45: Chapter 45 The Temple of Truth

Still, he had a rough understanding of the situation. From this perspective, limited by the materials, the current Tier 1 Kyubey Card really wasn't particularly overpowered.

" ... Uncle Lin. "

Su Bai thought for a moment and decided to discuss cooperation. " I have a condition. "

" Please, go ahead!! "

" First, the Kyubey Card itself will not be sold to criminals, deserters, or inferior contractors with a Mental Power rating below D-rank. "

A system notification flashed through Su Bai's mind: the soul gem of death-row inmates accumulates corruption extremely quickly, and the energy return is extremely low.

He remembered that in the original work, Kyubey only tricked young girls, and that made sense. Young girls were full of hope and easy to fool, and most of their wishes were trivial—like wishing for a crush to recover from an illness, or wishing to eat a cake... Such wishes were effortless to fulfill, and turning into a Magical Girl was just as casual. Because of this, the energy they returned when they fell into despair was terrifying.

Of course, it wasn't like there weren't female college students who became Magical Girls in the spin-offs, but those were exceptions.

In any case, although the current Su Bai didn't need to worry about energy return rates like Kyubey did—Kyubey would just fob off excessive wishes by saying the causality was insufficient—for his own sake, there had to be limits on selling the cards; he couldn't sell them unconditionally.

" What we want to sell are Magical Girls who can become combat assets, not a bunch of ticking time bombs that could explode at any moment. Every buyer must undergo a Mental Power screening and psychological evaluation. Those with weak wills, dark psyches, or questionable character—none of them are to be sold to. "

Chairman Lin was stunned for a moment.

Then he nodded vigorously.

" Of course! Of course! Quality control! I understand! "

" Second. "

Su Bai raised his second finger.

" Every Kyubey Card contract must be registered. The contractor's profession, rank, Mental Power rating, and combat data of their Magical Girl form after signing must all be transmitted back to me. "

This was a requirement for [Causality Chain Critical Hit].

Every Magical Girl was an experience pack for him. He needed to know the data of every experience pack.

" Third. "

He raised his third finger.

" The first batch of mass-produced cards will only have one hundred units; we'll see the results first. If the results are good, we'll expand. If they're bad, your Lin family will have to absorb the loss. As for card creation... I won't personally run the assembly line, as it's impossible for one person to complete one hundred cards, but I will provide you with the template, and you will handle the quality control yourselves. "

Chairman Lin nodded frantically.

Then he picked up the black card and slammed it directly in front of Su Bai.

" I'll draft the contract immediately! I'll have it ready today and we'll sign it tomorrow! Student Su Bai... no, Brother Bai... no, Master Su—do you have any other conditions?! Anything is fine! For technology equity, we'll split it 70/30, with you getting 70 and us 30! No, you get 80 and we get 20!! Whatever you want!!! "

Su Bai was silent for a beat.

" Uncle Lin. I don't really understand business. You can discuss the profit sharing with Lin Xiao. "

He paused.

" However, there is one thing I want to confirm. "

" Please, tell me!! "

" This black card— "

Su Bai picked up the pitch-black card. " Is it really unlimited? "

A smile that only appeared at banquets, slightly guilty, appeared on Chairman Lin's face.

" Well, theoretically it is unlimited. But if a single transaction exceeds ten million, please give me a heads-up in advance. It's not a money issue! It's just for the accounting department's bookkeeping needs; the Lin family's auditing system is a bit antiquated, you understand... "

Su Bai nodded.

Then he stuffed the black card into his pocket.

" Alright, that's it for now. I have other things to do. "

" What things?! Do you want me to send someone to escort you?! "

" No need. "

Su Bai stood up and walked toward the door.

He stopped halfway.

" Uncle Lin. One more question. "

" Please ask!! "

" If someone buys a Kyubey Card and uses it to rob a bank, will that have any impact on me? I remember the authorities have strict regulations on super cards, right? "

So-called super cards were cards with immense destructive power. After all, this was a card world; the cards here were even more terrifying than the various firearms from Su Bai's past life. The authorities had restrictions on some powerful cards, preventing people from using them recklessly within the city.

Of course, in reality, this had nothing to do with Su Bai as a card seller, but just thinking about if a bunch of Magical Girls in the future didn't do their jobs properly but instead turned to robbery and crime, and then a bunch of Magical Girls were imprisoned...

He dared not think about it; he really dared not think about it.

Especially, would a Magical Girl after transformation be locked in a men's prison or a women's prison?

If locked in a men's prison, they would definitely get screwed, right?

As for a women's prison... that also seemed not quite right.

In short, this was a very serious question.

" Generally speaking, no. "

" What do you mean by 'generally speaking'? "

Su Bai turned his head and looked at Chairman Lin expressionlessly.

" Let's settle this once and for all. We need to add a clause to our purchase agreement: at the same time as signing the contract, the contractor voluntarily accepts a supplementary contract. This supplementary contract will restrict their illegal use of the contract's power. Violators will have their soul gem automatically frozen. "

Chairman Lin's eyes lit up.

Not the kind of light when a merchant sees profit.

It was the kind of light when a believer sees a miracle.

" You—you can even do that? "

" I can. But it's not free. "

Su Bai said.

" So, add another five hundred thousand to the selling price. "

Then he pushed open the door and walked out.

In the hallway.

Lin Xiao had followed him out at some point. She walked side by side with Su Bai in the empty corridor, and the sunlight from outside cast their shadows onto the off-white wall.

" Do you know what it felt like when my dad knelt in front of me just now? "

Lin Xiao's voice was very soft.

