Chapter 159: The Missing Fool Card
Chapter 159: The Missing Fool Card
"Are you Gu Yi?"
Ivan, the representative from the Bear Country, approached and communicated with Gu Yi in proficient Chinese.
Gu Yi wiped the sweat from his palms and managed a smile, "Hello, I am Gu Yi... What's happening here?"
"The situation is quite complex, and I can't explain it all at once. All I can tell you is that the base of the strategy team has suddenly disappeared, and we are currently unable to bring it back."
"How is that possible?"
"Anyway, we can only wait here. Maybe they will suddenly return one day," Ivan said. "Until the Dragon Country's strategy team returns, we will protect you."
"Forget it, I don't need your protection. Doesn't the Dragon Country have even one agent?"
"Only a few field agents are left now."
As soon as Gu Yi finished speaking, Old Zhai, pushing Ah Jian's wheelchair, arrived in front of Gu Yi.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Old Zhai accidentally let go of the wheelchair.
"Whoa!"
Ah Jian yelled as he tumbled out of the wheelchair.
Boom!
A loud noise reverberated, and the ground shook three times.
"Brother, how did you end up like this?" Gu Yi was startled and hurriedly helped Ah Jian up. "Was such a loud noise caused by your fall?"
"Damn it, it wasn't me!" Ah Jian excitedly grabbed Gu Yi's arm. "Help me up quickly; it must be the team leader and the others returning."
Gu Yi helped Ah Jian back into his wheelchair, curiously looking towards the distant barricade.
In less than five minutes, the Bear Country's agents had removed the barricade, and the base building of the strategy team reappeared in front of Gu Yi and the others.
Gu Yi stood rooted to the spot, his legs stiff, unable to take a step for a long time.
His family stood not far away, smiling and waving at him.
"Mom, Dad, I'm back."
...
"...So, that's how we escaped."
In the meeting room, Qu Kangping detailed his entire experience at the Dark Moon Circus, but he deliberately altered the method of getting there.
"So... you were taken to the circus by the host?"
"That's right."
"Can we really trust a place like the Dark Moon Circus?"
"For now, it seems we can," Qu Kangping said. "However, since they live in the weird world, they too have to follow certain rules. When communicating with them, be careful not to break these rules."
Qu Kangping calmly interacted with the agents from the Bear Country.
During his interactions with Dark Moon, Qu Kangping learned about the unique powers of Tarot cards. There are a total of 22 Tarot cards, each with different effects.
The Fool card is the most special one in the Tarot deck.
Legend has it that it has one unique function: it can continuously generate the other 21 Tarot cards.
After learning about the function of The Fool card, Qu Kangping immediately searched the entire base for Tarot cards but found no clues.
Such an important card would surely not be carelessly lost by Jin Xin. This suggests that someone in the base must have secretly taken The Fool card!
Jin Xin was still being held captive by them, and the only people who had contact with him were himself, Ah Jian, and Gu Yi. Now that he had returned to the real world, his first task was to investigate Ah Jian and Gu Yi.
Although both of them are of upright character, no one can guarantee that they would remain true to themselves under the temptation of immense power.
As the leader of the Dragon Country's strategy team, Qu Kangping had to remain vigilant. Dangerous weird items should not be easily entrusted to any single individual.
Because they might corrupt the human mind, gradually drawing them to side with the weird world.
"By the way, Brother Ivan, I'd like to borrow a device from you."
"What kind of device?"
"All of our devices were damaged in the fight against the weird powers, and now we need to borrow a Kant Counter from you."
"What do you need that for?"
...
In the laboratory, Qu Kangping got a Kant Counter, which looked like a temperature gun. Its function is to test the Hume Index of an object.
The higher the Hume Index, the stronger the weird power of the object.
If someone in the base was secretly harboring weird items, the Kant Counter would surely detect them.
"Ah Jian, come here for a moment."
"Ah?"
"I need to give you a quick check-up."
"Didn't I just have one recently?"
Ah Jian wheeled himself over to Qu Kangping.
Qu Kangping waved the counter over Ah Jian, and the reading showed 37, which was within the normal range.
"Where's Gu Yi?"
"He's still talking with his family."
"Let's wait at the door for a while."
"Okay."
Ah Jian was about to follow, but Qu Kangping stopped him. "You stay here, don’t move. I've approved a month's leave for you."
"I...can do some clerical work in the base."
"Don't argue."
Qu Kangping, holding the counter, stood at the entrance of the dormitory.
After a while, Gu Yi finally came out of the room.
Their eyes met.
"Team leader, is there something you need?"
"Yes." Qu Kangping smiled. "You did very well last time."
"Heh..."
"What's this about a dual talent? How did you unlock it?"
Gu Yi's eyes flickered, seemingly surprised by the black orb's powerful ability to distort perception. It wasn't just the host and NPCs who couldn't detect it; even people in the real world seemed oblivious to it.
"I don't know, maybe I'm just exceptionally talented."
"Oh..." Qu Kangping nodded. "By the way, I need to give you a check-up. Can you come with me?"
"A check-up?"
"It's a part of our unit's benefits."
"I see... Do I need to provide a urine sample?"
"Uh... no, that's not necessary."
"Then let me use the bathroom first, okay?"
"Sure, I'll wait here for you."
Qu Kangping followed Gu Yi to the bathroom door, then hesitated.
—The last time Gu Yi interrogated Jin Xin, he also rushed to the bathroom. Could he have hidden the card in there?
Thinking this, Qu Kangping quickly took out the counter and aimed it at the bathroom door.
The reading: 37.
Perfectly normal.
Click—
Gu Yi stepped out of the bathroom, looking curiously at Qu Kangping, "Team leader, are you taking the door's temperature with that temperature gun?"
"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just practicing my aim," Qu Kangping said with a laugh. "Let's go for the check-up and then get some rest. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the shooting range to try out some guns."
"Uh... I'm not really into guns."
"Come on, think of it as a way to relax. You don't actually have to learn anything. Let's go for the check-up."
"Alright then."
Qu Kangping watched Gu Yi's retreating back, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
...
At night.
Gu Yi lay alone in his dormitory room.
Ah Jian, due to his injuries, had gone home to recover, leaving Gu Yi by himself in the room. He covered his head with the blanket and opened his right hand.
The palm of Gu Yi's right hand began to feel warm.
The black orb had somehow been brought back to the real world with him. It had not only distorted everyone's perception but had even deceived the instruments.
However, its power was still limited in the real world.
The storage space of the orb was now only about the size of a basketball.
Gu Yi looked into the center of the orb.
A Tarot card lay quietly within it.
The card depicted a young man standing on the edge of a cliff, singing joyfully, with a small dog at his side as if warning the young man of the danger ahead. Written at the bottom of the card in English was "The-Fool."
When Gu Yi first stole this card from Jin Xin, the face of the young man on the card resembled Jin Xin's.
But now...
The face on the card had transformed into his own.