Who said this card is outrageous?

……

The ship set off in the early morning and sailed for most of the day before finally arriving at a location about ten nautical miles outside the target area in the afternoon.

Zhong Huaiyuan stood on the deck, looking at the faint dark purple halo shining through the distant sea, and remained silent for a moment.

Xue Yan stood beside him, holding a communication rune in his hand, making a final communication confirmation with the personnel remaining in the city.

"Get ready to go into the water," Zhong Huaiyuan said calmly.

Everyone drank the specially made underwater breathing agent, which was effective enough for them to move around normally in the water for a whole day.

Three superhumans bound to the Megalodon were the first to leap into the water, followed by the Megalodon appearing beside them, and the others following closely behind.

The process of sinking to the bottom of the sea was not as smooth as expected. They soon encountered a group of fishmen controlled by the Heart-Eating Demon. There were about thirty of them, ranging from second to third tier, and they surged towards them like a tide.

Zhong Huaiyuan and his group quickly concealed themselves, sending only three Megalodons to fight and deal with the enemy.

The enemy is powerful; rashly revealing our whereabouts will only attract more enemies to try and wipe us all out.

However, if there are only a few unfamiliar Megalodons, the nature of this battle will become an encounter with strange supernatural creatures, and it will not attract much attention from the Heart Eater.

This would allow them to disperse and eliminate the enemy's manpower.

Faced with a Megalodon with fourth-tier combat power, the number of fishmen was meaningless, and they were wiped out in no time.

During this time, the three third-tier Heart-Eating Demons in charge of leading the team tried to control the Megalodon, but their mental power was no match for the dark energy within the Megalodon's body, and their flesh was torn to shreds in just a few moments.

After the initial victory, Zhong Huaiyuan immediately ordered the continued use of this tactic. It wasn't until more than ten waves of troops were lost that the leading Heart-Eating Demons finally noticed the anomaly and mobilized even more troops to approach.

This includes several fourth-tier combatants.

Now Zhong Huaiyuan and his companion could no longer hide, so after a swift battle, they immediately led their team to the Heart-Eating Demon's lair, where a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.

Most of the mid-level extraordinary combat power was handled by Zhong Huaiyuan and his companion, while the few fourth-tier Heart-Eating Demons were handed over to the Megalodons.

After several encounters, the Mind Eaters quickly discovered that their mental attacks had no effect on the Megalodon!

During this time, they also learned about the existence of the extraordinary item "cards" and quickly recognized that the four Megalodons were card summons, and that they were likely countermeasure cards specially made to target the mind control of their species.

So they immediately changed their strategy. To protect themselves, several fourth-tier Heart-Eating Demons quickly burrowed into the bodies of nearby controlled supernatural beings to parasitize them.

Due to racial restrictions, if the parasitized individual is not a psychic, they can only fight using the original abilities of the parasitized individual.

However, individuals with strong mental power are naturally more mentally resistant and cannot be controlled by the Heart-Eating Demon, so they will not appear in this battle.

Without mind control as its core combat tactic, the threat level of the Heart-Eating Demon has dropped dramatically.

However, the mind control effects already applied to other supernatural beings still remain. Hundreds of controlled marine supernatural beings gathered together, and their sheer number was enough to cause considerable trouble.

However, the Megalodons soon proved that they were not the kind of specialized cards designed specifically to counter the Mind Eater.

Even disregarding their mental resistance, their combat power is formidable. "Crush" can tear apart the armor of a third-tier transcendent creature; the shockwaves created by "Roar" in the water can even shatter the internal organs of weaker transcendent creatures.

In addition, their innate "acceleration" ability allows them to fight faster and faster, meaning that every Megalodon in the water can be said to be displaying combat power at nearly the fifth level.

And don't forget that their true form is a card; even if they are defeated, they can be summoned back to the battlefield.

Several times, the Megalodon was killed by several Tier 4 transcendent creatures working together, but the transcendents who controlled them were prepared. The moment the Megalodon dissipated, they began to inject spiritual power again to summon them back into the battle in their complete form!

