Azrael opened his eyes in the morning light.
"Looks like we've managed it."
He glanced around the ordinary, run-down apartment, a sense of relief washing over him like a cool breeze after a storm.
Last night's confrontation with Jin had been incredibly stressful. The weight of maintaining his cover while navigating the Crimson Oath Society leader's mercurial moods had tested every ounce of his acting ability. Fortunately, Jin hadn't noticed the contract's ineffectiveness, at least, not consciously.
Even though nothing dangerous was happening right now, Azrael couldn't help but frown at the thought of Jin's frantic demeanor. The man's eyes had held that particular gleam of barely-contained madness that made Azrael's skin crawl. After all, no one could predict what a lunatic was thinking.
Dealing with a boss like that was the worst possible outcome. Given a choice, he'd rather Jin had been someone methodical and calculating, predictable in his ruthlessness rather than chaotic in his paranoia.
"Time to return to Pixar."
Composing himself, Azrael prepared to leave Velkairos behind once more.
Since nothing catastrophic was unfolding, there was no need for him to linger any longer. The longer he stayed, the greater the risk of Jin discovering something he shouldn't.
In a moment, the room fell silent, returning to the emptiness it had maintained for the past few months.
"Mikoto, check this phone."
Back in Pixar, Azrael tossed his smartphone to Misaka, the brown-haired Level 5 Electromaster.
He had just dealt with the USB drive containing intelligence on the Crimson Oath Society, and now that he had some free time, he naturally wanted to examine the communication device the organization had given him yesterday.
He'd actually considered checking it last night, but decided it was best not to do anything that might provoke the Society's suspicions, so he had abandoned the idea.
Now safely in Pixar, there were no more immediate concerns.
The petite girl with her distinctive brown hair took the smartphone, tiny electric currents dancing across her fingers. "There's definitely a problem. This thing has some surveillance capabilities built right into the hardware."
"I've blocked the signals, but a reverse intrusion would be detected immediately, so forget about trying that."
Azrael shrugged. He wasn't planning on reverse-hacking the Crimson Oath Society's mainframe anyway; as long as he could block their surveillance, he'd be satisfied. "Will this blocking be detected?"
"No, it's more like data manipulation. The information their mainframe receives will only be the information I've tampered with," the electromaster replied with confidence.
Azrael's eyes lit up as he took the phone back. "Perfect."
Opening the device, a simple interface came into view. This smartphone truly had only one communication function, the bare home screen displayed a single app: [Libra Limited Company Internal Communication Software v5.1 Beta].
The interface was stripped down to its most basic elements. Unlike the feature-heavy applications of his past life, this one contained only two functions: contacts and messaging. No games, no social media, no entertainment, just pure, utilitarian communication.
"My nickname and profile picture are all predetermined."
Azrael's eye twitched as he saw the blank six characters above his designated profile picture. The system had automatically assigned him an identity within their network.
"And naturally, I can't change any of it."
He scrolled through the contact list. At the top were contacts named Jin and "12345", obviously some kind of administrative account.
Below them, five more entries caught his attention. Their nicknames and profile pictures were identical to his own generic assignment, suggesting they were fellow operatives at his level.
Scrolling further down, he found entries for Magnus and Fredrika.
"No wonder the Association hasn't caught the Crimson Oath Society spreading their communications. The question is, how exactly are they transmitting this information?"
Putting away his smartphone, Azrael immediately began to ponder the larger implications.
If they had this sophisticated surveillance device, what exactly was Magnus's role in their intelligence network?
"Perhaps I should ask him directly next time."
Given the binding contract, Magnus had no choice but to answer truthfully, one of the few advantages of their current arrangement.
"Though Jin probably wouldn't care about such low-level operational details."
Making up his mind about his next course of action, Azrael was about to stand when he noticed Mikoto watching him quietly from across the room.
He paused, then realized something important.
"There'll be a gift for you later, so look forward to it."
"Bang!"
"Stupid! I'm not looking forward to anything!" the short-tempered girl retorted with a fierce blush.
The truth was, Azrael had actually prepared gifts for not only Misaka but all his summoned cards. They deserved recognition for their service.
"Sister, I'll be leaving now. I'll come back to see you when I have time."
