CHAPTER 95: 095 A SUDDEN ADVERTISEMENT

"As expected, after starting the sect’s side quest, the map automatically changes," [Lonely Old Man] began a private message. "This time, we don’t have to go to Qian City ourselves. The NPC will take us there..."

"I’ve always said that Righteous Door is a hidden sect; its background is no worse than those evil sects," [Crispy Rice] chimed in. "Other Novice Villages only have two people join major sects, but we have over a hundred!"

"Can the results of over a hundred people sharing resources be the same as one or two people enjoying resources in advance?" [Lumberjack No.1] argued. "Joining the Beggar Gang, other than you and Rice, how many have benefited? You both just learned a move or half of one, which still falls short of that lucky guy, Dengli Buduo. If I had known I could go to Qian City, I absolutely wouldn’t have invested my money and bought the position of Deputy Gang Leader."

"Why not wait until we get to Qian City to make a decision?" [Lonely Old Man] reasoned. "After all, we know too little about this game; no one knows what the situation is like over there. If other sects offer better benefits, can Lin Bai still tie us down? As for spending that little bit of money, it’s not a big deal at all. Everyone is exploring nowadays; initial investment is perfectly normal."

While the others were privately chatting, [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] suddenly popped up in front of Lin Bai. "Shopkeeper Lin, do you drink milk?"

"..." Lin Bai was dumbfounded.

"If you drink milk, may I recommend pure natural milk from Green Grass? It’s rich and aromatic, with a delightful natural taste. Bring Mu Ming milk home for everyday health, for you and for others," [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] said with a smile, unperturbed by Lin Bai’s stunned expression.

Damn it! Lin Bai nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. Is this ad just forcibly inserted without considering the context? God damn it! It completely interrupted my train of thought!

"What the hell are you doing?" [Lonely Old Man] privately messaged [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi].

"Earning some advertising fees, don’t mind. I’ll send everyone red envelopes later," [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] flashed a grin, enjoying the barrage of comments on the live stream screen in front of him.

"Crap, a mouthful of old blood sprayed on the screen."

"This damn ad nearly sprained my back!"

"Just fucking~~hard~~~plugging~~~"

"I had anticipated ad insertions, but I never thought it would be done this way!"

"It’s always Shopkeeper Lin who stuns others! This is the first time I’ve seen Shopkeeper Lin stunned by an ad. Shopkeeper Lin’s expression reminds me of the smart speaker at home."

"HAHAHA, Shopkeeper Lin is completely floored!"

"Indeed, only illogical behavior can defeat NPCs!"

"How much did Mu Ming Milk pay you? Daylight Milk will pay three times!"

"It’s over. I thought the Immortal World would be a sanctuary. I never imagined it would be tainted by them..."

Lin Bai’s original plan was to sell a few Martial Arts moves to the key figures of the Beggar Gang, encouraging them to invest more in the Beggar Gang and thus binding them to it. But [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi]’s ad caught him off guard, and Lin Bai quickly changed his mind. Instead of prying money from their hands, why not bring everyone together to make a fortune? Playing games and earning money at the same time—is there any better way to build cohesion? He had to remember, he was the first-ever internet celebrity star in the Immortal World. At this stage, which NPC had as much traffic as him? Not to mention, he even had a team now!

"Are you selling milk?" Lin Bai looked at [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] with interest.

"I plan to get into the milk business," [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] replied. Having taken money from his sponsor, he was naturally putting a lot of effort into promotion, wishing the topic would stay on milk forever. After a thought, he added, "It’s like Wu’s Pancakes and Wu’s Sorghum Liquor, except my business hasn’t reached Jiamucheng yet. I’m here to set up an advance post."

"Old Dog, damn it, that’s enough! Just say what you need to and stop going on and on!" [Crispy Rice], his face dark, privately messaged [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi]. "We’re here to play the game, not listen to your advertisements! This is Beggar Gang territory. Can you show a little respect?"

"Have you ever thought about letting the Beggar Gang help you promote it?" Lin Bai asked with a smile, pretending not to hear [Crispy Rice]’s complaint.

"..." This time, it was [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi]’s turn to be stunned.

"..." [Crispy Rice] and the others were also dumbfounded.

"Young man, since you’ve come to Jiamucheng, you should know that the Chef’s Divine Food Stall was my creation, as were the lyrics ’You love me, I love you’," Lin Bai said, caressing the Little White Fox’s soft white fur. "To tell you the truth, I initially invested less than a hundred taels of silver into the Chef’s Divine Food Stall. Now, in less than twenty days, its value is at least five hundred thousand taels. Moreover, the revitalization movement in Jiamucheng was also propelled by me. As they say, with money, you can go anywhere; without it, you can hardly move an inch. Members of the Righteous Door not only possess great Martial Arts skills, but each one is also a genius in commerce."

