Chapter 87: Guidebook

Since it was Yone reaching out, Life had no reason to decline the call. Besides, there was still some time before the next batch of Lavastones arrived.

“You’re finally calling me? I was starting to think you’d vanished into the city,” she teased, her voice soft but tinged with amusement.

Yone chuckled on the other end. “Can you blame me, Miss Life? I had to mute everything. My comms wouldn’t stop buzzing. The moment I wrapped things up, I reached out to you first.”

He could sense a faint trace of dissatisfaction in her tone, nothing overt, but it was still there. Still, he had his reasons.

After all, getting established in Golden Card City hadn’t been easy. He’d spent a long stretch gathering critical information about the area. Even more time had gone into planning his next move. If he had released a detailed guide the moment he arrived, people would’ve immediately grown suspicious.

Who could possibly understand an entire city’s layout, resources, and secrets in such a short time?

So he’d made a show of laying low, letting time pass to make his eventual release of information appear more authentic. Letting others believe he’d personally explored and tested everything gave the guide credibility.

Life didn’t waste time. “You saw my message, then. About the intel on Golden Card City. What do you think? Just name your price, I’ll buy the whole thing.”

Having access to detailed information ahead of her competition could give her Guild a serious advantage. Getting that edge early could change everything in the coming days. Cost wasn’t her concern, time mattered, and Yone had a habit of being one step ahead.

“I’ve actually finished compiling a complete guide,” Yone said. “It comes in two versions. One’s a basic overview, the simplified edition. The other is the premium version, meant for serious Guilds. I’m planning to post them on the official forums soon.”

Life was briefly stunned. She had anticipated that he might sell the info, but the fact that he had already organized and packaged it, and had plans to distribute it, caught her off guard.

He’d acted fast, turning his head start into a profitable venture. And with his reputation as the first player to reach Golden Card City, the credibility of any guide he released was practically guaranteed.

It was a brilliant play.

Across the Golden Card City region, there were easily over a thousand major and minor Guilds. If even a fraction of them purchased his luxury guide at, say, 1,000 dollars each, that alone would net him a small fortune. And that was ignoring the revenue from casual players who would surely snatch up the simplified edition.

He wasn’t just leading the game, he was literally monetizing it to a terrifying degree, and from the way he did that on the Hell Mode dungeon and the revenue Life got her cause of him as well, that alone was enough to see what Yone had in mind.

In just a single night, using his status and some well-collected knowledge, Yone had already positioned himself to earn millions of Dollars. Few players could manage such a feat. Life found herself admiring not just his gameplay, but his business instincts.

“I have to say, I admire your business instincts,” Life said, a sly smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “But I’d like to buy access to that information a little earlier. And I’m willing to pay extra for the privilege. More specifically, I’m hoping you’ll delay the public release by three or four hours. In return, I’ll pay half a million Dollars as a postponement fee. Would that be acceptable?”

Yone raised his eyebrows.

A half million Dollars, just to hold off a few hours?

When he’d contacted her, he’d only planned to sell her an advance copy of the guidebook. He hadn’t expected Life to come prepared with such an offer. She really knew how to make a power move.

Truth be told, he’d already considered delaying the public launch by a couple of hours anyway; it would lend more legitimacy to the guide, make it seem like a genuine product of deep investigation.

That slight delay would also ramp up the pressure on other Guilds. Many were already on the verge of hitting Level 10, desperate to get a foothold in Golden Card City. Releasing the guide a bit later would only make them more eager to snatch it up the moment it appeared.

“Is that not enough?” Life asked, noticing his silence. “Fine, then. Make it a million Dollars.”

Yone snapped out of it, waving his hand lightly. “No, no. Half a million is more than generous. I was just… impressed.”

She relaxed slightly, though her expression was still sharp.

“So, just to confirm,” Yone continued with a playful glint in his voice, “are you interested in the simplified version or the luxury edition?”

Life gave an exaggerated eye roll. “Really? After offering a half-million-dollar delay fee, do you think I’d go for the cheap version? Obviously, I want the best one you’ve got.”

He laughed. “Luxury version it is. That’ll be 20,000 Dollars. But I’ll let you in on something else… I also happen to have a super-luxury version. Are you interested?”

Her brows arched. “Super-luxury? And how much is that supposed to cost?”

“One million,” Yone replied, his tone completely serious.

She blinked, then narrowed her eyes. “The regular luxury version is twenty thousand, but now you’re telling me the next tier up costs fifty times as much? Do I look like an idiot?”

“Come on now,” Yone said with a light chuckle, unbothered. “I assure you, this version has the kind of intel that could give you a massive head start. I wouldn’t offer it to just anyone. But if you’d rather stick with the luxury version, I won’t stop you.”

Though Life looked skeptical, she paused.

Yone continued, his voice calm but persuasive. “The super-luxury version includes the highest-value data, details on Golden Card City’s hidden daily quests, the fastest routes to reputation gain, high-yield leveling loops, and resource node patterns you won’t find anywhere else. It’s not just about getting into the city, it’s about staying ahead once you’re there.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep