The shrill, urgent sound of the alarm pierced Russell's nerves.
He quickly walked over to the window and saw that everything in sight was engulfed in thick fog. Horrifying howls echoed from the mist.
The alarm on the television was still broadcasting on repeat.
Russell heard the frantic sound of footsteps in the apartment building.
Opening the door, he saw that the residents were all rushing downstairs in a panic.
The auntie from across the hall spotted him and hurriedly called out, "Russell! Come on, hurry up!"
She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the crowd.
As Russell followed the crowd, he noticed that despite the fear on everyone's faces, there was no chaos—just calm, orderly evacuation. He sighed inwardly.
People in this world had long grown used to secret realm invasions.
At the entrance of the complex, a large loudspeaker was repeating a pre-recorded message.
"Card Makers will arrive shortly for rescue. Please remain calm and wait patiently."
"Card Makers will arrive shortly for rescue. Please remain calm and wait patiently."
The thick black fog had already swallowed the entire area.
The residents of Happy Community didn't dare move a muscle.
No one knew when a monster might suddenly appear in the mist.
Only cards created by Card Makers could destroy the monsters from the secret realms. That was why, at the beginning, humanity had been utterly powerless against these invasions.
The majority of people could only create low-tier Black Iron-level white cards, usually something like a Cuckoo Chicken used for logistics.
As the minutes passed, restlessness began to stir among the people. Shanghai was simply too big. Even the Card Maker Association struggled to cover the city during an invasion.
Not to mention, the invasion this time came from the largest secret realm near the city—[Demon Nest].
Suddenly, screams erupted from the outer edge of the crowd.
"There's a monster! It's from the Demon Nest!"
Red, bloodshot eyes appeared in the mist.
A young man at the edge gritted his teeth. "Go, Paw Patrol!"
A white Black Iron-level biological card: Paw Patrol.
It summoned a random large-breed dog.
This time, it was a German Shepherd.
The man pointed into the fog. "Paw Patrol, attack!"
The dog charged into the mist with a ferocious bark.
"Woof! Woof! Awoo..."
At first, there were aggressive growls—but they quickly turned into whimpers, and then silence.
The young man's face turned pale.
Panic began to spread among the crowd.
"Mommy! I want my mommy!"
"Those damn Card Makers probably ran off to protect rich people! That's why they're not here yet!"
"I don't want to die…"
As cries of despair grew louder, the monsters slowly emerged from the mist.
Seven ghouls—the lowest tier of creatures in the Demon Nest.
Three of them had blood smeared around their mouths, and their fanged jaws still had bits of flesh hanging from them.
But upon seeing that it was only ghouls, Russell actually relaxed a bit.
According to memory, any basic Black Iron-level Card Maker could handle a ghoul or two.
What he feared were the unspeakable abominations—the more infamous horrors from Demon Nest.
Like its most notorious entity: The Flesh Monarch.
He let out a long breath. In the end, the education from his previous life wouldn't allow him to just stand by and watch a massacre unfold.
Shaking off his hesitation, Russell prepared to step forward and handle the ghouls—only to find his left arm grabbed by the auntie next door.
"Russell, don't be reckless!"
Russell gently pulled free and smiled. "Aunt Xu, I became a Card Maker."
She froze. "A Card Maker? What do you mean?"
She'd always known Russell was trying to become one, but she hadn't heard he'd actually succeeded.
As she looked at him with suspicion, Russell pushed past the tightly packed crowd to the front.
At once, all eyes turned to him.
"Who's that kid?"
"No idea…"
"Someone stop him! He's too young to throw his life away!"
The ghouls were now dangerously close to the crowd.
Russell could clearly see their foul drool dripping onto the pavement.
He touched the card in his mind, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni appeared in front of him.
Gasps swept through the residents of Happy Community.
Then came murmurs and chatter:
"Is he… is he a Card Maker?"
"A Card Maker! We're saved!"
"He's so young. Can he really do it?"
Tuning out the noise, Russell whispered, "I'm counting on you, Yoriichi."
Yoriichi nodded slightly, then slowly drew his katana.
As he exhaled, the blade in his hand turned a glowing crimson.
In the next moment—he vanished from sight.
When he reappeared, he was already in the middle of the ghoul horde.
One ghoul dropped immediately, its head severed.
The death seemed to enrage the others. The six remaining ghouls lunged at Yoriichi from all sides, leaping mid-air to tear him apart.
Yoriichi drew in a breath, bending his knees slightly.
A crimson arc of sword light flashed across the battlefield.
The residents watched, stunned, as all six ghouls were sliced clean in half.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
Russell took a deep breath. He'd known purple-quality cards were strong—but not this strong.
According to official stats, even a skilled Black Iron-level Card Maker with a blue-quality card could only handle five ghouls at once.
Yet Yoriichi had just wiped out seven effortlessly—and hadn't even broken a sweat.
Shaking his head, Russell dismissed the stray thoughts and stepped forward, wrapping his spiritual energy around the corpses.
With a quick pulse of energy, seven faintly glowing material cards appeared in his hand.
Summon-type Material: [Ghoul] (Green) ×7
Looking at the cards in his hand, Russell couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
No wonder being a Card Maker was considered lucrative.
Even the green-tier Black Iron materials sold for over 20,000 Great Ming credits each.
In just a few minutes, he'd earned 140,000.
Just as Russell was marveling at the profit potential, Yoriichi silently stepped in front of him, blade raised.
From within the mist, a massive figure slowly took shape.
Russell's brows furrowed.
That thing's size… could Yoriichi handle it?
Before his anxiety could worsen, a man's voice rang out from the fog.
"Sorry, sorry! I ran into a Glutton Behemoth on the way here. Hope I'm not too late?"
The massive figure stepped out of the fog—revealing itself to be a two-story-tall silver wolf.
Its icy eyes locked onto Russell.
"Whoa, you took out all these ghouls? Not bad at all, kid."
The voice's owner suddenly appeared beside Russell, startling him.
Russell turned to see a young man in a floral shirt, beach shorts, and flip-flops.
The guy smiled and waved toward the giant wolf. "Alright, Howlmoon, stop scaring the kid."
The silver wolf lowered its head obediently and purred contentedly under his hand.
"Nice to meet you. Third year, Card Making Department at Shanghai University—Xiao Yifei."