The Card Apprentice

Janet hesitated for a moment and looked at Topster before saying, “Someone in charge of the Yuzi Military Force sent it here.”

“Yuzi Military Force?” Chen Mu couldn’t help but frown. At Tai-shu Zheng’s banquet previously, he had heard a lot about Tan Yumin’s achievements, and the Yuzi Military Force had been one of them.

Janet relaxed and smiled. “Yes. It’s not just us; any store that is slightly important in Dongrui has received this list of specifications. Miss Tan has put up a reward herself for anyone who can make it. She is willing to buy it for 5 billion Oudi. While this reward is a big sum, that’s not what we’re after. The opportunity to help Miss Tan is a great honor to us. Every store in Dongrui is talking about it. Naturally, we can’t be left behind!” When Janet mentioned Tan Yumin, she could feel deep respect in her heart.

Topster nodded in agreement. “Yeah! If we can help Miss Tan make this glove, my life won’t be for nothing!”

Staring at the data, Chen Mu seemed to be thinking about something. Janet was an expert in observing expressions. When she noticed Chen Mu humming, she knew the mysterious and powerful grand master must have had his methods! “Grand master, can you make it?” she asked testingly.

Chen Mu stopped looking at the screen and shook his head calmly. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Janet’s disappointment was obvious. “If even you can’t make it, probably no one in Dongrui can. Miss Tan is going to be disappointed.”

Chen Mu gave Janet a strange look. He hadn’t known she revered Tan Yumin that much.

As if seeing through Chen Mu’s doubts, Janet smiled lightly and continued with a tinge of bitterness, “I was an orphan from a young age, so I’ve always cared deeply about Miss Tan’s endeavours. It must be funny to you, grand master.”

Chen Mu shook his head slowly. “Miss Tan Yumin truly deserves respect.”

A salesgirl ran toward them, barely catching her breath. “Miss supervisor, we have prepared all of the materials required by this customer. The total price is 560,000 Oudi.” She didn’t understand why her supervisor had to serve the customer herself since it was just a small transaction.

After Chen Mu had paid, Janet and Topster escorted him and Xiaobo out.

“Boss, is there an issue with that Power Glove?” Xiaobo asked quietly only after walking quite a distance.

“Hmm.” Chen Mu changed his mask again and gave no further explanation. He looked at the Orderly Wave Wheel behind Xiaobo and told him, “Keep your wheel.”

Xiaobo scowled, but he couldn’t defy Chen Mu’s eyes. After complaining for some time, he reluctantly put away his Orderly Wave Wheel.

The White Commander has brought another person back! All of the card artisans were quietly gossiping. It seemed like every time the White Commander went out, he would bring someone new back. But that guy with the white chrysanthemum mask didn’t seem special at all.

Chen Mu ignored their weird stares and led Xiaobo straight to Wei-ah’s training room.

When Xiaobo saw Wei-ah, he acted like an obedient student. In the base, other than the boss, everyone feared Wei-ah. Even the two major commanders, Bogner and Xi Ping, were well-behaved in front of Wei-ah.

“How’s the fat dog?” Wei-ah asked first, unexpectedly.

Xiaobo replied in a rush, “It’s sleeping well and eating well every day, and it seems to have gained a few pounds!” He caught a glimpse of Wei-ah in the corner of his eye and added quickly, “It’s also handsomer now!”

Hearing that, Wei-ah turned and left. Xiaobo subtly wiped the sweat off his forehead. Standing before Wei-ah always gave him a terrible pressure; it had been so since the first time they’d met. As Xiaobo had become stronger, that pressure had gotten no lighter, and he could feel the deep and unfathomable scent of danger emitted by Wei-ah.

Little Bu Mo was curious, but he forced himself not to look at Xiaobo and persevered in his training with clenched teeth.

Qiu Shanyu, however, stared at Xiaobo curiously. Since she was in the room, she wasn’t wearing a mask. Her beautiful visage was bare, and her straight face stared down at him with an air of superiority. A babe! Xiaobo was suddenly awake. Quickly, though, he thought of an important question. Could she be the boss’s woman?

