At 6:30 p.m., the power levelers finished dinner and entered the game together. The moment Xie Mingzhe entered his personal space, he heard a system notification. “You have new emails. Please check them on the LCD screen in the living room.”
He followed the notification and went to open his emails.
Official email: The 10th Star Card Professional League will officially start on August 10th. The ticket reservation channel is now fully open…
Official email: To welcome the new season, sign in for five days from August 1st to 10th to receive an anniversary commemorative card…
A long list of official emails dazzled Xie Mingzhe’s eyes.
Recently, it was a crucial period for the new season and there were many official events. The densely packed notification emails piled up. Xie Mingzhe was too lazy to continue reading, so he simply closed the email list. Just then, Senior Brother Qi sent a team invitation. Xie Mingzhe joined his team to continue leveling up on Egret Star.
***
At this time, the black market.
“Hasn’t that Chubby Uncle replied to you yet?” Canyang asked Shuangshuang.
“I definitely emailed him. Maybe he isn’t online?” Shuangshuang looked dejected.
Canyang frowned and remained silent for a moment. Then she said, “If he replies, tell me immediately. If you find him in the black market, contact him right away and tell him I want to buy a large number of his cards. Ask him to come and talk to me in person.”
“Okay, Vice President.” Shuangshuang watched the vice president leave anxiously, feeling very guilty. She had only been playing the game for a little over a month and didn’t know much about combat cards. Originally, her master was the one who set up the stall for the Judgment Guild in the black market. Then today, her master had something come up and asked her to fill in. She hadn’t noticed how special the skill of the Wu Song card was. If she had thought about it more carefully, she wouldn’t have let Chubby Uncle go so easily.
Now she couldn’t contact Chubby Uncle at all. Shuangshuang gritted her teeth and turned around to email Chubby Uncle again.
At the end of the street, Hongzhu’s beauty card buying stall in the black market still hadn’t seen the person she was waiting for. Hongzhu grew impatient and called a private meeting with several elders of the guild. “Everyone, conduct a thorough search of the black market in the next few days. Pay attention to the backs of all original cards. If you find a card with the original Half Moon logo, immediately track down the seller. Find out who it is as soon as possible!”
The elders exchanged bewildered looks. Half Moon? How did this person offend Sister Hongzhu? They were truly worried for this person after seeing Sister Hongzhu’s furious expression like she wanted to skin him alive.
Canyang took the Wu Song card back to the guild base and handed it to Huanyue, the guild leader of the Judgment Club.
Huanyue’s actual identity was a card expert in the Judgment Club, with considerable knowledge of card information. Upon seeing the card, his eyes lit up and his first reaction was to immediately take the card back to his personal space. Canyang naturally followed.
The two of them arrived at the card workstation in the study. Huanyue took several sets of experience star stones of different levels from the display case. He first fed the card experience to level 20. Then he fed it two-star fragments to evolve it to two stars. He repeated this process.
In the blink of an eye, millions of experience star stones and 600 evolution fragments of different levels were fed to Wu Song.
The newly acquired level 1, one-star card spun continuously above the table and the color on the back of the card gradually changed until it displayed a pure black metallic luster with magnificent fiery red patterns forming on the back.
A level 70, seven-star black card!
Huanyue finally picked up the card and looked at the data on it.
[Wu Song (Fire Attribute)]
[Level: 70.
Evolution Star Level: ★★★★★★★
Available Uses: 7/7.
Basic Attributes: HP 19,200, Defense 19,200, Attack 19,200, Agility 80, Critical Rate 90%.
Additional Skill: Wu Song Smashes the Tiger (Slams a fist into the tiger’s head, dealing massive damage. There is a 85% chance of triggering an instant death effect).]
Huanyue looked at the data and frowned. He asked, “Do you have God Nie’s White Tiger card?”
Canyang nodded. “Yes, God Nie used this card too many times last season and it was damaged. He had me repair it after it was damaged. I just repaired it myself.”
Huanyue suggested, “Let’s try it out in the arena.”
The two of them exchanged looks and teleported directly from the star map to the Phoenix Star region. They opened a private combat arena and added a password.
The arena began and Canyang summoned the seven-star White Tiger. The fierce tiger leapt and pounced on the opposing Wu Song illusion. Just as the white tiger got close, Wu Song clenched his fist and swiftly smashed it into the tiger’s head. The massive white tiger was instantly knocked to the ground!
A one-hit kill!
The terrified Canyang flipped through the arena’s battle record.
-The Wu Song card released the skill Wu Song Smashes the Tiger, triggering an instant death judgment and killing the White Tiger card.
That was it.
I was so simple and brutal that it was beyond words.
Huanyue also saw the battle record and said thoughtfully, “The instant death judgment is really a one-hit kill. Isn’t this the first time it has appeared in the game?”
Canyang was horrified. “I’ve never seen such a strange skill like triggering an instant death!”
Huanyue thought for a moment. “Do you have any other high-level cards from other top players? Try another one.”
Canyang replied, “I still have the Fire Phoenix from God Lan.”
