MSC: Chapter 25

After figuring out how to make the Baochai card, Xie Mingzhe left the Peacock star region and returned to his personal space.

He passed through the living room and noticed the email icon on the large screen flashing. He remembered Tang Muzhou’s earlier reminder to check his emails, so he went over and opened the email icon. His inbox was overflowing with dozens of emails. Besides the official event notifications, many were from someone called Hongzhu.

One email read: Hello, Chubby Uncle. I’m the president of the Fenghua Guild. We are very interested in the Daiyu Burying the Flowers card that you made and hope you can contact us.

Hongzhu: Hello, Chubby Uncle. I’m…

The president Hongzhu sent over ten emails in a row, two a day, with identical content.

Xie Mingzhe finally realized the disadvantage of not checking his email.

The holographic game didn’t have a ‘stranger private chat’ feature. If they were friends, they could chat privately via voice or text. If they weren’t friends and weren’t in the same scene, the only way to contact someone was by email.

In recent days, he had turned off his living room email notifications in order to focus on developing his card collection. Now he found his inbox overflowing with emails.

Xie Mingzhe read through them one by one, deleting all the official promotional emails and turning on the system notification sound to avoid missing important messages later. After doing all of this, he carefully replied to Hongzhu’s email: Hello, guild president. I’m sorry I didn’t see the emails a few days ago because I turned off notifications. It is almost 9 o’clock and I have an appointment with a friend as well as other things to do. Can I meet with you in person when I get back around 11:30?

9 o’clock was the time the power leveling studio had arranged to run dungeons, and Xie Mingzhe couldn’t be absent. He had already guessed Hongzhu’s purpose in contacting him. It was likely related to the copyright of the Daiyu card, a copyright he wouldn’t sell. However, the other person had taken the initiative to contact him and sent so many emails. Out of politeness, he had to go in person and clarify things.

After waiting for several days, Hongzhu was almost vomiting blood when she finally received a message. She replied: Okay, I’ll wait for your reply at 11:30!

She finished sending the email and immediately turned to the next office to inform Xue Linxiang and Tang Muzhou, who were reviewing the match schedule.

Tang Muzhou had just been called offline by Sister Xue because Manman and Changfeng, who had been traveling, had returned to the club today. Xue Linxiang called together the four key players of the Fenghua Club to discuss the match schedule for the next season.

Tang Muzhou, Xu Changfeng, Zhen Man and Shen An. The four star players of the Fenghua Club were all present.

A smile appeared in Tang Muzhou’s eyes when he heard Hongzhu’s words. “He really didn’t see the emails, did he?”

“Yes!” Hongzhu was speechless. “I sent ten emails in a row and they all disappeared without a trace. I don’t know what he was doing!”

“Master, is this Chubby Uncle really a card-making genius?” Shen An asked curiously.

“Yes, he is very talented.” Tang Muzhou didn’t attempt to hide his admiration of Chubby Uncle.

“The auction news is all over the place and a lot of people in the contestants’ group are gloating.” Xu Changfeng patted his friend’s shoulder, his peach blossom eyes full of laughter. “Muzhou, what are you planning to do? Buy the copyright of the Daiyu Burying the Flowers card?”

“Will he sell the copyright?” Xue Linxiang asked worriedly.

“No,” Tang Muzhou replied confidently.

“How can you be so sure?” Zhen Man, the club’s only female contestant, asked calmly.

“It is because I just met him and he is a very patient person. In addition, he mentioned that Nie Yuandao contacted him before.” Tang Muzhou stroked his chin thoughtfully. “The number of cards he produced, as found in the database, doesn’t match the number of Daiyu cards we bought from the black market. There are over a dozen cards with no leads. If my guess is correct, Nie Yuandao contacted him because of the instant death card. In other words, besides Daiyu Burying the Flowers, this Chubby Uncle made another instant death card that specifically targeted Old Nie.”

Xu Changfeng’s mischievous smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression. “Old Nie contacted him to try and recruit him to the Judgment Club, right?”

“Yes. Since Old Nie personally intervened, the conditions offered by the Judgment Club must be quite good, but Chubby Uncle refused. My approach was more tactful. I originally wanted to take him on as an apprentice, guide him gradually and recruit him into the Fenghua Club. However, he quickly guessed my identity and politely declined my request.” Tang Muzhou’s voice was filled with some regret. “Judging from his attitude, he probably wants to be a freelance designer.”

“A freelance designer?” Zhen Man’s delicate brows furrowed slightly. “Are you sure he doesn’t have the backing of a club or a large guild?”

“I’m sure. He is probably a newbie who hasn’t been playing the game long and doesn’t understand many of the arena rules.” Tang Muzhou analyzed it. “He doesn’t want to be tied to a club. On one hand, he is very farsighted. He knows his unique talent and developing freely is a better choice for him. On the other hand, he is very wary of strangers and prefers to work alone.”

