Chapter 119: Turnabout Trial

The item Wang Ling produced was the "Mimic," a mid-tier card capable of replicating any E-rank or D-rank equipment. Why bother buying a weapon when you lack one? One could simply head to the Free Market, find a weapon that catches the eye, and then create a copy of it—the problem would be solved instantly.

Since his appearance had already been thoroughly exposed, Wang Ling no longer felt the need to hide. He removed the golden-red mask from his face and released the mini Miku. In the *Plants vs. Zombies* world, this little familiar had been forced into hiding due to the terrifying zombies; her lively personality had caused her affection level to drop during the long period of confinement. Now that he was back in the Dream Space, it was only natural to keep her out and nurture their bond.

After stroking her little head and poking her cheeks with his fingertips to tease her until her affection level increased slightly, Wang Ling let Miku sit on his shoulder. He then left his exclusive room, transferred to the entrance plaza, and headed toward the Free Market.

The entire market was still bustling with noise, filled with the clamor of bargaining. He first went to the consignment area and immediately spotted several pieces of equipment that piqued his interest. However, since he had the Mimic card, he naturally wanted to choose the best one, so he took his time, wandering from stall to stall.

Before long, Wang Ling found a suitable weapon—not for himself, but for the Old Man Hassan. Having promised the man, and with no intention of breaking his word or defaulting on a debt, he found the weapon to be quite decent. After some haggling, he secured it for 7,000 currency points.

In fact, Wang Ling had once experienced the power of this weapon firsthand; when he fought Elliot in the arena, that was exactly what his opponent had wielded: a Damascus scimitar.

For Old Man Hassan, an AK paired with a Damascus scimitar—what a standard loadout! What could be more fitting for an elderly Arab man from a holy war organization than this set of weapons?

Buying this weapon for under 8,000 currency points met Wang Ling’s expectations. After tucking the scimitar away, he continued to scout the Free Market, searching for a weapon to his own liking.

About ten minutes later, a scrawny Dreamer rushed into the market and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Selling rare and precious items! Scene cards! If you need them, buy them now!"

This cry immediately caused a stir throughout the market. Rare and precious items were seldom seen, and a scene card was even rarer! Dozens of Dreamers who had been at other stalls immediately surged toward the seller. Even some of the vendors left their stalls unattended to follow the crowd; after all, with the protection of the Space, no one could steal their wares.

Wang Ling naturally squeezed into the crowd as well. Seeing so many people rushing over, the scrawny man’s face, even behind the obscuring black mist, was clearly beaming with joy. He shared the scene card's data with everyone and boasted arrogantly, "A scene card, and a reward card at that! Freshly baked from a clearance treasure chest, 200,000 currency points!"

The scene opened by this card was not a popular one, and the vast majority of people had never heard of it. After reading the data and asking each other about the content of that world, someone immediately cursed, "You dare ask for 200,000 currency points for this piece of junk?"

"Bah, I wouldn't take it even if you gave it to me for free!"

"Does this rookie think this reward card is a treasure?"

"Damn, such trash, and he has the nerve to hawk it."

"This guy must be crazy with poverty."

The onlookers dispersed, grumbling. The scrawny man, who had been ecstatic a moment ago, felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped on him. He was so stunned that his speech became stuttered: "Th-this... isn't this a r-rare item?"

A Dreamer who was about to leave kindly told him, "Don't assume all rare items are highly valuable. At the very least, no one can see much value in this scene card of yours."

The man asked in disbelief, "Wh-what, what is going on?"

The Dreamer shook his head and said, "Scene cards are rare, yes, but yours is simply trash! Look, the card clearly states: once this reward-type scene card is used, your next main quest will be replaced by this scene."

"And that’s the problem. The main quest a Dreamer is about to enter would have provided benefits on its own. Replacing it with the scene on this reward card means you only get the rewards listed on the card upon return. If the rewards are bad, it’s not as good as just doing the original main quest."

