18: Chapter 18 Li Haoran's Confusion: Is This Guy Serious?

The news of the full investment from the Lin family in Su Bai spread throughout the entire grade within a mere day.

It wasn't because he was that famous.

It was because the Lin family was too famous.

Within the Jinghai Card Creator Academy, the Lin family couldn't be considered a top-tier powerhouse, but they were definitely in the first echelon—with three rare material supply chains under their name, mining rights for two magical crystal mines, plus an elder serving as a standing director at the Jinghai Cardmaker Association. A family of this magnitude, even if they just sneezed, one-third of the entire grade would scramble to hand them a tissue.

And now, this family not only hadn't sneezed, but they had also done something that no one could understand.

They had thrown money at Su Bai.

It wasn't the kind of symbolic funding of a few thousand or ten thousand, but the kind of investment where the material costs alone reportedly exceeded two million.

Su Bai.

That Su Bai who ranked second to last in the class.

That Su Bai who couldn't even draw a stable basic Spatial Circuit for an Element Card.

That Su Bai who had slept in the back of the classroom for a full half-year and was assumed by all instructors to be "destined to be sent to the Abyss Front as cannon fodder in the future."

"Are you kidding me?"

Wang Shaotian sent a full seventeen question marks in the class group chat, "The Lin family is investing in Su Bai? That Su Bai? Let me confirm, is it the Su Bai in our class? Or is there a second Su Bai in the school?"

[Zhao Dahai]: [It's the Su Bai in our class. Is there a problem?]

[Wang Shaotian]: [There is a huge problem, okay! Does the Lin family have so much money they don't know where to spend it? Investing in him? He can't even make an Element Card!]

[Zhao Dahai]: [Heh.]

Zhao Dahai only replied with two words.

Then he closed the class group chat, lay down on his dormitory bed, and wore a smile on his face that only those in the know could wear, staring at the ceiling.

What do you all know.

You all know nothing.

That guy Su Bai... is an existence that can make a fourth-order Card Creator doubt their life.

However, Zhao Dahai didn't say it out loud. Because Lin Xiao had warned him in a private chat not to reveal any information about that card of Su Bai's before the Monthly Exam. The Spatial Circuit of that card was too outrageous, so outrageous that if it were exposed early, it might attract unnecessary trouble.

Of course, Su Bai's creative concept had to be kept secret too.

After all...

Such a badass Spatial Circuit paired with such an abstract Magical Girl concept, anyone would lose their mind!

— — Meanwhile.

East District of the Academy, independent card creation villa.

Though called a villa, it was more like a private research laboratory for the Li family.

A three-story European-style building, the basement was a temperature-controlled material storage, the first floor was the living area, the second floor was a meditation room, and the third floor was a dust-free experimental level equipped specifically for high-order card creation.

The magic shielding barrier for the entire building was personally installed by a retired seventh-order Card Creator, isolating internal and external magical fluctuations, and also isolating all disturbances from the outside world.

"The Lin family has fully invested in Su Bai?" Li Haoran put down the card creation pen in his hand.

He had just completed the seventh round of circuit refinement on his own Monthly Exam card, and the tip of the pen was still stained with silver-white Mithril Spirit Ink.

On his card creation table, thirteen Demon-Sealing Boxes were neatly arranged, and the materials contained in each box were enough to bankrupt an ordinary student—sixth-order Phoenix tail feather extract, Mithril Stardust powder smelting liquid, and even a small piece of ninth-order Phoenix-patterned Blood Marrow that he had spent two hundred thousand to win at the guild auction house.

For this Monthly Exam where Master Li Qingyue would be personally present, the Li family had also brought out their bottom-of-the-box resources.

But at this moment, his attention was not on these materials.

It was on the person kneeling half-way on the ground before him.

The man in black was named Li San; nominally, he was the Li family's butler, but in reality, he was an intelligence operative cultivated by the Li family.

A fourth-order Assassin-type Card Creator, specializing in information gathering and tracking. He could hack into most of the school's general-access databases within thirty seconds and could also investigate all the details of an ordinary student without alerting anyone.

"Is the information accurate?" Li Haoran asked.

"Accurate. Lin Weiwei personally placed the order herself, and the amount was exactly two million and five thousand."

