Chapter 56 Hazy State Cards

Deep within the black market, alleys crisscrossed like a web. The damp ground shimmered with a bluish-black luster, and the air was a pungent cocktail of rust, low-grade psionic potions, and dust.

Only the wooden sign for "Lady Li's Cabin" flickered with a faint, warm light in the dim shadows. The mottled lamplight twisted the characters on the sign, obscurely signaling that this hidden card shop was still open for business.

Creak~

The small door was pushed open, letting out a piercing friction sound. Gu Ye stepped out, followed by Lady Li, who leaned against the doorframe in a dark red qipao. Her hair was slightly mussed, and her eyes still held a lingering trace of laziness and satisfaction. She gently toyed with a pearl earring behind her ear, her voice cloyingly soft:

"Little brother, come back again next time."

"Sure, I'll definitely satisfy you next time." Gu Ye waved his hand and left Lady Li's sight without stopping.

Gu Ye navigated through the various alleys of the black market. After confirming no one was following him, he ducked into an alley and swapped his Disguise card for a different appearance.

card: [Disguise]

Quality: [White · 1-Star]

Category: [Item/Mystic]

Skill:

[Appearance Change]:

A thousand faces for a thousand people. Upon use, randomly transforms into a face recorded by the card maker. The origins of these faces are all deceased individuals.

Introduction: These faces all belong to the dead; please do not use a face to sell a face.

"Last time I came to the black market, I left in a hurry after selling card-making materials. Now, I finally have some time to look around and see if I can pick up any treasures."

Gu Ye's psionic energy touched the soul card within his sea of consciousness. A streak of pale green light flashed, and the small figure of the Willow Crab instantly materialized. Its six thick crab legs kicked out, landing steadily on Gu Ye's shoulder, the patterns on its shell shimmering with a faint luster.

"Haaa~~"

The Willow Crab let out a long yawn, its round eyes slowly opening with a lingering muddle-headedness. Its tone was lazy yet carried a hint of arrogance as it asked impatiently:

"Kid, what do you want with This Great One?"

Gu Ye immediately lowered his posture, his tone ingratiating. He carefully reached out to lift the Willow Crab from his shoulder, cradling it in his palm with a fawning smile:

"Master Liu, aren't we at the black market? I wanted to ask you to use your keen eyes for me."

"I can, but you have to teach me how to find those websites you mentioned last time."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Gu Ye's face stiffened, his expression turning odd.

He knew the Willow Crab wasn't that easy to talk to; it was still thinking about the computer. "Fine, but you can't give my computer a virus."

Seeing him agree, the Willow Crab was overjoyed. It waved its two small pincers and nodded repeatedly. "Don't worry, don't worry. When I do things, how can you not be at ease? But, a computer can get a virus? What's that?"

"A computer virus." Gu Ye explained what a computer virus was and the stakes involved. After repeated guarantees from the Willow Crab, the two reached a deal.

In truth, the Willow Crab only understood one thing Gu Ye said: if the computer got a virus, it couldn't be played anymore.

To it, that would mean its life as a crab would lose all meaning, with not a shred of hope left.

"Change your form. One's identity outside is self-given; don't let anyone remember you." Seeing the Willow Crab's unique appearance, Gu Ye wanted it to Disguise itself temporarily.

The Willow Crab thought for a moment and agreed. "Fine!"

A glimmer of light flashed, and the Willow Crab transformed from a king crab into something resembling a squat lobster. It was small and inconspicuous, and once it landed on his shoulder, one wouldn't even notice it without looking closely.

Gu Ye nodded in satisfaction, placed the Willow Crab back on his shoulder, and walked toward the core—and most prosperous—part of the black market.

The core area wasn't as desolate as the outskirts. Both sides of the street were lined with vendors, making it as bustling as the materials market.

The pedestrians coming and going all had very strange outfits and makeup; Gu Ye's current image actually looked normal among them.

Gu Ye sent a voice transmission to the Willow Crab: "Master Liu, quick, take a look. Is there anything good?"