"Look at this reward card: the scene you enter is just a low-level trash scenario! And the rewards offered are these worthless trinkets. If you were selling it for a few thousand points, maybe someone would bite, but you dared to ask for 200,000. If you aren't a rookie, who is?"

After speaking, the Dreamer flicked his sleeves and left. Order was restored to the Free Market, and everyone returned to their business.

Of course, it was still a scene card—a rare item—and if used reasonably, it could certainly be useful, such as replacing a world one didn't want to enter. Thus, about a dozen people remained around the scrawny man, showing some interest in the reward card.

Seeing them, the scrawny man said expectantly, "Big brothers, is anyone willing to buy? I can sell it for cheaper."

"How much?" a tall black man asked.

"5... 50,000..." The scrawny man first held up five fingers, but sensing the mocking gazes around him, he switched to three. "30,000..."

"5,000. Do you want to sell?" the black man said in a hoarse, hostile voice. "Your piece of junk is only worth that much! Take it or leave it, rookie. Don't waste my time."

The scrawny man took a deep breath. This price was clearly far below his expectations. Having finally seen a rare item appear in a clearance treasure chest, he had run over in a frenzy to sell it, only to be met with such a blow—his spirits were at rock bottom.

He turned his gaze to the few remaining people and gritted his teeth, "15,000 points. If anyone wants it, I'll sell. Any lower and I won't sell; I'd rather keep it for myself!"

The black man mocked him with a few laughs and turned to leave. Several others left as well; after all, such a price was not low for a low-level Dreamer. Buying this card had no great use; those points could be used to buy decent weapons or armor.

Three people remained. A burly man said, "Cheaper. 10,000 points."

"10,000 is way too low!"

"Damn it, that's high enough! Don't be ungrateful. Sell it to me quickly. Do you know who I am? I'm Bowen, a member of the famous Ambition Team in the beginner zone! If you don't sell, I'll find out who you are and kill you when I see you, rookie!" The burly man threatened him viciously.

In the Free Market, black mist hid one's appearance, but for a newcomer who had just entered the Dream Space, such a threat was clearly oppressive. The scrawny man’s body began to tremble.

Wang Ling watched coldly. He immediately used his Dream Badge to request a trade and put up 15,000 points. The seller was stunned for a moment, then immediately put up the scene card. The trade was completed in a flash. The seller said, "Brother Bowen, it's not that I didn't want to sell to you, but this brother offered 15,000. I already said I’d sell for 15,000, so I'm sorry. I have things to do, so I’ll be going."

The man immediately teleported out of the Free Market.

Bowen roared in anger, "Kid, you dared to meddle? It seems you don't know how terrifying the Ambition Team is, huh? Do you know you're courting death?"

"Yeah, I really don't know how terrifying the Ambition Team is. If you don't have the money, get lost. Don't hinder my shopping." Wang Ling didn't care at all. No matter how strong the Ambition Team was, could they compare to the Orc Team or the Thug Team?

Bowen clenched his fists, and a series of cracking sounds from his joints echoed. "Damn it, dare to drop that camouflage mist!"

"Why drop the mist? Do you want to go to the arena with me? If you dare, let's sign a death match contract now. If not, get lost. My time is precious; I don't have time to waste on you," Wang Ling said with amusement. He secretly wondered what expression this guy would have if he saw the golden-red mask.

A wave of fury almost made Bowen agree to the arena match immediately, but he suddenly realized that the guy in front of him could casually bring out 15,000 points—he might be a Dreamer from some high-level team. He had to swallow his pride and growled, "You just wait!" Then he slunk away.

Wang Ling shrugged helplessly and was about to continue searching for a suitable weapon when the other remaining Dreamer quickly said to him, "Please wait! Could you let me have that scene card? I'll pay 17,000 points."

"Sorry, not for sale." After a blunt refusal, seeing the man was still trying to pester him, Wang Ling frowned and teleported out of the Free Market, returning immediately to his exclusive room.

