David Reed chuckled, “Hehe, Young Foster and I just sat down as well, the chairs aren’t even warm yet. Mr. Brooks, a few days ago you mentioned that kind of treasure artifact—I already have a concept in mind, so I wanted to let you two know first.”

Adam Brooks cursed inwardly, You sly feathered beast, if you weren’t thinking about bird food, would you even come looking for me? A preliminary concept? If I let you talk about it now and you could actually say anything concrete, that would be a miracle.

In truth, David Reed really didn’t have any ideas. For the past three days, all he could think about was that delicious treat—how could he have the mind to consider treasure artifacts? If Adam Brooks really made him talk about it, he wouldn’t be able to say a thing. So when he saw Adam Brooks just chuckle without pressing further, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

“This is something I bought from a friend. I heard Mr. Reed likes it, so I’ll give it to you.” As Adam Brooks spoke, he pushed a box of premium bird food, still perfectly packaged, across the table to David Reed. By coincidence, the lively little bird on the box was exactly the image of David Reed’s old green-backed, yellow-bellied white-eye.

David Reed accepted the gift without a change in expression. Such a big box would last him for months.

The three of them already had a tacit understanding and agreed on the time for their next meeting. David Reed got up to take his leave. He knew that next time, he’d at least have to bring a semi-finished product; otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to bluff his way through in front of the other two.

After seeing David Reed off, Ethan Foster slapped Adam Brooks on the shoulder. “Not bad, Old Brooks, you really guessed it right!”

Chapter 06: The Immortals Will Manifest Their Power

Adam Brooks made a trip to the mortal world, only to find that the task Ethan Foster had entrusted to him was not going well. The original plan was to cast fifty thousand votes in a month to win the championship, but unexpectedly, the contestant in first place also made a big push in the final month. Adam Brooks’s plan was to distribute the votes evenly over four weeks. After casting twelve thousand five hundred votes in the first week, and deducting the roughly twenty-five hundred votes the first-place contestant might get that week, by Adam Brooks’s calculations, No. 35 should catch up by ten thousand votes, narrowing the gap to twenty thousand. But when this week’s rankings came out, No. 35 was actually thirty-five thousand votes behind first place! The gap hadn’t narrowed at all—it had widened!

Adam Brooks hurried back to his base, where all the people he’d hired were working. He immediately reassigned tasks, doubled the original plan, and invested more—buying seventy-five thousand magazines and starting nonstop online voting. He also abandoned the principle of steady voting, deciding to throw all the votes in within a week and see how things stood the next week.

Adam Brooks viciously stamped out a cigarette butt. “Damn it, the war has begun!”

He returned to the immortal realm and told Ethan Foster about the situation. Ethan Foster was a bit flustered. “Old Brooks, do you think you can handle it?” Adam Brooks grinned, completely unconcerned. “It’s just under-the-table dealings. I’ve played these games in the mortal world for ages. These bastards—immortals playing dirty tricks, and you want to join in? That’s just asking for trouble!”

Ethan Foster said, “Old Brooks, don’t worry, I’ll make up for any extra money spent.” But Adam Brooks shook his head. “This loss was caused by my own miscalculation. You shouldn’t have to pay for it. Whoever makes the mistake takes the loss. Even though I’m just a smuggler, I have big ambitions. I’ll shoulder this loss myself.”

Ethan Foster was deeply moved. “Old Brooks…” The two clasped hands tightly! If Ethan Foster knew that his so-called great ambition was to become the number one smuggling kingpin in the immortal realm, who knows what Young Foster, now gazing at him with teary eyes, would think?

A week passed quickly. Adam Brooks went to the mortal world and waited at a newsstand. When the magazines arrived, he hurriedly bought one. Flipping to the rankings page, just as he expected, the opponent’s behind-the-scenes operator, after seeing last week’s rankings, clearly realized someone was manipulating things, so they also made a big push this week—but not as thoroughly as Adam Brooks. With a single push of 150,000 votes, No. 35 shot to first place, leading the second place—formerly first—by 30,000 votes.

Besides those two, the rankings of the next few contestants also changed dramatically. One contestant who hadn’t even made the top twenty before suddenly broke into the top three!

Adam Brooks shook his head. Looks like this time, his margin of error was more than just a little! “The mortal world is getting more and more shameless…” When Adam Brooks said this, he didn’t realize that he himself was doing something just as “shameless”—maybe even more so than the mortals.

He went to the bank to withdraw fifty thousand yuan, returned to his base, and slapped the stack of cash on the table like a brick. Ryan Brooks announced loudly, “Everyone, good job this week! Here’s your bonus. Next week, we keep going. My plan is to buy 100,000 magazines and keep smashing votes!”

Everyone cheered and rushed for the red brick of cash.

An emperor never starves his soldiers—Adam Brooks understood this well. The fifty-thousand-yuan reward was essential. He couldn’t keep watch here all the time, so he had to rely on these people to fight for him.

On his way back from the mortal world, he picked up a few things. The CDs Evan Carter wanted, some mortal snacks for a few gluttonous immortals, and some other odds and ends. The business philosophy of Adam Brooks’s trade was: sneak down to the mortal world, and make money bit by bit.