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

"What is the ruler of the underworld?" Zhou Chen glanced at Lin Fan. "Brother Fan, do you know?"

"I don't know."

"Let's go take a look." With that, Zhou Chen pulled Lin Fan and walked towards the crowd.

"Godfather, may I borrow this mask?"

As the two approached, they saw fifteen or sixteen people surrounding a new intern.

They jostled to pick up a mask and posed for photos.

"Look at me, don't I look like one? From now on, you'll call me 'Little Black.' If anything strange happens, please call me!"

"Wow, this is 'Little Black,' he's 1.5 meters tall!"

"screw you!"

"If I were the ruler of the underworld, the first thing I would do is take you to the gates of hell, so you can never get out."

A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

Lin Fan stood on the periphery of the crowd and glanced at the mask that was surrounded by people. It was crudely made, and even the holes in the eye sockets that were originally of different sizes had been beautified into neat circles.

"Make way, make way." Zhou Chen, taking advantage of his height and size, squeezed through the crowd with Lin Fan.

Upon entering, the two saw a pre-recorded video playing on the computer.

The footage is noticeably shaky and slightly blurry, clearly indicating it was taken a second time with a mobile phone.

In the scene, a massive black and white gate slowly rises, accompanied by the words, "Welcome to—the Gates of Hell!"

Countless comments flooded in instantly, flashing by so quickly that their content was impossible to read.

"This is the live stream I filmed yesterday. I watched the whole thing!" the new intern said proudly.

His expression made it seem like he was actually there.

"This is the 'Lord of the Underworld' who just went viral last night, gaining 300,000 followers overnight and topping the trending searches!"

"Isn't the first one that Baboerben?" someone asked.

"That's third! The first is our manager!" the intern said, clicking on another page.

"Look, even the masks are already being counterfeited. There are already shops selling them on Taobao, with over three thousand pre-orders. I got these in advance through connections."

"More than three thousand orders? Even if you only make ten yuan per order, that's more than thirty thousand yuan!" someone exclaimed. "This level of popularity is terrifying."

"That's right! Look, people are already digging into their real identities!"

"Did you find it?" Zhou Chen asked, leaning closer.

"There are a lot of unreliable rumors, like these two are rich kids from Kyoto, or that they are siblings, the kind from Germany."

The new intern shook his head. "A real investigation is never that easy."

"They were both wearing masks the whole time, and their voices were altered. All we know is that the background is definitely from Jiang City, I think it's some kind of neighborhood..." The intern scratched his head.

"Jiang City?" Zhou Chen muttered, turning to look at Lin Fan. "Brother Fan, does Jiang City have someone this powerful?"

Lin Fan shrugged: "Jiang City is full of hidden talents, it's not surprising."

"That's true." Zhou Chen turned back to look at the screen, where Qin Muyao, wearing a mask, was introducing the location.

"This is Fenglinwan Residential Area, and I believe it's a place that attracts attention in the world of the supernatural..."

"Yes, it's Fenglinwan Residential Area..." The new intern exclaimed, as if he had just been given a hint.

"Maple Forest Evening Community? Brother Fan, don't you live there too? You even made that purple card before? Making this card shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Zhou Chen's gaze shifted and landed on Lin Fan, and at the same time, everyone present looked at Lin Fan.

Lin Fan looked at Zhou Chen without changing his expression, and did not deny it.

Zhou Chen stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly deflated.

"Forget it, you don't even have a girl around you, let alone money to buy a card, especially this rare and valuable Domain Card. It can't be you."

Upon hearing Zhou Chen's words, everyone instantly lost interest, just like a defeated rooster.

Lin Fan silently gave him a thumbs up in his heart.

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse, the supervisor is here," someone called out.

The crowd scattered in a flash, returning to their places. The intern frantically tried to close the webpage, but it was too late.

The bald manager was already standing behind him, looking at him with a half-smile.

"Watching live streams during work hours?" The supervisor's voice wasn't loud, but it subtly instilled a sense of pressure in the new intern. "You're pretty free, aren't you?"

"Supervisor, I...I'm learning," the new intern stammered.

"Studying?" The supervisor glanced at the computer screen. "Why wear a mask while studying?"

The interns fell silent.

The supervisor glanced around at everyone present, his gaze finally landing on Lin Fan. He paused for a second, then casually looked away.

He cleared his throat: "Just focus on your work and stop thinking about those random internet celebrities. It's their business if they become famous. Whether you become famous or not depends on when you create your own cards."

After he finished speaking, he walked away with his hands behind his back.

Seeing the supervisor leave, Zhou Chen leaned close to Lin Fan's ear and whispered, "Brother Fan, you live in that neighborhood, didn't you hear anything yesterday?"

As Lin Fan turned on his computer, he casually replied, "I didn't hear you, I was already asleep."

"What a pity! If I were there, I would definitely be cheering him on!"

Lin Fan didn't reply. His gaze fell on the computer screen. He opened the card trading website and browsed the rows of products that popped up on the page.

"Fan-ge, are you buying things again?" Zhou Chen peeked in. "With your extravagant spending, no wonder you can't find a girlfriend."

"Get lost. Besides, is the work of a card maker considered spending money? It's a reasonable investment."

Lin Fan didn't say anything more; he was simply investing in himself.

Lin Fan quickly browsed through the list and used the 4 yuan he had to buy three cards: [Hanged Ghost Corpse] (Green) 22000, [Soul-Hooking Iron Chain] (Blue) 18000, and [Blank Card] 1000.

The moment he pressed the payment button, his heart ached.

Out of money again!

If he weren't broke, he would have considered buying a Blue Domain Summoning Material Card to try and make a purple one.

He looked at his empty bank account, sighed, and remarked, "I really don't have enough money!"

"What's wrong, Brother Fan? What did you buy?" Zhou Chen came closer and looked at the screen curiously.

"Nothing much, just some card-making materials!" Lin Fan replied casually.

Zhou Chen clicked his tongue twice. "Brother Fan, tell me the truth, what level are you at now?"

Lin Fan thought for a moment, then said with a bitter expression, "Debt level!"

Zhou Chen: "..."

"Buzz buzz buzz" Lin Fan's phone, which was on the table, suddenly vibrated.

Lin Fan picked it up and saw a message from Qin Muyao: Come back early tonight, I have something important to discuss.

He glanced at his phone and quickly replied: "Got it!"