Solflare: The Painter's Secret-Chapter 126: Golden Cards & Broken Ties

"I said it," Bao Xiong said, laughing loudly. "Keep that, I don’t—" He froze, his eyes widening. He swallowed hard as the golden cards were raised.

’Golden cards? No, that can’t be possible!’ Thoughts hammered against his skull as he focused on the cards in Liu Yan’s hands.

Joy filled Liu Yan as she rubbed her thumb against the surface of the cards. "With this, we can join the dialing rankings."

She turned toward Bao Xiong’s direction, flicked her tongue out, teasing. "You thought it would be the same as the one you got us five months ago, huh!"

Bao Xiong changed his expression, then whipped his gaze from the table and locked it onto the wall, nodding.

’If golden cards are in, then that means we can be assigned to the difficult section of Chaos City.’ His eyebrow lowered as dark thoughts began to take shape in his skull.

"Wait, are they five?" Wu Ze’s expression lightened as she spotted the extra four golden cards. She picked one up, brushed her fingers around it, then stopped.

"Is that a name I’m seeing?" She squeezed her eyes on the inscription. After two minutes, joy exploded in her. "This is mine."

She moved away from the table, whirled around, then threw herself onto the bed Bao Xiong lay on. "Look at this." She stretched the card, blocking it over Bao Xiong’s face.

"Leave me alone." Bao Xiong whipped the card and Wu Ze’s arms from his face. "Why should I look at a filthy card like this?"

"Ohh..." Wu Ze drew her hand back. "So, you’re now calling this a filthy card. Wow." She stood up from the bed, held her waist, then stared at Bao Xiong, nodding.

"If someone had stated that you said this, I wouldn’t have believed it." She folded her arms at her chest. "Never mind. It’s over between us." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Wu Ze walked from the bed and neared Liu Yan, An Lang, and Leon.

The four of them picked up the golden cards, each having their names written boldly on them. Wu Ze stared, giving Leon all the information and places the card could grant him access to.

From the death-bestowed sections of Chaos City, to the solo training advantages—if he wanted to go without anyone’s companion—and lastly, the wealth the cards could give him when sold on the black market.

Five days passed by like air. Within those days, Wu Ze, An Lang, Liu Yan, and Leon utilized the cards and set off into Sector 6 of Chaos City.

At the end of every day, they received new rewards, from more jade coins to personal gadgets like swords, war suits, and delicious meals Leon had never tasted before.

On the night of the fourth day, Leon met Tiger face to face at the border of Sector 7 of Chaos City, standing beside the nest of a Tier 2 C-ranked divine spider.

It wasn’t just an ordinary spider. It was one that could suck out a person’s soul with just a single gaze, and make a young man turn old instantly with just a single scream.

But beside Tiger, the creature lay down like a puppet, unable to open its eyes or mouth. "Coming for this?"

Tiger flaunted, pointing his left arm toward the creature as if it were just a mere thing.

Before Leon could talk, the air around them buzzed as the extraction craft appeared, hovering above them.

"Extraction time is up. Regroup with your squad so you can be retrieved." A loud sound boomed from the craft, bouncing more dust and tiny pebbles into the air.

Following the regulations, Leon moved from where he stood, leaving Tiger, then joined his group.

As soon as the extraction craft took off after picking them up, Leon saw a guy with the same looks as Bao Xiong climbing into the craft that picked Tiger and his group.

"Is that Bao Xiong?" he whispered, hearing a reaction from Wu Ze.

"He’s such a fool. I curse the day I became close with him." Wu Ze’s exhausted expression shifted to anger as she folded her arms.

Leon moved to his seat, crossed the seat belt, then locked it with a final clicking sound.

"So where are we heading next tomorrow?" An Lang asked, his eyes blazing with more adventure.

After gaining more rewards with the help of Leon, he wished every minute that they would be adventuring through Chaos City.

Returning to the Madhouse, Leon slowed his steps as he neared the angry Wu Ze. "Can I sit?" he asked in a polite tone.

Wu Ze gazed at Leon from the corner of her eyes, then smiled faintly. "You can sit."

Leon swallowed hard the moment he sat beside the lady. His heart rate increased at an abnormal speed when he noticed Wu Ze staring at him.

"Uhm..." He faked a cough, then straightened himself. "Seems Bao Xiong doesn’t join us anymore."

Wu Ze turned her full form toward Leon. "Hmm... you also saw him, right?"

Leon stared at her as if she were speaking in tongues. ’Does that mean she knew from the day he left and never came here again?’

He threw away all his thoughts. "I saw him joining the other craft that—"

"Don’t worry yourself. We all know he has joined the Son of the Blue-Flamed Dragon’s team. They call themselves the Black Ops." Wu Ze paused, her expression calming.

"The Black Ops." Leon leaned back, confusion filling him whole. "Why?"

A short laughter escaped Wu Ze. She shook her head, forcefully stopping the laughter. "Because we are like ants to him. That was his final words before leaving."

’Ants?’ The name looped in Leon’s head as he rose and moved from Wu Ze’s bed and lay onto his. He crossed his palms at the back of his head, crossed one leg over the other, then sighed.

’We have to prove him wrong in the coming days.’ The thought ruled in the darkness of Leon’s mind until sleep came and swallowed him whole.

That dawn, through their opened window, chilled air carrying the smell of death whipped the curtain like a lash.

A loud crash, like a dart hitting wood, echoed as soon as the white curtains were raised by the wind.

Gleaming sticky liquid dripped from a two-inch tiny metal object that had miraculously struck the top of Leon’s bed, just an inch over his head.

Although the sound was hard enough to wake him up, Leon didn’t. Deep within his dreams, he stood at the front of a gigantic gate.

In his left palm, he held onto the Paloalto, which now had names carved into it.

On the first three rows, he saw human names with no rank attached to them, which saddened his soul. The names of the three nurses.

On the fourth row, the Glass Skitter was written boldly, its rank placed in the next column.

Underneath it were the names of creatures, from D-rank Devilish Goats to grasshoppers that had bat-like wings and the eyes of an eagle.

As for the number of grasshoppers, they were in four figures.

"So this keeps records of all the creatures I kill." He paused, scratched his chin, then scanned the list again with wide eyes.

"What about the wolves, the sonic bats, and the other creatures I fought with on my second visit to the Shattered Land?"