Mythical Card Creator: Myriad Ghosts Night Parade at the Start
Author: Ping Ouzi
Synopsis:
Synopsis:
A meticulously researched work on the details of mythical, historical, and folkloric anomalous dungeons—not a fast-paced Card Master story.
Lin Chen, a scholar of folklore and mythology, transmigrated into an unknown card world. On his very first day, he encountered the ultra-deadly dungeon, Myriad Ghosts Night Parade!
At the critical moment, Lin Chen drew on the incense offerings of the City God Temple to create the Door God—Qin Qiong/Yuchi Gong.
After surviving the crisis, Lin Chen discovered that this world's mythological history had been severed!
Incense offerings had vanished, benevolent gods no longer answered, demon gods ruled the land, and anomalies ran rampant!
The materials used to create cards were all anomalous objects! Countless Card Masters had consequently become anomalous!
Yet Lin Chen could fuse history and mythology together, creating cards from anomalous objects!
Yaksa Bones advanced into Human Tai Sui - Wu Song.
The Drowned Ghost advanced into Chu Spirit Shaman - Qu Yuan.
The Headless Corpse advanced into Jingzhou Ghost Marshal - Guan Gong.
With card after card of heroic spirits and deities, Lin Chen saved and nurtured the people, rekindled the incense offerings, and rebuilt Deity Worship!
Door God Guards the Home, sweeping away evil and suppressing calamities, protecting the household.
Qu Yuan, the spiritual witch of Chu, communed with the gods through dance, divining the heavens and reaching into the netherworld.
Erlang revealed his divine might, Taming Floods and Capturing Flood Dragons, Searching Mountains and Subduing Demons.
Wukong descended to the mortal realm, wielding seventy-two transformations and an indestructible vajra body.
Saint Guan the Great Emperor commanded the netherworld, protecting the law and subduing demons.
God of Wealth bestowed blessings, increased fortune, and brought fairness and prosperity to the markets.
Sui Huang passed down fire, transformed foulness and dispelled disease, drove away darkness, and ushered in enlightenment.
God Yu tamed the floods, pacified the torrents and settled the land, while the Nine Tripod Cauldrons suppressed the world.
As Lin Chen summoned gods into the world, hidden organizations such as Esoteric Buddhism, the Black Goat Mother Goddess, the Deep Diver Cult, and the Deification Society also set their sights on him.
The secrets behind this world's severed benevolent gods and the purpose of the anomalous gods concealing the world gradually began to unfold!
Chapter 1 Welcome to Midnight Caller Radio
Lin Chen awoke from a long bout of dizziness, only to find himself sprawled on an unfamiliar street.
"Where is this? Wasn't I reading at home?"
Looking around, he found the city's architectural style exceedingly strange, combining the prosperity of a modern metropolis with the gloomy solemnity of the medieval age.
Lin Chen was a scholar of folklore and mythology and had some understanding of the customs and local conditions of various places, but he could not identify which city this was.
It was as though the place had been created out of thin air.
The LED screen of a nearby shopping mall suddenly lit up. On it, a host in a finely tailored suit began smiling as he presented a program:
"Welcome to Midnight Caller Radio."
Lin Chen could not help shuddering. "That radio station's name is anything but auspicious!"
The host on the giant screen smiled. "The midnight bells are about to ring, and our New Year is almost here. Here, we wish everyone a New Year of gloomy misfortune and disease descending like a plague!"
"New Year?!" Lin Chen wondered if he had heard wrong. Today was clearly an ordinary day. New Year had ended long ago!
"Is this a movie shoot? Or have I transmigrated to another timeline?!"
Lin Chen's head throbbed, his thoughts multiplying wildly.
An unfamiliar city, a garbled time broadcast—everything about it was far too strange for Lin Chen.
The fake-smiling host on the electronic screen continued broadcasting:
"We will now bring our audience the New Year countdown. There are only—"
Lin Chen was startled by the words "Myriad Ghosts Night Parade" and hurriedly looked toward the screen.
But then he saw the suited host's cervical spine suddenly twist 180 degrees! His upside-down face still wore that mechanical, unchanging smile.
This was already beyond Lin Chen's comprehension. Fear pierced straight through him, and he could not even hear how much time remained in the host's countdown broadcast.
But the mutations around him had already begun!
The asphalt road rotted and stank, the lights in the commercial towers went out floor by floor, viscous black sludge seeped from the glass windows of the shops along the street, the advertising words on the neon signs gradually twisted, and the traffic lights at the intersection opened three vertical pupils like living creatures!
In the distance, shadowy, indistinct anomalous figures were already beginning to coalesce.
Midnight Caller, Myriad Ghosts Night Parade! This was all real?!
The alarm bells of Lin Chen's reason rang wildly, frantically warning him that these anomalies were all real!
He had to run!
But for some reason, his whole body was numb with terror, his legs weak, and he could not move them at all!
"The countdown has started! Why are you still standing there? Run!"
At that moment, a white-clad young man darted out like a shooting star and grabbed Lin Chen, pulling him along.
