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Chapter 510 The esteemed Mr. Bai, I have long admired your name.
Night City, Naihe Bridge Agency.

The spacious and bright service hall was bustling with activity.

The enormous crystal chandelier cast a soft light, illuminating the faces that were anxious, indifferent, or greedy.

The numbers on the electronic queuing screen kept changing, accompanied by mechanical announcements, maintaining order here.

Fang Cheng stood in the queuing area in front of window number 2, still radiating the faint golden light used to conceal his appearance.

He didn't cut in line just because he was a "big shot" who had just completed an A-level difficulty mission.

Instead, he obediently held onto a crumpled number plate and waited among the crowd.

The number plate contains the electronic credentials for accepting the "Chen Family Curse Case" mission.

When Fang Cheng logged into Night City, he automatically appeared before her as a temporary identity document to enter the Bridge of Helplessness to conduct business.

About half an hour passed.

"Ding--"

"Please proceed to window number 2 to complete your transaction, customer number 1098."

Fang Cheng glanced at the number in his hand and stepped forward.

Sitting behind the glass window was still the same bespectacled, capable-looking female clerk.

Without looking up, she habitually tapped on the keyboard and asked in a formulaic tone:
"Hello, what service do you need?"

"Submit the task confirmation and receive your reward."

Fang Cheng spoke calmly as he handed over the number plate containing the electronic voucher.

"Okay, please wait a moment, verifying the task number..."

The female clerk took the voucher, glanced at it casually, and then entered a string of code into the system.

However, the next second.

Suddenly, a striking red pop-up appeared on the previously calm screen, followed by a string of gold text indicating extremely high privileges.

The female clerk's hand, which was typing on the keyboard, suddenly froze.

She pushed up her glasses and checked the number again, somewhat incredulously.

Then he suddenly raised his head, and his originally indifferent eyes were instantly filled with shock and panic.

Although she couldn't see Fang Cheng's face clearly through the golden halo, the ID codenamed "Xiaobai" seemed to radiate boundless light in her eyes at this moment.

"You...you are Mr. Xiaobai?!"

Her voice trembled with excitement, and she even stood up unconsciously, the movement so large that it knocked over a water glass on the table.

"it's me."

Fang Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly, feeling somewhat bewildered by this sudden enthusiasm.

"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting!"

The female clerk hurriedly stepped out from behind the counter, her previously businesslike attitude instantly undergoing a complete 180-degree turn.

Her demeanor became extremely respectful, even bordering on obsequious:

"Your service level is S-class VIP, so you don't need to queue in the lobby. Please follow me; our service manager has been waiting for you in the VIP room for quite some time."

Upon hearing this, the onlookers in the queue immediately cast envious, jealous, and resentful glances at him.

"An S-level VIP? How big of a deal must that be?"

"Look at that physique, look at that glittering gold, he's either a tycoon or a ruthless person..."

Amidst the whispers and murmurs of the crowd, Fang Cheng remained calm and nodded.

Then, he followed the female clerk to the side of the lobby, to the private elevator that could only be opened by people with specific permissions.

....................................

Ninth floor, the VIP reception room.

The decor here is extremely luxurious, with Persian carpets, mahogany furniture, and antique calligraphy and paintings all available, and the air is filled with the finest ambergris.

As soon as Fang Cheng entered the door, a middle-aged, overweight man in a well-tailored suit with a beaming smile quickly came to greet him.

"Mr. Xiaobai, I've heard so much about you! My surname is Wang, and I'm the business manager in the customer service department."

Manager Wang warmly extended both hands, firmly grasped Fang Cheng's hands, and shook them.

Their affection was so intense, as if they were long-lost brothers.

"You've accomplished something truly earth-shattering this time! Not only did you perfectly resolve the Chen family's request, but also..."

Manager Wang stopped mid-sentence, coughing a few times:
"Ahem, in short, the higher-ups specifically instructed that you must be received with the highest level of hospitality."

Fang Cheng withdrew his hand without making a sound and sat down on the leather sofa.

Although filled with doubts, he still maintained a calm tone and asked:
"Manager Wang, you're too kind. I just heard that lady mention that I'm an S-level VIP? I wonder if there's any special requirement for this status?"

"Oh my, that's quite a complex matter!"

