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The boss asked in confusion, "Did you make this card yourself? Do you have any more?"

Xie Mingzhe took out the remaining eight cards. "That's all of them. Will you take them, Boss?"

The boss thought for a moment. "These cards are indeed beautiful, but their stats are too poor. They look good but aren't useful. And they're character cards, not cute animal cards, so the market isn't that large. I can only sell them to players who like collecting character cards. How about this—30 gold per card, and I'll take all nine?"

"The artwork is this good. Isn't 30 too low?"

"It really isn't low. Go look around nearby—One-Star Cards only sell for 50 gold if their stats are good. Cards with pretty artwork alone average 20 gold. I'm only offering 30 because this card is especially beautiful. Even if I buy them from you, I'm not sure I can sell them!"

What the boss said was roughly in line with the market prices Xie Mingzhe had investigated earlier. After all, the card's defense was too low. His expected price had actually been around 20 gold, so 30 was already quite high. Xie Mingzhe did not dwell on it and said readily, "All right, then 30 each. Nine cards for 270 gold in total—sold!"

"Great!" They happily exchanged money and goods.

After receiving 270 gold, Xie Mingzhe returned to the stall where he had bought Nebula Paper that afternoon.

The boss greeted him the moment he saw him. "It's you, Fat Uncle. Don't tell me you're buying Nebula Paper again?"

Xie Mingzhe smiled. "I'm an old customer. How about 10 sheets for 70 gold again?"

The boss looked as though he was about to vomit blood and lowered his voice. "Don't you dare tell anyone about this price. I'll lose my shirt."

Xie Mingzhe wore an expression that said he understood. "Mm-hmm. I'll come buy from you every day from now on."

The boss: "..."

Please spare me! He said he was a newbie with no money, but didn't he get rich in the blink of an eye? He came back to buy Nebula Paper again in less than half an hour. Did that look like someone with no money? The boss suddenly felt that if this guy went into business, he would definitely become a profiteer.

Xie Mingzhe was quite happy after buying the Nebula Paper.

He spent 70 gold on paper, made 10 Daiyu Cards, and sold them for 300 gold. That was a profit of 230 gold, equivalent to 23 yuan in real money—enough for a meal.

Once he became proficient, making 10 Daiyu Cards would take only half an hour. Earning over 20 yuan in half an hour was not bad. If he kept at it over the long term, the small gains would add up, and his life would surely improve little by little.

Having made up his mind, Xie Mingzhe returned to his personal space in high spirits and continued making Daiyu Cards.

***

Almost the moment he left the Black Market, a customer arrived at Boss Zhang's stall.

Her ID was "Red Candle." She was around 1.6 meters tall, dressed in a tight red dress and black high-heeled sandals, with two high ponytails. Her voice was crisp and decisive. "Boss Zhang, have you gotten any new original cards these past few days?"

The boss said respectfully, "Sister Red Candle, pick whatever cards you want."

Red Candle said, "We're preparing for the new season. Our guild only wants cards with relatively high combat attributes."

The boss handed her a stack of Four-Star Cards with high base attack. "The ones you like are 500 each. A fair price for an old customer."

Red Candle lowered her head and slowly picked through them. She found only three decent cards, and she was clearly somewhat disappointed. She handed the rest back to the boss. "Any more?"

The boss said, "These have the best base attributes. How about taking another look?"

Red Candle glanced around the stall. Suddenly, a particularly unusual stack of cards caught her attention. She crouched down and examined them carefully. The card was called [Lin Daiyu], depicting a beautiful woman with tears streaking her face and tears in her eyes. She held flower petals in her hand and scattered them into the water beside her. The drifting petals were swept away by the current, and even Red Candle's heart tightened at the sight of such a sorrowful, beautiful scene.

"Huh? The artwork is quite pretty." Red Candle picked up the card and looked at its stats—

HP 100, Attack 0, Defense 15. It was clearly a failed creation with atrocious attributes.

Its skill was "Daiyu Burying Flowers." What kind of strange name was that?

She continued reading the skill description—Deals heavy damage to flower-type cards, with a 10% chance of triggering Instant Death.

Instant Death meant immediate death. This kind of forced judgment was rarely seen...

Red Candle silently repeated it in her mind.

Deals heavy damage to flower-type cards, with a 10% chance of triggering Instant Death.

The trigger chance for a One-Star Card was 10%. If it leveled up and evolved into Seven-Star, then the chance would...

"!!!!!" At that moment, the hairs on Red Candle's back nearly stood on end. Her scalp went numb, and her mind buzzed as if it had been struck hard by a heavy hammer.

Seeing her face suddenly turn pale, the boss thought she was unwell and asked with concern, "Sister Red Candle? What's wrong?"

Red Candle took a deep breath and steadied her racing heart. She slowly rose to her feet, adjusted her expression, and asked as casually as possible, "Did you just acquire these cards?"

The boss smiled. "Mm, I got nine of them."

At the mention of nine cards, Red Candle's fingertips trembled slightly, but her voice remained calm. "Who made them? The artwork is so beautiful."

The boss said, "I don't know. Probably a newcomer. He looked unfamiliar, and I didn't remember his name clearly. The card stats were truly terrible—15 defense. I've never seen a defense value that low."

"Have all nine cards you bought been sold?"

"Not yet. I just got them!"

"I'll take them all."

"Huh?" The boss froze. "All of them?"

"These cards are pretty. I can give them to the girls in the guild as collectibles later." Red Candle smiled. "Boss, name your price. I'll take them all."

Although this woman looked petite, she was actually a ruthless figure—the president of the Fenghua Guild, respectfully known as Sister Red Candle. She was also the person at Fenghua Club responsible for collecting cards and materials in the game, and her understanding of cards surpassed that of many others.

She had a particularly unusual hobby: whenever she was bored, she would browse the Black Market for original cards. Though she looked nonchalant and said she merely liked the artwork, the boss remained wary. He felt that any card Red Candle took an interest in could not be simple. So he secretly doubled the price. "60 each?"