Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ning Zhu hurried upstairs with her mother.

Father Ning Quan Ren’s voice came from the kitchen: “You’re back? I’ll finish reducing the sauce on the sweet and sour ribs, then stir-fry the Chinese flowering cabbage… it’ll be ready soon!”

The mother and daughter gave a hurried response, grabbed the basement key, and rushed out again.

Hearing the door close, Ning Quan Ren poked his head out in curiosity. “Did you forget something? Why did both of you go downstairs together?”

Then he suddenly exclaimed, “The ribs!” If he wasn’t careful, over-reducing the sauce would ruin the dish!

Ning Zhu rarely came to the basement.

It was an auxiliary storage room provided by the residential complex, usually used to store miscellaneous items that were no longer needed.

Their family had moved into this neighborhood two years ago.

Blue City Manor had very high property prices. It was only because Old Ning had earned enough money in recent years that they could settle here.

Ning Zhu remembered clearly: when they moved, her mother brought many old belongings. Because they didn’t match the upstairs decor, they were all placed in the basement.

The key entered the lock, and with a click, the door opened.

As soon as Ning Zhu stepped inside, she saw her childhood bicycle, a “Porsche” her father had bought her, and a guzheng her mother had tried to use to cultivate her into a refined lady—she only touched it once and cut her finger, and it was later abandoned. She hadn’t expected her mother to still keep it.

There were many items, but they were all arranged in an orderly manner.

Miao Yun may look glamorous and like a modern urban woman, but deep down she was extremely sentimental.

She treasured every fragment of the people she loved, and also easily trapped herself in memories.

Ning Zhu felt a faint bitterness in her heart.

She knew that her uncle’s matter had deeply impacted her mother—so deeply that for all these years, she had never been able to mention even a single word to them.

Miao Yun quickly pulled out a cardboard box from a corner. She only knew where things were very clearly, which allowed her to find them quickly in this cluttered basement.

The box was covered in dust, and Miao Yun coughed a few times from it. Ning Zhu quickly stepped forward and took it.

Miao Yun said, “When he left, he set a fire. Only these things weren’t burned.”

Ning Zhu: “…”

She was curious, but couldn’t bring herself to ask more.

Bai Ze keenly sensed something and said, “There are cards inside the box!”

Ning Zhu’s spirits lifted. “You identify them, then tell me how to use them.”

Bai Ze considered it for a moment. “Too bad you don’t have a card ring.”

“What’s a card ring?”

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Since you’re a Star God Card holder, you can manage a few basic cards even without a card ring!”

Ning Zhu placed the box on the ground, brushed off the dust, and carefully opened it.

Miao Yun turned her head away.

She knew what was inside—those things were what she had painstakingly picked out piece by piece from the ruins.

The box wasn’t large; after a fire, there was only so much left in the house.

The most eye-catching item was a small alpaca ornament. It was made of brass and hadn’t been burned, but the beautiful white paint on it was mottled and worn.

Ning Zhu was stirred by memories.

This was a gift her mother had brought back for her uncle after a trip.

Six-year-old Ning Zhu had wanted it very much, but her mother didn’t give it to her. Her uncle had lifted her up and said, “When Xiao Zhu grows as tall as Uncle, Uncle will buy you a super big alpaca.”

Ning Zhu had been happy. “Super big, super big one.”

Miao Feng had laughed and said, “How about we raise a real one?”

Ning Zhu had become even happier. “A real one! I want a real one!”

These were things Ning Zhu could still remember, and they instantly flooded Miao Yun’s mind as well. She pressed her lips tightly together and said, “In that leather bag… those are all… all those things.”

She had always been unable to face cards directly.

Those eerie cards, made of special materials, bearing strange and intricate patterns.

To her, they were like venomous snakes flicking out their tongues.

Ning Zhu opened the leather bag and poured all the cards out in one go.

Bai Ze was already lying on top of the cardboard box. It had never expected that one day it would be staring at a pile of ordinary cards with shining eyes. It said excitedly, “Good, good! There are five spiritual energy cards. Flip them over, let me see what star level they are.”

Ning Zhu still couldn’t distinguish which of these cards were spiritual energy cards.

Bai Ze’s little cat paw had already pressed down on them.

Ning Zhu saw those cards. Unlike the Star God Card, their texture was rougher, but the patterns on the back were somehow even more intricate—colorful lines intersected chaotically, and faint points of light seemed to flow within them.

So this is what spiritual energy cards look like?

How are you supposed to tell them apart?

By these messy lines?

Suppressing her confusion, Ning Zhu flipped the cards over. The image on the front made her draw in a slight breath.

Ning Quen Ren and Ning Zhu’s mother did not want to look at the cards, but she was constantly paying attention to her daughter, asking nervously, “Is there a problem?”

