The Card Apprentice - The Conduct of a Defeated Family

Alfonso was stunned, “What’s up?” He still didn’t know what was going on. The rest of them stopped what they were doing one by one, having never seen Chen Mu so fired up. In their minds, Chen Mu had always plodded along steadily, unmovable by thunder.
    

“Bring out all the military card appliances you have made, for me to see.” Chen Mu said.
    

“OK!” Alfonso had been aroused. Although he didn’t know why Chen Mu had become so suddenly interested in card appliances, that was the realm he was most familiar with. He liked the term card appliance, which made him feel more professional. Could it be that Mr. Chen wanted to advance the card appliance side of things? Once he thought of that, he had become aroused. Since card study was abstruse, it had to be studied from the beginning. If Mr. Chen could improve the card appliances, that would be better for his advancement.
    

What sort of character was this Mr. Chen? Alfonso was excited that someone with such power would study card appliances.
    

Without waiting for anything else to be said, he immediately took some helper to his own place, and moved a pile of card appliances back there. Chen Mu had devoted a large space to pile them in, and the room quickly filled. The most extraordinary thing was that Alfonso had actually lugged over some of the large-scale things that Chen Mu had seen in the auditorium.
    

Those card appliances were nearly five or six meters tall, which made them intimidating to look at, erected there. Standing below them, everyone was covered by their shadow.
    

“These are cluster cannons which have a lot of power. Even the most ferocious beasts would be reduced to dust by its blast.” Alfonso spoke with pride, since he was the one who’d proudly made them. It was the crown of the village’s garrison, where quite a few surly wild beasts had come under the cluster cannon’s fire.
    

Looking up, Chen Mu couldn’t help a sigh of appreciation, having only been able to see it from a distance before, where he could now examine it closely. Such a large-scale weapon wasn’t seen very often even in the Heavenly Federation. Who would have thought that in such a village, cut off from the world, there would be such a terrifying weapon?
    

“Dismantle it so that we can study it.”
    

Alfonso had long been waiting for Chen Mu to say that, as he very excitedly started to direct all the villagers in its dismantling. Seeing the villagers so easily dismantle such a solid and terrifying cannon, Chen Mu was speechless. But his attention was quickly absorbed by Alfonso’s explanations.
    

Chen Mu had a far deeper understanding of the card system than Alfonso did, often explaining a little about it’s critical areas, so that Alfonso could familiarize himself with it. Alfonso got more excited as he talked, since the expression on Chen Mu’s clearly showed that something had been brewing in his mind.
    

The dismantled parts from the cluster cannon were strewn all over the place, though they could only be placed outside, since it was so large. The villagers continually passing by would look at the parts all over the ground and couldn’t help showing what a shame and heartbreak they felt it was. The cluster cannons were the most powerful weapon in the village, and every one of them was precious.
    

Chen Mu had to admire Alfonso. Although there were many things about the cluster cannon that were primitive and crude, and which could be optimized somewhat, Alfonso had only been able to rely on that tiny bit of primitive knowledge of cards that he had in his head to make such menacing weapons. There was no need to doubt his innate gifts.
    

Mr. Chen and Alfonso were both nuts!
    

Every time a villager would pass by that so-called “lab,” they couldn’t help their strange expression. Everyone in the village knew that Mr. Chen and Alfonso had become addicted to tearing things apart. It seemed as though the two of them wanted to give up on everything, with everything that Alfonso had made being torn to pieces. That room was then specially called the “parts storeroom,” since all the weapons had been turned into parts. Even those youth who had been studying with Chen Mu felt heartsick.
    

The weapons that Alfonso had made had always been among the most well-received things in the village. Those things which had been thought all along to have been gotten with such extreme difficulty, were then surprisingly being dismantled into parts. That was no way for a defeated clan to behave! Especially at a time when such weapons were obviously more precious than ever. It even got to the point where many would run over to where the clan elder was, hoping that he would appear and put an end to such defeatist behavior, beyond anything in the history of the clan.
    

He needed to know that there had been enough weapons to arm over two-hundred people.
    

Chen Mu’s eyes were bloodshot, their having been taking apart the appliances for several days and nights to the point where even his brain felt numb. It was the third day of dismantling the card appliances, during which time he had burrowed into the lab alone.
    

Three sleepless and restless days!
    

He took a deep breath to clear his mind, feeling as fatigued as though he were being washed by the tide, and as though he could sleep standing up. He held several rolls of plans in his hands, as he stood in the largest room of the lab. All the workers in the lab dropped what they had been doing and respectfully stood in front of him. The youth couldn’t help their look of reverence, never having thought that the Mr. Chen who had always seemed to be in no hurry could be so desperate!
    

They had long since gotten the news about the situation in the village. Though all of them burned with anxiety, they had been ordered to help Mr. Chen and listen to what he told them unconditionally.
    

