Card Room (Rebirth)

Old Mo steered the escape boat forward, leaving the typhoon far behind. The dark clouds above their heads gradually disappeared. The sky became as clear as the water. In the afternoon, the bright sunlight shone on the sea. The wet people finally felt warm.

Ye Qi felt uncomfortable in his wet clothes. He put his hands over his eyes and looked up at the sun. “The sun is so good. Shall we take off our clothes and soak in the sunlight? It is too hard to wear them.”

Shao Qingge told him, “A girl is sitting behind you. Is it good to take off your clothes?”

Ye Qi looked back and reddened when he met Liu Qiao’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I forgot that Xiao Liu is a girl.”

Liu Qiao looked back at him in an expressionless manner. “I don’t look like a girl?”

Ye Qi hurriedly explained, “No, no, I didn’t mean that.”

Qu Wanyue smiled and smoothed things over. “Little Ye, you can take off your coat and bask in the sun. We won’t mind.”

Ye Qi was embarrassed to take it off. He was thin without any abs and his figure wasn’t particularly good. He was afraid of being laughed at by these sisters. Other people didn’t think twice about taking off their clothes and drying in the sun. The sun on the sea was very strong and it would dry quickly.

Ye Qi quickly shifted the topic and asked Qu Wanyue, “Teacher Qu, what type of dance do you teach?”

Music and dancing were inseparable. Many songs needed a dance so Ye Qi had a certain understanding of dancing. Qu Wanyue replied, “I teach Latin dance at the Jiangzhou City Art Training Centre.”

Ye Qi nodded. “Oh, Latin dance includes the samba, rumba, paso doble and jive, right?”

Qu Wanyue smiled. “Yes, can you dance?”

“No, but I know some basic dance moves. Oh, I can dance the waltz.”

Xiao Lou was also a teacher but he was in the system and subject to more constraints. Qu Wanyue was out of the system and signed with a training centre. She had more freedom. Xiao Lou looked back with interest and asked, “Does a dance teacher had more classes on the weekend?”

Qu Wanyue replied, “Yes, Professor Xiao. The weekend is the peak time and the training courses are from morning to evening. Normally I have a public class at 8 o’clock every night.”

Old Mo excitedly turned back. “My daughter also learned Latin dancing. I think that people who learn dance really show an extraordinary temperament!”

Qu Wanyue smiled. “Old Mo, a lot of parents have the same idea as you. That’s why they send their children to learn dancing.”

Xiao Lou agreed in his heart. Teacher Qu had an excellent temperament. She had a good body, a swan neck and upright posture. She looked very good when wearing sportswear and she had beautiful, long, curly hair. In order to facilitate movements, she normally had her hair tied up. She was gentle and competent and her temperament was perfectly integrated with her body.

Long Sen wasn’t particularly handsome. His looks were rose than Group Leader Yu and Chief Shao but he had a strong, athletic body and developed muscles. His hair was cut short and he looked very energetic. His smile was simple and sincere and the two people were very suitable when sitting together.

Old Mo’s body was slightly fat but there was no obvious beer belly. His face was a bit round and he was like an amiable uncle. He had made up his mind to return for his daughter and not only learned to steer an escape boat as well as an airplane and parachute. He was a jack of all trades. Xiao Lou couldn’t help admiring his perseverance.

These three new teammates were just added but Xiao Lou believed his decision wasn’t wrong. There weren’t many team members but each one had their own characteristics and could play a role in the increasingly difficult levels they would face later.

Xiao Lou thought up to here and asked, “Old Mo, what level is your card wall fixed at?”

Mo Xuemin smiled bitterly. “I’m stuck in the eight level. It has been half a year since I came to the Card World. Apart from the Distant Guild’s elite team who went to J of Hearts, most of the challengers’ progress has been stopped at 8 of Hearts or 8 of Spades, which as A-grade secret rooms.”

Ye Qi asked curiously, “The eighth level is an A-grade secret room. Then 5, 6, 7 are B-grade secret rooms?”

“Yes, the 5, 6, 7 B-grade rooms aren’t particularly difficult. Once you reach the eighth level, the difficulty upgrades in a straight line. My team went to 8 of Diamonds and was almost tortured to the point of collapse. Thus, we temporarily didn’t go to 8 of Hearts or 8 of Spades.”

Xiao Lou had long guessed that the difficulty of the Diamonds room would increase later. If they encountered a large maze with many punishment type mechanisms, it would be difficult to find the right path. He suddenly thought of a key point and said, “So, the B-grade secret rooms have been completely passed by Old Mo. We have to clear the fifth, sixth and seventh level later. Old Mo, can you give us spoilers ahead of time?”

Mo Xuemin laughed. “Of course. In fact, the Intelligence Bureau will also provide a strategy for the low-level secret rooms. One strategy is one million gold coins We don’t need to spend money since I know several aspects of the plots in these secret rooms.”