Ning Zhu asked her mother, “Mom, you…”

Bai Ze said, “People without strong perception can’t see this clearly.”

Ning Zhu understood.

The front of the card had a strong sense of depth, like a stereoscopic image.

On the snow-white card was a cute alpaca. Its eyes were jet-black and bright, its eyelashes curled upward, and its fluffy ears stood upright. It looked adorably silly.

The alpaca was very cute.

But beneath that harmless appearance was a massive presence.

Ning Zhu looked at it with mixed feelings and asked Bai Ze, “Why is it this?” She didn’t explicitly say “alpaca,” not wanting to upset her mother.

Bai Ze said, “Every card creator has their own ‘totem.’ You’ll have to design one in the future too. It’s not just for marking the card’s origin, but also for strengthening resonance… this is too complicated, we’ll talk about it later!”

Time was tight; they really couldn’t afford delays. Ning Zhu asked again, “Can I just use one spiritual energy card?”

Bai Ze said, “This one is two-star. Use three first.”

Ning Zhu asked again, “How do I use them?”

“Having no card ring is really troublesome…” Bai Ze complained, then said, “Like this: place them on the Star God Card, then close your eyes and sense it. I know you can hear a ‘voice’—just follow and recite it.”

Ning Zhu said, “Okay.”

She picked up three two-star spiritual energy cards and placed them on the snow-white Star God Card.

As the cards stacked together, the Star God Card looked even more magnificent and mysterious.

In terms of texture, patterns, and even the intangible aura, they were completely different.

Ning Zhu could even vaguely feel that these two-star spiritual energy cards were trembling.

How could cards tremble?

Clearing her thoughts, Ning Zhu focused her attention to sense it.

It wasn’t difficult. Soon she heard that ancient, distant voice:

“Devour.”

Ning Zhu: “……”

Bai Ze asked her, “How is it? Do you feel anything?”

Ning Zhu hesitated for a moment, then said, “Yes.”

Bai Ze said, “Hurry up.”

Ning Zhu: “...Okay.”

She spoke the words “Devour,” and immediately strands of fiery red light overflowed from the intricate patterns of the spiritual energy cards.

Those dense patterns were like tiny snakes swimming rapidly—after converging, they formed a giant serpent. The serpent leapt up and rushed into the Star God Card.

Like a drop of water falling into the ocean.

The Star God Card showed no reaction at all.

Bai Ze asked Ning Zhu, “How does it feel? Isn’t it like that refreshing, fully-rested-after-ten-hours-of-sleep feeling?”

Ning Zhu paused. “More like five or six hours.”

“Without a card ring, of course it’s not enough. The loss is too great,” Bai Ze said again. “Use the other two as well.”

After Ning Zhu used five spiritual energy cards, she finally felt fully energized.

All exhaustion vanished, and even her senses became sharper.

Ning Ning Quen Ren’s mother had been standing nearby the whole time, her face pale with fear.

Ning Zhu quickly comforted her: “Mom, it’s okay.”

Ning Ning Quen Ren’s mother nodded slightly. “Mm, it’s okay.”

But she was still terrified, especially seeing her daughter sitting there with closed eyes, chanting strange characters… no, she couldn’t be afraid. This was her daughter—her precious child!

Besides the five spiritual energy cards, there were also several other cards with different patterns.

The backs of the cards had different designs, but the front all showed that same silly, adorable alpaca. That meant they were all made by the little uncle.

Ning Zhu didn’t have time to ask about their functions and instead immediately closed her eyes to trigger “Causal Rewriting.”

A silent ripple of light spread outward.

Ning Zhu only felt all her strength being drained. She pressed her temple and said, “Good thing we found the spiritual energy cards.”

Just as Bai Ze said, without those five spiritual energy cards, she wouldn’t just lose an arm or a leg—she probably wouldn’t even be able to trigger “Causal Rewriting” at all.

After “Causal Rewriting” was activated, Ning Zhu said to her mother, “Mom, contact the Special Affairs Bureau!”

Ning Ning Quen Ren’s mother took out her phone, looked at it, then said, “We need to go upstairs first. There’s no signal down here.”

Ning Zhu gathered the remaining cards. “Let’s go.”

They left the basement. Just as they were about to head for the elevator, Ning Zhu sharply sensed the “thread of causality.”

Her scalp went numb. She knew the attackers were already inside the building.

Ning Zhu checked the time. By logic, there should still be half an hour…

Bai Ze said, “Bad news—‘Causal Rewriting’ disrupted ‘Future Foreseeing.’ They’ve detected you ahead of time!”

“Future Foreseeing” was fixed.

Without “Causal Rewriting,” the attack on Ning Zhu’s family would have happened in half an hour.

But now…

Ning Zhu had gained the chance to rewrite causality, and the other side had gained the possibility to alter the future as well!

