Who said this card is outrageous?

She glanced at Ji Xingchuan, her eyes calm and firm: "Compared to saving face, I still hope that Xingchuan can be safe and sound. I don't want Tuantuan and I to become orphans and widows one day."

Zhang Che fell silent.

He wanted to argue, but Wang Xinran quickly shut him down with her next words.

"Or rather, Xiao Che, can you create a Tier 3 card that's even more powerful than this [Harpie]?"

Zhang Che was speechless. He could only silently complain in his heart: Everyone says that pregnancy makes you stupid for three years, but his sister's condition is completely unrelated to stupidity!

Although he had the ability to create stronger Tier 3 purple cards, where would Ji Xingchuan, a wandering knight, get so much mental energy to use purple cards?

The mental energy required for a Tier 3 purple card is much higher than that of a Tier 1 blue card. At Ji Xingchuan's current level, even if he could barely use it, he would be exhausted after summoning the purple card.

At that point, they probably won't even have the strength to run away, let alone fight.

“Since you don’t mind, I have nothing to say.” With that, Zhang Che canceled the summoning. The harpy’s figure turned into specks of light and disappeared. He then handed the card to Ji Xingchuan, asking him to mentally bind it.

Anyway, my goal is to get the Tier 4 [Harpie Girl] card. I'll have to give away this trial card eventually. It's just a matter of who I give it to.

After that, it was up to Wang Xinran and her husband to handle, and Zhang Che had no intention of getting involved.

……

The next morning, after having breakfast, Zhang Che changed into clean clothes and set off on time for the Hezhou City Hall, following the instructions.

The alchemy cart drove through the streets in the early morning, as the rising sun bathed the entire city in a golden glow.

There weren't many pedestrians on the street anymore; only a few elderly people doing their morning exercises would occasionally pass by on the roadside.

Such a peaceful scene makes it hard for anyone to imagine that Hezhou City is now rife with impending storms.

The city hall, located in the heart of Hezhou City, is a five-story gray building with a square exterior and no fancy design. Two stone pillars stand at the entrance, engraved with the city emblem of Hezhou City: a city gate and a sword, symbolizing the ideal of seeking peace through protection and strength.

As he entered the city hall, a staff member was already waiting at the entrance. She was a woman in her thirties, dressed in a business suit, with a polite smile. She had obviously been notified in advance and immediately came to greet Zhang Che upon seeing him.

"Mr. Chang Cheh, please come with me. The mayor is already waiting for you in the conference room."

Zhang Che nodded and followed her into a conference room on the third floor.

Sitting in the main seat directly opposite the door was a middle-aged man in his fifties with gray hair and a square face. He was wearing a dark jacket and looked more like an ordinary middle school teacher than a mayor.

When he saw Zhang Che enter, he immediately stood up, a warm smile spreading across his face.

“Mr. Zhang Che, welcome, welcome! I am Pan Yue, the mayor of Hezhou City.” He extended his hand and shook hands with Zhang Che. “When I sent someone to visit you yesterday, I heard that you were resting, so I didn’t dare to disturb you. It is a great honor that you could come in person today.”

"Mayor Pan, you're too kind," Zhang Che replied with a smile, while his gaze swept over the other two people in the conference room.

Chapter 176 Cooperation Achieved

To Zhang Che's surprise, both of them were women, and both were at the mid-level extraordinary level.

To Pan Yue's left was a woman in her forties, wearing a military uniform. She had short hair and a slightly serious expression. The rank insignia on her shoulders indicated that she held a high position in the city guard.

She nodded slightly upon seeing Zhang Che, her expression serious but polite.

Sitting to Pan Yue's right was a woman in her thirties, wearing a light-colored trench coat, with long, flowing hair and a pretty face. She wore an armband inlaid with cards, a piece of equipment specially made for some card masters to quickly switch cards during battle.

A card master of her caliber doesn't need to use a Tier 4 card right away; often, using lower-level cards is sufficient.

However, this also meant that they needed to carry a large number of cards with them, which led to the development of this type of auxiliary equipment.

However, there were no mid-level card masters in Binhai City, so this was the first time Zhang Che had ever seen such a thing.

Perhaps because he had just created the Harpie Girl, Zhang Che couldn't help but think of the Duel Disk from Yu-Gi-Oh!, which felt somewhat similar to this thing.

Pan Yue noticed Zhang Che's gaze and began to introduce them: "This is Zhao Lanzhi, the commander of the city guard, who is in charge of city defense matters in Hezhou City; this is An Qi, the vice president of the Adventurers' Guild, I think Mr. Zhang Che has already heard of her name."

"Hello." Zhang Che nodded to the two of them, his expression neither humble nor arrogant.

The other three were not surprised, after all, they knew very well just how talented this young man was.

And how many people who achieve success in their youth are not arrogant? The difference is that some people show it directly, while others know how to hide their talents.

……

After everyone was seated, Pan Yue got straight to the point.

The conversation was simple: they hoped Zhang Che could help Hezhou City overcome this difficult situation.

Strictly speaking, it can be considered as taking precautions. Currently, they are constantly sending out troops to investigate the extent of the changes in the Dead Zone Rift and the specific situation of the harpy clan.

As for how to deal with it, it depends on the specific investigation results.

However, regardless of the circumstances, we must do our best to retain talented individuals like Zhang Che who are skilled in production.

He must not be allowed to leave until the matter is truly over.

As for remuneration, Pan Yue was also well-prepared.

Last night, he had already investigated Zhang Che's situation through his connections, so the things he prepared as payment were mainly card recipes and extraordinary materials, including even fourth-tier blue card recipes and fifth-tier extraordinary materials.

It's clear they've decided to bleed a lot of money.

