The Mysterious Master

In fact, not only was Tang Muzhou present in person, but the Judgment Guild had also received orders from President Illusory Moon—no matter what, they had to win it.

While buyers from the major guilds privately contacted their presidents, the card's price rose to 120,000.

The presidents quickly sent back orders: "We're not short on money. Bid!" "Try to get it if it stays under 500,000!"

However, some calmer presidents said, "This author has only auctioned off the first one. There will definitely be more sold in batches later. There's no need to be the sucker here. Let's wait and see with the first card."

The auction price was like a sports car with the gas pedal floored, skyrocketing all the way!

—150,000!

—180,000!

—200,000!

—250,000!

The audience was stunned speechless. How many people were fighting over this card?!

—300,000!

At this price, even the Judgment Guild's buyer lost his nerve. His voice trembled as he privately messaged the president, "Boss, I think Fenghua Guild has made up their mind to get this card. Are we really going to fight them for it? This price is already insane!"

Illusory Moon frowned in thought. Judgment, a major guild like theirs, did not lack 300,000 game coins. But if this continued, what if Fat Uncle realized that the cards he made could sell for high prices and no longer wanted to join the Judgment Club as a designer?

Right! He was such an idiot! Why was he helping Fat Uncle drive up the price at the auction???

Thinking of this, Illusory Moon immediately replied, "Stop bidding!"

Judgment stopped, but some guilds that did not know the full story still wanted to obtain this Instant-Death Card aimed at Tang Muzhou.

—350,000!

—400,000!

The auction hall had been completely set ablaze. Many viewers excitedly activated their recording systems and began broadcasting online.

Livestreaming

this spectacular bidding battle at the auction. Many netizens who could not get into the auction also clicked on the livestreams, excitedly witnessing the historic moment when the price of a One-Star Card broke the record!

The buyers from the major guilds felt chills crawl down their spines, and even the presidents were unsure what was going on.

Was someone maliciously driving up the price? Logically, it should not have risen this high!

Five years ago, Tang Muzhou's One-Star Card had sold for 100,000. At the time, the exchange rate was 3:1, equivalent to more than 300,000 gold coins today.

Logically, no matter how exceptional a One-Star Card was, 300,000 gold coins should have been the limit under the current market conditions. After all, raising it to Seven-Star would require an enormous investment. Even if an Instant-Death-Type Skill had appeared for the first time, was there any need to fight this desperately? The author was not selling only one card. Maybe tomorrow's auction would have plenty of Lin Daiyus? If they spent a fortune fighting over the first card, and the author later sold them in batches, would they not become fools?

All the presidents hesitated.

But Tang Muzhou did not hesitate at all. He narrowed his eyes slightly and pressed the bid button again.

A string of numbers suddenly appeared on the screen.

—660,000.

The number remained there, as if silently telling everyone, "Keep bidding if you want. I'm determined to get it."

It was practically a number with its own overwhelming presence. Even Xie Mingzhe was stunned.

Which rich tycoon was this? That was seriously awesome!

The venue suddenly fell silent. The host's clear voice rang through the hall. "660,000, going once! 660,000, going twice! 660,000, going three times—sold!"

As the hammer fell, Xie Mingzhe, seated in the auction hall, grinned from ear to ear.

I'm rich! I'm rich!

He had never imagined that this card could sell for 660,000 gold coins. Since it was the first Instant-Death Card, he had guessed that the major guilds would drive up the price while competing against one another. He had thought 200,000 would be the absolute limit. After all, it was only a One-Star Card, not a buyout of the copyright. He could still make many more Lin Daiyus in the future...

A level-one starter card selling for 660,000 was rather terrifying.

Maybe several guilds had kept competing and driven the price completely out of control?

Xie Mingzhe did not pay attention to the rest of the auction. He had no mood to care how much the other cards sold for.

He waited restlessly for the auction to end. Fortunately, there were no cards made by especially famous designers at today's auction. Instead, his level-one card had sold for the highest price. By 8:20, the auction had completely ended.

Xie Mingzhe excitedly went to the Auction House's back office to find an NPC and withdraw the gold coins he was entitled to.

However, as soon as he arrived backstage at the Auction House, the NPC said, "The buyer of the Lin Daiyu Card left you a message. Please check it."

"Hello, Fat Uncle. I have already paid the 10% commission charged after the Auction House sale on your behalf. I would like to purchase Daiyu Cards from you in bulk. If you are willing to meet me, please come to Thousand Woods Restaurant north of the central square in the Peacock Star Domain. I will be waiting."

"..." Xie Mingzhe stared at the message in surprise.

The Auction House did not disclose buyer or seller information, in order to avoid disputes. However, after a transaction was completed, buyers and sellers could leave messages for each other directly through the system NPC. Whether the other party responded depended entirely on their mood.

How did this person know he was called "Fat Uncle"? It was impossible to infer the name "Fat Uncle" from Yueban's logo alone. Could this person have known him long ago? Xie Mingzhe could not figure it out no matter how hard he thought.

He had never imagined that the person who bought the card—was Tang Muzhou himself!

And in order to wait for him to appear, Tang Muzhou had personally attended every auction for three whole days.

The Mysterious Master

Xie Mingzhe withdrew 660,000 game coins from the Auction House, equivalent to 66,000 Crystal Coins in reality. To him, it was undoubtedly an enormous sum.

This time, he did not rush to the Star Card Bank to sell the game coins. He already had savings of 300,000 Crystal Coins in his bank account and did not need to worry about food or clothing. So, he wanted to keep this money in the game for now as reserve capital for opening a shop in the future.

Xie Mingzhe returned to his personal space and organized his card display cabinet. Ten Daiyu Cards were lined up neatly inside, pleasing to the eye just by looking at them. In truth, he knew very well that Daiyu Cards would never sell for the sky-high price of 660,000 again. Today, it was only because the Daiyu Card had appeared at the auction for the first time, causing the major guilds to frantically bid against each other, along with a rich tycoon at the venue who was determined to get it, that the price had been driven to such terrifying heights.