Who said this card is outrageous?

As I walked along, lost in thought, I found myself at my doorstep.

Then he suddenly stopped in his tracks—

The female sheriff I saw at the crime scene this morning is standing in front of his house right now.

She leaned against the wall by the door, holding a folder in her hand. Only after hearing footsteps did she raise her head, her gaze calmly landing on Zhang Che.

A cold sweat instantly broke out on Zhang Che's back.

……

On the other side, Yu Renjia and his two companions walked back to school, each lost in their own thoughts.

Fu Xing broke the silence first: "Isn't it a bit too much to make Zhang Che learn how to make lightning and fire cards from scratch?"

He paused, then added, "After all, he's only been working with ice and water elements before, so this is like starting from scratch."

Although Yu Renjia did not speak, his expression clearly conveyed the same meaning.

Su Wanqing smiled slightly upon hearing this, but did not answer the question directly. Instead, she looked at the two of them and said, "Ah Xing, and Yu Renjia, you should have already used the cards Zhang Che made. Have you noticed anything different?"

The two exchanged a glance, and Fu Xing spoke first: "The mental energy consumed is much lower than that of ordinary cards of the same rank."

Yu Renjia nodded in agreement: "Indeed, although that [Tidal Sea Spirit] is a blue card with a quality close to purple, it is easier to use than a regular second-tier blue card."

Do you know why?

The two of them paused for a moment, then shook their heads in unison.

“Because that’s a trait that belongs to card makers,” Su Wanqing said, uttering a statement that neither of them had ever heard before.

Fu Xing frowned: "Special trait? What's that?"

“After a card maker advances to the intermediate-level extraordinary realm, there is a chance that they can awaken a talent ability, which is called a trait,” Su Wanqing explained. “Everyone’s traits are different. Some can increase the success rate of card making, some can enhance the power of the cards made, and some can shorten the card making time—most traits are related to cards.”

Yu Renjia understood what she meant: "You mean Zhang Che's cards have low cost because of his special ability?"

Su Wanqing nodded, her expression becoming more serious.

Being able to awaken his own unique traits while still a lower-level transcendent being, Zhang Che's talent in the card-making profession is so exceptional that even the word "genius" is insufficient to describe it.

Chapter 23 Testing

Lower-level transcendents can awaken traits that only mid-level transcendents have a chance of possessing. Even though Yu Renjia and Fu Xing are not card makers, they can understand what this means.

As long as he doesn't die young, Chang Cheh's future achievements are limitless!

"If my mentor knew about Zhang Che's existence, he would probably take him on as his apprentice immediately," Su Wanqing said with some emotion.

However, no sooner had he said that than Fu Xing spoke up.

“It’s best to ask Zhang Che himself what he thinks beforehand.” He rarely showed a serious expression. “Otherwise, just assuming that ‘I’m doing this for your own good’ might backfire and damage the good relationship we’ve built with him.”

He glanced at Su Wanqing and added, "And if it really comes to that, it probably won't be so easy for the few of us to get the card Zhang Che made."

Su Wanqing thought for a moment, then nodded: "What you said makes sense. When you deliver the card recipe to him tomorrow, you can also ask for his opinion."

“Okay,” Fu Xing agreed.

……

Meanwhile, Zhang Che was in his own living room, using the best acting skills he had ever had to entertain the uninvited female sheriff.

"Miss Ruan, please have some water." Zhang Che placed a glass of warm water on the coffee table in front of Ruan Ruoshi, trying to make his movements appear as natural as possible.

Ruan Ruoshi took the water glass, but didn't drink it; she just held it in her hands.

Her expression softened somewhat compared to when she was at the door: "Mr. Zhang, there's no need to be nervous. I'm just here to ask you a routine question."

Zhang Che sat down in the chair opposite her and nodded: "Please ask."

"First of all, do you know the victim?"

“I know him.” Zhang Che didn’t hide anything. “His surname is Sun. He runs a grocery store nearby. We’ve lived together for over ten years. We’ll greet each other when we meet, but we’re not close.”

Ruan Ruoshi made a note in the folder and continued to ask, "Could you tell me about your schedule last night?"

"I went out for barbecue around six o'clock, on that street to the south." Zhang Che paused. "I finished eating around nine o'clock, and then I went straight home. I got home around a little after nine."

Can anyone prove this?

"The staff at the barbecue restaurant should remember me. I ate alone and sat there for quite a while. But I didn't run into anyone on my way home," Zhang Che answered truthfully.

Ruan Ruoshi nodded: "And after we get home?"

"I was making cards all day, it was quite tiring, and I had a transaction with someone the next day, so I washed up and went to bed early." Zhang Che said, taking out a few cards from his pocket and placing them on the coffee table. "These were made yesterday, I haven't had time to process them yet."

Several cards were neatly arranged on the coffee table. They were all level one or two green cards, with clear patterns on the surface and no signs of use, indicating that they had been made recently.

Ruan Ruoshi glanced down at the cards, but didn't reach out to take them; she just glanced at them casually.

"Is being a card maker a tough job?"

"It's alright, I'm used to it," Zhang Che continued with a forced smile.

The two started chatting.

Ruan Ruoshi's questions seemed random, but Zhang Che could sense that every word she asked was a test. He could only brace himself and be more careful in his responses, answering what he could and glossing over what he couldn't.

As we chatted, the topic somehow shifted back to last night's case.

