Upon arriving at the academy, Luo Sheng quickly located Su Tianchen's private office.
"Did they make a move on you already?" Su Tianchen asked, pouring Luo Sheng a cup of tea.
Luo Sheng nodded. "They approached me today, offering five million to buy one of my cards. I turned them down."
"I didn't expect them to act so quickly." Su Tianchen's brows furrowed slightly.
Luo Sheng recounted what had happened. "It seems Xia Xingri has joined their organization and likely informed on me, which is why they found me so fast."
"If that's true, this is a serious matter," Su Tianchen said gravely, his expression darkening.
Luo Sheng could tell from Su Tianchen's demeanor that the organization was no small threat, especially considering Xia Xingri's blatant hostility when they parted ways. It was clear his safety was at risk.
"Are they really that dangerous?" Luo Sheng asked. "What exactly is this organization?"
Su Tianchen sighed. "The so-called Card Collectors' Organization is almost as dangerous as the Evil Card Masters or their derivative groups. They specialize in buying cards at exorbitant prices. If negotiations fail, they'll resort to other means—robbery, or even murder—to get what they want.
"These stolen cards are smuggled and sold, mostly ending up in the hands of players with perverse tastes. Some also go to exclusive clubs."
Luo Sheng's suspicions were confirmed. Those unethical transactions and shady clubs were linked to this sinister organization.
If Alice fell into their hands, she would likely end up with some degenerate collector. Just imagining it made Luo Sheng nauseous and even more determined to protect her.
"Trying to buy my Alice with money? Over my dead body!"
"Why doesn't the city's Guard Bureau crack down on them?" Luo Sheng asked, his expression serious.
"They operate in the shadows," Su Tianchen explained, sipping his tea. "As long as they don't use Evil Cards, it's nearly impossible to detect their activities. Even the detectors in Card Towers can't pick up their malice.
"So capturing them is a challenge. If you'd called the authorities earlier, they might have been caught. But now, the opportunity has passed, and they've likely vanished.
"On the other hand, if you had reported them, they might have killed you on the spot."
Su Tianchen recorded the incident and prepared to escalate it to the academy's upper management.
He then addressed Luo Sheng directly. "I'll inform the academy about Xia Xingri's betrayal. In the meantime, you'll need to be vigilant. Don't worry—the academy will ensure your safety."
Unlike the interdimensional battlefields where students were left to fend for themselves as part of their training, threats from criminal organizations were a different matter. These criminals often targeted the academy's most promising students, causing significant losses.
Su Tianchen handed Luo Sheng a card. "If you're in danger, use this. It will summon help from the academy or the city guards."
Luo Sheng examined the card.
[ [Sky-Piercing Arrow]
Grade: White
Type: Functional
Effect: Launches a bright, highly visible signal flare that ignores all restrictions.
Description: "A single arrow piercing the skies summons a thousand reinforcements!"]
After thanking Su Tianchen, Luo Sheng left and returned to his apartment as quickly as possible.
The apartment was empty—Qin Jianjia wasn't home.
Back in his room, Luo Sheng immediately began strengthening his defenses. He fused two material cards with [Ice Shield]. The higher the card's level, the longer the fusion process. It took an hour to finish upgrading the card to a Bronze 8-Star [Ice Shield], now classified as Rare, just below the [Thousand-Door Shield].
The card upgrade also provided a feedback boost, raising his Mental Gem progress to 44%.
Next, Luo Sheng repaired the damaged[Frost Dragon] card. He purchased a Bronze 6-Star [Obsidian Statue of the Undead] as a material card from the Card Tower's marketplace. The repair process took two hours, but the fully restored [Frost Dragon] finally returned to his hands.
The upgrade feedback significantly boosted his Mental Gem progress, bringing it to 48%.
Luo Sheng tested the restored card's compatibility with his Detection Glove. The compatibility rating jumped to 83, confirming his golden finger's unique ability: unconditional compatibility improvement with every card upgrade.
For now, Luo Sheng decided to keep the [Frost Dragon] card for himself, as the looming threats made it a valuable ace.
He turned his attention to his weakest card: [Dongfang Muqing], a Bronze 3-Star card. Currently, it had only one skill, "Silent Spirit Guidance," which reduced enemy damage by 20% for 15 seconds—an underwhelming ability compared to his other cards.
With four days left before Zhao Haifeng's high-profile banquet, Luo Sheng resolved to upgrade [Dongfang Muqing].
"No weak cards in my deck," he muttered, his eyes glinting with determination.
He activated the card, and in a flash of vibrant light, his surroundings transformed into a lush, primeval forest teeming with exotic beasts and plants.
Luo Sheng sensed his target's presence in the northwest and began his journey.
"I'm here, Dongfang Muqing!"
(Chapter End)