The Card Apprentice Chapter 202

Lu Xiaoru slowly walked out of the flames looking pretty bad with her whole body showing burns . The destroyed red evening gown had long since turned to ash, though she didn't care about any of that as she walked out of the flames completely naked .

Her face was distorted as she ground her teeth and looked at the orange energy cloak .

"You damned jerk, to make me so miserable! This time I'll be giving you a taste of what it means when living is worse than dying!"

Her voice was full of hatred and satisfaction . But, the energy cloak surrounding her body had reached its limit, and it dissolved into the air with a pop .

Then, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and lightly choked her .

"Don't move . " It was a very light, calm voice, though with some chill to it . It sounded like it still had some of the particular tenderness of youth .

Before she could react, she felt the wrist of her right hand lighten as her apparatus was removed by the stealth attacker from behind . From the heavens all the way to hell, there would be no way to describe what Lu Xiaoru was feeling just then . Her adversary's motions were practiced and his thinking deliberate, making him quite a difficult character to deal with .

Was it him? Lu Xiaoru's heart sank . Could the person behind her be the card artisan assassin? But, then who had she attacked? Her gaze fell onto the orange energy cloak when her expression suddenly faded away .

In the dark, the orange energy cloak was very conspicuous . How would a card artisan assassin use such a thing? Why hadn't she realized that?

Biting her lip, it was too late for Lu Xaioru to fret, and she quickly considered how to free herself . There wasn't a thread on her . Her adversary was pasted up against her, which was a dubious action, like a bold act between lovers .

Lu Xiaoru gave a little laugh as her stiff body when soft, and she stuck out her smooth butt . She was testing . She'd experienced lots of men, and she'd just heard clearly that the one behind her was a man—a very young man at that .

Wouldn't a man feel desire, and a youth full of sap still more so?

Chen Mu furrowed his brow with his prior lesson still vividly in mind . This isn't an honest woman! He groaned as his left hand formed into a fist, and he gave her a punch five centimeters above her tailbone . That was a move he'd learned from Wei-ah while sparring with him . Wei-ah would always be able to punch him numb . Of course, Chen Mu could never be as superb as Wei-ah, but he had some of the basics and was able to deliver a good punch .

Lu Xiaoru felt her whole body go numb . The powerful paralysis made her lose any ability to move; she couldn't even talk or blink .

Her heart plunged . Although her adversary was young, he had some extremely powerful restraint . Added to his careful thinking, he would doubtlessly make a very tough adversary . There was already nothing she could do except to go along with it and wait for her chance .

The fear she felt wasn't as strong as it had just been . No matter which power her counterpart belonged to, none of them had any need to kill her . There was a lot she was capable of . A card artisan with such skill as hers was a resource, and still more, she looked pretty good . To change camps was pretty much routine for her . She only had a cooperative relationship with the Central Island Firm and naturally had no loyalty . She didn't care about sacrificing her beauty as long as she could go on living .

Although she couldn't turn her neck, her attention was on the youth behind her . There were always some very minor things that might reveal some of her adversary's habits and what was on his mind . She needed to understand him better . The more she understood him, the greater her chances of survival .

Chen Mu suddenly lifted his head as the card artisan in the orange energy cloak seemed about to come-to .

He made a move with his feet, and his body slid as though he were on ice over to where Butchie was . He extended the index finger of his right hand, on which a tailless shuttle was whirring at high speed . But, it never left his finger . Like a dragonfly touching the water, his index finger lightly touched the orange energy cloak .

The orange energy cloak suddenly shook violently as Chen Mu's index finger set the tailless shuttle rhythmically tapping on the energy cloak . The movement was light and quick and the rhythm clear . The energy cloak's shaking would go up a few notches with every tap .

Peng! After six more taps, the orange energy cloak finally couldn't hold out, and it broke into an orange starburst .

Just then, Butchie opened her eyes .

Her strangely smelling face was stacked over layers of black folds . Even her neck was black folds . There were some red spots on the folds above her face that were like drops of blood arranged in a peculiar pattern, making her entire face look more gloomy .

The two eyes showing were calm, mild and placid .

Then, everything went black, and she lost consciousness .

Chen Mu didn't look at Butchie's eyes anymore after she fell since the place was so full of danger; it wouldn't be good to linger . At the same time, Chen Mu didn't like killing people, although he sometimes didn't have a choice .

Just as Chen Mu was getting ready to carry Lu Xiaoru away, he suddenly felt an energy fluctuation coming from behind him .

