Who said this card is outrageous?

He took out his phone and glanced at it; it was 6:58 PM.

"Hmm, it's almost seven o'clock? You slept quite a long time."

Zhang Che yawned, stretched, and sat up in bed, feeling that he had slept exceptionally soundly.

I felt much more awake than before; the fogginess in my mind had disappeared, replaced by a refreshing clarity.

My mental strength has recovered to about half. Although it's not at its peak yet, it won't affect my normal activities.

After a quick wash, Zhang Che left the room and went to the living room.

As soon as he arrived, he saw Wang Guofu sitting in the corner, further processing a pile of extraordinary materials.

The old man, wearing reading glasses and holding a small knife, skillfully peeled away the excess material with fluid movements, clearly a decades-old craftsman.

Ji Xingchuan sat next to him, mainly responsible for assisting him, and he did a good job.

"Brother-in-law, you're back."

Zhang Che greeted him.

Upon hearing the voice, Ji Xingchuan quickly stood up, his back ramrod straight, and replied almost reflexively, "Yes, I'm back."

His attitude was noticeably somewhat reserved.

That restraint wasn't deliberate; it was an instinctive reaction. It's like when you suddenly discover that an ordinary friend is actually an important person. When you meet them again, you can't be as casual as before—even if that person is still the same, still speaks the same way, you know they're different now.

Zhang Che sensed this "thick barrier".

Zhang Che knew that Ji Xingchuan still needed some time to adjust to being around him, so he didn't interfere. Instead, he glanced around the living room and, not seeing Wang Xinran, asked, "Where's my sister?"

"Xinran is looking after the child," Ji Xingchuan quickly replied.

"……Oh."

The conversation died down in an instant.

The living room was quiet for a few seconds, with only the sound of Wang Guofu scraping materials with a knife in his hand.

Zhang Che and Ji Xingchuan exchanged a glance, then simultaneously looked away.

In the end, Wang Guofu put down what he was doing, patted Ji Xingchuan on the shoulder, and told him to relax.

"Alright, alright, we're all family, don't act like you're meeting a leader." The old man's tone was casual, with that kind of nonchalant attitude typical of elders. "Xiao Che is still the same Xiao Che, he's not a different person. The more you act like this, the less he'll know how to talk to you."

As someone who had been through it all, he had had similar thoughts, but in the subsequent interactions, Wang Guofu realized that Zhang Che had never changed.

Ji Xingchuan felt a little embarrassed by what was said, scratched his head, and gave an awkward smile.

Wang Guofu then looked at Zhang Che and said seriously, "By the way, there's something I need to tell you."

“This afternoon, people from the city hall of Hezhou came and said they wanted to see you.” Wang Guofu took off his reading glasses and wiped them on his clothes. “I told them you were resting, so they left, but said they would come to visit again tomorrow.”

Zhang Che frowned slightly.

town Hall?

But on second thought, it wasn't surprising. When Tie Hao and his group entered the city, they caused a commotion, and the city guards arrived at the scene immediately. The spoils of war, the corpses of the harpies, and the news that he had killed two fourth-tier transcendent creatures must have already reached the ears of the city hall.

A mid-level transcendent being has appeared in Hezhou City, and at such a young age, it's no wonder the authorities are taking it seriously.

At this moment, Ji Xingchuan, reminded by his father-in-law, took over the conversation: "The city hall is looking for you, it should still be about the Dead Zone Rift."

His tone was more natural than before, although it still carried a hint of caution, but at least he wasn't as tongue-tied as before.

"You were the one who dealt with those two mid-level transcendent monsters. If the higher-ups in Hezhou City want to know about this, they can only turn to you," Ji Xingchuan said while organizing the materials. "Although we were also on the scene, you were the main force in the battle, and the information we can provide is limited."

Zhang Che nodded; the reason was reasonable.

“Moreover…” Ji Xingchuan paused, “I think the city hall probably also wants you to help them deal with the monsters that have appeared this time.”

After all, if they can send out a fourth-tier extraordinary creature just to seize territory, who knows if those two families have even more powerful figures behind them!

Moreover, Hezhou City is not like Binhai City. It has been built for less than 50 years. Because it is located inland, the surrounding environment is relatively safe. There are not many high-end combat forces left in the city. Now, we must capture as many as we can.

Not to mention that Zhang Che is also a card maker capable of creating Tier 3 purple cards. When he gets going, he might be able to double the mid-level extraordinary combat power in Hezhou City.

"The Dead Zone Rift is our most important source of resources, but it is also the biggest threat to the safety of the entire city."

When Ji Xingchuan brought up this topic, his expression became very serious.

“In the past few decades, there have been some accidents on the other side of the rift, but at most one or two mid-level transcendent undead creatures would run out of the rift and wreak havoc. But they would be defeated by the strong people in the city before long, and then the city would be able to live in peace for seven or eight years.”

“But this time it’s not just undead creatures, there are also those harpies, oh, you called them harpies again…” Ji Xingchuan obviously didn’t want to compete with Zhang Che for the naming rights. “Their flying ability is such a huge advantage in combat in the wild. Even if they don’t actively attack cities, they will definitely be a major threat to those adventurers who go out to hunt.”

As an adventurer, Ji Xingchuan felt a chill run down his spine at the thought of being attacked by claws falling from the sky every time he went out.

Chapter 173 Zhang Che's Scheme

"A harpy..."

Zhang Che leaned back on the sofa, the scene of the previous battle flashing through his mind, and suddenly felt that Ji Xingchuan's worries were not without reason.

