The forum was extremely active, with a high daily user count. The debate between Law38 and various forum legends had lasted for several hours, drawing an increasing number of spectators.
Thanks to the White Smoke Font's universal appraisal ability, everything Law had encountered over the years had been stored in his memory as deep knowledge.
Combined with the countless books he had read under Linne's tutelage, his reservoir of knowledge was vast.
Over the course of those hours, he flawlessly answered most of the challenging questions posed to him. For those he didn't know, he didn't pretend and straightforwardly admitted his lack of knowledge.
Gradually, whether it was the questioners or the onlookers, they all began to suspect that Law38 might genuinely be the real Law.
Three hours and twenty-five minutes later, the Q&A session concluded.
The number of online users gathered in the thread had reached a peak, and they all remembered the ID Law38. Just as Law himself had stated, it was an exclusive verification.
Law leaned back in his chair, massaging his temples to ease the slight throbbing in his head. He pulled a cigarette from his handmade case and placed it between his lips.
"Well done."
Sabro walked over and set a freshly brewed cup of coffee on Law's desk.
He had been watching the entire time, witnessing Law's convincing rebuttals against the forum's renowned experts. From the bottom of his heart, he admired Law's breadth of knowledge… truly worthy of being Linne's junior.
Law glanced at Sabro and said, "Next up is the promotional phase."
"If you want to post a promotional thread, it'll cost at least 50,000 points. Right now, your point balance is zero," Sabro reminded.
"Points aren't an issue." Law immediately thought of Ging, a man swimming in forum points. He could easily ask him for a few tens of thousands.
Sabro nodded slightly and said, "Promotion is meant to boost the site's traffic and visibility, but if you want buyers to actually purchase the antiques, it's best to partner with a well-known, professional third party. That'll save you a lot of trouble."
"I know. That's Salin's responsibility, right?" Law lit his cigarette, easing the faint ache in his head.
Hearing this, Sabro glanced at Salin, who was absorbed in ancient texts, and smiled wryly.
Shrugging, he said, "You go and push her on that. I'm not touching it."
"Fine." Law sighed softly. Sabro, her own brother, was so intimidated by his sister that he didn't even dare to nudge her about work. It was almost pathetic.
"Just a heads-up… if the site isn't up and running within three months, the company's going under. Otherwise, we'll have to move some of the antiques to Yorknew to sell them off." Sabro said, waving a hand as he walked back to his desk.
"Three months… That's enough."
Law stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and took a sip of coffee. Without hesitation, he sent Ging a private message through the forum's communication function.
[Send me 50,000 points.]
A moment later, Ging replied.
[No way. If you want points, go sweep through Q&A threads yourself.]
[You've got so many points… what's 50,000 to you?]
[I earned these points with my own skills. Why should I give them to you?]
[Angry fist emoji]
Law hadn't expected Ging to be this stingy… unwilling to spare even 50,000 points.
"Fine, I'll earn them myself."
Law extricated himself from his trending thread and shifted to the Q&A Zone.
This was a dedicated sub-forum where users posted bounties to solve difficult problems… a prime hunting ground for experts to earn points.
Almost any kind of conundrum could be found here. Incidentally, Cheadle, the Triple-Star Disease Hunter and one of the Zodiacs, was a regular expert in this section. Her point balance was hidden, but it was likely terrifyingly high.
Promotional threads required a minimum of 50,000 points, so Law needed to earn at least that much in the Q&A Zone.
The Q&A Zone covered a wide range of categories, including procurement requests and intelligence needs.
This was Law's first time here, so he casually browsed through the threads. Among them, three prominently displayed posts stood out, with rewards ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of points.
"Hmm? The Kurta Clan?"
Law skimmed through the three threads, and one with a bounty of a million points immediately caught his attention.
The post was short, just a few lines, essentially asking for the exact location of the Kurta Clan.
It had been posted three years ago, meaning that in all this time, no one had been able to solve it. Yet, the poster was so generous with points that they had kept the bounty active for years.
'The Hunter Forum is one of the top intelligence networks out there. A million-point bounty could easily be exchanged for billions of Jenny in a private deal, even after haggling. But after three years, no one's claimed it.'
Law opened the thread and saw nothing but useless replies in the comments.
"I'd love to find the Kurta Clan's location too. If even a high-reward post like this hasn't gotten results, what other method is there?"
Law rubbed his chin. He didn't want the Phantom Troupe to massacre Kurapika's people. If no one could locate the Kurta Clan in the end, he'd have to find a way to dissuade Chrollo from coveting the Scarlet Eyes.
But that was a problem for later. Right now, he needed points.
Law exited the thread and began scouring the Q&A Zone. Any question he could answer, regardless of the reward, he took on… and provided correct solutions.
The bounties varied wildly, from tiny sums to massive payouts. It was hard to pin down an average, but the threads Law tackled averaged around 500 points each.
And so, Law raided the Q&A Zone. His actions gradually drew the attention of bored forum users.
Noticing his shift in activity, they followed him, watching as the Q&A Zone's notifications flooded with Law accepting and completing bounties.
First, he dominated a heated debate. Now, he was devouring the Q&A Zone. It was insane.
Law paid them no mind, steadily accumulating points as he worked.
After completing the bounty, the points will not be credited to his account immediately… there was a 24-hour verification period.
Two and a half hours later, as dusk fell, Law finally earned 50,000 points.
"Finally… done."
He exhaled deeply, logged off without hesitation, and shut down the computer.
The points would arrive in 24 hours, after which he could post the promotional thread. By then, his exclusive verification as Law38 would maximize the impact of his announcement.
In the office area, Sabro seemed to have gone out for a stroll, while Salin remained buried in her books. Ever since leaving the Kandhia Desert, she had become obsessed with archaeology and history texts, voraciously absorbing knowledge.
Law stood up, walked over, and lightly tapped the desk, interrupting her reading.
"You're disturbing me."
Salin put down the book and responded bluntly.
"Uh…"
Law smiled awkwardly and said, "About the third-party expert collaboration… we need you to handle that as soon as possible."
"The target is Director Clover of the Ohara Museum. He's an industry authority. With his cooperation, selling the antiques would be much smoother." Salin closed her book calmly, "But he never engages in commercial partnerships."
"So, do you think you can secure him?" Law raised an eyebrow.
"No. But in two weeks, the Ohara Museum is holding a major exchange event… essentially a prestigious artifact exhibition. If I can leverage that, there might be a chance."
"Then it's in your hands." Law concluded.
Salin said nothing more and resumed reading.
The Ohara Museum was actually privately owned, with Clover as its director. It housed numerous genuine antiquities, but its most famous collection was its well-preserved ancient texts.
Setting aside Clover's credentials and authoritative reputation, Sarine likely chose him as a potential collaborator precisely for those ancient texts… and the upcoming appraisal exhibition.
By then, many renowned collectors would attend the event, bringing with them rare and valuable artifacts.