The moment Wang Junjie called him "Brother Mo," Lin Mo knew.
He had finally understood.
It hadn't been in vain that Lin Mo had told him, based on memories from his previous life, about the three priceless hidden opportunities buried within Inferno City.
However, as soon as Wang Junjie said that, all the independent players around them couldn't help but gasp.
Player A: "Big Brother! Young Master! Just because you're rich doesn't mean we're all rich too."
Player B: "Exactly! I already think 10 copper coins is expensive! That's 2.7 yuan for one ticket. Add another 0.3 yuan and you could buy two steamed buns."
Player C: "If Young Master is paying for everyone's tickets, then of course we don't have any objections."
As it happened, Wang Junjie really was thinking about doing that.
Just as he was about to say it, Lin Mo stopped him.
"Do you remember what I told you before?"
Wang Junjie scratched his head, "You told me to save my money and not spend it unless it was necessary. But I think this is necessary."
"Oh, right," Wang Junjie's eyes lit up, "Brother Mo, how about I just transfer the money directly to you?"
"Aren't you running this Divine Might Tower to make gold?"
"Just tell me how much gold you need, and I'll take care of it."
"Ten thousand?"
"Twenty thousand?"
"Or fifty thousand?"
"One hundred thousand?"
As soon as he said that, everyone around them started murmuring, "Holy crap! Is the Hero of Troubled Times really that rich?"
"He's the richest man in Ning City. The only son in the family. His family fortune is worth tens of billions."
"But don't I remember Wang Junjie and Rulebound being sworn enemies before? Since when did they become so close?"
If this had been before, Lin Mo definitely wouldn't have missed the chance to fleece Wang Junjie.
But now, seeing Wang Junjie's attitude of being willing to go through fire and water for him, Lin Mo simply couldn't bring himself to take advantage of him.
"If you really want to help me, then just challenge the Divine Might Tower normally. You don't need to buy so many tickets. My goal isn't to make gold."
Wang Junjie scratched his head again, "If it's not for gold, then what's it for?"
While Lin Mo was talking with Wang Junjie, the Divine Might Tower finally ran into problems.
Everything had been fine at first.
But as time passed, quite a few players came back out of the tower into the main hall and began complaining loudly.
"They said killing ordinary monsters here could give reputation! It's a lie! I've already killed five or six monsters and haven't gotten a single point of reputation!"
"Exactly! Not only is there no reputation, but the monster drops are the same as ordinary monsters of the same level outside! If that's the case, why should I spend 10 copper coins to buy monsters to kill here instead of just killing monsters outside?"
"After paying the 10 copper coin ticket fee, the money left over from killing one monster is only enough to buy potions. I might even lose money! What's the point?"
"Well, it's not completely fake. You really can farm reputation, but the drop rate is way too low! I farmed for ages just to get 1 reputation. What's 1 reputation even good for?"
"Can I get a refund? I want my ticket refunded!"
Among the crowd, no one blamed Ning Xi.
They were all complaining about the Divine Might Tower's mechanics.
Faced with this situation, Ning Xi, as the lord, didn't panic.
Instead, she patiently explained to everyone, "Please don't worry. Before everyone entered the Divine Might Tower, I already reminded you that you could earn reputation here, but the chance wasn't high."
"Based on our internal testing, the chance is about 1% to obtain 1 reputation."
"If you can't accept that, then please come to me for a refund. I'll return your copper coins at the original purchase price."
Ning Xi kept her word.
She even bought back the tickets from the players requesting refunds at the original price of 10 copper coins each.
The players themselves knew that when they bought the tickets, the system had already taken a 50% cut, meaning Ning Xi had only received half of what they paid.
Yet now, Ning Xi was paying the difference out of her own pocket to refund them.
Some players felt too guilty to ask for a refund anymore.
After all, Ning Xi had clearly explained everything before they entered the tower.
And even the players who did get refunds praised Ning Xi.
"Boss Liuli is as kind as she is beautiful."
"Yeah! Refunding us was already generous enough, but she's even paying out of her own pocket to cover the system's deduction."
"Damn it! The Divine Oracle officials are way too shameless! Why make territories work like this and screw over Goddess Liuli?"
For a moment, Lin Mo felt a little dazed.
Because he could see more and more clearly the shadow of Empress Xiyue from his previous life in Ning Xi. [T/N: She can't be this naive.]
Or perhaps, even though many things and much of history had changed in this life, the one thing that hadn't changed was that Ning Xi was steadily advancing down the path of becoming the Empress.
In his previous life, Xiyue, Ning Xi, had become the number one Empress on the Dragon Nation server not just because of her strength.
More importantly, it was because of the kind of person she was.
Treat others with sincerity.
Only then could one win the hearts of countless people.
Only then could top experts across Dragon Nation, such as Abyss, Emperor Chentian, and Judge: Netherworld, one of the world's seven SSS-grade hidden class holders, willingly choose to serve under Ning Xi.
Just as Ning Xi was processing the refunds, something happened again.
At the same time, trouble also broke out inside the Divine Might Tower.
———
[The First Floor of the Divine Might Tower]
Inside the rainforest, players had already started fighting each other.
In one corner of the rainforest, a seemingly helpless level 54 Rogue had been shoved to the ground. Watching a Thorn Bear that had been summoned by his ticket get killed by a level 55 Sword-and-Shield Warrior and a level 55 Archer standing in front of him, he said to them angrily and fearfully, "That's the monster I summoned with my ticket! What gives you the right to steal it?"
The two casually picked up the dozens of copper coins and one piece of equipment dropped by the Thorn Bear.
The Sword-and-Shield Warrior instead threatened the young Rogue.
"If you keep running your mouth, I'll kill you too. Believe it or not."
The Archer added, "Hand over all the tickets you've got left."
"Otherwise, get ready to suffer the death penalty and lose a level."
The young Rogue gritted his teeth and glared at them, "This is Rulebound's and Boss Liuli's territory! How dare you pull something like this on their turf!"
The Sword-and-Shield Warrior and the Archer didn't care in the slightest.
Instead, they laughed arrogantly, "Don't think bringing up Rulebound is going to scare us."
"We paid for tickets too. Do the Divine Might Tower's rules say players aren't allowed to PK?"
"Even if Rulebound were standing right here, I'd still beat you up."
"Now hurry up and hand over your tickets."
The young Rogue clenched his teeth, "I paid for them with my own money! Why should I give them to you?"
"You won't hand them over? Then die!"
Enraged, the Sword-and-Shield Warrior swung his sword at the young Rogue.
Clang!
The Sword-and-Shield Warrior's slash came down, but it never reached the young Rogue.
Instead, it struck something solid and was blocked.
The Sword-and-Shield Warrior looked up.
Only then did he realize that his sword had struck a mighty armored Pig General wielding a nine-toothed rake.
[Lv. 68 Dark Gold · Strong Maned Pig]
The moment the Sword-and-Shield Warrior and the Archer behind him saw the ID above the Pig General's head, their expressions changed drastically.
"Th-That's... Rulebound's Ancestral-grade pet!"