157: No. 1 on the 6th list, Grade A contract

Chapter 157: Rank 1 on 6 Charts, A-Class Contract

Shi Li then tested the Characteristic effect of the Snail Walking Lady, which was a passive area-triggering Characteristic.

Adjacent card slots referred to the four cards above, below, left, and right, not including diagonals.

So, theoretically, the Snail Walking Lady could increase 310 Shield and 310 Healing in one round.

Why 310 and not 410? Because one path needed to be left open for its Movement.

Also, pay attention to the word “enter.”

If it stayed in the same area next round, or if it moved out one space and then returned one space in the same round, it would not count.

Displacement caused by Knockback or Drag also could not trigger it.

This was because Shield and Healing were T1 effects, while forced displacement applied by external sources was T3 priority.

Additionally, the so-called first row area and middle column area in a 9+1 card grid referred to the first row and the middle column.

Shi Li tried stretching the card table into certain special card games, such as a 6-column card table, in which case both the 3rd and 4th columns would belong to the middle column area.

Overall, he was really looking forward to promoting the Snail Walking Lady to Three Stars.

Because then he would be able to advance to Platinum 8, opening a new column of empty card slots, increasing the Snail Walking Lady's movement space.

“Alright, it’s time to challenge the 5th stage.”

Shi Li rubbed his face and walked out of the hotel room.

Although 24 hours of operation did not trigger a warning about insufficient Energy, it still left him quite exhausted.

At this moment, his steps were heavy, and his face was full of fatigue.

When he reached the front desk lobby, he saw someone he knew.

Wu Tianjin's steps were somewhat light, and his face was full of fatigue.

He had just walked down from upstairs.

Seeing Shi Li's gaze, he quickly put the small blue card in his hand into his pocket.

The two passed each other, and Shi Li quickly walked towards the monument area.

Arriving at the 5th stage, he saw the 0/5 Abyssal Kind.

“Come on, baby.”

Shi Li shot a beam of light at it.

Twenty minutes later, in the open space outside the ranking monument.

“Captain! Captain! Look!”

A team member nudged Wu Tianjin, who was staring blankly, holding a goji berry cup.

Because the 5 Kills Ranking had once again updated the name of the first-place player.

1. Wang Defa, Rank Platinum 7 at the time of kill.

A terrifyingly low Rank number stimulated everyone's eyes.

It should be known that many powerful card players had entered in the past few days, and the number of people on the 5 Kills Ranking had increased significantly.

But the previous first place was at least a Platinum 10.

That was also a 9+1 deck.

And this Wang Defa, actually passed the 5th stage with a Platinum 7 6+1 deck?

“So Director Hou didn’t bring some second-generation rich kid that day, but a top contractor from Show Card Hall—.”

“Such a powerful deck must belong to an A-class or even S-class contractor.”

“But we’ve been here for so long, and we haven’t seen any Platinum 7 card players go in.”

“Fool, they definitely didn’t want to be too high-profile, so they used a disguise card.”

The Fang Plus team members finally reacted.

In fact, they had already started to suspect when the other party passed the 4th stage.

Now that they had even passed the 5th stage, it basically confirmed their guess.

“Heh heh, it seems we really misjudged back then.”

Wu Tianjin took a sip of goji berry water: “But he definitely can’t defeat a 6-evolution Abyssal Kind with his current Rank.”

Up until now, he was still the only Level 6 big shot in Abyss 68.

“Captain, your hand is shaking as you drink water.”

At this moment, a team member couldn’t stand it anymore and advised: “Why don’t you skip the Elf Beautiful Night tonight.”

Just as Wu Tianjin thought this made sense, he heard the other party's tone shift.

“Come with me to the Orc Wild Night, it will definitely surprise you.”

“…”

Wu Tianjin imagined it and felt his body was about to collapse: “No problem!”

At the same time, Shi Li was receiving his rewards in the space.

This stage was actually easier than he imagined.

A 5-evolution Abyss Demon had 5 Characteristics, but that didn't mean they could be compared to a card player's Five-Star Character Card.

Because Five-Star Character Card was the top limit of Character Card, and some Character Cards would undergo a qualitative change when advancing from Four to Five Stars.