The seven-star Fire Phoenix card summoned a red phoenix, its wings enormous enough to cover the sun. Suddenly, the fire phoenix spread its wings, let out a sharp cry and swooped down towards Wu Song on the ground like a burning flame!
Wu Song immediately countered with a punch, but his defense of less than 20,000 was too low. He was instantly killed by the phoenix’s fire-type AOE attack. Phoenix Dancing in the Sky!
Canyang and Huanyue exchanged bewildered looks as they saw the ashes of Wu Song on the ground.
There was a moment of silence before Huanyue analyzed it, “This Wu Song card is too niche. The instant death judgment only works against tiger cards, and it is completely useless against other types of cards. Its attack and defense stats are only third-rate but it also isn’t right to call it a useless card. Once it encounters Nie Yuandao, it becomes a god-tier card.”
“Who would be idle enough to specifically target Nie Yuandao’s White Tiger?” Canyang’s expression was somewhat strange. “Does he have a grudge against Nie Yuandao?”
“Who is the card’s creator?”
“It is a level 15 newbie called Chubby Uncle.”
Chubby Uncle? What a strange name. Huanyue thought to himself while flipping the card over. He saw the Half Moon logo in the lower right corner of the black card and suddenly felt uneasy. He immediately connected to the database and said, “Search how many cards this person has made.”
He searched for the creator logo and the database quickly returned a result: 20 cards.
Huanyue suddenly shuddered. “Could the remaining 19 cards be all Wu Song cards and he sold them to the black market?”
Canyang’s face instantly darkened. “If other clubs get this card, won’t God Nie’s White Tiger card be useless?”
The two of them exchanged looks.
As the old president of the Judgment Guild, Huanyue was usually very calm but now he couldn’t remain calm.
Instant death judgment, what the hell was this instant death judgment!
This type of judgment had never appeared in the game before. Many people might not even understand what triggering instant death meant and thought that instant death was similar to the ‘immediate cripple’ of metal-type cards. Therefore, the people who bought and sold cards in the black market weren’t very clear about the value of this Wu Song card.
However, professional players and the top leaders of major guilds all knew about this judgment.
It was because this was a brand new skill judgment that was recently added to the database!
At the summary meeting for the last season, Tang Muzhou suddenly proposed the concept of ‘one-for-one function cards’ to give cards an ‘instant death effect.’
It was said that at the meeting, professional players were divided into two factions and engaged in a heated debate. One faction agreed with God Tang’s idea and supported the addition of instant death cards to the database. The other faction strongly opposed it, believing that such cards would affect the balance of the game and were completely unreasonable.
Tang Muzhou smiled in a charming manner, listing many reasons for adding instant death cards. Finally, he said, “The introduction of instant death cards will greatly enrich the tactics on the field. Don’t you want to make a card that can surprise me and instantly kill my Millennium Divine Tree?”
The players, “……”
God Tang really knew how to draw aggro. Everyone who had been bound by his tree wanted to kill this annoying giant tree.
Nie Yuandao had never gotten along with Tang Muzhou, but surprisingly, he actually supported God Tang’s idea.
Nie Yuandao calmly said, “The threat of instant death cards isn’t as great as everyone thinks. If the officials can manipulate the data, it will be just a one-for-one function card at most. Using instant death cards to replace the opponent’s god-tier cards will make the tactics of the game more varied. I agree with Tang Muzhou’s suggestion.”
The water-type player Qiao Xi smiled. “I also think God Tang’s idea is very good. Instant death cards appearing on the field can be a surprise at crucial moments. Otherwise, I won’t want to continue playing the game if some people put cards with more than 200,000 health on the field.”
Zheng Feng, the representative earth-type player who was called out, touched his nose. “God Xi is talking about my White Elephant with more than 200,000 health, right? Actually, I also think its health is too high. I feel quite embarrassed every time the game makes everyone fight for a long time.”
Everyone exclaimed, “…Get lost!”
In order to prevent everyone from fighting, the league chairman immediately maintained order. “Okay, let’s start voting now.”
In the end, Tang Muzhou’s suggestion was passed by the professional league’s general meeting.
The league submitted the suggestion to the officials and the officials decided to adopt it after a discussion.
In order to balance the cards, the official team held several meetings with their data analysis team and conducted detailed formula deductions to determine the data range for instant death cards, including their health, attack and defense. This process took over six months and the official announcement was only released last month.
The official announcement stated that the instant death judgment had been added to the skills database, but the requirements were very strict.
First of all, cards with the instant death judgment could have only one instant death skill, and its targeting couldn’t be too broad. For example, cards with plant instant death, animal instant death or human instant death weren’t allowed. Instant death judgment could only target a single subcategory of cards.
Secondly, any card with the instant death judgment would be classified as a one-time usage card with very low attack and defense attributes. This meant that after using the skill, the card itself would die immediately. This achieved the one-on-one effect, and it avoided affecting the balance of the game.
Furthermore, the league issued a corresponding rule. Only one instant death card could be carried per match, which could be used as a secret weapon.
The official announcement was only recently released, and many players in the game probably hadn’t noticed it yet. After all, every update brought a long list of announcements. People who didn’t specialize in card research wouldn’t pay attention to news like the instant death judgment being added to the skills database.
