Lu Su: Can’t Tell Big Joker from Little Joker, Can You? (54k)

Although Field Cards did not require Lu Su to spend effort constructing a story, making two cards in succession had still consumed a great deal of his Spiritual Power.

But it was not yet time to rest.

He gave a slight wave of his hand, signaling the Ghost Shadow Soldier who had come to remind him about dinner to leave, then took out the sub-machine.

Now that the mission had been completed, Lu Su naturally needed to report back to Jin Ping and see whether he could obtain any additional information.

Six: President, I have completed the task you assigned.

Jin Ping: I know. Well done.

Jin Ping: There will be no other missions for the next few days. Xiao Liu, do not expose your identity.

The old man’s reply came very quickly. Clearly, he had been monitoring the mission’s progress all along.

Lu Su’s gaze flickered when he saw the message.

Although Jin Ping had not revealed any information, everything that had happened in the Secret Realm appeared to be largely in line with Lu Su’s suspicions.

Just as he was about to put away the sub-machine, the old man sent another message.

Jin Ping: Over the next two days, I will have Eldest Brother and the others return to Shanghai City.

Jin Ping: Once the time comes, Xiao Liu, get acquainted with them. Xiao Wu will notify you of the specific time and location.

Lu Su’s gaze instantly sharpened upon seeing those two messages.

Lu Su naturally knew that the Spirit Summoning Society’s upper ranks could not possibly consist of only Jin Ping, Gu Wu, and himself. It was merely because he had been active in Great Ming before that he had never met the remaining members.

Even though countless thoughts filled his mind, his fingers still swiftly typed out a reply.

Six: Yes, President.

After sending it, Lu Su put away the sub-machine and stared silently at the empty desk before him.

Only after a long while did he rise and head to the dining hall.

"Jiānnián, you’re heading out so early?"

Early that morning, a slightly plump middle-aged woman looked at the black-haired youth putting on his shoes by the door and spoke with some concern.

The youth replied indifferently, "It isn’t early. Besides, you know what happened with the Imperial Court some time ago."

"On top of that, I was recently promoted to Gold Grade. It’s perfectly normal for the association to assign me more work."

"I’m heading out, Mom."

With that, he stood, opened the front door, and walked out.

Since it was still early, faint traces of chill lingered in the air.

But that was nothing to a Gold Grade Card Master like him.

He rubbed his hands together and summoned his means of transportation: a slender-looking White Flood Dragon.

After touching the flood dragon’s somewhat icy scales, he flipped onto its back and headed toward the Card Master Association Headquarters in Ning’an District.

Before long, the youth arrived at his destination.

He put away his card and strode into the headquarters.

At that moment, a female receptionist called out to him. "Director Lin, Chairman Ma asked you to see him as soon as you arrived."

The youth was none other than Lin Jiānián, Lu Su’s first opponent who could truly be called formidable.

Lin Jiānián was briefly stunned before nodding. "All right, I understand."

With that, he headed toward the stairs.

Watching the youth’s straight-backed figure, the two receptionists could not help whispering among themselves. "Director Lin is so young. This is the first time I’ve seen a Card Master his age become a director."

"Exactly. If my son were that promising, I’d laugh in my dreams."

"Doesn’t he still not have a girlfriend? I know a girl from a relative’s family who’s about the right age and looks pretty good."

"A relative? I think you mean your daughter, Sister Wang. Give it a rest. Girls from ordinary families like ours aren’t worthy of him."

"Sigh, that’s true."

Hearing the discussion behind him, Lin Jiānián could not help tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I wonder what expressions they’d make if they saw Lu Shen."

Not long ago, he had thought exactly like those two receptionists, until he learned that Lu Su had returned to Shanghai City and become a Vice President at Headquarters.

At first, the youth had wondered whether it was merely someone with the same name, but he soon realized he was only deceiving himself.

How could there be such a coincidence? Lin Jiānián felt as though a bucket of cold water had been poured over him.

If he remembered correctly, Shanghai City’s other Vice President, Che Yu, was a Diamond Grade Card Master.

That meant Lu Su, who was the same age as him, had also become a Diamond Grade Card Master.

Compared to him, Lu Su was the undeniable genius. A monster. Hadn’t he dyed Yellow Hair’s hair back after the Talent Cup?

Lost in wild thoughts, Lin Jiānián had already arrived outside the office of Ma Liang, President of the Ning’an District Card Master Association.

