Chapter 240: An Auction to be Held

’Based on past experience, shouldn’t the next round be a normal game?’

Oh well, forget it.

Perry Yates soon put the matter out of her mind. After all, compared to the previous few games, this one at least had a specific time.

As for the time...

Ten days it is. For her, the difference between one day and ten wasn’t really that big anyway.

’No, there is a difference. With these ten days, I can get some other things done. For example, invite Croupiers from other parallel worlds to visit my little shop.’

Perry Yates sat cross-legged on her bed, holding a golden card. The next second, a black, gold-foil invitation card appeared in her hand.

[Invitation Card

Level: Five-Star

Effect: Ignores distance, ignores time, ignores spacetime. As long as you write the invitee’s name, you can summon the person you invite to appear before you.]

Originally, Perry Yates wanted to send invitations to all the players. After all, more people meant more income for her.

But on second thought, if she invited all the players, their total number would probably exceed the entire population of Cerulea. Her little shop likely couldn’t accommodate them all.

Besides, there might be Dealer Hunters among those players, and she had no interest in aiding the enemy.

So, after some deliberation, Perry Yates focused her target on the Croupiers.

There were only four Croupiers on any given planet, which practically represented the planet’s peak combat power. They were certain to have plenty of cards in their possession.

Therefore, this time, Perry Yates decided to hold an auction.

No sooner said than done.

Since it was an auction—and The Card Tavern’s very first one at that—the items up for bid had to be good.

Rare Skill Cards were a given, and their levels couldn’t be too low.

Besides Skill Cards, there would also be item cards, and their levels couldn’t be too low either.

The auction would primarily feature these two types of cards. In addition, there also had to be Extraordinary Gene Cards, Beauty Cards, and Life Span Cards. Oh, and the Holy Girl Fruits.

Perry Yates went to the fifth floor and started searching for the cards she wanted.

Most of these cards were ones Perry Yates had performed Ascension on out of boredom during games. Plus, few people exchanged for Advanced Cards, and even when they did, they usually chose custom orders. As a result, Perry Yates had accumulated quite a few Advanced Cards.

Looking at the abilities of these cards, Perry Yates deliberated internally. Some cards were too powerful; even if she didn’t fuse with them herself, she wouldn’t sell them to others.

After some careful picking and choosing, Perry Yates selected over twenty cards in total, reducing her stock of Advanced Cards by more than half.

Next, Perry Yates picked out some three-star cards and some two-star cards with rather tricky abilities.

After spending three days, Perry Yates had prepared everything she needed. Now, only the venue remained.

Originally, Perry Yates had planned to hold the event at The Card Tavern, but thinking that many people would come, she decided to run a joint event with both The Card Tavern and Phantom Street.

"Will we need to clear the area then?" the Butler asked.

Perry Yates nodded. "Clearing the area is a must. The items are more or less ready, but I haven’t set a time yet. Besides, preparing the venue will also take time."

"I originally planned to hold the auction before this game, but... I feel like that’s a bit too rushed. Even though I’ve prepared a lot, it’s only been three days. I don’t feel completely confident. How about we wait until after the next game ends? We can send out the invitations first to build some hype."

After hearing Perry Yates’s words, the Butler nodded. "The targets are all Croupiers?"

Perry Yates nodded. "Also, I’ll send an invitation to countries like Drakonia and Vesperia."

Recently, there had been a lot of negative international sentiment directed at Perry Yates and The Card Tavern. Her opponents were trying to use this slander to force her to compromise—ideally, to provide them with cards for free.

After all, in their view, while Perry Yates had provided them with Advanced Cards, their business had also made her successful, hadn’t it?

She would use this opportunity to show everyone that she didn’t need them.

The final date was set for the fifth day after Perry Yates’s next game ended. Once the invitations were written, they instantly transformed into countless black and gold butterflies, flying off in all directions before vanishing.

At the same time, Croupiers on other planets all received an exquisite, black and gold invitation.

At the top of the invitation were the words "Auction Invitation," followed by a direct address to the recipient’s status as a Croupier.

The invitation concisely stated the auction’s time, purpose, and theme.

"A card auction? Interesting."

In a dim rental room, a young man lay on a simple single bed, his face hidden in shadow. He held the gold-foil invitation, and for some unknown reason, the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.

"I’m so looking forward to this."

Among all the Croupiers who received the invitation, some were expectant, some were disbelieving, and some were dismissive, tossing the invitation aside without a second thought.

The moment it left their hands, the discarded invitation transformed into a black and gold butterfly and vanished, carrying an attitude that seemed to say, ’Believe it or not, you think I enjoy serving you?’

If you don’t appreciate this now, don’t come crying to me later.

After setting the date, Perry Yates once again threw herself into performing Ascension on cards. At the same time, she had the Butler deliver the invitations with great fanfare to Drakonia and the other nations that had been making the most noise recently.

"Butler, how do we get an invitation? Can we participate?" a player asked, mustering their courage.

Hearing this, the Butler replied gently, "All invitations have already been sent out."

The implication was that only those who received an invitation could attend the auction.

"Furthermore, this auction will be held in The Card Tavern and Phantom Street. As such, both The Card Tavern and Phantom Street will be cleared out two days in advance. We ask for your cooperation."

Hearing that the area would be cleared, some people were unhappy but didn’t dare to voice their complaints. After all, in The Card Tavern, besides the owner, the Butler’s word was law. Many of them had witnessed his methods firsthand, which could be described in one phrase: simply inhuman.

The Butler paid them no mind. He had already informed them in advance. If any trouble arose then, they couldn’t blame him for being ruthless.

What Perry Yates didn’t know was just how big of a storm her auction invitation had stirred up across all of Cerulea.

The nations that received the invitations conducted a global investigation and were shocked to discover that, on the entirety of Cerulea, they were the only ones to have received them.