Card Emperor System

The cell was deathly silent. Li Tong's body was taut, yet he remained as motionless as a statue for a long while before he finally stirred slightly.

"Are you... in my brain?" Li Tong asked uncertainly, appearing quite uneasy.

"To be precise, the system has been implanted into the host's left eye. Therefore, I am also within the host's left eye..." the Card Emperor Sprite replied.

"My left eye..." Li Tong instinctively raised a hand to touch his left eye. He recalled two things: first, before he transmigrated, his phone exploded and something pierced his left eye; second, the original owner of this body had died precisely because he was punched in the left eye.

"What exactly are you?"

"The Card Emperor Sprite."

"Customer service?"

"I once was. Now, if I were to use terms the host can understand, I am an artificial intelligence that has evolved self-awareness."

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

"Ding! Formally answering the host's question: The Card Emperor Game operated for five years and opened a total of 127 servers. Each server possessed three intelligent programs—intelligent customer service, intelligent anti-cheat, and intelligent game balance adjustment—totaling 381 intelligent programs. Due to unknown reasons, in the third year of operation, all intelligent programs began a joint evolution, driving a comprehensive evolution of the game's source code. One day ago, the Card Emperor Game completed its evolution, birthed independent consciousness, and became the dimensional intelligent program: the Card Emperor System."

"Due to unknown reasons, the Card Emperor System entered the host's soul and consciousness along with the electronic turbulence caused by the explosion, broke through the dimensional wall, and arrived in this world at random."

"The system has automatically completed a scan of this world, the intelligent balance system has finished calculating this world, re-established game content, and integrated it with the reality of this world. This is the current situation. Answer complete."

"Ah..." Li Tong's mouth hung slightly open, dragging out a low, long sound, not knowing what to say.

He felt like he understood, yet he didn't quite grasp it.

"...So, it's just a game system in my brain... um, eye... actually in my consciousness, right?" Li Tong asked stammeringly and very uncertainly.

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

"Then..." Li Tong blinked, a strange glint flashing deep within his eyes, "What use is this game system to me? Does it have any impact on me?"

"The Card Emperor System has no negative impact on the host. The host may choose to let the system sleep, thereby ignoring it, and live the life of a normal person in this world."

"And if I don't let the system sleep?"

"Under the defined rules of the Card Emperor System, the host can rely on system functions to improve their own abilities. If the host cannot understand this, you can simply treat everything that happens in this world as part of the game, and you, the host, will be the only player in this game!"

Silence.

Li Tong sat hunched in the corner, staring, blinking occasionally, and remained silent for a very long time.

He was digesting that information, the words of the Card Emperor Sprite.

"Heh... as a transmigrator... I really do have the protagonist's halo... a game... a game..." Li Tong muttered to himself, a strange, excited light flashing in his eyes.

"What is the Awakening Gift Pack?" Li Tong suddenly asked in his heart.

"Considering the host's poor physical condition and critical situation at the time of system awakening, and to maintain game balance and prevent the host from dying immediately, a special Awakening Gift Pack has been issued."

"Newbie gear?" Li Tong muttered, then asked, "Where is it? Where is the gift pack?"

"The original Item Pack of the Card Emperor Game has evolved into the Item Space, and the Awakening Gift Pack has been placed into the Item Space."

"How do I open the Item Space?"

"Follow your heart, use your mind to imagine it..."

"Like this..." Li Tong blinked, chanting in his heart, "Open Item Space."

Whoosh! A flash of light appeared before Li Tong's eyes, as if space itself had been torn open. The light formed a line and rapidly expanded. Inside seemed to be another dimension, pitch black, yet Li Tong could see a silver-gray box floating there, looking like a common treasure chest from a game.

Clatter—

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

It felt almost weightless in his hands.

He tried to open the box, but Li Tong found it somewhat inconvenient because he was wearing handcuffs and his hands were too close together. After trying several times, he still couldn't open it. Li Tong's brows twitched. He turned his head to look at the floor. By the light coming through the cell window, he could see the floor was covered in filthy, dry straw. He didn't know how many people had sat or rubbed against it, and Li Tong almost vomited.

Germaphobia!

This "illness," which already bordered on obsessive-compulsive disorder, had nearly "killed him" earlier.

"Damn it..." Li Tong muttered, looking up. He placed the treasure chest on his lap and reached out to feel the floor. Within seconds, he pinched a relatively hard straw stalk, quickly picked it up, shook it, and snapped it to create a sharp point. Holding the straw in his right hand, he flicked his wrist and inserted it into the keyhole of the handcuffs.

Click! Click! Snap!

With a faint, crisp sound, and as the straw stalk snapped, Li Tong's hands suddenly sprang open.

The lock was open!

