Chapter 685 - 439: Manager

「Bronze Area.」

As everyone stood watching the scene unfold, someone finally reacted.

A trembling cry of alarm broke the brief silence.

"Fuck, I actually just witnessed the promotion of a Silver-level big shot!"

"Shouldn’t authority promotions be settled right after you return from a mission? Why is it happening now?!"

"...He actually obtained Silver Authority. Does anyone know this person’s reader number?"

...

In an instant, the crowd in the plaza looked at each other, their curiosity about Hu Qi’s identity piqued.

After all, this was the first time a promotion in authority had happened in front of everyone.

Normally, the process for increasing one’s authority wasn’t like this.

Following the standard procedure, the promotion should have taken effect immediately upon mission completion, at which point the reader would be transported directly to the Silver Area.

The readers from the Bronze Area who had successfully promoted to Silver Authority had all done so immediately after completing their missions.

Of course, there was another possibility.

That the person had some kind of crucial item and obtained the authority after turning it in.

"I think this guy’s number is 1051. He just got promoted! I saw his door appear with my own eyes!"

Someone in the crowd recognized Hu Qi.

As they spoke, they pointed toward a spot in the distance.

It was exactly where the door to [1051] was located.

That was every reader’s private space.

But at this moment, the door was slowly fading away.

This situation could only mean one of two things.

Either the reader had fallen and died in a novel world, or they had left this area due to an authority promotion.

The current situation was clearly the latter.

Upon hearing this,

everyone’s expressions became even more shocked and uncertain.

’He just got promoted to Bronze Authority, and now he’s being promoted to Silver Authority? What kind of joke is this?’

’What on earth did this person do?’

One must understand that within the Reincarnation Bookstore,

royalties were the most commonly used form of currency,

followed by Book Tickets of various Levels.

As for authority, obtaining it required not only sufficient strength but also luck.

The difficulty of acquiring it was beyond imagination.

For example, those of them who had obtained Bronze Authority had generally done so only after completing an extremely difficult hidden mission or obtaining and turning in a specific item.

Only then would they receive Bronze Authority.

"This guy..."

The woman in the black skirt, who had previously predicted that Hu Qi wouldn’t last long and would die in a novel world, watched this scene with complicated feelings.

’No wonder he was unmoved by my friendly overtures. It turns out he was a reader about to be promoted to Silver Authority.’

’In a way, he really did have the capital to ignore me.’

Authority in the Reincarnation Bookstore was very important.

The higher one’s authority, the more benefits one could obtain.

Not to mention, upon reaching Silver Authority, one would receive special offers and discounts when exchanging for items.

In other words, if two readers exchanged for the same item,

and one had higher authority than the other, the cost would be lower for them.

Even the intel they received and the missions they had to undertake in the novel worlds were different.

The higher the authority, the more information one would receive.

The rewards for completing different missions would also be more generous.

Of course, by the same token,

the danger and the death rate would also increase significantly.

Therefore, in the Reincarnation Bookstore,

a powerful reader was not necessarily an Authority-holder, but a powerful Authority-holder was definitely a powerful reader.

’The fact that he could obtain Silver Authority was proof enough that his strength far surpassed my own.’

Thinking about her actions just now, her expression, hidden behind the mist, flickered between uncertain and grim.

The same was true for the tall man at her side.

He was also silent.

A trace of regret even surfaced in his heart.

’I shouldn’t have said those things just now.’

’What if he holds a grudge, exchanges for some kind of item, and finds the novel world where we have our next mission?’

’It’s not impossible that he could kill me there.’

Things like that had indeed happened among readers before.

It wasn’t even considered rare.

Some readers would use this method to settle grudges.

Although fighting and killing were forbidden among readers within the Reincarnation Bookstore, there were no such restrictions inside the novel worlds.

Furthermore, not only was there no punishment for killing another reader, but one might even acquire the items they carried.

This was also why the death rate for readers in the Reincarnation Bookstore remained so high.

On one hand, there was the danger encountered while carrying out missions in the novel worlds; on the other hand, one had to be wary of being backstabbed by fellow readers.

Although one could form teams, and teammates were unable to attack each other even within a novel world,

this restriction could still be circumvented—for example, by plotting to have a teammate killed by a powerful figure native to that world.

It could be said that no one who had survived in the Reincarnation Bookstore to this day was a saint.

Although the price of an item that allowed one to enter another reader’s mission world was not low,

the man did have Silver Level Authority, after all.

Exchanging for it wouldn’t be difficult for him.

The woman in the black skirt at his side had clearly thought of this as well.

Before they could say anything,

they saw the readers who were originally standing near them all shuffle away, silently distancing themselves from the pair.

This action was undoubtedly a sign that they wanted nothing to do with them.

At the same time, they were secretly glad they hadn’t stood too close to the pair earlier.

’This way, even if he decides to take revenge, it won’t involve me.’

Seeing this,

the two of them exchanged a look.

Without lingering any longer, they turned and quickly left the area.