Divine Cardmaker

Booming Business

"It seems you'll have to come back next time," Lu Ming smiled. "You can leave your contact information. Based on your current record of 99 seconds, if you remain in first place, you can come back next week to collect the 10,000 yuan prize."

"I..."

The middle-aged man hesitated, feeling a bit embarrassed.

As a man, shouldn't you last at least 100 seconds? Can't even make it to 100 seconds? And you still want to write down your details? Claim the prize? Impossible!

"Uh..."

"I don't want the reward."

"Can I try one more time?" The middle-aged man asked unwillingly. "I was just so close. Really, just one more try, and I promise I'll get it. I can pay you back later. Really, one more try, and I'll make it."

"I don't mind, but..." Lu Ming spread his hands and pointed to the crowd outside. "You'll have to ask them."

The middle-aged man turned around.

Only then did he notice that at some point, a crowd had gathered at the store entrance, all of them glaring at him, looking like they were just short of throwing punches.

"Buddy, you've been hogging it for a while," a burly man said with a menacing look.

"Yeah," a young man sneered. "If you can't do it, just admit it. Stop pretending."

"I can do it!" The middle-aged man flushed with embarrassment. "Just wait, I'll go get some money."

With that, the middle-aged man hurriedly left.

"Who's next?" Lu Ming asked, clearly enjoying himself.

"Me! Me!" The crowd eagerly stepped forward.

"My turn now!" someone rushed in.

"Alright," Lu Ming said, setting up the illusion for them.

After witnessing the middle-aged man's experience, everyone knew it was a simple illusion, but it seemed to genuinely improve reaction speed, so they were patient.

Then they experienced the onslaught of various fruits...

Once!

Twice!

Three times!

...

"Again!"

"Again!"

"Again!"

Over and over, they tried, pushing themselves to the limit.

96 seconds!

97 seconds!

98 seconds!

99 seconds!

...

Most people got stuck there.

The reason was simple.

Lu Ming had set a high-difficulty burst at that point. The speed of the fruits didn't change, but the quantity increased slightly, causing many to falter at this stage.

Of course, Lu Ming's setup wasn't truly difficult but designed to give the illusion that with just a bit more effort, you could pass. "I just made a mistake! If I were just a bit quicker, I would have made it! If I had finished the previous second a bit faster, I definitely would have passed this one!"

Most people had this mindset.

And so, Lu Ming watched them with a smile as they left, dissatisfied after reaching their limits.

In his previous life, as a programmer, he was also a gaming fanatic, earning titles like 'Soul Scholar,' 'Fallen King,' and 'Eager Visitor of Yharnam.' Making a high-difficulty version of Fruit Ninja was a piece of cake.

"Boss, can I buy this?" someone suggested.

Typically, places offering card experiences also sold the cards.

"We're not offering them for sale yet," Lu Ming shook his head. "As you can see, I've made a limited number of cards. If I sell them, one person might buy them all, and you know what others will think?"

A wave of ominous looks came his way.

The person who wanted to buy the card quickly backed down.

"Heh." Lu Ming chuckled.

The real reason he wasn't selling the cards was simple—no encryption!

Encryption was a technique in card-making. Mastering encryption made it difficult for others to copy your cards. Unfortunately, he hadn't learned it yet.

If he sold the cards now...

In just an hour, every nearby store would have a similar card!

Why sell cards?

Why not enjoy the steady flow of customers, each paying 100 yuan for an experience?

Lu Ming grinned.

He was sure today's profits would be remarkable.

In the afternoon, more people came by after hearing recommendations from friends.

But not everyone was a fool. Some soon realized something was off. "Doesn't this feel like a trap?!"

Especially after one guy had spent 1,000 yuan!

"Does this really work?" someone questioned.

"Let's see," Lu Ming asked with a smile. "How long did you last the first time?"

"Twenty seconds," the man replied.

"And now?"

"Uh, 98 seconds," the man said.

"Wow, that's impressive," Lu Ming praised, then added, "You see, your duration has increased. What do you think made you dodge so many fruits?"

"Uh—" The man looked at Lu Ming's approving gaze and blurted out, "Because... my reaction speed got faster?"

"Correct!" Lu Ming said, pleased. "Think about it. If someone has a very fast reaction speed, wouldn't they easily dodge all these fruits?"

The crowd nodded instinctively.

Yeah, if their reaction speed were fast enough, dodging all the fruits would be easy! The reason they couldn't pass was obviously that their reaction speed wasn't fast enough!

"Remember!" Lu Ming said earnestly. "Having a faster reaction speed will help you last longer."

