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

The subway was empty, with only a few scattered people looking down at their phones. Zhou Chen was leaning back in his seat, casually scrolling through his phone with his legs crossed.

Lin Fan rested his head on his hand with his eyes closed.

"Huh?"

Zhou Chen quickly patted Lin Fan's hand.

Lin Fan opened his eyes, frowned, and looked at him: "What's wrong? Why are you so easily startled?"

"Brother Fan, look, isn't this Miss Qin?" Zhou Chen handed his phone to Lin Fan. On the screen, a woman was holding a selfie stick, with a row of old houses behind her.

Lin Fan leaned closer for a look, and it really was Qin Muyao. The area behind her looked strangely familiar—it was none other than his own residential complex, Maple Forest Evening.

"I went to the Ghost Tide last time, and you guys still doubt my courage," Qin Muyao's voice came from the phone, tinged with a hint of teasing.

"I'm a streamer in the beauty category and you guys have turned me into someone in the weird category. Are you going to make me stream in the secret realm next?"

The comments scrolled by rapidly:

[Hey streamer, you're on your right!!!]

Something is floating somewhere.

[The streamer actually owns the rare Bone-Eating Hound, so don't exaggerate.]

"Yesterday, people said there were strange occurrences here, and even a murder happened! I'm here today to rid the people of this scourge," Qin Muyao said in a low voice.

[Don't be ridiculous, streamer. The Bone-Eating Hound is for dispelling evil spirits; what evil spirit would dare to come here?]

【Why wouldn't it happen? I used to have a Bone-Eating Hound, and when it encountered a truly formidable opponent, that dog was no match for it.】

"Don't worry, I won't be using the Bone-Eating Hounds this time. I have a secret weapon, look." Qin Muyao waved the [Ten Thousand Warriors - Zhang Fei (Deceptive)] on the screen. "With him, I can rampage through this place."

[Wow, this streamer is rich! A humanoid spirit card, and a Purple Domain card at that! These are extremely rare on the market!]

[Extravagant; the humanoid Kalinga is good for nothing but looking good.]

[Where did you get this card? Can the streamer recommend one? I want to get one too.]

【...】

Every time Qin Muyao spoke, dozens of comments would appear on the screen, with the words piling up layer upon layer, making it impossible to read them all.

"Brother Fan, you made that card, didn't you? This really is Miss Qin."

Zhou Chen stared at the screen, his tone tinged with confusion. "But why did she go to that weird section to start a live stream? Isn't that something only card players who are short on cash do?"

"This live stream is very profitable?" Lin Fan's eyes lit up when he heard this, as he needed money to buy materials.

"Of course!" Zhou Chen perked up. "Live streaming is much safer than going into the secret realm to gather materials, and if you do a good job, you'll make a lot of money. Look, look, this spaceship is worth two thousand!"

He pointed to the spaceship animation flashing on the screen and said.

"Two thousand, that's almost a month's salary for us."

"Yes, many card makers now rely on this to make a living. Even some card makers have started live streaming as a side job to earn money."

"Are card makers short of money?" Lin Fan thought about how he earned 200,000 yuan just for making a card for Qin Muyao. That was much faster money-making than live streaming.

"How could I not be short of money?" Zhou Chen gave him a look that said, "You're an amateur."

"They need to test repeatedly to verify whether their synthesis formula is feasible, and that costs money! Besides, how many people like Miss Qin can privately hire someone to make cards? Nowadays, the card-making business has basically been divided up by card-making companies."

Zhou Chen paused, looking at the purple card in Qin Muyao's hand on the screen, then suddenly leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Brother Fan, how much did Miss Qin give you for making the card?"

Two hundred thousand.

"Holy crap, two hundred thousand!" Zhou Chen exclaimed, jumping up from his chair.

"What are you getting so excited about? Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd won two hundred thousand!"

"I was wondering yesterday where you got the money to pay me back since I hadn't been paid yet. Turns out it was for Miss Qin's card-making fee!" he exclaimed. "I wish someone would hire me to make cards too!"

"Can you make cards?" Lin Fan glanced at him.

"I can't." Zhou Chen shook his head confidently, then smiled broadly and said, "But there's still you, Brother Fan. If anyone asks me to make cards, I'll recommend you, and we'll split the profits 30/70."

Lin Fan was silent for a moment, then said, "Alright, since you introduced me, taking 30% isn't unreasonable."

Zhou Chen's expression stiffened for a moment. "Brother Fan, have you misunderstood something? I get seven and you get three."

Lin Fan looked at him without saying anything.

"Okay, okay, four and six, I get six, you get four." Zhou Chen felt guilty under his gaze. "I can't go any lower!"

"You should just watch your live stream." Lin Fan withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes again.

"Brother Fan..." Zhou Chen was about to say something when he caught a glimpse of his phone screen and suddenly stopped. "Huh? Something seems off. Look!"

He handed over the phone, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

Lin Fan took the screen and saw that Qin Muyao was walking deeper into the residential area, but something behind her looked wrong. It was as if something was hidden out of the camera's view, with a dark shadow showing as it moved along with her.

The live chat was exploding at that moment.

There's something behind the streamer.

Don't go that way.

This time it's for real!!!

"What is this? It doesn't look normal..." Lin Fan's words were cut short when the live stream screen shook violently a few times, and Qin Muyao's voice disappeared.

The scene finally freezes in front of a dilapidated factory building, where the words "Red Star Glass Factory" painted in red on the wall can be clearly seen under the moonlight.

The next second, the words "Live stream has ended" popped up, and the screen went black.

Lin Fan immediately picked up his phone, found Qin Muyao's number, and dialed it right away.

"Beep beep beep"

No one answered, so he dialed again, but all he heard was a busy signal.

Just then, the subway announcement came on: "Fenglinwan Station has arrived. Passengers alighting at this station, please turn to your right..."

Lin Fan stood up and walked towards the car door.

Before the announcement could finish, another announcement cut in: "Urgent notice: According to platform data monitoring, there are abnormal fluctuations in the data here. Passengers are requested to leave immediately!"

"Brother Fan, where are you going? Didn't you hear there are strange things around here?" Zhou Chen called out to Lin Fan from behind.

Lin Fan, without turning his head, said, "I live here!"

He rushed out at the last moment before the car door closed.

Behind him, Zhou Chen stared blankly at the figure disappearing into the platform, muttering to himself, "No wonder he's someone who's experienced the strange tides... He's not afraid of anything strange appearing."

He looked down at the "Live Stream Ended" message on his phone screen, shrank back, and put his phone back in his pocket.

"Go back quickly, it's not safe outside at all."

Lin Fan strode out of the subway station and headed straight for his residential compound.

The full moon, hanging overhead, was obscured by a cloud, leaving only a blurry halo, like an eye coldly gazing at the ground.