Who told him to make the cards!

"Yes."

Shen Qinglian put down her teacup and said directly, "I would like to borrow a national craftsman from the dean."

"National craftsman?"

"borrow?"

"Correct."

As soon as he finished speaking, the living room suddenly fell silent.

Old Man Meng's full name is Minister Meng.

A true master craftsman of the nation.

This honor was personally bestowed upon Minister Meng by His Holiness the Pope twenty-seven years ago.

Moreover, Old Man Meng is also the dean of the Qing Palace Academy, the first academy of the empire and the National Information Security Management Department.

Deputy national level, also known as Grand Duke.

Shen Qinglian had to treat him with utmost respect.

Unfortunately, some short-sighted kid didn't believe it.

Humph.

He, Duke Meng, is not so easily fooled.

Having spent so many days in the Crown Domain, Old Man Meng and Chen Zhi's conversations almost entirely revolved around the cards, with Chen Zhi not mentioning a single word about their identities.

But Old Man Meng remembered two names.

One is "Liu Bai".

The kid called himself "Liu Bai".

The other one is "Shen Qinglian".

The current generation of saints of the Vatican.

The fact that the kid didn't ask anyone else but specifically asked Shen Qinglian shows that he knows Shen Qinglian.

Otherwise, if you just make up a name when you answer, how will he know if it's right or wrong?

That's why Old Man Meng said he was free this morning.

However, he did not expect that Shen Qinglian would ask him for the national craftsman.

Moreover, the word used was “borrow”.

The implication is that he hopes this master craftsman is someone under his command or someone he can trust.

Shen Qinglian didn't want more people to know about this.

But it's not that easy.

In the era of card games, card makers are the most prestigious profession.

The title of "National Craftsman" is the highest honor for a card maker.

Not only must one reach the ninth rank, but one must also have a work that is presentable and can impress other ninth-rank card masters.

In the entire Holy Order Empire, there are currently only thirteen living card makers who are known as national craftsmen.

They are all strategic resources for major enterprises and institutions.

They're either working on major aerospace projects, leading teams to develop new cards, or like him, busy researching ancient source cards or celestial principles—these aren't things you can just find anytime you want.

"Your Highness, please don't make things difficult for this old man." Old Man Meng looked troubled. "You know they are full of technical secrets and have far-reaching implications. Even for security reasons, the company won't release them."

"Your Highness, why don't you try to find one of your own national artisans?"

Shen Qinglian shook her head: "I won't look for them."

“You said it yourself, they belong to the Vatican, not me.”

These words seemed to trigger a key phrase, and Old Man Meng immediately waved his hand and said, "I don't get involved in the messy affairs of your Holy See."

Then he added, "Qinggong Academy is not involved either."

Shen Qinglian remained silent, but took a photo out of her bag, placed it on the table, and turned to Old Man Meng.

Old Man Meng glanced at it, pretending not to be interested.

Ok?

wrong.

Take another glance.

Old Man Meng's eyes widened.

"This is... a complete boundary crystal??"

If Shen Qinglian had taken out a real object, even just a small piece, Old Man Meng wouldn't have reacted so strongly.

Because you can buy it on the black market.

However, the photo shows a complete, single piece, surrounded by clusters of associated bluestone, clearly indicating a newly formed, unmined crystal vein.

This is no longer a question of how much money it's worth.

It will directly relate to whether certain high-end technologies can overcome bottlenecks.

This is what a truly ambitious card maker really cares about.

“Dean Meng, I trust you completely,” Shen Qinglian said.

Her actions proved this point.

"This matter doesn't necessarily have to be related to political parties."

"The entire boundary crystal contains spatial laws with extremely high integrity. You should know more about this than I do. For a high-level card maker, this is a rare learning opportunity, isn't it?"

"I want the results, he wants the technology, we each get what we need, what do you think?"

"..."

Old Man Meng was tempted.

He remained silent for a moment.

The face of a certain brat flashed into my mind.

Then he slowly said, "I can help you with this, but on one condition."

Shen Qinglian: "Please speak."

Holding the photo, Old Man Meng said, "Such a large piece of boundary crystal will take a long time from mining to experimentation."

“I hope that during this process, I can take my students to visit this project at any time.”

"Of course, we will sign the agreements that need to be signed."

Shen Qinglian nodded: "Okay."

She didn't mention requirements such as limits on the number of participants or identity verification.

As a high-ranking official, Dean Meng would naturally know what was going on.

"Take this."

Old Man Meng took out a business card from his storage card.

[Circular Star Project, Jiang Tianfeng]

Shen Qinglian took it and glanced at it.

She knew this person.

A newly appointed national master craftsman ten years ago.

At only 53 years old, his skill in card making has already surpassed that of many veteran level 9 card makers.

He later joined Circular Planet, one of the five major companies, and was in charge of the lunar landing project.

"The phone number at the top belongs to the company; call the one below."

Old Man Meng said with a hint of pride, "He was personally trained by me, so he should give me this face."

"I don't care what you want to do with the Boundary Crystal, but don't let him suffer a loss."

Shen Qinglian smiled, a rare occurrence, and said, "Dean Meng, rest assured, the Holy Maiden Palace is not a company."

Old Man Meng nodded: "That's fine then."

"Thank you for your help today, Dean Meng. I won't bother you any longer." Shen Qinglian said, getting up to take her leave. There were still many things waiting for her to handle at the Holy Maiden Palace.

"Wait a moment, Holy Maiden." Old Man Meng called out to the girl and asked, "Do you know a young man named Liu Bai? He's about your age."

Shen Qinglian was slightly taken aback: "Liu Bai?"

"Correct."

"know."

"very good."