Chapter 3

"Let me make it clear first."

Zhang Xiaopang said in advance, "The illusion I create has a low level of realism, a low level of accuracy, and only lasts for 10 minutes, so if you can't finish your business, I won't refund your money."

Lu Ming: "???"

What business?

Wait a moment.

Why is it ten minutes again?

"Are you sure ten minutes is enough?"

Lu Ming sneered.

"Of course."

Zhang Xiaopang said proudly, "I can use it two hundred times in ten minutes myself."

Two hundred times...

Lu Ming silently calculated the time and was instantly amazed.

"Come on."

Zhang Xiaopang was ready to start.

"Stop, stop, stop."

Lu Ming was speechless, "I didn't ask you to do this. I just want you to create an illusion about fruits, which won't consume much of your energy."

"Fruits?"

Zhang Xiaopang looked puzzled.

Clearly, he had no idea why fruits would be used, and he had never heard of such a thing.

"Just do it this way."

Lu Ming gestured and explained to him.

It turned out that Little Lu Ming's foundation was still very strong. The powerful drawing skills of a cardmaker ensured one thing—every cardmaker had a strong ability in sketching!

So,

Lu Ming almost drew exactly what he wanted.

"Right, these things need to be in order..."

"Below is this..."

"Don't show them all at once, make them appear gradually, understand?"

"This one gets faster and faster."

Lu Ming described as he drew.

Zhang Xiaopang began to construct the illusion according to his description. As Lu Ming had guessed, the construction of this kind of illusion consumed very little energy.

Even though Lu Ming asked for a lot of things, it didn't consume much energy.

Soon,

The illusion was successfully constructed.

"Done."

Zhang Xiaopang was delighted.

Although Lu Ming's requirements were complex and time-consuming, they were almost all things that didn't consume energy, which saved costs and didn't consume much energy at all!

Eight hundred yuan, profit!

"How much energy is left now?"

Lu Ming asked.

"32 points."

Zhang Xiaopang glanced.

Although the illusions he usually made were already quite low-level, the energy structure of this illusion was so basic that it was the lowest in his career.

It had already fallen below the 50-point warning line, how much better could it get?

"32 points..."

Lu Ming pondered.

His original card had 48 points of energy, so he could still add some things.

"Hmm..."

"Let me think."

Lu Ming felt something was missing. Suddenly, an idea came to him, and he asked, "Xiaopang, can you make the sky in the illusion change color according to the user's mood?

Happy times are joyful red.

Sad times are melancholy blue.

Excited times are surging purple.

..."

???

Zhang Xiaopang's face turned green instantly.

"No way!"

Zhang Xiaopang was furious, "Too damn bullying! Eight hundred yuan, what more do you want! Do you want me to make the weather in the illusion change according to the mood too?"

"Is that possible?"

Lu Ming's eyes lit up.

Swish!

Zhang Xiaopang shot him a murderous look.

"Cough, cough."

"Just kidding, just kidding."

Lu Ming hurried to comfort him.

He really just wanted to understand the profession of an illusionist.

Even if Zhang Xiaopang could do it, he couldn't ask for it because anything related to energy changes would instantly increase the energy requirement of the entire illusion to over 50 points, which he dared not add.

Buzz—

The original card appeared again.

"Come on."

Lu Ming got into position.

Sealing a skill wasn't easy. It required determining the exact point and angle of the skill's release to make the original card fit perfectly, and both parties had to cooperate well.

"Uh..."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Zhang Xiaopang scanned Lu Ming, a bit hesitant. He had heard that Lu Ming had failed to seal a card last time and had been in the infirmary for a long time.

"Come on."

Lu Ming placed the original card in front of Zhang Xiaopang, "This isn't a fireball spell, it's just an illusion, what's there to be afraid of?"

"You're right."

Zhang Xiaopang took a deep breath.

He aimed his hands at the original card and directly released the illusion!

Swish!

A streak of light flashed.

"Seal!"

Lu Ming felt a surge of energy and immediately used the original card's skill.

Buzz—

A strange light flashed.

Sealing successful!

The original card, which was originally crystal clear, now shone with a brilliant light. The blank card began to show images, and dozens of hidden patterns appeared on the black back.

"Done!"

Lu Ming was delighted.

He had really successfully sealed the illusion! This meant that he could now completely make this illusion card on his own! This was a milestone in his progress!

"Successful?"

Zhang Xiaopang curiously came over.

"Yep."

Lu Ming was very satisfied.

