The Card That Wouldn't Activate

The sprawling view of Beijing slowly enlarged before his eyes. He descended from the sky toward the shore of a lake amid dense clusters of buildings, flipping in midair and landing lightly just before The Cabin's balcony.

He tossed his shoes onto the balcony, gripped the silver dragon-spined chain blade, and pulled open the door. The only sound was the wind chime on the door softly ringing.

"Hm? Nobody's home?"

Fang Ran looked around the quiet room in mild surprise. Then he sat down in his usual spot, tossed Silver Severing Dragon Tooth onto the small table, stretched hard, and lazily slumped across the tabletop, staring blankly as if lost in thought.

Without alerting anyone else at the Night Bureau, Fang Ran had returned from the outskirts to The Cabin in just a few minutes. The clock had already ticked past noon. Participants really did live extraordinary lives—he had gone to the Arctic again in the span of a single morning.

The Gluttony doll atop the water dispenser, the pothos on the kitchen counter, the PS4 before the television, the dance shoes on the shoe cabinet, and the Level Four vocabulary book forcibly stuffed onto the desk... Bright light reflected off the room's pure white floor in tranquil silence, accompanied only by the gentle breeze stirring the wind chime.

Fang Ran closed his eyes, enjoying the quiet breeze brushing through his hair as he lay on the small table. After glancing at Silver Severing Dragon Tooth beside him for several seconds, he reached out and gently tapped its hilt.

The silver-white chain-blade greatsword unfolded and transformed, revealing the diamond-shaped "Wandering Night" core within.

It was clearly a trump card she could not reveal to anyone but herself, yet she had lent it to him without hesitation. And ever since they