Who said this card is outrageous?

He sat on the edge of the bed for a few minutes, sorting out his thoughts, before getting up and walking towards the studio.

He had collected so many materials in the Echoing Rift. The others were fine, but he couldn't just leave the corpses of the merman mage and the Heart-Eating Demon lying around. Otherwise, if they were not properly preserved and their extraordinary vitality was lost, he would suffer a huge loss.

So right now, the most urgent thing is to make the [Magic Pocket]. Without space equipment, it's really inconvenient to carry a lot of things every time I go out.

Furthermore, using spatial artifacts to preserve extraordinary materials can minimize the loss of their extraordinary activity.

After some thought, Zhang Che decided to use the scales and bones containing spatial power, which were dismantled from the fishman mage, as the main materials for making the [Magic Pocket] instead of the Echoing Crystal.

In any case, the main material of this card only needs to contain a certain concentration of spatial power; its specific form is not important.

He took a deep breath and began his first attempt.

Soon, only the rustling sound of rune pens tracing the card blanks and the faint hum of materials being refined remained in the workshop.

After a whole night of hard work, Zhang Che, with a 50% failure rate, finally managed to create three [Magic Pocket] cards after wasting three sets of materials.

Zhang Che channeled his mental energy into it, and the spatial awareness inside the pocket clearly relayed this information to his mind.

It's possible that the spatial power in the materials used wasn't as standardized as that in the Void Crystal, which ultimately resulted in the three pockets having different capacities.

Similarly, because the materials used exceeded the standard, even the lowest capacity one was about 1.3 cubic meters; the highest one reached 1.7 cubic meters, which is almost twice the standard capacity in the formula.

Zhang Che folded the three bags together, put them in his pocket, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

Now he no longer has to carry a lot of stuff on his back. The storage space of more than four cubic meters is enough for him to hold most of his equipment and materials.

……

The next morning, Zhang Che excitedly went to the Adventurers' Guild to share the good news with the old man and also to tell him that he had completed his "test".

However, as soon as he entered, he sensed that something was off about the atmosphere inside.

There were far fewer people in the hall than usual, and those who remained all seemed to be in a hurry, their faces bearing an indescribable solemnity.

Zhang Che walked up to the service desk and asked if Old Mo was there. He was told that Old Mo had gone to a meeting at the city hall early in the morning and he didn't know when he would be back.

A meeting? Doesn't the old man usually not concern himself with those trivial matters?

Zhang Che had a vague feeling that something was wrong, so instead of leaving immediately, he turned around and went to find Shen Yan.

Shen Yan's office was at the end of the corridor. The door was ajar, and the sound of files being turned over could be heard from inside. Zhang Che knocked on the door and only entered after receiving permission.

Shen Yan looked up, saw it was him, and his expression showed little surprise.

He gestured for Zhang Che to sit down, poured a glass of water for both of them, then leaned back in his chair, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke: "You came out of the rift? How was your harvest?"

"It's alright," Zhang Che replied vaguely, then got straight to the point, "Brother Shen, what happened at the guild? When I arrived, everyone seemed a bit off."

Shen Yan put down his water glass and sighed. He didn't answer immediately, but walked to the door, closed it, and then sat back down.

This action made Zhang Che realize that what the other party was about to say was most likely not to be casually spread.

"The clearing operation at the front line is over," Shen Yan said.

"It's over?" Zhang Che was taken aback. "You won?"

“We won, but not completely.” Shen Yan’s tone was somewhat complicated. “After several arduous battles, the extermination team finally destroyed a large number of murloc nests. Although the initial strategic objectives have been achieved, we have not yet found any trace of the Murloc King.”

Zhang Che frowned, thinking to himself that this was not good news.

After all, according to previous records, the core of the Murloc Plague is the Murloc King. As long as it is not destroyed, no matter how many Murlocs die, they can rise again.

Moreover, as the Fishman King grows stronger, the threat he poses to Binhai City will increase until it becomes completely irreversible.

"Moreover, although the clearing team achieved victory, the casualties were also considerable. Several squads were completely wiped out, and in the end, no news was sent back, and no remains were found." Shen Yan paused and sighed heavily. "What's more troublesome is that the number of those extraordinary individuals who took on missions on their own and ventured into the ocean has also begun to increase significantly."

