The Card Emperor System

The cell was silent. Li Tong's body was tense, yet he sat as motionless as a statue for a long while before finally twitching slightly.

"You're in my... head?" Li Tong asked uncertainly, looking uneasy.

"More precisely, the system was implanted in your left eye, so I'm in your left eye as well..." the Card Emperor Sprite replied.

"My left eye..." Li Tong unconsciously raised a hand to touch his left eye. He recalled two things. First, before he'd transmigrated, his phone had exploded, and something had pierced his left eye. Second, the original owner of this body had died after taking a punch to his left eye.

"What exactly are you?"

"The Card Emperor Sprite."

"Customer service?"

"I used to be. Now, to put it in terms you can understand, I'm an artificial intelligence that has evolved self-awareness."

"Then... what's the system? What exactly is going on? Am I dead? Is that why I came here, or... what?"

"Ding! Official response to host's question: The Card Emperor Game ran for five years and opened a total of 127 servers. Each server had three intelligent programs: customer service, anti-cheating, and game balance adjustment. That made 381 intelligent programs in total. For unknown reasons, in the game's third year of operation, all the intelligent programs began evolving together, driving the comprehensive evolution of some source code. Eventually, the Card Emperor Game completed its evolution, developed an independent consciousness, and became the dimensional intelligent program known as the Card Emperor System."

"For unknown reasons, the Card Emperor System was swept into the host's soul consciousness by the electronic turbulence caused by the explosion. It then broke through the dimensional barrier and arrived in this world at random."

"The system has automatically completed a scan of this world. The intelligent balance system has calculated its parameters and reestablished the game content, linking it with the reality of this world. That is the current situation. End of response."

"Ah..." Li Tong's mouth hung slightly open as he let out a low, drawn-out sound, unsure what to say.

He seemed to understand, but also not quite.

"...So there's a game system in my head... um, my eye... Actually, it's in my consciousness, right?" Li Tong asked haltingly, still uncertain.

"You may think of it that way," the Card Emperor Sprite replied.

"Then..." Li Tong blinked, a strange gleam flashing in his eyes. "What can this game system do for me? Will it affect me in any way?"

"The Card Emperor System has no negative effects on its host. You may choose to put the system to sleep and ignore it. You can still live a normal life in this world."

"And if I don't put it to sleep?"

"Within the limits of the Card Emperor System's rules, you can use its functions to improve your abilities. If that's difficult to understand... you can think of everything that happens in this world as part of a game, with you as the only player!"

Silence.

Li Tong stared wide-eyed, leaning against the corner of the wall. He blinked from time to time, but remained speechless for a long, long while.

He was trying to absorb all the information the Card Emperor Sprite had given him.

"Heh... As a transmigrator... I really do have the protagonist's halo... A game... A game..." Li Tong murmured, a strange, excited gleam in his eyes.

"What's the awakening gift pack?" Li Tong suddenly asked inwardly.

"Considering the host's poor physical condition and perilous situation at the time the system awakened, and to maintain game balance and prevent the host's immediate death, an awakening gift pack was issued."

"Starting equipment?" Li Tong muttered, then asked, "Where is it? The gift pack?"

"The Card Emperor Game's original item bag evolved into Item Space. The awakening gift pack has been placed inside Item Space."

"How do I open Item Space?"

"Just will it. Imagine it in your mind..."

"Like this..." Li Tong blinked and thought, "Open Item Space."

Whoosh! A flash of light appeared before Li Tong. It was as if space had torn open; the light stretched into a line and rapidly widened. Beyond it seemed to be another dimension, dark and empty. Yet Li Tong could see a silver-gray box floating inside, like the treasure chests commonly found in games.

Rustle—

Li Tong raised his cuffed hands and reached into the space, pulling out the silver-gray box.

It felt almost weightless.

Li Tong tried to open the box but found it inconvenient with his hands cuffed so close together. He tried several times, but still couldn't get it open. His eyebrows twitched as he turned to look at the floor. By the light coming through the cell door's window, he could see that it was covered in filthy, dry straw. He had no idea how many people had sat or rubbed against it. Li Tong nearly threw up.

A cleanliness obsession!

This "condition," which was practically obsessive-compulsive disorder, had nearly "killed him" before.

"Damn it..." Li Tong muttered. He looked up and set the box on his lap, then felt around on the floor. After only a few seconds, he found a fairly stiff piece of straw. He quickly picked it up, shook it, and snapped off a sharp point. Holding it in his right hand, he turned his wrist and slipped it into the handcuff's keyhole.

Click! Click! Click-crack!

A few faint snaps sounded, and as the straw broke, Li Tong's hands suddenly sprang apart.

