Third Vertical Street

Duke, busy until midnight, repaired all the scrap spirit cards he had collected.

Not all scrap spirit cards could be successfully repaired. Some, which appeared repairable on the surface, had shrunken energy circuits inside and could no longer be fixed.

Xiao Yi lacked a scanning function and could only judge based on Duke's basic perception.

The success rate was hard to guarantee.

Even so, this was far superior to any Card Master. Without Xiao Yi's computational power, it would be impossible for a Card Master to determine if a scrap spirit card had any repair value.

If it did, it wouldn't have become a scrap spirit card in the first place.

For example, Old Sam was a veteran Card Master who often frequented the Scrap Card Station to collect cards, but he only ever salvaged materials from them and never refurbished a single scrap spirit card.

After a night's sleep.

Duke, as usual, went to the alley behind the shop to buy breakfast.

As soon as he arrived at the breakfast stall, he saw a crowd gathered by the wall, looking at a notice board. This was where the Snakehead Tower in town posted information.

Duke squeezed his way in.

At a glance, he saw a new notice posted on the board: "Notice Regarding the Construction of Third Vertical Street."

"They're building Third Vertical Street?" Duke was surprised.

He quickly read the entire notice. The Snakehead Tower, as the administrative body of Snakehead Town, planned to add a vertical street to the west side of town. The area around this Third Vertical Street would be developed into a residential district.

"The Pioneer War is coming!" someone declared confidently. "Otherwise, they wouldn't build a new main street. It's definitely for outsiders to live in!"

"I wonder if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

"It's definitely good! Third Vertical Street is being built on the west side, which means our Second Vertical Street will become the town center. The business owners will get rich again."

"That's not necessarily true. With more people coming, the town will surely become chaotic."

"Yeah, especially those Mercenary Groups. They cause trouble wherever they go. Just you wait, every household will be ruined!"

Most people had a general understanding of the Pioneer War.

As for whether it was welcome or not, it was hard to say.

The Pioneer War meant countless opportunities, but it also brought countless dangers. Especially for ordinary people at the bottom, it was difficult to share in the opportunities without possessing extraordinary powers, yet the dangers would not bypass them just because they were ordinary people; they would still face misfortune.

"Who cares if it gets chaotic or not? I'm going to the Snakehead Tower first to ask if I can buy a small courtyard in advance. This alley is too crowded." Someone finished reading the notice and left immediately.

Duke, squeezed among the crowd, pondered for a moment.

The establishment of Third Vertical Street wouldn't significantly impact Little Sam's Card Shop. On the contrary, once the war began, the card repair business would likely be overwhelmed.

"I'm not buying a courtyard on Third Vertical Street. I'll save up to buy a farm later." Duke pushed through the crowd and bought some pastries from the breakfast stall.

As he paid, he saw Best in the crowd, talking loudly with acquaintances.

Best looked very excited.

Clearly, Best was thrilled about the arrival of the Pioneer War. The card repair shop had been deserted lately, which had worried him greatly. Seeing a turning point approaching, how could he not be excited?

Duke ignored him.

He went straight back to his own business.

Two days later, early in the morning, he took Levin and Harper in the Black Beetle Car to Chen Jiao City. When he started stocking up, he found that all the goods had increased in price.

"Everyone's spreading rumors about the Pioneer War. We can't do anything about the price increases from above, so we have to follow suit."

"Alright, give me the order, but halve the quantity of each item."

"Aren't you going to stock up more, Boss? Prices might go up again in a few days."

"I don't have the money."

Duke was telling the truth. He had been stocking up quite a bit lately, enough consumables for at least three to five months. Any more and he wouldn't have money for meat.

When he visited card shops and Spirit Tool stores, most of them had also increased their prices to varying degrees.

"Levin, Harper, take the goods back to the inn and wait for me. I'm going to the Scrap Card Station to look for cards for a while," Duke signaled his two assistants to leave first.

He went to the Scrap Card Station alone.

As he reached the entrance, the old man at the gate immediately greeted him, "Boss Little Duke, here to look for cards again?"

"Yes, Grandpa," Duke quietly slipped a pack of cigarettes into his pocket.

The old man happily put it away and then whispered, "Warehouse No. 3 in the back. Two new truckloads arrived today. You can try your luck."

"Got it."

With the gatekeeper's tip, Duke headed straight for Warehouse No. 3. Looking for cards at the Scrap Card Station was charged by time, so saving a little time was worthwhile.

Several people were already sifting through cards in the warehouse. They were all owners of card repair shops from nearby market towns.

Perhaps they had also bribed the gatekeeper.

In any case, this wasn't a benefit exclusive to Duke. He greeted a familiar-looking boss and then rushed into the piles of scrap cards.

He picked up any scrap cards that appeared to be in good condition and carefully sensed them.

With Xiao Yi's review and oversight, the success rate of finding hidden gems was quite high.

For a full hour, Duke was immersed in the joy of sifting through cards and finding hidden gems. He discovered three scrap cards that might be repairable and dismantled several cards made from good materials, recovering some card stock.

"Young man, it's getting dark, still digging through cards?" a fellow card scavenger asked cheerfully as he passed by with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

"I'm looking a bit longer."

"Haha, wishing you riches."

The other scavenger quickly left. Duke turned back to continue his search, but it seemed the other man's words had jinxed him. Duke picked up a scrap card in decent condition, and after a brief scan, his brow furrowed.

He then quickly glanced around at the other people in the warehouse from the corner of his eye and nonchalantly slipped the scrap card into his pocket.

"2-Ring civilian card - Constant Temperature Card. Multiple breaks in the energy circuit, the card surface is quite damaged, but the basic state is stable. There's a decent chance of successful repair."

This was Xiao Yi's assessment.

Duke had previously found a few 2-Ring Spirit Cards, but they were mostly ruined. It was rare to find one that wasn't completely destroyed.

"Dreams do come true!"

"I was just thinking about finding a 2-Ring Spirit Card a couple of days ago, and now I've found one!"

Duke continued to sift through scrap cards for a while longer until the sun set. He was then driven away by the staff, settled his fees at the station, and quickly left by vehicle.

Early the next morning, Duke, Levin, and Harper arrived at the West Station.

However, when the scheduled departure time arrived, the Black Beetle Car did not immediately sound its horn. A crew member came out to explain, "This route will be traveling with two other vehicles, so we'll wait for them first."

"Vehicles from where?" someone asked.

"They're from United Tower staff."

"United Tower?" Duke immediately understood. "They've officially decided to launch the Pioneer War, haven't they? Otherwise, why would United Tower send people to Snakehead Town?"

"Little Duke Boss is right, the Pioneer War is almost a certainty."

United Tower is one of the "Seven Towers" in the name of the Seven Towers Federation. Like the Tower of Erudition and the Spirit Tower, it is an organization spread throughout the entire Federation.

United Tower is an administrative body that manages many of the Federation's internal affairs.

If you were to make an analogy, it would be like the State Council.

All cities have United Tower representatives stationed there, except for noble fiefdoms – the administrative centers of noble fiefdoms have their own names. For example, the administrative center of Snakehead Town is called Snakehead Tower.

They didn't have to wait long. The Black Beetle Car departed at eight in the morning. As soon as it left West Station, two slightly smaller Black Beetle Cars followed.

The three vehicles slowly entered the route.