The Card Apprentice

Chapter 107: Strike When the Iron is Hot

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The most common topic of conversation at the base then was the raining shuttles card. They had started talking from the time Ah Shen first had one in his hands, and then they talked about the shuttle card troops later. The firepower of the shuttle card troops at the last exciting battle remained fresh in everyone’s minds, having made a deep impression.

They had called the troop made up of the card artisans who had been trained to use the raining shuttles card the “Raining Shuttles Troop.” That wailing from the deep green shuttles which filled the sky like rain was still ringing in their ears. All the power arrayed against them was brutally strained away. The power of the raining shuttles cards that the Troop used was far beyond the one Ah Shen had used, and those card artisans had seen with their own eyes the three star energy cloaks being blown apart by the deep green shuttles.

It was because of the siege of the “Raining Shuttles Troop” which broke up the camp, that the battle could be finished so quickly.

The “Raining Shuttles Troop” was all Ning family offspring, and it wasn’t something that they had thought of. But once they saw the power of the card, they became very interested in this card whose powers reached to the sky. Any card artisan wants his weapons to be a little stronger.

Ning Peng had already bought Ah Shen’s card at a high price, and Ah Shen had become the object of everyone’s admiration during the battle. He was the card artisan in the base who had gained the most.

The grapevine in the building was lit up with news about the raining shuttles card.

Algoradicci was in a very bad mood then, since by that time people were coming every day in an endless stream. It should have been his favorite situation, since traders know what it means to be popular. But of course, he wasn’t very happy when the people were all coming to ask about this thing that he didn’t have and didn’t know where to buy.

He really wanted to shut the door and pay attention to nobody, but that wouldn’t work. That time was his best opportunity to do business. Having large quantities of goods would naturally lower their prices, and if you buy low you could make a lot of money. And he didn’t dare to offend the card artisans coming to the door to ask about the raining shuttles card, since they were all potential customers

He could only keep smiling and bear it, carefully explaining the matter over and over to all the different people.

Very soon, someone put out a commission to purchase the raining shuttles card. Then the number of other similar commissions started growing, making the price for the card shoot up like a rocket, quickly growing to a high of fifteen hundred contribution points.

All the card artisans had large numbers of points. A good card was like the card artisan’s second life, so it was no wonder they went so crazy. But none of them knew who had made it.

Chen Mu saw those commissions.

He was wondering whether he should make them or not. Fifteen hundred points was indeed a lot for Chen Mu. He still didn’t understand why a three-star fantasy card, no matter how good, could be worth that much. But seeing so many similar commissions, he understood how big the market demand for the card was.

His only misgiving was what the Ning family might think about it.

After considering, he thought that neither Ning Peng or Ning Yan had prohibited him from making the card for others. He had thought of asking them, but they had both been transferred to Eastern Shang-Wei City where there weren’t enough people. So, he just gave it up, since he didn’t know any of the other people in the building.

Should he, or shouldn’t he? Chen Mu was giving himself a headache.

It was a fleeting opportunity, and if he didn’t take advantage of such a great opportunity, that would really be a shame. Having lived for a while with Copper, Chen Mu naturally understood a little about the rules of the marketplace.

Chen Mu finally gritted his teeth and decided to do it! Still, he didn’t need any points at that time, since he already had enough. Then he thought about that black and white chrysanthemum rock, and an idea slowly surfaced.

The base had been in a noisy disarray all through those few days, with the card artisans who had lived now partying with abandon. Meanwhile, the traders were frantically buying everything in sight, overall creating a busy scene. Those affiliated with the Ning family – and with the Ning family victory – naturally all made great profits.

Algoradicci calculated that the time had come for the detailed fantasy card listing to be delivered. He’d been busy for a few days to the point of being in a terrible fix, and it was all thanks to that raining shuttles card. The only thing that made him feel a little encouraged was that there had been an increase in the flow of people, making his sales much better than he’d expected. There was a knock on the door, and Algoradicci shot up, and opened it right up.

To his credit, the worker was already very familiar with Algoradicci. He smiled, and handed over a light-yellow fantasy card, and very politely saying, “Sir, this is today’s detailed listing fantasy card.

Algoradicci took it hastily, his mouth saying “thanks.”

He very quickly put the card into his apparatus. For traders, time is always important. He wasn’t going to lose out on some profitable high-priced goods because he was one step too late.