He abruptly pushed out his feet as he slid back with his whole body . With a tap of his toe, he changed direction . He went through a few turns before arriving in front of the awakened card artisan . The changes of direction enabled him to have his back to his adversary and face directly forward .

The entire process was bewilderingly fast with each change in direction very erratic, so his adversary basically had no way to fix on him .

He made contact with the card artisan's terrified eyes and stayed still . They were only a few meters apart . At such a close distance, perception wasn't as good as using close combat . His body's explosive strength could be played out to its best at such a distance, which was also Wei-ah's favorite distance .

Although his explosive power wasn't up to Wei-ah's, having been trained by both Wei-ah and the demonic woman, he was as fast as lightning . The card artisan couldn't react . When the weird, ghostly face of Chen Mu appeared in front of him, it was almost pasted to his face . He could even see every stinking red spot formed by the ghost-faced flower .

Chen Mu's arms were as soft as two whips for a simple strangulation, locked onto his adversary's throat . The card artisan's head dropped with a snap . The entire motion was quick and neat .

The card artisan went down like a soft puddle of mud, and his two vacant eyes remained terrified while already devoid of life . The energy body just formed on his hand lost control and went off to the side, making a pit in the ground .

Without needing to double-check, Chen Mu knew his adversary was dead, but it didn't give him any satisfaction . On the one hand, he didn't actually like to kill people . On the other, if it had been Wei-ah, it would have been a lot more pretty, which is to say it would have been more efficient . He would only have to use two fingers and half the time to be able to crush the opponent's throat .

When Wei-ah was around, no matter what had to be done, it would be hard for Chen Mu to get excited about it . If it weren't done, then it would indicate he hadn't done enough; if it were done, then it would only be expected .

Lu Xiaoru could see everything from her angle, and her heart was filled with terror as she watched Chen Mu with a fearful gaze . It wasn't that she hadn't seen people die . Machida would kill people in more bloody and perverted ways, but that wasn't enough to make her afraid . She had even stood very appreciatively watching Machida use his butterfly wavy blade to torture someone to death bit by bit .

However, this time she did feel afraid . Her adversary's expression was just too peaceful . His emotions didn't move before or after, as though he were doing something utterly unremarkable . She had also killed people—quite a few people—and afterward was when she would undergo the greatest psychological transformation . Some would feel fear, some would feel excitement, while others might feel some faint defiance . She had never seen anyone who could remain so peaceful .

She hadn't thought it was related to Chen Mu's history . From his young life as a street punk, he'd seen a lot of death . Ever since he'd been mortally pursued, he'd had still more experience of death . That was especially true in the jungle, where he faced people dying every day, until by the end there were always children dying right in front of him .

In his eyes, death had gradually become an ordinary thing .

Chen Mu didn't realize he would subconsciously imitate Wei-ah when in battle, which included such calm indifference .

* * *

On a distant building, there was a person watching . If Chen Mu could see him, he would have been stunned to discover he was one of the three who had mounted a sneak attack—the one with the bar-brow .

"It doesn't look like him . Could I have been wrong the last time?" He was mumbling despondently . He'd seen clearly Chen Mu's agile attack just then without the slightest admiration . On the contrary, it seemed he'd been disappointed .

From his angle, he could see Chen Mu had picked up Lu Xiaoru and was getting ready to leave . That was from about 600 or 700 meters away; he had been watching Chen Mu's every movement in secret .

Picking up Lu Xiaoru, Chen Mu started to leave the battlefield . From the higher vantage, Chen Mu seemed like a phantom shuttling through the shadowy corners . If he hadn't been paying close attention all along, he would have been hard to discern . Those shadows were giving Chen Mu the best cover .

Right up until he was leaving, he hadn't even raised his head to look at the chaotic battles in the sky .

The world he watched was tilted, and his pupils flashed a rare look of panic . When? When had that person arrived? He hadn't found out a thing . He wanted to see what his adversary looked like, but he couldn't because he was above, and the face was always toward the ground .

* * *

Chen Mu wasn't interested in the battlefield, not feeling it had anything to do with him as he carried Lu Xiaoru off quietly . He'd knocked her out and dressed her in the clothes from the card artisan he had killed .

Wei-ah appeared before he went very far . To his surprise, Wei-ah was also carrying someone .

"Where did you find this guy?" Chen Mu recognized the bar-browed man in Wei-ah's hands and couldn't help but ask .

If he hadn't guessed wrong, he would be from the Lewin family, probably under Mose . Could the Lewin family also be participating in the big battle? He found it strange that Wei-ah had brought him back . Given Wei-ah's temperament, he would seldom be so concerned about anyone . Or, he would want to directly kill his adversary to resolve some issue, not knock him out to bring him back with him .

