Yin City.
“Uncle Chen, I’ll take a portion of [Blue-Ring Venom].”
“Alright, [Blue-Ring Venom] it is.
Gu Xin, you’ve been buying venom pretty frequently lately.
What are you up to?
Doing some more research?”
Old Chen had an employee fetch the goods from the warehouse while curiously asking the young man in front of him.
He couldn’t be blamed for his curiosity; this was the sixth time this month Gu Xin had come to him to buy venom.
The first time was Desert Cobra venom, the second was Human-Faced Spider venom, the third was Mandrake Flower venom, and the rest weren’t even worth mentioning.
These materials were more toxic than the last.
Old Chen especially remembered that just last month, this young man had also bought an [Eye of Darkness] from him.
The [Eye of Darkness] was a dark-type material, and combined with all these venoms…
Gu Xin looked so clean-cut and rather handsome on the outside.
Why did he only like buying materials like these?
“Just researching some new things,” Gu Xin replied casually.
“I get it.
But Gu Xin, I’m a bit older than you, so I’m going to say something you might not like hearing.” Old Chen lit a cigarette, took a drag, and pondered for a moment.
“I know Card Crafters need to be bold in their experiments, and powerful cards always come with risks.
Young people can’t resist temptation and might want to take shortcuts…”
“I understand what you mean, Uncle Chen.” Gu Xin tilted his head.
“Uncle Chen, I’m a decent guy.
I wouldn’t go down the path of a Dark Card Crafter.”
“Hahaha~ That’s good then.
Getting older just makes me a bit too talkative, don’t take it to heart.
Here, your [Blue-Ring Venom].”
“Thanks, Uncle Chen.” Gu Xin scanned the QR code to transfer the money.
“No need to be polite, we’re doing business after all.
Oh, right, I just got my hands on some Sacred Griffin feathers yesterday.
Top quality!
Are you interested?”
“Sacred Griffin feathers?” Gu Xin’s eyes lit up slightly.
The Sacred Griffin was a Tier 4 light-attribute magical beast.
If preserved perfectly, its feathers were excellent light-attribute magical materials.
And since Uncle Chen called them top quality, they definitely didn’t have any flaws.
If paired with other materials, he might just be able to create the summon card he had in mind.
Gu Xin really wanted them, but…
his pockets were empty.
“If I need them, I’ll contact you, Uncle Chen.”
“Alright.”
Gu Xin walked out of the general store, looking at the sealed [Blue-Ring Venom] in his hand.
Just this tiny bottle had cost him 30,000 yuan.
Being a Card Crafter really wasn’t easy.
“I need to sell some cards.” Gu Xin frowned slightly, but his little shop hardly had any customers.
*Whatever, I’ll head back first and see if I can succeed this time!*
At the thought of his upcoming card making, Gu Xin felt a surge of enthusiasm.
He felt like the success rate this time was as high as 90%!
Returning to his little shop, Gu Xin dove straight into his laboratory.
“[Tortoise] + [Water Element] + [Blue-Ring Venom].
It’ll definitely succeed this time!”
Gu Xin muttered to himself as he placed the synthesis materials into the alchemy furnace.
Don’t ask why card making used an alchemy furnace.
According to a certain master Card Crafter, alchemy furnaces could effectively increase the success rate of card making.
Of course, the real reason was the fear of the card exploding during the process.
An explosion hitting the Card Crafter was no joke.
Therefore, using an alchemy furnace was both safe and highly efficient.
Gu Xin closed his eyes and concentrated, pressing his hands against the alchemy furnace as his mana surged.
*Whirrr!*
The card-crafting furnace activated, emitting a low vibration.
…
“This should be the place.”
Yin Xue looked at the hand-drawn map in her hand that resembled chicken scratch, then glanced at the small shop in front of her.
After comparing the two, she confirmed there was no mistake.
“Blue Star Card Shop?
Does this name have some kind of meaning?”
Yin Xue walked up curiously.
The shop door was half-open.
Inside the laboratory.
About half an hour later, a card slid out from the card slot.
“Phew~ It finally worked.”
Gu Xin picked up the card and breathed a sigh of relief.
At least it wasn’t just a pile of scrap sliding out this time, but…
Looking at the effect on the card, Gu Xin couldn’t help but frown.
This was a bit different from the card effect he had imagined.
“Strange, I clearly added the [Blue-Ring Venom].
Why doesn’t it have an added poison effect?
What the hell, doesn’t that mean I wasted my [Blue-Ring Venom]?”
Gu Xin cursed inwardly.
A single portion of [Blue-Ring Venom] was incredibly expensive!
Plus the losses from all the other venoms he had bought before—that was all money.
He just wanted to make a poisonous card.
Why was it so difficult?
“Whatever, at least it succeeded, right?
I should be able to sell it, shouldn’t I?”
“Sigh, materials are getting more and more expensive nowadays.
I really need to sell some cards.”
Gu Xin muttered helplessly.
A Card Crafter’s success rate wasn’t one hundred percent.
Once a card exploded, the materials were naturally wasted.
