The Deal Is Done!

Then Lin Xia and Yang Ming shook hands, happily sealing their wager.

Sun Qi didn't bother hiding the contempt on his face. He planned to wait until the card blew up, then give Lin Xia a good laugh at his expense.

"What a fool. He actually thinks Gold Cards are that easy to make... Once you blow up the young vice president's card, President Yang will make sure you regret it when he gets here!"

The short-haired young man had been wearing an amused smile as he watched Lin Xia take the Gold Card in hand, looking like he couldn't wait to see the drama unfold.

But just as Lin Xia was about to put the card into the Reinforcement Pillar... something suddenly occurred to him, and his smile froze!

Wait! The card you're going to blow up isn't your own... it's Yang Ming's Main Card!

And President Yang told me to protect the card. If you blow it up, then when he gets here... I'll be in trouble too!!

Damn it! Are you trying to ruin me!?

Yang Ming was simplehearted, but he'd inherited that trait from his mother.

As for his father, Yang Hui... everyone knew what a short-tempered man he was!

He might hold back a little in the city, but out in the wild, he could be described as a man who killed without batting an eye!

"Bastard, stop right there! If you're going to die, don't take me down with you!!"

The veins on the short-haired young man's forehead bulged. Shouting, he hurried toward Lin Xia, trying to stop him.

But it was already too late.

Lin Xia put the silver-glowing Card into the device, then placed the five Material Cards in their proper slots.

Almost at once, the Reinforcement Pillar began to tremble, and the patterns etched across its surface glowed brighter and brighter.

"It's... it's over!"

The short-haired young man saw what was happening and collapsed onto the ground.

Sun Qi, meanwhile, smiled and muttered, "This money's so easy to earn. A fool actually volunteered to take the blame—wonderful. Not only did I make the money, I also avoided getting a black mark for failing a reinforcement!"

"Phew, the Main Card's finally in. Good thing I didn't waste this use of Eye of Insight..."

Lin Xia didn't smile, but his eyes were shining.

As he listened to the Reinforcement Pillar's rumbling, he felt as if a stone that had been hanging over his heart had finally dropped.

"Rustle, rustle..."

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded behind them.

Lin Xia immediately turned around.

A burly middle-aged man came running over, his limbs moving awkwardly out of sync. He cursed as he ran. "How many years has it been since I ran? I can fly, for crying out loud... Damn Vincent for inventing that disgusting suppression device! When I get the chance, I'll kill you with my own hands!"

"President Yang is here!"

The short-haired young man was both excited and afraid.

He was excited because he hated Lin Xia now and hoped someone would teach him a lesson.

He was afraid because he knew he was in trouble too.

But Yang Hui, who had already reached Lin Xia, didn't immediately fly into a rage.

Instead, he braced his hands on his knees and bent over, panting heavily. Sweat poured from his forehead like rain.

Without his awakened powers, Yang Hui's physical fitness was no better than an ordinary person's.

On top of that, he was a musclebound man who never did cardio when he worked out, so his heart and lungs were in poor shape.

After sprinting such a long distance, even with all his anger, Yang Hui had to catch his breath before he could let it out.

Who's this?

Lin Xia looked completely confused. He was about to ask when Yang Ming spoke first.

"Dad! What are you doing here?!"

Yang Ming began to sweat. His body visibly stiffened, and every movement looked unnatural.

"I... ugh... if I... urgh... you... ngh!!"

Yang Hui seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't catch his breath. He either choked after every word or coughed as if he were dying, so all that came out was incomprehensible gibberish.

But from his intense emotions, everyone could tell that Yang Hui was furious.

"BOOM—!"

The Reinforcement Pillar let out a roar, and everyone turned to look at it in unison.

Even Yang Hui immediately lifted his head, his eyes trembling wildly. On his way here, he'd seen Lin Xia put his son's Main Card inside.

And the Reinforcement Pillar's current reaction meant that it had reached the final stage of its process.

In three seconds, they'd know whether the Card would turn to ash or shine with dazzling golden light.

Everyone held their breath, watching the Reinforcement Pillar with their own thoughts on their minds.

3.

2.

1.

"Whoosh~~!"

The five Material Cards dissolved into specks of light.

That meant they had turned into energy and begun powering the process.

Next, light began to envelop the Main Card.

"Whoosh~~!"

As the light faded, a golden streak swept from the bottom to the top of the card face!

The silver [7] transformed into a golden [8]!

[Reinforcement successful!]

[Card upgraded to +8!]

[OVR +4!]

[Current OVR: 106!]

[Form evolved from Boxing King to Boxing Emperor!]

[New: When more than 5 members of a Gold Card lineup are on the field, the Gold Card lineup bonus activates, granting all members +5 OVR!]

"..."

The reinforcement had succeeded, but the entire place fell silent.

"It... it worked?!"

The short-haired young man was the first to break the silence. He jumped up from the ground and rubbed his eyes, repeatedly checking that he wasn't seeing things.

He even pinched his companion's thigh. Only after the companion yelped did he rule out the possibility that he was dreaming.

Yang Ming looked dazed as he stepped forward and took the Gold Card that floated out of the device.

A cool, solid sensation immediately washed over him.

If not for the suppression device, he would've summoned the Boxing Emperor in his new form right then and there.

"...It really worked?"

Yang Ming looked at Lin Xia, finding the whole thing dreamlike.

He was an arrogant man who believed that good fortune was bound to come his way.

But when the Gold Card became a reality, Yang Ming didn't know what to do. The whole world seemed impossibly unreal.

After all, even the scientists hadn't figured out the exact odds of reinforcing a card from +7 to +8.

But one thing was certain: the success rate was in the single digits!

That was why cards reinforced to +9 or higher were so rare on the market.

After all, making it to +8 was already something to be grateful for. Who would be foolish enough to keep reinforcing it?

"...No matter how high the reinforcement level... it'll succeed!"

Lin Xia's confident voice rang in Yang Ming's mind.

It made him feel a flicker of awe.

Suddenly, Yang Ming realized something. He quickly opened his panel and took five Material Cards from his backpack.

Then he pushed them toward Lin Xia.

A Material Card with a 94 rating was worth three million on the market!

Five Material Cards came to fifteen million!

Watching his son hand such a vast fortune over to Lin Xia, Yang Hui immediately realized this was a transaction!