Li San's voice was very flat, "The materials include century-old white feathers of a Corpse-Eating Vulture, Deep-Sea Blood Demon gel, Wind Wolf King heart-protecting white fur, and Shadow Silk, all of which are high-order monster materials. According to people in the black market, Lin Weiwei admitted over the phone that these materials were used to make a ragdoll."

"A ragdoll?" Li Haoran frowned.

"A thirty-five-centimeter ragdoll. White. Cat-shaped."

Li Haoran was silent for a few seconds.

Given his background and experience, there weren't many things that could make him silent. The price of ninth-order Phoenix-patterned Blood Marrow. The casualty rate on the Abyss Front. Power struggles within the family. He had seen and dealt with these things.

But a ragdoll that cost two million and five thousand?

This information went beyond his cognitive range.

"This person named Su Bai." Li Haoran leaned back in his chair, "Do I have any impression of him from before?"

"Yes. But not worth having." Li San said, "His father died on the Abyss Front, and after the pension was spent, he has been living on school subsidies and part-time work. Since enrollment, his card creation grades have consistently been at the bottom of the class. The instructors' evaluation of him is—'If he can graduate successfully, it must be because the academy lowered the assessment standards to increase the graduation rate.' The only thing worth noting is that he suddenly started purchasing materials three days ago, and the person accompanying him was Lin Xiao."

"Three days."

"Yes. Three days. In these three days, he went from a piece of trash who couldn't even afford the blood essence of an Iron-Armored Bull, to someone the Lin family is willing to invest two million in—"

"I don't know what." Li Haoran finished the second half of the sentence for him.

Then he stood up and walked to the window.

Outside the window, Jinghai City Academy was shrouded in the afternoon sun. In the distance, one could faintly see the defensive barrier of the Abyss Front refracting a faint purple halo in the sky. It was a light that ordinary people couldn't discern with the naked eye; only Card Creators whose Mental Power had reached a certain level could see it.

Li Qingyue.

He silently repeated this name in his heart.

This name represented not just a ninth-order Mythical-level Card Creator, but also a path to a higher realm. If he could be favored by her in this Monthly Exam, if he could become her disciple, even a powerhouse like the Li family would ascend to a higher level.

Therefore, he must win this Monthly Exam.

Not "try to win," but "must."

So when he heard that Su Bai—that loser whose name he didn't even think was worth remembering—had suddenly obtained full investment from the Lin family, a string deep in his heart was plucked.

The Lin family were not fools.

Lin Weiwei even less so. That woman was a fourth-order intermediate Card Creator, specializing in the Spatial system, and had published three papers in the Jinghai Card Creator Journal. A person who could make such a person shell out two million could not be a pure loser.

Unless—

"Is he hiding something?" Li Haoran asked.

Li San was silent for a few seconds.

"There is no concrete evidence at the moment. But I investigated one thing—among the materials Su Bai purchased on the black market, they included three master-level textbooks: 'Non-linear Spatial Geometry and Morphological Topological Evolution', 'High-Dimensional Weapon Structure and Material Collapse Analysis', and 'Micro-Spirit Particle Transition and Superconducting Magic Fluid Theory'."

"High-order theoretical books?"

"Yes. These three books are sixth-order research-level textbooks. The number of people on the market who can understand them does not exceed three percent of the registered members of the Jinghai Cardmaker Association."

Li Haoran's pupils contracted slightly.

A person who couldn't even draw a stable basic circuit, buying sixth-order textbooks?

"Interesting."

Li Haoran turned around and muttered to himself, "Since he and I are classmates, there's no need to beat around the bush; I'll just ask him directly on QQ."

Li San hesitated for a moment.

"Young Master. You don't need to do this yourself—given your status, to proactively contact someone who ranks second to last, wouldn't it be a bit... beneath you?"

"Beneath me?"

Li Haoran walked to the material cabinet, opened the drawer, and took out a small tea canister from inside. Inside the canister was Spirit Tea freshly picked this year, where a single leaf was worth a year's living expenses for an ordinary student.

"Someone who can make the Lin family spend two million, no matter what, won't be beneath me. Besides—" He paused.

