The Card Apprentice

Bogner and Xi Ping had been waiting for a while. Chen Mu and Wei-ah’s operation that day had a high degree of danger, and they were worried. They hadn’t told Jiao Si about it for reasons of secrecy.

The two of them were a little dumbstruck when they saw Chen Mu. They saw him with a backpack strapped to his chest and a suitcase that was half the size of a person on his back, along with a woman over his shoulder. He looked like some thief returning with his booty. Wei-ah looked a lot better, though he also had a half-person-sized suitcase on his back.

Seeing them, Chen Mu walked quickly into the meeting room. He walked past Xi Ping while ordering, “Call Lu Xiaoru over.” Bogner and Xi Ping looked at one another before following. Xi Ping opened his communications card as he was walking.

Entering the meeting room, they saw two huge suitcases on the table, along with a backpack and a woman—an unconscious woman.

A really beautiful woman!

Bogner and Xi Ping felt things brightening up in front of them as their gazes turned back to Chen Mu with some flash of understanding. Xi Ping was worldly in the end, and he saw it all in an instant. He asked in astonishment, “Yi! Isn’t that the master medical card artisan Sue Lochiro?”

“Mmmm.” Chen Mu responded without saying anything. Pointing to the unconscious woman on the table, Chen Mu said to Lu Xiaoru, “Take Sue Lochiro to a room, and watch over her. Call me when she wakes up.”

Lu Xiaoru looked at the unconscious Sue Lochiro with a hint of astonishment flashing past her eyes. But she knew what she should ask about and what she shouldn’t, so she just nodded and said, “Yes, sir.”

After she carried Sue Lochiro away, Bogner closed the door of the meeting room again. His and Xi Ping’s gazes were focused on Chen Mu.

“The operation this evening went smoothly.” Although Chen Mu was trying to calm his voice, he couldn’t help but show some excitement.

Bogner and Xi Ping looked at one another, the two of them both seeing the joy in the other’s eyes. The operation they had planned had put Faya into an awkward position, forcing them out of the shadows and onto center stage. If Faya had been thinking of gaining something from that battle, they would have to participate in the carnage.

The price Faya had paid for that far exceeded their previous estimations.

Being able to get such revenge for the fatty made them feel perfectly gratified. To see their plans succeed with their own eyes meant the feeling of accomplishment was far beyond compare. Both Bogner and Xi Ping well knew the operation would directly influence the warring in the entire Heavenly Federation.

Seeing the excitement in their eyes, what Chen Mu said afterward was like a bombshell that blasted the two of them silly.

“I killed Zu Ning.”

His voice wasn’t loud, but the room went immediately silent.

“B-boss, w-what did you just say?” Bogner stammered. His expression showed how weird he found it before his excitement had even faded. He was struck dumb by the shocking works of Chen Mu.

Xi Ping’s expression was also pushed out of its rut. A man older than 40 with his mouth hanging open, speechless, looked dully at Chen Mu.

“I killed Zu Ning,” Chen Mu repeated.

“Why?” Bogner responded quickly, restoring his cool. Looking calm, he was actually feeling utterly imperiled.

The boss has killed Zu Ning! The boss actually killed Zu Ning!

Who was Zu Ning? He was the darling of the Federation Comprehensive Academy and the idol of countless people. He was the pride of the younger generation. In the midst of battle that day, even Qiao Yuan hadn’t killed Zu Ning.

An ace who was famous throughout the federation had been silently killed at the hands of the boss. While the boss was quite powerful in their minds, no one was likely to bring him up together with Zu Ning. That was just too laughable. It was like comparing a card artisan and a card master to see who was better at killing people!

He was a card master. He was truly outstanding to the point of being called a pure card master! Who would dare say a card master who could make the numbered series of cards wasn’t sufficiently pure? Was he a mongrel?

Moreover, it was just such a pure card master who could actually kill the ace who was the pride of the youth of the federation—the genius student of the Federation Comprehensive Academy among the great Big Six! When Chen Mu spoke, he was always self-deprecating, as though there were nothing surprising in what he had accomplished.

Bogner was saying if that affair got out, he believed the explosive news would be the topic of 90 percent of the federation platforms’ headlines. His gaze fell onto the ever-calm Chen Mu when he finally discovered how shallow and scanty his understanding of the boss was.

