Ever since returning from the club, Chen Mu had been brimming with excitement. The marvelous ideas he had encountered there had opened his eyes. Before this, he had never exchanged ideas with other Card Crafters. All along, he had worked behind closed doors, researching alone, experimenting alone, and feeling his way through failure alone. Even after he obtained the Mysterious Card, that situation had remained unchanged.
For the first time, he had tasted the pleasure of exchanging ideas with others.
Being exposed to so many Card Crafters' ideas for the first time had kept Chen Mu in a state of exhilaration. He had spent an entire day in the hall, drinking in other people's ideas as though entranced and trying to answer their questions.
By the end, he could no longer remember how many problems he had tried to solve. What discouraged him, though, was that the vast majority of his attempts had ended in failure.
By the time he got home, he was dead tired, yet his racing mind would not let him sleep. Lei Zi was not home, and there was no telling where he had gone off to have fun. Compared with a homebody like Chen Mu, Lei Zi was hardly a well-behaved sort; he often stayed out all night.
Suddenly remembering that he had not done his Perception training that day, Chen Mu hurriedly got up. After that brief rest, he felt he had recovered some strength, and only then did he enter the Simple Water World. Although he was training his Perception, he could not take a single step in the Simple Water World without physical stamina.
The gentle water enveloped him. Perhaps it was the coolness of the water, but Chen Mu's excited state of mind gradually settled. Soon, he entered a deep meditative state.
His Perception spread through the water around him like a flowing stream. He could sense every faint undercurrent within its reach.
His breathing was long and slow, a thread of tranquility amid the surging currents.
When Chen Mu emerged from meditation, however, all he could do was smile bitterly. His Perception training had hit a bottleneck. Four and a half meters-that barrier stood before him like an impassable chasm.
For once, a hint of irritation rose in Chen Mu's heart.
He looked around. The Simple Water World was crystal clear, as beautiful and enchanting as a fairy-tale realm. Schools of Triangle Arrowfish swam freely about. Not far away, aquatic plants swayed slowly in a steady rhythm.
Chen Mu stood there in a daze. After a long while, he suddenly smiled at himself. What more did I have to be dissatisfied with? Even now, I was already luckier than the vast majority of people. Once he had worked that out, the irritation between his brows vanished.
With a smile and a peaceful heart, Chen Mu strolled casually through the Simple Water World.
Come to think of it, I had been so busy training my Perception that I had never properly explored this wondrous, fairy-tale water world.
Chen Mu had grown quite accustomed to the surging underwater currents. He spread his Perception around his body so that he could react promptly whenever an undercurrent appeared. He advanced step by step, slowly but steadily.
A lush, appealing clump of aquatic plants stood nearby, and Chen Mu could not help walking toward it.
When he reached the clump, Chen Mu was just about to examine the plants closely when two strands suddenly coiled around his lower legs like nimble snakes. He felt his calves tighten and nearly lost his footing.
What was going on? Chen Mu froze. With his paltry knowledge of biology, he naturally had no idea what kind of aquatic plant this was.
Untangling Game initiated. Level one. Number of aquatic plants: 2. Difficulty: low. Requirement: break free within thirty minutes. Completion reward: none.
The aged voice suddenly sounding in his ears startled Chen Mu, but he quickly recovered. The Untangling Game? There were even games in here? His interest immediately stirred.
But what he had heard most clearly was the final phrase: "Completion reward: none."
He had a vague feeling that there was something hidden in those words, something worth pondering.
Completion reward: none... completion reward: none...
His eyes suddenly lit up as understanding dawned on him. If the game had no rewards to begin with, it would never have included that phrase. Since the phrase was there, there could only be two possibilities.
One was that it depended on the game's level: the level was too low to offer a reward. If that possibility was correct, it meant that he could earn rewards simply by raising the game's level.
The other possibility was that the Untangling Game was a game without rewards. Following that reasoning, there ought to be other games here that did offer rewards. In other words, there was very likely more than one kind of game in the Simple Water World.
What could excite Chen Mu more than exploring the unknown? His eyes shone as he stared at the clump of lush green plants, looking for all the world like a hungry wolf eyeing its prey.
In the director's office at the Low-Level Illusion Card Club, a middle-aged man sat upright at his desk, propping up his chin as he stared thoughtfully at the light screen before him.
Knock, knock, knock. Without looking up, the middle-aged man said, "Come in," and continued staring at the light screen.
A short-haired woman pushed open the door and entered, carrying a stack of documents.
"Director, here are the documents you requested. The final statistics aren't ready yet, but we've made a rough calculation. He browsed a total of one hundred and three requests for help and submitted thirty-nine answers. Thirty of those have been confirmed correct, while we have no definite information on the remaining nine yet. In other words, he earned at least four hundred and two points today. That meets the requirements for entry into the advanced group." She delivered her report briskly.
"He racked up over four hundred points in a single day?" The middle-aged man's expression changed. "Have you found out his background?"
"According to our records, all we know is that his name is Chen Mu. He is approximately sixteen to nineteen years old. We have no other information." The short-haired woman thought for a moment, then added, "I happened to be the one who received him today."
"Oh." The middle-aged man's interest immediately perked up. "Then tell me what impression he gave you."
The short-haired woman considered it before saying, "Very young, somewhat reserved, and not fond of talking. It was probably his first visit; he was unfamiliar with the place. My personal impression is that he's a Card Crafter absorbed in technical work."
"Good! Very good! It's been a long time since we've seen a Card Crafter with such profound expertise in One-Star Illusion Cards. It seems we should make him a priority for cultivation." A satisfied expression appeared on the middle-aged man's face. After a brief pause for thought, he said, "Send him an invitation to this advanced group's Two-Way Meeting. From now on, you'll be responsible for observing him."
"Yes!" The short-haired woman bowed in acknowledgment.
(End of chapter)