" What did it feel like? "

" It felt like wanting to throw him out of the window. "

" Then why didn't you throw him? "

" Because he was right. "

Lin Xiao stopped, turned around, and looked at Su Bai. " It's not because he's a merchant, and it's not because he's flattering you. It's because he's right—this card of yours can really save people. The soldiers serving as cannon fodder on the front lines, the mercenaries abandoned by their families, those who have been waiting for death their whole lives. They might not care about what kind of skirt they wear, but they definitely care about whether they can survive until tomorrow. "

She paused.

" So. Thank you. "

Su Bai didn't answer.

He walked a few steps and suddenly spoke.

" Speaking of which. That mercenary customer base your dad mentioned just now... "

" Hmm? "

" What are their professions mostly? "

Lin Xiao thought for a moment.

" For mercenaries, there are Berserkers, Heavy Armored Shield Guards, Assault Troopers, Scouts, Elemental Gunners, everything. The Abyss Front uses mixed-profession combat, so there are many types of professions. Why? "

" It's nothing. "

Su Bai turned his gaze outside the window.

The goal of the system quest: make 10 different professionals become Magical Girls.

The professions Lin Xiao just casually listed already added up to five.

" Just thinking. "

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

" Maybe what we need isn't one hundred customers. "

" We need one hundred Magical Girls. "

Lin Xiao was stunned for a beat.

Then she took a deep breath.

" Su Bai. "

" Hmm. "

" That expression of yours is very scary. Even scarier than when you said ' Nobody understands Spatial Circuit theory better than me '. "

" Thanks for the compliment. "

" I'm not complimenting you!! "

...

Meanwhile.

[ Truth Sanctuary: Card Creator Council ]

If there is any place in this world that can concretely represent "Truth" and "Absolute Power", it is undoubtedly the Truth Sanctuary, floating ten thousand meters above the Imperial Capital amidst the auroras.

This inverted pyramid building, held up entirely by Tier 9 supreme materials and tens of thousands of perpetual motion array cards, was like the cold and arrogant heart of a god.

Above the dome, a materialized Mental Power storm flowed all year round; every seemingly plain dark gray tile stepped on inside the great hall was engraved with defensive circuits capable of withstanding the impact of Forbidden-Spell-level Abyss monsters.

Here, even the dust floating in the air contained spiritual energy fluctuations that were hard to obtain outside even with heavy gold.

However, at this very moment, inside the Tier 9 hall at the very core of the Sanctuary, representing the highest power of card creation in the world today, the atmosphere was so oppressive that it felt as if even gravity had been distorted.

Li Qingyue stood before the round table, her slender fingers tracing lightly in the void. The card created by Su Bai appeared before everyone's eyes. Due to copyright protection, no one could see the complete Spatial Circuit, but this projection was presented from the universal balance. Everyone only felt that the circuits before their eyes, complex enough to make one dizzy, were like a high-precision lithography machine forcibly molded from the crudest mud, savagely trampling upon the common sense of everyone present.

' Damn it, has Li Qingyue gone mad, showing off her Spatial Circuit again...? '

This was the thought in the hearts of all the elders.

However, Li Qingyue coughed twice and explained: " I know you all have been indifferent to worldly affairs recently and haven't paid attention to the world for a long time, but what I want to say is, this card was made by a student. "

" A student? "

Everyone looked over sharply.

" A Tier 8 student? "

[ Heavy Armored Dharma Emperor ] Lu Chen frowned.

" ... Tier 1. "

Li Qingyue paused and added: " SSS-rank card. "

Bang!

Lu Chen suddenly crushed the pure titanium water cup in his hand.

" What do you mean an SSS-rank card was made by a Tier 1 student?!

" Are those core researchers we spend tens of billions of funding to train every year just freeloaders?! A Tier 1 student! Created a Rainbow Card?! "

" Yes. "

Li Qingyue directly displayed the card's effects. " As you wish, the effect of this card is that it can turn people into Magical Girls. "

[ Phantom Sovereign ] Chu Hongye: " What do you mean this card can turn people into Magical Girls?! "

Li Qingyue ignored her and continued: " This card involves causality and can fulfill human wishes... I don't understand the specific mechanism of how it's done, but what is certain is that this card can judge whether others' causality is sufficient. "

[ Qi Yuan ]: " What do you mean that kid used low-level materials to create a causality-level weapon?! Carrion Vulture white feathers?! Deep Sea Blood Demon gel?! Aren't these all scraps used to make C-rank trash cards?! He used this stuff to build a causality chain?! What about the law of conservation of energy?! What about the principle of equivalent exchange?! Did a cat eat it all?!! "

The hall echoed with Qi Yuan's collapsing roar.

Subsequently, it fell into a deathly silence.

At this moment, the Sanctuary, hanging high above the world, was silent.

Li Qingyue said: " This card is still in an unsold state, and due to copyright reasons, I cannot fully reveal it to you. However, I can tell you one thing. "

She paused and said: " My Tier 8 clone, because of this Tier 1 card, rose directly to level 89, leaving only the job transfer quest to reach Tier 9. "

" Rose to level 89... your clone was level 80 before? "

Chu Hongye was stunned for a moment. She knew that Li Qingyue had an evil clone, but that clone's level wouldn't change; upgrading it required a lot of precious materials, which was also the reason why Li Qingyue rarely used that thing after reaching Tier 9.

But now...

" Yes, she jumped nine levels in a row directly. "

Li Qingyue nodded.

" Hiss... "

Within the space, sounds of gasping cold air rose one after another.

" What the hell is going on here!! "

" Quickly, quickly play the recording!! "

Inside the Sanctuary, all the Card Creators went crazy in unison!