Currently, card research experts from various clubs were trying to create cards with the ‘ultimate kill’ effects. Huanyue didn’t know the progress of other clubs, but God Nie and God Lan from the Judgment Club hadn’t made one yet. Unexpectedly, this guy called Chubby Uncle beat them to it and even made a Wu Song card that targeted tiger-type cards, directly targeting God Nie!
If God Nie knew that someone made a card that triggered instant death on his White Tiger card so quickly after he agreed with Tang Muzhou’s idea of adding the instant death judgement, would he be furious?
This card absolutely couldn’t be found by other clubs!
Huanyue frowned and quickly made a decision. “Immediately arrange for a thorough search of the black market! Buy back all the cards with the original logo of Half Moon, especially the Wu Song card. Don’t miss a single one!”
The black market hadn’t been this lively for a long time.
The players setting up stalls in the black market were completely bewildered. What were so many managers of the Fenghua and Judgment guilds doing there?
Hongzhu saw the familiar IDs coming and going and was almost exploding with anxiety. Many Judgment veterans had suddenly appeared in the black market, carefully searching the card stalls and seemingly looking for some specific cards. She felt particularly uneasy, suspecting that Judgment had bought the Daiyu card. Canyang shared Hongzhu’s suspicions, assuming that Fenghua had bought other Wu Song cards and was looking for the original creator.
The two of them, filled with mutual suspicion, greeted each other calmly when they met. “Sister Hong, you’re still at the black market?”
Hongzhu feigned composure. “Yes, I’m just wandering around out of boredom.”
Canyang gave a forced smile. “Me too. What a coincidence!”
“Yes, what a coincidence.”
They greeted each other politely but inwardly cursed each other a hundred times.
Moments later, news of a large number of Fenghua and Judgment veterans appearing in the black market spread through the undercover community.
The other guild leaders were completely confused when they received the news.
What was going on? Two large guilds suddenly launched a thorough search of the black market. Could it be that another powerful card had appeared there?
Thus, the other major guilds followed suit.
“We don’t know why, but we should go check it out,” the guild leader of Frostflow City said.
“Let’s go to the black market and see what they are looking for,” the leader of the Dark Night City calmly ordered.
“Could it be that a card-making genius has appeared in the black market?” Even the president of the Temple of the Gods took decisive action.
Within ten minutes, a large group of guild leaders arrived at the black market to join the fun.
Hongzhu really wanted to cry. Who bought all the other Daiyu cards? Canyang also wanted to curse. Chubby Uncle had made 20 cards and she only managed to buy one Wu Song card. Could it be that the remaining 19 were all Wu Song cards bought by various clubs?
The black market was in complete chaos.
Everywhere on the street were big shots with titles like ‘Vice Guild Leader of XX Guild’ and ‘Management Member of XX Guild.’ Players setting up stalls took photos with the guild leaders. Meanwhile, Xie Mingzhe, the culprit who completely disrupted the black market, was currently leveling up with his friends in a cave on Egret Star.
Senior Brother Qi asked, “Chubby Uncle, you bought so many Nebula Paper before, saying you wanted to try creating original cards. Did you manage to make one?”
Xie Mingzhe chuckled. “I just made two casually. Their base stats aren’t great. I sold them in the black market and made a bit of pocket money.”
Sisi asked excitedly, “Chubby Uncle, what type of cards did you make? Can I see them?”
“They are both character cards and have already been sold. Later, I’ll make a few more for you to collect!”
Senior Brother Qi advised with the tone of a seasoned player, “Character cards with poor stats don’t sell for a good price, but making a bit of pocket money is still good. Making cards is mentally exhausting. Don’t make too many at once or you will burn your brain.”
Xie Mingzhe nodded. “Okay, I’ll make ten more tonight and then I’ll call it a day.”
Hongzhu and Canyang would probably be furious if they heard this.
Xie Mingzhe was actually completely innocent and knew nothing about this.
He was a newbie to card games. In his eyes, cards in the Star Card world were as numerous as hairs on a cow. Cards that could sell for high prices had attack and defense values starting at the tens of thousands. For example, the Night Blooming Jasmine that sold for a high price at the auction had 100,000 health and 50,000 defense. His Daiyu card only had 15 defense and it would be less than 1,000 even after upgrading to seven stars. The Wu Song card also had low attack and defense, so it definitely wouldn’t sell for a good price.
He had no idea that instant death judgment skills had only been added to the database a few days ago and never appeared in the game before. He thought that such skills were very common!
People from the two major guilds were searching everywhere in the black market for cards made by Half Moon.
Guild leaders like Hongzhu and Canyang were almost going crazy.
Meanwhile, Xie Mingzhe was quite leisurely.
He chatted and farmed monsters with Senior Brother Qi and Sisi in the cave on Egret Star.
He needed to reach level 35 as soon as possible and join Brother Chen’s team. After all, he was now a formal power leveler and couldn’t neglect his job.
As for the cards, he planned to make ten more Wu Song cards tonight and sell them in the black market to earn some pocket money.
Even a small amount was still something. Mass production of them should earn him enough for his meals!
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