In most normal circumstances, only a Unique Character Card could advance from Four Stars to Five Stars, which showed how valuable it was.

In summary, a 5-evolution Abyss Demon was indeed no match for a Five-Star Character Card. This was a small misunderstanding Shi Li had about the Abyss Demon's combat power before.

Of course, if he hadn't advanced to Platinum 7, he knew it would have been extremely difficult to defeat the Abyss Demon just now.

Congratulations, you have passed Abyss 68, Stage 5.

The number of people who killed 5-evolution in this stage has increased to 97.

You will receive 50,000 cubic coins.

You will receive 1 unique Chasing Wind Star Ascension Token Card.

You will receive 1 Three-Star High-Quality Random Material Card.

You will receive 1 Three-Star High-Quality Random Material Card.

“This time the bonus isn't as much as what the official gave.”

Shi Li pouted.

Successfully challenging a 5-evolution gave 200,000 from the official.

However, that Star Ascension Token Card was very valuable.

Shi Li held it in his hand and looked at it; it was for Two to Three Stars.

It could be saved for the Snail Walking Lady.

He heard that Abyss sometimes gave rewards based on the card player's personal situation, and it seemed to be true.

This Token Card would directly save him nearly 100,000.

“Now I have 50,000, and with the official bonus, I'll have 200,000.

It's definitely more than enough to Star Ascension the Snail Walking Lady to Two Stars, but the refresh fee for Three Stars isn't enough.”

After thinking about it, Shi Li decided against it.

Running back and forth was a bit of a hassle; it would be better to first go next door and see what kind of monster a 6-evolution would be.

Why were there almost a hundred people who passed the 5th stage, but still only 1 person in the 6th stage?

Arriving at the Abyss space for the 6th stage, the first 5 evolutions were not difficult for Shi Li, after all, he had just defeated a 5-evolution Abyssal Kind.

However, the result was somewhat unexpected; he failed several times in a row.

It wasn't that the 5/6 Abyss Demon was stronger than the 5/5; in fact, their strength seemed to be similar.

It was just that in these failed attempts, his luck was not very good, and Shi Li encountered Abyss Demons that countered his deck quite a bit.

Either there were summon cards, compressing the summoning space of the Tiao Tiao Guard.

Or there was Quantum Entanglement, which prevented the bo shan from accumulating enough Energy for combination.

Or he encountered strong sustain and Stasis; his deck only had 6+1 after all, and his main cards didn't have many sustain skills.

Once the opponent fought him head-on and wore him down, when his Recovery-type hand cards ran out, he would have a very difficult time.

One must know that the opponents were all 5-Characteristic monsters, and their strength was definitely not bad.

“It seems it’s not necessarily that my luck is bad; on the contrary, it might have been too good the first time.”

After several failures, Shi Li came to a conclusion.

However, since he passed the previous stage in one go, it meant his chances of winning against a 5-evolution were definitely not low.

So he adjusted his mindset and gradually raised his pass rate for 5-evolution to about 50% through attempts.

But the 6th evolution was clearly more difficult, always causing him to fail.

“This time it should be fine.”

Fortunately, after the Nth attempt, he encountered a 6-evolution target that seemed beatable.

The opponent's ace was a tracked robot.

Its metal shell was covered with purplish-black flesh, and even fleshy eyes grew where its mechanical prosthetic eyes should be.

Its left hand was a flesh-armored cannon, and its right hand frequently tapped a small keyboard.

Abyss Hacker

Momentum, Attack 70, 200/200, 0/60

Leader - Passive: When Abyss Hacker serves as the ace, Attack +10.

Protocol Vulnerability - Passive: Abyss Hacker's skill Energy cost -10.

Continuous Barrage - Passive: Abyss Hacker's skill attacks are divided into 2 segments.

Strong Interference System - Passive: Abyss Hacker can apply 10 Quantum Entanglement to any 1 target each round.

Auto-aim Drone - 0 Energy: Abyss Hacker gains 10 Cripple effect this round, which does not affect actions.

Oscillating Magnetic Bomb - 20 Energy: Abyss Hacker attacks 1 target, with Stun effect (Cripple: When an enemy target receives a control effect, immediately launch 1 attack).