"If he is really playing the fool, then he is currently trying to steal my position. Understanding an opponent is a basic courtesy. If he isn't playing the fool... then it's even more interesting. The Lin family burning two million to bet on a madman—this matter itself is worth me spending five minutes to confirm."

He opened QQ and very directly started a private chat with Su Bai.

"Are you there?"

— — Su Bai was in the dormitory doing the final preparatory work for Kyubey.

It had to be said, the Lin family indeed had great power; two million and five thousand worth of rare materials were all gathered in just one day. What kind of efficiency and capability was this?

Su Bai sighed with emotion while browsing through the materials again, recalling the tasks he needed to perform later in his mind.

The production process for the Kyubey entity was not particularly complex, but it required extremely high precision in technique. He needed to complete the final connection steps of the body while maintaining the stability of the physical vessel. If the precision error in any step exceeded the threshold, the conceptual compatibility would plummet sharply.

However, this wasn't a major issue.

After all, he had a cheat.

Just then, the phone on the table vibrated, and the light from the screen illuminated Su Bai's face.

It wasn't a news notification, but a private message.

[Li Haoran]: [Are you there?]

Li Haoran.

Su Bai could find a whole string of information corresponding to this name in the original owner's memories.

The top-seeded student in the class for overall Card Creator rankings, a direct heir of the Li family, and one of Lin Xiao's suitors. It was said that from his very first day at school, he started using high-grade monster materials to make practice cards—not because his skills weren't enough and he needed high-grade materials to compensate, but because he had been exposed to that level of items since childhood, making him unaccustomed to using basic materials.

In other words, he was the kind of man standing at the very top of the food chain, someone who had absolutely no intersection with Su Bai.

But now, he had taken the initiative to message Su Bai privately.

Su Bai thought for a moment and typed a reply.

[Su Bai]: [What is it?]

[Li Haoran]: [I've heard some news about you recently and was a bit curious. I hope I'm not disturbing you?]

[Su Bai]: [It's fine. I have an experiment to do later, so if you have anything to ask, just ask. I can reply within five minutes.]

When Li Haoran saw this line, his eyelid twitched.

Five minutes? This guy was really acting high and mighty.

The last time someone set a time limit like that when speaking to him, it was a Tier 6 Card Creator coming to stock up at the Li family's warehouse—and that was only after he had stood respectfully at the door for half an hour to earn the chance.

However, he didn't show any dissatisfaction and just continued typing.

[Li Haoran]: [Straightforward. Then I'll just ask directly. Regarding the Lin family investing in you, I don't mean anything else by it, I'm just purely curious. Zhao Dahai and Lin Xiao are in the same group as you, right? So what is your project? You know, Master Li Qingyue is coming this time, so the pressure is indeed quite high.]

Su Bai looked at this message.

Was this—fishing for information?

Su Bai wasn't sure.

But there was one thing he could be sure of: the other party wasn't asking about any secret. The characteristics of the Kyubey card had already been disclosed during the group discussion.

Zhao Dahai knew, Lin Xiao knew, and Lin Weiwei knew. Since three people already knew, it didn't matter if one more person knew.

Most importantly, Su Bai didn't feel there was anything to hide about this card.

After all, it was just a common card that could be drawn as long as one had the system.

Therefore, adhering to the principle of "only necessary communication," Su Bai answered the other party's question very honestly.

[Su Bai]: [Nothing much, I just made a shell for a cat. Next, I have to make it come alive.]

[Li Haoran]: [A cat? I don't quite understand. Is it Beast Type, Contract Type, or Armament Type?]

[Su Bai]: [Armament Summoning type, I guess. It has quite a few functions, but there are three main core functions. First, it persuades suitable candidates to become a Magical Girl, allowing humans to realize any wish by signing a contract.]

Sent.

When Li Haoran saw this line, he felt dazed. Had he misread something?

But he read the text Su Bai sent again carefully and couldn't help but type to confirm: [Magical Girl?]

[Su Bai]: [Yes, Magical Girl.]

[Li Haoran]: [What does this have to do with an Armament Card?]

[Su Bai]: [It does. After transforming, there will be a set of exclusive armament, including a full Magical Girl combat outfit: a pink lace puffy skirt, ribbon gloves, a bow hair accessory, and magic high heels.]

Silence.

A long silence.

Li Haoran stared at it carefully for a long time and asked: [Then, what happens if a man uses it?]