Zhang Che remained silent for a moment, processing this information.

Shen Yan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice and said, "It is said that there are some disagreements between the guild's higher-ups and the city hall leaders. Some insist that the Murloc King is manipulating everything behind the scenes, while others are beginning to suspect that there may be other reasons."

"what reason?"

“I don’t know.” Shen Yan shook his head. “It’s precisely because there is no conclusive evidence, coupled with the path dependence from decades ago, that the big shots have ultimately maintained their original judgment. The higher-ups have already decided to prepare for the next round of extermination operations, vowing to find and kill the Fishman King.”

After listening, Zhang Che remained silent for a long time.

He recalled the parasitized murloc mage he'd encountered in the rift, and the octopus monster that crawled out of the murloc's mouth—the Heart Eater. If even a fourth-tier murloc mage could be parasitized and controlled, what about the higher-tier Murloc King? Was it possible that the so-called "Murloc King" was merely a manipulated puppet?

So the real mastermind is actually something even more terrifying?

However, he did not say these things directly, since without evidence, saying them would only cause him trouble.

"I understand." Zhang Che stood up. "Brother Shen, thank you for telling me all this."

"Don't overthink it." Shen Yan patted his shoulder. "If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. You're just a card maker, so just focus on making your own cards."

Zhang Che nodded, turned around, and left the office.

The corridor was quiet, with only the echo of his footsteps. As he walked home, watching the hurried crowds on the street, he suddenly felt that the world seemed far more complex than he had ever imagined.

Chapter 82 Unexpected Information about the Heart-Eating Demon

Not long after Zhang Che left Shen Yan's office, he encountered a familiar figure at the corner of the corridor.

"Zhang Che! You've returned from the rift?"

Zhou Meng strode forward to greet him, his face showing obvious surprise.

However, when Zhang Che saw him clearly, he couldn't help but be stunned. In just a short time, Zhou Meng had changed a lot: his right arm was in a cast and sling in front of his chest, and there were several scars on his face that had not yet fully healed.

But he seemed to be in good spirits, and his eyes were still bright and alert.

"I just got back yesterday," Zhang Che replied with a smile. "What happened to you...?"

Zhou Meng noticed Zhang Che scrutinizing him, so he feigned indifference and waved his still-functioning hand: "It's just some minor scratches, I'll be fine after a while. You have no idea how intense this operation was; if it weren't for my skills..."

He suddenly looked somewhat downcast halfway through his sentence.

His gaze fell on his sling arm, but he was clearly not thinking about his injury; rather, he was thinking about his teammates who had gone to wipe out the murlocs together but had not returned.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Meng stepped forward, grasped Zhang Che's hand tightly with his remaining good hand, and said very solemnly, "Zhang Che, thanks to the cards you made this time, otherwise, I would have been in much worse shape than just a little injured."

Zhou Meng mentioned the [Rapid Crab]'s ability to anticipate enemy moves and its speed aura, which greatly increases the team's mobility; and the [Sharp-Toothed Fish], which has blocked countless fatal attacks for him...

His tone was very serious, a stark contrast to his usual carefree demeanor.

Zhang Che quickly waved his hand: "Brother Zhou, you're too kind. I was just doing what I was supposed to do. Besides, I received enough payment for the cards I sold to the Adventurers' Guild. You don't need to do this."

Seeing Zhang Che's response, Zhou Meng decided not to bring up the topic again. He released Zhang Che's hand, patted him on the shoulder, and changed the subject to other things.

Seeing that it was unclear when Old Master Mo would return, Zhang Che did not refuse.

He could also get more detailed information from Zhou Meng, a firsthand witness, to see what the situation was really like on the front lines.

The two sat down on a row of benches along the corridor. Once Zhou Meng started talking, he couldn't stop. He talked non-stop for more than an hour, from his own combat experience to the heroic performance of his teammates, and the various thrilling moments in the clearing operation.

Zhang Che listened while silently taking notes in his mind.

Zhou Meng's extraordinary profession is called "Boxer," a physical profession that excels in close combat. This makes him extremely strong physically, but relatively weak in mental strength, and he cannot use conventional cards.

However, as a formal member of the Adventurers' Guild, Zhou Meng would certainly receive some preferential treatment during the previous operation to eliminate the murlocs.

