The additional skill of the Daiyu card was ‘instant death when triggered by flower-type cards.’ Xie Mingzhe guessed that this was automatically generated by the system based on his imagination. It was because when he was drawing the Daiyu card, he kept thinking about the scene of Dairyu burying the flowers. This Daiyu card was very effective against flower-type cards. Unfortunately, its defense was too low and the skill probability was only 10%, making its stats very poor.
What should he do with this card? Sell it for some pocket money? He really needed money right now, even selling it for a few gold coins would be good. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe concentrated and started drawing the Daiyu Burying the Flowers card again.
He was the copyright holder so making this card wasn’t considered plagiarism. Still, others definitely couldn’t copy it.
Xie Mingzhe made a total of nine Daiyu cards, using up all the Nebula Paper he bought.
The reason he made the same card was because he was just starting out. He wanted to accumulate some card-making experience and learn the card-making techniques of the Star Card world. He found that the more he focused his mental power, the clearer the card image and the better the stats. The last Daiyu card had different stats than the first one. Its defense of 16 points still wasn’t high, but it was an improvement from 15. At the very least, it wasn’t stagnant.
Xie Mingzhe optimistically put away the nine cards and took the nine Daiyu cards to the black market.
Xie Mingzhe arrived at the black market and first wandered around. Newbies who didn’t know the prices were easily ripped off, so researching the market before buying or selling was a habit he had developed from years of online gaming experience. The black market was a good place to investigate since it had all types of cards available.
He walked around for a while and had a general idea of what to expect.
Original one-star low-level cards with good stats and powerful skills would be directly auctioned off or raised to full stars before being sold at a high price. One-star cards with ordinary stats at the black market could sell for 50 gold coins (around 5 crystal coins in real life). Those with poor stats but good art could sell for 20-30 gold coins, and other miscellaneous cards were all under 10 gold coins.
Upgrading a low-level card to a high-level one required a large investment of upgrade materials, so low-level cards were generally very cheap. In particular, those with poor stats were practically dirt cheap. Original cards, even those with poor stats, could still be sold at the black market. The key was the added prestige of the word ‘original.’ These cards were essentially useless but everyone bought and sold them as collectibles.
Xie Mingzhe investigated the prices and went to a relatively large stall in the black market. A sign next to the stall read ‘Buying Original Cards.’ He walked over and politely asked, “Boss, I have some original cards here. Would you like some?”
The boss took the card and glanced at it. “The card art is quite nice, but aren’t the stats too low?”
Xie Mingzhe was already mentally prepared to be mocked for the stats. He said with a smile, “I’m new to this and I’m not very skilled yet. The stats were indeed low. How much do you think I can sell it for.”
The boss stroked his chin. He examined the card from left to right while feeling that something was off about it.
The card art was beautifully done, featuring a pitiful girl with a tear-streaked face, and realistic flowers and a river as supporting decorations. It was practically a painting. He had never seen such a beautiful card before. However, the terrible data didn’t math the card’s design at all. It felt extremely out of place.
The boss asked suspiciously, “Did you make this card yourself? Do you have any more?”
Xie Mingzhe took out the remaining eight cards. “These are all of them. Will you buy them, Boss?”
The boss thought for a moment. “These cards are indeed beautiful but the data is terrible. It is all show and no substance. It is also a character card, not a cute pet card. The market isn’t that big. They could only be sold to players who like to collect character cards. How about this? I will pay 30 gold coins each for all nine.”
“The card design is so beautiful. 30 is a bit low, isn’t it?”
“It really isn’t low. Go look around. One-star cards only sell for 50 gold coins if the information is good. The average price for a nice design is 20 gold coins. I only offered you 30 because your card is particularly beautiful. I might not be able to sell them even if I buy them!”
The boss’ words were similar to the market prices Xie Mingzhe had just investigated. After all, this card’s defense was too low. His actual asking price was around 20 gold coins, and 30 was already considered high. Xie Mingzhe didn’t hesitate any longer and simply said, “Okay, then 30 each. There are nine, so it is a total of 270. I will sell them all to you!”?
“Okay!” The two of them readily exchanged the money and goods.
Xie Mingzhe returned to the stall where he bought the Nebula Paper with his 270 gold coins.
The stall owner greeted him. “It is you, Chubby Uncle! You aren’t buying Nebula Paper again, are you?”
Xie Mingzhe smiled. “I am a regular customer. How about you still give me 10 sheets for 70 gold coins?”
The stall owner looked like he was about to cough up blood as he lowered his voice. “Don’t tell anyone about this price, or I’m going to lose a lot.”
