Morax is dead, Liyue will fall into my hands.

Upon hearing Li Ye's request, Ningguang's expression turned somewhat strange. What was he trying to do?

Are you planning to ask me to help build an intelligence network?

Then you've really come to the right person!

Li Ye mistakenly thought that Ningguang did not understand his meaning, so he explained earnestly: "Boss Ji, if we want to win over the Liyue people to overthrow the Seven Stars and Eight Gates, break up the Three-Eyed Five Manifestations, and even replace Morax, we cannot do without our own intelligence network."

However, it's important to know that Ningguang's spies are spread throughout Liyue. If we openly establish an intelligence network, it will inevitably be detected.

At that point, all she needs to do is follow the clues, and eight out of ten members of our team will be caught, and even Boss Tongji will be implicated. This is why I haven't set up an intelligence network yet.

However, after careful consideration over this period of time, I have come up with a way to both bypass Tianquan Ningguang's informants and easily build our intelligence network.

"Hey, Boss Ji, I haven't even explained how to do this yet, why do you look like that?"

Li Ye looked at Ning Guang in surprise, wondering if he had said something wrong.

Ningguang's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat. She had never been this nervous when she was dealing with the Vortex Demon God.

Her expression was stiff, and she replied dryly, "No...it's nothing, Mr. Li, please continue."

Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Legitimate Intelligence Network

Ningguang could already foresee what was about to happen. Xiao first flashed a cold light, then his spear shot out like a dragon, and Li Ye fell to the ground in response.

However, after a few seconds, Ningguang noticed that something seemed amiss.

Xiao did not appear, and Li Ye was still gesticulating wildly as he described his plan, showing no signs of sudden death.

Little did she know that when Xiao heard Li Ye's disrespectful words, he was instantly enraged, his seven orifices emitting smoke, wishing he could rush out and poke a thousand holes in Li Ye.

To directly address the Rock King Emperor by his given name and to presumptuously attempt to replace him, even a hundred deaths would not be enough to atone for his sins!

However, before Xiao could make a move, he immediately thought of Lord Zhongli sitting next to Li Ye.

Faced with such rudeness, Lord Zhongli did not attack. Instead, he waited with interest for Li Ye to continue, and Li Ye was unaware of Lord Zhongli's true identity...

Lord Zhongli's move must have a deeper meaning!

Furthermore, with Lord Zhongli's power, killing Li Ye would be a piece of cake, and there's no need for me to overstep my bounds.

Could it be that Li Ye harbors some important secret, and Lord Zhongli deliberately concealed his identity to infiltrate his side in an attempt to uncover the truth?

That must be it!

No! I absolutely must not take action myself; I must wait and see how things unfold.

If necessary, it wouldn't be unreasonable to even stalk him day and night.

Thinking of this, Xiao suppressed his anger and continued to observe in secret.

Ningguang then realized that Xiao didn't seem to have any intention of making a move for the time being, or perhaps Xiao just wasn't at Wangshu Inn tonight?

It's not impossible!

To repay the kindness of the Geo Archon, Xiao accepted the arduous task of protecting Liyue for a thousand years.

Especially at night, he often has to fight against darkness that is enough to engulf the lights of every house in Liyue. It seems that tonight he just happens to be away from Wangshu Inn.

Ningguang, having finally found the "cause," breathed a sigh of relief. It was a false alarm.

"Where was Mr. Li talking about?" Ningguang was so distracted that she hadn't paid any attention to what Li Ye was saying.

"Didn't you hear me, Mr. Ji? Let me explain it again in detail."

Li Ye patiently began to explain from the beginning: "What I mean is that Tianquan Ningguang's eyes and ears are all over Liyue, so it's simply unrealistic to build our intelligence network in secret under these circumstances."

Since building an intelligence network covertly is impractical, why don't we just bring it out into the open?

Ningguang thought it made perfect sense at first glance, but something felt off.

Although Ningguang was used to Li Ye's unpredictable ways, she still wanted to ask, "Mr. Li, are you serious?"

"Of course!" Li Ye said confidently, "As long as we collect intelligence openly and honestly, even Tianquan Ningguang would never guess that our real goal is to build our own intelligence network!"

The solution I came up with is actually quite simple: start a newspaper!

To publish a newspaper, you need content, so we can legitimately gather all sorts of information without arousing suspicion.

Ningguang frowned slightly when she heard Li Ye's suggestion. Newspapers were not a new concept. Liyue, a place with a thriving publishing industry, also had newspapers, but they all disappeared later.

She couldn't help but ask, "A newspaper? Liyue Harbor has many bulletin boards and printing technology, does Mr. Li know why there isn't a newspaper?"

Li Ye could guess the reason with his toes: "Because it doesn't make money, right?"

"Not only are we not making money, but we are also incurring huge losses! If the newspaper continues to operate despite the losses, isn't that just telling others that there's something wrong with our newspaper?"

Ningguang thought Li Ye was really being delusional this time. Even in Liyue Harbor, where trade is highly developed, people who can read and write are still a minority.

Most of them are from wealthy families. They may be able to enjoy playing with birds and dogs, but they probably have no interest in the important matters of Liyue.

Besides, things have been calm in Liyue lately, and nothing major has happened. How can you talk about running a newspaper when the bulletin board isn't even full?

Li Ye laughed: "So now all we need to do is solve the newspaper's profitability problem?"

The newspaper couldn't make a profit in the past, purely because the content they published was problematic. They always wanted to publish major events in Liyue or important business news.