Xi Ping was completely stunned. He had been with the fatty for more than 20 years and had gone through who knew how much turmoil. When it came to being shocked, however, nothing compared to what was happening that evening.

It had started with luring the Central Repository of the Classics out of the dark and attacking the Faya encampment, all while quietly influencing the trend of the federation. Soon afterward, they’d killed the only remaining ace of the Federation Comprehensive Academy, Zu Ning. Although Zu Ning wasn’t such a legendary person as Qiao Yuan, he was still someone people looked up to. With some imagination, they could understand Zu Ning’s position.

Previously, the most awesome card artisans in Pomelo had been the bar-browed man, Lu Xiaoru and those people. They represented the topmost aces of Pomelo. But Zu Ning was so many levels above them. Any scholar from the Big Six could have such skills.

Zu Ning was still outstanding in such an environment, seen as the important object of cultivation for the Federation Comprehensive Academy. You could imagine how powerful he would become.

By that time, however, such a powerful person—an ace they had become used to looking up to—had been killed by Chen Mu.

“I thought he had something on him that I needed.” Chen Mu had long since been restored from his previous excitement. So, when he spoke about what had happened, his expression was rather calm.

“Oh, so you just killed him?” Bogner asked cautiously.

Chen Mu nodded and said with a composed expression, “Mmmm, I didn’t want the news to get out, so I just killed him.”

Bogner and Xi Ping looked at one another and then speechlessly at Chen Mu. They had surprisingly calmed down after the initial shock. Everyone had experienced blood, but since the adversary had been Zu Ning, they were shocked.

Poor Zu Ning! They actually had some sympathy for him. It looked like they would have to reconsider the boss’s battle power since he was so easily able to kill Zu Ning.

Bogner pointed to the backpack and two suitcases on the table and asked, “What are those?”

“I found their defenses too lax and conveniently cleared out their storehouse.” Chen Mu’s expression while speaking was as though he had cleaned out his own storehouse.

The two of them were still more speechless. Never mind killing someone else’s chief—but to then rob someone else’s storehouse? That was just too astounding! If they didn’t know the reason, they would certainly have thought the boss had some kind of deep enmity with the Federation Comprehensive Academy.

Bogner and Xi Ping made up their minds that the news could never get out! If it did, the aftermath… When they thought about all the card artisans from the Federation Comprehensive Academy whose eyes would turn red, inundating their tiny base like a tide, they couldn’t help but shiver. They could never speak about the killing!

Even though they had been prepared, they couldn’t help but gulp when they opened the two suitcases.

Inside the first suitcase were well-arranged four-star power cards, 800 altogether by a cursory count. The market price for a four-star power-card was 150,000 Oudi, so there were 120 million worth. That amount of four-star power cards could influence the price fluctuation for four-star power cards in an entire city.

That wasn’t what had thrilled them—it was the other suitcase. Inside that one were mostly three-star fantasy cards, along with a small portion of four-star fantasy cards. There were about 800 fantasy cards altogether, and all of them had come from the Federation Comprehensive Academy.

While the fantasy cards produced by the Federation Comprehensive Academy weren’t up to those of the Central Repository of the Classics, which had the most powerful influence on the market, the fantasy cards produced by the Big Six were never cheap.

An ordinary three-star fantasy card’s price was in the range of 300,000 to 500,000 Oudi. While the three-star fantasy cards produced by the Big Six were never less than 800,000 Oudi, the finest among them might be worth several million. Four-star fantasy cards produced by the Big Six cost more than 3 million, and the price of the finest goods were hard to measure.

There were 600 three-star fantasy cards and 150 four-star fantasy cards. Estimating it like that, the cards in the suitcases were worth almost 900 million. That was still a conservative estimate. In Xi Ping’s sinister gaze, there were quite a few fine pieces there that could be priced at the top 15 or 20 percent of the market.

The Big Six had always strictly controlled their internally produced cards, and they were difficult to buy on the market. Combined with the recent chaos, which had greatly stimulated the price of fantasy cards, Xi Ping reckoned that with that suitcase alone, they could get at least about 1.5 billion.

Once the numbers came out, the three of them were all dumbfounded. Wei-ah was the only one who remained calm. The concepts of one or one billion weren’t very different in his mind.

“We’ve really made out this time!” Bogner murmured. They’d used several hundred million to recruit so many people and to build a base. If they were to have several billion on hand, there was just too much they could do.

