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Chapter 67: Playing Both Sides
🕑 Added 2025-07-07 15:01:30 +0000 UTCSure enough, when Russell stepped out of the secret realm's shimmering portal, the base commander was already waiting for him, flanked by several staff members.
“Student Russell, correct?” the commander said, his eyes looking Russell up and down with a polite, practiced smile. “Did you happen to obtain a book-like item while you were inside the realm?”
So they knew, Russell thought with an internal sigh. A wave of relief washed over him, gratitude for his own foresight. He was glad he had made preparations in advance and backed up the contents of the book. Nodding slightly, he reached into his coat, took out the diary, and handed it to the commander without a word.
Seeing that Russell was so sensible and cooperative, the commander naturally saw no reason to make things difficult. He took the book and offered a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Russell, these are just the Association's standard procedures."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "But since we have taken something from you, the Association will not treat you unfairly."
"One million credits. I'll have the funds transferred to your card by this evening."
Russell was slightly stunned. He had expected a reward of materials or something similar, not a direct cash payment. But he certainly wasn't going to object. Who wouldn't want free money? "Thank you, sir," he said.
Just as he was preparing to leave the Sword Lake base, the commander reached out a hand to stop him, an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry, Russell, but we still need to check your phone as part of the procedure."
"As you should," Russell replied calmly, handing his cell phone over without protest. Inwardly, he thought, Luckily, I used the Mark 3 to back up the diary instead of taking photos with my phone.
He watched as one of the staff members connected his phone to a strange machine he had never seen before. A moment later, a screen next to the machine began listing the data on his phone. Seeing this, his thoughts weren't on the diary, but on the mission Marcus had given him before. He felt a fresh wave of gratitude that Marcus had been cautious enough to use physical paper for their communications; otherwise, he would have been completely exposed today.
Soon, the inspection was over. A staff member nodded to the commander, indicating that there was no problem. The commander personally handed the phone back to Russell. "Thank you for your cooperation."
It's not formatted. I don't have to reinstall all my software, Russell sighed in relief. He then asked, with as much casual curiosity as he could muster, "Will I be able to know the contents of this book after it's been translated?"
The commander seemed slightly taken aback by the question but soon chalked it up to a student's curiosity. "I'm sorry, Russell," he said, a genuine hint of apology on his face this time. "Even I am not qualified to know the contents of a discovery like this, so…"
Russell understood what he meant. He didn't pester him further, simply saying his goodbyes and heading for home.
Back in his house, he sat on the sofa and looked at the notification on his phone in a daze.
"One million credits were deposited into your account at 12:04 PM on December 18th."
"That was pretty fast," he mused aloud to the empty room.
After a moment's thought, a plan began to form in his mind. He sent a message to the contact named 'Marcus' on his phone: "Uncle Marcus, I'm making dinner tonight. Do you want to come over?"
He was going to hand over the diary information to the Spirit Begging Society. It was a calculated risk. He didn't know if his every move was being monitored by them, or if there was a high-level Society insider in the Association who already knew he had found the book. It was better not to leave it to chance. By proactively giving them the information, he could build trust, prove his value, and maybe even get another reward out of it. It was a dangerous game, playing both sides, but it was the only one he could play.
At that moment, Marcus, who was sitting by his wife's bedside in the hospital, felt his phone vibrate. He read the message and was stunned. Why is Russell asking me over for dinner? But in the next moment, he understood. The boy must have something important to discuss, something that wasn't safe to talk about over the phone.
Putting his phone away, he squeezed his wife's thin hand apologetically. "I'm sorry, Elara. I need to go take care of something for work."
The middle-aged woman, her face pale against the stark white hospital pillow, smiled warmly at him. "Go on, Marcus. Work is important."
Marcus was silent for a moment, then leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead before turning and leaving. Lying on the hospital bed, Elara watched his back, which now looked a little old and stooped. Her smile gradually faded, replaced by a look of deep, profound worry.
At 6:40 PM, there was a knock on Russell's door. He opened it and stepped aside to let Marcus in. "You're pretty fast."
Marcus went straight to the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water, and teased, "Our star student Russell is treating me to a meal. I wouldn't dare to be late."
"Treating you to food?" Russell rolled his eyes. "There's only bread and a bento box I bought from a convenience store. You can eat it if you want."
Seeing his expression, Marcus laughed out loud, but then his face turned serious. "You called me here for something important. So, tell me."
"Come with me." Hearing him get down to business, Russell stopped joking around. He led Marcus to his study and summoned the [Mark 3] armor.
Under Marcus's watchful gaze, Russell first physically unplugged the network cable from his computer. Then, he proceeded to reinstall the entire operating system from scratch. Only when he was satisfied that the machine was completely clean did he have Tinnie, the armor's AI, send the stored information to the computer. He motioned for Marcus to look for himself. "The intel is here. Take a look."
"Making such a big fuss? This must be important," Marcus said, his curiosity piqued. But before checking the computer, he looked at the [Mark 3] armor with undisguised surprise. "Your prop card is quite good. This is the disguise you wore for the mission the other day, right?"
Russell nodded slightly.
"This armor… it looks a bit like the technology used by the Union of States, but it seems even more sophisticated," Marcus exclaimed in amazement. "No wonder Five and the others wanted to recruit you so badly."
At the mention of Five, Russell fell silent for a moment before changing the subject. "You should take a look at the information first."
Seeing that Russell was not in high spirits, Marcus stopped procrastinating and immediately focused on the data displayed on the computer. As he scrolled through the scanned pages of the diary, his expression became more and more serious. After a long while, he turned to look at Russell, his voice solemn. "You haven't shown this to anyone else, have you?" But in the next moment, he dismissed his own question. Russell's extremely cautious behavior had already answered it for him.
Hearing Marcus's question, Russell just nodded slightly. "No. I just got it today in the secret realm. The original book was taken away by the Association."
Marcus heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good."
He looked back at the screen, then at Russell, a new level of respect in his eyes. "I will report this to the Society immediately."
"You will be rewarded handsomely for this."
I. Ranks (Power Tiers)
This is the primary measure of a Cardmaker's or creature's overall power level. It is a linear progression from the most common to the most powerful and legendary.
Iron
The starting rank for all new Cardmakers, typically achieved in high school.
Bronze
The first major advancement, marking a Cardmaker as having true potential.
Silver
The rank of established, professional field Cardmakers within the Association.
Gold
A high rank, usually held by powerful figures and regional leaders within the Association.
Emerald
An advanced rank representing a significant level of power and influence.
Diamond
An exceptionally high rank held by top-tier leaders. Entities at this level can influence entire cities.
Master
A near-legendary rank for the most powerful active Cardmakers, often treated as national-level strategic assets.
Palace
A mythical rank considered the absolute pinnacle of power, seemingly held by only one individual in the entire Federation.
II. Card Quality (Rarity Tiers)
This is a secondary system that determines the potential and power of a specific card within its Rank. A card with a higher quality is significantly stronger than a card of a lower quality at the same rank.
White
The most basic and weakest quality.
Green
A common, standard quality.
Blue
A solid, above-average quality.
Purple
A very high quality, indicating significant talent in the card's creation.
Gold
An exceptionally rare and powerful quality, the mark of a genius Cardmaker.
Red
The highest known quality, representing unprecedented and monstrous talent in card creation.