Xie Mingzhe gave him a knowing look. “Yes yes, I’ll come buy from you every day from now on.”
The stall owner, “……”
Please spare him! This guy said he was a newbie with no money, but now he already had more money? He was back to back Nebula Paper in less than half an hour. How did he look broke? The stall owner realized that this guy would definitely be a shrewd businessman if he went into business.
Xie Mingzhe was quite happy after buying the Nebula Paper.
He spent 70 on paper, made 10 Daiyu cards, and sold them for 300, making a profit of 230. This was around 23 crystal coins in reality, enough for a meal.
With practice, making ten Daiyu cards would only take half an hour. Earning over 20 crystal coins in half an hour wasn’t a loss. If he persisted, little by little, his life would definitely improve.
Xie Mingzhe made up his mind and returned to his personal space in a good mood. He would continue making Daiyu cards.
Almost as soon as he left the black market, a customer came to Boss Zhang’s stall.
The other person’s ID was Hongzhu. She was around 1.6 meters tall, wearing a red tight-fitting dress and black high-heeled sandals. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and her voice was clear and crisp. “Boss Zhang, do you have any new original cards these days?”
The boss respectfully replied, “Sister Hongzhu, please pick any card you want.”
Hongzhu said, “In preparation for the new season, our guild only needs cards with high card attributes.”
The boss handed her a stack of four-star cards with a high base attack power. “500 for each one you pick. It is a good price for regular customers.”
Hongzhu lowered her head and slowly picked through the cards. She only found three decent ones. She was clearly a bit disappointed and handed the rest of the cards back to the boss. “Anything else?”
The boss answered, “These are all the best in terms of basic attributes. Why don’t you take another look?”
Hongzhu’s eyes glanced around the stall. Suddenly, a very special stack of cards caught her attention. She crouched down to examine it closely. The card was called Lin Daiyu and depicted a beautiful woman with a tear-streaked face and tearful eyes. She held flower petals in her hands, which she threw into the water beside her. The fluttering petals were washed away by the flowing water. It was a poignant scene that made Hongzhu’s heart ache.
“Huh? This card art is quite beautiful.” Hongzhu picked up the card and looked at its stats.
100 HP, 0 attack, and 15 defense. It was clearly a failed attempt with extremely poor attributes.
The skill was Daiyu Burying the Flowers. What a strange name!
She continued to read and the skill description read: Deals severe damage to flower-type cards. There is a 10% chance to trigger the instant death effect.
Instant death meant immediate demise. It was a rare, forced judgment…
Hongzhu silently repeated it in her mind.
Dealing heavy damage to flower-type cards with a 10% chance of triggering instant death.
The trigger probability was 10% for a one-star card. If upgraded and evolved to seven stars, the probability would be…
“!!!!!” In that instant, the hairs on Hongzhu’s back almost stood on end. She felt her scalp tingle and her head buzzed as if she had been struck hard by a hammer.
The boss saw her suddenly turn pale and thought she was unwell. He couldn’t help asking with concern, “Sister Hongzhu? What’s wrong?”
Hongzhu took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. She slowly stood up, adjusted her expression and casually asked, “Is this a newly acquired card?”
The stall owner smiled. “Yes, I acquired nine of them.”
Hongzhu’s fingers trembled slightly when she heard there were nine, but her voice remained calm. “Who made these cards? The artwork is so beautiful!”
The boss replied, “I don’t know him. He might be a newcomer. He looked unfamiliar and I don’t remember his name clearly. The card’s stats are terrible with only 15 defense. I’ve never seen such a low defense value.”
“Have you sold the nine cards you acquired?”
“Not yet. I just acquired them!”
“I want them all.”
“Huh?” The boss was stunned. “All of them?”
“These cards are quite beautiful. I will give them to the girls in the guild for their collections.” Hongzhu said with a smile, “Boss, name your price. I’ll take them all.”
This woman might appear petite but she was actually a ruthless person. She was the guild leader of the Fenghua Guild, respectfully called Sister Hongzhu. She was also the person in charge of collecting cards and materials for the Fenghua Club in the game, and her research on cards were more thorough than many others.
She had a very peculiar hobby. She would browse the black market when she was bored, specifically looking for original character cards. She acted nonchalantly, saying she liked the card’s artwork, but the stall owner was still wary. He sensed that a card Hongzhu liked must be something special. Therefore, he secretly doubled the price. “60 for one card?”
Hongzhu casually fiddled with the card in her hand and chuckled. “You are really teasing me. It is a one-star character card with terrible stats. It looks good but is useless. The market price is only around 20 gold coins. I’ve bought so many seven-star cards from you and you are still trying to rip me off like this. Forget it, I don’t want it anymore. You can keep it and sell it later.”