Don't be fooled by how easily he seemed to defeat the harpy leader during their battle.

But frankly speaking, they still took advantage of the fact that the other party was in much worse condition after a major battle.

Before Zhang Che arrived, the harpy leader had been fighting the armored corpse for an unknown amount of time, and both sides had exhausted a lot of physical strength and energy.

By the time Zhang Che entered the arena, it was already nearly exhausted.

If it were a harpy leader in her prime, even with the protection of the Water Curtain Armor, Zhang Che wouldn't dare to provoke her.

Ultimately, he was just a card maker with poor combat ability. He was fine as a backstabber, but it would be too much for him to face a direct enemy and go head-to-head with a fourth-tier transcendent creature.

If the battle hadn't been so urgent and Zhang Che hadn't lacked suitable air combat power, he wouldn't have risked acting as bait to buy Ahri time to eliminate another fourth-tier monster.

Therefore, he must make a good plan for the harpy commander he has finally managed to acquire.

"Ideally, I could create another suitable Tier 4 card," Zhang Che thought to himself.

If he could use the materials from the Harpy Commander to create a Tier 4 Summoning Card, he would then have a proper air unit.

While the Megalodon can fly, it is too big and lacks maneuverability, making it more suitable for rampaging through open areas. For close-range dogfights, more agile flying units are needed.

Besides this, his physical defenses also need to be updated.

Once you reach the mid-level transcendent rank, those low-tier cards like [Misty Body] and [Fire Resistance Ring] will no longer be able to exert their full effect.

Those cards can be useful against low-level enemies, but once the opponent is a mid-level transcendent being, their defense becomes useless.

Upgrading and replacement are imperative!

This could be considered a drawback of growing too quickly. Normally, a good set of cards is enough for one person to use for several years or even longer.

But Zhang Che was different. It took him less than a year to go from an ordinary person to a mid-level extraordinary.

This could be considered a happy kind of trouble.

……

With the cards created by the Harpy Commander, we'll at least have an air unit.

However, obtaining new Tier 4 cards is not so easy. Even though Zhang Che has now awakened the "Anchoring" trait, which greatly enhances the creation of new cards, he cannot guarantee that he will succeed on his first try.

The complexity of crafting cards at this level increases exponentially, and the interactions between materials become more subtle.

One wrong move and the entire set of materials could be ruined.

The problem is that Zhang Che only has one harpy commander, and once it's used up, that's it. If he fails, who knows when he'll be able to find another fourth-tier harpy.

Therefore, the best way to ensure success is to join forces with the mid-level extraordinary individuals in Hezhou City to hunt for more extraordinary materials in the upcoming "war".

How can one allow others to sleep peacefully beside one's bed? Whether it's the sudden appearance of the harpy clan or the Dead Rift, which is an "old enemy," Hezhou City will definitely need to mobilize the entire city's resources if it wants to completely resolve these issues.

And in this process, extraordinary materials will inevitably be produced.

If Zhang Che can reach a cooperation agreement with the city hall, he will be able to obtain a large number of intermediate-level materials at "cost price" or even as "spoils of war".

In this way, he can confidently and boldly try to create new Tier 4 cards.

After finalizing all the plans and arrangements in his mind, Zhang Che finally relaxed a little and breathed a sigh of relief.

As for the specifics of the cooperation, we'll have to wait until tomorrow at the city hall to discuss them in detail.

"By the way, brother-in-law, could you tell me about the mid-level superhumans who reside in Hezhou City?" Zhang Che asked Ji Xingchuan.

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle.

The last time he came to Hezhou was five years ago when Sister Xinran got married.

Zhang Che was just a kid back then. He came with his master Cheng Shu to have a wedding banquet, and left the next day without even having a chance to see what the city looked like.

Having just arrived, I don't know much about this city yet.

Moreover, five years is enough time for a city to change a lot. Some things he knew before may now be outdated, and a lot of information needs to be learned again.

Ji Xingchuan is, after all, a third-tier transcendent being, and judging from his appearance, he should be quite strong. He should have some understanding of the powerful figures in his city.

As for his own intelligence, Zhang Che was not worried.

If the higher-ups in Hezhou City aren't incompetent, they should have already started an emergency investigation tonight. With the information provided by Ji Xingchuan, they at least have a direction, instead of wandering around aimlessly like headless flies.

With the resources of a city, his general situation in Binhai City should be pretty much known by tomorrow morning.

There's nothing to hide, and it can't be hidden anyway.

"Oh, okay." Ji Xingchuan quickly put down the materials in his hand and then sat down properly in front of Zhang Che.

Although his tone of voice was much more natural, he was still a little nervous.

Zhang Che looked at his posture and sighed silently in his heart.

But I don't plan to bother with it anymore.

If nothing unexpected happens, he should stay in Hezhou City for a while. Once everyone spends time together, they will eventually relax.

……

According to Ji Xingchuan, Hezhou City, as an emerging city, cannot compare with Binhai City in terms of historical and cultural heritage.

Binhai City has been established for over a hundred years and has grown and developed along the way thanks to its proximity to the sea. Today, it even has a relatively complete system for cultivating extraordinary individuals, as well as several rifts that stably produce rare extraordinary resources.

Putting aside everything else, just the fact that the fissure can stably produce space-based materials is enough to make countless city leaders green with envy.

Hezhou City has been established for less than fifty years, and it is still in the stage of exploration and accumulation in all aspects. The main combat forces in the city are the city guards and the adventurers' guild.