Wei-ah didn't waste any words and said directly, "Come with me . " He then led the way .

They were still within the scope of the battlefield, and the two of them were both carrying a person . If they had been discovered and drawn into the melee, it wouldn't have been pretty . Chen Mu immediately closed with Wei-ah .

Chen Mu may have been bizarre and erratic before, but Wei-ah's advance seemed fierce and full of the explosive power of a cheetah . While each pace wasn't big, every one of them seemed like an explosion from his feet . The whole person was like a shooting artillery shell with a very powerful impact .

Chen Mu had to use all of his strength to keep up with Wei-ah . Probably only someone as freakish as Wei-ah would have been able to get that far on pure physical power alone . Although speed wasn't the strong suit of the big mud fish card, it was a jet stream card after all, and Chen Mu knew Wei-ah wasn't even using his full power .

Carrying a person, Wei-ah didn't need to use any tools as he very easily climbed 22 floors with his bare hands . Even though Chen Mu had a jet stream card, he still felt rather taxed .

"Here . " Wei-ah used words like gold and tossed the bar-browed man to the ground as though he were throwing something away that wasn't a person .

As compared to Wei-ah's savagery, Chen Mu was a lot more civilized . He knew what he carried was fragile and needed to be picked up and put down lightly .

Checking things out all around, Chen Mu asked with curiosity, "How did you find this place?" You could see the entire battle field from there, but it seemed relatively safe . And, with the one-way glass, you could see outside with no way to see in . Unless you had really lousy luck—like that masked man with the light beam hitting the building—the damage from ordinary energy attacks would be very limited .

There were also a lot of things for spying in the room, such as a long-distance viewing apparatus . It was an instrument that used a special card to observe things from a long way off . Since its fluctuations were very small, it would be difficult to discover .

But, that little toy had a steep price . The army did have it, but military material was strictly controlled . If an ordinary person wanted to get one, it wouldn't be easy .

Chen Mu was very interested to open up the long-distance viewing apparatus, it being his first time to see the real thing . It took very little skill—not very much different from ordinary glasses . After putting them on, you could see things very far away quite clearly . He quickly grew to like that thing . It was really just too convenient .

Wearing the long-distance viewing apparatus, Chen Mu threw his gaze to the battlefield . Once he saw it, he immediately drew a deep breath .

