Mastering the Sword Manual, sweeping across the globe

Some people are asking: Why doesn't the imperial court arrest him?

Someone answered: That's how it's portrayed in movies.

Someone immediately retorted: It's all acting in the movie, this is real!

Then Runren appeared again, posting a screenshot of an official regulation that he didn't know where he got it from, with the caption: "China has the most stringent surveillance system in the world, so it's impossible for anyone to act so recklessly."

Someone in the comments replied to him: "So you admit that the surveillance system is very tight?"

Runren choked.

Some people say, "What does the tightness of the surveillance system have to do with whether the person on your screen is running around or not?"

Runren began to evade the question.

The discussion gradually veered off course, but a core consensus was quietly forming:

—If this is true, then that would be fucking awesome.

---

What truly thrilled all viewers was the fourth batch of materials Luca found.

Oh, we can't use "批" here.

This time, there's only one video.

The person who filmed the video was clearly prepared – the video file was named with a string of meaningless letters and numbers, and the metadata showed that the filming device was a three-year-old mobile phone with the location information erased.

But the picture is very clear.

The footage, which alternates between long shots, medium shots, and close-ups, is clearly edited together from multiple angles, indicating that the gentleman had set up multiple camera positions in advance.

Video content: A middle-aged man in a jacket is pinned to the ground, his ten fingers crushed, his ankles and knees ground to shreds. Then—he visibly ages. His hair turns white, his skin wrinkles, and his eyes lose their sparkle.

Finally, the executioner—the one known online as "Robin Hood"—bent down and gently tapped his forehead.

The video ends.

Hans stared at the screen after finishing the upload, his hands a little cold.

The comments section already has nearly 10,000 regular users, and comments are refreshed rapidly.

I won't go into the background, the identities of the parties involved, or the situation on the ground here to pad the word count.

Many people ask: Why is he the only one with material?

The photographer himself appeared—his ID is "code_monk_1995"—and he left a long comment:

“The signal was blocked in that area at the time. Any content taken at that location and time will be tagged by AI and result in a 404 error when uploaded. It’s the same on external networks. You can try it now, it will be gone in a second.”

The person pressed further: "Then how did you send it out?"

code_monk_1995 replied: Because I know.

What do you do?

That goes without saying... Of course, it's Zhang Qiliang's former professional colleague!

---

In just half an hour, the number of views for this video began to skyrocket.

The tone of the comments section completely changed at that moment.

Previously, he was known as "Robin Hood," "City Hero," and "The Protagonist of a Refreshing Novel."

There are now many more comments like this:

“Das.ist.keine.Gerechtigkeit.mehr. Das.ist.Krieg.” (This is no longer justice, this is war.)

“Er.t?tet.sie.” (He is killing them.)

"Wait... der.Typ.im.Video... das.ist.ein.Richter? Ein.echter.Richter?" (Wait... is that person in the video... a judge? A real judge?)

Some people dug up photos of Wang Debo and compared them with his aged face in the video.

The comparison photos are posted in the comments section.

Everyone fell silent.

Then someone typed a line of text, which was pushed to the top:

“Okay, jetzt.wird.es.ernst.” (Okay, things are serious now.)

"More, more!"

"If you like it, I'll update more!"

"Add another chapter!"

They want to become officials!

Who in the whole world wouldn't love to watch this?!

73 Performance review

With traffic showing signs of taking off, Hans immediately did something very pragmatic.

He contacted several small manufacturers of outdoor equipment and reached an agreement on a live-streaming sales partnership.

None of them are big brands; they are just a few local niche brands that cater to the "survivalist" and "paranormal enthusiast" market—selling headlamps, infrared cameras, night vision devices, electromagnetic field detectors, and portable weather stations.

Who are the long-time fans of "Fringe of Reality"?

He's the kind of guy who'll crouch in the forest on a full moon night waiting for werewolves to appear; he's the kind of streamer who'll spend the night in an abandoned mental hospital broadcasting live; he's the kind of amateur scientist who firmly believes the Loch Ness Monster is hiding in some underground river.

These people have a ten times greater need for equipment than ordinary people.

Hans added a product link to the video description with a simple caption:

"Want to witness the next 'parkour hero' firsthand? You need eyes that can see everything in the dark."

---

After gaining popularity, sales were quite good.

More than two hundred headlamps were sold.

More than eighty infrared cameras have been sold.

The portable electromagnetic field detector—a device specifically designed for "ghost hunters"—sold over forty units.

