Chi Yun Su grew alert, instinctively reaching into her pocket for the folding crossbow. Fortunately, she quickly remembered she was no longer in Black Port and quietly tucked it back.
“Who is it?” Chi Yun Su asked in a casual tone.
“The starship’s card maintenance technician,” came a male voice from outside. It sounded relatively young, but the tone was far from friendly.
Chi Yun Su tapped the screen on the restroom wall to take a look. It was an unfamiliar man around thirty years old, dressed in the uniform worn by the starship’s staff.
However, Chi Yun Su didn’t trust his claim based solely on his attire. She shifted her gaze downward, focusing on his hands, where she clearly saw several calluses on his fingers.
The positions of those calluses differed from Chi Yun Su’s but matched the Inspector’s, suggesting his reported identity was indeed accurate.
This was normal. Few card makers had calluses like Chi Yun Su’s, as in Black Port, she not only engaged in card crafting but also had to build her own equipment and undergo various physical and weapons training.
If she ever encountered someone with calluses similar to hers, Chi Yun Su would need to flee immediately.
No one else was around besides this card maintenance technician, so Chi Yun Su boldly opened the cabin door.
After all… this card maintenance technician appeared relaxed and unguarded, the type of traditional card maker she could easily overpower—she could handle two of his level single-handedly.
“What do you want?” Chi Yun Su asked, her tone slightly cold.
The man wore a stern expression, clearly looking for trouble. Naturally, Chi Yun Su didn’t offer any pleasantries. She opened the door mainly because she was on his turf.
“You’ve been swindling passengers on this starship, claiming you can repair cards to extort money from them, and you have the nerve to ask me what I want?” The man grew even more furious at Chi Yun Su’s attitude.
This card maintenance technician was named Yu Yin, also a Three-Star Card Maker. Starships were far more complex than cleaning companies, with core components consisting of several Yellow Cards, so the maintenance technician on duty had to be at least Three-Star.
However, despite being the same rank, there was a significant gap between his skills and the Inspector’s. Yu Yin had only recently advanced to Three-Star, but even basic card crafting knowledge didn’t require a high level of expertise to understand.
For instance, the fact that damaged cards couldn’t be repaired.
The starship was small, and gossip spread quickly among the staff. In no time, someone had approached Yu Yin with questions like, “Some cards on the starship have minor damage. Instead of waiting until they’re nearly unusable to replace them, wouldn’t it be better to repair them?”
Yu Yin was baffled. Upon investigation, he learned that a young-looking passenger claimed she could repair cards.
Charging tens of thousands for a single card—what a lucrative scam!
When the staff mentioned this, they looked at Yu Yin strangely, as if saying, “You’re so much older, yet you can’t even compare to a kid.” It made Yu Yin’s blood pressure soar.
No matter how much Yu Yin explained it was a lie, the other staff members refused to believe him. Some even went so far as to pull up surveillance footage from the activity room to show him.
…To be honest, even Yu Yin had to admit it looked convincing.But how could that be?!
Unable to convince others that card repair truly didn’t exist in this world, and determined to prevent people from being deceived, Yu Yin decisively came to expose Chi Yun Su, this fraud, face-to-face.
Chi Yun Su immediately understood what was happening and felt utterly exasperated. She couldn’t even be bothered to reason with him and simply prepared to close the door.
She had no interest in arguing with someone over this—there was nothing to gain from it.
Yu Yin didn’t give Chi Yun Su the chance to shut the door. He pressed his hand against the lounge door, as if he had caught her red-handed, his eyes immediately lighting up with conviction. “You’re guilty!” he declared firmly.
Annoyed by his persistence, Chi Yun Su stopped trying to close the door. She raised her head and glared at him. “Is harassing passengers part of Galaxy’s service?”
Yu Yin didn’t even flinch at her words, steadfastly insisting, “I have a responsibility to other passengers as well.”
Realizing this person wouldn’t back down easily, Chi Yun Su grew thoroughly irritated and sneered. “What makes you so sure I can’t repair cards?”
“Because I’m a Three-Star Card Maker certified by the Alliance!” Yu Yin tapped open his citizen ID, where beneath his photo, the profession column clearly displayed “Card Maker” followed by three golden stars.
“And you? Show me your card maker credentials,” Yu Yin retorted with a cold laugh.
Chi Yun Su, who had been fuming moments earlier, suddenly brightened upon seeing his Three-Star Card Maker status.
She truly hadn’t expected his card maker rank to be this high. She had assumed all Three-Star Card Makers were as knowledgeable and reliable as the Inspector, never imagining someone like the person before her existed.
Immediately, Chi Yun Su’s mind began to race.
Low-level card makers were nothing special to her and held little value, especially with such an unpleasant attitude, so she naturally had no reason to be polite. But a Three-Star Card Maker held considerable status no matter where they went, which meant…
They could be taken advantage of.
In Chi Yun Su’s mind, this guy instantly transformed from “annoying” to “a good person.”
“Does everyone who knows card crafting have to be certified?” Chi Yun Su raised an eyebrow at Yu Yin, deliberately lacing her tone with sarcasm this time.
