The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician

Chapter 77 - 78: Two Playing Cards
Chapter 77: Chapter 78: Two Playing Cards”””Ding—” a fruit knife chopped down on a card, and a clear ring followed. A nick appeared on the fruit knife, yet the playing card was completely unscathed, still shimmering with a black edge under the light.

Two playing cards, both customized with back designs as Jiang Shu had requested: one card had a hollow circle in the middle flanked by symmetrical triangles—it was the new version p1 by the art master from the past life, in black and white, deeply favored by Jiang Shu.

The other one, both the back and the face of the card were stark black, with a delicate white phoenix design, also a design from a past life, a collaborative ”Black Phoenix” edition card.

”How did you do that?” Jiang Shu marveled. He felt that he could establish a connection with these two playing cards, meaning he could manipulate them using derivative entries.

”...Well, it’s not hard,” Kirie mused, wanting to brush it off, because the method she used to make these cards was somewhat...

Simple.

The hard part was finding the right material that possessed all the properties Jiang Shu had mentioned. Such materials were also difficult for her to work with, therefore...

Black Silver.

The problem was solved easily. As a technician at the police station, she had a stock of Black Silver.

As for the origin of the Black Silver, every year the higher-ups would distribute a stock to the police stations for the technicians to solve some tough issues; Black Silver could help them solve problems quickly.

And with her own abilities, Kirie could solve most of these problems without the aid of Black Silver; this part of Black Silver thus accumulated in her possession.

Hmm, after three or four years of accumulation, the quantity was not insignificant.

Kirie naturally considered it her private property and had never thought of it as public property.

The Black Silver I earn with my own skills, why should I hand it over?

And this time, solving the material issue for the two playing cards was a breeze.

Jiang Shu put away the playing cards securely. With these items, even if he encountered a disciple using the Hercules Internal Armor like last time, he would never be at a disadvantage again.

Moreover, he had yet to try how ”Paper Card Technique” and ”Shadow Cutting” interacted; if the playing cards he controlled could also count as knives and could be used to cut shadows, then whether in face-to-face combat or sneak attacks, he would possess immense combat power.

”Also, you can pick anything from my private collection,” Kirie said. Her memory was excellent and she never defaulted on a promise. ”Do you want to take a trip to the police station’s lab with me?”

”Uh, sure,” Jiang Shu immediately nodded. ”And we can discuss the issue with chemical reagents. The magic I have to perform on Tuesday is a bit risky; I need to do some preparation.”

”Alright, let’s go then,” Kirie said, stepping out of the Magic House.

”Okay,” Jiang Shu agreed, following her. As they passed by the adjoining office, he paused.

After the morning natural science class ended, Su Xiaoou’s art class in the afternoon had been moved to Office 402, which was Shen Xuwan’s office.

Earlier, he had specifically instructed Shen Xuwan not to close the door, so now Jiang Shu could see inside from the doorway.

Shen Xuwan had not had time to purchase art textbooks, so she had brought up a myriad of books related to art from the library downstairs—music, painting, dance, and more, covering all categories.”””

The teacher and student inside were very engaged, much more intense than the morning class with Kirie. This art class was quite a struggle for Shen Xuwan.

Shen Xuwan, it goes without saying, was enamored with the highbrow palace arts; Su Xiaoou, also no need to explain, having grown up on the streets, naturally preferred the wild and unrestrained street art.

Thus, sparks flew fiercely between the two.

Of course, the process of discussion diverged slightly from what Jiang Shu had imagined. He had thought that Shen Xuwan, an art maestro from the theater, would instinctively disdain street art forms such as graffiti, busking, street dance, etc., but ...

”No, no, no, art comes from life. You people who sit in music rooms all day, only immersing yourselves in your own worlds, how can you create art that resonates with the masses?” Su Xiaoou tilted her head up, her tone quite discontented.

On the contrary, Shen Xuwan patiently taught Su Xiaoou, ”There are many forms of art, whether they cater to a niche or are popular with the masses, all have their own significance.”

She continued, ”Street art is closer to real life, exaggerates social realities more vividly, and I like it a lot too. But that’s not all there is to art, art can be wild and unrestrained, or it can be methodical and refined.”

”Uh.” Su Xiaoou realized she couldn’t outtalk Shen Xuwan. She felt that this woman was crafty; how could a debate involve turning the opponent’s views into part of her own?

”Look at your teacher, his performance appears casual, but every move is spot on, stage layout, background sound, walk and tone, he must have refined these details, right?” Shen Xuwan brought up Jiang Shu.

”That is true...” Su Xiaoou nodded. Others might not know, but she was well aware of how strict Jiang Shu was with his magic. The day before a performance, he would spend almost a full day on stage ”directing himself” in rehearsal.

Jiang Shu quietly walked away. He was a man with thin skin, feeling awkward when hearing others praise him.

Kirie glanced around the office, then at Jiang Shu, pensive.

He could easily achieve the effects of his performance through witchcraft, yet he works so hard to act like an ordinary person...

This wizard, with such ability and such temperament, possesses the great wisdom of concealing his skills...

As they’d say in a novel—this lad is terrifying indeed!

—

Lonely City Seventh Police Station.

Walking through the corridor, entering the laboratory.

This was Kirie’s private space, a large lab with around twenty workstations, mostly multi-functional standard workstations with the mix of chemistry labs, 3D printers, etc. In a corner, Jiang Shu saw a stamping machine for creating small metal parts, a small CNC lathe, even a foundry and a cement mixer...

As with all labs, Kirie’s laboratory walls were also hung with various displays of great figures who had left a significant mark on the science history of Lonely City, plus some excerpts from science journals.

Of course, these science journals were all electronic, turned into print to adhere to the walls.

Among them, a few related articles caught Jiang Shu’s attention.

”Zoology Doctor Constantine George’s parrot Alex passed the intelligence test at the Awakening Place, becoming the first non-primate animal to pass the test and obtain a Character Card...”

”Artificial intelligence ’Umxi Dixi’ participated in the Awakening Place intelligence test on March 27, did not pass the test...”

”Artificial intelligence ’Makabaka’ participated in the Awakening Place intelligence test on February 23, did not pass the test...”