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Boss Zhang asked suspiciously, "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?"

After thinking it over, Boss Zhang said, "These cards are indeed beautiful, but the 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 big. They can only be sold to players who like collecting character cards. How about this—30 gold coins each? I'll take all nine."

"The card art is so good. Isn't 30 too low?"

"It really isn't low. Go look around nearby—the only One-Star Cards that sell for 50 gold coins are the ones with decent stats. Cards with pretty artwork alone average 20 gold coins. I'm only offering 30 because this card is especially beautiful. Even if I take them, I might not be able to sell them!"

What Boss Zhang said was roughly in line with the market prices Xie Mingzhe had just investigated. After all, the card's defense was far too low. His expected price had actually been around 20 gold coins, so 30 was already quite good. Xie Mingzhe did not dwell on it and said briskly, "All right, then 30 each. Nine cards for a total of 270 gold coins—all sold to you!"

"Deal!" The two happily exchanged money and goods.

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

The stall owner greeted him as soon as he saw him. "It's you, Uncle Chubby. Don't tell me you're buying Nebula Paper again?"

With a cheerful smile, Xie Mingzhe said, "I'm a returning customer. How about the same deal—10 sheets for 70 gold coins?"

The owner looked like he was about to cough up 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 I understand. "Mm-hmm. I'll come buy from you every day from now on."

The owner: "..."

Please spare me! He had claimed to be a newbie with no money, yet he had money in the blink of an eye. He had come back for Nebula Paper less than half an hour later—did that look like someone without money? The owner suddenly felt that if this guy went into business, he would definitely become a profiteer.

Having bought the Nebula Paper, Xie Mingzhe was quite pleased.

He spent 70 on paper, made ten Lin Daiyu cards, and sold them for 300. That gave him a profit of 230, which was 23 yuan in real money—enough for a meal.

Once he got proficient, making ten Lin Daiyu cards would take only half an hour. Earning over twenty yuan in half an hour was not bad. If he kept at it, 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 Lin Daiyu cards.

***

Almost as soon as 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, wearing a tight red dress and black high-heeled sandals. Her hair was tied into two high ponytails, and her voice was crisp and efficient. "Boss Zhang, have you gotten any new original cards lately?"

Boss Zhang 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."

Boss Zhang handed her a stack of four-star cards with high base attack. "Pick any you like—500 each. A fair price for an old customer."

Red Candle lowered her head and slowly sorted through them. She found only three decent ones, and she was clearly somewhat disappointed. Handing the rest back to Boss Zhang, she asked, "Any more?"

Boss Zhang said, "Those have the best base stats. Why not take another look?"

Red Candle's gaze swept across the stall. Suddenly, a stack of particularly unusual cards caught her attention. She crouched down and examined them carefully. The card was called [Lin Daiyu], depicting a beautiful woman with tears all over her face and tears in her eyes. She held flower petals in her hand and tossed them into the water beside her. The scattering petals were swept away by the current. Even Red Candle felt her heart tighten at the sorrowful, beautiful scene.

"Oh? The card art is quite lovely." Red Candle picked up the card and examined its stats—

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

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

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

Instant Death meant immediate death. This kind of forced judgment was not common...

Red Candle silently repeated it in her mind.

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

A One-Star Card had a 10% trigger rate. If it were upgraded and evolved to seven stars, then the chance would...

"!!!!!" In that instant, every hair on Red Candle's back nearly stood on end. Her scalp went numb, and her mind buzzed as though it had been struck hard by a heavy hammer.

Seeing her face suddenly turn pale, Boss Zhang 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 stood up, composed her expression, and asked as casually as she could, "Did you just acquire these cards?"

Boss Zhang 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."

Boss Zhang said, "I don't know. Probably a newcomer. He looked unfamiliar, and I didn't catch his name clearly. The card's stats were simply too 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?" Boss Zhang froze. "All of them?"

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

Though this woman looked petite, she was actually a formidable figure—the president of the Fenghua Guild, respectfully called Sister Red Candle. She was also responsible for collecting cards and materials in the game for Fenghua Club, and her understanding of cards was more thorough than that of many others.

She had a rather unusual hobby: wandering around the Black Market whenever she was bored, specifically hunting for original cards. Although she looked unconcerned and claimed she merely liked the artwork, Boss Zhang remained wary. He always felt that any card Red Candle took a liking to could not be simple. So he secretly doubled the price. "60 each?"