That day was the first time that Mr. Chen had gathered them since the emergency alert, and they stood very orderly, although they couldn’t conceal the excitement on their faces. They understood that their mission was about to arrive! Seeing the number one person in the village so busy that his feet didn’t touch the ground, they all urgently hoped that they had the ability to help somehow.
    

It was quiet enough in the lab to hear a pin drop.
    

Chen Mu said in a husky dry voice, “Everyone stop what you are doing, and process these things.” He held out the plans in his hands. After that, being tired to the point of not being able to hold anything, Chen Mu dropped his head and slept.
    

The lab became immediately busy, and even the ones who were ordinarily slackers became wound up like a spring. Chen Mu had already given them the best example, and they were as moved as though they had all taken stimulants, bursting in enthusiasm such as they had never experienced!
    

All the equipment in the lab was in operation day and night without stopping, and those youth who were mostly teenagers all roused their fighting spirits to throw all their energy into it.
    

* * *
    

Seeing the busy villagers, Bo Wen asked Cheng Ying, “Do you believe what that old guy said?” Starting that day, the atmosphere in the village had become abruptly agitated. Bo Wen didn’t quite understand how such a person who never seemed muddled could make such an unsubstantiated conjecture, to make such a hasty decision. He still didn’t believe the talk about the so-called gummy cloud layer disaster, and if there really was such a disaster, it couldn’t have been prevented by the Heavenly Federation.
    

“I believe it.” Cheng Ying nodded without hesitation.
    

Bo Wen turned in disbelief, not having thought that Cheng Ying’s response would be so definite.
    

Seeing Bo Wen’s suspicious gaze, Cheng Ying laughed to inform him, “They have no need to trick us.”
    

Bo Wen had been about to say something, when what Cheng Ying continued on to say made him abruptly open his eyes wide. Cheng Ying was whispering as she remembered, “Because I’ve seen it before!” When she said that her face betrayed some fear, as though she had remembered something scary.
    

Bo Wen’s expression slightly changed.
    

Cheng Ying smiled bitterly, “Do you still remember that time when we were being chased by that twin-hook beast? It seemed at the time that our best choice was to fly up, but I stopped you. Do you still remember?”
    

“Mmmm, I found it strange at the time.” Bo Wen said dubiously.
    

“I once went with a team into the outer reaches to compete a commission. We ran into an awesome card artisan that time, whose temper was so bad that he clashed with us. He was fierce, even fiercer than Chen Mu! Almost our entire army was annihilated. I had good luck and was only knocked out. Then his adversary caught up with him, whose power wasn’t any lower. The two of them battled it out, and when I revived, it was just in time to see them battling. Finally, they both died!” Cheng Ying glanced at Bo Wen, “They had flown very high, and then they fell to their deaths. I couldn’t find any wounds on their bodies, and to tell the truth I was terrified. I could never forget those two twisted faces, looking the same as if they’d been drowned. Ever since then, I’ve understood that there is danger even in the sky.
    

Bo Wen’s expression had completely changed.
    

* * *
    

It was already two days later by the time that Chen Mu woke up. His body had become well rested, and his strength had been restored. He was stricken by powerful pangs of hunger as soon as he opened his eyes. Seeing Chen Mu awaken, Li Duhong, who had been waiting at his side, rushed out to get some food.
    

“How have you been doing?” Chen Mu asked vaguely while he was gorging himself.
    

Li Duhong stood with his head bowed, saying respectfully, “We’ve already completed two hundred sets of each style part, and the senior apprentices are still working.” Although Li Duhong was young, he already had rather orderly thinking, much more so than Chen Mu at the same age. Chen Mu couldn’t help thinking that if the child weren’t so diabolical in his cleverness, he would be quite worth cultivating.
    

Carelessly stuffing himself, Chen Mu left the building again, and arrived at the big room of the lab.
    

Seeing Chen Mu come out, everyone put down their work. Under Alfonso’s guidance, they bowed their salute in unison, “Greetings teacher!”
    

When had Chen Mu ever gotten such treatment? He nearly freaked out. He wasn’t much older than those youths, and Alfonso could be his uncle based on his age. Teacher? How could such a rookie as himself have enough ability to be considered those peoples’ teacher? But then seeing them all clasp their hands in respect and rise, they looked like they were awaiting his instruction.
    

Beside himself, Chen Mu lightly coughed, “Have all the parts been processed?”
    

Alfonso stepped forward, and answered with unparalleled respect, “They’ve all been processed.” All the parts in Chen Mu’s design were made of metal, which was the strong point of a village so advanced in metallurgy. Since Chen Mu hadn’t been specific about the quantities, they had made two hundred of each part in a single breath.
    

The parts hadn’t been very elaborately designed, though they were plenty of trouble to process. Alfonso had tried roughly to assemble the parts but hadn’t once succeeded.
    

Even someone with as rich experience as Alfonso couldn’t figure out how the parts were actually to be used.
    

All of the younger people were full of curiosity, as they waited for Chen Mu to reveal the mystery.