That same day, Azrael said goodbye to Alice and prepared to depart for Donglai City.
Alice stared at the young man before her, who looked completely different from the youthful appearance they had first met six months ago. Her golden eyes flickered almost imperceptibly as she processed the changes in him. She opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but stopped herself mid-breath.
After a long pause, she uttered softly, "Bon voyage."
The words carried more weight than their simple meaning suggested. There was something melancholy in her elegant, polite tone, the kind of sadness that came from watching someone you cared about walk into an uncertain future.
Azrael nodded solemnly. "Take care, sister. I'm off."
With that command, he slipped into the shadows, led by one of his Shadowkhan, leaving Alice standing there in contemplative silence.
A long, wistful sigh echoed through the empty space long after he had vanished.
Azrael wasn't traveling to Donglai City under his own power this time, but by conventional train.
The main reason was that the Donglai Cardian Master Association had specifically requested he arrive by public transportation, claiming they were hosting a welcoming ceremony and needed to coordinate his itinerary properly. Taking the train would make it easier for them to arrange his pickup and the subsequent festivities.
"The train is about to arrive at the station. Our final destination is Donglai City. Passengers, please gather your belongings."
The crisp female voice pulled Azrael back from his strategic contemplations.
Donglai wasn't a major metropolitan center, so the passenger flow was naturally smaller than that of Pixar or Beijing. However, Azrael was still inevitably recognized by several travelers.
The national competition had concluded recently enough that his face remained fresh in the public consciousness.
After finally extracting himself from the small crowd of admirers and autograph seekers, Azrael began scanning for his designated reception committee.
However, as soon as he extended his mental awareness, his expression darkened.
"Some kind of setup?"
The next moment, a female figure stumbled backward and would have fallen directly into him.
Azrael stepped aside smoothly and caught the woman's back with his right hand, steadying her. "Are you alright?"
The woman ignored his question and instead whirled to face a young man who had been pursuing her. "I told you already, I'm not interested in you!"
Without warning, she grabbed Azrael's arm and pressed close to him. "See? This is my boyfriend!"
Azrael frowned and gently but firmly extracted his arm from her grasp.
The young man froze, his face cycling through confusion and disbelief. "Autumn, stop this nonsense!"
"Do you really think I'm that gullible?!"
"This is obviously just some random stranger you grabbed!"
Then he turned to look directly at Azrael, and his aggressive expression instantly transformed. His face drained of color, and a smile uglier than a grimace appeared. "Au-Autumn, stop making trouble and come here immediately."
"Don't disturb this gentleman any further."
Azrael tilted his head with curiosity. "Do you know me?"
He wasn't asking whether the young man recognized him as the national champion, but rather whether he knew Azrael as the newly appointed vice president of the Donglai City Cardian Master Association.
The woman called "Autumn" seemed surprised by the young man's sudden attitude change and turned to study Azrael more carefully.
"Ah! It's you!" she gasped, covering her mouth with apparent shock and delight.
Only then did Azrael get a clear look at her features.
"Interesting."
The woman before him bore an uncanny resemblance to a combination of Gabi and Alice, possessing both the innocence of youth and the refined elegance of a noblewoman. Her features were delicate but possessed an underlying strength that spoke of hidden depths.
Just then, a group of middle-aged men in expensive suits approached them with purposeful strides.
"President Azrael! President Azrael!"
Soon, several well-dressed officials reached their small group.
"President Azrael, we've finally met you in person. We're representatives from the Donglai Cardian Master Association."
"I'm President Kavach," announced the distinguished man leading the delegation.
Azrael shook hands with the middle-aged leader. "President Kavach, the pleasure is mine."
Kavach smiled diplomatically. "President Azrael, I'm afraid you haven't heard much about me before today, have you?"
"I'm the one who should say he's heard a great deal about you, President Azrael."
Azrael chuckled inwardly. Even though Kavach appeared to be praising him, there was an underlying dismissiveness in his tone. Whether this was intentional manipulation or simply careless wording remained to be seen.
"Ace! What are you doing here?!" A dignified, square-faced man in the delegation suddenly shouted.
Everyone present turned their attention to the newcomer.
