When Guo Huai asked Nie Yan to contact Li Rui, Nie Yan had a sudden realization that Li Rui probably had some important information to share. Li Rui had sought Nie Yan out before, but back then Nie Yan was too busy to spare any time.
Nie Yan reached out to Li Rui.
“Where are you now? I’ll come find you,” Nie Yan messaged Li Rui.
“I’ve noticed someone watching me. We shouldn’t meet in person. Let’s just talk privately. President Nie Yan, I have something important to tell you,” Li Rui replied cautiously after a brief pause.
“Just call me Nie Yan. We’re classmates; there’s no need to be so formal,” Nie Yan said. In fact, Nie Yan had always regarded Li Rui and others as his brothers. In their previous life, Nie Yan had a deep friendship with Zhai Hao, Li Rui, and others. Despite the current disparity in their statuses, Nie Yan hoped their camaraderie wouldn’t fade.
“There’s something that’s been on my mind, and I have to get it off my chest. Back then, it was you who brought me, Zhai Hao, and Liu Chengxu into Niuren Tribe. I’m grateful for that. I know my talent doesn’t match Zhai Hao’s or Liu Chengxu’s. I accept that I’m only fit to be a low-level squad leader. I’m not good at leveling or PVP skills. It doesn’t matter that even the Executive Vice President of Niuren Tribe doesn’t value me much. What I want to know is, how do you see me?” Li Rui said. Nie Yan’s answer was important to him.
Nie Yan smiled and said, “Faith is just a game. Everyone has their own strengths. It’s normal that our talents in the game vary. Niuren Tribe has strict rules against favoritism. I’m glad that Zhai Hao and Liu Chengxu climbed to leadership positions through their abilities. I understand why you didn’t make it. Ultimately, it’s just a game. In my eyes, outside the game, you, Zhai Hao, and Liu Chengxu are all equal to me. You’re all my classmates, my brothers.”
Nie Yan spoke with conviction. His unwavering trust in Li Rui was based on a thorough understanding of Li Rui’s character and personality. They had been brothers for nearly seven or eight years in their previous life. When Guo Huai suggested that Li Rui might betray them, Nie Yan refused to believe it at all.
“Your words are enough for me. Actually, being a small squad leader is fine. It’s pretty good,” Li Rui said with satisfaction. Nie Yan’s words moved him deeply, and he sent a document to Nie Yan.
Seeing the file Li Rui sent, Nie Yan asked in confusion, “What is this?”
“These are all the documents I’ve collected about Century Syndicate. They might be useful to you. I’m sorry, but the reason why people like Shaobing left was because I provided Century Syndicate with some information. Century Syndicate knew that Shaobing was dissatisfied with his salary in Niuren Tribe, so they asked me to persuade him. I had no choice but to do so. I didn’t expect it to result in this situation. It was all to gain Century Syndicate’s trust,” Li Rui explained.
“People who want to leave will eventually leave no matter what, and those who want to stay won’t go. You don’t need to worry about Shaobing,” Nie Yan said, casually flipping through the documents Li Rui sent. He was stunned. The documents contained some very hard-to-collect secrets. Nie Yan couldn’t imagine how Li Rui had managed to get hold of them. Century Syndicate would never leak such information.
“Your words make me feel much better,” Li Rui said gratefully.
“Where did you get these documents?” Nie Yan asked. The more he read, the more amazed he felt.
“Some of my brothers work at Century Syndicate and later entered Faith with them. They are high-level personnel Century Syndicate has stationed in the game. I easily got this intelligence from them. I hope it can help you,” Li Rui said. Seeing Nie Yan’s ecstatic expression, he showed a satisfied smile. His efforts over this period had indeed paid off.
Nie Yan continued to flip through the intelligence. Many of the pieces of information had never been disclosed in their previous life. The entire operating status of Century Syndicate within Niuren Tribe was fully described. These documents gave him a feeling of seeing the light after clouds had cleared.
Nie Yan finally understood Century Syndicate’s strength. In the past, when he had dealings with Century Syndicate, he knew little about them, as if they were shrouded in mystery. He knew Century Syndicate was strong, but exactly how strong, he was unclear. These documents, however, completely stripped away Century Syndicate’s outer layer, revealing their true strength clearly.
The documents were meticulously organized, with several key pieces of information listed separately. It was evident that the person who compiled them was very careful.
After seeing these documents, Nie Yan couldn’t help but think that assigning Li Rui to the intelligence department would be a good idea. He seemed to be very capable in this kind of work.
The documents showed that Century Syndicate currently had eleven auction houses in total across different cities in the Granland Empire, including cities like Flame City and Moonlight City. They owned fifty-one plots of land and more than twenty large shops, with specific income figures unknown. It was common knowledge that Century Syndicate controlled the Mage Alliance and Sacred Guardians. In fact, besides these two, Century Syndicate secretly controlled sixteen guilds, making their strength formidable. Additionally, they had two gold-farming teams in Granland Empire, each with over 100,000 members, generating massive amounts of in-game currency daily.
