Chapter 28 unlocks a new talent mechanism: the more I mess with people, the stronger I become.

The Commoner Supermarket business was still half-dead, but Fatty Wang's protection fee package plan had unexpectedly become a hit.

The cause of this was a player called "Newbie White". He was a noob who had just entered the game, didn't understand anything, had his monsters stolen three times in the Novice Village, was scammed twice for materials, and couldn't even finish the newbie quests. He posted a help request on the forum, which Fatty Wang saw.

"Brother, this newbie is so miserable." Fatty Wang showed the post to Lin Ye, "Should we help him?"

Lin Ye glanced at the post, then at Fatty Wang's overflowing sympathetic expression, and nodded: "Fine. You go contact him and say we can stand up for him. No charge."

Fatty Wang jumped up in excitement: "Brother, you're the best!"

"It's not that I'm good, it's about setting an example." Lin Ye curled his lips into a wicked smile, "After helping him, all the solo players in the server will know — follow us, and there's meat to eat."

Fatty Wang suddenly realized and hurriedly went to contact Newbie White.

The materials Newbie White had been scammed out of were a stack of Mithril ore, not high value, just a few hundred gold coins, but to him, it was a huge sum. The one who scammed him was an old timer with the ID "Gold-Digging Lieutenant", who specialized in scamming noobs in the Novice Village. He was skilled, thick-skinned, and not afraid even when exposed; he would just switch accounts and continue scamming.

When Lin Ye brought Fatty Wang to find the Gold-Digging Lieutenant, he was at the entrance of the Novice Village Trading House swindling another noob.

"Brother, this sword is of Blue quality, Attack +50, only 100 gold coins! Cheap, right?"

Lin Ye walked over, snatched the sword, and took a look — Attack +5, durability only half left.

"Scamming people here again?"

When the Gold-Digging Lieutenant saw Lin Ye, his face changed: "You... who are you? Is this any of your business?"

Lin Ye laughed: "None of my business? Then I'll make it my business." He raised his hand and cast a debuff on the Gold-Digging Lieutenant — "Mandatory Transaction Penalty". Just like with the Heartless Merchant, whoever traded with him would have money deducted.

[System Prompt: Target [Gold-Digging Lieutenant] has been inflicted with the [Mandatory Transaction Penalty] effect. Effect Description: When conducting any transaction, the system will automatically deduct 200% of the transaction amount as a fine, which will be returned to the other party of the transaction.]

The Gold-Digging Lieutenant didn't know he had been hit with a debuff and walked away cursing. He went to the Trading House, wanting to list the scammed materials for sale — but as soon as he listed them, the system deducted 2000 gold coins from him.

"What?!" He was stunned, crazily checking his account, and sure enough, 2000 gold coins were missing. He tried again, and was deducted another 1000.

"What the hell is this?!" He opened his status bar and finally saw the debuff — "Mandatory Transaction Penalty". His face turned pale; he wanted to find a Priest to dispel it, but the Priest told him this debuff could not be cleared. He wanted to log off to hide, but logging off was useless — the debuff is permanently bound.

The Gold-Digging Lieutenant collapsed on the ground, crying without tears. The materials he had scammed were all gone, his own money was deducted, and his account was burdened with a permanent debuff; from now on, any transaction he made would require a penalty payment.

Lin Ye returned the scammed materials to Newbie White, who was so excited he almost cried: "Brother Ye! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Lin Ye waved his hand: "Small matter. If you encounter scammers in the future, come straight to me."

White nodded frantically: "Brother Ye, can I join you? I don't want a salary, I just want to follow you!"

Lin Ye thought for a moment: "Sure. Go report to Fatty. He happens to be short on hands."

White jumped up in excitement and ran to the Commoner Supermarket to find Fatty Wang.

This incident was posted on the forum by onlookers, with the title —

[Hot Post] Brother Ye stands up for a newbie, scammer swindled to bankruptcy! This is the true guardian of solo players!

As soon as the post was released, all the solo players on the server exploded —

[Forum Hot Post]

First floor: Brother Ye is awesome! This is a real gaming big shot!

Second floor: Those guild big shots only know how to bully newbies, Brother Ye helps newbies, the difference is clear!

Third floor: Brother Ye also opened a Commoner Supermarket, selling materials cheaper than NPCs. This is a conscientious player!

Fourth floor: Heard Brother Ye is also launching a protection fee package? Players who pay can enjoy anti-monster-stealing and anti-scam services? Really?

