Card Making: My Card Game Starts with the White Dragon

The next day, at 10 a.m., in front of the beach.

Like the other students, Zhou Hao ate breakfast and then sat quietly on the white sand beach waiting for the boat.

He had already been on this island for a week and knew that it was not part of the secret realm, but rather an archipelago surrounding the [Sun and Moon Island] secret realm.

Therefore, there was no problem using modern technology and transportation. Zhou Hao estimated that the vehicle that would pick them up was a yacht of moderate size or something similar.

"Waaaaah!!"

As the ship's horn sounded, a huge column of white steam suddenly spewed up from the distant sea.

The clanging of locomotives came from afar, and a long train approached.

Zhou Hao never expected that what arrived this time was not a ship, but a train that could travel on the sea.

This train has a steampunk vibe, and its main materials are brass and some kind of wood.

Its train chimney resembles a huge, exaggerated brass horn, which appears as the train stops.

The chimney would even deform violently, just like in an animated film, before spewing out another huge column of smoke.

"Is this Chairman Guo's famous 'Sea Train'? It looks like it can carry a lot of people."

"Yes, this is a vehicle card with high growth potential and considerable attack power."

"President Guo is still too authoritative. When he went to Shenzhen University for an exchange program, he directly received the Orange Vehicle Card."

"I heard my dad talk about this card when I was a kid. It's a rare and special mechanical material card that Chairman Guo obtained in the [Mechanical City] secret realm."

It was finally created using Tencent's proprietary technology; even within the nine cities of Yanhuang, such high-quality mechanical cards are rare.

"I think our goddess Banma's Mech-type card is also very strong. I feel that Mech-type cards are still the most powerful."

"Authority is authority, but it's difficult to be one. The storylines of mechanical cards are often not recognized by the card-making rules, resulting in a much lower card completion rate than normal cards."

……

As Zhou Hao listened to his classmates chatting, he walked towards the [Sea Train].

He even took a closer look and discovered that there was only seawater under the train wheels and no tracks, so he didn't know how it was running.

When Zhou Hao entered the carriage, he found that the decoration of this "Sea Train" was also exceptionally luxurious.

A spacious sofa with a red velvet backrest, gleaming gold, and an ornate long table inlaid with pure sapphires.

Even the edges of the car windows are adorned with sparkling, translucent gemstones.

Moreover, there were more than one group of people on the train; the second and third groups seemed to be in the later carriages, so they must have gathered earlier.

As soon as Zhou Hao sat down, Zhao Lei leaned in beside him and asked, "Brother Hao, is this place empty?"

Just as Zhou Hao was about to speak, he heard an undeniable female voice:

"There's someone there."

Immediately, two slender, black-stockinged legs came into Zhou Hao's view.

Ma Ling'er wore a deep red long T-shirt paired with a brown plaid skirt and black leather shoes. Combined with her double ponytail hairstyle, she had a distinctly preppy girl vibe.

Zhao Lei glanced at Zhou Hao, then at Ma Ling'er, and said with a sly grin, "You two chat, I won't disturb you, I'm leaving..."

Ma Ling'er didn't stand on ceremony and plopped down, getting straight to the point: "Your material card might not arrive for a few days."

Zhou Hao had heard the news from Principal Zhu last night, so he wasn't surprised.

"It's okay, a few days later is fine."

Seeing that Zhou Hao didn't seem to care too much, Ma Ling'er breathed a sigh of relief, but she had other things to do.

"Do you have time to play a match with me after the draw today?"

"No problem, I've been owing you a duel for a while now, but why today?"

Zhou Hao always remembered his duel with Ma Ling'er, after all, she had paid for it.

But what puzzled him was why Ma Ling'er suddenly wanted to challenge him today.

"Could it be that they've created some powerful card, giving them confidence in defeating me?"

Zhou Hao didn't think much of it; he figured he'd find out once he fought.

……

I don't know if it's because the [Sea Train] is fast, or if [Duel Island] itself is not far away.

An hour later, the group arrived at their destination – the Island of Duels.

Contrary to Zhou Hao's expectations of a deserted place, the Duel Island was now packed with people.

At the very center of the island is a huge and technologically advanced venue.

Around the venue, there were broadcast vans from various media outlets.

Reporters and staff carrying cameras were running around eagerly.

Zhou Hao noticed that there were even news media outlets from Beijing among them.

In addition, all sorts of strange and unusual vehicle cards came from all directions.

A water ghost bound by dark iron chains emerged from the sea, dragging a moss-covered stone coffin.

An elderly man in white robes, dressed like an ancient person, rode on a flying sword and led several young people across the sea.

Some rode on sea monsters, some on giant ships, and there was even a bearded monk who crossed the sea on a reed.

For a moment, Zhou Hao felt as if he were witnessing the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displaying their unique abilities, truly broadening his horizons.

Seeing Zhou Hao's curious expression, Ma Ling'er suddenly asked, "You don't recognize these people, do you?"

Zhou Hao nodded and asked, "I originally thought it was just a competition among us students, why did it become such a big deal?"

Ma Ling'er said, "Which year's freshman competition is not a big event? This year, it's just that the freshman competition has been moved to the military training period."

To put it bluntly, the school simply wants to select the best students as early as possible and concentrate its resources more effectively.

This freshman competition is also a way out for ordinary students.

Zhou Hao was a little confused: "What do you mean?"

Ma Ling'er said, "This freshman competition is actually the same as my family's investment promotion conference, except that it's just to attract investment."

Not everyone is exceptionally gifted. Those who are less gifted may not be able to get into university after graduation, and naturally, they are not qualified to join the military.

However, card makers are rare, and they may work for local corporate groups.

This is the best way for smaller local business groups to recruit or train a few card makers.

"Isn't this just a job fair?"

Zhou Hao was speechless. He once again realized how sought-after card makers were in this world.

Thinking back to my past life, I was as strong as a graduate of a top university or an Ivy League school.

The job fair is held after the junior and senior years, so how could freshmen go in and snatch people up during military training?

Moreover, judging from the supply and demand relationship, even those students at the bottom of the class group can probably find employment during military training.

Ma Ling'er continued, "Of course, those are just minor characters."

She pointed to the white-robed old man riding a flying sword, looking like an ancient figure, and said, "That is Elder Li Tiankui from Shushan in Tianjian City, a master of card making."

She then pointed to the old woman crawling out of the moss-covered stone coffin: "The Water Ghost Granny from Fengdu City's [Haunted No. 1 Middle School], a master of card making."

"Over there, Master Kongran of the Hanging Temple in Foguang City is a master of card making."

Those surrounded by reporters were all prominent figures from various cities, considered important attendees of this freshman competition.

Most of them are masters and grandmasters who have no hope of breaking through and whose lifespans are about to end. They are often invited to attend the freshman competition in the nine cities, and they are basically there to find a successor.

Besides them, there were also reporters from Beijing and Shenzhen who came at great expense.

The relationship between the nine cities of Yanhuang is very delicate, with each city paying close attention to the situation of the other cities.

But in addition to defending against the Old Earth Secret Realm, only the capital city has the capability to send a large force to protect reporters.

Of course, some well-established universities will also send a few teachers to scout out promising students from each city in advance.

In short, the talent competition, recruitment drive, investment drive, apprenticeship drive, intelligence gathering drive, and freshman competition have always been major events that attract attention from all sides.

The two talked as they entered the venue and began queuing for pre-competition medical examinations.

……