Chen Mu and Wei-ah walked to the corner, and he told Wei-ah about the Power Glove. Wei-ah quickly said, “I’ll bring Tan Yumin here.”

Chen Mu was suddenly sweating profusely. He realized discussing action plans with Wei-ah was a terrible idea. Wei-ah was a classic brute with a violent and direct mind. His first idea when facing problems was always to beat the heck out of his opponent.

Chen Mu realized he was a little nervous. Nervous… That surprised him. Was he actually worried about the safety of Alfonso and the rest? He had always thought he’d met the Moqi Clan just by chance and that they probably would never cross paths again. When he realized they could be in danger, though, he found himself worrying for them. He hadn’t realized it, but Alfonso and the others had taken a special place in his heart.

Calm down… Chen Mu took a deep breath and relaxed. His experiences all those years had finally paid off. His heartbeat gradually stabilized, and his eyes became cool and sharp.

Qiu Shanyu was casually chatting with Xiaobo. She hadn’t expected him to be so slippery. She kept trying to test him, but he would slip away whenever she asked him something she wanted to know. It was unsatisfying to punch a pile of cotton. Looking at the lewd and mischievously smiling Xiaobo, she was appalled. Who is this? Wei-ah’s fighting skills had been a shocker to her. Now, another strange character had appeared!

She couldn’t help but give Chen Mu a look. Coincidently, when her eyes contacted Chen Mu’s cold and sharp gaze, her heart uncontrollably jumped!

Noticing her gaze, Chen Mu walked up to her. Xiaobo tactfully moved aside when he saw Chen Mu coming through.

“How much do you know about Tan Yumin?” Chen Mu asked her directly.

“Tan Yumin?” Qiu Shanyu was stunned. She was reminded of the rumors, and her gaze fell on Chen Mu’s black and white bracelet. “Are you into her? You’ve got to be careful, then. She is no simple woman,” Qiu Shanyu jeered.

“Not simple?” Chen Mu was doubtful. Qiu Shanyu was an important person in Faya; with their information network, she had to know many secrets unknown to the public.

With a serious face, she explained, “No one knows about her background, but she might be related to Mei Ji. We suspect she is Mei Ji’s daughter. But her mother is a mystery. Nonetheless, there seems to be a mysterious force protecting her. Since birth, she has never experienced any bodily injuries.”

Chen Mu was listening keenly.

“A few years back, Mei Ji suddenly appeared beside her and helped her to form the Yuzi Military Force. After that, she gradually left the entertainment business and started her career of philanthropy. Her fame unexpectedly shot upward instead, especially among the people. She was respected and loved, gaining an unprecedented reputation!”

“Seems like you have your eyes on her, then.” Chen Mu was surprised the Faya Foundation was interested in a star.

“Hmph! That’s nothing weird! Someone with a good image and charisma like her is someone we need! We tried contacting her, but all our efforts were seemingly stopped by a mysterious force. Then, Mei Ji came along, which made it even harder for us to act. We didn’t want to anger him. Besides, Star Academy has Mei Ji’s back! We didn’t want to get into a conflict with Star Academy,” Qiu Shanyu said with a cold face.

“A mysterious force…” Chen Mu mumbled.

“I’ll advise you to stay away. With your powers, it will undoubtedly be like striking a stone with an egg! From what we’ve seen so far, the people around her seem to be Mei Ji’s.” Qiu Shanyu raised her left brow.

Taking a glance at her, Chen Mu suddenly said, “You must know of the technologies she has, then.”

Qiu Shanyu stared at Chen Mu in disbelief. “How… How did you know?”

“Where did her technologies come from?” Chen Mu stared at Qiu Shanyu coldly, pressuring her with each step he took, not giving her time to digest the information.

