Was This Heart Change Card Made by You?

Yin City.

"Uncle Chen, one bottle of Blue-Ringed Octopus Venom, please."

"Okay, Blue-Ringed Octopus Venom this time. Gu Xin, you've been buying venom pretty often lately. What are you up to? Doing research again?"

Uncle Chen had an employee fetch the goods from the storeroom and asked the young man before him curiously.

He couldn't help being curious. This was the sixth time Gu Xin had come to buy venom this month.

The first time had been Desert Cobra Venom, the second Human-Faced Spider Venom, and the third Datura Flower Venom. The rest were best left unmentioned.

These materials were more poisonous than the last, and Uncle Chen especially remembered that the young man had bought Eye of Darkness from him just last month.

Eye of Darkness was a dark-attribute material, and now he was buying all this venom too...

Gu Xin looked fair and rather delicate. Why was he so fond of buying materials like these?

"Just researching something new," Gu Xin replied casually.

"I understand. But Gu Xin, I'm a little older than you, so I'm going to say something you might not like hearing." Uncle Chen lit a cigarette, took a puff, and paused to think.

"I know cardmakers have to be willing to experiment. Powerful cards always come with risks, and young people can't resist temptation. They might want to take shortcuts..."

"I understand what you mean, Uncle Chen." Gu Xin tilted his head.

"I'm a decent person, Uncle Chen. I'm not about to go down the path of a dark cardmaker."

"Hahaha! Good, good. I'm getting old and like to meddle. Don't take it to heart. Here's the Blue-Ringed Octopus Venom you wanted."

"Thanks, Uncle Chen." Gu Xin scanned the QR code and transferred the money.

"Don't mention it. It's just business. Oh, I got my hands on some Holy Griffin feathers yesterday. Top-quality! Interested?"

"Holy Griffin feathers?" Gu Xin's eyes lit up.

The Holy Griffin was a fourth-tier light-attribute magical beast. If its feathers were preserved intact, they made excellent light-attribute magical materials.

And Uncle Chen had called them top-quality, so they were sure to be free of flaws.

Combined with other materials, they might be enough to make the Summoning Card Gu Xin had in mind.

Gu Xin wanted them badly, but... his pockets were empty.

"If I need any, I'll get in touch, Uncle Chen."

"Sure."

Gu Xin walked out of the general store. Looking at the sealed bottle of Blue-Ringed Octopus Venom in his hand, he thought about how that tiny bottle had cost him thirty thousand yuan.

Being a cardmaker really wasn't easy.

"I'll have to sell some cards." Gu Xin furrowed his brow. The trouble was, his little shop barely had any customers.

Whatever. He'd go back and see if this attempt worked first!

At the thought of making another card, Gu Xin was filled with confidence. He was sure this time had a ninety percent chance of success!

Back at his shop, Gu Xin hurried straight into the laboratory.

"Land Turtle + Water Elemental + Blue-Ringed Octopus Venom. This time, it'll definitely work!"

Muttering to himself, Gu Xin placed the materials into the Alchemy Furnace.

Don't ask why cards were made using an Alchemy Furnace. According to a certain cardmaking master, an Alchemy Furnace could effectively increase the chances of successfully making a card.

Of course, the real reason was that cards could explode during production, and getting caught in one wasn't a joke.

So using an Alchemy Furnace was both safe and efficient.

Gu Xin closed his eyes to focus, placed his hand on the Alchemy Furnace, and released his magic power.

Beep, beep, beep!

The cardmaking furnace started up with a low rumble.

"This should be the place."

Yin Xue studied the hand-drawn map, which looked like a jumble of scribbles, then glanced at the little shop in front of her. After comparing them, she decided it was the right place.

"Blue Star Card Shop? I wonder what the name means."

Curious, Yin Xue approached. The shop door was ajar.

Inside the laboratory.

About half an hour later, a card slid out of the slot.

"Phew! It finally worked."

Gu Xin picked up the card with a sigh of relief. At least this time, it hadn't spat out a pile of scrap. But...

Looking at the effect on the card, Gu Xin couldn't help frowning. It wasn't quite what he'd imagined.

"Strange. I clearly added Blue-Ringed Octopus Venom. Why didn't it gain a poison effect? Damn it, did I just waste that bottle of Blue-Ringed Octopus Venom?"

Gu Xin cursed inwardly. Blue-Ringed Octopus Venom was expensive! And the other venoms he'd bought before had cost him money too.

Why was it so hard to make a poisonous card?

"Whatever. At least it worked, right? I should be able to sell it, shouldn't I?"

