The Card Apprentice

Yu Lin felt that his luck was really bad today.

Carefully looking at the team in front of him, he felt increasingly uneasy. Living in Lijiang City since he was a child, he was very familiar around this area. He dared to strike his chest and promised that there was absolutely no such team in the vicinity. Even the similar ones did not exist at all.

Lijiang City was just a small and remote city with a population of less than three million. There were no local specialties here. Although it was located at the edge of the jungle, it was not suitable for hunting grounds. Hence the card artisans who came here to hunt beasts and pick materials were very few. After so many years, there had been basically no change here

In Lijiang City, Yu Lin felt that he was well knowledgeable, but this team before his eyes still shook him greatly. Although there were very few foreign card artisans who approached here, but he had also seen some that did. Compared with this group of people in front of him, those card artisans could only be regarded as a group of well-groomed piglets.

All these card artisans were unkempt with dirty clothing. They stood there silently, but gave him a very dangerous feeling. Moreover, from the process of discovering to capturing him, no one had even spoken a word.

The strong oppressive feeling brought about by this silence made him almost suffocate. Therefore, he raised his hands and surrendered without playing any tricks.

However, when he was taken to the camp, he was shocked by the size of the team. At a single glance, he was determined that the team had a scale of thousands. This number once again made his heart beat vigorously! He was not an idiot who did not understand anything. To enter the jungle, the most suitable team was of about 100 people. Below 20 or above 300 people implied immediate soar of danger. Too few of them would result in insufficient firepower. However, if there were many, it would be very easy to startle some terrible beasts. Furthermore, more people would mean increasing difficulty to replenish the resources.

After so many years in Lijiang City, Yu Lin had never seen a team of thousands of people in the wild.

And when he caught sight of the transport shuttle in the center of the camp, his eyes froze.

A huge transport shuttle team!

He was appalled that the transport shuttles, without any fighting ability were inconvenient in the jungle, hence very few teams would bring them into the jungle. Ordinary teams simply would not bring transport shuttles into the jungle. Those strong teams would order professional Jungle Shuttles, however their transport load were far less than that of the transport shuttle before his eyes. The slow speed of the transport shuttle could greatly reduce the team’s mobility, which was extremely lethal in the jungle.

All the information he had received so far was enough to give him a very solid judgment – this was an extremely powerful team!

Having understood this, he immediately realized what attitude he should carry himself with.

He was taken to a group of people, and there was a knife scar on the face of the card artisans’ leader. His face was unshaven and his eyes were sharp like an eagle’s. Beside him, there was a seemingly young card artisan who was sitting up straight, as if the surface under his buttocks was not bumpy and uneven. His expression was awe-inspiring and possessed the military temperament. On the other side, there were two beautiful women! Yu Lin was shrewd enough that only one glance he could tell that both women were kind-hearted people. There was also an old man who was making tea and his facial expression was so relaxed as if he was on a picnic.

“What’s your name?” the question was raised by the leading unshaven uncle with a knife scar.

“My name is Yu Lin,” said Yu Lin honestly.

“What’s this place?”

“Lijiang City.”

“Lijiang City?” the unshaven uncle with a knife scar frowned.

The young military-like card artisan beside him took out a fine three-dimensional map, pointing to spot, “Lijiang City, then we are here.”

For the first time, Yu Lin saw such a fine and realistic three-dimensional map. His eyes widened and stared at the map intently.

Bogner’s brows did not stretch, “This is a deviation from our previous plan. Now we can’t communicate with the boss. This is a bit of a hassle.”

Xi Ping, who was brewing tea, said, “This matter is actually easy to solve. As long as the Scarlet Card Artisan Team is wiped out, we have time and ways to contact the boss. Now we still have a period of time for the alliance conference, so no hurry.”

“True,” Bogner nodded. His eyes looked at Jiang Liang and the latter quickly responded, “We need to go to the city to rest, and our personnel need to be replenished.”

Sue Lochiro also spoke at this time, “The medicines are also used up, so we need to add on those. And some seriously wounded team members need to be treated.”

