"Can I borrow your phone for a second?"
The city buzzed with traffic, neon lights flickering against the night sky.
A woman in a striking red dress leaned against the riverside railing, idly scrolling through videos when a crisp, youthful voice interrupted her.
"Sorry, this’ll just take a moment."
A young man named Zhou Ke appeared beside her, his expression disarmingly innocent.
The woman arched a brow, wary, but when Zhou Ke held out his hand, she hesitated before handing over her phone.
Zhou Ke took it, tapped the screen a few times, and pulled up an image—
A single coin.
The woman frowned, confused.
"Actually, I’m a street magician. Practicing a trick."
"In a second, I’ll pull this coin right out of your phone."
Her skepticism melted into curiosity.
"Alright then, little magician. Show me."
Zhou Ke’s fingers glided over the screen, and a metallic glint flashed.
The next instant, a silver one-yuan coin rested in his left palm, catching the light.
The woman’s eyes widened, a gasp escaping her lips.
Two seconds later—
Clap clap clap!!!
"That was amazing!" she cheered, applauding.
Nearby, passersby turned at the commotion, drifting closer.
Zhou Ke bowed gracefully. "Thank you for the praise."
As he moved to return the phone, a cold gust swept by.
"Achoo!"
His hand jerked slightly.
The phone slipped—
And plummeted in a perfect arc toward the river.
Splash!!!
Ripples spread across the water’s surface.
The woman’s outstretched arm froze mid-air.
Zhou Ke offered an awkward smile and pressed the coin into her palm.
She stared blankly at the single yuan.
"...Where’s my phone?"
"It turned into this coin."
Zhou Ke blinked, radiating innocence.
"You think one yuan can buy my phone?!"
"Uh… how about I cover the rest with my magic performance fee?"
Her face darkened, eyes locked on him.
Zhou Ke sensed the danger and edged backward.
Their standoff drew more onlookers, murmurs rising.
"Can you believe this?! He threw my phone in the river and tried to run!"
Her voice sharpened, the crowd thickening, necks craning for a better view.
Zhou Ke hid a smirk.
Perfect.
With a calm smile, he said, "Apologies for the scare, ma’am."
"As a magician, everything is part of the act."
"A trick never fails—you just fell for the illusion."
"Now, check your bag."
Skeptical, she unzipped her LV purse—and stiffened.
"Huh?"
Inside lay a pink phone.
She pulled it out, inspecting it.
"My phone?!"
She held it aloft.
The crowd erupted in gasps.
A child’s ice cream dripped onto his father’s shoe, forgotten.
Two seconds later—
Clap clap clap clap!!!
Thunderous applause erupted.
"Sorry for doubting you, kid!"
……
In the next few minutes, Zhou Ke performed trick after trick.
Coins vanished, roses bloomed from his palm, flames sparked from thin air—
The crowd swelled, excitement crackling.
By now, the audience was electric.
"Alright, sister. This next one’s the grand finale!"
Zhou Ke fanned out a deck of cards.
"Pick one, any one."
The woman in red tapped a card and drew it.
Seven of Clubs.
A trace of her perfume clung to it.
Zhou Ke slid it back into the deck and shuffled.
"Quick quiz—how many suits are in a deck?"
She smirked. "Easy. Spades ♠, Hearts ♥, Clubs ♣, Diamonds ♦. Four."
"And how many ranks per suit?"
"Thirteen. Ace to King."
"Impressive! Last one: how many cards in a full deck?"
"Fifty-four. Fifty-two for ranks and suits, plus the Jokers."
The crowd chorused: "One in fifty-four!"
Zhou Ke spread the deck face-down, scanning.
"Not this one… not this one either…"
All eyes tracked his hands, waiting for the Seven of Clubs to reappear.
Got it!
He plucked a card and raised it high.
"This is the one!"
The woman braced for awe.
The crowd lifted their arms, ready to cheer—
Then froze.
Not the Seven of Clubs.
Silence.
"Mommy, he messed up!" a little girl giggled, tugging her mother’s sleeve.
Zhou Ke turned the card around.
Why so serious?
The card’s face smirked back—
The Joker.
"Hey, you were close—" the woman started, but Zhou Ke flung the card skyward.
Moonlight glinted off its surface as it spun, slicing through the night.
"Remember what I said—"
Zhou Ke grinned, voice booming:
"A trick never fails!"
"You just fell for the illusion!"
The card whirled, casting fractured reflections from a distant skyscraper’s lights—
Then—
BANG!!!
Like a switch flipped, every light on the commercial street went dark.
"What’s happening?!" Voices murmured in the blackness.
"Look! The tower!" someone shrieked.
Lights blazed to life across the skyscraper’s windows, climbing floor by floor.
Dots of white raced upward, arranging themselves—
Until, high above, a colossal image formed:
The Seven of Clubs, etched across the skyline.
The river mirrored it, doubling the illusion, as if the city had tumbled into a deck of cards.
"WOOOOOW!!!"
The crowd roared.
Hands clapped, cheers shaking the night.
Zhou Ke slipped away unnoticed.
Softly, he whispered:
"Magic… curtain call."
The ovation echoed through the streets, endless.
……
After distancing himself from the crowd, Zhou Ke stretched lazily:
"Ah, today's magic show was another success... Huh? Who are you?"
Suddenly, two men who appeared to be police officers blocked his path and flashed their badges:
"We're from the Supernatural Ability Regulatory Department of Dragon Country."
"Sorry, but we've detected unauthorized use of [supernatural abilities]. You’ll need to come with us."
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
saw a female celebrity tied up and stuffed in the trunk! Little did he know, countless cameras were aimed at him at this moment - this was a new type of reality show. The first randomly selected passerby was caught in less than an hour. But when Xu Moru was selected, things started to take an unexpected turn. "Damn, this isn't how the script goes. This Xu Moru is too bold, he's not following the rules at all." "Crap, is this guy taking it seriously?" "The female celebrity has been scared to tears!"
