In addition to everyone getting an S-grade card, the four keepers had previously agreed that as long as they could clear the four-in-one secret room, they would also receive a team resurrection card.
Xiao Lou remembered this clearly. The moment everyone finished drawing cards, he stepped forward and asked the four keepers, “What about the team resurrection card you previously mentioned?”
The Hearts sister gently lifted a finger and a card appeared in front of Xiao Lou.
His teammates came over to examine it carefully. This card was obviously different from the cards that everyone had drawn. The usual cards were marked with hearts, spades, clubs and diamonds on the back. Meanwhile, the back of this card had a carved pattern like the cover of the contract book. It seemed to be a smaller version of the contract book.
There were a few lines written in blood-red on the front of the card.
[Team Card: Nirvana]
[Rarity: S
Description: A fixed reward for perfectly clearing the four-in-one secret room.
Effect: Everyone on the contract book shares this card. The moment someone dies in a normal secret room and is eliminated to the Nightmare secret room, they can choose to use this card. If they use this card, they can immediately resurrect and return to their teammates. If it isn’t used, they will continue to enter the Nightmare room. Those eliminated in the Nightmare room will disappear completely.
This is a limited card and will be destroyed after being used once.]
The moment everyone read the description of this card, the card suddenly disappeared from in front of them. Xiao Lou’s contract book lit up with a soft red light. He opened the book and found that this card had appeared on the last page of the contract book.
It wasn’t in one person’s card book but in the contract book. This was in line with the ‘team card’ setting. In the future secret rooms, it could be activated immediately the moment a team member died. It was a pity that it could only be used once. The existence of this card allowed everyone to have a shared extra life but Xiao Lou hoped this card would never be used.
He put away the contract book and looked at A of Hearts. “I remember that we arrested Zhao Sen and triggered a hidden ending. There was a prompt that there is an extra reward. Is there another reward card?”
The Hearts sister smiled. “Yes, you can check the contract book.”
Arresting Zhao Sen wasn’t the task of this secret room. Yu Hanjiang just didn’t want to let the murderer of 2 of Hearts, Zhao Sen, go free. Xiao Lou heard the words of the Hearts keeper and opened the contract book again. He saw that another card had appeared on the last page of the contract book.
[Team Card: Voice Headset]
[Rarity: S
Description: A fixed reward for triggering the hidden ending of the linked secret room.
Effect: When used, you can get pocket wireless voice headsets equal to the number of people in the contract book. Wear it in your ear and press it to initiate a voice call. You can communicate with any team member on the contract book within a distance of 10 kilometers.
Note: Thunderstorms, being underwater and other environments won’t affect the signal of the headset.
However, the signal will disappear as long as the distance exceeds 10 kilometers.]
Ye Qi was excited after seeing this card. “This is like an upgraded version of my Bug card? My bugs only have a range of 500 meters and only three of them can be used. Meanwhile, the number of voice headsets is equal to the number of people on the contract book. In other words, our whole team can wear the pocket version of the headsets to establish a team voice channel at any time?”
Xiao Lou also liked this card very much. In a secret room with a modern background, communication problems could be solved with a WeChat group. However, if their mobile phones were confiscated or if they encountered a secret room with a background where mobile phones couldn’t be used, the team voice headsets that weren’t restricted by environmental conditions could help them a lot.
So far, all the rewards for the 10th level had been obtained. Everyone got a card. Some were very practical and some were weird but they were all S-grade cards. It was worthy of their frightening experiences during the past few days.
Xiao Lou put away the card pack. “All the A-level secret rooms are cleared. Shall we challenge the S-level secret rooms next?”
The four keepers exchanged looks.
A of Spades spoke indifferently, “The difficulty of the S-level secret rooms is one step higher than the A-level secret rooms. I suggest for you to not challenge them so easily. Now you already have such powerful cards with you. Isn’t it good to stay in this world peacefully?”