Ru Qiu added, “Yes! There are several kinds of materials that are used up. If we don’t replenish them, the damaged cards can’t be repaired.”

“It seems that we really need to go to the city to recuperate,” Bogner muttered. He suddenly turned his eyes to Yu Lin, “What do you do?”

The sharp look made Yu Lin’s heart sank briefly, and he subconsciously blurted out, “I am a freelance card artisan.”

“Does Scarlet Card Artisan Team have a branch or base in the city of Lijiang?” Not giving him the time to process his thoughts, Bogner asked quickly.

“There’s one.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s only over seventy kilometers away. It’s by the riverside, and it’s conspicuous.”

“How many of them?”

“Five or six hundred people. They have just settled.”

Bogner turned his gaze back to the map and nodded. “Not much different than what I imagined. If my calculations are right, Scarlet Card Artisan Team would mobilize the military should this city gets connected with the jungle.

“What is the use of such a few people?” Ru Qiu asked with a strange feeling. Five hundred card artisans, for them, were really not many.

Bogner shook his head, “They set these people just to delay our speed. On one hand, they can buy time for Blood Hammer Unit who’s chasing us right now, while on the other hand, it could buy time for themselves to create other forces.”

With only half understanding to his words, Ru Qiu nodded and asked, “Then what should we do now?”

Yu Lin was mind blown, then he finally knew which team this was! His brain was a blank that he zoned out from their conversations.

Bogner’s gaze fell on Jiang Liang, examining him, “Little Ginger, what’s your say?”

Jiang Liang’s veins on his forehead jumped unnoticingly, but he still contained them well. As if triggered by Bogner, he gnashed and said, “End them!”. It was quite rare for him to act like that.

Bogner felt that this kid could be nurtured, “Not bad, then this task is handed over to you. How many people do you need?”

Xi Ping smiled and sipped the tea that had just been brewed. Sue Lochiro could not help smiling also as Ru Qiu smirked.

Jiang Liang said calmingly, “The battle will be fierce, so five hundred people.”

“Well, pick your team, and hey, deal with this fellow.” Bogner directed his lips at Yu Lin while he laid down lazily, “We’ll be waiting for you here.”

Jiang Liang turned serious, “Copy!”

The penalty was still going on, and had left a deep impression on everyone. The card artisans in the team, Tai-shu Yong, and even Baiyue realized that they had to re-examine the mysterious White Commander.

Moon Frost Island had very little information about Caesar’s disciple – the White Commander, and that Caesar never backed him up or mentioned him in any way. The relationship between the two looked very weird, and there was no sign that they possessed the usual master and disciple relationship. But her mentor also reminded her that Caesar had great expectations for his disciple. However, Baiyue still could not see it through. Not only did Caesar showed indifference, but even the White Commander showed similar attitude towards his mentor.

If it was not for the Tan Yumin’s exposure, the identity of White Commander may be contained for even longer. He had never even publicly acknowledged that he was the disciple of Caesar.

The two acted really weird!

Everything that was connected to White Commander was so perplexing. For example, the fact that he was a creator of the numbered series of card was still unacceptable to Baiyue until now.

Bai Yue’s eyes fell on the woman next to the White Commander. She was wearing a mask with a sunflower drawing on it, and she possessed a faint aura of hostility that made Bai Yue feeling strange.

Were the two couples?

No, they seemed to be not, as the position where the two were sitting was one meter away from each other.

“You are?” Bai Yue took the initiative and asked.

“Hello Miss Baiyue, my name is Yiyi. I am the assistant of the White Commander.”

The voice that came out from under the mask was hoarse and dry, and there was no trace of beating around the bush. This gave people the impression that this woman was very decisive and not easy to deal with.

Baiyue’s brain spinned. She knew that White Commander had this top figure with him, but the more specific information was still unknown to her. She sighed in her heart for the fact that Moon Frost Island’s investigation of White Commander was too little.

Bai Yue relanded her eyes on Chen Mu’s face.

“Today, it was an eye-opener experience for me. Senior White is deeply knowledgeable on troop training. I admire that.” However, the cold voice coming from the speaker did not sound like a compliment.

How would I know anything about the art of training? Chen Mu smiled bitterly in his heart. He had self-awareness of his level and that if this scenario was seen by Bogner, he would not know how he was going to be criticized.

“Miss Bai flattered me,” said Chen Mu lightly.

“My mentor and Caesar are together from the Great Six, so we should call each other brothers and sisters.” Bai Yue light eyebrows frowned a little and said straightforwardly.

Without expecting that Bai Yue said it so directly, Chen Mu was dumbfounded for a second. In his memory, people from Great Six preferred to use the way of beating around the bush. He did not expect Bai Yue to be any different. However, in contrast, he preferred this direct way of talking.

If Tai-shu Yong knew Chen Mu’s thoughts, it was hard to know what that man would think of him. Previously when Bai Yue was speaking to him, even an old tycoon like him could not find a slight bit of mistake from it.

“Great Six? Senior Caesar was expelled from the Comprehensive Federation Academy in the Heavenly Federation previously, so he should no longer be from Great Six,” said Qiu Shanyu faintly. She made up her mind that today Baiyue had come to cause trouble. She had given up trying to convince the White Commander moving to Faya. But she also did not want him to get into any of the Great Six. This was not a good thing for Faya either.

The White Commander was no longer the man he used to be. Now, he had the top talent that every force dreamt to have.

Being able to get a praise from Rossiji got him upgraded to the group of the top federal commanders. In contrast, the identity of him being the creator of the numbered series of cards was much less tempting for Great Six.

Baiyue also could see that this woman, Yiyi, came to bedevil today, so she simply ignored her.

“If I would like to invite Brother White to Moon Frost Island, what conditions do I have to offer?” Baiyue’s voice remained cold and crisp, but the solemnity in her words made Chen Mu understand that she was not talking offhand.

She was really being direct!

Qiu Shanyu did not say anything, for the opponent obviously did not make a virtual move, but all she did was played tricks. In facing such a move, all wits were useless.

This woman was worthy of the next successor of Moon Frost Island. Qiu Shanyu stared at her coldly but secretly admiring her.

Chen Mu shook his head, “Sister Bai doesn’t have to ask again. I won’t go to Moon Frost Island.” He admired Bai Yue’s straightforward attitude and he voiced his thoughts pretty directly. “Not only Moon Frost Island. I won’t join any other as well.”

Bai Yue thought for a little while, and nodded seriously, “I understand. Moon Frost Island will not become the rival of Brother White, well so do I.”

“Well, good!” Chen Mu also said solemnly.

The biggest barrier was removed now and the atmosphere immediately relaxed, and Tai-shu Yong finally felt relief. On both sides of him were men that he would not dare to offend. He was always caught in between them, always making him feel at unease.

“Brother White is good at making cards. I wonder if I can place an order?” Baiyue asked.

Smiling wryly, Chen Mu said, “It seemed that there is no way I could make a profit from sister. I will be leaving in a few days.”

The masked Qiu Shanyu’s body shivered.”

“Leaving?” Baiyue asked in confusion, “Brother is going to leave Dongrui?”

As if struck by lightning, Tai-shu Yong froze in the same place. He stuttered, “White Commander, this … but this recruitment is not finished yet!”

“Let’s stop the recruitment. I won’t forget to get you into the elite competition,” Chen Mu told Tai-shu Yong, then turned his face to Baiyue, “This is due to an urgent matter that we have to deal with.”

Baiyue nodded understandingly, then went on, “Please brother, you don’t have to worry about the elite competition. Tai-shu family doesn’t need to participate in that. However, if Brother White has time, please come to Qianhu City at that time. I’ll look forward to see you.” Her cold voice revealed a sincere touch.

“Ok, I’ll definitely visit Qianhu City,” Chen Mu nodded. He still had to go to Qianhu City to wait for the demonic woman. These days, the news of Green Mark were advertised in the Federation, even Chen Mu felt a certain confidence towards Qianhu City.

Chen Mu turned to face Tai-shu Yong and said, “I have two plans for the problems of card artisans. One is that I take all of them away, but you can continue to recruit in my name. The other is I will give you half of the card artisans that have already been recruited, but you have to stop recruiting.”

“I choose the second one.” Tai-shu Yong did not hesitate to make a choice. The first one seemed to be more profitable, however once the news of the departure of White Commander leaked, the reputation of Tai-shu family would suffer badly.

Chen Mu nodded, “According to the agreement, I will pick first. And you need to pay them a year’s salary for me”

Tai Shuyong solemnly cupped his hands in obeisance to Chen Mu, “You’re a person who does big things. It is impossible for you to lead a sedentary life. I’ve already thought of this, but I didn’t expect it to be so fast. Tai-shu family owes its thanks to you for what we have today. I can’t contribute much but in addition to the agreement to pay them a year’s salary, Tai-shu family will gift another two billion Oudi for your military use! Please accept it!”

Chen Mu got up and returned Tai-shu Yong’s gesture seriously, “Thank you!” After a few seconds of pausing, he continued, “In these few days, I will sort out a set of standardized training guidelines and send a copy to the head of the household. This is my thanks to you.”

Tai-shu Yong was overjoyed, “Sorry to trouble you!” For the Tai-shu family, the two billion Oudi was only a small number, but this set of training standards would no doubt greatly benefit the family.

Baiyue suddenly spoke up, “Brother, may I have a set of these training guidelines as well?”

Chen Mu was stunned momentarily, then smiled and said, “No problem, but there are so many well-talented people on Moon Frost Island and this training program may make them feel ridiculous.”

“You’re too humble,” said Bai Yue. “If you place a bid of two billion, I’m afraid that many will break their heads fighting to get the program”

Chen Mu was smiling but he would definitely not take this seriously.

Smiling wryly, Tai-shu Yong said, “Since Miss Bai has said so, I can’t plainly just accept this wonderful gift. I will send you another two billion Oudi of supplies.” Seeing Chen Mu who was about to say something, he quickly waved his hand, “Please accept it, White Commander. I also harbour a selfish intention. You’re a great man who does great things and certainly will leave a legacy behind. I guess I have only another few years to live. My few sons could only be considered as merely ordinary. If it’s convenient for you in later days, I hope that you can take slight care of them. I call this long-term investment.”

Seeing his resoluteness, Chen Mu did not go on further. He nodded and accepted it.

They chatted for a while and then dispersed.

Heading back to the room, Qiu Shanyu who had been silent for a while suddenly said, “How about selling your training plan to me? I will folk out two billion as well!”

“What do you want to do with it? Hand it over to Faya?” Chen Mu looked puzzled. He did not think that his training plan was worth two billion. Tai-shu Yong and Bai Yue offered so was more inclined to maintain a good relationship. However, now that the savvy Qiu Shanyu had said so, he did not understand. With his current relationship with Qiu Shanyu and Faya, this gift was completely unnecessary.

“I’m also very curious about the training plan that was developed by the genius who Rossiji praised. Maybe I can learn a thing or two from it.” Qiu Shanyu said calmly, “In this aspect, Great Six’s foundations are strong, and Faya is just getting started. To be able to get a praise from Rossiji openly, you’re indeed somebody.”

“If that’s the case, if I help Faya grow, I might be in trouble.” Chen Mu said plainly. Some emotions stirred in his heart. One sentence from Rossiji had such an amazing influence on the entire Heavenly Federation.

Qiu Shanyu sighed softly. “I’m now regretful that I’ve offended you in previous years.”

As if he did not hear it, Chen Mu turned around and wanted to leave. Qiu Shanyu suddenly said, “But I believe that no matter what, there will always be a price.”

Chen Mu stopped in his tracks and looked at her calmly as he replied, “It seems that you are confident in the price you can give.”

Qiu Shanyu proudly said, “Of course! You won’t resist this offer!”