Who said this card is outrageous?

Good things never lack a market; he can come up with several ways to make money just by thinking about it.

Just as Xin Lei was brainstorming, Zhang Che spoke up.

“Brother Xin, these are all the cards I can currently produce.” Zhang Che pointed to the two rows of blue cards on the table, then turned his gaze back to the corpse of the Heart-Eating Demon in the box. “Although this transparent octopus is indeed a third-tier extraordinary creature, judging from its crystal core, it should have only recently advanced. Most of its materials should barely reach the third-tier quality. Moreover, raw materials are definitely cheaper than finished products; that’s the rule.”

Xin Lei nodded, indicating his understanding.

Then Zhang Che said that he could choose any two Tier 2 blue cards and one Tier 1 blue card from the cards on the table as payment for the transparent octopus.

Of course, a Tier 2 blue card can be exchanged for five Tier 1 blue cards, but unless Xin Lei is stupid, he definitely won't choose the latter.

But soon Xin Lei became conflicted, because he wanted all the cards Zhang Che had shown him.

So he tentatively asked if he could buy other cards besides the ones offered as a reward.

“Of course.” Zhang Che nodded and generously said, “Brother Xin has helped me so much, as long as it’s something you buy for yourself, I can give you a 10% discount.”

Xin Lei's eyes lit up upon hearing this.

He was a ranger; although his mental strength couldn't match that of magic-based classes, it was still much stronger than that of a simple, reckless warrior.

If it's a Tier 2 card, he can still use several of them in a single battle.

Moreover, now, any superhuman who participated in the last cleanup operation knows that the mental energy consumption of the cards Zhang Che made is much lower than that of other cards of the same level.

"Buy it, of course we have to buy it!"

Xin Lei didn't even ask the price. He first randomly picked a [Tidal Spirit] and a [Skeleton Archer (Lightning)] as payment for the Transparent Octopus. Then he emptied his pockets and spent over 600,000 Star Coins to sweep away the remaining cards on the table!

Then, in front of Zhang Che, he mentally bound all the cards one by one, so that he could no longer resell them.

This broadened Zhang Che's horizons, so he couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother Xin, why are you buying so many cards?"

He's just a wandering knight, not a card master or any other superhuman with a mental focus, so buying a few cards should be enough for him, right?

Chapter 89 Baiting Fishing

After binding the last card and putting it in his pocket, Xin Lei looked up and chuckled, "You don't know this. As an excellent ranger, in addition to having excellent archery skills, the most important thing is to prepare a lot of 'magical gadgets' to deal with all kinds of situations that may arise."

"Miaomiao Little Gadgets?"

“It’s all sorts of useful tools and equipment,” Xin Lei explained. “In our line of work, we often have to operate alone. Even when we join a team, we usually serve as scouts. So having a wide range of skills gives us a better chance of survival when we encounter danger.”

However, the nature of a ranger's job does not allow them to carry too much stuff and increase their load, so extraordinary items like cards become a better choice.

The only drawback is that using the cards consumes mental energy, which can be an extra burden on the user.

However, Zhang Che's cards perfectly solved this problem.

At this point, Xin Lei couldn't help but lean closer and lower his voice to ask, "Hey, Brother Zhang Che, are you going to sell that Tier 3 card you sold to the Adventurers' Guild before, [Valley Swift Crab]? If you're willing, I'm willing to pay a high price to buy one."

His eyes were full of anticipation.

There's no way around it, the experience of fighting alongside this card during the last cleanup operation was just too amazing.

It wasn't just him; almost every adventurer who had been assisted by the [Valley Swift Crab] said that if possible, they would definitely buy one!

Zhang Che shook his head, looking troubled: "I don't have enough materials for the [Valley Swift Crab] right now, and as a Tier 3 blue card, the success rate of crafting it is indeed not high, so there probably won't be any in stock for a while."

The look of anticipation on Xin Lei's face immediately dimmed.

Zhang Che looked at his expression, hesitated for a moment, then, as if making a decision, gritted his teeth and said, "However..."

