The Card Apprentice

Mobley had a grave expression as he bent down to carefully turn over the dingbird corpses. Every one of the dead bodies was riddled with wounds and heavily damaged. He finally understood why his counterpart hadn’t wanted the dingbirds’ wing skin, which looked like a sieve. It would be useless.

One of the team members couldn’t help but open his mouth. “Are we just going to leave things like this, Chief?”

“Yeah, we’ve spent three months searching for that flock of dingbirds with great difficulty. Now, that gang of jerks kills them! How are we going to just swallow that?” another team member added.

All the other team members were watching Mobley. They had expended a lot of effort on that flock of dingbirds, spending an entire three months. That wasn’t so that gang of jerks could just take them as though they were ready-made for them. How could they not be outraged?

Coldly looking at those troublemakers in a bad mood, Mobley shouted, “Shut your mouths! Are you so pigheaded? We’ve been dealing with these dingbirds for so long, and you still don’t understand how powerful and cunning those bastards are? Look at these bodies all pounded into a sieve! That gang is powerful. Are you that clueless?”

Everyone was silenced, knowing the leader was right. That flock of dingbirds had tormented them for so long; of course they shouldn’t underestimate their power. The power of that little team should certainly not be underestimated either.

The one who had first spoken couldn’t help but mumble, “If we hadn’t wanted the wing skin whole, why would we have turned on them?”

“Ok.” Mobley was tired of being tangled up with that stubborn guy. “We drove the dingbirds here, and fortunately they ran into them. If they had run into a less powerful caravan, that would have meant trouble.”

The others were taken aback by what Mobley said, only just realizing the fix they might have been in. Right. If they had driven the dingbirds there, it could have been a disaster for any caravan. The harm to the reputation of the Snowflake Card Artisan Team would be huge. They weren’t just some unknown team of card artisans. Their credibility and reputation were excellent. That was something every team member was proud of. Their attitudes were finally calmed down by that.

Not paying attention to the team members, Mobley looked at all the dead bodies on the ground and was momentarily stunned. He only then realized he had forgotten to ask the name of that team and its young boss. It was rare to run into such a powerful team. Not having made friends made him feel some regret. Then, there was that impassively calm youth who had made such an impression on him.

“Chief! Chief! Take a look at this!” one of the teammates shouted.

“What’s up?” Mobley lifted his head with some curiosity. That team member had always been rather savvy and would seldom be seen making a fuss. As he was asking, he started wading over to him.

“Take a look, Chief.” The teammate was pointing to a piece of bloody flesh on the ground with a serious expression. Those dozens of pieces of flesh of various sizes that were scattered on the ground should have been from the bodies of many dingbirds.

Mobley’s heart skipped a beat. Disregarding the acrid smell of fresh blood, he picked up a piece to look at. He expression gradually turned serious. The flesh was perfectly smooth where it had been cut. It must have been cut by something very sharp. On the ground where the dozens of pieces of flesh were strewn, Mobley found at a glance that it was the result of one dingbird being chopped up.

It was hard to imagine what card could achieve such results. The dingbirds were as fast as lightning, and the energy shield on their beaks was high-strength. No ordinary attack could break it up.

Glancing at the shredded flesh from the dingbird on the ground, he was looking for the head, which was cut into pieces just the same. After being hunted down, the head of a dingbird would often be the best-preserved part. That was because it was protected by the conical energy shield during the process of the impact.

But there was only a single dingbird like that among all the bodies. That calmed Mobley a little bit. It looked like there was an ace watching over that team. That was common enough as he thought about it. A large team like that would have to have an ace watching over them.

Mobley had already made up his mind that the next time he ran into that team, he would be certain to make friends.

* * *

Chen Mu was already moving on, and they were about to enter the icy and snowy regions. They stopped on the edge of the region at a small village called Oak. That “little village” wasn’t much smaller than Bartleman Village. It was located on the edge of the icy and snowy region, making it an important replenishment point. Caravans and card artisans going back and forth had brought prosperity to Oak.

Since it wasn’t on the plains, it didn’t have the magnificent grace of Bartleman, but it did have a feeling of cold heights that Bartleman didn’t have.

Before they got to the small village of Oak, everyone clearly felt the temperature plummet. Chen Mu and his team would have to buy clothes to keep warm. Although they were wearing battle suits that had cost 300,000 Oudi apiece, the warmth of those rompers was nothing to speak of.

Apart from that, they also needed to buy a few shuttle cars. That had been Brenton’s suggestion. Unless card artisans were truly aces, few would use jet stream cards in the icy and snowy regions. The strange and unfathomable flow of cold in midair was enough to freeze you solid, and it could blow you in any direction. Compared to a jet stream card, a shuttle car would actually be more reliable.

Chen Mu adopted his suggestion. With so many non-combatants among them, safety would be extremely important.

Brenton had always thought that party to be strange. They knew nothing about the Heavenly Drum Village District. He really didn’t understand why they weren’t riding in the long shuttle trains with so many non-combatants on the team. If they were to take the shuttle train, not only could they get to their destination more quickly, but they also wouldn’t run into danger. The cost certainly wouldn’t be more than buying several shuttle cars.

But those thoughts only flashed through his mind. He kept warning himself that he was only their guide, so what was he doing thinking about it so much? Brenton smiled. For him, the income would be enough for several months of benefit payments. He wasn’t some little princeling who knew nothing about the world. He had seen with his own eyes how they had annihilated dozens of dingbirds.

