Chapter 351 - 335: An Official Post from the Sky
He wanted to see if he could siphon money out of the system, but he failed.
[System Prompt: Invalid value. Please enter a positive integer.]
"Tch, I knew it," Kabuta Giant muttered, pursing his lips.
"Don’t lose heart! Get to the main event!"
"Yeah! Just do whatever you’re thinking of! Don’t hesitate!"
"What’s a little setback like this? Fortune favors the bold! If you pull this off, you’ll be Anhe City’s God of Wealth! I’ll follow you from now on!"
"Whether we can strike it rich all depends on you, boss!"
Amidst the chorus of flattery, Kabuta Giant gradually lost himself.
’Screw it! Fortune favors the brave, and the timid starve to death!’
’But if I post the reward and someone else claims it, wouldn’t I be doing all the work for their benefit?’
So, he quickly contacted a best buddy of his in Anhe City who hadn’t yet become a City Guard.
[Private Chat Channel]
[Kabuta Giant]: Old San! Quick! Go find some dirt for me on the streets!
[Old San next door]: Huh? What kind of dirt?
[Kabuta Giant]: Anything will do! Preferably a vendor who’s still short-changing customers! I’m about to post a high-value bounty. We’ll work together, the two of us, and cash out the money from the Prefectural Treasury!
[Old San next door]: Holy crap! This is exciting! Hold on! ... Got one! Big Head Liu over in the east district just got back to his stall and is mixing sand into his flour again! The guy’s incorrigible, all to save a few bucks! I’m right next to him now!
[Kabuta Giant]: Excellent! Wait right there! Get ready!
With his man in position, Kabuta Giant smiled and nodded.
’Keep the good stuff for ourselves. Once we split the cash, we’ll make a killing!’
He took a deep breath and typed into the mission publication panel:
[Mission Objective]: Report a vendor who is short-changing customers to the City Guard (near the sesame cake stall in the east district).
[Mission Reward]: 100,000 copper coins (Paid from the Prefectural Treasury).
[Confirm Publication]
Aside from the few whose goals were Spirit Stones or who purely wanted to play a management-style game, most of the others held their breath.
’If this actually works, they...’
However, the moment Kabuta Giant hit confirm...
[The input-output ratio of the mission you have published has been detected as severely imbalanced. The mission’s logic may violate the "Su Ling’er’s Code of Conduct," and is suspected of involving transfer of benefits/maliciously embezzling public funds.]
[Please explain in the input box below within ten breaths: Why does this mission achieve "All of Miss Su’s Requirements," and why does this mission align with the values embodied in "All of Miss Su’s Requirements"?]
(Note: Your defense will be subjected to semantic analysis and logical judgment by the Shensī Engine.)
[Countdown: 10... 9...]
"What the? I have to write a timed essay?!"
Kabuta Giant panicked as he watched the countdown timer rapidly tick away.
[Countdown: 5... 4...]
With no time to think, Kabuta Giant typed out a string of gibberish that even he didn’t understand.
"Uh... because... high rewards attract brave men! The reward is high because... because we need to show zero tolerance for these vendors! We need to... to clobber them with money! This is for Anhe City’s GDP! For... for the glory of Miss Su!"
[Countdown: 0!]
[System judgment in progress... Engaging deep thought...]
[Judgment Result: Logic is utter nonsense. Suspected of fabricating information.]
[Nature of Infraction]: Attempted abuse of power, malicious squandering of public funds, and deception of superiors.
[Executing Punishment]:
Immediately strip [Kabuta Giant] of all positions and teleport him to the entrance of Anhe City.
Su Ling’er’s Favorability lowered to -1 (Disgusted).
Achievement Gained: [Incompetent Official of Attempted Corruption] (No bonuses).
"No—!! My councilor position! My attribute bonuses!!"
Kabuta Giant let out a miserable scream as he watched his ID disappear from the council list.
...
「Meanwhile, on the streets of Anhe City.」
The player [I’m a Pauper], who was ranked 11th on the "Sweeping Out Crime and Evil" contribution leaderboard, was patrolling the streets, looking for law-breaking players or NPCs to earn a few copper coins.
[Anhe City Regional Announcement]
Notice of Personnel Dismissal and Appointment
[Dismissal Notice]:
Subject: Former Temporary Councilor of Anhe City, [Kabuta Giant]
Reason for Disciplinary Action: It has been determined that the player engaged in an act of embezzling public funds (attempted) after publishing a mission, and deviated from the core principles of the "Miss Su’s Code of Conduct."
Disposition: The councilor position is revoked immediately, and all attribute bonuses and privileges are rescinded.
Details of Penalty: As the action has not yet resulted in substantial negative consequences, the status [Political Black Mark (Minor)] is applied.
Status Effect: Prohibited from holding any public office in Anhe City for 30 natural days.
Subsequent Reinstatement: After the cooldown period ends, if there is a vacancy in the City Guard roster, the player is permitted to reapply for the team with probationary status.
[Appointment by Succession]:
Basis: "Anhe City Council Contribution Rank Order of Succession"
Promoted: Player [I’m a Pauper] (Formerly 11th on the contribution leaderboard)
New Position: Anhe City - Temporary Councilor (Sub-Ninth Rank - Pseudo)
[I’m a Pauper]: !!!
[I’m a Pauper] stared at the long list of new attribute bonuses and the "Temporary Councilor" title that had appeared above his head, completely dumbfounded.
"What’s going on? I... How did I just get this massive windfall?!"
"I’m an official now?!"
[City Guard Channel]
[I’m a Pauper]: Holy crap?! Which brother was it? Which magnanimous, living Bodhisattva just gave up their position?! I was stuck at 11th place before with no way to scroll down, how did I suddenly become an official?!
The others in the channel also realized what had happened. Although Kabuta Giant had already been kicked from the councilor and City Guard channels, the system announcement made it instantly clear: someone had been asking for it and got themselves wiped out!
At that, the players who were previously ranked 12th, 13th, and 14th instantly saw green with envy.
[Formerly 12th Place]: Holy crap! Can another boss make a mistake! I’m just one spot away from getting in!
[Formerly 13th Place]: To the bosses up there! Don’t just try embezzlement! If you’re going to get demoted anyway, why not let your little bro here arrest you for some extra performance points? Help a brother out! I really need to be a high-ranking official too! I also want to shine bright for Anhe City!
[Formerly 14th Place]: Please, bosses, gift us another spot! Just one!
Seeing the stirred-up City Guards, the councilors still in the council immediately jumped into the City Guard channel to play the good guys, passing the buck at light speed.
[Light of the Righteous Path]: Sigh, what a tragedy! We tried so hard to persuade Kabuta Giant in the council!
[Mojin Xiaowei]: Yeah, yeah! We couldn’t stop him! He insisted he’d found a shortcut and had to show us how to exploit a bug. He even said he was going to carry us all to the top.
[Big Brother]: So tragic. We are deeply pained by this behavior of not listening to advice and insisting on challenging Miss Su’s bottom line! But there’s nothing to be done. You reap what you sow! It’s all his fault for not properly reading "All of Miss Su’s Requirements." I’m going to go study it in depth right now!
While wiping away fake tears in the channel, they were all inwardly celebrating.
’Thank god a fool finally showed up to test the waters. We’re good, we’re good! This isn’t a big deal!’