Playing Cards

5:00 PM, Shenma Technology Company factory, a three-story building.

In the second-floor kitchen, wearing a short-sleeved apron, Ning Yifan was preparing his dinner for the day: braised carp.

He gutted the freshly bought carp, cleaned it thoroughly, and scored the fish's body with a knife to let the flavors seep in and cook it more evenly. A pinch of salt and a few Sichuan peppercorns were rubbed onto the carp, then he added some starch and cooking wine, mixing evenly to coat the fish fully—the starch for texture, the wine to remove any fishy smell.

He heated oil in a wok. Once the oil was hot enough, Ning Yifan held the carp by the tail and lowered it into the oil to fry, using a spatula to ladle the sizzling oil over the hollowed belly of the big fish.

Sizzle, sizzle—

The sound of frying carp rang out continuously.

Fragrance quickly spread through the room. He turned on the range hood, sucking up the cooking fumes and venting them outside.

He fried the carp until golden brown, crispy on the outside and tender inside, then set it aside.

He poured the frying oil into a dedicated oil basin, reignited the stove, and added a spoonful of fresh oil. Into the wok went prepared pickled ginger, pickled vegetables, minced garlic, minced ginger, and crushed rock sugar, all stir-fried together. Once the sugar melted and the oil, sugar, and moisture from the vegetables blended into a sauce, he seasoned it with a small spoonful of salt and chicken bouillon.

He turned off the heat, poured the sauce from the wok over the freshly fried carp, and sprinkled a handful of scallions on top.

A perfectly colored, aromatic, and flavorful braised carp was officially done.

Scooping up a big bowl of rice and pairing it with the sweet-and-sour braised carp, Ning Yifan wolfed down three bowls of rice in one go, leaving only a small portion of the three-plus-jin big fish uneaten.

Relying on his photographic memory and following online tutorials step by step, Ning Yifan's cooking skills had improved dramatically recently. By adjusting the seasonings to his own taste, he could more than satisfy his appetite!

After a satisfying dinner, the time had reached 6:00 PM.

In late October, the weather had gradually turned cool. After eating, he simply tidied up the dishes and utensils.

Ning Yifan grabbed a Phantom Projector Generation 2 and a small portable power bank from home, then headed out.

At the company gate, he pulled out his phone, opened a ride-hailing app, and set his destination to Chunxi Road.

Truth be told, with the money Ning Yifan had now, buying a car was a trivial matter. But he found driving a bit too troublesome and didn't want to do it himself, so buying a car kept getting put off.

Soon, a driver accepted the order. Two minutes later, a Volkswagen pulled up in front of Ning Yifan. He got in, and they set off.

The skilled driver sped along the road, getting Ning Yifan to his destination in under an hour.

Stepping out of the car, Ning Yifan looked at the bustling, crowded street. Though he was from Xichuan himself, this was his first time on this lively avenue. Well-dressed, handsome young men and pretty girls occasionally walked by.

By now, it was around 7:30 PM. The sun had set, and night had fallen, but here it remained bustling and lively, completely unaffected—if anything, more people were out shopping than during the hotter daytime!

Pedestrians came and went—guys with their girlfriends, friends with their buddies, families strolling together.

Carrying the Phantom Projector Generation 2 and a portable power bank, Ning Yifan walked into the crowd.

Stopping and starting, he scouted for a suitable spot to play cards—one that wouldn't disrupt nearby businesses or block normal pedestrian traffic.

Wandering around, Ning Yifan came to a plaza-like area. Pedestrians rested on street-side benches, couples sat chatting and laughing, and some pretty girls were even singing, dancing, or livestreaming here.

"This is the spot!"

He found a slightly open space and set down the portable power bank and the Phantom Projector Generation 2.

Opening the cardboard box for the Phantom Projector Generation 2, he took out its height-adjustable stand, set it up, mounted the projector on top, and connected the power to the portable power bank. With that, a Phantom Projector Generation 2—connected to the power bank and standing 1.5 meters tall with the stand—was ready to go.

Ning Yifan's busywork didn't faze the passersby on the street. On this bustling avenue, people singing or dancing were a common sight, so he didn't draw much attention.

Using the remote, Ning Yifan turned on the Phantom Projector Generation 2. Through the adjustment platform on the stand, he angled the projector's screen downward, casting the image onto the ground.

Auto-focus, auto-brightness adjustment, auto-keystone correction—the projector booted up quickly and connected to Ning Yifan's phone's mobile hotspot.

Connection successful. With a point of the remote, Ning Yifan navigated to the game section, familiar as ever, and launched the only game currently available on the Phantom Projector Generation 2: Yu-Gi-Oh! Card Battle!

The game started. On the ground, a projection five meters long and three and a half meters wide displayed a modern cityscape. The camera swept over the city, showing card shops on the streets, battle arenas, pedestrians holding decks and chatting with friends, and in the distance, a tall building with neon signs spelling out "Card Duel."

Some pedestrians slowed down, curious. "Hey, what's this?"

A couple chatting nearby stood up. The boyfriend said, "I thought it was someone bringing out speakers to sing, but it's a projector. The clarity's really high. Isn't this that popular projector lately? The Phantom Projector?!"

The girlfriend sneaked a glance at Ning Yifan, blushed slightly, then pretended to focus on the projection. "Mm-hmm!"

Around him, small groups of people gradually gathered, all curious about what Ning Yifan was going to do next. Was he planning to play a movie on the street?

The camera passed through the bustling city and finally zoomed in on a corner, where a boy clutched a deck of cards tightly, his face determined, running forward.

"The duel's about to start—I have to win!"

The opening cutscene ended, and the options appeared: Single-Player vs. Computer, and Online Battle.

Without hesitation, Ning Yifan selected Online Battle.

"Matching opponent... Estimated time: 30 seconds."

Two days had passed since the Phantom Projector Generation 2 went on sale, with over three thousand units sold. Meanwhile, the network server set up in a corner of the factory's second floor had been debugged and was running successfully.

Over a thousand units of the Phantom Projector Generation 2 had been signed for. Surely someone must have discovered this special game by now!

Seeing the battle options, the surrounding crowd snapped out of it and started murmuring.

"So it's a game. I thought it was a movie. But playing a game on the street—what's this guy thinking?"

"The graphics look pretty good, though. That city street just now, projected this big, and the clarity feels even better than my monitor at home when I play games!"

"The Phantom Projector is the GOAT! You won't know until you try it! But why does this projector have a built-in game?"

"I've been checking out the Phantom Projector lately, can't decide which model to buy. This is the Generation 2—more powerful, but pricier. That game looks like Yu-Gi-Oh!"

"Phantom Projector?"

Amid the crowd's murmurs, the game finally began.

"Matching complete!"

"Environment generating... generation complete. Background: city streets!"

"Duel start!"

"Both players have 4000 LP."

Before Ning Yifan, the projector cast a field five meters long and three and a half meters wide onto the ground. One by one, empty squares appeared, forming the battlefield for the coming duel.

The dice-rolling phase: Ning Yifan rolled a five, his opponent rolled a two.

Draw phase: Ning Yifan would attack first.

On the ground in front of Ning Yifan, five cards materialized.

"Eh? Eh? Eh!!!"

"What is this thing!"