My exclusive card pool

Chapter 71 The Labyrinth Merchant (Please Subscribe 210)

The group stopped in front of a towering tree.

The dead tree, like a dark brown stone pillar, stood in the forest, surrounded by vast emptiness.

At the base of the tree trunk, there was a large hollow, from which emerged a skeletal hand holding a wooden sign that read:

"Rare treasures in the labyrinth, priceless opportunities; three magic stones for a secret, seven magic stones for a card; today's special price, don't miss out!"

This place is clearly a maze, but the text on the wooden signs is the Shan Hai language, which is commonly used by the Shan Hai Federation.

The handwriting was just messy, like a child's scribbles.

"It's the Labyrinth Merchant!"

Xiao Yuzhe looked pleasantly surprised.

Seeing the puzzled looks on Zhong Shuang's and the others' faces, he explained in a low voice using simple words.

Like treasure chests, dungeon merchants are random events that appear with a low probability. They often sell unique items to passing adventurers, but the items vary each time.

Even the "businessmen" themselves are unpredictable, with all sorts of different images.

However, one thing is certain: their strength is unfathomable. Any hero who, driven by greed, attacks the labyrinth merchants almost always meets a bad end.

At the same time, their origins are mysterious and their birth methods are unknown, and even the five major powers of the "World Alliance" have not been able to figure them out to this day.

Therefore, both the Overlook Bureau and the Hero Association advise heroes venturing into the dungeon not to engage in any dangerous behavior if they encounter the dungeon merchant.

Treat it as a serendipitous encounter similar to the treasure chest event.

Wang Xi raised an eyebrow.

I never expected such a magical event to occur in the maze.

He glanced furtively at the tree hollow and the protruding half-skeletal arm.

"Maze Merchant - Tree Hole (Yellow/Skull)"

The entry is surrounded by shimmering silver patterns.

A true skeleton-level hero!

Wang Xi's heart skipped a beat; someone actually dared to attack the maze merchant...

However, thanks to those guys with innate suicidal tendencies, they provided excellent negative examples for later generations.

After discussing it with the others, Xiao Yuzhe decided to pool their resources to buy intelligence from the merchants.

Everyone readily agreed.

Intelligence is extremely important, especially in mazes where patterns are hard to discern.

"Hello, I'd like to buy some information."

A young man with medium-length hair stepped forward and reached out his hand towards the tree hollow. In his palm were three irregularly shaped small magic stones.

Each one is only about the size of a soybean, weighing just a few grams.

Because the merchant's wooden sign did not clearly indicate the weight of the magic stone, Xiao Yuzhe cleverly tested it.

Swish!
The skeletal hand flipped the wooden plaque over.

It was written crookedly on it:

"That's too little, buddy. Poverty is a disease, harder to cure than cerebral palsy. I can't save you."

"..."

Xiao Yuzhe's lips twitched.

The people behind him were somewhat taken aback, not expecting the maze merchant to be so foul-mouthed.

Xiao Yuzhe apologized and replaced the stones with a batch that had been prepared beforehand, each about the size of a broad bean and weighing about 10g.

He handed it forward again.

The skeletal hand gripped the wooden plaque and flipped it over again.

It says:

"My advice to a customer like you is to just die. Because the cheapest commodity I have is air, and you can't even afford air."

"..."

Xiao Yuzhe took a deep breath.

The people behind him were trying not to laugh.

Viewers in the live stream who witnessed this scene quickly typed out "thin gauze".

Xiao Yuzhe quietly replaced the magic stones with another batch. This time, each stone was the size of a longan and weighed about 30g.

Swish!
The skeletal hand flipped the wooden plaque, and the writing on it turned from black to a glaring scarlet:
"My patience is as short as your lifespan. If you keep haggling, the next item will be your last possession."

Everyone's hearts trembled.

Xiao Yuzhe knew that the merchant's patience had been exhausted, and if he couldn't offer a magic stone that satisfied the other party, he might face certain death.

He turned around and exchanged glances with the others.

Immediately, Xiao Yuzhe exchanged three magic stones, each the size of a lychee and weighing 100g.

This time, the skeletal hand reversed the wooden plaque:

"What do you want to know?"

Xiao Yuzhe breathed a sigh of relief and said:

"What is the final boss of this maze, and where is it located?"

The wooden sign flips over:

"These are two pieces of intelligence; you'll have to pay extra."

Helpless, Xiao Yuzhe had no choice but to take out three more magic stones and place them in his palm.

The merchant remained trustworthy; the wooden sign was flipped over again, revealing the information:
"Goblin. Three kilometers northeast of the tree hole."

Next to the crooked text, an arrow was thoughtfully drawn, pointing to one side.

Xiao Yuzhe thought for a moment, then took out three more magic stones and asked:
"The location of the card pool in this maze."

"It will appear after you defeat the Demon King."

After displaying the intelligence, the wooden sign was returned to the tree hollow.

The long, skeletal hand snatched the nine magic stones from Xiao Yuzhe's hand.

The young man turned back, nodded, and said:

"The intelligence gathering is complete. If you want to buy cards, feel free to do so... My suggestion is that you can give it a try. The dungeon merchant has a chance to produce rare cards, and their quality and effects far exceed those of the ordinary dungeon card pool."

The group exchanged glances, some of them eager to try.

Zhong Shuang and the other two civilians hesitated.

"But this is too expensive."

Ge Tian whispered.

"700g of magic stones to buy an uncertain wild card, the price is still 7 times that of the card pool..."

