Chapter 30
Rational discussion: Has Ning Xi gotten arrogant lately?
Main post: [I admit she made a splash during the campus competition, but hasn't she gotten a bit too cocky lately? She actually dared to challenge Luo Qing'an to a duel. They're going to participate in the card-making competition together.]
[Rational discussion: Has Ning Xi become the forum's hottest topic lately? You guys have practically dug up everything about her. I want to ask, are you really not Ning Xi's closeted friends?]
[Upstairs, the data package might also belong to Luo Qing'an. I remember quite a few people in the academy used to sympathize with him. I don't know what's so sympathetic about a rich person like him.]
Luo Qing'an is both gentle and talented, far superior to someone like Ning Xi who only talks big.
It's hard to say who's talking big. Luo Qing'an wins by default in the league; can he really lead a weak team to a comeback?
[However, wasn't it Nariren who led the team to a comeback victory...? Do you really think card makers are that useful? If card makers were truly that crucial, this industry wouldn't have declined.]
[Therefore, Ning Xi is one of the hopes for the card-making industry.]
[I'm still hoping...can she make a C-rank card? I remember Luo Qing'an has already reached the threshold of C-rank.]
[Ning Xi probably can't even afford the main materials for a C-grade card.]
Hmm... I couldn't afford it originally.
A week after Ning Xi was attacked, she received a very cautious message from Wang Rengui: "Ning Xi, do you have any free time? I know it might not be appropriate to bother you at this time. If you are still recovering, just pretend you didn't see this message, or you can beat me up if you want."
Ning Xi took a screenshot of the message and sent it to Yu Xiangyin, then replied: "Yes, I'm very free. Do you want to customize a new set of cards?"
Wang Rengui replied on the expressway: "Of course! Let's arrange a time to meet?"
Ning Xi wasn't lying. The mysterious cards couldn't be researched for the time being because, until the specialized mental energy blocking machine was properly configured, she was always at risk of having her mental energy devoured. Practicing card crafting was certainly important, but it didn't conflict with taking on orders.
In short: she has plenty of free time to make money.
With just over a month left until the final week of the semester, it was impossible to book a study room. Ning Xi generously spent 500 star coins to reserve a card-making room.
Speaking of which, even card-making rooms are in short supply lately...
Ning Xi sent the room number to Wang Rengui and lay down on the ergonomic chair, waiting for his arrival.
A knock sounded at the door, and Ning Xi got up to open it. Wang Rengui walked in.
Behind him, three men and two women entered. Their expressions mirrored Wang Rengui's, humble yet cautious.
The presence of six people made the already small card-making room feel even more crowded.
“You…” Ning Xi looked at Wang Rengui, “Are these the advisors you found?” Aren’t there a bit too many people?
“No, these are all people who want you to customize cards,” Wang Rengui said with a smile. “Ning Xi, you said you have a lot of free time.”
Ning Xi said, "People on the forum are still saying I'm not good enough."
“Of course,” one girl said. “Your ‘first place in academics’ beat ‘Golden Compass’ and made a lot of people lose a lot of money. If they don’t criticize you, who will they criticize?”
"Those who are qualified to comment on you don't lack cards, but for us, Ning Xi, you are our only connection!"
After Wang Rengui's explanation, she roughly understood what was going on.
These people come from different families, but they have one thing in common: none of their families have anything to do with the card game industry. They lack connections in the card game world and therefore don't know how to acquire high-quality cards.
They weren't short of money, but they weren't rich enough to spend it all on card players. Having heard about Ning Xi's track record, they all decided to try their luck.
None of them were in a hurry for the finished cards, so Ning Xi naturally agreed to them all, and then asked them one by one if they were interested in custom cards.
Wang Rengui naturally wanted a new set of defensive cards.
The female card master who had just spoken placed her bag on the table and shook out several materials: "I would like to ask you to use these materials to make a ranged attack card."
These materials are all of good quality; they must have taken a lot of effort to find them. Ning Xi picked up a piece of golden amber: "Is this also a material for me? It... seems to have reached grade C."
The female card master lowered her head: "I've heard that the best D-rank cards require C-rank materials as the main ingredient. I want to try it."
"Anyway, I won't be able to break through to C-level anytime soon."
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Ning Xi agreed with her statement: "There is indeed such a saying."
C-grade cards not only require C-grade materials, but also require the card maker to imbue the card with a trace of spirit. Therefore, if a C-grade material cannot be imbued with spirit, the card made will only be a high-grade D-grade card.
However, a D-grade card made with C-grade materials is not necessarily top-tier; sometimes it may just be that it has more energy.
