Fragments

"John, long time no see!"

John was Jiang Xiang's English name.

It was a simple name.

John Wilson. His grandfather Andre had chosen it for him.

"Yeah, I went on a trip to Mexico."

"Nice place."

"It really is."

"..."

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Jiang Xiang returned to his therapy practice.

Inside, Jiang Xiang sorted through the appointment emails and voicemail messages he had received.

Jiang Xiang had followed in his family's footsteps and become a therapist so he could avoid giving himself away when he put on an act.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xiang turned his attention to the system.

[Emotional Value from Coulson: +50 total]

[Emotional Value from Nick Fury: +1]

[Emotion points from New York residents...: +763 total]

"As expected, Nick Fury barely believed any of it. Coulson probably contributed so much because he experienced it firsthand. If I'd created that Wraith myself, Coulson probably would've given me even more Emotional Value."

Even so, Jiang Xiang gazed in satisfaction at his four thousand-plus Emotional Value.

The earlier incident involving Kidd's tricks had mostly blown over, so it was unlikely to yield any more Emotional Value.

Ah Xing's debut this time had brought in nearly a hundred points of Emotional Value.

Jiang Xiang could practically see a [Silver Box] beckoning to him.

Barely suppressing the urge to open the boxes right away, Jiang Xiang filled a bathtub with warm water.

He bathed and changed clothes.

He placed a few sticks of incense in an incense burner and lit some candles.

Pressing his palms together, Jiang Xiang muttered, "That should do it, right? Come on, give me something good."

"I'll open a [Bronze Box] first to warm up."

Jiang Xiang redeemed one [Bronze Box] and four [Silver Boxes].

Jiang Xiang couldn't help feeling wistful. Years of hard work had earned him less Emotional Value than these past few days.

Looking at the hundred-odd Emotional Value he had left, Jiang Xiang felt a strange sense of emptiness.

But with these five boxes in hand, he could live with that.

The [Silver Boxes] Jiang Xiang had redeemed all cost a thousand points each. Right now, he needed to cast a wide net.

"Open the [Bronze Box]!"

As the familiar light scattered, the [Bronze Box], worth a hundred points, opened.

[Avatar card-Zhang Fei]

[Rank: D]

[Skills: Spear techniques, horsemanship...]

[Description: Back in the days of the Late Han Three Kingdoms, there lived a reckless man... The third brother's surname was Zhang, his given name Fei, and his courtesy name Yide. He hailed from Fanyang Commandery, Zhuozhou...]

[Character card-Soldier B]

[Rank: E]

[Skills: Marksmanship...]

[Description: Amid the fierce fighting before Changban Slope, he waved his banner and drove back Cao's Army.]

Jiang Xiang raised an eyebrow.

Not bad. A [Bronze Box] could yield two cards. They weren't much use right now, but having them was better than nothing.

"Keep going! Next!"

Rather than opening another warm-up box, Jiang Xiang opened all four [Silver Boxes] at once.

[Item: An AK-47]

[Item: A Desert Eagle]

[Item: Yunnan Baiyao]

[Item: A deluxe nail-trimming kit]

Jiang Xiang's face darkened at the sight of those items.

They had their uses, but they were all things he could buy.

"Hmm?"

The familiar glow appeared, and Jiang Xiang grew excited.

[Avatar card-Alice]

[Rank: C]

[Skills: Enhanced strength, enhanced speed, rapid healing, telekinesis (low)...]

[Description: A senior executive of the Umbrella Corporation who gained superhuman abilities following the Alice Project.]

Jiang Xiang beamed at the result.

He hadn't expected to get a virus-enhanced card, something entirely different from Ah Xing's martial arts-based card.

In fact, this was a good card.

The two cards were different types. What [Ah Xing] and [Alice] had in common was their rank: both were C-rank cards. Ah Xing's Great Strength Vajra Leg had a distinctly Chinese flavor, while Alice's viral enhancements fell into the category of superpowers.

She could make an appearance later as a member of the Foundation.

Having introduced a concept as grand as the Containment Foundation, he wanted to build it into something impressive. He couldn't have Ah Xing running around handling everything alone. That would look far too shabby.

Besides, Ah Xing was Asian, which naturally created a certain distance between him and organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D.

The question now was how to arrange Alice's debut.

Jiang Xiang took out the notebook he had placed in the system's storage space.

Where had the storage space come from?

What kind of lousy system would it be if it didn't even have storage space?

He wrote Alice's name under the Foundation in his notebook, then put it away.

Jiang Xiang turned his attention back to the last two things.

[Special character card-Yan Shuangying]

[Rank: D]

[Special effect: When the conditions are met, Yan Shuangying has an extremely small chance of comprehending a tiny fraction of the laws of causality.]

[Skills: Marksmanship, weapons mastery, driving...]

[Description: I bet there are no bullets in your gun!]

[Item: Premium Dried Pufferfish]

He carefully read the dried pufferfish's description.

"With this dried pufferfish, Old Man's magic will be even stronger."

This character card was something new to Jiang Xiang. Laws of causality sounded mysterious just from the name.

"Then he can join the Distillery. It still doesn't have anyone who can hold their own in a head-on fight."

Jiang Xiang took stock of the various cards he had obtained.

"Based on what I have so far, the dividing line between C-rank and D-rank character cards is whether they possess abilities beyond those of normal humans. Alice, Old Man, and Ah Xing all have supernatural powers, so they're C-rank.

Yan Shuangying and Zhang Fei don't have any abilities beyond the limits of ordinary humans, so they're rated D-rank. But they both excel in a particular field.

As for an E rating, that probably means an ordinary person with no particularly outstanding abilities."

Jiang Xiang found his analysis convincing.

Judging by the strength of Ah Xing's, Old Man's, and Alice's cards, their combat power could vary greatly even within the same rank.

That was only natural, though. Combat power couldn't be the only factor in their ratings. Otherwise, wouldn't Tony only qualify as D-rank before developing the Iron Man Armor?

That clearly couldn't be right.

He just wondered what the difference between B-rank and C-rank cards would be.