Card maker? No, I'm a mechanic!

Inside the special care ward of Tianlan City First Hospital.

A faint scent of incense filled the air, and the ticking of the instruments continued.

"That's right..."

The Mediterranean-looking doctor was holding a thick stack of medical reports, his brow furrowed.

He first checked the data repeatedly, and then glanced at the person lying on the bed.

Jiang Zhe, who was munching on an apple with a bored expression, felt that his career seemed to be under challenge.

"My heart rate and blood pressure are normal, and although I've been using my mental energy a lot, it's recovering rapidly..."

As a senior doctor specializing in emergency care for teleportation arrays, he has handled at least eighty to a hundred wounded in the core area.

But the data in the report looked completely wrong.

However, what he couldn't understand was not the physical injuries, but rather...

"This guy doesn't seem to have any side effects accumulating at all?"

You should know that the other guys who were sent over were all affected to some extent.

Even the girl with the best constitution needed two or three days to completely eliminate the side effects.

But what about this kid?

He's incredibly healthy...

"Could it be that this kid has some kind of special constitution?"

The Mediterranean doctor became increasingly curious, and just as he was about to ask something...

"Snapped!"

But the next moment, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

"Old Chen, you've worked hard."

The doctor, who was completely focused, was startled.

He turned around and saw that Professor Lin was already standing behind him.

"Old Lin? When did you arrive?"

"Alright, now that you've finished checking, I'll take care of the rest."

Professor Lin patted his shoulder with a smile, a warm smile on his face.

"This kid is my precious darling. He just came back from a place like that, so he definitely needs to rest."

"So I don't think there's any need to pay attention to some unnecessary things..."

"Uh... okay."

The Mediterranean was full of doubts.

But faced with this titan of a figure, he could only nod tactfully and turn to leave.

……

As the door closed, Professor Lin's smile faded slightly.

He pulled up a chair and sat down, his expression somewhat solemn.

"Alright, stop pretending. The person's already gone. Who are you trying to fool by sitting there staring at an apple?"

"Hehe, Old Lin really understands me."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhe immediately threw away the apple core and then pointed to the bulging backpack next to him.

His eyes were clear, and he showed no sign of weakness whatsoever.

"Old Lin, this time the harvest was quite substantial, those things..."

"Let's not talk about that now."

Professor Lin waved his hand to interrupt him, then lowered his voice and said somewhat seriously.

"You know what, this is really bad."

"The coordinates of the core area beyond the teleportation array... are lost."

"Lost?" Jiang Zhe was taken aback.

Although I had anticipated that the impact of the explosion would be more than just a simple matter, I didn't expect it to be this thorough.

"Yes, it's disappeared."

Professor Lin sighed.

"It's not that the teleportation array is malfunctioning, but rather that the coordinates on the other side of the ruins seem to have been forcibly erased."

"The entire Card Masters Association is in an uproar right now, and the representatives from the three cities are arguing fiercely."

"Fortunately, although the coordinates are gone, the actual ruins are still there according to observations. It's just that the path is broken and we need to relocate them to start clearing the land."

At this point, he couldn't help but give Jiang Zhe a deep look.

"Jiang Zhe, everyone else is so badly injured, but you're the only one who's alright."

"Just tell me the truth..."

Professor Lin leaned forward slightly, his gaze intense.

"What were you doing in there?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhe fell silent for a moment.

Of course he knew what had happened; it was simply that the four-armed puppet felt that his brothers were being controlled.

Moreover, since he was about to fail and would probably be controlled as well, he might as well just blow it up and be done with it.

Of course, I can't reveal the specific details, since the whole thing about him and the wet item being related is a bit far-fetched.

"It's nothing really."

Jiang Zhe organized his thoughts slightly and said, half-truthfully.

"We found a huge building inside, and then we encountered guards there."

"However, it seems they've started fighting amongst themselves."

"Internal strife?" Professor Lin was also taken aback.

"Yes, it's two groups fighting over territory."

He shrugged, looking completely innocent.

"We were just unlucky to get dragged into this."

"In the end, one side got desperate, so they decided to have a huge explosion and take everyone down with them."

Although Jiang Zhe's explanation was rudimentary, it was still generally understandable.

After all, the things in the ruins are all kinds of strange and wonderful, so it's normal for something to happen.

Upon hearing this, Professor Lin stared at Jiang Zhe for a while longer, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

He knew, of course, that the kid was hiding some crucial clue, but in the end, he sighed and didn't press the matter further.

It's normal to have some secrets; as long as you're alive, that's enough.

"Alright, you're lucky to be alive."

Professor Lin leaned back in his chair, rubbed his temples, and his tone returned to its usual casualness.

"Since the coordinates are lost, what you're bringing out now will be a one-of-a-kind item for the next few years."

"But don't worry, when you were brought to the hospital, none of the things that were teleported out with you were touched."

"I've already had them sealed up and returned to the lab for you."

besides?

Jiang Zhe's eyes lit up, and he quickly realized that it was those things from his own base.

It's probably because it's not very big, and I was close enough when I teleported.

Therefore, some of the teleported items were also sent back during the teleportation process.

"It's just a pity about that wet part..."

Thinking of that holdout resident, Jiang Zhe still felt a little regretful.

After all, it's a ready-made, living CPU, so it's incredibly easy to use.

"But it's okay."

"We've already taken a lot of materials from the coffin, and with that foundation, replicating it shouldn't be too difficult."

"This core part is a bit tricky, since it requires the heads of living people..."

Jiang Zhe adjusted his mindset slightly, and his mood improved a bit.

"Why don't we talk about what you've gained?" Professor Lin's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey……"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhe snapped out of his daze and then lowered his voice to speak.

"I learned a bit about the production line technology there."

"In other words, as long as the materials are available, I can replicate a small, semi-automatic machine tool."

"Semi-automated...machine tool?"

Professor Lin was taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up.

After all, even the most skilled master card maker has to meticulously carve each card bit by bit these days.

Not only is efficiency not improving, but it also depends heavily on the individual's condition.

But what Jiang Zhe said...