Different World Card Master: Change the World with Cards

320: Victory celebration banquetAfter the award ceremony, the live broadcast also came to a temporary end. Everyone went back to eat and change clothes, then attended the celebration banquet in the evening.

It was called a celebration banquet, but it wasn’t actually a dinner party; it was a gala where everyone enjoyed singing and dancing. Of course, there were tables below the stage, but instead of meals, they were set with snacks. The audience could enjoy the performances while snacking.

Xu Bai felt like he was at a Spring Festival Gala... The evening celebration banquet began.

The layout of the banquet hall had changed significantly. Large swaths of red met the eye, and looking at this festive red, one could feel the celebratory atmosphere.

Xu Bai sat in his seat with his younger brother. Sitting next to them were the Administrator and Bai Shan, both of whom were familiar to Xu Bai.

Before the gala started, Bai Shan picked a topic to ask Xu Bai about.

”Xiao Bai, you’ll be twenty-four next year, won’t you?”

”Yes.” Xu Bai nodded. He had just celebrated his twenty-third birthday last month, so technically, he would be twenty-four after tonight.

Twenty-four years old. In the past, one would have just graduated from university at twenty-four. It was truly a young age, with plenty of time ahead.

Bai Shan continued.

”If you’re twenty-four, does that make your nominal age twenty-six? You’re almost thirty. When are you going to find a girlfriend?”

!!!

How did he suddenly become thirty?

And this ’nominal age’—why did such a thing even exist, and why did it add two whole years? It suddenly made him feel much older.

He didn’t care; he was sticking to his actual age.

”It’s still early, still early. I think I’m still young and want to spend more time researching cards. By the way, Wu Zijin is older than me; he’s almost thirty. You should urge him instead.”

Following the principle of ’better a fellow Daoist die than oneself,’ Xu Bai threw Wu Zijin, who was behind them, under the bus.

Sitting behind them and grinning foolishly, Wu Zijin froze upon hearing this and hurriedly waved his hands.

”I’m not in a hurry, I’m not in a hurry. I also plan to dedicate my time to cards.”

Bai Shan had only brought it up because his granddaughter had just brought her girlfriend home to meet the family, so he had extended his concern to Xu Bai.

Seeing that Xu Bai had no intention of looking for a partner, Bai Shan could only drop the subject.

However, these words were overheard by some people in the back rows, who began to harbor their own thoughts.

Such a young, single man—if their granddaughters or grandnieces had a chance to get to know him, maybe something would work out.

Xu Bai didn’t know that many people were waiting to arrange various ’accidental’ encounters for him... The topic of partners ended, and everyone moved on to other matters.

”What direction do you plan to research next?”

The Administrator, a middle-aged bachelor himself, didn’t want to talk about partners either and quickly shifted the topic.

Xu Bai was naturally happy to comply and followed suit.

”Continuing to optimize existing cards, of course, and then researching new ones.”

Recently, Xu Bai realized he had missed a point.

Generally, when speaking of land and sky, there should also be the ocean.

On Earth, the ocean accounts for 71% of the total surface area, while land only accounts for 29%. Therefore, the ocean is extremely important, yet he had overlooked it when researching weapons.

Xu Bai thought about why he had missed it.

Finally, he discovered something: there seemed to be no exotic beasts in the ocean.

This shouldn’t be the case. Logically, the ocean is the foundation of life. In his previous world, the mainstream theory was that life most likely originated in the ocean.

But now there were no exotic beasts in the ocean. Why? And how did the exotic beasts first come to be in the beginning?

Thinking of this, Xu Bai voiced his questions.

The Administrator and Bai Shan were a bit dazed upon hearing Xu Bai’s questions.

To them, this was a normal phenomenon. If asked for the specific reason, they wouldn’t know; they only knew it had been like that from the start.

exotic beasts mainly lived within the exotic beast zones; there were none in the ocean.

For them, the above was common knowledge, so they never researched weapons for the ocean.

They also agreed with Xu Bai’s statement that the ocean’s area was larger than the land’s. Although they hadn’t entered the deep sea, ships still sailed on the ocean, so they knew it was vast. However, they couldn’t say for sure what the situation was in the deep sea, as even ocean waves were enough to threaten humans during navigation.

”So, do you want to research ships that can go into the sea?”

”Yes. Aren’t you curious about what’s in the ocean? If we could utilize the ocean, perhaps we would have more usable resources and more room for human activity.”

”However, the prerequisite for my research is confirming the dangers of the ocean. So, I plan to first research mecha that can enter the ocean, equip them with cameras, and record the footage inside.”

Bai Shan said, ”I was just about to warn you about safety, but I didn’t expect you to have already thought of it. Since you’ve considered it, go ahead and do it. I support you.”

The Administrator said, ”I support you too. Land, sky, and ocean—if we can fully explore these places, humans can truly be called the masters of Earth.”

”All this is thanks to mecha cards and surveillance cards. These allow humans to explore the unknown while ensuring their own safety.”

Xu Bai said, ”We need to open our minds. Don’t you want to know what’s at the very bottom of the ocean? What kind of creatures are inside? Don’t you want to know what it looks like if you keep flying upwards? There are still many, many places in this world waiting for us to explore. The future is full of infinite possibilities.”

If it weren’t for the fact that they hadn’t flown out of Earth yet, Xu Bai would have really wanted to say his dream was the sea of stars.

Although Bai Shan was moved by Xu Bai’s words, thinking of his own age, he simply patted Xu Bai’s shoulder.

”Xiao Bai, I have high hopes for you.”

”Right, I have high hopes for you too. I believe the future of the Tianlong Republic will only get better and better.”

...Xu Bai was almost embarrassed by the praise from these two. Fortunately, the gala host took the stage at that moment, and everyone stopped talking.

This gala was the first to be broadcast nationwide, so it was highly valued. The performers were the most outstanding individuals selected from across the country. Consequently, the gala was very entertaining and quickly captured everyone’s attention.

Everyone watched the singing and dancing on stage with rapt attention. The joyful atmosphere permeated the entire exhibition hall, and everyone’s hearts felt full, as if a small flame were burning within.

At the end of the gala, the host took the stage to lead the countdown and welcome the New Year.

No one was shy at this moment, and they all shouted the countdown along with the host.

Accompanied by the countdown, the New Year’s bell began to toll.

”5,” *Dong!*

”4,” *Dong!*

”3,” *Dong!*

”2,” *Dong!*

”1,” *Dong!*

Everyone: ”Happy New Year!”

A new year had arrived. The threat posed by exotic beasts had become relatively low, and the future was a good time for humanity’s own development and exploration of the world.

The goal—the sea of stars!

—[End of Main Text]—