A of Clubs nodded in agreement and glanced at Shao Qingge. “In particular, Chief Shao. I remember that you have billions of gold coins in your card balance. In addition, this time you got the priceless sapphire necklace as a reward. Your ability means you can have a good life in this world. You can buy a villa of your own, buy a few sports cars and you can wake up naturally without having to worry about going to work everyday. Is this life bad?”
Shao Qingge chuckled. “It seems like a life one can only dream about.”
The Clubs teenager was about to continue speaking when Shao Qingge smoothly shifted the conversation. “It is a pity that it is all false. My identity is false and even the parents you arranged for me are false. Today, I am still rich. Who knows if you will suddenly bankrupt me tomorrow if you are unhappy? The Card World is controlled by you. The thing I dislike most is being a pawn on a chessboard.”
Shao Qingge’s words frightened his teammates but they were the truth. If they stayed in this world with so many cards and so much money, their team definitely wouldn’t have a bad life. However, who knew what would be waiting for them the next second? What challenges would the keepers plan for each week’s World Weekly?
After all, the rules of this world were left to the keepers and they were just pawns in the game. The rule of the game was to clear all secret rooms and to go back. They naturally had to work hard to return to the normal world. Many of them had relatives and wishes they couldn’t let go of in the real world. It was impossible to stay here at ease.
The little Diamonds loli smiled coldly. “Since you are so persistent, we have no obligation to continue persuading you to give up. We respect the choice of every challenger.”
The Hearts sister smiled. “This is a friendly reminder. In the previous Hearts secret rooms, you managed to solve the case so smoothly due to the identities assigned to you every time. For example, Yu Hanjiang was a train conductor in 4 of Hearts, the prefectural magistrate in 8 of Hearts and a police officer in 9 and 10 of Hearts. You used your identity and position to collect clues and even arrest the murderer.”
She suddenly looked at Yu Hanjiang. The smile on her face was still gentle but her eyes instantly cooled down. “Then what if I no longer give you a favorable identity? Instead, what if I give you an identity that hinders you?”
What if Yu Hanjiang wasn’t a police officer in the 10th level? Could they have solved the case so smoothly and caught the huge organ trafficking organization in one go? It would probably be difficult. There was nothing wrong with the words of A of Hearts. The cases for the 9th and 10th level were very complicated and Yu Hanjiang’s police officer identity helped a lot. He could check the information of each suspect at any time and compare fingerprints and DNA…
This saved everyone a lot of time and also provided great convenience during the process of collecting clues. If he was just an ordinary person then he could only go to the criminal investigations department at night to look through the information. If he was careless then he might be arrested himself.
Xiao Lou thought up to here and hurriedly spoke to A of Hearts. “Do you mean that in the S-level secret rooms, you will no longer set up identities convenient for solving the crime such as a police officer and forensic doctor?”
The keeper of Hearts gently raised her lips in a smile. “Otherwise, how can it be worthy of an S-level difficulty?”
The team members stared at each other.
A of Spades spoke coldly, “Since you aren’t afraid of death and want to continue with the S-level secret rooms, please draw your card.”
Yu Hanjiang calmly said, “Wait, let us go back and discuss it before making a decision.”
Xiao Lou nodded. “Yes, it is a life and death matter. We have to think about it. We will go back to the main city first and talk about it.”
The four keepers looked at each other and disappeared in front of everyone.
Just now, it was their personal space filled with fog and a wall of cards. Then in the blink of an eye, everyone returned to the villa in the City of the Moon. All eight of them were in the familiar living room.
At this time, the sky was already dark and a warm light was shining in the distance. Once they came out of the personal space, everyone was restored to their original appearance. Old Mo was no longer the white-haired 66 year old man, Ye Qi was no longer 7 years old and Qu Wanyue was no longer pregnant. Her unformed baby disappeared.
All of it seemed like a dream and everyone was silent for a moment. A moment later, Yu Hanjiang spoke in a low voice. “Everyone, talk about your views. Do you still want to continue to break through?”
Old Mo grabbed the hair that had returned to black and smiled bitterly. “I know that based on my personal ability, I don’t have the skills to go to the S-levels. Thank you for your help during this time. However, my daughter is still waiting for me in the real world. Her mother passed away very early. If I don’t go back, there will be no one to take care of my daughter… so, I will desperately try to go home.”
