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

Lin Fan slept exceptionally soundly.

So much happened on this trip to Dongliu City: the River of Oblivion, the Shadow Devourer, the appearance of Xiang Qian, and Zhou Chen's transformation into a human-demon symbiotic relationship.

Everything felt like a taut string pressing on his nerves, and he only truly relaxed when he returned to Jiang City.

I slept from last night until the afternoon of the next day.

"Phew," Lin Fan slowly opened his eyes, rubbed his still throbbing temples, and glanced at the time on his phone.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, Xiaoyun would usually have brought over dinner or fruit by now, and Xiaozhou would be waiting at the door, but today there was no sign of her at all.

"Xiaoyun, Xiaozhou."

Lin Fan called out towards the door, but there was no response from outside.

"Where are they?" Lin Fan frowned, got up and went to the corridor. He called out to the lobby downstairs again, "Xiao Yun, Xiao Zhou."

Still no one responded.

"That's strange..."

He muttered something to himself, then quickly went downstairs and headed towards the front door.

As soon as he pushed open the door, a tall figure squeezed in from the side.

"Mr. Lin!" Da Niu braced his hands against the door, his honest-looking face peeking through the crack.

Lin Fan was taken aback when he saw Da Niu blocking the doorway. "Da Niu! What are you doing blocking the door?"

Da Niu remained blocking the doorway, showing no sign of letting go. "Miss Su sent me. She said to tell you not to wander off!"

Lin Fan frowned immediately. "Don't wander off! Has something happened outside?"

Da Niu glanced around, then squeezed through the crack in the door, closed it behind him, and said in a low voice, "I heard a big shot came today."

"An important person?"

"Yes." Da Niu nodded. "Miss Su said that someone from the foundation's headquarters has come."

"Headquarters? Isn't your foundation independent...?"

Lin Fan stopped mid-sentence. The New World Foundation only has one headquarters.

Su Wanqing even specifically asked Da Niu to guard her and prevent her from showing herself. These two things combined...

Lin Fan's gaze gradually darkened. "The headquarters that Da Niu mentioned is probably not the headquarters of any foundation at all, but the All Souls Society!"

The new world is still outwardly affiliated with All Souls Society. Although the two sides have begun to secretly oppose each other, it is clear that it is not yet time to completely break off relations.

If I, as someone targeted by the All Souls Society, were to appear before them as a card maker from the Foundation, things would become very troublesome.

Not only will I be arrested, but the New World Foundation's actions will also be questioned, and we might even break off relations on the spot.

Su Wanqing had Da Niu guard Lin Fan, preventing him from appearing in front of the All-Spirits Society. This was not only to protect him, but also to protect the entire New World.

"Yes, I don't know either. I asked Miss Su, but she didn't say anything. She just told me to tell you, that you'll understand!"

After listening to Da Niu's words, Lin Fan became even more certain of his thoughts.

Seeing Lin Fan's enlightened expression, Da Niu couldn't help but lean closer and whisper, "Mr. Lin, so they are from headquarters? And what did Miss Su mean by that?"

"Well, Miss Su has already said that, don't you believe her? She said that because she's worried that I might offend your distinguished guests if I go out, and things could get messy."

Lin Fan offered a seemingly reasonable explanation to Da Niu.

Da Niu nodded. "That makes sense. You're all honored guests; it wouldn't be good if some conflict arose!"

Looking at Da Niu's expression, Lin Fan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Da Niu was a straightforward person; if it were someone else, they might have already noticed something was wrong.

"What brings those people from headquarters here today?" Lin Fan asked, hearing the noise outside the door.

"Our foundation is going to hold some kind of auction, and Miss Su said they're here to participate in it too."

"An auction could attract the attention of headquarters?"

"I heard they're all after something that can reduce the level of weirdness."

A strange look appeared on Lin Fan's face. "Reduce the monster value? Isn't that something they can solve by spending some money at the Card Association? Is it worth them coming all this way?"

Da Niu immediately shook his head and looked at Lin Fan with a serious expression.

"That's different. The Card Association can only purify initial cards, but the items at this auction are different. I heard it can even purify fused cards."

"Huh?" Lin Fan's pupils contracted sharply. "The fused cards can be purified? What is this thing, and it has such an effect!"

Lin Fan was overjoyed. If such a thing really existed, wouldn't that mean there was a solution to Zhang Jiao's problem?

Since Zhang Jiao entered the "first level of the underworld", his transformation value has remained at 40%, and he cannot be sure whether he can control Zhang Jiao the next time he summons him.

Lin Fan couldn't help but picture Zhang Jiao's face, tainted by black energy, his indifference making it seem as if he didn't recognize him at all.

But Da Niu's next words completely calmed him down.

"You know what? Because of this rare item, even the tickets for the very edge of the auction are now being sold for 1 each, and you still might not be able to buy one."

"Ten thousand for one ticket?" Lin Fan was stunned for a moment. He remembered that the two gold-stamped numbered admission tickets he had sold before only sold for fifteen thousand together.

Back then, a regular ticket was only worth a few hundred yuan, but now, in less than a month, the price has increased dozens of times.

If they all come for this stuff, how can he compete with others for the meager amount he has?

"Where did this come from? I've never heard of anything like this appearing at an auction before!"

Lin Fan cursed inwardly, thinking that if he had known about this earlier, he might have been able to compete with the wealthy by reselling tickets.

But now it's too late; there's no such thing as knowing beforehand.

Da Niu didn't notice Lin Fan's slightly unpleasant expression. He continued speaking to himself, "It seems to have been acquired recently. Mr. Zhao found it troublesome, so he put it up for auction."

Lin Fan nodded. Zhao Zhong's choice was indeed the most appropriate one. As long as he kept this thing, it would eventually be taken away by the Wanling Society, since they were subordinates.

But if he puts it up for auction, the situation is completely different. Even if the members of the All Souls Society win the bid, they will still have to pay a sum of money.

"What's so difficult about this? It's just lowering the monster value, isn't it?"

"You might not know this if you don't use the Summoning Card, but the higher the Deviousness Value, the less obedient the summoned card spirits will be to the cardholder."

"So what? We can just get a new one."

Lin Fan chuckled, "It's fine if it's a low-level card, but it would be a shame to throw away a Purple Domain level or even higher card."

"You guys who use summoning cards are such a hassle, we weapon cards are much better!" Da Niu chuckled.

"Mr. Lin, do you have anything to eat? I've been watching over you for almost a day, I'm starving!"

Lin Fan looked equally bewildered. "I don't know either, I haven't eaten all day!"