Chen Mu had been waiting for the demonic woman, but there was still no news.
He spent the weekend in fear and waiting, and he had no choice but to go back to Eastern Wei Academy.
Just as he got there, he heard another shocking piece of news.
"The Star Academy exchange program is over?
They're getting ready to go back? "Chen Mu wondered if he'd heard wrong, and was lost in thought for a moment.
Lin Jiu smiled bitterly, "This move by the Star Academy is too ruthless!
Retreating in order to advance. Damn, whose idea was that? It was really awesome!
Such a big bunch of people followed them here, and now they're just going to pat their butts and leave. What the hell is this? "
Composing himself, Chen Mu felt his brain couldn't keep up, and asked hoarsely, "Where did the news come from?"
"News?
Now the whole school knows.
They're leaving in the afternoon, all of them, without stopping. "
Lin Jiu's face was wringing bitter water, "Now we're the unlucky ones. We can't leave, and we can't stay. Isn't this playing with us?"
His buzzing brain finally recovered some of its calm, and Chen Mu had to admit that the Star Academy had made a beautiful move.
If all of them retreated, would they stay here or would they leave?
People like Lin Jiu were in a dilemma.
Although he didn't know what the Star Academy's goal was, Chen Mu guessed that all the clues were in the hands of the Star Academy, and they weren't afraid of anyone finding them.
Although Eastern Shang-Wei City wasn't very flourishing, there were a lot of card artisans coming and going because of its location on the federal border. The surrounding area had long since been explored by countless card artisans.
However, the Star Academy had suddenly withdrawn everyone, and the powers that had been eyeing them had suddenly lost their target.
All they could do was wait for the Star Academy to come again.
The unluckiest were those like Lin Jiu. If they didn't get the order to withdraw, they could only waste their time there.
It was as though Chen Mu's heart had been overturned, and he couldn't be more bitter.
He'd sneaked into Eastern Wei Academy, and he'd been on tenterhooks every day, training day and night.
It was like a soldier who'd been preparing for many years, training for many years, suddenly being told that the world was at peace, and that the troops would be disbanded.
The Star Academy was leaving, but what about him?
There was still no trace of the demonic woman, and Chen Mu wondered if she'd been killed by that girl called Qing Qing. If that was the case, it would be the worst outcome.
Whether it was the Demonic Woman or Qing Qing, they were both top-notch masters that he could look up to.
Even Yin Jiuchen, who was much inferior to Qing Qing, was unreachable in his eyes.
Sometimes he would speculate about the situation of the fight between the Demonic Woman and Qing Qing.
He had a feeling that the Star Academy's sudden retreat seemed to have something to do with the demonic woman.
The sudden withdrawal of the Star Academy exchange students almost threw Eastern Wei Academy into chaos.
Rumors were flying all over the market that the honeymoon period between Eastern Wei Academy and Star Academy was over …
People were speculating about why the Star Academy had suddenly decided to withdraw all the exchange students.
But whether it was Eastern Wei Academy or Star Academy, they were all keeping silent on the matter.
Star Academy's withdrawal didn't just affect Eastern Wei Academy; it had a huge impact on all of Eastern Shang-Wei City.
And then Eastern Wei Academy ushered in a high tide of dropouts.
A large number of students were dropping out, which caught the management of Eastern Wei Academy unprepared.
Lin Jiu was one of them. Before he left, he specifically said goodbye to Chen Mu.
When he found out that Chen Mu was going to stay behind, he showed a sympathetic expression.
The other gloomy guy in the class had also left. Not only that, but there were less than three-fifths of the people left in Chen Mu's sponsorship class.
But Chen Mu couldn't leave. No, he didn't dare to leave.
He was waiting for the demonic woman to come back, and he didn't want to play around with his little life.
He could only stay, and he couldn't go anywhere.
But it was a good thing that there were a lot of money cards in the villa, which meant that he wouldn't have to worry about money for quite a long time.