But it is a purple card after all. Even the low-cost version made by Zhang Che can drain a third of a third-tier superhuman's mental energy with a single summon.

This tactic can only be used to tolerate mistakes.

After an extremely arduous battle, the Binhai City side, at a heavy cost, finally eliminated most of the Heart-Eating Demons. Only a small number, seeing the situation was not good, managed to escape back into the rift.

Some of the controlled supernatural beings lost their controllers after the Heart-Eating Demon was killed, but because they did not immediately regain consciousness, they were disposed of by Zhong Huaiyuan and his group.

After this battle, the high-level supernatural creatures in the nearshore area have been basically wiped out. It is unknown how long it will take for this area to return to its previous state.

Finally, at the rift exit, the city guard's engineers placed waterproof explosive devices at the edge of the rift exit. Everyone quickly moved away, leaving only the summoned creatures, including the Megalodon, to guard the area and prevent the Heart Eater from coming out of the rift and destroying the devices.

Not long after, a terrifying energy shockwave exploded at the bottom of the deep sea, spreading outwards and churning the seawater within a radius of hundreds of meters.

The edge of the rift's exit began to collapse, and a dark purple light flickered wildly within it a few times before finally going out completely.

In this way, the passage through which the Heart-Eating Demons wanted to enter Blue Star was completely blocked.

At least in the short term, they will no longer pose a threat to the safety of Binhai City.

However, just when Zhong Huaiyuan and the others thought everything was over, they suddenly received an emergency distress signal from Binhai City.

Chapter 116 Uninvited Guest

Let's rewind to about eight hours ago.

Almost no one knew about Zhong Huaiyuan and the others' departure, so even though the shadow of war still loomed over them, the citizens of Binhai City had become accustomed to living in this atmosphere over the past few months.

Moreover, no matter how fierce the fighting was outside, the city of Binhai itself was not directly attacked.

Everyone is still safe, at least for now.

After delivering all the [Megalodon], Zhang Che used the excuse of "exhausted mental energy" to rest in the studio.

Of course, this is just a superficial reason. The entire process of creating the Megalodon only consumed some Tier 3 crystal cores. At most, the mental energy consumption was relatively high during the fusion, but it was not enough to exhaust it.

His real purpose was to hide in the studio and examine some card recipes that Zhong Huaiyuan had sent to him.

There was no need to hide away to do these things, since it was happening in my own home.

However, since the fourth-tier superhuman that Zhong Huaiyuan sent to protect him was now sitting in the living room, Zhang Che could only stay in the studio, which had better soundproofing.

The reason is perfectly valid. Regardless of how Megalodon performs, Zhang Che is now the darling of Binhai City, and his personal safety must be guaranteed!

The fourth-tier superhuman named Ke Yuanzhou was a veteran of the city guard. He was in his forties, taciturn, with his back ramrod straight and his posture as upright as a sculpture.

He gave people a great sense of security, which is why Chang Cheh didn't dislike his presence.

……

Those card recipes are part of the reward or compensation. As for the actual reward settlement, just like the previous time at the rift entrance, it will take one or two days after Zhong Huaiyuan and the others have tested the actual combat performance of the three [Giant Shark] cards after they are mentally bound to the users.

The reason is that although Zhang Che's demonstration in the training ground was impressive enough, it was still a demonstration, not actual combat. Some things can only be tested in real battle.

Zhang Che had no objection to this; he was confident in the cards he created.

However, what he didn't know was that Zhong Huaiyuan led his team to fight the Heart-Eating Demon the moment he got the card.

It's unclear whether time is truly running out, or if the other party has too much confidence in [Megalodon], or perhaps both.

However, those are all too far off. Zhang Che is currently focused on organizing the card recipes he has acquired from the city guard's warehouse.

It's no wonder these cards come from the military system; even those with rather lackluster effects mostly emphasize "violence" and "explosiveness."

Looking at those recipes, he couldn't help but twitch his lips. Clearly, the creation of these cards was definitely influenced by that fourth-tier alchemist named Su Ran.

