How do you want to cooperate? (Part 1)

Ever since he clashed with the World's No. 1 Artificer shop, Hector's days had been quite unfortunate. First, he had his face slapped by Carlos, and then he was severely embarrassed due to the incident involving Samuel.

The world's No. 1 Artificer shop didn't sink as he had hoped. Instead, it gained even more famous because of him. If not for the slow pace of Ashe's new Artifacts hitting the market, with each one sold, many customers would have already flocked to the store to place orders. Ashe's shop traffic was not limited to just a few hundred people a day anymore.

What he hated the most was that his "business" had become increasingly difficult, and very few customers trusted his words now. The tactics he used to lead and manipulate users away from other shops no longer worked. Many sellers were no longer afraid of him, and some even appreciated Ashe.

The "business" on the Red Espiritual Net was his primary source of income, and now that it was gone, it felt like a huge chunk of flesh had been cut from him. Not only did it hurt, but he also felt helpless.

Hector stared at the posts with red-lettered titles, all of which he had made. These were the most substantial evidence of him being slapped in the face.

Every new and old user who logged into the Red Espiritual Net could see them.

He posted negative comments about other shops. Who would believe him now? On the contrary, customers blamed him for deliberately misleading them. If it weren't for his interference and misleading tactics, they might have placed orders back then.

[ Oh, damn it! Why were those Artifacts priced so high, and without official certification? Who would want to be a sucker? Who wouldn't observe for a while first? Why didn't you say that back then? Now you've missed out, and you blame him! ]

Hector was so enraged that he felt like steam was coming out of his seven orifices. He had repeatedly asked the Red Espiritual Net staff to remove those posts, but he was refused on the grounds that there were no improper comments from the user.

One could say this was karma. In the past, many people had complained about Hector, but because he knew how to exploit the loopholes, he never violated the rules of the Red Espiritual Net, even when criticizing others. This allowed him to thrive. Now, the tables had turned, and the shops he had tricked by him were all applauding.

"Ding dong."

A notification sound suddenly appeared in the lower left corner.

Hector thought it was another person coming to taunt him. However, when he opened the private message, his eyes narrowed, and a flicker of joy appeared in his eyes.

Peerless_CucumberX, a person he had heard of, just like him, made a living through the Red Espiritual Net. The difference was that Peerless_CucumberX was involved in arbitrage between online and offline businesses, avoiding conflicts.

He wondered when Ashe had offended Peerless_CucumberX, to the point that even he wanted to cooperate with Hector.

Regardless of the feud between them, this was a great opportunity that had come knocking, and Hector immediately replied.

"How do you want to cooperate?"

...