"Fifty thousand contribution points?"
"Tenth place?"
Hearing the Green God staff member's words, Zhuo Linqiu was completely frozen on the spot, his eyes full of disbelief.
At this moment, let alone Zhuo Linqiu, even the typically aloof Han Yifeng felt a bit stunned.
Someone who had been nothing more than a pawn in their eyes was now not only standing on the same level as them, but had become a player vying alongside them for the top spots…
"No wonder he didn't think much of us—he contributed fifty thousand points in one go, jumping straight to tenth," Zhuo Linqiu muttered, staring at Shi Feng with a dazed expression. Then a mocking smile crept across his lips. "Too bad he has no idea that the current contribution point rankings are nothing more than a warm-up for the real contest."
The Contribution Competition had been running in the Upper District for many years, and anyone with serious ambitions to compete knew that the first two months were never the time to show your hand.
Contribution points were every contestant's biggest trump card, and naturally, the deeper you kept them hidden, the better. Only by unleashing them all at the very last moment could they serve a decisive purpose.
Moreover, secretly accumulating contribution points had another benefit: at the final moment, you could decide whether the competition was still worth fighting for. After all, contribution points accumulated in secret—aside from those earned through mandatory timed tasks—could be saved for later use. There was no need to spend them right away.
Over the many years the Contribution Competition had been held, there had been no shortage of contestants who quietly accumulated points over a stretch of several years, then unleashed everything in a single explosive push to seize a top-three spot and gain entry to the Middle District.
With only one month since the start of this year's competition, the current contribution point totals were nothing more than a temperature check. And the vast majority of those points had come from special bounty tasks published by the Green God Group—tasks that had to be completed within a set timeframe and couldn't be submitted at will.
Revealing one's contribution points this early was the most foolish move possible.
"I don't know why he did it, but this is actually a good opportunity." Han Yifeng shook his head and reverted to his usual detached demeanor. "Old Zhuo, go talk to him later. I'll buy whatever hidden contribution points he has at double the price."
"Double the price?" Zhuo Linqiu couldn't help glancing at Han Yifeng, feeling the offer was rather steep. "Young Master, according to past convention, one-point-five times the price is already considered a premium. These people have no chance of cracking the top three anyway—the points are useless in their hands. If we offer double, the others will find out and raise their bids too."
In the Contribution Competition, it wasn't uncommon for contestants to team up with others at the last minute. After all, contribution points—aside from those earned through tasks—could be freely traded behind the scenes before being redeemed with the Green God Group.
More often than not, in the final moments of the competition, especially among contestants close to the top three, there would be a frantic rush to buy up contribution points. This drove up the price through a process known as the premium markup. If they were aiming for the top three this time, they would inevitably have to deal with it.
The premium markup meant purchasing unredeemed contribution points at a price higher than what the Green God Group offered. For instance, the points the Group gave could be directly transferred, and while contribution points themselves couldn't be transferred, their real use was in the Middle District—they were essentially worthless at the base level.
Even within the Middle District, due to access restrictions, the items that required contribution points for redemption were limited, meaning there was a cap on how many points could actually be used. Hoarding more than that served no purpose.
When the premium markup was applied, transactions were typically converted into equivalent restricted-purchase items. After all, whether you were exchanging for redemption points or contribution points, the end goal was always to get those limited items. Why not skip the middleman and acquire them directly in bulk?
"Go ahead. This time the Green God Group is offering rewards for the top twenty, so a lot of people will be scrambling for those spots. The price of contribution points will naturally be higher than usual." Han Yifeng shook his head. He had already received inside information that the Green God Group planned to squeeze the financial consortiums even harder to intensify the competition, and had made an exception allowing the top twenty to redeem Middle District restricted-purchase items.
Once word of that got out, a rise in contribution point prices was inevitable.
But it wouldn't skyrocket to absurd levels. After all, the items available for redemption required a fixed number of contribution points—it wasn't an open-ended exchange. Once you had enough points to redeem the items you wanted, any excess was completely redundant.
"Understood." Zhuo Linqiu nodded and walked directly toward Shi Feng.
Meanwhile, Shi Feng was inwardly ecstatic.
Just moments ago, he had been penniless in the Upper District. Now he had five million redemption points—at the base level of the Upper District, that was enough to buy five ordinary residences.
Of course, those points fell far short of purchasing a grand villa at the base level, but they were more than sufficient for daily expenses. At the very least, they would be enough to sustain Bai Qingxue, Watermark Rose, and the others in their day-to-day lives.
"Though it won't be this easy to exchange that much next time," Shi Feng sighed to himself. "I'll have to find a way to get a long-term supply of Seven Luminaries Crystal Stones."
Five thousand units of Seven Luminaries Crystal Stones was no small number, yet it had only yielded five million redemption points and fifty thousand contribution points. Not only was that far from the top three, but even in the Middle District, that amount of contribution points and redemption points probably wouldn't be enough.
After all, to live in the Upper District long-term, one would need to redeem massive amounts of resources. And to secure a permanent slot in the Upper District—along with the Water of Life, valued at thirty million redemption points and a million contribution points—five million points and fifty thousand contribution points were practically nothing.
But this wasn't particularly daunting for him. After all, he was currently in the Ancient Divine Realm—an era where the Divine Realm's resources were extraordinarily abundant, incomparably richer than the current Divine Realm continent.
After receiving the five million redemption points and fifty thousand contribution points on his light computer, Shi Feng prepared to head straight to the Upper District's main gate to meet Bai Qingxue and Watermark Rose. It was their first time entering the Upper District, and without someone to guide them, things could easily go wrong.
The Upper District was riddled with taboos, and a careless misstep could get you expelled—which would be bad enough—but being permanently stripped of your status would be an injustice beyond measure.
However, before Shi Feng could even leave the exchange window, Zhuo Linqiu had already appeared at his side.
"Guild Leader Shi, we meet again." Although Zhuo Linqiu was none too pleased with Shi Feng, as Han Yifeng's chief steward, he maintained his composure and offered a polite greeting.
"Master Zhuo, to what do I owe this visit?" Shi Feng asked, looking at Zhuo Linqiu with a calm expression.
He wasn't exactly surprised that Zhuo Linqiu had come to find him directly—he just hadn't expected Han Yifeng to act this quickly.
Ke Rui had long since filled him in on how the Contribution Competition worked. He knew full well that anyone vying for a high ranking would be secretly buying up contribution points. And having just exchanged a lump sum of fifty thousand contribution points in one go, the news was far too significant to go unnoticed. It would be nearly impossible for those aiming for the top three to sit idle.
"I do have business, and it's actually rather good news for Guild Leader Shi." Zhuo Linqiu smiled faintly. "I trust you're familiar with how the Contribution Competition works, so I'll be straightforward. Our Young Master Han wishes to purchase the contribution points you haven't redeemed yet, and he's willing to offer double the standard price. What do you think, Guild Leader Shi?"
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