Upon hearing this, Manager Wang immediately perked up.

As if by magic, he presented a beautifully crafted, gold-embossed booklet with both hands, and as he flipped through it, he introduced it with great enthusiasm:
"This S-level membership is the highest level of privilege at our Naihe Bridge. You can count the number of people in the entire Night City who have this qualification on a handful of hands!"

"As long as you hold this card, you can enjoy a range of top-tier privileges."

"First, there's the priority of intelligence access. You have the right to access all the top-secret files marked as S-level in our Naihe Bridge intelligence database, and the fees will be reduced by half."

"If you want to buy any information, even exclusive insider information that hasn't been released yet, we'll deliver it to you as soon as possible."

"Secondly, there's the black market green channel. Whether it's banned drugs, cursed items, or rare materials, just ask, and we'll source them globally, eliminating all middlemen and charging only the cost price."

"There are also private concierge services, voice and video transmission services, cross-regional business agents, and even our global network of safe houses in the real world..."

Manager Wang spoke fluently and eloquently, listing one attractive benefit after another.

Fang Cheng listened, and couldn't help but be moved.

The Bridge of Helplessness has really gone to great lengths to attract top-tier clients.

The 50% discount on intelligence alone, along with the black market cost price, can save customers who need it a lot of money.

For themselves and for the Illuminati, which was still in its early stages of development, it was an invaluable secret channel.

"It's really good."

Fang Cheng nodded, a satisfied look on his face.

Seeing that the big boss was satisfied, Manager Wang's smile widened even more, and he pressed his advantage, saying:
"For an expert like Mr. Bai, the most valuable thing is the safe house."

"Not only are they equipped with top-notch security systems, but they also stockpile emergency medical kits and military supplies. Whether you need refuge or temporary rest, you can move in any major city or even a desert area in the world with just your bags, ensuring that you feel right at home."

"Mr. Bai, if you're interested, you can sign up for a one-year service package to try it out first..."

"Tell me next time."

Fang Cheng listened for a few moments, then waved his hand, interrupting his incessant chatter:

"Manager Wang, I'm here to collect my due compensation. Let's settle the task fee first."

"Of course, of course!"

Manager Wang readily agreed and first poured Fang Cheng a cup of hot tea.

He then took out a pre-prepared document from the safe and respectfully handed it over with both hands: "This is the task settlement statement. Please take a look at the details."

Fang Cheng took the order, his previously relaxed brows furrowing slightly.

Two lines of numbers were clearly listed above:

Task reward: base reward of 1800 million yuan, performance bonus of 800 million yuan, totaling 2600 million yuan.

Actual amount paid: RMB 2002 million.

And in that shocking line of deduction details, it was clearly written:

The platform charges a basic service fee of 5%, a high-risk task risk fund of 5%, a channel maintenance fee of 3%, and a mysterious "emergency public relations fee" of 10%.

So all that talk about VIP privileges turned out to be a waste of money, and they still ripped me off?

"Manager Wang."

Fang Cheng pointed to the settlement figure, looking at the other party with a half-smile:

"Since I'm an S-level VIP, shouldn't the handling fee... be discounted?"

"Oh dear, Mr. Xiaobai, you're putting me in a difficult position."

Manager Wang's smile instantly turned into a bitter expression as he rubbed his hands and explained:

"This S-level privilege applies to your future spending and tasks, but this order was placed before you became a member, so according to the rules... it has to be handled as before."

"After all, every industry has its rules. If we break this precedent, everyone will follow suit, and we won't be able to do business anymore."

Manager Wang sighed, his tone full of helplessness:
"And as you know, this mission is too big a deal. We at Naihe Bridge have to help you clean up the mess and protect you from disasters. We've spent a lot of real money to cultivate relationships with all parties involved."

"This price of 20.02 million is truly a bargain!"

Seeing Manager Wang's expression that said, "We're already selling at a loss," Fang Cheng's lips twitched slightly.

What a reasonable price!

This Bridge of Helplessness is indeed a miserly tightwad, unwilling to part with a single penny.

However, he also understood that if the other party could withstand the pressure from "Utopia" and ensure that his information as a client was not leaked, it would be a problem.

That certainly involves considerable risk, so collecting protection money is understandable.

"alright."

