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

Led by Xu Xiaotang, the group arrived at the New World Foundation located in the center of Jiang City.

Compared to the suburban estate, which was more like a "private settlement," this place was the true New World Foundation.

"Oh, this is your building! I've passed by it several times before and never noticed!"

"This is a co-working space," Su Wanqing explained to Lin Fan. "We only occupy three floors; after all, we don't need that much space."

Lin Fan nodded. The New World Foundation, unlike the Qin Group, doesn't have such a wide range of businesses, so it really doesn't need such a large space.

The three of them entered the elevator, and Xu Xiaotang skillfully pressed the button for the sixteenth floor.

"The sixteenth floor is where I usually work," Xu Xiaotang explained.

After the elevator doors opened, Lin Fan saw that almost everyone on the floor was busy with their own tasks.

Seeing this, Lin Fan couldn't help but ask, "Isn't your foundation just organizing auctions and stuff? Are you always this busy?"

Xu Xiaotang puffed out her chest and said proudly, "Of course! Our foundation is not as simple as you say. We also need to allocate resources rationally based on the strange fluctuations that occur in various places."

She raised her hand and pointed to a flashing message on a screen.

"Look, a strange blue area has appeared in the southern district. Normally, the nearby teams would go there immediately to deal with it, but it's different now."

After the strange tide subsided, blue-level strange activities have been occurring throughout Jiang City. If they continue as they were before, we definitely won't be able to manage them all.

Xu Xiaotang said with a serious expression, "Our primary task now is to ensure the supply of resources to the hardest-hit areas. Mr. Zhao's manor is now the highest priority."

After listening, Lin Fan couldn't help but say, "Isn't this just a matter of passing the buck? To put it bluntly, you're still prioritizing your own people."

Xu Xiaotang turned to look at Lin Fan, her eyes filled with resentment, "What do you mean by taking care of your own people?"

"Mr. Zhao's manor currently has the most injured and is in the highest danger level, so its priority should naturally be raised. If what you're saying is true, does that mean if something happens to our foundation, we should deliberately ignore it?"

Lin Fan didn't refute what Xu Xiaotang said, since what she said wasn't wrong.

She leaned closer to Su Wanqing and whispered, "Sister Su, it seems like your son... has a lot of opinions about our foundation."

"What do you mean 'my family'?" Su Wanqing reached out and pinched Xu Xiaotang's chubby little face. "Xu Xiaotang, you're getting better and better at talking nonsense, aren't you?"

Xu Xiaotang's words became somewhat indistinct from being pinched, "Um... if it's not yours... then is it mine...?"

"Xu Xiaotang!" Su Wanqing glared at her, and only released her when she saw that Xu Xiaotang did not speak.

Xu Xiaotang rubbed her face, backing away while muttering under her breath, "Isn't that right!"

As the three walked in, people kept greeting them, but most of the greetings were directed at Xu Xiaotang.

Su Wanqing rarely comes here, and few people recognize her or greet her. Most of the comments are just, "Who is the beautiful woman Xu Xiaotang is with?"

"Oh, Sister Xiaotang is here?"

"Sister Xiaotang, let's have lunch together!"

Xu Xiaotang spoke fluently about how she would handle things later, completely unlike her previous statement that no one would pay attention to her.

Su Wanqing had obviously noticed it too, and a slight smile appeared on her lips as she looked at Xu Xiaotang.

"Xiao Tang, is this what you meant by 'nobody talks in the department'? It seems to me you're doing pretty well here."

Su Wanqing paused, her tone slightly teasing, "Isn't that right... Sister Xiaotang?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaotang's face flushed red. As if to hide her embarrassment at being exposed, she quickly tried to cover it up:

"They just like to ask me for help; I'm actually not very good at communicating with people!"

"Oh?" Su Wanqing looked incredulous.

"Who was it that was saying 'Good morning, Brother Wang; good morning, Sister Li; let's have lunch together' all the way here?"

"That was just politeness!" Xu Xiaotang quickly explained, but the more she explained, the redder her face became.