Ace, the young man who had been pursuing the woman, replied with a miserable expression, "Dad, Autumn and I had a disagreement. What a coincidence to run into everyone here!"
"How could I have raised such a disappointing son!" the square-faced man scolded, then smiled apologetically at Azrael. "President Azrael, I'm Diesel, Director of the Secret Realm Office for the Donglai City Cardian Master Association."
"I sincerely apologize that my son disturbed you."
Azrael responded with diplomatic grace, though inwardly he found the situation amusing. "It's perfectly fine. Young people will be young people."
Although Azrael appeared quite young himself, his words carried the authority of his position, and none of the officials present seemed to find it inappropriate.
"Director Diesel, don't be so harsh with the boy. Look how frightened he is," Kavach laughed.
"Let's not dwell on such trivial matters."
"President Azrael, we've prepared a welcoming banquet in your honor. Would you be so kind as to attend?"
Azrael nodded graciously. "Let's go."
Autumn's eyes sparkled with fascination as she watched Azrael being escorted away by the group of distinguished officials. "That's the national champion, isn't it?"
"And he's joining our Donglai association?"
"Ace, why didn't you tell me about this?"
Ace sighed internally, his heart sinking. 'It's over. What chance do I have now?'
He had absolutely no intention of competing with Azrael. In terms of strength, appearance, status, and future prospects, he was completely outmatched in every conceivable category.
"God, please don't let this turn into some kind of romantic triangle!"
After a moment's dejected silence, he said bitterly, "Azrael is the new vice president of our Donglai Cardian Master Association. My father told me about it a few days ago but warned me not to tell anyone."
"Vice president..." the girl's eyes flickered with obvious admiration and something deeper.
The banquet proceeded smoothly, with all guests enjoying themselves.
After seeing President Kavach and the other officials off, Azrael found a modest hotel on a quiet street to spend the night.
He summoned Misaka, and invisible electromagnetic pulses swept throughout the room. The brown-haired girl shook her head, indicating no surveillance devices.
While Azrael's mental powers had already confirmed he wasn't being monitored, having his most technologically adept ally double-check electronic surveillance provided additional reassurance.
"Donglai's political waters run deeper than they appear," Azrael mused as he settled onto the comfortable bed.
Today's events had been genuinely bizarre from start to finish.
Initially, at the train station, he'd assumed he was about to experience the classic scenario of a wealthy young master targeting a beautiful woman, leading to the typical confrontation where the hero intervenes and earns the villain's enmity.
But the subsequent developments had taken an unexpected turn.
"Coincidence?"
Azrael dismissed that theory immediately. The timing had been too perfect, the girl's resemblance to his acquaintances too convenient.
"Long-term planning?"
But that seemed impossible. He hadn't made the decision to come to Donglai City that far in advance. How could someone have arranged such an elaborate setup so quickly?
"So there are other factions operating in all three major cities?"
"The Imperial Court?"
Through process of elimination, Azrael quickly narrowed down the possible culprits.
Among the various forces currently active along the coast, the Association couldn't possibly be behind this scheme, since he was Master Lucian's disciple and they had invested heavily in his success.
The Crimson Oath Society was equally unlikely, since he'd just met with Jin before arriving and they had their own plans for him.
That left the Imperial Court as the most probable instigator.
"Or perhaps..."
"Other established families whose interests conflict with mine."
Azrael thought of influential clans like the Mizuno family in Pixar.
Now that he was performing so brilliantly on the national stage, it was only natural that other powerful families would become concerned about the shifting balance of power.
Since directly eliminating him was impossible given his connections and abilities, they could only attempt to win him over through subtler means.
"A honey trap?"
A crude honey trap involved obvious seduction and naked desire.
A sophisticated honey trap was far more subtle, "Hello, President Azrael. My name is Zhuang Yan, and I'm your new research assistant."
Azrael felt genuinely speechless. He had to admit, anyone else in his position might well have fallen for such an approach.
He glanced at Misaka, who was contentedly playing with a small frog pendant, one of her cherished Gekota accessories.
"Is Mikoto not cute enough, or is Alice not charming enough?"
Besides, at his current rate of advancement, wouldn't it be natural for him to eventually encounter Gabi and other attractive companions through legitimate means?
