The Card Apprentice

At the Yuzi Military Force, an unconscious man was lying on the bed in front of Tan Yumin. The man was thin, and his right arm was covered in blood.

Ji Zhihao looked serious, and his tone was extraordinarily grave. “I didn’t expect the White Commander to be surrounded by such a strong power. It’s hard to imagine he is the descendant of Caesar, who is known for his isolation. It looks like his style is totally different from Caesar’s.”

Tan Yumin looked calm. “He used State Zero. Caesar practiced the Materials Refinement Code, which is well-known in the Heavenly Federation. But few people know his real skill was relying on the authentic State Zero of the Materials Refinement Code.”

“State Zero…” Ji Zhihao muttered, suddenly looking up. “I don’t understand, Miss Tan. Why are you suspicious of him?”

Tan Yumin’s beautiful eyes suddenly showed a little nostalgia as she sighed softly. “At that time, my mother was only 20 years old. Her skill was limited, so she left home to gain experience. She met my father and another scholar named Shui Qingyan from the Central Repository of the Classics. My father had been famous for a long time, and Shui Qingyan was about the same age as my mother.”

“Shui Qingyan?” Ji Zhihao frowned; he had never heard of that name.

“In my mother’s narrative, Shui Qingyan has a soft and gentle disposition and does not like to talk. She’s not famous, but you must have heard of her students,” Tan Yumin said.

“Her student? The Central Repository of the Classics?” Ji Zhihao was thinking briefly and suddenly revealed his astonishment. “Is it Jie Yanbai?”

“Well, it’s Xie Yanbai.” Tan Yumin walked slowly to the window. The light of the fantasy card advertisement outside the window reflected on her perfect face, which made it difficult for people to take their eyes off of her. Looking out the window, she seemed to be gazing at the scenery. She then said, “Who would have thought this insignificant woman could cultivate the most powerful card artisan of the Central Repository of the Classics? Not even my mother could have thought of it.”

Listening to Tan Yumin telling those old stories, Ji Zhihao somehow felt a little uneasy out of nowhere.

“During that period, the contradictions among the Big Six were not as intense as they are now. The three of them kept each other company and talked happily. They unintentionally learned there might be a transit window near Eastern Shang-Wei City, and they planned to investigate it.”

“Eastern Shang-Wei City?” The name of that place once again made Ji Zhihao furrow his eyebrows. “A few years ago, Star Academy suddenly sent many students to a school in Eastern Shang-Wei City. At that time, it attracted many people’s attention, and I had a deep impression about it. Could it be…”

Tan Yumin nodded. “Well, I was wondering if they received any information from somewhere.”

“I see.” Ji Zhihao looked deep in thought. “What happened next?”

“They went into the jungle from Eastern Shang-Wei City, constantly searching for the transit window. The three of them almost died when they unexpectedly encountered a large group of wild beasts.” Tan Yumin was still looking out the window. “They met Caesar at that time. Four people worked together to overcome their difficulties and then kept each other company. Caesar and my mother got along very well with each other. Soon after, Shui Qingyan returned to the Central Repository of the Classics. After a while, they still got nothing, and my father gave up searching and returned to Star Academy. My father was the strongest card artisan among the younger generation of Star Academy at that point. He was responsible for its revitalization.

“Caesar did not act as fiercely as he did later, and his wisdom was highly respected in my mother’s narration. He was amazingly talented as a card artisan. Although he was young years ago, he had already revealed some of the demeanor of an ace. He and my mother often discussed the problem they faced during their practice together. At that time, he began to conceptualize State Zero. Caesar didn’t hide the Materials Refinement Code from my mother, so she knew it much better than others did. In the discussion about Caesar’s perception, my mother discovered something surprising.”

“What was it?” Ji Zhihao asked as he listened attentively.

“The perceptual nature of Caesar is peculiar. Besides the well-known nature of being sensitive to objects, Caesar also has the nature of a card master.” Speaking of that, Tan Yumin couldn’t help but raise her voice. “The secret of Caesar is unknown to anyone but my mother. No one has ever had such perception since Heiner Van Sant. Card artisan and card master, clearly demarcated—for hundreds of years, no one has been able to cross this line.”

Ji Zhihao looked startled.

“Unfortunately, Caesar isn’t interested in making cards but is addicted to the practice of card artisan,” Tan Yumin said gently. “After confirming the White Commander was the successor of Caesar, I have been thinking about something. Does he know how to make cards? Based on the information provided by Janet and others, the masked maker of the numbered series of cards had been staring at the design for a long time. He’s a student of Caesar, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had seen these things. In my mother’s narrative, she didn’t mention whether Caesar had copied the design and had brought it back. In this world, the person most likely to know the origin of these designs is Caesar, followed by his heir, the White Commander.”

“Now, I understand.” Ji Zhihao suddenly realized something. “The information also mentioned that the maker of the numbered series of cards was accompanied by a card artisan with a strange aura behind him. It happens that the White Commander is surrounded by two more people. Does Miss Tan want to start with this clue?”

