novelonline Chapter 2968 [Founding Time]
Chapter 2968 [Founding Time]
Chapter 2968 [Origin·Time]
Xia De withdrew his hand from the box and shook his head decisively:
"No, not now."
He didn't come here to really look for Flora's missing uncle. His original purpose was to find the Vientiane Card, and now his purpose was to find out the truth about Bennett. Before he figured out what was going on here, he wouldn't just go to another time point casually:
"I still need to prepare. The Riverwood Town in 1819 is very different from the present. Reckless time travel will lead to big problems."
"Very cautious. See you next Saturday then."
The masked man picked up the oil lamp and prepared to stand up, but Shade immediately stopped him:
"No, no, next Saturday is too late. I might not even be here next Saturday."
Shad plans to investigate Uncle Flora's background after he returns. If he can find Anthony Winslet, who cannot be found even by divination, based on the clue of "childhood playmate", he may be able to get more clues about this "time transfer station".
He didn't plan to waste too much time here. Anyway, he would just travel through here next time. After feeling the principle of time travel here, Bennett's story would almost end.
Pigeons, debt collection, the Vientiane Impermanence card, the royal illegitimate child, there are so many things this family is involved in. When outsiders come to this city, they are distracted by too many things, but at this moment when everything is about to end, all doubts can be solved here.
"You want to see me again in advance?"
The masked man shook his head:
"I'm sorry, but I'm making an exception for you this time. It's only because of the guest's matter on Sunday. I'm only open on Saturdays, and there have been very few exceptions over the years."
Xia De was waiting for these words:
"We have nothing to do, how about we have a bet? Let's play a game of Rhodes."
Last time was our first meeting, so the suggestion was too frivolous, but this time we can give it a try:
"If I win, you must make an exception for me again. If I lose, I will bring you two more portions of Sands of Time next Saturday. Since you need so much Sands of Time, the consumption must be huge. It's definitely not a bad thing to have more reserves, right?"
The masked man hesitated:
"Although the [Sands of Time] are not sage-level or angel-level relics that cannot be circulated, you are able to take out so much sand at once. Are you really a member of the church?"
"Just like I won't delve into your background, I also don't want you to delve into this question. So, what do you think?"
He took out the deck from his pocket, and the masked man thought about it for a moment before nodding slightly:
"It's okay to find something interesting to do on a boring night. But even if you win, you need to give me a specific date. I can't wait for you here every night next week."
Xia De smiled and said:
"Of course, if I win, I'll come back the day after tomorrow, Tuesday night. Two days of preparation is enough. I just need to prepare some banknotes and a map of the Vestal Woods of that era. By the way, did Vestal have steam pipelines in 1819? I don't want to sleep in a rented house or hotel without heating in the winter."
Both of their decks were placed on the table. Shade was still using his spare deck, which was full of ordinary cards. Fortunately, the Moon 2 that was used to deliver the message in front of the time rift leading to the end of the world this afternoon was an ordinary card drawn from the real deck, otherwise Shade might have found out that he only had 53 cards in his deck.
I thought there would be some twists and turns, but unexpectedly, when the two exchanged decks for inspection, the masked man across the table actually found the card that Shade was looking for in his deck.
Not only that most noble card, but in fact, there were 54 special cards out of 27 in the masked man's deck, accounting for half of the deck. Apart from the stranger himself, he had never heard of anyone having such a large collection of special cards.
"Those who leave always have good things in their hands. For many years, I have wanted to collect a complete set of special rule cards, and now I am halfway done. Of course, please don't try to track me through these cards. The most you can do is find some missing people who appeared in the local area last time."
While Shade was checking his deck, the masked man explained:
"Sometimes I also invite guests who have unique cards to play a round. This is one of the few hobbies I have here. You probably can't imagine who I have played cards with."
He seemed to become very talkative all of a sudden. Shade was very familiar with this kind of person because he was also this kind of person. It seemed that the [Genesis Time] that appeared in the devil's memory was probably where someone had played cards with the masked man:
"Have you ever played cards with the champion player of the Big City Players?"
"Yes, but unfortunately I failed to convince him to take out the Big City Player Champion Card as a bet. The man said that this was the most important honor in his life and he would take it to the grave even after his death."
"Then did you also win this card from a guest who came to the Time Transfer Station?"