Knock, knock—

"Come in."

Lin Jiānián pushed open the door and quietly asked the tired-looking middle-aged man behind the desk, "President, you wanted to see me?"

"Xiao Lin, you’re here? Sit."

The youth obediently sat down on the sofa in the reception area.

Seeing how restrained he was, Ma Liang could not help smiling. He then joked, "Xiao Lin, looking like that, you still want to be a Director?"

Lin Jiānián looked at the middle-aged man in confusion. "Huh?!"

Realizing his words had had the opposite effect, Ma Liang hurriedly explained, "It was just a joke. Don’t take it to heart."

Then, to change the subject, he got down to business. "In the past few days, a high-level demon lost control in a Secret Realm under Headquarters’ control. So they’ve asked subordinate branches like ours to conduct inspections and see whether the Secret Realms we manage have any safety hazards."

"As the Secret Realm Office Director for Ning’an District, I’ll leave this task to you."

Since Shanghai City was enormous, the Card Master Association Headquarters did not oversee every Secret Realm. Instead, it handed some lower-level Secret Realms over to branch associations.

That was basically how it worked in every major city.

Lin Jiānián immediately turned serious. "Yes, I understand."

"Is there anything else, President?"

Seeing how solemn he was, Ma Liang comforted him. "Don’t be too nervous. The Secret Realms on our side are all low-level ones. Even if something does happen, you can definitely handle it."

Most of the Secret Realms managed by the Ning’an District Card Master Association were Bronze Grade or Silver grade. There were not many Gold Grade Secret Realms.

With Lin Jiānián’s status as a Gold Grade Card Master, dealing with them would naturally be more than manageable.

"Thank you, President."

A trace of gratitude appeared on Lin Jiānián’s face before he left the office.

The moment he watched the youth leave the President’s Office, Ma Liang’s expression darkened.

He muttered to himself, "Xiao Lin, don’t blame me. If you have to blame someone, blame your bad luck."

With a little guilt toward Lin Jiānián in his heart, Ma Liang glanced at the letter of appointment on his desk.

Thanks to the Imperial Court’s destruction, he had also been transferred to a position at Headquarters. Although it counted as a promotion, his autonomy had been greatly reduced.

This was undoubtedly a blow to Ma Liang, who was an undercover agent for the Spirit Summoning Society. But he had no way to defy Headquarters’ decision.

"But after all this time, the Spirit Summoning Society should pay up a little, shouldn’t they?"

Thinking of his wife’s worsening condition, the middle-aged man’s expression became even uglier.

His original condition for agreeing to become an undercover agent had been saving his wife. Yet up to this point, the Spirit Summoning Society had taken no concrete action whatsoever.

By now, Ma Liang was beginning to doubt whether joining the Spirit Summoning Society had been the right choice.

Unfortunately, there was no turning back. He could only keep walking down this dark path.

Meanwhile, unaware that he had already been caught in a vortex, Lin Jiānián returned to his office and pulled up all the Secret Realm records within Ning’an District.

"This is way too much."

The youth felt momentarily overwhelmed and scratched his head.

With so many Secret Realms, if he inspected them one by one, he likely would not get any rest for several days.

But duty called. No matter how exhausting it was, Lin Jiānián had to do it.

After importing all the records into his phone, he immediately summoned his subordinates.

"Get ready. Over the next few days, we need to inspect every Secret Realm in the district."

Upon hearing this, the Card Masters exchanged glances.

But in the end, they obediently followed Lin Jiānián’s orders. After informing their families, they followed the youth toward the nearest controlled Secret Realm.

Inspecting Secret Realms was undoubtedly an incredibly dull and tedious task.

Black Iron Grade Secret Realms were manageable, since their spaces were small. Even checking every demon within them did not take much time.

But starting at Bronze Grade, the size of Secret Realm spaces grew exponentially, let alone Silver grade and Gold Grade ones.

Fortunately, everything progressed very smoothly, to the point that Lin Jiānián began to wonder whether the higher-ups were simply being overly suspicious.

That was until he led his team to inspect the third Gold Grade Secret Realm in Ning’an District.

"Where the hell is everyone?!"

The youth stared blankly at the completely deserted base.

But he quickly realized that something must have happened.

Without wasting time, he immediately gave the order. "Leave two teams outside to stand guard. Contact the association for reinforcements while you’re at it."