“No idea. But I suspect it was left by her mother…” Saying that, she suddenly realized something and shut her mouth. She looked at Chen Mu in terror. Before that, she had always thought he was a technical guy. But Chen Mu’s performance that day had forced her to re-evaluate him.

“Continue,” Chen Mu urged with an undefiable tone.

A tinge of fear appeared on Qiu Shanyu’s face; he didn’t allow her any time to think. But she was a decisive person, so she plainly explained everything. “We took note of her not just because of her reputation, but more so because of the technology she owns.” Qiu Shanyu sighed and continued, “The Faya Foundation has a history longer than that of the Big Six. However, during Van Sant’s time, we were hit terribly. Many of our crucial technologies were lost. That forced us into a mode of careful survival for a long time.

“Card appliances have always been Faya’s edge. They first appeared far earlier than commonly believed. During the age of the sects, the precursor of Faya had already been researching card appliances. We have abundant reserves in this field. Losing our card technologies forced us onto another path, but this path was longer and harder than we thought. We spent a huge amount of manpower and materials but still couldn’t complete our creation.

“In one unexpected incident, we found a record of ruins in the journal of a member from the previous generation. The ruins were a remnant of Rosenberg’s time. Its creator was another outstanding card master of that time, Rosenberg’s apprentice. This apprentice’s perception abilities were weak from birth. But his extreme intellect gave him a deep understanding of the card system. He tried a method other than perception to draw out a card’s potential. He invented many card appliances while receiving guidance from his teacher. When Rosenberg started his journey, this card master hid in a certain forest and built his laboratory there.”

Chen Mu could feel his heart contracting desperately, and he was running out of breath. Qiu Shanyu’s voice sounded distant at times and near at times.

He almost said it out loud—the underground city!

She didn’t notice Chen Mu’s condition and continued to immerse herself in her admiration of her ancestor. She went on, “This legend only appeared in one of the journals, and we couldn’t verify it. However, we accidently found out Tan Yumin always carries five notebooks with her. They are probably records of card appliances. This piqued our interest. We didn’t know what sort of technology was actually recorded in those books, but it was right when our research was at its toughest. So, we decided to do everything we could to get the technology she has.

“We disguised ourselves as wealthy merchants to contact Tan Yumin and proposed to purchase her notebooks. It was strange; she wasn’t clear about their value, but she firmly rejected our proposal. The next day, we lost contact with our people inside. So, we planned a secret operation. After paying a hefty sacrifice, we finally got our first notebook. With the records in that book, we successfully created the battle shuttle car! We suspect the records in the notebooks could be related to the mysterious ruins.”

Qiu Shanyu’s expression was full of pride. After all, something like the battle shuttle car was a weapon that could shift the position of the Heavenly Federation. She proceeded quickly, “The notebook we got was very old. The handwriting was neat and elegant and seemed like a woman’s. Coupled with Tan Yumin’s attitude, we suspect it was left behind by her mother.”

Chen Mu was sorting out his confused mind. He had guessed the history of the underground city, but he hadn’t expected that. And, Tan Yumin—what a deeply hidden background! Many things that had seemed simple in his eyes had suddenly become complicated. What does she want? Why would she take out the Power Glove schematics? Is she not afraid Faya might get its hands on it?

But he was strangely relaxed. If that were all true, the method to make the Power Glove in Tan Yumin’s hands obviously had nothing to do with Alfonso and the others. Knowing that was good enough for him. As for the Power Glove, he believed no one could make it. He could understand the schematics, but that didn’t mean he knew how to piece it together.

It was a card appliance with an extremely sophisticated structure. Its requirement for metalwork was extraordinarily stringent. Other than Alfonso’s people, Chen Mu couldn’t imagine anyone successfully making those components. Even he himself couldn’t create them. Clearly, Tan Yumin was going to be disappointed.

The relaxed Chen Mu became much gentler. The sudden change in his mood confounded Qiu Shanyu. She wanted to ask how Chen Mu knew that, but a knock on the door caught them off guard.

Everyone in the room froze at the same time.