Xia De pulled out the most special card, but the masked man shook his head:
"No, this one is a gift from my father."
The number 2 is marked on the upper right corner of the card, and the familiar "moon" logo is on the upper left corner. Between the two, that is, in the center of the upper front of the card, there is a black vertical line in a white circle, which is the logo of the "Original" series.
On the card below, a white-haired old man sits on a chair made of giant trees. The branches above the chair are intertwined and twisted, wrapping a round clock dial.
[Genesis·Time], Flowery Moon 2. The composition is simple but contains a lot of elements, with trees and time blending into one. As for the old man with a visible face on the disk, he is probably just an incarnation of the father of the infinite tree.
Let’s look at the rules again -
[From the time this card is drawn to the point settlement phase of this round, any player can choose to discard all cards in their hand and redraw an equal number of cards. This effect can be targeted at oneself or multiple people. If this effect is targeted at oneself, this card will be reshuffled into the deck to be drawn. ]
Even though he knew he was very likely to see this card, his heartbeat still inexplicably accelerated at this moment. For a powerful ringmaster, it was easy to sense the abnormally accelerated heartbeat of the person across the table, but the masked man thought this was normal:
“Time is enough to sharpen everything.”
Xia De disagreed:
"Do you know that there is a forbidden magic called 'Crystal Touch'? The crystal created by this magic is a special substance that cannot be affected by time."
"I know this magic. It comes from a story about a greedy elf. Let's get started. I have more special cards than you do, so you make the rules."
"That's easier. We'll keep playing the game, and whoever wins three times first will be the final winner."
"no problem."
Xia De simply flushed the opponent's deck and pushed it back. Both of them pressed their own decks and wiped them lightly, so that 54 cards were arranged in a fan shape on the table in front of them.
The kerosene lamp was placed on Shad's left hand side. When the two men raised their hands to draw their respective cards, the huge shadows formed by their arms swayed on their respective decks.
This wasn't a game of cards with friends while telling stories, so the game should have proceeded silently. However, Shade wanted to get more information, so he started a new topic while drawing cards:
"Please forgive my curiosity. If I want to stay in the past for a short period of time, I only need to pay a price such as money. Then as long as I ensure that the gains from each exploration are greater than the price I pay you, doesn't it mean that I can form a positive cycle of traveling through time to make money?"
He said as he drew the first two cards. Since the deck consisted of common cards he didn't have to pay attention to the rules. The extreme combination of Star 13 and Flower 1 made him raise an eyebrow, and then he raised his hand to indicate that he was not stopping.
The masked man on the other side of the table was very professional. He used the open card, the Moon 8, to press down the cover card, and then lifted a corner of the cover card to check:
"Except for ring sorcerers like you who come to me on their own initiative, my invitations are usually only given to those who have regrets that they want to make up for, or who have completely given up on the 'present'. I won't say that I haven't met people who want to travel through time multiple times for wealth, but those people undoubtedly don't end up well."
He immediately stopped playing two cards, and Xia De drew the third card himself. He took it in front of him, looked at it, and then threw it on the table.
The crisp sound of "pa~" is a sound that only experienced gamblers who have undergone many trainings can make. The third card is the moon 5, 13+1+5=19 points, there is really no need to take risks.
The masked man also revealed his bottom card, which turned out to be a special card as expected. On the card was a sloping street with glowing gas lamp posts standing on the street. Although the card was in black and white, one could still see the tranquility in it:
[The Age of Steam: Gas Street Lamps That Stay on All Night], Flower Color: Flower 10.
[After drawing this card, throw a dice. If the number is an even number, all participants in the game need to show their first hidden card. ]
Including "Textile Workers After Work", "Platform with Whistle Sounding" and "Coal Workers in the Mine", this is the fourth special rule card in the "Steam Age" series that Shad has seen, and none of these cards belong to him.
It’s a pity that this card had no effect in the settlement phase. 10+8=18 points, and Shade won the first game.
As for why he didn't activate the effect before Shade drew the third card when this card was the first one, it was because if the effect was successful, he would have to show his own cards. And if there was no special negative cost for exploding the cards, Shade, who knew the opponent's cards, would definitely continue to draw cards even if it meant exploding the cards.
PS: The picture in this chapter is “Creation·Time”.
(End of this chapter)