"The rest of you, come into the Secret Realm with me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Jiānián took the lead and charged into the Secret Realm.

After contacting Jin Ping, Lu Su began waiting for Gu Wu’s notification.

But several days passed without any message from the suited man, making the youth wonder for a time whether he had been excluded.

…That shouldn’t be the case, right?

Lu Su muttered inwardly.

At that moment, a mass email abruptly popped up on the computer screen atop the desk before him.

The youth subconsciously read the email’s title aloud. "Secret Realm Out-of-Control Incident in Ning’an District."

"It finally came."

Lu Su’s expression sank. He had spent the past few days waiting for Jin Ping to trigger a second Demonization, but the old man seemed to have completely forgotten about it and had made no move.

"It’s time to verify my suspicions."

Although the youth was already quite certain that Jin Ping was forming contracts with Secret Realms, it would be best to gather more information.

He planned to investigate the specific situation in this out-of-control Secret Realm.

After quickly typing messages to Yan Wenlai and Che Yu on his phone, Lu Su vanished from the Vice President’s Office.

With his current speed, naturally, it would not take him long to reach the scene.

Looking at the base, which had already been placed under complete lockdown, Lu Su nodded inwardly. "Their response speed is pretty fast."

When the Card Masters guarding the entrance saw an unfamiliar face, one of them shouted, "Who goes there—"

Before he could finish, the Card Masters responsible for security were rendered speechless by the Spiritual Power Lu Su released.

For a moment, they could not even tell what level of Card Master the youth before them was.

Fortunately, the intimidation came quickly and vanished even faster. Lu Su had already tossed over his identification.

After catching the identification in a fluster, the Card Masters’ eyes widened.

"P-President Lu!"

The few of them jolted and hurriedly stepped aside.

Naturally, Lu Su held no dissatisfaction toward them. After all, he had only returned to Shanghai City a few days ago, so it was normal for those below not to recognize him.

He gave a slight nod in response, then flashed over to the Secret Realm Entrance.

Without hesitation, he immediately entered the Secret Realm.

Inside the Secret Realm.

Lin Jiānián sniffed the sulfurous odor filling his nostrils and could not help frowning tightly.

"A Jade Grade Demon?"

"Are the personnel stationed in the Secret Realm all useless?!"

Leaving aside why a Jade Grade Demon had appeared in a Gold Grade Secret Realm, its current commotion alone could not possibly have escaped the monitoring devices scattered throughout the entire Secret Realm.

Yet until his arrival, not a single word of warning had come through.

Boom—!

An explosion sounded in the distance, followed by continuous tremors.

"Tch." Lin Jiānián’s face instantly darkened at the sight. "So I still can’t do it, huh?"

The bad news was that, as merely a Gold Grade Card Master, he had no chance of defeating it.

The good news was that it did not seem to have any intention of attacking them.

But if this dragged on, who knew what might happen?

While observing the out-of-control demon’s movements, the youth asked the Card Master beside him, "Have you informed the association?"

"Director Lin, the request for aid has already been sent. Reinforcements should arrive soon."

Lin Jiānián nodded slightly at that.

Just as the group trailed the demon from afar, an aura that made their scalps tingle suddenly erupted.

Whoosh—!

Amid a piercing sonic boom, two meteors, one red and one gold, descended from the heavens toward the ground.

Then the howling wind pressure tore apart everything around them.

Watching the ground shatter into an unrecognizable state in the span of a single breath, the Association Card Masters could not help widening their eyes.

"Is anyone hurt?"

At that moment, a gentle voice came from behind them, causing everyone to turn around.

It was a man who appeared even younger than Director Lin.

Looking at the somewhat familiar face, Lin Jiānián hesitantly said, "Lu… Lu Shen?"

The newcomer was naturally Lu Su.

Hearing that title, which no one had used in a long time, he was briefly stunned before studying the youth in the distance. "You are…?"

Soon, the other’s face overlapped with the image of someone in his memory. "Lin Jiānián?"

When Lu Su called his name, Lin Jiānián’s eyes immediately lit up. "I didn’t expect you to still remember me, Lu Shen."

At this, Lu Su smiled helplessly. "My memory isn’t that bad."

"Come to think of it, weren’t you blond? Why did you dye it back?"

Lin Jiānián smiled awkwardly. He couldn’t exactly say that he’d been beaten so badly his defenses had shattered, so he’d decided to become a normal person again.