[Su Bai]: [He will undergo a sex change.]

[Li Haoran]: [?]

[Su Bai]: [A man will become a Magical Girl.]

Su Bai looked at the screen, feeling that he had described the card's functions very completely, and had even thoughtfully added the explanation regarding male users. He was very satisfied with this.

However, on the other end of the chat, Li Haoran was currently staring at the screen with an extremely subtle expression.

It wasn't anger, nor was it disdain.

It was a kind of... mix of confusion, bewilderment, and a trace of daze that bordered on "Is this guy treating me like an idiot?"

Magical Girl.

Pink lace skirt.

A man will become a woman... well, calling it a woman doesn't seem right; a man will become a Magical Girl.

Fine, very fine.

These keywords repeatedly rearranged themselves in Li Haoran's mind, attempting to piece together a reasonable explanation—and all failed.

He put down the phone and was silent for a few seconds.

Then he picked it up again and reread those messages.

Same result.

What kind of card is a Magical Girl? He had never heard of it. If it were defensive armor, that might be acceptable, but forcing the word "Girl" into the middle of such a name clearly meant it wasn't anything serious.

And adding something like a heart-shaped fairy wand? Does that look like an armament? A combat outfit is just a skirt?

What kind of joke is this? Does that kind of thing count as an armament?

And soul extraction?

Li Haoran took a deep breath and made a quick judgment in his heart.

The first possibility—Su Bai was messing with him.

Just making up a load of nonsense, after all, boasting doesn't require a draft.

"If that's the case, this guy certainly has some nerve."

Li Haoran muttered to himself, but then he thought again: No.

If Su Bai was really messing with him, then what about the two million from the Lin family?

Lin Weiwei couldn't possibly be a sucker who was fooled by a load of nonsense. Her research on spatial-type cards ranked among the best in all of Jinghai City; trying to fool her was harder than cheating on a final exam.

Then only the second possibility remained—when Su Bai said those things... he was serious.

He really thought he was making a card that could make a tough guy wear a skirt and become a Magical Girl. And he had actually convinced Lin Weiwei to shell out two million to support him.

Thinking of this, Li Haoran's expression became even more subtle.

Not because of fear.

But because of—embarrassment.

A subtle, strange, indescribable kind of embarrassment.

It was like a boxer standing in the ring, getting into position, ready to battle a rumored rival who was his equal.

Then the opponent walked out—pushing an ice cream cart. And wearing a clown suit.

"...I really am..."

Li Haoran leaned back in his chair and raised a hand to rub his temples.

He felt that the vigilance he had previously held toward Su Bai was like striking a fighting pose against a blank white wall.

Su Bai was not an opponent.

Su Bai simply wasn't a person from the same dimension.

All those high-grade materials, rare circuits, and the huge investment of two million and fifty thousand—it all turned out to be for making a cat. A talking cat that could make people wear women's clothing, an inexplicable cat.

"Forget it."

Li Haoran put the phone aside and picked up his card-making pen again.

His gaze fell back onto the masterpiece in front of him that was about to be completed, and all distracting thoughts were suppressed.

Su Bai was not a threat. A guy who couldn't even figure out what a normal Armament Card was and put all his energy into a strange ragdoll had no meaning for him to discuss, let alone compete with him on the same track.

He had been wrong from the very beginning.

This man was not worth him spending even one more second thinking about.

He took a deep breath, looked at the precious materials under his card-making table, and began to continue preparing his own truly powerful card.

On the other side, Su Bai looked at the chat bar where Li Haoran hadn't replied for several minutes and fell into confusion.

What's wrong with this guy?

He sent a message to ask a question, Su Bai kindly and detailedly answered for a long time, and yet the other party just left him on read? Isn't that a bit rude?

Forget it.

Anyway, it didn't matter if they didn't believe him; he had no obligation to make everyone approve of him.

Throwing the phone aside, Su Bai stopped paying attention to the messy messages in the group.

Because the materials had arrived.

A full two million and fifty thousand worth of goods had been sent over by Lin Weiwei via express delivery, and they were currently neatly arranged on his card-making table.

Su Bai looked at the halos refracted by those bottles and jars under the light, and the corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably.

"Let's start!"