Chapter 350 - 334: The Bug-Exploiting Councilor
As time went on, the profiteering merchants realized that if they held out any longer, their vegetables would rot in their hands. Meanwhile, the marketplace outside was even more bustling and noisy than usual.
Those profiteering merchants who were still stubbornly holding out finally caved.
They had originally thought their strike could be used as a bargaining chip to threaten the city government and make Miss Su panic. The reality, however, was that the higher-ups couldn’t care less whether they resisted or not.
You won’t sell? There are plenty of others lining up to take your place!
Keep resisting? Then go ahead and wait. After all, it’s your own vegetables rotting, your own money you’re losing, and your own families going hungry.
In this game, the profiteering merchants sorrowfully discovered that they never even had a seat at the table to begin with.
To feed their families, this group of once-arrogant merchants had no choice but to sheepishly end the strike—one that was doomed to fail from the very start.
One by one, they trickled back to their stalls, wearing ingratiating smiles as they resumed their usual business.
After all, if you refused to compromise, you were the only one who would lose out.
...
With the native merchants of Anhe City now fully back to work, quests like "Vegetable Basket Guardian" also received a minor adjustment.
[Quest Name]: Vegetable Basket Guardian (Daily)
[Adjustments]:
The "200 copper coin basic allowance," originally given for being idle for 2 hours daily, has now been removed.
[Retained Items]:
Life skill proficiency gain, title rewards for special achievements (such as [Cabbage Immortal]), and their associated buffs will be retained.
As time passed and the power held by the player council members grew, something etched into the very DNA of every gamer—the desire to exploit bugs—began to fester wildly within the [Anhe City · Council].
At first, the atmosphere was perfectly normal. Everyone was discussing how to develop the city, but for some reason, no one mentioned trying to exploit bugs. Then, one of the council members, [Kabuta Giant], finally couldn’t hold back any longer.
...
「Anhe City · Temporary Council Hall」
Ten tall, stone-backed chairs were arranged in a circle. Although the surroundings were still rather crude, the feeling of "wielding power" was palpable.
Suddenly, council member [Kabuta Giant] slammed his hand on the table, startling the others.
"Holy shit! Guys, have you seen the treasury?"
[Kabuta Giant]’s eyes were gleaming. "Anhe City might look like a dump, but the city government has over a million copper coins in liquid funds?!"
Hearing this, [Mojin Xiaowei], who sat across from him, let out a deliberately profound sigh and wiped away non-existent drool from the corner of his mouth. "I’ve seen it. Saw it a long time ago, in fact. I was practically drooling. But it’s public funds, meant only for quest rewards."
’Heh heh heh heh heh! Finally, someone willing to wade into these muddy waters! Come on, come on! I was just waiting for you to bring up the bug exploit!’
Sure enough, [Kabuta Giant] did not disappoint.
"Yeah, we can’t withdraw it directly into our pockets..." [Kabuta Giant] leaned forward, a mysterious look on his face. "But... what if we just raised the quest rewards?"
"For example... what if we post an extremely simple ’Government Errand’ quest, set the reward to one hundred thousand, and then have our friends accept it?"
The moment he said it, the air around the table seemed to freeze. The same thought instantly flashed through most of their minds: ’Yes! We finally have our fall guy! I was about to burst from holding it in!’
They were all tempted by the money, but none of them dared to test the waters with their own accounts. Now that someone had voluntarily stepped forward... well, flattery was free. All they had to do was bolster this idiot’s confidence.
And so, a performance best described as "praise them to death" began.
[Zhengdao de Guang] was the first to react. He gave a thumbs-up, his face a mask of sincere admiration. "Bro, that’s... some outside-the-box thinking! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that? Sigh, I guess I’m just too inflexible!"
’You really know how to keep it to yourself! I was starting to think no one on this council had the guts for this! And to think it was you, you hidden genius!’
[Daitou Dage] leaned back in his chair, looking perfectly composed. "We’re council members; we have the authority to set the prices. If you think it’s fine, then it’s fine. After all, you’re the one setting the rule."
’You’re the one setting it! Has nothing to do with me! Go on, I’m rooting for you! I’ll just wait and see what happens to you before I decide if I’ll do it too!’
Seeing how supportive everyone was, [Kabuta Giant]’s confidence swelled instantly. "I think it’s feasible, too! So... should we try it?"
[Mojin Xiaowei] immediately performed a tactical lean-back, adopting a humble, "I’m not worthy" expression. "Ahem, I think... the potential profits here are enormous. But since it was Brother Giant who suggested it, this first chance to strike it rich should rightfully go to him! I won’t compete for it!"
"Yeah, yeah! That’s only right!"
"+1 to that! An opportunity like this has to go to the one who came up with it!"
The chorus of agreement was overwhelming, as if they were afraid [Kabuta Giant] might pass the opportunity to someone else.
Of course, some people didn’t care for material things like copper coins—a certain high-level Qi Refining Cultivator, for instance.
[Yi Jian Ding Qiankun], clutching his sword, glanced over coldly. "I don’t need it. If you want to pull this stunt, do it yourself. Copper coins are useless to me. I only care about Spirit Stones and cultivation bonuses, and only Miss Su has Spirit Stones."
[BiquguoQu4] also stood up and straightened his collar. "I don’t need any either. You all... *sigh*. I have something to take care of, so I’m logging off. Farewell! Oh, and try not to cause some huge mess! I don’t want to have to reincarnate again!"
But their indifference did nothing to dampen [Kabuta Giant]’s enthusiasm. On the contrary, he just thought it was better to have two fewer people to split the money with.
[Mojin Xiaowei] continued fanning the flames. "If this works out, you could become the richest man in Anhe City! Sigh, I’m just too naive; I’d never think of a play like this. Besides, I’m terrified of Miss Su’s murderous glare. It would be a real shame to get hunted down over this!"
[Daitou Dage]: "Yeah! I’m just a natural-born coward. I can’t be the first one to try something risky. I just follow the lead of the pros."
[Zhengdao de Guang]’s mouth twitched. "Hold on, are you sure you’re a coward?"
[Daitou Dage] shot [Zhengdao de Guang] a look that said, "Why are you ruining my act?" then declared seriously, "I am! You’ve only ever seen the surface."
Afraid their fall guy might get suspicious, [Zhengdao de Guang] quickly added, "Right, right. Brother Kabuta is the one with real guts. Just the thought of Miss Su is enough to scare me off!"
Puffed up from all the flattery, [Kabuta Giant] waved his hand magnanimously. "She’s just a game NPC. What’s there to be afraid of? If we get a warning, we’ll just cancel the quest! It’s not like it’ll kill us! Besides, we’re the council! Fortune favors the bold!"
"That’s right! Fortune favors the bold! Go for it, Brother Giant!"
"Fortune favors the bold! Go for it, Brother Kabuta! +1!"
"It’s a genius idea, I tell you! I’m just waiting for the pro to get rich and carry the rest of us!"
"Alright! Since you all think so highly of me, it would be rude to refuse! I’ll go after this first pot of gold and test the waters for everyone!"
And so, with a thrilled heart and trembling hands, [Kabuta Giant] gloriously became the guinea pig for exploiting the bug.
[Kabuta Giant] attempted to post a quest with a "reward of -10,000 copper coins."