Chapter 42: Skill Upgrade Card

The auction had begun.

Even Zhao Kuo sat up a little straighter.

Yor, with a mysterious smile on her lips, clapped her hands, and a drone delivered the first item up for bidding.

Yes, a drone—and from the logo, it seemed to be a brand familiar to many.

"Next up is the first item, provided by Player 32: the Heart of Kindness. Starting bid is 200 subway coins, with each increment no less than 5 subway coins. It's a decent enhancement-type item. Anyone interested?" Yor's voice carried a hint of amazement, along with a touch of mockery.

The mockery stemmed from the description of the Heart of Kindness.

**[Heart of Kindness]**​

**[If the wearer has not killed any players, it provides a 50% damage boost. If the wearer has killed other players, it provides a 20% damage boost but increases damage taken by 50%.]**​

After reading the attributes, Zhao Kuo was speechless.

It was indeed fittingly named the Heart of Kindness. A 50% damage boost was undoubtedly impressive, but let's be honest—how many people here hadn't spilled some blood?

Zhao Kuo didn't consider himself a saint, but he also didn't enjoy killing. Even so, he had been forced to take lives, a dark part of the subway world.

Zhao Kuo weighed the pros and cons in his mind and quickly decided to pass on this item.

Even if it provided a 20% damage boost for killers, the 50% increase in damage taken would leave him with little room for error.

Most people in the room seemed to share this sentiment, as only a few raised their hands to bid.

In the end, the Heart of Kindness was bought for 225 subway coins by Player 465, who appeared to be a female player.

Perhaps she really hadn't killed anyone? Zhao Kuo speculated.

Yor seemed pleased with the successful auction of the first item. She tapped her glass and said, "A good start! Now, let's take a look at the second item. Oh, it's a blueprint provided by Player 569: the Mineral Carriage Blueprint. It can store various mineral resources but will slow down the subway. Starting bid is 125 subway coins, with each increment no less than 2 subway coins!"

**[Mineral Carriage Blueprint (One-time Use) x1]**​

**[Link to the subway to add a carriage for storing various mineral resources. Storage capacity: 5000 units. Slightly reduces speed.]​

A carriage specifically for storing minerals? That sounded useful for Zhao Kuo.

If he ever detected a mineral vein, he'd have a place to store it. With Little White around, he was bound to accumulate a lot of minerals, and a capacity of 5000 units was quite tempting.

With that in mind, Zhao Kuo joined the bidding without hesitation.

Soon, the price of the carriage reached 200 subway coins, but by then, only Zhao Kuo and one other bidder remained.

The other bidder seemed equally determined, pushing the price up to 220 before hesitating. In the end, Zhao Kuo secured the ​[Mineral Carriage Blueprint (One-time Use) x1]**​ for 230 subway coins.

Although it was a bit pricey, it was an entire carriage. At least he wouldn't have to worry about mineral storage in the future.

The third item was another blueprint, one Zhao Kuo had seen before—the Toilet Blueprint, which could produce fertilizer. It eventually sold for 75 subway coins.

Zhao Kuo realized that everyone here was an elite from their respective worlds, and they likely weren't short on subway coins.

However, even with his own substantial stash, he needed to spend wisely and save for crucial items. Otherwise, he might miss out on something valuable later.

The fourth item was a cross-shaped artifact with some effectiveness against vampires and demons. It sold for 112 subway coins.

Vampires—Zhao Kuo now knew of another supernatural creature.

"Alright, alright! Next up is the fifth item, a piece of equipment provided by Player 393: the Lucky's Pistol. Starting bid is 20 subway coins, with each increment no less than 1 subway coin!"

**[Lucky's Pistol]**​

**[A masterpiece of craftsmanship, now corrupted by a special force. It has a 10% chance to fire, dealing significant damage to physical entities.]**​

**[This pistol doesn't require bullets. It reloads automatically every 2 minutes and can store up to 5 rounds.]**​

**[Each trigger pull, whether the gun fires or not, consumes one round.]**​

Looking at the Lucky's Pistol's attributes, Zhao Kuo hadn't expected his item to come up so soon.

However, there were no bids for a while. It made sense—with only a 10% chance to fire, no one would take that gamble.

Just as it was about to go unsold, Yor chuckled, "Oh dear, this is the first item to go unsold today. According to the rules, the host can purchase it for 10% of the starting bid. What a pity. This weapon seems like it's only for the truly lucky. Selling it would be such a hassle."

10% of the starting bid? That was just 2 subway coins!

Zhao Kuo's face turned pale. If he had known, he wouldn't have listed it. Two subway coins were practically useless to him.

The Lucky's Pistol could at least be used to deal with monsters occasionally. This was… frustrating.

Seeing the 1.8 subway coins deposited into his account—yes, Lushan Station took a 10% commission—Zhao Kuo felt even more annoyed.

This auction was probably a goldmine for Lushan Station. What a lucrative business.

"Now, let's welcome our sixth item. This one is truly extraordinary—a Skill Upgrade Card, specially sponsored by Lushan Station! It can upgrade one of your skills. Starting bid: 500 subway coins, with each increment no less than 10 subway coins! Everyone, let's get crazy!"

**[Skill Upgrade Card x1]**​

**[Upgrades one of the user's skills.]**​

The simple description made many people sit up straight in their seats.

Zhao Kuo's breath hitched for a moment. He suddenly remembered Tang Yingying once lamenting why it wasn't a Skill Upgrade Card.

And now, here it was!

With a starting bid of 500 subway coins, it was undoubtedly expensive.

But… this was a permanent upgrade to a skill, whether it was a class skill or something else. It was incredibly valuable!

What was he waiting for? Time to go all in!

Clearly, everyone else felt the same. In just half a minute, the price of the Skill Upgrade Card soared to 1,000 subway coins!

Yes, 1,000 subway coins in the subway world could buy a staggering 80,000 units of basic materials. Most low-level players probably didn't even have 100 subway coins to their name.

Those who could afford 1,000 subway coins were undoubtedly the elites of their respective worlds.

And now, these elites from different worlds were clashing for the first time.

Seeing this, Zhao Kuo wasn't in a hurry. He simply watched as a few players continued to bid. Soon, the price reached a new high of 1,300 subway coins.

Just then, the player sitting next to Zhao Kuo raised their bidding paddle, displaying the number 1,500.