MSC: Chapter 15

8:30 p.m., the Judgment Guild’s territory.

“Is there still no news from Chubby Uncle?” Huanyue asked with a furrowed brow.

“He hasn’t replied to Shuangshuang’s emails.” Canyang returned from the black market while feeling completely frustrated. “I also couldn’t find any cards made by Chubby Uncle in the black market. Many guilds are searching the black market. I suspect that they might’ve also bought the Wu Song card?”

“Don’t panic.” Huanyue calmed down and analyzed it. “The 20 cards he made might not all be Wu Song. According to the undercover agent, the Fenghua Guild is buying up female character cards. My speculation is that before the Wu Song card, he probably made another female card which alerted the Fenghua Guild.”

“Right!” Canyang suddenly realized. “I also received a report from the undercover agent saying that Hongzhu is buying a lot of female character cards and even opened a stall specifically for buying them. Perhaps that female character card was made by this Chubby Uncle?”

“Skilled character card creators have rarely appeared in recent years, so it must be him.” Huanyue pondered on it while stroking his chin. “In order to alarm Hongzhu, the skill of this beautiful female character must be extraordinary, perhaps even an instant death judgment. This explains it all. This Chubby Uncle first made a beauty card to attract Hongzhu’s attention and the Wu Song card happened to be bought by both our sides. Our two guilds searched the black market at the same time. Then other guilds heard the news and rushed over to join the fun.”

“Hopefully, the Wu Song card might not have been scattered on the black market yet,” Canyang silently prayed in his heart.

“By the way, do you remember how Tang Muzhou debuted?” Huanyue suddenly changed the subject.

“Of course, I remember. God Tang started out in the black market. He initially made some low-level plant cards and sold them there. They were incredibly popular, and people lined up to buy them. I heard the black market streets were practically bursting with his fans.”

“Selling cards on the black market–” Huanyue interrupted the vice president’s rambling. “Don’t you think this tactic sounds familiar?”

“!!!” Canyang finally realized. “Do you mean that Chubby Uncle is imitating Tang Muzhou?”

“No, I’m more worried that this Chubby Uncle will become the second Tang Muzhou.”

Canyang couldn’t believe the president’s speculation. “The second Tang Muzhou? A genius in the card making world? Just based on this Wu Song card?”

“Wu Song cards are indeed too niche but instant death cards are very difficult to create. They require this card maker to have extremely high concentration to deliver a fatal blow to the target. I have a very bad feeling that this person might create more bizarre character cards in the future. Perhaps they will have instant death skills to counter various god-tier cards or perhaps other skills…”

Huanyue paused, his brow furrowed and his expression frighteningly serious. “Tang Muzhou was like that back then. At first, he only made ornamental plant cards. Later, he perfected the entire plant card deck with his outstanding talent. Trees, vines, succulents, flowers and all sorts of powerful cards emerged one after another. Tang Muzhou quickly became one of the most outstanding original card players in the league.”

“But Tang Muzhou had a master to guide him! His master was very famous.”

“His master did help him a lot.” Huanyue seemed unwilling to mention a certain person’s name and interrupted her directly. “Tang Muzhou’s ability to become a god was mainly due to his talent. Even after his master left, the cards he made continued to get stronger and stronger. This is proof of that.”

“Do you think this Chubby Uncle has the talent of God Shen?” Canyang grew increasingly uneasy listening to the guild leader’s description.

“Yes,” Huanyue said confidently. “Since Chubby Uncle can make cards with an instant death judgment, it means his mental power is extremely high. Look at this card of his. He focused his mental power on ‘killing the tiger’ while also excellently completing the drawing of Wu Song. This person is definitely not simple.”

Canyang never expected to encounter such a promising target while browsing the black market today.

“Find him as soon as possible and do it privately. We must find him before the Fenghua Guild!” Huanyue whispered a reminder.

Canyang always felt that the name Chubby Uncle was just a joke. She ignored the strange feeling in her heart and said seriously, “Okay, I’ll find someone privately and bring him back to see you after I find him.”

“Take him directly to God Nie.”

“Huh? God Nie?”

“I’ll take the Wu Song card back to the club later to show God Nie. God Nie will definitely be very interested in the creator. If possible, try to recruit this Chubby Uncle to our Judgment Club. We must act quickly and not let other guilds snatch him away!”

“Understood!” Canyang nodded solemnly and hurriedly ran to find Shuangshuang.

Shuangshuang said dejectedly, “Chubby Uncle hasn’t replied to my email yet.”

“Did he not see the email?” Canyang was irritated. “Send him another one! If he doesn’t reply, keep sending it!”

***

Xie Mingzhe didn’t have time to check his personal space, so he didn’t notice this email.

The Dark Cave was densely packed with monsters, and the experience gain was extremely fast. By 8:30 p.m., Xie Mingzhe was already level 35.

The maximum level for characters in the game was 70, which was the same as the card’s maximum level of 70.

However, level 35 was a crucial threshold. Once a character reached level 35, they were allowed to enter the ten-player team dungeon on the resource stars and use seven-star cards. Rich players could directly buy seven-star cards after reaching level 35 to increase their leveling speed.

Senior Brother Qi and Sisi both had money, so they went directly to the commercial street to buy seven-star cards.

Xie Mingzhe didn’t have any money, so he said goodbye to his two companions and returned to his personal space to continue making cards.

Inside the Fenghua Club’s office.