He started his normal life of study and training. If he didn't have that thorn in his heart, that kind of life could be called a happy one!
He didn't give up on his daily training, and who knew what he might run into later.
If it weren't for that training, he would have died in the jungle last time. That had directly affected his attitude toward training.
The impact of Star Academy's departure gradually subsided, and Eastern Wei Academy began to return to tranquility.
Chen Mu didn't have to wear those ridiculous nouveau riche clothes every day, and the closed school gates finally opened.
He simply went back to the villa every day, but there was still no news of the demonic woman.
Apart from the demonic woman, Chen Mu was still thinking about something else, which was Copper.
Chen Mu was walking on the street in the dark.
There was no trace of the demonic woman, and he couldn't get rid of the disguise on his body.
If the demonic woman never appeared, would he always appear with that kind of face?
Well, if the demonic woman never appeared, then the most likely outcome for him would be to die, and he wouldn't have to consider that question.
It seemed that the bustling night of Eastern Shang-Wei City seemed to have dimmed a little following the departure of the Star Academy exchange students.
Chen Mu strolled over to the front of the Victoria Firm, which was already packed with people when he arrived. It could be seen that the popularity that Victoria Firm had gathered over the years was quite robust.
An open-air T-shaped stage had already been set up in the square in front of the Victoria Firm.
Chen Mu, who was in the middle of the crowd, was thinking a thousand thoughts, and sighed to himself for some reason.
His gaze was fixed on the stage, and he only had to see how the opening ceremony would begin to know whether Copper was all right or not.
He hadn't dared to go back to Burlington, and although he had changed his appearance by then, he couldn't be sure that he could fool everyone.
Suddenly, the surrounding lights went dark, and the crowd below let out a light sigh and immediately quieted down.
Smoke rose from the T-stage, and in an instant, the entire T-shaped stage was shrouded in smoke.
There was light in the smoke, but it couldn't be seen clearly.
A wisp of zither music floated over, as thin as a gossamer, appearing and disappearing.
The crowd below the stage knew it was about to begin, and they all held their breath to capture that wisp of zither music.
The sound of the zither gradually became clear, with the faint sound of running water mixed in.
The sound of the zither was tinkling, and the sound of the gurgling water was getting clearer and clearer in everyone's ears. By then, the smoke was dispersing bit by bit.
When the smoke had dispersed, and people could clearly see the scene in front of them, the entire square was filled with astonishment.
What was unfolding in front of them was a verdant valley, surrounded by ancient trees and covered with verdant vines.
In the middle of the valley was a small stream, clear enough to see the bottom as it gurgled.
Such a beautiful scene lit up everyone's eyes, and although they knew it was only an illusion, there were still quite a few people who were intoxicated.
Just then, a few graceful women came slowly along the stream, treading on the waves.
The clothes they wore were all different styles, but most of them were mainly light blue and plain white, simple and elegant, and couldn't be more harmonious with the scenery in front of them.
They were either picking flowers, or playing in the water, or leaning against rocks, or walking barefoot, all in all sorts of amorous ways, and vividly displaying the simple and elegant women's clothes.
The crowd below the stage had never seen such a unique fashion launch, and there was a burst of applause in the entire venue, and people stood up in excitement.
Chen Mu smiled at the corner of his mouth.
The scene in front of him was all too familiar to him.
He had made all the fantasy cards that would be used in that day's opening.
The contents of the last few groups could be called dreamlike, and he had even borrowed the illusions from the low-grade fantasy card club's Stellar Performance Hall, which was the diamond suit series.
Now that he knew Copper was doing well, the stone in his heart had been lifted.
He believed that the Victoria launch that evening would certainly cause a sensation in all of Eastern Shang-Wei City, and as the chief planner, Copper would certainly become famous because of it.
Chen Mu was sincerely happy for Copper.
Behind the scenes of the launch, Copper was listening to the applause coming from the front, and his heart was unusually sad.
There was a hand on his shoulder. It was Lan Feng.
