Chapter 27: The Crowd Reacts
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The moment Elder Chen Niao pushed the twelfth-grade sword into Yin Zhe's hand, the atmosphere had a change. Dozens of heads snapped toward Yin Zhe and the elder.
Snap… snap… snap...
Yin Zhe could feel the pressure of many eyes pressing against his back. Whispers began spreading like wild fire.
Then the system burst alive in front of his vision. [Doubted Reactive Points +19]
[Mocked Reactive Points +23]
[Suspected RP +17]
[Envied RP +8]
Yin Zhe lifted his eyebrows a bit. "Huh?… So as long as a reaction is aimed at me… I get points?. Hmm. That's obvious"
He let out a light and short breath. "Whezz… this system name makes sense now. Reactive System. Every reaction feeds me with more points. This is genius. All I have to do is get popular… and I get stronger. So much convenience. And I get a bonus of knowing people's reactions towards me"
More notifications blinked one after the other.
[Envied RP +34]
Yin Zhe's eyes widened. "Ahh?. It went up? The envy increased?. Hmph… so these people are really feeling it." Around him, the noise grew louder. The People didn't even hide their comments anymore.
"That guy… he got a twelfth-grade sword?" someone in the crowd said.
Another person in the crowd spoke up "No way… why him? His cultivation is so lower then mine!"
"tch… I'm so jealous right now. That sword alone is worth years of hard work!" a guy said enviously.
An angry voice joined in "He must be cheating… or bribing."
Some spoke with envy. Others with anger. While
Some laughed at his cultivation. And the rest stared like they were trying to see through his soul.
The reaction notification from the system swirled around him like wind. And the system kept feeding him numbers. His reactive points were going up really fast.
Yin Zhe watched the crowd with a calm face while thinking: "hmmm... I think.. I think... I get it now… Elder Chen Niao isn't dumb. He gave me this sword because he wanted attention. He wants people to flock to him. A twelfth-grade sword is the perfect bait."
He tightened his grip on the blade. Crackle…
The sword gave a soft hum like it was enjoying the attention too.
More people started whispering loudly. "That elder really gave him the sword!" another butted in "and it's a twelfth-grade spiritual weapon…" someone from the crowd scuffed. "hmph! And his cultivation is only Root Awakening stage five?. What a Waste! Of precious resources"
A girl voiced out "Still… I'm jealous. I'm so jealous"
The croutons grew impatient "Let's register with Elder Chen Niao. Maybe he will give another one."
The line in front of Chen Niao's booth began filling up fast. Dozens of potential participants walked over. Some even ran. The elder was now looking satisfied. His lips curled into a tiny smile.
Yin Zhe understood everything at a glance.
"This was his plan all along. He used me as bait. But… whatever. I gained too... I've got a free 12th Grade sword. And most importantly free Reactive Points. I also got fame for free. We both win.. it's a win-win situation. Like those webnovel books back on earth. They're all in the win-win section"
His system notifications began to slow down after many minutes. It was like they were now starting to ignore or forget him. They were now more focused on the cue"
[Suspected RP +2]
[Mocked RP +1]
[Envied RP +3]
Then the numbers slowly dropped. until it finally stopped. Yin Zhe waited a bit longer, watching the crowd and his notification bar closely, trying to squeeze out the last drops of reactions. But there was Nothing more.
Yin Zhe curled his fingers around Roaring Cat and let out a small breath. "Alright. Reactive Points Farming is done for now. I guess"
He took one step back. Tap. His mind moved on to the next task at hand. "My inn room's time is almost up. If I don't go now, they might actually be shameless enough to toss my things out. I still need my scrolls."
He turned away from the crowd, lifting the new sword slightly to avoid bumping into anyone with it.
Then he walked off, heading toward the inn to retrieve his scrolls.