This was merely the Century Syndicate’s operation within the Granland Empire. Following the defeat of the Triumph Empire, when the Century Syndicate failed to secure the Niuren Tribe, they redirected the majority of their financial resources to the Sathorne Empire.
In the Sathorne Empire, the Century Syndicate held shares in Angel Dominion, exerting influence over its decision-making processes. Additionally, they controlled more than thirty guilds of varying sizes, rendering their strength virtually immeasurable. Their virtual assets in the Sathorne Empire were comparatively limited, consisting of five auction houses, over twenty land plots, and three gold-farming teams, each boasting more than 100,000 members.
Nie Yan couldn’t yet estimate how much Century Syndicate earned daily. Their immense strength genuinely shocked him. It was no wonder Century Syndicate had been able to dominate the entire Granland Empire. This was real power!
“These documents you’ve given me are very important. Thank you, Li Rui,” Nie Yan said sincerely.
“It’s nothing. Also, there’s another piece of news, though I’m not sure if it’s true. I heard that Century Syndicate is currently under a lot of pressure. A South American syndicate has entered Faith, actively recruiting people, expanding six gold-farming teams in Granland and Sathorne Empires, acquiring many shops, and building up their own strength. However, they operate very secretly, so I don’t know who they are. Additionally, there are several other forces making significant moves, trying to seize Century Syndicate’s market. I’m not entirely sure if these rumors are true or just idle talk from Century Syndicate members,” Li Rui said, acknowledging the limitations of his information sources.
South America? Nie Yan raised his eyebrows. Suddenly, he recalled someone. That guy named Qin Han had mentioned entering Faith before. With these forces entering Faith one after another, it seemed that Granland and Sathorne Empires would become quite chaotic in the future.
“Previously, to gain Century Syndicate’s trust, I gave them some unimportant intelligence. In return, I received 160,000 gold coins and some money, which I had Zhai Hao deposit into the guild’s treasury,” Li Rui said. He wouldn’t take anything that wasn’t rightfully his.
“You can keep that money. It might come in handy someday, as an operating fund for gathering intelligence,” Nie Yan said. He knew that gathering intelligence must have cost Li Rui quite a bit, so he wanted to compensate him somehow.
“How can I do that? If I take the money, I’d truly become Century Syndicate’s spy,” Li Rui smiled, politely declining.
Nie Yan smiled. Li Rui was just the same as in their previous life, not changing at all. He told Li Rui, “I’ll arrange something for you. Starting today, you’ll assist Guo Huai with intelligence matters.”
“This can’t be right,” Li Rui quickly tried to decline.
“I think it’s fine. That’s settled. I’ll send a message to Guo Huai,” Nie Yan said and sent a message to Guo Huai.
When Nie Yan told Guo Huai about assigning Li Rui to assist with intelligence management, Guo Huai firmly disagreed at first. However, after seeing the documents Nie Yan presented, Guo Huai was completely convinced. Even if the entire intelligence agency of Niuren Tribe worked together, they couldn’t obtain some of the top-secret information contained in these documents. Especially regarding Century Syndicate, whose organization was too tight to infiltrate, Nie Yan and others had never had a clear understanding of them. Unexpectedly, Li Rui had obtained all this, and the documents were clear and comprehensive.
“Are you sure he’s trustworthy? Could this be a scheme by Century Syndicate to infiltrate our ranks with these documents?” Guo Huai expressed his concerns, still unable to completely dispel his suspicions about Li Rui.
“I trust him,” Nie Yan said firmly. He believed in Li Rui. Although Guo Huai’s concerns were not without merit, they were somewhat unfounded. Many of the documents contained information detrimental to Century Syndicate, even potentially threatening their very foundation. If Century Syndicate’s sole purpose was to infiltrate Niuren Tribe through Li Rui, they wouldn’t have sacrificed so much. It would have been more practical to simply pay someone to be a spy.
“Since you’ve said that, I won’t say anything else. I trust your judgment. From now on, I won’t suspect Li Rui anymore. Please apologize to him on my behalf. I had some prejudices against him before, so my attitude towards him wasn’t very good,” Guo Huai said. Li Rui would likely be working under him from now on. As the saying goes, if you employ someone, you shouldn’t doubt them; if you doubt them, you shouldn’t employ them. If he continued to suspect Li Rui during their work, the intelligence department wouldn’t function properly.
Nie Yan conveyed Guo Huai’s words to Li Rui, who accepted them with a smile. Both Guo Huai and Li Rui had amiable personalities and should get along well. After giving some instructions to Guo Huai and Li Rui, Nie Yan left Li Rui under Guo Huai’s supervision. If conflicts arose between the two, Nie Yan could mediate.
Guo Huai extracted some useful information from Li Rui’s documents. Subsequently, Niuren Tribe began taking action against Century Syndicate, including intercepting their commercial activities, and everything was arranged in a well-organized manner.
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