This card was very strong. Although not a unique card, it possessed some Characteristics whose strength was comparable to Characteristic or exclusive Characteristics.

First, the skill's two segments meant it gained 20 Energy each round.

Secondly, 0 Energy consumption means it can be released every round, and because it doesn't affect actions, it can even be released simultaneously with Stun.

Then, Cripple itself can also Recovery Energy; once an ally helps land a control effect, it can immediately trigger.

What kind of situation does this create? Abyss Hacker can indefinitely extend Stun after the first round.

Forget Shi Li's 6+1 deck; even a 9+1 deck would find this extremely troublesome.

The characteristic of PVE is an all-out reveal at the start. When there are many cards on the field, as long as they all focus fire, there's basically no card that can withstand being instantly killed.

If Stun is added to break Defense, it becomes even harder to endure.

The lineup Shi Li deployed in this stage requires some adjustments.

From the front row to the ace, as follows:

Tiao Tiao, Cicada Wing

cloud river, bo shan

Bai Mo, Flower Cudgel Leader

Red Blade

What is the cleverness of this formation?

First, we still need to analyze the opponent's output.

A 9+1 deck has a total base attack power of 330 points, and that's not even counting various buffs and skills.

Even if bo shan has 10 points of damage reduction, the opponent still deals 230 points of damage to it.

Even with Defense, it's 115 points; there's no way to block it.

So, the only way to protect it is to let it activate its skill for self-Defense, and then Shi Li gives it a Shield hand card.

However, bo shan doesn't have Energy for Defense at the start, and Shi Li can't play two hand cards like Charge + Defense or Defense + Shield in one round.

Therefore, it can only rely on cloud river's Characteristic to help with Charge.

From this perspective, Cicada Wing Patrol is a sacrificial piece.

Furthermore, the entries Shi Li gave it are Blessing + 2 Battle Cries + Delayed Battle Cry.

Anyway, Shi Li will play Defense on it at the start; if it's instantly killed, then so be it.

If it's not instantly killed, then it can allow Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter to trigger its Battle Cry 'Source Interception' twice, extending Flower Cudgel Leader's burst period by one round.

If Cicada Wing Patrol is instantly killed, it's fine; he doesn't lack those 10 points of permanent Encouragement.

Moreover, his own deck is not to be trifled with; one round is enough for him to take down two of the opponent's front-row cards.

With two fewer front-row cards providing output, the pressure of taking damage in the second round will sharply decrease.

Secondly, why did Shi Li place Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter in the Guard card position?

A Guard card is one space directly in front of the ace card.

Normally, this position is both the last line of Defense for the ace and the safest position after the ace itself.

Because in this card game, Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter is a crucial link.

The entries Shi Li gave it are Source Interception + Echo + Quantum Entanglement.

The key is the combination of Echo + Quantum Entanglement; it has extremely powerful counter-Momentum capabilities.

To be precise, it uses Echo to boost Quantum Entanglement.

If Abyss Hacker simultaneously activates Auto-Aim Drone + Concussive Magnetic Bomb in one round, it can Recovery 30 Energy.

Then, the two skill activations trigger Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter's two Echoes, boosting 20 points of Quantum Entanglement.

This means Abyss Hacker can only Recovery 10 Energy.

In fact, no matter what actions Abyss Hacker takes—normal attack, normal attack + Auto-Aim Drone, Concussive Magnetic Bomb,

Concussive Magnetic Bomb + Auto-Aim Drone—all four combinations, under the restriction of Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter, can only Recovery 10 Energy.

This way, the opponent's ace's infinite Stun will be interrupted, giving Shi Li a lot of breathing room.

Of course, the opponent's other regular cards might also use skills.

However, this is not a problem for Shi Li, because he only needs to play Charge hand cards at the right time, ensuring Demon-Defeating Dark Hunter always has 10 Energy to trigger Echo.

20 minutes later.

"That felt good."

Shi Li watched the dissipating Abyssal Kind and let out a long breath.

It had been about 10 hours since he started challenging Stage 6, and he had finally passed it.

[Congratulations, you have passed Stage 6 of Abyss No. 68.]

