Card simulation, starting with the Goblin Deserter

"Are you misunderstanding something?"

Linda sat up straight, her eyes sharpening, and at that moment she truly revealed the powerful position of the Ryan family.

"Withdrawing from the assessment will save your life, not the other way around."

"What right do you have to make demands of me?"

At that moment, Hayes felt a sense of pressure, but he was not afraid and instead argued his case.

"As the daughter of a duke, don't you have any noble bearing at all?"

Linda: ?

Meeting the other person's questioning gaze, Hayes counted on his fingers: "Look..."

"As you said, withdrawing from the exam would save my life, but it would also cost me my chance to get into Zuma Academy!"

"What did all my years of hard study amount to? The deck my family scraped together by selling everything they owned has been wasted!"

"Even if I can take the exam again next year, I've wasted the whole year!" Preemptively, Hayes cut off Linda's unspoken words.

Have you ever heard the saying, "The winds of youth are more precious than gold..."

"Time is money, but money can't buy time..."

"..."

"Stop, shut up!"

Linda snapped at Hayes, stopping him from launching into a long-winded speech.

However, the latter still stared at her with a shameless attitude, as if "a year of my time is worth much more than 170 million."

Linda calmed her heaving chest and suddenly felt a headache coming on.

In her original plan, the boy should have been grateful for her suggestion and thankful to have escaped with his life. How did it turn out the other way around, with him trying to extort money from her...?

"Your time in a year isn't even worth 170 million!"

Linda stared at him coldly, then pulled out another document from behind her and slammed it on the table.

It contained detailed information about "Patton Hayes," which Hayes immediately noticed, with his deck information at the top.

Goblin Deck - Market Price 85029.

"Your entire credit card spending is less than 100,000!"

"Even without me, you wouldn't have passed the practical test!"

Linda rubbed her forehead. She really didn't know how Hayes had the audacity to ask her for money, let alone ask for 170 million.

Even if she's not short of money, she's not stupid either!

However, to Linda's surprise, her half-threatening, half-reasoning "opening the box" behavior elicited a calm smile from Hayes.

"This document is fake."

Hayes smiled and pulled a card out of his pocket, pushing it in front of Linda.

On the card, a goblin is waving its flag and shouting wildly, shimmering with light—it's clearly a one-star, high-quality [Goblin Cheerleader].

Linda glanced at it, and her brows immediately furrowed.

With her keen eye, she could instantly determine the market value of this unfamiliar card.

One-star quality, single-target boost with no side effects.

Although the extent of the enhancement is unknown, the card's "excellent" quality alone guarantees its value will not be less than 100,000.

More importantly, this is a support card. Following the usual logic of card players, Hayes must have another core card of the same or even higher tier...

This surprised Linda, as the deck information of the person in front of her was actually fake.

Who is the powerful force behind him? This seemingly unremarkable young man, aside from his appearance, has actually been hiding his true abilities all along?

"...I underestimated you."

Linda tore up the information about "Hays" on the table without expression and asked.

Are you short of money?

Hayes nodded seriously: "We desperately need them!"

"It's not so easy to take advantage of the Claire family. You think you can get 170 million from me without any risk? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

Linda rested her chin on her hand, looked at Hayes from the side, and said after thinking for a moment.

"I can give you this money as an apology for the trouble I've caused you."

"But the prior agreement is no longer valid. You must be my teammate and participate in the assessment together, even if it means losing your life..."

"Agreed, I accept, pay now!"

To Linda's surprise once again, Hayes seemed not to have understood her warning and accepted it instantly!

This really stumped Linda. Was this young man not afraid of death at all?

Or is this 170 million more important to him than his life?

If Hayes had heard her inner thoughts, he would probably have told her in a very serious tone.

Without that 170 million, he would have lost another twenty or thirty lives in the simulated world!

-

The conversation ended in a way that Linda hadn't expected.

She paid Hayes 170 million for "life-saving money," and he then teamed up with her to participate in practical tests.

Inside the café, Linda sat quietly, and through the window, she could still see Hayes' departing figure downstairs.

The coffee in the cup rippled, stirred by an unseen force.

The voice appeared again, and it sounded somewhat mocking.

"Miss, I was just about to ask, what if the examiners use the team rules to forcibly disqualify you from the competition if that kid withdraws?"

"Luckily, he's a money-grubbing lunatic..."

Linda listened quietly, but her expression visibly relaxed.

"An unexpected surprise..."

She made Hayes miss the exam because of the Ryan family's noble spirit; they didn't want to harm innocent civilians.

But if she does that, those hyenas that are eyeing her with predatory intent will definitely keep biting her!

Rules are rules!

Candidates who can't even find teammates are not eligible to participate!

Even if you are the Duke's daughter, it won't work...

Linda had even imagined those ugly faces.

Fortunately, things eventually turned out in Linda's favor.

170 million is a drop in the ocean for the Ryan family, but it can make up for the debt Linda feels and the inevitable external difficulties that will occur.

Her uncompromising attitude at the beginning of the negotiations was merely an unconscious negotiation tactic.

"170 million for a teammate and peace of mind... what a bargain!"

Linda closed her eyes and lay down, trying to calm herself, while on the street she couldn't see, Hayes was already running wildly in excitement...

"I've made a fortune! I've hit the jackpot! Hahaha!"

I did nothing, I did absolutely nothing!

Hayes earned 170 million simply by participating in the assessment according to the original plan!

If someone were to ask Hayes right now whether he has passed the entrance exam for Zuma Academy.

His answer would definitely be "May wealth come from all directions!"

Norton's 500,000 was used to buy a card, but Linda's 1.7 million was practically free!

How could Hayes not be excited?

This huge sum of money allows him to instantly buy two items in the store, not only leveling up his card master level, but also finally giving him hope of breaking the deadlock in the simulated world of "Haise Goblin"!

While running, Hayes did not completely lose his mind. He chose to run to the training center in the academy and opened a private training room.

Then, I excitedly opened the store and spent a lot of money!

The 170 million in the bank account was instantly emptied, replaced by two lines of prompts on the panel indicating that Hayes was eager to get his hands on the money.

You have purchased the item "Perfect Magic Amplifier".

You purchased the item "Dragon Pill".

New items will be added in one week.