"No matter what, Sister Su, you promised to transfer me back to your side, you can't go back on your word!"

Su Wanqing stopped teasing her and her expression became more serious.

Her purpose in coming here was to coordinate follow-up support. The manor is currently severely short-staffed, and she needs to transfer a group of people from the city to the manor.

We also need to discuss the reconstruction and cleanup work after the strange tide with the person in charge of the foundation.

She turned to Xu Xiaotang and said, "Xiaotang, take Lin Fan to find a place to rest first. I'm going to talk to Vice Chairman Liu about the personnel allocation. I'll come back to you later."

"Sister Su, don't forget about my job transfer. Talk to Vice Chairman Liu about it too!"

"I know, I won't forget you." Su Wanqing rubbed her temples and walked quickly towards an office.

After Su Wanqing left, Xu Xiaotang looked at Lin Fan and moved closer to him mysteriously.

"Brother Fan, just come with me, it's quiet over there."

Lin Fan didn't ask any more questions and followed Xu Xiaotang deeper into the building.

The two stopped at the door of a room marked "Archives Room". Xu Xiaotang rummaged in her pocket and finally took out several keys, trying them one by one.

"Your foundation can't be so poor that it can't even afford a combination lock, so why are you using such an old-fashioned key?"

"Hehe." Xu Xiaotang stopped what she was doing and said mysteriously:

"You're not a company employee, so it's okay for me to tell you. I don't want to say I can't find my keys when I'm at work, go out to get them made, and then come back at the end of the workday."

Xu Xiaotang looked smug: "Anyway, I do this all the time, and Sister Zhang who checks attendance never says anything to me."

Lin Fan looked at Xu Xiaotang, who was somewhat clever but not very clever, and didn't know what to say.

Using such an excuse once or twice is fine, but if it goes on for a long time and she still isn't caught, then it can only be said that Sister Zhang is turning a blind eye to her.

When the door to the archives room opened, a damp and rotten smell wafted out.

There are no windows here; the only lighting comes from the overhead incandescent bulbs. The light shines on the cold metal cabinets around us, creating an indescribable sense of oppression.

There were several potted plants on Xu Xiaotang's desk, but most of them were wilted and looked almost dead.

Seeing this environment, Lin Fan understood why Xu Xiaotang wanted to change jobs. It's okay to come in here occasionally to relax and slack off, but if you stay here every day, you'll definitely develop some problems.

"Brother Fan, please have a seat." Xu Xiaotang kindly brought Lin Fan a chair and even patted off the dust.

Faced with Xu Xiaotang's overly enthusiastic manner, Lin Fan hesitated to sit down. "What's wrong? Why are you suddenly so enthusiastic? Just say what's on your mind."

"Hehe, it's nothing serious, I'm just curious..." Xu Xiaotang dragged her chair over and sat down next to Lin Fan.

"How did you and Sister Su meet? I've been following Sister Su for so long, and apart from the team members she leads, I've never seen her so close to an outsider."

"Not to mention..." Xu Xiaotang looked Lin Fan up and down and continued, "Not to mention, Sister Su went to a hotel with you. A man and a woman alone at night, it's inevitable that they would do some things they like."

Lin Fan looked at Xu Xiaotang, his lips twitching. "Would you believe me if I said we didn't do anything?"

"I don't believe it. The way Sister Su looks at you is different. If nothing's happened between you two, it can only mean one thing..."

Xu Xiaotang paused, then continued, "You're not good enough!"

"I... him..."

Before Lin Fan could utter a word, the door was opened, and Su Wanqing stood outside, clearly having overheard something.

When Xu Xiaotang saw Su Wanqing return, an awkward smile appeared on her face. "Sister Su... why are you back? You didn't finish talking so quickly, did you?"

"Xu Xiaotang, you didn't believe what I just told you, right? You want me to verify it again!"

Seeing this scene, Lin Fan wisely walked out, not knowing what was happening inside, but the noise inside never stopped.