There is an art to collecting emotions.
Provoking people can be done indiscriminately, as long as you can beat them or aren't afraid of getting beaten up.
But you can't just go around serving toxic chicken soup to anyone; not everyone reacts to it the same way.
Serving chicken soup to a server might inspire hope in his life, even if only temporarily.
Offer the same chicken soup to the Shopkeeper, however, and he might just assume you're trying to dodge your rent payment...
A Copper Coin given to a server will make his day.
On the other hand, hand the same coin to a beggar on the street, and he'll take it as a matter of course. Even the smile he offers in return and the flattering words he murmurs will carry no genuine emotion, only a cheap, hypocritical professionalism...
Therefore, even when collecting emotions, you must select your target carefully to avoid wasting effort.
Keep summarizing. Keep learning.
This is Lin Bai's secret to success.
「…」
Lin Bai gave money to a beggar but didn't leave. Looking at the beggar lazily squatting by the roadside, he asked, "Who's in charge of the Beggar Gang in this area?"
"What Beggar Gang?" The beggar raised his head and picked his nose.
"Isn't there one?" Lin Bai smiled. "Perhaps I'm mistaken. Does no one look out for you beggars?"
The beggar suddenly became alert, saying, "Of course, there is."
"Who?" Lin Bai asked.
"The City Lord kindly permits us to beg in the city. His lofty talent and generous heart naturally provide us protection..." The beggar gestured with a fist-and-palm salute towards the City Lord's residence, a look of gratitude on his face.
Impressive! That answer really takes the cake! This sudden intense survival instinct... he must have misunderstood something!
Lin Bai looked at the beggar with a half-smile, playing along with the misinterpretation. "You certainly have keen insight!"
"You're too kind, sir," the beggar said with a crafty chuckle, reaching into his bowl to retrieve the Copper Coin Lin Bai had given him. He offered it back with an obsequious smile. "In our line of work, if we weren't keen observers, we wouldn't make any money! Besides, no one usually bothers asking us lowly beggars for information! Sir, your coin fell into my bowl earlier..."
Damn! Lin Bai held his breath. Even a beggar is this sharp? Is this really a game?
Seeing Lin Bai didn't move, the beggar, with a pained expression, pulled out another handful of Copper Coins from his robe and offered them with both hands. "Sir, I made a mistake. This is the money you dropped."
Looking at the handful of Copper Coins in the beggar's hands, Lin Bai hesitated. If only those hands hadn't just been picking his nose. Is being a beggar this profitable? Maybe having Big Bro run the Beggar Gang isn't such a bad idea after all...
"Ahem!" Lin Bai cleared his throat, put on a stern face, and reprimanded, "Keep it. What kind of person do you think I am? Have I ever taken back money I've given away?"
[Received "Relaxed" from Li Er Gou; +1]
[Collected 10 Positive Emotions (Task Completed), Reward: Temperament Three (Already Awarded)]
[Congratulations, you have just begun to understand the mysteries of positive and negative emotions. Please choose your next task: 1. Positive Emotions; 2. Negative Emotions;]
I can choose the task's direction now?
After a moment's thought, Lin Bai unhesitatingly chose negative emotions. Fooling a young beggar hardly required his full concentration.
[Congratulations, you've planted a Negative Emotion Tree. Given your preliminary understanding of harnessing emotions, the System will no longer assign specific tasks unless exceptional circumstances arise. Please actively collect negative emotions. Negative emotions from ten individuals can water the Growth Tree once. Watering promotes the Tree's growth, and upon reaching certain stages, it will automatically enhance your mental power. When the Tree bears fruit, the Positive Emotion Tree can be unlocked.]
Great! More complications! Lin Bai grumbled internally. Collect emotions, water a tree... What's next? When it blooms and bears fruit, will they send me a box of oranges? All this dawdling is so frustrating! Can't they just give out all the rewards at once? Hasn't my skill in manipulating others' emotions already reached a high level? Not user-friendly in the slightest!
「…」
The reward was granted instantly. With the +3 to Temperament, in the beggar's eyes, the moment Lin Bai finished speaking, his entire aura changed, inexplicably gaining a touch of majesty.
Initially, he still harbored some suspicion regarding Lin Bai's identity as a secret agent from the Government Office.
But when Lin Bai's temperament shifted, this hint of suspicion completely vanished, replaced by absolute belief.
How could an ordinary person possess such an aura?
"Sir, you look new around here. You're not from Jiamucheng, are you?" the beggar asked cautiously.
"Mm, I'm here to investigate some matters," Lin Bai replied evasively. "It's best not to inquire about things that don't concern you."
"Ah!" The beggar awkwardly drew back his neck. "Sir, Liu Quan is in charge of this southern district of the city. Shall I call him for you?"
"No need." Lin Bai shook his head. "Did you know about the River and Sea Bandits' plan to break into the jail yesterday?"
"Of course, I know. The wanted posters are up everywhere," the beggar said.
It dawned on Lin Bai. No wonder his Big Bro became a beggar. So that was the reason! This incident has caused quite a stir! Being wanted makes things even easier!
