Card Room (Rebirth)

Back in the main city, it was evening. Xiao Lou took his teammates to the kitchen, had a good dinner and let everyone go to sleep to rest.

They could finally sleep peacefully in their own beds. There was no need to sleep in a tent on the snow anymore. The moment their bodies came into contact with the soft bed, everyone slept very sweetly.

Ye Qi had a nightmare. The secret room might’ve passed but it was difficult to calm his mood. He remembered how Chief Shao didn’t hesitate to rush over to hug him when he was about to be scratched by the bug in order to protect him. In his dream, Chief Shao became the size of a thumb. He held the little Shao Qingge in his hand and his heart ached.

Then, Shao Qingge turned into the bug king, covered in blood and with red eyes…

Ye Qi woke up abruptly. He rubbed his eyes and went towards the bathroom. There he happened to meet Shao Qingge who had just finished washing. The man who had just woken up wore messy pyjamas with an air of cat-like laziness. His hair was scattered. Compared to his usual neat ponytail, he looked a bit more laid-back, relaxed and sexy.

Seeing Ye Qi walking in a daze, Shao Qingge couldn’t help rubbing the young man’s messy hair with a chuckle. “How did you sleep? Your hair is like a bird’s nest.”

Ye Qi looked at himself in the glass. His hair really did look like a bird’s nest. He blushed and hurriedly picked up the comb to tidy his hair. Shao Qingge squinted as he watched. The longer he looked, the cuter he found this little guy.

Ye Qi didn’t know Chief Shao’s thoughts. Instead, he asked curiously, “The body data is cleared after leaving an A-grade secret room – you are the same as before so there are no bugs in your body, right? Your eyes aren’t red anymore.”

“Yes, I’m back to normal. However, I have the bug king card in hand. I can change into it in the secret room whenever I want.”

Ye Qi sighed with relief. “It’s fine if there are no after-effects.”

At this moment, Xiao Lou came over and spoke to Shao Qingge, “Chief Shao, go with us to a place after lunch. Someone would like to see you.”

Shao Qingge didn’t ask too many questions and simply agreed.

Ye Qi asked, “Who is so mysterious?”

Xiao Lou saw Ye Qi’s curious eyes and patted him on the shoulder. “It is Mr Tang who previously gave me the drone card. It isn’t convenient for him to meet everyone for the time being. I am taking Chief Shao because his bug king card is a great help to Mr Tang. Don’t worry. I will go with Group Leader Yu and come back soon.”

Ye Qi nodded. “Okay, be careful on the road. Contact us at any time if there is something.”

After lunch, Yu Hanjiang drove Xiao Lou and Shao Qingge to Tang Ci’s underground factory.

Prior to going to meet with Tang Ci, Yu Hanjiang had communicated with Brother Jiu through the Absolute Domain card. Before going to bed last night, Yu Hanjiang activated the card and entered the domain to meet with his brother. Lu Jiuchuan had asked Yu Hanjiang why he was looking for him. Yu Hanjiang explained the cause and effect and told his brother that Shao Qingge’s reward card had the ability to restore severed limbs.

The always calm Lu Jiuchuan’s eyes widened and he asked in a trembling voice, “Restore… limbs?”

Yu Hanjiang nodded. “Yes, according to the description of the card, Mr Tang’s legs should be curable.”

Lu Jiuchuan’s hands trembled with excitement. He clenched his fists and spoke in a deep voice, “Great… Xiao Tang will be very happy. I will arrange for you to find him tomorrow.”

On the way, Yu Hanjiang explained to Shao Qingge that Lu Jiuchuan had gone to the Hunter’s League to do undercover work. He also told Shao Qingge that Tang Ci’s legs became disabled in the S-grade secret room and it required the use of the card to help him help. Tang Ci would be everyone’s strong teammate in the future. Being able to stand up and walk was naturally more convenient than a wheelchair.

Shao Qingge heard this and his eyes narrowed slightly. “Brother Jiu is Group Leader Yu’s cousin? Since you trust him then I am willing to trust him. My bug king card can be refreshed by changing secret rooms. Once the time comes, I can cure Mr Tang in J of Spades or J of Clubs.”

Xiao Lou told him, “Brother Jiu doesn’t have it easy. He is now lurking in the Hunter’s League as an undercover agent. Once discovered, he is likely to be killed. His identity is too dangerous and we don’t dare tell too many people. It isn’t too late to tell everyone after meeting him in J of Clubs.

Shao Qingge nodded. “I understand. I won’t say anything when we get back.”

The three of them came to the underground factory where Lu Jiuchuan and Tang Ci had long been waiting.

Perhaps it was due to the long-term disability and being stuck in a wheelchair but Tang Ci was sickly pale. His features were handsome and he looked like a fragile beauty. However, his eyes were so calm and sharp that people didn’t dare to take him lightly.

He glanced at Shao Qingge. “You are Chief Shao?”

Shao Qingge greeted them politely, “Hello Mr Tang, Brother Jiu.”