Although his counterpart hadn’t said so, he surmised the team was a team of card artisans. A card artisan team at their level would be really awesome, although he still hadn’t remembered which card artisan team he had in his head that might be connected with the gang in front of him. If he could establish good relations with those card artisans, it would doubtlessly be a big haul for him. That was why he was being cooperative and never mixed up about the directions. If his counterpart had any questions, he would answer them patiently.

Chen Mu was drinking hot tea, a kind that was a necessary staple for life in the icy and snowy regions. It could promote the body’s blood circulation. It tasted a little salty and had a unique palate. Once it was drunk, the whole body would feel warm and comfortable in the cold places.

Sue Lochiro, Lu Xiaoru, and Ru Qiu were also holding hot tea. After the three of them drank it, their faces were red all over and unspeakably alluring. They turned the heads of the card artisans who were resting all around.

But those three women didn’t feel the least bit uncomfortable. Of course, nothing more needed to be said about Sue Lochiro and Lu Xiaoru, but even Ru Qiu had countless suitors on campus.

The lounge provided snacks and tea, and if you wanted something to eat, they could provide that as well. Card artisans would generally be there for short stays, and there were quite a few card receivers in the lounge. Many of the card artisans liked to watch the news or talk about it.

There weren’t more than 100 with Chen Mu, and they didn’t really draw any attention in the large hall. Such a huge hall could hold more than 2,000 at once.

After a while, Xi Ping, Xiaobo, and Brenton returned.

“We’ve purchased what we need.” Xi Ping was always meticulous in what he did. He then leaned in to tell Chen Mu something in his ear. “I found out where the black market is here, Boss. Should we deal with those things?”

Chen Mu was taken aback, immediately understanding what “those things” referred to. After a little thought, Chen Mu nodded.

Xi Ping stood back up. Before Xiaobo could bring his tea to his mouth, he heard Xi Ping saying languidly, “Little Bo…” Xiaobo felt a sudden shiver, and the hot tea near his mouth nearly scalded his lips. He would unconsciously shudder when he heard Xi Ping call out “Little Bo.” By the time he had signed over the deed to his body, he had slowly started to become familiar with Chen Mu and the others, and he found out how crafty that old crook was. Thinking back on when he had so foolishly entered into their trap, he felt such remorse that his guts turned blue. It left a dark shadow in his heart.

Only afterward did he discover it wasn’t such a great deal to be there. Needless to say, no one dared to guess what the boss was thinking. And, there was Wei-ah. When Xiaobo saw Wei-ah, he would deliberately take a detour. We are handsome guys and don’t recognize those who aren’t human.

Who would have thought Bogner would be a crafty character as well? He didn’t even have the strength to call out after every day’s training.

Then, there was Sue Lochiro, the boss’s woman. No moves on her. That old crook Xi’s warning still rang in his ear. Lu Xiaoru was so bright and radiant, but apart from the boss and Sue Lochiro, she wouldn’t even look at anyone else.

Fortunately, there was still Ru Qiu. Although she didn’t have great looks, her refreshing temperament was enough to cause a rush of excitement. Who knew she would be so hard to chat with? Ru Qiu gave him a note after a looking at him for a while.

“There are ten questions there. If you answer six, you pass. If you pass, you can come looking for me again.” Ru Qiu took a look at Xiaobo, whose face had turned white, and smashed his every last hope. “Oh, right. After the written test is complete, there’s still an interview.”

Carrying the test paper along with his broken heart, Xiaobo silently left Ru Qiu’s room. Under a twin attack to his flesh and his spirit, Xiaobo immediately became more honest.

Watching Xi Ping looking at him, all smiles, Xiaobo hastily stood up with a shiver. Leaving the lounge, Xiaobo couldn’t help but ask, “Where are we going, supervisor?” His gaze fell onto the box Xi Ping was carrying.

Xi Ping carelessly brought the box in front of Xiaobo’s face. “We’re just, um, going to do some little business.”

“Oh.” Xiaobo nodded, seeming to understand without understanding. He took the box perfectly honestly. What was in it? It was rather heavy, but seeing that Xi Ping wasn’t paying attention, he thought it probably wasn’t worth much.

In the lounge, Chen Mu was in the middle of discussing something with Bogner. “What thoughts do you have about where we might go?” That was the most important question looming in front of them as they were about to enter the icy and snowy regions. They needed to determine their objective.

Bogner shook his head, continuing to smile. “I’m not familiar with this place. I’ll have to consider it some more. Ha ha, but if we keep going along like this, it won’t be so easy if the Federation Comprehensive Academy comes looking for us again! We don’t know where we’re going ourselves, so I’d say they wouldn’t be able to guess!”

Chen Mu couldn’t help but smile. Yep. Even he hadn’t thought through where they were going, so how could the Federation Comprehensive Academy guess? The reason they hadn’t taken the train was to avoid the Federation Comprehensive Academy’s line of sight.

Tang Hanpei had left a deep impression on Chen Mu. Whether it was by power alone or by other more thoughtful means, that man wanted power to a simply outrageous extent. Moreover, that case of cards Xi Ping had just gone off with were all produced at the Federation Comprehensive Academy. He hadn’t taken out the Cross-Section of Styles. He still hadn’t completely gone through it. That card would also be too eye-catching. Chen Mu didn’t want to provoke any trouble by selling it. By comparison, the three- or four-star cards in that case would only be considered ordinary.

Just then, the voice on the card receiver attracted all of their attention. Chen Mu and Bogner were both taken aback and looked at one another, not being able to stop their gaze from returning to the screen.

“The latest news! We’ve just received late-breaking news! Three months ago, Tang Hanpei suddenly made his attack, cutting off Pomelo entirely from the outside world. Just now, we’ve received news that someone has left Pomelo!”

The host’s thrilled voice made everyone stop what they were doing.