Card simulation, starting with the Goblin Deserter

[You have died. Simulated reward calculation in progress...]

Hospital ward

Hayes sat up in bed expressionlessly and called out 55kai.

A glimmer of light flashed, and Wu Wukai, in his Kaling state, opened his eyes, looked around, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Lord Umikage, I think I'm dreaming!"

Hayes' eyelids twitched, and he laughed in exasperation: "What did you dream about?"

"I dreamt that you were going to die, and then you asked me for your will...wait, that's not right."

Wu Wukai was stunned for a long time until the "simulator" synchronized the relevant instructions and memories with him before he suddenly realized what was going on.

"It wasn't a dream after all."

Hayes didn't blame him. Linda had told him yesterday that Kaling was a self-aware being with its own thoughts and ways of thinking.

For card masters, this may lead to poor coordination with card spirits at times, but in the long run, maintaining a good relationship with card spirits is crucial.

"Hey, Hayes, weren't you asleep?"

On the next bed, Norton saw Hayes suddenly get up and couldn't help but ask a question.

"...I had a nightmare," Hayes said casually, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the secret realm.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he looked at Norton, asking, "Do you know what a Violet Serpent looks like?"

Norton paused, then shook his head blankly.

At this moment, Hayes noticed that there was a video playing on the other person's phone. The girl speaking in the video looked familiar to him even though she was far away.

Noticing his gaze, Norton held up his phone and explained, "This is a video my friend recorded for me of the freshman orientation ceremony, hosted by Soraka as a freshman representative!"

In the video, Soraka, dressed in a women's suit and holding a microphone, exudes a serene and captivating aura. She not only draws the attention of all the students, but Hayes can even hear the person filming her swallowing.

"The freshman orientation should be over by now..."

Norton's eyes flickered, and after hesitating for a while, he said to Hayes, "I heard that Linda seems to have run into some trouble at the ceremony."

"trouble?"

"Yes, it seems she had a conflict with a group of people, who are all sons of nobles from various southern regions..."

Seeing Hayes looking at him with a confused expression, Norton cleared his throat and made his words clearer.

"The Marquis of Stern was also in the south, and had close ties with most families—after the death of the Duke of Silver Lion."

Hayes understood now; it was most likely that Stern had rallied the children from the other families, getting them to unite at the academy and cause trouble for Linda.

It's a despicable yet effective tactic. In a "mini-society" like an academy, forming cliques and using passive-aggressive tactics is a powerful tool.

Hayes thought for a moment, then opened his phone and sent a message to Linda.

Hayes: Did you run into trouble at the ceremony?

Linda replied shortly afterward.

Linda: It's not a problem, I expected this to happen.

Linda: How are you feeling? Are you feeling better?

It was all for nothing. Not only did the other party not care, but they were also concerned about his condition.

Hayes replied cheerfully: It's okay, I'll be discharged tomorrow.

Norton watched Hayes chat quietly from the side, a gossipy smile on his face.

He sensed something was wrong when the two of them teamed up to defeat Sinclair in the actual combat test, and he thought that there must be something wrong with Hayes and Linda!

On one side is a fallen nobleman whose family has declined, and on the other side is a genius card master who has studied hard for years. Such a classic romance pairing! Norton was thinking to himself: I'm totally shipping them!

However, the smile on his face disappeared when Hayes switched out of the chat window and sent a message to Soraka.

Hayes: Are you busy? Is the freshman orientation over?

The other party replied almost instantly.

Soraka: It's over! I'm so tired!

Soraka: (Tired emoji)

Hayes: Thank you for your hard work.

Hayes: I want to ask you if you know what a Violet Snake looks like?

Soraka responded slowly this time; about three minutes later, she sent Hayes a picture.

On the yellowed pages of the old book, there is a snake-like creature resembling a cobra, with ancient characters that look like annotations written on the right side of the picture.

Soraka: The Violet Snake described in the book looks something like this, but it has not been confirmed to date.

Soraka: Historians have written relatively credible accounts, stating that the Violet was an ancient creature with extremely potent venom that lived in tropical rainforests approximately six thousand years ago, and then suddenly became extinct for unknown reasons...

Soraka: Hayes, you're interested in these paleontological things? That's amazing! A lot of people don't even know what a Violet Snake is...

Soraka sent a long explanation of the "Violet Serpent," which Hayes read word for word, automatically ignoring the compliments she gave him.

Although Soraka is cute and has a good personality, Hayes thinks she has a bit of a "people-pleasing personality"...

He asked the question he really wanted to know.

Hayes: Do you know if the teeth of the Violet Snake can neutralize snake venom, and what their teeth look like?

This time, Soraka didn't reply for a long time.

Hayes was a little puzzled and was just about to fold some origami cranes to pass the time when he suddenly noticed that Norton in the next bed was looking at him with an extremely complicated expression.

"Brother Hayes, you can't do this," Norton said earnestly.

Hayes: ?

What is that?

"You already have Linda, how can you try to seduce Soraka too?!"

From a distance, Norton couldn't see their chat history clearly, but he could vaguely make out long paragraphs of Soraka's chat history on Hayes's phone screen.

Realizing he'd been misunderstood, Hayes blushed with embarrassment: "You've got it wrong. I was just asking her about the Violet Serpent..."

Norton was startled, then realized, "So that's how it is—using academic questions to pique Soraka's interest in conversation?"

"Damn it, how could Martin not have thought of that! Hayes, you're too cunning!"

Hayes rolled his eyes, too lazy to explain, just as the panel notified him that the reward settlement was complete.

Consciousness sinks into the deck, where two brand-new cards float silently.

One card features twisted serpentine runes and feels cold to the touch; the other shows Hayes and Kaka lying on the ground, their faces spitting blood.

Hayes' expression turned strange. He hadn't expected that the two newly acquired cards would form a combo, but the effect was a bit difficult to maintain...

Meanwhile, Soraka, who had not yet replied to the message, was making a phone call to Grace Knight, a paleontology professor at the college, who was in the faculty dormitory.

Holding up her phone, Soraka asked cautiously.

"Aunt Grace, is the antidote for Violet venom made from the venom's fangs?"

"A friend of mine asked me this question, but I couldn't find any relevant information in any books or literature, so I'm calling you to ask..."

At that moment, Grace, who had changed into her pajamas and was about to go to sleep, suddenly sat up in bed.

Her brows were furrowed, and she was wide awake.

"There's no antidote for the violet snake's venom, but its fangs..."

The next second, Grace hung up the phone and rushed out of the bedroom without even putting on her shoes.