The Card Apprentice

Chen Mu felt refreshed after he woke up. He’d slept for two days, which showed how much strength and energy he’d used up.

What he’d gained was pretty rich as well. Not only did he earn recognition from the fatty, but he’d made a new breakthrough with his card making. His ordinary approach had suffered from a lack of materials and the inability to implement it. Now, he could use the fatty’s materials and had experimented with most of them. Among those experiments, he sometimes succeeded and sometimes failed. But, whether success or failure, there was always a great benefit for Chen Mu.

He now understood why so many card masters wanted to join institutions or organizations. They wouldn’t need to worry about materials, capital, or equipment. Whatever fancy ideas they had, they could use the organization’s solid strength to be able to do their experiments.

But ordinary card masters wouldn’t be so lucky. They needed to consider their own livelihoods and needed to shop for and gather materials for themselves. They would need to acquire all sorts of high-grade instruments. When it came to precious materials, however, they couldn’t just buy whatever they wanted. They could often only get them through special channels. Such materials would be difficult for a solitary card master to get if relying on his own power.

Chen Mu couldn’t help but sigh about his own good luck. If he hadn’t run into the fatty, his breakthrough would likely have been put off indefinitely.

He couldn’t help but think about what the fatty had told him. The fatty had loads more experience with the ways of the world than he did, and Chen Mu put a lot of credence on his opinion.

Entering the Big Six? He wasn’t interested. In his mind, the Big Six had already become the villain. He would rather become a card master who wouldn’t be considered all that outstanding. He certainly didn’t want to become a card master with no freedom. He had also gathered from what the fatty had said that he didn’t only need to consider the issue of choice; he also needed to consider his own safety.

Chen Mu wasn’t really worried about safety with Wei-ah at his side. But he still wanted to ask Wei-ah’s opinion. He was an expert in fighting, and no one had more right to say something about that than he did.

Wei-ah was in the middle of teasing that plump brown dog. The fat and healthy dog was lying lazily on Wei-ah’s lap while Wei-ah played with it, making all of its flesh undulate.

“I have a question, Wei-ah.” Chen Mu just spoke straight out. “After a while, I might run into some danger. The other party would be very powerful. While they might choose peaceful means, there might also be some of them likely to use fiercer means. Do you think we should add some manpower?”

“Manpower?” Wei-ah squinted and stopped what he had been doing.

Chen Mu nodded and said deliberately, “We’d just spend some money to invite a few people. They might fight, but it definitely wouldn’t be too fierce.”

“Understood.” Wei-ah nodded and then reminded Chen Mu, “You need to find a sufficiently powerful lion to lead this herd of sheep, or else the sheep will always remain sheep.”

Chen Mu responded, “What about you?”

Wei-ah shook his head. “I’m not suited to combat command.” He then thought it over and offered another opinion. “Maybe you can try it yourself at first. Your performance in the jungle was pretty good, and you must have that kind of potential.”

I have potential for that?! Chen Mu almost thought he had heard wrong. When he was in the jungle, he hadn’t done anything more than steel himself to push the ducklings onto their perch. It didn’t seem to him that he’d made such a fine performance. He didn’t understand how Wei-ah had come to that conclusion.

Maybe he could look for Alfonso and the others to help. Xi Weide wouldn’t be a bad candidate. He looked coarse, but his mind was delicate. Maybe his solitary fighting wasn’t so strong, but he did have experience leading the troops. Chen Mu believed if he were to bring up his requirements, neither Alfonso nor Xi Weide would refuse.

He turned the notion around in his brain and then dispelled it. At that time, there was too much danger in contacting Alfonso and the rest. Besides, the underground city was still mostly a gang of children. To pull their backbone, Xi Weide, would compromise the safety of the children.

Chen Mu was still rather fond of those Moqi Clan children. He didn’t want the surviving children to be in danger because of him.

Chen Mu was suddenly stumped. He finally didn’t adopt Wei-ah’s proposal because he considered himself a complete rookie in that regard. It would be better for him to commit to increasing his power instead of doing such things. As he saw it, that would be a little more reliable.

Chen Mu would have to set the problem aside for a little while as he continued to be busy with his training. However, some trivial things forced him to come forward.

A local Pomelo government official came. It was the Chief of Civil Affairs coming to deliver a subsidy. He was direct and generous, with quite satisfactory efficiency. Chen Mu didn’t have any feeling about it, but Lu Xiaoru and Bu Qiangdong looked full of disbelief. Since when did the Pomelo city government become so generous?

When that official beat around the bush to ask about the relationship between Heaven’s Wings and Central Island, it finally dawned on Chen Mu. He thought it must have been his attending Ren Wenzhou’s banquet. Heaven’s Wings’ stature had immediately gone up in the eyes of those officials.

