123 Carbon Head Rescue

A dark figure lunged in front of me just before the white tachi blade could make contact.

The Ace of Diamonds in his hand expanded instantly, a black totem blocking the white sword. Hu Qingqing was taken aback, never expecting anyone to be able to parry her attack after she had awakened. The Tiger Soul tachi was an ancient divine weapon; this was the first time Hu Qingqing had suffered a setback since becoming an Awakened.

The dark figure moved again. Black energy surged in his left hand, while the opposite—white energy—emerged from his right. These two forces transformed into energy warhammers, striking at Hu Qingqing from both sides. She retreated rapidly; after their previous clash, she dared not underestimate this young man.

"Carbon?" I squeezed the name out from my throat. Hu Qingqing’s Equilibrium Domain was still binding the four of us.

"Break!" Black energy surged again from Carbon’s left hand, the air rippled, and Hu Qingqing’s domain shattered instantly, restoring our ability to move. Lin Xiayue and Feng Qian were pale, crouching on the ground in lingering fear. Chen Hao, however, was fine—being an old acquaintance of Carbon’s, he quickly stepped to my side.

"Brother Zhenyu," Chen Hao greeted him, but Carbon replied with a look of confusion. "Are you Chen Hao from the Institute of Engineering?"

"Yes," Chen Hao nodded. "Long time no see, don't you recognize me?"

Carbon didn't respond, turning his gaze toward me instead. "Zijian, are you alright?"

"I... I'm fine, but it’s a pity about our ally." I looked at Xue Ning’s corpse, feeling a pang of sorrow, but I quickly recovered. Life and death are fated; grieving was of no use. Besides, Xue Ning was just a girl we had saved in passing; we weren't that close.

"Carbon, are you sure about this?" Although I knew Carbon was the master of the Corpse Lineage and the owner of the Ace of Diamonds, I didn't know how much of a chance he had against the Heart Knight Hu Qingqing, the bane of energy-type users.

"Haha, Zijian, your big brother here is the strongest." I didn't expect Carbon to still be in the mood for jokes.

Carbon’s black energy condensed into a giant hammer again, slamming violently toward Hu Qingqing. Before the previous two energy hammers had even been neutralized, another strike followed. Hu Qingqing scrambled to defend, but Carbon clearly had no intention of giving her time to react. The white energy in his hand silently slid along the floor toward a different direction. Just as Hu Qingqing shattered another energy hammer, Carbon’s attack suddenly stopped.

"Hu Qingqing, if you attack again, I will kill her."

White energy converged into a large hand, having already seized Hu Qing’er, who was hiding nearby. Hu Qing’er resisted with all her might, but her air shield was no match for Carbon’s power.

"Who exactly are you?" Hu Qingqing demanded, her brows seemingly ablaze with fury.

Carbon spoke with a smug expression, letting his playing card hover in the air so everyone could see its suit. Ace of Diamonds: Corpse Demon Sealing.

Hu Qingqing’s face turned ashen. She bit her lip, seemingly deep in thought, and muttered to herself, "The strongest of the Diamonds... how could he suddenly appear here?" Seeing Hu Qing’er held captive in the air, she gritted her teeth and relented. "Release Hu Qing’er, and we will leave."

"And what about you killing Xue Ning!" Feng Qian shouted angrily. Although his ability was inferior to Hu Qingqing’s, he had regained his nerve after Carbon’s arrival.

"What do you want then!" Hu Qingqing glared at Feng Qian, the pressure of an Awakened crashing down upon him. Feng Qian stumbled and was forced to his knees, but fortunately, Carbon’s white energy arrived in time to neutralize the pressure.

"You!" Hu Qingqing bit her lip. "You are an Awakened too?"

Carbon smiled without answering, but the aura that erupted from him eclipsed Hu Qingqing’s. This immense pressure was far beyond anything she could muster. Her expression grew increasingly grim. "Who are you?"

Carbon replied with a smile, "I am Zhou Zhenyu, the contractor of the Ace of Diamonds. And also the strongest of the Diamonds."

"You suit-knights are strong, yes, but that’s only compared to ordinary cards. Against us, the Aces of the strongest suits, you are no match at all."

Though Hu Qingqing wanted to retort, she held her tongue.

"Hu Qingqing, a life for a life!" Lin Xiayue shouted. "Leave Hu Qing’er behind!"

A trace of a smile appeared on the corner of Hu Qingqing’s mouth. Feigning sorrow, she dropped Hu Qing’er and fled the scene at high speed. Watching her retreat, I finally let out a long sigh. Hu Qing’er’s bindings were released, and Lin Xiayue rushed to her side, only to find that she had fainted.

The final piece of the ancient mirror had still been taken by Hu Qingqing. Becoming an Awakened was now even more difficult, and I wasn't sure if making an enemy of the suit-knights was the right choice.

Carbon suddenly threw an arm around my neck and said, "Don't worry, you’ve got me, brother!"

His words felt like a warm current in my heart. It had been a long time since Carbon had been this close to me. I had once thought he had become a cold, ruthless person, and I never expected him to recover. Yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that he was only now his true self, and that the version of him I knew before had been somehow unreal.

We brought everyone back to the Lin family estate, where everyone needed a good night’s rest.

I had intended to have a good talk with Carbon, but considering he had rushed back and was likely exhausted, I let him rest. There were only three days left until the start of the second phase of the North City Trials.

Awakened began to appear one after another. Li Xinxin, the Queen of Spades, was spotted near the old D University campus; Han Xue, contractor of the Spades 3 "Word Spirit," appeared at the Ghost Village from the previous trial; Su Mu, the Spades 4 "Life" contractor, appeared at the ruins where Xue Ning and Sun Xiaoxiao had participated; and Midnight, the Ace of Spades "Power" contractor, appeared at the underground hall we had just left.

Excluding the trial grounds we had already visited, five special locations in North City had been marked: D University in the north, the North City Cemetery in the east, North City Park in the center, the Nameless Mountain in the south, and Nameless Lake in the west. These five locations formed a strange pentagram pattern—did this have some special significance?

Without Lin Wan, the role of intelligence lead in our alliance fell to our leader, Lin Xiayue; she was the one who discovered the connection between these locations.

After Carbon woke up, he told me a lot. He said he had stayed in the ancient city of Fenghuang for a long time and that this was his first time back. When he finished that sentence, I felt a chill run down my spine. Was the Carbon who had been by my side all this time a fake?

"Carbon, are you still able to use the 'White Bone' ability?"

Carbon shook his head in confusion. "Isn't that the ability of the 7 of Diamonds? How would I be able to use that?"

I quickly changed the subject, listening to him recount trivial matters from his time in Fenghuang, but my heart was no longer in it. A massive conspiracy seemed to be looming before me.

On the penultimate day, Carbon told me he was leaving, saying he wasn't really familiar with the others. On that same day, all the Awakened appeared. Every remaining contractor had surfaced.

The interface on my phone updated, showing a map of North City with the location of every suit card marked. Of the fifty-four contractors, all those who hadn't died were now displayed on the map. Yet, strangely, there were three extra markers. Although the map indicated the suits, it didn't show the specific numerical values. Who were these three extra contractors?

The five of us discussed a strategy: no matter what the trial involved, our priority was to find our allies before attempting to complete any tasks. Han Xue, Li Ergou, and Midnight were all powerful combatants. Su Mu and Zhou Tongtong were also potential allies.

On the final day, information led us to the Huaxing Hotel in North City. When we arrived, we witnessed an incredible sight: rows of glass pillars stood in the hotel lobby. Each pillar displayed a specific suit, and sealed inside were the contractors who had already become Awakened.