The Card Apprentice

A black object about half the size of a palm laid quietly in the wooden box. It was similar to a large ink block. Up close, the extremely thin dark gold stripes could be seen quite obviously, especially when it was put under the light. The golden stripes were sparkling, flashing on and off to display their beauty.

But that type of object, which was unlike wood or stone, was making Chen Mu unable to compare it to a bacterial spore organism. The inclusion of the term “liquid-soft” was also throwing him off. That thing was so different from what he had seen in pictures before, but he believed Tai-shu Yong wouldn’t lie to him at that point.

Tai-shu Yong was sensible enough to excuse himself at the right time.

* * *

Sue Lochiro was looking distressed as 200 energy needles shuttled in front of her, filling her vision with weaving lights and shadows. The training she was doing had the highest difficulty level among the other multi-thread control training methods for the medical card artisans. The multi-thread control training could help medical card artisans in promoting the use of perception to undergo several operations, especially in challenging operations like brain surgery. That type of surgery required medical card artisans to be equipped with outstanding multi-thread controlling ability.

The multi-thread control training not only required the medical card artisans to control different perceptions, but it also required them to reach an extremely high point of accuracy.

Sue Lochiro being able to control more than 200 energy needles simultaneously was a piece of shocking news! If the news was released, many influencers would definitely be eager to get that expert medical card artisan! But no one would guess that before she’d met Chen Mu, she had only been able to control 36 energy needles.

No one knew when she had started practicing the technique specifically or how much effort she had put into training. Whom was she doing it for? Even though she was training every day, few people knew about it. The multi-thread controlling had a great level of difficulty, but the feasibility of the technique was limited. It was a strictly professional technique.

The sweat was flowing down, making her bangs stick to her forehead, but she wasn’t aware of it. With her lips tightly pursed, her indescribable focus was on the flying energy needles. Controlling 200 energy needles at the same time used up a great amount of mental power. If other medical card artisans had witnessed that scene, their jaws would have dropped.

Sue Lochiro had started to practice long ago—practicing perception, practicing the specialized techniques of medical card artisans, learning about medicines and herbs… She always showed her smiling face in front of others, but no one knew how much she had sweated in her room alone. Similarly, no one knew she had persistently used the snow pit method like other card artisans to practice her perception skills.

Why was she doing all of that? Maybe she hoped to help more people in need. Maybe, other than to spread her pitifulness, she could also provide more assistance to her counterparts. Maybe she was doing it because the green thread in Chen Mu’s body had made her feel helpless. Maybe it was to catch up with the breathless way forward… Her soft and gentle eyes didn’t only reveal the fog from the steamy sweat but also the light firmness in her.

Her limit was 200 energy needles at that point. She had been at that stage for a long time and was yet to break through that limit. To control 200 energy needles at the same time had been unbelievable to her previously, but she now did it with no sense of happiness.

That many needles could be shocking news, but… Thinking of that complicated and tricky green thread being pricked in the flesh made her more uncertain of her own ability. This is not enough yet…

Her delicate eyebrows, wet bangs sticking to her forehead, and worried look still remained. The blue medical card artisan attire she was wearing was totally drenched in sweat and sticking to her body, faintly showing her exquisite, voluptuous body shape.

A soft sigh broke the silence in the room. After taking a shower, the weary look on her face disappeared a bit. At that moment, the apparatus on her wrist sounded.

In Chen Mu’s training room, Chen Mu, Wei-ah, and Qiu Shanyu were present, and Xiaobo and Sang Hanshui were standing at both sides of the doorway. Sang Hanshui appeared to be on guard against all possible dangers. Even Xiaobo held back his usual laughter, looking more serious. The Orderly Wave Wheel behind him was rotating silently.

Qiu Shanyu was shocked to see the screen stimulated by the communication matrix and the thousand-kilometer card. She had already known that Chen Mu controlled the jungle communication technology, but seeing it with her own eyes was a whole new experience for her. Upon first glance, she realized the so-called communication matrix was actually a type of card appliance.

Out of astonishment, her thoughts started to reactivate. Card appliances were undoubtedly Faya’s field of expertise. If they could obtain that technique, they would be able to use them in a short period of time. The breadth of the jungle was dangerous, but it also hid a huge amount of wealth.

Faya looked as if it was well-off, but even the top executives of Faya knew their route was getting narrower all the time! However, if they could own the jungle communication technology, their situation would be totally different!

She was rotating her brain, thinking of ways to persuade Cao Dong. She now felt a rare tinge of regret in her heart, which was something she hadn’t thought she would feel for killing Yang An. If it hadn’t been for Cao Dong, she wouldn’t have even remembered whom Yang An was. That small character had became the greatest barrier between Cao Dong and herself.

