104: The secret vault has eight gates; the opportunity is yours to choose.

Yao Tianbi saw off the three enthusiastic recruitment teachers, and the reception room fell silent.

Lu Yuan rubbed the business card, then carefully put it away.

Only then did he remember something crucial—his "enormous wealth."

With a touch of pleasant anticipation, Lu Yuan opened his personal terminal and clicked on the bank account application.

A string of zeros made his eyes dizzy.

"Units, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands... hundred thousands, millions, tens of millions... a hundred million!"

Even though Lu Yuan considered himself to have a steady temperament, at this moment he couldn't help but grin, the curve of his lips rising higher and higher, almost reaching his ears.

He had lived two lives and had never seen so much money!

"Hehe."

A soft chuckle came from beside him.

Yao Xiao had run over at some point, standing on her tiptoes, curiously peeking her small head over his shoulder, looking at the astonishing string of numbers.

She feigned surprise, covering her small mouth, but her bright eyes sparkled with mischief: "Wow! O-over a hundred million! Lu Yuan, you're rich!"

Lu Yuan was in a great mood. He turned his head to look at her bright smiling face and joked, "Yes, an astronomical sum. From now on, I can probably support you."

Yao Xiao's cheeks instantly flushed.

She lightly spat: "Bah! Who wants you to support them!"

Although she said that, her heart felt as if it had been filled with honey, sweet and pleasant. She lowered her head, unconsciously twisting the corner of her clothes with her fingers, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly.

"Ahem."

Yao Tianbi, the human light bulb, coughed at the opportune moment, interrupting the somewhat ambiguous atmosphere between the two young people.

With a hint of a helpless smile on his face, he walked up to Lu Yuan and handed him a token.

"Lu Yuan, this was sent by the Provincial Governor last night—the credential to enter the Canglan Secret Vault."

Lu Yuan took the token.

The token was neither gold nor jade, its material unknown, and it was entirely a deep azure color.

The front was carved with complex and profound patterns, vaguely forming the image of a roaring exotic beast, which was the emblem of Canglan Province. The back bore an ancient character, "Cang" (Cang).

"The Secret Vault will be open for you alone today, from sunrise to sunset. It will not wait past that time," Yao Tianbi continued, "You can go anytime. Remember, according to the rules, you can only choose one treasure from inside."

Lu Yuan's heart stirred. A provincial-level Secret Vault, jointly managed by the Provincial Government and the Card Master Association, must contain rare and precious treasures.

"Thank you, Uncle Tianbi," Lu Yuan solemnly put away the token.

Yao Tianbi nodded and then reminded him, "The guardian of the Secret Vault is an old senior from the Provincial Card Master Association, a Fifth Rank, Peak expert. His temper... is a bit eccentric. After you go in, be polite with your words and don't offend him."

"I understand," Lu Yuan replied.

Wealth must be quickly converted into strength.

The dangers of the Lost Water Realm had been repeatedly emphasized by the old man.

He had to improve himself as much as possible before entering the secret realm.

"Uncle Tianbi, I plan to go to the Canglan Secret Vault now," Lu Yuan decided.

"Very well, the sooner the better," Yao Tianbi agreed. "Nickname, you accompany Lu Yuan on this trip. It'll be good to have someone with him on the way."

"Mhm!" Yao Xiao immediately responded excitedly. She was naturally eager to spend time alone with Lu Yuan.

Before leaving, Lu Yuan remembered the huge sum in his account.

He allocated a portion of the funds and, accompanied by Yao Xiao, first went to the largest Card Master mall in the provincial city.

He purchased a batch of high-quality Source Power recovery potions.

He also bought many new blank cards.

Most importantly, he had a top-grade combat suit custom-made for himself. This combat suit used the latest composite materials, making it not only waterproof, cold-proof, and heat-insulating, but also capable of partially isolating mental probes and toxin erosion, and even slightly increasing the speed of Source Power circulation.

The price was naturally steep, almost costing him one-tenth of his bonus.

Watching the balance in his personal terminal rapidly decrease, Lu Yuan didn't feel the slightest bit of heartache.

Money is an external possession; strength is the foundation of one's existence, especially in this perilous card world.

He had originally wanted to get a set for Yao Xiao as well, but she politely declined.

As a young lady from a prominent family, she naturally wasn't lacking in good things, so Lu Yuan bought her some curious trinkets, which weren't expensive but delighted her immensely.

After their shopping, the two took the Yao Family's hovercar and drove directly to the Provincial Government building.

After several turns, the hovercar stopped at a heavily guarded underground entrance.

The heavy alloy door was tightly shut, with no patrol team, only a worn-out recliner.

A scrawny old man, wearing only a pair of shorts, was dozing on the chair, his white beard trembling slightly with his breathing. He looked no different from an old man sunbathing in a regular park.

Had Yao Tianbi not specifically reminded him, Lu Yuan would never have believed that the person before him was the Fifth Rank, Peak expert who guarded the Canglan Secret Vault.

Lu Yuan dared not be negligent. He stepped forward two paces, bowed respectfully, and with both hands, presented the azure token.

"Senior, this junior Lu Yuan, by order of the Provincial Governor, has come to the Canglan Secret Vault."

The old man's eyelids twitched, and he slowly opened one eye. His cloudy gaze swept over Lu Yuan, then glanced at the token.

"Hmph," the old man grunted from his nostrils. He slowly sat up, took the token, and casually weighed it in his hand.

"Go in," he pointed to the massive alloy door behind him, his voice lazy, "You know the rules, right? Only one item. Take more, and I'll break your legs."

No sooner had he spoken than—

"Rumble—"

A heavy metallic grinding sound echoed as the massive alloy door, several meters thick, slowly slid open to both sides.

Behind the door was not the treasure vault Lu Yuan had imagined.

Instead, there was an upward staircase. At the end of the staircase were eight identical massive alloy doors, standing side by side, each carved with different Source Power formations, emitting spatial fluctuations.

Eight doors, eight spatial nodes?

The old man yawned and casually waved his withered finger towards the eight identical alloy doors.

"Eight doors, eight independent small spaces. The things hidden inside, well, they're all sorts of things, everything and nothing," he grinned, revealing a few yellow teeth, "It's all up to your luck, kid. Pick one and go in. There's no time limit today; you can stay as long as you want. When you want to come out, just crush the token in your hand."

He paused, his gaze suddenly sharpened for an instant, then quickly reverted to his lazy demeanor:

"Remember, rules are rules. Only one item. If you take more, this old man will really break your legs."

Lu Yuan's gaze roamed over the eight doors.

The Source Power formations on each door emitted different fluctuations, some strong, some weak, likely due to different construction times.

After much thought, he raised his hand and pointed to the sixth door from left to right.

The aura emanating from this door was the most complex, all-encompassing, seeming to contain the most possibilities.

"Senior, I choose this one."

The old man grunted, noncommittally, and lay back on his worn-out recliner.

Lu Yuan turned back and gave Yao Xiao a reassuring look.

Without further hesitation, he stepped towards the sixth massive alloy door.

As he approached, the Source Power formation on the sixth door suddenly lit up, runes flowed, and the door body emitted a slight hum.

"Click—"

The alloy door silently opened a crack inwards, and a powerful suction came from behind the door.

Lu Yuan only felt his vision blur, and he was swept into the door by that force...