Yu Yin grew even more convinced of his judgment and laughed coldly. “You don’t even know card crafting at all, do you? Do you know what kind of crime it is to scam a million star coins?” After saying this, he glanced at Chi Yun Su’s still-youthful face and softened his tone slightly. “If you return all the money now, given your age, people probably won’t be too hard on you.”
“You keep accusing me of being a fraud, yet you have no evidence whatsoever. You’re just slandering me,” Chi Yun Su shot back, giving him a taste of his own medicine. “Do you know what kind of crime slander is? Apologize to me now, and since you’re not completely rotten, I won’t make things difficult for you.”
“Me, a fraud?” Yu Yin felt this swindler before him was utterly obstinate and couldn’t help but laugh in frustration. “If you have the guts, try repairing a card right in front of me!”Chi Yun Su raised an eyebrow. “Why should I repair a card just because you suspect me and want me to prove it? Who do you think you are?” After saying this, she chuckled lightly. “Fifty different types of ink, twenty different kinds of materials weighing no less than one hundred grams each, one hundred card bases, and… I want to pick two books from your library. Give me these, and I’ll prove it to you. How about that?”
Ah, how could there be such a kind person in the world?
Knowing she currently had nothing but money, he even went out of his way to replenish her supplies. Truly the greatest person in the world.
Upon hearing Chi Yun Su’s outrageous demands, Yu Yin felt so furious he could almost spit blood. He could only think, as expected of a swindler—she really dared to ask for anything.
“Do you take me for a fool?” Yu Yin seethed with anger. Whether it was real or fake, if Chi Yun Su proved it, he would have to give her all these things. Combined, their value was nearly one million star coins. No matter what, this person wouldn’t lose out, right?
“If you’re so certain I can’t repair cards, what does it matter how high my demands are? What are you afraid of that you wouldn’t dare agree?” Chi Yun Su shot him a disdainful look.
Yu Yin choked up. In this atmosphere, he couldn’t possibly explain that he had misunderstood Chi Yun Su’s meaning. Moreover, he was absolutely convinced that no one in the world could possibly repair cards. Although Chi Yun Su’s conditions sounded extremely excessive, since she had put it that way, Yu Yin could only grit his teeth and agree. “Fine, it’s a deal! I’ll give you the card to repair, and you’ll do it again in the activity room in front of everyone!”
Hearing Yu Yin agree, Chi Yun Su immediately smiled. However, after achieving her goal, she didn’t directly agree. Instead, she raised another demand. “Forget the activity room. I have no interest in going back there to be treated like a spectacle. I’ll repair the card right here.”
Of course, this wasn’t the main reason Chi Yun Su didn’t want to go to the activity room. She had finally realized that card repair seemed more unusual than she had imagined.
Yu Yin wasn’t the low-level, inexperienced card maker she had assumed. Three genuine stars were right before her eyes. If even Yu Yin didn’t believe she could repair cards and came to cause trouble for her, then if this skill of hers spread further, it would undoubtedly attract even more trouble.
Chi Yun Su’s main goal now was to seek revenge against Lu Wei. It would be quite awkward if she ended up shining as brightly as a lightbulb.
It was better to keep a low profile whenever possible.
…The Inspector hadn’t reminded her at all! A hint of resentment welled up in Chi Yun Su’s heart.
Far away at F171 Port, the Inspector, who was hoping Chi Yun Su would scare more card makers, sneezed.
Chi Yun Su’s words made Yu Yin even more certain she was bluffing. Otherwise, why wouldn’t she dare to repeat the performance like before? Refusing to go to the activity room meant she thought it would be easier to fool him alone than a whole group, right?
Yu Yin sneered inwardly.
Card makers were different from ordinary people.
She could fool a crowd, but she couldn’t fool a card maker!
Card makers could freely use psychic energy. No one understood better than a card maker whether a card was functional or had been replaced.”Fine, but when you fail, you have to go to the activity room and tell everyone in person that you’re a fraud!” Not giving Chi Yun Su any more chance to back out, Yu Yin immediately agreed.
Chi Yun Su shrugged indifferently, since she genuinely could repair cards: “Sure, but the highest level card you give me can only be purple. If you give me a Yellow Card on purpose to make me fail, I won’t accept it.”
These words made Yu Yin, who was about to pull out a card, twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Yellow Cards are something even a typical Three-Star Card Maker has a high chance of failing to craft. Usually, Yellow Cards are only replaced when they’re completely worn out, so how could Yu Yin possibly have such a card to let Chi Yun Su mess with?
Yu Yin pulled out several Fixed Cards from his pocket that had been replaced and damaged since he took charge of this starship: “Just these. Pick whichever you’re good at, so you can’t say I’m bullying a kid.”
These Fixed Cards ranged from purple to green, with most of their circuits already turned black. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say they were practically scrapped.
But as long as they weren’t completely scrapped, there would still be traces of other card makers’ psychic energy inside, which could verify whether Chi Yun Su was truly repairing the cards.