The Willow Crab activated its trait, [Trail-Tracking Treasure Seeking]. Gu Ye had only noticed this later when his strength improved and he checked its information.

According to the crab itself, [Trail-Tracking Treasure Seeking] had appeared automatically when it awakened its Ancient Variant bloodline.

However, back at the Dusk Underwater Restaurant, the surroundings were filled with aberrations, and there were no rare treasures to find. This trait had been sidelined until now, finally finding its use in the black market.

Gu Ye also finally understood why the Willow Crab had collected those Card Master items that were useless to it back at the Dusk Restaurant. It wasn't just a random act; it was a hint from [Trail-Tracking Treasure Seeking] that those items contained faint psionic fluctuations.

"Walk forward," the Willow Crab's voice said, tinged with excitement.

"Is there something good?"

"Yes, the light is very strong, and it's purple."

Gu Ye was delighted. The color of the light the Willow Crab saw corresponded to the card's rank. To think there was actually a Purple-tier card in the black market.

Following the Willow Crab's directions, Gu Ye arrived at a small stall. With one look, he understood that the vendor had clearly just returned from a Card Domain in the wild. The mud on his boots hadn't even been cleaned off, and he looked travel-worn.

Gu Ye didn't think too much about it; he was only interested in the Purple card the Willow Crab mentioned.

He crouched down, scanned the items, and asked, "Can I touch them?"

"You can!" The face hidden under the vendor's hood looked very excited, though his voice carried a hint of exhaustion.

Hearing this, Gu Ye reached out and picked up a few cards. He glanced at them, put them down, and picked up a few more. "Why are these all Unknown Cards?"

His tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Kid, what's an Unknown Card?" A new term had hit the Willow Crab's blind spot of knowledge.

"Unknown Cards are cards that Card Masters bring back from wild Card Domains.

As you know, the Card Domains inside the city have all been preliminary explored by experts who set up anchor points. The function of an anchor point is to transition the cards within the domain from a muddled state to a clear state, allowing people to see their specific information.

But wild Card Domains have no anchor points. The cards inside remain in a muddled state, making it impossible to inspect their information. Therefore, they need to be taken to a Card Appraiser for identification."

He paused, then added: "But Card Appraisers are extremely rare. In all of Yunlin City, there are only a few, and their appraisal fees are ridiculously expensive every time. Most importantly, the drop rate for these Unknown Cards is extremely low; most of them are just low-quality junk cards, so not many people are willing to buy them."

The vendor quickly explained, "Customer, these cards were all scavenged from wild Card Domains by our Hunting Domain Group. They are definitely Unknown Cards. Although..."

A Hunting Domain Group?

Gu Ye knew what kind of organization that was. They were mostly composed of commoner Card Masters who risked entering the wild to find Card Domains for self-improvement or wealth. No one knew what level those domains were; one could easily stumble into a high-level domain and die inside.

Thus, the people in Hunting Domain Groups lived with their heads tucked into their belts.

The vendor's voice faltered, carrying a hint of sorrow. "Although we don't know what level the domain we entered was, it must have been very strong. Our team leader is a Silver Rank expert, and even he lost an arm because of it."

"I don't want to hear your life story. I just want to ask, since these are Unknown Cards, can the price be a bit lower? I might buy a few more."

A flash of joy appeared in the vendor's eyes, which he quickly masked. As if making a very difficult decision, he said reluctantly:

"Fine, 80,000 each. Pick them yourself."

Gu Ye thought for a moment, hesitating slightly. The vendor watched him nervously until Gu Ye finally agreed.

Gu Ye remained calm, reaching out to pick and choose. Finally, he selected several Unknown Cards, including the Purple card the Willow Crab had pointed out.

After paying, Gu Ye stood up and was about to leave.

Just then, a cold voice suddenly called him to a halt.

"Wait a moment."

PS: Brothers, I had a lot to do today, so the update is late. Please forgive me, spare my dog life!!