"Ugh, materials keep getting more expensive. I really have to sell cards."

Gu Xin muttered helplessly. Cardmakers didn't have a one-hundred-percent success rate, and when a card exploded, the materials were naturally wasted too.

Gu Xin had his own excuse: he just had a higher chance of blowing up his cards.

He'd heard that some cardmakers even blew up their furnaces. Supposedly, the one who'd done that was still in the hospital, half-paralyzed. He'd never get out of bed again for the rest of his life.

Gu Xin had no idea how that master managed it. How did you blow up the furnace while making a card?

"Let's see... Since you're a little water turtle, I'll call you Squirtle."

Gu Xin thought it over. When he'd been making the card, he'd actually had that water-spitting turtle in mind.

After tidying up a bit, Gu Xin left the laboratory. When he saw a young woman sitting in his shop, he froze.

He hadn't ordered any takeout.

"Miss, who are you?"

"Hello. A friend recommended this place to me. I called out several times just now, but no one answered."

Yin Xue stood up apologetically as she explained, quietly sizing up the man before her.

He looked young, around twenty years old. He wore a white tank top and black pants.

He had short black hair and a fair, delicate face. The most distinctive feature was his half-lidded eyes, which gave him a listless, lazy air.

"Um, a friend recommended this place to me. I heard you sell cards?"

Yin Xue asked tentatively. She wasn't the type to judge people by their appearance.

Still, this man looked like a complete homebody.

"Oh, I was busy just now. The laboratory's pretty well soundproofed."

Gu Xin understood at once. His eyes brightened, and his expression grew much warmer.

"Come on, miss, have a seat. Would you like a Coke or a Sprite?"

"Um... plain water is fine."

"I haven't boiled any water, so you'll have to wait a bit."

Gu Xin opened a can of Coca-Cola and gulped it down.

He drank half the can in one go. Refreshing!

Every time he came out of the laboratory, he had to have a drink.

Yin Xue tilted her head in confusion as she watched the man sitting across from her with such casual ease. Was that fizzy drink really so good?

"It's okay. May I ask whether this card came from your shop?"

Yin Xue was very well-mannered. She waited for Gu Xin to put down his Coke before taking a card from her purse and setting it on the table.

"Let me see. Oh, Heart Change."

Gu Xin recognized it immediately. The card showed a beautiful, golden-haired angel with one black wing and one white wing. It was a Spell Card with a special effect.

[Heart Change]

[Type: Spell Card]

[Tier: Two-Star Blue Card]

[Effect: Gain control of one of your opponent's Summoning Cards for a limited time.]

[Note: Loyalty? What a beautiful lie.]

"I remember this card. I sold it to a female student, didn't I? She was pretty, and she had good taste. Coca-Cola is best when it's Coke!"

Gu Xin thought back. That had been half a month ago.

"Yes! That was my good friend, Tang Yueyue. Do you have any other Heart Change cards?"

Yin Xue asked excitedly. She'd been green with envy when her friend told her where the card came from!

It let you take control of your opponent's Summoning Card without lifting a finger. The effect was simple, direct, and powerful.

Sure, it only lasted for a limited time. So what?

It wasn't even a question of how powerful it was.

Imagine finally summoning a powerful monster, only for your opponent to play a Heart Change and turn it against you—and now it was hissing at you.

Who the hell could handle that?

Recently, Tang Yueyue had been unstoppable at school with Heart Change in her hands. She was mowing down anyone who stood in her way!

"I don't have any more Heart Change cards," Gu Xin said frankly.

Yin Xue's excitement immediately faded. She'd really wanted to give Tang Yueyue a taste of her own medicine with Heart Change.

"The main material for a Heart Change card is Eye of Darkness. I only got one by chance, and then I made this Heart Change card. To be honest, it didn't meet my expectations."

Gu Xin didn't think Heart Change was a particularly powerful card. If anything, he was quite dissatisfied with it.

Not only had he wasted that precious Eye of Darkness, but Heart Change could only control an opponent's summoned creature for a short time.

What was the point of stealing someone's partner if you could only do it for a little while?

Besides, Heart Change was only a two-star blue card, so it could only affect cards below two stars.

In short, it had a time limit and a tier restriction. As far as Gu Xin was concerned, it was total trash.

"Do you have any other cards similar to Heart Change?"

Yin Xue asked hopefully.

Come on, girl, broaden your horizons. Why are you so fixated on a single NTR card?

Gu Xin stared at Yin Xue speechlessly. She was a pretty student, so why was she so into that sort of thing?

"I've got one, girl. I've got one. It's even better than Heart Change. Take a good look."