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Once the number of Daiyu Cards he put up for sale increased, the price would naturally drop rapidly.

Selling cards through the Auction House was only the first step in making a name for himself.

Next, he would no longer auction Daiyu Cards. Just queuing at the Auction House took three days, and because there were so many people, each person could only auction one card per day. As the original creator of the Daiyu Card, it would be far too time-consuming for him to mass-produce them and put them up for auction. It was time to put his plan of opening a shop on the agenda.

Xie Mingzhe decided to visit the Auction House again tomorrow afternoon and see whether he could rent a storefront.

Just then, the system prompt sounded by his ear again: "Voice message from friend [Setting Sun]."

When he opened it, the anxious voice of Vice President Setting Sun rang out beside him. "Fat Uncle, have you thought over God Nie's invitation to join Judgment? It's already been four days, and we're really getting anxious waiting! Such a great job—I'm honestly a little jealous of you! Hurry up and agree, Fat Uncle. We're all looking forward to you joining the Judgment Club!"

The vice president was clearly waiting anxiously, speaking at a breakneck pace. Xie Mingzhe politely replied, "Sorry, Vice President. I have important matters I can't get away from, so I don't plan to join the Judgment Club for the time being."

The moment he sent the message, the system chimed again: "Voice message from friend [Illusory Moon]."

Immediately afterward, President Illusory Moon's calm voice sounded in his ear. "Hello, Fat Uncle. After discussion within the club, if you are willing to join Judgment, the boss has agreed to raise your monthly salary to fifty thousand. You'll receive the benefits of a full-time designer right away. For every competitive battle card you design, your commission will start at fifty thousand. There will also be club dividends at the end of the month and year. Your annual income can easily surpass one million. We hope you will give it serious consideration."

Xie Mingzhe: "..."

An annual salary of one million—the terms Judgment Club offered were genuinely excellent. He could not help feeling tempted.

He had never imagined, even in his dreams, that one day he could earn so much.

But no matter how good the terms were, they only meant more income. They never mentioned the crucial issue of "card copyright." Xie Mingzhe quickly reined in his excitement and replied, "President, the terms you're offering are truly excellent, but for real-life reasons, I don't want to work as a card designer for a club. I appreciate the offer. Please thank God Nie and Lan God for recognizing my abilities."

Setting Sun frowned deeply upon receiving the message. "He isn't coming to Judgment? Could another club have invited him?"

Illusory Moon took a deep breath and calmly analyzed the situation. "I don't think so. Judgment should have been the first to approach him. Fenghua Guild definitely hasn't had time to make a move yet. Otherwise, Lin Daiyu's card would not have appeared at the auction. I have a bad feeling about this. This Fat Uncle is very smart. He may have already realized his own talent and doesn't want to join any club. Instead, he wants to become an independent card designer and make his fortune selling cards!"

"An independent designer?" Setting Sun looked strange. "I never expected this chubby guy to become famous! Did you see the forum posts about the auction? They got pushed straight into today's trending topics. Now everyone knows that the creator of an Instant-Death Card has the logo Yueban!"

He had really misjudged him! He had originally thought a name like "Yueban" could never become famous, yet now he was becoming famous even faster than Tang Muzhou!

On the Star Card Forum, a trending post marked in red floated at the top: "New card maker Yueban's instant-death judgment card sells for the sky-high price of 660,000 at auction!" The replies quickly exceeded eight digits, pushing it into the number-one thread and drawing huge numbers of onlookers—

"It broke the record! Amazing!"

"Who is this person? Never heard of them. A promising newcomer?"

"Doesn't Yueban mean fat? Is this person a fatty?"

"Leaving my name before this blows up. Chubby, I believe in you!"

"660,000 for a Level 1 card? That's even higher than Tang God's Vine Card back then. So awesome!"

In the blink of an eye, the post was widely shared. All the major guilds learned about it and sent people into the game to investigate who "Yueban" really was. Judgment and Fenghua Guild, who had long known the truth, were unusually quiet, their managers all feeling conflicted.

Xie Mingzhe had no idea what was happening on the forum. After replying to President Illusory Moon, he directly teleported from the star map in his personal space to the Peacock Star Domain to meet the wealthy buyer who had spent 660,000 on his Daiyu Card.

The Peacock Star Domain was the game's entertainment district. It was his first time here, and the place was just like a bustling metropolis in the real world. At eight-thirty in the evening, the streetlights came on. In the brilliantly lit night, bars, restaurants, and cinemas of every kind dazzled Xie Mingzhe.

Following the buyer's message, he found "Thousand Woods Restaurant" beside the central square.

Just from its exterior, Thousand Woods Restaurant looked exceptionally stylish. An exquisitely designed musical fountain stood before it. The moment he stepped inside, he saw countless green vines winding across the ceiling, hanging down in long strands that nearly brushed people's heads. The restaurant was filled with ornamental plants as well. Broad green leaves and flowers decorated the entire place until it resembled a garden.

When the waiter at the entrance saw him, he smiled and said, "This way, Fat Uncle. Our boss is waiting for you on the second floor."

Following the waiter up the stairs, Xie Mingzhe found the second floor extremely spacious. Through the floor-to-ceiling windows spanning an entire wall, he could clearly see the bustling nightscape outside. Light strips wrapped in tiny green leaves cast a warm glow from the ceiling. A few small wooden tables and obviously comfortable sofas were scattered around the room—the restaurant's decor and design were incredibly classy. It looked less like a place to eat and more like a private club.

The waiter respectfully said, "Boss, the person you were waiting for has arrived."

Following the waiter's gaze, Xie Mingzhe saw a tall, slender man in casual clothes standing by the window.

The man turned around. His face could not be called handsome, but he was not ugly either. Xie Mingzhe had seen plenty of such ordinary faces on the street. Clearly, this wealthy player had been too lazy to adjust his appearance when creating his character and had simply used the system's default Face No. 1. His name was 7456789, equally casual.

In online games, many players used the system's default character model, but this numerical ID made him think of the two top players, Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan, who had previously contacted him on alternate accounts. Could this person also be a top player using an alt?