Zuo Tingyi's soft gasp roused Jia Ziling, whose eyelids had already grown heavy. He forced his eyes open and tidied his appearance. Only after making sure his hair was still in place did he clear his throat and ask, "Tingyi, what is it?"
Zuo Tingyi heard nothing, his eyes fixed blankly on the card in his hand.
Jia Ziling frowned slightly and raised his voice, sounding a little displeased. "Tingyi, what exactly is the matter?"
Only then did Zuo Tingyi come to his senses. He hurriedly turned around. "Teacher, there's something strange about this card."
"Strange? What's strange about it?" Jia Ziling asked, puzzled.
Zuo Tingyi hastily held the One-Star Energy Card out to his teacher. "It's this card. This card... this card..."
He was considering how to phrase it.
What's gotten into this fellow today? Jia Ziling frowned slightly. Zuo Tingyi had always been decisive and direct, never one to hem and haw. Jia Ziling said bluntly, "Let me see."
He took the card from Zuo Tingyi. A One-Star Energy Card-what's there to make such a fuss about? Jia Ziling was rather dismissive, but he still gave the One-Star Energy Card a couple of glances.
"Oh!"
He abruptly sat upright. The dismissive look on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by utter gravity.
"There really is something strange about it," Jia Ziling murmured to himself, staring unblinkingly at the One-Star Energy Card in his hand. Even he, an Advanced Card Maker at East Guard Academy, could not tell at a glance whether this One-Star Energy Card had been made incorrectly.
The structure of this One-Star Energy Card differed from the standard structure in quite a few places. With his wealth of experience, Jia Ziling could tell that it used the standard structure as a foundation, with certain modifications. But were these truly modifications, or were they mistakes? He could not be sure. He had never seen these altered structures before.
Seeing Jia Ziling's difficulty, Zuo Tingyi could not help suggesting, "Teacher, why don't we test it and see whether this Energy Card works?"
Jia Ziling's eyes lit up. Of course! As long as we check whether this card works, we'll know whether these are mistakes. His face, however, assumed the look of someone who had thought of it long ago. He cleared his throat. "Hmm, Tingyi, you've made some progress. We were thinking along the same lines."
Zuo Tingyi said respectfully, "Your wisdom is as vast as the sea, Teacher. How could your student compare?"
Jia Ziling was delighted inwardly, though he said, "You needn't be so modest. Among the students, those who can compare with you can be counted on one hand."
"It is only through your instruction that I have come this far, Teacher." Zuo Tingyi bowed slightly.
"For you to remember your teacher's kindness, Tingyi, is commendable indeed." Their exchange of mutual praise concluded, Jia Ziling put on an air of profundity. "All right, let's see what is so extraordinary about this One-Star Energy Card."
Jia Ziling's Card-Making Room was fully equipped with all manner of devices.
Although card making was a profound and difficult field of study, a great many people pursued it. Card Crafters were sharply divided into two extremes, with an enormous gulf between rich and poor. Low-level Card Crafters often lived in poverty and struggled even to support themselves. Intermediate Card Crafters could already earn a decent income. Once someone became a senior Card Crafter, however, they immediately became hot property, sought after by every faction.
Low-level Card Crafters could only make one-star and two-star cards, and virtually all such cards could now be mass-produced industrially. This was why low-level Card Crafters struggled to make a living. Cards rated three stars or higher, however, could only be made by Card Crafters, which was why intermediate and senior Card Crafters were in such demand.
To attract Advanced Card Makers to teach there, East Guard Academy offered extremely generous terms. Not only was the pay excellent, but even the annual research funding and other benefits were enough to make anyone green with envy. Jia Ziling had his own private Card-Making Room, and East Guard Academy had paid for every instrument inside.
What he was using now was a card analyzer, a highly specialized instrument with complex controls. Only Card Crafters would go out of their way to buy one and learn how to use it. Its capabilities, however, were equally impressive: it could analyze a card's materials, structure, time of manufacture, and more. Naturally, it was also extremely expensive.
"It really is a new structure!" After reading the final analysis report, Jia Ziling sank into thought, ignoring the astonished Zuo Tingyi. His knowledge far surpassed Zuo Tingyi's. Naturally, he knew that besides the standard structure, there were quite a few other ways to draw a One-Star Energy Card's structure.
The analysis report was extremely detailed. The materials used in this One-Star Energy Card were no different from those of a standard One-Star Energy Card. Although it had been drawn differently, its performance was identical to that of a standard One-Star Energy Card, with no improvements whatsoever.
Nothing of any value! Jia Ziling shook his head, feeling rather deflated. He had spent all that time and gained nothing worthwhile. As an Advanced Card Maker, how could he have imagined that this One-Star Energy Card's improvement lay not in its performance, but in its cost?
To his mind, racking one's brains to reduce the cost of a One-Star Energy Card might itself have seemed a very strange notion.
Casually tossing the card aside, Jia Ziling decided not to waste any more time on the matter. The time of a distinguished Advanced Card Maker was precious indeed!
Zuo Tingyi likewise never imagined that this One-Star Energy Card had been optimized for cost. He came from a wealthy family and regarded money as so much dirt. How could he have imagined that anyone would try to make money from a One-Star Energy Card that cost only a little over a hundred Odi? In fact, he had never used an Energy Card rated below three stars.
Still, as it was the only intact card in the three paper bags, Zuo Tingyi felt some goodwill toward its maker after suffering through countless ruined cards. He had intended to help the maker take the advancement exam, but despite searching for quite some time, he could not discover who had made the card. The matter thus came to nothing.
Chen Mu's life remained unchanged. He continued making One-Star Energy Cards every day, just as before. Thanks to what he had gained during the recent training course, however, his learning advanced by a thousand miles a day. This showed most directly in his strokes when drawing Energy Cards, which were now smoother and more fluid. By his rough estimate, this could increase the energy efficiency of the Energy Cards he made by three percent.
A One-Star Energy Card contained so little energy to begin with that this three-percent increase produced no noticeable effect.
(End of chapter)