Injustice

One of the six major academies, Star Academy, suddenly announced a student exchange program with East Guard Academy. This news was nothing short of a major event in the relatively small East Business City.

What is Star Academy? It is one of the prestigious six major academies, with a history far older than the currently most renowned Federal Comprehensive Academy. Its founder, Haina Vincent, is on par with the father of card theory. Every bit of Star Academy's former glory has been unearthed, and for a moment, it seemed as though Star Academy had become the pride of all the residents of East Business City.

East Guard Academy also benefited from this development, with students walking with their heads held high and a spirited demeanor. The purpose of Star Academy's visit to East Guard Academy became the most discussed topic.

Once upon a time, Star Academy, which ordinary people could only look up to, was now actually coming to East Guard Academy. Many residents of East Business City, upon hearing this news for the first time, scoffed at it and dismissed it as false.

It seemed as if East Business City's environment had become clean and orderly overnight. The streets were free of litter and vagrants, with workers everywhere repainting walls, a directive personally issued by the mayor.

The number of visitors to East Guard Academy surged dramatically, with many people curious about what made this otherwise obscure school so favored by Star Academy. In the week following the announcement, East Guard Academy received over a hundred exchange letters from other schools.

Chris was naturally unaware of these developments, having stayed indoors for quite some time. Even if he had known, he probably wouldn't have felt that it had anything to do with him. Each day, he continued his relentless training and studying as usual. He didn't know why he was pushing himself so hard, nor did he want to understand; he simply didn't want to stop. Amid this self-punishing regimen, his skills progressed rapidly. Chris felt as if he had been in a dream, a dream that seemed both long and short, and now that he had woken up, he found himself feeling somewhat unfamiliar with himself.

He felt as though his entire body was filled with strength. He could now effortlessly lift weights that previously required both hands. In addition to this, his senses had become much sharper, and his explosive power and flexibility had significantly improved. Surprisingly, despite these enhancements, his muscles had not grown much larger.

What amazed him the most was how flexible his body had become, almost to the point of being able to bend in any direction. It reminded him of the acrobats in circus troupes. These performers, often girls around twelve or thirteen years old, could maneuver and turn inside narrow tubes with remarkable flexibility. Those were young girls, who are naturally more flexible than boys, and that age is typically when their bodies are at their most pliable. But here he was, sixteen years old, and a man.

Indeed, in Chris's view, there was no real distinction between boys and men; at least, that was how it seemed to him. Even though he had made remarkable progress in flexibility, his mood remained tinged with a sense of blue. These advancements did not bring him much joy. Nowadays, he seemed to have lost curiosity about almost everything, except for the mysterious card.

He continued training and studying with a mechanical, habitual approach. His mind had begun to regain its capacity for thought. But he wasn't contemplating the meaning of life or anything so abstract; that was too distant for him. In reality, Uncle Hua's death had a profound impact on him. Occasionally, he would have involuntary moments of reflection, but he quickly dismissed these perceived superfluous emotions from his mind.

The dead are already gone, and those who are still alive must continue living.

Life is grounded in reality, and he's not used to mixing in thoughts about so-called life's meaning. What he's focused on now is the most basic issue: survival.

With Uncle Hua's passing, it's not just about losing someone who cared for him; it also means that from now on, he'll need to find new buyers for the one-star energy cards he creates. This is a significant problem, a very big problem. If he doesn't solve this, everything else will be an illusion, unreal to him. He needs to find a solution quickly.

At that moment, Ray arrived. As soon as he entered, he collapsed straight onto Chris's bed, complaining nonstop, "Ah, this is so comfortable. I'm exhausted. Chris, your lousy bed seems to have gotten more comfortable."

Chris didn't respond to him and instead got up to pour him a glass of water, asking, "What brings you here today?"

"I missed you," Ray replied, rambling aimlessly. Then, his expression turned bitter, and without warning, he blurted out, "These days, it's really damn hard just to make a living."

Hearing this, Chris immediately knew that Ray must have faced some sort of injustice or hardship and had come to him to vent. Chris understood what he needed to do—nothing at all, just listen quietly.

As expected, Ray suddenly sat up, his face full of resentment: "Chris, what kind of messed-up world is this? I worked my ass off, put in so much effort, and that bastard just took all the credit without saying a word. Damn, acting all high and mighty, calling himself a director!" As Ray angrily recounted the story, Chris finally figured out what had happened. 

Ray, being young and hardworking, quickly got the hang of things after entering the card play industry. Because he had some education and was naturally intelligent, he began trying his hand at writing scripts. His initiative caught the attention of the director, who praised him highly and even promised that if Ray could produce a good script, he would be promoted to a full-time screenwriter.

With hope in his heart, Ray spent countless days and nights racking his brain, pouring all his effort into creating a script that finally satisfied him. When he handed it over to the director for review, the director was also greatly impressed and immediately decided on the spot to start production based on Ray's script.

Seeing his hard work being recognized, Ray was happier than anyone. He eagerly anticipated the release of the card play. However, to his shock, when the card was finally produced and hit the market, he discovered that the screenwriter credit bore the director's name instead of his own. It felt like a shock, leaving him stunned and unable to react for a long time.

When Ray angrily confronted the director, the director merely sneered and tossed him 50,000 Oudis, never mentioning the promised promotion to full-time screenwriter. Moreover, the director threatened that if Ray dared to speak out, he would be expelled from the company.

Adding to Ray's mixed feelings of pride and frustration, the card play quickly became a hit, topping the sales charts within just two weeks. The director, riding on the success of the card play, became one of the most sought-after figures in the industry.

Ray's anger and energy seemed to drain away as he finished recounting the story, and he collapsed back onto the bed in despair. Chris listened quietly, without showing any reaction. Both he and Ray had seen far too many injustices in life to believe in the concept of true fairness. This time was different because Ray had poured so much of his heart and soul into the script, which is why he was so emotional. But deep down, both Ray and Chris knew that true fairness did not exist in this world.

"How's your hologram card study going?" Ray asked Chris wearily after a long pause.