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

Lin Fan opened his mouth, about to say something, when the office door was suddenly pushed open.

Su Wanqing walked in quickly, holding a list in her hand.

"Uncle," Su Wanqing called out, but stopped abruptly as soon as the word left her mouth.

Her gaze fell on Lin Fan, and she moved her lips to continue speaking:

"Only Xiao Wang is missing; everyone else is on the list. Mr. Zhao, do you think there are any changes needed to this list?"

A look of seriousness flashed across Zhao Zhong's face, but seeing that Su Wanqing changed her words in time, a smile returned to his face.

Zhao Zhong looked at Lin Fan and said with a smile, "Come, let me introduce you. This is Lin Fan, the card maker I invited back."

"This is Su Wanqing, the project manager of our foundation, and also the person I trust most."

Su Wanqing nodded slightly to Lin Fan as a greeting, and Lin Fan nodded back without saying anything more.

As Zhao Zhong introduced Su Wanqing, he casually took the list from her hand. He glanced at it and said:

"Mr. Lin, aren't you going to Dongliu City? Then why don't you go with Wanqing?"

Su Wanqing frowned, and before Lin Fan could answer, she spoke first, "Mr. Zhao, although this secret realm is only D-level, Mr. Lin's physical condition..."

Su Wanqing didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear: taking a wounded patient in a wheelchair would be a burden.

"Mr. Lin isn't going to the secret realm; he's going to Puling. You should go with him!"

"What about the secret realm team? This is their first time entering a secret realm."

"Just find a few experienced people to take them in. That secret realm isn't as important as what's in Puling," Zhao Zhong said.

Su Wanqing and Zhao Zhong exchanged a glance, and Su Wanqing finally nodded in agreement. She then turned to Lin Fan and said, "Alright, Mr. Lin, you can go to Puling, but I have one request."

Lin Fan looked at her, waiting for her to continue speaking.

"When you're with me, you must follow my instructions."

Lin Fan looked at Zhao Zhong: "Mr. Zhao, I hope that I will still maintain a dominant position in this matter."

If news about "He Jin" were to be discovered during this period, and Miss Su said she wanted to withdraw it, wouldn't all our previous efforts be in vain?

Lin Fan spoke up, not wanting to be distracted by Su Wanqing after discovering something.

"What do you mean? How could I possibly..."

Before Su Wanqing could finish speaking, Zhao Zhong stopped her, "How about this, if there is danger, Wanqing has the right to decide whether to continue the trip, and you cannot interfere. At other times, you are in charge."

"Sure!" Lin Fan replied.

"Also, you can't appear in the team as 'Lin Fan' or 'Card Maker'." Zhao Zhong put down the list in his hand.

"The New World Foundation also has business dealings in Dongliu City, and I don't want people to know that I hired a card maker to learn about He Jin's affairs."

Lin Fan nodded; the request wasn't unreasonable.

"There's one more condition, which is..." Zhao Zhong paused, "After you come back from Puling, you need to give me a clear direction for card production."

Lin Fan was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."

Zhao Zhong smiled with satisfaction and turned to look at Su Wanqing.

"Wanqing, I'm leaving Mr. Lin in your care. Make arrangements to give him an inconspicuous identity to join the team."

Su Wanqing glanced at Lin Fan and nodded reluctantly, "I understand."

"Mr. Lin, please go back and get your gear ready. Wanqing and I still have some things to discuss."

"Okay." Lin Fan glanced at the two of them. They had something to say, and it wasn't appropriate for him to stay. He slowly pushed his wheelchair out the door.

Lin Fan gently closed the office door, and the sound of wheelchairs turning in the corridor gradually faded away.

Zhao Zhong's smile then faded.

"Uncle, are you really taking him to Puling? It's all mountain roads there. Bringing this burden along will exhaust me."

Su Wanqing spoke, her face full of reluctance.

"If you find it tiring, you can bring a few summoning cards and carry him up there," Zhao Zhong said calmly.

Su Wanqing's disdain deepened. "Forget it, I can't stand those things called 'Kaling'! They're all cold and lifeless, like wooden stakes."

Zhao Zhong smiled and didn't continue the topic. He picked up the coffee on the table, took a sip, and closed his eyes as if savoring the moment.

"We didn't let the card maker go to the site before, after all, he is the card maker and his perspective is different from ours. What if he can discover something that we haven't discovered before?"

"Uncle, have you forgotten the incompetent card maker from before? He was just as eccentric, making everyone think he was amazing, but in reality, he struggled to even make a blue card."

Su Wanqing spoke up to recall for Zhao Zhong, "What if Lin Fan were still like this..."

Zhao Zhong interrupted her, "He created a Purple Domain-level card, and everyone in his company saw it. There's no doubt about that."

"Besides, what else could a card maker like him voluntarily volunteer to go to Puling for, besides making cards sooner and getting his payment?"

Su Wanqing nodded and didn't say anything more. Most card makers have their own airs, but it's rare to see a card maker as dedicated as Lin Fan who goes to the site to investigate.

"There's one more thing." Zhao Zhong put down his coffee, his gaze sharpening. "Things in Puling haven't been peaceful lately. Be careful when you go there."

Su Wanqing frowned again: "What happened over there?"

"The news from the Dongliu City Card Association indicates that there have been strange and unusual activities near Puling recently."

Zhao Zhong added, "Although it's not a large-scale strange event, the frequency is much higher than before. The Card Association suspects that those strange events were disturbed by something."

"To be able to alarm something so strange, what kind of being is that?"

Zhao Zhong shook his head. "I don't know, that's why I want you to go as soon as possible, while the situation there is still relatively stable, and check all the places that need to be checked again."

Su Wanqing was silent for a few seconds, then took out the card from her pocket and examined it carefully. "When do we depart?"

"The sooner the better," Zhao Zhong said. "Go back and prepare. Today or tomorrow, remember to protect Lin Fan. At least for now, he is the most likely person to create 'He Jin'."

Su Wanqing didn't say anything more, turned around and walked towards the door. When she reached the door, she stopped and said something without turning her head.

"He still has his wheelchair, so figure it out yourself. I'm not going to carry a grown man up the mountain."

The door slammed shut.

Zhao Zhong sat on the sofa, a smile playing on his lips.

"Wheelchair..." he muttered to himself, then picked up the landline on the table and dialed a number.

"Prepare a lightweight folding wheelchair that can go up the mountain." He paused, "And find a bodyguard to accompany Mr. Lin to Dongliu City."