Xue Linxiang stared wide-eyed in disbelief. Tang Muzhou had only met the person once using a secondary account, yet he analyzed so much information. She had never seen God Tang so interested in someone before.

“So what should we do next?” Hongzhu asked nervously.

“Should we offer him even better terms than Judgment and try to recruit him?” Xue Linxiang suggested. “For example, make him a full-fledged designer and double the prize money. If he meets the age requirements, we could also let him join for the first time as a full-fledged professional player?”

“I’m afraid not.” Tang Muzhou shook his head in denial. “In my judgment, he is a very cautious person and won’t accept any club’s invitation. After he recognized me, he politely declined my request to become his master. This shows he isn’t looking at immediate benefits. He is thinking long-term. If a truly talented designer is allowed to develop freely, he will be more sought after than if he was signed to a club.”

“That makes sense. Without the restrictions of a club, he can design cards more freely and keep the copyright in his own hands.” Xue Linxiang frowned. “However, most freelance designers design pet cards. Almost all the designers of combat cards have been signed by major clubs. Judgment and Fenghua, the two most famous clubs in the industry, actively approached him but he refused. It seems he is very confident in his abilities?”

“I bet he has a lot of card-making inspiration in his head and he will be able to make even more cards soon.” Tang Muzhou turned to Xue Linxiang with a serious expression. “Sister Xue, don’t interfere in this matter. Leave it to me.”

“What do you plan to do?” Xue Linxiang asked curiously.

“Right now, he is like a rough diamond that is unpolished.” Tang Muzhou’s gaze was deep, a playful smile on his face. “I want to polish him myself.”

Xue Linxiang and Hongzhu exchanged looks.

Polish him personally? Did Tang Muzhou mean he was going to personally train a top star card designer? The problem was that the designer didn’t plan to sign with the Fenghua Club. Would training him benefit them? Xue Linxiang couldn’t understand Tang Muzhou’s thinking.

“Okay, let’s not discuss him anymore. We should continue talking about the competition.” Tang Muzhou brought the topic back on track. “Who wants to participate in this year’s individual competition?”

Star Card Storm had many competitions every year. Beside the official professional league, which all professional players were required to participate in, there were also many amateur competitions organized by sponsors as well as celebrity invitational tournaments, bounty tournaments, etc.

Tang Muzhou won the individual championship in the official professional league last season. Since his debut, he had won the individual championship twice in the fifth and ninth seasons. Now in the tenth season, he didn’t want to participate in the individual competition. He speculated that champions such as Nie Yuandao, Zheng Feng, Fang Yu and Ling Jingtang wouldn’t participate in the individual competition this year. Each club would send more newcomers.

Xu Changfeng said, “Xiao An will definitely go, right? I would like to join in the fun too. Is Sister Man going?”

Zhen Man said calmly, “I won’t be going to the individual competition. I will focus on preparing for the team competition.”

Xue Linxiang respected the contestants’ decisions and showed them the schedule. “Submit your registration information within three days. The first round of the individual competition starts on the 10th. Since Xiao Tang and Manman aren’t participating, it will be up to you two this year.”

Shen An confidently raised his hand. “Don’t worry, Sister Xue. I’ll definitely make it to the finals and try to win an award!”

Xu Changfeng smiled. “Me too. The championship isn’t guaranteed but we will try our best to win an award.”

Xue Linxiang readily agreed. “Okay! For the second team, I’ll have a meeting tomorrow to encourage them to actively sign up for various projects and gain more experience. However, for the final club competition, we will definitely need your four aces.”

All four nodded to indicate that they understood.

After the meeting, everyone returned to their dormitories.

On the way back, Xu Changfeng suddenly lowered his voice and asked, “Muzhou, you were so sure earlier that Chubby Uncle wouldn’t see the copyright. Actually, you didn’t want to acquire the Daiyu copyright at all, right?”

Tang Muzhou smiled, “You know me best.”

Xu Changfeng sighed and helplessly rubbed his forehead. “Are you crazy? If this card is released in bulk and every club has one, what good will that do you?”

Tang Muzhou remained calm. “I was the one who suggested the instant death judgment first. It means I’m not afraid of being targeted by instant death cards. My more important goal is to let Chubby Uncle fully utilize his talent and imagination to create more instant death cards, preferably selling them and circulating them in large quantities. This way, next season’s matches will be more interesting and challenging, right?

Xu Changfeng, “……”

He would rather everyone be targeted than targeted himself.

Tang Muzhou’s idea was quite wicked.

He didn’t acquire the Daiyu card and he even personally guided Chubby Uncle. So this was his purpose!

Xu Changfeng pondered on it for a moment before asking, “Speaking of which, you aren’t participating in the individual competition. In your free time, are you going to use a side account to specifically guide this Chubby Uncle, making him create a large number of instant death cards targeting various clubs?”

Tang Muzhou smiled and nodded. “Didn’t I say it? He is a rough gem and I want to polish him myself.”