“Well.” Tan Yumin revealed some feeling of admiration. Ji Zhihao’s wit was what she admired most.

Ji Zhihao murmured, “It’s just that if the White Commander is really the descendant of Caesar, he should know Miss Tan. But it seems like he doesn’t know Miss Tan at all.”

Tan Yumin shook her head. “Maybe Caesar didn’t tell him anything. The Caesar of now and the Caesar my mother knew were practically two different individuals.”

Ji Zhihao agreed. “It’s possible. Caesar now has a violent temper and an impermanent disposition.” He looked at the thin card artisan, who was still unconscious, with some signs of anxiety. “But what’s the origin of the card artisan who was with him? Someone who can injure Tan Zhi is by no means an ordinary card artisan.”

Just then, Tan Zhi woke up and opened his mouth to say only one sentence. “Miss, it’s him.” He then returned to the state of unconsciousness.

Ji Zhihao, who had been looking a little surprised before, took on a ghastly expression. Tan Yumin stared out the window as if she was oblivious.

* * *

It was the tenth day of Bogner’s entry into the jungle. His plan was simple: breaking through the blockade, going deep into the jungle, and making a detour to survive. After entering the jungle, the gap between the two parties would rapidly become narrow. In that crisis-ridden jungle, they needed to face the common enemy, the beasts, followed by each other. In fact, Bogner put himself to death first and then pulled the other party into the same position as him. In that case, the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team couldn’t be enclosed and couldn’t even use the most basic methods of communication.

Breaking through the encirclement had been simple. Having witnessed the power of the Oudi Burner, coupled with the speculation that the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm had a large number of sniper card artisans against them, no force had dared to block their actions. Bogner and others had arrived at the edge of the jungle with ease. The Blood-Red Card Artisan Team, which had been unclear about the intention of the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm, reacted at that point and was furious.

When the prey was easily free from the predator, it was humiliating for anyone—especially when it happened under the eyes of the public.

Wu Yan, the head of the Blood Hammer Unit, was criticized most severely by headquarters. The fiery Blood Hammer Unit was making great efforts to speed up the catch-up. After learning that the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm had entered the jungle, Wu Yan was furious and ordered them to enter the jungle immediately.

Qi Li inserted his hands into his pants pockets, and his face was looking proud. He sneered and said, “Ha! These useless people from the Snow Silkworm Card Artisan Firm. How naïve of them! Do they think they can run away after getting into the jungle?”

No one doubted what he said. As the trump card of the Blood-Red Card Artisan Team, they were able to cope with all kinds of complex situations after hundreds of battles.

Wang Yong carefully observed the tracks on the ground and quickly made a prediction. “They arrived here at noon the day before yesterday. From the tracks, they should have more than 200 non-combatants.”

“Oh, great! That’s very close! Can’t wait for it!” Shi Fengfei’s dark blue eyes were moving up and down happily. The others, aside from Wu Yan, consciously kept more than five meters away from her.

Wu Yan’s face was stretched with well-written scars as he murmured, “Pursue at full speed!”

Qi Li saw the deputy captain, who was glued to the big boss. He tactfully went to Wang Yong’s side and said, “Well done, Wang Yong!”

The wrinkles on Wang Yong’s face stretched out. “Ha ha. It’s just okay. My skill can be utilized occasionally.”

“Damn! Such a hypocrite!” Qi Li looked scornful and envious. “Compared to the jungle pursuits, it is assumed that few people in the Heavenly Federation can surpass you, right? Maybe you can teach me a couple of skills.”

Wang Yong forced a smile with wrinkles gathering on his face again. “What can I do with this little skill? You have never seen real jungle pursuits before. That’s why you settle with this little trick of mine.”

Qi Li snorted in disbelief. “Forget about it. If you don’t want to teach, just tell me. Do you need to be such a hypocrite?”

Wang Yong said earnestly, “I’m not bluffing. There’s a legend in our card artisan society. I don’t know if you’ve heard of it.”

“What legend?” Qi Li glanced at Wang Yong twice and noticed that the old man seemed serious. His attention was immediately drawn to him.

“Well, it was maybe more than a decade ago. It wasn’t long before I entered the team, and it was also the heyday of that legend. It was called the Black Hibiscus Card Artisan Team, and it was one of the most powerful card artisan teams in the Heavenly Federation at that time. There were very few of them, similar to our Blood Hammer Unit.”

“Impossible!” Qi Li was annoyed. “Wang Yong, am I a fool to you? How many people are there in our Blood Hammer Unit? More than 2,000 people. How could a two-person card artisan team be the strongest in the Heavenly Federation?”

“What he said is true!”

Wang Yong didn’t realize Shi Fengfei had appeared next to them, causing him to tremble in fear.

She tilted her head and scratched her chin gently with her purplish-red nails, a sense of seriousness on her face.

“Wang Yong, carry on with what you just said.”