050: So Good (Please vote for me!)

Even though Tang Yueyue was a bit mischievous, Tang Jian was ultimately a doting brother. He couldn't bear to see her lacking, so he pulled out a bottle of nutrient drink for her to supplement her nutrition.

This, naturally, led to another lecture from Chen Lianrong, who worried that Tang Yueyue would distract Tang Jian. After all, Tang Jian was about to take his college entrance exams, and he truly needed those resources.

However, after Tang Jian's persuasion, Chen Lianrong had no choice but to give in.

"Mom, Dad, tomorrow I'm going to the city for training. I might be staying there for over a month. I have a good amount of money now, so let me leave some for you."

Tang Jian calculated the money he had on hand. Just in cash, it was over twenty thousand.

His parents had invested a lot in him recently, and he wasn't sure how much money the family had left. Tang Jian wanted to do his part.

"Don't be silly. Won't you need money in the city? Take it with you. Our family doesn't need money right now. When you get into a good university after your exams and become a Card Master, then you can earn more money and give it to us."

Tang Lin looked at his son with relief, scolding him verbally but refusing with a smile on his face.

Tang Jian continued to speak for a couple more sentences, but seeing his parents' firm refusal, he didn't try to persuade them further.

The family didn't need a lot of money at the moment, but he would certainly need money in the coming period.

With the money from selling points, he now had over thirty thousand yuan. If he also sold Mosquito's gold chain and the White Jade Flying Serpent Card, he should be able to gather sixty thousand yuan.

"Sixty thousand yuan should be enough to buy that batch of materials.

Hmm... the Green Hat Card's attribute template also matches my current Life Force, and it's a physical combat card that strengthens the body. It should be enough to explore the Dream Realm again.

And if I barely scrape together the materials for a Mad Chainsaw Card, that'll already cost over forty thousand."

Tang Jian pondered as he headed upstairs to pack his bags for tomorrow's trip with his mother, Chen Lianrong.

Going to Jiangbei University in Jiangbei City for training would also benefit Tang Jian.

He now had a good amount of money.

While this money could be used to buy Energy Cards to enhance the Red Card Cheater's energy, Tang Jian preferred to use it to gather materials and create the first Combination Card Set he had researched and prepared in this life, rather than for such a singular purpose.

Once the Combination Card Set was created, he should be able to clear the Dream Realm stage in the Red Card Cheater.

The last time he cleared the Dream Realm, his overall strength improved significantly, and he also obtained the crafting recipe for the Gale Card.

The subsequent Dream Realm stages were even more difficult.

If he cleared them, the benefits he would gain would certainly be much better than simply hoarding energy in the Red Card Cheater.

Moreover, Tang Jian also felt a sense of dangerous urgency.

In his previous life, when the students who attended the training returned, a traffic accident occurred, resulting in casualties. At the time, he couldn't get more information.

But now that he had been reborn, looking at the situation with the perspective of a reborn person, Tang Jian vaguely sensed something unusual.

However, he could only keep this matter to himself or find a suitable opportunity to remind the school leaders and teachers accompanying them to the training. He couldn't possibly not attend the training just because of a suspicion that might not even be true.

Since he felt something unusual, he needed to plan ahead. Once he created the first Combination Card Set, it would be a significant improvement for his personal safety.

Night fell.

Tang Jian held a palm-sized bottle of Solar Energy Potion, similar to a "coconut" drink.

Looking at the sparkling, enchanting blue potion inside the bottle, Tang Jian inexplicably felt a surge of craving and gulped.

He had never drunk Solar Energy Potion before.

This bottle of potion was worth thirty-two thousand yuan on the market. Even though the school's wholesale price was much lower, offering it as a reward for the top five in the Interstellar Tower was indeed very generous.

If Tang Jian had to buy it himself, he would be reluctant.

Thirty-two thousand yuan was enough for him to increase the Red Card Cheater's energy by thirty thousand points, and the personal strength gained from that would be much higher than what this single bottle of Solar Energy Potion could provide.