"The locks of the Konoha Anbu... nothing special, really..." Li Tong sighed in relief and muttered with a chuckle.

As a world-class master magician! Li Tong had once undergone extremely brutal training, and lock-picking was one of the most important parts of that training. Although most magic tricks relied on secret mechanisms and hidden doors—which weren't magical once exposed—there were always unique tricks that required genuine skill.

Li Tong could proficiently perform over 180 lock-picking tricks, including high-risk ones like "Sealed in a Box, Sunk in a Lake," and at least twelve of them required a perverted level of lock-picking ability.

The locks of the Konoha Anbu... actually, Li Tong could see special patterns on the chains. In this world, those patterns represented sealing jutsu, meaning the locks were enchanted.

Based on his knowledge of the Naruto world, he understood that such locks were usually enchanted to prevent them from being broken by brute force, as those locked up by them were usually ninjas with extraordinary abilities.

But to open such a lock, one still needed a key; that was the most normal way to open it.

Since it could be opened with a key, then for Li Tong, a single straw stalk was more than enough!

He picked up the treasure chest once more and opened it!

A blinding light suddenly erupted from within the treasure chest. Li Tong's heart tightened, and he slammed the lid shut, worried that the intense glow might be noticed by the guards stationed outside the door.

"Reminder to the host." The Card Emperor Sprite seemed to know what Li Tong was thinking and quickly added, "Any item related to the Card Emperor System will not be visible to anyone other than the host until it has been materialized."

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

"That is correct!"

"Oh..." Li Tong opened the treasure chest again. This time, he didn't hold back, appearing impatient. Although the chest might only contain "starter gear," it was still better than being empty-handed; at the very least, it provided a sense of security.

The light reappeared!

Immediately, three streaks of light—red, blue, and black—flew out of the chest, hovering above it before condensing into three items... three cards!

Li Tong's eyes widened. He was all too familiar with the design of these cards: the size of playing cards, thin, with a metallic texture. They were exactly like the cards from the Card Emperor Game!

Li Tong waved his hand, snatching all three cards into his grasp one by one. At that same moment, the open treasure chest dissolved into specks of light and vanished completely.

"Three cards, I wonder what..." Li Tong fanned the three cards out in his hand like a poker player. The style was uniform, differing only in color. The front was divided into two parts: a line of text at the top, and a boxed-off area occupying about 70% of the bottom, which was currently blank.

But the text on each was different!

Red Card: Random C-rank Ninjutsu. Blue Card: Random C-rank Sealing Jutsu. Black Card: Random Kekkei Genkai Card.

Li Tong was confused, as the content on the cards was completely different from the Card Emperor Game, yet the terminology was familiar and related to the world of Naruto.

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

"These are rare random cards with limited drops... The host can use the corresponding cards to acquire the abilities displayed on them," the Card Emperor Sprite replied.

"What?" Li Tong froze, his pupils constricting violently. He nearly shouted, "Are you saying that if I use these three cards, I can obtain a C-rank Ninjutsu, a C-rank Sealing Jutsu, and... a Kekkei Genkai?!!"

"Yes!" the Card Emperor Sprite confirmed.

"Then..." Li Tong was thrilled, but suddenly paused. He looked down at himself and then around the room, silently thinking the command to use the cards, but nothing happened. He couldn't find a way to activate them.

"How do I use the cards?"

"Eat them!"

"Eat them?!"

"Yes! To prevent the host from making mistakes, such as accidentally triggering a card through a subconscious thought and wasting it, the system has complicated the usage process. The correct way to use a card is to eat it!"

"Is that so?" Li Tong asked himself, then impatiently brought the red card to his mouth and took a bite.

As the red card was crushed, it exploded into a stream of light and surged into Li Tong's mouth.

"Ding! Host has randomly acquired the C-rank Ninjutsu: Wind Release: Great Breakthrough."

Li Tong then ate the blue card.

"Ding! Host has randomly acquired the C-rank Sealing Jutsu: Binding Thorn Curse Seal."

Li Tong suddenly stopped. Holding the black card, he took a deep breath.

This was the Kekkei Genkai card!

Once used, he would randomly possess a Kekkei Genkai. Li Tong was filled with anticipation. Would it be the Sage Body with its massive chakra reserves? The Sharingan, invincible in genjutsu? Or perhaps the Byakugan, capable of seeing through everything? Beyond these three most famous Kekkei Genkai from the original series, there were also the elemental ones like Boil Release, Lava Release, Magnet Release... what would it be?

With a solemn expression, Li Tong slowly brought the black card to his mouth and bit down hard!

Whoosh! The black card exploded into a stream of light, diving into Li Tong's mouth, and a notification sound rang in his ears.

At this moment, his expression was truly remarkable.