CHAPTER 32: 032 BI FANG MANIFESTS_1

"You also know that I come from a higher civilization. Our world has something known as the Heart of the World, which you can consider a product that embodies the highest technology."

"The Heart of the World can deduce the past and future of each person in your world based on various factors such as everyone’s data, characteristics, and environmental changes."

"Before I came here, the information I obtained showed that you are a person with extremely high emotional energy and that you would eventually have a perfect ending with Song—my great-grandson. Of course, there would be many twists and turns in between. The Heart of the World sent me to craft a tailored script for you. According to the original plot, your story would definitely involve many people. Those two just now, they are cannon fodder—the kind of characters who die soon after they appear, and their deaths are related to you, though you might not know it."

Wen Jiang understood immediately.

This was it then—the entire world was under the surveillance of a higher civilization, with everyone’s past and future laid bare. The Heart of the World sought to exploit emotional energy from these people. Characters like herself, Wen Jiang, could bring more profit to the Heart of the World than others; with the System’s empowerment, even more emotional energy could be extracted from her. In other words, she had been chosen.

Wen Jiang fell silent for a second, then laughed, "Then why have you chosen to tell me all this?"

"That’s because from the moment you left Song Yingchen, the story line has been completely disrupted, and you even became a Spirit Card Master!" Zero Egg now appeared utterly disheartened. "The Heart of the World’s data has all turned into erroneous information. Your fate has been reset to zero. You will only receive previous data feedback when meeting relevant people. For those with less connection, like these sisters, there are only vague prompts. If I want to know your new destiny, I must report back to the Heart of the World and let it spend time to rededuce it."

Wen Jiang asked, "Then why don’t you do that?"

"..."

After a long time, Zero Egg stuttered, "If I do that, the Heart of the World will call me back and replace me with a better System."

Wen Jiang understood in an instant.

Who doesn’t have dreams? Even a small System dreams of becoming a Major System.

Zero Egg had been swayed by Wen Jiang’s earlier assertion that even a System should have dreams.

If it could truly acquire hundreds of times more emotional energy from Wen Jiang than before, it would have a reason to stay.

The Heart of the World appreciates every System that completes its tasks perfectly. If it exceeds expectations, it could be upgraded!

It’s just like every wage worker earnestly hoping to be trusted and promoted by their leader.

Wen Jiang remarked, "Little Zero Egg, you truly live up to the name Little Zero Egg."

This Heart of the World was clearly a central hub, sending out Systems like assembly line products to work for it. A System might have its own desires, but if one day it returned with a multiplied amount of energy, would a leader value such a subordinate? No, anything beyond control should be destroyed. The System didn’t seem to realize it was doing something dangerous. But that was okay; it was lucky to have encountered Wen Jiang.

Zero Egg was quite proud. "Although it’s not quite right, it represents that I choose to believe in you and stand by you. I now feel that you will certainly acquire a lot of emotional energy. Eventually, we both will return laden with gains, achieving what we desire. Ah, we both have a bright future."

Wen Jiang spoke with profound meaning, "Yes, we both have a bright future."

What she was really thinking about was breaking through the void to the System’s world once her strength was restored. Especially now that Zero Egg had mentioned this Heart of the World, she was even more intrigued.

No one at the Toujia Trial Hall dared to face her. After she switched to another trial hall, someone finally accepted her challenge. However, even when Wen Jiang went easy on them, those people were no match for her.

Simply bullying the weak wasn’t fun. So, after exchanging over a dozen cards, Wen Jiang stopped the trial and decided to find a place to eat.

Now, Zero Egg had become quite skilled. In every new place, it would first hack into the official system to ensure no surveillance captured Wen Jiang’s trace. This way, Song Yingchen wouldn’t be able to find Wen Jiang, no matter how he searched, unless he resorted to a human wave tactic for a blanket search.

In this world, there were no longer any street food stalls, mainly because the government subsidized every business owner with a small shop.

Wen Jiang picked a small shop to eat beef noodles, and thankfully, despite a thousand years passing, their beef hadn’t gone extinct—thanks to Mother Nature.

She was happily slurping her noodles when suddenly, Spiritual Energy within her began to stir restlessly. Her eyes narrowed as the scene above her head darkened. A piercing bird cry that seemed capable of shattering the sky exploded over the Imperial City.

Wen Jiang looked up as the Spiritual Energy inside her grew increasingly agitated.

She saw it—a bird the color of a green crane. Its massive body almost enveloped the entire Imperial City. It carried the force of heaven and earth; with a flap of its wings, it stirred up streams of air that formed fierce winds, sweeping through the Imperial City.

In just two seconds, its body surged into the clouds and disappeared from sight.

SSR Card Spirit, Bi Fang.

This was the first time Wen Jiang had witnessed an SSR-Rank Card Spirit manifest in the real world.

As expected, its appearance rocked the earth and shook the mountains.

The half bowl of noodles Wen Jiang hadn’t finished was contaminated by the dirt swept over by the disturbance.

But at this moment, no one cared about such things.

Like Wen Jiang, there were many others eating in the shop who now looked up in terror.

"What happened?"

"Why has the Divine Beast Bi Fang appeared? Is something amiss on the outskirts of the Imperial City?"

"Impossible, the military is guarding the area. Could it be that the troublemakers have been detected by the general?"

Zero Egg, ever so sensible, quickly collected news from the internet for her. "Looks like there’s someone causing trouble."

The world wasn’t at peace after that catastrophe had ended.

The cards left behind bestowed formidable combat abilities. However, they also led to some Spirit Card Masters, who, armed with powerful cards, vanished, seeking to incite another disaster.

Discontent with the current structure of the world’s three great empires, they believed another catastrophe could reshuffle the world order.

With that intention, a considerable number of people had rallied, lurking in the shadows, ready to kill those favored by the World Card Association, the pride of the heavens.

Of course, with card combat being extremely fierce, attacking openly was disadvantageous for them. Many Spirit Card Masters often died unawares.

It was said that the death of that outstanding Card Maker from the Mount Flower Association was also related to this organization.

Ordinary people were actually unaware of these issues. The three great empires holding card tournaments each year was also a way to cover up these ’disaster scars’ that had yet to heal.

After hearing Zero Egg’s speculation, Wen Jiang clicked her tongue and remarked, "This is quite complicated."

Zero Egg said, "In recent years, they seem to have become more audacious. Look, now they dare to cause trouble right outside Yunxia Imperial City. But it’s true—among the three great empires, the Yunxia Empire is indeed easier to bully. After all, with fewer cards and the largest population, they really can’t withstand much turmoil."