If it weren't for the chief card maker named Wei Lan who could keep things somewhat in check, the city guards of Binhai City would probably have gone down the path of "explosive" behavior and never turned back.

Of course, there were also some decent items in this batch of recipes, such as a gun-type equipment card that Zhang Che highly valued.

Card Name: Blazing Revolver (Steel, Fire)

Type: Equipment Card

Level: Tier 3

Grade: Green

Effect: Allows the use of fire-elemental crystals to fire more powerful fire elemental bullets.

This was the first time Zhang Che had ever seen firearm-themed cards. Previously, this field was dominated by alchemists; others, even card makers from the same lineage, found it difficult to gain a foothold.

Of course, this is not to say that alchemists are stingy, but simply because of their professional advantages.

Alchemists excel at creating physical objects, while card makers excel at creating cards. The former can directly forge a usable gun, while the latter needs to "translate" the gun's characteristics into "rules" that the card embryo can understand in order to create the corresponding product. There is a thick barrier between the two.

However, this doesn't mean other professions are without a future. After all, Earth was once a technologically advanced society with its own path in weaponry. Now, it's simply repeating the same path based on supernatural energy. Firearms are one such profession.

From gunpowder to crystal cores, from mechanical firing to rune activation, this path has been taken for over a century. Although it cannot compare to the "handmade customization" of alchemists, the appearance of this card at least proves that this direction is feasible.

"Well, it seems I was indeed a bit prejudiced against that chief alchemist," Zhang Che sincerely apologized to the card recipe.

The current "Blazing Revolver" is a brand new creation by the Coastal City Guard, and it is highly likely that the chief alchemist made a significant contribution to it.

The recipe is written in neat handwriting, with clear steps, and even includes several hand-drawn structural diagrams, indicating the material requirements and refining precautions for each component. It's clear that the person who made this recipe put in a lot of effort.

However, as a third-tier mechanical supernatural item that can also launch fire element attacks, the materials required to craft the [Blazing Revolver] are somewhat complicated.

Some of these are special types of artificially manufactured steel that are probably not available on the market and can only be ordered from the logistics department of the city guard.

"Tsk, this approach is consistent..." Zhang Che remarked, then continued studying the card.

Although it's only a green-grade card, the [Blazing Revolver] is completely different from all the cards Zhang Che has made before, so I'll definitely have to study it carefully before actually making it.

……

Just as Zhang Che was still diligently studying card recipes, Ke Yuanzhou, who was sitting in the living room with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes and stared straight at a corner of the living room—

Even though that spot was empty, Ke Yuanzhou's gaze remained fixed there, unmoving.

"Come out."

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like a stone thrown into calm water, breaking the quiet atmosphere in the living room.

Then a gray-white curtain appeared in the air, and a thin man dressed in a black bodysuit emerged from the curtain, holding a long-haired woman in his arms.

However, what is most eye-catching is the metal tag hanging around his neck, about the size of a palm, silver-white, with an eye pattern engraved in the center.

The woman's eyes were tightly closed, her body limp, and her head resting on his shoulder; she had clearly lost consciousness.

The thin man moved very gently, as if afraid of waking her.

"Hey, hey, I have to say, your nose is way too sharp, isn't it?" The thin man teased Ke Yuanzhou as he gently placed the unconscious woman in his arms on the sofa next to him. "I hadn't even come out yet and you found me. You've completely destroyed my confidence."

Despite saying that, the man's tone was relaxed and his expression casual, as if he were not an intruder but a neighbor who had come to visit.

Ke Yuanzhou didn't respond to him, but just stared at him coldly. The entire living room separated the two of them, and silence filled the air.

Chapter 117 The Big Rat and the Undercover Agent

"Alright, you're a powerful creature with strong spatial abilities. All I can do is sense your presence; I can't do anything else." Ke Yuanzhou was giving the other party some face.

Only then did the thin man's expression soften.

"Why did you bring her here?" Ke Yuanzhou glanced at Ruan Ruoshi, who was unconscious on the sofa, and frowned slightly.