Gu Xin had his own excuses; his card explosion rate was just a bit higher than average.
He heard there were even Card Crafters who blew up their furnaces.
Rumor had it that the one who blew up his furnace was still lying in the hospital, paralyzed from the waist down, and wouldn’t be getting out of bed for the rest of his life.
He had no idea how that master managed to do it—blowing up the entire furnace just from making a card.
“Let me think.
Since you’re a little water-attribute turtle, I’ll just call you Squirtle.”
Gu Xin pondered for a moment.
After all, when he was making the card, he had actually been thinking about that water-squirting turtle anyway.
After a quick cleanup, Gu Xin walked out of the laboratory.
When he saw a girl sitting in his shop, he was taken aback for a moment.
*I didn’t order takeout.*
“Excuse me, miss, you are?”
“Hello, I was recommended here by a friend.
I called out a few times just now, but no one answered.”
Yin Xue stood up and explained apologetically, while secretly sizing up the man in front of her.
He looked very young, only around twenty years old, wearing a white tank top and black trousers.
He had short black hair and a rather fair, handsome face.
His most distinguishing feature was his half-squinted eyes, which gave off a listless and lazy vibe.
“Um, I was recommended by a friend.
I heard you sell cards here?”
Yin Xue asked tentatively.
She wasn’t someone who judged a book by its cover.
But the man in front of her looked exactly like a total shut-in otaku.
“Oh, I was busy just now.
The soundproofing in there is pretty good.”
Realization dawned on Gu Xin.
His eyes instantly brightened, and his expression became much more enthusiastic.
“Come, have a seat first, miss.
Do you want Cola or Sprite?”
“Um…
plain water is fine.”
“I haven’t boiled any water, so you’d have to wait a bit.”
Gu Xin cracked open a can of Coca-Cola.
*Gulp, gulp~*
He chugged half the can in one breath.
Refreshing!
Every time he came out of the laboratory, he had to take a sip.
Yin Xue looked at the man sitting carelessly across from her and tilted her head in confusion.
Was that kind of carbonated soda really that good?
“It’s fine.
May I ask, did this card come from your shop?”
Yin Xue was very well-mannered.
She waited until Gu Xin put down his Cola before taking a card out of her bag, placing it on the table, and asking him.
“Let me see.
Oh, [Change of Heart].”
Gu Xin took one look and recognized it instantly.
The card featured a beautiful blonde angel with one black wing and one white wing.
It was a special effect card.
[Change of Heart]
[Category: Magic Card]
[Quality: 2-Star Blue Card]
[Effect: Gain control of one of the opponent’s summon-type cards.
Has a time limit.]
[(Note: Loyalty?
A beautiful lie.)]
“I remember this card.
I sold it to a female student back then, right?
That schoolgirl was pretty cute, and she had great taste—Cola has to be Coca-Cola!”
Gu Xin recalled.
That was half a month ago.
“Yes!
That’s my good friend Tang Yueyue.
May I ask if you have any other [Change of Heart] cards?”
Yin Xue asked, quite excitedly.
Heaven knows that when she learned the origin of this card from her bestie, her eyes had gone red with envy!
Being able to gain control of an opponent’s summon card out of thin air—this effect was simple, brutal, and powerful.
Even if it had a time limit, so what?
This wasn’t even about whether it was strong or not anymore.
Just think about it: you finally manage to summon a powerful summoned beast, but the opponent plays a [Change of Heart], and your summoned beast becomes theirs, even hissing right back at you.
Who the hell could withstand that?
Recently, armed with [Change of Heart], Tang Yueyue had been an unstoppable force at school, slaughtering gods and buddhas alike!
“I don’t have any other [Change of Heart] cards,” Gu Xin said with complete honesty.
Yin Xue instantly felt quite disappointed.
She had really wanted to use [Change of Heart] to give Tang Yueyue a taste of her own medicine.
“The main material for the [Change of Heart] card requires an [Eye of Darkness].
I only managed to get one by pure chance back then, which I used to make [Change of Heart].
To be honest, this card didn’t even meet my expectations.”
Gu Xin didn’t think [Change of Heart] was a very powerful card.
Rather, he was actually quite dissatisfied with it.
Not only did it waste his precious [Eye of Darkness], but this [Change of Heart] could only control the opponent’s summoned beast for a short time.
Since when does NTR only last for a moment?
Furthermore, because the [Change of Heart] card itself was only at the rank of a 2-Star Blue Card, it could only take effect on cards that were two stars or below.
Simply put, not only did it have a time limit, but it also had a rank restriction.
In Gu Xin’s eyes, it could be summed up in two words:
Absolute trash.
“Then do you have any other cards similar to [Change of Heart]?”
Yin Xue asked expectantly upon hearing this.
*Come on, sister, broaden your horizons a bit.
Why are you so hung up on an NTR card?*
Gu Xin looked at Yin Xue speechlessly.
Such a pretty schoolgirl, yet she liked that kind of thing so much?
“I do, sister, I do.
I have a card even more awesome than [Change of Heart].
Take a good look.”