Xi Ping looked fanatical. As a businessman, what could give him more pleasure than wealth? But he still remained rather cool. “The problem is where they came from. It would cause some trouble if anyone were able to determine that. We better go through the black market. That way, although our take would decrease by 20 percent, we wouldn’t be leaving any tracks.”

“You take care of that. We’ll keep the power cards.” Chen Mu simply turned the matter over to Xi Ping.

“Good grief, so many cards. It would be enough to arm a card artisan team of several hundred. Ai, too bad we already have that set of cards. Otherwise, if we kept these cards for our own use, it wouldn’t be so bad. Good cards are hard to get now.” Bogner couldn’t help but feel some regret. It looked as though he had never encountered a situation where money wouldn’t buy a good card.

Chen Mu then opened the backpack, in which were all the things taken from Zu Ning’s body. Chen Mu recognized some of them and didn’t recognize others.

Xi Ping and Bogner, who could be said to have broad experience, couldn’t help but change to their expressions that time.

“These are all Zu Ning’s things?” Bogner’s tone was a little nervous.

“Right.” Chen Mu was looking at the two of them as though something were a little odd. They both looked nervous. “Is there some problem?”

“There’s a big problem!” Bogner answered with a sneer, right along with the one from Xi Ping.

Seeing that Chen Mu didn’t understand, Bogner pulled out a red fantasy card from the backpack to explain. “Do you recognize this, Boss?”

“A two-star fantasy card.” Taking a look, Chen Mu made an accurate judgment.

“It is a two-star fantasy card.” The sneer on Bogner’s face didn’t diminish in the least as he said, “If I haven’t guessed wrong, all of the legacies should be recorded in there. Connecting that with your having gotten them from Zu Ning’s body, I’m guessing it’s most likely the Cross-Section of Styles legacy.”

“Cross-Section of Styles?”

“Right.” Bogner continued, “This is one of the most famous of the Federation Comprehensive Academy legacies. Zu Ning had gotten the privilege to practice the legacies.”

“Oh.” Chen Mu didn’t quite respond. “It’s something good.”

The sense of the sneer on Bogner’s face deepened. “It’s something good! Not only that, it’s really hot. Not only did you get the Cross-Section of Styles card from Zu Ning’s body, but you also got its legacies. Therefore, you can now study the Cross-Section of Styles legacies.”

“I don’t know how to do that.” Chen Mu shook his head to nix the idea.

Bogner then patiently explained, “That’s not what others would think—or at least that’s not what the Federation Comprehensive Academy would think. A legacy like the Cross-Section of Styles is kept absolutely secret within the academy. The selection of card artisans for it is extremely strict. To leak such top-secret skills would be a responsibility no one would take on. The Federation Comprehensive Academy would absolutely never allow such a thing to happen. I can be certain they would find some way to get it back. Moreover, they would kill off anyone they could find who had seen it.”

“I understand.” Chen Mu nodded, though he didn’t seem to be bothered by the issue. Laughing, he said, “I killed Zu Ning. If they find out, would they let me go?”

Bogner was taken aback. “Not likely. They would certainly kill you if they found out.”

“Mmmm, so that means the results would be the same. Whether or not we have those two things, the Federation Comprehensive Academy wouldn’t let me go. So, why should I worry?” Chen Mu looked at Bogner.

Bogner became abruptly dumbfounded.

Chen Mu suddenly asked, “Can it be sold?”

Xi Ping, who had been nodding all along, was suddenly struck dumb. “You want to sell it? It’s one of the top legacies of the Federation Comprehensive Academy and of the entire federation. It’s something countless people dream about.”

“Dream about?” Chen Mu immediately responded with, “That’s to say it would bring a good price?”

Xi Ping said impatiently, “Of course you could sell it for a high price, though there’s no way I could make an accurate estimation. But I’d recommend you keep it. It would really be too bad to sell such a level of inheritance, along with the cards that go with it.”

“Sell it.” Chen Mu was quite insistent. “I’ll study it a little and sell it off. Using that card would make it easier for the Federation Comprehensive Academy to detect that we were the ones who stole it. It would be better to sell it in exchange for the funds we need.”

Both of them remained silent. Chen Mu wasn’t wrong. If they were to keep that set of things, it would explode some time or another. Once it had been discovered, the aftermath would be gravely serious.

