Chapter 16

"Like you?" Xue Linxiang did not understand.

"Sister Xue, have you forgotten how I first got started?"

"..." Xue Linxiang finally understood what he meant. "Selling cards on the Black Market?"

"Yeah. When I first learned how to make cards, I didn't understand the market, so I took them to the Black Market to sell. Newcomers usually fall into this trap, thinking cards are easier to sell if they haggle on the Black Market. But in reality, the Black Market is where people deal in 'low-level cards' and 'collector cards.' Not many people there understand the value of combat cards."

Tang Muzhou walked over to the sofa and sat down, lifted his cup for a sip, then continued, "He really is a lot like I was back then. He made powerful cards, but sold them on the Black Market because he didn't understand the market. Experienced card makers all know that truly high-end cards should either be sold to the professional card-buying shops of the major guilds on Commercial Street, or taken somewhere else—the Auction House."

"You should be glad he's a newcomer. If he knew the market and took Lin Daiyu's card to auction... Cough, cough. I shouldn't jinx it." Xue Linxiang immediately picked up her cup and rinsed her mouth with water, afraid her words would come true.

"A character card with an instant-death check... The cards he makes really are innovative." Tang Muzhou stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It would be such a shame to miss out on a talented prospect like him."

"What are you planning?" Xue Linxiang watched him warily.

"I'm going into the game to meet this person myself," Tang Muzhou said.

"..." Xue Linxiang pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation. "The match is next week. Have you lost your mind?"

"T-Tang God." Red Candle reminded him in a trembling voice, "If you show up in the game, it'll definitely cause a sensation."

"I can use an alt to find him." Tang Muzhou looked serious. "No one will recognize an alt."

"..." Could he stop being so willful? The match was coming up. Shouldn't he be focusing on studying card decks and opponents, preparing for next season's tournament? Xue Linxiang patiently tried to persuade him. "He's just a newcomer. Leave him to us. There's no need for you to go personally, is there?"

But the next moment, Tang Muzhou stood up. His smiling eyes carried an unshakable determination—

"Sister Xue, don't try to talk me out of it. I have to find this person."

"..." Xue Linxiang knew she could not stop Tang God, so she could only clutch her head in frustration. "Keep yourself in check. Don't let this affect the match!"

"Don't worry, Sister Xue." Tang Muzhou waved, turned, and left the office.

At the same time, in the game.

After making ten Wu Song Cards in his personal space, Xie Mingzhe had originally planned to visit the Black Market and sell his cards. Instead, Chen Xiao directly summoned him through a voice chat. "Little Xie, it's nine o'clock. Hurry to Wood Planet and find me. The team dungeon is starting, and we're just waiting for you!"

"But I don't have any particularly good cards. Won't I hold everyone back?"

"I'll give you max-level Seven-Star Cards. Hurry over!" Chen Xiao said readily.

"Okay, Chen!" Xie Mingzhe's eyes lit up, and he immediately scampered off to Wood Planet.

Chapter 16

Master and Disciple

┃Judgment Club Players: Nie Yuandao, Shan Lan

At the entrance to the Wood Planet team dungeon, Xie Mingzhe joined the party, and Chen Xiao directly gave him two cards—level 70, fully upgraded Storm Goddess and Ice Goddess. One could use a tornado to gather monsters, while the other could use Freeze to crowd-control groups.

It was Xie Mingzhe's first time receiving Seven-Star Black Cards, and he was thrilled. He carefully put the cards away. "Chen, I'll return them after I'm done using them!"

"No need. They're yours," Chen Xiao said decisively.

"Thank you, Chen!" Was such a great boss sent by heaven to save him? Xie Mingzhe looked at the other man gratefully, only to find that Chen had already entered the dungeon with brisk efficiency, clearly not bothered by it at all. Seven-Star Cards were probably commonplace for power-levelers.

Besides Chen Xiao and the other five power-levelers, the other five members of this ten-man party had unfamiliar IDs. They were random players recruited by Chi Qing.

You could not log into multiple accounts at once in a full-dive game, and the studio had limited manpower. If they did not have enough people for a team dungeon, they could only recruit through the world channel. Fortunately, dungeon materials dropped according to the number of players, so there would be no disputes over materials. Bringing along a few random players did not matter.

This wood-element team dungeon was called Dark Night Forest. The moment they entered, the surrounding mobs were alerted. Countless Tree Sprites swarmed toward them, while dark green vines covered the ground, linking together as they frantically attacked the intruders.

Xie Mingzhe carelessly let a vine bind his feet. Seeing the vines about to crawl up his body toward his neck, he struggled backward. But the more he struggled, the tighter the vines wound around him. Soon, his entire body was bound, and he truly wanted to burn these vine monsters to ashes.

Just then, a gentle glow lit up around him—someone had used a card skill.

Xie Mingzhe felt the vines loosen, and his feet could finally move. He immediately leaped backward and turned around to see Chi Qing walking over with a purification card. She reminded him, "Watch your step. Player characters can't die in dungeons, but they can be controlled."

"Thanks." Having been rescued, Xie Mingzhe immediately followed Sister Chi Qing.

"Little Pang, pull away the batch of vines due north first," Chen Xiao commanded.

"Got it!" Pang Yu deployed the Rhino Card. The massive rhino roared as it charged into the vines, drawing away a large cluster of them. The densely packed vines beneath the ground swiftly coiled around the rhino like a nest of snakes, wrapping it up and crushing it into fragments!

"..." Xie Mingzhe was shaken by the sight. Were wood-element vines really this terrifying in combat? The Rhino Card had over 150,000 health, yet it had been instantly killed?!

As he was still reeling, Chen Xiao said, "Little Xie, freeze all those vines."

Having crushed the rhino, the vines realized they had been tricked and all turned back. As though they possessed consciousness, they rapidly closed in on the group.

Xie Mingzhe hurriedly summoned Storm Goddess. Aiming carefully, he used a tornado to gather all the vines together, then summoned Ice Goddess—snowflakes fell from the sky, causing every vine within range to be affected by Freeze. The frozen vines tangled around one another, wrapped in ice and snow like frozen pretzels.