Chapter 20: Soaring Scores (Please Follow)

A residential building ten stories high, on the not-so-spacious external corridor of the seventh floor, was crowded with figures.

One group consisted of five people, including three men and two Goblins wielding Wolf Fang Clubs, doing battle with as many as eight Common Goblin Warriors.

As time passed, it became apparent that the Goblins were gaining the upper hand with their numerical advantage.

Right then, a virtual screen materialized out of thin air in front of the three men.

[Transaction invite from your own kind has been received. Pay 2 Miracle Points to accept?]

[Note 1: Invitation is from a fellow human; only humans may participate in this transaction.]

[Note 2: This is a free transaction that supports bartering goods.]

[Note 3: This transaction will last for 24 hours; you may enter at any time before it ends by clicking agree and paying Miracle Points.]

...…

Seeing the sudden appearance of the information, the two men flanking him were initially stunned, then both turned to look at the burly man in the middle:

"Boss, what do we do?!"

Hearing this, the burly man's expression remained unchanged. After a moment of contemplation, he decisively said:

"Retreat!"

As soon as he spoke, the three men and two monsters quickly retreated, skillfully shaking off the Goblins' engagement within moments.

Back at the temporary stronghold on the fourth floor, the men recalled the two Goblins before looking at each other.

"Could there be danger? Shall we just forget it?"

"But we don't have much food left. Our appetites have been growing larger lately and with those few mouths at home, we can only hold out for another two days. If we can't take care of those damned Goblins above us within two days, then we..."

The two men exchanged thoughts back and forth before finally turning their gaze back to the burly man in the middle, waiting for his decision.

"Let's go!"

As the burly man spoke, the matter was settled on the spot. He turned and continued:

"Give me those fragments you can't use. If there's really no problem, I'll try to trade them all."

Hearing his words, the other two men's expressions changed.

"No, let me go. Boss, you absolutely can't..."

But before they could finish their sentence, the big man interrupted, "I'm the strongest. If there really is danger, I'm most likely to survive. You're both only level 1; even if you went together, it still wouldn't be safe!"

His tone was resolute, causing the cheeks of his two companions to redden slightly, and eventually, they somewhat deflatedly retrieved various useless card fragments from their internal card albums.

A short while later, the big man had made all the preparations. He patted the shoulders of the two men in front of him in a deliberately relaxed gesture:

"Alright, take care of yourselves and wait for my return. If something really happens, those at home are going to rely on you."

...…

Scenarios like this were happening in many areas within kilometers of Gu Ran. However, he was unaware of this, as he was engrossed in the mechanical prompt sounds ringing continuously in his ears.

[Someone has accepted the invitation; you have gained 2 Miracle Points.]

[Someone has accepted the invitation; you have gained 2 Miracle Points…]

[Someone has accepted…]

...…

In just a few minutes, Gu Ran noticed that his Miracle Points had surged from a dozen to three digits and were still growing.

"Whew!"

He exhaled lightly, suppressing the excitement in his heart. The next second, with a thought, his figure vanished from the living room.

When he turned his attention back, he found himself in another space.

This was a closed space of about a thousand square meters, with an overall dark style that in no way hindered visibility, and the starry sky overhead added a touch of dreaminess to the area.

At this moment, dozens of figures had appeared in the space: men and women, young and old alike. The common thread was that, like Gu Ran, they were all curiously surveying their surroundings.

Seeing this, Gu Ran soon came to his senses. He walked over to an open area, opening the backpack he had prepared in advance.

Seconds later, a large assortment of items had been neatly laid out in front of him.

With everything set up, he started calling out to attract attention.

"Rice, bread, purified water, cards, cigarettes, salted pork. Anything you want, we've got it right here! Hurry over and take a look!"

This maneuver was like lighting a fuse, as others quickly followed suit, calling out their wares.

Two minutes later, the suspicious figures began engaging in their respective trades, filling the entire space with the sounds of hawking, bargaining, and quite the buzz of activity.

And as more people entered, the liveliness of the scene only intensified.

In the midst of all this, various food items were the hottest commodities; as soon as someone brought them out, they were immediately traded away. It was obvious that as everyone became official Card Masters, their appetites swelled, and after five or six days, most people's food supplies at home were running low.

Fortunately, quite a few people came, large and small packages in tow, ready to trade their food.

Whether supermarket owners or warehouse workers, although they couldn't meet everyone's needs for food, most people still managed to get something, so it wasn't all for naught.

By then, Gu Ran had already started to stash his goods away. His goal was never to peddle wares; his earlier actions were merely to get the ball rolling.

Watching as his Miracle Points in his mind's card album broke the two-hundred point mark, he couldn't wait to start wandering around the trading area.

...…

In a corner of the trading space, Gu Ran stopped in front of a stall, his gaze lingering on a card fragment displayed there.

[Azurestone Card • Fire Keeper • Fragment] *1

[Quality: Green Stone One Star (Common)]

[Passive: Equipping this card grants a lesser talent "Basic Fire Affinity," reducing all incoming fire damage by 10% and increasing the power of your own fire attacks by 10% (Note: The passive does not consume Miracle Points.)]

[Active (Burning Fireball): Spend 2 Miracle Points to hurl a fiercely burning fireball at a designated unit. Upon hitting an enemy unit, there is a 20% chance to trigger the "Scorching" effect, inflicting scorch damage every second for three seconds. (Cooldown: ten minutes)]

It was undoubtedly an offensive Miracle Card with a long-range active ability.

This caught Gu Ran's interest, but his expression showed hesitation, because the seller only had one fragment and he was uncertain whether other fragments would appear at this trade meeting. If he couldn't complete the set in the end, that would be very frustrating.