New card

"Oh, this old man hasn't found a decent opponent in a long time. If I could have a good player to play a few rounds with, I'd be perfectly content."

This time it was the old man's voice.

"My son is hopeless at everything, he can't do anything right, and he can't compete with anyone. Why don't you become my child? Mom will do her best to raise you."

This time it was a woman's voice.

The three voices represent the three Instances they will be participating in next, each of which sounds formidable.

An Ying had just returned from the last game. He and Sheng Qingqiao were incredibly unlucky; as night fell, they were targeted in nine out of ten Instance.

Everyone here had heard of their glorious achievements, so the two were "isolated," and no one wanted to sit next to them for fear of catching their bad luck.

More than ten minutes later, a flash of light appeared, Sheng Qingqiao disappeared, clearly having been selected for the Instance, leaving An Ying sitting alone in the same spot.

The store suddenly had a third fewer people, and the once bustling supermarket became much quieter.

An Ying rubbed her head and closed her eyes for a short rest.

He's likely to be drawn in the next Instance, so he needs to conserve enough energy.

In the supermarket's rest area, many people had the same thought, so they closed their eyes to calm themselves down, and for a moment the only sound in the supermarket was the sound of everyone breathing.

Just then, the glass door was suddenly pushed open inward, and the slight knocking sound made everyone open their eyes alertly.

Two people walked in from outside the door, one after the other.

One was a short-haired young man who was yawning and looked a bit listless.

One was a frail young man with shoulder-length black hair, the ends of which were slightly curly, sitting on a soft cushion in Wheelchair.

The young man's Wheelchair was quite unique; it looked like an old-fashioned wooden Wheelchair. Every time he walked, there was a clattering sound as the wood scraped against the ground, which, if you listened to it suddenly, sounded a bit like a head rolling on the ground.

What's even more striking is that two pale, white hands, severed from their wrists, are dangling from the handles behind his Wheelchair; it is these two hands that propel the Wheelchair.

The two seemed to be strangers to each other, and the first thing they did upon entering the store was to look around inside.

The supermarket is divided into two halves: one half is a rest area with many people sitting, and the other half is the sales area, which is deserted.

Lin Nieran entered and exchanged a glance with Flower Language, the cashier. Flower Language immediately perked up and smiled slightly.

Lin Nieran pretended not to know her, yawned, and walked to the shelf he had his eye on to choose food.

The sickly-looking yet exquisitely handsome young man behind him also looked curiously at Flower Language, only to receive a big eye roll from Flower Language.

Flower Language: Another human card, it's a pity the Feeder's other Weird Card isn't here... It's definitely going to show off here.

Sure enough, the young man raised his eyebrows, his eyes revealing undisguised provocation.

When Flower Language placed her hand on the Counter, she applied pressure, and a crack appeared on the Counter.

"Cough cough cough..."

The young man first slightly curled the corners of his lips, then suddenly frowned, his thin body hunched slightly, and he coughed weakly in a low voice, looking very uncomfortable.

Upon hearing the cough, most people turned to look, their minds filled with doubt.

Is this person here to participate in the Instance? A disabled person? Can they even survive entering Instance looking like that?

There's something about this person that makes him seem neither human nor inhuman, probably because his complexion is too pale and weak. Although his handsome face somewhat masks the paleness, he still doesn't look like a living person.

It's more like the kind of bewitching ghost in the book.

An Ying was initially observing coldly like everyone else, until he saw a familiar red mark in the ring finger of the man who was coughing with his fist to his lips.

Fox Pattern.

The pattern resembled a red ring intimately wrapped around the fingertip, and the playful fox eyes were elongated, making them appear even more affectionate and tender.

An Ying immediately stood up and walked towards the young man.

Just then, Flower Language, staring at the young man's frail appearance, finally lost her temper and impatiently spoke to him.

"What are you doing here? I'm here watching over things." Although the voice was still ethereal and sorrowful, anyone could hear the anger in it.

The young man tilted his head, his smile widening, but when Lin Nieran glanced in his direction, his expression instantly shifted to one of frail vulnerability.

Lin Nieran brought a box of instant noodles to pay the bill and bumped into An Ying was walking by. The two recognized each other the moment their eyes met.

"Boss Lin?" An Ying had a long-standing personal relationship with Lin Nieran because the creation of the Weird Artifacts was quite complicated. In fact, her relationship with Lin Nieran was the best among the team members.

"Mr. An Ying, what a coincidence." Lin Nieran looked at his empty hands and the clean table, and said, "Aren't you going to buy something to eat?"

"I've already eaten," An Ying said. "Why are you only arriving now? I didn't see you before."

"What do you mean? I've never seen you before. I'll explain later. I'll pay first." Lin Nieran said, shaking the instant noodles in his hand.

An Ying nodded, her gaze fixed on the Wheelchair young man who had been staring intently at Lin Nieran from the very beginning.

The young man in the Wheelchair noticed his gaze and turned to look at him. A hint of red seemed to flash at the corner of his eye. He turned back and smiled at him before continuing to stare intently at Lin Nieran's back.

The closer you get, the more certain you become that the markings on this person's hands are Fox Pattern.

This person, sitting in Wheelchair, looks so delicate and frail—is he also part of the organization?

Flower Language took the instant noodles from Lin Nieran's hand, trying hard to suppress her joyful voice. "Thank you for your patronage, Siyuan."

Lin Nieran took out five yuan and gave it to her.

Flower Language's voice was gentle. "Wait a moment, I'll give you your change."

The young man in the Wheelchair glanced at Flower Language, then at Lin Nieran who was smiling, and suddenly lowered his head and coughed violently.

"Cough cough..."

"What's wrong with you?" Lin Nieran was startled and turned to look at him, somewhat at a loss.

An Ying was also frightened by his weak appearance, as if he might die at any moment. The two of them stood around the disabled man, somewhat at a loss.

"It's too cold. You're wearing so little; you'll definitely catch a cold," An Ying said, looking at his thin sweater.

"... cough cough cough..." The young man waved his hand, successfully getting Lin Nieran's attention back, and he could barely suppress the smile on his lips.

He lowered his head, pulled a blank book from his pocket, opened it to a blank page, and quickly wrote:

I'm fine, thank you for your concern.

He... can't he speak? An Ying was surprised. Not only could he not move his legs, but he was also mute?

Is it an innate inability to speak, an unwillingness to speak, or Rules that prevents one from speaking?

A multitude of possibilities flashed through his mind in an instant.

Flower Language, her eyes cold, gave Lin Nieran his change. Seeing the young man's expression, she casually pulled a blanket from behind her and threw it forward, covering the young man's face with the large blanket.

The pitiful face was covered by a blanket, and Lin Nieran was taken aback, finding it somewhat amusing.

[Host, there's no need to worry. The card won't cause any life-threatening illnesses.]

How could a card with Double S-Rank be defeated by a cough?

Lin Nieran couldn't possibly be unaware of the subtle tricks his own cards employed.

Three hours ago, Lin Nieran had some alone time and, to ensure he wouldn't be disturbed, he opened the system.

[The system has been successfully upgraded to V2, and the Performance Points function has been enabled.]

[Congratulations, host! You have unlocked the System Shop!]

[Congratulations, host, for unlocking System Space V1]

[Congratulations, host, you have unlocked the Intermediate Card Pool]

[Congratulations, host, you have received an upgrade reward: one free 10-pull from the Intermediate Card Pool]

[System usage instructions have been updated. Do you want to view them?]

"Yes."

Familiar handwriting appeared one by one.