These are sensitive issues that few people care about; if they could make a profit, that would be a miracle.

Ningguang suddenly seemed to realize Li Ye's thoughts: "What does Boss Li mean?"

"Naturally, it's what readers like that's what the newspaper mainly publishes."

Li Ye counted on his fingers and said, "Liyue has a well-developed publishing industry, especially its novels, which are sold overseas."

In the past, novels were written as a complete book and then published by a publishing house. Why can't we adopt a serialized approach, writing one chapter every day or every week and then publishing it in a newspaper?

For example, what about the scandals involving the Liyue Seven Stars, or the recent news about Yun Jin, the rising star of Yunhan Society?

You can also publish information about the latest high-quality jewelry produced by Mingyuezhai, as well as the evaluation results of these pieces. You can also discuss a promotional fee with Xingxi, the owner of Mingyuezhai.

For example, on a certain day of a certain month, traces of immortals reappeared in the deep clouds, and those who sought immortals and visited friends could go to a certain place to scout it out.

Newspapers should write more content that readers like to read, so they won't have to worry about sales.

Furthermore, as long as the newspaper's sales are high enough, it doesn't matter if it doesn't make money.

We can promote future products through newspapers, such as our banking business, or the "Mora mobile phone" that we are about to launch. We can even subtly influence customers' perceptions through information channels.

What great things can one accomplish if one is always thinking about petty gains?

Conversely, in order to continuously attract readers, it's normal for us to solicit and hire professionals from various places to find interesting news, right?

Even if Tianquan Ningguang sends people to investigate, they won't find anything, since we have a legitimate reason to gather intelligence.

At most, she interferes with the information collected and published; could she possibly suspect that a mysterious organization exists behind the newspaper's vast intelligence network?

Ningguang and Zhongli looked at each other in bewilderment. After thinking about it carefully, they realized that if they ran the newspaper in the way Li Ye suggested, it might actually increase sales.

With a larger readership, newspapers have countless ways to turn a profit, whether it's by publishing advertisements, increasing brand awareness, or indirectly gaining influence through the newspaper.

Furthermore, it's only natural for a newspaper to gather information in various ways to create more interesting and exciting news, and Ningguang honestly doesn't see anything wrong with doing so.

In other words, if Li Ye hadn't said it himself... it seems that a huge intelligence network was really built right under his nose?

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Green-Clad Youth? We'll Meet Again and Again

What is the key to starting a business?

Some say choice, perseverance, learning, focus...

But if you were to ask what the most crucial thing in starting a business is?

It can only be start-up capital!

This initial funding can be money, people, connections, or information channels.

The problem of running a newspaper is relatively easy to solve; the key issue is the lack of professional talent.

Newspaper employees must be literate, right? Especially editors need a certain level of literary literacy; otherwise, they might not even have the ability to evaluate manuscripts.

To attract a large number of such professionals in a short period of time, the only option is to rely on the help of Ji, who has deep roots in Liyue. This is the main reason why Li Ye doesn't go it alone.

Unlike Li Ye, who was full of anticipation, Ning Guang was somewhat fearful.

If I hadn't noticed Li Ye amidst the chaos of information and chosen to conceal my identity and become his partner, perhaps given a decade or so, Li Ye could have secretly developed a massive force capable of challenging the Seven Stars of Liyue.

It's not that Li Ye's schemes were particularly secretive; on the contrary, he always laid out his plans openly and honestly.

That's precisely why it's so easy for people to overlook, making it difficult to prevent.

Should we refuse to start a newspaper?

Or are they secretly sabotaging it to prevent the newspaper from operating?

As Ningguang pondered how to respond to Li Ye, she suddenly recalled the last time they met at the New Moon Pavilion, Li Ye's words to her: "If I were in Tianquan Ningguang's position, I would definitely find a way to integrate the Seven Stars and Eight Gates and completely seize control of the entire Liyue."

This sentence seemed to have a special magic, echoing repeatedly in Ningguang's mind.

Should we integrate the Liyue Septate? Leverage the newspaper's influence to increase our voice among the user base...

For some inexplicable reason, Ningguang did not refuse Li Ye's suggestion. Instead, she cooperated by saying, "The newspaper's idea is indeed good and can be included in the discussion."

However, it's best not to rush into the intelligence network matter. Let's get the newspaper up and running first, then observe the Liyue Seven Stars' reaction before making further plans.

"That's great!"

Li Ye happily raised his wine glass and said, "That's exactly what I've been waiting for, Boss Ji. There's no need to rush the intelligence network. As long as the newspaper can be successfully established, the rest will fall into place naturally."

Mr. Ji, you have a discerning eye; I'd like to propose a toast to you.

Ningguang smiled slightly. "A discerning eye, huh? Not bad."

Master Yanxiao's culinary skills were undeniable. After a few drinks, the three of them picked up their chopsticks and began to savor the delicious food on the table.

While eating, Li Ye couldn't help but comment: "Chef Xiangling was right after all. When it comes to culinary skills, Wanmintang and Wangshu Inn are still the best."

Crescent Moon Pavilion and Glazed Pavilion are nothing but a bunch of fame-seeking scoundrels who always want to be taken advantage of.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm just saying that people who like to eat at these two places are all a bit...well, you know."

Zhong Li: "..."

Ningguang: "..."

Xiao, lurking in the shadows, clenched his fists even tighter. To openly mock Lord Zhongli was an unforgivable crime!

Li Ye was completely unaware of his predicament and continued to talk while engrossed in his meal.