[The number of 6-evolved individuals killed in this phase has increased to 2.]

[You will receive 100,000 cubic coins.]

[You will receive 1 Abyss Token Card.]

[You will receive 1 Four-Star Random Material Card.]

"Holy cow, a Four-Star material!"

Although Shi Li couldn't temporarily own a Four-Star Character Card, it didn't mean he couldn't hold a Four-Star Material Card.

A Four-Star Material Card could easily fetch over 100,000 in market price, you know.

That is to say, just by clearing this stage, he got items worth 200,000.

Adding the official 400,000 subsidy, that's 600,000.

And adding the rewards and subsidy from Stage 5, that's 850,000.

This time, it seemed he could really go big.

"But what is this Abyss Token Card?"

Shi Li picked up the card and examined it.

[Token Card (One-Star)]: Consuming this card can activate a corresponding simulated mission. The text information doesn't reveal much,

but if you look at the card face, it doesn't seem ordinary.

It's a bit like a unique Token Card.

"I'll take it back and study it slowly."

Shi Li suddenly felt that happiness had come so unexpectedly.

Snail Walking Lady hadn't even been fully digested yet, and another one arrived.

Anyway, he had money now, and there was still a week until school started.

He had plenty of time to slowly digest everything.

Thinking of getting back to card-making quickly, he directly clicked on 'One-click Exit'.

However, what Shi Li didn't know was that at this very moment, the Abyss challengers outside were already in chaos.

"What?! Wang Defa succeeded in his challenge?!"

"That was six evolutions!"

"The key is he's only Platinum 7? That's just ridiculous."

"Who on earth is that guy?!"

As everyone was in an uproar, Wu Tianjin and his group looked solemn.

They were perhaps the only ones present who roughly knew who Wang Defa was.

As long as they followed Director Hou's lead, they would surely be able to find out his identity.

"Captain, this person—"

A team member looked at Wu Tianjin, his unspoken meaning very clear.

Fang Plus's fame came from having many talents in its team.

Many of them were poached from other teams, which showed their emphasis on talent.

After all, talent is the foundation for small to medium-sized pioneering teams to survive.

"No one is allowed to reveal Wang Defa's identity."

"Yes!" N

Wu Tianjin decided to report this to the team leader and let the team leader make the decision.

"Are we still going to the 'Orc Wild Night' tonight?"

At this moment, a team member asked timidly.

"Go, go, go! All day long, you don't do anything important, just think about going!"

Wu Tianjin glared at the other person.

"So, are you planning to challenge 7 evolutions?"

"I said go, didn't you hear me?!"

...Actually, Wu Tianjin had no choice. He had already tried challenging 7 evolutions when the 6th challenge was successful.

Later, he continued to try challenging every day, all ending in failure.

It could only be said that that thing was simply not something a human could challenge.

On the other end, Shi Li had just returned to the Card Hall when he saw Director Hou coming out to greet him.

"Congratulations."

Director Hou's visit was, of course, not just to congratulate him.

With a mission, he was there to announce the benefits of the A-rank contract.

B+ to A-rank contract: Monthly payment of 25,000 to 50,000 cubic coins.

Show Card Hall's material card purchase discount: 6.5 to 50%.

Monthly issuance of 1 Three-Star Material Card to 3 Three-Star Material Cards or 1 Four-Star Material Card.

Every three months to half a year issuance of 1 Three-Star Token Card to 1 Four-Star Token Card.

The benefits had increased significantly, but unfortunately, Shi Li couldn't receive them immediately.

What he could receive immediately were some minor benefits.

For example, as Director Hou mentioned earlier, granting an E-rank training contract to one eligible family member as a card player.

"Then, regarding this E-rank contract, I'll trouble Brother Hou to connect for me.

My good-for-nothing younger brother, as soon as summer vacation starts, he disappears to who knows where."

"Uh, I don't know whether to say you care about your younger brother or not."

Director Hou hesitated.

Isn't your younger brother currently undergoing devilish physical training with the coach in the Card Hall?

He had just specifically gone to the training ground to take a look.

Let's not discuss whether he's good-for-nothing first; let's consider whether he can even breathe.

It seems your younger brother is about to be trained to death.