To everyone's surprise, when the Boss summoned a Wood pattern to restore its HP, Xie Mingzhe immediately dashed to the outer edge of the arena and stepped on the Gold Metal pattern, nullifying the Wood pattern's effect. Just as the red Fire pattern appeared under the Boss's feet, he quickly stepped on the blue Water pattern to counter it. As the blue pattern emerged, he moved to step on the brown Earth pattern, and once that appeared, he swiftly moved to the green Wood pattern.
The Boss was summoning patterns rapidly, but Uncle Chubby was equally swift in his movements. His timing was impeccable—each time the Boss released a pattern, he seemed to know exactly when and where to move, as if the rhythm of the game had been calculated to perfection. The Boss generated a new pattern every ten seconds, and Uncle Chubby matched his movements in the same exact rhythm, running back and forth every ten seconds.
Xie Mingzhe kept his pace steady, stepping on each pattern precisely, successfully neutralizing the Boss's attacks with the Five Elements' counter system.
With Xie Mingzhe's help, the rest of the team could fully unleash their cards to fight the Boss. The fight ended much faster than usual, and the group celebrated their success.
Brother Chen was surprised when he saw their completion time—three minutes shorter than usual. He had expected Xie Mingzhe, a newcomer, to make mistakes, but to his surprise, Xie Mingzhe had navigated the Five Elements' counter system flawlessly. Chi Qing had only explained the order of mutual overcoming in the Five Elements to him once, yet Xie Mingzhe had remembered everything and executed it perfectly.
Xie Mingzhe had proven that he was a quick learner with a sharp mind—although he had never played "Star Card Storm" before, his experience in other games had helped him grasp the mechanics easily.
"I never expected a newbie with a low salary to be such a hidden gem," Brother Chen thought to himself. Smiling, he addressed Xie Mingzhe. "Xiao Xie, you seem to be quite familiar with the Five Elements' overcoming cycle. You picked it up fast."
Xie Mingzhe smiled back. "I've played a lot of games involving the Five Elements before, so it was easy to remember."
Brother Chen nodded with satisfaction. "In 'Star Card Storm,' every card has its own attributes, corresponding to the five Major Planets. Players go to these planets to gather materials for evolving their cards. There's an overcoming cycle between the elements—like Water overcoming Fire. If you use a Water card against a Fire card, your card will have better Effect Accuracy. But more importantly, if you have a full set of cards with the same attribute, you get a Suit Percentage bonus."
Xie Mingzhe's understanding was quick, so Brother Chen took the time to explain further. "When you gather more than five cards with the same attribute in your deck, you get the 'Major Planet's Blessing,' a Suit Percentage bonus. Later on, when you're trying to collect a full set of cards, it's easier to get cards of the same attribute. This will be key in future battles."
"Got it," Xie Mingzhe replied. He took out two cards from his deck: [Icy Snake] (Water attribute) and [Thunderbird] (Metal attribute), both of which had been given to him by the system. After hearing Brother Chen's explanation, he understood how card attributes worked—certain cards could counter others, and having a full set of cards with matching attributes could offer powerful bonuses. This was a crucial strategy for future battles, especially in the Arena.
"You'll need to level up to 35 before you can use seven-star cards. Once that happens, we'll tackle instances together," Brother Chen said, eager to see Xie Mingzhe improve. Since he had proven himself as a strong candidate, Brother Chen was already thinking of cultivating him as his main assistant.
"No problem!" Xie Mingzhe agreed. He was just as eager to level up, as his current role's level directly affected his Inner Spirit. With only 20 points in his Inner Spirit, he couldn't yet use advanced cards. His main focus was leveling up as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, at Elegance Club's player apartment...
A handsome young man sat on the sofa, engrossed in his tablet. His long, slender fingers slid swiftly across the screen, displaying a list of seven-star cards with a glossy black metallic finish. The backs of the cards were adorned with intricate, colorful threads forming beautiful, vine-like patterns.
The door opened, and a 30-year-old woman in a tailored skirt and high heels stepped in. She paused in front of the young man and asked, "Xiao Tang, were you the one who posted the rewarding task for 100 Wood fragments earlier? I found your subsidiary account."
Tang Muzhou didn't look up from the screen as he answered, "Yeah."
"If it's an emergency, you can tell the club, and we'll supply you with the materials directly," the woman offered kindly.
"I'd rather keep it private for now," Tang Muzhou replied, placing the tablet down and meeting her gaze. "I'm creating a new card."
"Oh?" The woman sat beside him, intrigued. "How's the new card shaping up?"
"It's doing well. Once the new card reaches seven stars, I'll take it into the Arena for some real battles. The results will determine if I'll use it in the next competition season. For now, I don't want to bother the club with unstable data, so I posted the task myself."
"I see," the woman nodded, then asked, "Are the players completing your task trustworthy?"
"Yes, a game studio is handling it. They won't leak customer information. I also used my subsidiary account to keep it off the radar," Tang Muzhou assured her.
"Good," the woman said, visibly relieved. "But be careful. You're well-known in the game now. Other clubs are bound to study your card set. Don't reveal too much before your next match, especially the new card data."
"I understand, sister Xue," Tang Muzhou smiled faintly. "It's fine if the data gets exposed. I don't rely solely on my cards in a match."
The woman smiled, but her expression was tinged with caution. Tang Muzhou, who had once placed first in the National Star Card League's Individual Race, wasn't just known for his cards—his true strength lay in his ability to adapt and outplay his opponents.
At just 23 years old, Tang Muzhou was a young prodigy in the game, known for his gentle demeanor and striking good looks. His smile could easily put others at ease. However, those who knew him well understood that his kindness masked a fierce competitive nature.
Behind his calm smile, Tang Muzhou was a ruthless player. His specialty was the Wood element cards, particularly his famous card, [Thousand-Year-Old God Tree], which could decimate entire lines of cards in one move. He had defeated many professional players with his formidable Wood-based strategies.
In the Arena, Tang Muzhou was the most terrifying Wood player—his gentle smile was a façade for the devastation he brought with his cards.