Ruan Ruoshi seemed to have a strong desire to share, making no attempt to conceal whether Zhang Che, an "ordinary citizen," had the right to know, and directly revealed some details of the case.

“Ms. Ruan, may I listen to this information?” Zhang Che asked tactfully, “After all, it’s part of the case investigation…”

“Don’t worry.” Ruan Ruoshi smiled. “These things aren’t confidential. If nothing unexpected happens, you should be able to see them through public channels by tomorrow morning. I’ve just moved the time forward a little bit.”

Zhang Che was speechless now.

Ruan Ruoshi continued, mentioning the remaining ice, water, and mental energy at the scene, and that the person being besieged had at least the strength of a lower-level third-tier being.

She spoke slowly, as if she were stating something unrelated to herself, but every word she uttered hit the key points precisely.

Zhang Che listened quietly, nodding occasionally and asking one or two unimportant questions now and then, behaving like an ordinary citizen who was somewhat curious about the case.

They chatted like this for who knows how long, when suddenly Ruan Ruoshi changed the subject.

“The security team is currently searching the city for teams that meet the criteria.” She sighed, her tone tinged with helplessness. “But the results aren’t very good. There are a few teams that meet the criteria, but they’re either out of town hunting fishmen or they simply don’t have the time to commit the crime. The people in the department are having a real headache.”

She paused, her gaze fixed intently on Zhang Che's face: "But just now, when I was at your door, something suddenly occurred to me."

Zhang Che's heart skipped a beat, but he remained outwardly calm: "What is it?"

“A team that can work together seamlessly doesn’t necessarily have to be made up of real people.” Ruan Ruoshi’s tone was casual, as if she were talking about something very ordinary. “Three cards with the same attribute also meet the requirements. In fact, if the same person is using these three cards, the team’s coordination might even surpass that of a typical human team.”

After saying that, she stopped talking and just quietly looked at Zhang Che, waiting for his reaction.

See you in the picture!

Zhang Che knew perfectly well that all that she had said and laid the groundwork for so long was ultimately aimed at her with this last sentence.

What she wanted wasn't information, but her own reaction.

Fortunately, Zhang Che had already vaguely realized her intention when she mentioned the "ice-type, water-type, and mental-type cooperative team". At this moment, he did not show any flaws on his face, but was slightly stunned, then blinked innocently, and finally sighed helplessly.

“Miss Ruan, I know what you mean by saying these things to me.”

His tone was very calm, even carrying a hint of grievance at being wronged.

"I am a card maker, that's true, but you can't just wrongly accuse an innocent person."

As he spoke, he took out all the cards he had on him and laid them out one by one on the coffee table.

Six-Tailed Fox - a Tier 2 Blue Card, the deep blue light on the card surface is particularly eye-catching under the light.

Including the green cards from earlier, there were a total of seven or eight cards, neatly arranged on the coffee table.

Everything else was fine, but when she saw the shimmering blue light on the [Six-Tailed Fox] card, Ruan Ruoshi couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

A second-tier blue card, and a summoning one at that. If Zhang Che really made it himself, then this young man's card-making talent is far greater than she had estimated.

“I do have water and ice type cards,” Zhang Che said, pointing to [Six-Tailed Fox] and [Murloc Vanguard], “but mental type cards are simply not something a self-taught card maker like me can touch.”

After saying this, Zhang Che leaned back in his chair, adopting a defiant attitude: "Miss Ruan, if you have evidence, you can arrest me directly. Otherwise, please stop trying to test me with these pointless tricks."

The living room fell silent.

Chapter 24 Predicting the Future (Seeking monthly votes in April!)

Ruan Ruoshi didn't speak, but just quietly looked at Zhang Che.

Her strength lies in uncovering and analyzing existing clues to obtain hidden information, but her actual ability in criminal investigation is quite average.

That's why the higher-ups paired her with He Zhenghai, a veteran criminal investigator, as the two complemented each other perfectly.

The reason she came to investigate Zhang Che was because she suspected he was the person who called the police last night—a young card maker who passed by the crime scene late at night, saw someone being murdered, reported the crime, and left in a hurry, not wanting to get into trouble.

This speculation seems much more reasonable when applied to Zhang Che.

The other party's reaction was more forceful than she had expected.

However, it is indeed a bit far-fetched to doubt that a wild card maker who has just passed the first-tier card maker assessment can produce three summoning cards with different attributes and a quality of at least second-tier blue.

Even if you're framing someone, you shouldn't play like this.

“Alright then, excuse me, Mr. Zhang Che.” Ruan Ruoshi stood up, closed the folder, and did so with a swift and decisive movement.

She was a decisive person and knew that today's conversation could not continue. Rather than getting entangled here, it was better to leave as soon as possible.

Zhang Che quickly stood up to see him off, saying, "Let me see you off."

"No need." Ruan Ruoshi waved her hand and walked towards the door.

After leaving the house, she stood on the steps, glanced back at the closed door, then looked down and opened the folder. She paused for a few seconds next to Zhang Che's name, and finally picked up a pen and made a light underline.

She would not bother this person again as a sheriff until she had substantial evidence.

"But that second-tier blue card... I might come and buy one sometime."

With this sudden thought in mind, Ruan Ruoshi turned and left.

On the other side, Zhang Che stood behind the window, watching Ruan Ruoshi's figure disappear around the street corner, before finally letting out a long sigh of relief.

He didn't rush into action, but waited a few more minutes until he was sure the person was really far away before quickly walking into the studio.