Damn! Feeling irritated for a moment, she subconsciously touched the faded scar on her upper lips. Thinking of another person had only caused her irritation to increase!

Killed means killed. Hmph! The anger in her narrow eyes was flashing, and her clenched fists secretly became tighter. Her expression turned colder and fiercer.

“Boss!” On the screen, Bogner, Xi Ping, and Sue Lochiro appeared at the same time. Xi Ping caught a sight of Qiu Shanyu and thought she looked relatively familiar.

Chen Mu sighed inwardly, knowing some problems needed to be confronted. He uttered, “She is the Madam from Faya, our captive.”

Xi Ping’s usual gentleness was gone abruptly, and his gaze was as sharp as a knife. He couldn’t conceal his immense hatred. Bogner was looking at her coldly, revealing his stern, murderous expression.

Xi Ping raised his head and asked with a trembling voice, “Boss, what do you plan to do with her?”

Chen Mu didn’t conceal anything; he truthfully told them everything that had happened. He then looked at them calmly and said, “That is my plan.”

Everyone remained silent. After quite a while, Bogner’s cheek muscles vibrated, and he said in a deep voice, “I support the boss’s decision!”

The expression on Xi Ping’s face changed. He hadn’t expected the matter to turn out like that, and his heart was in a great dilemma. His immense hatred for Qiu Shanyu made him even willing to give up his own life. But he had passed the age of being impulsive, and he was the oldest among the rest of them.

Hatred would definitely be unforgettable, but the living people were undoubtedly more important! Privately, Chen Mu was now his boss! Publicly, if anything happened to Chen Mu, the team would absolutely collapse. He was totally clear that he and Bogner were highly capable, but they weren’t suitable to be the leaders of a team. Moreover, no one could replace Chen Mu from his position on that team.

If the team collapsed, they would all be miserable living in those troubled times. And, little Yang Bo… The boss’s decision was not wrong, but…

He closed his eyes in agony for precisely ten minutes before opening them again, saying in a hoarse voice, “I support the boss’s decision!” He stared at Qiu Shanyu with a straight face, ignoring her smirk. He said gently, “Boss, I don’t care about her being alive or dead. Since we can’t kill her, let’s not kill her. But this hatred needs to be endured by Faya!”

Chen Mu’s heart felt bitter; he knew it hadn’t been an easy decision for Xi Ping. He then nodded without hesitation. “No matter which route we take in the future, I will make sure Faya pays the price!”

Xi Ping understood that even though his boss looked rather cool on the outside and seldom made promises, he would always find a way to keep a promise once he did make one. Xi Ping and Bogner knew clearly the life their boss hoped for. They also knew their boss had reached the current stage of his life not because of his great ambition; he had been forced to that point by fate. Other than people on his side, the boss didn’t care about the fate of others. Now, however, he was willing to make such a promise for him and Yang An. How could he not be agitated?

Xi Ping suddenly felt a strong sense of regret in his heart. It was due to his persisting hatred that Chen Mu had made that promise. They would be forced to confront the huge figure, Faya, and would be its enemy. The boss’s dream life, Bogner’s hope for life, Sue Lochiro’s life, and little Yang Bo’s future… Did they have to go through their lives in resentment? The world was in chaos! It wasn’t easy to even ask for survival. What would it take to care about revenge?

Chen Mu could tell Xi Ping was struggling with remorse and felt he had to say something. Thinking about it, he said with a calm expression, “Old Xi, don’t think too much! Yang An was my friend, and he was also a friend of Bogner’s. Staying alive is the main issue we need to look into. Other than surviving, though, we also need some other things. I had always wanted to find a place to live my life peacefully, but I now know that thought was unrealistic in this chaotic world.”

Chen Mu’s expression revealed a surge of self-mockery and desolation. Everyone kept silent. His words were strongly relatable to them.

“Most of the time, we need to struggle to survive. We can’t change this situation, so we can only learn to adapt. If we can’t adapt, we will all disappear. We finally understand that it’s not about what we want to achieve. If we want to survive, we need to stand on someone else’s dead body. This is how we’ve survived in troubled times. Even though we dislike it, we don’t have the right to decide. We won’t forget about hatred, but it cannot be a factor that affects our survival! A person who survives outweighs a dead resentment. Moreover, if we stay alive, there is always a chance for revenge!”

Chen Mu had revealed his calm side, which wasn’t in line with his actual age. It seemed like he was narrating a simple fact with a plain tone.

A soft voice with a light, cool tone could be heard saying, “It is almost winter. We must make sure to snatch enough steamed rolls to get through it. Our biggest enemy is not Faya; it’s wintertime!”