20: A gold card? Does a student even deserve to use one?

He walked into the main entrance, which led to a spacious conference room.

Around the large oval conference table, seven or eight people were already seated.

These individuals were the true core backbone of the Black Water Gang; each controlled a faction, commanding at least dozens of subordinates, and the weakest among them was a peak Second-Rank Card Master.

In front of these people, Zhao She was nothing.

He had only gotten lucky before, being appreciated by the boss, which barely allowed him a seat at the table.

At the head of the conference table sat a middle-aged man who wasn't particularly tall but exuded an imposing aura.

He was dressed in a black Tang suit, wore a large obsidian ring on his finger, and smiled as he watched Zhao She enter.

He was the boss of the Black Water Gang—Black Crow.

Rumor had it that his strength had reached the terrifying level of a Fourth-Rank Elite Card Master!

As soon as Zhao She entered, he felt an invisible pressure envelop him, making it difficult to breathe.

He dared not look up at Black Crow, instead hurrying to an empty seat at the far end of the conference table and cautiously sitting down.

“Everyone is here.” White Paper Fan closed the door, walked to Black Crow's side, and opened his folder. “According to the rules, let's first report this month's earnings.”

He began to read names and figures.

“Scarface, in charge of the East District entertainment venues, total revenue 1.2 million star coins, 600,000 submitted to the gang.”

“Fat Dragon, in charge of the South District smuggling routes, total revenue 950,000 star coins, 500,000 submitted.”

“...”

Name after name and astonishing figures were read out, each person's face showing a hint of complacency.

Zhao She, in contrast, listened with sweaty palms, unable to sit still.

Finally, it was his turn.

“Zhao She, in charge of the area around Qingteng High School... revenue... 30,000 star coins, submitted... 10,000.” White Paper Fan paused here, looked up at Zhao She, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Pfft!”

Someone at the conference table couldn't help but laugh.

Thirty thousand?

Submitted ten thousand?

Was this guy here to joke?

It wasn't even enough for the minimum spend at Nightclub for one night!

“Zhao She, what's going on with you this month?”

A one-eyed strong man sitting to Black Crow's left asked; he was the gang's second-in-command, Viper.

“I heard your subordinates were crippled by a student? And you even lost your territory?”

Zhao She's face instantly flushed red, wishing he could find a hole to crawl into.

“Brother Viper, this... this was an accident.”

“An accident?” Viper sneered. “I think you're becoming more and more useless! If you can't even handle a few students, what good are you?”

“Don't forget how you got here! Otherwise, with your strength, could you even get through this door?”

“Enough.”

Black Crow, who had been silent, finally spoke, and the conference room instantly fell quiet.

“Zhao She.” Black Crow slowly began, “Tell me, what happened.”

Zhao She suddenly looked up; he knew this was his last chance.

“Brother Ya!”

“This month's poor performance is my responsibility! I accept the punishment!”

“But!” He changed his tone. “I have an extremely important piece of intelligence! It's of great significance! I'd like to report it to you privately!”

“Oh?” Black Crow raised an eyebrow slightly, seeming a little interested.

The others also showed surprised expressions.

Important intelligence?

Private report?

What trick was Zhao She playing?

“What intelligence requires a private report?” Viper frowned. “Can't you just say it here?”

“Brother Viper, this intelligence... is no small matter!” Zhao She gritted his teeth, his gaze burning. “I guarantee it will be absolutely worth it! It might even... relate to the future structure of our Black Water Gang!”

He exaggerated to gain Black Crow's attention.

“Heh heh, a bit interesting, a small fry daring to talk about structure.”

“Then I'll give you this chance, come with me to the study.”

Zhao She was overjoyed and quickly followed.

The others exchanged glances, their expressions complex, all guessing what kind of intelligence it could be... Black Crow walked to a redwood desk and sat down, motioning for Zhao She to close the door.

“Speak.” He leaned back in the grand armchair. “What intelligence makes you so confident?”

“Brother Ya, do you still remember that student named Lu Yuan I mentioned to you a while ago?”

“I have some impression.”

“The one who made you lose a few subordinates?”

“Yes! That's him!” Zhao She nodded quickly. “Brother Ya, I've uncovered some astonishing news about him!”

“This Lu Yuan was originally just an ordinary student with mediocre talent, at the bottom of his class, and unknown.”

“But recently, he suddenly changed like a different person! His strength advanced by leaps and bounds, even...”

“The most crucial thing is, I personally saw him use a... a...”

He deliberately paused, observing Black Crow's expression.

“A what card?”

Zhao She said word by word: “A gold card!”

“A gold card?!”

Even with Black Crow's deep composure, hearing those two words, his pupils suddenly constricted!

He leaned slightly forward, his eyes like needles, piercing into Zhao She.

“Are you sure?!”

“Absolutely certain!”

“My subordinates, A-Hu and the others, were defeated by that gold card! Its power is immense! It's definitely a gold card!”

“Moreover,”

“According to my investigation and speculation, this Lu Yuan most likely had some kind of fortuitous encounter in the Beast Hunting Zone! That gold card was very likely obtained by him in the Beast Hunting Zone!”

“He didn't come to school today, and I suspect he went to the Beast Hunting Zone again!”

The study fell into a brief silence.

A gold card!

Black Crow knew better than anyone what that meant!

It represented an opportunity to ascend to the heavens in one step! It represented greater power! Higher status!

It also meant he could officially attempt to become a Fifth-Rank Card Master!

Although he was only a Fourth-Rank Three-Star now, the inherent potential of a gold card was enough to break through his original talent limitations!

He was greedy; he wanted it too much!

“A student, a gold card from the Beast Hunting Zone!” Black Crow smacked his lips.

Could he even understand how to use it? An First-Rank apprentice using such a card? It was simply letting the gold card gather dust!

“Very good, Zhao She, this intelligence... is very valuable!”

“Tell me everything you know about that Lu Yuan, in detail, all of it!”

“Especially the location in the Beast Hunting Zone he might have gone to, and the specific abilities of his gold card!”

...“Come wealth, come wealth”

Lu Yuan sang a little song, carrying his almost bursting backpack, and walked towards the Fang and Claw Material Shop.

Only a white-haired old man was dozing in the shop; hearing footsteps, he glanced at Lu Yuan.

“Young man, looks like you had a good haul.”

“Not bad.” Lu Yuan placed the heavy backpack on the counter with a dull thud.

He unzipped it and poured out its contents.

Clatter!

Various monster materials piled up on half the counter.

Hard Shell Beetle carapaces, pointed bird feathers and beaks, Hard Shell Beetle fragments... scattered and varied.

Most noticeable were the pair of metallic-sheened, thick, curved Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King tusks, and a large rolled-up piece of thick hide with black, stiff bristles.

The one-eyed old man's originally somewhat lazy eyes noticeably brightened when he saw the tusks and hide.

He picked up the tusks, examined them carefully, and then scraped the fur with his fingernail.

“Hmm... Iron-Bristle Wild Boar King, a three-star green card level monster, not bad.” The old man nodded. “The tusks are in good condition, and hard enough. This piece of fur is also peeled relatively intact; although the edges are a bit damaged, the main part is fine.”

He put down the tusks and hide, then casually flipped through the low-grade materials.

“These First-Rank and Second-Rank odds and ends, all mixed up, are troublesome to process.”

The old man looked up, a hint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes...