《Master Of Trading Star Card Game》 Chapter 1 Part1 Xie Mingzhe had a nightmare, in which a huge beast was chasing him. He ran away wildly. As the beast opened its mouth and was about to swallow him into its belly, Xie Mingzhe opened his eyes in horror and looked around C above his head was not the ceiling of his university dormitory, and his roomate was not here. He slept alone in a strange room. He remembered thatst night he and his roommate ate out to celebrate thetter''s birthday. Atst, his roommate got stered, so Xie Mingzhe carried his roommate on his back and returned to the dormitory at 3 a.m. "Why do I wake up in a strange room?" Xie Mingzhe stiffened and looked around carefully. It seemed he was in a hospital ward with white wall around. He was lying on a bed, beside which was a machine like a monitor apparatus. Some electrodes were ced on his skin, and the corresponding electrodes were attached to the apparatus, which was showing some numerical values ??he couldn''t understand on its LCD panel. Is it because I got an acute illness in the middle of the night that my roommate took me to the hospital''s emergency room? When he was pondering, suddenly a nurse in a white coat pushed the door in. After seeing him, the nurse instantly widened her eyes as if she saw a ghost. Xie Mingzhe said on his own initiative: h.e.l.lo, did I Before the words were finished, the nurse ran out in panic and shouted: Doctor Qin, the patient in a vegetative state in the ward 7 woke up! Xie Mingzhe???? Vegetable? He just drank with his roommatest night. How could he be a vegetable? Did the nurse confuse him with other patients? When he was thinking about what''s going on, a middle-aged doctor in his forties, carrying a machine like an ECG monitor, hurriedly came in. Xie Mingzhe smiled and asked in politeness: Excuse me, what acute illness I get? The doctor activated the monitor and looked up at Xie Mingzhe. He said, You have been in aa for a month. Lie down, please. I''m going to check your physical condition. A month? The nightmare, coupled with the unfamiliar surroundings, got Xie Mingzhe at a loss. So he obediently lied t and the doctor gave him a physical exam. The doctor quickly got a result, sighing with emotion: You woke up after getting severe brain damage. This is a medical miracle! Xie Mingzhe was totally confused: Severe brain damage? He had never heard that someone got in vegetative status because of drinking. Did he drink fake beer? ! The doctor looked at him in amazement: Don''t you remember? A month ago, you identally fell from the third floor, and your brain was seriously hurt. When you were taken to the hospital, you had been in deepa. You received a surgery and survived, but you had been in vegetative state since then, until you woke up today. Xie Mingzhe Falling down from the third floor? His dormitory was on the seventh floor. Xie Mingzhe forced augh and rub his nose: Are you kidding? Is it because of alcoholism that I was taken to the hospital? I didn''t drink too much, I think Wait, where is my roommate?" Xie Mingzhe looked around after finishing his words. Hearing such nonsense, the doctor looked at Xie Mingzhe in worries. The doctor said to the monitor beside him: "No.777, check his Inner Spirit. Has his Spirit Threshold recovered?" The square therapeutic apparatus activitaed immediately and quickly turned into a robot. It stretched out his metal arms to ce two electrodes on the boy''s temples. Xie Mingzhe stared at it with his eyes widened, only to see its face, a LCD panel about 20 cm wide, constantly showed strangely bouncing values. After a while, it reported the result with a mechanized sound: Inner Spirit peak 300, EEG curve is normal. Doctor Qin looked back at Xie Mingzhe and said with aplicated expression: How could it be? Xie Mingzhe, with his head held by the robot, was also stunned - how could it be? I also wanted to know! Then, Dr. Qin seemed to think of something and said excitedly: This case is really rare. I will immediately arrange you a thorough examination! The doctor left in a hurry and took that therapeutic apparatus away in his hands. Left alone in the hospital bed, Xie Mingzhe was messy in the wind. At that moment, he wanted to burst out three .s.sic questions C Who am I? Where I am? What should I do!! But before he spoke, the doctor pushed the door in again. This time he took some instruments shaped like robots. After the doctor pressed their b.u.t.tons, these ''robots'' began to work and then Xie Mingzhe was surrounded, just like a Guinea pig. With no force to oppose them, Xie Mingzhe could onlyy t on the bed, regardless of whatever these ''robots'' did. Xie Mingzhe suddenly noticed something different. First, he was healthy and could drink a lot. He was sober when he returned to the dormitory. It was impossible that his roommate sent him to the hospital in the middle of the night, but didn''t wake him; Secondly, the environment of this hospital was not quite the same as the hospital in his memory. The monitor beside him and the robots brought by the doctor all were very advanced, which seemed not to be the products of his time Xie Mingzhe''s back suddenly trembled C he had watched a lot of time-travel novels, wouldn''t he also travel through time? The doctor soon finished his examination and looked at him with a smile. You are really lucky, he said, there is less than 1% chance that a vegetable like you can wake up. Xie Mingzhe took a few deep breaths to stabilize the intense heartbeat and asked with courage: Doctor, when is it today? What is my name? I''m in a mess and can''t remember anything. The doctor answered with a good temper: Your name is Xie Mingzhe. Today is August 1st, 3001. It is just your 18th birthday. It is written on the data card. He opened the LCD card at the bed, seeming to prove that he was not deceiving. Xie Mingzhe: . Chapter 1 Part2 It was obviously 2018 AD, but what was the strange time, Ephemeris 3001? Xie Mingzhe''s corner of mouth twitched violently. Thinking of the possibility of time traveling, his brain was almost bursting. He could not help but m his head with hands. The doctor saw his action and immediately grabbed his hands: Don''t worry. You were in aa for a month. Now when you wake up, it is normal that your memory is partially lost, but it will slowly recover. Stunned, Xie Mingzhe stared at his pale fingertips and then asked: Do I have anyone rtive? The doctor looked at him with sympathy: The information shows that you are an orphan. Xie Mingzhe: .. Why was I still an orphan after a time traveling? Seeing Xie Mingzhe''s pale face, the doctor reached out his hands and patted his shoulder. Heforted: Be courageous, it is not easy for you to wake up. You need to recover physical health first. There is always a way through in the future. Xie Mingzhe smiled reluctantly and said to the kind doctor: Thank you, Doctor. After Dr. Qin left, Xie Mingzhe struggled to get up from the bed and washed his face in the washing room to calm himself. His face was clearly reflected in the mirror. Because of lying in the hospital bed for a long time, his young face was a little sickly pale. Though the facial features were the same as his before, his present face looked younger, just like his face at eighteen years old when he just graduated from high school. Feeling headache, Xie Mingzhe buried his face in cold water. He wished it was a dream within another dream and he could wake up soon from the nightmare. After a long time, he raised his head He was still in the washing room and the young man reflected in the mirror was his eighteen-year-old face. Was this Xie Mingzhe himself in another s.p.a.ce time? They had the same name and appearance, and Xie Mingzhe gradually refreshed some memory of the owner of the body. The owner of the body became an orphan when he was a kid. He led a frugal life with the government''s relief fund. However, the government only supported orphans who were under eighteen years old, and Xie Mingzhe was seventeen and a half years old. He was admitted to the Art Department of Capital University by his own efforts this summer. Before the new term begins, he left his hometown and came to the capital city to work for his tuition fee. Nowadays, however, people who did manual work, such as washing dishes, sweeping the floor and moving bricks were reced by robots. High school graduates would find it hard to get a job. Living in the slum with the poorest condition for a week, he struggled for a job and was disdained by many people. He once fell off the building when he took part in an interview on a rtively low floor, which seriously damaged his brain. He was sent to the hospital by an ambnce and had been in vegetative state for a month. Xie Mingzhe in this world was a diligent and hardworking teenager. However, he was not as lucky as that Xie Mingzhe who lived in the 21st century. Xie Mingzhe in the 21st century was an orphan too, but he was the top student in science in the county in the College Entrance Examination. The schrship he won that year could afford his entire expenditure in college. But he also led a frugal life in college. He didn''t spend all his schrship, instead, he saved some money by tutoring and taking part-time jobs. He nned to find a job and buy a small house in a second-tier city with low consumption level, which could help him live a stable and peaceful life. However, after drinking with his roommates, his was transported to another world, only to see a miserable Xie Mingzhe inexplicably. He was extremely unfortunate. Xie Mingzhe rubbed his white face hard. The distinct touch of fingertips and skin seemed to tell him: give up struggling, you have started your life anew. G.o.d chose him to be this poor boy after his previous period of life had turned for the better. Was that reasonable? If hemitted suicide now, would he be able to return to the earth in 2018 A.D.? Pinching his thigh hard and feeling the sharp pain, Xie Mingzhe was clearly aware that the body was real. He dared not tomit suicide for fear that he might travel to some other odd s.p.a.ce times or just die after suicide. At least, this world boasted advanced science and technology. It was better than travelling to ancient times where you ate weeds and wore leaf-made clothes. Comforting himself this way, Xie Mingzhe felt better. Since he was alive, he should try to survive first. Instead of pursuing a high quality life, he preferred a simple life, peaceful and stable. Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath and reluctantly epted that he had started his life anew in another world. Xie Mingzhe in this world didn''t go as smooth as that Xie Mingzhe on earth. Today was Xie Mingzhe''s eighteenth birthday. The eighteen-year-old boy was so poor that n.o.body but doctors cared about him even when he was in a vegetative state in hospital. He had no rtives or friends. Not a single person would burst into tears for his death. He was a loser in life. But that didn''t matter, from now on, everything would change. Xie Mingzhe looked at the boy in the mirror and clenched his fists. My history couldn''t be changed. But I would fight for my new future! Chapter 2 Part1 Xie Mingzhe calmed down in the ward for one night, sorting out the memories of the body''s original owner. The body''s original owner grew up in an orphanage. Talented in painting, he was admitted to the Fine Arts Department of Capital University through College Entrance Exam for Art. The new term would begin on September 1, and today was August 1. With one month left, he must be prepared as soon as possible. First of all, he had to get out of the hospital. It took a lot of money to stay in the intensive care unit. He had no rtives in this world, and he did not know who paid for his medical expenses. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe was restless. He hurriedly wore slippers to look for the doctor in charge. At eight in the morning, the boy in the ward 7 suddenly pulled the door open and came out. Doctor Qin, who was making the rounds of the wards, raised his eyebrows and looked at Xie Mingzhe in confusion: Xie Mingzhe? What are you going to do instead of lying down on the bed to recover? Generally, patients just waking up from the vegetative state would be very confused at first, and it took a long time for them to ept the changes of the world. But this boy was very strange, showing no nk or frustrated expression. He ran out in the early morning with his slippers without putting on socks, but he was full of spirit and energy. Doctor, when can I be discharged? Xie Mingzhe looked at the doctor seriously. And, how do I pay for my medical expenses? Your body-segment data is normal now. I will observe it for another day. If there is no problem, I will give you a hospital discharge certificate tomorrow. Doctor Qin walked up to him. Seeing his clear and bright eyes, Doctor Qin''s voice softened: "As for the cost of hospitalization, you don''t have to worry. Because you have bought critical medical insurance before, the insurancepany will pay for you when you are discharged from hospital. Thank you. Xie Mingzhe breathed a sigh of relief. He remembered that the orphanage had bought him medical insurance when he graduated from high school. Since the insurancepany would bear the cost of treatment, he would not be in debt. This was good news for him. After returning to the room, Xie Mingzhe began to arrange his personal belongings. Before his injury, he went to a themed restaurant for an interview but fell off the third floor identally, then he was sent to the hospital by the crowd. What he had were only a room card, an ID card and a smartphone. The ID card had his photo on it and was bound to his bank card, which made it impossible to be embezzled. In his memory, this room card was the one he temporarily rent in a low-rent house with ten square meters. As for the smartphone, it was the cheapest one he bought through hard work. There were few phone numbers on his phone since he didn''t have many friends in this world. Therefore, n.o.body might pay attention to his change of disposition and soul. After arranging his belongings, Xie Mingzhe came to the window in a hospital gown. Outside the window, there were many tall buildings and skysc.r.a.pers with over one hundred floors. There were also seven or eight floors of criss-crossed suspendednes with various kinds of strange-shaped levitated vehicles running on it. Xie Mingzhe observed the world curiously with open eyes. He lived in the intensive care unit on the third floor, so he could see downstairs clearly. Xie Mingzhe happened to see a girl pa.s.sing by with a particrly adorable pet downstairs, he had never seen the pet before, which was taller than one meter and had long ears, jumping around on foot. Was that a rabbit? Was there such a big rabbit? It was cute in pink. However, didn''t the hospital ban pets? Pets carried a lot of infectious pathogens, what if they pa.s.sed them on to patients? Xie Mingzhe was confused. The question couldn''t be exined by the memory of the original owner of the body. While Xie Mingzhe was thinking about that, Doctor Qin opened the door and came in. The middle-aged doctor had a good temper and a gentle voice. After a full examination, the doctor said, "Since you''ve been in bed and supported by the nutritive medium for two months, the muscles are atrophied to a certain extent and your weight dropped dramatically. Exercise more after discharge, and you will recover slowly." Xie Mingzhe was reduced to skin and bones because of the injury. It was normal to be skinny after lying on the bed as a vegetable for one month. He used to be in good shape and knew how to exercise, so he didn''t worry about it. Downstairs another little girl walked over, with a pet rabbit like that he had just seen. The rabbit was a few centimeters taller than the girl. Xie Mingzhe, this time, couldn''t control his strong curiosity but asked: "Doctor Qin, what is the pet beside that little girl? Is the hospital now allowed to bring pets in?" This was a thing that he couldn''t find answer from the memory of the body''s original owner. So it would not be strange to ask it, Xie Mingzhe thought. That''s a card hologram. Doctor Qin exined, The hospital won''t let pets in. We''re not veterinarians. "Card hologram?" Xie Mingzhe was confused. Don''t you y the game? Doctor Qin quipped, "There are just a few young people who don''t y this game." Well, I really don''t pay much attention to games. With an awkward smile, Xie Mingzhe reached out his hand and scratched his head. He came from a poor and surely didn''t know the fashion trending of the prosperous capital. In the doctor''s eyes, he must be a b.u.mpkin. Card hologram? What it was on earth? Xie Mingzhe remembered the word secretly and nned to search for it after the doctor left. Doctor Qin finished the examination and told Xie Mingzhe, Your stomach is still sensitive. Have some liquid food in the next three days, and then you could eat as usual. But, remember not to have anything stimting. Bear it in mind." Xie Mingzhe nodded obediently: "Got it. Thank you, doctor." Chapter 2 Part2 When the doctor left, Xie Mingzhe immediately sat cross-legged on the bed and tried to search for the keyword "Star Card Hologram" on his mobile phone. A whole bunch of information quickly popped up, which made Xie Mingzhe startled. It turned out that these star card holograms came from a game called Star Card Storm. It was a popr Holographic Card Battle Online Game around the Gxy, which had been in operation for ten years with more than three billion users. The official hadunched card league matches ten years ago, which went viral since then. There were many professional card yers who depended on it, as well as various kinds of regr card clubs. As a well-known star conflictwork battle game, Star Card Storm had been ying the leading role for ten years due to its own merits. The diverse kinds of cards that were officially called "Star Card" served as the core of the game. Star Card could be used to fight on the holographicwork; besides, arge number of fun pet cards could be miraculously transformed in reality. For instance, the most famous [Long-eared Rabbit Star Card] could transform into a big cute rabbit, which was lifelike. With the release of the game, girls went crazy. Pet cards such as Persian Cat, Teddy Dog, Long-eared Rabbit became popr worldwide in a very short time. Almost every girl had several pet cards C they could y with the summoned pets when they were free C although the pets were illusions created by holographic projection and did not exist, they were adorable. Apart from the pet cards that were popr with girls and almost out of stock, there were also many battle star cards. Xie Mingzhe took a look at the high-rated battle cards on thework. For example, the top-of-the-line battle card [me Dragon], created by the ultrpopr yer Nie Yuandao, could summon a ming dragon that can release the Firestorm to sweep across and burn all the illusions around it to ashes; Tang Muzhou''s battle card [Thousand-year-old G.o.d Tree] was more powerful C it could directly summon a G.o.d tree blotting out the sky and covering the sun. Numerous green vines quickly spread like tentacles, powerful enough to instantly strangle its surrounding illusion creatures. With the emergence of these top-level battle cards, matches held by the National Star Card League had be more and more exciting. After ten years of development, today''s National Star Card League boasted a high standard. The business models of major clubs were also very mature. The number of partic.i.p.ants in the non-governmental matches had been over 100 million, not to mention the top official league match had an viewing rate over 30%, and the ie of the top card yers in the National Star Card League was beyond the reach of ordinary people. It was said that top card yers like Nie Yuandao and Tang Muzhou had an annual ie of over 100 million, and the number of their fans wasparable to the top stars. This reminded Xie Mingzhe of e-sports games such as League of Legends and StarCraft, which were globally popr on Earth. Xie Mingzhe also yed this kind ofpet.i.tive games at the university. But he didn''t expect that Star Card Storm had almost be a national game C 80% of citizens were yers, which was unimaginable. yers in this game were allowed considerable freedom C they could create original cards by themselves. For example, the two top battle cards me Dragon and Thousand-year-old G.o.d Tree that Xie Mingzhe just saw were all original cards created by professional yers. Netizens could also make their own unique cards and raise their level, which was one of the reasons why Star Card Storm had been in operation for ten years. After reading the information, Xie Mingzhe really admired the developer of this game. As a student of science in the 21st century, he had studiedputer programming. At that time, the technology was not as advanced as now and people could not develop such a game. Today the engineers were really awesome and had developed advanced technologies, especially Star Card Hologram Technology which could put the creatures on star cards into the real world for people to entertain. Xie Mingzhe almost thought that the pet besides the little girl was real! ording to the introduction online, the main differences between real pets and card pets were the shadow and pration. Star card hologram was shadowless under the lights, and people could directly pa.s.s through it. After all, it was just a visual image produced by high technology, which didn''t exist in the material world. Therefore, Doctor Qin recognized that a star card hologram at once C people in this world had long been ustomed to various hologram creatures, but Xie Mingzhe was shocked by it. Xie Mingzhe wanted to search for more game information. At that moment, a text message suddenly appeared on his mobile phone, saying: Xie Mingzhe, I am yourndlord, Aunt Zhang. I just checked the ount and found your rent for July, 800 crystal coins, not been paid. Please pay off as soon as possible. Xie Mingzhe was stunned for the message. The rent for July? Alright, he came to the capital city and rent a little house where he could live temporarily. Unexpectedly, he had be a vegetable andid in the hospital for the whole month. As a result, the rent did not pay. Xie Mingzhe checked the bnce of his bank card immediately with his mobile phone. Central Bank: "Dear Mr. Xie, your ount bnce is 1000 crystal icons." Xie Mingzhe: "" 800 crystal icons for the rent, only 200 left. ording to the memory of the original owner of the body, themodity prices in this world were the same as that in 2018s. How long could he support himself with only 200 crystal icons? How could a poor man like him live? After the rebirth, he would be starved to death?! It was an annoying problem. Xie Mingzhe rubbed his temples and began to think about how to survive in this strange world. Chapter 3 Part1 The next morning, Doctor Qin hadpleted the discharging formalities for Xie Mingzhe. Then Xie Mingzhe negotiated with the insurancepany and paid his medical bills. The medical insurance system in this world was perfect. The medical insurance for severe illnesses he had bought before included ident insurance, so all his medical expense was reimbursed. Xie Mingzhe was relieved. As the words went, "out of debt, out of pressure". Although as a poor with neither savings nor debts, Xie Mingzhe bore less pressure and just needed to support himself. After a busy morning, Xie Mingzhe was sessfully discharged. After expressing his thanks to Doctor Qin, Xie Mingzhe turned and walked out of the hospital. The sunlight outside was a little harsh. When standing in the sun again after a month''s sleep, Xie Mingzhe suddenly felt dizzy. He covered his head and took a few deep breaths, then the world gradually became clear. All kinds of floating cars whizzed through the air, and it was a world with tall buildings. The mechanized city made people feel a little cold. Xie Mingzhe stood on the street for a moment and actually felt the reality of his rebirth in the unfamiliar high-tech environment. Said goodbye to AD 2018 and reborn in 3001. He had be another abjection teenager, Xie Mingzhe. Although his situation was not good in the opening game, he was confident that depending on his own ability, he could live well in this world because of two memories, his and the body''s original owner''s. With a deep breath and a relieved smile on his face, Xie Mingzhe turned and headed for the nearby floating bus stop C with hands, feet and brains, he didn''t believe an alive person would be starved to death. Arriving at the terminal of the suburb in a levitation bus, Xie Mingzhe walked to a dpidated residential building ording to the route in his memory. On the tenth floor, he saw a middle-aged woman waiting for him at the door. The middle-aged woman was very fat, but she wore a pair of high-heeled shoes. Seeing Xie Mingzhe, she rolled her eyes and said coldly: You finallye back. I thought you have escaped from the rent! Xie Mingzhe handed over his case files and apologetically exined: Mrs. Zhang, I didn''t mean to do so. I''ve been in the hospital all month. Mrs. Zhang refused his casebook and squinted at him, "In hospital? Are you trying to default on your rent with such an awful excuse?" Saying in an ironic voice, she looked down upon the poor boy. Xie Mingzhe simply transferred 800 yuan to her with cell phone face to face, saying: "I''m sorry. I''ve been in default on rent for a month, which brings you some troubles." Falling behind with the rent was his fault regardless of Zhang''s att.i.tude. After receiving the rent, the middle-aged woman asked at once, "How will you pay the rent for August?" Thinking of his 200 yuan bank bnce, Xie Mingzhe said, "I have a poor financial condition recently, so can I pay my rent when the new term begins?" He would get enough money for the rent if he had another month. However, Mrs. Zhang seemed difficult to be persuaded. "Wait until your new term begins?" Mrs. Zhang raised her voice immediately and gave him a contemptuous look as expected, "Either pay it now or move away at once. You can turn to a charity for help if you can''t afford the rent. Don''te to me." "" Xie Mingzhe slightly frowned. He, especially Xie Mingzhe in this world who had suffered from indifference since he was young, had seen many sharp-tongued citizens. He didn''t want to implore others and simply nodded, "OK, I''ll move out as soon as possible." Xie Mingzhe didn''t beg Mrs. Zhang for help, which went beyond thetter''s expectations. Mrs. Zhang raised her head doubtfully, suddenly meeting the bright eyes of the teenager. His eyes werepletely different from that of the depressed boy she knew. He was confident, calm and had a clear conscience. Seeing her head lifted, Xie Mingzhe smiled, "Goodbye. I don''t think we will meet again. Many thanks for your help." The polite and peaceful farewell made by such a cultivated boy made Mrs. Zhang embarra.s.sed. Looking at his thin, tall and straight figure from behind as he turned around to enter the room, Mrs. Zhang felt weird that the boy was much more energetic and handsome when he smiled, which was contrary to his depressed look before that made her sick. Unfortunately, no matter how handsome he was, he was just a poor boy with no rtives or friends. Would he be sessfulter? Mrs. Zhang ignored the strange feeling and turned away frowning. Xie Mingzhe swiped his card to enter the room. The room was quite small. Aside from a bathroom, a bed and a wardrobe covered most of the area, leaving little s.p.a.ce for him to stand. His suitcase could only be ced under the bed. Xie Mingzhe leaned over and opened his suitcase, which contained clothes, daily necessities, and an oldputer. He had all the memories of this body''s original owner, so he was not surprised to see these things. After quickly packing his luggage, Xie Mingzhe sat on the bed and opened theputer to search for a keyword: Part-time jobs. He quickly browsed a variety of part-time information and noticed a line of small characters: Nirvana Game Studio near Capital University looking for temporary staff aged 18-25. We provide free dormitories (twin room) and food, but currently there is only one bed avable in the male dormitory, so we only recruit male staff. Sry: 3,000 crystal coins per month. He met the requirement of age and gender, besides, this game studio was near his school, which was quite convenient. Moreover, "free dormitories (twin room) and food" could save him the trouble. However, what exactly was this game studio doing? Feeling curious, Xie Mingzhe sent a private message politely asking: What is your game studio main for? I want to apply for this job. He quickly got a response: We are a game studio providing boosting services mainly in Star Card Storm. We also repair cards for our clients. Appliers should have been ying Star Card Storm for more than a year, familiar with all the rules of this game. " Xie Mingzhe"" Why didn''t you include this key requirement on your job posting?! Xie Mingzhe had no experience with Star Card Storm, but he was quite familiar with game boosting. When he was in college on Earth, he was a part-time booster helping his clients raise to the highest level in League of Legends and Srike of Kings. An e-sports club even invited him to its team as a professional yer, but at that time he just wanted to find a stable job after graduation, so he refused. Chapter 3 Part2 There were game boosters in the future world? Working as a game booster was one of Xie Mingzhe''s specialties. Thinking of that, he quickly replied with excitement: "I haven''t experienced Star Card Storm before, but I worked as a game booster for other games for many years, which enabled me to get familiar with the business. Can I apply for this position?" The other side wondered: "What game?" Thinking of games such as League of Legends and King of Glory didn''t exist in this world, Xie Mingzhe dared not speak carelessly, so he said: "The games I yed were popr among small crowds, but I have abundant experience as a game booster. I''ve learned something about Star Card Storm and I promise to master it in two days." The other side hesitated: "If you haven''t yed Star Card Storm before, you are bound to lower our efficiency." Xie Mingzhepromised at once: "How about I work as an intern and get half of my sry in my first month?" The other side was surprised: "You mean you can ept the sry of 1500?" Xie Mingzhe said decisively: "Yes!" "Original trantion from Wwww.a.n.gmamaCOM" Working as an intern was better than nothing. The crystal coin in this world was about the same price as RMB (Chinese currency) in the earth''s era. 1500 a month was enough for a college student, and he could save some pocket money if he was economical. He would be paid 3000 a month if he was officially employed. Isn''t that fantastic? Xie Mingzhe considered it quickly and made up his mind: "I''ll work as an intern and get 1500 payment first. You can hire me if I perform well." The other side replied in a while: "Come here and try it. See you two thirty in the afternoon." Xie Mingzhe said with excitement: "Thanks. I''ll arrive on time!" Two thirty in the afternoon, Xie Mingzhe arrived for the interview with his packed suitcase. He originally thought the game studio would be like an enclosed ck inte bar, in which there were a row ofputers and several indoors men who suffered from e staring at the screen and typing emotionlessly on the keyboard. However, when he arrived at the game studio, he was shocked. The rows of rotating seats and helmets looked neat and tidy, with arge virtual LCD screen in the center which was showing some data that were constantly updated. Looking at these high-tech equipments, Xie Mingzhe thought he was in a s.p.a.ce station of a science fiction movie. A young man about twenty-seven or -eight came over, holding a cigarette between his lips. He, with messy hair, wore a crumpled shirt which seemed to be just picked up from the ground. The ck circles under his eyes revealed ack of sleep. He looked at Xie Mingzhe, who was looking around out of curiosity, in a way that he was looking at a monster. He asked, You are the guy who has never yed Star Card Storm but applied for the job? Xie Mingzhe had the bra.s.s to nod: I haven''t yed Star Card Storm, but I once provided boosting services in other games. I''m quite experienced in many games, and I will learn very quickly. He worked hard to sell himself. The young manughed out loud, as if he had heard a funny joke. Not feeling awkward, Xie Mingzhe looked into the man''s eyes: I will try it first. If I''m notpetent for this job, then I''ll go. Would you please give me a chance? Xie Mingzhe''s eye expression showed his sincerity and bravery, which touched the man. Then thetter waved to him and said, Well,e over. It''s not difficult to get in-game materials. You can make it after practicing a few times under our guidance. The man said, while leading Xie Mingzhe into the next room. He handed him a brand new helmet: Now that you had experience of providing boosting services before, you should know the rules in this line of business. We shouldplete the tasks our clients a.s.signed to us as soon as possible, so you have to be very familiar with this game. Xie Mingzhe nodded enthusiastically: "OK." The helmet was sophisticated, so Xie Mingzhe carefully studied for a moment to understand how to use it, and asked: Elder brother, what should I call you? Hearing that Xie Mingzhe sensibly called him elder brother, the man feltfortable and rxed his att.i.tude: My surname is Chen. Everyone calls me Brother Chen, and you can also call me like that. What''s your name? Xie Mingzhe, you could call me Xiao Xie. Actually, Xie Mingzhe''s nickname was Azhe, which his close friends called him this way in the past. Just meeting Brother Chen, Xie Mingzhe thought it was better to let Brother Chen call him Xiao Xie, rather than Azhe. Xiao Xie, you could register an ount first and then experience the game by yourself. This game is notplicated. You could know how to y in a few hours. Brother Chen said, If you have been familiar with the rules before 9 p.m.,e to me. Xie Mingzhe answered him with a sound ooh and then carefully put on his helmet. After wearing the helmet, the world in front of his eyes changed quickly. A few lines of characters floated in the air and it was a login screen for different games C it seemed that this helmet could connect most holographic games. Star Card Storm ranked first, which was enough to show its status and poprity in the game world. Xie Mingzhe clicked on Star Card Storm with hands. The system sound rang with a crisp voice that sounded like a seven-year-old boy: "Wee to the magic star card world! It is your first time to log in to the game, please create your ount and bind your ident.i.ty number" Xie Mingzhe followed the instruction and created his own ount quickly. System sound: Please type your role name and create your image in the star card world. His real image was immediately imported into the game screen as if it were as realistic as the image reflected in a mirror. Xie Mingzhe looked at the virtual himself that made him marvel at the advanced technology of today''s era. He certainly would not y online games in his real image. If so, wouldn''t it be very embarra.s.sed to meet the acquaintance in the future? "Original trantion from Wwww.a.n.gmamaCOM" Xie Mingzhe thought it over for a moment and then decided to make some changes to the role''s appearance C 10 centimeters shorter and 30 pounds fatter than his real image, then add beards C all right, a chubby uncle with a kind smile. As for the game ID, in order to make others feel kind, Xie Mingzhe named the role casually C Uncle Chubby. At that moment, he didn''t expect that this name would set off such huge waves in star card world. Chapter 4 Part1 After entering the game, Xie Mingzhe, who had never yed holographic games before, was stupefied by the image in front of him. The vast starry sky and the resplendent Milky Way greeted his eyes. He also saw a meteor shower while travelling in a carrier s.p.a.cecraft. Countless meteors dragging silvery white trails of light dotted the night sky, which was like gorgeous fireworks in the s.p.a.ce. Xie Mingzhe thrilled to enjoy the scene at the window. He felt like "granny Liu who was visiting the Grand View Gardens1" C a b.u.mpkin opened the door to a new world. After a period of voyage in s.p.a.ce, there was a "ding" in his ear and the crisp prompt sound said: "Wee to the Binary Star. Your a.s.signed residence here is: No. 7498 Apartment in G District. Please enter your personal s.p.a.ce." Landed on both feet, Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath to slow down his rapid heartbeat and turned his head to look at the so-called "personal s.p.a.ce". The design of three bedrooms and one living room was simr to that of a house in the real world. There were sofas, tea tables and LCD TV with a huge screen C it was probably the world channel, on which there were many literal messages that made Xie Mingzhe dazzled. Original trantion from wWWw.a.n.gmamareadCOM After leaving the living room, he followed the arrows beneath his feet to the bedroom. The system sound: "You can rest in your bedroom if you are tired. Certainly, you are allowed to change its decorative style and furniture.In addition, you can invite your friends to your house." The game designers incorporated "Homnd Design" into the game. Every yer had his own apartment that they could decorate and design to make a virtual friendship s.p.a.ce. Xie Mingzhe praised the design in the heart. He followed the instruction to the study from the bedroom. The three walls of the study were lined with light blue metal disy cases, which were divided into neat rows of small sub-boxes. Each sub-box is a square of 2020cm, which was simr to a backpack that you can store cards and materials in online games. There was a metal console in the center of the study. As Xie Mingzhe approached it, the system sound: "This is the [Card Console] where all the cards are made, dposed, leveled and evolved. Please read carefully the card instructions." Game newbies should pay attention to the instruction C this was Xie Mingzhe''s experience from ying different games in the past. With a gentle stroke, an animated version of a detailed exnation appeared in front of him. Star Card Storm, of course, took card as the core of the game. Star cards'' strength depended on upgrading and evolution. The initial card was level 1 one-star green card, which could evolve to a level 20 two-star blue card, level 30 three-star purple card, level 40 four-star orange card, level 50 five-star silver card, level 60 six-star golden card and level 70 (the highest level) seven-star ck card. Every time the card leveled up, its skill power would gain a percentage increase. When it evolved, its base attributes would be raised two fold. To evolve, the card must reach a certain level first, and then it needed to devour three cards of the same star level or one hundred fragments of high star level. For instance, to evolve a six-star card into a seven-star card, yers needed to raise the card level to 70 and then fed it three six-star cards or one hundred fragments of seven-star, and it could evolve into a powerful seven-star card with doubled strength. Leveling up was easy to understand, which was to gain as much experience as possible to level. Xie Mingzhe interpreted the evolution of the card as "level breakthrough" in online games. Every time the card evolved, it would consume a lot of resources, but the high star-level card yers obtained atst would repay them with doubled strength. In thete game, there would be seven-star cards of the highest level in instances and arena that dominated the game. A seven-star card of level 70 was extremely expensive to cultivate as it needed a great deal of experience and resources, so how to cultivate cards was a knowledge for yers. Xie Mingzhe had a basic understanding of the game rules. After reading the beginner''s guide, Xie Mingzhe heard a prompt sound of the system: After reading the rules of card upgrading and evolution, let''s get into battle! There are countless wonderfulnds of illusion in the World of Star Card. You can gain a wealth of experience and material rewards by challenging them. There are some alien creatures in thends of illusion, use the cards the system gives you to defeat them! Original trantion from wWWw.a.n.gmamareadCOM "Ding-ding," went the prompt sound C Get card [Icy Snake] 1, [Thunder Bird] 1. A disy case on the left side lit up, and two green cards appeared inside. The level 1 one-star green card was the initial card in the game. Xie Mingzhe picked up the cards, poring over their data. [Icy Snake]Water2 Card Level1 Evolution Level Avable Times of Use1/1 Base AttributesHealth 100Defense 100Attack 20Agility 10 Critical Strike Chance 1% Additional SkillFreezeCauses 20% damage of Water attribute to target. At the same time, target will be frozen in ice for 2 seconds. [Thunder Bird]Metal Card Level1 Evolution Level Avable Times of Use1/1 Base AttributesHealth 100Defense 50Attack 100Agility 30Critical Strike Chance 5% Additional SkillInterlinking ThunderA Thunder Bird hovering in the sky causes 80% sputtering damage of Thunder attribute to all targets within range. A control card and an AOE card. The two cards, which the system gave to a beginner like him, must be enough to handle the instance in the novice stage. Xie Mingzhe took two cards to the first instance, and the scene suddenly changed. There was an empty square with a stone pir in the middle. When Xie Mingzhe entered, he heard a woman''s spooky voice: Hehehe, herees fresh food Xie Mingzhe raised his head and saw a creature with a human-like upper body and a snake-like lower body twisting beside the stone pir. There were several small snakes around her. They were obviously the BOSS and its followers that he had to defeat. Prompt Sound: Please pay attention to your Inner Spirit points. Your current level is 1, with Inner Spirit totaling 10 points. Summoning a one-star card requires 5 Inner Spirit points. The system will automatically restore the Inner Spirit for you every second. As an experienced game yer, Xie Mingzhe understood quickly - the Inner Spirit was just like the MP (Magic Points) in online games. Summoning cards would consume a yer''s Inner Spirit points, which was obviously aimed at limiting the number of cards a yer could summon. Otherwise, if a yer summoned hundreds of cards in one breath, the game would definitely be in chaos. Summoning a card needed 5 points, and Xie Mingzhe had 10 Inner Spirit points, so he could only summon two cards at most. No wonder the system just gave him two cards. Xie Mingzhe summoned [Icy Snake] and [Thunder Bird] at the same time. Trantor''s Notes: 1. It is an expressionmonly known to modern Chinese people rting to Granny Liu in Dream of the Red Mansion (one of the four greatest ancient Chinese novels). It refers to the parts of the novel where Granny Liu visits the n.o.ble family who ys host to her, but which also makes fun of her openly for her simplicity. (Granny Liu is, however, grateful for their generosity.) The expression is used in modern Chinese to describe someone, usually a simple unsophisticated person, who is overwhelmed by new experiences and luxurious surroundings. 2. This is one of the characters of the Five Elements called Wu Xing in Chinese. It is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to exin a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between internal organs, and from the session of political regimes to the properties of medicinal drugs. The Five Elements are Wood (ľ m), Fire ( hu), Earth ( t), Metal ( jn), and Water (ˮ shu). Chapter 4 Part2 Icy Snake was a pure white snake about one meter long. It was covered with ice and snow, emitting coldness and crawling on the ground. It looked pretty cute, while Thunder Bird was just like a crow surrounded by bolts of lightning. Icy Snake could freeze a single target, so Xie Mingzhe tried to use it to freeze the half-woman and half-snake monster. He also tried Thunder Bird''s AOE skill Interlinking Thunder C the monster and its surrounding snakes receiving damage as expected. Xie Mingzhe was a science student sensitive to data when he was on Earth. He deliberately observed the damage points C Interlinking Thunder caused about 80-point damage to all targets. ording to the description of Thunder Bird''s base attributes and additional skill, its base attack was 100 points, and its skill could cause 80% attack damage, which exactly conformed to the algorithm of 10080%. In other words, the ultimate damage a card could cause depended on its base attack and skill coefficient. As an experienced yer, Xie Mingzhe quickly concluded this card was just amon one that was not worth wasting resources to level it up to seven stars. Cards the system gave to a newbie were definitely not good cards. As he yed for a longer time, there might be better cards with higher coefficient like 200%, 300% and higher base attack. Good cards couldn''t be obtained easily, so Xie Mingzhe just took his time, deciding to get familiar with the rules of the game first. This simple instance was not difficult for Xie Mingzhe. He counted data while ying, and soon he killed all the small snakes and reduced the half-snake monster''s Health to only 1%. At this moment, the monster suddenlymitted a suicide explosion, killing [Icy Snake] and [Thunder Bird] within seconds. Congrattions! You have aplished the mission of the illusionnd. The levels of [Icy Snake] and [Thunder Bird] have been increased to Level 3. Added bonus: 10 Green Star Stones and 2 Green Repairing Stones. When Xie Mingzhe thought about the usage of the Stones, the considerate game system exined: [Star Stone] contains lots of experience, which can be used to feed your favorite cards to level them up; Every Star Card has limited using time that would diminish after death and when the number decreases to 0, Star Cards would be damaged. At that time, [Repairing Stone] of the same level could fix those damaged Star Cards. "Your [Icy Snake] and [Thunder Bird] has been damaged. Fix them with the Repairing Stones!" Original trantion from wWww.a.n.gmamareadcOM No wonder the half-snake monster wouldmit suicide explosion to kill these two Star Cards. To make yers know the repairing function of the Star Card. After fixing these two cards, Xie Mingzhe followed the system''s guide and continued to gain more experience in different instances. *** Outside the door, when Brother Chen had just walked out, a tall girl told him, Brother Chen, we have received a big order. Brother Chen''s eyes got bright and asked, "What order?" The girl said: There is someone who issued a rewarding task in Exchange. He wants a total of 100 seven-star wood attribute fragments in three days and the reward reached 20,000 gold icons. I took the order first." A cheer rang out from all around: Aqing, well done! A hundred fragments, we get a lot of work to do! Brother Chen waved his hand neatly, Get ready to gain materials in Jupiter. The required squad of instances in Jupiter is five people. We, only four, couldn''t enter the instance. Ask another one to join us. she said. Thinking of the new recruit today, Brother Chen walked back to the next room and said to Xie Mingzhe, Xiao Xie, our studio is shorthanded, have you known the game rules? Come and clear an instance with us. Finding his ce in the studio, Xie Mingzhe immediately ran over, greeted several colleagues with a smile and sat next to them. The crowd was in the game world and didn''t pay much attention to his greeting C wearing helmets, they didn''t even take a look at him. Jupiter, said Brother Chen, a.s.semble at the entrance of the Misty Forest. Xie Mingzhe asked shamelessly, Brother Chen, where is the Misty Forest? Brother Chen answered patiently, "There is a world map in one room of your apartment. It can transmit you to wherever you want to go." Xie Mingzhe was clearing the instance under the guide of the system when he entered the study. He left the unfinished task aside and walked to the next room. There were three rooms and one living room in his apartment. On the wall of thest room was a world map C a vast gxy map and all twinkling stars were marked withbels. Was the gxy map in front of him the World of Star Card? How spectacr it was! Xie Mingzhe was stunned for a few seconds, then he found the "Jupiter" Brother Chen mentioned among a dense swarm of stars. In the game, there were Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Saturn and Mars in the sr system, except the earth. Xie Mingzhe found there were also attribute marks on the cards: Water and Metal. Were Jupiter and Mars also rted to the attribute of the card? With the doubt, Xie Mingzhe was transmitted to the Jupiter and arrived at the entrance of the Misty Forest. Brother Chen send him a team invitation. As Xie Mingzhe joined the team, one asked him in a clear female voice, Are you the neer? What cards do you have? Tell me and then I could allocate the task. Xie Mingzhe summoned two cards, "I only have [Icy Snake] and [Thunder Bird]." That girl looked at the cute little white snake crawling around, and the thunder bird with spiky feathers hovering above them. She almost lost her breath, "Do you want to clear the seven-star instance with these two one-star cards? Are you serious?" The man with a pair of .s.ses tried not tough, "The attack power of [Thunder Bird] is only 100, but the HP of the boss in the seven-star instance is 10,000,000." A flock of crows flew overhead In the game world, Xie Mingzhe felt innocent: was it not you who called me here? Brother Chen, the culprit in the matter, was embarra.s.sed but just touched his nose, "I forgot it, he is a beginner, it is his first day to y the game." An air of silence descended on the team After five seconds, Brother Chen rubbed his temple lightly, "Well, Xiao Xie, take it as an exercise!" Xie Mingzhe excitedly rubbed his hands and sat straight, like a good student who was listening to lessons carefully, OK, Brother Chen, I just have a look beside you and would not make any trouble! Chapter 5 Part1 Although Xie Mingzhe was aplete newbie, he was a studio intern after all. Brother Chen introduced Xie Mingzhe to the other members of Nirvana Game Studio in this collective activity: Chi Qing''s game ID is Green Gra.s.s, Pang Yu''s ID is Gxy Stars, Jin Yue''s ID is Golds, my ID in the game is also Brother Chen. All four members are here now." "h.e.l.lo everyone." Xie Mingzhe also introduced himself, "I''m Xie Mingzhe. I just started ying this game. My ID in the game is: Uncle Chubby." h.e.l.lo. This strange ID confused the others. They responded vaguely, not very enthusiastic. They hadn''t seen a neer like him for a long time. What was Brother Chen thinking about? Why did he hire a newbie as a booster? Was Xie Mingzhe reliable? Almost speechless, Chi Qing side-texted Brother Chen: "Brother Chen, are you sure to bring him with us?" He said that he was an experienced booster. I will tell him about the mechanism of the Boss. It won''t be a problem for him. Let him follow us and join in the fun. Brother Chen tried to convince himself. Then he looked at Xie Mingzhe''s figure in the game. Original trantion from Wwww.a.n.gmamareadCOM He remembered that Xie Mingzhe, who was more than 1.8 meters tall, looked very handsome with a bright smile. But his figure in the game was opposite to that C a fat man, less than 1.7 meters tall, whose ID was Uncle Chubby C so stupid. Anky boy was called Uncle Chubby? Was he kidding? Brother Chen cleared his mind, waving at other members: Let''s go. Lands of illusion in the World of Star Card were just like instances in online games. yers could get a lot of rewards for challengingnds of illusion which ranged from one star(lowest degree of difficulty) to seven stars(highest degree of difficulty). The Misty Forest at Jupiter was a seven-star instance designed for a five-member team. Xie Mingzhe knew that he shouldn''t be here as soon as he entered the instance. Here the mobs all had a HP more than ten thousand, but his Thunder Bird''s Attack was only 100 points. It was killed within seconds C how could it attack the mobs? Icy Snake and Thunder Bird died as soon as they entered the instance, and their Avable Times of Use also changed from 1/1 to 0/1. Besides, he needed materials to repair the cards. Xie Mingzhe took pity on his cards, so he immediately put them away. Xie Mingzhe thought his level was so low that in the high-level instance, he could hold the position but do nothing. As a result, after his two cards died, his role ''Uncle Chubby'' was still alive. Probably, the setting of the game was based on the cards C all fighting depended on the cards C while the yer''s role didn''t have any attack power, then would his role be alive forever? Although confused, Xie Mingzhe followed the four people and watched their fighting. As soon as they entered the instance, Pang Yu used the [Rhinoceros]. The rhinoceros rampaged through the Misty Forest which suddenly broke the silence. When the awakened little treants saw the intruder, they screamed and immediately lunged at the rhinoceros. The rhino rushed all the way and Brother Chen and his teammates also ran behind it. The little treants were scattered around, so we could hardly see where the rhino was. At that moment, Chi Qing beside me suddenly summoned two cards at one go. C [Storm G.o.ddness], the graceful G.o.ddess pped her wings and then a tornado swirled around all scattered treants, bringing them together in an instant! [Ice G.o.ddness], the crystal-like G.o.ddess fell from the sky and surrounded all treants with heavy snow, freezing them in situ! Brother Chen said, "Fire" Then Brother Chen and the guy named Jin Yue started throwing lots of their skills toward the treants. Xie Mingzhe was shocked by their fight, hiding behind them. The holographic game was so realistic that when he had just seen Storm G.o.ddess and Ice G.o.ddness, he felt it was like watching all kinds of 3D fantasy blockbusters on earth. G.o.ddesses seemed so close and vivid. Together with the sound of continuous wind and heavy snow overhead, the visual and sound effects were perfect. Original trantion from Wwww.a.n.gmamareadCOM 666, the effect of this game was so great that all engineers who developed it deserved a thumbs up. Xie Mingzhe sighed as he watches them killing the mobs. It was highly efficient for the four well-coordinated yers to clear the instance C killed all treants in 30 seconds. Brother Chen recuperated in situ, put the dropped fragments into his personal package, and then continued to go deep into the forest. Since Xie Mingzhe''s cards were dead and damaged, he decided to look on intently. As he had expected, materials they got from the forest instance on Jupiter were all with Wood attribute. After killing seven rounds of mobs, they finally encountered the Boss. Xie Mingzhe noticed the Boss in the distance was a flower more than one meter tall. It looked like a lily, but it was a colorful one whose five petals were red, green, blue, grey and golden respectively. Brother Chen stopped and said: "A''Qing, tell Xiao Xie (Xiao means young, which is often used as a prefix before surname when one calls someone else younger than him or her to show amity in China) how to beat this Boss." Chi Qing still spoke in an indifferent voice: "The flower monster is a Boss of Five Elements. When fighting with it, yers have to stand on different patterns. Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth correspond to gold, green, blue, red and brown. When a pattern with a certain color was generated under its feet, yers need to step on the corresponding pattern at the external frontiers that restrain them, which makes it much easier to defeat the Boss. The order of restraining in the Five Elements are: wood ovees earth, Earth ovees Water, Water ovees Fire, Fire ovees Gold and Gold ovees Wood." A novice couldn''t remember all the information because she talked too much at once. However, Xie Mingzhe was so talented in games that once an e-sports club scout talked to him. He immediately grasped the key information, saying: "What can I do for you? Help you step on the pattern?" Chi Qing spoke very fast, but Xie Mingzhe listened carefully. She considered Xie Mingzhe as a drag on her team before, but now her att.i.tude of exclusion toward him rxed, "When the green Wood pattern generates under the Boss''s feet, its HP will recover, while the red pattern will help the Boss kill all the yers in a second. Therefore, we have to stand on certain patterns to restrain it. It doesn''t matter if we fail to step on other patterns that can restrain patterns increasing its attack and defense, because we can kill it by violent attack Can you understand?" Xie Mingzhe nodded, "I know. When a Wood pattern emerges, I have to step on the Gold pattern; if it is Fire, I should step on Water, right?" "Yes." Chi Qing was somewhat surprised. It took her a long time to recite the order of mutual oveing. She wanted to exin it to him in detail again, however, Xie Mingzhe understood it after he listened to it once. Really? "Let''s get ready." Brother Chen said. He had no idea whether Xie Mingzhe could step on the right patterns. He thought it perfectly possible that the newbie would step on the wrong pattern and the Boss ace all of them. Chapter 5 Part2 However, to everyones surprise, when Boss generated a Wood pattern restoring its HP at its foot, Xie Mingzhe immediately ran to the external frontier and stepped on the gold Metal pattern, which solved the Wood pattern; then the red Fire pattern appeared at the foot of Boss, so he stepped on the blue pattern to restrain it; then appeared the blue pattern, so he stepped on the brown; the brown appeared, then he stepped on the green Boss generated the patterns quite quickly, but Uncle Chubby also ran very fast. He ran in a regr rhythm same as Boss releasing skills C Boss generated patterns every 10 seconds, while he ran back and forth exactly in 10 seconds, as if he had calcted to a nicety the time. Xie Mingzhe stepped on all patterns urately, restraining Boss of the Five Elements sessfully. With his help, the rest summoned their cards to fight against Boss at full st. Finally, they defeated it within a shorter time than usual. Afterpleting the mission, Brother Chen surprisedly looked at theirpletion time, which was three minutes shorter than usual. He had thought before that Xie Mingzhe would just stumbled around, stepping on the wrong patterns. He didnt expect the neer to be very smart. Chi Qing only told Xie Mingzhe about the order of mutual oveing in the Five Elements once, but he bore it in mind without making any mistakes. Xie Mingzhe proved himself that he was really an experienced booster C although he had never yed Star Card Storm before, he yed many other games, so he could learn by a.n.a.logy and quickly understood. Original trantion from WwWw.a.n.gmamaread I only offered a monthly sry of 1500 but found a really cheap and fine intern! Thinking about that, Brother Chen rxed his att.i.tude towards Xie Mingzhe. He gently asked: Xiao Xie, it seems that you are quite familiar with the order of mutual oveing in the Five Elements? Xie Mingzhe smiled: Many of the games Ive yed before involve the Five Elements, so Ivemitted them to memory. Brother Chen nced at him with satisfaction, All cards in Star Card Storm have their own attributes corresponding to five Majors1. yers must go to the corresponding Major to gain materials for evolution. There is an oveing cycle in the Five Elements, for example, Water ovees Fire, so when you use cards with Water attribute to fight against cards with Fire attribute, your cards will have a higher Effect uracy, which is almost the same as Effect uracy Percentage. But more importantly, a suit of cards with same attribute will gain Suit Percentage. Xie Mingzhe was really insightful, so Brother Chen set his mind on teaching him, patiently exining: The so-called a suit of cards means when you have more than five cards with the same attribute in your set of ying cards, you will get [Majors Blessing], namely Suit Percentage. There is a wide range of the Suit Percentage of Five Main Stars. Late in the game when you want to collect your own suit, you could draw close to your favorite Main Star. Now that you know the attribute rule, its easier for you to y the game! Uh-huh! As he responded, Xie Mingzhe took out his two cards: [Icy Snake] and [Thunder Bird], which were presented by the system. Their respective attributes were Water and Metal. After Brother Chens exnation, Xie Mingzhe had understood the role of card attributes C these cards of different attributes mutually restrict each other and the suit with the same attribute would obtain the additional bonus. This was the whole point during the future fight in Arena. First, you need to level up to 35. At that time, you can use seven-star cards, then we could clean instances together. Brother Chen could not wait to see Xie Mingzhes progress. Now that the recruited intern was a good candidate, he wanted to fast cultivate Xie Mingzhe as his primary a.s.sistant. No problem! Xie Mingzhe also wanted to level up quickly, because the level of the role would affect the Inner Spirit. His present Inner Spirit was only 20 points, so he couldnt use advanced cards. The current focus was to level his role up. At the same time, in Elegance Clubs apartment for yers. The handsome young man sat on the sofa with a gauzy tabletputer in his hand. His hands looked really pretty with strong fingers and his nails were clean. At this moment, his right index finger was sliding fast on the tabletputer. In front of the LCD screen, there were many seven-star cards with ck metallic l.u.s.ter, the back of which were red, green, blue, golden C thin threads of various colors stretched like vines and formedplex but exquisite patterns on their back. C Each card seemed like a significant collection. The door was pushed open, a 30-year-old woman, in a tailored skirt and with high-heeled shoes, stepped in and stopped in front of him, Xiao Tang, is it you who privately posted the rewarding task for 100 Wood fragments this noon? I find your subsidiary ount. Yeah. Tang Muzhou didnt turn his sight away from the screen and gently responded. Original trantion from WwWw.a.n.gmamaread If for emergency, you can tell the club and I could directly give you the material from our club. The woman kindly suggested. Dont let the club know the card first. Tang Muzhou put down the tabletputer and looked up at her. I am inventing a new card. Oh? The woman sat down beside him with interest, How about the data of the new card? Not bad. When the new card levels up to seven stars, Ill take it into the Arena for actualbat. The result will determine whether I will use it in the nextpet.i.tion season. With the unstable data of the new card, I dont intend to bother the club for the time being, so I have released a rewarding task. Tang Muzhou exined. I see. The woman nodded, asking, Are the people who have undertaken your task trustworthy? A game studio providing boosting service took the task. Boosters wont divulge the customers information. In addition, I used my subsidiary ount that they dont know. Thats good. The woman breathed a sigh of relief and warned Tang Muzhou, Be cautious. After all, you are well-known in the game, so many clubs are studying your set of ying cards. Before the match, keep the data of your new ying cards a secret to avoid being targeted. Be careful when you put the new card on trial in the game. I got it, sister Xue. Tang Muzhou showed a faint smile and said, It doesnt matter even if the data is exposed in advance. I have never relied on the cards only in the match. He was right. Having a strong set of ying cards was just the foundation of winning a match. Whether one could win a match mainly depended on his ability to embattle and adapt to changing circ.u.mstances. Tang Muzhou, who once won the first ce in the Individual Race in the National Star Card League, was certainly an outstanding yer. Tang Muzhou was only 23 years old. He was a young man boasting a unique temperament. He was elegant and graceful, as if he was the gentlest prince in a cartoon fairytale. He was handsome and his smile made people warm. Seeing his smile, people would easily be off guard. However, only those knowing him well knew that he was not as mild as he looked. What was hidden behind his gentle smile was his fierce and merciless way of attack. Tang Muzhou yed miraculously the Wood nt cards, especially his famous card [Thousand-year-old G.o.d Tree], which could kill other cards in arge scale, having defeated many trump cards of other professional yers. Killing his opponents cards with various kinds of vines with a smile C Tang Muzhou in the match was undoubtedly the most terrifying Wood yer. Chapter 6 Part1 In the instance of the Misty Forest. The Boss died, leaving five fragments with seven-star Wood attribute, and aplete four-star card with Wood attribute: [Flower Monster]. Brother Chen was in a good mood, saying with a smile: It seems that luck is on our side. We got the fragments and aplete card the first time we defeated the Boss. Xie Mingzhe asked curiously: Brother Chen, is the drop rate of this [Flower Monster] low? Brother Chen nodded: Well, the drop rate of aplete card is less than 10%. The Boss usually only drops fragments of [Flower Monster], requiring yers to a.s.semble them in full. Chi Qing suddenly interrupted them: "Brother Chen, the client just side-texted me, saying that in addition to 100 fragments with seven-star Wood attribute, he also wants 100 fragments with Water attribute and 100 fragments with Fire attribute. The three transactions total 66,000 gold coins. If we can give all of these to him within one week, he will pay in one lump sum. Everyone was stunned. Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. Brother Chen replied first, saying withplete surprise: Is the client a guru? He wants so many fragments for evolution at one time? Pang Yu guessed: Maybe he wants to level up three cards to seven-star? Will it be a game a.s.sociation? Chi Qing shook her head: It should be a personal acquisition. When he released the task in Exchange, his ID was a pile of garbled characters. It is obviously a smurf ount. Of course they would take up a task offering a 66,000 gold reward. Brother Chen thought for a moment and said: Take up the task first. A''Qing, post a job looking for some yers to join our team C we will begin a raid battle at 9 o''clock in the evening. We have to go through all the material instances in two days to gain as many fragments as possible. If not enough, we will find another way. "Can I help?" Xie Mingzhe asked. He could stand aside and watch them battling. He excelled at this, so he would definitely not make trouble with them. Brother Chen gave him the cold shoulder: Your level is too low to enter the instance requiring a raid of ten people. Level up yourself first, and thene to me after raising to level 35. OK! Xie Mingzhe had already expected this answer. He waved goodbye to Brother Chen, and ran back to level up. When he returned to his apartment, he heard the prompt sound immediately: Wee back! The magical World of Star Card is extremelyrge. Would you like to follow me to explore? System options: 1. Yes 2. You''ve got to say yes, whether you like or not Xie Mingzhe, "." You were a mischievous system! It seemed that the official copywriter of the game was funny and adorable. Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. He chose the first option. The system said in a rxing and pleasant voice, "Next, let me take you to explore the wondrous world of Star Card! Stars in the World of Star Card can be divided into three types: the first one is [Function Star], the second one [Resource Star], and thest one [Opening Star]. Please find the four functional stars in the gxy navigation map." Following the instructions, Xie Mingzhe walked up to the gxy navigation map and saw fourrge stars as big as his head in the vast gxy map. The detailed introduction of the star popped up when he walked closer. The entire domain of the Gemini was the game''s residential area, where all yers'' apartments were located. The domain of the Aquarius was a business zone, where yers sold things by auction, opened stores and set up stalls. The domain of the Peac.o.c.k was for entertainment, there were cinemas, amus.e.m.e.nt parks, food cities, bars and other recreational ces. The domain of the Phoenix was apet.i.tion center, where events rted topet.i.tion were held. The four major stars had different functions, and yers could be transmitted to their targeted stars from their personal s.p.a.ce. The prompt sound, "After learning about the four functional stars, let''s turn to the resource stars. There are five resource stars in the game: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars and Saturn. Each resource star is surrounded by innumerable small stars where yers can enter the Star Card illusion instance. yers can obtain cards, evolution fragments, strengthening materials of the corresponding attributes on these five resource stars. If you want your cards to be stronger, you need to frequent the resource stars to get materials." The prompt sound, "There are two opening stars in the World of Star Card: the Egret star and the White Crane star. There are various kinds of illusion creatures of different levels spread over the Egret star. You can defeat them to gain Exp (XP, experience) and materials. While the White Crane star has abundant natural mineral resources. You can collect Neb Paper, Repairing Stones, furniture woods and other game resources there." The prompt sound: "Introductionpleted. Next, please explore the Egret star." Xie Mingzhe was transmitted to the Egret star via the gxy map. The Egret star was the equivalent of the ce outside the residential area in the online game. It was a fully open star, where yers freely killed each other when they met. Unlike in instances, there was no guard that protected yers from death C they would be killed in the wild. Therefore, yers must be extra careful. There were forests, deserts, oceans, as well as swamps, gra.s.nds, and snow mountains here. In the rich natural environment were countless fierce beasts and nt demons that were scattered around. yers could gain experience points by killing them. Xie Mingzhe was still a level 5 beginner, so the system was considerate to take him to akeside where low-level mobs urred. When Xie Mingzhe walked close to theke, he saw a thin small girl who was chased by a few Golems. She was blundering around, with her HP falling rapidly. While running, she shouted, Help, help! Xie Mingzhe went two steps forward. The girl thought Xie Mingzhe would give her a hand and then she ran in his direction. However, Xie Mingzhe immediately stepped back and stared vigntly at the Golems, for fear that he would be involved in Golems'' attack. He had a good movement, avoiding the attacks flexibly. Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. The girl was killed by Golems within three seconds, falling down at Xie Mingzhe''s feet. The girl''s ID was Sisi. Because she couldn''t get a voice call after "death", she sent a text box above her head and asked, Why didn''t you save me? Xie Mingzhe returned, Why should I save you? I don''t know you. Meddling wasn''t his style. The girl was so angry that she immediately clicked the resurrection b.u.t.ton in situ and then said, Even if you don''t know me, you should also save me when convenient. Helping others is a virtue! I couldn''t help you. Xie Mingzhe a.n.a.lyzed, I only have a one-star card with 100 attack power, while the HP of the Glome that chased you was 1000 points. The five Glomes'' HP add up to 5000 points. I can''t defeat them and save you. If I did, I would be implicated and killed, too. . What Xie Mingzhe said made sense, and it was impossible for the girl to refute. Seeing that Xie Mingzhe turned and was about to go away, the girl got up from the ground at once and caught up with him, Hey, Uncle Chubby, let''s gain Exp together! Xie Mingzhe: ? Uncle Chubby? Who did she call? Looking up at his own ID, Xie Mingzhe remembered it. He almost forgot that when he entered the game to create the ount today, he named his ID Uncle Chubby. No wonder the girl called him this way. Xie Mingzhe couldn''t be bothered to exin. Anyway, she was just a friend in the game, so there was no need to treat her like his friend in reality. Chapter 6 Part2 Just then, a boy next to him said in a deep voice, "Sisi, what happened?" Turning his head, Xie Mingzhe looked at them. The boy had regr features but was somewhat serious. However, Sisi was pet.i.te and adorable. Xie Mingzhe wondered whether it was a real image of Sisi or just a virtual figure in the game. Being chagrined by her failure, the girl walked towards the boy and said, "Just now, I was killed by five Golems due to my imprudence." The boy dabbed the girl''s head with his hand, saying gently, "I have told you to wait for me here. Why did you run about just now?" Xie Mingzhe, "" Touching her head while she was disappointed to steal her heart, was it good to show off your love to a bachelor? Unwilling to see the lovers unting their love before him, Xie Mingzhe was about to turn around and leave. However, the girl stopped him and said, "Uncle Chubby, let''s work together to gain Exp! It''s hard to meet low-level yers in the newbie area since the game has been in operation for ten years. I''ve been gaining Exp here for ten minutes and only seen you a novice." The boy sent the invitation actively, saying, "Come on, we will gain Exp faster if we work together." Thinking that it was better to make some friends in the game, Xie Mingzhe joined them. The boy''s game ID was senior brother Qi. It could be concluded from their chat that senior brother Qi used this smurf ount to help his girlfriend gain Exp. He knew a lot more than novices did as he had yed this game for at least five years. Senior brother Qi suggested, "We won''t gain much Exp from the small Golems. We can gain Exp by killing the high-level mobs if we use our crowd control skills orderly and effectively." He was a veteran in the game and what he said was reasonable. Two novices followed him to theke. The fourth-level mob by theke was called "Willow Monster". It could cause great damage to the yers, but it could be controlled. Three of them had the [Icy Snake] cards given by the system when they started ying this game. A [Icy Snake] card could control one mob. Each of them controlled one mob, using [Thunder Bird] cardsunch crowd attack. It was very easy to kill the mobs as long as they used their skills effectively. After gaining Exp for half an hour, all of them levelled up to 10, and their cards levelled to 20. Cards have to evolve first when they levelled up to 20, or they wouldn''t be able to level up. They got many low-level evolution fragments just now, which were dropped by the Willow. Then senior brother Qi said, Go back to evolve your cards in personal s.p.a.ce. Evolve Thunder Bird with Area of Effect first. Xie Mingzhe called a portal out to transmit him to his personal s.p.a.ce, going back to evolve his card. In front of the console, the light green one-star card at level 20 slowly swallowed 100 two-star fragments, rotating constantly. At the same time, the pattern on its back also changed continuously. Atst, the original green card turned bluepletely. Level 20, two-star evolution, blue card. Xie Mingzhe noticed after it evolved into a higher-star card, the color on its back changed, while its front pattern remained original appearance. In terms of numerical values, all Base Attributes doubled, for example, the basic attack power of Thunder Bird had increased from 100 to 200 when it became a two-star card. In other words, after an upgrade, the Skill Increase of cards would be enhanced and after evolution, the Base Attributes would increase. Therefore, to upgrade and evolve cards in order would enhance cards all around. Cultivating a seven-star card needed a lot of materials. If average yers wanted to have a high-level card, they not only needed good skills but also manual work C to gain the necessary materials would make them tired and half dead, let alone other preparations! Xie Mingzhe sighed and returned to thekeside in Egret Star after he evolved the card. Sisi and senior brother Qi were also back. Senior brother Qi said, We have to buy more attack cards. Our team''s cards are not enough to kill mobs and gain Exp. Sisi asked excitedly, Where can we buy cards? Senior brother Qi said, ck market. Sisi was stunned, ck market? Is there such a ce? Senior brother Qi answered, There is an underground city on the back of themercial street, called the ck market. Over there, yers could set up stalls at their will. No rent. In the ck market, we can bargain and find a lot of good cards and materials, especially low-level original cards. They are much cheaper than those in regr stores. Sisi scratched her hair, But I heard that original cards are more expensive. Senior brother Qi exined, The original cards I referred are ordinary cards with average or extremely low data. There are even failed cards. As for the best original cards, they would be sold in auctions. Hearing their words, Xie Mingzhe thought, "It turns out that only failed cards will be in sale in ck market at a low price." However, for newbies like him, buying a few failed cards created by experienced yers to kill mobs was not a bad way at the beginning. So they transferred themselves to the Aquarius gxy. This was the first time Xie Mingzhe had personallye to the downtown area in this game. There was a square in the center of the Aquarius, with a beautiful crystal sculpture of a water container standing in the middle of the square. Four skysc.r.a.pers, located in the east, south, west and north of the square, were "Auction House", "Star Card Bank", "Exchange" and "Service Center" respectively. Behind the four skysc.r.a.pers were a maze ofmercial streets, all of which were rented to yers and operated by them. Xie Mingzhe looked down a street, finding shops with different unique names, such as "An Affectionate Couple''s Repair Shop", "Monopoly Store of Seven-star Cards", "Doudou''s Material Store", "Boss Wants to Have a Girlfriend", etc. - many yers were shopping on thesemercial streets which were more bustling than those in the real world. They had decided to go to the ck market together before, but found a crowd thronged the doorway of Auction House in the east of the square. Sisi curiously looked over the crowd standing on tiptoe and asked, Senior brother, what happened there? Senior brother Qi looked at the crowd in the direction of her gaze, answering: Auction House holds an auction at 3:30 every afternoon. Maybe these people are going to the auction. Xie Mingzhe had only watched auctions on TV, which he thought were designed for high-ie consumers. He hadn''t been to an auction yet, so he really wanted to see that. Before he spoke, Sisi said excitedly: Can we have a look? It seems very interesting! Senior brother Qi nodded: Okay, we will go to the auction first and then the ck market. When they stood at the Auction House''s doorway, a screaming from afar caused a stir: It is said legend Tang''s card will be sold in auction today! Is it Tang Muzhou''s original card? It''s an inside dope. I''m not sure. Let''s go and see! Hurry up, tickets will be snapped up soon! The crowd behind Xie Mingzhe came pouring into the Auction House, which startled him. Then he quickly sneaked into the auction. Chapter 7 Part1 The auction venue had five floors. With sharp eyes and agile hands, senior brother Qi snagged three tickets and sat down in their positions, together with Sisi and Xie Mingzhe. Xie Mingzhe observed the surroundings curiously C the holographic scene looked extraordinarily realistic, and the appearance of the people sitting around were also clear. But n.o.body knew whether the virtual figures in the game were their real images in the real world. Due to the increasing number of yers, the tickets had been sold out, so the auction venue had been automatically upgraded by the game system, adding another two floors. Obviously, today, the auction was very popr. In an instant, the seven floors were also filled with yers, leaving no one seat. A sea of people in the auction venue, there was busier than the cinema on New Year''s day on earth. When the clock''s hands pointed at 3:30 P.M., time up, all entrances to the auction venue were closed. The lights in the hall suddenly went out. One warm light was lit in the middle of the stage. On the back of the audience seats, 40cm wide virtual LCD screens appeared at the same time. The scene in the middle stage was erged and disyed on LCD screens. Even if one was sitting in a corner, he could see it clearly. A hot belle, with curled hair and wearing high heels, walked to the middle of the venue. She smiled and said, Good afternoon, distinguished guests, the auction is about to begin! The list of products for the auction has been disyed on the electronic screen in front of you. If you find the product you like, pay attention in advance! As soon as her words finished, a list of auction items appeared in the electronic screen. The items for auction today were four cards and ten shops. The concrete value of these cards was not referred on the list, just disclosing their patterns, colors and star rates on the back of these cards. There were two four-star cards, a five-star card, and a seven-star ck card that seemed precious. With a strong curiosity, Xie Mingzhe could not wait for the next good show. "The first items for auction are shops. Please have a look at the nform of these shops on the screen." The auctioneer briefed us on these stores with a smile, "Ten stores are all located on the south of the newly openedmercial street, next to the ck market. Each store covers an area of 50 square meters with convenient transportation and stable customer base. The starting price will be 10 thousand gold a month. "Let''s start with the first store." There were no different zones in the game, which meant all the yers stayed in one singlerge zone. Xie Mingzhe spected it might be the cloud storage technology''s strong ability to calcte that help the game ran smoothly even when thousands of yers thronged the auction house. He could see everyone''s face clearly. The server was exceptionally powerful. If there were such servers in the 21st century, the game would run smoothly even when there was a war between different a.s.sociations. Because all the yers were in the same zone and the number of shops was limited, new yers would have no stores to rent, the game operators opened newmercial streets and rent stores out to yers every month. yers who sustained losses in business and didn''t want to run their business any longer could auction their stores to others. The game operators regted the rental of the store in ordance with the market demand, which could maintain a healthy and steady business environment in the game without experiencing a depression in which lots of stores were shut down. Xie Mingzhe went over and asked senior brother Qi, "Stores next to the ck market have a booming business, right? How much is the rent?" Senior brother Qi replied, "You will have to pay at most 20 thousand gold monthly for a store like this that covers an area of 50 square meters, or you will run a business at a loss. The number of yers who can a sessful business in the game is small. In order to avoid running a business at a loss, many yers set up stalls in the ck market." Understanding it, Xie Mingzhe nodded. The difference of running a store and setting up a stall in the ck market was simr to that of running a 24-hour self-service convenience store and selling things in the night fair, each had its advantages. Generally speaking, yers who could run a sessful business opened stores in the game. Xie Mingzhe wanted to open a store, since he was prudent and had made some money by opening stores in the online games before. However, he was a newbie with only two low-level cards in hands in the game of Star Card Storm. He still had a long way to go before opening a store in the game. Maybe over a period of time, when he knew this game better and made a market research, he could try it? Xie Mingzhe thought to himself. The senior brother Qi, who had five-year experience in this game, knew the auction market very well. As he said, the 10 official shops were all sold at a monthly rental of less than 20,000. No one was willing to offer a higher price than 20,000. The beauty auctioneer went on to say, "Shops have all been auctioned. Nextes to rare cards. The first to be auctioned is a battle card C four-star [Flower Monster]. The attributes of this card are great. Although it is a four-star card, its base attack reaches 3600 points. The starting price is 1000 gold coins! Xie Mingzhe just saw [Flower Monster] when he was in the instance with Brother Chen today. This card at auction had much better attributes than the one Brother Chen got. Xie Mingzhe clearly remembered that Brother Chen''s four-star [Flower Monster] had a base attack of only 3000 points, while this one had 3600 points. Base Attributes would continue to double as cards evolved. Cards with high Base Attributes were more valuable, no wonder it could be put up for auction. This card eventually reached 3,000 gold coins. The auctioneer said, Next is still a card C five-star pet card [Nine-tailed Fox]! As soon as she finished her words, the card appeared before everyone''s eyes, so did the corresponding star card hologram C a lifelike white nine-tailed fox. The furry fox had clear green eyes with its white tails in the air. It looked so cute. Xie Mingzhe saw such a beautiful fox for the first time. He wanted to buy one and take it back home. But he didn''t know this card''s price. The auctioneer said, This card is allowed to be brought out the game and generate a star card hologram in the real world. The starting price is 5000 gold coins! Neers with only 100 gold coins in the bag could only be a looker-on. But Xie Mingzhe was very curious about prices in the game. He couldn''t help but lean over to ask senior brother Qi, What is the ratio of gold price in the game to currency in the real world? About 10:1 recently, senior brother Qi said. Ahh. Xie Mingzhe calcted C 5000 game coins were equal to 500 crystal coins in the real world. And this was just the starting price. Some offered higher prices soon, and the price shown on the screen quickly increase. Finally it stopped at 8000 gold coins. 8000 gold coins once! 8000 gold coins twice! Is there anyone offering a higher price? 8000 gold coins three times! Deal! The auctioneer dropped the gravel C a buyer got it. Chapter 7 Part2 It seemed that only the official operators knew who had bought that [Nine-tailed Fox] card since yers marked up prices by pressing a certain b.u.t.ton in their seats, which was a way to protect yers'' privacy. Themodity price in the game seemed to be very high. A pet card could be sold at 800 gold coins? It could cost the equivalent of a month rent for him. Xie Mingzhe was curious to find out why the [Nine-tailed Fox] card could be sold at 800 gold coins, but the [Flower Monster] card was sold at a price of 300 gold coins. Was there a significant difference between them? Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe leaned over to senior brother Qi, saying softly, "Why does the [Nine-tailed Fox] card sell at such a high price? Its base attributes are ordinary and it has no attack skills." "Because it is an original card that is created by yers. Such a card won''t drop after you kill mobs or clear instances. The creator owns the copyright on it and he or she has the right to retain or sell it. The [Nine-tailed Fox] card is expensive because it is created by a well-known pet card designer in the game, sister Man. Sister Man produces dozens of [Nine-tailed Fox] cards to sell every month. Girls love to keep a fluffy pet like this, so some of them rush to buy it at a high price," senior brother Qi said in a low voice. It suddenly dawned on Xie Mingzhe that the [Flower Monster] card was sold at a low price because yers who wanted it could get it through killing Bosses in the game. However, the [Nine-tailed Fox] card was special as it was created by yers and Bosses wouldn''t drop it. Sister Man had the copyright on this card, so it was up to her to decide when to sell it. Selling dozens of such cards a month and each card was sold at a price of 800 gold coins, sister Man must have made a fortune. Xie Mingzhe could not help but admire her for running such a sessful business. Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. After the foregoing cards were sold, the beautiful auctioneer smiled mysteriously, saying, "Herees the highlight of today''s auction. The extremely precious seven-star card will be auctioned next!" Just as the beautiful auctioneer stopped speaking, an emcee came to the center of the stage with a delicate box and slowly opened it in the spotlight. A ck card was lying in the velvet box quietly. Its pure ck back shined with a faint metallic gloss. There was a green pattern on the back of the card. Thinking of his two-star cards that had no patterns on their blue back, Xie Mingzhe found them were very dull. However, the pattern on the back of the seven-star ck card was both gorgeous and exquisite. The pattern, likeposed by green threads, stretched and spread on the back of this ck card, deep and shallow. The green pattern was carved without any rules, while it looked not messy, instead, it seemed like a work of art carefully created by a master sculptor, with strong third dimension. Just judging from the delicate back of this card, even Xie Mingzhe, ayman, also knew that the card must be valuable. Xie Mingzhe observed the card carefully and found that in the lower right-hand corner of its back was a very small character Tang. When the camera was rested on the character Tang, Xie Mingzhe heard that the girl sitting behind him suddenly screamed out, G.o.d, it''s the work of legend Tang, isn''t it? Ahahah, it must be the work of my Prince Charming! Only he will use this LOGO, and no one dares to copy! Another uncle''s sound rang out from the front side, Oh gosh! The grapevine news is right C there really has Tang Muzhou''s card in today''s auction? Why would legend Tang''s card be auctioned? Gradually, the original whispering sound around Xie Mingzhe grew noise and confusion, just like dropping a stone into a peacefulke that led into billows the billows of sound rolled ceaselessly, and in an instant, the venue had been submergedpletely. Sitting in the crowd, Xie Mingzhe was deafened by the sound. Who was Tang Muzhou? So influential? The auctioneer picked up a microphone to maintain order, Everybody, quiet, quiet, quiet, please! Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. After the auctioneer said it three times, the excited audience calmed down. The pretty hostess continued to say, This seven-star card is exactly created by legend Tang, Tang Muzhou! She carefully flipped the ck card over and said, Please look at the data on the card! On the electronic screen, Xie Mingzhe also saw the front of the card clearly. On the front of the card was a cl.u.s.ter of blooming white flowers, each of which had a very clear pattern. Some of them even had crystal-like clear dews. Small flowers, white as jade, had met and piled above the other. They were so lifelike that they seemed to scent the air. Tuberose (Wood) Card Level: 70 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 7/7 Base Attributes: Health 100000, Defense 0, Attack 50000, Agility 100, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Alluring Scent (Targets within 30 meters round will inhale its special scent and be under illlusions for 5 seconds. Additional Skill: Night Falls (Targets within 30 meters round will be blind for 3 seconds.) The audience burst into cheers again once they saw the card''s data. Xie Mingzhe heard a heated discussion from behind, 100,000 Health and 50,000 Defense C it totals 150,000 HP! It is almost a tank! A card with 100 Agility enables the yer to make an AOE attack in the fastest speed. Moreover, its two skills, illusions and blindness, are strong controls C what a formidable card! I remember legend Tang once used this card in the league? Why did he sell such a great card? Has he created a better card? Seeing that audience had gotten excited, the host smiled, "Seven-star [Tuberose], AOE control card, now started! The starting price is 100,000 gold!" Xie Mingzhe, "What??" Were the rich in this world all crazy? 100,000 gold coins, equivalent to 10,000 crystal coins in the real world, were enough for his annual living expenses! It was just a card! Would any fool buy it? However, it turned out to be a p in his face - so many people had a run on it! Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. As soon as the host announced the start, the price on the screen rose wildly. 110,000 115,000 120,000 125,000 Xie Mingzhe watched the price going higher and higher, his eyes popping out of his head. So much money! Now he''d seen everything. Chapter 8 Part1 Xie Mingzhe watched the rolling numbers on the screen, realizing his poverty and insignificance. When he was worried about the rent of 800 coins a month and felt happy to find a job offering 1,500 per month, the rich spent tens of thousands for a card in the world of games. He remembered that when he was still on earth ying online games, a rich yer spent tens of thousands on his armours and weapons in their area. It was said that the rich in games dropping armours and weapons randomly often topped up millions into their ount to get better equipment. There were always the rich and the poor, no matter in which era. Unfortunately, Xie Mingzhe was a poor man both on earth and this. He didn''t understand what the rich were thinking about. What he could do was just standing aside and watching. The price on the screen soared to 150,000 and then stopped. 150,000 once, 150,000 twice, is there anyone else said the host. Before he finished "offering a higher bid", the number rolled again. C 200,000. C 220,000. C 250,000. C 300,000! Xie Mingzhe''s eyes widened. The gap between each bid was all about thousands of coins before C why did it suddenly change? Now the gap was tens of thousands! Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. Senior brother Qi whispered beside him, The bids before were not important. The real rich just begin bidding right now. This seven-star card''s attributes are so great C Agility 100, two Crowd Control skills, plus Tang Muzhou''s reputation, its price is definitely more than 300,000. Xie Mingzhe"" The rich''s world was unimaginable. Rare cards in this game should be the same as the top armors and weapons in other games, especially cards with perfect attributes. It seemed reasonable to bid millions for this card. Xie Mingzhe sighed as he looked on pa.s.sively. At the same time, inside Fenghua(which means elegance and talent) Club''s office in the capital city. Xue Linxiang looked at the young man, who was lying back on the sofa and constantly yawning. She said softly, Xiao Tang, you invested lots of emotional energy to create this [Tuberose] card, the data of which is really perfect. Even if you don''t need it, you can give it to others. Why would you want to sell it? Xue Linxiang was reluctant to do that. Tang Muzhou was so sleepy that he was about to fall asleep. Hearing sister Xue''s words, he raised his spirit a little and squinted his eyes, saying, Changfeng, Man Man and Xiao An, none of them are good at using nt cards. Even if I give it to them, they couldn''t also exert its maximum effect. Why not find an eligible owner for the card? When he was sleepy, his voice was a little low, with a hint ofziness and hoa.r.s.eness, which heard extra good. Xue Linxiang was afraid that he would fall asleep because of his strange routines, then said hurriedly to catch his attention, Well, since you don''t need it anymore, it is surely better to find an owner who cherishes it, instead of cing it in a disy cab However, the [Tuberose], a support card, has been sold. Have you selected an alternate card for your set of ying cards? Of course. Tang Muzhou opened the information of card in his tabletputer and introduced, This card was just finished a few days ago. I applied different ideas when creating it. Sister Xue, have a look at its data. In an instant, Xue Linxiang''s eyes widened. The surplus value of the seven-star [Tuberose] card, which had been sold by Tang Muzhou, was extractedpletely. However, the data of the card that reced [Tuberose] was even more frightening. She believed that when this card appeared on the court, it would definitely make Tang Muzhou''s opponents have a headache. How did you create this card? Xue Linxiang turned around but only found that Tang Muzhou had already fallen asleep, with the tabletputer in his arms. Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. Tang Muzhou always had an afternoon nap every day, just like the dehydrated nts that had been exposed to the burning sun for a long time. If not, he couldn''t lift the spirit. The strange routine really made others helpless. Seeing him sleep deeply, Xue Linxiang didn''t wake him up but put away his tabletputer. She walked back to the office to check the schedule that the league had just sent to her. *** At the auction. The ultimate sale price of the [Tuberose] card was 660,000 yuan, equal to the actual currency 66,000 yuan. It was really amazing. Xie Mingzhe and his two partners went out of the auction house after the auction ended. The summer sun shone on him, which was so lifelike and made him feel warm even in the game. The temperature was moderate and the weather was fine, but Xie Mingzhe was in a very bad mood. The rich could spend tens of thousands of gold on a card, but he had to worry about how to make a living. The gap between the rich and the poor existed in every world, including the game world. Xie Mingzhe did not detest the rich, instead, he believed that people who made a fortune must have something superior to others. He became an orphan when he was born, so he was on his own and had a much lower starting point. But he refused to reconcile himself to that situation. He was unwilling to be a poor man again after he restarted his life in a new world. In his previous life on earth, Xie Mingzhe finished college on a schrship. After graduation, he intended to find a well-paid job and lead a stable life. He was satisfied with his peaceful life at that time. However, now he changed. Although this world had highly developed science and technology, people''s intellectual nourishment was scarce, which resulted in the poprity of the holographic games like Star Card Storm in the world. Numerous yers regarded Star Card Storm as the spiritual sustenance, so they were willing to invest in the game. The auction had proved that point. A [Nine-tailed Fox] pet card with weak ability to attack could be sold for 8000 gold due to its cuteness and the [Tuberose], a battle card was sold at a sky-high price of 660 thousand gold, which was equivalent to 66 thousand currency in the real world. If Xie Mingzhe had such a card and sold it out at such a high price, he didn''t have to worry about his living expenses and tuition fees in college at all. Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. Xie Mingzhe was extremely shocked. Xie Mingzhe had never yed card games before. He had thought the card was cheap and he could buy one for several gold to raise as there were innumerable cards in the game. However, Xie Mingzhe had apletely new understanding of this world after he saw the original cards that were sold for several thousand, tens of thousands of gold. Maybe he could also produce some original cards to sell? It didn''t matter if he failed, but what if he seeded? He didn''t expect his original cards could be sold for tens of thousands of gold. If someone bought his card for several hundred gold, you would lead a period offortable life. Chapter 8 Part2 Thinking of that, Xie Mingzhe immediately took senior brother Qi and consulted him modestly, You have referred original card many times just now. If yers want an original card, are there any special requirements? The old yer, senior brother Qi exined patiently, like amentator, To create an original card in the game depends on the Inner Spirit and genius of yers. Xie Mingzhe nodded, Oh, could you exin it in detail? Senior brother Qi simply found a quiet pavilion nearby and sat down, along with Xie Mingzhe. Sisi followed us and listened to the old yers lecture curiously. Inner Spirit, in the more popr words, is the ability of your brain to withstand external stimuli, which can be measured in hospitals. The Inner Spirit of ordinary people is around 200. If the number is higher than 260, the man ispetent to all difficult tasks of various fields, or to partic.i.p.ate in the professional league of holographic games. Xie Mingzhe stunned. How many were his spirit points? When he woke up in the hospital, Doctor Qin had measured his Inner Spirit, using robots. His Inner Spirit points seemed to be 300 C yes, when the robot pressed the electrode on his temple, the number disyed on the screen was 300! So his Inner Spirit was rtively high, at least higher than the average Inner Spirit point, 200. Xie Mingzhe was happy and continued, Is it necessary to use the Inner Spirit for creating original cards in the game? Yes. Senior brother Qi brother replied in detail, Both the content and skills of the card you want to create depend on your Inner Spirit. For example, if you want to make a nt card, the cards you create must be refined, specific to what the flowers look like, how its root grows, what the shape of its leaf is, how to describe its skills and how to distribute its data C the more specifically and precisely you create the card, the better the quality of the cards will be. Xie Mingzhe was stunned - wasn''t this simr to drawing? There were two ways to draw a picture: one was to draw the real scene on the paper; the other one was to imagine. For example, if you wanted to draw a kind of nts, first you need to outline the appearance of the nt in your mind. Once the imaginative appearance shaped, picture it on the paper. The works of a good artist were realistic enough to be taken as real objects. It was easy for Xie Mingzhe to create a card in this way. He was a science student in his previous life on earth, but he was admitted to the Academy of Fine Arts of Capital University in this world. He could draw and imagine and his Inner Spirit was 300, all of his abilities had reached the standard of being a card creator, now he just needed a permission for his creation. Please support original trantion in w.a.n.gmamaread. Xie Mingzhe rubbed his hands in excitement and continued, "In other words, after imagining the detailed contents of the card, I will use the Inner Spirit to draw them on a special cardboard to make a card. Is that the whole process?" Senior brother Qi shook his head, saying, "This is just the beginning. A more vital part of creating a card is the examination and approval of the new card. There is a very strict copyright protection system in the game. Your card has to be examined and approved by the official card database system before it is operational in the game." "Protect copyright? What does it mean?" Xie Mingzhe scratched his head confusedly. "For example, the [Nine-tailed Fox] card sold at today''s auction has been reviewed by the official card database system, so its creator owns its copyright and others are not allowed to giarize his idea. That is to say, other yers are prohibited from giarizing his idea to make simr cards, such as an [Eight-tailed Fox] crad, a [Seven-tailed Fox] card or a [Nine-tailed Cat] card." Sisi nodded her head as if she understood something, saying, "In other words, yers are not allowed to remould the ready-made cards in the card database, instead, they can create new cards that haven''t appeared in the card database before, right?" Senior brother Qi nodded, saying, "Yes. Cards in the database won''t be turned into an original card by modification and the skills of the ready-made cards can''t be copied directly either. yers have to create new cards and design new skills before their cards are approved by the system. As for the Character Cards, the official has a special requirement. Importing the features of a man in the real world is prohibited, yers need to create their original character." Xie Mingzhe suddenly understood it. The official stiption was indeed powerful and effective, which put an end to giarism. In this way, the official could protect the yers'' creative ideas, so creators didn''t have to worry about their ideas would be stolen. A man''s features in the real world couldn''t be imported into the game, which also avoided yers maliciously smearing the image of people in the real world and giving them some odd skills. For instance, one would import his .s.smate''s feature data into the card and give it a "Fart" skill, which sounded terrible. Senior brother Qi added, More critically, your card''s skills need to match its image. For example, [Tuberose]''s skills, Alluring Scent and Night Falls, are both rted to the card''s name1. Tang Muzhou''s strongest AOE card [Thousand-year-old G.o.d Tree] has a skill called [Fatal Strangling], which can strangle star card holograms with its Wood vines over a wide range of areas. The reason why his card is so strong is that the card, data and skills are perfectlypatible. Xie Mingzhe nodded in admiration. It seemed that Tang Muzhou had a very vivid imagination! All kinds of nts had been given great skills. The official rules for creating original cards were really strict. yers couldn''t just create cards at will. In order to make the game as fair as possible, the official must have arge professional database and calction form to control card data. For example, skills stepping out of lines such as killing all targets within 100 meters would not be approved. The earlier you yed this game, the easier it was to create original cards, because there was a lower possibility to create same skills with other yers. But Star Card Storm had been in operation for a decade, having countless yers. Those having yed this game for longer years must have created all kinds of cards, Xie Mingzhe guessed. Did the official database collect all nts, animals, and characters cards? To be creative would be a big problem for many yers who wanted to create original cards. Must he create a card that was not included in the database? What should he do? Xie Mingzhe rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Senior brother Qi said, If you are really interested in original cards creation, you can go to the ck market to buy some Neb papers and give a try. Sisi advised, Uncle Chubby, creating original cards is especially expensive. One of my besties wanted to create a pet cardst month, and she spent several thousand coins on buying materials. But she failed atst. Don''t get yourself into a fix! Xie Mingzhe nodded, OK. I''m just interested in it and want to give a try. If I fail, I will forget it. I won''t spend too much on it. He didn''t have much money to waste, but he couldn''t reconcile himself if he didn''t try it. At least he had a high Inner Spirit and was good at painting, which meant he was totally qualified to create original cards. Maybe he could seed and make money by selling his cards. Making up his mind, Xie Mingzhe followed senior brother Qi to the ck market, thergest underground trading market in themercial star. Trantor''s Notes: 1. Tuberose in Chinese is ҹ. "ҹ" means "night", while "" means "scent". Chapter 9 Part1 The ck market was an underground mall in the alley behind the high street. Different from themercial streets, the ck market was dim and cluttered with various kinds of materials, which made it look like a night fair for selling staple goods on earth. yers definitely had to be patient to shop for their targeted goods slowly in the ck market. Fortunately, senior brother Qi knew here well and took Xie Mingzhe and Sisi to arge stall soon. The owner of the stall, a fat middle-aged man, greeted them warmly, "What do you want to buy?" "Is there any Neb paper?" Senior brother Qi asked directly. The owner said with his eyes crinkled, "Yes. I have the Neb papers of different grades." Then he took out five stacks of Neb papers in session and ced the Neb papers of grade 1-5 from left to right in order. The higher the grade of the Neb paper was, the better gloss it had. "Is the high star-rated card? made of high-grade paper?" Xie Mingzhe asked. "No. The original cards made by yers are all one-star cards, at level 1. The card made of high-grade paper has rtively better data,pared with that made of low-grade paper, but the creator''s talent serves as the key determinant of the card''s data. In other words, a gifted creator can use a piece of low-grade paper to make a card with fine data, but a creator with ordinary Inner Spirit can only make worthless cards with high-grade papers. If you want to try and make an original card, I suggest that you buy the paper of grade one. The higher grade of the paper is, the higher price it has." Senior brother Qi said. "Then I will buy several pieces of the cheapest paper and have a try." Xie Mingzhe looked back at the owner, saying, "How much is a piece of Neb paper of grade one?" "Ten gold coins for a piece of paper." "Can its price be lower?" "It is sold at the lowest price." "Can I buy ten pieces of paper for seventy gold coins? I''m a newbie who doesn''t have much money." Xie Mingzhe was adept in bargaining and he was willing to do it. He had learned from senior brother Qi that haggling was allowed in the ck market. The owner had an odd look on his face when he knew Xie Mingzhe wanted to buy the paper at a 30% discount, saying, "No matter how poor a newbie is, he has at least 100 gold coins, hasn''t he?" Xie Mingzhe said seriously, "I bought cards just then and only have 70 gold coins left. Could I buy 10 pieces of paper with these gold coins?" The owner had no choice but to sell him 10 pieces of paper, saying, "OK. Cut it a deal." Xie Mingzhe said with a smile, "Thanks!" Please support the trantor by reading in WWww.a.n.gmamareadCom Senior brother Qi was speechless. He decided to take Xie Mingzhe with him when he went to the ck market as Xie Mingzhe was a budget-conscious man. After buying the Neb paper, senior brother Qi led them to the stalls selling cards, where they bought three suitable battle cards that were three-star evolution cards. [Firefly] Skill: Firefly Glow (To illuminate the surrounding area within a 10-meter radius of the card for 5 minutes.) [ck Crow] Skill: Air Attack (Targets with 10 meters round will receive 100% damage of Thunder attribute.) [Water Spirit] Skill: Deceleration (To apply a debuff of deceleration to the targets with 10 meters round for 3 seconds.) The [Firefly] card was sold for 150 gold coins and each of the other two cards was sold at a price of 200 gold coins. They were much cheaper than the cards sold in the auction house. Senior brother Qi bought all these three cards. He gave the [Firefly] card to Sisi and the [ck Crow] card to Xie Mingzhe and he kept the [Water Spirit] card. Xie Mingzhe was somewhat confused, saying, "Both of the two battle cards have AOE attack and control skills, why are they so cheap?" Senior brother Qi answered, "Because their skill scope is small and their skill Increase is low. An excellent AOE card has a skill scope of more than 20 meters." "Will the skill scope be expanded when the card levels up?" The AOE range increases only 1 meter every time cards upgrade 10 levels, so the AOE range of the card can increase 7 meters at most by 70 levels. Tang Muzhou''s [Tuberose] is so expensive because its AOE ranges of both Crowd control skills are 30 meters C the maximum AOE range of Crowd control skills designated by the official. So it is. Xie Mingzhe learned it and nodded. Xie Mingzhe considered senior brother Qi an encyclopedia of the game that knew anything. It was a really wise choice to join the couple''s team at the beginning C in a short period, he gained lots of knowledge about the game. To gain more experience, senior brother Qi took them to the Dark Cave located at the southernmost part of Egret star. In the Dark Cave, it waspletely dark, so they could see nothing. The scene of the holographic game was too lifelike. Although Sisi was terribly afraid of darkness, she kept calm seemingly and quickly summoned the [Firefly], illuminating the surrounding within 10 meters. As soon as the fireflies emit light, a shrill cry rang out. Sisi was frightened and bolted back. At the same time, senior brother Qi stretched his hand to protect her, saying, Go to the corner and turn off the game sound. You just need to light up the surrounding, Uncle Chubby and I will clean these mobs. Sisi nodded and withdrew to the corner fast, using the [Firefly] card as amp. Senior brother Qi turned around and looked at Xie Mingzhe, saying This dark cave is a good ce for sp.a.w.ning mobs, which would gather together automatically when they see the light. We could pull more mobs and then kill all of them at one go." Xie Mingzhe nodded and thought it was really convenient to sp.a.w.n mobs with old ys, who knew the more effective method to do so. An hourter, all their characters reached level 15, and the materials for cards evolution were alsopletely collected. Senior brother Qi said, I''m ready to eat and then continue to level up. Please support the trantor by reading in WWww.a.n.gmamareadCom Sisi said, My mother also urges me to eat, and I have to leave now. She opened the s.p.a.ce portal and walked over, but when she was at the door, she turned around and asked Right! Uncle Chubby, will you be online in the evening? If so, we could continue to level up together, to level up to 35 tonight! Xie Mingzhe nodded, I will. Sisi became very happy, Uncle Chubby, see you tonight! Xie Mingzhe waved farewell to them and said, Goodbye. After the two people left, Xie Mingzhe returned to his apartment and took out the paper that he just bought from the ck market, trying to create his original cards. When he put one Neb paper on the card tform, the system prompted, Do you want to make a card? Xie Mingzhe pressed the YES b.u.t.ton. The system, Please focus all the attention, and then picture the card image shaped in your mind on the Neb paper Xie Mingzhe began to imagine C he found with surprise that when his Inner Spirit power was connected with the Neb paper, whatever he thought would appear on the paper. Subconsciously, he remembered the scene of drinking with his roommates in his previous life on Earth. Due to the fuzzy ideas in his mind, the image that was presented on the Neb paper was also very chaotic, with only one wine bottle shaped clearly on the paper. Xie Mingzhe was stunned and immediately stop imagining. System: To create the card failed. Neb paper has been shredded, do you want to start anew? This time, Xie Mingzhe pressed the No b.u.t.ton. He had wasted a piece of Nebe paper. Now he had to calm down and rethink the process, rather than to have another attempt so rashly. At this time, he realized that it was quite hard to create cards. Chapter 9 Part2 The human brain could have fertile imagination, so it was difficult for one to concentrate on one thing. Even if he concentrated on painting only the character he wanted, there were always external factors that would interfere with him, especially when he hit a bottleneck, because under this condition, his thoughts would wander off the point, and he would feel confused. In Star Card Storm, the image on a card couldn''t be in a mess. Thinking of the cl.u.s.ter of white Tuberose at the auction, Xie Mingzhe suddenly admired Tang Muzhou to some extent. Legend Tang was truly an awesome yer C he created such a vivid flower card as [Tuberose], and iparablyplex nt card as [Thousand-year-old G.o.d Tree] C a huge tree covering the sky. Tang Muzhou must use his Inner Spirit to draw every branch and leaf without making any mistakes. His Inner Spirit must exceed 300. Xie Mingzhe felt it a little hard even though his Inner Spirit was 300 high Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on thinking about the type of card he wanted to make. Tang Muzhou excelled at creating nt cards, so there was hardly any room for him to make new nt cards. As for animals, there had been pet cards such as [Nine-tailed Fox] and [Long-eared Rabbit] in this game. Card designers with active imagination made a lot of pet cards. When he searched for information in the hospital, he found various realistic Persian cats, Teddy dogs, giant pandas, etc. Lions, tigers, and other animal cards were just too corny, and he had no idea for new ones. Character Yes, characters! Senior brother Qi said that the approval standard for character cards was the character''s facial features. The official standard stated that yers couldn''t take examples from people in the real world to draw the character''s facial features. What if he drewic-style characters? Wasn''t that unique? He didn''t learn painting in vain C he could drawic-style characters easily. Xie Mingzhe clenched his fist excitedly for finding a way. What character should he draw? A scene suddenly came to his mind. A slim girl sat by the river, strewing petals over the ground. She gave a little cough, her face bathed in tears. Daiyu burying the flowers1. The night before his rebirth, when he went out, one of his roommates, who was arty, was watching the 1987 version of the Dream of the Red Chamber in the dormitory. At the time, Xie Mingzhe joked, Seeing Cousin Lin crying bitterly, how do you feel? Do you want to cry too? The roommateughed a little and replied, Get out! My girlfriend sent the video and asked me to go over the .s.sic. Xie Mingzhe nced at theputer screen and sighed, Lin Daiyu in this version got real .s.s. The scene was so beautiful that it was imprinted on his mind. It made one''s heart ache to see such a delicate and touching girl with tears filled in her eyes. Even an otaku like Xie Mingzhe would feel worried when seeing her crying. So the scene stuck in his mind. So clearly. Xie Mingzhe''s eyes lit up - what if he turned this scene into a card? He didn''t know if there was such a card in the world of Star Card. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe immediately started the card-making system. He put one Neb paper on the Card Console, closed his eyes and carefully depicted the picture in his mind Please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. Green trees, flowers, a beauty standing by trees, buried petals, and tears on her face. The picture got clearer, more detailed, and moreplete as he was depicting in his mind. After he concentrated on picturing the image in his mind, the game system reminded, Congrattions! You have created the card. Please insert the card into the card slot in the upper left corner and connect to the star card database to verify your card. Xie Mingzhe immediately inserted the card into the slot as the system prompted. After the cards were finished, the first step was to see whether the cards could gain official approval or not. It was also the key point. Probably, there were too many cards in the database, so the examination took a long time. Five minutester Ten minutester Xie Mingzhe thought the system had crashed. When he was about to restart his game helmet, a voice suddenly rang in his ears, The card has been approved. You can print a unique LOGO on the card as a copyright certificate. Approved! Xie Mingzhe was extremely excited. He decided to use the word Zhe directly and print it in the lower right corner of the back of the card C to imitate Tang Muzhou''s style because his word Tang looked really decent and cool. However, after he entered the word, the system prompted, The LOGO has been upied. Please choose another one. Xie Mingzhe felt helpless. It seemed that there was a high rate of name repet.i.tion. Star Card Storm beta had been in operation for ten years and all kinds of LOGOs must have been enrolled earlier. Now that to apply a cool logo failed, why not use the ID in the game? So Xie Mingzhe simply entered °롱 ( and are two parts of the Chinese character , which means chubby. In the future chapters, we will write Xie Mingzhe''s logo as Chubby). It finally pa.s.sed. On the back of the approved card, the pure white Nebr paper gradually shined soft and green l.u.s.ter. The green cards are one-star cards, the lowest star cards in the game. All original cards yers created were one-star cards. It didn''t matter C the cards could be upgraded and evolved. The cost of producing one-star cards was the lowest. As long as it had excellent attributes, he had the patience to level up Daiyu to a seven-star card slowly. Rubbing his hands, Xie Mingzhe picked up the card on the Card Console and looked at it carefully. As a painter who was adept in painting good-looking people, he painted Lin Daiyu beautifully in a cartoon style. A lovely and pathetic ancient beauty of distinctive disposition stood by a tree, burying the petals into the ground. Theposition of the picture was also awesome as it had depicted 90% of the artistic conception of Daiyu burying the flowers. Then Xie Mingzhe shifted his focus to the card''s attributes. Lin Daiyu (Wood) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 100, Attack 0, Defense 15, Agility 1, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Daiyu Burying Blossoms (To inflict huge damage on flower and nt cards, 10% chance of triggering immediate death effect) Xie Mingzhe waspletely confused by the attributes. What was this skill? Causing huge damage to flower and nt cards? Daiyu Burying Blossoms, as its name suggested, could only be used to fight against his adversary''s flower and nt cards? Wouldn''t the card be useless if his opponent had no flower or nt cards. Its defense was 15, however, Xie Mingzhe remembered that Tang Muzhou''s [Tuberose] card of the highest level had a defense ability of 50000. There was an enormous gap between these two cards. Even his [Icy Snake] card given by the system had an initial defense ability of 50. Wouldn''t the [Daiyu] card be smashed as easily as a piece of paper since its defense was just 15? "Poor sister Lin, you couldn''t change your destiny even if you were made into a card in the game," Xie Mingzhe thought. Xie Mingzhe felt disappointed. The data of this card was by no means good, it seemed that he was not destined to make a fortune overnight. Would anyone buy it in the ck market? Trantor''s Notes: 1. Daiyu burying the flowers: Lin Daiyu is one of the princ.i.p.al characters of Cao Xueqin''s .s.sic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent, witty and beautiful young woman of physical frailness who is somewhat p.r.o.ne to asional mncholy. The romance between Daiyu and Jia Baoyu forms one of the main threads of the book. One of the enduring images of Daiyu, often portrayed in Chinese art and re-enacted in Chinese operas, is that of Daiyu burying the flowers. One day, ovee by a spell of mncholy after a misunderstanding with Baoyu, Daiyu goes to bury some fallen petals at a hillside and falls in deep weeping at the demise of the flowers. Sheposed a long, elegiac memorial poem for the dead petals, which triggers off a simr grieving response in the eavesdropping Baoyu. Chapter 10 Part1 Xie Mingzhe reckoned that the Additional Skill of the [Lin Daiyu], as its name suggested, to trigger off instant death of flower and nt cards, was automatically created by the system in ordance with his imagination as he was thinking of the story of Daiyu burying the flowers while picturing the [Lin Daiyu] that was designed to ovee most flower and nt cards. Unfortunately, its Defense was low and the chance of using its skill was only 10%. In other words, its data was terrible. What should he do with this card? To sell it for several gold coins? He was too badly off. Thinking of it, Xie Mingzhe concentrated attentively on producing the [Lin Daiyu] cards again. He had the right to produce the cards as he had its copyright, while others were prohibited from doing the same thing. Xie Mingzhe had used up the Neb paper to make 9 [Lin Daiyu] cards. The reason why he had made 9 same cards was that he hadn''t made any cards before. He wanted to learn the techniques and gain more experience of creating cards. He had noticed that the more he focused on the cards, the clearer the picture and the better the data would be. For instance, thest [Lin Daiyu] card he made had different data from the first card. Although its Defense was 16, it was indeed improved. Xie Mingzhe collected the 9 [Lin Daiyu] cards and took them to the ck market with optimism. After arriving at the ck market, Xie Mingzhe walked around it first, because he knew he would be cheated easily as a newbie if he didn''t know the market clearly in the game. Studying the market first was the habit he developed through years of ying online games. The ck market was a suitable ce to do market research as it had all kinds of cards. After investigating, he had a basic understanding of the market. The original one-star cards that had good data and powerful skills would be sold at auction or leveled up to seven stars and then sold at a high price. In the ck market, the one-star cards with the ordinary data were sold for 50 gold coins (it was equivalent to 5 RMB in the real world), the cards with terrible data but a beautiful surface were sold for 20 to 30 gold coins and other cards having bad data and ugly surface were sold for less than 10 gold coins. A lot of upgrading materials were needed for a one-star card to be leveled up to a seven-star card, so the one-star cards were cheap in general, especially those having terrible data were sold at a very low price. yers bought those one-star cards in the ck market mainly because they were originally created. Such a card was valueless and yers dealt in it as a collection. Having known the price, Xie Mingzhe walked to arge stall, whose signboard read ''Purchasing original cards''. He asked politely, "h.e.l.lo, I have some original cards. Do you want them?" The stall owner took his card and looked at it, The image on the card is pretty good, but the data is too low. Xie Mingzhe had already prepared himself for beingughed at. He smiled and said, I''m just an inexperienced beginner. The data is indeed terrible. How much can I sell it at? The stall owner rubbed his chin, poring over the card. He felt that this card was somewhat strange. The image on the card was quite beautiful C a delicate and touching girl whose face was bathed in tears, as well as realistic petals and trees as auxiliary decorations C it was just like a painting. He had never seen such a pretty card. But the terrible data was no match for the beautiful image. That''s weird. The stall owner asked confusedly, "Are you the maker of this card? Are there any more?" Xie Mingzhe took out the remaining eight, That''s all. Do you want to buy them? The stall owner thought for a moment and said, These cards are really beautiful, but the data is so terrible. They are pleasant to the eye but of no use. Besides, they are character cards, not cute animal cards, which are not very popr in the market. I can only sell them to yers who like collecting character cards. Well, nine cards for a total of 30 gold coins, how about that? Original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. 30 is too low for such a beautiful card. 30 is not a low price. You can ask other stall owners nearby. Only one-star cards with good data can sell 50 gold coins each. Cards having pretty images only are sold for 20 gold coins each on average. This card is quite beautiful, so I offer 30 for it. Maybe I will fail to sell the cards to other yers! What the stall owner said agreed with the market prices Xie Mingzhe had known. After all, this card''s Defense was too low. Actually 20 gold coins or so was what he had expected, and 30 was higher than that. Xie Mingzhe replied without hesitation, Well, then 30 gold coins for each. 9 cards total 270 gold coins. They are all yours! OK! Cash on delivery, they made a deal. Xie Mingzhe got 270 gold coins and went to the stall selling Neb papers again. The stall owner greeted Xie Mingzhe as he saw thetter, It''s you, Uncle Chubby. Want to buy more Neb papers? Xie Mingzhe said with a smile, I''m a regr customer, so still 10 gold coins for one paper, is that okay? The stall owner seemed to be depressed. He lowered his voice, You must not tell others about this price, or I will lose my money. Xie Mingzhe gave a smile showing I know, then he said, OK. Then I can buy papers at your stall every day. The stall owner, Give me a break! You said that you were a novice without money, but why did you get money in a blink of an eye? You went back to bought Neb papers in just half an hour. Did you really have no money? Suddenly, the stall owner believed that if this guy went into business, he must be a profiteer. Xie Mingzhe felt very happy because he bought some Neb papers at a low price. To buy the Neb paper for 70 gold coins and sell 10 [Lin Daiyu] cards for 300 gold coins. Every time, he could make a profit of 230 gold coins, equal to the real currency 23 crystal coins, which was enough for a meal. When Xie Mingzhe got proficient in making cards, to make 10 [Lin Daiyu] cards only took him half an hour. To earn more than twenty crystal coins in half an hour was economical. As long as he persisted in making cards, his life would get better gradually. After all, penny and pennyid up will be many. After Xie Mingzhe made up his mind, with a good mood, he went back to his personal apartment and continued to make the [Lin Daiyu] card. *** As soon as he left the ck market, a customer came to Boss Zhang''s stall. The ID of the yer was Hong Zhu. The figure with a long ponytail was about 1.6 meters tall, wearing a red tight dress and a pair of ck high-heeled sandals. She said in a clear voice, Boss Zhang, do you have new original cards these days? The boss replied respectfully, Sister Hong Zhu, pick whatever card you want. Hong Zhu said, Due to the preparation for the new season, our guild only collect cards with high Attack. The owner handed her a stack of four-star cards with high Attack, If there are cards you like, 500 gold coins per card. As a regr customer, an affordable price. With bowed head, Hong Zhu picked cards carefully but only selected three good cards. Obviously, she was a little disappointed. When she gave the other cards back, she asked, Anything else? The boss said, All cards with high basic attributes are here. Would you mind having another look at these cards? Hong Zhu ran down the whole stall, and suddenly, a stack of special cards caught her attention. She squatted down and watched the card carefully. The card was named [Lin Daiyu], on which depicted a beauty who threw petals gently to the ground, with tears on her face and in her eyes and petals in her hands. The drifting petals were scattered all over the ground, the scene of which made Hong Zhu heartrending. Eh? This card is really beautiful. Hong Zhu picked up the card and looked at its data Health 100, Attack 0, Defense 15. Apparently, it was a failed original card with extremely low attributes. Its additional skill was Daiyu Burying the Flowers. What a strange skill name! Hong Zhu looked further down. The description of its skill C to inflict severe damage on flower cards, with a 10% chance for instant death. Instant death? Did it mean to destroy the target in an instant? She had never seen this kind ofpulsory judgment in online games before. Was the card a kind of tactical cards that could seckill the enemy, which was put forward by legend Tang? Chapter 10 Part2 Hong Zhu thought about it in her mind again. It could cause huge damage to flower and nt cards and had a 10% chance for triggering instant death. As a one-star card, it had a 10% chance; if it was leveled up to a seven-star card, the chance would "! ! !" At that moment, Hong Zhu was startled and extremely terrified by the card, as if she was. .h.i.t hard by a heavy hammer. Seeing that her face turned pale with sudden fear, the stall owner thought she was indisposed and asked with concern, "sister Hong Zhu, what''s wrong with you?" Taking a deep breath to slow down her rapid heartbeat, Hong Zhu stood up slowly and asked with a calm face, pretending to the stall owner that she was indifferent to the card, "Is this your new card?" The stall owner smiled and said, "Yes, I have bought nine [Lin Daiyu] cards." Hearing the owner''s words, Hong Zhu''s fingertips slightly trembled. She asked while trying to keep a peaceful voice, "Who made these cards that have elegant pictures on their faces?" The owner replied, "I don''t know him and I can''t remember his name as he was supposed to be a neer that I haven''t seen before. The data of the card is terrible. For example, its Defense is 15. I have never seen such a low Defense." "Have you sold out all these nine cards?" "Not yet. I have bought them just then." "I''ll take all of them." "What? You want to buy all these cards?" The stall owner was stunned. "These cards are beautiful. I''ll buy them for girls in the guild to conduct collections." Hong Zhu smiled, saying, "Quote a price for these cards. I''ll buy all of them." Hong Zhu was an influential figure in the game, though she was short in stature. As the president of Fenghua Guild, she was called ''sister Hong Zhu'' by others respectfully. She was in charge of collecting cards and materials for Fenghua Club, so she studied the cards more incisively than most yers in the game. She had a special hobby C wandering in the ck market to hunt out original cards. Although she feigned indifference and said that she loved the face of this card, the owner always thought the cards that Hong Zhu loved must be great and quoted the price for the cards intelligently, saying, "How about 60 gold coins for one card?" While holding the card in her hand casually, Hong Zhu smiled and said, "You''re kidding me. Generally, such a useless one-star card will be sold for 20 gold coins in the market due to its terrible attributes, though it is beautiful. I''ve bought many seven-star cards from you, but you''re still trying to w.a.n.gle more money from me. I won''t buy them. Go on and keep them for sale." She put down the card, turned on her heel and was about to go. The stall owner immediately called out to her, Hey, I''m just joking. 35 gold coins, is that okay? To be honest, I bought it for 34. I don''t want to lose money. Hong Zhu knew that the profiteer certainly did not tell the truth, but such a price was nothing to her. She breathed a sigh of relief. When she turned around, she immediately put a smile on her face, trying to appear she was not troubled about that. She paid the bill and casually said, Some girls at our a.s.sociation are collecting character cards recently, especially exquisite ones. If someone sells such character cards to you in the future, please keep them all for me. I want to give them to my sisters. Okay, no problem! The boss counted the money and smiled. Hong Zhu turned around and left. Original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. She walked around the ck market to carefully search for other cards with instant death skills inrge stalls acquiring cards. But she didn''t find any other cards like Lin Daiyu, so she unclenched her fist and relieved. Hong Zhu took a deep breath, then she quickly took off her helmet and turned to the office next door. Next door, Xue Linxiang was checking doc.u.ments about the league. Hong Zhu hurried in, her face pale. Xue Linxiang wondered, What happened? Why are you so anxious? Hong Zhu took a deep breath to calm down. She said quickly, Sister Xue, I just found a particrly strange card in the ck market. Its skill is triggering off instant death of flower and nt cards! Xue Linxiang jumped to her feet out of shock, "Instant death? Targeted at flower and nt cards?" Hong Zhu nodded. Xue Linxiang got a long face, Immediately show the card''s data to me! Hong Zhu opened the t-panel optical brain, which could exchange information, on the desktop, and signed in to call out the card. She pointed to the card''s data, Terrible Base Attributes, and extremely low Defense C only 15 points C even if the card levels up to seven stars, its Defense won''t exceed 1000. But its skill Xue Linxiang looked at the delicate and touching girl with tears on her face strewing petals over the ground, then suddenly she had a strange feeling. This made her feel creepy. Daiyu Burying the Flowers: To inflict huge damage on flower and nt cards, 10% chance of triggering instant death effect. 10% chance C this was a level 1 card. ording to the rule, the chance would increase 1 point every time it raised 1 level. So when it raised to a level 70 ck card, the chance would directly increase to 80%. Then its Effect uracy could be improved by using some special materials of high-quality. In theter stage, a ck [Lin Daiyu] of level 70 would definitely have a 100% chance of triggering this effect. If Daiyu Burying the Flowers caused instant death to flower and nt cards, the consequence would be too ghastly to contemte. Walking back and forth in her room, Xue Linxiang took a deep breath to calm down, saying, "The card''s basic data is trivial, and so is its 15 Defense, because it doesn''t need to guard against other cards in the least! It is just a function card that is mainly used to eliminate the opponent''s trump flower and nt cards swiftly." She stopped talking and frowned, saying, "Xiao Tang has many flower and nt cards in his set of ying cards, for example, the [Tuberose] that he sold. It is difficult to be killed as it has 100,000 HP and 50,000 Defense. However, the skill of Daiyu Burying the Flowers will inflict an instant death on Xiao Tang''s flower and nt cardspulsorily. If someone uses it topete against Tang Muzhou in thepet.i.tion You know the consequence, right?" Hong Zhu nodded and said with her voice slightly trembled, "It will seckill legend Tang''s most powerful trump flower and nt cards and disrupt his rhythmpletely." Feeling a chill down her spine, Xue Linxiang said, "It can be imed that this card will be the killer of Wood flower and nt cards." Hong Zhu turned pale and kept silent for a long time. She had an unerring instinct. Fortunately she bought all the cards, preventing them from spreading out. Otherwise, once card collectors from other clubs found these cards, they would upgrade them into seven-star ck cards, which would pose a great threat to Tang Muzhou. Xue Linxiang took a deep breath, looking at this card with a poignant style. She gave a rapier nce, Targeted at flower and nt cards who made them? Hong Zhu nervously said, The boss said that he did not remember the maker''s name. I will ask members of our a.s.sociation to investigate! Xue Linxiang clenched her fists, We must find the maker as soon as possible! At the same time, Xie Mingzhe, who knew nothing about this, continued to draw Lin Daiyu in his personal apartment. One Cousin Lin two Cousin Lin His speed was getting faster and faster, and the picture more and more refined. After making ten [Lin Daiyu] cards, Xie Mingzhe stopped. He stroked his chin and thought with a smile on his face, "Where should I sell them this time?" Chapter 11 Part1 Wearing high-heeled shoes, Xue Linxiang ran all the way to the yers'' apartment building and knocked at Tang Muzhou''s door. After a long while, Tang Muzhou opened the door with his eyes squinted, leaning against the door and yawning. He worked and rested ording to a strange schedule. For example, people tend to take a nap at noon, but he preferred to have a rest for an hour from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. everyday, or he would be so sleepy that he would keep yawning. When he saw Xue Linxiang, he was so sleepy that his eyes were vacant. Xue Linxiang said seriously, "Xiao Tang, go and wash your face to clear your mind. I have something important to tell you." With his eyes closed, Tang Muzhou didn''t respond, instead, he fell into a sleep while standing there. Xue Linxiang shouted, "Tang Muzhou!" "OK." Tang Muzhou finally replied. He kept yawning when he turned back to wash his face. He was light on his foot as if he was sleepwalking. At that time, the door next to his apartment suddenly opened from the inside. A little boy poked his head out of the crack in the door. He had a chubby baby face, big and bright sky-blue eyes, and long and dense eyshes. In the light from the hall, his hair had a golden gloss, which made him look like a doll. The boy hadn''t gone through the voice change period and said in a clear and melodious voice, "Sister Xue, your shout scared me half to death Are you displeased with my Shifu(a t.i.tle for and role of a skillful person or a master. The character ʦ means skilled person or teacher, while the meaning of is father)? How will you deal with him?" Looking at the boy, Xue Linxiang said, "Shen An,e here. I have something serious to tell you." Shen An, who had intended to watch the show, stopped joking and followed sister Xue when he saw her grim face. When they stepped into Tang Muzhou''s room, Tang Muzhou had washed his face. Sitting on the sofa, Tang Muzhou looked rxed and his brooding eyes showed that he had recovered to a wise, far-sighted and bright man. Tang Muzhou changed tremendously after washing his face. Original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. In these past few years after he started out as a professional yer, Tang Muzhou had won the individual championship and had been ying a stable role in the team events. However, his winning percentage was too terrible to look at when hepeted with others from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Gradually, everyone knew his strange work-rest schedule. Some fans joked that legend Tang had made too many nt cards, so his habits became simr to nts'' C in the afternoon, the sunlight was so strong that legend Tang would wither as nts did, therefore he had to sleep. Fortunately, for the sake of high viewing rate, most matches of National Star Card League were scheduled on primetime between 19 and 22 p.m., which wouldn''t cause a great impact on him. By 5 p.m., Tang Muzhou waspletely awake. Seeing sister Xue and his apprenticeing in one after another, Tang Muzhou asked with concern, Sister Xue, you look pale today. What happened? Tang Muzhou nced at his apprentice next to sister Xue, but the teenager shook his head to show that he didn''t know. Xue Linxiang kept silent while quickly opening the t-panel optical brain. In front of them, a virtual projection screen, more than two meters wide, appeared immediately. Nine identical cards were disyed on the screen, neatly arranged in a row, which looked very spectacr. These were character cards. The beauty''s face was bathed in tears, while she strewed petals in her delicate hands over the ground. This was such an borate painting. Tang Muzhou stood up, walked to the card and then watched it carefully, What card is it? Hong Zhu bought them from the ck market, Xue Linxiang spoke seriously, look at its data and skill. Health 100, Attack 0, Defense 15 C its base attributes were risible. Its skill was Daiyu Burying the Flowers C to inflict severe damage on flower cards, with a 10% chance for instant death. Instant death? Specially targeted at flower cards? Tang Muzhou raised his eyebrows and remained silent for a moment. Then he turned around and looked at his apprentice, saying, Xiao''an, what do you think of it? Shen An raised his head to look at the card, calcting carefully, The one-star cards have a 10% chance for instant death, which would reach 80% when they are evolved into seven-star cards. If these cards are strengthened with materials that could increase the probability, the chance for instant death can reach up to 100%. This kind of function cards are of little use to fight against other yers, but to Shifu, it can instakill Shifu''s trump flower cards C are these cards specially targeted at Shifu? Xue Linxiang was very pleased. Shen An was just a fifteen-year-old naughty boy, who followed everybody all day like a little child, but he was highly intelligent and savvy in the card game. He found the problem of the cards at a nce. He surely deserved to be Tang Muzhou''s apprentice. She was about to echo Shen An''s view, but Tang Muzhou said coolly, this card is directed against me? That''s not necessarily so. Shen An was confused, What do you mean? Look at the image on this card carefully, Tang Muzhou pointed to the image, the decoration is too much. Shen An realized, Yes! The background C these flowers and trees- is like a painting! Xue Linxiang also sensed something was wrong. She couldn''t help but ask, Xiao Tang, do you mean that this card is not directed against you? "Yes," Tang Muzhou looked at the girl bathed in tears on the card and answered calmly, "the real first-tier card designers know that the simpler the image is, the clearer the star card hologram will be. And the card will also be more powerful. This image contains too many messy decorations. In addition to the main character, there are trees, flowers, and a river these elements make the card rich in content, but they actually greatly lowered the center character''s strength. Seeing that both of them were listening carefully, Tang Muzhou patiently a.n.a.lyzed, If he were a professional card designer, he would only have drawn two key elements: character'' and flowers and nts''. Under this condition, a level-0 card''s chance of instant death can reach 30%, and when it upgrades to level 70, the chance will be 100% without using other materials. But this guy don''t know how to make a card at all, so his card''s chance of instant death is only 10% at the beginning, and the data is terrible, which means that he has to pay dearly for upgrading his card to level 70 and raising the chance to 100%. Shen An nodded vigorously, Shifu is right! The image on this card is so detailed, which is like a work of a student at some art academy. A first-rate card designer must know that drawing a bunch of ornaments on a card is the biggest mistake one can make when creating battle cards! Xue Linxiang frowned. After a moment, she asked, Is this just a coincidence? Tang Muzhou nodded. When Xue Linxiang was about to gave a sigh of relief, Tang Muzhou said, I''m not afraid that someone creating cards directed against me C such a coincidence is just more horrible. Xue Linxiang was stunned, and then she quickly understood what legend Tang meant. Wee to join our discord and have fun together! https://discord.gg/QPfPCmk Chapter 11 Part2 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith After taking the card from Hong Zhu, she was so stunned by its highly targeted skills that she had failed to keep a clear mind. But Tang Muzhou was more alert than she was. Especially when he woke up at 5 pm, he considered problems more calmly and keenly than Xue Linxiang did. Tang Muzhou didn''t fear in the least that someone provoked him deliberately by making a highly targeted card. Because in recent years, major clubs had studied his set of ying cards and created arge number of cards to defeat him. Not only his powerful cards, but also his extremely fast adaptability and exceptionally excellentpetence to manipte cards, enabled him to make remarkable achievements. Even if the skill of Daiyu Burying the Flowers could defeat one of his flower and nt trump cards, he still had other more powerful cards. In thepet.i.tion, yers enriched their card pools with several alternative cards, which made it impossible for other yers to conquer every card he had. However, it was horrible that the card was created by coincidence. n.o.body knew the creator of this card and how gifted he was in the least. He had unconsciously made a [Lin Daiyu] that could defeat some of Tang Muzhou''s cards, what if he created other strange cards in the future? If he made a collection of cards that could beat flower and nt cards and sold them to major clubs, Tang Muzhou would undergo an exceedingly tough time in the next season. Many of Tang Muzhou''s flower and nt cards would bepletely worthless if every professional yer had a [Lin Daiyu]. While Xue Linxiang was depressed, Tang Muzhou asked her, "Who is the creator of this card? Sister Xue, have you found any clues?" Regaining her wits, Xue Linxiang replied immediately, "Hong Zhu bought this card at the ck market, but the stall owner forgot the name of the seller. The only clue to the ident.i.ty of the card''s creator was the LOGO on the back of the card, you can take a look at it." Turning the card over, Tang Muzhou noticed that there were no decorative patterns on its green back, instead, there were two characters in the lower right corner: and 1. Being confused, Shen An spected while scratching his head, "What does ° mean? Half of the moon?" Tang Muzhou smiled slightly, saying, "These two characters, °, forms one word '''', which means chubby, the creator is not a fatty, right?" Shen An and Xue Linxiang looked at each other. What the h.e.l.l! A chubby! Who would stamp the unpleasant, ugly LOGO on the back of their cards? Were they serious? Looking at the card with interest, Tang Muzhou smiled and said, Looking at the base attributes, we could see that the designer knows nothing about how to make cards. But in the aspect of its originality, he is a rare genius. I conclude that he is a talented beginner who just started ying the game and the card may be his first work. He has no notion of bncing, so the card skills are very distinctive, but just as what we see, its numeral distribution isn''t reasonable. As he spoke, Tang Muzhou opened his t-panel optical brain and connected it to the card database. Original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. The game stipted the rules of copyright protection of cards, and the LOGO must be unique. So the number of cards can be retrieved from the official database, ording to the designer''s LOGO; only the number could be seen, and the specific cards would not be disyed for privacy. Tang Muzhou entered the official database and typed Chubby to check the number of the designer''s cards. 19 cards. Obviously, Xue Linxiang also saw it and her eyes widened, Hong Zhu said there were only nine cards! Why are there ten more cards? Tang Muzhou said, Maybe Hong Zhu just got nine cards, and the other 10 were already sold in the market. Thinking of the possibility, Xue Linxiang broke out into a cold sweat. Thest thing she had wanted to see had happened. If the cards were bought by collectors, it was not too bad. However, once the cards fell into the hands of major clubs that were proficient in card functions and skills, they would be evolved into seven-star cards and strengthened with a 100% chance of instant death, used as a trump card against Tang Muzhou! In the future PK, all opponents could use this kind of cards to instakill Tang Muzhou''s ace flower cards Was the chubby a killer of Tang Muzhou?! Xue Linxiang took a deep breath and immediately sent a video message to Hong Zhu, Xiao zhu, there may be another 10 [Lin Daiyu] cards on the market. Call on our club and make a thorough search of the ck market and themercial street. Get all the cards as soon as possible! In addition, once you find the card maker, you must bring him back to the club anyway you can C even if you have to intimidate or tempt him! " Hong Zhu had realized the seriousness of the situation. She nodded vigorously, Sister Xue, rest a.s.sured. I bought the card in the ck market from stall owner Mr. Zhang. I''m on a stakeout of Zhang''s stall. As long as the card makeres to sell the card again, I will catch him! *** At the same time, at the ck market. Xie Mingzhe didn''t go to Zhang''s stall to sell cards. After all, he just sold 9 cards to Mr. Zhang. If none of them had been sold, then the cards would be slow sellers. Under this condition, Mr. Zhang would definitely not offer a price of 30 gold coins for each card. So, witty as Xie Mingzhe was, he went to another stall. The owner of this stall was a little girl who liked [Lin Daiyu] much. She said, The card''s data is terrible, but the picture is so beautiful. Well, I only need two of them, and I can offer a unit price of 30 gold coins. I won''t sell these two cards C I will add them to my collection! Xie Mingzhe agreed without hesitation. Anyway, he was the owner of the copyright, so he could make countless [Lin Daiyu]. He just wanted to sell as many cards as possible. After he sold two to the little girl, he walked up to a middle-aged man to promote the cards with his silver tongue. The man said with a long face, Character cards are not that collectable. This game has been in operation for ten years. There have been too many character cards, but yours have a special style. I''ll buy 5 at a unit price of 25 gold coins. The man was right. Character cards were not very popr in the low-end card market. So Xie Mingzhe, who knew to quit while he was ahead, sold 5 cards to the man. As for the rest, he sold them to another stall owner at a unit price of 25 gold coins. Ten [Lin Daiyu] were all sold out, but Xie Mingzhe knew that this was not a long-term solution. Character cards with bad attributes were not very popr in this game. He could only create dozens of this card at most. Otherwise, no one would buy [Lin Daiyu] if he promoted it in the ck market. So, he had to think about what cards he should make and how to improve card attributes as soon as possible. After returning to his single room apartment, Xie Mingzhe began to study how to make a new card. But he did not know that the ck market in this game had descended into chaos! Trantor''s Note: 1. and are two parts of the Chinese character , which means chubby. In the future chapters, we will write Xie Mingzhe''s logo as "Chubby" Wee to join our discord and have fun! https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 12 Part1 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith Observing boss Zhang''s stall for a long while, Hong Zhu hadn''t seen anybodying to sell [Lin Daiyu] cards. However, the spies that she dispatched to search for [Lin Daiyu] cards in the ck market reported to her privately, "Sister Hong Zhu, I have found five [Lin Daiyu] cards!" "Sister Hong Zhu, I have found three [Lin Daiyu] cards!" Hong Zhu replied immediately, "Buy them all at once! Be careful not to reveal your ident.i.ty. You can tell the stall owners that you''re buying them to collect." Keeping Hong Zhu''s words in mind, the two swiftly bought all eight cards for the president. Hiding behind the stall and waiting, a distraught Hong Zhu stared at the ck market. The person that she was waiting for didn''t appear after a long time. ording to sister Xue, there were ten [Lin Daiyu] cards on the market, among which eight cards had been bought by her subordinates, who were sent to scour the market for [Lin Daiyu] cards. Where were the remaining two cards? It didn''t matter if they had been bought for collections, but what if they had been bought by clubs? Thinking about it, Hong Zhu felt increasingly worried. She stared sharply at the people walking around in the market, hoping to find the culprit at once. However, instead of finding the culprit, she encountered one of her deadly enemies, Can Yang, the vice president of the Adjudication Club. Both the Fenghua and the Adjudication clubs were among the top card clubs in the league, and their yers were all super popr gurus. There had been constant conflicts between the two clubs, so they had a tense rtionship. Can Yang stopped Hong Zhu when she turned around to leave, sneering, "Sister Hong, I haven''t seen you for a long time. What have you been doing recently?" "I''m buying some cards and materials in the market." Hong Zhu said distantly. "Are you preparing for the new season?" "Yes." Hong Zhu replied and left in a hurry. This time, Can Yang let her go. Then he wandered around the ck market. If clubs wanted to buy cards of the highest grade, they would generally ask their merchants to buy some from the card specialty stores in themercial street that had many ready-to-use cards of high stars. There was very little chance that cards of the highest grade would be sold in the ck market, where most were low level cards of one-star to four-star that were sold for collections and worthless in battles. However, sometimes high-grade cards were sold in the ck market and clubs would then track the creators, who were new and highly talented in creating cards. Tang Muzhou, the chief card yer of the Fenghua Club, rose by selling cards in the ck market. The era when Tang Muzhou''s nt cards swept the ck market came to an end many years ago, but experienced yers still felt shocked when they recalled it. At that time, Tang Muzhou, a newbie in the game, had made a great number of nt cards that had ''Tang'' as a LOGO and sold them on the ck market. His cards were snapped up in an instant. Later, Tang Muzhou raked in millions depending solely on his talent in designing cards. He alone had renewed the poprity of the Wood cards, which had been in decline for a long time. Both Xue Linxiang, a trump card yer''s agent, and Hong Zhu, the president of Fenghua club, were great figures led by Tang Muzhou in the online game. Tang Muzhou''s appearance had a strong impact on the fifth season. Arge-scale shuffle took ce in the game and many veteran yers were eliminated. At the same time, many new yers seized the opportunity and managed to rise. Since then, all kinds of cards formed a bnce. A certain type of card would not be overwhelmingly dominant. Card yers had their own characteristics, like a hundred flowers in bloom, which resulted in more exciting professional league matches. Perhaps due to Tang Muzhou''s influence, as well as the fact that sister Hong Zhu always enjoyed hanging around, the ck market turned into a ce to discover talents. Therefore, all managers of the clubs developed the habit of if idle, hang around the ck market. Unfortunately, after the legendary Tang became a celebrity five years ago, no one else ascended from selling cards at the ck market to be a famous professional yer. Can Yang looked back at past events, and wandered through the ck market. At that time, he suddenly received a private message from their spy in Fenghua Club, Boss, Hong Zhu suddenly requested members to buy beauty cards for collecting. What''s more, she privately set up a stall to purchase character cards with high prices in the ck market. Can Yang was stunned, Why is she buying character cards? The spy said, It''s said that she recently started liking character cards, so she wants to buy some for collecting. Can Yang did not know what Hong Zhu''s real purpose was, so he urged the spy, Continue to investigate. If there is more information, tell me as soon as possible. After a long time, when she didn''t see the card seller at that card store, Hong Zhu resorted to the method of luring the snake out of the hole and simply opened a big stall in the ck market, named High Prices for Collectible Beauty Cards; basically saying that she wanted [Lin Daiyu] cards directly. Original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread. Everyone knew that every club sent undercover spies to other clubs, so Hong Zhu tried to keep a low profile and dared not talk directly about the [Lin Daiyu] card. Her actions had the major clubs in the game puzzled and they were all trying to guess her real target. What made Hong Zhu dumbfounded, was that as soon as the stall opened, a mish-mash of card makers rushed there and she became aware of all types of beauty cards within half an hour. Hong Zhu, surrounded by beauties, suffered unspeakably and only hoped that Chubby appeared soon! But Xie Mingzhe would not go to that stall, because he had quit drawing Lin Daiyu. He had made this decision after going to the ck market twice. In this game, which had been in operation for ten years, various styles of card creators emerged one after another. There were innumerable character cards of handsome guys and beauties in excess of demand. In this game, apart from unambitious yers who just collected cards for fun, most yers were battle card enthusiasts. The auctionst time indicated that pet cards were worth only a few thousand gold coins, no matter how cute they were, while the best battle card [Tuberose] was sold at auction for 660,000 gold coins. yers full of zeal focus much more on card attributes than images on a card. Therefore, it didn''t matter whether characters were good-looking. Strongbat power was the most important thing. After Xie Mingzhe figured this out, he temporarily abandoned drawing beauties in the Dream of the Red Chamber, turning his attention to Water Margin1. When it came to strong characters in Water Margin, the first person he thought of was Wu Song2. He had loved to read novels andics since he was a child. He was only six years old when he read the Water Marginic strip. A phnthropist had donated these books to the orphanage he stayed in. He had read theic strips with interest every day. He thought it was so cool when Wu Song punched a tiger to death C he was a real man! Unfortunately, he did not remember what Wu Song looked like in the TV series Water Margin. He only remembered the ck and white ill.u.s.trations in theic strip. Xie Mingzhe first sketched Wu Song ying the tiger in his mind. After ensuring he could draw the scene without mistakes, he took out Neb papers to make a new card. Since he only remembered ck and whiteic strips, theposition this time was much simpler than Daiyu Burying the Flowers. As Inner Spirit was injected in, a ck-and-white ink wash painting appeared on the paper gradually C a strong man clenched his fists, on which veins protruded from the skin. He threw punches at the tiger''s head, beating its brains out! The tiger dies then. System: You''ve created a card sessfully. Please connect to the database for verification! With the experience of verifying the Lin Daiyu card, Xie Mingzhe waited patiently. A few minutester, he heard the prompt sound: Your card pa.s.sed the verification sessfully. Then he skillfully printed his °롱 LOGO on the back of the card. It was still a one-star card. Xie Mingzhe picked it up, poring over its data. Trantor''s Notes: 1. Water Margin, also tranted as Ouws of the Marsh, Tale of the Marshes, All Men Are Brothers, Men of the Marshes or The Marshes of Mount Liang, is a Chinese novel attributed to Shi Nai''an. The story, set in the Song dynasty, tells of how a group of 108 ouws gather at Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh) to form a sizable army before they are eventually granted amnesty by the government and sent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders and suppress rebel forces. It has introduced to readers many of the best-known characters in Chinese literature, such as Wu Song, Lin Chong and Lu Zhishen. 2. Wu Song is a fictional character in Water Margin. The novel describes him as a good-looking man of an impressive bearing and with shining eyes, thick eyebrows and a muscr body. Wu Song ying the tiger is a famous story in China. On his way home, Wu Song pa.s.ses by a tavern near Jingyang Ridge which puts out arge sign that reads After Three Bowls, Do Not Cross the Ridge. He stops there for a break. The waiter exins to Wu Song that the wine sold at the tavern is so strong that customers usually get drunk after having three bowls and are unable to cross the ridge ahead. That is the meaning behind the sign. Still sober after drinking three bowls, Wu Song demands that the waiter continue serving him wine. By the end of his meal, Wu Song had consumed 18 bowls of wine but he still appears sober. He is about to leave when the waiter stops him and warns him about a fierce man-eating tiger on the ridge. Wu Song suspects that the waiter is lying to him because he wants him to spend the night there to earn extra money from him. He ignores the waiter and continues his journey. While crossing Jingyang Ridge, Wu Song sees an official notice which convinces him that there is a tiger on the ridge. However, he does not turn back for fear of losing face. As he moves on, the alcohol starts taking effect, so he decides to take a nap on a big t rock. Just as he is falling asleep, a tiger leaps out from the woods and attacks him. After narrowly dodging the tiger three times, Wu Song attempts to fight back but breaks his staff on a tree. Left with no weapon to defend himself, Wu Song summons all his might and manages to pin down the tiger with his arms. He then rains blows with his bare fist on the tiger''s head. Local hunters in the area find Wu Song with the dead tiger and are amazed by his feat. Exnations in trantor''s notes are from wikipedia. Chapter 12 Part2 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith [Wu Song] (Fire) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 300, Defense 300, Attack 300, Agility 10, Critical Strike Chance 20% Additional Skill: Wu Song ying the Tiger (Wu Song throws punches at the tigers head to cause huge damage to it. Has a 15% chance of triggering the instant death effect.) This cards attributes were much better than [Lin Daiyu]. [Lin Daiyu]s Base Health was 100, Defense 15 and Attack 0. While [Wu Song]s Health was 300, its Defense and Attack were 300, which were over ten times more than [Lin Daiyu]s. But its Additional Skill was only targeted at tiger cards, so it couldnt be widely applied. However its base attributes were high, and [Wu Song] looked particrly handsome. [Lin Daiyu] could be sold for 30 gold coins, so [Wu Song] should sell for a higher price? Xie Mingzhe decided to take his card to the ck market first to figure out the market price. If the card sold well, then he woulde back and create a few more. When he arrived at the ck market, he found a stall named High Prices for Collectible Beauty Cards at the entrance, where many people were selling beauty cards. The purchase price seemed to be at least 50 gold coins. His [Lin Daiyu] cards had all been sold out, so he ignored the stall and went deeper into the ck market. The ck market was a ce where there were talented individuals in hiding. There were many supposedly normal businessmen, but, in truth, they may have support from major clubs in the game. In particr, the business of thoserge-scale stalls, that purchased cards, was no worse than the shops in the prime location of the central square. Xie Mingzhe went around, trying to figure out the selling price for cards that have simr attributes as [Wu Song]. After gaining the knowledge of the market price, he arrived at a stall named Purchase Cards with High Attributes. He handed the [Wu Song] that he had just made, to the stall owner, Hi, what do you think about this card? How much is it worth? The owner took it and looked at it, saying, Its attributes are very bnced, and the Additional Skill ismon, so it has limited usefulness. Such a bnced card can not be sold for a high price. The purchase price for this one-star card is about 50 gold coins. Xie Mingzhe smiled, and took the card back, Youre just fooling me because Im a low-level newbie? Forget it, I will go to another stall. Xie Mingzhe did not want to have dealings with such a wily merchant. It was okay to buy a card that was worth 100 gold coins for 70 gold coins. But this stall owner only offered a price of 50 gold coins. Did he regard others as fools? Xie Mingzhe had learned that cards, with base attributes simr to [Wu Song], could be sold for 100 gold coins, give or take, at other stalls nearby. Xie Mingzhe, deaf to the stall owners call, took the card back and turned to another stall. The owner of this stall was a cute little girl wearing a princess dress. She said with a sweet voice, Uncle Chubby, do you want to sell original cards? Yes. Have a look at it. Xie Mingzhe handed the card to her. The little girl said, This cards base attributes are bnced. Im willing to make a generous offer of 100 gold coins. Isnt that a little bit low? This one-star card has 300 Attack. If it is upgraded to seven stars, its Attack can reach tens of thousands. It also has an instant death effect on tiger cards, Xie Mingzhe tried to sell his card, how about 140 gold coins? This yer was eloquent and his words were reasonable. The stall owner nodded after thinking for a while, OK. 140 gold coins then! Neb paper only cost 7 gold coins, and now the card was sold for 140 cold coins, which was 20 times the former. He would make a fortune! Xie Mingzhe was delirious with joy, but he pretended to be calm. After selling the card to the stall owner, he asked with a smile, Im the designer of this card, so I can make more [Wu Song] cards. Do you want more? If you do, we can establish a long-term cooperation and you can buy in bulk. I can give you a discount. The stall owner waved her hands, feeling a headache, You really have a silver tongue. But I dont want to buy in bulk. Thank you. Feeling disappointed, Xie Mingzhe turned around and left. *** Can Yang wandered through the ck market to hunt for some distinctive cards, but, after a long time, he had yet to gain anything. When he passed by Shuang Shuangs stall, he stopped and asked, How is business recently? Shuang Shuang had set up the stall, to purchase cards in the ck market, just for her Shifu today. Actually, she only had a limited understanding of cards. She thought [Wu Song] was special, so she bought one. Seeing that the vice president visited in person, she replied respectfully, Everything is going well. Vice President, I bought one distinctive card just now. Here it is. She passed the [Wu Song] card to Can Yang. Can Yang observed the card carefully. This cards base attributes, including Attack, Defense and Health, were bnced. This kind of card was only third-rate. The Additional Skill Wu Song ying the Tiger (Wu Song throws punches at the tigers head to cause huge damage to it. Has a 15% chance of triggering the instant death effect.) Can Yangs pupils contracted sharply, and his fingers also grasped the card with great force A skill of instant death that was against tiger cards! If legend Nie encountered this card in PK, his white tiger card would be easily defeated. Immediately, Can Yangs breathing became more rapid. He looked around and felt a little relieved when he found no acquaintances nearby. Then he lowered his voice, and whispered to Shuang Shuang, Who sold you this card? Shuang Shuang said, A level 15 beginner named Uncle Chubby. He said the card was designed by himself. Can Yangs voice trembled, You know him, right? Hurry up, find him and call him back! Shuang Shuang looked nk, What do you want him for? Can Yang said, Just tell him that we want to buy his cards in bulk. Bring him to our club! Shuang Shuang was aware of the seriousness of the situation, so after handing over the stall to her fellow club member, who had set up a stall beside hers, she rushed to chase Xie Mingzhe. She chased all the way through the ck market, and saw a familiar fat uncle in front of her. She immediately shouted, Uncle Chubby, wait a minute But before she finished her words, that person opened the portal and returned to his apartment directly. There were countless apartments on Gemini. An address was included under a yers privacy. Unless the other side actively informed you of their house number, it was impossible to find out where he lived; it was just like looking for a needle in a haystack. In order to avoid yers being harassed, only nearby yers and friends could have private voice chat in the game. One could only send emails when the other side was not around. Shuang Shuang remembered his name, so she sent an email to convey Can Yangs words to him. However, Uncle Chubby went offline and left the game, just as the email was sent. Because the game studios boss, brother Chen, personally called Xie Mingzhe to eat. Chapter 13 Part1 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith Xiao Xie, its six oclock now. Lets have dinner first. Brother Chen came over and patted Xie Mingzhes shoulder. Hearing his words, Xie Mingzhe took off his helmet and followed Brother Chen to the living room. Other members in the studio also took off their helmets. Xie Mingzhe saw their faces for the first time. Chi Qing was a slim beauty more than 1.75 meters high. She had short hair around her ears, and her clean, fair face was devoid of expression. It seemed that she was an indifferent person; difficult to get along with. Pang Yu was a cute fat man, as high as Chi Qing. But Chi Qing was slender, growing longitudinally, while Pang Yu was rotund, growing horizontally. He stood next to Chi Qing, and they were in sharp contrast to each other. Jin Yue, of average appearance and stature, was an everyman. He wore a pair of silver-rimmed sses, looking gentle and polite. Xie Mingzhe walked over and greeted them, Hello everyone. Seeing a handsome guy in front of him, Pang Yus eyes widened in disbelief, You are the one in the gameUncle Chubby? Xie Mingzhe nodded, Yes, I just casually created a name in the game. On the verge of copse, Pang Yu cried out, Ahhhhh, I should be Uncle Chubby! You are tall and slim, why do you call yourself Uncle Chubby? Are you kidding me? Calm down, Jin Yue pushed his sses up and said, itsmon for yers to change their gender in the game, not to mention figure. Pang Yu could not refute. Chi Qing was a girl of few words. She looked quite calm, giving Xie Mingzhe a nod as a greeting. Brother Chen said with a smile, Lets go! Ill treat you guys to a feast to wee the new member! Seldom had anyone treat Xie Mingzhe, so he really wanted to go. However, his doctor warned him to take care of his stomach when he was discharged from the hospital, since his gastrointestinal functions had not recovered. Although he wanted to eat chicken legs, roast duck, pork ribs, and beef Unfortunately, his poor health only allowed him to drink porridge. Xie Mingzhe swallowed hard and said, Brother Chen, dont bother. Two bowls of porridge are enough. The others, ? ? ? ? Who would treat others to porridge? When he saw the others strange expressions, Xie Mingzhe hastily exined, Dont get me wrong. I was just discharged from the hospital due to my weak stomach, and the doctor warned me that I could only have a liquid diet for the next three days. So even if I have some, it cant be digested. Brother Chen looked at him uncertainly, Did you stay in the hospital before? Um, I just got out of the hospital today. Coming to work directly as soon as youre discharged from the hospital? Why not stay at home for a few days? Doesnt your family care about you? Im already an adult, and my family doesnt care much about me. Xie Mingzhe didnt want to let people know that he was an orphan, let alone seeing others sympathetic looks. The otherse three people looked at each other. It was hard enough to work as soon as he left the hospital. This teenagers family condition was certainly not good. s, your life isnt easy either. Brother Chen sighed and asked with concern, You came to work immediately after being discharged; are you up to it? Its all right, and Ive recovered. Besides, it doesnt take much energy to y games. Xie Mingzhe smiled and shifted the subject, Right, Brother Chen, Im currently level 15 in the game. Ill level up to level 35 tonight, then we can collect materials together. OK. Brother Chen turned to Chi Qing and said, Since Xiao Xie cant have a big meal, then well look for a bite to eat. AQing, please go and cook a pot of porridge. After two days, when Xiao Xie is well, Ill treat you again. En. Chi Qing turned around and walked into the kitchen to cook porridge. Xiao Xie, follow me. Ill show you to your room. Brother Chen took Xie Mingzhe upstairs. Along the way, Xie Mingzhe observed the environment of the game studio. The house was a duplex structure, two stories tall, located on the top floor of the residential building. On the first floor, there was the lobby and the hall, equipped with helmets and revolving chairs, in addition to the kitchen, dining room and bathroom. On the second floor, there were four rooms. The master bedroom had one big bed, and the other three rooms had two single beds that were ced side by side. Originally, there was a girl living with Chi Qing in our studio, but she has been on leave for a month, to get married, so Im trying to recruit someone to substitute her as there are many instances in the game that require five yers to enter. Lighting a cigarette, Brother Chen said while smoking, At present, Chi Qing lives alone. I live with Jin Yue. Would you mind living with Xiao Pang from now on? No, I wouldnt. Following Brother Chen, Xie Mingzhe took his baggage to the bedroom. Xie Mingzhe had expected this game studio to be a gloomy workce, but to his surprise, the environment here was really good. The hall on the first floor, where yers worked, was spacious and bright, and their bedrooms on the second floor were clean and tidy. Looking through the French windows, leading to the balcony on the second floor, people could see the lush garden downstairs. Opening the French window, and walking out onto the balcony, Xie Mingzhe noticed that the balcony wasrge. The innermost part of the balcony had afortable lounge chair, under whichy a fluffy white rug. Beside the rug, there was a flower rack where many adorable sulents, that were as big as a childs fist and in various colors, were nted. In front of the flower rack, there was a wooden tea table that had a tea set on it. The four delicate tea cups were as white as a polished jade. Looking at theyout of the balcony, Xie Mingzhe could almost imagine that there was a man, lying in thefortable lounge chair during a summer afternoon, with a delicate tea cup in his hand, tasting the tea and watering the sulents asionally; a pleasant and carefree life. The style of the balcony was ipatible with boosters. Taking a closer look, Xie Mingzhe found that the pictures hanging on the wall, the white window screening, the warm-colored wallpaper shouldnt have appeared in a studio providing boosting services. Xie Mingzhe couldnt resist to ask, Brother Chen, do you rent this house? He thought that it was thendlord who had arranged the house, because boosters were not carefree enough to lie in the chair on the balcony, watering flowers and tasting tea. Hearing the question, Brother Chen suddenly became silent, with a glimmer of pain in his eyes. Chapter 13 Part2 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith He was smoking, his face covered with the exhaled smoke, so Xie Mingzhe couldn''t see his expression. But his sudden silence made Xie Mingzhe aware that he shouldn''t have asked that. He quickly corrected himself, I''m just wondering. It doesn''t matter if it is inconvenient to answer. Brother Chen expelled the smoke slowly. When Xie Mingzhe thought he wouldn''t get the answer, Brother Chen said in a deep voice, This is my older brother''s house. Xie Mingzhe was stunned, and then turned his head around. He watched as the other man walked to the window, and squinted at the garden in the distance, whispering, Everyone whoes to the studio for the first time will feel confused C why would the game studio be arranged like this? Actually, this house was previously my brother''s residence. After he left, I transformed the first floor into a game studio and the second floor into a dormitory, but the balconyyout remains the same. Brother Chen picked up the delicate jade cup on the table and yed with it in his hands. Seeing his sad expression, Xie Mingzhe had no idea of how to reply to him. Xie Mingzhe had thought Brother Chen a very decadent young man. His messy hair, his love for smokes, the wrinkled shirt that seemed to be made of rags from the garbage dump, the stubble on his chin from who knows when he shavedst; all of these const.i.tuted a typical young inte addict. But when he mentioned his brother, the sadness on his face made Xie Mingzhe heartbroken. The decadent man, who spent a whole day ying the game, had a secret in his heart. Had his brother pa.s.sed away? Xie Mingzhe dared not ask and instead changed the subject, Well, when are our working hours? The holographic game will restrict the online time of yers, so our work-rest time is regr. Go to bed at midnight and start work at eight o''clock in the morning. Brother Chen put down the cup, and seemed to be freed from his memories. He put out his cigarette in the ashtray and turned to Xie Mingzhe, If I guess correctly, you are a college student getting a summer job for living expenses, right? "Yeah," Xie Mingzhe replied calmly, "I am a first-year student at Capital University. I will start school September 1." That''s a nice school. Work hard and you will definitely find a good job after graduation. Brother Chen patted him on the shoulder with encouragement. After the term begins, if you have time, you cane over here. I will pay you by the hour. It was not easy for this boy to earn a living on his own, so Brother Chen wanted to take care of him. "Really?" Xie Mingzhe rubbed his hands with excitement. Yes, seeing his bright eyes, Brother Chen couldn''t help but smile at him, You are smart. Quickly level up to 35, so you cane and help me. Roger! If he could work part-time in this studio, which is near the school, he would not have to worry about living expenses during his four years of study. "For both our rea.s.surance, let''s sign thebor contract." Brother Chen took Xie Mingzhe aside and brought out a contract temte. "The contract is a guarantee for each other. You don''t have to worry about unpaid wages, and I can also know your history. I don''t hire unidentified people. Brother Chen taking out the contract obviously meant that he was going to formally hire Xie Mingzhe. Xie Mingzhe immediately pulled out his ID card, scanned it into the smartputer, and then signed his name on the screen. He noticed that the number in the sry column was 3000, and he asked, I will be an intern for the first month, so I can only get half of that, right? No, you will get the full sry. Brother Chen also signed his name, and answered frankly, With your understanding, you learned how to y the game in two days?. So you will be paid as a proper staff member. The basic sry is 3000, and you can ept tasks privately. You will get a 10%mission on every taskpleted by yourself. If our business goes well, then you will get dividends at the end of the month. "Thank you, Brother Chen!" Xie Mingzhe felt like he''d won a lottery prize. You''re wee. Brother Chen''s handwriting was cursive. The name he signed on the contract was: Chen Xiao. It turned out that his full name was Chen Xiao. Since Chen Xiao helped him so much, Xie Mingzhe thoroughly bore this name in mind. *** Besides the tasty lean porridge with green vegetables, Chi Qing also made two vegetarian dishes that were easy to digest, in consideration of Xie Mingzhe, who had just been discharged from hospital. Sitting around the living room table, Xie Mingzhe and the others had a simple dinner. Pang Yu squealed, "For me who is fat and has a bigger stomach than yours, only vegetables and porridge are not enough!" Then he stared at Chen Xiao eagerly, saying, "Boss, can I take an hour''s leave to eat half a kilo of beef outside?" Jabbing at Pang Yu''s stomach, Chen Xiao said jokingly, "Forget the meat; you should lose weight. Look at Xiao Xie, whose weight is less than half of yours." "" Pang Yu was speechless, simply saying in despair, "I have innate genes that contribute to my weight gain. Dropping pounds won''t make a difference." Pushing his .s.ses up, Jin Yue turned his head tough at Pang Yu, "I think it is because you arezy." Pang Yu grabbed Xie Mingzhe''s arm mischievously, saying, "Xiao Xie, you are so thin, allow me to share with you some of my weight." "" Xie Mingzhe didn''t know whether tough or cry. To his surprise, the people in the studio got along well with each other, and they didn''t exclude him. Instead, they genuinely cared about him. Xie Mingzhe, who was an orphan either in his previous life or in this world and only had a few friends, felt a trace of warmth in his heart while watching them ridiculing each other, but were still close-knit. He was really lucky to have found a job like this after his rebirth. This should all be because of Chen Xiao, a tolerant boss. However, what had happened to Chen Xiao''s older brother? Xie Mingzhe didn''t know, however, Chen Xiao''s att.i.tude told him that something serious had happened to his brother. Maybe Chen Xiao''s brother had died or because of other reasons, he had left. The reason Chen Xiao was living in his brother''s house, and retaining his brother''syout of the balcony on the second floor, was because he missed his brother, but this worried Xie Mingzhe. He hoped that Chen Xiao''s brother hadn''t died, otherwise it would be irreversible. Xie Mingzhe stopped thinking about it. He knew his top priority was to level up to 35, and join their team to help farm materials for others. After all, the moment he had signed the contract, he had be a professional booster. Hi guys, Master of Trading Star Card Games has a Indonesian version now! It is tranted by Veriwinkle on wattpad. If you are interested in it, please check TOC on the novel page of Master of Trading Star Card Games on w.a.n.gmamaread. Chapter 14 Part1 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith After dinner, by 6:30 p.m. all boosters had entered the game together. As soon as he arrived at his personal s.p.a.ce, Xie Mingzhe heard a system notification: You have new emails. Please check them using the LCD screen in the living room. Xie Mingzhe heeded the notification prompt and opened his mailbox Official Mail: The 10th Star Card Professional League Nationals will be officiallyunched on August 10. Ticket booking channels are now fully open Official Mail: In order to wee theing season, anniversary cards can be obtained after signing into the game for five days during Aug. 1 to 10 A sea of official emails dazzled Xie Mingzhe. Recently, it was a critical period for the new season, so there were many official activities. Looking at the pile of notification emails, Xie Mingzhe didn''t bother to read them and simply turned off the mailbox. The moment Senior Brother Qi sent him a party invite, Xie Mingzhe joined his team and continued to gain experience on Egret Star. At this time, in the ck market. Hasn''t Uncle Chubby answered you yet? Can Yang looked at Shuang Shuang and asked. I have sent him an email. Maybe he''s offline? Shuang Shuang looked depressed. Can Yang frowned and kept silent for a moment, saying, If he replies to you, tell me straight away. If you find him in the ck market, contact him immediately and tell him that I want to buy his cards in bulk, then let him take up the matter with me personally." OK, Vice President. Shuang Shuang felt guilty about it and anxiously watched as the vice president left. Up until now, she had barely yed the game for more than a month, and only had a limited knowledge of the battle cards. In the Adjudication Club, it was her Shifu who should have set up the stall in the ck market. But because her Shifu had something to deal with today, she had been asked to act as a temporary recement. She didn''t realize how special the skills of the [Wu Song] card were, and if she had thought more carefully at that time, she wouldn''t have let Uncle Chubby go so easily. But now she couldn''t get in touch with Uncle Chubby. Shuang Shuang clenched her teeth and turned around to send emails to Uncle Chubby again. At the end of the street, because Hong Zhu didn''t see the person who she had been waiting for, she became a little impatient and called some senior members for a private meeting, From now on, everyone must thoroughly search the ck market. Pay attention to the back of all original cards. The moment you find a card with the original LOGO "°", track the seller and find out who he is as soon as possible! All the people looked at each other C °? How did this guy offend sister Hong Zhu? Looking at sister Hong Zhu, with hatred in her eyes and gnashing her teeth in anger, they were really worried that that guy would be cruelly exploited. *** Can Yang took the [Wu Song] card back to his club base, giving it to Huan Yue, the president of the Adjudication Club. Actually, Huan Yue had studied a lot about card data and was a card expert in the Adjudication Club. Seeing this card, his eyes instantly brightened and his first reaction was to take the card to his personal s.p.a.ce immediately. Can Yang followed him as a matter of course. They went to the Card Console in the study. Huan Yue withdrew a number of Exp Star Stones of various levels from the disy case, using them to upgrade the card to level 20, and then he used two-star fragments on the card to evolve it to a two-star card. He proceeded to continually upgrade and evolve the card original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread In an instant, millions of Exp Star Stones and 600 evolution fragments of differing levels were fed to the [Wu Song] card. The one-star card at level 1 continued to rotate above the Card Console, and gradually the appearance of the card''s back changed color. In the end, the card became a glossy pure ck, with its back covered in gorgeous fire-red patterns. It had risen to level 70 and be a seven-star ck card! Picking up the card, Huan Yue read its data. Wu Song (Fire) Card Level: 70 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 7/7 Base Attributes: Health 19200, Defense 19200, Attack 19200, Agility 80, Critical Strike Chance 90% Additional Skill: Wu Song ying the Tiger (Wu Song throws punches at the tiger''s head to cause huge damage to it. Has an 85% chance of triggering the instant death effect.) While reading the data, Huan Yue asked with his eyebrows furrowed, "Do you have Legend Nie''s [White Tiger]?" Can Yang nodded, "Yes. Legend Nie asked me to repair it after it was damaged due to his frequent use in thest season. I have just repaired it." Huan Yue replied, "Let''s go to the Arena and test its power." They nced at each other and transferred from the gxy map to the Phoenix Gxy, creating a private battle arena. The battle had begun. Can Yang summoned the seven-star [White Tiger] that leapt forward and pounced on the Wu Song hologram aggressively. However, Wu Song briskly clenched his fists and punched the tiger on its head when it had just approached him, which knocked the giant tiger down to the ground. It was an instant kill! Being frightened, Can Yang browsed through the battle record. [Wu Song] used its [Wu Song ying the Tiger] skill, triggering instant death and killing the [White Tiger]. That was all on the record. It was too simple to be evaluated. Huan Yue had also seen the battle record, saying thoughtfully, "Triggering the instant death effect can kill the other card in one round as expected. Is this the first time it''s happened in the game?" Can Yang was shocked, I have never seen such a strange skill like trigger instant death''! Huan Yue thought for a moment and said, Do you have any other high-level cards? Try another one. Can Yang said, Legend Lan''s [Fire Phoenix]. The seven-star [Fire Phoenix] summoned a phoenix coated in a ming red. Its huge wings spread out, almost covering the sky. Fire Phoenix suddenly opened its wings and let out a shrill cry. It quickly swooped down to Wu Song on the ground, just like a huge ball of me! Wu Song immediately fought back by punching it, but his Defense, less than 20,000, was too low. Fire Phoenix''s AOE skill with the fire attribute, Dance in the Heavens, instkilled him! Looking at the hologram of Wu Song burned into ashes, Can Yang and Huan Yue then looked at each other, speechless. After a moment of silence, Huan Yue a.n.a.lyzed, This instant death skill is a very limited skill, which means that it only works for tiger cards and has no effect on other types of cards. Its Attack and Defense can only be regarded as third-rate, but it''s not a useless card, because once it meets Nie Yuandao, it will be a trump card. Why would someone create such a card against Legend Nie''s [White Tiger]? A weird look appeared on Can Yang''s face, Was there enmity between them? Who created this card? A level 15 neer called Uncle Chubby. Uncle Chubby? What a strange name. Huan Yue groaned to himself, and turned the card over, looking at the °롱 LOGO in the lower right corner of the ck card. He suddenly felt a little uneasy, and then immediately called out the database, saying, I want to know how many cards Uncle Chubby has made. He searched the LOGO, and the database quickly gave the result: 20. Huan Yue felt a shiver down his spine, Are all the remaining 19 cards [Wu Song]? Have they all been sold out at the ck market?! Can Yang''s face fell, "If other clubs have bought this card, will Legend Nie''s [White Tiger] be useless?" They exchanged knowing nces. As the long-standing president of the Adjudication Club, Huan Yue had always been very calm, but now he couldn''t maintain hisposure. C f.u.c.king instant death effect! This kind of card effect had never appeared in the game before. Many yers may not understand what trigger instant death meant. They thought that instant death was simr to the instant disablement effect of the Metal attribute card. Therefore, yers who bought and sold cards at the ck market were not very clear about the value of [Wu Song]. However, professional yers and senior executives of major clubs knew about this type of skill effect. Because, this was a brand new skill effect that had only been added into the database recently! Wee to join our discord ? https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 14 Part2 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith Duringst season''s summary convention, Tang Muzhou suddenly proposed the idea of a one-for-one function card that has the concept of instant death. It was said that there was a raging debate amongst the professional yers at the summary convention, in which people were divided into two parties. One party approved of Legend Tang''s idea, that the database should include the cards possessing instant death, while the other opposed it strongly, as they believed it was unreasonable and such cards would break the bnce of the game. Tang Muzhou listed a number of arguments for his idea with a graceful smile, saying in the end, "The instant death cards will greatly enrich the tactics in thepet.i.tion. Don''t you want to create an instant death card and sec-kill my [Thousand-year-old G.o.d Tree] unexpectedly?" Other professional yers, "" Tang Muzhou managed to provoke them. Anyone whose cards had been strangled by his G.o.d Tree wanted to kill this annoying tree immediately. To everyone''s surprise, Nie Yuandao, who had been at odds with Tang Muzhou, supported Legend Tang''s idea. Nie Yuandao exined calmly, "The instant death card won''t be as powerful as everyone fears. It will be a one-for-one function card, at most, if the game officials regte and control its data. Killing others'' G.o.d cards with instant death cards will introduce more varied tactics into the game. Therefore I agree with Legend Tang." Qiao Xi, who used cards with the Water attribute, said with a smile, "I think Legend Tang''s idea is reasonable. The instant death cards will enable yers to win with shock tactics at the critical moment. Otherwise, if I have topete with someone who is using a card with over 200,000HP, I would would rather give up thepet.i.tion." Being mentioned by Qiao Xi , Zheng Feng, who was the representative of yers using cards with the Earth attribute, said, "Legend Xi, are you talking about my [White Elephant] that has 200,000HP? Actually, I also think its HP is too abundant, so that my opponents have to spend a long time fighting with it, which makes me embarra.s.sed." Other yers, "Get out of here!" In order to avoid a fight, the president of the league tried to keep order, immediately saying, "Quiet. We now have to vote." Finally, Tang Muzhou''s proposal was approved by the league professionals attending the convention. The league submitted his proposal to the game officials, who epted it, after some consideration. In order to regte and control the bnce of the instant death card, and determine the limits of its HP, Attack and Defense, the official data team had several meetings and it took them more than half a year to produce a detailed form inference, before an announcement was promulgatedst month. It stated that the effect "instant death" had been included into the skills database, but the requirements for triggering it were harsh. Firstly, the instant death card could only haveone instant death skill that was not directed against an extensive range of cards, namely it could be directed against no more than one subcategory of cards. For example, a card having the skill to cause the simultaneous instant death of nts, animals and humans wasn''t allowed to be created. Secondly, any card having the instant death skill effect would be included into the category of disposable function cards, whose Attack and Defense were weak. In other words, after using its skill, the card would be killed immediately, which avoided breaking the bnce of thepet.i.tion. In addition, the league had also introduced a regtion C for each match, yers could use only one card with the instant death effect, like a secret weapon. The official announcement had only just been posted online, and many yers may not notice it. After all, every time the game updated, there would be a lot of announcements at one time. yers who didn''t specialize in battle cards would not pay attention to the news of the instantaneous death effect being added to the skill database. At present, experts studying cards in major clubs were all trying to make such cards with the instant death" effect. Huan Yue didn''t know how the other clubs were faring, however he didn''t expect that a yer named Uncle Chubby would be the first to create such cards- not even the Adjudication Club''s Legend Nie and Legend Lan had created such cards sessfully. What''s more, Uncle Chubby made [Wu Song] against tiger cards C directly against Legend Nie! If Legend Nie knew that someone had made a card that could trigger the instant death effect against his [White Tiger], so soon after he had agreed with Tang Muzhou to add the instant death effect to the database, would he be mad? He must stop other clubs from getting this card! Huan Yue frowned and quickly made a decision, Send our members to search the ck market inch by inch! Buy all the original cards bearing the ''°'' LOGO, especially the [Wu Song] cards. We can''t miss a single one! " *** The ck market had not been so lively for a long time. The yers in the ck market were extremely confused - so many managers of the Fenghua and Adjudication Clubs were gathered in the ck market. What were they doing? Hong Zhu saw the familiar IDsing and going, which was a headache for her. Many old yers of the Adjudication Club suddenly appeared in the ck market, searching carefully at the stalls that were selling cards, and they seemed to be looking for some certain cards. She became uneasy, guessing that Adjudication Club bought all the other [Lin Daiyu] cards. ??Can Yang had the same idea as Hong Zhu. He thought that the Fenghua Club bought the other [Wu Song] cards and was looking for the creator. They were suspicious and jealous of each other. Can Yang pretended to be calm and greeted Hong Zhu, Sister Hong, you are still in the ck market? Hong Zhu appeared to be calm, Well, I am bored and just strolling around. Can Yang put on a false smile, Me too! What a coincidence! Hong Zhu, Yeah, what a coincidence. They greeted each other politely on the surface, but in their hearts, they had brawled with each other countless times. A momentter, the news that many managers of the Fenghua Club and the Adjudication Club had appeared at the ck market, had spread throughout the spywork. The presidents of the other clubs were very confused after receiving the news. What happened? The two major clubs suddenly started searching the ck market inch by inch. Was there a strong card in the ck market? As a result, other major clubs also began to act C Although I don''t know why, but we''d better step in, said the president of Flowing Frost City. Go to the ck market and see what they are looking for. The president of Capital of Darkness calmly ordered. "Is there a genius card creator in the ck market?" Lei Li Feng Xing (meaning swift and decisive reaction), the president of Pantheon, came over. In ten minutes, hordes of club managers arrived at the ck market. Hong Zhu was on the verge of crying and racked her brain to think who bought the other [Lin Daiyu] cards. At the same time, Can Yang also wanted to swear. The system had disyed that Uncle Chubby had made 20 cards, but he only got one [Wu Song]. Had the rest of the 19 cards been privately bought by other major clubs? There was a muddle over in the ck market. In the street, there were many great figures t.i.tled "XX Club Vice President" and "XX Club Manager", which attracted all the stall owners to take pictures with them. While at that same moment, Xie Mingzhe, the culprit whopletely messed up the ck market, was levelling up delightfully with his buddies in the Egret Cave. Senior Brother Qi asked, "Uncle Chubby, I remember that you wanted to make original cards and had bought many Neb papers before. Have you tried it?" Xie Mingzhe said with a smile, "I made two cards, but their base attributes aren''t good. So I sold them at the ck market and earned some pocket money." Sisi asked excitedly, "Uncle Chubby, what cards did you make? Could you show me the cards?" "Both are character cards and I have sold them all. If I have a chance, I''ll make more and then give you some for collecting." Senior Brother Qi advised in the tone of an old yer, "Character cards with low attributes are hard to sell at a good price, but it''s a way to earn money. Making cards would consume lots of Inner Spirit, so don''t make too many at once in case you put too much pressure on your brain." Xie Mingzhe nodded, "In that case, I''ll make ten more tonight, then I''ll stop." If Hong Zhu and Can Yang heard his words, they would die of rage. Actually, Xie Mingzhe was innocent, because he was absolutely in the dark. Xie Mingzhe was just a beginner who had just started ying the card game. Therefore, he believed that there were just as many high-priced cards as there are hairs on an ox in the World of Star Card, and the base attributes of these cards should be more than thousands of points, such as the [Tuberose] with 100,000 Health and 50,000 Defense. Even if his [Lin Daiyu] was evolved to a seven-star card, its defense couldn''t rise from 15 to 1,000 points; the attack and defense of [Wu Song] were not high, so it couldn''t be sold at a good price either. He didn''t even know that the instant death skill effect had just been added to the game database a few days ago, and that it had never previously appeared in the game C Xie Mingzhe thought it was amon skill. The people of the Fenghua and Adjudication clubs were frantically searching everywhere for cards with the LOGO "°". Hong Zhu and Can Yang, as well as the other presidents, were going to explode. However, Xie Mingzhe was leisurely and carefree. Xie Mingzhe gossiped with Senior Brother Qi and Sisi as they farmed mobs. He had to grind up to level 35 as soon as possible, and then join Brother Chen''s team. After all, he was employed to be a game booster and couldn''t neglect his work. As for cards, he intended to make another ten [Wu Song] cards tonight and then sell them at the ck market for some pocket money. Half a loaf of bread is better than no bread at all. The money from selling a batch of cards was enough for his meals. Chapter 15 Part1 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith 8:30pm, Adjudication Club. Any news from Uncle Chubby? Huan Yue asked, frowning. He hasn''t replied to Shuang Shuang''s email. Can Yang returned from the ck market disappointed, I didn''t find any cards created by Uncle Chubby in the ck market. And many guilds are searching for some cards in the ck market. Did they also buy [Wu Song] cards? "Don''t worry," Huan Yue calmed down and a.n.a.lyzed, "The 20 cards he made are not necessarily all [Wu Song]. ording to an undercover investigation, Fenghua Club is acquiring beauty cards. I guess he made a beauty card before [Wu Song], which startled Fenghua Club. "Yes!" Can Yang realized, "I have also received news from a spy saying that Hong Zhu is purchasing cards inrge amounts. She also opened a stall to purchase beauty cards C maybe that beauty card is made by Uncle Chubby? There are barely any designers who can make strong character cards in recent years. It should be him, Huan Yue rubbed his chin and thought, He even startled Hong Zhu C this beauty card''s skill is definitely not simple, maybe it also has the instant death effect. Then it makes sense C Uncle Chubby made a beauty card first to attract Hong Zhu''s attention, and at the same time, Shuang Shuang bought the [Wu Song] card. Our two clubs searched for these cards at the ck market, and other clubs also came here after hearing the news. I hope so the [Wu Song] card may not have spread throughout the ck market yet. Can Yang prayed silently. Well, do you remember how Tang Muzhou made his debut? Huan Yue suddenly changed the subject and asked. Of course. Legend Tang made his debut in the ck market. He made some low-level nt cards at the very beginning and sold them there. Then his cards went viral, with many people lining up to buy his cards. I heard that at that time, the ck market street was packed solid with his fans "Selling cards at the ck market," Huan Yue interrupted the vice president, "Don''t you feel that this situation is familiar?" "!!!" Can Yang finally realized, "You mean that Uncle Chubby is mimicking Tang Muzhou?" No. I''m more worried that Uncle Chubby will be the second Tang Muzhou. Can Yang couldn''t believe the president''s spection, The second Tang Muzhou? The genius in card designer circles? Just because of this [Wu Song] card?! The [Wu Song] card is not popr, but it is quite difficult to make cards with the instant death effect, because the card maker must use his Inner Spirit to highly concentrate on the card andplete it in one go. I have a very bad feeling that in the future, Uncle Chubby may make more bizarre character cards with the instant death effect against various legendary cards, or with other skills Huan Yue paused for a moment, then he continued grimly with his eyebrows frowning, "Tang Muzhou did the same thing at the beginning. He started his career with creating visually pleasing nt cards only, then he improved the whole set of nt cards with his outstanding talent. Various kinds of powerful cards, including tree cards, vine cards, sulent cards and flower and nt cards, emerged in an endless stream, which soon promoted Tang Muzhou to be the most outstanding original card creator in the league." "But Tang Muzhou had been directed by his Shifu, who is the well-known" "His Shifu has indeed helped him a lot." It seemed that Huan Yue didn''t want to mention his name. He interrupted directly, saying, "Tang Muzhou''s sess in bing a game guru is mainly credited to his talent, which is proved by the increasingly powerful cards he has made since his Shifu left." "So you believe that this Uncle Chubby is as gifted as Legend Tang?" Can Yang asked while listening to his president. He became increasingly uneasy. "Yes." Huan Yue replied affirmatively, "Uncle Chubby''s cards with instant death skills show that he has extremely high Inner Spirit. Look at this card, while he was concentrating his Inner Spirit on ''killing the tiger'', he finished designing the Wu Song hologram brilliantly at the same time. He is more powerful than you might have expected." "" Can Yang hadn''t imagined that he could encounter such a gifted man in the ck market. "Secretly find Uncle Chubby as soon as possible. You have to find him ahead of the Fenghua Club!" Huan Yue said in a low voice. Can Yang always thought that the name ''Uncle Chubby'' was funny. Ignoring his strange feeling, he said seriously, "OK. I''ll find him secretly. Do I need to bring him to you when I find him?" "Take him to Legend Nie directly." "What? Legend Nie?" "I''ll show [Wu Song] to Legend Nie at the clubter. He will surely be interested in the creator. If possible, we need to try our best to lure him to our Adjudication Club. We have to do it quickly, or he will join other clubs." "Got it!" Can Yang nodded seriously before rushing to find Shuang Shuang. However, Shuang Shuang said in disappointment, "Uncle Chubby hasn''t answered my email yet." "Maybe he hasn''t noticed the email?" Can Yang felt depressed, "Send an email to him again! Keep emailing him until you receive his answer!" Xie Mingzhe had no time to return to his personal s.p.a.ce, so he didn''t notice the emails. Xie Mingzhe gained tremendous amounts of exp in the Dark Cave which had dense mobs. He had leveled up to 35 by 8:30pm. The highest level of a character in the game was 70, which was consistent with the highest level of a card. However, level 35 was an important threshold. A character would be allowed to enter the instance requiring ten yers, located on the Ziyuan(which means resource) Star. In addition, he would now be able to use seven-star cards. The rich would increase their speed of upgrading by buying seven-star cards directly when they leveled up to 35. Both Senior Brother Qi and Sisi were wealthy, so they went directly to themercial street to buy seven-star cards. However, Xie Mingzhe was poor. He said goodbye to his two friends, finally going back to his personal s.p.a.ce to create cards. Chapter 15 Part2 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith In the Fenghua Club office. Xue Linxiang walked back and forth. Seeing Hong Zhue in, she immediately asked, frowning, Haven''t found the card maker yet? Hong Zhu was very helpless, I opened a stall purchasing beauty cards in the ck market, intending to pull the snake from its hole. I kept waiting for the maker this afternoon, but failed. I have sent arge number of members to the ck market to search for original cards bearing the ''°'' LOGO. Once we find the cards, we can track him following clues. Xue Linxiang''s brow wrinkled more and more tightly, You mean, you haven''t found out who the creator is?! Hong Zhu nodded, her face pale, There are too many yersing and going at Boss Zhang''s stall every day, so he can''t think of the name of the person who sold him the card. And now there is an even more troublesome thing C on top of me, other major guilds in the game, including Adjudication and Flowing Frost City, have all gathered in the ck market. I''m not sure if they areing to join in on the fun, or someone really bought [Lin Daiyu] and is also looking for the creator in the ck market. Xue Linxiang, "" If someone bought [Lin Daiyu], then Tang Muzhou would be in trouble next season. Daiyu Burying the Flowers, instant death effect on flower cards. How did this genius make this card? Tang Muzhou had a lot of flower cards, all of which would face the risk of being instkilled by [Lin Daiyu]. The match would start in a few days. Even if he changed his set of ying cards now, it would be toote. Tang Muzhou should be the one to me C why did he propose to enrich the tactics during the game by adding the instant death effect skill atst season''s conference? He did a h.e.l.l of a job! Now it turned out that he was the first one to be affected C he was hoisted by his own petard! At a loss, Xue Linxiang suddenly heard the doorbell ringing. She turned around and said, Come in. Tang Muzhou opened the door and came in. He was always sleepy in the afternoon, but at night he was full of vigor. Why did youe here? Xue Linxiang took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I''m going to tell you bad news. Although Tang Muzhou said bad news, but there was a smile in his eyes. It seemed that he was in a good mood. I just checked the database. The number of cards made by ''°'' has increased to 30. Ten more? Xue Linxiang and Hong Zhu just wanted to beat the creator in the game! Maybe the ten cards are all [Lin Daiyu], or he has created new cards against my vine and tree cards. Tang Muzhou said with a smile. Are youughing? Xue Linxiang rolled her eyes quickly, You are the one that proposed to add the instant death effect to the database. Now all flower cards are in trouble. Are you happy? Not that happy. Tang Muzhou did not mind at all, a rxed smile on his face. Compared to this [Lin Daiyu], I care more about the maker of the card. I think he is a bit like me. " Like you? Xue Linxiang didn''t understand. "Sister Xue forgot how I made my debut?" Xue Linxiang finally understood what he meant, Selling cards at the ck market? "Yes. When I learnt how to make cards at that time, I sold those original cards in the ck market at first because I didn''t know the market. Generally, newbies will have this misunderstanding as they believe that their cards will sell well in the ck market, where yers can bargain with each other. However, actually the ck market is a ce where people sell ''low-level cards'' and ''collection cards''. There are few people who know the value of battle cards." Sitting on the sofa, Tang Muzhou picked up a cup and took a sip of water, continuing, "He''s very much like me back in those days. He has made powerful cards and sold them in the ck market because he doesn''t know the market. Experienced card makers know that high-end cards should only be sold in two ces: the professional card acquisition stores of major clubs on themercial street and the Auction House." "You should be d that he is a newbie. If he knows the market and sells [Lin Daiyu] at auction Well, I shouldn''t talk about that possible cmity." Xue Linxiang immediately picked up a cup and gargled with water for fear that she would hit the nail on the head. "His original cards with instant death effects are indeed novel." Stroking his chin, Tang Muzhou said reflectively, "Such a gifted person should join our club." "What do you want to do?" Xue Linxiang looked at him vigntly. "I''m going to meet him personally in the game." Tang Muzhou said. "" Xue Linxiang found his words a real headache and, supporting her forehead, said, "The match will begin next week. Are you crazy?" "Legend Tang." Hong Zhu warned with a trembling voice, "Your presence in the game will surely cause a sensation." "I''ll open a smurf ount and meet him." Tang Muzhou said with a serious expression, "n.o.body knows my smurf ount." "Stop being that capricious, ok? Thepet.i.tion is about to begin. Shouldn''t you concentrate on studying sets of ying cards and other opponents and preparing for the match in the next season? We can deal with that newbie, you don''t have to meet him in person, right?" Xue Linxiang persuaded patiently. However, Tang Muzhou stood up immediately, with a firm look filling his smiling eyes. "Sister Xue, please stop persuading me. I must find him." "" Xue Linxiang knew that she couldn''t stop Legend Tang. She ma.s.saged her aching head, saying, "Bnce these two things and make sure it won''t affect yourpet.i.tion." "Rest a.s.sured Sister Xue." Tang Muzhou waved his hands and left the office. *** At the same time, in the game. While Xie Mingzhe was about to sell his ten [Wu Song] cards that he had just made in his personal s.p.a.ce at the ck market, Chen Xiao directly called him in private, "Xiao Xie, it''s nine o''clock. Come to Jupiter and find me. All of us are waiting for you to clear the group instance." "But I have no powerful cards. Will I be a drag?" "I will give you some seven-star cards at level 70. Come here quickly." Chen Xiao said freely. "OK, Brother Chen." Xie Mingzhe''s eyes brightened, running to Jupiter happily. Chapter 16 Part1 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith At the entrance of the Jupiter group instance, Xie Mingzhe joined the group. Chen Xiao directly gave him two seven-star cards at level 70, the [Storm G.o.ddess] that could use tornadoes to attract mobs and the [Ice G.o.ddess] which had crowd control by freezing the mobs. It was the first time that Xie Mingzhe had received ck seven-star cards. Being thrilled, he took the cards carefully and said, "Brother Chen, I''ll give them back to you after clearing the instance." "No, keep them. They are yours now." Chen Xiao said without hesitation. "Thanks, Brother Chen!" Was such a kind boss sent by G.o.d to help him? Being moved, Xie Mingzhe looked at Chen Xiao, only to find that he had entered the instance vigorously without caring about those two cards. Perhaps boosters had seen many seven-star cards. In their team, except for the five boosters, Chen Xiao included, the other five IDs were all unfamiliar to Xie Mingzhe because their owners were ordinary yers recruited by Chi Qing. In the holographic games, yers were not allowed to use multiple ounts at the same time. Since the number of boosters in a game studio was limited, when they were short on staff, the game studio would recruit some yers in the world to help clear group instances. Luckily, each yer in the instance would get an equal amount of materials, so there wouldn''t be any disputes over materials. The Wood group instance was called Midnight Forest. As soon as they entered the instance, the mobs around them were alerted. Countless small Treants encircled them, attacking them with dark green vines under their feet. Xie Mingzhe was careless and bound by the vines. Seeing the vines were about to climb up to his neck along his body, he backed up while struggling. However, the harder he struggled, the tighter the vines would be. His whole body was bound; he wanted to burn those vines. At this moment, he was surrounded by a soft glow. Someone had used a card skill. Xie Mingzhe felt that the vines had loosened and his feet could move. He jumped backwards immediately and turned his head, seeing Chi Qing walking towards him with a card that had a cleanse skill. Then Chi Qing warned him, "Mind your step. Although yers won''t die in the game, they can be controlled." "Thanks." Xie Mingzhe, who was saved, followed Chi Qing immediately. "Xiao Pang, pull the vines on the north side first." Chen Xiao directed. "Got it!" Pang Yu released the [Rhinoceros]. The huge rhinoceros sprinted towards the vines and pulled away a great amount of vines while roaring. However, it was bound and wrapped up by the vines that were as dense as a group of snakes, then it was torn into pieces directly by the vines. "" Seeing that, Xie Mingzhe felt stunned. The Wood vines were so powerful that they killed the [Rhinoceros], whose HP was over 150,000, in an instant. While being stunned, he heard Chen Xiao''s words, "Xiao Xie, freeze these vines." The vines perceived that they were cheated, turning around collectively and heading towards Xie Mingzhe and the others swiftly, as if they were conscious. Xie Mingzhe hastened to summon the Storm G.o.ddess, aiming at the vines and herding them together with a tornado, then he summoned the Ice G.o.ddess, freezing the vines within its range with snowkes falling from the sky. The frozen vines twined around each other and were covered with snow, which made them look like fried dough twists. fried dough twists (黨) Chen Xiao looked in the direction of Xie Mingzhe and thought highly of him, saying, "Everyone, be quick." Others immediately followed Brother Chen to the forest, burning those Treant mobs. The mes soon burned the mobs into ashes. After they beat the mobs, those vines tangled around them again. Pang Yu couldn''t help butin, There are vines everywhere in this instance blocking our way. These vines don''t drop any materials C they just disgust yers. They are the most disgusting of all the Wood cards. I hate Wood instances Xie Mingzhe shared the same feeling. Everytime they stepped forward, the vines would tie them up couldn''t the vines just let themplete the instance sessfully? After constantly being entangled by the vines, they finally beat the final vine BOSS. Xie Mingzhe asked, feeling a headache, Will we continue? Chen Xiao said, We will go to other instances requiring five yers. We have toplete all the instances on Jupiter. Such instances were rtively simple toplete, not to mention that Brother Chen and the other members were very strong, so they quicklypleted all the instances requiring five yers. After that, Xie Mingzhe deeply felt the power of Wood creatures C in addition to vines having high attack power, there were various seemingly beautiful flowers with illusions, blindness and other control effects; many flowers and gra.s.s could inflict negative statuses, such as poisoning, weakness, and confusion, on cards. Wood cards were just one branch in the world of Star Card. Water, Fire, Earth, and Metal cards certainly had their own characteristics. After sessfullypleting some Wood instances, Chen Xiao said, Let''s disband first and go to bed early. We will go to other instances tomorrow. Xie Mingzhe nodded and looked at the time C eleven o''clock at night. Since the team was disbanded, Xie Mingzhe returned to his individual s.p.a.ce to continue studying the cards. At the same time, the Adjudication Club office. Nie Yuandao, who had just returned to the club after dinner, looked at [Wu Song] that Huan Yue handed him, and frowned slightly. His features were strongly defined and when his brows drew together in a frown, he looked rather harsh. As a man in his thirties, he had an air of calm which indicated that he had experienced twists and turns. Perhaps because he stayed with beast cards such as wolves, tigers, and lions every day, he had a beast-like, prating gaze, which other people dared not meet. Nie Yuandao also had a t.i.tle of Beastmaster because he had an effect on the entire beast card pool. Before he yed this game, the number of beast cards in the world of Star Card was small and their skills were rtively simple. Nie Yuandao perfected the beast card pool; his beast cards, such as tigers, leopards, wolves, and lions, were extremely powerful, and he had a unique style C using his beasts to beiseige the enemies. Huan Yue didn''t dare to look at him; instead, he lowered his head and asked softly, Legend Nie, what do you think of this card? Nie Yuandao handed the optical tablet to the person next to him, Xiao Lan, have a look at this. The man sitting next to him was 22-year-old Shan Lan, who was also a well-known yer in the league. His fans called him Legend Lan. If Legend Nie''s eyes were so sharp that people dared not look at them, then Legend Lan was a very gentle man. When he smiled, his eyes curved into a crescent moon-like shape. He had a soft voice, fairplexion, and fine features. His equable temperament gave others the feeling of being fanned by a spring breeze. Chapter 16 Part2 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith As Nie Yuandao''s only apprentice, Shan Lan''s set of ying cards were all beast cards. Nie Yuandao liked using critical strikes in closebat. His cards were all fierce beasts such as white tiger, male lion, ck rhino, and wild wolf. Using beast cards to violently suppress enemies was Nie Yuandao''s style C simple and clear-cut. And he never talked nonsense inpet.i.tions. But Legend Lan preferred air raids. He had beautiful card holograms, such as the crane, white haw, skrk, peac.o.c.k, and the strongest airbat cards in the league C [Fire Phoenix] and [Ice-crystal Phoenix]. These were all made by him under the guidance of his Shifu. Cooperating with each other well in air andnd battles, they were highlypet.i.tive in doubles. They lived together, and were inseparable, because Legend Lan deeply admired his Shifu. He was clingy, following behind his Shifu wherever thetter went to. To the staff of the Adjudication Club, Legend Lan, who was particrly fierce whenpeting with others in the game, was more like Nie Yuandao''s little follower. After taking [Wu Song] from his Shifu, Shan Lan looked at the card data carefully and asked softly, Where did President buy this card? Huan Yue said, In the ck market. I got it today by ident. Shan Lan a.n.a.lyzed, The card maker did not take it to the auction to sell at a high price; instead, he sold it in the ck market at a low price, which shows that this yer does not know the value of the card and its market price. Maybe he did not see the official announcement, so he doesn''t know the instant death effect has been recently added to the database - is he a newbie who just started ying this game? Huan Yue immediately replied, Yes, ording to Shuang Shuang, who bought the card, the card maker is a level 15 newbie named Uncle Chubby. "Uncle Chubby?" Shan Lan heard this strange name and looked back at Legend Nie, "What is Shifu going to do?" Nie Yuandao kept silent for a moment, and then spoke, his voice low and calm, Atst season''s summary conference, Tang Muzhou suddenly proposed to add the instant death effect to the skill database. Do you know why I agreed with him at that time? Shan Lan seriously spected, Is it because many yers in the league follow the example of Zheng Feng, to keep increasing the HP of their cards? They often make the cards'' HP higher than 150,000. If the trend continues, the game would be more and more boring. Nie Yuandao looked at his apprentice with praise and nodded, In fact, Tang Muzhou did not propose that because of Zheng Feng. It''s quite reasonable for yers using Earth cards to take the path of defensive counterattack, so it''s natural that Lao Zheng makes cards whose HP are high. And we have many ways to deal with him. But the problem is seeing that Lao Zheng''s cards can survive for a long time, many yers imitated him, making cards with high HP. Having said that, there was a slight regret in his eyes, Neers who have just entered the professional league in recent years only follow the trend and imitate the set of ying cards of their predecessors, but they have never had their own ideas. But in the fifth season, many genius yers came to the fore, creating so many special styles. Shan Lan made his debut in the seventh season. While in the fifth season, he was only a little boy learning from his Shifu. Thinking about his past glory, he couldn''t help but yearn to go back to that period, "Arge number of outstanding people appeared in the fifth season, including Tang Muzhou who improved the Wood set of cards; also Fang Yu and Qiao Xi, who created apletely new way of ying Water cards and the creators of the Ghost cards, Spell cards and the Witchcraft cards, etc. The creative ideas of today''s yers are no match for that of the yers'' ideas from that time." Nie Yuandao said distantly, "Some of the newbies want a quick victory, so they simte and even copy other legends'' sets of ying cards directly, instead of creating their own original cards and ying styles. Tang Muzhou only wants to change the atmosphere of the league by putting forward the ''instant death'' proposal. In recent years, the game has be increasingly boring and the league needs some new gifted yers." Shan Lan said, "That''s why most experienced yers supported Legend Tang duringst season''s conference. Those who opposed Tang were newly raised yers from the most recent two years, having no distinctive styles. They fear that if the instant death cards are allowed to be used in the game, they will have no idea of how to deal with the situation once their trump cards are killed. However, a professional yer''s set of cards only provides a foundation for winning the game, he has to depend mostly on his reaction speed and adaptability. Shifu, you won''t be afraid of the instant death cards with your awareness." Nie Yuandao nodded, saying, "Yes. I''m interested in this card''s creator." Huan Yue, "" Who am I? Where am I? What should I say? The two legends discussed this as if there were no one else present. Huan Yue felt that he was a useless person being shut out of the dialogue at that moment. Luckily, Legend Lan was a thoughtful man, he noticed Huan Yue and changed the topic back, "President, my Shifu and I have been studying the instant death cards recently. Since Uncle Chubby can make instant death cards, his Inner Spirit is surely as high as ours." The database had a high requirement for the skills of an instant death card: they must conform tomon sense and be rted to the card itself. For example, instkilling Tang Muzhou''s ''trees'' by making a fish card casually was not allowed. This [Wu Song] was ingeniously designed because, theoretically speaking, if the man was strong enough, he could beat the tiger''s brains out. Shan Lan appreciated the design of this card''s skills, looking at Nie Yuandao and saying, "Shifu, should we invite Uncle Chubby?" Nie Yuandao stood up directly from the sofa, picking up his helmet and saying peacefully, "Uncle Chubby is absolutely a talent. Find him quickly, I want to meet him." Seeing that Nie Yuandao had turned around and was headed towards the game center, Shan Lan followed at once, saying, "Shifu, I''m going there too." Huan Yue followed the two legends, feeling worried and saying, "We''re looking for Uncle Chubby. We''ll find him as soon as possible!" *** Xie Mingzhe, who was concentrating on studying cards in the game, had never expected that due to their extremely strange skills, his [Wu Song] and [Lin Daiyu] cards, with their tiger and nt instant death effects, would get the attention of Nie Yuandao and Tang Muzhou, two big bosses in the star card league. More importantly, the two legends hade to find him in person. Chapter 17 Part1 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith After returning to his individual s.p.a.ce, Xie Mingzhe concentrated on studying the two seven-star cards that Brother Chen had given him. What puzzled him, was that the patterns on the back of these two seven-star cards were very gorgeous, but there was no embellishment on the front of these cards. There was only one G.o.ddess on [Storm G.o.ddess]; [Ice G.o.ddess] also had only one character without any background decorations like temples or churches. No background? Xie Mingzhe was stunned after noticing that - did he make cards the wrong way from the very beginning? Senior Brother Qi had said that the higher the card maker''s Inner Spirit, and the finer and more detailed the card, the stronger its strength. But "detailed" had referred to the delicacy of the main part on the card. For example, on a character card, the character''s clothes, appearance, and even the hair should be very detailed, so the hologram summoned would be more realistic C rather than depicting a bunch of shy backgrounds for characters! Xie Mingzhe, who had just understood this point, became enlightened all of a sudden. He quickly went to his study and picked up a piece of Neb paper. He closed his eyes , connecting his Inner Spirit to the World of Star Card. As he directed his Inner Spirit on depicting in his mind, a slim beauty wearing historical costume gradually appeared on the Neb paper C no green trees, rivers orwns; only Lin Daiyu. Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath and ended his imagination. Since the original author had card copyright, of course he could modify his card. After being modified, [Lin Daiyu]''s data had obviously improved C Attack and Defense didn''t changed much, while Agility raised from 1 to 15, and the skill description changed from 10% chance of triggering instant death effect on nt cards to 30% chance of triggering instant death effect on nt cards. It seemed that his thinking was right. Xie Mingzhe then re-created a [Wu Song]. He painted a more detailed muscr Wu Song, coloured his clothes, and made his facial features more strongly defined. This time the card data had also improved, and the chance of triggering instant death effect on tiger cards also increased to 30%. Xie Mingzhe was pondering over the cards when he heard the prompt sound, You got new emails, please check them out. Xie Mingzhe had heard the prompt sound several times since he entered his individual s.p.a.ce. He had thought they were all official advertising emails, so he ignored them for the time being. Now the sound appeared again and Xie Mingzhe, whose mind was interrupted, walked into the living room with some annoyance. He''s going to delete all unread mails. But as soon as he clicked the email icon on the LCD screen, he saw many emails from other yers. Shuang Shuang: h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby. I am a member of the Adjudication Club. We are very interested in the [Wu Song] that you made and want to buy in bulk. Please reply as soon as you see this email. Shuang Shuang: Is Uncle Chubby here? Please reply to me if you see this mail! Shuang Shuang: Uncle, Uncle Chubby! Please! We are waiting for you to reply! please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread More than a dozen emails in the mailbox were sent by Shuang Shuang. Xie Mingzhe soon remembered that she spent 140 gold coins to buy [Wu Song] in the ck market. She said that the Adjudication Club wanted to buy [Wu Song] in bulk? Would the club make a great deal with him? Xie Mingzhe replied to Shuang Shuang with light in his eyes, I''m so sorry. I just saw your email. You want to buy [Wu Song] in bulk, right? I just improved this card, and its data is better than before. In terms of price, if you buy more than ten [Wu Song] cards, I can give you a discount. Shuang Shuang almost burst into tears with excitement when she received Xie Mingzhe''s reply. She immediately contact Can Yang, "Vice president, Uncle Chubby finally replied to me!" Can Yang was thrilled to hear that, saying, "Ask him toe to our club base quickly." Shuang Shuang emailed back to Xie Mingzhe, "Uncle Chubby, You now have admission to our base, which you can transfer directly to using the gxy map. I''m waiting for you in our club." Walking to the gxy map, Xie Mingzhe found a small star highlighted in red as expected. It was the Adjudication Club''s territory. This small star hadn''t appeared on his gxy map before. Maybe it was because each club had its own territorial star that strangers couldn''t find or enter, unless they had been given admission. Xie Mingzhe arrived at the Adjudication Club''s territory. Once hended, he saw many tall buildings painted in red. The seven-story club building was standing right in front of him. Shuang Shuang met him at the entrance and took him to the office immediately, saying, "Uncle Chubby,e in. Several legends are waiting for you." Xie Mingzhe was somewhat nervous because it was his first big deal. He took a deep breath and put on a cheerful look before walking in. The office had arge s.p.a.ce with simple and neat decoration. A badge hung on the middle of the wall. A golden, sharp sword prated through the domineering word ''Adjudication'' that had a fire effect, which looked as if it was about to burn. The badge was so well designed that even if Xie Mingzhe didn''t know the club, he could tell from it that this club was powerful. Two grey-haired old men, whose IDs were 9876543 and 9877521, were sitting on the sofa. Can Yang and Huan Yue were standing beside them with the t.i.tles of ''Vice President of the Adjudication Club'' and ''President of the Adjudication Club'' above their heads respectively. Xie Mingzhe, "???" Both the president and the vice president were present, but why did these two old men attend the meeting? Xie Mingzhe wondered, but as a businessman, he said cordially with an amiable smile, "It''s good to see you. Shuang Shuang told me that your club wants to buy my [Wu Song] cards in arge number?" Looking at Uncle Chubby smiling in front of him, Huan Yue put aside his strange feeling and asked, "You are Uncle Chubby who creates [Wu Song]?" "Yes. The first [Wu Song] is not good enough, so I improved it. The [Wu Song] that I have just made is better than the one I sold to Shuang Shuang, do you want to have a look?" Since it was a business, if his card had good data, he could sell it at a higher price, so he gave his improved card to Huan Yue. Instead of looking at it himself, Huan Yue directly gave the card to one of the old men sitting on the sofa with respect. The old man looked at it and asked, "How many [Wu Song]s have you made?" Although they were old, they had a young voice. Their low tone sounded stable. Xie Mingzhe was stunned, saying, "You are?" Huan Yue introduced them on his own initiative, "They are Legend Nie and Legend Lan." The old man nodded towards him, saying, "h.e.l.lo, I''m Nie Yuandao, a professional yer in the Adjudication Club." The other old man said, "h.e.l.lo, I''m Legend Nie''s apprentice, Shan Lan, also a professional yer." Xie Mingzhe, "" Chapter 17 Part2 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith G.o.d! To Xie Mingzhe''s surprise, such powerful legends hade to meet him. When he was reborn in this world, he searched Star Card Storm while in the hospital, and read somements about these two legends. Nie Yuandao seemed to be as well-known as Tang Muzhou and had extensive poprity. Xie Mingzhe felt ttered by their personal presence, saying hurriedly, "It''s nice to meet you, legends." Shan Lan smiled and said with a soft voice, "Are you stunned by our images? These are our smurf ounts that we created casually. Thepet.i.tion is around the corner, so we''d better not log on to our main ounts." "Well, I see." Recovering from the shock, Xie Mingzhe found that Legend Lan had a very gentle voice. The disordered ID numbers and the image of bizarre old men showed that these ounts were surely their smurf ounts, but how could you create smurf ounts so casually that the images actually looked uglier than his Uncle Chubby''s. Nie Yuandao asked in a deep and steady voice again, "How many [Wu Song]s have you made?" "I sold one [Wu Song] to Shuang Shuang. I have ten new [Wu Song]s waiting to be sold." Xie Mingzhe answered. "That is to say, you have 11 cards?" Nie Yuandao paused and said, "I want to buy all your [Wu Song]s and its production copyright. Please give me your offer." "???" Xie Mingzhe looked nk. Seeing that ''Uncle Chubby'' was confused, Shan Lan exined softly, "If you transfer the copyright to Legend Nie, you won''t be allowed to make this card in the future, instead, Legend Nie will copy this card." Xie Mingzhe understood, scratching his head and asking, "How much money can I get?" Although he wouldn''t be allowed to make [Wu Song]s after transferring the copyright, he could ept it if the price was reasonable. All in all, he could make other cards and earn more through selling the copyright. Besides, selling cards one by one consumed too much energy and time. Having this in mind, Xie Mingzhe said, "Legend Nie, give me your offer for reference." Nie Yuandao said directly, "300,000 for the copyright. What do you think?" 10 game coins could exchange for 1 crystal coin, so 300,000 game coins could exchange for 30,000 crystal coins. He could live on this money for several years! Legend Nie was a big shot who wouldn''t lie about the price. Thinking of his 200 crystal coins in his bank card, Xie Mingzhe answered happily, "OK. Deal!" Looking at Huan Yue, Nie Yuandao said, "President, please pay him first, I''ll transfer the money to youter." Huan Yue nodded and sent him a transaction request directly. Xie Mingzhe saw Huan Yue swiftly typing 300,000 in the transaction column. Seven digits; 3,000,000? Xie Mingzhe was stunned, "Didn''t he say 300,000?" Huan Yue exined, The recent exchange rate between game currency and live currency is about 10:1. 300,000 that Legend Nie said is live currency, which is 3,000,000 when exchanged for game currency. Xie Mingzhe, The poor boy, with only 200 crystal coins in his bank card, suddenly saw so many 0s that he felt dazzled. Shan Lan thought this simple-minded fat uncle was very interesting. He smiled and asked, Uncle Chubby, don''t you understand the value of this card? Xie Mingzhe touched his nose with embarra.s.sment, To be honest, I just started ying this game a few days ago. I don''t know much about the card market. I previously went to the auction where Legend Tang''s [Tuberose] was sold for 660,000 gold coins. But the card''s Health and Defense are very high. Even if my card is upgraded to level 70, its Health and Defense will still be very low. Is the price provided by Legend Nie too high Although hecked money, he couldn''t take such huge sums of money without qualms. He had to figure things out first. Shan Lan exined patiently, No. The price of Tang Muzhou''s [Tuberose] is only for that single card, and the price we''re offering you is for the copyright buyout. Moreover, your card is not a general battle card, but a one-time function card. It seems that you don''t know that the instant death effect is a new skill that has only recently been added to the database. In every match, a yer can only bring one card with the instant death effect, which is highly focused in targeting certain cards and can instakill an opponent''s card unexpectedly to disrupt the opponent''s rhythm. This is a tactical card, so attributes like Health and Defense don''t matter; the key is its additional skill. Hearing his words, Xie Mingzhe was very shocked. He had thought that the cards he made and the instant death effect were verymon! He had deliberately visited the ck market to investigate the price before selling his cards. But it actually turned out that the two stall owners in the ck market didn''t know its value either? Looking at Uncle Chubby''s shocked face, Shan Lan continued to say softly, Uncle Chubby, my Shifu doesn''t wish to buy the copyright of this card for fear of it. His set of ying cards has dozens of beast cards, and [White Tiger] is just one of them. Even if someone else uses [Wu Song] to go against him, it doesn''t matter C our more important purpose is to make you aware of your talent and hire you as a professional card designer for the Adjudication Club. " Nie Yuandao was too serious and many people were afraid of him, so when a negotiation was needed, he usually handed the task over to his gentle apprentice. Hearing Shan Lan''s words, he interjected in a low voice, I have told our club high-level officials about your things. If you, Uncle Chubby, agree to ept our offer, you can work for the Adjudication Club starting next week, with a monthly sry of 20,000. Every time you design a strong card, the club will give you a high bonus. Xie Mingzhe, Happiness came too suddenly, and Xie Mingzhe felt like he was dreaming. Chapter 18 Part1 Trantor: Star River Proofreader: Rhith Xie Mingzhe was offered an olive branch. To ept it or not? He was excited and surprised. Legend Nie''s invitation to join the Adjudication Club represented that he was indeed gifted at creating cards, otherwise Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan, two professional yers, wouldn''t havee to see him in person or made him an offer of 300,000 crystal coins for his [Wu Song]''s copyright. However, Xie Mingzhe was not an eighteen-year-old boy having a simple mind. Even if he was offered preferential treatment, he wouldn''t ept it without consideration. Because of his two memories, he could remain calm when he was confronted with big events. Legend Lan''s words made him feel that he was aplete fool in the past, who went to sell his cards in the ck market because he didn''t know the market when he first entered the game. At present, people who knew the market offered him 300,000 for [Wu Song]''s copyright, only aiming at the [White Tiger]. What about [Lin Daiyu]? It was directed against the whole flower and nt cards. Even though Legend Nie offered him 20,000 crystal coins a month to be a card designer in the Adjudication Club and promised to give him a highmission if he created powerful cards, which already made the poor boy excited, Xie Mingzhe remained calm, saying with a smile, "I can sell the copyright to you, but I need some time to consider being a designer in your club." Can Yang, the vice president, said unhappily, "Uncle Chubby, Legend Nie invites you personally because he appreciates your talent. Our Adjudication Club is one of the best clubs in the Star Card League. Many designers have failed to get into our club, even if they tried their best." Being in a good mood, Xie Mingzhe said with a smile, "I know the Adjudication Club is influential, but this offer is so important that I can''t answer you hastily. I have to consider it carefully and consult with my family on it." Xie Mingzhe drew up an excuse, hoping to gain more time. Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan looked at each other. Shan Lan said softly, "Uncle Chubby, we cordially invite you to join our club. The copyright price we offered is much higher than the market price, you can investigate it if you don''t believe it. We will offer you a pleasant environment, good treatment, tasty meals and an apartment. In our club, all you need to do is focus on studying cards." Legend Lan''s advertis.e.m.e.nt was tempting, but Xie Mingzhe calmed down, saying, "Thank you, Legend Lan. I''ll consider it and reply to you as soon as possible." Staring at the smiling Uncle Chubby, Can Yang thought that he did not know how to appreciate their favor. Huan Yue, the president, was much calmer, saying, "Uncle Chubby, let''s add each other in the game, then you can follow Can Yang to go through the card transfer formality. Our territory will always be opened to you. You cane to us or send a private message to Can Yang and me as soon as you make your decision." "OK." Xie Mingzhe epted the friend requests of the president and the vice president, saying to Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan, "See you, two legends." Xie Mingzhe followed Can Yang and left the office. Huan Yue didn''te over until they were out of sight, saying, "Legend Nie, Uncle Chubby increased the instant death chance of [Wu Song] in such a short time, it seems that he has much greater potential." Nie Yuandao nodded, whispering, He is indeed a good seedling. We must invite him to join our club as soon as possible. I will go offline first. Keep me informed if there is any news. Shan Lan said, I also have to go. Goodbye, President. After seeing them off, Huan Yue immediately summoned several club managers to continue searching for other cards made by Uncle Chubby in the ck market, inch by inch. At the same time, he sent voice notes to Uncle Chubby, listing various benefits of joining the Adjudication Club in detail, which was even more considerate than the official advertising. Xie Mingzhe followed Can Yang to the Service Center on the Aquarius. The Service Center building had dozens of floors. yers having problems could get help here. Can Yang took him to the Minister of Card Copyright on the 16th floor. Xie Mingzhe connected to the database to verify his authorship, and then transferred the copyright of [Wu Song] to the Adjudication Club. After the transfer of the copyright, he could no longer make [Wu Song] cards, but it didn''t matter. [Wu Song]''s skill, only against tiger cards, had a limited application. He could still make [Lin Daiyu], which was against a wide range of flower cards. Carrying a huge sum of 3 million game currency in his pocket, Xie Mingzhe rushed to the Star Card Bank next to the Service Center. In front of the Star Card Bank counter, Xie Mingzhe politely asked the smart teller, h.e.l.lo, could you please tell me how to convert game currency into live currency? The smart teller replied, Today''s exchange rate is 10:1. You can set the price of the game currency you want to sell, put it in the gold coin purchase window, and bind your bank card information. If a yer purchases your game currency, your bank ount will automatically receive the transferred money. Was this the game''s built-in currency trading tform? Xie Mingzhe quickly entered his information C he nned to divide 3 million into 10 parts. In this way, his game currency would be sold out more easily. When he walked out of Star Card Bank, Xie Mingzhe, in a good mood, felt that the sky was bluer than before. At this time, he heard the prompt sound, A voice note from Huan Yue. Xie Mingzhe pressed the b.u.t.ton, listening to Huan Yue telling him a lot of benefits of joining the Adjudication Club, which apparently showed that he wanted to persuade Xie Mingzhe to join the club. But Xie Mingzhe didn''t want to make a decision so quickly, so he replied politely, Thank you, President Huan Yue. I will think about it seriously. Then he heard the prompt sound again, Dear yer, you have been online for more than five hours. Holographic game consumes yers'' Inner Spirit, so being online for a long time is not good for your health. Please arrange your game time properly and go offline to rest as soon as possible. The holographic game was connected to a yer''s five senses, so the yer would feel really tired. He went online at 6:30p.m after having lunch, and it was almost midnight now. Xie Mingzhe noticed that his headache was getting worse and worse, so he simply went offline immediately. As Xie Mingzhe rubbed his painful temple, a message popped up on his mobile phone, Respected user, you received a transfer of 30000 crystal coins from Star Card Bank. Current ount bnce 30200 crystal coins. Respected user, you received a transfer of 30000 crystal coins from Star Card Bank Respected user Ten consecutive messages from the bank! The final bnce became 300,200 crystal coins. Chapter 18 Part2 Xie Mingzhe couldn''t believe his eyes! He looked at the bnce of his bank card and rubbed his eyes. A poor boy, once having a deposit of only 200 in the bank, now became a little rich man with 300,200 crystal coins! This was the first sum he had earned after he''d been reborn in this world. He didn''t expect that the copyright fee of an original card would be worth so much. To be honest, ever since he was a child, this was the most money he had ever seen- 300,000! Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath, ran to the bathroom to wash his face, soon feeling refreshed. Just at this time, Pang Yu went offline and finished washing his face, too. Xie Mingzhe would live with Pang Yu in the future, so they walked together to their dormitory upstairs. Pang Yu was a natural socializer. After entering the room, he chatted with Xie Mingzhe, Xiao Xie, you look so young. You must be under 20? Yes, I''m just 18 years old this year. I''m taking part-time jobs during summer vacation to earn my living expenses. That''s great. You''re very self-motivated. Pang Yu made a thumbs-up sign. Well, Brother Yu. Do you know the Adjudication Club? What do you think about this club? Xie Mingzhe tried to pump Pang Yu for information. Adjudication? It''s a top-tier club. It''s one of the six giants of the Star Card League. Pang Yu enthusiastically introduced, The Adjudication Club mainly uses beast cards. Its most famous yer is Nie Yuandao who started his career ten years ago. He has the highest level of seniority in the league, so other yers respect him very much Why did you ask about the Adjudication Club? I saw the introduction of Nie Yuandao when I searched online about the Star Card game before, so I''m a little curious about him. Choosing a job was a big deal, so he must investigate it before he made a decision. Xie Mingzhe continued to ask Pang Yu, Brother Yu, do you know card designers? What is the prospect of this job? The chief card designer of a big club has an annual sry of millions, and general card designers of hundreds of thousands. Of course, this is a job that ordinary people dream of. Pang Yu said with an admiring look, However, once a person bes a card designer and signs on with a club, he won''t have the card copyright; it belongs to the club. Therefore, most original designers with high Inner Spirit will personally design cards to y. Only those who have low Inner Spirit, or whose age doesn''t allow them to partic.i.p.ate in a fiercepet.i.tion, will be a professional card designer. "!!!!" Hearing this, Xie Mingzhe was shocked. Fortunately he had been on the alert, not tempted by the benefits or indiscriminately agreeing to join the Adjudication Club. Once he became the card designer of Adjudication, copyrights of all cards he designed in the future were in the hands of the Adjudication Club. He preferred to be free to design and sell cards rather than to be tied to one tree. Xie Mingzhe had currently only sold one card''s copyright, but the first step was the most difficult. He had already sold one copyright, so naturally he could sell more. After [Wu Song]''s copyright was sold for a high price, Xie Mingzhe had a vague feeling C people in this world didn''t know Wu Song? He thought the card''s design was quitemon. Wasn''t it just the plot of Wu Song ying the Tiger in Water Margin? Why did Legend Lan appear to particrly appreciate him? Thinking of that, Xie Mingzhe couldn''t resist asking Pang Yu, "Brother Yu, have you ever read Water Margin(shu h)?" Pang Yu was stunned, saying, "Water tiger(shu h)? A tiger that can swim?" "" Xie Mingzhe wanted to weep andugh all at the same time. In order to confirm that people in this world didn''t know the characters within the Four Great .s.sical Novels of Chinese literature, he continued to ask, "Do you know Cao Cao, Liu Bei or Sun Quan?" Pang Yu was confused, saying, "Who are they?" Xie Mingzhe said, "What about Sun Wukong and Jia Baoyu?" Pang Yu smiled, saying, "No, I don''t know. They are your .s.smates? Their names are interesting." "" Xie Mingzhe''s heart started to beat rapidly. He was a fool! When he first went to sell his card at the ck market after painting ''Daiyu Burying the Flowers'', he should have detected that n.o.body knew Cousin Lin. Everyone only praised the card for its beautiful cover and style of painting, even the stall owner focused on its attributes rather than the delicate picture. At that time, he thought that his original cards were toomon amongst the numerous cards in the World of Star Card, so they didn''t sell well. Now he understood the cause. It was not because his cards were not powerful enough, but people didn''t know the characters he painted at all, they thought Lin Daiyu was just a crying girl. please support original trantion from w.a.n.gmamaread It was because Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan obviously didn''t know Wu Song that they thought his design was excellent and came to see him in person. It seemed that the cultural background of this world was totally different from that of China in the 21st century. Maybe the human beings had experienced something, so the brilliant civilization was destroyed. No wonder there was no Earth on the gxy map. At that time, he was confused about why people lived on Gemini rather than Earth if the ''sr system'' had been used as the backdrop of the game. Now it was 3001 on the star calendar, he couldn''t figure out how many centuries had pa.s.sed since 2018. In this world, had the five-thousand-years of Chinese civilization, and its brilliant culture, disappeared? Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath to slow down his rapid heartbeat. He perceived that he had made a big mistake C he had underestimated his potential as a card designer. He originally thought that he was just an ordinary yer who had no talent and could only makemon cards. He was foolish enough to sell [Lin Daiyu] and [Wu Song] at a low price in the ck market. However, now he realized that he had extremely precious wealth C the rich, treasure trove of knowledge that was as vast as the universe. He had sold [Wu Song]''s copyright for 300,000. But there were 108 heroes in Water Margin. [Lin Daiyu], whose skills were directed against a wider range of cards, would be sold for an even higher price. Besides, in Dream of the Red Chamber, there were there were another eleven beauties of Jinling that could be made into cards. Not to mention the characters in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, his favorite novel! Xie Mingzhe clenched his fists, feeling that he was reinvigorated. He loved reading novels, but he couldn''t write novels, so he couldn''t retell those stories in the novels. However, he could paint those fantastic stories onto his cards! Trantor''s Note: 1. In their dialogue above, Xie Mingzhe is talking about ˮ, but Pang Yu mistakes ˮ as ˮ, which literally means water tiger, because they have the same p.r.o.nunciation (shu h). However, ˮ (Water Margin) is one of the Four Great .s.sical Novels of Chinese literature. The story, set in the Song dynasty, tells of how a group of 108 ouws gather at Mount Liang (or Liangshan Marsh) to form a sizable army before they are eventually granted amnesty by the government and sent on campaigns to resist foreign invaders and suppress rebel forces. 2. Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a 14th-century historical novel attributed to Luo Guanzhong. It is set in the turbulent years towards the end of the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history, starting in 169 AD and ending with the reunification of thend in 280. The story - part historical, part legend, and part mythical - romanticises and dramatises the lives of feudal lords and their retainers, who tried to rece the dwindling Han Dynasty or restore it. While the novel follows hundreds of characters, the focus is mainly on the three power blocks that emerged from the remnants of the Han Dynasty, and would eventually form the three states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The novel deals with the plots, personal and military battles, intrigues, and struggles of these states to achieve dominance for almost 100 years. 3. Cao Cao, Liu Bei and Sun Quan are all important historical figures from the period of the Three Kingdoms in ancient China, AD 220 - 280. Cao Cao Liu Bei Sun Quan 4. Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a figure who features in a body of legends that can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. He appears as a main character in the 16th century Chinese .s.sical novel Journey to the West and is found in manyter stories and adaptations. In the novel, he is a monkey born from a stone who acquires supernatural powers through Taoist practices. After rebelling against heaven and being imprisoned under a mountain by Buddha, heter apanies the monk Tang Sanzang on a journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras from the West. Sun Wukong 5. Jia Baoyu is the princ.i.p.al character in the .s.sic Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. He was born with a magical piece of jade in his mouth. In this life he has a special bond with his sickly cousin Lin Daiyu, who shares his love of music and poetry. Baoyu, however, is predestined to marry another cousin, Xue Baochai, whose grace and intelligence exemplify an ideal woman, but with whom hecks an emotional connection. The romantic rivalry and friendship among the three characters against the backdrop of the family''s declining fortunes form the main story in the novel. Jia Baoyu Chapter 19 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Fenghua Club. Tang Muzhou returned to his dormitory and put on a helmet to enter into the World of Star Card. Two characters appeared in front of him. The first character ID was "Tang" whose facial features were very simr to Tang Muzhou''s. This character, wearing a silver mask, was created when he first entered the game six years ago. It earned him fame in the ck market, thus bing a yer who made his own cards in the professional league. The second character was the adult male character automatically provided by the system. It had amon face that could be seen everywhere in the game. He casually entered garbled characters "7456789" as the ID, which obviously indicated that this was a subsidiary ount. He had just used this sub ount to post a fragment collection task. Every time he created a new card, he would use this ount and go to the Arena to test the card''s data. Tang Muzhou selected the sub ount to enter the game and went to Business Star''s ck market. While Hong Zhu was setting up the stall, she turned her head and suddenly saw a pa.s.serby''s ID in the crowd. The number was particrly familiar to her. Hong Zhu immediately went over and sent a PM to the pa.s.serby, Legend Tang, you actually came here? Yes. Is there a clue about the card maker? "I''ve sent dozens of people to search the ck market inch by inch, but I still can''t find [Lin Daiyu]. And there is no ''°'' LOGO on the back of the other original cards. The maker seems to have suddenly disappeared" I''d help you look for the maker. Tang Muzhou turned and walked away. Making his debut in the ck market, he was very familiar with this ce. In the ck market, there were two types of stalls purchasing cards. The first were merchants who bought original cards and sold them for higher prices to make money. These stall owners were rtively professional, able to distinguish between good cards and junk cards. The second type were yers who set up their own stalls to buy cards at low prices for collection. They only cared whether the cards'' surface was beautiful. Some unambitious yers, who just collected cards for fun, never went to the Arena to fight against other yers and don''t like to study card data. They only liked to collect all kinds of beautiful cards and stuff their disy cases in the study, which made them feel very satisfied. If a professional stall owner bought a card with such a strong skill as [Daiyu Burying the Flowers], he would definitely sell it to the big clubs for a huge sum or take it to an auction. Since Hong Zhu and the others had been looking for [Lin Daiyu] for a long time without sess, perhaps some unambitious yers, who liked to collect character cards, bought it. These type of stall owners bought cards but didn''t upgrade them; they just put them in the disy case. When they were bored, they summoned the cards to view them. Tang Muzhou found that there were managers of big clubs, including the Adjudication Club and the Flowing Frost City Club, also searching for something in the ck market, picking up and putting down cards at various stalls. Sure enough, as Hong Zhu had said, the in-game ck market had be chaotic. Previously, he had sold a few excellent vine battle cards for low prices at the ck market due to not knowing the market price. Soon after, the ck market descended into chaos and many clubs began to look for him. After a long period of time, such a thing actually happened again C the card maker was really like him. Tang Muzhou turned around with a smile and leisurely strolled through the ck market. Hi, are there any collectable character cards? I''ll pay a high price. Tang Muzhou asked politely. Tang Muzhou bypa.s.sed therge stalls purchasing and selling battle cards. Instead, he specifically asked small stalls that sold cards which were collected by the stall owners themselves. He asked more than a dozen stalls consecutively, but gained nothing. Then he came to a very cute girl. When the girl heard his question, she said with a smile, I have two, but I don''t want to sell them. Tang Muzhou asked softly, I am very interested in character cards. Can you show me the cards you collected? Ehhh well. Perhaps because Tang Muzhou''s att.i.tude was so mild, the girl finally took out two character cards. As expected, they were [Lin Daiyu]. Tang Muzhou yed with the cards in his hand and said, I really like the style of these cards. Will you sell them to me for 500 gold coins each? These cards are really beautiful. I bought them for collection, so I don''t want to sell them. 1000 gold coins. She bought the two cards for 50 gold coins each, and now she could sell them for 1000 each C 20 times! The girl, realizing that she could make a lot of money, was very happy and immediately handed the cards over to Tang Muzhou, Okay, they are yours! "Thank you." Tang Muzhou took the cards and pretended to be curious, asking, "Do you remember the name of the person who sold the cards to you?" Yes, he has a very kind name, Uncle Chubby. Uncle Chubby? No wonder the LOGO was °롱. Was the yer a fat uncle? Tang Muzhou said goodbye to the girl, and then returned to the stall set up by Hong Zhu. He sent a PM, I bought two [Lin Daiyu] cards from a girl who bought them for collection. Also, the girl told me that the card maker''s name is Uncle Chubby. Hong Zhu was stunned. She had been searching for the card maker''s information for an entire afternoon yet failed, while Legend Tang even got the card maker''s name as soon as he stepped in personally. As expected of Tang Muzhou who rose from the ck market! Tang Muzhou continued to send her PMs, Send an email to Uncle Chubby as soon as possible. Just tell him that we want to acquire [Lin Daiyu] inrge quant.i.ties. In addition, pay close attention to the Auction House. If Uncle Chubby makes a new card, maybe he will sell it at the auction." Okay Legend Tang, aren''t you going to sleep? I''ll go to the Arena first. Tang Muzhou always felt sleepy in the afternoon, but at night he was full of energy. Busy with sending an email to Uncle Chubby, Hong Zhu didn''t try to persuade him to go to sleep. Chapter 19 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith At the same time, Xie Mingzhe was sound asleep, lying on the bed. He had a sweet dream where he made a number of the best character cards and became the most popr card maker in the World of Star Card. His cards were sold for high prices at the Auction House, countless people screaming excitedly around him. The screams in the auction were so deafening that he couldn''t hear the exact words at first, but then he heard clearly C Legend Chubby! Legend Chubby! Legend Chubby Legend Chubby Legend Chubby! Xie Mingzhe woke with a start. He touched his skinny body, regretting that he gave himself the name Uncle Chubby. If he became famous in the future, would his fans call him Legend Chubby like in the dream? Fortunately, there were also beautiful scenes in the dream, such as his cards being very popr. He would work hard for this goal. Now he had 300,000 in his ount, so the sry he got for being a booster was nothing to him C he could quit the job, and then sell cards to get rich. But Xie Mingzhe didn''t want to do this. In his toughest time, Brother Chen helped him, not to mention that since he signed the work contract, he should keep his word. At least this month, he would continue to work and wait for the girl who took marriage leave toe back. Today was Sat.u.r.day, and all members in the studio got online together. They made up a team, going to instances on Venus. They sessively farmed the instances of five different Ziyuan Stars C Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth. This time Xie Mingzhe enriched his experience, and the settings of the creatures, based on the Five Elements, also gave him a lot of inspiration. After a day''s work, Xie Mingzhe immediately went offline in order to avoid a headache C he had to strike a bnce between work and rest, give himself some time to think. He opened his oldptop and signed into Star Card Storm''s official website. The official website''s homepage was so gorgeous that when he clicked in, he felt like he was entering a realistic universe. He entered the bulletin board C thetest news was all about the new season of the professional league and various activities, covering a whole page. He turned a few pages forward and saw a news t.i.tle in bold that read Star Card Storm Annual Update Announcement. The news was released on July 25th, just a week ago. Xie Mingzhe quickly swept through the announcement and captured key information about the instant death skill. First of all, although the instant death effect had been added to the skill database, the official requirement for making IDE (instant death effect) cards were very strict C the card''s image and its skill must be united; the card could only have one instant death skill; it could only be targeted at cards of a small category; its own Defense should be very low, so when it instkilled an enemy''s card, it would also be instkilled. Secondly, yers in the Arena could only use one IDE card as a tactical card to make a sessful surprise raid. Xie Mingzhe nowpletely understood why [Lin Daiyu] only had 15 points of Defense. Because [Lin Daiyu]''s skill was too strong, its Defense must be low. And so was [Wu Song]. Since it had the instant death effect, its attributes, such as Attack and Defense, were third-rate. When Xie Mingzhe made these two cards, his Inner Spirit was highly focused on the character''s actions of burying the flowers and ying the tiger. These two cards fit perfectly into the official database setting, so they happened to have an instant death effect. After figuring this out, Xie Mingzhe continued to search for information about the professional league. Pang Yu said that the Adjudication Club was one of the six giants in the league. Xie Mingzhe wanted to know the Adjudication Club''s real strength. In recent years, many clubs had appeared due to therge number of professional card yers. Among them, Fenghua, Adjudication, Capital of Darkness, Flowing Frost City, Pantheon and Ghost h.e.l.l were the six strongest clubs that had been established for the longest time. Having quite a lot of fans, they were the six giants mentioned by Pang Yu. These six clubs, with the support ofrge consortia behind them, had trained countless outstanding yers. They were top-tier clubs in the professional league, and there were countless other second- and third-tier clubs. President Huan Yue did not lie to him. The Adjudication Club was indeed a very powerful club. Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan were legendary yers at the top of the league''s pyramid. Especially Nie Yuandao, he had been a yer since the first season almost ten years ago. Now other legendary yers even have to call him "qianbei" when meeting him. Most people would likely ept if a top club offered them an olive branch. Xie Mingzhe had also wanted to agree at the beginning, but in the end his rationality overcame the impulse. He once was a poor guy who only had 200 deposited in his ount before he sold the copyright of [Wu Song]. Of course he liked money, but he was not a short-sighted man - his imagination was the most valuable thing he had. The experience of rebirth was his "priceless treasure". Joining a club to be a card designer and handing over all the card copyrights to the club? Only fools would agree! He preferred being a free card designer who could create whatever cards he liked without being controlled by any clubs. He would not sell the copyrights anymore and only sell the cards. [Wu Song], used only against tigers, was sold for 300,000 as the copyright price. [Lin Daiyu] was targeted at a wider range C flower cards. Even if he did not sell the copyright and only sold [Lin Daiyu] cards, a [Lin Daiyu] could certainly be sold for a high price. It was a big mistake for him to sell [Lin Daiyu] at the ck market for a low price. He should take [Lin Daiyu] to another high-end ce. Auction House Trantor''s Note: 1. qianbeiǰ: This word is used to describe an informal hierarchical interpersonal rtionship found in organizations, schools and so on Wee to join our discord! https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 20 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Xie Mingzhe got up at 7:00am the next morning, logging into the game before the other boosters got up. After entering the game, he went directly to the study and made thetest version of [Lin Daiyu] before testing the waters by selling at auction. There weren''t many yers online in the morning, even the square on Aquarius was empty. Walking into the auction house, Xie Mingzhe found the management center on the second floor. The arrangement of the center was simr to that of the business hall in the bank. There were more than a dozen service windows, and at each of them there was a girl sitting in a professional suit. Within the game, they were considered to be smart NPCs, providing relevant service to the yers. There were several yers who got up early, conducting business at the windows. Xie Mingzhe went to a free window and sat down just like the others did, the girl NPC smiling immediately, saying, "h.e.l.lo, what can I do for you?" "I want to sell this card by auction, what do I need to do?" Xie Mingzhe handed his [Lin Daiyu] to the girl. The NPC showed him a form on the screen, saying, "Please read the auction procedures carefully. You can ask me if you have any questions." The auction procedure: The yer needs to put his/her products or stores in the trust of the auction center and set the starting price and the minimum purchase price;If the products or stores are approved, they will be put into the queue, waiting to be auctioned. The system will send a notification of the auction time;If the products or stores are sold, the auction house will take 10% of the purchase price as a processing fee. During the trusteeship period, the auction house will take 500 gold everyday as the management fee. Xie Mingzhe understood the procedures, except for the second one. He was confused, thinking aloud, "Why do the products need to wait in queue to be sold?" "Because there are too many yers selling their products and stores by auction; the time and number of products and stores to be sold are limited in each auction." Xie Mingzhe nodded, saying, "OK. How long do I have to wait?" "For cards, you will have to wait for about three days." Xie Mingzhe continued to ask, "Are there any reference ranges for price setting?" The NPC replied, "Your card is a one-star card. The reference range of the starting price of a one-star card is 100-500 gold, and the reference range of the minimum purchase price of a one-star cardst week was 1000-5000 gold. You can set your ideal starting price and minimum purchase price." Thinking about it for a while, Xie Mingzhe typed the price into the transparent box in front of him: Starting price: 3000 gold, the minimum purchase price: 30,000 gold. The NPC warned him, "The starting price is much higher than the purchase price of a one-star card in the system, your card may go unsold. Are you sure?" Xie Mingzhe pressed the confirm b.u.t.ton without hesitation. It didn''t matter. He just wanted to know how much he could earn if he sold the card alone. Now that he knew that the cultural background of this world was different from that of Earth, and the instant death skill effects had been added to the database not long ago, he was sure that this [Lin Daiyu] card would be sold at a high price. If this card sold well, he would make dozens of the same cards and open a store. Opening a store had been his wish since the first time he saw the Auction House selling shops. His wish would soon be fulfilled. Xie Mingzhe quicklypleted the form and submitted the card. Please wait for the system to review After a while, a line appeared on the LCD screen in front of Xie Mingzhe, "The card [Lin Daiyu] you entrusted to the Auction House has pa.s.sed the review and has joined the action queue. The card is expected to be auctioned on August 8th, 8:00pm. Please confirm. After pressing the "Yes" b.u.t.ton, Xie Mingzhe happily went offline. Brother Chen just came down the stairs when he saw Xie Mingzhe taking off his helmet. He wondered, Xiao Xie, why did you enter the game so early? Xie Mingzhe smiled, saying, I wanted to study the game. I''ve just started ying, so there are still many things that I don''t understand. Brother Chen came over and patted his shoulder, encouraging him, Don''t worry. It''s awesome of you to catch up with the others in just a few days. Many people find it difficult to control the seven-star cards, but you manipte [Storm G.o.ddess] and [Ice G.o.ddess] easily. Xie Mingzhe was stunned, Is it difficult to control the seven-star cards? He thought it was cool to use the seven-star cards because their skills were urate and flexible. He thought everyone had the same feeling. Brother Chen smiled and lit a cigarette, saying, That is the difference between a professional yer and a normal yer. This game has a high demand for the Inner Spirit. The seven-star cards are difficult to control, especially in thepet.i.tion where yers need to control a lot of cards and their thoughts will be in a whirl. Since you can already easily control seven-star cards, when you''re familiar with the game you can try topete with others in the Arena or some local leagues. Are you interested? " Xie Mingzhe scratched the back of his head, he didn''t know if Brother Chen had said this intentionally or not, so he answered, "Let''s talk about itter. I will provide good boosting services first By the way, when will the girl who asked for leave to get married be back? She will be back after her honeymoon, Brother Chen said. She will definitely be back before you start school. OK. Both Xie Mingzhe''s and Brother Chen''s ns wouldn''t be dyed. Xie Mingzhe was ready to resign this month and let the girl make up for his vacancy. At this time, Chi Qing, Pang Yu and Jin Yue also came downstairs. Everyone had breakfast together. At 8:00am, they logged into the game and went directly to clear the instance with Brother Chen. Wee to join our discord! https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 20 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Over the next several days, Xie Mingzhe cleared instances and acquired materials with the other boosters in the studio. He also thought about how he was going to make cards once he was free. The instant death effect was just one type of skill in the skill database; maybe he could try to make other kinds of cards. He devised a production n for other cards, like Sun Quan, Liu Bei, Cao Cao and other characters in The Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Also Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Tang Seng and other characters in Journey to the West. He believed that noting the n into the calendar would motivate him. Xie Mingzhe thought about it optimistically. He was patient when it came to producing cards since he could make numerous character cards. At present, he decided to wait for the result of the Auction House and see if he had the right idea. If [Lin Daiyu] was sold for a high price, he would be well-known as an original character card designer. When everyone knew ''Chubby'', he would open a ''Chubby Card Store'' which would surely attract lots of customers. The economic base determines the superstructure. Whether he was going to be a frence designer or a professional yer, money was a must for him. Right now he needed to .u.mte funds and take one step at a time, then he would open a store in the near future. *** Three days went by. As for Xie Mingzhe, he had three quiet days, but he really enjoyed these days. He cleared instances and made [Lin Daiyu] everyday. Sometimes Brother Chen treated everyone to a good meal. However, Hong Zhu and Huan Yue found these days really tough. Because the data retrieved from the system showed that the volume of cards made by ''Chubby'' had been increasing, but they didn''t find his cards in the ck market anymore. Hong Zhu worried that ''Chubby'' would make a collection of [Lin Daiyu] and sell them to major clubs, while Huan Yue was afraid that he wouldn''t join the Adjudication Club if he knew the truth of his gift for making cards. There were no replies to their emails at all. Because Xie Mingzhe hadn''t gotten into the habit of checking emails regrly, and in order to protect the countless yers from advertis.e.m.e.nts, strangers were not allowed to send private messages, both voice and text, in the game before they became friends. They could only send emails. Everyday, as soon as he logged into the game, he went to clear instances with Brother Chen, however clearing instances made him exhausted every time. When he returned to his personal s.p.a.ce, he would go directly to create cards in his study, so he had no time to check emails. He rarely went to the living room. Besides, he had turned down the voice prompt in the living room because he thought it was too noisy, and he hadn''t noticed the blinking icon of new emails. *** Wednesday evening. After having supper, Xie Mingzhe logged into the game without taking a rest. The night instance opened at 9:00pm, so he had an hour of free time. He went directly to the Auction House, hoping to see in person if his [Lin Daiyu] had sold. A young man, whose ID was a string of garbled characters, sat in the corner of the Auction House. He had amon face automatically provided by the system. Xie Mingzhe naturally wouldn''t notice this person. It was prime time at night and there were no empty seats left on the fifth floor of the Auction House. Xie Mingzhe sat in the crowd, his eyes fixed on the LCD screen in front of him. The door of the Auction House was closed at 8:00pm, the lights extinguished. The NPC auctioneer walked to the middle of the stage, saying with a smile, Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Tonight''s auction is about to begin. First, let''s check the auction list The screen showed a list of cards C a level 70 seven-star card, two level 50 five-star cards, and three level 40 four-star cards. There was also a level 1 one-star card. Seeing this list, the audience were surprised. Some whispers came from the crowd, How can there be a level 1 card? The card maker is sozy. Why not upgrade the card first and then sell it? Garbage level 1 cards should be on sale at the ck market rather than the Auction House. "Maybe it''s a legendary card with perfect attributes, so it''s in the auction." "Isn''t it quite unlikely to sell a legendary card?" The host interrupted everyone''s discussion, This level 1 one-star card will be auctioned next! The author of this card is a neer who has brought his card to be auctioned for the first time. His LOGO is very special, you can look at the back of the card. The back of the one-star card did not have any decorative patterns, simple and monotonous. Therefore, the LOGO in the lower right corner was particrly clear. The audience were so confused C what the h.e.l.l was with the name? Didn''t the two characters mean "fat" when they werebined? Sitting in the corner, Tang Muzhou raised the corner of his mouth slightly C after waiting for so long, you finally appeared, Uncle Chubby! Seeing this LOGO, the card expert from the Adjudication Club immediately sent a PM to Huan Yue, President, a card with the ° LOGO has appeared at the auction!! Huan Yue replied decisively, No matter how much it costs, we must buy this card! The Fenghua Club also received a message, Sister Hong Zhu, we found a card with the ° LOGO at the auction. What should we do? Hong Zhu quickly replied, Legend Tang is also at the auction using his subsidiary ount. Just keep watching and don''t cause trouble for him! She was very upset. This fat uncle took [Lin Daiyu] to the Auction House? Sister Xue, who had made an inauspicious remark, was right? Chapter 21 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith The attributes of the cards sold at the auction were generally good. The Auction House charged a management fee of 500 gold coins per day, and a card usually had to queue up for at least three days. If the card could not be sold for a good price the yer may fail to make money, or even lose money. So a yer who brought a garbage card to be auctioned was definitely a neer who didn''t know about the card market. Therefore, when seeing °롱, a neer''s LOGO they had never heard about, most of the audience didn''t think highly of him. They were not interested in this card; they just wanted the host to hurry through the process and then start presenting the other more precious seven-star cards. The host continued with a smile, Next, please take a look at the data of this card! On everyone''s screen, the card was flipped On the front of the card was a beauty in a long dress who was a slim girl with fine features. She looked extremely weak, making everyone feel worried about her. Tears in her watery eyes, she strewed pink petals over the ground. What a beauty of exceptional quality! Many casual yers had their eyes light up. This character card''s image had its own style. If the price was eptable, they could buy this card for collection. But most of the yers who love the Arena still kept their focus on the card''s attributes and skills after admiring the girl''s beauty. Lin Daiyu (Wood) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 100, Attack 0, Defense 15, Agility 15, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Daiyu Burying Blossoms (To inflict huge damage on flower cards, 30% chance of triggering instant death effect) Daiyu Burying the Flowers? The audience was a little bit stunned, staring at the card C its skill was to inflict an effect on flower cards, so it could only be used in the Arena, useless for farming instances. Instant death effect? They had never seen such a skill description. However, card experts at the Auction House from all different clubs were very excited after seeing this card. They quickly told their own Presidents, Boss, a legendary card has appeared in the Auction House. Instant death effect against flower cards! "President, someone is selling an IDE card targeting flower cards in the Auction House! The card maker must be Tang Muzhou''s enemy! Boss, what should we do? An IDE card focusing flower cards is on auction! Tang Muzhou, Uncle Chubby, you''re so unfriendly. Not only did you not reply to our mail, but you also put [Lin Daiyu] up for auction? The news was quickly pa.s.sed to professional yers via all the club presidents. National Star Card League professional yer chat group Zheng Feng: Hahaha, please allow me tough for a while. Legend Tang proposed to add the instant death effect to the database, but he didn''t expect someone to make an IDE card to go against him! Qiao Xi: Poor Legend Tang. Should we go to the Auction House topete for this card? Ling Jingtang: Now I just want to use aughing face to express my feelings. Ye Zhu: Hahahahahahaha, I can''t stopughing! Shen An: Don''tugh at my Shifu! Be careful that you are also targeted as retribution! *** The host said at the auction, "The starting price of this card is 3000 gold!" Hearing that, part of the audienceined silently, "Is this card''s creator crazy? The starting price of a one-star card is usually about 500 gold, right?" "It''s so expensive, how much will I have to spend on this card if I want to level it up to seven stars?" "Is this creatorcent about his card?" However, those who knew its value remained silent, getting ready to snap it up by putting their fingers on the bidding b.u.t.ton. As soon as the host announced the start of the auction, the card''s price on therge screen skyrocketed continuously. 350038004000 In less than a minute, its price had risen to 5000 gold. However, the card''s price hit its bottleneck. yers who paid close attention to card prices in the auction house knew that most of the low-grade cards that could sell at such a high price were valuable. Because of its high price and the huge materials it would consume in leveling it up to seven stars, the rich preferred to buy seven-star cards directly. As for the middle .s.s yers in the game, they would consider whether they needed such cards or not before buying them. It seemed that they didn''t need such a card. yers who were about to bid for this card stopped. The host said, "5000 gold once, 5000 gold twice" Xie Mingzhe waited patiently in the crowd, he knew his [Lin Daiyu] could be sold at a higher price. Didn''t the yers whopeted with others in the Arena want an IDE card? Or is it that many yers hadn''t understood its skills because it was its first appearance? The host said, "5000 gold the third" Before he finished speaking, a number appeared on everyone''s screen. 10,000. 10,000 gold! Its price had doubled! The audience were stunned. A rich yer pressed the wrong b.u.t.ton? The smart host responded well to the situation, saying immediately ording to his set procedures, "The price now is 10,000 gold, would anyone else like to ce a bid?" 20,000. Someone bid quadruple the price for this card! It was not until now that the casual yers, who knew little about battle cards, realized that this card was indeed precious. However, those who knew battle cards realized that the card experts sent here by major clubs had started bidding against each other. As expected, the card''s price rose again! 30,000! 40,000! 50,000! 60,000! 100,000! The price stopped at 100,000 gold. Although Star Card Storm had been in operation for years, only Tang Muzhou''s one-star vine card sold at 100,000 gold five years ago. Before Tang Muzhou''s appearance, there were no such vine cards amongst the nt-type cards. In other words, he created a fighting build using vines. It was his future mentor who bought his vine card at the auction, which was a story acknowledged and pa.s.sed on by yers. Of course, prices now were much higher than they had been five years ago. For example, 100,000 gold at that time was equivalent to more than 300,000 gold now. Before Tang Muzhou sold his vine card at auction, he had be well-known in the ck market and had lots of fans. However, could ''Chubby'', who hadn''t showed up in public and hade to the auction for the first time, also sell his IDE card, which had the skill of [Daiyu Burying the Flowers] and a slim beauty on it, at 100,000 gold? Was this the appearance of a second genius? Wee to join our discord! https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 21 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith The whole audience widened their eyes, staring at the screen. All the buyers from the different clubs were on the verge of a breakdown. They sent PMs to their presidents, "There are countless yerspeting for this card! The price for this level 1 card has risen to 100,000!" "Are members of the Fenghua Club present? Maybe they are bidding crazily for this card because they are afraid that someone will use this card against Legend Tang." "Should we keep bidding until the end?" "President, please tell me whether I need to continue to bid?" In fact, not only was Tang Muzhou present, but the Adjudication Club followed President Huan Yue''s instruction C get the card no matter what. During the short period when the buyers were talking to their presidents, the bid was raised to 120,000. Every president quickly sent instructions, We don''tck for funds, just bid for it! If possible, try your best to buy it for a price within 500,000! But some calm presidents said, This is the author''s first card to be auctioned. He will definitely sell [Lin Daiyu] in bulk in the future, so there is no need to be a spendthrift. Let''s just wait and see. The bid was like a sports car revving at full throttle, racing ahead. 150,000! 180,000! 200,000! 250,000! The audience''s jaws dropped in amazement. How many people were bidding for this card?! 300,000! Seeing the price, the Adjudication Club''s buyer became terrified. He sent a voice message to the president, his voice trembling, Boss, I guess Fenghua Club is determined to take this card. Are we really going to bid against them? This price is too high! Huan Yue frowned and contemted. Certainly big clubs like the Adjudication Club could afford this price easily. But this way, Uncle Chubby would realize that the cards he made could be sold for a high price. Then what if he didn''t want to join the Adjudication Club to be a card designer? He was really stupid! Why did he help Uncle Chubby raise the bid??? Thinking of this, Huan Yue immediately replied, Stop! The Adjudication Club stopped, but there were some clubs that hadn''t caught on. They just wanted to get this IDE card against Tang Muzhou. 350,000! 400,000! The auction had ignited all the yers'' pa.s.sion, many of them videoing the auction to do a live broadcast. Manyizens who didn''t enter the Auction House were watching live broadcasts to witness the historic moment of a one-star card''s price beating the record! Buyers from each club got the w.i.l.l.i.e.s, and the presidents were also not sure about the situation. Was someone maliciously raising the bid? Normally the price wouldn''t be so high! Five years ago, Tang Muzhou''s one-star card was auctioned for 100,000. At that time, the exchange rate between game currency and live currency was 3:1, so 100,000 at that time was equivalent to more than 300,000 gold coins now. ording to the market, 300,000 gold had been the highest price for a one-star card, no matter how powerful it was, because the buyer needed to spend a lot on leveling it up to seven starster. Was it necessary to bid such a high price for this IDE card, even if it had appeared for the first time? What if its creator sold other [Lin Daiyu]s by auction tomorrow? If the creator sold [Lin Daiyu]s in bulk after selling this card at such a high price, would the buyer waste lots of money on it? All the presidents were hesitating. However, Tang Muzhou was an exception. He squinted slightly and continued to press the bid b.u.t.ton. A number suddenly appeared on the screen. 660,000. The number showed the bidder''s confidence, as if he was saying, "I will get this card, no matter how much you raise it." Even Xie Mingzhe was stunned by such an ''ambitious'' number. Which rich yer offered such a high price? The auction house became quiet suddenly, only the host''s voice could be heard, "660,000 once, 660,000 twice, 660,000 the third time. Sold!" As the hammer fell, Xie Mingzhe, waiting in the auction house, grinned from ear to ear. He had made a great fortune! To his surprise, this card was sold at 660,000 gold. He had expected major clubs to bid against each other for this card, since it was the first IDE card, but he had thought that 200,000 gold should have been its highest price, because it was only a one-star card after all and what he sold was this card, not its copyright. He could make many [Lin Daiyu]s in the future. It was horrible that this one-star card was sold at 660,000 gold. The major clubs had gone too far in bidding for this card? The auction continued, but Xie Mingzhe hadn''t been in the mood to pay attention to the other cards. He waited excitedly for the auction to end. Luckily, there weren''t any cards made by particrly famous designers in today''s auction, so Xie Mingzhe''s card sold for the highest price out of all the cards. The auction ended at 8:20pm. Xie Mingzhe excitedly went to the NPC in the office of the auction house, trying to withdraw his gold. However, the NPC told him, "The buyer of [Lin Daiyu] left a message for you, please read it." "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby. I''ve paid the 10% percentage for you. I want to buy your [Lin Daiyu]s in bulk. If you want to see me, pleasee to Qianlin Restaurant, north of the Central za in Peac.o.c.k gxy. I''ll be waiting for you there." "" Xie Mingzhe read the message with surprise. In order to avoid disputes, the auction house wouldn''t divulge the buyer''s or the seller''s personal information. After closing the deal, the buyer and the seller could leave messages for each other via NPC. Why did this man know his name ''Uncle Chubby''? It was impossible for him to deduce ''Uncle Chubby'' from his LOGO. Had this man known him for a long time? Xie Mingzhe was puzzled. He had never expected Tang Muzhou to be the buyer! In order to see Xie Mingzhe''s appearance at the auction, Tang Muzhou hade to all the auctions personally thesest three days. Wee to join our discord! https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 22 – An Unknown Guru Chapter 22 C An Unknown Guru Trantor: Star River from Proofreader: Rhith The 660,000 gold that Xie Mingzhe had withdrawn from the Auction House was equivalent to 66,000 crystal coins, which was a great fortune for him. This time, however, he didnt hasten to exchange game coins for crystal coins, instead, for the time being, he kept that amount of game coins as reserve funds for future stores because he already had 300,000 crystal coins in his bank ount. After returning to his personal space, Xie Mingzhe arranged the cards in his card disy case. The ten neat cards were a joy to behold. He knew clearly that future [Lin Daiyu]s wouldnt be sold at such a high price. It was only because his [Lin Daiyu] had appeared at auction for the first time and that the card experts belonging to various clubs, including that confident rich yer, had raised the price whilst bidding against each other that it was sold at such a horrifying price. If he sold [Lin Daiyu]s in bulk, its price would fall. Selling cards at auction was his first step to establish a good reputation in the game. He wouldnt sell other [Lin Daiyu]s at auction where a yer was only allowed to sell one card a day and his/her card had to queue up for at least three days before it was auctioned, because it would be a waste of time if did that. He nned to open a card store. Xie Mingzhe decided to go to the Auction House and see if he could rent a store tomorrow afternoon. At this moment, he heard the prompt sound, Youve received a voice message from Can Yang. In his voice message, Can Yang, the vice president, said urgently, Uncle Chubby, have you considered Legend Nies invitation to join the Adjudication Club? Weve been waiting for your reply eagerly for four days. I somewhat envy your future fantastic job. Come on, Uncle Chubby, were all looking forward to you joining our club! It was obvious that Can Yang had been eager to receive Xie Mingzhes reply because he spoke so fast. However, Xie Mingzhe replied politely, Sorry, Vice President. I have something important to do now, so I wont join the Adjudication Club in the near future. Just after he sent the message, Xie Mingzhe heard the prompt sound, Youve received a voice message from Huan Yue. Then he heard President Huan Yues calm voice, Hello, Uncle Chubby. After our deliberation, we agreed that if you join the Adjudication Club, our boss will raise your monthly sry to 50,000, the same as an official card designers. Every time you design a battle card that can be used inpetitions, you can get at least 50,000mission, and there will be a club bonus payment at the end of every month and year. In this way, your annual sry will certainly be more than a million. I hope you can seriously consider it. Xie Mingzhe, Annual sry of more than a million C the Adjudication Club provided him with such good benefits that he could not help but feel like agreeing. He had never dreamed that one day he could have so much ie. But it was nothing more than an increase in ie. Huan Yue never mentioned the key issue of card copyright. Xie Mingzhe quickly controlled his excitement and replied, President, the treatment youre willing to provide is really good, but for some practical reasons, I dont want to join a club as a card designer. I appreciate your kindness, please pass my thanks on to Legend Nie and Legend Lan. Can Yang, who received the message, frowned, He doesnt want to join the Adjudication Club. Is it because other clubs have invited him? Huan Yue took a deep breath and calmly analyzed, I dont think so. The Adjudication Club should be the first to invite him. The Fenghua Club must have not had time to take action, otherwise [Lin Daiyu] wouldnt have appeared in the auction. I have a premonition that Uncle Chubby is smart enough to realize his talent, so he doesnt want to join any club. Instead, he wants to be a free card designer and sell cards to get rich! Free card designer? Can Yang looked weird, I didnt expect this fat uncle to be popr! Have you seen the forum post about the auction? It tops all other posts, hitting the headlines. Now everyone knows a card designer making IDE cards with the ° LOGO! Hepletely misjudged Uncle Chubby! At first he had thought that with the name °롱, he would definitely not be popr. Now it turns out that he had be popr even faster than Tang Muzhou! In Star Card Forum, a post headlined An IDE Card Made By A New Card Designer ° Was Sold For 660,000 At Auction! was highlighted in red. Its replies quickly exceeded ten digits, so the post rose to the very top, attracting arge number of yers. Breaking the record, amazing! Who is this person? I havent heard of this card maker. A neer of great potential? Doesnt ° mean fat? Is this a fat guy? Leaving myment here before the post goes viral. Fatty, I support you! 660,000 for a level 1 card. This is even higher than Legend Tangs vine card! 666! In the blink of an eye, this post was repeatedly forwarded. All the clubs knew about it and then investigated who this °롱 was. The Adjudication Club and the Fenghua Club, knowing the answer, were extremely quiet. Xie Mingzhe didnt know what was happening in the forum. After replying to President Huan Yue, he directly went to the Peacock gxy to see the rich yer who had bought [Lin Daiyu] for 660,000 gold. The Peacock gxy was the entertainment area within the game and he was visiting for the first time. It was just like the bustling metropolis in the real world. At 8:30pm, lights lit up the street. In the bright light, various bars, restaurants and cinemas were a feast for the eyes. Just like what the buyers message had said, he found the Qianlin Restaurant next to the central square. Qianlin Restaurants appearance was very stylish. There was a delicate musical fountain in front of the restaurant. As soon as he entered through the door, Xie Mingzhe saw the restaurant ceiling entwined with countless green vines which hung down and almost touched peoples heads. Inside there were many ornamental nts withrge green leaves and flowers, decorating the restaurant like a garden. The waiter at the door saw him and said with a smile, Uncle Chubby, here please. Our boss is waiting for you on the second floor. Following the waiter, Xie Mingzhe went to the second floor and found it spacious. Through the window that upied a whole wall, he could see the bustling night scene outside. The ceiling lights were covered by green leaves and shone warmly. There were several wooden tables andfortable sofas in the room. The dining room had been elegantly designed and decorated, which made it look more like a private club. The waiter said respectfully, Boss, your guest has arrived. Looking in the direction of the waiters eyes, Xie Mingzhe saw a tall man standing by the window in casual clothes. Xie Mingzhe saw his face when the man swivelled his head. The man looked quite ordinary. Obviously, this rich yer hadnt felt like changing his appearance and had directly chosen the systems own No.1 character design when he established the role. He had named this character 7456789, which was quite casual. There were many yers choosing the systems preset designs in the game, but this ID reminded Xie Mingzhe of two gurus, Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan. Was this man a guru who created a smurf ount? You bought my [Lin Daiyu]? Xie Mingzhe asked politely. Yes. The man pointed at the seat beside him, saying, Please, sit down. Lets talk about it. His voice was still the basic preset from character creation, showing no emotional ups and downs. The man calmly sat on the sofa. Xie Mingzhe, who didnt like beating about the bush, sat opposite him and asked directly, You said that you wanted to buy [Lin Daiyu] in bulk? Are you serious? No. It was just an excuse for having youe to see me. Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath, saying as calmly as he could, Why do you want to see me? My time is limited, please tell me directly. The man stared at him for a while, then asked with a smile, Are you interested in recognizing someone as your Shifu, who can guide you in making cards?
Trantors Note: 666 in Chinese is pronounced simrly to  in Chinese. It has be one of the most poprwork phrases in China.  is an oral word said to someone who did something awesome. For example, I can say: You y piano very . When we put three  together, they be an exmatory sentence, that is . The Pinyin of  is li, and so does the word ,which means 6. Its obviously easier, so we use 666 instead of  when we text each other. Not only 666, you can use 666666666666666666666666666666666 as well. And by the way, many Chinese started to use six six six now. XD Chapter 23 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith "Recognize you as my Shifu?" Xie Mingzhe did not expect that the stranger in front of him would ask for this. He had thought thetter would buy his card or copyright in the same way as Legend Nie. Yes. The man said as he took out 19 [Lin Daiyu] cards and put them in a row on the table. Looking at the row of [Lin Daiyu], Xie Mingzhe felt shocked C these were made by him at the very beginning when he hadn''t known much about creating cards! In addition to the character Lin Daiyu, there were decorations such as trees, flowers, and rivers on the card, and the IDE chance was only 10%. He didn''t know the market price at first, so he sold 19 [Lin Daiyu] cards for a low price at the ck market, but the buyers were four different stall owners. Did this man buy all of them?! "You bought all the [Lin Daiyu] cards from the ck market?" Xie Mingzhe looked at him in amazement. "Well, I''ve been following you all this time." Tang Muzhou smiled slightly, with appreciation in his voice. "You are the first person who made an IDE card." Xie Mingzhe had heard of this from Legend Lan. The IDE skill had been added to the database very recently. It was just an incredible stroke of luck that [Lin Daiyu] and [Wu Song] fit the rules of the database, so they had an IDE skill. But he didn''t expect that someone had paid attention to him and bought all the [Lin Daiyu] cards he had sold at the ck market! Tang Muzhou went on, "ording to card images, nt cards are divided into tree cards, vine cards, flower cards and sulent cards. Roses, lilies, and tuberoses are categorized as flower cards. Flower cards ount for more than 20% of the nt cards. Once you have [Lin Daiyu], your opponent''s flower cards may be instkilled at any time. You are afraid that this card will put you at a disadvantage, so you bought them all? Xie Mingzhe wondered. This card is indeed the flower cards'' nemesis, but not necessarily. Tang Muzhou said calmly, I''m not worried that it will subdude my cards. "Then why did you buy all the [Lin Daiyu] cards? Besides, today you even spent 660,000 to buy my revised [Lin Daiyu] card. Is this necessary? Xie Mingzhepletely couldn''t understand what this rich yer was thinking about. Of course. Tang Muzhou smiled, his voice mild, because I want to be familiar with you. Be familiar with me? Xie Mingzhe was confused. "Yes. That''s really what I want to do." Tang Muzhou said, "Now that you have created the first character IDE card, I''m sure that you can create other character cards with your considerable talent. You may create a totally new faction using character cardster. I haven''t seen a creative card designer like you for a long time." "Well, you''re so sweet." Being praised by Tang Muzhou, Xie Mingzhe felt like he was about to be a G.o.d. Looking at the man''s smiling eyes, Xie Mingzhe scratched his nose and refocused on their talk, saying, "Guru, you just want to praise me?" "Of course not. I want to teach you some skills in regards to designing cards, which will quickly enable you to make more powerful cards." While saying this, Tang Muzhou took out the [Lin Daiyu] card that he had just bought at auction andpared it with its earlier version, saying, "Have you found any differences?" "Yes. I drew too many decorations on the earlier version that has poor data, but on itstest version, I only drew characters and petals. Meanwhile, I increased its initial probability of using its skill to 30%. Is this the highest probability for a one-star card?" "Yes. The probability of using its skills will increase 1% every time it levels. Since its initial probability is 30%, when it levels up to 70 and evolves into a ck card, its probability will be 100%." "I see." Xie Mingzhe scratched his chin as if he was thinking about something, "100% probability of triggering instant death effect. In other words, [Lin Daiyu] can instkill any flower card, no matter how powerful they are?" "That''s not necessarily true." Tang Muzhou said patiently, "You haven''t been to Arena before, so you are ignorant of skills in real-timebat. Let me exin the reason to you. Add me to your friendlist ande to my individual s.p.a.ce." Xie Mingzhe immediately epted Tang Muzhou''s friend request, then a door to Tang Muzhou''s individual s.p.a.ce appeared in front of Xie Mingzhe. Xie Mingzhe had never been to another yer''s individual s.p.a.ce before. He transferred to Tang Muzhou''s individual s.p.a.ce with curiosity. There he found that Tang Muzhou''s apartment was just like his, which was simply decorated. It was obvious that this rich yer had been in no mood for decorating the house in the game because the furniture and decoration in this s.p.a.ce, having three bedrooms and one living room, hadn''t been changed at all. The man directly led him to his study. All three walls in the study were lined up with disy cases, in which the sub-boxes were almost full. There were Repairing Stones, Experience Stones, Evolution stones and other materials in the leftmost disy case; attributeless white cards including Effect uracy Improvement cards, Critical Strike Chance Improvement cards, Attack Enhancement cards and others in the middle disy case; and seven-star cards, including some ck cards having excellent data, in the rightmost disy case. This rich man was indeed an experiment maniac! Trantor''s Note: About [Lin Daiyu]: At the very beginning when Xie Mingzhe created [Lin Daiyu] for the first time, the author said it''s against "ܿ" which means "flower and nt cards", and keeps using this word. So I tranted "ܿ" into "flower and nt cards" in earlier chapters. But as the story goes, the author''s detailed exnation shows that [Lin Daiyu] is only effective against flower cards. The author seems to think that "" means "flowers" only, but in fact it means "flowers and nts". In order not to make our readers feel confused, I''ve reedited the trantion in earlier chapters. And thanks proofreader Rhith for pointing out the mistake. Chapter 23 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Xie Mingzhe really wanted to move all these disy cases to his own s.p.a.ce. Seeing that Uncle Chubby had stopped to observe the disy cases at the door, Tang Muzhou said with a smile, "Come in, please." After Xie Mingzhe walked into the study, Tang Muzhou took several groups of Experience Stones and evolution fragments out of the disy case. After cing his newly bought [Lin Daiyu] on the Card Console, he started to level the card with materials. The card consumed several hundred evolution fragments and gained several million Exp in an instant. When it leveled up to a six-star card, Tang Muzhou used three six-star cards as the evolution materials to continue to level it up to a seven-star card. The color of [Lin Daiyu]''s back changed rapidly before turning into pure ck with metallic gloss. The green pattern symbolizing ''Wood'' wrapped the whole back of the card like silk thread. Even the LOGO ''Chubby'' shone with a soft green light. It was the first time that Xie Mingzhe saw a seven-star ck [Lin Daiyu]. Even the back of the card was extremely beautiful. How powerful was the seven-star ck [Lin Daiyu]? Xie Mingzhe was eager to know it. Tang Muzhou turned the card over and handed it to Xie Mingzhe, saying, "Look at the data of this seven-star card." Lin Daiyu (Wood) Card Level: 70 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 7/7 Base Attributes: Health 640, Attack 0, Defense 1000, Agility 85, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Daiyu Burying the Flowers (To inflict huge damage on flower cards, 100% chance of triggering instant death effect) Cousin Lin was a delicate girl with poor Defense, but her skill was terrifying C 100% chance of triggering the instant death effect on flower cards. Tang Muzhou said, "Let''s go to the Arena and see how powerful it is." Xie Mingzhe nodded. Following Tang Muzhou excitedly, he used the gxy map to transfer directly to Phoenix gxy. After meeting this guru, Xie Mingzhe had gone to a restaurant in the entertainment district of the Peac.o.c.k gxy, another yer''s personal s.p.a.ce, and also the Phoenix gxy for the very first time. This experience was an eye-opener for him. The Phoenix gxy was designed for yers topete with each other. Tang Muzhou set up a private battle arena directly. Xie Mingzhe was holding [Lin Daiyu], however, the card in Tang Muzhou''s hand was the seven-star [Tuberose]? Xie Mingzhe was stunned by this familiar card. He couldn''t resist saying, "It was you who bought Legend Tang''s [Tuberose]! I took part in that auction where this card was sold for 660,000 gold." Tang Muzhou smiled, but he didn''t exin C this [Tuberose] was certainly not the one at the auction. He was the card''s author, so he could make countless [Tuberose]. This one was a copy of the original one. Tang Muzhou said, Try to kill [Tuberose] with [Lin Daiyu]. A countdown appeared as the match began. Xie Mingzhe held his breath, and at the moment when the number became 0, he immediately summoned [Lin Daiyu], trying to release the skill Daiyu Burying the Flowers to kill his opponent''s card. However, Lin Daiyu went out of control. She did not kill the opponent''s card; instead, she just ran around. Xie Mingzhe''s eyes widened, What happened? Why did the [Daiyu Burying the Flowers] skill not work? Tang Muzhou raised a question, If you have a submachine gun while I have a pistol, and we shoot at each other while standing face to face, who will win? Xie Mingzhe spected, Submachine gun? Because it''s more powerful? Tang Muzhouughed, Who shoots first is the one who wins. Xie Mingzhe, Yes, the one who shot first could kill the other before they could even pull the trigger. Since it was face to face, the first shot would definitely kill the other, regardless of the strength of thetter''s weapon! Tang Muzhou said: I just told you that [Daiyu Burying the Flowers] is the nemesis of flower cards, but not necessarily. Why can''t it instkill [Tuberose]? The reason is Agility C its Agility is lower than [Tuberose]''s, so it spends more time releasing the skill than [Tuberose]. Before [Lin Daiyu] can use the IDE skill, [Tuberose] can take control of her first. If I have other attack cards in my hand, your [Lin Daiyu] will be killed even before it releases the skill. Do you understand? Xie Mingzhe suddenly realized! He had never paid attention to Agility! The Agility of [Lin Daiyu] was 85, while the [Tuberose] 100. No wonder [Lin Daiyu] would be controlled by thetter. This was the importance of releasing your skill first inpet.i.tions! No matter how powerful a card was, if it couldn''t activate its skills first, then it would just be a target. Tang Muzhou said, Let''s go back and upgrade [Lin Daiyu]''s Agility to 100. Xie Mingzhe realized that this guru intended to guide him, so he immediately followed behind him. Wee to join our discord! https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 24 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith After returning to his individual s.p.a.ce, Tang Muzhou retrieved 15 Agility-Enhancing Cards from the disy case to feed [Lin Daiyu], upgrading its Agility from 85 to 100. Then he handed the card to Xie Mingzhe and said, Every cards'' attributes in this game can be enhanced in theter stages, but these white enhancing cards are limited in number, so they are very expensive. For example, this Agility-Enhancing Card costs 5,000 gold coins." That is to say, he had just spent tens of thousands of gold coins in order to upgrade [Lin Daiyu]. This man, who liked doing experiments, was really generous with money. Xie Mingzhe took [Lin Daiyu], which had once again been upgraded, and followed behind him again in aplicated mood. They went to Phoenix gxy''s Arena . As soon as the countdown ended, Xie Mingzhe immediately summoned [Lin Daiyu] and released the skill C [Daiyu Burying the Flowers]. Daiyu reached out her hand, throwing the petals. When the petals touched Tuberose''s hologram, thetter was instkilled! [Lin Daiyu]''s skill was really powerful, as long as it took effect. Xie Mingzhe, who had only visited the Arena for the first time today, was greatly shocked by the scene before him. The next moment, Tang Muzhou took out a tree card C [Banyan Tree]. It had thick branches, looking extraordinarily powerful, while the [Tuberose] next to it looked so exquisite. Try again. Tang Muzhou said. Continue to use [Lin Daiyu] to instakill [Tuberose]? Yes, give it a try. Counting down 5 seconds, and the game began. Like before, Xie Mingzhe summoned [Lin Daiyu] at the moment when the countdown became 0. He quickly activated the skill [Daiyu Burying the Flowers] to target [Tuberose], but at that same moment, he saw the [Banyan Tree] suddenly stretching out its branches and leaves. The green leaves, wide enough to cover the sky, formed a huge light green protective shield. Under the bright light, the thin shield was like a big green bubble, looking very beautiful. [Tuberose] was safe and sound in the shield. Xie Mingzhe quickly realized, Did [Banyan Tree]''s protective skill stop the IDE? Yes. Seeing that Xie Mingzhe understood so quickly, Tang Muzhou appreciated him even more, and said in a more gentle tone, [G.o.d Tree Blessing] C protects friendly cards under its cover from all enemy control and damage,sts 5 seconds. [Banyan Tree]''s Agility is also 100, so it can release its skill at the same time as [Lin Daiyu], but in the Arena, card skills are released in special sequence based on the card''s attribute data. Tang Muzhou opened the battle panel, showing the log, and exined, Look, defense and healing skills are prioritized, then control and IDE skills, and finally attack skills. [Daiyu Burying the Flowers] was blocked by [Banyan Tree]''s protective defense skill, so it didn''t work. Besides, in the second battle, I deliberately summoned [Tuberose] 0.3 seconds slower than you, so that you instkilled it. Otherwise, even if [Lin Daiyu] has 100 Agility, you won''t necessarily instkill my flower card because I have a stronger sense of prediction than you so I can take action faster. In matches, speed and timing are very important. You don''t know how to y in the Arena, so you can''t master the right rhythm. Xie Mingzhe really learned something this time. It turned out that he didn''t have much knowledge of the Arena rules. Although he had countless great ideas in his mind to make cards, his understanding of this card game was nothing but the tip of the iceberg. IDE cards are not invincible. Masters will not give you the opportunity to release IDE skills simply by predicting your timing. An IDE card is not used directly; you should use it as a tactical card to instkill your opponent''s card at the key moment when thetter''s skills are in CD." Tang Muzhou exined gently, "I told you about this because I want you to understand that a real card designer not only has novel ideas, but also must clearly know all the rules in the Arena, so that the cards you make will be more useful. "I see. Thank you!" Xie Mingzhe said sincerely. Tang Muzhou had taken him to the Arena and personally taught him a lot today. Although Xie Mingzhe indeed had numerous creative ideas, the cards he had made might not work in apet.i.tion. In order to make excellent cards, he had to be a master card yer first. Only those who understood how to y could make excellent cards! "Let''s go back and talk about it." Tang Muzhou brought Xie Mingzhe back to Qianlin Restaurant for further discussion. "Is a card''s Agility simr to the character''s speed of using a skill in an online game? In other words, if a card has 100 Agility, it will use its skill in an instant, conversely, it will take a long time to use its skill. Am I right?" Xie Mingzhe asked. "Yes." Tang Muzhou said with a smile, "An excellent IDE card must use its skill in an instant, so its initial Agility has to reach 30, and when it levels up to a seven-star card, it will have 100 Agility. Otherwise, the card won''t be effective against your opponent''s card. The reason why clubs scramble to gain your IDE cards is that there are few such cards in the game. Later on, when your cards start to circte the market inrger quant.i.ties, their prices will fall sharply because they are just tactical cards. You can learn more card-creation skills by making IDE cards and try to get Agility to the top by distributing the card''s basic data properly. After that, you can try to make aplete set of ying cards." "OK." Xie Mingzhe nodded seriously. The guru''s guidance changed his understanding of the value of cardspletely. He used to think that excellent cards were those having high HP, Attack and strong Defense, however he now understood that Agility and Additional Skill were the only two attributes in a function card like [Lin Daiyu] that he needed to focus on. Likewise, control cards also needed to raise their Agility to the maximum, which would enable them to control other cards first and defeat them quickly. If a yer wanted to win the game through a protracted fight or a counterattack, they had to MAX out the card''s HP. Attack cards had to MAX their Attack, but it wasn''t always necessary for their other attributes to be high because there would usually be defense cards protecting them in the game. As the tanks, defense cards had to have high HP. An excellent set of cards needed to bnce every aspect of data and would include a variety of control cards, defense cards, healing cards, attack cards, as well as a few special cards like function cards and tactical cards. An IDE card was just an ''unexpected'' tactical card in the Arena. Xie Mingzhe still had a long way to go before establishing aplete set of cards, so he must keep learning. Xie Mingzhe was grateful to the gurus he had met thesest few days for their kind help. Legend Nie and Legend Lan had made no bones about the role that an IDE card yed in the game, otherwise he wouldn''t have realized his talent and potential in such a short time. Today, this guru, whose ID was made up of numbers, had personally taken him to the Arena where he was told how important Agility was and the idea of establishing a card set. Xie Mingzhe was so excited that he couldn''t wait to go back to his individual s.p.a.ce and make more cards. Seeing that Uncle Chubby was considering something with his head bowed, Tang Muzhou couldn''t help asking, "What about recognizing me as your Shifu? We''ve talked a lot and I''ve exined how important Agility was to you in the Arena. So am I qualified to be your Shifu?" Xie Mingzhe recovered his poise, scratching his head and saying, "You''re kidding me, Legend Tang. I''m not qualified to be your apprentice." Tang Muzhou, "." He had the terrible feeling of being exposed while facing Xie Mingzhe. He asked Xie Mingzhe after being silent for a while, "How do you know I am Legend Tang?" Xie Mingzhe replied, "Your ordinary look, your ID, your vine and green nt decorations in the dining room, your proficiency with nt cards and your strong ability topete with others in the Arena. All of these reminded me of someone, Tang Muzhou, the most powerful Wood card yer." Xie Mingzhe had met Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan''s smurf ounts, whose IDs were made up of numbers, several days ago. Today he met this rich yer whose ID was 7456789. He had had doubts about the real ident.i.ty of this man at that moment. Was this a smurf ount of a guru? Trantor''s Note: Cooldown, usually shortened as CD, is the term used to describe the period in which skills and items cannot be used after prior usage. Chapter 24 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith After a period of contact with the man, Xie Mingzhe was able to identify him C his [Tuberose], proficiency in nt cards, ID, strong ability topete with others, continuous focus on him and buying all the [Lin Daiyu] cards indicated that he must be Tang Muzhou. Xie Mingzhe was frank about it, but unexpectedly, the man admitted that he was Legend Tang honestly. Tang Muzhou said with a smile, "Now that you know who I am, why do you refuse to be my apprentice? No matter what you want to be, a professional designer or a professional game yer, with my guidance your life will be much easier than any others''." Xie Mingzhe replied bluntly, "Thank you for your kindness. Actually, I''ve seen Nie Yuandao, a guru in the Adjudication Club." Hearing that, Tang Muzhou asked with his eyes squinted, "Lao Nie has approached you? Why?" Xie Mingzhe said, "He invited me to join his club, but I refused. If I recognize you as my Shifu, I will have to join the Fenghua Club, right? My refusal of your invitation doesn''t mean that you are unqualified to be my Shifu, on the contrary, it will be an honor to be instructed in person by a guru like you. I just don''t want to join any clubs now, so I can''t be your apprentice for the time being." Tang Muzhou, "" Xie Mingzhe continued, "I''m sorry, Legend Tang. Thanks again for your invitation. You''ve taught me a lot today. I''ll repay you for your kindness, but I prefer a carefree life rather than a life restricted by the rules of a club." Tang Muzhou stared at Uncle Chubby with his eyes still squinted, "Restrictions? Are you worrying about your copyright?" Xie Mingzhe nodded, saying, "Legend Tang, you probably think that I have failed to appreciate your kindness. However, in order to avoid my card copyrights being owned by others, I won''t join any clubs." Uncle Chubby was indeed chubby in the game, although he was friendly and his smile was warm, Tang Muzhou sensed his "fearless" spirit of young people. Xie Mingzhe was indeed a visionary. Anyone who was gifted in card creation would be unwilling to join a club and transfer his/her copyrights to the club. Tang Muzhou had signed a supplemental agreement with the Fenghua Club, which said Tang Muzhou owned the copyright of all original cards having the LOGO "Tang". So did Lao Nie, Fang Yu and Ling Jingtang. They could take their cards away when they left their clubs. Their agreements were signed before the fifth season. However, in the fifth season, something unpleasant happened. Its cause was a copyright dispute. A guru filed awsuit against his club, which took a long time and provoked much discussion among yers. Because of this, there were fewer and fewer contracts to allow the card creator to own his/her original cards'' copyright. Few yers had signed such a contract with their clubs since the seventh season. Every club had strict control over copyright for fear that such a dispute might reur. yers that rose in recent years had signed a contract to transfer their copyrights to their clubs. Among these yers, few could create original cards, so most of them used cards made by their club''s card designers and didn''t care about the card copyright use. Obviously, Uncle Chubby cared deeply about this. He was wise. In the long run, he would earn more money as a frence designer than as a card designer of a club because he could make various cards with his exceptional imagination if he was not bound by the rules. Instead of joining a powerful club, Xie Mingzhe decided to make cards himself. Was he that brave? Seeing that Uncle Chubby was firm, Tang Muzhou said, "Since you don''t want a Shifu, let''s be friends first. If you have any questions about card creation, you can send a private message to me and I will reply as soon as possible." Tang Muzhou wasn''t arrogant at all and he personally taught Xie Mingzhe a lot. Such a "guru" friend was just what Xie Mingzhe wanted. He nodded at once, saying, "No problem. Let''s be friends if Legend Tang is willing to make friends with a novice." "You''ll be an experienced yer soon. By the way, do you not read emails regrly? Please check your emails when you are free." Tang Muzhou stood up while smiling, saying, "I have some other things to do in the club, I''ll go offline." Okay, bye. The man disappeared directly without hesitation. A person suddenly disappeared from his view C Xie Mingzhe hadn''t expected that. He was stunned at first, and then he went downstairs, nning to take a stroll through this entertainment. When he arrived at the door, he found it closed, with a "CLOSED" sign hanging on it. No wonder he had talked to Legend Tang for so long but no one had bothered them. The waiter at the door said with a smile, Uncle Chubby, Boss said that you cane to our restaurant at any time in the future. Our restaurant only epts special guests, and you have been added to the list of VIPs who can freelye and go. Xie Mingzhe felt ttered, Thank you. After walking out of the restaurant, he looked back at the Qianlin Restaurant. The word Qianlin was surrounded by green vines and small light blue flowers. Such a fresh design was quite distinctive. Since the waiter called Tang Muzhou "Boss", this restaurant was obviously rented and operated by Tang Muzhou. Would anyone spend money on eating in a game? yers could make money by renting a shop to sell something, but wouldn''t he lose money by renting a restaurant? Xie Mingzhe walked to a street of bars feeling confused. The street of bars was very lively in the evening; some singers were singing in the bars. With jazz and drink all around, Xie Mingzhe found it hard to connect these scenes with a game world. Xie Mingzhe sighed and sat down casually on the street, and started to ponder. [Lin Daiyu] was bought by Legend Tang for 660,000 gold, which had created quite a stir in the auction. At that time, many people in the Auction House were doing live broadcasts. He guessed that the card creator using the LOGO "°" had be something of a celebrity. The other yers'' impressions of him also included being the creator of IDE cards. As the Chinese old saying goes, there should be a specific field that one specializes in. He''d be better off relying on the IDE cards to achieve a strong position in the card creation field first. When he bes really famous, he would then make other types of cards. He had created two IDE cards, [Wu Song] and [Lin Daiyu]. The copyright for [Wu Song] was sold to Legend Nie, so he could not continue to make this card, but he could make countless [Lin Daiyu]. However, if his card store only sold [Lin Daiyu], that would make people feel that he had exhausted his talent and could only make this one card. He might as well make more IDE cards and sell them together with [Lin Daiyu]. When ites to [Lin Daiyu], he naturally thought of another main female character in Dream of the Red Chamber: Xue Baochai. Since he had made [Lin Daiyu], why didn''t he make [Xue Baochai]? Xie Mingzhe got a sudden idea C Baochai Chasing b.u.t.terflies; Daiyu Burying the Flowers! These two plots happened in the same chapter in Dream of the Red Chamber. Xue Baochai went to Xiaoxiang Garden to find Lin Daiyu, just to see Jia Baoyu entering the garden. She was afraid to cause a misunderstanding, so she left silently. When seeing b.u.t.terflies on her way back, she took out a fan and held it open in front of her to chase b.u.t.terflies. Baochai chased b.u.t.terflies first, and then Daiyu buried flowers, which depicted their different personalities. Chasing b.u.t.terflies, of course, meant that b.u.t.terflies could be killed. But Xie Mingzhe didn''t know how many b.u.t.terfly cards there were in this game. Xie Mingzhe rubbed his chin, poring over how to make [Xue Baochai]. *** At the same time, the headquarters of the Capital of Darkness Club. Ye Zhuughed loudly, Hahaha, someone bought that card for 660,000? Lol, Tang Muzhou proposed the IDE skill in thest season and now someone made an IDE flower card against him, hahaha! Legend Tang must be very depressed now! Seeing the boy holding his stomach andughing out of breath, Pei Jingshan patted his shoulder, Xiao Zhu, don''t gloat. If the card maker ''°'' makes an IDE card against your b.u.t.terfly cards, you won''tugh then. Ye Zhu tried hard to stop smiling and waved his hand, saying, Don''t worry, Brother Pei! All my b.u.t.terfly cards have high Agility, so they won''t be hit by an IDE easily! Then he sneezed sessively. He rubbed his nose so hard that it turned red. What''s going on? Why did he feel that someone was cursing him? Trantor''s Note: (Xue Baochai) If I go in now after him, he is sure to feel embarra.s.sed and she is sure to start imagining things. It would be better to go back without seeing her. an excerpt from Dream of the Red Chamber Chapter 25 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Xie Mingzhe returned from Peac.o.c.k gxy to his individual s.p.a.ce after figuring out how to make [Xue Baochai]. He happened to see the mailbox sign shing on the big screen when he pa.s.sed through the living room. He remembered that Tang Muzhou had previously reminded him to check emails regrly, so he opened his mailbox. He saw dozens of unread emails, among which many were sent by a yer named "Hong Zhu" and some were official notifications of various activities. The emails read, "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby. I''m the president of the Fenghua Club. We''re very interested in your [Lin Daiyu]. We''re looking forward to your reply." Hong Zhu, "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby, I''m." Hong Zhu had kept sending two emails with same contents a day for more than five days. Xie Mingzhe realized the disadvantages of ignoring emails. In the holographic online game, friends could chat with each other privately through voice or text messages, however strangers couldn''t PM each other if they happened to be in different areas and sending emails to each other would be their only option. In order to focus on making cards, Xie Mingzhe had disabled the mailbox reminder in the living room. Unexpectedly, he had received so many emails. He read every email and deleted official notifications of activities, before reactivating the reminder to avoid missing any more important emails. After that, he replied to Hong Zhu earnestly, "Hi, President. Sorry for thete reply. I failed to check the mailbox because I disabled the reminder the other day. I have an appointment with my friends at 9:00 p.m. What do think of me talking to you face to face when Ie back at around 11:00 p.m?" Nine o''clock was the scheduled time for the boosters to clear the instance and Xie Mingzhe couldn''t be absent. He knew that Hong Zhu may be wanting to talk to him about [Lin Daiyu]''s copyright, which he wouldn''t sell. He would talk to Hong Zhu, who had sent him so many letters, face to face out of courtesy. Being thrilled to receive Xie Mingzhe''s reply after several days of waiting, Hong Zhu replied, "OKOK. I''ll wait for your reply at 11:30 p.m." After sending the email, she went to the office next door and told the news to Xue Linxiang and Tang Muzhou, who were talking about the event schedule. Sister Xue had asked Tang Muzhou to go offline just then because the travelling ManMan and Changfeng woulde back today. Xue Linxiang a.s.sembled these four important yers, nning to discuss with them about the event schedule. The four most powerful yers of the Fenghua Club C Tang Muzhou, Xu Changfeng, Zhen Man and Shen An were all present. Hearing Hong Zhu''s words, Tang Muzhou said with a glimmer of a smile in his eyes, "He didn''t check the emails, right?" "Yes!" Hong Zhu was speechless, "I''ve sent more than ten emails to him and I was wondering why I hadn''t received any replies." "Shifu, is Uncle Chubby really a genius?" Shen An asked curiously. Yes, he is very talented. Tang Muzhou did not hide his appreciation of Uncle Chubby. The auction had provoked much discussion, and even yers in the professional yer chat group are gloating. Xu Changfeng patted his friend''s shoulder, a smile in his peach blossom eyes, Muzhou, what are you going to do? Buy [Lin Daiyu]''s copyright? "Will he sell the copyright of [Lin Daiyu]?" Xue Linxiang was a bit worried. No, Tang Muzhou said without doubt. Are you sure? Zhen Man, the only female yer in the club, asked calmly. Because I have just met him C he has poise. And he told me that Nie Yuandao had also met him before. Tang Muzhou rubbed his chin thoughtfully, The number of cards made by him, that we found in the database, is not equal to that of the [Lin Daiyu] cards we bought from the ck market. We have no clue as to the other cards. If I''m guessing correctly, Nie Yuandao must have talked with him about IDE cards. In other words, Uncle Chubby has made another IDE card in addition to [Lin Daiyu], which is exactly targeted against Nie Yuandao. Xu Changfeng stopped smiling and said seriously, Did Nie Yuandao try to persuade him to join the Adjudication Club? Yes. Since Nie Yuandao personally talked with him, the conditions provided by the Adjudication Club would certainly not be bad, but Uncle Chubby had refused. My way is more euphemistic. At first I wanted to ept him as my apprentice to slowly guide him, then persuade him to join the Fenghua Club. However, he quickly recognized my ident.i.ty and refused me." Tang Muzhou said with pity, "From his att.i.tude, he should prefer being a free card designer." "Free card designer?" Zhen Man frowned, "Are you sure there is no club behind him?" I''m sure. He should be a neer who doesn''t know much about the Arena''s rules. Tang Muzhou a.n.a.lyzed, He doesn''t want to be bound to any clubs. On the one hand, he is very far-sighted and realizes his own talent, so it is a better choice for him to develop freely. On the other hand, he is very alert towards people unknown to him, and prefers keeping to himself. Xue Linxiang widened her eyes in amazement. Tang Muzhou had just met Uncle Chubby once using the subsidiary ount, but he a.n.a.lyzed so much information from thetter. She had never seen Legend Tang being interested in a person so much. What should we do next? Hong Zhu asked worriedly. "What about attracting him to our club by promising him a better deal than the Adjudication Club''s?" Xue Linxiang suggested, "For example, to appoint him as a formal designer with a double bonus directly or to allow him to be a professional yer in Team One if he meets the age requirements for entering thepet.i.tion?" "I''m afraid your n won''t work." Tang Muzhou shook his head, saying, "In my opinion, Uncle Chubby is a prudent man. He won''t ept any of the clubs'' invitations casually. His polite refusal to recognize me as his Shifu indicates that he is a visionary. As a young talent, he''ll be more popr as a frence designer than as a member of a club." "Yes, you''re right. Without obeying the club''s rules, he can make cards at will and own his cards'' copyright." Xue Linxiang frowned, saying, "But most frence designers make only pet cards, those who design battle cards have almost all signed into a club. He seems to have every confidence in his strength as he has rejected the invitations from two of the most famous clubs in the game." "I''m sure that he has lots of creative ideas for making cards and will make many cards soon." Tang Muzhou stopped talking, looking at Xue Linxiang and saying with a serious look, "Don''t get involved in this, Sister Xue. I''ll handle it." "What are you going to do?" Xue Linxiang asked curiously. "Now he is like a piece of uncut jade." Tang Muzhou gave her a long deep look, saying with a smile, "I want to chisel it myself." "." Xue Linxiang and Hong Zhu gave each other a look. Chisel it himself? It seemed that Legend Tang would train Uncle Chubby to be a top card designer. But Uncle Chubby didn''t want to join our club. Would we benefit from training him? Xue Linxiang couldn''t understand Tang Muzhou''s strategy. "OK. Let''s get back to thepet.i.tion." Tang Muzhou disrupted the discussion by shifting the topic, saying, "Who wants to take part in this year''s individual race?" There were many events in Star Card Storm, such as the professional leagues, in which professional yers must take part, private events held by sponsors, all star invitationpet.i.tions and bountypet.i.tions etc. Tang Muzhou was the individual race champion in thest professional league. He had won the individual race in the fifth and the ninth season since he became a professional yer. However, in the tenth season, he wouldn''t take part in it. He supposed that gurus who had won thepet.i.tion before, like Nie Yuandao, Zheng Feng, Fang Yu and Ling Jingtang, wouldn''t partic.i.p.ate in it either. Clubs would send new professional yers to join the race. Xu Changfeng asked, Xiao An will partic.i.p.ate, right? I also want to join in on the fun. And you, Sister Man? Zhen Man said calmly, I won''t. I will concentrate on preparing for the team race. Xue Linxiang respected all the yers'' decisions. She showed them the schedule and said, The application for joining the race should be submitted within three days. The first round of the individual race will be held on the 10th. Since Xiao Tang and ManMan are not partic.i.p.ating, this year you two will be the backbone. Shen An raised his hand with confidence, Sister Xue, rest a.s.sured. I''m sure I can enter the finals, and I will try my best to bring an award back! Xu Changfeng smiled, saying, Me too. I can''t guarantee to take the championship, but I will try to get an award. Xue Linxiang said quickly, OK! I will have a meeting with the members of Team 2 tomorrow to encourage them to join the race so that they can get more experience. But in the final team race, all of you shouldpete as our ace. They nodded in agreement. After the meeting, everyone went back to the dormitory. On the way back, Xu Changfeng suddenly lowered his voice and asked, Muzhou, you just said that Uncle Chubby would not sell the copyright. Actually, you don''t want to buy [Lin Daiyu]''s copyright, right? Tang Muzhou smiled, You got me. Xu Changfeng was speechless, Are you crazy? If this card is sold in bulk and all the yers of the major clubs have this card, what advantage will it bring to you? Tang Muzhou looked calm, Since I first proposed the instant death effect, I haven''t been afraid to be targeted against by IDE cards. What''s more important is to let Uncle Chubby make full use of his talent and imagination to make more IDE cards, and sell all of them. This way, the next season will be more interesting and more challenging, isn''t that right? Xu Changfeng, Compared to being the lone target, it would be better to have everyone targeted by IDE cards. Tang Muzhou was "bad" enough to think of such an idea. That''s why he did not acquire [Lin Daiyu], but also personally taught Uncle Chubby. Xu Changfeng lowered his head and thought for a moment. Then he asked, Since you won''t join the individual race, you will have much more free time. Are you going to use your subsidiary ount to guide Uncle Chubby, so that he can make a lot of IDE cards against all the clubs? Tang Muzhou nodded with a smile, I''ve told you, he is a fine jade which I want to carve personally. Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 26 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith At 9pm, Brother Chen a.s.sembled the Nirvana Game Studio boosters at the entrance of the instance. Xie Mingzhe had be adept at clearing the instances. He knew when to use skills even if he closed his eyes, so he kept pondering on how to make new cards while farming the instance. If [Xue Baochai] was sessfully made with the skill [Baochai Chasing b.u.t.terflies], he could turn his other inspirations for IDE cards into reality. Xie Mingzhe private-messaged Pang Yu while clearing the instance, "Are there many b.u.t.terfly cards in this game, Brother Yu?" "Yes, there are. The b.u.t.terfly card, which is an important branch of the insect-type card, is very popr amongst girls. But it was Ye Zhu, a male professional league yer in Capital of Darkness, who created the b.u.t.terfly card genre. He is fond of ying b.u.t.terfly cards with different colors and skills. It''s a beautiful sight when the b.u.t.terflies dance in the sky during a match. Ye Zhu''s y style is special, he loves b.u.t.terflies very much. It is said that he has collected many b.u.t.terfly specimens." Pang Yu replied enthusiastically. "Got it." Xie Mingzhe replied. He said to himself, "I''m sorry, guru Ye Zhu. I''ll be making a b.u.t.terfly IDE card named Xue Baochai which can instakill your "b.u.t.terflies". Please don''t me me." ** In Capital of Darkness, Ye Zhu had been sneezing. Pei Jingshan looked at him helplessly, saying, "Have you caught a cold again?" "No, I haven''t. Maybe it''s hay fever." Ye Zhu rubbed his red nose hard and continued, "Tang Muzhou won''t take part in this year''s individual race, will he? He is embarra.s.sed to join it as he won the championshipst season, so he will send his apprentice to take part in the event. We must seize this opportunity to win our club the trophy!" Pei Jingshan asked, "You want to enter thepet.i.tion?" Ye Zhu said confidently, "Yes. Shen An is no match for me. choo! choo! What''s wrong with me? Is anyone cursing me?" Pei Jingshan couldn''t resistughing, saying, "You love to talk big, but you cannot afford to becent about the event." ** After clearing the instance, Brother Chen disbanded the boosters on time at 11pm. After arriving at his individual s.p.a.ce, Xie Mingzhe emailed Hong Zhu, "Dear President, I''m home. Let''s meet up to talk about [Lin Daiyu]." Hearing the "ding-dong" in her ears, Hong Zhu checked her emails immediately and replied, "Uncle Chubby, pleasee to our club''s territory directly. You now have ess to our club and it can be found on the Gxy Navigation Map." Walking to the Gxy Navigation Map, Xie Mingzhe found the small being highlighted as expected. It said "Fenghua Club''s Territory". It was about the same size as "Adjudication Club''s Territory" beside it, but its color was different from that of the Adjudication Club''s. After pressing the transfer b.u.t.ton, Uncle Chubby was transferred to the Fenghua Club''s territory in an instant. Unlike the Adjudication Club''s fiery red architectural style, Fenghua Club''s territorial star was full of flowers and trees, and even the walls of the Club Building was covered with green vines. After arriving at the Fenghua Club''s territory, Xie Mingzhe walked straight down the VIP pa.s.sage that Hong Zhu had opened for him in advance to the Club Building. At the entrance of the building, he saw a woman in a red dress and ck high heeled shoes. The woman''s ID was Hong Zhu, although she was short, her voice was clear and brisk, "Uncle Chubby, I''ve been waiting for you for a long time. Let''s go to my office for further discussion." "OK." Following the woman, Xie Mingzhe took the lift to the top floor. After entering the office, he saw a circr badge hanging on the wall in the middle of the office, on which were written two characters surrounded by light green vines in a fancy style C Fenghua. There were also some small flowers in the middle of the badge. Compared with the Adjudication Club''s domineering words which were prated through by a sharp sword, Fenghua Club''s badge had a stronger literary vor and was more refreshing. There was a man and a woman standing in the office. The woman was very tall, wearing a light grey suit skirt with her hair twisted into a bun at the back of her head. She had an appearance of apetent woman. The man was over 1.85 meters tall. He leaned against the desk with a mask covering his face. Hong Zhu took the initiative to introduce, This is sister Xue, the yer agent of Fenghua Club. This is the professional yer of Fenghua Club, Tang Muzhou. Xie Mingzhe greeted politely, Hi, Sister Xue, Legend Tang. Tang Muzhou walked over to Xie Mingzhe, and asked with a smile, Sister Xue wants to buy the copyright of [Lin Daiyu]. Are you willing to sell it? The professional yer may not like to reveal his real face. The character of Tang Muzhou''s subsidiary ount had amon face, while his main ount''s character wore a mask. Xie Mingzhe scratched his head and said, Legend Tang, you should know that I will not sell card copyrights. Tang Muzhou shrugged and looked back at Xue Linxiang, I told you. Xue Linxiang was still not reconciled, 1 million crystal coins. I mean 1 million live currency, namely 10 million game currency. You still don''t want to sell the copyright? Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath, not wavering. He said firmly, Sister Xue, if you just buy cards, I can make them as much as possible for you. But sorry, I will not sell the copyright again. Hearing the word "again", Tang Muzhou immediately asked, "Did you sell a copyright before? Did you sell it to Nie Yuandao?" Xie Mingzhe nodded frankly, Well, that was the first and thest one. At that time, I didn''t know much about the market price, and I was too short of money. I thought the price provided by Nie Shen was appropriate, so I sold the copyright. But I will not sell again. As long as he was the copyright owner of [Lin Daiyu], he could create one hundred, even one thousand, and he could modify it at any time C obviously keeping the copyright was the best choice for him. Xue Linxiang was angry, If you don''t sell the copyright, it will make no sense even if I buy 100 [Lin Daiyu]! You can also sell the cards to others. Yeah. So this time, I just came to tell you clearly in person. Xie Mingzhe said seriously, I don''t mean to go against Legend Tang, and I know that Legend Tang is not afraid of this [Lin Daiyu]. After all, Legend Tang is a master who can predict the timing, so many yers may not even be able to release the IDE skills in front of him. "Yeah." Tang Muzhou chuckled, "I told sister Xue that you would not sell the copyright, but she insisted to confirm it in person." It would be very unfavorable to Tang Muzhou if [Lin Daiyu] circted the market inrger quant.i.ties, but Tang Muzhou obviously had confidence in dealing with the IDE card. Since he said that he was not afraid, there was no need for her, an agent, to worry about that. Xue Linxiang clenched her teeth, and said, Now that Xiao Tang said so, then let it go. Xie Mingzhe felt happy, Thank you, sister Xue! I promise that I will not make other cards that target nt-type cards in the future. After all, he did not want topletely offend the Fenghua Club. Besides, Legend Tang was nice to him, so it would be inappropriate for him to make IDE cards against nt-type cards. Tang Muzhou suggested, You can make IDE cards targeting other card types such as insects, fish, elephants, birds, demons, ghosts, spells, and weapons. You can take advantage of your imagination to make IDE cards targeting these other categories. Xue Linxiang, Tang Muzhou, are you going to have everyone be targeted by IDE cards just like you?! Xue Linxiang did not understand ??Tang Muzhou until now. It turned out he wanted to add arge number of IDE cards to the database to change the tempo and tactical methods of the whole game through Uncle Chubby''s help. Hearing Tang Muzhou''s words, Xie Mingzhe naturally knew his meaning. He felt that the legendary yer was very fun C he gave Xie Mingzhe ideas for so many kinds of possible IDE cards to make targeting other yers. Xie Mingzhe tried not tough and said, Legend Tang is really thoughtful. I will bear your words in my mind and try my best. Tang Muzhou smiled, extending his hand, I''m looking forward to you making more cards. Once you make new cards, please remember to leave one for me. I will buy it from you. Xie Mingzhe shook hands with him, Rest a.s.sured, I will inform you as soon as I''m done. Thank you for your guidance. Tang Muzhou said, Then I will enjoy myself freely. I want to be your VIP customer in the future, and reserve the right to purchase your IDE cards. Xie Mingzhe nodded cheerfully, No problem! Xue Linxiang, They were as thick as thieves, reaching an agreement to make cards against the whole league. Why did she feel creeped out? Chapter 26 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith After Uncle Chubby left, Xue Linxiang said with mixed feelings, "What on earth have you taught him by using your smurf ount? He seems to understand how to make cards." Tang Muzhou shrugged his shoulders, saying, "I just took him to the Arena and showed him how topete with others. I told him that IDE cards are a kind of tactical card which must be used swiftly, and suggested that he pay more attention to the cards'' attributes and get the initial Agility to 30." "." Xue Linxiang couldn''t resistining, "If you continue to teach him, the whole league will be in trouble!" Tang Muzhou smiled, saying, "I''m looking forward to that day." Hong Zhu, "." Tang Muzhou thought it was better to see the whole league run into trouble than to see only himself get into trouble. Hong Zhu could do nothing but praise his idea. ** After arriving at the individual s.p.a.ce, Xie Mingzhe sorted himself out and wrote down all the card types Tang Muzhou had mentioned. Then he connected his Inner Spirit with the Neb paper, to start creating [Xue Baochai]. He remembered Baoyu had once said that men were made of mud and women were made of water, so he set the card''s attribute directly to Water. Compared to Lin Daiyu, who was delicate, beautiful and had a unique temperament, Xue Baochai was more like a dignifieddy from a rich, big family with a bubbly and generous disposition. Cousin Lin had a typical oval face, looking delicate. Girl Bao''s face was rounded, the forehead was prominent and the eyes were bright. Xie Mingzhe quickly started the painting on the Neb paper by imagining what Xue Baochai looked like. He painted Xue Baochai very fast because of the experience gained from making [Lin Daiyu] and [Wu Song]. There were only vital elements such as characters, fans and b.u.t.terflies on the obverse side of the card. However, the data of the card was still not ideal. After talking to Tang Muzhou, Xie Mingzhe became aware that this kind of tactical card mostly relied on its probability of skill activation and Agility. [Xue Baochai]''s probability of using the instant death skill was 30%, but the Agility was only 15, and when it levels up to a seven-star card, it''ll only have 85 Agility. How to improve it? Xie Mingzhe rubbed his chin while pondering over it. He suddenly remembered what Senior Brother Qi had told him when he was a novice, "The higher the level of Neb paper, the better the card''s data will be. But the data mainly depends on how gifted the card''s designer is." The Neb paper! In order to save money, he had only been using the cheapest level-one Neb paper whose unit price was 7 gold coins. Now he could afford these materials as he had arge amount of reserve funds. He transferred to the Aquarius gxy and went to the familiar shopkeeper in the ck market who had sold him Neb paper recently. Seeing Xie Mingzhe, the shopkeeper said, "Uncle Chubby, do you want another 10 pieces of level-one Neb paper?" Xie Mingzhe replied, "Please give me 100 pieces of Neb paper of the highest level." "!!! 100 pieces of Neb paper of the highest level? Have I misheard him?" Seeing that the shopkeeper was stunned by his words, Xie Mingzhe continued, "The unit price of the highest-level Neb paper is 500 gold coins. I''m one of your regr customers, so what about giving me a discount and selling 100 pieces of paper for 40,000 gold coins? We can establish a long-term cooperation between us." Receiving arge order, the shopkeeper recovered his poise, saying, "OKOK!" He quickly brought Xie Mingzhe a stack of Neb paper of level five. While counting, he asked, "Did you make a fortune, Uncle Chubby? Why do you want to buy the highest-level paper?" "No, I didn''t." Xie Mingzhe humbly said, "I just want to know if the data of a card made with the highest-level Neb paper will be better." After buying the paper, Xie Mingzhe went back to his individual s.p.a.ce, starting to paint Xue Baochai again. The gloss of the highest-level Neb paper was much better than that of the level-one paper. He painted more smoothly on the paper and used less Inner Spirit this time. As expected, the data had improved. The Agility increased from 15 to 20, but it failed to reach 30. Xie Mingzhe calmed down and pondered on the causes. [Lin Daiyu]''s and [Wu Song]''s instant death skill was just created by chance. However, now he actively tried to create instant death skills. He must take the image of the character, the description of the skill and the distribution of the data into consideration, each of which required plenty of attention, so making an ideal card became much more difficult. ording to the database rules of World of Star Card, the base data of different kinds of cards, such as HP, Defense, Attack and Agility, will each have a range. The official database will keep the data within this range and randomly generate a number. Since an IDE card was a tactical card focusing on Agility, it would be better to boost the data to the extreme Cpletely ignore HP, Defense and Attack, while making Agility the highest. Xie Mingzhe closed his eyes to rx himself for a moment, and then he reconnected to the card making system to concentrate his Inner Spirit. At this moment, nothing was in Xie Mingzhe''s mind but one [Xue Baochai] card that was erged countless times. Every detail, including the hair of the character, was clearly shown. The skill description and data of the card floated in front of his eyes like a subt.i.tle. He used Inner Spirit to re-edit the card''s data. Then he saw that the numbers constantly changed under his spiritual control, just like the numbers in the lottery, with no specific rules. Health, Attack, Defense, Agility, Critical Strike Chance All the attributes were changing at the same time, but he only focused on Agility. When the Agility changed to 30, he immediately stopped thinking. "Congrattions, you''ve created a card sessfully. Please confirm the changes you made and wait for verification." The card quickly pa.s.sed the verification and the "°" LOGO was printed on the lower right corner of the card. Xie Mingzhe picked up the card and observed it carefully. [Xue Baochai] (Water) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 200, Attack 0, Defense 100, Agility 30, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Baochai Chasing b.u.t.terflies (Baochai wields a circle hand fan to beat at b.u.t.terflies to cause huge damage to them. Has a 30% chance of triggering the instant death effect.) He made it! Agility 30, and a 30% chance of triggering the instant death effect C he had finally made what Legend Tang had described as "an excellent IDE card"! The girl on the card face was dynamic, wielding a circle hand fan to beat at two b.u.t.terflies in front of her. This picture was full of vigour, showing the girl''s personality. He took another Neb paper trying to improve [Lin Daiyu]. Once again, he concentrated Inner Spirit to erge [Lin Daiyu] in his mind and re-edited the data, changing its Agility to 30. Although there was a slight decline in Defense and HP, but there was not much difference between 100 HP and 80 HP when facing a card with Attack reaching the hundreds of thousands. Under the premise that the two cards are evenly matched, it''s key that the IDE card had 100 Agility. Otherwise, an IDE card with 99 Agility wouldn''t be able to activate the IDE skill even if it was only 0.1 second slower than the opponent''s card when releasing skills. Then the IDE card would bepletely useless. Even if it was a 100 Agility IDE card, as long as the opponent could predict the timing, then he would use different methods to avoid triggering the IDE skill. On the other hand, by predicting the timing, Xie Mingzhe could also use the IDE card to instakill the opponent''s card when it''s in CD. In a master''s set of cards, the 100 Agility IDE card will definitely y a role. Seven-star, full-grade ck [Lin Daiyu], Agility 100, with an IDE skill against flower cards. Seven-star, full-grade ck [Xue Baochai], Agility 100, with an IDE skill against b.u.t.terfly cards. These two cards would definitely make him famous in the card-making field. Xie Mingzhe held the two cards, smiling very happily. Under Legend Tang''s guidance, he had make a qualified IDE card sessfully. What he had to do next was to attend tomorrow''s auction to buy a shop in a lovely location. He wanted to name it as "° Card Storage". He would be a small boss selling cards to .u.mte wealth. Xie Mingzhe found it particrly interesting after doing several battles against Legend Tang in the Arena. This game''s battle mode was totally different from any game he had yed before. In the future, if he could make aplete set of character cards, he would try to join the races held by the National Star Card League! Chapter 27 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith It was already 12:30am when Xie Mingzhe went back to his individual s.p.a.ce. He directly got offline, washed his face and went up to the second floor, preparing to go to sleep. However, he found Chen Xiao standing alone on the balcony smoking. Chen Xiao hadn''t turned on the light. By the light of the streetmps, Xie Mingzhe saw a tall figure standing in the smoke. He was extremely tired and lonely. Xie Mingzhe didn''t dare to bother him and snuck back into his room, because his intuition told him that Chen Xiao was thinking about his brother again. In the dormitory, Xiao Pang was eating snacks. He was fond of having snacks and didn''t seem to worry about his body shape. Xie Mingzhe sat opposite him, saying in a low voice, "Brother Yu, Brother Chen once said that this house belongs to his brother. Do you know where his brother is?" At first, Xie Mingzhe hadn''t dared to ask this question because Pang Yu was not familiar to him. After they became friends, he found that Pang Yu, who always treated him with enthusiasm, was harmless. He was so curious about this that he couldn''t help asking. Hearing Xie Mingzhe''s question, Pang Yu became serious immediately, saying, "People who just came to the studio were curious about where Chen''s brother is once they knew this house belongs to Chen''s brother. But if you ask him face to face, he will take on a ghastly expression. I asked him once out of curiosity, he just told me his brother has gone. Maybe his brother has pa.s.sed away. Never ask him about his brother." Thinking about Chen''s lonely figure on the balcony, Xie Mingzhe became slightly worried about him. When he was just reborn in this world, he was driven away by thendlord because he couldn''t pay the rent. It was Brother Chen who gave him his first job and introduced Star Card Storm to him. In Star Card Storm, he became aware of his card-making skills and earned hundreds of thousands of crystal coins by selling cards in just a week. If he hadn''t met Brother Chen, he might still be looking for a job here and there. He was extremely grateful to Brother Chen for his help. If Brother Chen needed his help in the future, he would absolutely offer his hand. But if Brother Chen did not say anything, he''d better not interfere with other people''s private affairs. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe sighed, temporarily suppressing his doubts. The next morning, Xie Mingzhe got up half an hour earlier than the other members in the game studio as usual, and entered the game at 7:00am. He connected his Inner Spirit to the card-making system to make 10 revised versions of [Lin Daiyu] in session, and another 10 [Xue Baochai]. It cost a profuse amount of Inner Spirit to do cards. When other members were about to go downstairs, Xie Mingzhe took off the helmet to go offline, and began to prepare breakfast. But when he had just turned around, he suddenly met a pair of meaningful eyes whose master was staring at him. Xie Mingzhe almost jumped in surprise, Brother Chen! Why are you standing behind me? The man''s hair was as messy as a bird''s nest, his clothes in disarray and his beard unshaven, which made him look decadent. But at the moment he turned around, Xie Mingzhe believed that he was not mistaken C Chen Xiao''s sharp eyes indicated that he knew everything. However, after meeting Xie Mingzhe''s eyes, Chen Xiaoughed and walked up to him, You are so hardworking that you enter the game earlier than us every day. How''s your study on the game going? Xie Mingzhe said with a smile, I studied the characteristics of Five-Element creatures, which is quiteplicated. He responded casually, and just at this time Chi Qing came downstairs, so he went over and said, Sister Qing, let me help you prepare breakfast. Chen Xiao looked at the busy boy in the kitchen and slightly raised the corner of his mouth. Then he looked back at the boy''s helmet, saying nothing. ** Xie Mingzhe actively joined the game studio''s team to farm instances after breakfast. In the morning, they farmed fiverge instances in session. After brushing, Chen Xiao checked the package and said: There''s enough of all the seven-fragment pieces that the boss wants. A''Qing, you ask if the boss is there? It is best to pay the bill in person. Can avoid the transaction fee of the transaction bank. Chi Qing sent a message to her friend and quickly received a reply: The boss agreed to pay the bill in person, and I directly asked him toe to my individual s.p.a.ce. Everyone entered Chi Qing''s s.p.a.ce whose decoration was quite different from that of the system''s. The sofa was dark blue, and the disy case and the bed were reced by matching blue ones. Xiao Pang said in wonder, "Sister Qing, your apartment is beautifully decorated." Jin Yue asked, "A''Qing, you have taken a course in design, haven''t you? Your s.p.a.ce is professionally decorated." Chi Qing replied, "I minored in design in college." Just then, the doorbell rang. After Chi Qing opened the door, a man with the system''s preset no.1 face and the ID of 7456789 walked in, saying with a smile, "h.e.l.lo, you want to trade the materials with me face to face?" "" Isn''t the man Tang Muzhou? Xie Mingzhe raised his head and exchanged a look with Tang Muzhou. The two looked at each other and pretended not to know the other person. Tang Muzhou checked the materials and paid Brother Chen. Before he left, he privately messaged Xie Mingzhe, "Uncle Chubby, are you still working as a booster? Don''t you think it is a waste of time?" Xie Mingzhe replied, "I signed a contract with them. I must finish what I started. I''ll focus on making cards as of next month." "Although you have stable ie now, the work you do everyday takes you a lot of time. Stop wasting energy on boring instances." "I know." "Have you made any new cards? You promised me that you would give me one new card." Tang Muzhou showed a great interest in Xie Mingzhe''s new cards. Xie Mingzhe replied with a smile, "Don''t worry, Legend Tang. I''ll make a card and send it to your emailter. Could you please a.s.sess its value and set its price?" Tang Muzhou answered readily, "No problem." A momentter, Tang Muzhou received a card in his mailbox. Level 1 [Xue Baochai], Additional Skill C Baochai Chasing b.u.t.terflies, IDE against b.u.t.terfly cards, Agility 30. Tang Muzhou couldn''t help butugh out loud, Xiao Zhuughed at me in the chat group yesterday, but it''s his turn to cry today. Tang Muzhou stopped gloating and replied to Uncle Chubby seriously, This card can be sold for 300,000 in the auction, but if you sell more than ten of them, a level 1 one-star card should be priced at around 100,000. Valuees from shortage C once the card''s number increased, its price would naturally drop. Xie Mingzhe understood that, and he did not want to queue up for every card to join the auction. It is better to sell [Lin Daiyu] and [Xue Baochai] together in his card store to bring customers. As Xie Mingzhe had first estimated, when selling cards in bulk its unit price was around 100,000. It seemed that Tang Muzhou buying [Lin Daiyu] for 660,000 showed that he was rich and willful. Xie Mingzhe, who had earned 660,000 gold coins from Tang Muzhou, felt guilty, so he said, Legend Tang, you spent much higher than the market price when buying [Lin Daiyu] at the auction, so I want to give [Xue Baochai] to you for free. Thank you for your help. Then I will just ept that. Feel free to ask me questions at any time in the future. The money Tang Muzhou spent was nothing to him, but Uncle Chubby took the initiative to give him a card, so he couldn''t find any reasons to refuse Uncle Chubby. Besides, he could take the opportunity to get along with Uncle Chubby and set traps for other yers. Tang Muzhou thought about that while Xie Mingzhe went offline with the other members of the game studio. Brother Chen said happily, The task is finally finished. I''ll treat you to lunch! It was a group activity, so Xie Mingzhe certainly would go. Then he followed Brother Chen with Pang Yu, Jin Yue, and Chi Qing. Chapter 28 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Chen Xiao treated them at the revolving restaurant on the top floor of the Grand Hotel, opposite Capital University. Xie Mingzhe looked through the floor-to-ceiling window and saw the skysc.r.a.pers and levitated roads. Immersed in the game world these days, he nearly forgot that the real world was in a high-tech era. But it was a pity that Chinese .s.sic culture got lost in this world. Seeing the boy lost in thought beside the window, Chen Xiao walked over to him and asked, Xiao Xie, do you think I look like a bad guy? Xie Mingzhe recovered consciousness, Why did you ask that? You are a nice person! Chen Xiao raised his eyebrows, Really? I thought you regarded me as a very bad boss so you don''t want to tell me your secret. Xie Mingzhe''s heart missed a beat, What secret? Chen Xiao patted his shoulder, Tell me when you want. If you don''t want to say it, I won''t force you. It was a hearty lunch, joyous and harmonious. But Xie Mingzhe felt upset, worrying that Brother Chen may have known something. After returning to the studio, Xie Mingzhe looked at the helmets, seats and therge virtual LCD screen in the centre of the room. He suddenly realized C did he overlook something important? The data of theputers in the studio were usually interoperable, right? Just like an inte cafe manager could monitor allputers in the cafe, the studio owner did too. Thinking of Brother Chen''s words at noon, Xie Mingzhe felt a shudder running down his back. He immediately ran upstairs to look for Chen Xiao. The man was smoking on the balcony, leaving Xie Mingzhe a figure shrouded in smoke. Xie Mingzhe touched his nose with embarra.s.sment and asked, Brother Chen, do you know all of what I''ve done in the game? Chen Xiao blew some smoke rings and then looked back at him, saying, All smart helmets in the game studio are connected with the host machine to make it convenient to liquidate the data everyday. I found that you have made a lot of cards, but I don''t know much about the specific situation. After all, your individual s.p.a.ce is your privacy, so I have never entered into your s.p.a.ce. Xie Mingzhe, Chen Xiao looked very gentle. He smoked as he said, There are only a few yers who have the ability to make cards in this game. You have talent in this field while keeping a low profile to prevent others from knowing that, which is good for you. At least you are not as innocent as a white rabbit who may put all his cards on the table. We met each other not long ago, so it''s normal that you are wary towards me. He was so frank that Xie Mingzhe felt embarra.s.sed, I didn''t guard against you deliberately. At first I was not sure if I could sell my card, and I just wanted to make some pocket money. I just figured out the whole thing in thest two days. Chen Xiao said, If you are willing to believe me, I can help you. If not, it doesn''t matter. We are only a boss and an employee, and you only signed a one-month contract. After that, it''s up to you whether you will continue to work here. Xie Mingzhe kept silent for a moment, and then he looked up at Chen Xiao, saying, Brother Chen, I believe in you. Apart from Chen Xiao epting him even though he was a neer, another reason why Xie Mingzhe dared to trust Chen Xiao was thetter''s feelings for his brother. Many times he saw Chen Xiao standing on the balcony smoking alone, or watering the sulents left by his brother. He looked very gentle, lost in memory. All this showed Chen Xiao was a man who valued his family and friends. Generally, such a person would not betray his friend. Besides, although Chen Xiao looked somewhat decadent, he was particrly frank. Getting along with Chen Xiao for so long, Xie Mingzhe thought of him as a trustworthy person. Xiao Pang, Jin Yue and Chi Qing were nice people too, so he decided to take a gamble to trust Chen Xiao. If he was wrong, he could leave the studio after the contract ended, which would not be a big loss to him in any way. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe said, I got some ideas for making character cards, and made IDE cards by ident. Chen Xiao suddenly widened his eyes, Are you ° in the auction? Xie Mingzhe didn''t want to hide it any more, answering, Yes. In fact, Chen Xiao had a hunch. Every night when the host machine liquidated the data, Xie Mingzhe''sputer showed he had made more cards. By lunchtime today, the number increased to over a hundred. This growth rate was more like he created cards by himself. But now Xie Mingzhe personally admitted it, which made Chen Xiao still a little shocked. Chen Xiao frowned and lowered his voice, asking, Do you know what it means to be able to make IDE cards? "It is said that I was the first to make this kind of card, so my cards are popr for the time being. However, card designers in major clubs are not fools, and they will make such cards soon. I want to .u.mte a sum of money before they start selling IDE cards." Chen Xiao, "" Obviously, Xie Mingzhe impressed him with his words. He didn''t expect this eighteen-year old boy to have such a clear mind. He nodded approvingly, "You''re right. When a new kind of battle card first appears on the market, they can be sold at their highest price because the demand for them exceeds the supply, but their price will plunge when clubs sells them in bulk. Their price won''t stabilize until next season''s League. At present, there are no IDE cards on the market, so you can make a fortune even by selling [Lin Daiyu] only." "Brother Chen, you know [Lin Daiyu]?" "Yes. Your story has gone viral in the forum recently. It is said that "Chubby", a card-making genius, appeared at the auction and sold his one-star card for 660,000 gold coins. I guessed that you were "Chubby", but it was only my guess, I didn''t expect you to actually be "Chubby"." Chen Xiao took a deep breath, stubbing out his cigarette b.u.t.t in the ashtray. He looked at Xie Mingzhe, saying with a rare serious look in his eyes, "Because of your talent, major clubs will do everything possible to attract you, but I have to warn you that every club has hidden rules. Signing for a club means that you will have to sell your cards'' copyright to them. If you have many creative ideas, don''t sign this personal contract, understand?" Brother Chen''s words warmed Xie Mingzhe''s heart. Xie Mingzhe said immediately, "I know. I want to be a frence designer." Chen Xiao nodded, saying, "Talk about your n." Xie Mingzhe said, "IDE cards are a kind of tactical card. I''ll establish myself in the original cards circle by selling IDE cards first, and when my creator LOGO receives popr recognition, it will be easier for me to sell other cards in the future. I have a lot of things to do alone, and I don''t know as much about this game as you do, so I think, if you are willing to help me, we can work together?" "Do you trust me?" Chen Xiao asked frankly. "Of course I do. Without Brother Chen, I would never have started my career in this game at all. Actually, I was driven out by myndlord on the day I looked for a job. But for you, I might have slept in the street that night." Chen Xiao was moved by Xie Mingzhe''s words. He had been reluctant to get involved in Xie Mingzhe''s personal affairs, but Xie Mingzhe''s clear eyes reminded him of someone. A crazy idea suddenly came into his mind. If Xiao Xie really has considerable talent, the man he''s been waiting for maye back. Thinking of this, Chen Xiao clenched his fists, took a deep breath and looked at Xie Mingzhe, trying to gently say, "If you make money by selling cards, you''ll be exhausted since you do everything by yourself. You need a team to support you. Now that you''ve been working in the studio for so long, you must have known everyone very well. Let us help you. I think Xiao Pang, A''Qing and Jin Yue will be very happy when you make a lot of money and give us some shares." Xie Mingzhe nodded vigorously, "That''s what I think." He had it difficult if he wanted to make cards and run his own store by himself. It would be great if there was a team to support him, then he could focus on making cards. It would be better if Brother Chen and his team were willing to help him, because he knew everyone very well. They returned downstairs, put on their helmets and logged into the game. Chen Xiao took Xie Mingzhe directly to themercial street. "Near the Central Square of the Aquarius gxy is the location of the busiestmercial section in the game. I''ll show you thergest card store here and you can learn how to run a store from them." Brother Chen said while walking. Xie Mingzhe followed him closely. The street facing the auction house had high foot traffic. It was busy even at noon. There were various stores on the street, amongst which the "Battle Card Store" was the most eye-catching. As soon as they entered the store, they saw more than a dozen neat rows of disy cases which were .s.sified ording to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. The store had an endless array of cards, including seven-star cards and one-star cards. Every card had a price tag underneath them. There were packages of cards in the Treasure Area next to the disy cases, such as a package of five wood cards or five metal cards After visiting the busiest street, Xie Mingzhe became aware that it would be very difficult for him to run a store alone. He needed someone to help him, especially when his business expanded. If he focused on running the store, he might not have time to make cards. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe said, "Brother Chen, I want to rent a store at the auction this afternoon. Please give me some advice about running a store." Chen Xiao nodded, "OK. I''ll go with you and help you choose a store in the best section." They attended the auction on time at 3:30pm. Each of the stores being auctioned that day had an area of 200 square meters and two floors. One of them was located near Central Square. Such a store was rarely auctioned. Chapter 28 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Xie Mingzhe remembered that he and Brother Qi once saw the monthly rent of a 50-square-meter store was 20,000 gold coins at auction. This store with an area of 200 square meters was in such a good location, so its monthly rent would exceed 80,000 gold coins. As expected, bidders scrambled for the store and the rent soon rose to 80,000 gold coins. Xie Mingzhe had 660,000 gold coins in his bag. He liked this store and Brother Chen also thought it had a good location. Chen Xiao whispered to him, "Your business will expand in the future. You''d better start your business by renting arger store so as to avoid having no ce to put your cards." Xie Mingzhe nodded. The price stayed at 80,000 for a short while, and when the auctioneer started to count down, Xie Mingzhe offered a price C 85,000. Someone bidded against him C 90,000. Xie Mingzhe increased his offer calmly C 100,000. 110,000! 120,000! 130,000! 150,000! He felt totally different when he pressed the increase-bid b.u.t.ton in person. Xie Mingzhe, who used to be a bystander standing in the crowd watching the auction, had never expected himself to be a rich man bidding against others at auction. The change was so fast. If the owner failed to manage the store whose monthly rent was 150,000, he would sustain huge losses. Taking this into consideration, the other bidder gave up. The monthly rent of this 200-square-meter store in themercial street was currently 150,000 gold coins. It''s a deal! As the hammer fell, the right to use the store would be transferred to Xie Mingzhe. Xie Mingzhe, along with Brother Chen, excitedly went back-stage to go through the formalities, and then they went to themercial street to see the store. He had the authority to manage the store now, so he brought Brother Chen in directly. The store was empty. It looked like a "roughcast house" on earth, which was simply decorated. But it was a south-facing store and it was light. On the first floor, he would set up some special areas, for example, the Card Disy Area, Customer Message Area and Store Announcement Area, and the second floor would be used to sell cards only. Chen Xiao suggested, "You can redecorate the store. Chi Qing is good at this, you can ask her for help." Xie Mingzhe was sure that Chi Qing would decorate his store beautifully. Brother Chen called Chi Qing over. When she learned that Xie Mingzhe needed her help to decorate the store, she didn''t ask much about the reason, but simply said, "What style do you prefer? More luxurious or simpler?" Xie Mingzhe answered, "Simpler and more elegant. Sister Qing, you can decide how to decorate the store." Chi Qing asked, "Is the warm beige color OK?" Xie Mingzhe nodded, "No problem!" Chi Qing quickly began to decorate. "Does buying furniture in the game cost money? Sister Qing, keep an ount of expenses and I''ll transfer the money to you." Xie Mingzhe said. "Furniture is my gift to you." Chen Xiao said readily. "Draw money out of the studio ount directly, A''Qing. Xiao Xie will open his first shop, and we will cooperate with him in the future. These are my gifts to him." "Thanks, Brother Chen." Since Xie Mingzhe will cooperate with them, he didn''t want to be stingy, so he said, "Brother Chen, I''ll give you some shares of the store''s profit. How much do you want?" "How about 2%mission per person?" Brother Chen said frankly. Brother Chen was not greedy. Xie Mingzhe loved to deal with straightforward people, he replied immediately, "No problem." This amount meant nothing to him. If there was a team to support him, he would be able to focus on making cards and wouldn''t have to worry about the card upgrades or the strengthening materials, which would save him lots of time and energy. In addition, once he became a professional card yer, all his cards would have to be upgraded to the highest level, which would consume lots of materials. He couldn''t do it alone. Xie Mingzhe watched Chi Qing buying furniture from the system''s shop and quickly decorating the store. Sister Qing was a master of decorating. She changed the store to apletely new look in less than an hour. The shop was decorated ording to Xie Mingzhe''s idea. On the first floor, there was the Card Disy Area, Store Announcement Area and Customer Message Area, and on the second floor there were more than a dozen rows of disy cases. Xie Mingzhe changed the store''s name to "° Card Store", starting to put the cards into the disy cases. He proposed, "In order to make customers see the data of the seven-star cards more directly, I want to exhibit my two seven-star cards. What do you think, Brother Chen?" "Great idea. What are the cards'' attributes? I''ll give you the materials you need to upgrade them." "A wood card and a water card." As the fragments had just been handed over to the customer, Brother Chen retrieved the leftover cards, collected when they were farming instances, from the studio and let Xie Mingzhe deconstruct them. Xie Mingzhe deconstructed those cards into hundreds of sets of fragments in an instant and leveled [Lin Daiyu] and [Xue Baochai] into seven-star ck cards. These materials were expensive. Brother Chen was willing to help him, so Xie Mingzhe didn''t say anything. When the card sold, he would give everyone a share. When everything was done, Xie Mingzhe looked at his shop and smiled. It''s wonderful to be a boss! Brother Chen asked, When are you going to open the store? I will go to the forum to promote it. In addition, remember to set unlimited traffic'' mode for your store in the settings. On the first day the store opens up, there will be a lot of people joining in on the fun to crowd into the store. Okay, then the store will open at 7:00pm. Thankfully Brother Chen reminded him, otherwise he wouldn''t know about the unlimited traffic mode. In this mode, if thousands of people squeeze into his store, then the store will quickly generate countless copies with synchronized data, which is more convenient for yers to enter with everyone seeing the same scene. As to who can sessfully buy the card then it depends on APM and inte speed. A momentter, Brother Chen post on the official forum of Star Card Storm C Card maker ° will open his card store on time at 7:00pm. Location: Store No. 1-315 in the south section of Xiushui Street, behind the Auction House, Aquarius gxy downtown area. Everyone is wee. Many yers replied: What cards will Pangpang sell? Don''t be [Lin Daiyu] again! Do you hate yers using flower cards? Is it because your ex-girlfriend loves flowers? You want to sell [Lin Daiyu] in bulk? Poor Legend Tang! I will definitely go to Pangpang''s store! Pangpang, what is your real name? Are you really a fat uncle? Everyone was curious about the card maker, so they all said they would go to the store. Soon, Chi Qing, Pang Yu and Jin Yue all knew that Xie Mingzhe would open a store. Pang Yu widened his eyes, Wow, I didn''t expect that my roommate was actually a genius card maker! Will I benefit from my a.s.sociation with Xiao Xie?" Jin Yue smiled, "Working as a booster while having extra ie, not bad!" Chi Qing said calmly, "If youck materials in the future, we will help you." Brother Chen concluded. From today onwards, our studio will temporarily stop receiving orders, but you will get paid as usual. The materials we get in the future will be given to Xiao Xie to upgrade his cards. We will help Xiao Xie to operate the store first. Xie Mingzhe was very happy, Thank you all! Let''s make money together! *** At 7:00pm. To Xie Mingzhe''s surprise, the first yers who visited his store mostly had familiar IDs C Can Yang, Huan Yue, Hong Zhu and the rest were XX Club''s Vice President or XX Club''s Manager, who he had never heard of. How many yers from major clubs hade here?! Thankfully Brother Chen told him to open the unlimited traffic mode; his store, full of yers, generated over ten copies. In addition to big clubs rushing to buy [Lin Daiyu], there were countless pa.s.sers-by looking around. When the onlookers entered the store, they felt that the decor of the shop was particrly beautiful. The beige wallpaper and floor tiles gave them a warm feeling, like walking into their home. The first floor was s.p.a.cious, with just a row of card showcases, but most of them were empty. Only the two at the centre had cards in them. Illuminated by the light hanging from the ceiling, the two fully upgraded ck cards looked so delicate. Two level 70 ck cards C [Lin Daiyu] with IDE against flower cards, and [Xue Baochai] with IDE against b.u.t.terfly cards. A notice was posted on the showcase: These cards on show are not for sale. yers who didn''t want to buy cards were curiously observing the two beautiful girls, while others rushed upstairs. Theyout of the second floor waspletely different. There were more than a dozen rows of disy cases, but most of them were empty. Only the first row of disy cases had some cards, all of which were level 1 cards. 10 [Lin Daiyu] cards on the left, while 10 [Xue Baochai] cards on the right. All the yers couldn''t help but sigh in admiration, They''re all IDE cards! Can he sell so many cards all at once? However, just when the crowd was puzzled A terrible scene appeared. 10 [Lin Daiyu] and 10 [Xue Baochai] in the disy case were snapped up within one second!! All the onlookers were shocked, thinking that their eyes had deceived them. At the same time, in the professional league yers chat group C Ye Zhu: F**k, how did this Pangpang make IDE cards targeting b.u.t.terfly cards?! It''s even an initial card with 30 Agility, which will increase to 100 when the card is fully upgraded! Shen An: I told you not tough at my Shifu, now you have been targeted, hehehe! Tang Muzhou: :smile: Everyone: Legend Tang, why are you smiling? Tang Muzhou: Wait for him to make more IDE cards. Everyone: Then someone said: ° Card Store particrly made room for an announcement area which currently has written C Today all cards have been sold, thank you foring. In addition to [Lin Daiyu] and [Xue Baochai], the card maker will release a new card tomorrow. The store will open at 11:30am tomorrow. See you there! Everyone: Trantor''s Note: 1. APM: actions per minute 2. Pangpang: As said before, and are two parts of the Chinese character which means fat. And is p.r.o.nounced "png", so other yers give XMZ a nickname "Pangpang". Wee to join our discord! https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 29 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Capital of Darkness Club. Ye Zhu turned around in the room and kept rubbing his nose, An IDE card against b.u.t.terfly cards? How is it possible? There are so many b.u.t.terfly cards in my set of ying cards. Does this guy hate me? My entire set of ying cards is being targeted! Seeing Ye Zhu hovering like a gyroscope, Pei Jingshan stepped forward to stop him and said gently, Xiao Zhu, you don''t have to worry too much. Our club is investigating this card maker. And since ° also made [Lin Daiyu] targeting all flower cards, it means he isn''t targeting specifically you. Ye Zhu looked confused, Then who is his target? Pei Jingshan said, I''m guessing ° doesn''t mean to target at any professional yer, but his cards may be against all the mainstream sets of ying cards, so you don''t have to worry. Tang Muzhou has been put at a disadvantage, as well as you, but a group of people will also be put at a disadvantageter. Once everyone has the same trouble, then no one is in trouble. Ye Zhu, I don''t want to talk to you. This man was a philosophy graduate who used dialectical thinking even in daily talks. Every time Ye Zhu talked to Pei Jingshan, he felt that his intelligence was steamrolled by thetter, so he simply ignored Pei Jingshan and returned to his dormitory. In his dorm, there was a wall of transparent .s.s cabs used for storing various b.u.t.terfly specimens he had bought at high prices from each and every gxy, including some precious and endangered b.u.t.terfly species. Since he was a child, he had been very interested in b.u.t.terflies and studying them for a long time. He also bought b.u.t.terfly specimens at high prices and filled a room with these specimens, which showed his obsession with b.u.t.terflies. At the age of fifteen, he started to y Star Card Storm and tried to make b.u.t.terfly cards. Thanks to his big collection of b.u.t.terfly specimens at home, he could get a limitless amount of inspiration from them to make cards. There were only two or three b.u.t.terfly cards in the official card pool at that time. Ye Zhu took a different approach by making a set of b.u.t.terfly cards, and even created a distinctive b.u.t.terfly genre. Within his set of ying cards, there was a ck-striped b.u.t.terfly for control, a transparent b.u.t.terfly for tracking, a postman b.u.t.terfly for AOE, a green-veined b.u.t.terfly with a strong group healing ability, and various blue morpho b.u.t.terflies, ck swallowtail b.u.t.terflies, white sulphur b.u.t.terflies, brush-footed b.u.t.terflies, orange oakleaf b.u.t.terflies Ye Zhu''s b.u.t.terfly cards included nearly every kind of b.u.t.terfly he knew. Currently in the league, Zheng Feng''s Earth cards had the highest Defense, while Ye Zhu''s had the lowest. Smaller creatures had a lower Defense, so most yers in the league don''t have such small creature cards included in their card pool. Currently only Pei Jingshan, the King of Gu, had arge number of Gu insects in his set of ying cards. Heunched attacks relying on Gu insects and multiple debuffs, but since many of his Gu insect cards could divide and regenerate, Defense was an unimportant attribute for his cards. Compared to the terrible Gu insects, the lightweight b.u.t.terfly was an insect which couldn''t regenerate. So when Ye Zhu first made b.u.t.terfly cards, everyone was pessimistic about his future. Unexpectedly, Ye Zhu, who was endowed with intelligence and wit, created a lot of b.u.t.terfly control cards. He carved a niche for himself as a professional yer and won the Best New yer Award in the eighth season by using the cards'' control skills, such as the hallucination and blindness skills, to gain more time to attack his opponents. Shen An, Tang Muzhou''s apprentice, was the winner of the Best New yer Award in the ninth season. Ye Zhu and Shen An were also the most talented young yers in the league. The former was seventeen years old and thetter was sixteen years old. Ye Zhu''s talent was recognized by most veteran yers in the league. The sh between Ye Zhu and Shan Lan was one of the most .s.sic in the league''s recent years. Shan Lan, who was very good at air attacks,peted against Ye Zhu with his various cranes,rks, phoenixes, and white eagles. That air battle was also called the most beautiful air battle in history. After that match, Ye Zhu and Shan Lan, who was a few years older, became good friends. After the eighth and ninth season, the way Ye Zhu yed gradually matured. Ye Zhu was very confident in himself. He wanted to win a medal in the individual race of the 10th season. Even if he couldn''t win the championship, he could also consolidate his position in the league with a silver or bronze medal. But now, the appearance of [Xue Baochai] was like a pot of cold water pouring down on him, which made him particrly uneasy. Because [Xue Baochai] had an instant death effect on b.u.t.terfly cards. Why did Chubby create that kind of card? Did Chubby hate him? Being very depressed, Ye Zhu switched his optical tablet on and gave Shan Lan a holographic video call, "Brother Lan, do you know that there are b.u.t.terfly IDE cards with MAX Agility in Chubby''s store? I''m really mad at him!" Looking at the anxious teenager who appeared in the video, Shan Lan smiled and said with a soft voice, "One can take only one IDE card with him in the game, but you have so many b.u.t.terfly cards. Your opponent''s IDE card will instkill just one of your cards. Don''t worry about it." Feeling stunned, Ye Zhu scratched the back of his head, saying, "I was so mad that I almost forgot about it." Ye Zhu recovered hisposure and became slightly calmer. In his set of ying cards, there were more than 30 b.u.t.terfly cards, so it wouldn''t matter if one of them was instkilled. However, if a top yer seized the opportunity and instkilled his ck-striped b.u.t.terfly or transparent b.u.t.terfly, his rhythm was likely to bepletely destroyed. Ye Zhu still couldn''t rest a.s.sured. He asked, "Brother Lan, do you know Chubby?" Shan Lan said, "His name is Uncle Chubby. He will make many IDE cards in the near future. You won''t be the only one to have cards directed against you, so don''t worry about it. IDE cards won''t be circted in the market until next season, so you still have plenty of time to think about how to deal with them." Ye Zhu nodded, "Got it. Thanks, Brother Lan." Ye Zhu turned off the videomunication device and picked up his helmet C he decided to create a smurf ount and go to Chubby''s store in person. There will be some new cards tomorrow, won''t there? He wanted to know who would be the next jinx. Trantor''s Note: Gu() is a venom-based poison a.s.sociated with cultures of south China, particrly Nanyue. The traditional preparation of gu poison involved sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake, scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor. Gu was used in ck magic practices such as manipting s.e.xual partners, creating malignant diseases, and causing death. Chapter 29 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith At the same time, in the Adjudication Club. Shan Lan had scarcely put the videomunication device down when he saw Nie Yuandaoing out of the bathroom after a shower. Nie was wearing a bathrobe with its belt fastened loosely around his waist, which showed his masculine bronze skin and s.e.xy eight abdominals subtly. Shan Lan flushed and averted his eyes from the man who was approaching him. He shifted his position, saying, "Shifu." "Well." Nie Yuandao responded in a deep voice, and sat next to his apprentice naturally. "Who were you talking to?" he asked. Shan Lan took a deep breath and tried to control his heartbeat by ignoring the heat from his Shifu. Then he answered:"Ye Zhuined to me that there were b.u.t.terfly IDE cards in °''s store. How can he make IDE cards with MAX Agility in such a short time? I suspect he was instructed by a master. " "That is a real possibility." Nie Yuandao said in a steady and even voice, "He has gotten all the data ratios for original cards. Huan Yue got a [Xue Baochai] today and brought it to me. That card is pretty good because it is much better than [Wu Song], the original one." "Wu Song ying the Tiger, Daiyu Burying the Flowers, Baochai Chasing b.u.t.terfliesHow many IDE cards does he want to make?" Shan Lan put his hand on his forehead, suffering from a headache, "We should have offered him some more attractive conditions when we wanted to sign him. " "That wouldn''t work. Maybe the fact that we bought out the copyright of [Wu Song] made him truly aware of the importance of copyright." Nie Yuandao said with certainty, "He won''t consider joining our club unless we let him own the copyright of his cards." "But if we do so, we will put ourselves at risk." Shan Lan thought that it was impossible for the high-level decision makers to agree with conditions like "copyright freedom" as well, "Having the copyright of all his cards, he can leave with his cards whenever he wants. In addition, he will have ess to confidential information of the Adjudication Club and know card groups of all the yers. Which club dares to sign him with that condition?" "That''s the reason why the more talented a designer is, the more reluctant a club would be in giving up the card copyrights. Clubs can''t handle consequential disasters of talented designers'' job hopping." Nie Yuandao stopped, and then lowered his voice. "Think about it, Legend Lin fought against the club over copyright issues originally. He even made awsuit against the club. The dispute continued for half a year and influenced the whole league. All clubs then amended their contracts." Nie Yuandao wanted to stand on his feet and get a bottle of water after saying all these things. Shan Lan antic.i.p.ated him thoughtfully as well as immediately. His eyes shone with admiration and grat.i.tude when he pa.s.sed a .s.s of water to his Shifu, " I know that since those troubles caused by Legend Lin, every club''s contracts have be stricter than before, and yers'' card copyrights have been controlled by their clubs. I wouldn''t have my card copyright if Shifu didn''t support me in the shareholders'' meeting and signed an extra five-year contract with the Adjudication Club that year. Thanks to your help, now I can create cards freely. I owe you a great debt of grat.i.tude, and I will never forget that" Nie Yuandao interrupted him, "You don''t need to express your grat.i.tude to me everyday. I''m your Shifu, so it is my duty to take care of you." "" Shan Lan slightly blushed. He avoided Nie Yuandao''s eyes, bowing his head and remaining silent. Nie Yuandao looked at his apprentice doubtfully, "Why are you blushing?" Shan Lan quickly coughed and got back on topic, "You mean that Uncle Chubby won''t sign with any clubs because of copyright issues?" Nie Yuandao said seriously, "It''s a good thing that he refuses to sign with any clubs. At least, he will not join forces with Tang Muzhou, Ling Jingtang and Fang Yu to deal with us. In the near future, other clubs will be aware of his talent and will try their best to attract him, but none of them will dare to sign him, and ept such a high risk, so long as he insists on his ownership of the copyright of his cards." "So won''t we continue to court him?" Shan Lan could not reconcile himself to the fact that they had failed to attract Uncle Chubby. "Let''s wait and see his change of att.i.tude towards this issue." Nie Yuandao stood up and walked to the training room, "Don''t worry too much about it. Your set of cards are birds, which are the most difficult to be directed against. I don''t think Chubby will create bird IDE cards so soon even if he has a master to guide him." "" Is it OK to say so? Ye Zhu, whoughed the most happily in the chat group yesterday, was promptly targeted against by b.u.t.terfly IDE cards today. Nie Yuandao''s words sent shivers down Shan Lan''s spine. He always felt that Uncle Chubby might really create IDE cards that were aimed at him, which would be against his Shifu''s expectation. The more Shan Lan thought about it, the more uneasy he became. He would go to see Uncle Chubby''s new cards tomorrow at noon. *** In game, Xie Mingzhe was happily calcting the ie. He made a name for himself by using the "hunger marketing" when he first entered the market. He only made a small amount of cards and sold them slowly. On one hand, he could save his Inner Spirit and time, allowing him to think about how to make new cards. On the other hand, this strategy could also ensure steady foot traffic. People who failed to buy his new cards today would be impatient ande to buy his cards tomorrow, but he would make other new cards when they came, so those people had no option but toe to buy his cards the day after tomorrow. "° Card Store" would be famous among yers and major clubs in a week. His new cards would naturally be popr among yers. People who paid attention to IDE cards would surely advertise his cards with the help of the ma.s.ses. His turnover today had reached 2,000,000 gold coins. He had been astonished by the fortune he had made by selling [Wu Song]''s copyright to Legend Nie. But now, he took thisrge sum of money for granted and didn''t feel surprised, because his cards were worth the price. After the opening of his store, he had sold 10 [Lin Daiyu]s and 10 [Xue Baochai]s for 2,000,000 gold coins. But this was just the start. He still had inspiration for two cards. He would find time to consider how to make them and then make them carefully. He would earn big bucks tomorrow. Wee to our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 30 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Xie Mingzhe emptied his mind of all distracting thoughts, concentrating all his Inner Spirit on picturing Xi Shi killing fish with the gauze in his mind clearly. He needed to depict cards, set skills as well as distribute the data at the same time, which is almost impossible for ordinary people. However, Xie Mingzhe has had the experience of creating [Lin Daiyu] and [Xue Baochai] sessfully before, so mult.i.tasking is not such a big deal for him right now. The first card needed to be nned carefully. And it took Xie Mingzhe a good ten minutes to depict [Xi Shi] in his brain. After he had finished picturing, the system prompted, "The creation of the card ispleted. Please connect to the database to examine it." Xie Mingzhe took up the card and checked it after the examination [Xi Shi] (Water) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 200, Attack 0, Defense 50, Agility 30, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Sinking Fish (Causes huge damage to Fish cards. Has a 30% chance of triggering the instant death effect.) The image of Xi Shi on the card was attractive and graceful. She held the white gauze gently, yet all fish are terrified by her. He made it! Xie Mingzhe put away [Xi Shi] with great excitement, and then he started making [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] immediately. As one of the Four Great Beauties, w.a.n.g Zhaojun was famous for the legend of "making birds in flight fall". She got married and had to live beyond the great wall. One day she was homesick and yed the song ''Farewell to My Country'' with the Chinese lute alone. The depressing tune plus w.a.n.g Zhaojun''s beauty even made birds in flight fall. After considering the setting, Xie Mingzhe started to picture the image of this beauty. Xi Shi was a beauty who lived in the south of the Yangtze River, so she wears a soft gauze dress. But Zhaojun needed to put on some thick clothes because she had to live in the ce beyond the great wall after getting married. Putting some furry decorations on the cor, cuffs as well as the bottom of the dress, and adding a bright red cloak will make her look fantastic. Everyone can feel the destion and loneliness by just seeing her clothes. Afterwards Xie Mingzhe designed a weapon for w.a.n.g Zhaojuna Chinese lute. The beauty plucked strings with her long, slender fingers, and the tune shocked wild geese on the horizon and made them fall. In the picture, all the key elements were striking: the beauty, the Chinese lute and falling wild geese. And theposition was very integrated. The process of creating this card was smooth too. After the ten-minute process of depicting with great attention, the card pa.s.sed the examination and was stamped with the logo "°" on the reverse, which was familiar to yers. [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] (Metal) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 200, Attack 0, Defense 100, Agility 30, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Making Flying Wild Geese Fall (Causes huge damage to wild goose cards. Has a 30% chance of triggering the instant death effect.) Xie Mingzhe attached importance to the Agility value and concentrated all his Inner Spirit to increase its number, while other attributes, such as health and defense, were randomly created by the system and their numbers were low. Since a strategy card can only be used once, there is no distinct difference between health 10 and health 100. However, Xie Mingzhe noticed that the attribute of this card had changed. As for the attribute, [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] was different than [Lin Daiyu], [Xue Baochai] and [Xi Shi], cards that he had created. Why was [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] a card with the Metal attribute? Scratching his head, Xie Mingzhe looked at this new card carefully, yet he couldn''t figure it out. Just then he received a voice PM from "7456789", Tang Muzhou''s smurf ount: "Uncle Chubby, your store''s announcement says that there will be new cards apart from [Lin Daiyu] and [Xue Baochai] at noon tomorrow. Have new cards been created already?" It was a perfect chance to ask Legend Tang for help since he was the one who called, and therefore Xie Mingzhe said, "Legend Tang, do you have spare time? I have some questions to ask you." Tang Muzhou said, "Okay. Invite me to your Individual s.p.a.ce." Trantor''s Note: The Four Beauties or Four Great Beauties are four Chinese women renowned for their beauty. These were Xi Shi, w.a.n.g Zhaojun, Diao Chan and Yang Guifei. They gained their reputation from the influence they exercised over kings and emperors and, consequently, the way their actions impacted Chinese history. Three of the Four Beauties brought kingdoms to their knees and their lives ended in tragedy. Xi Shi/w.a.n.g Zhaojun/Diao Chan/Yang Guifei Xi Shi (c. 7th to 6th century BC, Spring and Autumn period), said to be so entrancingly beautiful that fish would forget how to swim and sink below the surface upon seeing her reflection in the water. w.a.n.g Zhaojun (c. 1st century BC, Western Han Dynasty), said to be so beautiful that her appearance would entice birds in flight to fall from the sky. Diao Chan (c. 3rd century, Three Kingdoms period), said to be so luminously lovely that the moon itself would shy away in embarra.s.sment whenpared to her face. Unlike the other Beauties, there is no evidence she actually existed historically. Yang Guifei(719-756, Tang Dynasty), said to have a face that puts all flowers to shame. Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 30 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith After hearing what he said, Xie Mingzhe sent him an invitation right away. Secondster, Tang Muzhou''s smurf ount entered Xie Mingzhe''s individual s.p.a.ce. Xie Mingzhe led him straight to his study. Compared to Legend Tang''s study which was full of research material, Xie Mingzhe''s was not that splendid. He scratched his head, feeling embarra.s.sed, and said, "Legend Tang, my ce is quite stark." Tang Muzhou said mildly, "That doesn''t matter. Let''s see those cards first." Xie Mingzhe then took out two new cards, [Xi Shi] and [w.a.n.g Zhaojun]. Seeing those two beauty cards, Tang Muzhou squinted his eyes suddenly''Xi Shi Making Fish Sink'' was designed to target a yer who used cards with the Water attribute. Zhaojun Making Flying Wild Geese Fall'' was aimed at Shan Lan''s flying wild geese card that had the highest attack speed. Xie Mingzhe said to him, "ording to your instruction, I managed to raise the Agility to 30. Now I suppose these two IDE cards are qualified." Tang Muzhou didn''t hide his tone of admiration, "This is incredible. I didn''t expect that you can make progress so rapidly." Being praised by the legend, Xie Mingzhe smiled humbly and said, "Thanks to your instruction, I have already figured out how to distribute the data of IDE cards. And I''m getting better and better in creating cards with high Agility." Tang Muzhou said, "You just said you had questions. What confused you?" Xie Mingzhe pointed to [w.a.n.g Zhaojun], "Originally I wanted to set it as a card with the Water attribute. Howe it became a card with the Metal attribute?" "Because of the weapon." Tang Muzhou took one look and found the reason immediately. He exined, "In this game, all cards with metal weapons, such as bows and arrows, swords, daggers as well as broadswords, are .s.sified as Metal cards. w.a.n.g Zhaojun holds a Chinese lute which has metal strings, and that''s why the system turned the attribute of this card into Metal automatically when it examined the ultimate data." Xie Mingzhe was still a little confused, "Nevertheless, w.a.n.g Zhaojun ying the Chinese lute should belong to the sound wave attack. It''s not like she is going to hit people with the Chinese lute directly. Given her attack method, is this card still meant to be .s.sified as a Metal card? I mean, it''s ridiculous that the weapon is the only standard during the database examination." "You''re right. And Ling Jingtang is to me for this." Tang Muzhou said patiently, "He made his debut in the second season. The man invented cards with the Metal attribute by creating a bunch of anthropomorphic weapon cards. His set of ying cards with the Metal attribute had very strong Critical Strikes that influenced all Metal cards. The authority changed the database rules for himAs long as there is a metal weapon in a card, the card will be .s.sified as a Metal card." "Oh, now I get it!" the light dawned on Xie Mingzhe all of a sudden. It''s obvious that Ling Jingtang was an incredible legend, since his cards alone could affect the whole Metal card group and made the authority change the database''s setting. Just like Tang Muzhou whopleted nt cards with the Wood attribute as well as Nie Yuandao who influenced beast cards with the Fire attribute, Legend Ling must have led the improvement of the card group with the Metal attribute. "Legend Tang, why don''t you take a [Xi Shi] and a [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] when you leave." Xie Mingzhe said. "How much?" Tang Muzhou was about to dip into his pocket when he heard Xie Mingzhe said, "It''s cool. You don''t have to pay." "Howe?" Tang Muzhou looked up at him doubtfully. "You spent 660,000 gold coins on [Lin Daiyu], and you have been teaching me so many things. I would feel guilty if I charged you for these cards." Xie Mingzhe said with great loyalty, "I can depict cards whenever I want, so it''s okay that you take these two with you." "In that case, I was upgraded from the VIP to the special client who doesn''t have to pay?" Tang Muzhou asked, smiling. "As long as Legend Tang is interested in IDE cards, I will send you a sample for your collection everytime I create a new one." Xie Mingzhe was not a greedy person. Given his high ie nowadays, it would be stingy to charge 200,000 gold coins for two cards. Legend Tang helped him a lot. In Xie''s mind, their friendship was much more important than cards and money, so he decided to give Legend Tang cards that he likes for free afterwards. "Thanks." Tang Muzhou received cards and his voice became warmer than before, "Listen, I could give you a hand since I''m here. You need to change [w.a.n.g Zhaojun]." "Change it?" although Xie Mingzhe didn''t expect this conversation, he would love to listen to him. Then he asked sincerely, "Agility and base attributes have already reached 30. Do you think that the skill design of this card is still wed?" "Well. The number of wild geese cards is very small, which means the skill, Making Flying Wild Geese Fall'', can only be applied very rarely. In current high-level league matches, Shan Lan is the only one who has a flying geese card with high Defense and high Critical Strike, which is always used to instkill the opponent''s squishy cards. The attack speed of his Flying Geese card is pretty high, which will scale down the effect uracy percentage of your card''s instant death skill. No one has wild geese cards except him. Therefore [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] is not as practical as you thought, even though it looks pretty." "I see." Unlike Tang Muzhou, Xie Mingzhe didn''t have an in-depth study of the Arena. ording to Legend Tang, [Lin Daiyu] was aimed at flowers, [Xue Baochai] was aimed at b.u.t.terflies and [Xi Shi] was aimed at fish. All these cards had more opportunities to be applied. Compared to them, the skill of [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] seemed quite useless. Xie Mingzhe asked proactively, "How can I fix it?" "How about changing its focus to birds?" Tang Muzhou suggested, "This is a pretty huge group since all flying birds, such asrks, crows, sparrows, eagles as well as wild geese, belong to birds. w.a.n.g Zhaojun''s weapon is a Chinese lute, and she can attack birds by ying it. This setting is viable in principle. I mean, you can give it a shot." "Nice!" Xie Mingzhe''s eyes shone with excitement, and then he was in deep thought, stroking his jaw. He drew the image of wild geese clearly when he created the card. Now in order to expand its aim scope, he had to change those wild geese and draw some ambiguous images of birds. In that way this card could require the effect of "The tone of the Chinese lute killing all birds in one hit". At this thought, Xie Mingzhe closed his eyes and connected his inner spirit with the card creation system. [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] continued to be erged in his spirit world. He pictured the scene where w.a.n.g Zhaojun ys the Chinese lute and makes flying birds fall. At the same time, he re-edited the original description of the skill After about ten minutes, the process of changing the card waspleted. Xie Mingzhe picked it up and had a look. Attributes didn''t change, while the Additional Skill changed as expected Additional Skill: Farewell to My Country (w.a.n.g Zhaojun ys Farewell to My Country with the Chinese lute to shoot down flying objects and cause huge damage to bird cards. Has a 30% chance of triggering the instant death effect.) He made it! Xie Mingzhe''s heartbeat raced, and his fingers slightly trembled with excitement, holding the card. He had discovered something important. The world didn''t follow the rules of the earth era because of the cultural gap. In history, w.a.n.g Zhaojun shot down flying wild geese by ying Farewell to My Country. However, Xie Mingzhe just rewrote the story by merely using his inner spirit. Wild geese were reced by all birds in this story. That meant he could apply some myths, legends, historical stories as well as anecdotes properly to acquire particr card effects that he wanted, as long as he had a strong inner spirit, a fertile imagination and the theoretically feasible skill designs. Thus, his way of thinking would be more extensive than just simply famous books, history and legends! Xie Mingzhe was so excited, inspired by this significant discovery. He didn''t know that Tang Muzhou was in a good mood too. Xi Shi Making Fish Sink'', this skill was a powerful rival to yers with the Water attribute since it killed fish right away. yers with the Water attribute in Flowing Frost City Club would be very upset the moment they heard about this card. Zhaojun ying Farewell to My Country'', this additional skill could shoot flying objects down through sound waves. It was obvious that this IDE card would depress Shan Lan who had a bunch of flying cards, even if he was a gentle and mild man who smiled all the time. Tang Muzhou thought he had made a sensible decision. The Star Card League would be a peaceful and harmonious ce once everybody was in trouble. The chat group would begin to hum with life at noon tomorrow. At the same time, in the Adjudication Club. Shan Lan was just about to wear a helmet when he gave a violent sneeze. Where did this sinister premonitione from? Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 31 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith After Tang Muzhou left, Xie Mingzhe continued depicting cards and 11 [w.a.n.g Zhaojun]s were made. One of them was made so that it could be upgraded as well as to be put on exhibit, and the other ten would be sold with [Lin Daiyu], [Xue Baochai] and [Xi Shi] in the store tomorrow. It was already 9pm when he finished depicting all the cards. Xie Mingzhe then texted Chen Xiao, "Brother Chen, have you finished checking all the materials?" "Yes, I''ve put them into different categories. How about your research of new cards?" "All done. You guys shoulde over." Xie Mingzhe convened a meeting with some of his partners in the work s.p.a.ce. Pang Yu and Jin Yue stood in front of the disy cab, obsessed by the beauties that Xie Mingzhe had depicted. Chi Qing didn''t say anything but checked the data of the new cards carefully. Chen Xiao had brought the Water and Metal attribute upgrade materials directly to Xie Mingzhe''s ce so that he could upgrade two cards to the highest level. After upgrading [Xi Shi] and [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] to the highest level, Xie Mingzhe ced the two cards in the card showcase on the first floor. And then he put 40 level-1 initial cards in the disy cab on the second floor. With the help of his partners, Xie Mingzhe marked the prices on these cards and went offline. Creating cards consumed a substantial amount of Inner Spirit. After continuously making so many cards, Xie Mingzhe suffered from a terrible headache when he returned to his dormitory. Lying on the bed, he tried not to think about cards because his brain needed to get enough rest. He was so tired that he fell asleep soon and didn''t wake up till daybreak. The next morning, he went online with his partners when ° Card Store was closed, which means other yers couldn''t enter the store during that period of time. Xie Mingzhe would open his store on time at 11:30am. He decided to farm instances with Brother Chen as well as other partners and finish all daily tasks when there were still three hours before opening the store. It was right before the opening time when they finished farming instances. As a group, they then went to their store located on the business street and entered as managers. Xie Mingzhe turned on the work traffic unlimited" mode. At 11:30am on the dot, ° Card Store opened right on schedule and the store was bursting with customers the moment it opened. Xie Mingzhe could see clearly from the session log that his store had replicated a dozen instances in order to amodate more customers. The more surprising thing was that customers piled into the store just to sprint for the second floor madly. They paid for every card that was avable at that time without hesitation. It seems that they were scared to lose the chance of getting these cards. 40 level-1 initial cards in the disy cab on the second floor were sold out in less than half a minute. The managers of the store, Xie Mingzhe and the other four partners, were staying in the managing s.p.a.ce where they could see the real-time synchronized store data. Seeing 40 cards disappear instantly, Pang Yu rubbed his eyes and felt it was so unreal, "We''ve only opened the store for half a minute and all the cards have been sold out?" Jin Yue said in wonder, "I guess that all the clubs were waiting at the entrance before we opened the store in order to buy the cards. There must be a lot of people who didn''t get the chance to buy the cards yet." Xie Mingzhe looked at the 400,0000 gold coins that they had earned today, smiling, "Close the store in half an hour. I''ll go back to my ce and depict more cards to sell tomorrow." Xie Mingzhe wrote a notice on the store''s announcement board, "All cards have been sold out today. Thanks for your support. We will open the store on time at 11:30am tomorrow and new cards will be released . Stay tuned!" All the club managers, "" Why would we get excited about this disaster? Do you want to wreck all the clubs? Club leaders who had managed to buy the new cards quickly went straight to their legends, while leaders who didn''t get any card beat their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, furious as well as upset. At the same time, on the first floor of ° Card Store. Ye Zhu used his smurf ount to enter the game. Lurking in the crowd, he pushed his way to the front of the card exhibition cab. Even though the cards on the second floor were sold out, the exhibition area of the first floor was still open. Four cards were put abreast in the card exhibition cab and all of them were beauty cards. ''Daiyu Burying the Flowers'' was aimed at flowers and ''Baochai Chasing b.u.t.terflies'' was aimed at b.u.t.terflies. Ye Zhu had previously already seen the two aforementioned cards. He had gloated over Legend Tang''s misfortune when he was targeted by the beauty card. Then suddenly he had be a victim of the second beauty card Brother Pei was right. There would be other victims apart from him, so Ye Zhu looked at these two new cards that were released today, enjoying other people''s imminent misfortune. [Xi Shi], additional skill: Sinking Fish. Fish die instantly. Having seen that, Ye Zhu couldn''t stopughing inside. Fish was a broad category within the Water cards. yers with the Water attribute in Flowing Frost City had Fish cards more or less. Pangpangpletely trod on Flowing Frost City''s toes this time! That''s hrious, HAHAHA! Then he saw the next card. [w.a.n.g Zhaojun], additional skill: Farewell to My Country, ying the Chinese lute to shoot down flying objects with sound waves. Birds die instantly. Ye Zhu widened his eyes all of a suddenthis card will obviously harm Brother Lan! He was considering whether to tell Brother Lan the bad news when he turned his head and saw a grey-haired old man standing right on the other side of this card, whose ID was 9877521. If he remembered correctly, that ID was Shan Lan''s smurf ount. It was unexpected that Shan Lan woulde to this card store in person! Ye Zhu approached him immediately, using the voice PM, "Brother Lan, is that you?" Then the familiar mild voice answered, "Yes, it''s me. Did youe here to go along for the ride too?" Ye Zhu chuckled, "I just wanted to know who would be the next victim. However, I didn''t expect thatthat" Shan Lan''s voice was filled with helplessness, "Didn''t expect it''s me, did you?" Ye Zhuined, "I have to say that the card creator is a demon. I mean, how could he conceive the idea of shooting down flying objects with the sound of the Chinese lute?" Shan Lan suffered from a headache. Since his Shifu had said, "Rx, he definitely won''t aim at you", with a certain expression on his face yesterday, Shan Lan had been feeling uneasy. Now the bad premonition hade true ° released [w.a.n.g Zhaojun], a new card that was aimed at birds. "Shifu is such a doomsayer," he smiled bitterly. Ye Zhu''s smurf ount and Shan Lan stood in front of the card exhibition cab, looking at [Xue Baochai] that was aimed at b.u.t.terflies as well as [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] that was aimed at birds. These two fellow sufferers cried inside, yet they became tearless outside. Nevertheless, Shan Lan adjusted his mentality rapidly. He said, with a smile, "That''s okay. Besides us, there are still many other yers that are targets." Ye Zhu cheered up too, "Exactly! We have Legend Tang with nt cards and some unfortunate guys with Water cards with us!" Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 31 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith At the same time, in the Flowing Frost City Club. Some poor yers with Water cards were gazing at each other, shocked. Because the president, Qu Liushuang, brought the new cards that she had bought in the ° Card Store to them. [Xi Shi], Additional Skill: Sinking Fish (Triggers Instant Death effect to Fish) Flowing Frost City Club was low-key at all times. By the same token, their principle in the game was: "We will not attack unless we are attacked." yers in this club did nothing except farm instances andpete with others in the Arena everyday. It seemed like they didn''t have any ambitions and just idled about all day. The club also enjoyed the highest reputation in the game since they had neither allied themselves with any clubs nor made enemies. The whole club immersed itself in a harmonious and peaceful atmosphere where members entertained themselves. Qu Liushuang was the "nominal president" of the club and the true leaders were two vice-presidents that she had sent to the game. Qu Liushuang was in fact a broker of yers in Flowing Frost City Club, and she was as famous as Xue Linxiang, the broker of Fenghua Club. Except that Sister Xue was a strong woman who did things determinedly as well as rapidly, while Qu Liushuang was a milddy with long hair who always smiled and spoke in a soft voice. People couldn''t bear to be angry at her. Under the management of a broker like her, Flowing Frost City Club was peaceful too. It hid its light under a bushel. Flowing Frost City Club was an alien in the highlypet.i.tive National Star Card League. It was like an idyllic refuge from the outside world. The founder of Flowing Frost City Club was Su Yang, who had paved the way for the entire Water card category. Su Yang had made his debut in the first season. He brought up four apprentices in total before retiring. The first apprentice, Fang Yu, was the strongest yer who currently used Water cards. He was the founder of the Deathrattle card group with the Water attribute. Also, he was the champion of the individual race in the sixth season. The second apprentice, Qiao Xi, was the founder of the Hydropoisoning y and took second ce in the sixth season; The third and the fourth apprentices, Su Qingyuan and Xiao Yi, were both good at Water Soft Control y. Su Yang was considered a gentle person. He treated his apprentices considerately. As a result, these fellow apprentices were close like brothers and the club was like a family, getting more and more close. In addition, the four fellow apprentices'' unity was undefeated when they resisted enemies together! Even the Ace 4 Group led by Tang Muzhou in the Fenghua Club and the Card Selling Team led by Nie Yuandao in the Adjudication Club were routed by them inst season''s group race. When speaking of the strongest club in the group race, Flowing Frost City Club was the first one that came into everyone''s mind. These four fellow apprentices coordinated the work of the team perfectly. The Soft Control plus the Hydropoisoning y always made their opponents crazy. Apart from the fact that they were legendary in the group race, the strength of the senior fellow apprentice, Fang Yu, was widely recognized by the National Star Card League. He barely showed his feelings, being aloof all the time. Because of his snowy skin, it was difficult for people to tell his gender at first nce sometimes. He was a man of few words with a poker face. The Deathrattle School he founded mainly used the Sacrifice y, and his cards would trigger special effects after death when he applies these y styles. As a result, the school was rated as "the most horrible hedgehog to beat" by the League. Currently, Fang Yu was sitting on the couch, calmly looking at the card that Qu Liushuang had brought to him. The second fellow apprentice, Qiao Xi, sat next to him, pulling his hair crazily, "How could this happen! I justughed at Tang Muzhou when the chat group said he was targeted against that day! Now the whole Water group has to suffer. Great!" The junior fellow apprentice, Xiao Yi, said bluntly, "Second brother, you shouldn''t have gloated over his misfortune at that time. I mean, look at Ye Zhu. He was the one who was the happiest at that time and also sent a bunch of "HAHAHA" in the chat group. Now what? The b.u.t.terfly cards were aimed at too." The third fellow apprentice, Su Qingyuan, was the sober onepared to his fellow apprentices. He smiled and a.n.a.lyzed, "At first everyone conjectured that that man was the enemy of Tang Muzhou since he made a flower IDE card and auctioned it. But nowadays it seems like that is not true. All the yers who hadughed at Tang Muzhou have been aimed at, first Ye Zhu with his b.u.t.terfly cards, then the whole Water card group. These things prove that he is more likely to be Tang Muzhou''s ally than his rival." Qiao Xi kept scratching his head, "I don''t think so. The card released today aimed at birds. Shan Lan is so mild and gentle that he is thest one who would make an enemy. He just follows his Shifu all day long. The most important thing is he didn''tugh at Tang Muzhou, right?" The heated debate continued for ages. Fang Yu didn''t talk. He just frowned slightly and observed the card on the holographic screen. A momentter, he said ndly, "Sister Shuang, is there any news about this man?" Although his voice was not loud, the other three people quieted down the moment he started to speak. After all, he was the senior fellow apprentice who was admired by the other younger brothers. Hearing the question, Qu Liushuang said, "I sent people to investigate him yesterday and I got the information that °''s ID in the game is Uncle Chubby. It is said that there was a huge tumult in the ck market earlier because the Fenghua Club and the Adjudication Club were searching for character cards crazily. ording to my a.n.a.lysis, the card that shocked the Fenghua Club should be [Lin Daiyu] that appeared at the auction. As for the Adjudication Club, I haven''t found the key information yet since they are very cautious about this stuff." Fang Yu said calmly, " The card creator''s selling [Lin Daiyu]s and [w.a.n.g Zhaojun]s in his own store, which indicates that he hasn''t reached a consensus with the Fenghua Club and the Adjudication Club." Qu Liushuang asked, "In that case, why don''t we court him by offering him higher conditions?" Fang Yu shook his head, "He didn''t join the Fenghua Club and the Adjudication Club, not to mention ours." Qiao Xi couldn''t resist asking, "Big brother, what are we gonna do? Is there really nothing we can do to stop him being unruly?" Fang Yu stood up, holding his smart helmet and coldly said, "If we cannot sign him, we can cooperate with him." The other three fellow apprentices stared at each other, "Cooperation?" Su Qingyuan smiled and asked, "You mean we give him some card group information so that he can continue to target other yers and make IDE cards." Fang Yu said, "I''m not interested in other yers. I just want to cooperate with him and improve our card group." Su Qingyuan''s eyes suddenly shone with excitement, "By letting him make cards for us?" "Yes." Fang Yu nodded his head, "Since he is a businessman, I a.s.sume he won''t say no to big money." Qiao Xi and Xiao Yi looked at each other, then gave a thumbs-up at the same time, "That''s very thoughtful!" Fang Yu said, "Sister Shuang, take me to meet the card creator." Qiao Xi followed him immediately, "I want to go with you." The other two didn''t want tog behind either. When they were going to stand up, Fang Yu turned and gave them a nd look, "None of you wille with me. If we all enter the game, we''ll be a conspicuous target." Seeing his emotionless eyes, everyone sat back on the couch without saying anything. Qu Liushuang thought the scene was funny. As the senior fellow apprentice, Fang Yu had taken the responsibility for taking care of his three younger fellow apprentices ever since Legend Yang had retired. He had contributed a lot to the sess of today''s Flowing Frost City Club. Without his instruction, the other three little fes wouldn''t have achieved anything. Trantor''s Note: ording to the author, Water cards approximate to Fish cards, though the proofreader and the trantor think the logic is defective here. Chapter 32 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith At the same time, in the National League group chat Ye Zhu, "HAHAHAHAHA, since I have already been aimed at, n.o.body can stop me fromughing at other people now. yers with the Water attribute, how are you today?" Qiao Xi, "Can''t be better! I''m so happy that I want to punch that card creator on his nose!" Su Qingyuan, "I feel bad for Shan Lan. Xiao Lan, don''t cry. You are a good kid and never gloat over others'' misfortune. It''s unreasonable that you were aimed at." Shan Lan said helplessly, "That was a funny story. Yesterday my Shifu said my bird cards wouldn''t be aimed at. And guess what? Today my card group became the target! Now I can say nothing but my Shifu is really bad at fortune-telling." Nie Yuandao, "" He didn''t mean to be a doomsayer since he didn''t expect his apprentice to be aimed at either. But since Xiao Lan said he was a bad fortune-teller, he should take advantage of this t.i.tle and torture other yers. Thinking of this, he spoke in a serious voice in the chat group, "I believe that Xiao Gui''s ghost cards must be hard to aim at. The ghost cards are already dead, after all. Gui Sirui panicked immediately, "Legend Nie,e on. Don''t curse me!" Nie Yuandao, "Lao Zheng''s elephant cards are hard to kill instantly too. The elephant cards have the highest Defense attribute, after all." Zheng Feng, "Why do you hate me?" yers that were not mentioned jumped out and interrupted him right away, "Legend Nie, are you going to curse the whole Star Card League?" Nie Yuandao, "Yesterday I cursed my Xiao Lan idently. Now I just want to know if I''m really a bad fortune-teller." Tang Muzhou, "Lao Nie, keep going. You can do it :)" The other yers instantly scampered away, scared of being hit by Legend Nie''s curses. In the game, ° Card Store closed at twelve noon on schedule. This time the store released the new announcement again, which said "New cards will be released at 11:30a.m. tomorrow". Xie Mingzhe knew that his IDE cards were fought over because he had taken the lead. But soon every club will find a way to make IDE cards. When a lot of IDE cards appear, his cards won''t be popr anymore. Therefore he wanted to make as many cards as possible during this period. He has got some ideas for the next few cards. Now he needs to conceive the skills. Xie Mingzhe returned to his individual s.p.a.ce, and then he heard the tone of iing mail Since thest time when he missed crucial information from President Hong Zhu just because he didn''t check the mail, he realized the importance of mail in the Star Card Game and set a prompt tone for his mail. Xie Mingzhe went and opened the mail box. The mail was from a person named Qu Liushuang, "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby. I am the president of the Flowing Frost City Club and I have already given you ess to my club. The yer in my club, Fang Yu, wants to see you. It will be a great honour if you woulde to my club and talk about business. If you don''t want toe, you can invite us to your individual ce. Thank you. I look forward to your reply!" The president was very polite and modest. Xie Mingzhe was just going to reply to her when Tang Muzhou sent a voice PM, "Your four cards shocked numerous card masters. The Card League group chat are talking about your IDE cards. Did any clubs want to consult with you?" Legend Tang really knows everything. Xie Mingzhe replied to him, "I just received mail from the Flowing Frost City Club." "No matter how high their conditions are, just remember, the copyright is the most important thing!" Tang Muzhou thought that n.o.body could sign the man who he didn''t sessfully sign. Just let him make cards freely and show all of his talent and potential. Perhaps what I''m doing right now is exactly the same thing my Shifu did years agoFacing the teenager Tang Muzhou who showed great talent for making cards, Shifu also taught him all his skills without hesitation. As a result, Tang Muzhou reced Shifu and became the strongest yer with Wood attribute afterwards. Holding the same thought, Tang Muzhou regarded Xie Mingzhe as a diamond in the rough. He wanted to foster him in person and make him grow up and be strong as soon as possible. "Thanks for your reminder." Xie Mingzhe answered calmly, "I didn''t say yes to the Adjudication Club and the Fenghua Club. Other clubs won''t change my mind. I don''tck money. All I need is time and experience. I want to take my time and make many good cards, so I won''t brashly sell the copyright." "That''s very wise of you." Tang Muzhou''s lips curved in a barely perceptible smile, and said gently, "However, Fang Yu always has different ideas than other people. Maybe he doesn''t want to sign you as a card designer. You can go check if he has some other intentions." Chapter 32 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith "How do you know it was Fang Yu?" Xie Mingzhe asked perplexedly. "Fang Yu is the senior apprentice fellow within the leading yers of the Flowing Frost City Club. He is very sober. It must be Fang Yu who wille to visit you in person ingame. Why don''t you give him a chance by meeting him. We made our debut in the same year and he was the champion of the individual race in the sixth season. In addition, he is the strongest yer using the Water attribute so far. " "I see. Thanks, Legend Tang!" After hanging up, Xie Mingzhe sent mail to the president of the Flowing Frost City Club instantly, "President, please wait, I''ming to your club." He walked to the Gxy Navigator Map near him. In the vast gxy map, besides the ming red "Adjudication Club territory star" and the green "Fenghua Club territory star", he could now see the blue "Flowing Frost City Club territory star". It seemed like he was trying to collect the territory stars of clubs in his Gxy Navigator Map. Now he has three already! Actually, it''s more like making enemies of every club. Xie Mingzhe rubbed his chin, smiling. Then directly clicked the "Flowing Frost City Club territory star" in order to be teleported there. The architecture of this club was very magical. All the buildings were blue, and even the floor was covered by ayer of ice. The territory star was just like a fairytale snow castle. The game scenes were so lifelike that Xie Mingzhe clearly felt a chill in the air when he entered the Flowing Frost City Club. He rubbed his hands and raised his head. Then he saw a girling to him with a smile, "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby. The president is waiting for you. This way please." Having been to the Adjudication Club and the Fenghua Club, Xie Mingzhe was familiar with the territorial structures of big clubs. He directly took an elevator to the Flowing Frost City Club office. He opened the door and entered the room. As expected, the club insignia was hung right in the middle of the wall painted in the middle of the round insignia was the architecturalplex of snow castles and three ice-blue words "Flowing Frost City". The design of the insignia looked very delicate too. Two people were sitting in the room. One was a long-haired beauty whose ID was "Qu Liushuang" and the other''s ID was "Rainy Day". Qu Liushuang stood up and spoke in a gentle voice, "Nice to meet you, Uncle Chubby. This is my club''s yer, Fang Yu." Xie Mingzhe''s gaze followed hers and saw a man who had white skin and delicate facial features. In addition, his appearance was neutral, so it was hard to tell his gender at first nce. This image didn''t seem like it was randomly generated by the system. Maybe it was Legend Fang Yu''s private ount? Feeling confused, he heard Fang Yu''s voicea very cold masculine voice which made people sober instantly, just like drinking a .s.s of iced water. He said evenly, "Uncle Chubby, I looked for you not to buy the copyright of [Xi Shi] nor to invite you to join the Flowing Frost City Club. I suppose that the Adjudication Club and the Fenghua Club have already done these things before and you didn''t say yes, so it''s meaningless if I do them again." Xie Mingzhe thought that the man was impressively clever and had the first-.s.s a.n.a.lytical ability. No wonder her can be the strongest yer with Water attribute. The man is just like a bottomless pool where unpredictable risks hide under the calm surface. Xie Mingzhe met his eyes without flinching, smiling, "Then Legend Fang Yu, what do you want?" Fang Yu said, "I want to cooperate with you in a custom-made card." Xie Mingzhe froze, "A custom-made card?" Fang Yu nodded and said, "Since you have great talent for making cards, maybe you can help me to fix my problem. You make a card ording to my ideas. However, you can keep the copyright of it and I just need you to sell me one. What do you think?" This deal was a little unfair on Fang Yu, while there was no harm to Xie Mingzhe at all. What if Xie Mingzhe sells the card to other yers? Then what''s the point of ordering a custom-made card? It wouldn''t do him any harm to hear Legend Fang Yu''s ideas, so Xie Mingzhe said, "What kind of card do you want to tailor-make?" Fang Yu asked, "Have you heard of the [Deathrattle Flow]?" Xie Mingzhe had never heard of that before, so he shook his head without hesitation. Fang Yu exined patiently, "The Deathrattle Flow can be understood as Sacrifice ys. In other words, a card can''t trigger some effects until it dies. If a card divides or is reborn to help its own side and hurt the opponent, then it is a deathrattle card. I have a bottleneck in making cards recently, so I need your help to make a deathrattle card. My offer is 5,000,000 gold coins. Now you can think about it." Xie Mingzhe, "" This ispletely pennies from heaven, and there is no reason to turn down the proposition! All he needs to do is to tailor-make a card and get 5,000,000 gold coins. The best part is that he can keep the copyright, which means he will have this card at his disposal. Then another thought popped into his mind. Does this unfair deal foreshadow that the card is very difficult to make? He found the answer immediately because Fang Yu''s demand was extremely hard to meet! Fang Yu said evenly, "Here is my demand for the card. The card has two skills that are both triggered when it dies. One buffs all allies and the effect of increasing the group''s attack attribute is the best. The other one debuffs the enemies, and the control effects, such as Group Fear, Chaos as well as Weakness, are expected. These two skills can be applied at the same time so the card will be a burst deathrattle card. Are we clear?" Xie Mingzhe roughly understood what he wanted. Fang Yu''s requirements were very hard to meet. The card triggers two effects when it dies. The user''s side can increase its attack attribute when the card is applied, while it controls the enemies or lowers their defence attribute at the same time. In that case, the user''s team can seize the chance andunch a fierce attack on the enemies. It is even possible that the opponent will be wiped out. Given Xie Mingzhe''s current capacity, he couldn''t make the group burst card like this at all. However, Xie Mingzhe wanted to give it a shot and took it as a new challenge. Otherwise, he will be bored if he only makes IDE cards all day long. He thought for a while and asked, "Are you in a hurry? If there is no rush, I want to think it over first. I mean, I can''t a.s.sure you that I can create it, but I''ll try. Can I contact you when I get ideas of how to make the card?" Fang Yu nodded immediately, "Sure. We can friend each other online first. My offer still stands. If you can create the double-skill burst card with the Deathrattle attribute, contact the manager of Flowing Frost City Club and 5,000,000 gold coins will be yours. In addition, since this is a cooperation thing, please keep it a secret about this custom-made card." "Of course." Xie Mingzhe knew that he need to observe the rules in business. Before Fang Yu officially applies the custom-made card he shouldn''t publish it. Otherwise, other yers would get the key information beforehand and aim at the card. After returning from Flowing Frost City, Xie Mingzhe was deep in meditation in his individual s.p.a.ce, bowing his head. Fang Yu had given him a tough nut to crack. Obviously, he had a bottleneck. So he took his chances and invited him, a green hand who always has some crazy ideas, to give it a try. Unfortunately, Xie Mingzhe''s mind was nk at the moment. Sacrifice flow, deathrattle cards, all these terms werepletely new to him. It turned out that apart from the normal cards in the Star Card World, there were these kinds of cards that could trigger effects after death! What an eye-opener! He needed to consider how the deathrattle cards might be created. If he made it, his capability for making cards would rise to a new level. He should make tomorrow''s IDE cards first. Which card group will be aimed at? Xie Mingzhe recalled the card group category that Tang Muzhou gave him originally and pleasantly made a decision. He had aimed at nts and animals constantly before. Now it''s show time for ghosts and monsters! Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 33 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Gui Sirui was the ace yer of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club which was one of the National Star Card League''s six biggest clubs, and his fans affectionately called him "The Ghost King". He was the apprentice of Zheng Feng, the founder of the Earth attribute school. He and Tang Muzhou both made their debut in the fifth season. Speaking of Earth, the first thing that came to fans'' minds was Zheng Feng''s Earth "Defence and Counterattack" ys. All the cards that he made had high HP (>=100,000). As a result, his cards could survive on the battlefield for a really long time, especially the wild elephant cards with extremely high defence. When facing wild elephant cards with 200,000 HP, the opponents would be desperate because it would take ages to kill these tanks. ordingly, Zheng Feng was jokingly described as "the most enduring man in the game". The whole idea of making cards in the Earth card group had been influenced by Zheng Feng. Most yers imitated Legend Zheng Feng when they made earth cards by striving to increase the cards'' HP and applying them as "tanks" in the card group. When there was a group race, team yers would feel extremely secure with the Earth cards absorbing damage for them. Zheng Feng was a very bold man who spoke and did things crisply. He focused on Earth cards and thus attracted many fans in this field, gaining great poprity in the Star Card Game. Apart from the fact that he paved the way for the Earth card group, he also cultivated a talented apprenticethe future Ghost King, Gui Sirui. Xiao Gui''s card group was very distinctive. He secured his ce in the National Star Card League with a bunch of dark ghost cards, such as Hungry Ghost, Hanged Ghost, Bride in Red, Female Ghost in White, Headless Doll, Fierce Ghost Killing People and so forth. Watching him ying the game was like watching a horrible movie. Although he had plenty of scary ghost cards, Gui Sirui didn''t look scary at all. In fact, he was the best looking yer in the Ghost h.e.l.l Club. Wearing a pair of silver edged .s.ses, he looked very gentle and handsome. Since his ghosts cards were so frightening that they made children cry, the Star Card League once even warned Gui Sirui to change the images of the cards. Gui Sirui obeyed and changed his cardspletely by getting rid of all gory elements, so those ghosts and monsters didn''t look too frightening. The authorities didn''t want to directly abandon Xiao Gui''s ghost cards, so they turned the live broadcast angle into G.o.d''s perspective every time he yed the game. The audience could overlook the whole ying area instead of confronting ghosts and monsters and being scared to death. As a new generation yer, Xiao Gui was very popr. He attracted arge audience who liked psychic and gruesome stuff. Even though he was Zheng Feng''s apprentice, his earth cards werepletely different than his Shifu''s. His cards didn''t pay great attention to the HP or Defence attribute, but rather relied on skills as well as speed. The attack attribute of "Fierce Ghost" was at the top of the whole league because of its impressive speed. After seeing Legend Nie''s curse in the group chat today, Gui Sirui became a little worried. Then he couldn''t resist asking his Shifu, "I always have a sense of foreboding that Legend Nie''s curse is gonnae true. Shifu, do you think that ° will really make ghost IDE cards?" Zheng Feng waved his hand, smiling, "Don''t worry. Lao Nie can never correctly foretell something. Plus ghost cards are already death cards themselves. How can they make ghost cards instantly die?" Gui Sirui, "" What Shifu said just buffed Legend Nie''s curse. Now it would be weird if bad things didn''t happen! At that moment, the office door was opened and another leading yer of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club, Liu Jingxu, came in. As a yer with seniority, Liu Jingxu was already 28 years old. However, even Zheng Feng''s apprentice, Xiao Gui, became famous earlier than him. He was ate bloomer in the leaguedebuted in the third season, but didn''t achieve fame until the eighth season. His forte was monster cards, such as the fox monster, the flower monster, the cat monster and so on. Originally, his monster cards were always beaten by Nie Yuandao''s animal cards. Since monsters'' frontal attack ability was nothingpared to Legend Nie''s fierce tiger, brave lion and hungry wolf, his cats and foxes were cutie pies in front of fierce beasts. Almost everyone didn''t think that Liu Jingxu would have good prospects. However, he persisted in studying and improving his card group, and in the end he developed the "dual-shape" monster card. Nowadays all his cards have two shapes, one as a monster and one as a human being. For example, a cat monster was a nimble cat when it was in the "monster shape", and it will be a beauty with a cat''s tail when it was in the "human shape". The appearance of the dual-shape monster cards bought a turnaround for Liu Jingxu. After the five-year struggle in the league, he finally went through to the grand final of the individual race in the eighth season and s.n.a.t.c.hed the win. And his ability was proven. All yers respected him because they knew how hard it was to stick to his ideas for so many years. By the same token, he also became one of the most inspiring yers in the National Star Card League. Nie Yuandao oncemended him during an interview, "Liu Jingxu has immeasurable potential. Although he is not as famous as Lao Zheng and Xiao Gui in the Ghost h.e.l.l Club, no one should ever belittle him." Liu Jingxu was a study freak. When he feels inspired, he could spend all day in theboratory and didn''t feel hungry. He cared for nothing but his monster cards. And that''s why he still gave a "what happened" vacant face at the moment after ° Card Store caused so many troubles and made the league chat group boil like an anthill. After seeing him, Gui Sirui stepped forward and exined to him immediately, "Brother Xu, a card creator named ° made arge number of IDE cards. He aimed at Legend Tang''s flower cards first, and then Xiao Zhu'' s b.u.t.terfly cards, Xiao Lan''s bird cards as well as fish cards, which make up most of the water cards. Liu Jingxu still had a vacant look and nodded, "Okay." Gui Sirui put his hand to his forehead helplessly, "Okay? That''s all? Don''t you even care about the big news?" Liu Jingxu smiled, "He didn''t aim at us anyway." Gui Sirui, "" Why did everyone buff Legend Nie''s curse? He started to feel sorry for himself Liu Jingxu walked in front of Zheng Feng with a calm look on his face, "Lao Zheng, check the card I just made." Then two people started to study cards pleasantly, leaving helpless Gui Sirui silently praying that the IDE card that would be released at 11:30am tomorrow won''t aim at them so soon. Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 33 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith In game, Xie Mingzhe started to make the new cards as soon as he returned to his individual s.p.a.ce. Actually, ghost cards could be easily targeted. He already had the idea when Legend Tang suggested aiming at ghost cards earlier. But he had just finished [Lin Daiyu] and [Xue Baochai] at that time, then he made [Xi Shi] and [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] in order to maintain the continuity of beauty cards. Imagine walking into the store and seeing theplete series of the Four Great Beauties cards in the disy cab. That would be enchanting. He already had the four beauty cards as the greatest treasure of the store, which means the new cards that he made next wouldn''t be ced in the disy cab. ordingly, the consistent painting style could be eliminated from his consideration, and it was okay if the new cards'' images were not that good looking. ording to Chinese mythology and the description in one of the Four Great .s.sical Novels of Chinese literature, Journey to the West, people would be ghosts and go to "the underworld" after they die. Yanluo w.a.n.g oversaw the underworld realm and he had four subordinate judges who were in charge of four departments of the world respectively. They were the Four Judges in Chinese mythology, Wei Zheng of the "Rewarding Kindness Department", Zhong Kui of the "Punishing Vice Department", Lu Zhidao of the "Inspecting Department" as well as Cui Yu of the "Regting Department". Wei Zheng of the Rewarding Kindness Department was responsible for rewarding "good ghosts" who had done good stuff to people before they died. In other words, good people would get rewards when they came to the underworld and met Wei Zheng. And they would be reincarnated to families with good conditions. Zhong Kui of the Punishing Vice Department, just as its t.i.tle, was responsible for punishing "evil ghosts" who did a lot of bad things when they were alive. ording to these evil ghosts'' sins, he sent different ghosts to different levels of Diyu which had eighteen levels in total, and there they would atone for their sins. They could be reincarnated after serving their sentences, but if the crime was extremely serious they would stay in Diyu and never be reborn. As for the other two judges, Lu Zhidao of the Inspecting Department was responsible for vindicating ghosts, so he was literally a judge; Cui Yu of the Regting Department was in charge of increasing or reducing the life span. If a ghost did good things when they were alive, he would live long in his next life; if not, he would die young. Xie Mingzhe used to be interested in paranormal fiction, so he once inquired about the structure of the underworld realm when he was in college. He knew that all characters rted to the underworld, such as Yanluo w.a.n.g, the Four Judges, the Heibai Wuchang and Meng Po, could be made into cards. However, he only needed to create one IDE card currently, so he didn''t have to figure out all of the characters. The elements could be provided by the Four Judges. And Zhong Kui of the Punishing Vice Department was the most appropriate one because he could punish evil ghosts. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe started to conceive the image of Zhong Kui based on the materials in his mind. In history there was the painting of "Zhong Kui Hunting Ghosts". And many people glued the painting to their gates because Zhong Kui would frighten the evil ghosts off and protect their families. ording to local folklore, Zhong Kui looked very fierce with an iron face, wildly curly beard, a tiny head and giant eyes. But he was a man with integrity. He was never afraid of evil ghosts and good at casting them out. Zhong Kui''s image was distinct from the Four Beauties. Thus those people who have been paying attention to ° Card Store would know that ° didn''t only paint beauty cards. After thinking it over, he connected his Inner Spirit to the card-making system in order to make the card, [Zhong Kui]. Therge man with a scary head and thick hair wore bright red clothes. He looked very ferocious due to his angry eyes. Children would cry if they saw him. But the truth was that Zhong Kui was very kind and he was only against evil ghosts. As for the skill, Xie Mingzhe tried to design the ghost instant death skill first. But the system screen showed "The attempt failed". Was this really because that ghosts were already dead, so it was impossible to make them die again? Xie Mingzhe thought for a moment. Since the instant death effect was not working, Zhong Kui could send the ghost cards to h.e.l.l and ban all their skills, or he could just hold them in captivity, which was basically the same thing as "instant death". Using his idea, he rewrote the skill description and drew a giant bag for Zhong Kui to hold. Then the card was made rapidly Zhong Kui (Earth) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 200, Attack 0, Defense 100, Agility 30, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Hunting Ghosts (Zhong Kui of the Punishing Vice Department of the Underworld. Has a 30% chance of catching ghost cards and putting them in the Qiankun Bag. Makes them unable to perform act.) He couldn''t apply the instant death effect, but he could hunt the ghosts and put them into the bag. In that case, the ghost cards'' skills would be useless. The Qiankun Bag was the weapon that Xie Mingzhe designed for Zhong Kui. The ghosts were not real and they were just souls, so in principle it made sense to put souls into the Qiankun Bag. The card''s effect was simr to an IDE card. The only difference was in the process. The IDE cards would kill the opponent''s cards instantly, while [Zhong Kui] just caught the ghosts and put them in the bag. Xie Mingzhe looked at the new card with excitement. The aplishment of another idea made him more confident than before. Next would be the demon cards. Speaking of demons, it was hard to ignore the Chinese novel, Journey to the West. The novel had various demons and they all tried to impede Tang Sanzang''s journey to retrieve Buddhist sutras. Many of them even attempted to deceive Tang Sanzang in human forms, but they were all unmasked by Sun Wukong''s sharp eyes. It was easy to use Sun Wukong to make demon IDE cards because his eyes could see through the disguise and his Ruyi Jingu Bang was so powerful that it could kill demons easily. But Xie Mingzhe didn''t want to waste the Monkey King on an IDE card since the authorities stipted that an IDE card could only have one skill. As for the second apprentice fellow, Zhu Bajie couldn''t be rted to the instant death effect. What about Sha Wujing Then it suddenly came to Xie MingzheSha Wujing''s weapon, the Ogre-quelling Staff! The Ogre-quelling Staff was also known as "Suoluo Staff". It was made from the Moon Pce''s Suoluo fairy wood. It looked like a dark rolling pin and weighed over 5,000 jin. When Sha Wujing was the Curtain-lifting General, the Jade Emperor bestowed the Ogre-quelling Staff on him as a weapon. Later Sha Wujing vited the heaven''s rules and was banished to the Flowing-sand river and killed so many people. Then Tang Sanzang pa.s.sed by the Flowing-sand river and epted Sha Wujing as his disciple. With the help of Guanyin, he was enlightened and named "Sha Wujing". Then he followed his Shifu on the journey to the west and he still carried that staff. The weapon must be very useful to beat demons! Xie Mingzhe''s eyes shone with excitement. That''s it! He was going to use Sha Wujing to make the demon IDE cards. He had watched Journey to the West so many times when he was a child. He remembered that Sha Wujing was an innocent bald monk with a thick full beard. He wore a ne of big ck beads. So he just painted the card ording to the image in his memory. Then the conception of Sha Wujing waspleted quickly. As for the skill, Xie Mingzhe had already thought of that too. The skill would be the demon instant death effect Sha Wujing (Earth) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 200, Attack 0, Defense 100, Agility 30, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Staff Quelling Demons (Waves the staff held in hand and causes huge damage to demon cards. Has a 30% chance of triggering the instant death effect.) After finishing making the cards, Xie Mingzhe excitedly picked up the two cards and sent a voice PM to Tang Muzhou, "Legend Tang, I have made two more IDE cards. Do you want toe and check them out?" Tang Muzhou answered immediately, "Sure, invite me to your individual s.p.a.ce." Xie Mingzhe sent the invitation, and then pa.s.sed the two new cards to Tang Muzhou. Tang Muzhou, "" Hunting Ghosts, Quelling Demons. It seems like the Earth cards of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club would have a hard time together! Tang Muzhou wanted tough but he thought it was not appropriate behaviour, so he strived to hide his amus.e.m.e.nt and seriously said to Xie Mingzhe, "Here is another piece of advice. Since you have already aimed at ghost cards and demon cards, why don''t you aim at the biggest boss of the Earth card group?" Xie Mingzhe asked with interest, "What is the biggest boss of the Earth cards?" Tang Muzhou said, "Lao Zheng''s elephant cards. They are a hard nut to crack. You should consider how to kill his elephants." Xie Mingzhe, "" Every Legend, please don''t hate me. This was not my own fault since it was always Legend Tang that gave me ideas for making cards. Tang Muzhou was the root of all the troubles! Trantor''s Note: 1. Yanluo w.a.n.g (Chinese:) is a Chinese deity and the ruler of the underworld Diyu. Sometimes known as the King of h.e.l.l, King Yan, Yanluo or Yama. Yanluo w.a.n.g 2. Diyu (Chinese: ) is the realm of the dead or h.e.l.l in Chinese mythology. Chinese legends speak of the Eighteen Levels of h.e.l.l. Each court deals with a different aspect of atonement and different punishments; most legends im that sinners are subjected to gruesome tortures until their deaths, after which they are restored to their original state for the torture to be repeated. 3. The Heibai Wuchang (Chinese:ڰ޳), literally ck and White Impermanence, are two deities in Chinese folk religion in charge of escorting the spirits of the dead to the Underworld. As their names suggest, they are dressed in ck and white respectively. They are the subordinates of Yanluo w.a.n.g, the ruler of the Underworld in Chinese mythology. Heibai Wuchang 4. Meng Po (Chinese: ) is the Lady of Forgetfulness in Chinese mythology. She serves in Diyu. It is her task to ensure that souls who are ready to be reincarnated do not remember their previous life or their time in h.e.l.l. 5. The painting of Zhong Kui 6. The Qiankun bag (Chinese: Ǭ) is a bag which can hold more than it should be able to carry. It is used by cultivators to carry aroundrge amounts of items. The Qiankun bag 7. Journey to the West (Chinese: μ) is one of the Four Great .s.sical Novels of Chinese literature. The novel is an extended ount of the legendary pilgrimage of the Tang dynasty Buddhist monk Xuanzang who traveled to the Western Regions to obtain Buddhist Sutras and returned after many trials and much suffering. The four protagonists are Sun Wukong, Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing. 8. Ruyi Jingu Bang (Chinese: 𹿰) is the poetic name of a magical staff wielded by the immortal monkey Sun Wukong. Chapter 34 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proodreader: Rhith Xie Mingzhe rapidly thought of a way to aim at elephants. He remembered clearly that the character rted to an elephant was the child prodigy Cao Chong in the Three Kingdoms period of China. It was said that the King of Wu, Sun Quan, sent an elephant as tribute to Cao Cao. Cao Cao was curious about the animal''s weight but none of his subordinates could think of a method to measure the elephant''s weight. Cao Cao''s son Cao Chong, a six-year-old prodigy, offered a brilliant idea ce the elephant on a boat and mark the water level.Then rece the elephant with other objects until the boat was submerged to the same level. The weight of the elephant could be found by summing up the weights of all the objects. The story "Cao Chong Weighs an Elephant" was widely spread. The principle that he used was actually "Equivalent Recement Method", which wasmonly applied byter scientists. Recing arge-sized elephant with countless tiny stones amounted to dposing the elephant into fragments, which means converting "therge" into "the small". The most famous elephant card that Tang Muzhou mentioned was Earth yer Zheng Feng''s [White Elephant] with 200,000 HP. Killing this huge animal was a really difficult and time-consuming process. But the process would be greatly quickened if there was an instant death skill to beat up elephant cards. After thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe said, "I have an idea. But I''m not sure if I can make the instant death effect." Tang Muzhou said, "Give it a whirl." Xie Mingzhe connected his Inner Spirit to the card-making system and painted the cute prodigy Cao Chong on the card ording to his conception. Then he painted a mini elephant and a boat to put the elephant in. The skill was named as "Weighing an Elephant", which triggered the instant death effect on elephant cards. With abundant experience in making cards, Xie Mingzhepleted the card rapidly. However, it took so long to examine it. Previously one minute was enough, but three minutes pa.s.sed and nothing happened this time. Then the system prompt voice rang out, "The card cannot pa.s.s the database''s examination, please change it." Cannot pa.s.s the examination? Xie Mingzhe conjectured that the reason why Zhong Kui didn''t pa.s.s the examination was that ghost cards were divided into "ghosts", which means that they couldn''t "instantly die" again. But elephants were creatures, and the character Cao Chong definitely wasn''t used before. Was it possible that the skill description resembled another card''s? Being confused, Xie Mingzhe turned his head and asked Tang Muzhou, " Legend Tang, what does this mean?" Just now Tang Muzhou heard the system prompt voice too. He picked up the card and looked at it. After thinking for a moment, he came to the conclusion, "This instant death skill can''t pa.s.s the examination because the authorities have strict control over the data. No matter what the skill is, its single direct damage cannot exceed 150,000 HP. In other words, there was a limit to a card''s effect damage. ordingly, the yers could not just make a card with ease and instantly kill the opponent''s defence card with 200,000 HP. Xie Mingzhe was only beginning to take it in, and he asked, "In this case, the IDE cards that I made before could pa.s.s the system examination just because all the previous target cards, such as flower cards, bird cards, b.u.t.terfly cards as well as demon cards, had HP less than 150,000?" Tang Muzhou nodded, "Most of them were attack cards with low Health and Defence attributes, so they could be killed instantly in principle. My [Tuberose] should be counted as the card with the highest HP of the wood card group, but it only has 100,000 HP. Elephant cards belong to the cards with Earth attribute. So far there are three kinds of elephant cards, the White Elephant card, the ck Elephant card as well as the Wild Elephant card. All of them are extremely strong defence cards with HP higher than 150,000, so the instant death skill could not be triggered, which means your card could not pa.s.s the database examination." Xie Mingzhe looked at the card in his hand, scratching his head, "In that case, the instant death effect cannot be applied to the elephant cards. What should I do?" Tang Mingzhou smiled faintly and pointed to [Zhong Kui] that he had made, then he said, "The ghost IDE cards couldn''t use the instant death effect either. Didn''t you make them unable to perform actions in a subtle way by "hunting ghosts"? By the same token, you can reconsider the skill "weighing an elephant" and change it based on the same way of thinking, say, change the skill to the strong control over elephants." Xie Mingzhe had a sh of inspiration, then he immediately connected to the card-making system and changed the card. Five minutester, the new card was born Cao Chong (Earth) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 100, Attack 0, Defense 100, Agility 30, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Weighing an Elephant (The prodigy Cao Chong weighs an elephant. Forces the elephant into getting onto a boat. The elephant can''t move or activate skills until Cao Chong finishes his work.) Xie Mingzhe pleasantly brought the card to Tang Muzhou, "Legend Tang, is this okay?" Tang Muzhou, "" Okay? It''s perfect! The idea was beyond expectation and terrific. Can''t kill the elephant instantly, so just imprison it on the boat. In the card, the cute prodigy held a boat model where an elephant was imprisoned. Tang Muzhou felt ambivalent. Lao Zheng would probablyugh in exasperation when this card appeared in ° Card Store tomorrow. Anyway, it was none of his business. He just inspired Uncle Chubby, and the other work waspleted by Uncle Chubby himself. Besides, he should thank Legend Nie for his curses. Remember Nie Yuandao cursed the ghost cards and the elephant cards in the group chat today, and it turned out all his curses came true. The National Star Card League owed him a prize of the "best curse legend in the league". Xie Mingzhe gave each of his three new cards to Tang Muzhou who didn''t pretend to decline and pleasantly received those cards. Trantor''s Note: The Three Kingdoms (Chinese: ʱ) from 220-280 AD was the tripart.i.te division of China among the states of Wei, Shu, and Wu. It started with the end of the Han dynasty and was followed by the Jin dynasty. Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 34 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Xie Mingzhe spent the whole afternoon painting cards in his individual s.p.a.ce. It cost his Inner Spirit to make every card. The more cards he made, he realized his Inner Spirit became more deficient. As a result, he had a headache everytime he made about 20 cards, then the headache distracted him from the card data. So he went offline to rest for a dozen minutes for each hour of hard work, mixing work with adequate rest. The afternoon pa.s.sed quickly and Xie Mingzhe had made a record number of cards that day. He first painted 10 [Lin Daiyu], [Xue Baochai], [Xi Shi], [w.a.n.g Zhaojun] respectively. And he painted 12 [Zhong Kui], [Sha Wujing] and [Cao Chong] respectively because he needed to give one each of the three new cards to Tang Muzhou and keep one of each in the disy cab. He felt his head was going to explode. He sat on the couch, rubbing his temples. Chen Xiao saw that and went to relieve him, "Don''t be in such a hurry. Take your time to paint cards. If you keep making cards like this, you would burden your Inner Spirit, and this would take its toll on your health in the long run." Xie Mingzhe nodded, "Brother Chen, I know that. But I have been selling IDE cards for three days. As shrewd businessmen, the card creators in other clubs must be racing against the clock to research IDE cards ording to my way of thinking. So I can''t rx right now and must sell cards as much as possible before the price is reduced." Chen Xiao lightly patted his shoulder, "I can''t help you with making cards. But I''ll help you prepare all the necessary materials. All the cards that you made this time were earth cards, and we have already got all the earth materials to upgrade the cards to level 70 and seven stars. "Thanks, bro." Fortunately he chose to cooperate with Chen Xiao. Otherwise, all these things couldn''t be done at the same time just by himself. It was really a life-saver to have a.s.sistants. When Xie Mingzhe went back online again, Chi Qing had already upgraded the three new cards to the maximum level and put them in the disy cab on the first floor. And 70 level 1 cards that would be sold the next day had been neatly ced in the disy cab on the second floor. After patrolling around the store, Xie Mingzhe went to sleep with satisfaction. *** At 11:30am the next day, Xie Mingzhe''s ° Card Store opened on time. Just like the day before, the store was swarming with countless people as soon as it opened. The president of every big club was there as well as joyful rubberneckersof course this included the extremely popr yer of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club, Gui Sirui. Gui Sirui had already heard about how popr the cards of ° Card Store were. So he immediately sprinted for the second floor once he entered the store. With the aid of the professional''s excellent reflexes as well as APM, he reached thest three rows of the disy cabs and directly bought cards without even looking at them. His speed was so quick that he finally got three new cards. Then he went downstairs in satisfaction and stood in front of the card showcase to observe the skills of today''s new cards. In the middle of the first floor''s card showcasey the four beauty cards side by side, [Lin Daiyu], [Xue Baochai], [Xi Shi] and [w.a.n.g Zhaojun]. He had seen these four beauty cards before and he had to admit that it was really enchanting to have the cards of four beauties with different styles prominently disyed in the centre of the store. Behind the four beauty cardsy the three new cards released just now. And all of them had been upgraded to the maximum level. Out of curiosity, Gui Sirui went and checked them Earth card [Sha Wujing] C additional skill [Staff Quelling Demons], demon cards instantly die. Just yesterday, Liu Jingxu had calmly said "Anyway, he didn''t aim at us". Now he was just smacked right in the face! Why did he say things like that anyway? I tried, I really tried to stop him from saying that! Now I can do nothing but feel sorry for him. Earth card [Cao Chong] C additional skill [Weighing an Elephant], the prodigy Cao Chong weighs an elephant. Forces the elephant into getting onto a boat. The elephant can''t move or activate skills until Cao Chong finishes his work What the h.e.l.l? Shifu''s elephant cards were targeted too? Even though this was not the instant death effect, the elephant couldn''t move on the boat, let alone activate skills. So what was the difference between being alive and dead in that case? Gui Sirui restrained himself from punching the card creator on his nose and kept looking. Earth card [Zhong Kui] C additional skill [Hunting Ghosts], Zhong Kui catches ghost cards and puts them in the Qiankun Bag, thus makes them unable to perform actions. Gui Sirui, "? ? ? ? ?" Thanks a lot, Legend Nie! No one in the Ghost h.e.l.l Club could escape your curses! Are you serious?! Gui Sirui felt like weeping but had no tears. He immediately took off his helmet and turned to find his Shifu. In the next room, a giant te of fruit was ced on the table. Zheng Feng was sitting on the couch and watching the game yback of thest season, holding his arms. The whole scene was very peaceful and tranquil. When seeing Gui Sirui who looked depressede into the room, Zheng Fengughed loudly and said, "Xiao Gui, what''s wrong? ° Card Store really sold cards targeting your cards?" Gui Sirui gave a miserable look and pushed up his .s.ses, then he said helplessly, "He made a card named [Zhong Kui]. Its effect was not ghost instant death, instead it hunted and put my ghosts into the Qiankun Bag." Zheng Fengughed like crazy, "HAHAHAHA, you poor kid. If your White Lady was caught, there wouldn''t be many things you could do to redeem the situation!" Gui Sirui was speechless, "In which universe would a Shifu gloat over his apprentice? By the way, he aimed at you too!" Zheng Feng keptughing, "Oh really? The kid can aim at me?" Gui Sirui turned on his smart optical tablet that had ess to the shared data and magnified [Cao Chong], the card he just bought, in front of Zheng Feng. The smile froze on Zheng Feng''s face. It took a long time for Zheng Feng to regain consciousness. He rubbed his rigid face and couldn''t resist turning the air blue, "Holy c.r.a.p! Putting my elephant on the boat and weighing it? What the fxxk?" Liu Jingxu, who always cared about nothing but his cards, came in at that very moment. When seeing the two people, the Shifu and his apprentice, sporting funny facial expressions, he calmly said, "Don''t worry. In any case, ° Card Store hasn''t targeted us." Zheng Feng, "" Gui Sirui, "" As ate bloomer, Liu Jingxu was always slow in reality. And he had no idea that his demon cards were aimed at too. Gui Sirui didn''t want to say anything. He sighed helplessly and just showed the three cards on the smart optical tablet to him. [Zhong Kui Hunting Ghosts], [Sha Wujing Quelling Demons], [Cao Chong Weighing an Elephant] Liu Jingxu''s poker face finally broke into pieces. Trantor''s Note: Actions per minute, abbreviated to APM, is a term used in video games, particrity real-time strategy and fighting games which refers to the total number of actions that a yer can perform in a minute. High APM is often a.s.sociated with skill, as it can indicate that a yer both knows what to do in the game and has the manual dexterity to carry it out. Chapter 35 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proodreader: Rhith Liu Jingxu was a schrly yer who was obsessed with card research. Usually he didn''t care about every big club''s gossip. Even if some big events had happened and were well known by everyone, he still gave a "what happened" face. In addition, he was also the one who always lurked in the group chat and never said anything. As long as things didn''t concern the Ghost h.e.l.l Club, he wouldn''t bother to think about it even if the outside world was turned upside down. But at that moment he had to pay attention to the recent IDE card eventbecause the card [Sha Wujing] directly aimed at his whole demon card set! What made the demon cards strong and powerful was that all demon cards were dual-shaped, which meant that they were unpredictable and it was hard to kill them instantly. However, the appearance of [Sha Wujing]pletely changed the situation. The skill, "Staff Quelling Demons", could trigger the instant death effect on demon cards no matter which shape it was in, human or demon. A master yer just needed to summon Sha Wujing at the critical moment and instantly kill his key cards, such as fox demon and cat demon, then his game tempo would be entirely broken, and his control chain would be destroyed. Liu Jingxu frowned, carefully observing the card, [Sha Wujing]. When seeing him being deep in meditation, Gui Sirui couldn''t resist asking, "Brother Xu, do you have any ideas to crack it?" The Ghost h.e.l.l Club didn''t have professional card designers, and the superintendent of designing cards was Liu Jingxu. He was in charge of the card arrangement as well as the card pool setting every time there was a group race because of hisprehensive understanding of cards. The problem was that he was a typical slowpoke who always reacted slowly. He was suddenly lost in thought as if his spirit had already left him, and of course he didn''t listen to Xiao Gui at all. Gui Sirui continued to call him, "Brother Xu? Can you hear me? h.e.l.lo?" Liu Sirui kept thinking, bowing his head Gui Sirui helplessly looked at his Shifu who asked with a puzzled look, "I wonder how the skill, Cao Chong Weighing an Elephant, is going to work. How about this, you first upgrade the three cards to the maximum level, then we can try them in the Arena." Gui Sirui wanted to test the actual effect of these cards too, so he called the president of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club right away in order to directly use the club''s materials to upgrade the cards. The two people turned away and went to seat themselves in the training room. After putting on their helmets, they logged into the game. At that time, Liu Jingxu finally regained consciousness, "I just thought of an ideaWait. Where is everybody?" He looked around, his face puzzled. Then he realized that Lao Zheng and Xiao Gui were not around. The president saw his bewildered face and didn''t know whether tough or cry, "Brother Xu, they went to the training room. The boss said he wanted to test the actual effect of those cards." "Okay." Liu Jingxu responded briefly, then he immediately turned in order to follow their steps. In the training room, Zheng Feng and Gui Sirui had just upied an Arena in the Phoenix gxy. As usual, the code was 7895. Liu Jingxu logged into the game and found the two''s Arena in his buddy list, then he input the code to watch their game. At that time they had already started to battle, with Xiao Gui holding [Cao Chong] targeting his Shifu and Lao Zheng holding [Zhong Kui] targeting the ghost cards. In the beginning, Xiao Gui randomly summoned a Hanged Ghost. ordingly, Zheng Feng immediately applied [Zhong Kui]''s skill, Hunting GhostsZhong Kui opened his Qiankun Bag and directly pushed Xiao Gui''s Hanged Ghost into the bag. The spectator, Liu Jingxu gave a hint, "Try to kill Zhong Kui, and see if the ghost in the bag would be freed." Gui Sirui happened to have the same idea, so he summoned a fierce ghost with the highest attack attribute. The fierce ghostnded a blow on Zhong Kui whose defence attribute was extremely low. Then Zhong Kui converted into a plume of smoke right away and eventually disappeared, taking the ghost in the bag with him. The three people looked at each other, speechless. After a moment, Liu Jingxu conjectured, "This character, Zhong Kui, designed by ° must be the envoy of the underworld. If he caught a ghost and got attacked, he would disappear with his quarry. This skill of hunting a ghost and imprisoning it is actually a derivative of the instant death effect." After all, ° was famous for making IDE cards, so there was no reason that he would be merciful and release a sitting duck. Gui Sirui originally wasn''t expecting that he could get his ghost card back. However, it was really a b.u.mmer to see his ghost card being caught like this. Zheng Feng frowned, "Now try [Cao Chong]." [Cao Chong] at maximum level had low HP and Defence attributes as well as zero Attack, this kind of card obviously was the disposable strategy card. The battle began again. Zheng Feng summoned his White Elephant which was a tremendous giant. The animal made its opponents tremble with fear. It was over three meters in height with four legs as thick as stone pirs, and the ground was shaken when it ran. When seeing Shifu''s White Elephant appear, Gui Sirui immediately used [Cao Chong]''s "Weighing an Elephant" skill. The boat model in the prodigy''s hand suddenly erged in proportion and got the whole White Elephant onto it. Their sizes matched perfectly and the poor giant animal was stuck on the boat, without even a tiny bit of extra s.p.a.ce left. The elephant couldn''t move nor release its skills. Then Cao Chong squatted down beside the boat and observed the mark of water level on the boat. The three people, "" This is a serious game. Why do we need to confront a naughty kid? Hey! Kid, would you stop? Do you really think it is appropriate to weigh an elephant in an Arena?! Zheng Feng almostughed in exasperation when he saw this weird scene, "What was the card creator thinking? Letting a kid weigh my elephants with a boat???" Liu Jingxu suggested, "Try to kill Cao Chong?" Zheng Feng casually summoned a Golem. As expected, one Attack Damage was enough to kill Cao Chong as its defence attribute was impressively low. However, Cao Chong''s boat still existed, so did the elephant who was stuck on it. Gui Sirui suddenly thought of a crucial point, "I remember that there is a sentence in the skill description of [Cao Chong]until Cao Chong finishes his work, which means now his work hasn''t been done yet?" Zheng Feng freaked out, "How long will this weighing stuff take?" Liu Jingxu calmly said, "Your elephant is very heavy, so maybe he needs several hours." Zheng Feng, "" So when he ys the game in the future, the kid Cao Chong will use the boat to slowly weigh his elephant, and all he can do is to watch other yers fiercely fighting. The authorities are so ridiculous. How could this evil card setting pa.s.s their examination? The elephant couldn''t move or use skills in the boat. It was not the instant death effect since the elephant was still alive with full HP. But its function as a tank ceased. So what was the difference between being alive and being dead? Liu Jingxu exined, "[Cao Chong]''s skill, Weighing an Elephant, is simr to [The Exile], which is to exile particr cards from the Arena and banning the cards'' fight effect. This is a "one for one" strategy card which, I remember, the premier card designers of Pantheon once made." Zheng Feng sighed, "I have to admit that this card creator is really awesome." Liu Jingxu was very interested in this card creator, so he turned his head and asked, "President, have you got clear information of this creator?" The president of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club was a man with a low-key att.i.tude who always did things secretly. He answered as soon as he heard the question, "My secret investigation isplete. °''s ID is Uncle Chubby. He is an original card designer who started his business in the ck market. His game image is a chubby uncle who smiles warmly. As we all know, recently he opened a card store specializing in the IDE cards. So far we haven''t found his rtionship with any other clubs." Gui Sirui scratched his head, "Shifu, what do we do?" Liu Jingxu said seriously, "This Uncle Chubby has undoubted talent as a card creator. Since he hasn''t cooperated with any clubs, we should try to attract him with the best conditions. Plus, I would love to exchange ideas about making cards with him." The first thing that the research freak eagerly wanted to do when encountering a talented card creator was tomunicate with him. Zheng Feng was deep in thought, rubbing his chin. After a moment, he said, "You mentioned "the best conditions". You didn''t only refer to the sry, did you?" Liu Jingxu nodded, "In my opinion, other clubs must have tried to sign him before and obviously their offers must be attractive too. Then why is he still a frencer nowadays? The only solid exnation is that their conditions were not attractive enough to make him really think about this cooperation thing. If my guess is correct, the card copyright is the most important issue in his mind. It was inevitable that other clubs didn''t want to risk themselves to let him keep the copyright. Lao Zheng, it all depends on whether you have the guts to give him the copyright." Zheng Feng was silent for a while, then he nodded determinedly, "I can delegate the copyright to him. However, in case he leaves with the cards or leaks our club''s confidential information someday, we need to add some restrictive uses in the contract. What do you think?" Liu Jingxu thought for a minute and said, "I think your idea makes sense. In that case he will enjoy the same treatment as the top card designers in the whole National Star Card League." Gui Sirui asked worriedly, "Will he agree to be on board?" Zheng Feng said, with a smile, "We''re giving him the best and the most attractive offer. I can''t figure out any reason for him to say no." Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 35 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proodreader: Rhith Simultaneously, in the National Star Card League chat group. Ye Zhu, "HAHAHAHA, I can''t stopughing. The whole Ghost h.e.l.l Club has be the victim this time! I''ll show you guys three cards that I saw in ° Card Store[Zhong Kui], [Sha Wujing] as well as [Cao Chong]. Since his b.u.t.terfly cards had already been targeted, it was okay for him to gloat over others'' misfortune without worrying about jinxing himself. The tenth season would begin in two days. Around this time during previous years, the chat group would usually talk about the rule changes, the groups and the yers who entered for the individual race. However, this year everything changed. The only thing that was discussed at all times were the IDE cards. Ye Zhu was a teenager who loved going along for the ride. Originally he had gloated over Tang Muzhou''s misfortune, then he was targeted immediately, which made him quiet and behave himself just for a day. Shortly after, he started to find pleasure in Water cards'' and today''s Earth cards'' misfortune. With him focused on ° Card Store and sending messages to the group chat from time to time, everyone knew immediately what was released by the store. Seeing today''s three new cards, everyoneughed secretly: Poor Lao Zheng. His elephant would be put onto a boat, being weighed by a kid. HAHAHA. They also felt sorry for Xiao Gui and Liu Jingxu as one''s ghost cards would be hunted and the other''s demon cards would be killed instantly. Zheng Feng said helplessly, "Lao Nie, are you going to say something?" After being called, Nie Yuandao appeared. He said in a deep and calm voice, "What can I say? Congratte you guys on the jackpot?" Zheng Feng, "" Congrattions?! It''s all your fault, you doomsayer! Zheng Feng rolled his eyes and frankly said, "All of your curses havee true! Yesterday you said that ghost cards and elephant cards wouldn''t be targeted. Now what?! Today new cards targeting ghosts and elephants were released!" Gui Sirui echoed, "Exactly. Legend Nie, are you cooperating with Uncle Chubby and offering him ideas for making cards?" Liu Jingxu, who had never said anything in the chat group before, surprisingly spoke today, "I think Legend Nie is suspicious too." Nie Yuandao, "? ? ? ?" For G.o.d''s sake! How could it be possible that he was in collusion with Uncle Chubby? He was the first one that was targeted a long time ago, all right? A crowd of yers started to pelt Nie Yuandao with angry questions. Shan Lan hated seeing his Shifu be the target, so he stood up and said, "There must be some misunderstanding. My Shifu didn''t cooperate with Uncle Chubby. Or how do you exin that my bird cards were targeted too?" His gentle voice rang in their ears, making everyone calm down quickly. That made sense. If Nie Yuandao was really up to something with Uncle Chubby, he was unlikely to hurt his own apprentice. Poor Shan Lan, [w.a.n.g Zhaojun]''s sound-wave attack aimed at his entire bird card group. Zheng Feng felt confused, "So Lao Nie just blurted out whatever came into your mind. And all your words came true?" Shan Lan said helplessly, "I''m afraid that''s the truth. That day my Shifu also blurted out that my birds wouldn''t be targeted." Nie Yuandao slightly coughed and couldn''t refute the argument. Gui Sirui, "Legend Nie''s curses are legendary! Now, hurry! Go curse other yers! Why should only our Ghost h.e.l.l Club suffer!" Zheng Feng, "That''s right. Lao Nie, tell us who is next?" Ye Zhu echoed, "Legend Nie, keep cursing and don''t stop! Who else?" At that moment, Tang Muzhou suddenly interrupted, with a smile, "Let me give a summary. So far the cards of five clubs C the Fenghua Club''s flower cards, the Adjudication Club''s bird cards, the Flowing Frost City Club''s fish cards with Water attribute, the Ghost h.e.l.l Club''s Earth cards as well as the Capital of Darkness''s b.u.t.terfly cards C have all been targeted. Now which club do you think is left?" Ye Zhu couldn''t resist giving the thumbs up, "Legend Tang, your remember these things clearly!" Gui Sirui said, "The ultimate conclusion should be said by Legend Nie. After all, he always gives the most powerful curses." Zheng Feng, "Lao Nie, the final line is yours." Being encouraged by almost every yer, Nie Yuandao had to curse determinedly, "So far only Pantheon hasn''t been targeted. Since most of the Pantheon Club''s cards are Metal cards which are hard to aim at, Uncle Chubby must not know how to deal with the Metal card group." Ling Jingtang, "" Ling Jingtang, "Lao Nie, I want to stick a seal on your mouth!" The strongest yer of Pantheon the founder of the Metal cards, Ling Jingtang, finally appeared due to Nie Yuandao''s curse. Nie Yuandao said calmly, "I''m just telling the truth. Am I right, guys?" All yers, except Pantheon''s, gave the thumbs up together, "Can''t be more reasonable!" "Legend Nie, whatever you say is 100% right!" "Only Pantheon hasn''t been targeted!" "There is no way that Uncle Chubby can make cards targeting Metal cards!" Everyone buffed Legend Nie''s curse, one after another. As one of the six most powerful clubs in the National Star Card League, the Pantheon Club was the only one that hadn''t be the victim yet, being targeted by Uncle Chubby. But who knows? Perhaps ° Card Store will sell some new cards targeting Metal cards. Would Legend Nie''s curse be reality or not? Tang Muzhou observed silently, thinking, "Lao Nie. I''m sorry to make you a scapegoat for me. Hang in there, I''m going to talk to Uncle Chubby right away!" Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 36 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proodreader: Rhith At twelve noon, Xie Mingzhe''s store closed on time. There was still the announcement which said "New cards will be released at 11:30am tomorrow", since Xie Mingzhe had already conceived some ideas in his mind. And he nned to paint two new cards that afternoon. After closing the store, he first went offline to have lunch, and also to let his brain rest for a while. When he got back online again at 1pm, the system prompt voice rang, "You have a new email. Please check." Xie Mingzhe walked into the living room and opened his email box, then he saw the new message. The email was sent by a person whose ID was "Ghost Fire". And the email said, "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby. I am the Ghost h.e.l.l Club''s president. Some yers in my club want to confer with you about some business. If you have spare time, I would be honored to have you visit my club." Xie Mingzhe turned around and went to check the Gxy Navigation Map. As expected, there was an extra club territory star. The Ghost h.e.l.l Club''s territory star was pure ck with a ghostly atmosphere surrounding it. It was obvious that the star''s style was simr to the Underworld. He generally knew the respective characteristics of several big clubs since he had looked up their information these days. Most of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club''s cards were Earth cards, some of which were very famous, such as Legend Zheng Feng''s "Defence and Counterattack" cards, Gui Sirui''s ghost cards as well as Liu Jingxu''s demon cards. Amongst the three yers, Lao Zheng was the experienced yer who had debuted in the first season. Nowadays he was in his thirties and was respected by yers of the new generation. Gui Sirui was one of the most popr yers of the new generation. His eerie and scary card style had attracted a lot of die-hard fans. As for Liu Jingxu, he won first prize in the eighth season. In addition, he was a research freak as well as ate bloomer. The club was quite strong. It had won numerous trophies no matter if it was in individual races, paired races or group races. Why does the Ghost h.e.l.l Club suddenly want to see me? Today Xie Mingzhe had made three cards, [Zhong Kui], [Sha Wujing] and [Cao Chong], without a break. And all of the three cards targeted the Ghost h.e.l.l Club. It was perfectly possible that the club''s legends wanted to use him in person. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe replied, "President, if the reason that you want to see me is to abuse me. I''d rather not visit your ce." Ghost Fire immediately answered, "That''s not gonna happen. We really have business to discuss with you." Business? Customizing cards like Legend Fang Yu? Or buying copyrights like Legend Nie? No matter what it was, Xie Mingzhe decided to visit the club in person since the president had politely invited him. A club territory was a safe area where PK was not allowed, so he wouldn''t be besieged and attacked anyway. He was teleported to the Ghost h.e.l.l Club by clicking the Gxy Navigation Map. The architecture of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club was different than any of the clubs he visited beforeFenghua and Adjudication had aboveground buildings, while Ghost h.e.l.l had a gigantic underground castle, which was simr to "the Underground" that he had seen on TV. Both of their buildings were underground and surrounded by a dim, ck and evil atmosphere. Even the background music was distinctive, which was creepy and frightening. Xie Mingzhe used to be a huge fan of supernatural novels and horror movies, so the design of the Ghost h.e.l.l Club''s territory star was in harmony with his taste. The president weed him at the entrance in person, and ushered him into his office with ceremony. The two people went straight down using the lift and entered the gigantic underground castle, which felt like personally visiting "the Underworld"However, the office was on the eighteenth floor underground. What an unlucky number! This world probably didn''t know about the concept of "the eighteen levels of h.e.l.l" in traditional culture. Otherwise, they wouldn''t set such an important office area on the eighteenth floor underground. Xie Mingzhe opened the office door with a skeleton sign. It was obvious that club territory buildings could be freely designed ording to different styles, but the internal structures were almost the same. He saw a club insignia that was hung right in the middle of the wall once againthe Ghost h.e.l.l Club''s insignia, which was a picture simr to the "h.e.l.l''s abyss". And in the middle of the abyssid two ck words, "Ghost h.e.l.l", which was surrounded by spooky ck smoke. Just like its architecture, its insignia was eerie and distinctive too. Three men sat side by side in the office and it was obvious that they were the three yers who were targeted by his cards. As expected, the president introduced them to him, "They are my club''s yers, Gui Sirui, Liu Jingxu and Legend Zheng Feng." Xie Mingzhe approached them with a kind smile, "You Legends wanted to see me not to use me, right?" Zheng Fengwas the first to speak, "We don''t need to do that since we''re not the only club that was targeted by you." Gui Sirui also said, "Rx. We''re not that petty. As professionals, we have been targeted so many times before. There is another reason why we wanted to see you." Liu Jingxu stood up and approached him, then seriously said, "Uncle Chubby. The three cards that you designed were impressive since they perfectly avoided some of the authorities'' restrictions on IDE cards by designing [Zhong Kui] as a variation on the instant death skill effect as well as applying the strong control y Exile" to [Cao Chong]''s skill. Xie Mingzhe was a little bit confused, "Exile? You mean [Cao Chong]''s skill, weighing an elephant, amounted to the exile effect?" Liu Jingxu nodded, "Exile is the strongest of all control ys. It directly banishes a particr card from the Arena, which is the control skill named "Arena Instion". This kind of exile y was originally discovered by the chief designer of Pantheon, and then it was imitated by every big club. Even if other clubs have made some simr cards, your [Cao Chong]''s Weighing an Elephant is the strongest one at present. We have tested it in the Arena. When the elephant was stuck on the boat and subsequently exiled, it couldn''t return to the Arena even if the game was over." That was exactly what Xie Mingzhe thought when he designed [Cao Chong]. Since he couldn''t kill the elephant instantly, he would banish it to some other ce. However, he didn''t know there was a name for this control y in the Star Card World, "Exile". He felt some new ideas had appeared in his mind. Liu Jingxu actively stretched out his hand, "I really appreciate your talent for making cards. And I want to make you a friend so that we can study how to make cards together. We arranged this meeting in order to invite you to be our club''s card designer." Xie Mingzhe scratched his head, smiling, "Thank you for your recognition. But I don''t want to be a club''s card designer." Zheng Feng arched an eyebrow, "Don''t rush into rejecting our proposal. Don''t you want to hear our conditions first? Xiao Gui, give him the contract." Trantor''s Note: The concept of the eighteen h.e.l.ls started in the Tang dynasty. Some literature refers to eighteen types of h.e.l.ls or to eighteen h.e.l.ls for each type of punishment. Some religious or literature books say that wrongdoers who were not punished when they were alive are punished in the h.e.l.ls after death. Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 36.2 Lao Zheng always did things with determination and he even had the contract prepared Xie Mingzhe took the contract from Xiao Gui and examined it, feeling a little bit surprised, I can retain the copyright of cards that I design during my work in your club. And the club only has a priority right to use the cards? Zheng Feng nodded without hesitation, Yes. What do you think? Are you satisfied with this condition? Xie Mingzhe hadn''t expected that Ghost h.e.l.l would really gave him the card copyright. What if he leaves the club with his cards? Then he immediately knew the reason when he noticed the next useIf the designer leaves the club before the contract expires or leaks the club''s confidential research and investment information, the designer would pay ten times the amount ofpensation. There you go, the restrictive use. But job-hopping and leaking confidential information essentially countered to professional norms, which means if Xie Mingzhe really intended to be a card designer, this contract would be the best offer he could geta sry of at least a million gold coins a year, plus an award for designing good cards as well as a year-end bonus. In addition, he could keep the card copyright, while the club would only have the right of priority. This may be the best offer he could find in the whole league. Noticing that he kept silent, Zheng Feng continued to ask, I a.s.sume that other clubs also tried to sign you on before. Xie Mingzhe nodded, Yes. Zheng Feng said, Allow me to a.n.a.lyse the current situation for you. At present there are several first-.s.s clubs at the top of the National Star League pyramid. The Adjudication Club''s rules and regtions are so strict that it is impossible for its managers to give up card copyright. Fenghua doesn''tck card designers as it has Tang Muzhou, Zhen Man and Xu Changfeng. These designers'' card-creating ability are at the highest level of the whole league, which means Fenghua doesn''t need to take such a great risk to sign you. The character cards are your signature, but it can''t easily synergise with Capital of Darkness''s insect and Gu insect cards. The Flowing Frost City Club specializes in aquatic creatures. The four fellow apprentices are masters with Water attribute and it is hard for you to join their little group. As for Pantheon, it has the strongest original card designer of the whole league who has a very close rtionship with the yers of the club. The only result of you going to Pantheon will be thepet.i.tion for the chief designer position between you and him. Plus the Pantheon Club wouldn''t do that for such a great costSo, h.e.l.lo! Ghost h.e.l.l. Zheng Feng was indeed an experienced yer from the first season. He was thoroughly familiar with every club in the league. And obviously he wholeheartedly wanted to sign Xie Mingzhe by a.n.a.lysing every club''s details for him. Speaking of this, he stood up and approached Xie Mingzhe, then said sincerely and earnestly, Uncle Chubby. It''s okay to draw pet cards if you work alone. But you can''t have a promising future in the Star Card World when ites to drawing battle cards. The reason is that even if you have great talent, there are still many talented yers and cards designers just like you in other clubs. You''re only taking the lead in making IDE cards right now. But when ites to designing aplete card group, you cannot bepared to the yers such as Tang Muzhou, Nie Yuandao, Ling Jingtang and the chief designer of Pantheon. You cannot evenpete with Xiao Liu in our club. Designing a card group requires the .u.mtion of great actual battle experience, not just the imagination. I have been ying games for nine years and I have met so many young talents who didn''t make it in the end. Thepet.i.tion in the league is much more ferocious than you can imagine. If you don''t have a prop, you will be doomed to failure in the originalmunity. The best choice for your future is to sign with a club as your prop. The Ghost h.e.l.l Club''s boss is my cousin. He is only responsible for investing, while I''m in charge of everything rted to the club. We decided to delegate the copyrights to you in the contract because we sincerely want to invite you to join us. As you know, since the fifth season''s copyright dispute happened this kind of contract is rare. Gui Sirui echoed, Exactly! Think about it, Uncle Chubby. The conditions that my Shifu offers are basically the treatment that only the top card designers in the whole National Star Card League could enjoy. The reason that we want to sign you is not only because you are talented, but also because Brother Xu likes you very much. He is a research freak. I''m pretty sure you guys will have so many things to talk about if you work together. Besides, your human cards and our demon cards as well as ghost cards are a good match! Liu Jingxu went on to say, My demon cards have the human shape, and Xiao Gui''s ghost cards is in human shape too. Adding your human cards to our card group indeed would create a perfect match. You can feel our undoubted sincerity from Lao Zheng''s detailed a.n.a.lysis. In so many first-.s.s clubs in the league, Ghost h.e.l.l is surely your best choice. Xie Mingzhe, He was a little tempted by the three men''s continuous persuasion. In that case, he could have a top club as his prop and simultaneously keep the card copyright. As long as he kept the club''s secrets and remained loyal to the club during the contract period, he could enjoy good treatment and also freely design cards without feeling any pressure. Furthermore, these top yers'' .u.mtion of practical experience in battling could provide him a great deal of ideas for designing cards. Nevertheless, when thinking of what Brother Chen said before, Xie Mingzhe finally made up his mind. He looked at Zheng Feng and politely said, Three legends, your sincerity is so touching. Thank you. I didn''t expect that you would offer me such good conditionsBut, I''m so sorry. I have already got some fes to start my own business. I don''t want to sign with any clubs. Zheng Feng frowned, Your men, do their professionalpetencese up to the formal club''s standard? That was impossible. However, even though Xie Mingzhe wasn''t involved in the copyright dispute that year, recently when other people repeatedly spoke of this event, he had a strange intuition that being contracted to other clubs equalled working for others no matter how good the offer was. Working for others means that he had to listen to the boss. What if his idea shed with the boss''s one day and subsequently the rtionship between him and the club reached a deadlock, he couldn''t fight city hall anyway. When the collision appears, he would be the weaker side who would finallye to grief. Since he has such great talent, why would he still work for others? Why can''t he be the boss? Even though Brother Chen''s boosting service studio couldn''tpete with the big clubs in reference to professionalpetence, he was an experienced booster whose degree of familiarity with the game was as great as the professionals''. They had been working together for a long time and there was a tacit agreement between them. It was better to set up his own club than to sign with other clubs. Xie Mingzhe knew that other people would think that he lived in a fool''s paradise with wild ambition when they discovered his thought. However, he was not okay to be under contract to the Ghost h.e.l.l Club like this. Despite Ghost h.e.l.l giving him the best offer, he still felt something wrong deep down. Maybe as a free spirit, he didn''t like beingmanded by others? Nie Yuandao bought the copyright from him; the partnership between him and Tang Muzhou was equal; Fang Yu approached him about customizing cards. All these things were based on the fact that he was a frence designer. And all these types of cooperation would be gone once he signed with Ghost h.e.l.l. He had made up his mind not to work for any clubs earlier. My human cards must be added to your card group in order to a.s.sist you? Then why don''t I just design aplete set of human cards and a.s.sist myself? Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe became more steadfast. He looked at the three legends and said with a smile, I really appreciate your recognition for me. And thank you, Legend Zheng, for weighing up the pros and cons for me. I know that you did this for my own good, trying to show me the best development path. But I''m so sorry. I won''t join Ghost h.e.l.l or any other club. Think of me as a stubborn person. I insist and I won''t change my mind no matter what the condition is. The other side''s firm eyes and facial expressions made Zheng Feng suddenly freeze. He couldn''t resist asking, In reality, you''re not really a chubby uncle of middle age, are you? Xie Mingzhe smiled, Since you''re so frank. I would feel sorry if I lied to you. I''m indeed not a chubby middle-aged uncle. Zheng Feng, Liu Jingxu and Gui Sirui wanted to keep on persuading him when Zheng Feng stretched his hands and stopped them. He approached Uncle Chubby and said, In that case, maybe we can only meet each other in the Arena? Xie Mingzhe seriously said, Maybe, if I''m lucky enough. Zheng Feng crisply patted his shoulder, Well then. I won''t impose this stuff on you. If fate allows, we''ll meet again. Xie Mingzhe left the Ghost h.e.l.l Club. Liu Jingxu held his question until he left, Lao Zheng, why did you give up? Zheng Feng smiled and said, The man can''t be persuaded. Gui Sirui felt so confused, Why didn''t he change his mind even facing good conditions like this? Zheng Feng sighed lightly, speaking in a low voice, I''ve seen so many designers in thest nine years. Some of them were shortsighted and thus ruined their prospects; some of them had extremely wild ambitions while their power was not that strong. But this man is different from any of the ones I have met before. Perhaps he will be one of thergest variables. He reminds me of Tang Muzhou back in the fifth season. It was the appearance of Tang Muzhou that caused the league''s great change in the fifth season. Liu Jingxu had experienced the fifth season too, and he couldn''t resist saying, You mean, he intends to establish a club and be an original and professional yer just like Tang Muzhou? Zheng Feng nodded in earnest, I have a premonition that in the future he will be a strong opponent of all yers in the Arena. And the National Star Card League might be reshuffled in the next season. Gui Sirui and Liu Jingxu were looking at each other in dismay and at a loss for words. That chubby uncle''s image was very genial. But when he spoke, his tone was so determined that he didn''t sound like a middle-aged chubby uncle. What manner of man is he? Chapter 37.1 After leaving the Ghost h.e.l.l Club, Xie Mingzhe immediately returned to his individual s.p.a.ce to make new cards. At that moment, Tang Muzhou sent a voice PM, Uncle Chubby, any ideas about new IDE cards? Do you want me toe to help you? It was a very wee opportunity for Xie Mingzhe to be instructed by Legend Tang, so he sent the invitation without hesitation. Secondster, Tang Muzhou''s smurf ount appeared in the individual s.p.a.ce. The two people entered the study. Xie Mingzhe didn''t rush into making cards. Instead he first talked with Tang Muzhou about his thoughts on making cards, Legend Tang, earlier you told me that it was weapon cards with the Metal attribute that were initiated by Legend Ling Jingtang of the Pantheon Club. ording to the design, weapons don''t belong to creatures, which means they are not subject to the instant death effect, right? Yes. In the game, what can be affected by the instant death effect are living things, such as nts, animals and human beings. Is it viable to borrow the idea from the design of Zhong Kui Hunting Ghosts'' and catch particr weapon cards? Even if it is not the instant death effect, I a.s.sume the two effects would be simr. You''re right. Tang Muzhou smiled, This is just the difference in the skill description. In fact, the actualbat effect of the skill you just said is equivalent to the instant death effect. You can try to equip your characters with some special weapons and directly waste Ling Jingtang''s weapon cards. Okay, I need more time to think about it! Cold weapons were usually made of metal which could be attracted by maic objects. Speaking of people who held the magic weapon with the attracting weapons skill, the first name that appeared in Xie Mingzhe''s mind was the character from Journey to the WestTaishang Laojun. ording to the description in the original novel, Taishang Laojun had so many magic weapons, for example Seven Stars Sword, Purple Gold Red Gourd, Suet Jade sk, as well as Jin Gang Bracelet. Two boys who used to serve Taishang Laojun stole his Purple Gold Red Gourd and Suet Jade sk and then escaped to the mortal realm. They became demons there and named themselves Golden Horned King and Silver Horned King. The gourd and the sk that they stole were both powerful magic weapons which could suck people in. Afterwards, Tang Xuanzang and his apprentices pa.s.sed by t Peak Mountain where the two horned kings lived. Sun Wukong managed to swap fake treasures for the genuine gourd and sk by deception. Then Taishang Laojun descended to the mortal realm to take his boys back and retrieved his treasures. Xie Mingzhe could clearly remember this plot as Taishang Laojun was also one of his favourite characters when he was a kid. Taishang Laojun''s magic weapon, Jin Gang Bracelet,pletely fit in with his idea of containing weapons. He remembered that the original novel once said that Jin Gang Bracelet was made of a special steel called Kun. Once the magic weapon was used, every treasure and every weapon in the world would be sucked into itwhich was exactly what he needed to subdue Legend Ling Jingtang''s weapon cards. In Xie Mingzhe''s memory, Taishang Laojun had long snowy hair, and his eyebrows and moustache were white too. People would say that he was certainly an immortal when they saw him with the Taoist priest''s robe. Xie Mingzhe rapidly decided how to design the character since it was not that difficult to paint the image. The crucial part was the weapon. Taishang Laojun always appeared with a hossu. However, since weapon cards with the Metal attribute were the target this time, it was a good idea to equip him with the magic weapon Jin Gang Braceletthis was a round golden bracelet which could erge instantly and then entangle any weapon, no matter how strong the weapon was. After thinking over all these details, Xie Mingzhe immediately connected his Inner Spirit to the card-making system. Soon an elegant G.o.d image was created in his mind. Painting the character, designing the skill, setting the data He was extremely familiar with the process of doing three things simultaneously. Plus Taishang Laojun''s weapon was much easier to draw than w.a.n.g Zhaojun''s Chinese lute. Consequently, it only took him five minutes to finish drawing the card [Taishang Laojun]. Xie Mingzhe connected to the database to examine the finished card. Then he showed it to Tang Muzhou Taishang Laojun (Metal) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 100, Attack 0, Defense 100, Agility 30, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Jin Gang Bracelet (Casts the bracelet held in hand and takes in the designated weapon cards. Deprives the weapon card of operational capability.) Tang Muzhouplimented him, Well done. The skill can take away the Metal card group''s weapon cards, which is equivalent to the skill of the instant death effect. Looking at the new card, Xie Mingzhe was joyful too. He seeded in making the card which could subdue Metal cards. In that case, would every legend''s hatred towards him be less intense? After all, all of the six big clubs were targeted and there was no mainstream card group that managed to slip through the. Therefore, to some extent, he had made them achieve an equilibrium in the game again. His IDE cards were put in ° Card Store for selling and everyone could buy them. You made my cards instant die. Meanwhile I could waste your cards. Thus the yers'' thoughts would be vital to winning or losing thepet.i.tion. While he was thinking, Tang Muzhou continued to speak, Actually, Pantheon has another card group which is extremely hard to target. Xie Mingzhe asked out of curiosity, What is it? Tang Muzhou answered, G.o.d Card. There were so many sub-.s.sifications of cards in the Star Card World. However, there were only six broad categories nt, Animal, Spirit of Creatures, Spirit of Non-Creatures, Human and G.o.d. Tang Muzhou and the Fenghua Club''s yers were extremely good at nt cards. The Animal card group included the Adjudication Club''s beast card group as well as bird card group, Capital of Darkness''s insect and Gu insect card groups and so forth. nt and Animal were two of the mostmon card groups in the game. Since the virtual images that they created were pretty and they had thergest amount of cards, the two card groups were the most popr with yers. Trantor''s Note: 1. Taishang Laojun (in Chinese:̫Ͼ) means The Grand Supreme Elderly Lord. His other names include Daode Tianzun (in Chinese: ) which means The Universally Honoured Virtuous One, Daojiao Zhizu (in Chinese: ֮) which means the Taoist Ancestor. Laozi is regarded to be a manifestation of Daode Tianzun who auth.o.r.ed the .s.sic Tao Te Ching.Taishang Laojun 2. The picture of Jin Gang Bracelet 3. The Golden Horned King (in Chinese: Ǵ) and the Silver Horned King (in Chinese: Ǵ) were originally known as the Golden Boy and Silver Boy. They were two boys in charge of watching over Taishang Laojun''s furnaces, who escaped to the mortal realm, and based in Lotus Cave (in Chinese: ɏ) on t Peak Mountain (in Chinese: ƽɽ). 4. A hossu (in Chinese: ) is a short staff of wood or bamboo with bundled hair (of a cow, horse, or yak) wielded by a Zen Buddhist priest or a Taoist priest. Chapter 37.2 Three people had caused the current situationTang Muzhou''s Shifu had established the foundation of nt cards with the Wood attribute; Nie Yuandao had perfected the design ofnd animals with the Fire attribute and flying animals; Su Yang had extended the card pool of all the marine creatures with the Water attribute. As early as the first season, the Arena had been awash with nt cards and animal cards, which gave yers an illusion that nt cards and animal cards were the strongest cards in the Star Card World. And the idea was still hard to change these days. After all, the nt card group and the animal card group had a history of a whole nine years. Other card categories couldn''tpete with them in reference to their card groups'' variety. During the second season, the appearance of weapon cards and stone spirit cards were credited to the two legends, Zheng Feng and Ling Jingtang. Ling Jingtang had personified all his weapon cards, for example, his [Peerless Sword] was a teenage girl holding swords. While every stone spirit and golem that Zheng Feng made also belonged to the personification of objects. Hence, the authorities directly added the .s.sification Spirit of Non-Creatures that included all the object cards. The Spirit of Creatures card group was closely rted to Gui Sirui. His ghost cards had brought a bunch of yers and original card designers who were obsessed with horrifying and supernatural things. After the appearance of ghost cards, all kinds of cards such as zombies,witches and vampires had sprung up. And all these dark cards had been .s.sified as Spirit of Creature by the authorities. There had been so many human cards since the first season. However, aplete human card system hadn''t been formed yet and so far no one had won first prize by using human cards. The reason was that there was another card group that was much stronger than human cards and both of them were in human shapeG.o.d card group! Tang Muzhou briefly introduced the card .s.sifications to Xie Mingzhe and then he listed several G.o.d cards, In the G.o.d card group, the most famous one is Odin, the king of all G.o.ds. Other G.o.d cards, such as Loki (G.o.d of Evil), Poseidon (G.o.d of the Sea), Archangel Michael, Fallen Angel Lucifer and so forth, are very strong. G.o.d cards are immune to the instant death effect, so it is hard to target them with IDE cards. The way to deal with G.o.d cards is to break the phantasm or to directly seal the real body. Xie Mingzhe, Weren''t these characters G.o.ds in Norse and Greek mythology? Didn''t these western myths disappear as the Earth was destroyed? In order to confirm for himself, Xie Mingzhe asked, Legend Tang, have you heard about the myths about Lucifer and Michael? Yes, but I''m not so familiar with them. Tang Muzhou answered, A yer in Pantheon is named Xu Xingtu who enjoys myths very much. He expressly carried out research into the mythology and has allegedly published many academic papers about myths and legends. However, he only knows these stories. He doesn''t make cards himself. The detailed design of the card skills is the duty of the designer in his club. Xie Mingzhe was surprisedsince Tang Muzhou had heard about characters like Lucifer and Michael, this meant that western mythology stories didn''tpletely disappear in the world. On the other hand, it was oriental culture that had a gap. Xie Mingzhe was very anxious to write novels ording to the stories in his mind so that other people would know about the ancient oriental culture. Unfortunately, he was a really bad writer and he couldn''t make those stories shine like they did in his mind. Since there were idental G.o.ds in the game, the existence of oriental G.o.ds would be reasonable in principle. Such as Jade Emperor, Queen Mother of the West, Guanyin and Buddha in Journey to the West, as well as Nwa, f.u.xi and Shennong from mythological storiesIf these characters were really made into cards, it would be hard to tell who would win since this would be apet.i.tion between G.o.ds. [Taishang Laojun] that was made just now was supposed to be divided into the G.o.d card group. However, after checking the category of the card, Xie Mingzhe noticed that it was automatically divided into Human by the system. After all, the system didn''t have information about these oriental G.o.ds. As for how to deal with the .s.sification stuff, Xie Mingzhe hadn''t had any clues so far. He was just a n.o.body. Even if he went to the headquarters of the authorities, he would definitely be ignored when he told them, The cards that I designed are G.o.ds cards. These are G.o.ds in oriental myths and legends. Maybe he would be treated as a psycho and be driven out. Maybe when he became famous enough and was a dominant figure in the Star Card World after a long time, he could ask the authorities to add the category of oriental G.o.d cards and put these characters into the G.o.d card group. However, currently he could do nothing but let [Taishang Laojun] be divided into the human card group. Seeing Uncle Chubby lowering his head in meditation, Tang Muzhou thought he was thinking about how to target G.o.d cards. So he couldn''t resist pointing out, You can refer to [Cao Chong]''s skill design by trying to use the magic seal effect, which is Exile. You can exile a particr card from the Arena. Xie Mingzhe regained his consciousness, Okay, let me think about it. To seal a G.o.d card? Right, Invest.i.ture of the G.o.ds! He had watched the cartoon, Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, when he was a kid. And he had read the whole original book, Invest.i.ture of the G.o.ds, in middle school. He had read the book so many times that he could clearly remember the main characters such as Daji, Jiang Ziya, Nezha as well as Yang Jian. Xie Mingzhe carefully searched his memory. His favourite character in Invest.i.ture of the G.o.ds was Nezha the Third Lotus Prince. He remembered that Nezha''s Shifu was Taiyi Zhenren who used a lotus flower to rebuild Nezha''s body and taught him the magic art Three Heads and Six Arms. He also gave Nezha many powerful magic weapons such as the Universe Ring, the Red Armiry Sash, the Wind Fire Wheels and the Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net was undoubtedly an appropriate magic weapon when it came to the design of the skill effect sealing G.o.d cards! ording to the original novel, the Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net was extremely powerful. The enemy would be covered from top to toe when the magic weapon was used. And the mes would grow higher and higher in the where nine fire dragons circled around with the True Samdhi Fireing out of their mouths. The True Samdhi Fire could burn people in the to ashes. On the basis of the principle of inter-inhibition of five elements, Fire counters Metal, and fire could melt metal. Most of Pantheon''s cards were Metal cards. In principle, it would be viable to seal G.o.d cards with the Metal attribute with magic weapons with the Fire attribute. G.o.ds, of course, wouldn''t easily be burned to ashes. But maybe it''s possible to seal them with the Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net and deprive their of operational ability. Thinking of this, Xie Mingzhe immediately decided the next card''s character, Taiyi Zhenren. He didn''t want to waste Nezha on the IDE card. So he chose his Shifu as the magic weapon used to seal G.o.dsTaiyi Zhenren. Trantor''s Note: 1. The still from NezhaAnimated Chinese Movie Ne Zha 2. The rtionship between the five elements (Wuxing) Chapter 38.1 ording to the original Book, Taiyi Zhenren was a genial and kind old man with a long mustache. He wore his hair knotted on the top of his head with one of the ancient Chinese traditional hair essories. White hair at the temples and side faces tumbled down before his chest. He wore a white and blue Tai Chi robe, and sped across the sky, surrounded by magic air. Taishang Laojun, Taiyi Zhenren, they could be goodpany. In order to match the skill design, Taiyi Zhenren should hold the magic weapon Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net in his left hand. The glittering was closely circled by nine dragons and their heads were exactly below the, breathing out the true Samdhi Fire. After constructing all these things in his mind, Xie Mingzhe started making the card [Taiyi Zhenren]. Ten minutes pa.s.sed; he didn''t finish. It was very difficult to paint the weapon, and the nine fire dragons on the surface were also a tough nut to crack, requiring an enormous amount of Inner Spirit from the painter. In fact, Xie Mingzhe could havepletely ignored these details since he could create the sealing effect by causally painting a simple golden. However, he wanted to do this seriously. The stories in his mind were treasures of Huaxia civilization. He decided to apply them not only to make cards, but also to acquaint this world with the long lost characters as well as stories. If he freely changed them, it would be contrary to his original intentions for making cards. Moreover, it would be disrespectful to the historical figures and ancient myths. He couldn''t change these characters and stories at will just because he wasn''t familiar with them. Imagine Lin Daiyu killing a cow by throwing a punch and w.a.n.g Zhaojun burning all the nts to deaththis kind of design would trouble his conscience even if n.o.body questioned them. While making cards, he could design the skills ording to the battle rules in the Star Card World. Nevertheless, he stuck to trying to respect the original figures and stories when it came to the cards'' character images, weapons as well as magic weapons. The Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net was a delicate magic weapon so it was not okay to perfunctorily paint a golden. He must try to paint the weapon exceptionally urate to the description in the original story. Xie Mingzhe concentrated his Inner Spirit on painting the card. It took so long to make the card this time that he didn''t open his eyes until after a full 15 minutes. However, he opened his eyes to find that the Neb paper in front of him was broken to pieces, which was obviously the result of Inner Spirit disorder. Tang Muzhou was a little bit surprised. He stepped forward and anxiously asked, What''s wrong? Xie Mingzhe scratched his head and gave a disconste face, The weapon that was designed was tooplex to focus my Inner Spirit on during the painting. Tang Muzhou asked, Because you cannot draw the weapon and the character at the same time? or just because it is hard to shrink the weapon? Xie Mingzhe said, Both. Tang Muzhou suggested in a gentle voice, Keep calm. If the weapon is veryplex, you can split the card that you design. First, you separately draw the weapon on a piece of Neb paper, and in order to avoid it being judged as card repet.i.tion after inputting it into the system, don''t send it to the system to examine. Then, you get another piece of Neb paper to draw the character on it. Finally, you use your Inner Spirit to fuse these two pieces of Neb papers together. Xie Mingzhe was amazed, Is this method feasible? Tang Muzhou smiled, Sure. We usually use the splitting method to deal withplicated cards. For example, my [Thousand-year-old G.o.d Tree] with innumerable branches and leaves. Do you really think that I could finish drawing them all at once? Originally I drew a full ten cards to fuse them into one. Thanks to Legend Tang''s instruction. Otherwise his brain would be overloaded if he drew the character and theplex weapon simultaneously. It would be much easier to split the details of the card. Xie Mingzhe immediately focused his Inner Spirit and drew the Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net that he imagined on a card, and he drew the character, Taiyi Zhenren. After finishing these two steps, he put the two cards together and fused them with his Inner Spirit. In his mind, the delicate Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net continuously shrank to the size of an infant''s fist. Then it was tightly held by Taiyi Zhenren in his hand. In that case, the card''s image wasplete. The next task is to set the data and skill Five minutester, Xie Mingzhe opened his eyes and heard the familiar prompt voice, Congrattions! The card is finished. Please connect to the database to examine. He connected to the database right away and then the card immediately pa.s.sed the examination. Meanwhile, the logo °롱 appeared on the back of the card. Xie Mingzhe took thepleted card to Tang Muzhou, Legend Tang. How about this one? Tang Muzhou received the card and saw an old man with white hair on the card''s surface. He looked very genial and kind with his smiling eyes. He held a tiny scarlet weapon. The details of it was impressively perfect even though the weapon was only as big as a child''s fist. If you observed it carefully, you would find that the weapon was in the shape of a which was surrounded by several fiery red dragons. Their mouths faced downwards and spurted strong mes. Every dragon was drawn vividly. Apart from the dragons, there was an exquisite decorative pattern around the. The was crowned by a transparent and beautiful beed inside which mes flowed. The design could enter into apet.i.tion! Tang Muzhou gave a thumbs-up in his mind. Then he looked at the card''s data and skill description Taiyi Zhenren (Fire) Card Level: 1 Evolution Level: Avable Times of Use: 1/1 Base Attributes: Health 100, Attack 0, Defense 100, Agility 30, Critical Strike Chance 0% Additional Skill: Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net (Casts the magic weapon held in hand and seals the particr G.o.d cards in the Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net. Deprives the G.o.d card group of operational capability.) Tang Muzhou, . Is this Uncle Chubby''s inspiration really inexhaustible? Trantor''s Note: Taiyi Zhenren wore one of the ancient Chinese traditional hair essories. Chapter 38.2 Tang Muzhou praised him, This is a pretty good one. Its skill targets the whole G.o.d card group. In addition, in all the cards that you have made so far, the degree of this one''s intricacy is the highest. The question is, how did you design the weapon? It looks like metal. If it was made of metal it would be divided into the Metal card group. Xie Mingzhe said, In order to avoid the system .s.sifying this card into the Metal attribute, I didn''t use metal factors when drawing the weapon. Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net has the me damage effect, so it was divided into the Fire attribute. Given the principle that Fire counters Metal, it would be much easier for it to target the opponent''s G.o.d cards. Tang Muzhou nodded with a smile, It looks like you have understood the database''s rules. And this is really an excellent weapon design. Xie Mingzhe was very happy to get Legend Tang''s praise and then he excitedly asked, Two cards made today target the Metal attribute. Is there any other card group that need to be targeted? Tang Muzhou said, So far you have targeted most of the mainstream card groups, nt, Animal, Spirit of Creatures, Spirit of Non-Creatures as well as G.o.d. Since IDE cards are merely used to enrich the battle strategy and every game can only use one IDE card, it is enough just making all these cards. Xie Mingzhe found the omission in his words and he couldn''t resist speaking, The Human card group hasn''t been targeted yet, right? Tang Muzhou said, You can simply draw a card and see if the human instantly dies effect can pa.s.s the examination. Xie Mingzhe casually drew an unnamed kid with the curse skill whose effect was the Human group instantly diesAs expected, it was rejected by the system, The skill description can''t be examined.. He remembered that the descriptions like instant death could only be used in sub-.s.sifications, so he changed the target to be a male human. However, it was rejected again. He continued to change it into human female and got the same consequence. Xie Mingzhe was confused, What is happening? Is the Human group immune to the instant death effect? Tang Muzhou smiled faintly, It is not impossible. The truth is that the human instant death skill has been made before so your cards were judged as a repet.i.tion of it. Xie Mingzhe was quite surprised, was it made by the designer from another club? I think so, but I don''t know which club it was exactly. Tang Muzhou paused, then said, The human IDE card which oveps with your card must already exist in the database. As a result, your instant death description was turned down by the system, which means that currently the way that you make IDE cards has be widely known. At once Xie Mingzhe was enlightened. The reason that Legend Tang suggested for him to make IDE cards was to set the ball rolling. First he took the lead in making the IDE cards targeting the six big clubs, attracting the whole league''s attention. Then every club, of course, would race to study the IDE card. In that case, there would be a lot of avable IDE cards to enrich league matches'' strategies. Xie Mingzhe didn''t know the reason why this legend did all of this secret work, nning behind the scenes, but he had a hunch this was not a bad thing. When IDE cards flow freely, there would consequently be more unpredictable instakill cards in future games. At that time the situation would be messier and more interesting. The series of IDE cards had already earned him fame in the original cardmunity and brought him a fortune. And thanks to Tang Muzhou, who leaked the card group information to him and supplied him with ideas, he could make nine IDE cards in a row in such a short period of time! Xie Mingzhe offered his hand and said, Legend Tang, thanks. Tang Muzhou shook hands with him, You''re wee. We''ve had a pleasant cooperation. After a few seconds of silence, Tang Muzhou spoke again and asked, What are you going to do next? Xie Mingzhe said, During this period, I made so many cards everyday which drained my Inner Spirit and I''m suffering from a serious headache. So I''m going to take this opportunity to rest for several days and think about my future path. I have made enough IDE cards to sell for a period of time. It''ll never go wrong to .u.mte capital. Tang Muzhou smiled, You''re right. You must be tired after continuously making nine cards. Even though our cooperation ends, we can still keep in contact in the future. You''ve taken the lead in making IDE cards. The databasepletelycks skills in this field so the cards that you made could easily pa.s.s the examination. However, you may encounter severe difficulties when making some other kinds of cards. Anytime you need me, just call me. Xie Mingzhe nodded, Okay. Legend Tang made a good point. It was recently suggested putting the IDE card into the database, and he just identally grabbed the first ce before other clubs managed to make IDE cards. And he made a big fortune by making these cards. But when it came to other types of cards which had been developed by so many clubs'' card yers as well as designers, it would be hard for him to innovate with adequate card groups in the database. It was time for him to slow down and seriously think about his future. At noon the next day, managers of every big club in the game grouped in front of ° Card Store''s gate as if by prior agreement. As soon as the hands of the clock pointed to half past eleven, countless people flooded to the card store and crazily galloped to the second floor to grab cards. The scene was more impressive than the shopping rush in malls. As expected, there were new cards in the disy case that day. The left one was Taishang Laojun, and the right one was Taiyi Zhenren. Both of them were old men with white hair. Nevertheless, their clothes, hair styles and appearances were different, not to mention the weapons that they held. The most important thing was that the targeted card group was the Metal card group! Presidents scrambled for cards like crazies. Some of them who didn''t get any cards went down to the first floor and took a photo of the cards ced in the showcase to send the data to their clubs'' yers. Xie Mingzhe was sitting backstage smiling, continuously counting money, while the store was a sea of people. At the same time, in the National Star Card League''s yer group chat Ye Zhu had kept staring at ° Card Store by using his smurf ount. He popped out at 11:30am on time and sent the pictures of the two new cards'' data that he had taken to the group chat. Ye Zhu, Legend Nie is awesome! Pantheon, now it''s your turn. HAHAHAHA! Ling Jingtang, He saw it too. The chat group could directly deliver holographic pictures, videos and voices. As a result, the two cards that Ye Zhe shot were clearly shown in front of everyone. Taishang Laojun was an old man with white hair and held the Jin Gang Bracelet which could entangle weapons. Taiyi Zhenren was also a white-haired old man whose Nine-Dragon-Fire-Net could seal the G.o.d group. These two old men stood side by side and it seemed like they were trying to smile more kindly than each other, but under their genial faces were their ferocious skills! No one in the Metal card group was spared! Watching this, Nie Yuandao was a little bit surprised, Did my prophecy reallye true? Manager Ling Jingtang banned Nie Yuandao from speaking as a punishment. Manager Nie Yuandao lifted the ban on speaking. Other yers, What were these two legends doing? Were they going to fight in public? Nie Yuandao arched his eyebrow, How dare you ban me from speaking? What, do you forget that I''m the manager too? Ling Jingtang said helplessly, I have nothing to say about how d.a.m.n good you are at making prophecies! Come clean, did you collude with Uncle Chubby by supplying him with bad ideas to target us after cursing in the chap group? Shan Lan hurriedly stood out and exined for his Shifu, My Shifu will never do that. Legend Ling, don''t get him wrong. Nie Yuandao continued, saying, I barely know this Uncle Chubby. Plus, yesterday I was just stating the truth that indeed only your Pantheon hadn''t been targeted. Ling Jingdao said, In my opinion, there must be a spy in the group chat. If not, how do we exin that Uncle Chubby targeted every club one by one? Did he clearly know all of our card groups? Nie Yuandao pointed the finger at Tang Muzhou, Xiao Tang, was that you? After all, you are the first one who created the idea of instant death. Tang Muzhou said, with a smile, Me? Don''t you remember that my flower cards were the first ones being targeted. And Uncle Chubby even auctioned the corresponding IDE cards. At present, every one of the big clubs has a [Lin Daiyu]. Now, you tell me, who is the most miserable person here? Everyone, It was true that everyone had a [Lin Daiyu] in their hands and Legend Tang was really pitiful. Agreeing with his argument, Nie Yuandao frowned and reluctantly changed his target, Then who was the spy? Zheng Feng raised his hand to disa.s.sociate himself from this crime, Not me. My elephant was weighed by Cao Chong and he hasn''t finished yet. Everyone, Ye Zhu immediately followed him, Not me. My b.u.t.terflies were killed by Xue Baochai! Qiao Xi popped out too, Not us Flowing Frost City. Our fish cards were killed by Xi Shi! Gui Sirui said, Not me either. My ghost cards were hunted by Zhong Kui! Ling Jingtang, It had been a rough period of time for everyone! Tang Muzhou said with a smile, It''s time for teacher Pei in the department of Philosophy to make a speech. Then Pei Jingshan came out, If Uncle Chubby only aimed at one club, we could use the word target''. But currently he has made IDE cards against every club, this targeting stuff has already lost its original meaning. Am I right? Everyone, c.r.a.p! They wanted to beat him everytime he spoke! Atst, Zheng Feng made a conclusion, No matter who the backstage nner is. It is out of discussion that Lao Zheng is really a doomsayer. Ling Jingtang, I suggest awarding the t.i.tle of the greatest doomsayer'' to Lao Nie. Gui Sirui, I second the motion! Ye Zhu, Second! Why don''t we just submit a joint proposal! Nie Yuandao stroked his mouth and thought about how innocent he was. Tang Muzhou thought joyfullyAll the six big clubs had been involved and the flow of arge amount of IDE cards might bring more and more fresh and interesting strategy ideas to the next season. Next it was time to seriously prepare for the new season. In recent days, he had been so busy in helping Uncle Chubby make IDE cards that he had almost forgotten that tomorrow was the tenth season''s opening ceremony when all the professional yers of every club must attend. Thinking of this, Tang Muzhou sent a message in the group chat to remind everyone, Tomorrow is the opening ceremony. I''ll treat you guys to lunch. Nie Yuandao felt confused, Inviting us to lunch for no reason? Are you guilty? Tang Muzhou smiling said, not having one bit of a guilty expression on his face, I haven''t seen you guys for a long time. We should get together and catch up. Since the league arranged the dinner, I''ll treat everyone to lunch. At noon tomorrow, I''ve booked the whole top floor of Dihua Hotel. Every friend cane if you want to, and I will be honoured to have any of you. After all, he had entrapped so many people and it was time topensate them! Chapter 39 Par2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proodreader: Rhith Tang Muzhou said, "ording to my conjecture, teacher Pei may want to buy cards from you. He can quickly ept new things. Everytime there is a new card he always buys one for study as soon as possible. Xie Mingzhe had inquired into the Capital of Darkness Club before, so he had gotten some information about it. This was the youngest of the six big clubs. It was established in the seventh season. However, it was gaining momentum. Even though Ye Zhu''s b.u.t.terfly cards and Pei Jingshan''s Gu insect cards had a low Defence attribute, they were lissom and nimble and thus very famous for great flexibility. In addition, their a.s.sa.s.sination technique in paired fights was ranked first in the whole league because of Ye Zhu having an incredibly powerful card, [Invisible Tracking b.u.t.terfly]. Tang Muzhou didn''t make IDE cards targeting Pei Jingshan''s Gu insect cards. The reason was that Gu insect cards would split and be reborn after they suddenly died. Some of them could even trigger Gu poison to counterattack the opponents. His cards were like Legend Fang Yu''s Deathrattle card group which was immune to the instant death effect. Xie Mingzhe approached the Gxy Navigation Map and clicked on the new purple to be teleported to Capital of Darkness. The buildings of the Capital of Darkness Club were all deep purple, and the roads were paved with tiny purple crystal stones. The territory of the club was kind of like the mystery castle in the magic world. Following the receptionist, Xie Mingzhe entered the office to find the club''s insignia design was very speciala magic castle with the words "Capital of Darkness" on the top of it. The three words were surrounded by purple light, which gave them a sense of mystery. There were two people sitting in the office. Obviously they were all smurf ounts because their appearances were system defaults. One adult man stood up and gently said, "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby. I am Pei Jingshan, and I''m a professional yer of the Capital of Darkness Club. This one is yer Ye Zhu who likes using b.u.t.terfly cards." Xie Mingzhe directly asked, "What can I help you with?" Pei Jingshan said, "I''d like to reserve cards from you. You see, there are too many people waiting in your store to buy cards, and my president would never manage to buy all your cards if we bought one by one. ordingly, I want to directly reserve some cards from you, the card maker. I a.s.sume you have already finished the full set of IDE cards, haven''t you? Sell me four sets in advance for twice the price of the cards in your store. What do you think?" As expected, he wanted to buy cards for studying. It seemed that Legend Tang knew this yer well too. Xie Mingzhe briskly nodded, "No problem. But it takes a lot of work to make four sets of cards. Can I give them to you tomorrow?" Pei Jingshan said politely, "Sure. Thank you, Uncle Chubby." Ye Zhu walked towards him, and asked out of curiosity, with his eyes fixed on him, "Uncle Chubby, who leaked the information about our card group to you? Was it Legend Nie?" Xie Mingzhe smiled, "No one. It was just me looking up the materials." Ye Zhe looked at him suspiciously, "Really? I always have the feeling that it was Legend Nie. Otherwise how do you exin his d.a.m.n propheciesing true on the spot." Xie Mingzhe, "" Poor Legend Nie, I will help you clear this suspicion tomorrow. *** Xie Mingzhe returned to his individual s.p.a.ce and settled down to draw cards. Since he had his first taste of the game, he had made ten IDE cards in total. In chronological order, they were [Lin Daiyu], [Wu Song], [Xue Baochai], [Xi Shi], [w.a.n.g Zhaojun], [Zhong Kui], [Sha Wujing], [Cao Chong], [Taishang Laojun] and [Taiyi Zhenren]. They targeted most of the main card groups in the high-level league matches. Now the matter had an end for the time being and these cards could support his business for a long time. Xie Mingzhe firstly drew 10 [Lin Daiyu]s and he also needed to draw 10 of the other 9 IDE cards, which meant his workload was 100 cards. Even if he was a professional card maker, constantly drawing 100 cards would make him feel like he was dying. Fortunately these cards had been made before and the database had rted records, so it wouldn''t be that hard for him to concentrate his Inner Spirit on drawing cards. He just felt a little tired. It was already 10p.m. when he finished the whole drawing work. Xie Mingzhe took off the helmet and went offline, feeling like his head was going to explode. Rubbing his temple, he saw Chen Xiaoing over before saying, "Just now I saw you closing your eyes to use your Inner Spirit, and I thought you were making cards, so I didn''t interrupt you. I saved some food for you at night. You must be hungry." Seeing the thermal insted lunch box in his hand, Xie Mingzhe felt warm inside and smiled, "Thanks, Brother Chen." Xie Mingzhe was starving. He took the lunch box to the dining room and scoffed all the food. Chen Xiao said, "Don''t overload yourself. You should control the amount of cards that you make. It brings nothing but harm to abuse your Inner Spirit." Xie Mingzhe wiped his mouth and said, "I know. In theing period of time I won''t make new cards and will just sell IDE cards to .u.mte funds. Lately you guys helped me get materials all the time. Thank you for the hard work. At noon tomorrow I will host a lunch to make it up to you." Chen Xiaoughed, "For us, getting materials is just routine work, so I probably wouldn''t use the expression ''hard work''. The important thing here is that I''m not sure what you''re going to do yet. The day before yesterday I saw many big clubs'' territorial stars in your individual s.p.a.ce''s Gxy Navigation Map. The reason why those clubs tried to contact you was that they wanted to invite you to be their designer, right?" Xie Mingzhe nodded, "That''s right. But I didn''t say yes to any of them." Chen Xiao frowned slightly, "Are you serious about cooperating with us?" Xie Mingzhe said, "Here is the idea. First I will tally the store''s ie tonight. And then tomorrow we can have a nice conversation when we have lunch. After dinner he went online again. Chi Qing sent him a PM and directly sent him a list. The list included the sale record of every card, the store''s daily capital flows as well as thest few days'' gross ie. Chi Qing said, "I saw you were engaged. So I helped you sort through the capital flow. I am practised in this since I was in charge of the studio''s cash flow." Xie Mingzhe said, "Thank you, Sister Qing!" He cast a nce at the list and noticed that currently even the ie from the sale of cards alone had amounted to 100,000,000 gold coins. This week''s ie would easily be over the threshold of 200,000,000 gold coins with tomorrow''s sales volume and the four sets of double-priced IDE cards that Pei Jingshan had reserved. He couldn''t even conceive of having so much money before. However, currently looking at the number, he was not satisfied. Since meeting Tang Muzhou, he got to know many things about the league and card groups, and he had also met so many legends'' smurf ounts whose ideas and thoughts he realized he couldn''tpete with currently. Varied cards,pet.i.tive league matches, privileged and wealthy clubs as well as legends of distinct dispositionseverything was maic, drawing him to keep exploring the world. Making IDE cards alone was not enough. By the same token, being a store owner was far from his only desire. He wanted toplete the whole character card group. He wanted to create his own club and he wanted to introduce the splendid Huaxia culture to people in this world. 10 IDE cards could make him set for life, but this was just a starting point. Xie Mingzhe took a deep breath and took out 100,000,000 gold coins from his store and deposited it in Star Card Bank. A few momentster, his phone started to crazily ring because of the influx of texts from the bank. Gold coins were sessfully sold and were exchanged for real currency. The bnce in his ount had increased from the original 300,000 to the current 1,300,000. Now he was a millionaire, and he would earn tens of millions if he kept selling cards in future. Xie Mingzhe delightfully looked at the bnce in his credit card. Then he turned his head and said, "At noon tomorrow I''ll host a lunch! At the time we can have a nice blowout!" Pang Yu approached them, smiling, "Xiao Xie has made a mint these days! Everytime I see those gold coins in your store I''m so envious of you. Making so much money, you must treat us to a nice meal. And don''t you dare dismiss me with some street stalls'' noodles." Speaking of food, the fatty''s eyes glittered with excitement. Jin Yue patted Pang Yu''s belly and said, "Xiao Pang is carnivorous. Since you''re inviting us to lunch, you''d better buy him meat rather than vegetables."'' Chen Xiaoughed and shouted, "Come on, you guys. This is Xiao Xie''s hard-earned money. He drew so many cards everyday, suffering a headache. We don''t have to be extravagant. I mean, a casual meal would work just fine." Xie Mingzhe shook his hand, "No way. Tomorrow I am the host and we can take it easy. In addition, we need to discuss our future ns. I''m not very familiar with the capital. Brother Yu is conversant with food, any advice?" Pang Yu thought for a moment, scratching his head. Then he said, "As far as I know, Dihua Hotel is the most reputable restaurant within a 10-mile radius. The prices are sensible and the food there tastes good. The most important thing is that the environment and atmosphere is impressive with an elegant and .s.sy interior decoration!" Xie Mingzhe nodded readily and briskly, "Cool. Dihua Hotel, then!" Trator''s Note: ''Pang'' here refers to Pang Yu''s family name, and it is also a h.o.m.ophone of the Chinese character '''', which means Pang Yu is a fatty. Chapter 39 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proodreader: Rhith After closing the store on time at 12 noon, Xie Mingzhe went out for lunch and then returned to his individual s.p.a.ce to make cards. Just as he had finished several [Lin Daiyu], he heard the voice prompt, "You have a new call from Can Yang". Xie Mingzhe clicked on it and then Can Yang''s urgent voice rang in his ear, "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby! Legend Nie has something to talk to you about. Do you have any time right now? If it''s convenient for you, could you please swing by our club? Legend Nie is waiting for you." Xie Mingzhe replied, "If this is about joining the Adjudication Club,please just drop it and say thank you to Legend Nie for me!" Can Yang said, "No, not the club. Legend Nie said it was about the copyright of [Wu Song]." The copyright? Hadn''t [Wu Song]''s copyright already been transferred to Adjudication? Why does Legend Nie want to see him now? Being confused, Xie Mingzhe turned around and stood in front of the Gxy Navigation Map, directly being teleported to the Adjudication Club''s territorial star. The vice president, Can Yang, personally weed him at the gate and led him straight to the office. Xie Mingzhe opened the door and entered, seeing two familiar garbled IDsthe smurf ounts of Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan. Shan Lan walked in front of Xie Mingzhe with a smile and his voice was as gentle as he remembered, "Uncle Chubby, it''s really nice to see you again. I didn''t expect that you could make nine IDE cards targeting every big club within just a few days. That''s really impressive." "Legend Lan, don''t tter me too much." Xie Mingzhe frankly asked, "Is something wrong with the copyright?" Keeping silent, Nie Yuandao sat next to them, while Shan Lan continued to speak in a gentle voice, "Here is the thing. Like I originally said, my Shifu bought the copyright of [Wu Song] not because he was afraid of the card, but because he really wanted to make your acquaintance and invite you to Adjudication. Now since you have decided not to join us, my Shifu wants to return this card''s copyright to you." "" Xie Mingzhe turned his head and looked at Nie Yuandao, unable to believe the unexpected bonus, "You must be kidding me, Legend Nie." "I''m always serious." Nie Yuandao said in a low voice. "In fact, there is another reason why my Shifu wants to give the copyright back to you." Shan Lan exined, smiling, "At present, most big clubs have been targeted by you. However, you didn''t target my Shifu''s beast cards and now the whole league suspects him of secretly instructing you. Everyone doesn''t know the existence of [Wu Song], and we would put ourselves in an embarra.s.sing position if we try to exin it. So we decided to give [Wu Song] to you to sell tomorrow, which could indirectly prove that my Shifu is innocent." "" Xie Mingzhe thought the fact that poor Legend Nie had been made a scapegoat for Tang Muzhou was funny. Nie Yuandao got up from the couch and pa.s.sed a [Wu Song] to Xie Mingzhe, "[Wu Song] has been modified by me. Have a look." Xie Mingzhe received the card and cautiously observed it, and sure enough it waspletely different than the one he had originally made. As he recalled, the card [Wu Song] that he originally made had 300 Health points, 300 Attack points and 300 Defence points. After getting the copyright, Legend Nie changed the card''s data. Now just like other IDE cards, [Wu Song]''s crucial attribute "Agility" had increased to 30. More importantly, the skill description had been edited by Legend Niethe original target "fierce tigers" was reced by "fierce beasts" which would bear the serious damage. One word was changed and the range was extended from tigers to all beasts. Clearly Nie Yuandao didn''t know the story of "Wu Song ying the Tiger", and he just changed the card ording to his own understanding. The tiger in the card became blurred and a bunch of beasts appeared in its original ce. The strong man banged his fist on a beast''s head. In this way the beast instant death effect was made and pa.s.sed the system''s examination. The question was, why he even wanted to modify the card to target himself? Xie Mingzhe was a little confused, "Legend Nie, in that case you will target your very own card group." Nie Yuandao said calmly, "Tang Muzhou was the first one who put forward the idea of instant death which I totally agreed with at that time. As an exponent of IDE cards, how could I miss my card group?" Xie Mingzhe, "" It was hard to think the same way as legends. Shan Lan took a look at his Shifu and went on saying, "Uncle Chubby, my Shifu released the IDE card targeting beasts, which means he is not afraid of the instant death effect at all. Everything in the Arena is fickle and IDE cards can''t decide where the game is going since it can only instantly kill one card. Now you can sell [Wu Song] to every big club, thus creating a fair situation where other clubs have the card targeting us and we have the cards targeting them too." The other side returned the copyright without being forced. It would be insane if Xie Mingzhe didn''t receive it, so he frankly asked, "What about the copyright''s price?" Shan Lan said, "Still 3,000,000 gold coins." Xie Mingzhe was stunned for a second, "How is this possible? The card that I sold to you for 3,000,000 gold coins only targeted a fierce tiger. Now after Legend Nie modified it, the card can target the whole Beast card group, and you still want to maintain the original price?" Shan Lan said in a gentle voice, "That''s okay. We returned the card to you not for making money. It is your idea and it would be meaningless if we held it. You can put it in your store to sell, thuspleting your collection of ten IDE cards." Seeing the other side being so friendly, Xie Mingzhe didn''t overthink it. Briskly saying thank you, he paid 3,000,000 gold coins to Vice President Can Yang face to face, and then went to the copyright centre to get back [Wu Song]''s copyright. After returning to his individual s.p.a.ce, Xie Mingzhe copied the modified [Wu Song] and sent the duplicate to Tang Muzhou, "Legend Tang, this is the card which I sold Legend Nie before. And he gave it back to me today." Tang Muzhou replied quickly, "It was very smart of him to do it this way because even if he didn''t do that, other clubs would make the IDE card targeting his Beast card group sooner orter. Besides, the chat group has been suspecting him of colluding with you. If you sell the card targeting him, he would be able to prove his innocence." Xie Mingzhe was curious, "Hasn''t anyone ever suspected that you are my partner?" Tang Muzhou''s voice sounded like he was smiling, "I hide very deep. Don''t tell anyone or I''ll be screwed." Xie Mingzhe, "" Suddenly the desire to leak the secret went through him. It would be funny if everyone knew who the backstage nner was. Xie Mingzhe drove the crazy idea out of his mind and changed the topic, "I''ve always regretted selling the copyright of [Wu Song]. Now I got this unexpected bonus which could perfect my collection of ten IDE cards. And they can support my business for a while." Tang Muzhou asked, "Has Capital of Darkness talked to you?" Just as Tang Muzhou asked this, Xie Mingzhe heard the system''s voice prompt, "You have a new email." He opened it and surprisingly found it was from Capital of Darkness. "h.e.l.lo, Uncle Chubby. I am the president of the Capital of Darkness club. I invite you to visit my club if you have free time. Legend Pei and Xiao Zhu in my club want to make friends with you." Xie Mingzhe, "" Tang Muzhou really could prophesize. The club had already popped out of nowhere before he finished his sentence. Xie Mingzhe, "They just sent me an e-mail, Legend Tang. What do you think this is about?" Chapter 40 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith At 11:30 the next morning. Ye Zhu, who had waited outside ° Card Store all day, popped out in the chat group again, "Hey, you guys. Check this out. The new card in Uncle Chubby''s card store is [Wu Song] targeting the whole beast card group! Legend Nie, are you all right?" Zheng Feng, "In that case, did we wrong Lao Nie?" Ling Jingtang, "Really? It wasn''t you?" Nie Yuandao calmly stood out, "Yes. I told you that I was not acquainted with Uncle Chubby." Shan Lan echoed immediately, "It is true that my Shifu doesn''t know Uncle Chubby well. If he was connected to Adjudication, he wouldn''t target us, first my bird cards, then my Shifu''s beasts." As the one who knew the truth, Tang Muzhou said with a smile, "I conjecture that Uncle Chubby has investigated the main card groups in the Arena and then he could rapidly make a batch of IDE cards to sell as soon as the instant death skill was added to the database, which actually is good news for us." Ye Zhu said, "That was what he said yesterday indeed." Pei Jingshan said, "Legend Tang''s words make sense. Since he is a frencer, he won''t let a particr club suffer losses alone. So he made cards targeting the whole league to be fair." Pei Jingshan, who had just received four sets of IDE cards, had already ordered the research department to conduct all kinds of experiments. The IDE card incident could be said to have an end and n.o.body wanted to delve further into if there really was a person who had colluded with Uncle Chubby. As teacher Pei said, since most of the card groups were targeted, it couldn''t be counted as ''targeting''. Currently, the most important thing was to quickly have an intimate knowledge of this kind of new strategy card and consider how to integrate it into their own card group, as well as how to crush the opponents'' instant killing skills. Everyone started to think about how to pair IDE cards and the chat group temporarily became silent. Tang Muzhou rapidly changed the object, "It''s almost 12. I''ll wait for you guys in the cafeteria, the top floor, Dihua Hotel. And be careful to avoid reporters " Ye Zhu, "I''m always the active one when ites to eating. Brother Pei and I have already arrived at the hall and we''ll be there in minutes!" Shan Lan, "My Shifu and I are still on our way. We''ll be there soon." Zheng Feng, "I just parked my car and I saw Lao Ling''s car in the garage too. It seems that we have a lot of people today." Ling Jingtang, "I muste when someone treats me to lunch." Zheng Feng, "Come on. Don''t be so frank!" While the chat group was bustling with noise and excitement, Tang Muzhou had already been waiting on the top floor. All yers of the Adjudication Club were there and Xue Linxiang took some security guards to the hotel''s hall in order to wee legends who came, as well as to watch out for paparazzi at the gate. *** At the same time, Xie Mingzhe and his partners in the boosting studio also arrived at Dihua Hotel. The distance between the hotel and their studio was only one mile. Therefore they were walking to the hotel. Recently they had concentrated on making cards in the game and barely went out. Xie Mingzhe breathed fresh air, happier than before The five people chatted while walking and then they reached Dihua Hotel''s gate in no time. A long-haired girl in a light blue dress ran to them the moment she noticed their arrival, "Brother Chen, Fatty, Jin Yue, sister! Long time no see!" It was obvious that Pang Yu and Jin Yue were very excited, "Yingying?" "What are you doing here?" Chi Qing said, "Last night I talked to Yingying and knew that she just came back. So Xiao Xie made me tell her to join us to make acquaintances." This girl was the employee who asked for leave to get married before. Her temporary absence had made the studio short-handed. As a result, Brother Chen had to recruit a new casual worker, Xie Mingzhe. Xie Mingzhe proactively stepped forward, "h.e.l.lo, Yingying. I''m the new member of the studio, Xie Mingzhe. " Even though Chi Yingying was Chi Qing''s younger sister, their styles were distinct. Chi Qing was a cool and brisk girl who was more than 1.75 meters tall, while her sister was pet.i.te at about 1.55 meters. She looked very cute, smiling all the time. She was 25 and married, but people thought she had just reached 18 when they saw her for the first time. Chi Yingying friendly shook hands with Xie Mingzhe, "Xiao Xie, is it? I roughly heard your things from my sister. What an awesome man! I''m pretty curious about your cards. May I see themter?" Xie Mingzhe smiled, "Sure." Chen Xiao asked, "Whye back so early?" Chi Yingying exined, "My husband only had a two-week marriage leave. We spent one week preparing for the wedding, and we got one week left for our honeymoon. He is designated as the chief resident this year and he can''t leave the hospital with so many things to deal with." Chen Xiao understood, "Good. Doctor Liu willpensate you in the future." Chi Yingying smiled and said, "That''s okay. We''ve known each other for so many years and we can travel at any time if we want." Chi Qing calmly said, "Are you going to keep standing outside the door to talk? Let''s go inside first." When the six people went into the hall, a tall and thin woman who wore her hair in a bun briskly came out of the elevator, followed by several security guards. She wore a pair of huge sun.s.ses that masked half of her face as well as the skirt suit often worn by officedies. She wore ck high-heeled shoes and walked in a vigorous way. She pa.s.sed them and went straight up to the door. Suddenly she stopped and turned her head, "Wait." Her voice was ringing and sounded familiar. Xie Mingzhe thought she was talking to someone else and hence didn''t respond to her. However, soon he heard steps behind him which sounded like she was trotting. At that time, Chen Xiao, Chi Qing and the others had already gotten on the elevator and pressed the door-close b.u.t.ton. The instant the elevator was about to shut, Xie Mingzhe finally managed to clearly see the woman''s face through the crack. Chapter 40 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith After removing her sun.s.ses, the woman revealed her beautiful face and a pair of bright and intense eyes which were widened and fixed on them. She acted as if there was someone she knew in the crowd. Xie Mingzhe met her eyes and lost his consciousness for a second. Then he tried to press the open b.u.t.ton, but the elevator''s door had closed tightly. In no time, the ultra high-speed elevator rose to a high alt.i.tude. Xie Mingzhe scratched his head and said, confused, "Did that woman want to say something to us? It seems that she was running after us." Pan Yuughed loudly, "I don''t think so. Is there anyone who knows her?" Jin Yue, "No." Xie Mingzhe looked at Chen Xiao to find he had turned his back on him and was looking out of the window. Xie Mingzhe asked, "Brother Chen, do you know her?" Chen Xiao''s voice was neutral, "No." Xie Mingzhe didn''t overthink it and thought that the woman made a mistake. The six people were lifted to the top floor. and whening out of the elevator, they saw an announcement on the screen, "Today the whole top floor cafeteria has been booked. We are sorry that we do not provide service to consumers who are not invited. If you want to have dinner, wee to the speciality restaurant on the sixteenth floor." Xie Mingzhe was surprised, "The whole ce is booked?" Pang Yu was a little depressed andined in a low voice, "The cafeteria is famous as a fancy ce in the vicinity and normally there won''t be so many people here. What day is today? The cafeteria is so huge with hundreds of seats and somebody just reserved them all, for a meeting? Wedding?" Jin Yue helplessly said, "What bad luck." Since they went out for dinner in order to have a good conversation, they wouldn''t be bothered by trivial things like the cafeteria unfortunately being booked. Xie Mingzhe made a suggestion, smiling, "Why don''t we go to the sixteenth floor''s speciality restaurant? I a.s.sume the food there must be as good as the cafeteria''s since they belong to the same hotel." Chen Xiao nodded without hesitation, "Let''s go." When they were just going to walk forward, the other elevator''s door suddenly opened and the woman wearing high-heeled shoes who they just met a few moments ago appeared. She trotted all the way to Chen Xiao, out of breath. Then she took a deep breath to reim her calm and said, "Xiao Chen, it''s you?" Chen Xiao frowned, "You must be mistaking me for someone else." At that time, a teenager came out of the cafeteria. He had conspicuous pale gold hair and sky blue eyes, which made him look like a doll. He was a little short and just reached Xie Mingzhe''s chest. The teenager ran to the woman and said, "Sister Xue, Shifu sends me to tell you that Legend Nie and his men made a blunder by being noticed by reporters. And currently they are trying to get rid of them. Most of the people will re-route and enter through the back door rather than this elevator." Xue Linxiang answered with an "Okay" and then turned to Chen Xiao with aplicated look, "Today Xiao Tang is hosting the dinner. Don''t you want to see him?" Chen Xiao''s face was cold, "I don''t know what you''re talking about. You''re mistaking me for someone else for sure." After squeezing a few words out, he turned and walked into the elevator. Xie Mingzhe and the other members in the studio gazed at each other, speechless. Then they had to follow him. Today''s Chen Xiao was still a bit slovenly with his tangled hair covering his eyes and those obvious dark circles under his eyes. He looked so dispirited. His had just casually changed clothes before going out, which had just reached the threshold of cleanliness. Everyone in the elevator kept silent and the atmosphere was kind of weird. As a smart person, Xie Mingzhe knew it was not a good time for more questions. However, Xiao Pang was an innocent man who confusedly asked, "Brother Chen, this woman keeps chasing you. Who is she? Is she your ex-girlfriend" Xiao Pang hadn''t noticed he had said something stupid until Jin Yue heavily poked his waist. Then he shut his mouth immediately. Chen Xiao didn''t get upset and his face was surprisingly calm. He said emotionlessly, "I already told her that I don''t know her. She made a mistake." Xie Mingzhe, "" The exnation was not tenable. The woman ran after him the whole way and hence the probability of mistaking him was small. It was obvious that there was something hidden. Nevertheless, since Chen Xiao didn''t want to talk about it, everyone couldn''t probe into it. Xie Mingzhe noticed that just now the teenager called the woman "Sister Xue". And he finally remembered when he had heard the voice beforewhen he auctioned [Lin Daiyu], the Fenghua Club invited him and then he met Sister Xue as well as Tang Muzhou. At that time Sister Xue really wanted to buy the copyright of [Lin Daiyu], even offering the high price of 10,000,000 gold coins (equivalent to 1,000,000 crystal coins). In the game, that woman also wore a business skirt suit. Maybe her appearance was changed which looked a little different than in reality. However, Sister Xue''s game voice was exactly the same one as that woman''s! Sure enough she was the Fenghua Club''s yer agent herself, Xue Linxiang. She mentioned that "Xiao Tang is hosting the dinner". Was there a good chance in which "Xiao Tang" referred to Fenghua''s professional yer Tang Muzhou? As for the blonde boy, maybe he was Tang Muzhou''s famous apprentice, Shen An? Directly booking the whole top floor, this must be the activity of the league. Xie Mingzhe was extremely curious. Howe Xue Linxiang knew Chen Xiao? And what kind of rtionship did these two people really have? Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 41 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith In the cafeteria, the top floor, Dihua Hotel. Nie Yuandao and Shan Lan entered, one behind the other. Tang Muzhou immediately stepped forward to greet them, "It''s been a while since thest time I saw you two. Howe you got chased by reporters?" "Maybe because the opening ceremony will be held tonight, we just went out of Adjudication and were followed by reporters." Shan Lan said, with an apologetic smile, "My Shifu changed the driving route so that we managed to dump those paparazzi. So sorry to keep so many people waiting for us." "Don''t be. We haven''t started yet. Come on in." Tang Muzhou led them into the hall. Surprisingly, there were hundreds of people in the hall, which was solid evidence of Tang Muzhou''s great pulling power. Seeing that almost everyone had arrived, Tang Muzhou spoke delightfully and loudly, "Thank you foring. You must be hungry. Let''s get the dinner started. Please have a good time!" "Thank you for the dinner!" "I won''t stand on ceremony then!" Everyone was starving and held their tes to pick food immediately. All of a sudden, the restaurant became bustling. Compared to the league''s official dinner, they preferred this kind of informal party where they could talk freely without worrying about being heard by senior leaders of the league. Tang Muzhou was just about to pick some food when he saw Xue Linxiang walking into the hall with an odd face. She looked pale, so Tang Muzhou approached her and asked with concern, "Sister Xue, you don''t look well. What happened?" Xue Linxiang took a deep breath as if she was hesitant about telling him what it was. A few momentster, she finally made up her mind and said, "I just met Chen Xiao." Tang Muzhou''s eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice, "Are you sure it was Chen Xiao?" Xue Linxiang nodded, "Even though he has changed a lot, I can still recognize him. However, he told me that I mistook him'''' Tang Muzhou slightly frowned, "Where is he right now?" Xue Linxiang answered, "I heard that he was going to have dinner at the sixteenth floor''s restaurant. Do you want to find him?" Tang Muzhou said calmly, "No. From what I know of him, since he has already realized that there is the league yers party in the cafeteria today, he won''t keep staying in this hotel in order to avoid encountering acquaintancesI think he has already left." Xue Linxiang thought for a few seconds and showed a sad expression, "He pretended that he didn''t know me. Maybe he doesn''t want to see you either" At that time, Shen An ran to them and said, "Shifu, Legend Nie wants to chat with you." Tang Muhzou lightly patted Sister Xue''s shoulder to console her, and then turned around, leaving with Shen An. *** As expected, Chen Xiao pressed the first floor b.u.t.ton in the elevator. It was obvious that he didn''t want to go to the restaurant on the sixteenth floor, yet he still pretended that he didn''t care at all and proposed, with a smile, "I know that there is a grill restaurant with a good environment nearby. Xiao Pang likes meat. Why don''t we go there?" Xie Mingzhe knew that this was a deliberate attempt to evade Xue Linxiang, so he immediately gave him an out, "No problem. We can eat in this restaurant some other day. Today is the grill party." Of course the others agreed. They were led by Chen Xiao across the road and entered a grill restaurant. The restaurant''s environment was impressive indeed with elegant decorations. Chen Xiao asked the waiter to provide them with a private room which had a big round table with eight seats. Each seat was equipped with a grill tray put in front of it. The restaurant''s cooking equipment could even automatically heat up and wouldn''t emit smoke. In addition, the meat was tender and juicy. Even Pang Yu, who was kind of a finicky eater, was charmed by the secret magic spice blend. He couldn''t resist praising the food, "Oh my G.o.d! Tasty! This is so tasty! Brother Chen, howe you never mentioned this ce before?" Chen Xiaoughed and said, "I was afraid that you would shout at me to take you to this restaurant everyday if I had told you." Pang Yu coughed out of embarra.s.sment, "You know me well." This was also the fanciest grill restaurant Xie Mingzhe had been to. Elegant light music, thinly sliced meat spitting and steaming on the smart grill tray, and the rich smell lingering in his nose, all these things made him almost drool. Apart from various meats, there were many kinds of vegetables that could be grilled. The restaurant had several dozens of sauces and the self-service mode of picking up food was really convenient and delightful. Everyone chatted while eating. Pang Yu was a tactless fatty who thought that Xie Mingzhe could make cards and he could benefit from it a little bit. He looked at Xie Mingzhe and said, with smiling eyes, "Xiao Xie, you''re awesome for making ten original cards in one week. Where were all your fantastic ideas from?" Jin Yue followed him rapidly, "Xiao Xie, the painting style of your cards were unique. Have you ever gone to art school before?" Xie Mingzhe answered, "I have been learning painting since I was a kid. And I am admitted into Capital University''s Fine Art School this year." Pang Yu admiringly gave a thumbs up, "You have excellent ideas and the ability to paint. No wonder you can make so many original cards! In my opinion, you don''t need to go to art school. I mean, merely by painting cards, you can make more money than most other people even if adding their ies of several decades together." Chen Xiao interrupted Fatty and looked at Xie Mingzhe, "Don''t listen to Xiao Pang. Don''t be rushed into making a decision. In fact, I think that the better path for you is to be an original professional yer. If you''re interested, I''ll take my time to make an borate n for you." Brother Chen''s idea was exactly what Xie Mingzhe was thinking, and thetter nodded immediately, "To be honest, Brother Chen, I really thought about being a professional yer." When everyone heard that, they raised their heads at the same time and looked at Xie Mingzhe. Xie Mingzhe said calmly, "The reason I could make so many IDE cards was that I just luckily took the lead. I can only sell these cards for an extra month at most, and the price will definitely fall. No matter how rich I am, I will use up all my money one day. Therefore we''d better seriously n for our future." He paused for a moment, then said, "Adjudication and Ghost h.e.l.l made me attractive offers to be their card designer, but I didn''t want to work for them. I still have so many ideas for cards in my mind. Why don''t we start our own business?" He turned and looked at Chen Xiao and seriously asked, "Brother Chen, what do you think about the idea of us establishing a club?" Chen Xiao was a little surprised, and he said in a low voice a few minutester, "Establishing a club is much harder than you can imagine." Xie Mingzhe said, "I know. I just want to set a goal and work for it. If I could make aplete set of the character card group, I would try the game. If I get good results, I would take my goal seriously. If not, the club idea would be off the table, and then we could take a step back and just make money by selling cards." Chen Xiao smiled with an appreciative look in his eyes, "You''re pretty ambitious. However, there are precedents for setting up a new club in the league. One is Tang Muzhou from the fifth season who established Fenghua, the other is Pei Jingshan from the seventh season who established Capital of Darkness. The important thing is that both of them have gotten strong props. Tang''s family is a business giant and Pei''s family is very powerful in the political circles, which made it easy for them to raise capital. Plus both of then had won the championship before, so their clubs developed well. As for you, I don''t think you have such a powerful prop like those two." Xie Mingzhe said, "You guys are my prop." He said it breezily, yet his words surprised everyone present. Xie Mingzhe smiled faintly and then said, "Indeed, it is easy for rich and prestigious people to establish clubs. Nevertheless, I think that most of the yers are from ordinary families. A yer''s strength always rules in the contest rather than his background and familyAs long as you are powerful enough, everything will be fine." The sentence hit the nail on the head. If a yer was powerful enough to win the game, he wouldn''t need to worry about capital at all and many yers would be attracted by his reputation. The problem is that the league ispet.i.tive. Is he really able to win the championship? Chen Xiao carefully gazed at the teenager in front of him and then asked in a low voice, "Xiao Xie, could you tell me what do your parents do for a living? And where did you get all those odd ideas for cards?" Xie Mingzhe had been reborn once. If people know the fact that he had the memories of Earth, he would get into trouble in the long run. Today Chen Xiao was the one who asked, and there definitely would be more people who were curious about his history in the future, so he had already thought out the solutionst night. Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 41 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith "Actually, I lied to you guys. I don''t have a family. I''m an orphan." Xie Mingzhe said calmly. "An orphan?" Everyone''s eyes widened. They couldn''t believe the optimistic guy was an orphan. "That''s right." Xie Mingzhe gave a natural expression and exined, "I grew up in an orphanage. The director of the orphanage was like my mother who carefully took care of me and sent me to take painting .s.ses. I took the college entrance examination in June this year and got admitted into the fine art department of Capital University. Then I came to the capital to hunt for a job so that I can afford my living expenses in college. However, I identally fell from the third floor and broke my head. I became a vegetable andy on the Affiliated Hospital of Capital University''s bed for a whole month after the ident. I didn''t tell you the truth before because I didn''t want you guys to pity me. So far, what he had said was true. However, the experience sounded so unreal that everyone was incredulous. Chen Xiao thought this was crazy, "So you said you were hospitalized before, and you were saying that you broke your head and became a vegetable?" "Yes." Xie Mingzhe added, "I have had a lot of fantasies since I was a child. Every time an interesting bit came into my mind I would draw it as practice. This time I was in aa in the hospital for a month. Surprisingly, my Inner Spirit even got stronger after I rallied and all those painting ideas just kept flowing into my mind." If he became famous someday, his history and background would definitely bepletely investigatedso he had already woven a story as his shield: a dreamy boy who loves painting had stronger Inner Spirit after recovering from aa. Hebined the fake part and the true part together. The records of him being hospitalized as a vegetable were avable for inquiry. And it was true that he was an orphan as well as a student in the fine art department of Capital University. Even if someone was sceptical about his story, they wouldn''t find any holes. Chen Xiao couldn''t find any obvious ws in his words, then he turned to Chi Yingying who immediately said, "I heard from my husband that there was a vegetable whose surname was Xie in the Neurosurgeon department of their hospital. He regained his consciousness and was discharged from the hospital several days ago after a whole month''sa. He also said that it was a medical miracle. No way! That guy was you!" Xie Mingzhe smiled, "What a coincidence. Is your husband a doctor of the affiliated hospital?" Chi Yingying said, "He worked in the department of cardiology which is right above the Neurosurgeon department''s office. It is said that the precedent of a vegetable waking up is pretty rare, so a lot of doctors heard the news that you were discharged from the hospital. Many doctors said that you were blessed by G.o.d. Otherwise, the possibility that a patient in a severea, like you, could recover is less than 1%." Unexpectedly, Chi Yingying''s husband was a doctor of that hospital, which meant he didn''t need to exin further with Chi Yingying unintentionally being his witness. After Chi Yingying said that, everyone present was rea.s.sured immediately. They expressed their amazement at Xiao Xie''s good fortune one after another. After a series of idents, bing a vegetable and luckily regaining consciousness, his wits shockingly increased instead of decreasing. The only reasonable exnation was that he was blessed by G.o.d. Chen Xiao patted Xie Mingzhe''s shoulder and sighed, "It must be tough for you to grow up without parents taking care of you for so many years. Now you can set your mind at rest since you got us, and we will treat you as our family." If Xie Mingzhe hadn''t had any friends in this world and worked alone, he would have failed at ater stage. For him, Brother Chen was a trustworthy person whom he had dealt with most frequently. His talent was frighteningly great and it was reasonable that a normal person would suspect it. Currently, however, Chen Xiao and his men were rea.s.sured, which meant that they would help him sincerely from now on. Xie Mingzhe proactively raised his goblet and sincerely said, "I''m the lucky guy meeting all of you. And if Brother Chen didn''t provide me with the opportunity, I wouldn''t have my first taste of the game, Star Card Storm, not to mention finding my card making talent. Brother Chen, you''re the lucky star in my life. I toast to all of you!" Chen Xiao briskly raised his goblet, "It is really touching to hear you say that. From now on we are a family. I hate traitors very much, so I hope we can keep solidarity with Xiao Xie no matter what we decide to do in the future, establishing a club or just running a card store." Everyone raised their goblets excitedly and drained them. After swigged down his wine, Xie Mingzhe immediately got to the point, "Since we have decided to work together, we should talk about the dividend stuff. Brother Chen said before that each one gets 2% of the store''s ie as a dividend. What do you think?" Pang Yu''s eyes glittered with excitement when he heard that, "If I recall correctly, the store''s made 6,000,000 gold coins merely this noon, and 2% of the number is 120,000 gold coins, which canpete with half of the previous month''s ie. I mean, don''t you think this is too much?" Chen Xiao said, "Xiao Pang is right. 2% dividend is a little bit high." Xie Mingzhe said, smiling, "A real united group is priceless. 2% is fine." He wanted to work with partners who were willing to help him from the very bottom of their hearts. No matter what happens in the future, as least he had someone supporting him. Money could be easily earned, while wholehearted partners were hard to find. Hearing what he said, Chen Xiao looked at Xie Mingzhe with a serious face, "The store''s ie will be higher and higher in the future. Are you sure that you really want to share such arge amount of money with us?" "Why not?" Xie Mingzhe answered without hesitation, "You guys would be more motivated with arge percentage. Even though our store just opened, I''m quite confident about us." The most important thing was that he was confident about his imagination. [Lin Daiyu] and [Wu Song] were unexpected bonuses, while subsequent cards, [Xue Baochai], [Xi Shi], [w.a.n.g Zhaojun], [Cao Chong] and so on, werepletely from his imagination. In addition, his talent was even recognized by arge number of legends, such as Nie Yuandao and Zheng Feng. They proactively invited him to join their clubs, which proved that this was not just in his mind, but he had the ability to make original cards for sure. With arge number of character material in his mind, he would definitely make more impressive cards in the future. Therefore, he should take the long view and start his own business. He had experienced the worst thing when he was a kid. Now everything would be finepared to his previous plight. Chen Xiao looked at the teenager in front of him and was surprised by his confident and calm manner. Since he was so a.s.sured and gifted at making cards, he should put his own n on the agenda Chen Xiao lowered his head, deep in meditation. They spent the whole afternoon having fun outside and didn''te back until it was dark. Xiao Pang and Jin Yue were drunk and directly returned to their dormitory to sleep. Chi Qing sent Chi Yingying home. Xie Mingzhe and Brother Chen were still sober. After taking a bath, he went to the balcony on the second floor. As expected, he saw Chen Xiao smoking on the balcony too. Thinking that Brother Chen might have something to say to him, he opened the door and walked onto the balcony, "Brother Chen, why are you still up?" Chen Xiao turned around and seriously looked him in the eye. It was rare to see the serious expression from a young man who was dispirited all the time. The man''s eyes were extremely deep and mysterious at the time, then he asked in a unique and husky voice, "Xiao Xie, since you have made your mind to keep walking on the original card road, I want to help you with a particr thing, in other words, I ask you to help me." "You helping me equals asking me to help you?" Xie Mingzhe was puzzled by him, "What is this really about, Brother Chen?" "I want to take you to meet a person." Chen Xiao paused for a second and said, "I shouldn''t bother him. However, I think he can definitely help you." It was just to meet a person, and Brother Chen was so cautious. Obviously that was a very important person. Xie Mingzhe nodded affirmatively, "Okay. Who am I going to meet them?" Chen Xiao kept silent for a moment, and then said in a retrospective tone, "My older brother, Chen Qianlin." Xie Mingzhe, "" He thought his brother had already died Wait a minute. Why did the name Qianlin sound so familiar? Qianlin Restaurant? Suddenly Xie Mingzhe recalled that the name of Tang Muzhou''s restaurant in the game was Qianlin Restaurant. Was it possible that that restaurant was rted to Chen Qianlin? Today it was obvious that Sister Xue knew Chen Xiao. To sum up, the probability that Chen Xiao''s brother was connected with Tang Muzhou was great. Xie Mingzhe tried hard to stifle his sense of curiosity and asked, "When will we go to see your brother?" "Tomorrow. We cannot afford any dys." Chen Xiao approached him and patted Xie Mingzhe''s shoulder encouragingly. Then he said in a low voice, "My brother is a real card making a genius. He is awesome. If he was willing to instruct you, you would master the skills of battle cards more quickly for certain. The problem is that he has left the league for a really long time, and he is not that happyto see me." Speaking of this, he had a glint of sadness in his eyes, but he cheered up quickly and went on saying, with a smile, "I''ll try to persuade him into making you an apprentice. Get some rest tonight, we''ll get up early tomorrow and leave at nine." Noticing theplicated expression on this man''s face, Xie Mingzhe wisely decided not to ask any questions. He just nodded, "Okay. Good night, Brother Chen." Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 42 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith In the dormitory, Xiao Pang sprawled on the bed, sleeping. Xie Mingzhe crept to the bedside and opened the drawer to take out hisptop. He didn''t ask Chen Xiao about his brother to his face in order to avoid embarra.s.sment. Xie Mingzhe decided to investigate his brother himself. He typed "Chen Qianlin" in a search engine. Beyond his expectations, millions of search results appeared in no time, which exceedingly shocked Xie Mingzhehis poprity couldpete with the most popr celebrity in s...o...b..z during the time on Earth. "Star Card League''s top yer Chen Qianlin was taken to court for the copyright issue" "The Sanctuary Club dered that there is no contract conspiracy!" "The dispute case between Chen Qianlin and the Sanctuary Club will be heard on December 25th." "Chen Qianlin lost the case. The Sanctuary Club asked Chen Qianlin to pay an 80,000,000 penalty." "The Summer All-star Game concluded. Chen Qianlin announced his retirement." "The fifth season''s professional league matches have started. An 18-year-old neer, Tang Muzhou, has won 30 individual races in a row, which broke the record of individual race consecutive wins. An insider said the true ident.i.ty of Tang Muzhou is Chen Qianlin''s personal apprentice in the game!" Seeing this news, Xie Mingzhe stopped. He conjectured that Chen Qianlin was connected with Tang Muzhou, but he didn''t expect that he was Tang Muzhou''s Shifu. In that case, did Chen Qianlin himself set up "Qianlin Restaurant" in the game? He perplexedly kept looking downwards "Tang Muzhou has won 50 races in a row. Who can stop the talented teenager from going forward?" "Is inexorable Tang Muzhou trying to avenge his Shifu Chen Qianlin?" "Chen Qianlin''s best apprentice Tang Muzhou defeated the experienced yer with Earth attribute Zheng Feng and imed a ce in the quarter-final!" "Tang Muzhou beat the Adjudication''s chief yer Nie Yuandao and went through to the semi-final!" "Tang Muzhou defeated Ling Jingtang, the founder of the Metal card group, and reached the final!" "Tang Muzhou defeated the Water card group''s representative Su Yang and won the fifth season''s individual championship. The youngest champion in the National Star Card League''s history!" "The neer Tang Muzhou won first ce in the individual race and thanked his Shifu for his instruction. Chen Qianlin didn''t turn up at the awards ceremony!" "" Looking through all of the startling news, Xie Mingzhe could almost imagine how great the storm was, which whipped the league five years ago. As a neer, Tang Muzhou won 50 sessive individual races and defeated so many legends. And finally, he won the championship in an overwhelming way! The season when Tang Muzhou made his debut was when his Shifu Chen Qianlin retired. ording to the different types of information from forums and news, there had always been a thing called the "Founders of Five Attributes". Earlier, in the first and second seasons, there were five outstanding professional yers in the Star Card League, who established the foundations of the five mainstream card groups: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and EarthMetal Weapon card group''s founder Ling Jingtang; Fire Beast card group''s founder Nie Yuandao; the Earth Defence and Counterattack y''s pioneer Zheng Feng; the Water Control card group''s founder Su Yang; as well as Wood nt card group''s founder Chen Qianlin. The five people were also the founders of the National Star Card League matches. Without them, there wouldn''t be so many colorful schoolster. At that time, all of the five legends were popr. Chen Qianlin had innumerable fans, so his dispute case attracted great attention. The event almost turned the whole National Star Card League upside down and even startled the Star Card game authorities. Atst, he lost the case, which caused great disturbances from his fans who besieged the Sanctuary Club and broke down Sanctuary''s website by leaving messages. Later, the retirement of Chen Qianlinpletely changed the league''s structure. Because of this copyright dispute case, every club in the league began to revise their yer contracts. On the other side, many early legends, such as Nie, Ling, Zhen, Su and so on, had taken warning from his example and seized the chance by segregating the original cards'' copyright and controlling them. Several yers changed the clubs on the basis of the contract stuff. The whole league was turbulent. Every big club started to attach importance to the copyright. As a result, subsequent contracts were more and more strict. In the fifth season, the strongest solo yer was Su Yang, the founder of Water card group from the Flowing Frost City Club. Apart from him, Nie Yuandao with the Fire attribute, Ling Jingtang with the Metal attribute and Zheng Feng with the Earth attribute were strong legends too. Rtively speaking, the whole Wood card group was at rock bottom. After their pioneer Chen Qianlin retired, there weren''t many wood yers left in the league. In the highest-level online game arena, people couldn''t even find one set of wood cards in ten races. Just in the situation where everyone didn''t think the Wood card group would be a good prospect, Tang Muzhou appeared, like a hero. This 18-year-old sharp teenager with his 100% original cards rocked the whole league. Even experienced yers such as Nie Yuandao and Zheng Feng couldn''t resist praising the young man for his impressive talent. This teenager had handsome features and smiled with grace. People wouldn''t ascribe him to be a threat at first nce. However, in the arena, he yed in a brisk and cruel manner. [Thousand-Year-Old G.o.d Tree]''s skill, Fatal Strangling, as well as all kinds of vines'' tying and linking skills, had be a distinctndscape in the arena. After winning the championship of the individual race, in an interview, Tang Muzhou smiled and said so many words in front of a camera "The card [Thousand-Year-Old G.o.d Tree] was made in grat.i.tude for my beloved Shifu, Chen Qianlin. And that''s why I named this card after my Shifu by using the word ''thousand''. I''m not going to take revenge for his grief. He doesn''t care about wealth and fame. It was his choice to retire and he doesn''t want me to y the game for the purpose of revenge. The reason I joined the league is that I love being part of the arena. Winning this season''s championship doesn''t mean that I''m the strongest. I know there are still so many predecessors whose inner spirits are more powerful than mine. I was just lucky this time. From now on, I''ll keep enriching my card group and bring more excellent races to the audience. "My Shifu has decided to leave and will not mind things of the league. Luckily he is living his dream life, so please don''t interrupt him. From now on, Wood card group has me." Wood card group has me. Five simple words rekindled the hopes of all the yers who had been disappointed in Wood cards before! At that time, Tang Muzhou was only eighteen years old. So many older legends couldn''t resist praising him for being able to say things like that at such a young age. And it was also on that day that Chen Qianlin entirely stepped down from the stage of history. Since then, the Wood card group had gotten a more formidable yer, Tang Muzhou. Trantor''s Note: ''Thousand'' is tranted as ''Qian'' (Chinese: ǧ) in Chinese. Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 42 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith After winning the championship, Tang Muzhou didn''t sign with any clubs. He personally established the Fenghua Club with the help of his agent Xue Linxiang and Fenghua Club''s inc.u.mbent president Hong Zhu. He also added a supplementary agreement to the contractthe copyright of all the original cards with the logo '''' belonged to Tang Muzhou. At first, he was the only yer in Fenghua. And he didn''t recruit some partners who were on the same wavelength with him and also liked the Wood card group until the sixth season. Nowadays, the Fenghua Club had already been able topete with some long-established clubs such as Adjudication and Flowing Frost City, which was evidence of not only for Tang Muzhou''s first-.s.s personal power, but also his excellent leadership abilities. In his fans'' minds, Tang Muzhou had always been a broad-minded yer with good manners. Even though he was young, he was always able to take the long view by supporting the appearance of different new schools. In addition, he was the one who first put forward the concept of the IDE card. His current status could bepared with those old predecessors, such as Legend Nie, Zheng Feng as well as Ling Jingtang. Moreover, he had a prodigy apprentice, Shen An. No matter how popr he was, Tang Muzhou never hid his grat.i.tude for his Shifu. He even said things like this, "In my opinion, my Shifu is forever the greatest professional yer." Since Tang Muzhou had expressed his grat.i.tude in public so many times, reporters had gotten to the bottom of their rtionshipit was said that when Tang Muzhou was young and naive, he went to the ck market and sold many good cards. He didn''t get his cards to the auction until he had received some renown. Chen Qianlin bought his vine card at a high price when he heard about him. Then he made him an apprentice. Tang Muzhou was able to make progress quickly and made a full set of nt cards in such a short time because of his careful instruction. During this process, Tang Muzhou gradually grew up into an excellent professional yer. Unfortunately, Chen Qianlin never showed up in public again. Maybe losing the case that year was too much for him and he didn''t want to stay in the league anymore, or, he was just tired. Xie Mingzhe browsed through news from dozens of pages, however, they just suddenly stopped updating at the moment when he retired. Where was he after retirement? What was he doing? No one knew the answer. He disappeared for almost five years. *** Xie Mingzhe couldn''t calm down for a long time after browsing this shocking news. He didn''t attend the fifth season and didn''t experience the turbulence in person, but he could clearly imagine Chen Qianlin''s desperation and depression as well as teenager Tang Muzhou''s mourous and shining moments from the words and pictures left behind. This pair of Shifu and apprentice were legends in the Star Card League. He didn''t expect that he could be rted to both of them. Xie Mingzhe finally understood why Tang Muzhou would like to carefully instruct him. Maybe the reason was that his incipient experience in achieving fame in the ck market was pretty simr to his. Five years ago, the innocent teenaged Tang Muzhou luckily got his beloved Shifu''s guidance. And nowadays, when seeing talented green hands like Xie Mingzhe, Tang Muzhou was willing to help him as a gesture ofmemorating his Shifu. Originally Xie Mingzhe thought he and Legend Tang were just friends in the game and their paths wouldn''t cross in real life. However, he couldn''t conceive that the brother of Chen Xiao, the boss of the boosting studio he was in, was Chen Qianlin, who happened to be Tang Muzhou''s Shifu. Joining Chen Xiao''s boosting studio, making [Lin Daiyu] targeting Tang Muzhou, selling cards in the ck market and drawing Fenghua''s attention, [Lin Daiyu] being bought by Tang Muzhou at a high price in the auction, the first meeting in Qianlin RestaurantAll of these things were fortuitous. Several lines linked them together, and all of them converged on the same endChen Qianlin. He and Tang Muzhou became friends in the game. Tomorrow he would meet Tang Muzhou''s Shifu Chen Qianlin. Maybe this is destiny? Tang Muzhou was awesome enough. The degree of his Shifu''s awesomeness was beyond Xie Mingzhe''s imagination. If Brother Chen really could persuade this legendary "founder of the Wood card group" into making him an apprentice, it would be timely rain for Xie Mingzhe. He had innumerable ideas right now. The question was, what kind of card could be counted as a good battle card? What kind of card group could be applied in the high-level matches? It would take a pretty long period of time for some novices like him to find answers without arge amount of c.u.mtive race experience. Not to mention that the cards he made could be totally useless. If Legend Chen agreed to help him, he would be the luckiest person in the world. Being excited and hopeful, Xie Mingzhe slept soundly in bed. He had made up his mind that tomorrow he must give Legend Chen Qianlin a good impression! Trantor''s Note: The logo '''' refers to Tang Muzhou''s surname ''Tang''. Wee to join our discord: https://discord.gg/tWBSnA7 Chapter 43 Part1 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith Chen Xiao tossed and turned on the bed. At 3 am, he finally slept. In his dream, he was sent back to the day when his brother left. Chen Qianlin''s eyes were cold as if he was looking at a total stranger. He just looked at Chen Xiao in this way and said in a calm voice, "Since you are already 18 now, I won''t take care of you from now on. And I don''t want to see you again. This house and the deposit in this card is mying-of-age gift for you." He dropped the key to the house and a bank card with several million in it, then took his luggage and left without a nce behind. Chen Xiao rapidly ran to him and pulled his arm with great force. In a state of agitation, his face was pale and his voice was trembling, "Brother, I''m sorry. I was drunkst night, so you can''t take the crazy stuff I said seriously. Please don''t leave me. Now I realized how insane I wasst night. I''m so sorry" Chen Qianlin interrupted him, "All these years, I''ve always treated you as my own brother. I didn''t expect that you would have thought like this. I''ve discharged my responsibility as an older brother to bring you up. Chen Xiao, from today onwards, I''m done with you. Do not contact me." His eyes were the winterke frozen over. Chen Xiao went rigid. His Adam''s apple bobbed, yet he couldn''t say anything. Chen Qianlin left. If losing the case was a huge setback for him, his younger brother saying that he fell in love with him was thest straw, which made himpletely give up hope. Originally Chen Xiao didn''t have the guts to tell him. However, that day he was upset and had drunk wine, which made him lose his reason. Seeing that his older brother was sad, he hugged him and said that he liked him His feelings for him were real. He had liked him since the day he was adopted by the Chen family and Chen Qianlin squatted in front of him and said in a gentle voice, "Don''t be afraid, this is your family now. I''m your brother, and we''ll have the same surname. From now on your name is Chen Xiao. Do you like it?" As a kid who was smudged with dirt, he was numbed from seeing such a beautiful and decent person for the first time. When they first met, he was only seven, and Chen Qianlin was fifteen. The clean teenager carried the filthy child to the bathroom and bathed him. Then changed him into brand new clothes. He blinked his eyes, seeing the angel-like teenager in from of him. Then he tried to call him, "Brother?" Chen Qianlin petted his head, with a smile, "Yes, I''m here. I''ll protect you." He had always liked his brother during childhood. After he grew up, the feeling gradually went bad and turned into a secret love. Chen Xiao hid his affection in the depths of his soul and never had the courage to reveal his feelings to him. Now he started to feel remorse for telling him the truth by means of Dutch couragehe could have kicked himself. Chen Qianlin sincerely treated him like his own brother, and it was obvious that he had hurt him by boldly revealing his affection. Now his brother left because of him. He just felt like he was a disgusting idiot! After waking up, Chen Xiao washed his face casually and took a cold bath. Then he carefully shaved his beard in the mirror. In addition, hebed his hair to make it neat. As expected, after dressing up, his strong handsome features became visible. And he looked more spirited than before. Chen Xiao turned around and walked onto the balcony. It was five in the morning and it was still dark outside. He had only slept for two hours and was awakened by the nightmare. There was a pot of sulents on the balcony. A tiny sprout even appeared from the root, which was really cute. Previously he barely knew how to grow flowers, and he thought that regrly watering them was very tiresome. After his brother left, Chen Xiao specifically looked up the strategies for growing each kind of nt. He watered them on time and took good care of them. It had been almost five years, the ten pots of sulents left by Chen Qianlin hadn''t withered. On the contrary, they became more and more exuberant. At first, Chen Xiao nned to set up a studio to .u.mte resources, then he would partic.i.p.ate in the game during the next season. His brother might want to see him if he made a great achievement. At that time he could have the chance to apologize to him, which may bridge the gap between them. Nevertheless, changes always go beyond ns. Xie Mingzhe identally joined his studio, and his talent was as good as Tang Muzhou when he was a teenager. He brought forward his n since it was good for Xie Mingzhe. On the other side, he needed an excuse to meet Chen Qianlin as soon as possible. *** The next morning, Xie Mingzhe got up at eight and went to the living room after washing his face. He saw a young man walking down the stairs. The man had a pair of straight and long legs. He stood straight and it looked like he was over 1.85 meters tall. He was wearing a pair of tailored suit pants and spotless ck leather shoes. His shirt was as perfect as a new one after being ironed. He undid the topmost b.u.t.ton at the neck and revealed his healthy skin color. Looking up, his neat short hair came into view. He had shaved his face until it was smooth, and his handsome and strong features finally emerged, especially his bushy eyebrows which were very masculine. Howe the man appeared from the second floor? Xie Mingzhe stood there, "Excuse me. Who are you?" The man looked at Xie Mingzhe unpleasantly, "Seriously? I''m Chen Xiao." Xie Mingzhe''s still looked confused, "Brother Chen?" Even though people always say that clothes make the man, it was a world of difference! Earlier Brother Chen''s hair was a ma.s.s of tangles. Dark circles of many years'' standing made him look like he could use some sleep. He liked smoking and his clothes were crumpled as if they were made of rags, which was not a pretty sight. In summary, the image of him was a dispirited and hopeless failure. However, the man currently standing in front of him was aglow, handsome and energetic. It was like he was reborn! Xie Mingzhe rubbed his eyes, still not being able to connect together the charming man in front of him to the dispirited young man in his memory. At this time, Xiao Pang and Jin Yue came downstairs too. They kept rubbing their temples because of a hangover. When reaching thending, they suddenly saw a total stranger wearing a suit, which almost made Xiao Pang fall from the stairs. Xiao Pang didn''t regain his bnce until Jin Yue caught him, then he rubbed his eyes and asked, "Who is this gentleman? He came here to find people early in the morning?" Jin Yue asked too, "Xiao Xie, is this your friend?" Chen Xiao was p.i.s.sed off, "I''m Chen Xiao! What''s wrong with you guys? Have you lost your memory?" Jin Yue lifted his .s.ses with one push and immediately ran downstairs to carefully see him, "Brother Chen? I recognize the voice, but you dress like a different person." Pang Yu ran downstairs too, he said excitedly, "Oh my G.o.d. You''re Brother Chen?" Xie Mingzhe, Pang Yu and Jin Yue stood abreast, observing Chen Xiao who felt that he was a gori that had just gotten released from the zoo. Facing the three men''s curious looks, Chen Xiao coughed out of embarra.s.sment and exined, "Guys, I concede that I was a little bit slovenly at ordinary times. But,e on. I just changed my clothes and incidentally shaved this morning. Why are you so surprised?" Please don''t insult "a little bit slovenly." It was "give up dressing", Xie Mingzhe thought inside. "Brother Chen, you look so good. Have you gotten a date?" Pang Yu asked, being nosy. "To meet a person." Chen Xiao''s ears slightly turned red, but he rapidly recovered his poise and said, "A''Qing and Yingying willeter. Today I will take Xiao Xie with me. You four stay in the studio and help Xiao Xie with his store." "Rest a.s.sured, Brother Chen." Jin Yue was obviously more reliable than Pang Yu and he didn''t ask who he was going to meet. When Pang Yu was just about to ask, Jin Yue poked his back with great force, so he had to shut his mouth. The four men had a light breakfast around the dining table. Chi Qing and Chi Yingying arrived. Seeing Chen Xiao dressed formally, Chi Qing asked skeptically, "You are neat today. Are you going out for something?" Chen Xiao nodded, "Yes, Xiao Xie is with me." After they left, Pang Yu sighed, "I''ve known this guy for two years, and I''ve never seen him dressing formally like this!" Jin Yue sighed too, "Turns out that Brother Chen has great potential. Previously he was neglectful of his appearance. Now I can barely recognize him since he is quite handsome after dressing himself up." Chi Qing said calmly, "Stop gossiping. Now go online to help Xiao Xie organize his store!" Chapter 43 Part2 Trantor: Star River from w.a.n.gmamaread Proofreader: Rhith *** Chen Xiao drove his sports car out of the underground garage. The silver-white levitating sports car dashed along the aerial levitationne, as if it was flying in the sky. Xie Mingzhe opened the car window, enjoying the excitement caused by being a flyer. Chen Xiao sat in the driver''s seat, wearing a pair of sun.s.ses. He looked really cool when driving a car. Xie Mingzhe sincerely thought that he looked better after dressing up. The previous s.h.a.ggy hairstyle really distracted people''s attention from his handsome features. What was he thinking? Even if he was a booster, he didn''t need to be that slovenly and dispirited Chen Xiao knew that Xie Mingzhe must beining about him secretly, but he ignored it and got to the point, "You must have known my brother Chen Qianlin''s story. You didn''t ask mest night, so I a.s.sume that you looked it up yourself." Xie Mingzhe smiled and said, "I was afraid that it would be hard for you to say things about your brother. So I just looked for information about him online. All the news said that Legend Lin left because he lost the case and became hopeless. What was the case really about, could you tell me?" "I''m about to." Chen Xiao took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts, then he said in a low voice, "Ten years ago, during the first season of Star Card League, my brother and Shao Bo built the Sanctuary Club together. My brother was responsible for making cards and partic.i.p.ating inpet.i.tions, while Shao Bo had charge of management and logistic works. Shao Bo was his friend since childhood. They grew up together and went to the same university. My brother extremely trusted the man. "My brother was outstandingly talented. His original nt cards were powerful and thus he won individual prizes in three sessive seasons. Many investors came forward and the club was gaining money. Everything went so well. However, at the beginning of the fourth season, taking advantage of my brother''s growing fame, Shao Bo secretly took my brother''s cards to auction. A card could casually be sold at several thousand crystal coins. Making hundreds of duplicates, he could earn millions in one day merely by selling cards "At that time my brother was too busy ying games to discover this. When he found out, his cards had been duplicated by the club without permission and hundreds of cards had been sold already. My brother disapproved of his behaviour and wanted to retrieve the card copyrights. The problem was that the contract didn''t clearly indicate that the card copyright belonged to him. On the contrary, there was a use saying that ''When working at the club, 30% of the yer''s ie belongs to the club; 70% belongs to the yer''. Shao Bo got hold of it and went to town on it. He imed that my brother''s original cards should belong to the club''s ie during the contract "When they originally set up the club, he gave verbal agreements so many times to my brother that my brother could dispose cards in whatever way he wanted. My brother trusted him, so he didn''t record his words, thus those verbal agreements could not be considered as evidence in court. ording to the contract, my brother was not in the right. And it was legal for Shao Bo, the club''s manager, to sell his cards." Chen Xiao frowned, and said indignantly, "He insisted on the use, so we lost the cards in the end." "" Being betrayed by the best friend? Xie Mingzhe could imagine how furious and disappointed Chen Qianlin was. They grew up together and Chen Qianlin trusted him so much. However, the man even set a trap for him. If Xie Mingzhe was him, he would kill him. Xie Mingzhe sympathized with him and couldn''t resist asking, "Legend Lin was the founder of the Wood card group. He must be very exalted in the league. Didn''t anyone in the league try to help him?" "Nie Yuandao, Zhen Feng and so many legends who had personal friendships with my brother were trying to help him. Nevertheless,ws and rtionships are separate. My brother couldn''t submit some more persuasive evidence. There was nothing they could do." Xie Mingzhe''s mood wasplicated. If you didn''t major inw, then there would indeed be a risk of being cheated when it came to signing a contract. He had already heard about innumerable disputes over the copyright earlier on Earth. It was Chen Qianlin''s fault for innocently putting too much trust in his friend. Still, his friend was a jerk. Being betrayed by his childhood friend, plus losing the card copyrights because of losing the case. No wonder Chen Qianlin chose to retire. Xie MIngzhe didn''t know what to say. After a while, he sighed inside and said, "Your brother''s experience was sad. Did the penalty cost your brother a bundle?" Chen Xiao said, "Yes. And he couldn''t get his copyright. The copyright of many good cards my brother had made still remains with Sanctuary today." Xie Mingzhe couldn''t resist swearing, "f.u.c.k! Sanctuary still exists?" Chen Xiao shrugged, "As long as it has money, there are still many yers willing to sign with it. However, the influence of the dispute between my brother and the club was strong, so yers with real capabilities won''t choose Sanctuary. As a result, thesest few years Sanctuary has gone downhill. Nowadays it just relies on my brother''s card group and fosters several second and third-.s.s yers, who couldn''t even survive for one minute in the arena when they fought against Tang Muzhou." Xie Mingzhe praised, "Good for Tang Muzhou! Even if Sanctuary holds the copyrights of your brother''s Wood cards, the most powerful yers with the Wood attribute are in the Fenghua Club built by Tang Muhzou, which puts shame on Sanctuary. Shao Bo is really shameless. I can''t believe that he is still using your brother''s cards." Chen Xiao gave a scornfulugh, "The yers in his club don''t have the ability to make cards themselves, so they have to use the old cards created by my brother. Fortunately, the Star Card authorities keep updating data and a lot of my brother''s cards are out of date and thus impractical currently. They are just marking time, which means they have no choice but to be continuously surpa.s.sed by other clubs. In thest season, Sanctuary didn''t reach the final, not to mention winning a prize. That''s very disgraceful." This could be seen as karma. Shao Bo was actually short-sighted. If he took a step backwards in the first ce and gave the copyright back to Chen Qianlin, instead of selling his cards everywhere, he could hold onto Chen Qianlin, the legend. If Chen Qianlin stayed in Sanctuary, maybe Tang Muzhou would follow his Shifu and sign with the club. With these two talented yers, Sanctuary could remain on the top of the league''s pyramid for a long time. Now look at what he had done. He was greedy for the short-term shoestring margin and made Chen Qianlin leave. Consequently, he ruined his reputation and made himself a dreadful enemy, Tang Muzhou. No amount of money from the short term couldpete with a gold mine. What an idiot! Xie Mingzhe cursed a little inside and changed the object, "Brother Chen. The reason that I want to cooperate with you is that I appreciate your candour and open mind. Originally I was just a novice who knew nothing. You offered me an opportunity to be an intern in your studio. We had already reached a consensus on the 1500 monthly sry. However when we signed the contract, you proactively proposed to pay me 3000 a month as a regr employee. I don''t think that there are so many bosses who would like to proactively give a raise. Your gesture alone already made me feel that you''re not a man greedy for slight profits. Other people must save as much money as possible, and it would be better to get freebour. You''re different than them. You treat everyone well. You treat us to lunch every time you make money. And the studio''s atmosphere is really harmonious." Chen Xiaoughed, "It seemed that I did the right thing to give you a raise." Xie Mingzheughed too and went on saying, "I don''t want us to be enemies some day like your brother and Shao Bo did. In order to avoid the situation, if we decide to set up a club in the future, we should put every use in the contract, stipting everything, including right, responsibility and profit sharing. We also scrutinize every use, then find a professionalwyer to review the contract. Everyone would be a.s.sured if we were restricted by the contract." Chen Xiao nodded briskly, "Sure. Even reckoning makes long friends. I don''t want to have disputes with you, and our team should be unified. When you meet my brotherter, do not talk about the copyright stuff. I''m introducing you to him only because I want him to instruct you, so that you can make cards suitable for the game as soon as possible. If he agrees to make you an apprentice, would you be on board?" Xie Mingzhe said, "Of course. It would definitely be my honour to have him as my Shifu!" Although he had yed some games in his previous life, they were not card games. Xie Mingzhe was still perplexed about how to design a card group. It would be like a timely rain if a legend like Chen Qianlin was willing to instruct him. More importantly, Chen Qianlin had retired, which meant he was a frencer and didn''t have a connection with any clubs. So some sensitive issues, such as clubs as well card copyright, wouldn''t be involved. And it wouldn''t sh with building his own club at all. ****** The Novel will be updated first on this website. 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