Lu Ming then made a more serious point. "Of course, if you think the improvement isn't obvious enough, let's put it another way. What if, out there, you're fighting an enemy..."

"And instead of fruits, it's projectiles being shot at you?"

Lu Ming proposed.

"Gasp—" The crowd collectively sucked in a breath.

Right?

If it weren't fruits but projectiles...

Just thinking about it made them shudder.

"Think carefully," Lu Ming urged. "Wouldn't you be able to dodge more projectiles? Even if you're not a warrior, wouldn't this mean you could avoid them? The longer you last, the stronger you become!"

Lu Ming concluded, and the crowd agreed wholeheartedly.

It made sense.

Even the young man who initially questioned was convinced.

"Well then... Let's continue," Lu Ming said with a smile. "Who's next?"

"Me!"

"I'll go first!"

The crowd was eager to participate.

Lu Ming smiled happily.

...

Meanwhile, several streets away, other shop owners had also noticed the commotion.

They knew what kind of business Lu Ming was running. A place that barely saw a customer in a month. They had even bet on when he would go out of business.

The time seemed close.

So when they saw the crowd this morning, they assumed Lu Ming was having a clearance sale. But according to what they heard, that wasn't the case.

It seemed Lu Ming had created an illusion card for people to experience.

Normally, such things wouldn't draw attention. After all, Lu Ming was just a small-time, novice card maker with little threat. An ordinary one-star energy card? Who cares?

So they paid no mind. But when the crowd continued to grow throughout the morning and hadn't dispersed by now, it raised some eyebrows.

"Go see what's going on," some store managers instructed their staff.

However, it took a full two hours for them to return, only to report that they couldn't even get in line!

Yes.

They couldn't get in line!

An unbelievable answer.

All they could bring back was the shocking content of the posters and feedback from the spectators.

"A training card..."

"Improves reaction speed..."

"Fruits..."

"99 seconds?"

"Could it be real?"

Some were indifferent, while others looked serious.

Later in the day, a few store managers or card makers decided to go to Lu Ming's shop in person to see what tricks he was playing.

...

"One try for 100 yuan!"

"Preliminary estimates suggest that today's number of attempts has already exceeded a thousand..."

The surrounding shopkeepers were genuinely unsettled.

Initially, they hadn't paid much attention to the commotion. After all, these illusion cards were hit or miss, and even a good one wouldn't make much money. Who would have thought that the profits could be this staggering?

Over a thousand tries—that's 100,000 yuan!

"What on earth is Lu Ming up to?!"

They were a bit scared.

A hundred thousand in one day—what kind of concept is that?

It's shocking!

"Quick!"

"I need to know what's going on," Qian Shengtai, the owner of the Yezi chain store, said with a serious expression. "Send everyone from our store over, and no matter what excuse they use, we need to figure out what's happening today."

Yezi was the largest card shop chain in Qingming City!

They couldn't afford to be overshadowed.

"Boss..."

"We can't get in line!" The staff complained.

"??" The boss was speechless. "Are you an i***t? Do you have to go in person? Can't you ask those who have already experienced it? Offer to buy their information at a high price!"

"I'm sure they'd be willing to make a deal."

Meanwhile...

At another nearby card shop...

"Interesting," Zhang Chun, the owner of Chunpin Card Shop, said in surprise.

Yezi Card Shop was a brand chain that had opened a flagship store here, squeezing out Chunpin, the former number one local card shop!

They were powerful!

Rich in resources!

Normally, such a large flagship store wouldn't care about a tiny shop. It seemed the situation was more intriguing than he thought.

"Lu Ming..."

Zhang Chun tapped his desk.

"Follow Yezi's people. Whatever they do, you do too."

"And..."

"Find out if Lu Ming has been in contact with any illusionists recently."

"Yes, sir."

...

No one knew that while Lu Ming's shop was booming with business, the entire downtown area was buzzing with an undercurrent of tension. Countless eyes were fixed on him.

The more famous Fruit Ninja became, the more terrifying its sales, the more they had to know!

Why?

Because the profit from this card was too astonishing!

A hundred thousand yuan in one day—what does that mean?

It's equivalent to a top-tier three-star card.

And now, Lu Ming had achieved this with a mere one-star illusion card, even creating a phenomenon in this downtown area!

What does this imply?

Controlling this card means controlling money!

Especially for Qian Shengtai, the manager of the Yezi chain.

"That fool Zhang Chun can only think within Qingming City."

"If this card can create such a sensation here, it can naturally do the same elsewhere. If I figure out this card and submit it to headquarters for distribution in all branches..."

The thought made Qian Shengtai excited.

He was determined to get this card!