### Chapter 131: Too Little, Need More Money

Come to think of it, he didn't sleep at all last night. With this new skill, he could finally have a good night's sleep tonight.

Putting his thoughts aside, Fujino began upgrading his student profession.

He now had two student profession points. He decided to use both on the student discount.

- **Congratulations! Your Student Discount level has increased: Current level 5**

- **Student Discount: Level 5 (8.9% system discount, 8.9% real-world discount)**

"???"

"Are you kidding me?"

Looking at the decimal point in the student discount, Fujino couldn't help but rub his forehead. Now there was a decimal point... And didn't he upgrade twice? How come it's only 8.9%? After thinking for a while, Fujino noticed the system's wordplay.

The student discount became a student-specific discount, separating it into system and real-world categories.

The truth is always simple! If he guessed right, the system re-skinned the original skill and then tweaked it, turning a general upgrade into a specific one.

A classic tactic of certain companies.

After some thought, Fujino accepted it. The system realized he was exploiting it too much. If it allowed a 50% discount like before, it wouldn't take long for this skill to become a freebie. Eventually, it would mean "I'm a student, give me everything for free and even pay me extra."

This clearly went against the system's pay-to-win style.

"I wonder what skills upgrading the swordsman profession would grant."

Putting his thoughts aside, Fujino glanced at the option to break through the swordsman profession, shaking his head, "But after upgrading the university student profession, the remaining 2.26 million yen isn't enough to upgrade the swordsman profession."

"Seems like I need to find a way to make some extra money..."

After a moment's thought, Fujino came up with a new way to make money: selling information!

Remembering the 2 million yen he earned last time from selling information about Chikako Ikeda, he wondered how much he could get for information on the two brats from Beika Elementary.

If his guess was right, the police haven't disclosed the details of the case yet. Selling this information should fetch a good price and push the two brats into the public eye. A double win!

After freshening up, Fujino left the Konoha Kendo Dojo. Finding a public phone booth, he stepped into a nearby alley. When he came out, he had transformed into the Beika Batman.

Entering the phone booth, he dialed the number of Goto, the reporter he sold information to last time.

He had considered other reporters, but Goto, having had a successful transaction with him before, was more reliable. Plus, Goto seemed to have been promoted to editor-in-chief recently. Perhaps he could offer more money for Fujino's information.

Besides reliable transactions, Goto, as an exaggeration-prone journalist, had his merits in shaping public opinion. He could use existing evidence to steer public opinion toward a non-existent target, a skill honed over years in journalism. If he were in PR, he'd be at least a senior master.

Though such actions were unethical and even vile, it depended on the target. If it were him, Fujino would have secretly captured and beaten the target under a street lamp with a wooden sword. But if such despicable actions were directed at those two brats, it would be considered noble.

Public opinion always has beneficiaries and victims. The nobility or baseness of public opinion's power depends on who benefits and who suffers.

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#### Late Night, Beika Town, 1-Chome Alley

A man in a brown suit, blue tie, black-rimmed glasses, and carrying a black briefcase paced in the alley.

The man was none other than Goto, the journalist who previously traded with Fujino.

"I wonder what explosive news Beika Batman has this time," Goto thought, looking at his expensive watch.

Thanks to exposing Chikako Ikeda, Goto was recently promoted to editor-in-chief. He hadn't heard from Beika Batman for a while and thought there would be no more dealings. But that afternoon, Beika Batman called, offering explosive news about the Beika Elementary School teacher he attacked.

Without hesitation, Goto secured 1.5 million yen and hurried over.

"Gotou?"

Fujino, dressed in his assassin's robe and batman mask, entered the alley.

"Batman?" Goto turned around and saw Fujino in a different outfit from last time, showing a surprised expression.

"You're an editor now," Fujino noted, glancing at Goto's expensive watch.

"All thanks to your last tip," Goto scratched his head, instinctively hiding his watch.

"I was satisfied with your last payment and report," Fujino said, stepping forward, "but how much can you offer this time?"

"I have the money ready," Goto lifted his briefcase, "1.5 million yen."

"1.5 million?" Fujino pondered. He currently had 2.26 million yen. Adding 1.5 million would make 3.76 million yen. After spending 2.67 million on the upgrade, he'd be left with 1.09 million yen.

After thinking for a while, Fujino said, "1.5 million yen is too little, need more money."

"1.5 million yen is the maximum the newspaper can allocate for this report," Goto hesitated, then added, "but if you have more information in the future, I can personally add another 500,000 yen..."

Beika Batman was his benefactor. His current position was thanks to the information provided by Fujino. If he missed this opportunity, future transactions might be impossible. Apart from building good relations for future deals, Goto genuinely wanted to personally add 500,000 yen for this report.

No one had yet written about the Beika Elementary School teacher being severely injured by Beika Batman. Goto had noticed this but couldn't investigate due to police secrecy and pressure from certain individuals. With Beika Batman's help, he could be the first to report this.

"Alright," Fujino nodded, not pushing for more.

(End of chapter)