She put down the card and turned to leave, but the stall owner immediately called out to her with a smile, “Hey hey, I’m just kidding. I will sell it to you for 35 gold coins. Honestly, I bought it for 34. You should at least let me make a small profit.”
Hongzhu knew the stall owner was a shrewd businessman and definitely wasn’t telling the truth, but the price of over 30 gold coins was nothing to her. She sighed with relief, turned around and immediately put on a nonchalant smile. She paid the stall owner and casually said, “By the way, some of the girls in my guild are collecting character cards lately, especially those with exquisite art styles like this. If anyone sells you this character card again, please buy them all and transfer them to me so I can give them to my friends.”
“Sure, no problem!” The stall owner smiled as he counted the money.
Hongzhu turned and left.
She circled the black market again, carefully searching several large buying stalls. However, she didn’t find the same card. Her tightly clenched fingers finally relaxed. Hongzhu took a deep breath, quickly removed her helmet and went to the office next door.
Next door, Xue Linxiang was checking the competition data when she suddenly saw Hongzhu rush in with a pale face.
Xue Linxiang asked in confusion, “What’s wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?”
Hongzhu took a deep breath to calm her agitated emotions and said quickly, “Sister Xue, I just found a very strange card while browsing the black market. Its skill deals severe damage to flower-type cards and has a chance to trigger the instant death effect!”
Xue Linxiang was stunned and stood up abruptly from her seat. “Instant death effect? Specifically targeting flower cards?”
Hongzhu nodded.
Xue Linxiang’s expression became ugly. “Get me the card’s information right now!”
Hongzhu opened the data-sharing tablet computer on the table, logged into her account and brought up the card. She pointed to the card and said, “The basic attributes are terrible, and the defense is ridiculously low at only 15 points. It won’t exceed 1,000 defense even if it is upgraded to seven-stars. But its skill…”
Xue Linxiang looked at the pitiful woman in the picture, whose face was streaked with tears as she threw flower petals into the water. A strange feeling suddenly rose in Xue Linxiang’s heart.
A chill ran down her spine.
Daiyu Burying the Flowers: Deals severe damage to flower-type cards. There is a 10% chance to trigger the instant death effect.
10% probability was just for a level 1 card. Following the rule that the skill probability increased slightly with every level, the probability of a level 70 card could be directly increased to 80%. There could also be further enhancement using special high-level hit-rate materials. Then a max-level black card like Lin Daiyu would have a skill probability that absolutely reached 100%.
Daiyu’s skill had a 100% chance of triggering an instant death effect related to flowers. The consequences would be unimaginable!
Xue Linxiang paced back and forth in the room, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. “We don’t need to look at the basic information of this card. The 15 points of defense don’t matter because it doesn’t need defense at all! It is just a function card. Its biggest purpose is to quickly destroy the opponent’s flower trump card!”
She stopped with a deeply furrowed brow. “Xiao Tang’s deck has many flower cards, such as the Night Blooming Jasmine he sold before. It has 100,000 health and 50,000 defense, making it hard to kill. However, Daiyu Burying the Flowers will trigger a forced instant death judgment against flower cards, immediately destroying Xiao Tang’s flower cards. As long as it appears on the field against Tang Muzhou… you know the consequences, right?”
Hongzhu nodded, her voice trembling slightly. “A one-hit kill of God Tang’s strongest flower trump card, completely disrupting God Tang’s rhythm.”
Xue Linxiang felt a chill run down her spine. “This card can be said to be the ultimate counter to wood-type flower decks!”
Hongzhu’s face turned pale and she couldn’t speak for a long time.
Her intuition was right. Thankfully, she bought all the cards, preventing them from leaking out. Otherwise, if the card collectors of other clubs discovered them and developed them into seven-star black cards, Tang Muzhou would be greatly threatened!
Xue Linxiang took a deep breath, looking at the poignantly beautiful card, her gaze as sharp as a sword. “A card specifically targeting the flower type. Who made this?”
Hongzhu replied nervously, “The boss said he didn’t remember the person’s name. I will send someone to investigate right away!”
Xue Linxiang clenched her fists. “We must find that person as soon as possible!”
At the same time, Xie Mingzhe was completely unaware of this and continued drawing Lin Daiyu in his personal space.
One Lin Daiyu… two Lin Daiyu…
The speed increased and the images became more exquisite.
Xie Mingzhe temporarily stopped after finishing ten Lin Daiyu cards. He smiled as he stroked his chin, wondering where he should sell them this time.
TL: Advance chapters are now available on Patreon.
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