He clumsily changed the subject. "Lu Shen, is that your card—"

Before he could finish, Lin Jiānián stared blankly into the distance.

In his perception, the Jade Grade Demon no longer had any trace of life.

Watching the Black-and-White Figure return to Lu Su’s side with the demon’s corpse in hand, with the swordsman following behind, Lin Jiānián hesitated as if he wanted to say something.

The Jade Grade Demon, which had been utterly impossible for him to fight, had lost its life after just one exchange.

Wait, the swordsman?

Out of the corner of his eye, the youth spotted that familiar swordsman. He still remembered that his first crushing defeat after becoming a card maker had been because of him.

He just never expected Lu Su to still be using him even after reaching Diamond Grade.

Comparisons really could drive people mad. After all, his Black Iron Grade Yaksha card had been relegated to storage as early as Bronze Grade.

Unaware of what his old friend was thinking, Lu Su sensed the exact same aura as last time and could not help sighing. "Just as I thought."

Just as he had expected, Jin Ping’s goal had been to form a contract with the secret realm.

He just did not know how many secret realms in Shanghai City had already been affected by the old man.

Thinking of this, he asked Lin Jiānián beside him, who had already gone somewhat numb, "I came in a hurry. Jiānián, tell me the details again."

Hearing his question, Lin Jiānián immediately came back to his senses. "Huh? Oh."

"By the time I brought people here, there was already no one left at the base outside."

"Then, as soon as we entered the secret realm, we found that demon standing still in what used to be the secret realm’s monitoring room."

"And after that, Lu Shen, you should already know what happened."

Lu Su could not help frowning slightly.

The situation was different from what he had imagined. He had originally thought this had just happened, but now it seemed that quite some time had passed since the incident first occurred.

No wonder what had just happened was exactly the same as last time.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Lu Su instructed everyone present, "Let’s withdraw first. There shouldn’t be any danger left inside."

With that, he led everyone out of the secret realm.

Glancing at the massive Space Rift, Lu Su considered it for a moment before sweeping the surroundings with the immense Spiritual Power of Diamond Grade.

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

"Strange. Logically speaking, the base should send back a daily report every day. If this didn’t happen today, the Ning’an District Card Master Association should have noticed something was wrong long ago."

"Unless…"

He thought of Ma Liang. That branch President had suppressed the information.

But the flaw in doing so was far too obvious. Lu Su did not think Ma Liang would be that stupid.

For a moment, the youth could not make sense of it and could only bury his doubts for now.

He turned to Lin Jiānián beside him. "Jiānián, handle what comes next. I’ll head back first."

"Alright. Thanks for your hard work, Lu Shen."

Late at night, Lu Su emerged from meditation and spoke coldly. "You’re already here, so why keep hiding?"

As soon as his words fell, five figures appeared inside the bedroom in unison.

Clap, clap, clap—

Amid a burst of applause, one of them spoke. "You’re Xiao Liu?"

"Seeing you in person really lives up to your reputation. No wonder the President thinks so highly of you."

Though the words sounded flattering, Lu Su could hear a trace of disdain and displeasure within them.

He opened his eyes slightly, tilted his head, and asked in confusion, "You are?"

In the darkness, the speaker split his mouth in a wide grin, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth. "Just call me Fourth Brother. As for my real name…"

"You think you’re worthy of knowing it?"

"Oh, right. The secret realm you visited today was Third Sister’s handiwork. What a pity—you apparently didn’t notice at all."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is that all you’re capable of?"

"Xiao Liu."

At that moment, a cold female voice rang out. "It has nothing to do with me. Don’t drag me into this."

Hearing the two of them, Lu Su calmly glanced at the silent Gu Wu.

Jin Ping had said that Gu Wu would notify him to attend the gathering, but the situation now clearly showed that Suit Man had brought people here to put him in his place.

And without question, this so-called Fourth Brother was very close to Gu Wu. If it were only to this extent, Jin Ping clearly would not interfere.

Fortunately, it seemed that not everyone present was on Gu Wu’s side.

In that case…

Under the five gazes, each carrying a different meaning, a blond man instantly appeared in front of Lu Su. Then, the vast phantom of a city flashed behind him.

The next moment, everyone present discovered that their surroundings had completely changed.

"Gu Wu, it seems I gave you too much face before."

"It’s made you unable to tell what your place is."