"This kind of illusion is useless."

Zhang Xiaopang was very sure that this kind of illusion had almost no use! After all, he had made it himself, and this card was not as good as his little yellow card.

"What do you know."

Lu Ming pouted.

After giving the money to the fat man, Lu Ming sent him away.

Buzz—

The original card appeared again, and Lu Ming began to study it seriously.

Front...

Some simple patterns could be seen, which were the scenes in the illusion, simplified. It seemed that the card itself still had some mysterious elements.

Back...

The familiar patterns!

In the black card, the hidden patterns were faintly visible!

This illusion card had very poor stability, with only 32 points of energy, one-third of an energy card, but the patterns on the back were slightly more complex than those on an energy card.

"Is it because there are more calculations?"

Lu Ming guessed.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to draw this card.

Drawing according to the original card was something Little Lu Ming had never done before, but to reach this point, Little Lu Ming had prepared for a long time and was very familiar with all the steps.

Step one, sense the patterns.

Lu Ming closed his eyes slightly, focusing his mind on the back of the card. The faint patterns became clear at this moment.

"Forty-six patterns..."

Lu Ming silently counted in his mind.

Although there were more than on an energy card, fortunately, the patterns were all basic, and he had learned most of them. There was no awkward situation where he didn't recognize a pattern.

He carefully memorized each pattern.

Step two, draw!

Taking out a blank card, Lu Ming began to draw.

This feeling...

It was like downloading the source code of a program from the internet and typing it out yourself. Programmers might fail due to the programming environment or various variable settings, but here...

It wouldn't happen at all!

As long as you understood these patterns, you could draw them!

After all, they were just basic.

Swish!

The energy in his body flowed, transforming into the patterns under his pen.

When the energy ran out, Lu Ming automatically took out an energy stone to replenish it. A one-star illusion card slowly took shape in his hands.

Buzz—

A faint light flashed.

One-star illusion card, completed!

"Success."

Lu Ming was a bit excited.

He wanted to see if this card could tear open a gap in this frustrating situation!

After thinking for a moment,

He tore off a white label, stuck it in the upper right corner of the card, and wrote the name of the card seriously—Fruit Ninja!

Yes.

Fruit Ninja!

This was the illusion card Lu Ming wanted to make!

Technical and financial limitations forced him to choose the lowest level, and the lack of entertainment projects in this world led him to choose Fruit Ninja.

"Test it first."

Lu Ming's energy surged, activating the card.

Swish!

A streak of light flashed.

The illusion card dissipated, and the world before his eyes changed instantly.

Hmm...

How to put it?

An illusion that only consumed 32 points of energy was shockingly crude, with only a dilapidated two-story tavern and a rusty knife.

The tavern's sign had no name, only a time number—00:00.

That was all.

Lu Ming looked around.

The realism was about the same as the VR that hadn't been popular in his previous life.

Very surreal.

But a bit real.

A wooden sign stood on the right, with simple rules written on it.

1. Pick up the knife, the game starts.

2. You need to cut every fruit bomb.

Tip: Each fruit contains a large amount of terrifying energy. If it lands, it will explode and forcibly end the illusion.

"Start!"

Lu Ming grabbed the knife.

On the second floor of the tavern, fruits began to fall, not very fast. Lu Ming cut them with one stroke, and the fruits split into two halves and disappeared.

The time on the sign also jumped.

One second.

Two seconds.

...

Soon.

The speed of the fruits increased, and Lu Ming struggled to keep up. One fruit landed, and the entire illusion froze, leaving only the time on the sign.

Swish!

Swish!

The time on the tavern's sign kept climbing.

21 seconds.

This was Lu Ming's score.

"Not bad."

Lu Ming was very satisfied.

Although it looked fake, it still provided enough fun.

According to his design, the speed of the falling fruits would increase, eventually becoming almost invisible to the naked eye. This was the limit of this card!

A very pure game.

A very simple setup.

So...

The next thing was how to sell this card.

Would it sell well?

Obviously not!

Why was there no entertainment in this world?

Because the cultural level was low?

Obviously not.

It was because this world was really dangerous, and there wasn't enough time for cultivation, let alone playing. Over time, entertainment naturally didn't develop!

So, if he really advertised it as entertainment and relaxation, Lu Ming estimated he wouldn't sell a single card.

Unless...

He linked entertainment with cultivation!

"Cultivation..."

Lu Ming had an idea.

Of course, before that, he needed enough stock.