At this moment, Lin Xin'er didn't say a word, but strode to the tree hole, took out seven magic stones and handed them over.

next second.

A skeletal hand emerged from the tree hollow, its fingers clutching a tattered cloth. Judging from its outline, a card seemed to be hidden beneath it.

Lin Xin'er silently took the rag. As she lifted the cloth, a flash of white light appeared.

The girl scanned the device with her monitoring wristband, then lowered her head, clenched her fist, and cracked it.

The group exchanged glances, realizing that Lin Xin'er had bought a junk card...

Lin Xin'er tilted her head back and took a deep breath.

She took off her backpack, turned it upside down and shook it, then took out all the remaining magic stones and handed them over.

Wang Xi's eyelids twitched as he watched.

This scene always gives off a vibe of a gambler's blind rage.

The tree-hole merchant's skeletal hand took the magic stone and then took out another card covered with a tattered cloth.

Lin Xin'er eagerly took it and then lifted the cloth—

Light! Blinding light!

The stark white color made everyone, both inside and outside the arena, gasp for breath.

"..."

The atmosphere fell into dead silence.

Lin Xin'er muttered a few words and then used her monitoring wristband to scan the cards in her hand.

drip.

She glanced.

Immediately, his expression became somewhat ferocious and distorted.

Lin Xin'er clenched her fists, her entire body radiating an astonishing killing intent.

"Good heavens! It's breached!"

"That crazy old hag from the Shining Consortium is about to unleash her fury!"

“My poor Xin’er, is there anyone kind enough to donate magic stones? Please send them to Room 1303, Building 2, Wheat Ear Community, Huanguang District, and I will forward them to her.”

"If you're poor, earn more; if you can't afford to lose, don't gamble."

"Boring! I want to see a river of blood!"

Everyone present changed their expressions drastically when they saw Lin Xin'er looking like she was about to make a move.

Daring to lay a hand on the maze merchant? Are they out of their minds?!

Swah——

Almost simultaneously, Nagata Anzu, Carlisle, Yu Jiali, and Wang Xi darted to Lin Xin'er's side and grabbed the girl's arm.

"Never mind, Miss Xin'er."

"I can comfort you," said Anzu Nagata in a soft voice.

"Drawing cards is all about luck. If you didn't get a good card this time, you'll definitely get one next time."

Wang Xi gripped the girl's right arm, clearly feeling her muscles tense. At the same time, the underdeveloped curves beneath her dark blue bodysuit heaved violently, still radiating excitement.

Clearly, Nagata An's words had no effect.

To prevent Lin Xin'er from bringing trouble upon herself due to a momentary lapse of judgment, Wang Xi chuckled and spoke in a flash:
“Miss Lin, I’m even more shameless than you. Look at my weapon, it’s just a white card… I’ve always believed that what’s strong is never the card, but the person using it.”

“You’re a few years younger than me, yet you can tear apart dungeon monsters with your bare hands. I admire you… In my opinion, you are a very rare and excellent card.”

"..."

Lin Xin'er lowered her head and remained silent.

But those around her could sense that she had relaxed and was no longer so agitated.

"really?"

Lin Xin'er asked in a hoarse and soft voice.

The group exchanged silent glances and then looked at the black-haired youth, Wang Xi.

"It's true, really?" Wang Xi laughed. "If I'm lying, I'll do a ten-pull of useless white cards next time."

Everyone gasped.

What a vicious oath!
Unexpectedly, Lin Xin'er chuckled softly. Although it was very faint, everyone around her heard it and was immediately incredulous.

Throughout the past two days, Lin Xin'er has maintained a cold and aloof demeanor, never once smiling.

Now I'm actually amused.

"Thank you. I'm fine now."

Lin Xin'er's smile vanished in an instant. She pursed her lips, shook off the crowd, and turned to leave.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuzhe gave Jiang Tianjie a look.

It's as if it's saying, "Go ahead and learn it."

Yu Jiali quietly gave Wang Xi a thumbs-up, nodded with a pursed mouth, the meaning of which was unclear.

The live stream chat was filled with comments:
"Wow? Liu Shen, you're really good at this?!"

"No, buddy, I thought you were just good at eating and fighting..."

"Oh no, what girl can resist Liu Shen?"

After Lin Xin'er's incident, no one was willing to try their luck in the tree hole anymore.

After passing through the tree hole, guided by the prior intelligence, they headed straight northeast.

Their next goal is to defeat the final boss in one fell swoop and completely clear this maze scene.

drip.

Xiao Yuzhe's monitoring watch beeped.

He glanced at it and said:

"After a series of hunts, the reality distortion of the maze has decreased by 4 points, now down to 40.6%... If we can defeat the Demon King and clear the maze, it should decrease by another 5 points."

"This will greatly enhance our assessment of this performance review. Does anyone have any objections?"

"Just do it and it's done."

Jiang Tianjie, carrying a long-handled square-headed hammer, laughed.

"Since you've chosen to participate in the third round of practical assessment, aren't you all aiming for a higher-level professional bravery certificate? It would be too shameful to back down now."

The others naturally did not refuse.

Seeing this, Xiao Yuzhe smiled and said:

"In that case, let's quicken our pace."

After a while.

After defeating several more waves of monsters, the group arrived at the final location where the Demon King was.

What came into view was a scene familiar to Wang Xi, causing his pupils to shrink.

Wooden stake fence, log cabin, and green-skinned figures.

This is……

A Guru settlement?!
(End of this chapter)