“Brother Xin, I desperately need more spiritual-type extraordinary materials to try and create new cards. One transparent octopus definitely won't be enough. If you can bring me back this kind of extraordinary creature next time you go to exterminate the murlocs, I can not only try to make you a [Rift Swift Crab], but I can even sell you this card—”

As he spoke, Zhang Che took out the [Sunshine Mushroom] he had just made the night before from his pocket, infused it with his spiritual power, and activated it.

A flash of blue light, and a golden mushroom, no bigger than an adult's palm, landed on the coffee table.

Zhang Che gave a brief introduction to the card.

A few seconds later, several coin-sized golden orbs of light condensed beneath the mushroom's cap, floating in the air and emitting a soft glow.

Xin Lei leaned closer to take a look, then reached out and touched one of the slivers of sunlight. A warm feeling spread across his palm, confirming that Zhang Che had indeed said it had a certain therapeutic effect.

But to be honest, this efficiency doesn't seem that impressive.

Such a small mushroom, such a small cluster of sunlight, it's okay for treating superficial wounds, but what can it do on the battlefield?

Zhang Che noticed his confusion but offered no explanation.

Thirteen minutes passed, and Xin Lei's expression went from doubt to shock, and finally to disbelief: he watched as a palm-sized mushroom grew to the size of a human head, not only producing "sunlight" with healing abilities equivalent to a third-tier priest, but also having tiny golden spores drifting out from the edge of the cap, floating in the air and shimmering with a faint light.

After Zhang Che's explanation, Xin Lei absorbed some spores with some skepticism, and then he clearly felt that his strength had indeed increased significantly!

Xin Lei sat on the sofa, completely stunned. He looked at the golden mushroom, then at Zhang Che, his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't say a word for a long time.

It can heal and support, and even though it doesn't have many buff skills and lacks mobility, considering that it's only a Tier 2 blue card, its value is comparable to a typical Tier 3 card!

Even the [Rift Crab] that Xin Lei has always longed for, when compared to the other two, can only be said to have their own merits.

Of course, it would be best to have both.

Meeting Xin Lei's burning gaze, Zhang Che knew that his goal had been achieved. Now all he had to do was wait for Xin Lei to reveal the plan he had just come up with, so as to mobilize the initiative of the adventurers.

When the time comes, as long as enough Heart-Eating Demons are captured, these guys will naturally slip up and attract the attention of the authorities and adventurers' guilds.

The reason why the people above did not discover the existence of the Heart-Eating Demon was mainly due to cognitive limitations and because their attention was focused on the Fishman Plague.

After all, the disaster eighty years ago was too tragic, and no one wants to repeat it.

Currently, the official forces and adventurers' guilds have devoted almost all their manpower and resources to the operation to eliminate the murlocs. With such a vast sea area, it is perfectly normal for some "insignificant" little things to be missed.

The Heart-Eating Demon's choice of the merfolk as its host was somewhat accidental, which is why it remained undetected until now.

But once they are exposed to the light of day, Zhang Che believes that there will naturally be smart people above to handle these matters.

He doesn't need to rush to the front, he doesn't need to stand up and be a hero. He just needs to stay in the background and be a genius card maker who works hard to research new cards.

"Brother Xin, I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on this for me." Zhang Che put away the [Sun Mushroom], smiled at Xin Lei, and said, "If you have any news, come find me anytime."

"Definitely, definitely." Xin Lei stood up, rubbed his hands together, and left with a big smile on his face.

After seeing Xin Lei off, Zhang Che didn't rush to the studio. Instead, he returned to the living room, carefully examined the corpse of the Heart-Eating Demon in the box, sealed it in a special container, and stored it in the safe in the studio.

……

As expected, Xin Lei was smart enough not to try to keep it all to himself. He quickly spread the word that Zhang Che needed mental materials to research new cards, without Xin Lei having to spread the news himself.

Over the next few days, the adventurers who had been visited by Zhang Che before came to him with various reasons to confirm the authenticity of the news.

Then, when they went out, their eyes lit up, and they couldn't wait to go into the sea and catch those transparent octopus monsters!

However, they were all veterans who had survived through thick and thin, and knowing that many other veteran adventurers had been tricked by those octopus monsters during the last cleanup operation, they certainly wouldn't risk going on so rashly.

