Chapter 12

Chapter 12

This place was extraordinarily spacious. Ning Zhu could hardly imagine that the inside of such a small VR experience center could contain such a vast area.

What entered her view was a street as smooth and reflective as a mirror. Because of the neon glow from the shops, the ground looked as if it were lit in shades of blue and purple, dazzling and brilliant.

This was indeed a street, but not narrow or enclosed—instead, it was wide and open enough for vehicles.

Only there were no cars here, only pedestrians wearing various styles of coats.

This was a pedestrian street.

A pedestrian street belonging to card masters!

Ning Zhu excitedly looked along both sides of the street. What came into view were all kinds of shops. These familiar yet unfamiliar brand names made her deeply feel what “magical realism” meant—

Li Ning Equipment Card Specialty Store, Anta Equipment Card Specialty Store, Nike Equipment Card Specialty Store, Fila Equipment Card Specialty Store…

This should be the Equipment Card Zone, corresponding to major sports brands in the real world.

So on the surface they were selling clothes in shopping malls, but secretly they were selling equipment cards in Spiritual Rhyme Land?

Really?!

Could it just be a name coincidence?

Ning Zhu found it hard to believe these were really the brands she knew.

Compared to Ning Zhu’s dazzled amazement, Li Jin didn’t even glance around. A notebook appeared in his hand out of nowhere—black cover, serious and rigid, like an old cadre’s meeting record book.

Ning Zhu was full of questions and was about to ask them all when Li Jin opened the notebook and pushed one page toward her. “This is today’s itinerary.”

Ning Zhu: “???”

She was still immersed in the cyberpunk magical-realist world of Spiritual Rhyme Land, making it hard to shift her attention to this plain-looking notebook.

Bai Ze: “Oh-ho! This kid is very meticulous.”

Ning Zhu lowered her head and looked at the notebook.

The cold-toned paper was filled with handwriting so neat it looked printed. The text covered the entire page without a single mistake.

The first thought that arose in Ning Zhu’s mind was—what an obsessive-compulsive person!

On closer inspection, the thought only solidified—advanced OCD, beyond saving!

Of course, Bai Ze was right. The notebook’s owner was extremely careful; the notes were detailed, thorough, and easy to understand at a glance.

At the very top was a list of must-buy items.

Sorted by priority: card ring, textbooks, required reading books, school uniform, daily-use cards.

Below that were optional purchases.

These were sorted by recommended priority: spirit pattern paper, moonlight ink, silver thread…

If it were only this, Ning Zhu wouldn’t have been so shocked.

What was truly outrageous was that every item had a recommended best store and estimated time required for purchase.

Line after line, Ning Zhu’s mind was filled with “5 minutes,” “6 minutes,” “7 minutes”…

Even more terrifyingly, he had hand-drawn a small map, planning the most time-efficient route, ensuring no backtracking at all.

Li Jin: “Any questions?”

Ning Zhu: “No problem!” Too no problem!

Li Jin: “Then we’ll go to the card ring shop first.”

Ning Zhu: “Okay!”

Help—she had completely lost her reverence for the Libra department!

It was strong, yes, but the strength of obsessive-compulsive precision was just too terrifying!

Given the destructive power of this itinerary, Ning Zhu didn’t dare look around anymore and quickly followed Li Jin’s pace.

After passing through the Equipment Card Zone, they immediately arrived at a Card Ring specialty store.

Compared to the brand-filled Equipment Card Zone, there was only one store here—the Huaxia Card Ring.

Bai Ze explained to her, “This is a card ring. It’s extremely important to card masters. The Huaxia region has always managed it as a monopoly.”

The storefront of the card ring shop was very large.

Various types of card rings were displayed on the transparent glass window.

This layout… hmm, it was somewhat like certain luxury bag stores.

Ning Zhu had seen Li Jin’s card ring before, and also seen Principal Yang’s card ring, but the ones here were different from theirs.

The craftsmanship was noticeably rougher, and the colors were different as well.

Everything displayed here was in white and gray tones.

The styles of the card rings were very simple—all bracelet-style. Some were wider, some narrower, with differences only in details like patterns and materials.

There were quite a lot of customers in the shop, all looking around, with staff carefully introducing products to them.

Ning Zhu observed closely and noticed most of them were parents with children. The children were generally around fifteen or sixteen years old—about her age.

A young male clerk walked over and asked, “Are you here to buy a card ring? Is it for this young lady? Please come this way. We need to do a simple test fir—”

Before he could finish, a chubby middle-aged woman ran out from the back of the store. Her hair was in complete disarray, her clothes were scorched by fire, and the exposed skin on her body was red and swollen in patches. She screamed, “Thief! There’s a thief!”

Her voice was so loud it could almost overturn the entire shop.

Everyone in the card ring store turned to look at her.

Suddenly, a black shadow shot out. The person was tall and thin, wearing a black trench coat. Their face was tightly wrapped, not a single strand of hair visible.

In their hand was an exquisite wooden box. Ignoring everyone present, they rushed straight toward the upper window.