At the same time, to show his sincerity, Pan Yue waved his hand and told Zhang Che that as long as he agreed to help, he could immediately get all the card recipes on the reward list.

Furthermore, until the scale of this crisis is brought under control, Zhang Che will be able to prioritize purchasing the extraordinary materials needed for card making from various forces in Hezhou City.

In exchange, Pan Yue hoped that Zhang Che would prioritize making cards for the combat personnel in the city.

Zhang Che understood immediately upon hearing this, thinking to himself that no wonder Pan Yue was so enthusiastic; he was actually up to his own agenda.

In Hezhou City today, there hasn't been a fourth-tier card maker for over a decade, so even if they have card formulas, it's often difficult to find a suitable card maker to help them make the actual products.

To put it bluntly, it's really no different from not having cards at all.

Now that we've finally met Zhang Che, we definitely need to quickly clear out the stockpiles accumulated over the years and transform them into real combat power.

Seeing how cautious Pan Yue was when he spoke, Zhang Che understood for the first time why card makers were called one of the seven extraordinary professions on Blue Star.

It can only be said that those who control productivity are awesome, and those like Zhang Che who control high-end productivity are even more sought after.

"No problem."

Zhang Che finally went through the list carefully and then gave Pan Yue and the others the answer they had been waiting for.

"However, I need some time to study these new cards, so please don't bother me for the next few days."

Zhang Che took out a pre-prepared list from his pocket and pushed it in front of Pan Yue. It listed information about some Tier 3 blue and purple cards that he could make.

A list of required materials was also attached.

“You can use this time to have a good discussion and see which cards you need.” Zhang Che tapped his fingers lightly on the table. “Give me a list later, and remember to prepare the materials as well.”

Zhang Che then introduced his awakened trait, which allows him to reduce mental energy consumption when using cards he creates himself.

However, according to Zhang Che, this effect became an active skill, so he usually only uses it on blue or higher quality cards, as green and white cards are too inefficient.

This also serves as a reminder to them: don't expect him to create a large number of low-cost green cards and try to play a cluster tactic or the like.

Pan Yue nodded repeatedly, indicating his understanding.

Having said what he needed to say, Zhang Che had no intention of staying any longer. He politely declined Pan Yue's invitation to dine together, as he wanted to hurry back and study a very interesting card recipe he had just seen on the list.

As Pan Yue watched Zhang Che's figure disappear from sight, the smile on his face gradually faded, and he finally showed a bit of the demeanor of a mayor.

"What do you think?" Pan Yue asked, looking at the two people behind him.

Zhao Lanzhi didn't say much. As a soldier, she only cared about the results, and saying anything now wouldn't make much difference.

Angie licked her lips, a hint of longing in her eyes. Her sixth sense told her that Zhang Che must have a lot of good cards.

Unfortunately, since this was the first time we had met, it wasn't appropriate to directly ask if I could see it for myself.

“But we’ll still be together for a long time, and there will always be opportunities in the future.” Angie smiled, the armband on her wrist gleaming softly under the light.

Pan Yue didn't say anything more after hearing this, and then began to arrange the exploration work on the Death Rift and to investigate the situation of those monsters that suddenly appeared, called harpies.

……

Back at Wang Xinran's house, Zhang Che went straight into the basement without saying a word.

As he walked down the stone steps to the end, he keenly noticed that the space in front of him seemed somewhat different from yesterday.

The faint musty smell in the air had lessened considerably, and the view was much wider than before.

Apart from the table in the very center and a few chairs, the clutter that was originally piled up in the corner has disappeared.

The only people who could do this in such a short time are Sister Xinran and her husband.

Zhang Che felt a warmth in his heart and silently accepted the kindness. He then sat down at the table, took out the card recipe he had been longing for from his magic pocket, unfolded it, and began to study it carefully.

Chapter 177 [Black Rhino Armor], The Beauty of Numbers (Two Updates)

【Soul Armor】, Tier 4 Blue Equipment Card.

The main material is the Dead Soul Armor that Zhang Che "dropped" after the armored corpses he dealt with yesterday were killed.

Of course, similar materials obtained from other undead supernatural creatures of the same type can also be used, but the creator of the formula specifically noted that due to the differences between supernatural materials, the auxiliary materials must be adjusted accordingly.

If you are changing the main material, do not rush into it. It is best to do a few experiments on lower-level materials first to figure out the pattern before proceeding.

Clearly, the creator of this card must either be a local of Hezhou City or have lived here for a long time, otherwise they wouldn't be so familiar with the materials produced in the Dead Zone Rift.

Just like the formulas left behind by many card makers in Binhai City, behind each formula is the culmination of a card maker's long-term exploration of local materials.

Although the 【Soul Armor】 is an equipment card, it has a certain degree of self-awareness. In addition to providing the user with considerable defensive power, it can also be removed from the armor and fight on its own based on its self-awareness.

However, due to its lack of intelligence, it was not classified as a summon card but rather as an equipment card.

But none of that matters.

Zhang Che valued this card primarily because of the possibilities it offered…

He flipped to the last page of the formula, looking at the densely packed energy circuit diagrams and material ratio tables, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

With the added benefit of the anchoring trait, even though it was his first time making the [Soul Armor], he was able to follow the recipe's instructions and successfully create the card.

At least, that's the theory.

Zhang Che didn't rush to take action. Instead, he carefully reviewed the recipe several times from beginning to end. Once he was sure he had thoroughly understood the recipe, Zhang Che took out the armor covered with corpses from his [Magic Pocket].

This was the first time he had tried to create a blue-quality card after advancing to the fourth rank, and he had used up more than half of the liquid mental energy the size of a teacup in his mind.

Once the last energy circuit was successfully closed and a stable blue light shone on the card, Zhang Che leaned back in his chair and let out a long breath.