Chapter 202: Are You Getting Sprung Too?. Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio Lu Xiaoru slowly walked out of the flames looking pretty bad with her whole body showing burns . The destroyed red evening gown had long since turned to ash, though she didnt care about any of that as she walked out of the flames completely naked . Her face was distorted as she ground her teeth and looked at the orange energy cloak . You damned jerk, to make me so miserable! This time Ill be giving you a taste of what it means when living is worse than dying! Her voice was full of hatred and satisfaction . But, the energy cloak surrounding her body had reached its limit, and it dissolved into the air with a pop . Then, a hand suddenly reached out from behind and lightly choked her . Dont move . It was a very light, calm voice, though with some chill to it . It sounded like it still had some of the particular tenderness of youth . Before she could react, she felt the wrist of her right hand lighten as her apparatus was removed by the stealth attacker from behind . From the heavens all the way to hell, there would be no way to describe what Lu Xiaoru was feeling just then . Her adversarys motions were practiced and his thinking deliberate, making him quite a difficult character to deal with . Was it him? Lu Xiaorus heart sank . Could the person behind her be the card artisan assassin? But, then who had she attacked? Her gaze fell onto the orange energy cloak when her expression suddenly faded away . In the dark, the orange energy cloak was very conspicuous . How would a card artisan assassin use such a thing? Why hadnt she realized that? Biting her lip, it was too late for Lu Xaioru to fret, and she quickly considered how to free herself . There wasnt a thread on her . Her adversary was pasted up against her, which was a dubious action, like a bold act between lovers . Lu Xiaoru gave a little laugh as her stiff body when soft, and she stuck out her smooth butt . She was testing . Shed experienced lots of men, and shed just heard clearly that the one behind her was a man—a very young man at that . Wouldnt a man feel desire, and a youth full of sap still more so? Chen Mu furrowed his brow with his prior lesson still vividly in mind . This isnt an honest woman! He groaned as his left hand formed into a fist, and he gave her a punch five centimeters above her tailbone . That was a move hed learned from Wei-ah while sparring with him . Wei-ah would always be able to punch him numb . Of course, Chen Mu could never be as superb as Wei-ah, but he had some of the basics and was able to deliver a good punch . Lu Xiaoru felt her whole body go numb . The powerful paralysis made her lose any ability to move; she couldnt even talk or blink . Her heart plunged . Although her adversary was young, he had some extremely powerful restraint . Added to his careful thinking, he would doubtlessly make a very tough adversary . There was already nothing she could do except to go along with it and wait for her chance . The fear she felt wasnt as strong as it had just been . No matter which power her counterpart belonged to, none of them had any need to kill her . There was a lot she was capable of . A card artisan with such skill as hers was a resource, and still more, she looked pretty good . To change camps was pretty much routine for her . She only had a cooperative relationship with the Central Island Firm and naturally had no loyalty . She didnt care about sacrificing her beauty as long as she could go on living . Although she couldnt turn her neck, her attention was on the youth behind her . There were always some very minor things that might reveal some of her adversarys habits and what was on his mind . She needed to understand him better . The more she understood him, the greater her chances of survival . Chen Mu suddenly lifted his head as the card artisan in the orange energy cloak seemed about to come-to . He made a move with his feet, and his body slid as though he were on ice over to where Butchie was . He extended the index finger of his right hand, on which a tailless shuttle was whirring at high speed . But, it never left his finger . Like a dragonfly touching the water, his index finger lightly touched the orange energy cloak . The orange energy cloak suddenly shook violently as Chen Mus index finger set the tailless shuttle rhythmically tapping on the energy cloak . The movement was light and quick and the rhythm clear . The energy cloaks shaking would go up a few notches with every tap . Peng! After six more taps, the orange energy cloak finally couldnt hold out, and it broke into an orange starburst . Just then, Butchie opened her eyes . Her strangely smelling face was stacked over layers of black folds . Even her neck was black folds . There were some red spots on the folds above her face that were like drops of blood arranged in a peculiar pattern, making her entire face look more gloomy . The two eyes showing were calm, mild and placid . Then, everything went black, and she lost consciousness . Chen Mu didnt look at Butchies eyes anymore after she fell since the place was so full of danger; it wouldnt be good to linger . At the same time, Chen Mu didnt like killing people, although he sometimes didnt have a choice . Just as Chen Mu was getting ready to carry Lu Xiaoru away, he suddenly felt an energy fluctuation coming from behind him . He abruptly pushed out his feet as he slid back with his whole body . With a tap of his toe, he changed direction . He went through a few turns before arriving in front of the awakened card artisan . The changes of direction enabled him to have his back to his adversary and face directly forward . The entire process was bewilderingly fast with each change in direction very erratic, so his adversary basically had no way to fix on him . He made contact with the card artisans terrified eyes and stayed still . They were only a few meters apart . At such a close distance, perception wasnt as good as using close combat . His bodys explosive strength could be played out to its best at such a distance, which was also Wei-ahs favorite distance . Although his explosive power wasnt up to Wei-ahs, having been trained by both Wei-ah and the demonic woman, he was as fast as lightning . The card artisan couldnt react . When the weird, ghostly face of Chen Mu appeared in front of him, it was almost pasted to his face . He could even see every stinking red spot formed by the ghost-faced flower . Chen Mus arms were as soft as two whips for a simple strangulation, locked onto his adversarys throat . The card artisans head dropped with a snap . The entire motion was quick and neat . The card artisan went down like a soft puddle of mud, and his two vacant eyes remained terrified while already devoid of life . The energy body just formed on his hand lost control and went off to the side, making a pit