The female shop owner screamed, “Ahhh stop him! Stop him quickly! That’s a card ring custom-made specifically for the Star God Card Holder—ahhh!”

Ning Zhu: “!”

Before she could react, Li Jin shot out like lightning, immediately chasing after the black-clad thief.

Everything happened too fast for her to keep up, even as a physically fit student.

Before leaving, Li Jin only threw her one sentence: “Stay in Spiritual Rhyme Land.”

Compared to Li Jin’s swift action, the adult card masters in the shop didn’t move at all—none of them showed any intention of pursuing.

The shop owner collapsed onto the floor, beating her chest and wailing, “You damned thief! That’s the ancestral card ring of our Old Niu family! That’s a seven-star card ring made only for the Star God Card Holder! What use is it to that damned thief?!”

She cried loudly, tears and mucus streaming down her face, utterly devastated.

The commotion was so big that even people outside came into the card ring shop to watch. The already crowded shop instantly became packed beyond capacity.

Several card masters in trench coats asked each other, “What happened? How could someone dare to steal in Spiritual Rhyme Land?”

“Where are the monitoring cards? The security cards? The defense cards?”

The shop owner screamed, “All destroyed!”

“Who has that kind of ability…”

“Could it be people from the Zodiac Society…”

As soon as this was said, the noisy crowd immediately fell silent.

Even the wailing shop owner lowered her voice, sniffling instead, and said, “N-no way… this place is absolutely safe… people from the Zodiac Society can’t possibly enter Spiritual Rhyme Land…”

As she said this, the fear on her face was still impossible to conceal.

Someone swallowed nervously. “Hard to say… the Star God Card has reappeared. They…”

Another person added, “Yeah! And what was stolen just happens to be the exclusive card ring of the Star God Card Holder…”

The crowd in the shop immediately began to stir.

Chapter 40

Several Card Masters immediately grabbed their children’s hands and hurried toward the exit.

Once one person moved, everyone followed. The entrance of the Card Ring Store wasn’t large, so the sudden crowd caused collisions. Tempers flared as people started arguing:

“Get out of the way!”
“You get out of the way!”
“Fuck, looking for trouble?”
“Trouble your mom! The Zodiac Society is in the Spirit Rhyme Land. I don’t want to die waiting here!”

People outside heard the commotion and their faces filled with terror:

“What?”
“Zodiac… Zodiac Society…”
“Run! People from the Zodiac Society have invaded the Spirit Rhyme Land!”

As soon as these words spread, the scene became even more chaotic. Some people’s card rings even flashed as they activated skill cards.

A teenage girl was shoved and stumbled. Ning Zhu quickly protected her and raised her voice: “That wasn’t someone from the Zodiac Society!”

Her voice was clear and bright, cutting through the noisy crowd with unusual clarity.

Many people turned to look at her in confusion. After seeing her pretty, youthful face, they quickly looked away. Someone even sneered, “Where did this yellow-haired brat come from? She doesn’t even have a card ring and she dares to spout nonsense here.”

Everyone continued pushing toward the exit. Ning Zhu was also jostled back and forth. She was barely able to protect the girl in her arms. If she fell, it could easily cause a stampede.

Ning Zhu raised her voice again: “Everyone, don’t panic! It really wasn’t the Zodiac Society!”

“You say it wasn’t and we’re supposed to believe you? If someone dies, can you take responsibility?!”

“I…”

Ning Zhu couldn’t explain.

But she was certain that the person in black wasn’t from the Zodiac Society.

Because she was still standing here safe and sound.

If it really had been the Zodiac Society, they wouldn’t have bothered stealing card rings—they would have attacked her directly.

“Everyone, please calm down!”

At this moment, a tall woman who looked to be in her thirties or forties, wearing a dark red robe, strode over. She seemed to have come in a hurry; there was a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, but her voice was steady and composed:

“I am Li Suwen, a professor from the Aries Department of Spirit Card Academy. I have already checked the 【Scene Card】 of the Spirit Rhyme Land. Its spiritual energy is full and it has not been breached… Everyone, please rest assured. The Spirit Rhyme Land is safe. No one from the Zodiac Society has broken in!”

Ning Zhu’s eyes were sharp. She noticed the woman’s card ring flash faintly.

Bai Ze said, “A pretty high-grade 【Emotion Soothing Card】. It can effectively calm everyone’s emotions.”

Li Suwen continued, “The Card Master Guild has already dispatched a security team! The theft incident at the Huaxia Card Ring Store will be thoroughly investigated. Please…”

Whether it was the effect of the 【Emotion Soothing Card】 or the trust everyone placed in the four words “Spirit Card Academy,” the riot was successfully quelled. Although people were still complaining, they stopped pushing and shoving and began leaving the store in an orderly manner.

Ning Zhu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The teenage girl she had been protecting suddenly spoke up: “Let… let go of me!”

She… wait, no…

Only then did Ning Zhu notice. She said in surprise, “You’re a boy?”