Chapter 51 - 47: Refresh Mechanism
The crowd was loud.
Qin Ziwen overheard a few keywords.
Words like "altar," "Card," and "selfish."
Soon, the two groups started arguing. People were shoving and cursing, and the scene descended into chaos.
When someone pulled out a club and smashed it over another’s head, the conflict escalated into a full-blown brawl.
The onlookers who were just there for the show quickly backed away.
Watching the drama for entertainment was one thing, but getting dragged into it would be a disaster.
A young man was struck on the arm with a club. He let out a furious roar and pulled a folding knife from his pocket.
He surged forward, plunging the knife into his opponent’s heart. He then ripped it out and viciously slashed it across the man’s throat.
"Come on! Come on! I’ll fucking kill you!"
The young man in white roared. His opponent clutched his neck, his eyes wide with disbelief, before collapsing to the ground. Soon, he was silent.
Seeing someone fall, both sides of the brawl instantly cooled down.
"Wang Mingchao! You killed Brother Qian," a man in black clothes said, his eyes wide.
Wang Mingchao roared back, "I meant to kill him! That piece of shit! You like kissing his ass, but I can’t stomach it!
I’ve had enough. I call him Brother Qian a few times and he really starts thinking he’s the boss, huh? It was the same a few days ago when we were dividing up the meat from the hunt. He gave all the best cuts to you guys, his little clique. Did he think this was his company? Pulling that kind of crap on us.
He and I were the ones who found that altar in the first place. But he used his position as team leader to take a Card for himself. Fine. For the sake of so-called ’team spirit’ and the ’bigger picture,’ I put up with it.
But when the second Card showed up, why should it go to you? Just because you, Zhang Bo, are such a good ass-kisser?"
Zhang Bo grew furious. "What ass-kissing? Besides, Brother Qian said he’d give tomorrow’s Card to you. You’re the one who had to make a scene. Now everyone knows. Are you happy now?"
Wang Mingchao sneered. "Heh, you take me for a three-year-old? I wanted the one in your hand. Since you weren’t willing to give it up, I’ll just flip the table so no one gets to play!"
With that, Wang Mingchao raised his hands and looked around at the crowd. "Neighbors, today I’m going to tell you all a huge secret! Besides getting Cards from killing beasts, there’s also something called an altar that spawns them! And the Cards from the altar aren’t a one-time thing! It spawns a new one every single day!
Remember, the one who told you this is me, Wang Mingchao! If I turn up dead one day, it was definitely Zhang Bo who did it."
Zhang Bo’s face turned pale when he heard this. He cursed, "What do you mean if something happens to you, I did it? Are you trying to frame me, you bastard?"
The onlookers weren’t interested in the last part, but they were very interested in what Wang Mingchao had said before.
Someone in the crowd shouted, "The Cards you’re talking about, are they the same kind that appeared after they killed that crocodile?"
Wang Mingchao stated openly, "That’s right, exactly those. Oh, and the Card that Qian Zhide got was a Building Card, something called a Level 1 Tailor Shop. And the Card this guy Zhang Bo got was a Resource Card, a Level 1 Salt Mine. Yep, a salt mine, just like you’re thinking."
Hearing this, many people in the crowd held their breath, looking at Wang Mingchao and Zhang Bo in disbelief.
From the dark look on Zhang Bo’s face, it seemed Wang Mingchao was telling the truth.
Someone next to Zhang Bo said, "Wang Mingchao, you’ve leaked the information. With so many people in the Gated Community, do you think you’ll ever get another Card?"
Wang Mingchao shrugged, a look of indifference on his face. He said mockingly, "It’s better than you lot hoarding them in secret. I told everyone because I felt like it. It makes me happy. I’ll do whatever I want. We all only get one life, so why the hell should I defer to you?"
He then looked down at Qian Zhide’s body on the ground, crouched, and began to search it right in front of everyone.
Zhang Bo and his group quickly surrounded him. "Brother Qian has a wife and kids! You were vicious enough to kill him, and now you want to desecrate his corpse? We absolutely will not allow it!"
The corner of Wang Mingchao’s mouth curled up. He gripped the folding knife in his hand and wiggled it. "Heh, I’m just checking to see if a Card drops when he dies, just like with that crocodile we killed. What do you think? When someone who has a Card dies, will it drop from their body like loot?"
As he said this, the way many people looked at Zhang Bo subtly changed.
Others stared at Qian Zhide’s body, and at the young man searching it.
Zhang Bo’s expression changed. For a rare moment, a trace of regret surfaced in his heart.
’If I’d known this kid was so much trouble, I never would have let him join the team in the first place.’
After searching for a moment, Wang Mingchao pulled something from Qian Zhide’s pocket and quickly stuffed it into his own. He then stood up and looked around. "Anyone who wants to know the altar’s location can come find me in private. I’ll tell them for free."
After saying this, Wang Mingchao turned and walked away, shouting, "I live in Building 9, Unit 1, Apartment 101! Anyone who wants to know the altar’s location can come find me!"
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Wang Mingchao was gone, but the impact of his actions was just beginning.
...
Back home, Qin Ziwen put the bucket on the floor and opened the window.
The Beaked Eagle, which had been waiting for a long time on a branch outside, quickly flew into the room.
He took the wild kiwis from his backpack and placed them on the table, soon covering the coffee table.
Carrying the bucket, he placed the field mice and the hedgehog into a separate section of the animal cage.
"Bro." Qin Ziwu was standing behind him.
"What’s up?"
Qin Ziwu said, "If what Wang Mingchao said is true, that an altar can spawn a new Card every day, then if we found an altar, wouldn’t we be able to get a Card every day? That’s more valuable than a gold mine."
"An altar is definitely a good thing," Qin Ziwen agreed. ’I can only get one or two Cards a day. If I could secure an altar location that no one else knew about, it would be almost like a weaker version of a daily reward system.’
Qin Ziwu continued, "It seems like Wang Yun’s team also found an altar. They have quite a few people on their team."
"I know."
Qin Ziwu said, "Bro, do you think Wang Yun will come looking for us to keep this a secret?"
Qin Ziwen looked out the window, recalling the small details of his interactions with Wang Yun. "He probably won’t come."
...
"There’s no need to go see him. I trust him."
In the living room, Wang Yun looked at his team members, his expression calm. "I trust my judgment. Qin Ziwen isn’t the type to run his mouth. If he had any designs on it, he’d come to us directly, not broadcast the information to everyone."
"But we’re talking about Cards! Doesn’t he have a brother? Even if he’s not tempted, you think his brother won’t be? Captain, I think we should still go see him. At least make things clear. If he’s not willing..."
BAM.
Wang Yun slammed his hand on the table and looked around at everyone. "Listen to me. There are five families here. I’m relieved and grateful that you all trust me and are willing to stick together.
Many of you were old friends who I often went hiking and had cookouts with before the ’crossing.’ The only reason I’ve been able to build this team is because of everyone’s trust and sense of fairness. After we found the Cards at the altar, I did exactly as I promised. Each family takes a turn getting one Card per day. Aside from me taking one on the first day, the order for all the subsequent ones has been decided by drawing lots."
The person on his left spoke up. "Brother Wang, I trust you. You handle things fairly, and we’re willing to work with you. Since you’ve put it that way, let’s just drop this topic and discuss how to use this building instead."