In addition, with so many people recently missing in the sea, even if we were to go into the sea, we would definitely have to be fully prepared. It would be best to wait until the next cleanup operation begins.

With more people involved, there is greater strength, and safety will be more guaranteed.

Chapter 90 The Old Master's Gift, a Tier 2 Purple Card

The work of assisting the old man was soon coming to an end.

In the past two weeks, Zhang Che felt that his card-making skills had become much more solid than before. The card-making process was no longer the kind of wild method that relied solely on brute force, but he was able to skillfully use some techniques to save resources and increase the success rate.

Of course, the most important part, the process of making lower-level extraordinary purple cards, was also memorized by Zhang Che. The next step was to prepare the materials and try it out himself.

It can only be said that the growth that a great teacher brought to Zhang Che far exceeded his expectations.

Ultimately, his talent in card making was limited. Without the old man's guidance, he might never have been able to learn some things on his own.

"That's about all I can teach you right now." Mo Yuncheng leaned back in his recliner, looking at him calmly. "As for how far you end up, that depends on your own efforts and fate."

Zhang Che sat quietly to the side and listened.

After saying these words, the old man looked as if he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, rubbed his temples, and shrank back into the recliner.

With teaching and card making going on lately, his old bones are really starting to give out.

"Go ahead, go register at Binhai University." Mo Yuncheng waved his hand. "After so many days of delay, Xu Jing must be worried sick."

After the old man finished speaking, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and his smile carried a hint of something less than innocent.

Zhang Che was stunned for a moment. He had indeed mentioned to the old man that Binhai University had sent him an offer letter, and that he had not yet reported for duty, wanting to finish up his current tasks first. He did not expect that the old man would still remember this matter.

"Mr. Mo, you really don't mind?" Zhang Che asked tentatively.

"What's there to mind?" Mo Yuncheng glanced at him, his tone completely frank.

He said that Xu Jing's mentor was much better than his own, and that she was already a fourth-level card maker at such a young age. Given time, she would most likely be able to steadily reach the sixth level, the peak of the mid-level extraordinary realm.

As he said these words, the old man couldn't help but feel a hint of envy in his tone.

Although they were both fourth-tier card makers, he knew in his heart that the gap between him and Xu Jing was not small.

Although he had a mentor, his advancement to the fourth-level card maker was achieved through decades of accumulation and exploration.

In contrast, Xu Jing's path was much smoother than his.

“There’s no such thing as a bottleneck between major ranks. Xu Jing has plenty of time to hone her skills and enhance her mental strength.” Mo Yuncheng couldn’t help but sigh. “If she can reach the peak of the sixth rank before she’s fifty, she might even get a glimpse of the realm of the upper-level transcendent. At that time, a few words of advice from her would be more useful than me nagging you here for a month.”

Zhang Che wanted to say a few words of comfort to him, but when he opened his mouth, the words remained unspoken.

He could only stand up, call out to Gatomon who had been quietly squatting beside him, and bow to the old man to say goodbye.

The Gatomon, which had been dozing in the chair, immediately opened its eyes when it heard Zhang Che call it. It jumped off the chair and walked briskly to Zhang Che's feet.

"Goodbye, Grandpa." The voice was clear and crisp, with each word distinct and articulate.

"Okay, goodbye," the old man replied with a smile.

Zhang Che never intended to hide the fact that Gatomon could talk from the old man from the very beginning.

As an old man with extensive experience, he was not surprised that a card summon that could speak human language was rare.

Once you reach the fourth tier, with the appearance of humanoid cards, talking like a human becomes less of a rarity.

Higher-tier cards possess a level of intelligence far exceeding that of lower-tier cards; speaking human language is merely one of the most basic manifestations of this.

Moreover, with the blue cards that Zhang Che had previously created, which were already quite intelligent, as a foundation, the old man could only sigh and say, "Zhang Che's talent is indeed amazing."

Although there was no formal apprenticeship ceremony, after spending the past two weeks together, their relationship had become more than just that of master and disciple.

So before parting, the old man gave Zhang Che a special gift.