Central Island’s rise was already a foregone conclusion. No matter which of the three sides Ren Wenzhou finally invested with, he would still be the winner. By having been invited, Heaven’s Wings was basking in their glory.

Chen Mu didn’t wish to get caught up in further details since getting some money would naturally be a good thing. The subsidy was 20 million Oudi. If it had come earlier, Chen Mu would have found it to be an astronomical amount. But, given the cost of the materials he’d consumed during the past few days, even hundreds of millions wouldn’t have phased him. Just those two folding Yanbo cards had gone as high as 50 million Oudi.

Chen Mu was even a little bit numb when he received that plug of money. The staff, including Bu Qiangdong, were so excited they nearly fainted. Twenty million was a huge amount of money! When they looked at Chen Mu’s calm expression, they couldn’t help but admire him. The boss was the boss, and even that attitude and calm made people feel admiration!

Seeing that Chen Mu wasn’t interested in chatting more, the official tactfully bid farewell. Anyway, Heaven’s Wings got a lot more opportunities for dealings in Pomelo after that, and they didn’t need to worry.

With 20 million in subsidy on top of the earnings from Central Island plus Heaven’s Wings’ profits during that period, the total liquid assets on Chen Mu’s hands had already reached 30 million Oudi.

If that were used to live on, 30 million Oudi would be enough for a family to pass a rather luxurious life. If it were used to conduct business, that amount of money would usually be pitifully small.

Chen Mu didn’t consider spending it. What he needed just then was training; the fatty’s warnings had stuck in his mind. However, the plan to recruit staff was clearly not feasible in his eyes. He had to find a different plan, which would be to increase his own power.

Moreover, he had a trump card on hand. The folding Yanbo card’s attack was so powerful even he—the one who made it—was surprised by it.

But he still hadn’t chosen to immediately practice using the folding Yanbo card. He instead chose to enter the mysterious card.

That card was the true wellspring of Chen Mu’s power!

* * *

That year was undoubtedly a banner year in Pomelo. Quite a few of the Pomelo citizens would remember it many years later, still with a note of excitement.

The Yang Clan Auction House was Pomelo’s largest auction house and one of only a handful in the Ming Zheng District. If an auction house of that scale were to be placed into the entire federation, it wouldn’t even have been among the top 50. But that auction house had still firmly attracted the attention of the entire federation.

That started with a single auction.

That was the numbered card called 001. It was only a three-star card, and it shouldn’t reasonably have been enough to draw anyone’s attention. It really didn’t. That card was outstanding, and its power was comparable to that of a four-star card, which left a lot of people drooling. However, because not many people knew about the auction, the card was purchased by the head of a card artisan firm for just 5,560,000 Oudi.

It was said that it was later sold off to someone for what was then a high price of 20 million Oudi, which that head-of-firm would come to deeply regret.

Lots of card artisans later got the news and bemoaned missing out. Among the next day’s auction items, there impressively appeared the strange card named 002. That similar numerically named card inherited the same high standards of 001. Although it was an auxiliary card, its powerful performance turned countless people’s eyes red with desire.

Those prepared to come that time far exceeded the previous time, and 002 was finally sold for 22,050,000 Oudi.

On the third day—as promised, 003—there was also a crazy auction! Still more people had caught on, and to raise the standards of the auction, every participant needed to pay an entrance fee of 100,000 Oudi. Even so, more than 100 people gained access. Card 003 was finally acquired for 32,200,000 Oudi.

Before 004 appeared at auction, the news had spread widely across the Heavenly Federation. The peculiar numbered cards’ superior performance and everyone’s crazed pursuit of them became a topic of conversation that was doubtlessly valuable for its hype. Many of the fantasy card viewer platforms started to hype it, bringing out detailed information about the cards’ characteristics.

After the announcements of the performance parameters, there was a great uproar across the federation.

Three-star fantasy cards were the most in demand in the federation, and they had the biggest consumer group. A top-notch three-star fantasy card’s value could be quite a bit higher than that of many four-star fantasy cards! The number of people coming to the Yang Clan Auction House suddenly surged, and among them were both card artisans and card masters. For the card artisans with money, one top-notch three-star fantasy card would be their life’s biggest guarantor. The card masters were still more curious about how those three-star cards could have had such outstanding performance.

Without a doubt, the appearance of 004 was resplendent. The entrance fee had surged to 200,000 Oudi that day, while the numbers abruptly rose to 250 people. From the entry fee alone, the Yang Clan Auction House made 50 million Oudi. Card 004 was no disappointment. The qualities, which turned people’s eyes red with envy once again, led to the eye-popping, jaw-dropping price of 46,780,000 Oudi.

