Chen Mu shook his head, forcing himself not to think about any of it.
Chen Mu did not know who the man he had killed was or what sort of background he had, nor did he want to know.
But the incident stirred up towering waves in Dongshang Guard City. A student of East Guard Academy had met a violent death in the street, and it had happened during Star Academy's exchange visit. How could the city's senior officials not fly into a rage? Panic swept through East Guard Academy, and the administration immediately imposed strict restrictions on students entering and leaving campus.
The greatest pressure, however, fell on Dongshang Guard City's Guard Bureau. Yet they were at a loss: not the slightest clue had been left at the scene. Most importantly, none of the student's belongings were missing. Even the red starstone pendant around his neck, worth over eight hundred thousand Odi, was still there. This clearly had not been a robbery.
As for a revenge killing, that left the Guard Bureau in an even more awkward position. Only now did they discover that the fellow had run amok at school, committing countless misdeeds. If he did not have a hundred enemies, he certainly had dozens. And some of those people had formidable backgrounds themselves, so the investigators dared not reach too far.
The victim's injuries were also very strange. Judging by the marks on his neck, someone must have gripped him by the throat and smashed him against a wall, shattering his skull and killing him. Before his death, he had also used the combat card Blue Light Arrow. That suggested his opponent was highly skilled, powerfully built, and physically strong. A human skull was extremely hard; shattering one required considerable force.
During the Guard Bureau's citywide screening, Chen Mu, with his slightly pale face, somewhat frail appearance, and scholarly looks, was ruled out in the first round.
The excellent sales of the card film "The Legend of the Mecha Master" greatly heartened both Chen Mu and Lei Zi. With the school strictly limiting outings, most students could only stay obediently on campus. With no other choice, they had to find something to pass the time. At first, "The Legend of the Mecha Master" circulated only among the girls, until one copy happened to find its way into a boy's hands.
The boys were immediately won over by its vast starry skies, dazzling battles, and enormous metal humanoids in all manner of strange shapes, known as Light Armor. The craze for the "Mecha Master" card film swept through East Guard Academy like a storm. Even the visiting Star Academy students loved it. The nearby shops were practically bursting with customers every day, yet copies remained hard to come by. For a time, owning a set of "The Legend of the Mecha Master" became a powerful means of showing off. And the name Mu Lei could now be considered highly influential at East Guard Academy.
Some people did turn their attention to the card maker, but they had not expected the seller to be so shrewd and slippery. They never managed to catch him. The shopkeepers, too, professed complete ignorance whenever questioned.
Faced with such brisk sales, Chen Mu spent nearly all his time making card films. They did not yet have the means to pay a factory to produce them. What Chen Mu did not know was that, under existing conditions, the card films he made could not be mass-produced industrially at all.
Still, he had become extremely proficient, and his control over his pitifully small amount of Perception grew increasingly assured. Faced with such an enormous market, the two could only watch helplessly, unable to meet demand. Fortunately, both had a healthy attitude: every extra set sold was another set's worth of profit. In that sense, they were quite content.
By the time Chen Mu finished three hundred sets, he was too exhausted to move. After discussing it, they decided to wrap up production of the first episode. There would always be more money to earn. Three hundred sets were enough to bring them a handsome profit.
The first episode of "The Legend of the Mecha Master" contained far more than "Encounter" and was considerably more expensive, at twenty thousand Odi a set. That price was substantially higher than those of many other card films on the market. This, too, had been Lei Zi's suggestion: since they could not meet demand, they might as well raise the price and position it as a premium product.
Chen Mu knew nothing about such matters. All he knew was that they would earn more money. Although costs had risen slightly, the average net profit per set was around twelve thousand Odi. Three hundred sets would earn them three million six hundred thousand Odi, enough to buy a home in the main city.
After setting aside eight hundred thousand for the next episode's initial production costs, Chen Mu's share would be one million four hundred thousand.
Something suddenly occurred to Lei Zi. "Blockhead, didn't you spend all the money you got last time?"
"All of it."
Lei Zi could not help rolling his eyes. "I remember you used to be pretty frugal. How come you're burning through money like this now?" He frowned. "Did you spend it all on card making?"
When Chen Mu nodded, Lei Zi earnestly tried to persuade him. "Listen, Blockhead, you should think about saving some money. Buying a house, chasing girls, getting married-all of that takes money. Haha, just think how nice it would be to have a home of your own, marry a wife, and settle down to a comfortable little life! Isn't that the life we've always dreamed of?"
Chen Mu remained silent. If... if I'd never found that Mysterious Card, my dreams would have been no different from Lei Zi's.
But...
Seeing Chen Mu's expression, Lei Zi understood a little. He sat up straight and sighed softly. "Ah, suit yourself. You and I aren't the same, anyway. With your current card-making skills, finding a job would be easy. But I still suggest you put a little money aside. I'm afraid we won't be making card films for long."
"Why?" Chen Mu looked up and asked, puzzled.
Lei Zi gave two cold chuckles, his usual frivolity vanishing. "Blockhead, you've never been in this business. You don't know how ruthlessly people crush each other here. Why do you think I've only ever sold our card films at East Guard Academy? Heh, partly because that market is big enough for us. But also because I don't want to attract the attention of the big card film companies."
Chen Mu's expression grew solemn as well. He knew that although Lei Zi usually seemed scatterbrained, he was actually extremely clever.
"They just don't know about us yet. If they find out, heh, they'll try every possible way to deal with us. Blockhead, you don't understand how advanced your technique is. Heh, compressing thirty Illusion Cards into ten! We'd become a choice morsel in their eyes. Then we'd have only two paths left: work for them, or find an even bigger backer. Which would you choose?" Lei Zi turned to ask Chen Mu.
"Neither!" Chen Mu's answer was calm but firm. Yet he felt somewhat puzzled. Wasn't Planning Card technology already widely used?
"Haha! We really are brothers!" Lei Zi laughed. "I wouldn't choose either one myself. Heh, I've seen right through those people. That's why I plan to stop once we finish 'Mecha Master.' The money from this card film will be enough for us to live on."
Only then did Chen Mu understand why Lei Zi was so careful even when going out to sell their card films.
At that moment, they looked at each other and smiled.
(End of chapter)