At this moment, he looked at the bottle of potion in his hand, hesitating whether to drink it or sell it.

Drinking it would be too much of a loss.

He did some mental calculations: a bottle of Solar Energy Potion like this had no effect on Card Users above three stars (not including three-star Card Users). The first time drinking it, depending on individual physique, it could increase a person's Card Energy by approximately 5 to 15 points.

The second time drinking it, due to drug resistance, the effect would be weakened to eighty percent. The third time, it might be weakened to fifty percent, until the medicinal effect eventually became negligible.

Even at the maximum, if this bottle of Solar Energy Potion could increase Tang Jian's Card Energy by 15 points, his Life Force would correspondingly increase by at least 1 point.

"If I convert that to increasing it using the Red Card Cheater's energy consumption, then it would require 1500 points of energy to increase Card Energy.

Consuming energy 15 times, that is, energy = 300 + 20 * (15 - 1), which means consuming 6600 points of energy.

So, currently, using the Red Card Cheater to increase my 1 point of Life Force and 15 points of Card Energy would require 8100 points of energy. Compared to directly selling the Solar Energy Potion for at least 20,000 yuan, I would probably lose about ten thousand points of energy."

Tang Jian exhaled slowly, looking at the Solar Energy Potion in his hand. "This is still assuming the best case, where I can gain 1 point of Life Force and 15 points of Card Energy. Conservatively estimated, I'd lose fifteen thousand."

"Forget it." Tang Jian gave up on taking it.

Although, Solar Energy Potions and similar drugs were generally difficult to sell through regular channels.

Unlike Cards or gold chains, drugs were strictly controlled in the country, and private sales could even constitute a crime.

But he could choose to sell the Solar Energy Potion to trusted friends around him, like Yang Mao, Liu Kun, and Gao Yang, who also needed Solar Energy Potions.

Especially Yang Mao, who came from a wealthy family. If he sold it to him for twenty thousand yuan, the other party might not be unwilling to agree, as the market price for this potion was over thirty thousand.

Tang Jian felt he truly had the potential to be a crooked merchant. After putting away the Solar Energy Potion, he took out two bottles of Low-Grade Nutrient Solution from another box.

He had exchanged the Low-Grade Nutrient Solution using the remaining 2 points he got after transferring points to He Chong and others. The nutritional content of such Low-Grade Nutrient Solution was similar to a bottle of nutrient drink.

Tang Jian gulped down two bottles of Low-Grade Nutrient Solution, which tasted just like premium milk.

Pure and smooth.

Delicious!

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination or if they were actually taking effect, but after drinking two bottles of Low-Grade Nutrient Solution, Tang Jian felt his body becoming a bit itchy—no, feverish. In a short while, his forehead started to sweat, and his pores opened slightly.

He immediately focused on his Attribute Template.

Owner: Tang Jian.

Card Energy: [84/84]+

Spirit: [7/9]+

Life Force: [8.5]+

Special Effects: 1. ??? (???)

2. Dream Realm. (???)

Current Energy: [12960]+

"Upgrade and strengthen me!"

Tang Jian focused his consciousness on the "+" sign next to "Life Force" and tapped it.

His energy fluctuated.

Current Energy: [12660]+

Life Force: [8.6]+

He felt a slight sensation, as if his body had become a little stronger? His "little brother" seemed to be getting restless.

He kept tapping!

Current Energy: [12340]+

Current Energy: [12000]+

He tapped five times in a row.

Tang Jian felt his body becoming increasingly sore and painful. It seemed that with every 0.1 increase in Life Force, his pores secreted a fine layer of sweat, mixed with a sour, pungent liquid.

It was like his body was an iron ingot, repeatedly hammered and flipped on a furnace—sour, painful, numb, yet exhilarating to the extreme, sending him soaring.

Thanks to the reader Wenrou Ge, and "Xuezu Yeren" and "Lian Shen" for their generous tips!