Card simulation, starting with the Goblin Deserter

Hayes wasn't really asking for an exorbitant price. He could tell Norton wasn't lying; 300 million for these eight cards was even a bit over the market price.

However, Norton stated that he didn't want all eight cards; his two friends were sure to be interested as well. Unfortunately, he didn't have that much money on him, so he would pay Hayes after discussing it with his friends.

Hayes wasn't in a hurry; even if he got the 300 million now, he would still need 160 million to spend it.

He spent the entire day at the hospital folding origami cranes, and ate lunch that Soraka brought him in between.

By nine o'clock in the evening, he felt that his control over his strength had become more refined—the origami cranes were almost no longer broken.

The emulator update completion notification popped up precisely at 9:00 AM.

[The system has been updated to version 2.0. Please check the feature changes yourself.]

"Why isn't there even an announcement? They're not putting any effort into this at all."

Hayes grumbled and started looking up all the functions of the simulator. He thought only the "Simulation" section would be changed, but he was pleasantly surprised when he saw the "Lottery" section!

[New "Free Lottery" feature, available once a week for a limited time]

[Current free draw count: 1/1]

Heston was immediately delighted: "Draw!"

A spinning wheel has appeared out of nowhere on the panel, making it more like a "lottery" function than before.

You need to reach the beginner level to "Flower Arrangement"

Hayes: ?

Flower arrangement?

If Hayes understands correctly, is it the kind where you take a bottle, put a few bunches of fake flowers in it, and then put them in?

Is this considered talent? You really get what you pay for!

Just as Hayes was about to check other sections with a dark expression, a new panel suddenly popped up, catching his attention.

You already possess two basic talents. You can consume one of them to upgrade the other into an intermediate talent.

Huh? So this talent can be upgraded. Hayes thought that useless things like "cool" and "flower arranging" were always at the beginner level.

Wait a minute, if beginners can be upgraded to intermediate, then can intermediates be upgraded to advanced, and advanced can be upgraded even higher?!

The thought that "free fighting" might be able to advance to a higher level filled Hayes with excitement.

You should abandon all the useless talents in the world and choose to improve your "free fighting"!

In an instant, Hayes made his decision.

"Use 'Flower Arrangement' to upgrade my 'Coolness,' then use the intermediate 'Coolness' to upgrade 'Free Fighting' to advanced!"

Hayes is a pragmatic person. What's the use of being handsome? Strength and beauty are what really matter!

However, his plan backfired.

[You have used up your beginner "Flower Arrangement" skill to upgrade to intermediate "Cool"]

[The "Free Fighting" talent upgrade failed. Upgrading to the intermediate level requires four talents of the same level.]

Hayes: !!

Damn it, it seems he can only be a handsome guy for now.

Hayes felt a pang of regret. Just then, Norton, who was bored out of his mind with thousands of paper cranes on his hands, glanced at Hayes and was immediately mesmerized.

Even though Hayes' appearance hadn't changed at all, he just had a strange feeling that the other person had gained a different kind of charm... aura!

If I had to describe it in one sentence, it would be: Handsome is a feeling!

Unaware of Norton's unusual behavior, Hayes had already started checking the "Shop" section.

The products remained the same two, but three more refresh opportunities were suddenly added to the bottom left corner, and the refresh time for the third round of products was changed to one month later.

Hayes checked the instructions attached to the panel and gave up on refreshing after discovering that refreshing would refresh both items.

He'd saved up almost all the money, and he was genuinely curious about the use of this 1000 million "workbench." Even if it was just trash, he wanted to see if it could be recycled!

Having reviewed the two sections above, only the simulator's initial and most crucial "simulation" section remains.

Hayes, who hadn't been a goblin for a long time, really missed that world, but as soon as he opened the "Simulation" section, his brows furrowed.

[The number of simulations has been changed. Remaining simulations for this week: 3/3]

The settlement rewards have been changed; you will receive more cards in each simulation.

A new sub-feature, "Upgrade," allows you to gain "experience points" in the simulated world.

[A new sub-feature "Prepare for Battle" allows you to select one card to bring into the simulation world]

...

The dense text filled three entire panels, and it took Hayes nearly twenty minutes to understand all the changes.

Excluding minor updates like "a small chance to increase the probability of encounters," Hayes believes there are four main changes that are more important!

1. He entered the simulated world less frequently, from three times a day to three times a week.

2. Previously, he could only obtain one card per simulation based on his performance, but now there is no limit to the number. Theoretically, he could even bring out more than ten cards in a single simulation!

3 and 4 are also the changes that Hayes considers most important!

He can now not only gain experience points by killing monsters in the simulated world, but also bring a card as a helper!

This is a huge help!

Hayes no longer has to lead those hopeless goblins! Now he can lead his own army!

Without hesitation, Hayes closed his eyes, immersed himself in the simulated world, and entered the virtual world!

You have entered the world of the "Goblin" deck.

You have chosen to bring "Goblin - 50/50 (Awakened)".

This simulation continues until you lose your life...

A familiar feeling, a familiar body.

Goblin Hayes opened his eyes and was shocked to find himself in a grass camp.

Sitting in front of him was his superior officer, Kaka, and a goblin with an unfamiliar face but a beaming smile.

On the rotten wooden table in front of the three people were three cups of murky wine.

The candlelight cast an eerie pale purple reflection on the rim of the wine glass. The strange goblin was the first to pick up the glass and drink it all in one gulp, then dramatically inverted the glass a few times.

Beside Hayes, someone burst into loud laughter, the rough voice sounding like the roar of a large truck.

"The centurion is indeed a man of great generosity; I shall certainly drink this welcoming wine in one gulp!"

After saying that, he raised his wine glass as if he wanted to devour it whole, holding it above his head.

Hayes watched this scene silently from the side, already having a guess about what was going to happen.

It seems that after completing the "Prologue," we were immediately transported to the beginning of a new chapter. Are we having a welcome-back drink...?

Looking at the wine glass in front of him, Hayes immediately became wary.

He still remembered that at the beginning of the prologue, he died twice just to collect equipment. If nothing unexpected happened, there must be something wrong with this welcome banquet!

Having made up his mind not to drink, Haston immediately raised the glass in front of him to his lips, pretending to drink but not swallowing a single drop.

Hayes, having finished all this, happily put down his wine glass, but—the next second, a screen of light appeared before his eyes.

You have been poisoned and will die in 9:59 seconds.

Hayes: ? ? ?

I didn't drink any alcohol, so where did this poison come from?