Once inside, he took out the scene card he had purchased for 15,000 points and carefully examined the data: "Rare and precious item, Scene Card: Turnabout Half."

"This scene card is a reward card. Upon use, it will immediately replace the world you are about to enter and change it to the world of *Ace Attorney 3*."

"Participate in assisting the completion of the final chapter of *Ace Attorney 3*, 'Bridge to the Turnabout.' Change the fate of the important character 'Dahlia Hawthorne's mother' (Misty Fey) from death, and assist Phoenix Wright in thwarting the conspiracies of 'Morgan Fey' and 'Dahlia Hawthorne' to protect 'Maya Fey' from death."

"After completing the task, you will be rewarded with a 'Lawyer's Badge.' This badge can be used in any world to disguise yourself as a lawyer."

Wang Ling had naturally played *Ace Attorney 3*. It was a very famous GBA game. The protagonist, Phoenix Wright, was a lawyer. The game involved gathering evidence and reasoning, confronting witnesses in court, dealing with criminals, and finding contradictions in testimonies to bring the real culprit to justice.

It was a world of lawsuits...

The description was very clear: the reward for this mission was a lawyer's badge recognized by any world. It could not be denied that this identity had some uses in special circumstances, but for a Dreamer, this use was both narrow and limited.

For example, Su had once obtained a reward card for *Pokémon LeafGreen*, acting as a Pokémon breeder in that world, and the reward was a familiar—far better than a mere lawyer's badge!

However, Wang Ling hadn't spent 15,000 points just for a lawyer's badge; he was looking at something else in that world.

When Su had unlocked a hidden plot in the *Pokémon* reward scene, he had caused the downfall of Team Rocket and even triggered the counterattack of the legendary Mewtwo, eventually obtaining three familiars: Pichu, Abra, and Dratini. This proved that additional benefits could be obtained in reward scenes.

The vast majority of Dreamers didn't know *Ace Attorney*, and upon learning it was just a world of lawsuits, combined with such a meager reward, they naturally dismissed it. However, if these people had a deeper understanding of the game, they would feel something extraordinary: the Kurain Channeling Technique!

The channeling technique capable of summoning the souls of the dead into one's own body, even changing one's physical appearance!

The Magatama that could see the Psyche-Locks of the heart!

The viper-like girl, Dahlia Hawthorne, who existed as a vengeful spirit after her death!

Fortunately, there were only a few hundred Dreamers in the Free Market at the time, most of whom were poor. Of the small fraction who could afford the card, few had played *Ace Attorney*, thus overlooking the core element that ran through every generation of the game hidden in that world: spirit channeling.

If that poor seller hadn't rushed to sell it in a frenzy of excitement after getting the card, but had instead let word of the scene card spread, allowing more Dreamers to know about it, it would never have sold for only 15,000 points.

Wang Ling felt the excitement of having found a treasure. Because the only energy system that had ever appeared in *Ace Attorney* was spiritual power, and it was a well-developed one that had formed a school of inheritance.

Looking at this reward card with almost fanatical eyes, Wang Ling secretly made up his mind: after arriving in the world of *Ace Attorney*, he would not settle for just a lawyer's badge. Learning the channeling technique was the top priority; what a powerful secret art with such potential!

In *Ace Attorney*, even the strongest medium was physically no different from an ordinary person, so he would be the final boss upon entering. Once inside, all the protagonists and villains could just go to hell; he could do whatever he wanted—he could practically walk sideways through that world, as long as he didn't provoke the state apparatus.

After being excited for a while, Wang Ling put the reward card down. After all, one had to take things one step at a time. The most important thing now was to use the "Mimic" to copy an ideal weapon and then use the fire and ice nuclei to explore the fire and ice transformations of his spiritual power.

Moreover, he didn't know which world his next main quest would be in, so using the reward card now would be overly impulsive. If it turned out to be a very lucrative world, he could save the card for later. Besides, the card was in his hands and wouldn't run away; he could use it at any time.