"How does Shopkeeper Lin plan to negotiate?" [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi]’s breathing grew a little ragged; he seemed to see an opportunity to get rich.

"That depends on how big you plan to make the business," Lin Bai said. "If it’s just a small-scale operation," he pointed to the Beggar Gang’s uniform, "we can embroider the words ’Mu Ming’ onto the Beggar Gang’s clothes. Do that for ten days to half a month, and wherever the Beggar Gang Disciples go, they’ll be advertising it..."

"Damn, he’s truly the top NPC in game marketing! I now believe Dengli Buduo is a real puppet; his wisdom is far inferior to Shopkeeper Lin’s!"

"@GameAdmins, please come and manage this! Your NPC is out seeking advertisement deals on his own!"

"@MuMingMilk, hurry up! Shopkeeper Lin is proposing terms online!"

"My intelligence is crushed. Shopkeeper Lin always finds business opportunities, even in the smallest cracks. I’m actually inferior to an NPC!"

"Ask Shopkeeper Lin how to go big! I’m from Moonlight Dairy’s Advertising Department."

"@LonelyOldMan, I’m from Golden Bull Cars. How can outsiders make decisions about the Beggar Gang’s territory?"

"Get lost, you car guys! What are you joining the excitement for?"

"@CrispyRice, I’m from Yixing Dairy..."

"Damn, Shopkeeper Lin truly lives up to his reputation as a traffic magnet; he can even do cross-industry business deals!"

"Feels like the game is going off track again. @GameCompany, when’s the next account release? I can’t wait to join the Righteous Door!"

"Shopkeeper Lin, how do we go big?" [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] stuttered, dazzled by the screen full of messages from potential advertisers, real or fake.

"Going big? I can have every Beggar Gang Disciple say your slogan to each passerby after begging. For example, ’Mu Ming Milk wishes all kind-hearted people a lifetime of peace and safety.’ We can also paint your slogan on the walls of the Chef’s Divine Food Stall. If you’re willing to invest enough, I can even contact the City Lord to have your slogan painted on the city walls of Jiamucheng." Lin Bai’s eyes seemed to gleam with the light of silver. "Trust me, I have the power to do this. The prerequisite is that you must show corresponding sincerity."

"Agree!" "Agree!" The screen was flooded with "Agree!" [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] felt a series of vibrations from incoming private messages and emails. But he knew he couldn’t log off now; the moment he did, this deal might fall through. Besides, he couldn’t make the decision himself—after all, he was just an intermediary.

"Shopkeeper Lin, don’t rush to agree with him," [Lonely Old Man] said to Lin Bai, having started his own live broadcast simultaneously. He glanced at [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi]. "Actually, I also have a relative in business, and their company is much stronger than Mu Ming Milk. The Beggar Gang’s capacity is only so large; naturally, we should promote whoever offers more money."

"Gang Leader, I also have a relative in business!" [Crispy Rice] hastily added.

Others had also contacted him. Who wouldn’t want to seize an opportunity to make money while playing a game? No matter how well one played, could it compare to making a fortune in real life?

"What a coincidence, I also have a relative in business!" [Lumberjack No.1] chimed in, not wanting to be outdone.

Who cares about face when there’s money to be made? Faced with the prospect of wealth, he had already dismissed the idea of leaving the Beggar Gang for another faction. It had to be said, sticking with Lin Bai, this walking goldmine, made the Righteous Door incredibly tempting!

"You all have relatives in business?" Lin Bai looked around at them, a smile in his eyes. "It seems our Beggar Gang is truly full of talented individuals!"

"We shouldn’t let good fortune flow to outsiders, Shopkeeper Lin. Please prioritize helping the brothers within our own gang first," [Lonely Old Man] chuckled.

"How can you do this?" [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] blurted out, instantly anxious and forgetting to use a private message. "I was clearly the first one to talk to Shopkeeper Lin!"

"So what? The Beggar Gang is Shopkeeper Lin’s Righteous Gang, and you’re not even a Disciple yet," [Crispy Rice] glanced at him and sneered.

"I... I can join the Beggar Gang right now!" [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] gasped, then turned to Lin Bai. "Shopkeeper Lin, to be honest, I came today specifically to join the Beggar Gang. As long as you let me join, I’m willing to personally sponsor it with ten thousand taels of silver!"