She had long since been thoroughly conquered by Copper's talent, and the relationship between the two of them had been established.
Seeing Copper so sad, she couldn't help coming over.
"I'm fine." Copper forced out a smile.
The two of them had already planned to leave Eastern Shang-Wei City.
Actually, he didn't need to come that evening, since on-the-spot command wasn't his strong suit, and someone else would be in charge.
As for his remuneration, the Victoria firm had already paid it in full.
As for the low-grade fantasy card club, he had also declined President Bai Zheyuan's invitation to stay.
He was really disappointed in the president, and even a little angry.
He hadn't thought that the president would actually be so indifferent to Chen Mu's affairs, and he had even discovered that there were quite a few unknown people in the vicinity of where he lived.
Copper knew very well that if those people hadn't gotten the president's permission to act, they wouldn't have dared to be so unscrupulous.
So, he declined the president's invitation.
His expenses were a lot less than Chen Mu's, and with the remuneration that Victoria had paid him, he had quite a bit of money on hand.
His only regret was that he couldn't finish the "Legend of Master Shi" card play with Chen Mu, and the thing he regretted the most was that he had encouraged Chen Mu to join the low-grade fantasy card club.
If Blockhead hadn't joined the low-grade fantasy card club, none of that would have happened, and Blockhead wouldn't be like he was now, where his life and death were unknown.
"Let's go." He smiled at Lan Feng.
"Mmmm." Lan Feng tightly grasped Copper's hand.
The two of them had already prepared their things, and could leave Eastern Shang-Wei City at any time.
Lan Feng understood Copper's feelings, and she didn't understand why the president, who had always been wise, would do such a chilling thing.
No matter what, a super ace who had swept hundreds of points in a day should be protected.
Chen Mu left midway, satisfied as long as he knew Copper was still alive.
Withdrawing from the crowd, Chen Mu suddenly felt a little dispirited.
Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
It was Copper!
Chen Mu almost shouted it out unconsciously, but he quickly realized it and quickly shut his mouth.
It really was Copper, and he was holding Lan Feng's hand.
Copper's expression was a little tired, and his previous impetuousness had long since disappeared, and he looked a lot more mature.
He was holding Lan Feng's hand with one hand, and carrying a suitcase with the other.
Could they be planning to leave?
But that was fine. Although Chen Mu felt a little melancholy, he still felt that it was a pretty good choice.
Suddenly, Chen Mu's gaze sharpened.
He noticed that there were two people sneakily following behind Thunder and Blue Maple.
Both of them were wearing apparatuses, and Chen Mu recognized them at a glance as battle-style apparatuses. Those two were card artisans!
Without making a sound, he had already quietly trailed behind the two of them.
His spirit was highly concentrated, and his movements were more nimble than ever.
Taking advantage of the cover of the shadows on the side of the street, he moved like a hare and descended like a falcon, following closely behind the two of them.
Chen Mu's figure blended into the darkness, and his movements were swift and nimble, though they looked a little strange.
The tracking of the two in front of him was really terrible, and their figures were almost completely exposed under the light of the street lamps.
Sweeping his eyes over his surroundings, Chen Mu suddenly flipped over the wall.
His body was hunched like a cat, and he passed through the houses without a sound.
The elastic shoes on his feet allowed him to jump a full four or five meters with each leap, which had originally been prepared for those people from the Star Academy, and he hadn't thought he would use it there.
Chen Mu quickly chose a good spot for the ambush.
It was the roof of a house, and there were two water tanks on the roof, where he shrank between them.
Pulling out the ghost-faced flower fruit from his bosom, Chen Mu bit it to pieces, feeling it squirming on his face, and his desire to kill kept rising.
Copper and Lan Feng first appeared in his field of vision.
The two behind them didn't dare to follow too closely, and didn't dare to come out until they reached the end of the alley.
The tailless shuttle card on Chen Mu's right index finger was already ready.
