Today, they didn't undertake any more missions—slow and steady. As long as they weren't discovered, they could continue secretly taking down human traffickers in the future.
Being an anonymous hero felt surprisingly enjoyable. Zhang Da Ye could somewhat relate to the thrill Peter Parker felt when he donned the Spider-Man mask, or Lu Xiaoqian when playing a masked vigilante.
Unfortunately, the invisible ink was limited to 300 ml in total. If all three went out simultaneously, they could only act ten times. Future missions would require either greater efficiency or special disguises—or perhaps nighttime operations. This needed careful planning.
After a good deed in the morning, they enjoyed a hearty lunch, all in good spirits. Zhang Da Ye decided to relax a bit while exercising, taking out a deck of playing cards and a marker.
He explained the rules of "Old Maid" to Tom and Artoria, who quickly understood.
Zhang Da Ye set aside a Joker, shuffled the deck, and dealt the cards. Players took turns drawing from the next hand, discarding matched pairs. Whoever was left with the Joker lost.
Zhang Da Ye and Artoria played normally. Tom, with only four fingers and small hands, struggled to handle the cards, spreading them out like a folding fan before matching pairs, often causing cards to fall, prompting him to scramble to keep them from being seen.
Zhang Da Ye found this amusing, teasing Tom by pretending to peek at the fallen cards. Tom would twist his body, shielding his hand with his rear, before returning to pick up the cards.
In the first round, Tom emptied his hand first. Zhang Da Ye had a Joker and a six left, while Artoria had only a six.
The game's fun lay in influencing opponents and reading expressions. Zhang Da Ye made faces, but Artoria didn't follow the cues. She simply focused on the cards, drew one, and discarded a pair: "Da Ye, you lost."
"…You don't follow the strategy," Zhang Da Ye muttered. Accepting defeat, he let Tom mark a line on his face with the marker.
"Hohoho!" Tom laughed at Zhang Da Ye's comical appearance, infecting Artoria with a smile.
In the second round, Artoria won first, leaving Zhang Da Ye and Tom in a showdown. Tom's expressions were priceless—excited when discarding a pair, anxious when Zhang Da Ye drew a card from him.
When only two cards remained in Tom's hand, Zhang Da Ye hovered over the Joker. Tom's expressions alternated between mischievous and fearful, making it easy for Zhang Da Ye to choose a good card.
Defeated, Tom let Artoria mark his face. After nearly an hour, Tom's face was covered in circles, Zhang Da Ye had a "King" character, six whiskers, and various patterns drawn by both. Tom looked almost like a tiger, while Artoria remained untouched—a streak of incredible luck.
The game ended with Artoria reveling in victory, leaving Zhang Da Ye and Tom to the playful punishments.
After resting, Zhang Da Ye and Tom skipped washing their faces, leaving the patterns as agreed until evening. Zhang Da Ye practiced swordplay in the courtyard, full of energy, then began another draw.
To Zhang Da Ye's surprise, 90% of his energy vanished instantly, forming a one-meter diameter magic circle on the ground—a white circle this time.
The glowing light attracted Tom and Artoria; they knew a new companion had arrived.
As the light faded, a figure appeared: a tall, delicate young woman with long black hair tied in a high ponytail, a slanted fringe covering half her right eye. She wore a white shirt, blue jeans, and a red plaid shirt tied around her waist. Somehow, she appeared a bit timid.
Zhang Da Ye stared, unable to recognize her immediately.
The newcomer rubbed her eyes, glanced around, and seeing two humans and a cat, said: "Hello everyone, I'm… Eh!?"
She recoiled half a step, startled.
Zhang Da Ye touched his face, realizing the tiger markings from the earlier game were still there. "Don't worry, I'm human. Let me wash this off first. Artoria, please attend to our guest."
"Of course, come with me," Artoria said.
Zhang Da Ye and Tom went to wash up, putting the game punishments aside for now.
The newcomer calmed down and hesitantly followed Artoria into the tavern.
Checking her information, Zhang Da Ye found:
- Name: Rui Mengmeng
- Alias: Nox Star Knife, Riven
- Background: From Rui Village, Ping County, Juxia City in the Super God Academy world. Possesses a super-gene called Nox Star Knife. Previously worked in a restaurant; awakened super-gene allowed her to swiftly defeat a harasser, sending him to the hospital.
"Super God Academy?" Zhang Da Ye mused. That world was complicated. Becoming powerful required genetically engineered super-genes and extensive resources. Many could manipulate reality like programming, altering spaces, gravity, air composition, or even redefining an enemy's energy source as worthless.
Technologically-driven battles, yet somehow still fantastical.
TL/N: Apparently she's just a random extra from Super Gene, not related in any way with Riven from LoL :((