Old Mo’s words made the atmosphere of the living room extremely heavy.
It had been so long and everyone gradually got used to the intense and exciting rhythm of the Card World. Some things would gradually fade away. However, facts proved that blood was thicker than water. Family affection was rooted deep in one’s bones and would never be forgotten.
Qu Wanyue looked somber as she lowered her head, crossed her hands and whispered, “Long Sen and I had a car accident on the way to our wedding. Our parents, friends and family were waiting for us at the hotel to get married. I don’t want them to see two corpses instead of a bride and groom. They definitely won’t be able to bear such a blow.”
Long Sen hugged Qu Wanyue’s shoulder tightly and silently comforted her.
A marriage turned into a funeral and the red words of joy were stained with blood. Such a tragedy would be a heartache that couldn’t be resolved by the family in their lifetime. How could they bear to abandon their families and enjoy life in this world?
Liu Qiao’s expression was very serious. “No matter what, I have to go back. I have to find a way to save my sister.”
Ye Qi’s eyes were firm. “I have to go back too. My parents only have me. In order to train me to learn music, they were frugal and spent most of their money on me. Moreover, I participated in a singing competition and have entered the finals. My parents bought flight tickets to see the competition. I don’t want to let them go to the competition venue happily only to see a corpse!”
Ye Qi thought of the scene in reality when the accident happened and couldn’t help clenching his fists.
Shao Qingge gently held Ye Qi’s fist and joked, “If I go back with you, your dream will soon be realized. The organizer of the singing competition and the owner of the record company are my good friends.”
Ye Qi was stunned and didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “Chief Shao, we are discussing things seriously so don’t joke around. It is boring to go through the backdoor to find your friends. I have to win the championship with my own strength.”
Shao Qingge smiled slightly and took back his hand. Then he glanced at Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou. “I’m just waiting for these two to express their views.”
The eyes of the team members fell on these two people.
Everyone was very clear that Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou were the strongest two people in the team, especially in the Hearts secret room. Without these two people, they wouldn’t have been able to solve the crises again and again. If Yu Hanjiang and Xiao Lou were unwilling to go back then the remaining six would have no confidence to reach the end.
The eyes of the team members showed a glimmer of expectations and even pleading.
Xiao Lou’s heart trembled slightly. Everyone had a reason to go back. He had never been in love. His parents knew about his sexuality but they showed tolerance and understanding. They were the best parents in the world. He was less than 30 years old in reality. His parents were only 50 years old and still young. How could they bear the pain of losing their son?
Xiao Lou looked up at Yu Hanjiang. Unlike the expectations in the eyes of the other team members, Yu Hanjiang’s eyes were deep and calm. Then they melted slightly when he met Xiao Lou’s gaze and he whispered, “Let’s go back. Wasn’t that our original intention behind forming a team?”
Think back to the time when they first came to the City of the Moon. The eight people who didn’t know each other were able to sign a contract with Xiao Lou… solely for the purpose of going back.
Yu Hanjiang stated, “It doesn’t matter how difficult it is in the future. Let’s not forget the reason why we got together in the first place. Naturally, Xiao Lou and I have to go back. Either die or go back. It is just these two choices. There is no reason to live in this world.”
Yu Hanjiang’s decisive words made the team members feel relieved. In fact, the most feared thing wasn’t a strong enemy. It was that their teammates weren’t firm enough and would give up at critical moments.
‘Since everyone’s goals are the same, don’t be afraid.’
Ye Qi’s eyes lit up with excitement. “That’s great! Everyone has a firm goal. No matter how difficult it is in the future, I will at least have seven people by my side to face it with. It isn’t so scary anymore.”
Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang exchanged looks. Xiao Lou sensed what this person meant and smiled. “It isn’t just seven people.”
Ye Qi wondered, “What do you mean?”
Yu Hanjiang answered, “It is time to join them. Everyone, get ready. I will take you to see Brother Jiu.”
Proofreader: Paranoid Kitten & Fictional Reality