Ever since his perception had changed, his control of the tailless shuttle had become a lot more flexible.
Carefully controlling the speed of the tailless shuttle, the buzzing sound of the high-speed rotation of the shuttle had already become almost inaudible.
Copper and Lan Feng went straight around the corner, and the two behind them hurried forward along the alley.
Their expressions were very careful, not wanting to startle their target.
Xiu!
A strange shriek pierced the air.
"There's an ambush!"
One of the card artisans immediately activated the apparatus on his wrist, and before he had time to warn his companion, he saw a finger-sized bloody hole between his eyebrows!
His expression changed, and he waved his hand to shoot the fiery rain gravel he had just prepared in the direction of the assailant.
Peng!
The bright red fiery rain gravel hit the two large water tanks, which were immediately turned into sieves, with countless densely packed little holes on them, from which water suddenly gushed out like a fountain.
The fiery rain gravel was made up of countless tiny high-temperature energy particles, and every time it was shot, it was like a rain of fire, which was extremely difficult to defend against.
Although it was a mid-grade battle fantasy card, it was very popular among card artisans because of its high firing frequency and its power.
That card artisan's reaction speed was extremely fast, and the fiery rain gravel had no advantage in range or accuracy.
Its strength lay in short-range attacks, so after he shot the fiery rain gravel, he threw himself at the roof where the assailant was.
Only by closing the distance between the two could the power of the fiery rain gravel card be brought into play.
His speed was extremely fast, and he was quite accomplished with the jet-stream card.
The roof was already a mess, and the water in the water tanks was spraying everywhere.
Copper suddenly stopped, and asked Lan Feng with some doubt, "Did you just hear something?"
Lan Feng shook his head, "No.
What did you hear? "
"Oh, I might have heard wrong. Let's go." Shaking his head, Copper felt that he might have been too tired lately.
The two of them continued to walk forward, and all the disputes in Eastern Shang-Wei City had nothing to do with them.
Standing on the roof and looking around, he didn't see anyone.
Could they have escaped?
He looked into the distance with a vigilant face, since his adversary couldn't have gotten far in such a short amount of time.
He held a handful of fiery rain gravel in his hand, which looked like a flame made up of tiny bright red particles, jumping about ten centimeters from his palm.
He held the fiery rain gravel as though he were facing a great enemy, ready to deal with any attack that might appear at any time.
But the glow of the apparatus on his wrist had changed from dark red to a faint white.
He had activated the probe card in his apparatus.
That kind of probe card was extremely sensitive to perception, and within a range of 50 meters, any adversary who used their perception would be able to detect their specific position.
Once the probe card had any reaction, the fiery rain gravel in his hand would shoot out, leaving no place for his adversary to hide.
What he hadn't expected was that the probe card hadn't detected any movement.
How could that be?
That card artisan's expression changed.
In such a short amount of time, his adversary couldn't have gotten very far from the roof. He must have hidden himself.
The probe card was originally used to detect perception, and if his adversary had restrained his perception, then the probe card wouldn't have been able to find his position.
But for a card artisan, restraining perception meant giving up his offensive and defensive power.
Releasing perception and activating his apparatus to form an attack required time for each step.
If he were to encounter an attack while restraining his perception, he would certainly die.
Very few people would completely restrain their perception in the middle of a battle, unless the two sides were unevenly matched in power, and one side only wanted to hide.
The image of the deep bloody hole in his comrade's forehead flashed before his eyes, and his heart went cold.
He suddenly remembered the wound on the corpse of their boss, Yu Xin, which was very similar to the bloody hole in his comrade's forehead that day.
Could it be the youth they had been looking for?
He immediately dispersed the fiery rain gravel in his hand, and with a slight poof, the fiery rain gravel in his hand immediately turned into countless red glows that were annihilated in the air.
That didn't mean he was letting down his guard; his probe card was always activated.
Once his adversary made any strange movements, he would immediately launch an attack.
He activated his communications card and was about to report it to his superiors.