The Mysterious Card Maker: Starting with Zhang Jiao's Deification

When Lin Fan woke up, he found himself lying in a makeshift medical room.

The scene lacked the cleanliness expected of a medical room.

The room's windows were reduced to crooked metal frames; the glass had long since shattered, and a cold wind carrying a strong stench of blood kept pouring in.

Several medical devices were placed in the corner, covered with some dust and bloodstains. Fortunately, the main body was not damaged, and the indicator lights flashed from time to time, so they were still usable.

Just then, a weary voice sounded from beside me. "You're awake?"

Lin Fan turned his head and saw Su Wanqing sitting on a chair by the bed. Her face was pale and her body was wrapped in bandages, with blood still faintly visible seeping through the white bandages.

"You're injured like this, why are you still staying here?"

"The ghost tide has almost wiped out the entire manor, and now there's a shortage of people everywhere. My injuries aren't too serious, so I've stayed to watch over you."

As she spoke, Su Wanqing glanced at the instrument beside her and, seeing that no red light was on, she felt relieved.

Lin Fan seemed to have thought of something and quickly asked, "Where's Da Niu? How's Da Niu?"

Su Wanqing's expression was somewhat grim. "Da Niu... is still not out of danger. The manor's doctor is still providing emergency treatment, and doctors from the city are also rushing here with equipment."

"Why don't we just go to the city center!" Lin Fan's face instantly darkened.

"We can't send them out." Su Wanqing shook her head, then continued, "Although most of the strange things outside have dissipated, there are still quite a few wandering around nearby."

"Moreover, most of the survivors were injured, and the remaining people had to take on the responsibility of temporary defense, so they simply couldn't spare the time to send him away."

Lin Fan remained silent for a long time before finally asking, "How many casualties... were there in this ghost tide?"

Su Wanqing took out her phone and opened a news article, which reported on the strange tide.

A bizarre surge reappears in Jiang City; the Card Association withdrew before even arriving!

Below is a long list of news reports.

The gist of it is that the scale of this strange tide was limited, it did not cause any additional large-scale casualties, it was suspected to have a special purpose, and the overall level of danger was not high.

Lin Fan looked at the words, his lips twitching slightly. Not dangerous? Only those who had experienced this strange tide knew how perilous it was.

"Some information cannot be written down. After all, if the news of the simultaneous appearance of the Ghost King gets out, the entire Jiang City will probably be in chaos."

Su Wanqing paused for a moment before continuing, "However, this time, the surrounding area wasn't significantly affected by the strange tide; it's just that this New World manor..."

Su Wanqing didn't continue, since the current state of the manor was visible to everyone; apart from a few small buildings that hadn't collapsed yet, it was practically indistinguishable from ruins.

Su Wanqing stood up and came to Lin Fan's side. She looked at Lin Fan with a serious expression and asked the question that had been weighing on her mind for a long time.

"Did this strange tide come because of you?"

"Hmm..." Lin Fan remained silent for a long time, a hint of guilt flashing in his eyes, before finally lowering his head.

"It's the mark of the Ghost King. It was there after the ghost tide in Jiang City last time."

Su Wanqing frowned, intending to say something, but when she saw Lin Fan's appearance, she ultimately remained silent.

The room remained silent for a few seconds, then a knock came at the door, and two figures appeared in the doorway.

Their faces were stained with dried blood, their clothes were tattered, and their wounds were still bleeding, without even being bandaged.

These two were clearly among the survivors of the strange tide. They didn't come in immediately, as if afraid of disturbing the people in the room.

They peered through the hole in the door and, after seeing Su Wanqing nod, they entered the room carrying a tin box.

"Miss Su, these are the cards we collected after this strange tide ended. They're all here." One of them said, panting, as he placed the iron box on the ground.

"Okay, put it there." Su Wanqing nodded gently.

The two responded and looked at Lin Fan lying on the hospital bed. Their eyes were full of fervor. They looked at each other and exchanged a look of confirmation.

They asked Lin Fan, "You...you're the card maker that Mr. Zhao hired?"

Lin Fan was slightly taken aback when he heard the two speak, but under their expectant gazes, he nodded. "Yes, that's me. What's wrong?"

Upon hearing Lin Fan's affirmative answer, they actually knelt down on the ground.

One of them, his voice trembling, said, "You...you saved our lives!"

Lin Fan was stunned when he saw this scene; he had no idea what had happened.

The man's eyes were red, and his voice choked as he continued:

"If you hadn't killed those few demon kings at the end, I would have died long ago. Those monsters were chasing me, and I saw people around me being torn to pieces with my own eyes..."

Even now, as he recalls it, he can't help but tremble. "If you hadn't killed that Ghost King and chased after my eerie creature, I would have been finished."

"My child is only five years old... I promised him that I would take him to the amusement park during this break... If it weren't for you, I really wouldn't be able to go back."

The man next to him also had his head down, his fists clenched tightly. "My wife is pregnant. Thank you, thank you so much."

Lin Fan fell silent as he looked at the two kneeling figures. He didn't know what had happened afterward or how they had survived.

But he knew that he had caused all of this; it was the strange tide attracted by the mark of the strange king.

When Su Wanqing saw the two's actions, something in her heart seemed to be touched. Although the strange tide was caused by Lin Fan, it was indeed he who resolved it.

If he hadn't resolved this strange tide, perhaps even more people would have been implicated.

Su Wanqing glanced at the stunned Lin Fan and said to the two of them, "You should go back now. Mr. Lin needs to rest."

After being prompted by Su Wanqing, the two realized the inappropriateness of their behavior.

"Mr. Lin, please rest well. I will repay your life-saving grace once you have recovered."

The two stood up and thanked Lin Fan again. As they were about to leave, they suddenly remembered something and quickly took out three purple cards with gold trim from their personal card pouches and handed them to Su Wanqing.

"Miss Su, these three are cards left behind by the Ghost King. We haven't found the fourth Ghost King card; we don't know where it went."

The man looked somewhat troubled. "But please rest assured, Miss Su, we will find the Ghost King's card even if we have to dig three feet into the ground."

After saying that, they hurriedly left.

Su Wanqing looked at the cards handed to her: [Shroud of Ashes], [Crown of Bones], and [Scepter of Black Blood].

The cards for the Grey King, White King, and Black King are missing; only the Red King's card is not appearing.

"The material card dropped by Red King Barton is missing?" Su Wanqing frowned slightly, but she wasn't worried that someone would embezzle it.

After all, you might be able to sneak away a few low-level material cards and they're not easily noticed when mixed in with a bunch of cards, but high-level cards of this caliber are a completely different story.

Especially the King-level material cards, since these kinds of things are too conspicuous no matter where they are placed, and they will inevitably be noticed as soon as they appear.

Forget about getting any benefits; you might end up getting even more trouble for yourself, since not everyone is lucky enough to get involved in something of that level.