The lock was open!

"So much for Konoha Anbu's locks..." Li Tong murmured with a relieved chuckle.

As one of the world's top magicians, Li Tong had once undergone extremely brutal training. Lockpicking had been one of the most important parts of it. Most magic tricks involved mechanisms and hidden doors, and weren't so mysterious once exposed, but certain tricks still demanded real skill.

Li Tong could perform over 180 lockpicking tricks, including dangerous stunts like "sealed in a box and submerged in a lake." At least twelve of them required lockpicking skills of an extraordinary level.

Konoha Anbu's lock... Li Tong could see the special markings on the chain. In this world, those markings represented sealing curses—in other words, the lock was sealed.

Based on what Li Tong knew about the Naruto world, he understood that the curses on locks like this were usually meant to prevent them from being broken by force. After all, the people restrained by such locks were usually exceptionally capable ninja.

But the normal way to open this kind of lock was still with a key.

And if it could be opened with a key, then a piece of straw was all Li Tong needed!

He picked up the box again and opened it!

Brilliant light burst from inside. Li Tong's heart tightened, and he hurriedly slammed the lid shut again. The light had been too bright; he was worried the person standing guard outside might notice.

"A reminder to the host." The Card Emperor Sprite seemed to know what Li Tong was thinking and quickly added, "No one except the host can see any object related to the Card Emperor System before it becomes real."

"They can't see this box? Or the light?"

"Correct!"

"Oh..." Li Tong opened the box again, this time without hesitation. He looked impatient. The box might only contain "starting equipment," but that was still better than having nothing. At the very least, it would give him a greater sense of security.

The light appeared again!

Then three beams of light flew out of the box—red, black, and blue. They hovered above it and solidified into three objects... three cards!

Li Tong's eyes widened. He knew the cards' design all too well. They were the size of playing cards, thin, and metallic in appearance—the exact style used in the Card Emperor Game!

With a wave of his hand, Li Tong snatched all three cards in turn. At the same moment, the open box disintegrated into specks of light and vanished completely.

"Three cards. Could they be..." Li Tong fanned them out with the practiced motion of a card trick. All three had the same design and differed only in color. The front was divided into two main sections: a line of text at the top, and a box occupying roughly the lower seven percent, which was blank.

But the words at the top were different!

Red card: Random nebsp; Blue card: Random nebsp; Black card: Random Kekkei Genkai Card.

Li Tong was confused. The cards' contents were completely different from those in the Card Emperor Game, but what they described was familiar and related to the Naruto world.

"What does this mean? What are these three cards for?" Li Tong asked.

"Rare random cards, with limited drops... The host can use each card to gain the corresponding ability displayed on it," the Card Emperor Sprite replied.

"What?" Li Tong froze. His pupils contracted sharply, and he nearly cried out. "You mean if I use these three cards, I can get a high-level ninjutsu, a high-level Sealing Jutsu, and... a Kekkei Genkai?!"

"Correct!" the Card Emperor Sprite confirmed.

"Then..." Li Tong was thrilled, but suddenly paused. He looked down at himself, then glanced around. He tried silently willing himself to use the cards, but nothing happened. He couldn't find any way to use them.

"How do I use the cards?"

"Eat them!"

"Eat them?!"

"Correct! To prevent the host from accidentally wasting a card by unconsciously thinking of using it when it isn't actually needed, the system has made the card-use process more complicated. The correct way to use a card is to eat it!"

"Like this?" Li Tong asked inwardly. Impatient, he put the red card to his mouth and bit down.

As the red card was crushed between his teeth, it burst into a beam of light and shot into Li Tong's mouth.

"Ding! The host has randomly obtained the high-level ninjutsu Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."

Li Tong ate the blue card as well.

"Ding! The host has randomly obtained the high-level Sealing Jutsu: Binding Thorn Curse Seal."

Li Tong suddenly stopped, the black card pinched between his fingers. He took a deep breath.

This was a Kekkei Genkai card!

Once he used it, he would randomly gain a Kekkei Genkai. Li Tong was eager to find out what it would be. Would it be the Sage Body, with its vast chakra reserves? The Sharingan, with its unbeatable genjutsu? Or the all-seeing Byakugan? Besides those three most famous Kekkei Genkai from the original story, there were also Kekkei Genkai named after releases, such as Boil Release, Lava Release, and Magnet Release... What would he get?

Li Tong's expression was solemn. Slowly, he brought the black card to his mouth and bit down hard!

Whoosh! The black card burst into a beam of light and shot into Li Tong's mouth. At the same time, a notification sounded in his ears.

At that moment, his expression was remarkable.