The value of that numbered series of cards immediately surged! Countless fantasy card receiver platforms reported the news at the same time, and they also reported the cards’ performance parameters. Starting from 004, the numbered series cards became the object of countless mid- and high-grade card artisans’ dreams for a top-notch three-star card.

The Yang Clan Auction House had entered people’s awareness for the first time, becoming the center of attention. Where had such a seemingly ordinary auction house, with no deep background or long history, gotten such a set of numbered cards?

People in the know could see at a glance that the numbered series of cards had come from a single card master. Such an outstanding card master had suddenly become the coveted cash cow for many firms. If they could recruit him into their ranks, then wouldn’t they be able to have a steady stream of top-notch cards? Quite a few people even fantasized that if the entire card artisan firm could all be equipped with the numbered cards, that would make them into a numbered card troop. What kind of shocking battle power would they have then?

Nobody had considered that although the Yang Clan Auction House was small, it still had a few skills. No one knew where its big boss was hiding, and he basically didn’t show his face. With the complete blocking of any information from both the staff and outsiders, the immensely powerful firms had the surprising feeling of being helpless underlings.

There were so many titans gathered in little Pomelo—the little fish mixed with the dragons—that everyone remained scrupulous, and no one would dare to do any shady business. If they had really pressured the auction house to keep others from the auctions, it would provoke outrage with a miserable outcome.

Card 005 continued the mythmaking by exceeding a 40 million Oudi sales price.

Card 006 gave everyone’s excitement a big push. When that fantasy card’s energy body was emitted, it enabled the user to lock onto the enemy with breathtaking intelligence. It also carried on the special characteristic of the numbered card series: a high damage value. Before each card was auctioned, it would be demonstrated. After the demonstration of 006, the venue went dead. Everyone was obviously stunned by such an outrageous card.

With the speed of lightning, that news became the headline of every platform! The price for 006 was unprecedented, going up to 61 million Oudi. The public was amazed by such a number, but no one thought it was an accident.

That was really the price! In the polls of many of the platforms, they had more than a 60 percent approval rating.

The day after 006 was auctioned, still more people showed up in the venue. There were dense masses of people everywhere. But those who came were either rich or were big shots from the large firms, so there wasn’t much commotion.

Impressively, Zu Ning showed up at the venue with a thin middle-aged man at his side. The middle-aged man was shuffling along, clearly no card artisan. His narrow eyes were very alive, however, though they sometimes glinted with a glum chill.

Zu Ning tilted his head to listen. After a while, he laughed and said to the middle-aged man, “The entrance fee has risen another hundred thousand. Ha ha, it looks like this card today might be about to give everyone a pleasant surprise.” Seeing that the middle-aged man seemed to have something on his mind, he couldn’t help but ask with curiosity, “What do you think about these numbered series cards, Professor Bei? And what about their value?”

That cold and gloomy middle-aged man was a clinical professor at the Federation Comprehensive Academy. Anyone who could become a professor at that academy would have to be top-notch in their field. Bei Dong was a prestigious person at the Federation Comprehensive Academy, known as the ghostly genius of cards. All the cards he made were ingenious, unexpected, and rather obscure.

Zu Ning and Bei Dong hadn’t had any dealings, but it had to be a little surprising in his mind for the school to send Bei Dong. Unlike students, the professors at the Big Six would seldom be sent off to do things. So, when he’d heard the school was sending a professor, Zu Ning knew the importance to the school of the numbered series of cards. What he didn’t understand was why the school would send Bei Dong, who had a disagreeable and obscure temperament.

Professor Bei Dong’s temperament was a lot more famous than the cards he made at the Federation Comprehensive Academy. Those who sought cards from him seldom succeeded. Even his direct supervisor would often get rebuffed by him.

Bei Dong took a look at Zu Ning and said grumpily, “Nonsense. Would I race all the way over here if they had no value? This set of cards…” he groaned.

Zu Ning didn’t get mad. He knew Professor Bei was the same with everyone and wouldn’t treat him any differently because of being relatively unknown. He then asked, “What about today?”

“We have to win today’s card.” Bei Dong’s expression turned gloomier, and what he said was peremptory.

A voice abruptly interrupted their chat. “What a coincidence. I never thought I’d run into Brother Zu here!”

Jie Yanbai was walking over to them with a mild smile, having a beautiful, mature woman at his side. The beautiful woman was about 30 and had a dignified bearing. Seeing the two of them with their gazes focused on her, she wasn’t timid. She magnanimously saluted and said, “How are you both?”

Seeing Jie Yanbai, Zu Ning’s smile deepened as though he’d seen an old friend.