The man standing next to Tang Ci stood tall and upright. He wore a military uniform and looked extremely handsome. He was similar to Yu Hanjiang by 30% but compared to Yu Hanjiang’s seriousness, he had a more open smile. This was obviously the Brother Jiu that Group Leader Yu mentioned.

Lu Jiuchuan laughed playfully, “I heard that Chief Shao became the bug king in the last secret room?”

Shao Qingge touched his nose and spoke modestly. “It was just a fluke that I wasn’t swallowed by the bug. Thanks to Group Leader Yu’s help, I was able to kill the queen.”

Lu Jiuchuan commended him. “Your experience is rich enough.”

He looked at Tang Ci. “Xiao Tang, we experienced an avalanche in 8 of Spades, right? It seems that every secret room a team enters is truly random.”

Tang Ci nodded. “Yes, this has been verified. There are too many A-grade secret rooms to make a strategy guide. Every team will encounter something different and many A-grade secret rooms are different and a one-off. I have never heard of a bug secret room before.”

Yu Hanjiang told Lu Jiuchuan, “Brother, let Mr Tang take a look at Chief Shao’s card.”

Shao Qingge cooperated and handed the card to Tang Ci.

Tang Ci took a look at it and waves surged in his calm eyes. His fingers trembled slightly and he couldn’t speak for a long time. The next moment, Lu Jiuchuan took the card from his hand and examined it. Then Lu Jiuchuan exclaimed excitedly, “Yes, this can repair severed limbs. Your legs can be healed.”

Tang Ci didn’t speak. He just bit his lip in worry.

Lu Jiuchuan turned back to Yu Hanjiang’s group of three. “Xiao Tang’s legs were injured in the J of Clubs secret room. It has been more than half a year. He has been in a wheelchair the whole time and it is very inconvenient to move…”

There was no problem operating the wheelchair. The smart wheelchair could automatically adjust the direction and path. However, it was very difficult every time he had to go to the bathroom or to bed. Tang Ci was a very proud person and since his legs had become disabled, he had lost weight.

His self-esteem meant he was unwilling to talk about his disability. Now Xiao Lou had given him the hope of recovery.

Tang Ci took a deep breath and lifted the blanket covering his legs. As the blanket had been covering his lower body, Xiao Lou and the others hadn’t known the condition of Tang Ci’s legs. At this time, the three of them glanced down and were shocked. They saw that his legs had been cut off by a sharp weapon at the knees! The lower legs and feet were gone and only a cold metal prosthesis was attached.

Tang Ci lowered his head in embarrassment. His eyelashes trembled violently and he clenched his fists as he slowly said, “My legs were cut off by the hunters. I was besieged by them in the Nightmare Room. After cutting off my legs, I crawled out with great difficulty.”

Xiao Lou’s group of three, “……”

It was hard to imagine how painful it would be for a person to have their legs cut off. In addition, how much perseverance was needed to endure such pain and crawl arduously out of the Nightmare Room?

Xiao Lou was in awe of the thin, pale man in front of him. This person had crawled out of the Nightmare room after having his legs cut off and had proceeded to set up an Intelligence Bureau to collect information about the challengers. He had to admire the strength of this man.

Lu Jiuchuan morosefully covered Tang Ci up with a blanket again and spoke in a low voice, “Since Xiao Tang’s legs were cut off in the Nightmare Room, I thought of various methods with Old Gui and Huaying. We consulted many medical experts for ways to cure him… unexpectedly, you went to the 8 of Spades secret room and met bugs with a regenerative ability as well as drew a related card. It is such a fortunate coincidence!”

He was shaking with excitement. “Xiao Tang finally no longer needs to use a wheelchair!”

There was a layer of water forming in Tang Ci’s eyes. He had already been discouraged and given up. He hadn’t expected things to turn around like this.

Xiao Lou felt distressed for him and said, “Don’t worry Mr Tang. Chief Shao’s card doesn’t only repair several limbs. The neurotoxin released by the bug is also similar to an anesthetic so there will be no pain during the process of .”

Yu Hanjiang whispered, “It is a pity that this card can only be used in the Spades and Clubs secret rooms. It can’t be used in the main city. We will have to wait to meet in the S-grade secret rooms. Mr Tang will have to wait a while until we reach J of Clubs.”

Tang Ci nodded lightly. “I had lost all hope. In the past six months, I had almost gotten used to it… it doesn’t matter how long I wait.” He looked at the three of them and spoke softly, “Thank you.”

Shao Qingge smiled in reply. “No, everyone is a teammate after all. We should help each other.”

Xiao Lou added, “Yes, Mr Tang gave us the drone card and it helped us a lot this time.”

Lu Jiuchuan came over and patted Yu Hanjiang on the shoulder. “Good! I won’t thank you! After we pass the instance together, I will invite you to eat barbecue once back in reality!”

Yu Hanjiang simply nodded. “Brother, don’t worry. We will definitely clear the A-grade secret rooms as soon as possible!”

Proofreader: Fictional Reality