Based on his professional characteristics, they equipped him with a second-tier blue card made by Zhang Che, the [Sharp-Toothed Fish].

The sharp-toothed fish summoned by cards of this level are basically incapable of fighting on land; however, in exchange, their combat power in water is enough to approach that of a weaker Tier 3 extraordinary creature.

It also possesses the talent "Rough Skin" which has a damage reflection effect. Combined with the immortality of its summoned cards, it is a perfect match for Zhou Meng's brutal fighting style!

Finally, with the help of the sharp-toothed fish, Zhou Meng achieved considerable success in this cleanup operation, making a name for himself and successfully fulfilling one of his objectives in participating in the war.

However, aside from a few minor details, many of the things Zhou Meng said afterward were almost identical to what Shen Yan had told Zhang Che, which made him secretly regretful.

However, just when he thought he wouldn't get any useful information from Zhou Meng, the latter suddenly slapped his thigh, as if he had remembered something.

“Oh right! There’s something strange I almost forgot.” Zhou Meng frowned, as if recalling the details. “I don’t remember the specifics very clearly either. It was when we were on our way to hunt down the fishmen, several of our teams set off together and were ambushed by some kind of supernatural creature.”

He paused, then continued, "I was walking in front when suddenly my head went blank, and I felt like I was being pulled out of my body. I lost consciousness in a daze. When I came to my senses, I saw the sharp-toothed fish chasing a supernatural octopus-like creature for quite a distance."

Zhou Meng said that it should be the culprit that made him lose his mind just now, but unfortunately the other party escaped too quickly and he was unable to kill him.

Zhang Che's heart suddenly raced, but he maintained a normal tone on the surface: "Oh? What does that octopus look like?"

Zhou Meng scratched his head, trying hard to recall: "It was semi-transparent, not very big, probably about the size of two fists, and looked soft."

Speaking of this topic, even after so long, Zhou Meng still feels some regret.

He did report the matter at the time, but the guild didn't pay much attention to it, since their main task was to find the location of the murlocs' lair.

Moreover, the ocean is so vast that it's perfectly normal for strange and extraordinary creatures to appear there.

Zhou Meng's team must have accidentally startled the supernatural creature, which led to its counterattack.

Moreover, he himself thought so, so he had long forgotten about that matter. If Zhang Che hadn't asked him today, he probably wouldn't have remembered it at all.

What was said in jest was taken seriously by the listener. If it had happened before they went to the rift, Zhang Che probably wouldn't have cared too much about it.

However, after learning about the existence of the Heart-Eating Demon and hearing some news from Shen Yan, he now feels a bit stressed whenever he hears the word "octopus," and subconsciously thinks of the Heart-Eating Demon.

However, based solely on Zhou Meng's description, Zhang Che was not certain whether what he encountered at that time was another Heart-Eating Demon.

Therefore, he needs more samples!

Zhang Che pondered for a moment, then specifically asked Zhou Meng a question: "Brother Zhou, besides you, who else used the cards I made during this cleanup operation? I'd like to do a follow-up survey to prepare for future card improvements."

This is a common practice in the card-making industry. Many card makers will proactively collect user feedback to understand the card's performance and shortcomings in actual combat, and then make improvements in subsequent productions.

Zhang Che's excuse was very reasonable.

Zhou Meng immediately said that there would definitely be no problem. He had personally experienced how good Zhang Che's cards were. Moreover, he had a little plan in mind: if he could make even better cards, given his relationship with Zhang Che, wouldn't he have to have a right of first refusal or something?

With this in mind, Zhou Meng spilled the beans, recounting all the card users he knew. He also confidently offered to act as an intermediary for Zhang Che in making the necessary contacts.

Chang Cheh smiled and said that this was naturally the best thing to do.

While his primary target is the holder of the [Sharp-Toothed Fish] card, he might also be able to glean some other useful information from the holders of the other cards.

Chapter 83 An Opportunity That Must Be Seized

The rare reunion made Zhou Meng talkative, and he kept Zhang Che chatting for more than an hour, from the details of the cleanup operation to the various gossips in the guild, and then to his own life of recuperation after being injured.

Zhang Che didn't urge him, but listened patiently, occasionally adding a few words of agreement, making him an excellent listener.

Zhou Meng only stopped, still wanting more, when he saw Mo Yuncheng walk in from the entrance of the guild hall.