Chapter 5: Not That High
A stream of light flashed past.
Wang Wen was already standing in front of the World Tower when his other foot stepped through the portal, and then he landed on the ground.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and gazed at the massive structure in front of him. The familiar sensation was as if it had happened the previous day.
The main square was behind him. There were a lot of people coming and going. Tower climbers from all over the world had gathered there, which was not an exaggeration. Some wanted to form a team outside the tower, while others wanted to buy and sell information. Some new small organizations were there to gather people.
However, the small distance in front of them was exceptionally quiet.
People of various nationalities entered the portal from various locations every minute and second.
They either entered the tower or turned around and walked toward the main square.
People seemed to have a special respect for the tower's entrance and did not want to crowd there.
The only possibility of congestion would be at the beginning of the week.
Most people liked to enter the tower at the beginning of the week to avoid not having enough time to climb the tower when they still had energy before their progress was reset.
However, all of that had nothing to do with Wang Wen.
He looked around and did not see Cheng Qiaoyi.
He secretly shook his head and exited the World Tower's entrance. He turned around and entered the main square. His intended audience was those who remained in the square.
Those who were exchanging information.
He approached a burly man who looked rich in a fur hat and jacket. Wang Wen adjusted his mask and whispered, "Friend, do you want information?"
"Get lost!"
Unexpectedly, the burly man in fur looked at Wang Wen. He was not interested in listening to him and impatiently waved his hand to chase him away. "Little Brat, what are you doing here? Go play over there."
Wang Wen lowered his head to look at his figure.
Even though he was a little thin and weak, he should not be treated as a child, right?
He smiled and walked away without an explanation.
A guy who could not even judge a person was wasting his time. He might die before he could even use the information.
He continued to stroll through the square.
He did not go to other gathering places where foreigners had gathered.
He was an all-rounded tower climber, so he knew some foreign languages, but that was for scientific decryption, not for business.
Money was more important than life in a business deal. An erroneous decimal point would be disastrous.
He did not have the money to buy expensive translation equipment, so he had to find a suitable target in the area where the locals gathered.
He needed some local businessmen.
Except for the big fur man at the start, the rest appeared to be dressed in rags. Perhaps they wanted to appear poor.
That was too pretentious, right?
Wang Wen, who had returned from 20 years in the future, knew that the First Consortium was in the east. They did send people to gather intelligence in that area.
Would anyone believe that people from the First Consortium were poor? Whoever thought that would not need their brains.
Wang Wen walked to a guy with a pointy face and whispered, "Friend, do you want intelligence? It's cheap."
The guy turned around with an exaggerated expression. "Brother, don't joke with me. Do I look like someone who can collect intelligence? I sell intelligence!"
He paused and said mysteriously, "However, I have been selling for many years, and I have some connections. If you have information, just tell me. If it's good information, I can help you contact a rich master."
"Stop pretending."
Wang Wen looked around and got closer. He looked down and said, "Are you in a hurry today? You're wearing the uniform of a First Consortium team leader. I did not expect you to be an official."
"What?"
The monkey-faced man looked at Wang Wen. "Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah."
He stared at Wang Wen as if he had seen a ghost. "Good boy, you have some ability. You know about us? Where are you from?"
"I'm selling intelligence. How can I make a living without some knowledge?" Wang Wen replied indifferently. He was only going to trade some low-level intelligence for some pocket money. It would be marginally unpopular at best. If the price were too high, no one would buy it, and no one would believe it. In such a place, good information would not be traded.
Climbing the tower was a gradual process. An ordinary person's reputation would be well-known after two or three hundred floors. Who would dare to believe that an unknown person would have information about the 500th level?
The monkey-faced man quickly pulled Wang Wen to a quiet place. He nodded and said, "I'm a little interested. Let me get to know you again. I'm Luo Shan. Since you know I'm from the First Consortium, you must know that we are always fair in our prices. Show me what you've got."
"Hello, Mr. Luo." Wang Wen asked curiously, "What's the price of information now?"
Luo Shan looked at him strangely. "Aren't you selling information? Why are you asking me? "
Wang Wen said, "I'm asking what price your group is selling at."
"Same as the market price."
Luo Shan nagged at a leisurely pace but did not reveal the number.
Wang Wen smiled.
He pursed his lips and shook his head. He said, "To tell you the truth, this is my first time selling information. I don't know the market price."
"Okay!"
Luo Shan slapped his thigh. He smiled and said, "Then I'll tell you the truth too. You will know when you ask other people anyway. For information about the 100th floor, the price is about 1,000 to 5,000 points. For the 200th floor, it's around 50,000 points. We don't talk prices about anything above the 200th floor. Let's change location. You set the place, and I'll set the time. What do you think? Which floor are you on?"
"Oh, it's not that high." Wang Wen waved his hand humbly. "I have information about the 69th floor. Take half back and see how much it's worth."
"Brother, you worry too much. I can decide on the information for anything below the 100th floor. There's no need to go back and discuss it." Luo Shan looked somewhat proud. "You can ask around."
Wang Wen smiled mysteriously and said, "Listen carefully. My information is that the fastest sequence to crack the disorder mechanism on the 69th floor does not start with three arrows but the five-finger diagram."
Luo Shan was still smiling confidently at the beginning.
He repeated the 69th floor and disorder mechanism twice.
His expression immediately became solemn, and he could not help but ask, "Starting with the five-finger diagram? What about the rest? The error tolerance rate for the five directions is even lower!"
Wang Wen looked at him quietly.
Luo Shan was slightly stunned.
Then he realized that he had lost his composure.
The rest? The rest was the information up for sale.
His brow became drenched in sweat.
He did not bat an eyelid when he looked at Wang Wen. "Sure, sure," he said with a smile. I had no idea it was the 69th floor's Life Harvester. It is one of the few valuable items on the 100th floor. Little Brother, you are in luck! Let me make a phone call and inquire with the higher-ups."
Wang Wen stretched out his hand and gestured for him to go ahead.
Luo Shan chuckled and quickly left.
He ran to a group of people and muttered something. He even pointed at Wang Wen.
The crowd stirred and then separated into two groups and walked forward expressionlessly.
Luo Shan shrank into the crowd as the groups of people approached slowly, not raising his head.
Wang Wen's eyes narrowed.