Ye Qi scratched his head in a confused manner. “It seems that the Hearts room has different versions. I remember that when I went to Maple Forest High School with Chief Shao, the name of the dead was different from what Professor Xiao told me.”

Mo Xuemin explained, “According to the analysis of the challenger forum experts, the B-grade and below secret rooms have two versions. It is like the volume A or volume B in an English exam. One will be randomly selected after entering. Professor Xiao and his staff drew Volume A. If you have any contact with Professor Xiao then the keeper will send you Volume B and change some details.”

Ye Qi suddenly realized. “Then if Old Mo drew Volume A in the fifth, sixth and seventh levels, we will probably get Volume B when we go in. The plot has changed but the overall difficulty is similar?”

“Yes. Based on your strength, the B-grade secret rooms surely won’t be a problem to clear. The key is the A-grade secret rooms starting from the eighth level, the S-grade secret rooms of J, Q and K and the last SS-grade secret room. The difficulty is beyond imagination.”

Xiao Lou looked back at Yu Hanjiang and suggested, “Group Leader Yu, after this World Weekly, why don’t we clear level five, six and seven first?”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Yes, there is Old Mo to prove a strategy. Clearing the B-grade secret rooms shouldn’t be difficult. We will clear the instances as soon as possible and draw more cards for the later secret rooms.”

Everyone sat on the escape boat floating on the vast sea, idle and bored as they discussed their next plan. Old Mo carefully told them about the general situation of the fifth, sixth and seventh levels.

The difficulty of the B-grade rooms was slightly more complicated than the C-grade rooms. However, since the B-grade rooms could use the senior contract and the number of teammates increased, the difficulty would be reduced.

The fifth, sixth and seventh levels were more like a ‘mid-transition’, allowing newcomers to enter the main city, form a team and develop a tacit understanding with their teammates, drawing more cards to improve the team’s fighting power.

The eighth level was the start of the game’s large, mainstream instances.

There was the senior, Old Mo on the team. Xiao Lou was confident about the next challenge. “I remember the drawing of cards in the secret rooms are decided by team, not number. I have an idea. The eight of us can split into two groups to clear the B-grade secret rooms as soon as possible.”

Yu Hanjiang agreed. “The people in the contract book will be forcibly pulled into the secret room. If we open two secret rooms at the same time, we can let everyone enter separately. Then we can choose the secret room we are good at to challenge. For example, I’m good at Hearts and Spades while Professor Xiao is good at Hearts and Diamonds. Old Mo is good at Diamonds and Shao Qingge is good at Clubs. We can form different teams for different secret rooms.”

Mo Xuemin immediately nodded. “This method is good. For a contracted team, if half the team passes the secret room then it will be considered as clearing the instance on the card wall. This can enhance our efficiency! There is no need to talk too much about the fixed rewards. Those cards are very common and can be bought with money. The draw for a perfect instance is calculated by team. For example, two cards are drawn from 5 of Hearts. It doesn’t matter if four people or 15 people pass. Only two good cards can be drawn. The rewards won’t be any less if we challenge it in two groups.”

Shao Qingge wondered, “So if it is a team of 15 people, we can divide into four teams to play Hearts, Spades, Diamonds and Clubs at the same time?”

Mo Xuemin replied, “Some people do that but it is only possible for strong teams.”

Xiao Lou was happy. “Then next week, we will divide into two teams and complete the B-grade secret rooms as soon as possible.”

The group nodded in approval. They chatted for a long time about the secret rooms. This chat allowed them to know each other more, closing the invisible distance between teammates. It was unknown how long after but Ye Qi’s stomach suddenly made a growling sound. His face reddened as he suggested, “I’m a bit hungry. Do you want to eat?”

Old Mo looked at the time on the floating box. He saw 18:30 and couldn’t believe it. “Have we been floating on the sea for three and a half hours? So fast!”

Perhaps they were too excited when talking. They ignored the time and in the blink of an eye, it was evening. Yu Hanjiang took the bag from Ye Qi’s hand. “Let’s eat the biscuits, mineral water and chocolates first.” He pulled out a plastic bag and added, “The trash will go in here.”

The group took the biscuits and ate them. Then Ye Qi excitedly said, “Look behind you!”

They looked back at the same time. In the distance, the sun was setting. The rose-coloured clouds in the sky constantly changed shape and a gold column of light shone through the clouds onto the sea. The entire sea was sprinkled with a layer of gold, like countless gold fragments. The spectacular ocean sunset shocked their hearts.

Ye Qi sighed. “So beautiful. This is the most beautiful sunset I’ve ever seen!”

Xiao Lou smiled and said, “If it wasn’t for the fact that this is a secret room, the scenery on this trip would be excellent.”