Lin Bai said, "I received information that yesterday, two River and Sea Bandits disguised themselves as beggars, casing locations in the city, waiting for an opportunity to commit a crime. Go tell Liu Quan to find them."
"This is outrageous!" Li Er Gou bristled instantly. "Aren't they just trying to frame us destitute folk? Sir, rest assured, I'll find them for you within an hour!"
"When you find them, send them directly to the Government Office, and you'll get the credit," Lin Bai said. "I'm investigating a major case. Don't mention to anyone that I came looking for you. If word gets out and jeopardizes my important affairs, none of you can bear the responsibility..."
"..." Li Er Gou's eyes showed he understood. "I get it!"
"Go on!" Lin Bai waved his hand.
Li Er Gou gathered up his broken bowl and left like the wind.
「…」
Players imprisoned by the Government Office cannot log out.
If Big Bro can still hang on without deleting his account after having such a huge accusation pinned on him, he'll truly be worth cultivating!
Watching the beggar's retreating figure, Lin Bai mentally observed a minute of silence for his Big Bro, Crispy Rice, then turned and headed towards the carpenter's shop.
The progress of the 'Everything has shortcomings system' quest has stalled. I need to push them to hurry up and install the signboard. Relying on manually making people experience imperfection... when will I ever gather fifty people? In just two short days, I haven't made many friends, but I've certainly made a lot of enemies. And I just chose the Negative Emotion Tree. Without any means of self-defense, I could get beaten up any day now...
「…」
"Second Bro, is that guy nuts? It was a perfectly good table, and he insisted on smashing a hole in it..."
"Would a sane person take over that Dreadful Mansion? Big Bro, Dad said to use scrap materials if we can. We should delay that fool's job as much as possible. Maybe he'll hear about the shop's reputation today. If we finish the work properly and he bails, we'll be the ones at a loss. Nobody wants a table with a hole in it; making it well would be a waste of labor and materials."
「At the carpenter's shop entrance.」
Listening to the conversation inside, Lin Bai was speechless. So that's why the quest stagnated. It's a good thing I came; otherwise, who knows how long these guys would have dragged it out! So far, of all the locals I've met, apart from those three naive ghosts, every single one is more cunning than the last. This world is feeling less and less like a game.
"Carpenter Zhang, is this how you fool your customers?" Lin Bai coughed and asked loudly.
The two brothers working inside stopped abruptly.
The elder brother put down his saw, straightened up, and asked, "Who are you?"
Lin Bai said, "I am the foolish madman you were talking about."
The brothers' faces turned red. They stood there, not knowing how to respond. It was terribly awkward.
"Shopkeeper Lin, what brings you here?" Zhang Achun, the carpenter, hurried out from the back room, shot the two brothers a fierce glare, then plastered a smile on his face. "We're working on your furniture right now! As soon as it's ready, we'll deliver it straight to you."
"Stop trying to fool me; I heard everything they said. You're just waiting for me to back out so you can keep my deposit, aren't you?" Lin Bai scoffed. "Carpenter Zhang, you have such an honest face—thick brows and big eyes. I thought you were a man of integrity. I never expected you to resort to such underhanded dealings!"
Zhang Achun's old face flushed red. "Sir, you've misunderstood! I just didn't want you, the new shopkeeper, to suffer a loss. To tell you the truth, that shop you bought..."
"They agreed," Lin Bai interrupted him.
"..." Zhang the carpenter, as if he hadn't heard clearly, asked, "What?"
"I met them last night. They've agreed to let me open my shop there," Lin Bai said with a straight face. "Shopkeeper, my business is eager to open. If you keep trying to deceive me like this, I don't mind asking *them* to come over and have a chat with you tonight…"
"Sir, you must be joking!" Zhang the carpenter's teeth were chattering.
"The husband, Jimmy Navada; the wife, Sera Wade; and their daughter, Song Ling. Do I look like I'm joking?" Lin Bai raised an eyebrow and snorted softly.
BANG!
The plane fell from the second brother's hand.
[Fear +3 from Zhang Achun, Zhang Hu, and Zhang Bao].
Lin Bai glanced at them with a smile. "I'll give you one day and one night. By tomorrow morning, the signboard must be hung, and the tables, chairs, and benches must be placed in the shop. Master Zhang, any problem with that?"
Zhang the carpenter's face was ashen, his teeth chattering. "N-no... no problem."
"As the saying goes, 'Don't take on porcelain work if you don't have a diamond drill.' I dared to buy that Dreadful Mansion because I have my ways. Did you really take me for a fool?" Lin Bai chuckled. "Master Zhang, hurry up and get to work! I still need to go hurry the Blacksmith. Also, don't spread a word about Jimmy Navada and his family. I'm counting on this shop to make money!"
Opening a shop to make money! Shouldn't he be spreading the news about subduing the ghosts? Why hide it? What's the deal? This guy really is crazy! Is he planning to serve humans or ghosts in his restaurant? As this thought surfaced in Carpenter Zhang's mind, he couldn't help but gulp. Watching Lin Bai's retreating figure, he felt he had stumbled upon the truth.