in the ground . Without needing to double-check, Chen Mu knew his adversary was dead, but it didnt give him any satisfaction . On the one hand, he didnt actually like to kill people . On the other, if it had been Wei-ah, it would have been a lot more pretty, which is to say it would have been more efficient . He would only have to use two fingers and half the time to be able to crush the opponents throat . When Wei-ah was around, no matter what had to be done, it would be hard for Chen Mu to get excited about it . If it werent done, then it would indicate he hadnt done enough; if it were done, then it would only be expected . Lu Xiaoru could see everything from her angle, and her heart was filled with terror as she watched Chen Mu with a fearful gaze . It wasnt that she hadnt seen people die . Machida would kill people in more bloody and perverted ways, but that wasnt enough to make her afraid . She had even stood very appreciatively watching Machida use his butterfly wavy blade to torture someone to death bit by bit . However, this time she did feel afraid . Her adversarys expression was just too peaceful . His emotions didnt move before or after, as though he were doing something utterly unremarkable . She had also killed people—quite a few people—and afterward was when she would undergo the greatest psychological transformation . Some would feel fear, some would feel excitement, while others might feel some faint defiance . She had never seen anyone who could remain so peaceful . She hadnt thought it was related to Chen Mus history . From his young life as a street punk, hed seen a lot of death . Ever since hed been mortally pursued, hed had still more experience of death . That was especially true in the jungle, where he faced people dying every day, until by the end there were always children dying right in front of him . In his eyes, death had gradually become an ordinary thing . Chen Mu didnt realize he would subconsciously imitate Wei-ah when in battle, which included such calm indifference . * * * On a distant building, there was a person watching . If Chen Mu could see him, he would have been stunned to discover he was one of the three who had mounted a sneak attack—the one with the bar-brow . It doesnt look like him . Could I have been wrong the last time? He was mumbling despondently . Hed seen clearly Chen Mus agile attack just then without the slightest admiration . On the contrary, it seemed hed been disappointed . From his angle, he could see Chen Mu had picked up Lu Xiaoru and was getting ready to leave . That was from about 600 or 700 meters away; he had been watching Chen Mus every movement in secret . Picking up Lu Xiaoru, Chen Mu started to leave the battlefield . From the higher vantage, Chen Mu seemed like a phantom shuttling through the shadowy corners . If he hadnt been paying close attention all along, he would have been hard to discern . Those shadows were giving Chen Mu the best cover . Right up until he was leaving, he hadnt even raised his head to look at the chaotic battles in the sky . The world he watched was tilted, and his pupils flashed a rare look of panic . When? When had that person arrived? He hadnt found out a thing . He wanted to see what his adversary looked like, but he couldnt because he was above, and the face was always toward the ground . * * * Chen Mu wasnt interested in the battlefield, not feeling it had anything to do with him as he carried Lu Xiaoru off quietly . Hed knocked her out and dressed her in the clothes from the card artisan he had killed . Wei-ah appeared before he went very far . To his surprise, Wei-ah was also carrying someone . Where did you find this guy? Chen Mu recognized the bar-browed man in Wei-ahs hands and couldnt help but ask . If he hadnt guessed wrong, he would be from the Lewin family, probably under Mose . Could the Lewin family also be participating in the big battle? He found it strange that Wei-ah had brought him back . Given Wei-ahs temperament, he would seldom be so concerned about anyone . Or, he would want to directly kill his adversary to resolve some issue, not knock him out to bring him back with him . Wei-ah didnt waste any words and said directly, Come with me . He then led the way . They were still within the scope of the battlefield, and the two of them were both carrying a person . If they had been discovered and drawn into the melee, it wouldnt have been pretty . Chen Mu immediately closed with Wei-ah . Chen Mu may have been bizarre and erratic before, but Wei-ahs advance seemed fierce and full of the explosive power of a cheetah . While each pace wasnt big, every one of them seemed like an explosion from his feet . The whole person was like a shooting artillery shell with a very powerful impact . Chen Mu had to use all of his strength to keep up with Wei-ah . Probably only someone as freakish as Wei-ah would have been able to get that far on pure physical power alone . Although speed wasnt the strong suit of the big mud fish card, it was a jet stream card after all, and Chen Mu knew Wei-ah wasnt even using his full power . Carrying a person, Wei-ah didnt need to use any tools as he very easily climbed 22 floors with his bare hands . Even though Chen Mu had a jet stream card, he still felt rather taxed . Here . Wei-ah used words like gold and tossed the bar-browed man to the ground as though he were throwing something away that wasnt a person . As compared to Wei-ahs savagery, Chen Mu was a lot more civilized . He knew what he carried was fragile and needed to be picked up and put down lightly . Checking things out all around, Chen Mu asked with curiosity, How did you find this place? You could see the entire battle field from there, but it seemed relatively safe . And, with the one-way glass, you could see outside with no way to see in . Unless you had really lousy luck—like that masked man with the light beam hitting the building—the damage from ordinary energy attacks would be very limited . There were also a lot of things for spying in the room, such as a long-distance viewing apparatus . It was an instrument that used a special card to observe things from a long way off . Since its fluctuations were very small, it would be difficult to discover . But, that little toy had a steep price . The army did have it, but military material was strictly controlled . If an ordinary person wanted to get one, it wouldnt be easy . Chen Mu was very interested to open up the long-distance viewing apparatus, it being his first time to see the real thing . It took very little skill—not very much different from ordinary glasses . After putting them on, you could see things very far away quite clearly . He quickly grew to like that thing . It was really just too convenient . Wearing the long-distance viewing apparatus, Chen Mu threw his gaze to the battlefield . Once he saw it, he immediately drew a deep breath .

Chapter end