Xue Linxiang paced back and forth. She saw Hongzhu push open the door and immediately frowned, asking, “Haven’t you found that person yet?”

Hongzhu was very helpless. “I opened a stall in the black market to buy female character cards, hoping to lure him out. I waited all afternoon but he still hasn’t appeared. I’ve already sent a large number of people to search the market. Once we find an original card with the Half Moon logo, we will definitely follow the trail and find him.”

Xue Linxiang frowned even more. “So you still haven’t found out who the creator of Half Moon is?”

Hongzhu nodded, her face somewhat pale. “Boss Zhang’s stall is always crowded with people. There are too many players and he can’t remember the name of the person who sold the cards. Now there is an even more troublesome matter. Besides me, all the major guilds in the game, such as Judgment and Frostflow City, have gathered in the black market. I’m not sure whether they are just here to join the excitement or if someone actually bought the Daiyu card and is also searching the black market for its creator.”

Xue Linxiang, “……”

If the Daiyu card was really bought then Tang Muzhou would be in trouble next season.

Daiyu Burying the Flowers, an instant death skill for flower-type cards. How did this genius create such a skill?

Xiao Tang had a large collection of flower cards. Every single one of them risked being instantly killed by Lin Daiyu. The competition was about to begin. There simply wasn’t enough time to try and replace his deck now.

It was all Tang Muzhou’s fault for making that ridiculous suggestion at last season’s meeting, adding an instant death skill to enrich the tactics during matches. Now look at what happened! He was the first one targeted. This was called trying to hit someone else only to end up shooting his own foot!

Xue Linxiang was struggling with her thoughts when the doorbell rang. She turned around and said, “Come in.”

Tang Muzhou entered. This man was prone to drowsiness in the afternoon, but was particularly energetic at night. Right now, his face was full of energy.

“Why did you come?” Xue Linxiang took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

“I have some bad news for you,” Tang Muzhou said. He mentioned bad news but he was full of smiles, seemingly in a good mood. “I just checked the database. That card creator called Half Moon has now created 30 cards.”

Ten more? Xue Linxiang and Hongzhu wished they could tear apart that creator in the game!

“Maybe it is ten Lin Daiyu cards or maybe he has developed new cards that targets my vines and trees,” Tang Muzhou said with a smile.

“You can still smile!” Xue Linxiang rolled her eyes. “You were the one who suggested adding the instant death skill to the database. Now look at what happened! All the flower-themed cards are being targeted. Are you happy?”

“I’m okay.” Tang Muzhou seemed completely unconcerned, his face still bearing a relaxed smile. “More than this Daiyu card, I am concerned about the card creator. I think he is a bit like me.”

“Like you?” Xue Linxiang was puzzled.

“Sister Xue, have you forgotten how I debuted?”

Xue Linxiang finally understood what he meant. “Selling cards in the black market?”

“Yes, when I first learned to make cards, I didn’t know the market so I sold them in the black market. Newcomers often fall into this trap, thinking that bargaining in the black market will make the cards easier to sell. In fact, the black market is where ‘low-level cards’ and ‘collectible cards’ are dealt with. Not many people understand the value of combat cards.”

Tang Muzhou walked to the sofa, sat down, picked up his water glass and took a sip. “He is really like me back then. He makes powerful cards and sells them on the black market because he doesn’t know the market. Experienced card makers know that truly high-end cards are either sold to professional card buying stores of the major guilds or taken to the auction house.”

“You should be glad he is a newcomer. If he knew the market and auctioned off the Lin Daiyu card… Cough cough, I shouldn’t jinx it.” Xue Lin immediately picked up her glass, drank some water and rinsed her mouth. She was afraid that her words would come true.

“His character cards have an instant death judgment. The card ideas are indeed very novel.” Tang Muzhou stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Such a talented seedling really shouldn’t be missed.”

“What do you want to do?” Xue Linxiang stared at him warily.

“I plan to go into the game and meet this person in person,” Tang Muzhou said.

Xue Linxiang rubbed her forehead. “The competition is next week. Are you crazy?”

“G-God Tang.” Hongzhu’s voice trembled as she reminded him. “It will definitely cause a sensation if you appear in the game.”

“I can use a secondary account to find him.” Tang Muzhou’s expression was serious. “No one knows my alternative account.”

Could he stop being so willful? The competition was about to start. Shouldn’t he be focused on studying decks and opponents, preparing for the next season’s major competition? Xue Linxiang patiently advised, “A newcomer can be left to us. You don’t need to go yourself, do you?”

The next moment, Tang Muzhou stood up, his smiling eyes filled with unwavering determination.

“Sister Xue, don’t try to person me. I must find this person.”

Xue Linxiang knew she couldn’t stop God Tang. She could only rub her head in exasperation. “Be careful not to affect the competition!”

“Don’t worry, Sister Xue.” Tang Muzhou waved and turned to leave the office.

***

At the same time, in the game.

After Xie Mingzhe finished crafting Wu Song cards in his personal space, he originally wanted to go to the black market to sell his cards. However, Chen Xiao directly summoned him via voice chat. “Xiao Xie, it is 9 o’clock. Come find me on Jupiter. The team dungeon is starting and we are waiting for you!”

“I don’t have any good cards. Won’t I be a burden?”

“I will give you a max-level, seven-star card. Come quickly!”

“Okay, Brother Chen!” Xie Mingzhe’s eyes lit up and he immediately ran to Jupiter.