Everyone looked back at the sunset and ate dinner in silence. The sun soon disappeared below the sea. Xiao Lou looked at the sky and suggested. “Let’s stop the boat and stop moving forward. It is getting dark. Everyone, take out the Night Pearl for light.”

In the distance, there were many escape boats that lit up the surroundings using the Night Pearl.

Someone from the front left asked, “Friends, it is dark. You don’t intend to continue?”

A girl’s voice came from the front right. “It is easy to lose direction in the darkness or we can encounter a whirlpool, iceberg or reef. We won’t live if we capsize. I suggest that you turn off the power of the escape boat and float while waiting until tomorrow!”

There was a chorus of agreement. The challengers who escaped from the cruise ship all moved in the same direction and around the same speed. Thus, they all gathered in one place when it was dark.

Old Mo lowered his voice. “There has been no infighting among challengers so far but we have to be on guard. In the evening, some people might take advantage of the sleeping time to kill people and steal cards.”

Yu Hanjiang was grim-faced. “We have to take turns to stand guard in pairs.” His eyes swept over the group and he quickly arranged it. “Old Mo, you have worked hard today sailing the boat. Sleep with Liu Qiao at 1 a.m. Shao Qingge and Ye Qi will stay up from 1-3 a.m. Professor Xiao and I will stand guard from 3-5 a.m. I will wake up Long Sen and Teacher Qu at 5 a.m and you will keep watch until 7 a.m.”

The most likely time for an accident to happen was 3-5 in the morning. Yu Hanjiang took the initiative to choose the time when the pressure was the highest. It wasn’t the first time he and Xiao Lou had kept watch and there were naturally no opinions.

After eating, the group alertly drove the escape boat to the outskirts. There were too many escape boats nearby. Old Mo maintained a safe distance of more than 100 metres from the other escape boats.

At 9 o’clock in the evening, the whole area was completely engulfed in darkness. The glow of the Night Pearls from the escape boat interacted with the twinkling stars in the sky, like countless stars had fallen into the sea.

The night wind blew and Xiao Lou sneezed.

Yu Hanjiang glanced at him and whispered, “Are you cold?”

Xiao Lou didn’t have time to speak when Ye Qi and Shao Qingge also started to sneeze. This started a sneezing relay. Liu Qiao, Long Sen and Qu Wanyue also sneezed one by one.

Qu Wanyue rubbed her nose and helplessly said, “We stayed in the rain for half an hour today and our clothes were wet. It wasn’t easy to dry them in the afternoon. If we experience a night of cold wind, I feel that everyone will have a cold tomorrow.”

Yu Hanjiang asked, “Do you want to make a fire to keep warm?”

Old Mo said, “It isn’t good to ignite a fire on the escape boat. What if the fuel tank is burned?”

Xiao Lou thought about it and suddenly smiled. “I have a way.”

He took out the Compass card and started drawing a circle. Large and small metal rings quickly piled together to form a circular plate the size of a ‘washbasin.’ Xiao Lou cut the ring with the Scissors card and made a wire to fix the basin in place.

Then he summoned Bai Juyi to light a fire and put the charcoal fire in the basin. “This won’t burn the boat.”

Ye Qi was stunned. “There is this type of operation?”

Xiao Lou stated, “Bai Juyi’s charcoal fire can only last for 90 minutes. We need fuel.” He looked at Mo Xuemin. “Old Mo, I remember you have a card called Solid Wood Flooring right?”

Mo Xuemin didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. “Yes, the flooring can be placed on water or between two buildings as a bridge… Professor Xiao, do you want me to split the wood planks apart for fuel?”

Xiao Lou smiled and nodded. “Solid wood can be used as fuel. In addition, you can use it again when the card is recalled. This is equivalent to an infinite loop that can be used anytime and anywhere.”

Everyone, “……”

The card was being taken advantage of by Professor Xiao. The Compass rings were used to make a basin, Bai Juyi to make a fire and Solid Wood Flooring as fuel… it was a ridiculous result!

Immediately after, Yu Hanjiang also started a strange operation. He used a sharp military knife to cut Old Mo’s wooden planks in half, then into many smaller pieces of wood. He piled them up in the middle of the boat and spoke lightly, “Those on guard, pay attention to adding firewood in the basin on time.”

Xiao Lou also made a concave basin with the Compass, leaving a gap. Then he turned it upside down on top of the fire basin and said will a smile, “This will ensure it isn’t blown out by the wind.”

Everyone, “………”

The witty Professor Xiao actually used a variety of cards to make a stove. Everyone felt worship.

The temporary ‘fire furnace’ made by Xiao Lou was very useful. There was a charcoal fire and the frozen and shivering people immediately felt warm. Compared to the shivering challengers on the other escape boats, the eight people around the fire furnace was really comfortable.

There was Professor Xiao, the small expert. No matter the environment, they didn’t have to be afraid of the cold anymore!