Chapter 106: The Vanishing Card

“Elder, could you please explain the current situation to me?” Chen Fan widened his eyes and strained to see more clearly. “My eyes aren’t deceiving me, are they...?”

Chen Fan sat upright on the bed, a chill creeping over his heart. He muttered under his breath, trembling as he divided the identity cards into two piles: one pile contained those he had already fused with, and the other was made up of cards he hadn’t yet experienced.

Now, the taller pile had turned into a barren, desolate mountain. The character portraits on the card surfaces had all vanished, leaving behind nothing but blank, ordinary pieces of paper...

The elder looked helpless. “Ah... this really caught me off guard. I never expected the magic to escape under a full moon, and to think it involved every single one of them. You know, the odds of something like this happening are about the same as all the criminals in the world breaking out of prison at once. It’s truly unbelievable.”

“But it has happened, hasn’t it?” Chen Fan pointed to the pile of empty cards. “Is there any way to fix this? Where exactly do the escaped magic cards go? What am I supposed to do?”

“Of course, you have to round up every single escaped card. Not one can be left behind.”

This was the first time Chen Fan had seen the elder so anxious—it was clearly not a joke.

“Round them up? With what, ropes or handcuffs? Besides, isn’t magic a form of light? What could possibly capture light? A black hole?” Chen Fan fired off a series of questions.

The elder rolled up his sleeves and flexed imaginary biceps. “You knock down the vessel that’s absorbing the magic, then make it spit out the source.”

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Chen Fan replied softly. After a moment’s thought, he suddenly said, “Damn you, you old bastard. The magic in the cards doesn’t possess others like it’s possessing me, does it?”

The elder nodded. “Exactly. Young man, you bear a heavy responsibility now. The organization has high hopes for you.”

Chen Fan waved dismissively. “Screw that. You’re clearly setting me up for failure. Who knows what twisted powers those cards might be hiding? If even one of them can alter fate itself, isn’t this a suicide mission? I’ll just leave it to fate and won’t bother chasing them down.”

The elder’s face darkened. “You can’t put all the blame on me for this. Your own magic container is too weak. You couldn’t maintain full control under the full moon, and when I tried to fuse with you, your vessels burst. If you remain in a non-complete state for too long, your whole being will distort.”

Chen Fan grew anxious now. All he wanted was to find a powerful shredder and pulverize the elder’s card into oblivion.

“You drag me onto a sinking ship without any perks, then expect me to throw myself into the fire? Why is my life so miserable...?”

The elder comforted him: “Don’t worry. As the old saying goes, ‘When Heaven is about to place a great responsibility on a man...’”

“Cut the damn ancient quotes,” Chen Fan snapped. “I’ve got a few choice words for you too. Can you just give me some real help? Strengthen my abilities a bit. I don’t ask for much—just like a Gundam or a Superman. A full set like Iron Man or Spider-Man would be fine too.”

The elder shook his head. “No, this is all fate. But rest assured, you hold many cards. Other hosts can only fuse with one at a time. With your sea of cards tactic, you can wear them down.”

“Seriously, I have to roll up my sleeves and knock people out just to retrieve magic? Isn’t there a more civilized way?” Chen Fan looked at his slender frame and instinctively placed a hand over his abdomen.

“Don’t worry, it’s not physical knockouts.”

The elder’s words brought a moment of relief, but what came next was blood-curdling.

“It’s a mental knockout. You have to make the opponent surrender the magic source willingly.”

Chen Fan imagined the difficulty of such a task—it was probably only slightly easier than convincing a billionaire to hand over all his wealth.

“What if the opponent refuses and their body is destroyed?” Chen Fan asked.

“Then the magic will continue to escape, seeking a new host.”

Chen Fan was speechless.

This basically meant he was being forced to kill everyone.

He felt like a merciless executioner, his hands stained with blood.

“Don’t overdramatize. The mission isn’t as hard as you think,” the elder saw through Chen Fan’s worries and teased him calmly.

“Can I refuse?” Chen Fan asked, knowing full well the answer.

“Of course,” the elder’s response surprised him, but the joy was short-lived. “Then get ready to enjoy your last year or two of a good life. Whether it’s three years or a death sentence, it’s better to get it over with. Your whole being is already distorting and breaking down.”

Chen Fan was speechless.

He gave up his last resistance and reluctantly accepted the mission. “There are so many people out there. How do I know who the magic from the cards has attached to?”

“Have you ever played Pokémon?”

“Huh? I’ve heard of it but never played. What does that have to do with anything? Are you saying I need to download an app or something?” Chen Fan didn’t understand why the elder was bringing this up.

The elder continued, “Just knowing the concept is enough. The principle is similar. If there’s magic flowing nearby, you’ll easily sense it. The closer you get, the stronger the abnormal feeling.”

“So if I get up close, will my head hurt?” Chen Fan suddenly focused his question there.

The elder rolled up his sleeves again. “What are you thinking? It’s more like intuition. There’s no negative physical sensation.”

“Oh, right. Besides mental control, there’s another way to reclaim magic,” the elder said after calming down and clearing his mind.

“What way? Mental destruction?” Chen Fan naturally guessed.

“No. There’s a card called the Purifier. One of its functions is to remove negative effects on itself and forcibly absorb magic from the surroundings.”

“That’s useless. The Purifier card isn’t even in my hand,” Chen Fan said disdainfully, his nerves suddenly on edge. “What if I face the Purifier? Will it suck my magic away instead?”

The elder scratched his head, realizing the problem. “Normally, escaped cards choose hosts according to their attributes, and the Purifier, being a Supreme God card, usually attaches to good people.”

“‘Usually’...” Chen Fan twitched his brow. He no longer believed in the elder’s ‘small chance’ assurances. After so many missions together, every time was an unexpected disaster.

“So what’s the countermeasure?” Chen Fan probed.

“You can try letting the other party drain all your magic. If their capacity is low, they’ll be playing with fire.”

“And if their capacity is high?”

“If they drain you completely, then your abilities become theirs,” the elder said honestly after some thought.

Chen Fan felt numb and helpless. “You old bastard, why did you make me experience the crappy cards first? Now all the good cards are in other hands. What about the world?”

“Don’t worry, the world won’t end. The sun will still rise as usual.”

“You mean good will triumph over evil?” Chen Fan comforted himself.

“It’s better if you think that way,” the elder agreed.

“But didn’t you say history is written by the victors? Good and evil are the same. The side that survives in the end is naturally the righteous one,” Chen Fan said with rare calm.

It was the first time the elder saw Chen Fan so composed and asked, “Does this burden weigh you down?”

“I think the red scarf on my chest looks even brighter.”

“But didn’t you quit the team a long time ago?” The elder promptly poured cold water on that.

“Then it must be the five stripes on my shoulder—feeling even more responsible,” Chen Fan said, staring at the mosquito net, feigning depth.

“Beep~ Beep~ Beep~”

“Who could it be at this hour?” Chen Fan grabbed his phone. On the screen, a clear message read: [Mandatory early study session tomorrow. Meet at the teaching corridor at 7:30 AM.]