Yvette was not surprised by the sudden fame that accompanied her actions, as the Werewolf Killer was a well-known serial murderer in Agash and had sparked considerable discussion across the New Eden United States.
However, she lacked a clear understanding of just how much noise this incident had made, since she didn’t pay much attention to current events and found little reason to. Most of her energy had been devoted to tracking potential buyers for the biological armor she had listed on the dark web.
Listening to Custer’s enthusiastic tone, Yvette decided to check social media for herself, and indeed, she found that the story of the “Werewolf Killer” had become the top headline, dramatically trending, with “Bird News” being the primary source of information for the event.
She remembered the message Irene had sent her a few days ago, asking if she wanted to remain anonymous in the news reports. Naturally, Yvette believed there was no need for that. If her identity as the “Nameless” mercenary couldn’t lead to fame, how would she be able to receive high-paying commissions?
Still, she had not anticipated just how colossal this matter would blow up. Not only was it a sensation throughout the New Eden United States, but it also garnered significant international attention.
“Things are getting quite big,” she couldn’t help but remark.
“Indeed, it has turned into a political event,” Custer replied, astonished.
“Yes! The public has a natural aversion and fear of mega-capitalist entities. Recently, the government even introduced new subsidy policies for Black Tower and Linthou, effectively using taxpayer money to support these large companies. Now, ironically, Linthou Biotech has been exposed for conducting malignant human experiments, mercilessly slaying innocent civilians… Heh, even if it’s true that the company’s statement absolves them, claiming it was the fault of ‘Hewlett,’ who’s to believe that? There’s another round of riots and looting happening on the streets now. I reckon our ‘great’ President John is in quite the mess right now…” Custer chuckled darkly.
However, she sensed the shadow of Black Tower Pharmacy behind this situation. After all, Bird News was a media outlet affiliated with Black Tower, so they could indiscriminately expose negative news about Linthou Biotech without fear of immediate suppression.
But as things escalated further, the overwhelming public sentiment against big corporations would inevitably affect Black Tower as well. Would the heat of the incident continue to be sustained?
After a brief exchange, Yvette ended the call with Custer. It was evident that this call was intended to strengthen their connection, to maintain rapport with someone who had suddenly become so prominent. Official source ıs novel•fire.net
However, Custer didn’t provide any clear updates on new commissions. Instead, he indirectly conveyed that thanks to the efforts of the great hero, Miss Nameless, peace in Agash had been restored, and the public was living happily, with smooth winds and peace in the nation.
This implied there were no major commissions on the horizon.
While some smaller commissions could still surface, for fees in the tens of thousands, she’d rather focus on the biological armor she had listed in the dark web—currently, the bidding on it was hovering around 2.1 million, which was noticeably low, and she was determined to push it past 2.5 million.
Encouraging Custer to watch for bigger commissions worth no less than 300,000, Yvette pondered reaching out to a few other intermediaries for intel.
Though Custer stated that intermediaries in Agash received similar big commissions and that the order would usually go to reputable intermediaries who simply took turns accepting the jobs, one could never be too cautious and should be prepared for contingencies.
After hanging up the phone, just as she was about to head out, Irene’s call came in again.
She first congratulated Yvette on becoming a notable figure in Agash—now, anywhere one frequented, conversations revolved around the Werewolf Killer case and the mysterious mercenary known as “Nameless,” who had erupted into prominence in no time.
Then Irene jubilantly announced that due to the Werewolf Killer incident, she had swiftly transitioned from an intern reporter to an investigative reporter, handling some criminal cases, and at the end of the month, Bird News would present her with an internal award with quite a substantial cash prize.
After Yvette offered her perfunctory congratulations, Irene began to complain about the situation—not a surprise—stating that Bird News had received notice saying that no further reports would be published regarding the Werewolf Killer incident, instructing that the matter should be suppressed as much as possible.
This was undoubtedly at the behest of Black Tower Pharmaceuticals. Originally, they seemed to want to capitalize on their rival; however, they hadn’t anticipated that they would get pulled into the fray themselves and were now likely negotiating a deal with Linthou Biotech to lower the incident’s temperature.
However, this didn’t concern Yvette. She had already established enough notoriety for herself; now all she needed to do was wait for new commissions.
While waiting for responses from the Civilization Continuance Society and new commissions, Yvette decided to make the most of her time. She spent 200,000 credits to purchase a three-month auditing permit from Agash University, allowing her to attend classes.
As a seasoned rune hacker with hundreds of years of experience, Yvette had always been self-taught and never experienced systematic education.
This had caused her to question her methods frequently, wondering whether what she was doing was correct, if her approach was on the fringes, and whether superior alternatives existed that she had not discovered.
Now she could finally explore a prestigious university’s offerings; even if only to validate whether her past methods were sound, it would serve as a great supplement and help solidify her convictions.
After attending a few legitimate classes, Yvette was shocked to discover how advanced the rune compiling tools had become within the Origin Civilization.
Furthermore, these software programs were so professional that unless one was within the specialized field, even their names wouldn’t be recognized. Yvette had known about these tools’ existence long ago—however, the subscription fees were exorbitant. When she dreamt last time, she hadn’t been able to part with the money to try them out.
Now, attending lectures from university professors and experiencing them firsthand, she realized just how much hardship she had endured previously.
In the Origin Civilization, major corporations had long provided existing, comprehensive development engines for rune compilers, along with an endless array of virtual assets available in shops. Many new compiler specialists just needed to combine a few assets, supplemented by the teacher’s guidance and a little artistic creativity, to create a functional, albeit imperfect, spell.
In contrast, Yvette developed her spells under challenging conditions with nothing to work with, the difficulty and suffering were unimaginable. This comparison left her not with a firmer conviction but with a feeling of her ideals shattering.
Had she known, she wouldn’t have attended. Such thoughts made her feel downcast.
She could accept the dark, but why let her glimpse the light?
What troubled her even more was that to sell subscriptions to these tools, they needed to be online and were almost impossible to crack. Once she left the dream, they’d be of no use whatsoever.
So, embracing the bittersweet, while still in the dream, she decided to take full advantage of the situation to utilize these professional tools, upgrading the spells she had from the previous 60,000 specifications to the new 100,000 specifications. Otherwise, when the dream concluded and she’d have to rebuild everything from scratch, it would truly be a death sentence for her.