Leisurely

Compared to Chen Xiyao's nervous unease, Feng Xue had made quite a good haul today. Perhaps there were many Yu-Gi-Oh!-related things in the world this time, allowing him to pick up enough cards with Traits to form several decks... Of course, they were mainly Synchro and Xyz decks, with nothing for the Extra Deck yet.

Still, he was curious. Sleeping Giant Gudeon was one thing, but why would anyone throw away cards like Three-Eyed Monster, Killer Tomato, and Witch of the Black Forest as garbage?

But when he thought of the cards Brother Crab had picked out of the trash heap, and the monsters with zero ATK and zero DEF in the dry well behind Duel Academy, he felt that it was not so difficult to understand after all.

He stuffed a stocking with the two Traits [Negation] and [Fairy] into his deck, then continued searching for targets according to the Traits revealed to him by the Golden Finger.

Unlike other garbage, cards were tiny, and when stacked together, it was impossible to tell whether there was one more or one less. If he wanted to, he could secretly Smelt them, but considering that each card cost less than one tower to purchase, he decisively abandoned the idea. Rather than save that little bit of money, he might as well spend his limited time searching for more useful items.

Today was very likely his last Garbage Day in this Landfill Area, so he had to collect as many of the area's distinctive Traits as possible.

At seven in the evening, with only an hour left before the Landfill Area closed, Feng Xue finally sauntered out carrying a bag of things. His backpack now contained three engines, roughly three hundred cards, three diamonds, two rubies, and a "Graveyard."

Yes, a Graveyard. It was a Duel Disk with only about one-third of it remaining. Although it was broken beyond recognition, the part that served as the Graveyard had been relatively well preserved, so it carried the Traits [Graveyard] and [Recycling]. Feng Xue figured that if he refined a Hand Trap in the future, he might need a "Graveyard" to work with it, so he simply brought the thing out as well.

Seeing Feng Xue come out so late, the appraiser standing guard at the entrance had initially wondered whether he had found anything good. But after seeing the few engines and the stack of cards, his expression instantly transformed from anticipation to speechlessness. Fortunately, the five gemstones finally improved his mood a little—

"The diamonds are of decent quality. I'll count them at five thousand towers each. The rubies have scratches and signs of wear, so I estimate them at two thousand towers apiece. As for the other pair of junk items, I'll estimate them at two hundred towers. That makes an estimated total of nineteen thousand two hundred towers. The purchase price for gemstones is twenty percent, so I'll keep everything and give you three thousand eight hundred and twenty towers."

"Hmm, those two gemstones are a little dull, but they have the [Exquisite] Trait. They're actually so much cheaper in the estimate than diamonds without Traits? Looks like they don't set prices based on the gemstones' own Traits." Feng Xue cared somewhat about the estimate, but then he remembered that he might be leaving soon. He sighed at himself for overthinking things, put on an unwilling expression, swept the garbage into his bag, and said,

"Then I'm not selling these."

The appraiser merely curled his lip and exchanged a glance with the person beside him. The other person immediately nodded to indicate that there was no problem.

He had been watching Feng Xue's every move the entire time, confirming that Feng Xue had not secretly kept anything back. Seeing this, the appraiser nodded as well, then said as usual,

"Purchase price is one and a half times the estimate. I'll give you three hundred towers for them. Hey, you there, bring him thirty-five bricks!"

After receiving the fruits of his labor, Feng Xue saw that no one was waiting behind him, so he simply drained them on the spot. Only then did he head toward his residence.

However, not long after Feng Xue left, the appraiser suddenly said,

"Later, draw this kid's appearance. From now on, have the others keep an eye out for him too. He might have some card-related Tags on him."

"Got it." The assistant beside him nodded, deepening his impression of Feng Xue. Then he took out a small notebook and sketched a rough portrait. Though it was not as refined as a proper sketch, it was quite lifelike.

Feng Xue had no idea that carrying out so many cards would attract attention. Even if he had known, he would not have cared. This was purely a one-time deal. If he had been planning for the long term, he would certainly have Smelted most of them inside the Garbage Dump, then pushed out a small car to hand over as proof.

Shaking his head and putting the matter out of his mind, Feng Xue quickly returned to the southwest corner where he was temporarily staying. The moment he entered the neighborhood, he clearly sensed that something was wrong, and his expression grew slightly grave.

"Just as I thought. They came after all..."

Seeing that all the dilapidated houses along the road had their doors wide open, he quickened his pace toward the one he lived in. When he saw the obviously splintered doorframe, he frowned slightly.

He did not call out Chen Xiyao's name. He simply hurried into the room, where he immediately saw the chaos filling the entire place.

"I wonder if that girl ran off or hid somewhere."

Thinking this, Feng Xue prepared to challenge the search for the inconspicuous cardboard box. Yet after searching for ages, he still could not find it—

Not finding it was normal, but after making such a commotion, that girl should have come out on her own too, right?

"Did that girl really slip away? No way, right?" Feng Xue frowned, feeling somewhat disappointed. After crossing over, this was the first time he had planned to trust someone. Could it really have failed before it even began?

Regardless, since she had disappeared, it meant that the house was probably no longer safe either. Without giving it much thought, he immediately turned around and prepared to leave.

But just as he turned, a noise suddenly came from behind him. Feng Xue spun around and saw a figure pounce at him.

"Fuck!" Feng Xue narrowly avoided reflexively using a lock-and-break move. He caught the girl who had launched the sudden attack securely in his arms, followed by quiet sobbing. The girl still seemed to retain a trace of caution, keeping her crying controlled so it would not carry too far.

Feng Xue gently rubbed the girl's head, then said helplessly,

"If you're this scared, why did you play a prank on me?"

"When did I play a prank! You—you—you kept staring over here, so I couldn't lift the cardboard box at all!" Chen Xiyao took a deep breath before steadying herself. Her little face flushed bright red. Only then did Feng Xue remember that damned cardboard box could not move while being watched...

"All right, all right. You haven't used the bathroom all day either. You're about to burst, aren't you? Come on, let's get this taken care of. We still have to move afterward..."

As Feng Xue spoke, he started toward the outside. But then he suddenly sensed that something was off, because the girl's expression had abruptly turned even redder than before.

"Uh, you wouldn't happen to..."

"Don't ask!"

"So, in the future, will you also be able to..."

"I said don't ask, and don't even think about it!"