Ning Xi told the female card master about all this, and she nodded generously, indicating that she could accept it.
Ning Xi then accepted her request.
Seeing that Ning Xi agreed, the remaining four people simultaneously took out their materials: "Boss Ning Xi, since you've agreed to hers, can you agree to mine too?"
Wang Rengui: "No, you've been planning this for a long time?"
The female card maker smiled and said, "Because it's usually impossible to get an appointment with a D-rank card maker who's willing to use C-rank materials, we can't waste this opportunity."
"You!" Wang Rengui exclaimed anxiously, turning to Ning Xi, "I want some too!"
"Of course, get your money ready."
...
Grade C materials differ from Grade D materials; the former has moved beyond the low-level range and entered the mid-level, further increasing the difficulty of processing them.
When Ning Xi's spiritual power covered it, the material did not immediately turn to ashes, but struggled for a long time.
Ning Xi carefully sensed the energy field within.
Even with its powerful energy field, Grade D material felt "dead" to her. Grade C material, on the other hand, had a flowing energy field.
It even strategically targeted and eroded Ning Xi's weak points in her mental strength, attempting to escape the envelopment of her mental power.
I see.
For the average card player, the risk of handling this material is very high; one wrong move could lead to mental damage.
But Ning Xi is different.
A continuous stream of spiritual energy surged forth, transforming into layers of tightly packed threads that enveloped the material's energy. The golden amber, finally unable to withstand the pressure, let out a mournful cry and melted into a dark golden liquid.
Is its property "sealing"...?
Ning Xi had an inspiration, and soon, intricate magic circles appeared on the card surface, layer upon layer, as if trying to draw the viewer's gaze in. The C-grade material was full of energy, so she could inscribe as many patterns and arrays as possible, adding more functions to the card.
However, the door to Class C was not opened for her.
It seems that this alone is not enough. But as an excellent low-tier card, this [Golden Feast] in her hand is sufficient.
Ning Xi was inspired by this card and sent Zhang Min a message saying that she would be working all night in the card-making room and that there was no danger. Then she started designing other cards.
The second C-grade material is quite special. It is neither animal nor plant-based, but a damaged intelligent core. It was brought out from the C-grade domain [Laboratory], changed hands several times, and no card maker was willing to handle it.
Perhaps it would be suitable to be made into a card-based technological product?
When Ning Xi enveloped it with her mental energy, she seemed to feel numbers and electricity flowing through her mind. Unfortunately, these characteristics disappeared when the material was destroyed by her mental energy, leaving only a cold mass of energy.
Perhaps... we should preserve some of the inherent properties of the material?
Ning Xi realized that this was very difficult.
For ordinary card players, the main challenge lies in preserving the properties of the materials while ensuring their own mental energy remains undamaged. For Ning Xi, the challenge lies in controlling her mental energy to prevent excessive damage to the materials.
Ning Xi sighed.
After finally figuring out a way to make cards by burning the materials clean, I never imagined that in the end I would still have to learn to take care of the materials and prevent them from spoiling so quickly.
She tried very hard to explore this method, but she was still not up to the task. She made cards from C-grade materials one by one, but she still couldn't find the right feel for it.
Only one C-grade material remains.
It was a beautiful gem, said to be the "crystal core" left behind after some kind of strange beast was killed, containing abundant and explosive fire-attribute energy. Ning Xi subconsciously enveloped it with her mental power, compressing the explosive range of the energy.
The materials were burned, the energy was repeatedly compressed, and the range of the explosion was greatly reduced. However, even after the energy was compressed to its limit, the explosion continued to occur, and its power remained undiminished, only its range was much smaller.
this……
Could this be the method she was looking for to preserve the properties of the material?
——
"Sir, increasing the budget for the Card Maker Competition... is impossible. Since you accepted this task, you should know the specifics of the Card Maker Competition. A declining profession, a declining competition, and a top prize equivalent to one or two C-grade cards... the sponsors have already lost interest in this competition. They've turned their attention elsewhere and are unwilling to spend a single extra penny on it."
Anselrod remained silent.
On the surface, he appears to be a polite young master from a prestigious family, but card makers from the same star region as him have all experienced his abilities and shrewdness.
What are his former enemies thinking? Perhaps they're surprised he took on this mess? Or perhaps... they're already looking forward to seeing him make a fool of himself and have prepared ways to deal with him.
But Anseror will not admit defeat.
"This year's competition also incorporates two elements: practical simulation in the field and online voting." He put forward his plan with a serious expression. "I can guarantee that the level of attention this competition will exceed the expectations of the sponsors... no, everyone."
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