31: Bet: [Only] Token Card

“Hey~! Qingshan! Long time no see! Haha!”

On the other end of the video call was a bold and cheerful bald man.

Shen Yuanhu, the branch manager of the Show Card Hall in District 16 of Huadu City.

As the capital of Xia Country, the population of a single district in Huadu City was comparable to Durian City.

From the Card Hall's system perspective, although he was nominally a branch manager, his actual administrative level was equivalent to Xiu Qingshan.

“Long time no see, your face is still as annoying as ever.”

Xiu Qingshan did not give the other party a pleasant look.

“Don't be so petty, is this how you treat your brother-in-law?”

Shen Yuanhu seemed not to care, laughing heartily.

“Please be careful with your words; you two are only in a romantic relationship.”

Xiu Qingshan couldn't be bothered with this guy.

I treat you like a brother, and you actually want to be my brother-in-law?

“If there's nothing else, I'm hanging up.”

“I heard your Card Hall also sent someone to participate in the online assessment today?”

Seeing the other party about to hang up, Shen Yuanhu immediately laughed.

“Yes, why?”

If he hadn't reminded him, Xiu Qingshan would have forgotten that today was the day of the Climbing Tower Competition.

“Coincidentally, I have a newly joined C-Level Contract holder who is also participating. How about we place a bet and compete?”

“No.”

Xiu Qingshan refused quite decisively.

He finally understood the other party's intention.

This guy was purely here to annoy him!

Showing off that he had recruited another C-Level Contract holder, right?

“Don't refuse so quickly. My Contract holder is also a graduating high school student this year.”

With the authority of a branch manager, Shen Yuanhu had no problem checking the basic information of a Contract holder from another city.

“Not interested.”

Xiu Qingshan's finger was already on the disconnect button.

“Wait a moment! Don't you want to hear the stakes?”

Shen Yuanhu successfully stopped his action.

“My stake is the unique token card, 'Dragon Burial Ground'.”

“'Dragon Burial Ground'?”

Upon hearing this name, Xiu Qingshan's expression finally changed.

He knew this was a treasure Shen Yuanhu had recently acquired in an otherworldly domain, and he heard that he had been obsessed with conquering it during this period.

To be able to take out something of this level showed that this guy was truly sincere, or rather, truly confident.

“What do you want?”

To be honest, this item did make Xiu Qingshan a bit tempted.

“I want your 'Crimson Blade'.”

Shen Yuanhu finally revealed his true purpose.

Just as Xiu Qingshan was tempted by the 'Dragon Burial Ground', he also wanted the 'Crimson Blade'.

“Goodbye.”

Xiu Qingshan's finger reached for the hang-up button again.

He had long since lost that thing, okay?

“Don't rush. I know your Card Hall's D+ Grade Contract holder is only Gold 1. We can set unequal conditions.

For example, if my side's floor count is 2 floors higher than yours, I win. Otherwise, you win. How about it?”

Shen Yuanhu thought the other party lacked confidence in the bet.

“Can you not be so shameless?”

Xiu Qingshan pointed his computer screen at the camera.

It turned out that just now, he had completed a reverse investigation.

Huadu 16th District Branch, a C-Level Contract recently signed. Searching with these two conditions made it easy to find.

The Contract holder displayed on it had a rank of Gold 5.

A Gold 5 player can field 1 more character card than a Gold 1 player, so theoretically, they should be able to clear at least 10 floors.

A Gold 1 player, on the other hand, could at most pass the 5th or 6th floor.

Leading by 2 floors really wasn't that difficult.

“Then you tell me, how many floors ahead do you need to be to win?”

“Since it's Gold 1 versus Gold 5, you need to be at least 5 floors ahead to win.”

“Okay, I agree.”

A hint of hesitation flashed in Shen Yuanhu's eyes, but he ultimately agreed.

This was an act.

In his heart, he was actually overjoyed.

Haha, he took the bait!

My Gold 5 player just got promoted to Platinum 1 yesterday; the information database hasn't been updated yet!

Based on past experience, a Platinum 1 player can reach at least 12 floors!

But what Shen Yuanhu didn't know was that Xiu Qingshan was also secretly smiling.

Haha, I tricked him!

My person is already Gold 3, and he also holds 1 Characteristic character card!

However, with a slight shift of his eyes, Xiu Qingshan had a new idea.

Since Shen Yuanhu was willing to take it out, it meant that he not only had confidence that he wouldn't lose the 'Dragon Burial Ground'.

He also didn't believe that he could successfully conquer it even if he obtained the 'Dragon Burial Ground'.

This guy had studied it for so long without conquering it; could he, without any experience, really conquer it?

Moreover, he didn't have a single 'Crimson Blade' in his possession.

If he were to try to get something for nothing with such a big bet, he was afraid that guy would cross provinces to commit violence and fight him to the death.

It would be better to…

“Besides that, I have two more conditions.”

“You say.”

“First, we only bet on 1 card; I won't do more.”

Xiu Qingshan decided in an instant.

If he really won, he wouldn't even want this 'Dragon Burial Ground'.

He'd give it to that mysterious kid Shi Li to try.

If Shi Li somehow managed to clear it again, all of Shen Yuanhu's token cards would be worthless.

Just imagining that old man suffering in silence made him want to laugh.

And betting on only 1 card was a smaller stake. If he lost or was exposed…

He could just close his eyes, pinch his nose, and call him “brother-in-law,” and the matter should pass.

Go for it!

“Alright, 1 card it is.”

Shen Yuanhu was quite open-minded.

Having the first card meant he could have a second. As long as he won the first round, this kid would definitely be unconvinced and want to bet again in the future.

“Second, let's make it more exciting. No one watches the live broadcast; we just wait for the results.”

Xiu Qingshan was worried that Shi Li's true rank would be exposed, and the other party would renege.

“Who's afraid of whom? If we don't watch, we don't watch. I'm sticking with you!”

This played right into Shen Yuanhu's hands, as he was equally nervous.

After settling the conditions, both of them simultaneously sent messages to their subordinates.

Every time a floor was cleared, it had to be reported immediately.

After both of them secretly completed this action, the atmosphere between them gradually became awkward.

“Have there been any changes in the otherworldly domains of Jiangnan Province recently?”

It was Shen Yuanhu who first broke the silence.

“Still the same.”

Xiu Qingshan spread his hands.

“I heard that the space-time fluctuations there are already very strong, and a Level 4 otherworldly domain might open at any time. When that happens, you'll need to keep an eye on it.”

A Level 4 otherworldly domain allowed Platinum players to enter as the highest limit.

The reason Xiu Qingshan was dispatched to guard Durian City was because it was the most central location to several suspicious space-time rift opening coordinates.

If a Level 4 otherworldly domain truly opened, he would be the strongest immediate combat force to arrive at the scene at the first opportunity.

He had already reached Platinum 88 and had not advanced to Emerald precisely to deal with such situations.

“We'll see. The specific scale hasn't even been measured yet. Perhaps it's just a Level 3 otherworldly domain, who knows?”

If it were a Level 3 otherworldly domain, only Gold players would be allowed entry, which had no direct relation to him.

“Speaking of which…”

“Alright, you don't need to deliberately make small talk.”

Xiu Qingshan directly opened the card-making panel, seemingly unwilling to continue with the idle chatter.

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