Other items include night vision goggles, high-magnification telescopes, waterproof action cameras, and miniature recorders that can be clipped onto the brim of a hat.

Over three days, the sales revenue exceeded four thousand euros.

Click-based revenue sharing is also increasing.

Once a video reaches one million views, the platform's revenue sharing percentage will automatically increase by one level.

In addition, several old videos were unearthed by the algorithm, which boosted the video's popularity, and the advertising revenue was over two thousand yuan.

In total, it's over six thousand euros.

---

That evening, Hans and two friends sat in his apartment, which was filled with monitors, doing accounts on their laptops.

Matthias, with a pizza in his mouth, stared at the scrolling numbers on the screen: "How much is mine?"

Luca pushed the calculator towards him: "Press it yourself."

Matthias pressed a few buttons, his eyes lighting up: "That's enough for me to pay three months' rent."

Luca rolled his eyes: "This is just the beginning."

Hans leaned back in his chair, drinking beer and listening to the two bickering.

The Berlin night outside the window was quiet, but the data on the monitor was still fluctuating.

At that moment, Matthias suddenly remembered something, took out his phone from his pocket, and scrolled through a bunch of unread messages.

"By the way, several businesses have contacted me, wanting to collaborate."

He read them aloud one by one:

“A company that sells outdoor protective clothing said they could provide free samples and let us evaluate them in a video.”

“A company that sells stab-proof backpacks said they were willing to give us 15% of the sales revenue.”

"There was also a store that sells portable power banks, and they said they could sponsor a live stream of our '24-hour wilderness stakeout'."

Hans nodded: "That's all fine, just do it the old way."

Suddenly, Matthias paused, glanced at Hans, and said, "There's another one... that sells figurines."

Hans paused for a moment while holding his beer.

"A figurine?"

“Yes,” Matthias turned his phone screen around, “a manufacturer that makes collectible models said they saw our collection and want to release a limited edition ‘Parkour Man’ figure, and they hope to get the license.”

Luca was stunned: "How can we authorize this? We don't even have the copyright... right?"

Matthias shrugged: "Who knows? Maybe it's because we're the biggest compilation account right now, and we have contact information for collaborations, so they came to us."

Luca looked at Hans: "Then what do we do...?"

The price is very tempting.

The manufacturer's terms were: a licensing fee of 20,000 euros, plus a 5% cut of sales. The initial plan was to produce 5,000 units, each priced at 69 euros.

Luca silently did some calculations, then looked at Hans.

Hans remained silent for a few seconds.

"Authorization".

Luca paused for a moment: "But copyright..."

“We’ll only be authorized to upload images,” Hans put down his beer, “and facial details are not allowed.”

—Leave as much room for negotiation as possible.

---

The manufacturer's feedback came very quickly.

They never wanted any facial details in the first place.

The authorization they requested included three scenes:

The first one is the one flying with pigeons. It's the cover image, and it's the most visually striking.

The second group is the one that raced against the high-speed train. This best embodies the concept of "extraordinary".

The third one is the scene where the driver's head is pushed underwater. For some reason, this video has a very high number of views on foreign websites.

Hans printed out the letter of intent sent by the manufacturer and placed it on the table.

"Please wait for my lawyer's feedback."

This is not a price-inflating technique.

After hanging up with the manufacturer, Hans immediately dialed his lawyer's number.

Thomas, a lawyer, was an old friend of his father's and specialized in media law, making him adept at this kind of fringe business.

Hans explained the situation and then asked, "How can we make this money while leaving room for negotiation?"

Thomas laughed on the other end of the phone: "Hans, that's a very insightful question. Simply put, add three clauses to the agreement: First, the authorization is limited to the video footage you shoot and edit, and does not extend to the portrait rights or personality rights of 'Parkour Man' himself; second, if a higher-level rights holder emerges in the future, you have the right to terminate the agreement without incurring liability for breach of contract; third, the product description must state 'artistic re-creation based on materials disseminated online,' and cannot directly claim to be an officially authorized product."

Hans quickly wrote it down.

Just then, Matthias suddenly shouted.

"here we go again!"

Hans covered the microphone and turned to look at him.

Matthias stared at the screen, his eyes shining: "We've caught two new pieces of information this time."

---

The first video shows a teenager having his teeth knocked out.

In the video, in a room resembling an interrogation room, a thin boy leans against the wall, half of his face swollen, with several bloodstained teeth scattered on the floor. The video is short, only a few seconds long, but the picture is very clear.