"Untangling Game complete. Reward: Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card crafting and operating techniques."
The Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card was a three-star combat card that released a spinning energy shuttle. Its tail continually dissipated into propulsion, making it fly faster and faster with tremendous power. That was why it was called a tail-shedding shuttle.
The dazzling scenes of the battle between those two people in the East Guard Academy classroom that day surfaced before Chen Mu's eyes. A sudden heat surged through his heart, and a thought rose irresistibly from its deepest recesses. Could I become a Card Adept?
Once that thought emerged, he could no longer erase it.
The instructions for crafting the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card were exceptionally detailed. After carefully considering them, Chen Mu confirmed that he could make this card.
But the question now was whether to make it or not.
Although three-star cards were only one tier above two-star cards, their production costs were several times higher, if not more. Combat cards were far more expensive than ordinary cards. Even though three-star combat cards were the lowest-tier combat cards, their prices were still enough to leave someone tongue-tied.
Chen Mu spent half a day calculating and finally reached a conclusion: if he wanted to make this Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card, he would have to pour in almost all his earnings from this period, leaving him with a balance of just twenty thousand Odi.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Never before had Chen Mu spent so much money in one go. He simply could not understand it. Were all Card Adepts this rich? A single Three-Star Illusion Card cost over two million Odi. How many people could afford to become Card Adepts?
That was why he hesitated. If he decided to make it, he would be staking his entire fortune.
Should I make it or not?
A fierce struggle raged in Chen Mu's heart. For three nights in a row, he tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Lei Zi soon noticed that something was wrong with Chen Mu and asked with concern, "Blockhead, what's wrong? Why have you seemed so restless lately? Are you sick? Does something hurt?"
Chen Mu fell silent for a moment, then answered with a question of his own. "Lei Zi, tell me-if, and I mean if, a choice you made, one you didn't have to make, would cost you every bit of money you had, what would you do?"
"A choice?" Lei Zi looked at Chen Mu suspiciously. "What are you planning now?"
Chen Mu said nothing.
Seeing that expression, Lei Zi knew he did not want to talk about it. After a little thought, Lei Zi asked, "Would this choice change your life? I mean, is it important to you? Is it your dream?"
"I suppose so." Chen Mu sounded hesitant. Dreams... to him, they seemed a little distant. His dream used to be to live a little better. Now that his life had improved, what was his dream?
"Then do it!" Lei Zi answered with ironclad conviction.
Chen Mu froze. He had not expected such a definite answer from Lei Zi.
Something seemed to occur to Lei Zi, and he said slowly, "Blockhead, we're both little people. Having enough to eat and somewhere to live was enough to satisfy us. If that was our dream before, then we've achieved it."
Chen Mu listened intently.
"People need dreams. Blockhead, there's nothing to hesitate over. Even if you fail, could things be worse than before? Worse than before we started making Card Films? Besides, we're still making Card Films. Everything we have now, we earned through our own hard work. Even if we have to start from scratch, we're not afraid! We're no longer those two poor kids who worried about their next meal. Now, we can afford to lose!"
"Blockhead, move forward!"
"Yes!" Clarity returned to Chen Mu's bewildered eyes, and he nodded firmly.
Once he had decided, he acted with the swiftness of thunder and lightning. Without hesitation, Chen Mu bought the materials on his list one by one. He even made a special trip to a card shop, only to discover that ordinary three-star combat cards sold for just three to five hundred thousand Odi. Yet the Tail-Shedding Shuttle Card cost over two million in materials alone, filling Chen Mu with anticipation.
Money flowed out like water, bringing back a huge pile of materials, but Chen Mu ran into a problem.
There were several materials he simply could not buy. Chen Mu found this very difficult to understand. How could materials for a three-star combat card be unavailable? Never mind three-star cards-even materials for four-star and five-star cards should have been available.
But Chen Mu visited every materials shop in Dongshang Guard City, and without exception, none had those materials. He was left dumbfounded. Without them, all the materials he had spent a fortune buying would have been bought for nothing.
Just as he was at his wits' end, he suddenly remembered the Low-Level Illusion Card Club. Didn't it have a trading area? Chen Mu decided to try his luck there.
The moment Chen Mu stepped into the lobby, Lan Feng, who had nothing to do just then, spotted him. Her eyes lit up. This young man was someone her supervisor had told her to pay particular attention to.
Wearing a professional smile, she approached him with a greeting. "It's been a long time since you last visited, Mr. Chen."
"Mm," Chen Mu acknowledged.
"Didn't you receive the invitation to the last Two-Way Meeting, Mr. Chen? Quite a few people were disappointed not to see you." Lan Feng smiled as she spoke, feigning casual interest.
"Invitation?" Chen Mu paused. "Didn't you send it to the wrong person? Doesn't your advanced group require four hundred points?"
The expression on Lan Feng's face stiffened. She was speechless. Could that really have been the reason...?
She forced a measure of a smile onto her face. "You really do have a sense of humor, Mr. Chen! The points you earned by successfully answering some requests for help last time brought your total above four hundred. You had already been promoted to advanced-group membership then."
"Oh." Only then did Chen Mu understand, but he kept walking, heading straight for the trading area.
Seeing this, Lan Feng hurried after him. "What brings you here this time, Mr. Chen...?"
"To buy things!" Chen Mu did not look back as he strode ahead.
Damn it, can't you walk a little slower? I can barely keep up! Lan Feng jogged behind him, cursing through gritted teeth inwardly, while her voice remained sweet. "What would you like to buy, Mr. Chen? Advanced-group members have very high purchasing privileges!"
That finally caught Chen Mu's attention. "Ah, that's great!" His pace quickened even further, as though he wished he could charge straight into the trading area that instant.
Lan Feng cursed even more furiously inwardly, but had no choice except to keep close behind him. The clacking of her high heels against the floor came as thick and fast as rain.
Chen Mu finally reached the trading area and looked around with a hint of bewilderment. This was his first visit. Behind him, Lan Feng braced both hands on her knees and gasped for breath.
"What would you like to buy, Mr. Chen?" Having finally caught her breath, Lan Feng saw Chen Mu's bewildered expression and burst into a giggle. The anger in her heart vanished at once.
(End of chapter)