He greedily stared at the screen when it popped up, looking like a wolf staring at its prey. He went through the list item by item, marking certain items from time to time, which were all things he would buy later. He was fast, since he had been at that line of work for a long time and his eyes were sharp, basically being able to tell how much profit something was worth at a glance.

There were a few items worth paying attention to that day, which he might consider grabbing.

Then his gaze fell onto the commissions. By that time the number of people offering commissions was very small, except for commissions offering to buy those damned raining shuttles card. The rest were generally all traders’ commissions like his own.

None of the card artisans who had just returned from the war were going out to execute any commissions. Their exhausted hearts needed a rest.

Algoradicci’s expression suddenly froze. He was staring dumbfounded at a commission. After a few seconds, he rubbed his eyes, to be sure they weren’t blurry.

He’d seen it right!

Raining Shuttles Card .II – it really was a raining shuttles card! But what did the “II” which had been added after mean? After some hesitation, he was suddenly reminded of the card artisans’ chats. They had said that the raining shuttles card used by the “Raining Shuttles Troop” was a lot more powerful than Ah Shen’s, and that it had a deeper green color!

Could it be the newer model? The one used by the “Raining Shuttles Troop?”

It must be! He wasn’t aware that his fist had turned white from clenching it.

Algoradicci immediately realized the huge business opportunity. He didn’t rush right over to the consignment office but calmed himself to look carefully at the content of the commission.

The one who issued the commission must be the card master who had made the card. His requirements were very simple; five three-star cards having unique capabilities could be exchanged for one raining shuttles card. Or, rare or unknown materials could be exchanged.

It was an extremely vague commission, from which you could see how unprofessional the one who issued it was. What does ‘unique capabilities’ mean? Nothing was brought up about how to judge that. And as for rare materials, that was even more broad, since what does rare mean? How would its weight be calculated? The one who issued it hadn’t given any specific values.

Algoradicci despised the mysterious card master countless times over. But despise him as he might, he still moved very quickly, since he believed that this commission would very quickly raise the temperature of the entire market.

Although the commission was vague, Algoradicci had roughly figured out what this card master was after.

He had quite a few three-star cards which had unique capabilities, most of which were comparatively alternative, with limited usefulness. So, their price had never been high. But he had always considered those cards to be a very important aspect of his tactics to enrich himself. So, he had purchased a great quantity of these cards, planning to push them off on some card artisans after a while.

Here was a god-given opportunity! The tears were pouring down his face, as he yearned with abandon for that imagined time when he would be giddy with points that covered the sky.

The entire building was boiling over with excitement.

Nothing could get the attention of those card artisans more than there still being raining shuttles cards. Those card artisans who saw the power of the card were all dying to sell themselves to buy one. But it was clearly stated that they would only be traded. The consignment area quickly became crowded. And at the same time, the number of commissions to buy the so-called “three-star cards having unique capabilities” shot up like crazy.

Chen Mu had purchased a shared terminal from the consignment office, which he operated every day. He had spent twenty thousand points on it, which would leave anyone speechless. It was a good thing that he was fabulously wealthy by then!

Through this shared terminal he could watch the commissions as they happened and examine the goods. What he saw was completely synchronized with the consignment office.

He was also the only one who had purchased such a shared terminal until then. Even a guy who could be considered a professional trader like Algoradicci wasn’t willing to buy one. It was just too expensive.

Chen Mu could examine his own commission directly while sitting at home.

He had still underestimated everyone’s enthusiasm about the raining shuttles card. Under his commission were packed more responses than you could see to the end of, which was a magnificent sight.

Chen Mu specifically picked through the detailed responses. For instance, there was a guy called Algoradicci whose responses were perfectly meticulous, not only having a picture of each card, but also very detailed explanations.

He was also the person with whom Chen Mu would make the most trades, trading seven ‘raining shuttles card .II’s altogether.

The wide variety of the materials was the most bothersome thing. There were all sorts of strange things, some of which Chen Mu had seen and some of which he hadn’t. Although they didn’t know what the materials were that they had, some astute card artisans did some rough testing, and then put that data on the list.

Those card artisans were also easier to trade the card with. After the first day, he had traded the raining shuttles card .II with about twenty people.

But there was still not a single raining shuttles card .II on sale in the consignment area. And no one had heard of anyone who had traded for the card then trading it with someone else. Those who had traded for one seemed very much afraid of others knowing that they had one in their hands.

The strange phenomenon also pushed everyone into still more enthusiasm for the raining shuttles card .II.