Staggering behind the young man, Lin Chen began to run. Only after taking two steps did he slowly regain awareness of his legs.
Reason finally dispelled the terror and reclaimed control of his body.
Lin Chen had no time to think. He simply followed the young man and ran!
Glancing at the wristband on his arm, the young man seemed to have navigation guiding him. He led Lin Chen through a winding route, turning here and there, and after only a short distance, brought him before an ancient temple.
"Found it! A first-level shelter—the Ruined City God Temple. Let's get inside first!"
The young man hurriedly dragged Lin Chen inside, then quickly shut the temple doors.
Lin Chen next saw the temple's layout. Beyond the outer doors lay the inner hall, whose entrance was pasted with two old red couplets. Inside stood a damaged statue of the City God.
The god statue's features had been worn smooth and blurred. There were also several prayer mats and an offering table with a shrine placed upon it—nothing more.
Yet Lin Chen could sense that this ancient temple radiated an extraordinary divine charm and had not been infected by the anomalous mutations engulfing the entire city.
The City God Temple gave Lin Chen a sense of safety, allowing him to calm down and begin thinking through everything:
"I'm certain I've transmigrated! I've transmigrated into this anomalous world, but why did I have to run into an event like Myriad Ghosts Night Parade right away?!"
The young man who had saved Lin Chen dropped onto a prayer mat and began lamenting:
"Why did I have to run into the Myriad Ghosts Night Parade Dungeon of all things?! My cards can't deal with it at all!"
"This is a dungeon? And what do you mean by cards?" Lin Chen asked.
The young man frowned and warily countered, "Buddy, are you a native here? You don't even know this is a dungeon!"
Lin Chen did not dare reveal any more information. He made an excuse, saying that he had suddenly arrived in this unfamiliar place and been scared senseless, with no idea what was happening, and hoped the young man could explain things to him.
The young man said sympathetically, "You must be an ordinary person entering a dungeon for the first time. The impact on your reason got to you.
"Running into the Myriad Ghosts Night Parade Dungeon really is too much for you. If it had been me the first time I entered a dungeon, I would've been scared witless too!"
He quickly explained that this world had been invaded by anomalies. Not only did anomalous monsters roam about, but anomalous dungeons also appeared without cease, randomly dragging people inside.
Humanity had invented card technology capable of possessing spirits and relied on cards to command spirits and resist the anomalous invasion, barely managing to survive.
This young man—Zhong Yueming—was a beginner Card Master affiliated with the Card Association Security Bureau. He had been randomly dragged into this Myriad Ghosts Night Parade Dungeon.
His wristband was an Equipment Card with an energy-detection function. It could locate positive energy within a dungeon. Combined with intelligence from previous dungeons, it had led him to this Ruined City God Temple shelter.
On the way, he had seen Lin Chen standing there waiting to die, so he had casually pulled him along.
"So if we're inside the shelter, are we safe?"
"Possibly safe for now, but staying safe the whole time is unlikely! According to publicly available intelligence, the Myriad Ghosts Night Parade Dungeon is a B-grade anomalous dungeon. This first-level shelter can't withstand it by itself."
"Then what should we do?"
"We can only rely on cards!" Zhong Yueming was growing impatient. He drew out his card and showed it to Lin Chen:
Card Name: DS-R1 Model Mechanical Guardian Type: Guardian/Humanoid Intelligent Machine Quality: Excellent Grade · Emerald Green Border · Two Stars Traits: Intelligent Computing Power: The DS-R1 is equipped with an intelligent computing core, granting it intelligent learning and deduced decision-making capabilities. Guardian Protocol: According to the Three Laws of Intelligent Machines, the intelligent machine will unconditionally protect its master. Skills: Intelligent Deployment: The DS-R1 deploys electronic surveillance devices and alarms for area monitoring and early warning. Electronic Pulse: The DS-R1 releases high-frequency electromagnetic waves through a forearm resonator, causing area damage. It can also use frequency modulation to release a cleansing effect on allies, removing abnormal interference.
"Card grades are divided into White Common, Green Excellent, Blue Rare, Purple Epic, Gold Legendary, and Color Mythic. Each card also has a star rating, from one to nine stars, representing the card's spirituality and degree of development."
"That looks amazing! I'll be counting on you, Brother Zhong!" Lin Chen had nothing at all on him, and his life was entirely in Zhong Yueming's hands, so he immediately began flattering him.
"I'll do my best."
Zhong Yueming knew that with only one two-star Green card and several White cards, even with the shelter, safely getting through this Myriad Ghosts Night Parade Dungeon would be hanging by a thread.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A series of bell tolls suddenly rang throughout the city, as if a giant hand were striking the night watch drums, startling Lin Chen into a violent jerk.
"The bells are ringing! The countdown is over. Myriad Ghosts Night Parade has officially begun!"
Zhong Yueming panicked. "I have to summon the DS-R1 Model Mechanical Guardian immediately and have it carry out Intelligent Deployment around the City God Temple, giving us advance warning of the anomalous monsters' approach!"
"Brother Zhong, are you talking about that?"
Lin Chen suddenly extended a hand and pointed toward the sky.
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