Ning Zhu couldn’t help but curse this so-called divine ability in her mind. Her expression, however, remained calm. She stared at the “threads of causality” and knew the enemy was on the first floor…

What to do?

They couldn’t take the elevator, didn’t dare climb the stairs, and if they didn’t go up, they couldn’t make a call either.

Bai Ze said, “Communication card!”

Ning Zhu immediately understood. “Which one?”

Bai Ze pressed a cat paw down, and this time Ning Zhu didn’t even have time to look at the back pattern—she immediately activated the card.

Bai Ze said, “The effect will definitely be poor, but it can be used to boost the phone signal. Hurry up and get your mother to make the call.”

Ning Zhu did as told. Ning Ning Quen Ren’s mother didn’t ask further. She had already dialed a number she once wanted to forget, yet had long since memorized.

“Hello, how may I help—”

“I’m at Blue City Manor! My daughter has awakened spiritual card talent, and evil card users are attacking us!”

Ning Zhu didn’t have time to listen to what her mother was saying. She immediately pulled her toward the basement parking garage.

They couldn’t go upstairs—they had to go down.

The parking garage was spacious, giving them more chances to escape.

And the attackers’ target was her. As long as she didn’t go upstairs, her father would be safe!

The parking garage was on the second basement level. While running, Ning Zhu asked Bai Ze, “Tell me, what do these cards do, and how do I use them?”

Even if they managed to contact the Special Affairs Bureau, it would still take time for rescue to arrive.

She had to understand the cards as quickly as possible so she could protect her mother and hold out until help arrived.

Bai Ze quickly said, “There’s an armor card. You can use it first—it’s equivalent to a bulletproof vest.”

Ning Zhu asked, “Can it be used on someone else?”

Bai Ze: “...Yes.”

Ning Zhu immediately used the armor card on Ning Ning Quen Ren’s mother.

Bai Ze continued, “That one is an arson card. Be careful using it. There are many cars in the parking lot—if a fire starts, you and your mother will be trapped.”

“What about the others?”

“This one—the bullet card—is usable, but you don’t have firearms or a card ring, so you’ll probably only be able to use it once…”

“Got it.”

Just as they reached the parking garage, several black shadows rapidly closed in on them.

A streak of fire shot toward them. In Ning Zhu’s mind flashed the image of her father being burned—and now, that same flame was rushing toward her.

Ning Zhu dodged sideways, but half of her body was still within the flame’s range.

In a split second, Ning Ning Quen Ren’s mother rushed forward and pushed her daughter away, taking the remaining burst of fire head-on.

Ning Zhu’s eyes turned bloodshot. “Mom!”

Bai Ze hurriedly said, “Good thing you gave her the armor card…”

Before it could finish, Ning Zhu had already charged forward like a little lion. The Star God Card flashed with white light, and bursts of spiritual bullets shot out, striking the black-clothed attacker who had unleashed the flames.

The attacker first froze in shock, then flew into rage.

Another wave of fire came crashing down—aimed directly at Ning Zhu.

Ning Zhu had done it deliberately. She rushed forward recklessly just to enrage them so they wouldn’t attack Ning Ning Quen Ren’s mother. But she—

A cold gust of wind swept past, and a tall, lean figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

With a loud crash, fire and ice collided, turning into a cloud of steam.

Ning Zhu’s nerves tightened. For a moment, she couldn’t tell whether this newcomer was friend or foe.

Bai Ze said, “A student from the Spirit Card Academy? Did the Special Affairs Bureau send reinforcements this fast?”

In the dim underground parking garage, the newcomer was very tall—at least 1.85 meters.

His clothing was unusual.

It resembled a modernized Chinese-style outfit. The white top had neat rows of buttons, a straight stand-up collar that emphasized his broad shoulders, and a wide belt cinched tightly at the waist.

The belt was special—primarily blue, but with shifting light and shadow that made it look like a brilliant starry sky.

Narrow waist below were long legs—his proportions were comparable to a model’s.

Even more eye-catching was his left wrist, where a deep blue bracelet sat.

Ning Zhu instantly thought of what Bai Ze had mentioned before—card ring.

A golden light flashed across the card ring. Bai Ze, with its sharp eyes, immediately exclaimed, “It’s actually the ‘Libra Card.’”

A majestic phantom of a balance scale appeared, suspended in the air like a sun.

The man’s voice was cold and detached as he uttered two words: “Judgment.”

Judgment of Libra.

The wicked will ultimately reap what they sow.

Ning Zhu was surprised to find that the flames on her mother had disappeared, replaced by the distant screams of the black-clothed attackers.

Even the attacks rushing toward her had reversed mid-flight, turning back and striking the very black-clothed men who had unleashed them.