Fifth floor: It's real! Fatty just posted an announcement on the forum! Monthly card 100 gold, seasonal card 280 gold, annual card 1000 gold! It also includes one free debt collection service by Brother Ye personally!

Sixth floor: This is too cheap, right? How much is 100 gold? 200 real currency? Buy, buy, buy!

Less than half an hour after the announcement of the protection fee package was released, a long line formed at the door of the Commoner Supermarket. Solo players flocked from every corner of the main city, some buying monthly cards, some buying seasonal cards, and a few rich players bought annual cards directly.

Fatty Wang was so busy he couldn't touch the ground, collecting money while registering, his mouth unable to close: "Brother! Business is booming! Just this morning we sold over a hundred monthly cards, thirty-plus seasonal cards, and five annual cards!"

Lin Ye nodded: "Continue. Don't stop."

Su Qinghan also came to help, responsible for reviewing orders and handling after-sales. She was meticulous and organized, much more reliable than Fatty Wang.

"Is the pricing for your protection fee package too low?" Su Qinghan asked, "100 gold a month, it doesn't even cover the cost."

Lin Ye laughed: "Not low. I want people, not money. Once everyone buys the package, we can raise the price."

Su Qinghan shook her head speechlessly: "You really are... material for doing business."

The three were busy when the system suddenly popped up a notification —

[System Prompt: You have cumulatively killed 10,000 targets affected by the Decay Debuff. Talent advancement effect unlocked: Decay Reverse Fleece-Shearing Buff — Every time you kill a target affected by the Decay Debuff, you can gain a temporary attribute bonus of 1% of the target's stats. Killing a big spender or top BOSS allows you to briefly inherit their pay-to-win attributes/exclusive skills. The higher the debuff stack, the higher the bonus ratio.]

Lin Ye looked at this prompt, his eyes lit up.

"Reverse Fleece-Shearing?" He read this effect, his lips curling into a wicked smile, "What a great name."

Su Qinghan leaned over to take a look and gasped: "Killing a target gives you their attribute bonus? And you can inherit skills? This Talent is too heaven-defying, right?"

Lin Ye laughed: "Not heaven-defying, just professional. Let's go, let's go try it."

The three walked out of the Commoner Supermarket and came to the Ash Plains. Lin Ye found a level 30 elite BOSS and started stacking the debuff.

100 stacks. 200 stacks. 300 stacks.

The BOSS's health bar dropped wildly, and all its attributes were reduced again and again. When the debuff reached 500 stacks, the BOSS's health was only 10% left. Lin Ye slashed down, and the BOSS fell to the ground.

[System Prompt: You killed [Ash Plains Lord] (Level 30 Elite BOSS), triggering [Decay Reverse Fleece-Shearing Buff]. Gained a temporary 50% strength bonus of the target, lasting 30 minutes.]

Lin Ye opened his attribute panel and took a look — Strength soared from 200 to 300, and his attack power doubled.

"Holy crap." He couldn't help but curse, "This bonus is too fierce."

Su Qinghan was also stunned: "50% strength bonus? That's more than all the equipment on you combined."

Lin Ye nodded: "And the higher the debuff stack, the higher the bonus ratio. It only stacked 500 times just now, and it gave 50%. What if it stacked 1000 times? 2000 times?"

Su Qinghan fell silent. She dared not think. 1000 stacks of debuff, 100% bonus? 2000 stacks, 200% bonus? Wouldn't Lin Ye be invincible?

Fatty Wang was confused on the side, but he understood one point — "Brother, did you get stronger again?"

Lin Ye laughed: "Not stronger, but even stronger."

He raised his hand and cast a debuff on a group of wild monsters in front of him, 500 stacks, instantly killing them. His attack power rose another notch.

"This Talent is simply tailor-made for me." He couldn't help but sigh, "The more deceitful I am, the stronger I get; the stronger I get, the more deceitful I am. A perfect closed loop."

Su Qinghan shook her head speechlessly: "You really are... born to cause trouble."

The three farmed for an afternoon, Lin Ye's level rose from 28 to 32, his attack power increased by several hundred points, and he also farmed quite a few rare materials and equipment. The most ridiculous part was that he killed a level 40 wild BOSS and triggered the "briefly inherit skills" effect — gaining the BOSS's "Earthquake Stomp" skill. Although it could only be used for 30 minutes, its power was astonishing; with one stomp, all the small monsters within a fifty-yard radius died.

Fatty Wang was dumbfounded: "Brother, this skill of yours is too fierce! Stomping a whole area to death with one foot!"