Who knew which brilliant strategist had devised this particular scheme? They couldn't possibly think Azrael was the protagonist of some cheap romance novel where the hero fell for every beautiful woman who crossed his path.
Suppressing his chaotic thoughts, Azrael continued his analysis.
"This Diesel is ruthless, willing to use his own son as bait for a trap."
After the evening's social drinking, Azrael now understood the general power structure of the Donglai City Cardian Master Association.
The leadership consisted of President Kavach, Director of the Secret Realm Office Diesel, Director of Public Security Godfrey, and Director of Human Resources Godrick.
All were Gold-level Lore Cardians, and Kavach seemed to be the strongest among them in Azrael's estimation.
The others appeared somewhat weaker, at least from his initial assessment.
Fortunately, his own position as Vice President placed him effectively second in the organizational hierarchy.
"President, what do you think of today's observations?"
In the brightly lit study, the square-faced man whispered to the middle-aged leader before him.
The two men were naturally Kavach and Diesel.
Kavach glanced casually at the book in his hands, his expression nonchalant. "He's just a talented rookie. Didn't everything go smoothly today?"
"I don't believe Azrael suspects anything."
Seeing that Diesel remained standing there uncertainly, Kavach continued, "Are you worried about your boy?"
"Don't concern yourself. I've made inquiries about Azrael's character. As long as Ace doesn't actively provoke him, there won't be any problems."
"Besides, this approach was necessary."
"If it weren't for Ace's involvement, Autumn wouldn't have been able to appear before Azrael so naturally."
Diesel remained silent. Although he had agreed to the plan initially, meeting Azrael in person had made him realize the immense pressure the young man radiated.
The sheer intensity of Azrael's mental energy didn't seem like someone who had only recently achieved Gold-level status.
"Don't overthink it. While Azrael is certainly a prodigy, how powerful can his first Gold-level card really be?"
"Consider how long it's been since he achieved his breakthrough."
"Purple quality? Gold quality? Even if it's Gold-level, a single card won't create overwhelming advantages."
"Think about how much time and planning it took us to create our first cards after reaching Gold-level ourselves."
Hearing this reassurance, Diesel felt somewhat relieved. "You're right. I was overthinking the situation."
"I'll pay closer attention to Autumn's progress and try to bring Azrael into our faction as quickly as possible."
Kavach returned his attention to his reading. "Excellent. Thank you for your diligence."
On his second day in Donglai City, the Cardian Master Association gave Azrael the day off to find permanent accommodations.
A Vice President couldn't be expected to live in hotels indefinitely.
With abundant financial resources and his prestigious status, Azrael quickly located suitable housing: a secluded, single-family villa in one of the city's better districts.
After instructing his Shadowkhan to handle the furniture arrangements, Azrael pulled out his secondary communication device and sent a message to a certain subordinate.
[Azrael: Come see me.]
Within minutes, a middle-aged man stood before him with obvious reverence. "Sixth Master, you summoned me."
Azrael settled casually on his new sofa, observing Magnus with calculating eyes.
A long moment passed, and just as beads of nervous perspiration began forming on Magnus's forehead, Azrael suddenly asked, "Why did you follow me to Donglai City?"
Magnus started, then, compelled by the binding contract, began speaking in a rush of explanations.
The room fell into stunned silence.
Azrael stared at the middle-aged man before him, unsure what to say.
He finally understood why Magnus, a Gold-level Lore Cardian, had been content to waste away in a place like Pixar, seemingly waiting for death.
Magnus appeared genuinely puzzled by the Sixth Master's unexpected question.
By all the gods, he truly wanted to make amends for his past failures and prove his worth.
After a long moment, Azrael rubbed his temples, feeling a headache building. "I called you here because I have instructions for you."
Magnus immediately straightened to attention. "Sixth Master, please give your orders."
"Contact all the Crimson Oath Society members in this city who are Silver-level or above."
"Have them come to meet me."
"Yes, I'll handle it immediately."
As Magnus disappeared to carry out his orders, Azrael retrieved an envelope from one of his Shadowkhan.
It contained the materials Jin had provided, things that might prove crucial in the political games ahead.