Chapter 10: Drawing Another Card

Old Sun spent three minutes talking about the upcoming minor examination, though he hadn’t been nearly as detailed as he was just now when speaking to Jiang Tang privately.

Jiang Tang lost interest after listening for a while and began fiddling with the smart device on her wrist.

A friend request popped up on the screen: [Greetings, Great Master. I am the bookmaker for the arena matches.]

Jiang Tang realized with a start that she had indeed invested some money before the match.

After accepting the request, the other party sent a "bear shaking hands" emoji and then transferred the funds with impressive efficiency. A notification indicated that fifty million credits had been deposited.

Jiang Tang: [Thanks.]

aaa_HealingPodWholesale_LittleWang: [Master Jiang Tang, are you interested in checking out our newly arrived mental power healing pods? They are the latest development from Ping An Medical, a subsidiary of the Prosperity Consortium. The mental power recovery rate is as high as 200%! Plus, there’s a special promotion—1% off! [Fly-alien-rubbing-hands.jpg]]

Jiang Tang did, in fact, need a healing pod. Although she had obtained the Heart-Clearing Mantra from Goddess Nüwa, her mental power recovery speed was still far from ideal. She had used the power of her cards during the arena match, and now her mental power was fluctuating between -7 and -8.

The arena match was in three days, and she needed to return to her peak state as soon as possible. The original owner of this body had once owned a healing pod, but she had given it to Sheng Huai'an during her freshman year. Sheng Huai'an hadn't even wanted it; he had transferred it to Gu Xue right in front of her.

Jiang Tang: [How much?]

aaa_HealingPodWholesale_LittleWang: [Basic model: 2 million; Advanced model: 5 million; Premium model: 10 million; Top-tier configuration: 30 million. Which one would you like to see, Master?]

Jiang Tang: [Give me the top-tier one. Can it arrive today?]

aaa_HealingPodWholesale_LittleWang: [You are generous, Master! Delivery within Nebula Academy is guaranteed within one hour!]

Jiang Tang clicked the payment link, spending more than half of the credits she had just received without batting an eye. The page immediately updated to "Out for Delivery."

aaa_HealingPodWholesale_LittleWang: [May I ask, Master, how many opponents do you plan on taking down in the minor exam?]

Jiang Tang curled her lips and clicked send on a "Death to them all" emoji.

The other party remained silent for a long time before replying: [Hehe, then I wish you a resounding victory, Master!]

Jiang Tang transferred the remaining twenty million: [Bet it all on me taking first place.]

After the notification confirmed receipt, she didn't bother to read the reply. She exited the chat and logged into the StarNet. The top trending topic was about the alien attack on the shipping lane.

[Does anyone know who that expert with the golden staff is?]
[+1, I want to know which River of Time they resonated with.]
[Heh, just grandstanding.]

[The person above is just bitter because they’ll never draw a Gold card. Being able to transform into a giant—it must be Norse or Greek. Card masters from those two rivers are very powerful this season.]
[That’s not right. The costume and the style are quite different from those two; it looks more like a resonator from the Yamato side.]

Jiang Tang was full of question marks. How could someone mistake a father for his son? She typed out a string of text and hit send.

PingTuiInterstellar: [This is clearly a Huaxia resonator, isn't it?]

The comment went unnoticed, except for two replies:

[Don't be stupid, isn't Huaxia just a myth? That was debunked ages ago.]
[Have you been brainwashed? "Huaxia," give me a break. I beg you to read some actual history and stop browsing those clickbait accounts!]

Jiang Tang frowned slightly. She had assumed that Huaxia civilization in this world was just unpopular, but how had it become a completely fabricated myth? She typed "Huaxia" into the search bar. The first news result that popped up was "Huaxia Officially Debunked by Federal Experts," with a publication date from a hundred years ago.

Jiang Tang was speechless. "What kind of bullshit experts..."

She noted this down silently and clicked on a post titled "Double Alien Attack on the Shipping Lane? Cooperation or Control?" The post was from a clickbait account; after a cursory glance, it was full of mysterious jargon and lacked any real substance, yet the comment section was in an uproar.

[It’s definitely control! Live cephalopod-type aliens don't have that color, and besides, who would let another alien live inside their brain!]
[How many aliens have you even seen? Maybe it's a new, low-intelligence breed?]
[Honestly, what evolutionary path is that blue goblin? It’s fast, can carry a massive alien with ease, and it’s not stupid, either.]
[Just wait for the Federal announcement. I'm a bit worried about my husband on the front lines.]

The bell rang, and Jiang Tang closed her smart device and followed the crowd out of the classroom.

It was only the first day of orientation, and there was only one class. Jiang Tang returned to her dormitory. Though called a dormitory, it was actually a small villa. The wealth of Nebula Academy was evident in how they had carefully designated a living area with complete facilities, providing every student with a single room; the higher one's ranking, the better the accommodations. Even though Jiang Tang was ranked dead last, she had plenty of money at home, which she used to throw her way into the living area for top-tier students.

Upon entering, the round butler robot greeted her. The healing pod she had ordered was already resting quietly in the bedroom. Jiang Tang frowned and instructed the butler robot to change the visitor permissions to: [Entry prohibited without owner's permission.]

She had to be cautious given her current situation; even robots couldn't be trusted. The manual for the healing pod promised "an experience as comforting as being an infant." After reading it carefully, Jiang Tang climbed into the pod.

Warm water enveloped her entire body, but instead of a feeling of suffocation, it brought a sense of peace and tranquility. The gentle, rhythmic swaying felt like being back in her mother's womb. Reciting the Heart-Clearing Mantra, her mental power recovery speed took a leap forward.

When she woke up, it was already dark. Jiang Tang emerged from the healing pod feeling refreshed. Checking her status, her mental power had recovered to 20—much faster than meditation.

She couldn't wait to enter her mental domain. She bowed first before the statue of Goddess Nüwa, then bowed to the Great Sage.

"Mother, please bless me with a good card. Great Sage, you have wide connections—could you help me contact the White Dragon Horse?"

Having completed the ritual, Jiang Tang rubbed her hands nervously and reached down to scoop up a handful of water from one of the rivers. The water rippled in her palm, flew into the air, and a moment later, transformed into a bronze-brown card.

She couldn't say she was disappointed; getting one purple and one gold at the start was already great. If she pulled another Gold card, she would have to wonder if she had enough life left to spend.

[Current Mental Power: 15/20]

Jiang Tang came to a conclusion: the mental power consumed by drawing cards was determined by the card's rank. A Bronze card probably cost about 5 points of mental power, and a Gold card was likely 30 points. As for why the first time she drew a Purple card it only cost 20 points, she attributed it to "Mother's love" and the "newbie buff."

She flipped over the Bronze card, her expression shifting subtly. It was a Tool card, depicting a ship.

"Dingyuan?"

[You have resonated with a card!]
[You have learned its true name!]
[Tool: Dingyuan-class Ironclad Battleship
Match Rate: 5%
Proficiency: 12]

Anyone who had studied junior high history would be familiar with the "Dingyuan." It was the flagship of the Beiyang Fleet, which was wiped out during the First Sino-Japanese War. This was guaranteed to be on the test!

Jiang Tang felt that labeling it as Bronze was a serious underestimation. It was exactly what she needed, but there was one problem. She could learn how to sail a ship, but...

Jiang Tang clutched her head and wailed, "How am I supposed to operate a battleship all by myself!"