The crescent-shaped wave blade slipped into the bushes without meeting any resistance.
While everyone was still staring in bewilderment, the bushes suddenly shook violently. A blue-green python, roughly as thick as a thigh, writhed on the ground in agony. A thin line of blood marked the vulnerable spot just below its head.
The students of East Guard Academy gaped at the python thrashing on the ground, unable to believe their eyes. Even the academy's teachers looked shocked.
Yet the most astonished of all was Hong Tao. He had always thought highly of himself, but only now did he realize there was always someone beyond the best. He could see more clearly than the others: there was not one line of blood on the python, but two matching lines on opposite sides, left by the crescent-shaped wave blade as it pierced straight through its body.
Were the Six Great Academies really that powerful? Towering waves surged through Hong Tao's heart. Star Academy ranked last among the Six Great Academies, yet even a random student from there possessed terrifying skill like this!
The Star Academy student merely nudged his glasses up, as though he had done something utterly trivial.
Ten finished cards lay in front of Chen Mu, their corners numbered from one to ten. Satisfaction showed on his face. What could be more perfect than this? Not only had he successfully made the Card Film, he had also compressed the thirty cards he had originally expected to need into ten, reducing the cost to just a third of what it would have been.
Compared with the finished Card Film, he was even more pleased with what he had learned. Planning Cards-he was now full of interest in these miraculous cards. Being able to compress the contents of thirty Illusion Cards into ten was proof enough of their wonders. Not one of the ten finished cards was a Planning Card; they were all Illusion Cards. In fact, in the knowledge of Planning Cards he had learned from the mysterious card, the use of dedicated Planning Cards belonged to a very advanced stage. What Chen Mu had learned so far could only be considered knowledge of "planning."
Just a little basic knowledge could produce results like this. It filled Chen Mu with anticipation. If one day he could truly use a complete Planning Card, what astonishing effects might it have?
Lei Zi looked at Chen Mu as though he were an alien. "Blockhead, how did you do it?"
"It might be fairly complicated to explain," Chen Mu warned him as he drank some water.
"Then forget it." Lei Zi hastily changed his tune. He knew Chen Mu well. In his eyes, Chen Mu was a fanatical devotee of card technology. If even Chen Mu said something was fairly complicated, it would surely be an unreadable heavenly scripture to him. Listening to Chen Mu earnestly explain something he could not possibly understand was a decidedly painful experience.
He had no interest in the technical side of things. All he cared about was the quality of this Card Film.
"Nothing to fault, absolutely nothing!" Lei Zi clicked his tongue in admiration, his two enormous metal earrings swinging back and forth. Satisfaction covered his face. "This is the best Card Film I've ever seen! Blockhead, your skills are amazing! Of course, this young master's script is beyond reproach too." He did not think he was exaggerating. Whether in its visuals or its story, this Card Film was flawless.
The realistic visuals, well-balanced rendering of light and shadow, and tightly paced, flowing story full of suspense all gave this Card Film tremendous emotional power.
He suddenly stood up and thrust both hands toward the sky, declaring with an arrogant grin, "Wahahaha! The time has come for the mighty Mu-Lei duo to rule the entire Card Film world!"
Seeing Lei Zi so excited made Chen Mu very happy too, but he still reminded him, "Now think about how to sell them. Oh, and there's the sound card problem." The sound cards had to be specially ordered; Chen Mu could not make them.
"Heh heh, just leave those problems to me." Lei Zi looked as though he already had the whole plan mapped out.
The two immediately got to work. Chen Mu turned all the remaining materials into Card Films, while Lei Zi went to order sound cards and sell all the completed Card Films. They were penniless, and if they failed to sell the Card Films, they would soon have no rice to put in the pot.
Chen Mu worked much faster than Lei Zi. With the experience of making the first set behind him, he could produce them very quickly. Later on, perhaps because he was using his Perception so much, it actually improved considerably, making the work even easier for him. He now needed only one day to finish a set of ten Card Film cards. By the end, he was completing five sets a day.
Each Card Film set cost three thousand Odi to produce, with each Illusion Card averaging two hundred. The sound card was the most expensive, at eight hundred Odi apiece, while two hundred Odi in packaging fees gave the set an exquisitely lavish presentation. Chen Mu thought selling each Card Film for three or four thousand would earn them a tidy profit. To his surprise, Lei Zi was utterly ruthless: he set the price at ten thousand Odi a set, leaving Chen Mu stunned on the spot. He seriously doubted whether they could sell any at that price. Lei Zi said it was the market price. Was the Card Film business really this profitable? He had not considered that their Card Film used only ten Illusion Cards, whereas ordinary Card Films generally used thirty to fifty. That was what made the profit on theirs so high.
What he had not expected, however, was that Lei Zi sold five sets in the very first week. That worked out to a net profit of thirty-five thousand for the two of them in a single week. The pace left Chen Mu speechless.
A plaything that could neither feed nor clothe anyone could actually sell for such a price.
In the second week, Lei Zi sold ten sets, earning a net profit of seventy thousand.
Chen Mu was thoroughly puzzled. "Where did you find so many suckers?"
Lei Zi gave Chen Mu a disdainful look. "I've been hanging around this circle for ages, after all. How could I not know anyone? Do you think everyone is a pair of paupers like us? They're after spiritual fulfillment, understand? Ten thousand Odi is just the price of a meal to them. Besides, romance like Encounter is practically a miracle cure for the souls of those rich young ladies. We're catering to their tastes. Isn't there some saying-how does it go? The spirit is priceless. If we sold it cheaply, wouldn't we be looking down on their inner worlds?"
Chen Mu had nothing to say.
After the initial excitement, Chen Mu quickly grew accustomed to it. By the end, it had become nothing more than a concept expressed in numbers. When they tallied everything after two months, Encounter had sold more than a hundred and fifty sets, earning nearly a million. Split equally between them, that was five hundred thousand each.
Neither of them had ever seen so much money. For a moment, they simply stared at one another, dumbfounded.
"W-we're rich!" Lei Zi was so excited that his words came out in a jumble, his eyes gleaming gold.
Despite the calm on his face, Chen Mu was also tremendously excited. With these five hundred thousand, he could support himself for a very long time. He knew all too well how much a stable life depended on money.
Sales of more than a hundred and fifty sets left Lei Zi extremely satisfied, and Chen Mu even more so. According to Lei Zi's estimate, they had more or less reached their limit. After all, they were no corporate group and had no distribution channels.
"Blockhead, I'm planning to go traveling," Lei Zi suddenly announced after he had calmed down.
(End of chapter)