Bogner didn’t insist any further but asked in response, “Can this stuff really be sold for a good price? Wouldn’t everyone be scrupulous about the Federation Comprehensive Academy and not dare to buy it?”

Xi Ping smiled. “Don’t worry about that anymore. There are lots of bold people in this world. Furthermore, although the Federation Comprehensive Academy is one of the Big Six, there are many things they can’t control in this world. Plus, I reckon the other five, especially the Central Repository of the Classics, would be happy to put their oars in the water.”

Bogner excitedly rubbed his hands. “Ha ha, that would be best. Sell for a good price, and we’ll get by a lot better.”

Chen Mu pulled out a few money cards. “There are still quite a few money cards. Take a look to see how much there is.”

Xi Ping took them and exclaimed, “They’re unregistered money cards!” He quickly put one of them into his own apparatus, and his face showed a look of ecstasy.

It looked like they had a lot of money, and Chen Mu felt pretty pleased. Given the glint in Xi Ping’s eyes, it was certainly no small number to have made him look so ecstatic. Xi Ping grew even more so as he slid them in, one by one.

“How much?” Bogner couldn’t repress the question.

“We’re rich, Boss!” Xi Ping’s voice was trembling.

“Don’t just tantalize me; how much is it?” Bogner said in agitation.

“Five billion!”

Xi Ping spat out a number that struck everyone dumb. For the second time, the meeting room went silent. After a while, Bogner finally muttered, “Goodness gracious, am I dreaming?”

Chen Mu was also dazed. “That much?”

Xi Ping was actually the first to calm down. “Mmmm, it must have been part of the reward for Ren Wenzhou. That seems right. Zu Ning came to talk about conditions with Ren Wenzhou and wouldn’t have left out any inducements. Such a number for the technology to communicate through the jungle could only be considered a pot sweetener for a big, local guy like Ren Wenzhou. It’s a little bit like a deposit, though it looks like the Federation Comprehensive Academy and Ren Wenzhou had never talked about it, which is to our advantage.”

Xi Ping’s analysis corresponded precisely with the truth.

Chen Mu and Bogner felt their brains fluttering. Such a shocking number might be considered a small deposit in the eyes of the Big Six. The ways of the world really did leave a person speechless.

Xi Ping then said excitedly, “These are all unregistered money cards, Boss. There is no danger in them; we can pull out the money whenever we want.”

Chen Mu still felt like he was fluttering as he responded unconsciously, “Oh, that’s great!”

So many hundreds of millions made him feel as though he were dreaming. He was a little bit numb. The take that evening had completely exceeded his any expectation. The first thing he then thought of was nothing more than to sweep the warehouse clean of energy cards. That was because the daily consumption of energy cards in the base was really giving him a headache.

When he found out what he’d gotten was actually that huge, a powerful sense of unreality swept over him. Was he dreaming? If he were, that dream was really wonderful!

To sneak up on Qiao Yuan and Mi Xiaqing, escape unscathed, transfer the brunt by forcing Faya to center stage, quietly infiltrate the Federation Comprehensive Academy encampment and kill their top ace, Zu Ning, and rake in the wealth worth several billion… That sort of dream was about as gorgeous as it got.

The more gorgeous thing was that it wasn’t just a dream—it was real.

Bogner’s blood was already completely boiling. His eyes had turned red and his face fanatical. He was desperately rubbing his hands and drooling, staring at Chen Mu. “We’ve just wiped them clean. What a lot of money!”

He then counted on his fingers. “The things at the Central Repository of the Classics encampment would be worth no less. Oh, the Faya patrimony is also quite rich…”

Without ignoring the utterly crazed Bogner, Chen Mu stared hard at Xi Ping. “Is that true?”

Xi Ping had gone red in the face from excitement and couldn’t evade Chen Mu’s gaze. He strenuously nodded, unable to conceal the joy in his voice. “It’s true! We’re really rich, Boss!”

Off to the side, Wei-ah was looking on coolly, seeing the three of them looking nuts as they danced about. Were they practicing? The moves were too unorthodox! He was wondering whether he would go over to correct them.

After a full ten minutes, the three of them finally calmed down. You couldn’t blame them. The one with the most contact with money was Xi Ping, but the most he had ever had at one time was no more than 1 billion. Their one-time straight income that time was 7 or 8 billion. How could that not make a person crazy? Such a number would be the entire annual income for a large firm.

What a wonderful world!