and produced an item.
A [Great Knowledge Seed].
I had mentioned giving one to Qiu Ruxin earlier, but I almost forgot in the heat of the conversation.
After all, the predecessor of the predecessor of this seed had once belonged to her. Even if... she couldn't hold onto it and ended up giving it to me, I didn't mind granting her this stroke of fortune.
Qiu Ruxin had enrolled very late and was lagging far behind the average student in terms of knowledge. Furthermore, the [Great Knowledge Seed] likely wouldn't be distributed to the general student body on a large scale for some time. This could be considered giving her "closed beta access."
"That's... a Great Knowledge Seed!" Xing Anlei clearly recognized it.
They had heard rumors that the source of these items was Yang Yuehan, though they had maintained some skepticism regarding the truth of those rumors.
Nevertheless, they had fought hard to secure several seeds for themselves and had even reserved one for Lucianne, which Daphne was supposed to deliver today.
"It seems you recognize it. I intend to give this Great Knowledge Seed to Qiu Ruxin."
"I see..." Xing Anlei quickly chimed in with a smile. "We actually managed to secure several of these from our Mentors, and we even set one aside for Lucianne."
"Lucianne has one too?" I glanced at Lucianne with a hint of suspicion. I remembered using Lucianne as a test subject back then, didn't I?
If we were talking about "closed beta players," Lucianne was probably the very first.
"President..." Daphne spoke up hurriedly, standing up and taking a crystal cube containing a Great Knowledge Seed from her storage equipment. She leaned in and whispered, "Lucianne already received Teacher Xiao Han's gift a while ago. I... I wanted to mention it earlier, but I didn't get the chance..."
"It's fine. I forgot to mention it to you beforehand. It seems Lucianne didn't tell you, but you can't blame her. When I first approached her, the Great Knowledge Seed hadn't been officially rolled out yet. Looks like I've accidentally saved you a slot," I explained, stepping in as I saw their awkwardness.
"So that's how it is. Then I'll offer a belated thank you to Teacher Xiao Han on Lucianne's behalf," Xing Anlei said quickly. She gently pressed her hand over Daphne's, took the seed, and tucked it back into her storage equipment.
"It's a small matter," I said with a wave of my hand. I wasn't going to interfere with how they distributed their resources; if they could get their hands on them, that was their own business.
"Right, I have one more thing. I wonder if Teacher Xiao Han is interested in exhibitions?" She seemed to suddenly remember something. "This is an invitation to a private exhibition. Some of the items on display are previews for an upcoming auction. There will also be a gala in the evening after the auction preview. It would be an honor for the exhibition to host a distinguished guest like yourself. Would you be willing to grace us with your presence?"
"Hmm... sure. I'm fairly free lately anyway," I mused for a second before smiling and accepting.
I reached out and took the exquisite invitation. The moment it changed hands, a ripple of luck began to stir the flow of the script.
I glanced sideways at the information provided by my [Simple Qi Observation Art], which only I could see. The aura of luck on this invitation was so strong it was impossible to ignore. At this moment, the gears of luck were beginning to turn like the wheels of fate.
It seemed this item was the true unexpected harvest of this trip.