Lin Ye laughed: "Pity it can only be used for 30 minutes. If only it could be inherited permanently."

Su Qinghan said: "Don't be greedy. Being able to briefly inherit is already ridiculous enough. If you could inherit permanently, you wouldn't need to fight monsters, just go and fleece the BOSS's skills."

Lin Ye thought about it, and it was true. He put away his weapon and said to the two: "Let's go, return to the city. Time for real business."

"What real business?"

"The Heavenly Temple people are blocking the door again. This time it's the main city's dungeon entrance."

The three returned to the main city and sure enough saw dozens of Heavenly Temple members standing at the dungeon entrance. The leader was still Ling Tian, whose level had been restored to 18, and his equipment had been reassembled. He stood in front of the dungeon entrance, hands on his hips, looking arrogant.

"From today on, all dungeons belong to the Heavenly Temple. If you want to enter the dungeon, pay first. 100 gold coins per head."

The solo players dared to be angry but didn't dare speak. A few who wanted to force their way in were directly cut down by the Heavenly Temple people.

Lin Ye walked over and patted Ling Tian's shoulder: "Collecting protection fees here again?"

Ling Tian looked back and saw it was Lin Ye, his face changed instantly: "You... what are you here for?"

Lin Ye laughed: "Here to talk business with you."

"What business?"

"Your protection fees, I'm collecting them. From now on, this dungeon entrance belongs to me. Players who want to enter the dungeon, pay me. If you Heavenly Temple people want to enter, you have to pay too."

Ling Tian's face turned livid: "You fucking looking for death!"

He waved his hand, and the lackeys behind him immediately surrounded them. But no one dared to make a move — the shadow of being wiped out last time was still there.

Lin Ye looked around, his lips curling into a wicked smile: "Dare not make a move? Then I'm leaving."

He turned and left. Ling Tian gritted his teeth, wanting to call him back, but opened his mouth and couldn't say a word.

He didn't dare. Really didn't dare.

Lin Ye walked a few steps, looked back at him: "By the way, go back and tell Qin Wentian. His material monopoly won't last a few days."

Ling Tian's face turned pale, and he couldn't say a word.

Lin Ye turned and left, leaving silence everywhere.

Returning to the Commoner Supermarket, Fatty Wang was sweating profusely behind the counter. The orders for the protection fee package were lined up until next week, and just today's income was several tens of thousands of gold coins.

"Brother! We're rich!" Fatty Wang's voice changed with excitement, "Just the protection fees collected today reached fifty thousand gold coins! Plus the sales of materials and equipment, a total of eighty thousand gold coins!"

Lin Ye nodded: "Continue. Don't stop."

Su Qinghan was calculating accounts on the side: "At this speed, we can earn over two million gold coins a month. At the current gold price, that's at least five million in real currency."

Fatty Wang's eyes went straight: "Five million?! Wouldn't I become a millionaire?"

Lin Ye laughed: "Not a millionaire, but a multi-millionaire. Once our business expands to the whole server, earning ten million a month won't be a problem."

Fatty Wang's hands were shaking with excitement: "Brother, you're too awesome!"

Lin Ye patted his shoulder: "Not awesome, but professional." He stood up, walked to the window, looked at the direction of the Heavenly Temple headquarters in the distance, his lips curling into a wicked smile.

"Qin Wentian, aren't you trying to block me? Then I'll let you see who is the real daddy of this game."

At this time, Qin Wentian was standing on the top floor of the Heavenly Temple headquarters, also looking at the direction of the Commoner Supermarket, his eyes cold. The lackey behind him reported: "President, that Ye created another protection fee package. He collected fifty thousand gold coins in one day. At this speed, he can earn over two million a month."

Qin Wentian clenched his fists, veins popping. He didn't expect that Lin Ye not only wasn't blocked by him, but instead grew bigger and bigger. Commoner Supermarket, protection fee package, Giant Bear Lord henchman, and that increasingly ridiculous Talent — Lin Ye's influence was expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Can't let him go on like this anymore." Qin Wentian said in a low voice, "If this continues, the entire main city will become his territory."

The lackey asked cautiously: "President, then what shall we do?"

Qin Wentian was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Contact all the dungeon hunting teams in the main city. Starting tomorrow, monopolize all material drops from all dungeons. I want to make that Ye unable to buy even a single material."

The lackey answered and turned to leave.

Qin Wentian looked at the Commoner Supermarket outside the window, his eyes cold.

"Ye, aren't you going to open a shop? Then I'll let you open an empty shop."