Fang Cheng stopped worrying about it and nodded calmly.
How do I collect this money?

"That depends on your own needs."

Seeing that Fang Cheng had stopped haggling, Manager Wang immediately resumed his professional smile and explained in detail:

"Considering the safety of your funds and your privacy, we at Naihe Bridge thoughtfully provide three confidential collection methods."

"The first method is a real currency offshore account transfer. We will launder the money through dozens of shell companies and finally transfer it to any account you designate. The source is absolutely untraceable, but it takes 24 hours for the money to arrive."

"The second option is physical delivery. We can pay in cash, or we can convert it into equivalent gold, jewelry, or rare materials and place it in a designated safe house in the real world for you to pick up yourself. The payment will be credited instantly, but there is a certain risk of transportation."

"The third option is to exchange it for our Night City's 'credit coins.' This is the hard currency of the underworld. It can be used to buy any black market goods here and can also circulate in the secret bases of various organizations without any transaction fees."

Fang Cheng tapped his fingers lightly on the sofa armrest, lost in thought.

All in real currency?

Although he is safe, he is not in a tight spot right now, as he has not yet spent the huge sum of money Chen Xu'an gave him.

Moreover, real currency is not very useful in Night City; even buying information incurs exorbitant fees, which is a huge loss.

If you exchange everything for cash now, and then exchange it back later when you really need it, that would be a foolish thing to do.

Take all the credits?
Not at all.

The Illuminati is just starting out. Base construction, personnel recruitment, and equipment procurement all require real money.
Besides, I had previously planned to buy an apartment for my mother.

After a moment's thought, Fang Cheng made a decision.

"Half of it will be transferred to this account."

He revealed an anonymous account that Lin Chuqiao had previously registered overseas, and then said:

"The other half, all converted into credits."

"No problem, you're so wise!"

Manager Wang, all smiles, immediately got to work.

Less than two minutes later, with a crisp notification sound, a magnetic card that was entirely black with dark gold patterns flowing across its surface was handed to Fang Cheng.

"This is your S-level membership card, which already contains the equivalent of 10.01 million credits."

"With this card, you can enjoy a 20% discount on all purchases at the Bridge of Helplessness and its affiliated black markets, and also..."

Manager Wang lowered his voice and said mysteriously:
"If you need to stay in Night City for an extended period and want to preserve your funds and belongings, we can also offer you the rental service of luxury studio apartments in the core area at an internal discount price."

Fang Cheng played with the black card in his hand, sensing the special energy fluctuations contained within it.

This thing is definitely much more advanced than the previous temporary number plate.

"Let's talk about the apartment later."

Fang Cheng put away the card and stood up:
"If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

"Okay, okay, Mr. Bai, please take care!"

"From now on, if you have any needs, just come to me. I guarantee I'll handle everything perfectly, without the slightest mistake..."

Manager Wang bowed and scraped as he saw Fang Cheng off at the gate.

Only after his figure disappeared into the elevator did he straighten up and wipe the sweat that had unknowingly seeped from his forehead.

He muttered a sentence to himself.

This man, radiating golden light, certainly has quite the presence.

....................................

Meanwhile, in a monitoring room on the top floor.

Shen Shuhuan stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on the receding figure on the screen.

"Is this the 'Little White'?"

He muttered to himself, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes.

"I can't see through it... I can't see through it at all."

"This man's mental energy fluctuations are extremely stable, like a bottomless ocean. Even when receiving a huge reward, his heartbeat and micro-expressions did not fluctuate at all."

Shen Shuhuan turned around and instructed his assistant, who was as inconspicuous as a shadow behind him:
"Lock his membership file and encrypt all his transaction records. Only I can access them."

"Also, send a few quick-witted and skilled people to keep an eye on things, but don't get too close. Experts of this level have very sharp intuition."

"I need to know his whereabouts in Night City and who he's in contact with, but I must not let him realize we're monitoring him."

"Yes, son."

The assistant immediately accepted the order, bowed slightly, and quickly left the monitoring room to arrange manpower.

Looking at the closed door, Shen Shuhuan's lips curled into a smile:
"Since Utopia wants him dead, then we'll protect him. The enemy of my enemy is my friend; this is a sure-fire deal..."

(End of this chapter)