Cheers echoed in her ears, but Su Liqian wasn’t in the mood to enjoy them today. That man seemed to have noticed the match was over and left his seat. 

As soon as Su Liqian stepped out of the competition venue, she saw Gu Nianye standing not far away. 

Beside him was a tall, lean guy who looked like he might be part of that same Alliance’s Special Investigation Unit. 

Su Liqian walked over and greeted them. 

“This is Chen Si. He’s also part of the Special Investigation Unit,” Gu Nianye introduced briefly. 

Chen Si gave her a friendly smile and nodded. He seemed a bit more approachable than Gu Nianye. 

“Hi,” she said. 

“Hello.” 

“Don’t worry, we’re just doing a routine investigation,” Chen Si reassured her. 

The two men led Su Liqian through the city center of the star district and stopped in a quiet corner. 

“Here?” Su Liqian glanced around at the steady stream of people passing by and raised an eyebrow. 

Shouldn’t these kinds of conversations happen somewhere a little more… private? 

“Yeah, right here,” Chen Si confirmed with a smile. “Sometimes the safest place is right out in the open.” 

“Okay then, we just need to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?” 

Su Liqian nodded. 

“When did you first come into contact with the spiritual strength drug? And how did you find out about it?” 

Su Liqian tilted her head, thinking back. 

“Hmm… probably a little over two months ago, right after I graduated from middle school. I just happened to overhear someone talking about it… and then, by chance, I found a bottle.” 

Chen Si frowned. 

Really? Just like that? Overheard it, then stumbled upon a bottle? 

Even Su Liqian found her own story hard to believe. 

But it was the truth, and she didn’t have any better explanation. 

Thankfully, Chen Si didn’t press further. “Did you take it after you found it?” 

“Yeah, I did.” 

“How did it feel afterward? Did anything change?” 

“Umm… I guess my spiritual strength felt a bit more restless than usual.” 

She didn’t mention the full-blown outburst—no need to drop that bomb right away. 

“Hmm…” A holographic screen projected from Chen Si’s wrist. He nodded as he took notes on it with his other hand. 

“Anything else? Did your spiritual strength continue to change?” 

“Well…” Su Liqian pretended to think again. “It slowly went back to normal.” 

Chen Si glanced up at her, then exchanged a look with Gu Nianye. 

“They’re watching you now. We’re the only ones who can help,” Gu Nianye finally spoke, his sharp gaze seemingly cutting right through her. 

“They?” Su Liqian’s heart skipped a beat. Her mind flashed back to those mysterious people in black. Just thinking about it made her uneasy again. 

“The organization behind the development and distribution of spiritual strength drugs,” Chen Si explained. 

“Why are they after me?” 

Su Liqian had her suspicions, but still asked cautiously.  

“That’s something only you can answer.” 

“…” 

After a few seconds of silence, Su Liqian suddenly had a realization and voiced her guess, “Is it because my spiritual strength has increased?” 

“Your spiritual strength rank went up?” Chen Si’s voice rose sharply, and his expression turned serious. Gu Nianye, however, looked unsurprised, as if he had already anticipated this. 

“Yeah.” 

“No wonder…” Chen Si muttered. “Looks like they already know.” 

“So, if they’re watching me… am I in danger?” Su Liqian asked, her voice small and worried. 

“Most likely.” 

Chen Si didn’t sugarcoat it. His tone was serious as he finally put away the holographic screen. 

“Then what should I do?” 

She looked genuinely scared, and that only made people want to protect her more.

“Well…” Chen Si glanced at Gu Nianye. When he didn’t speak, Chen Si continued, “Don’t worry too much. It’s our duty to protect citizens. We’ll assign someone to keep an eye on you.” 

“Really?” Su Liqian let out a fake sigh of relief. 

“Yeah. I’ll be staying with you for the next few days,” Gu Nianye added suddenly. 

“You?” Su Liqian looked him up and down. 

This Captain Gu didn’t seem like someone who would just take on bodyguard duty for anyone. Wasn’t that a bit of a waste of talent? 

Unless… She was more valuable to them than she thought? 

She kept those thoughts to herself. 

“Yeah.” 

“With our captain around, you really don’t need to worry. Just focus on the match. Good luck!” 

Chen Si seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and even gave Su Liqian a bit of encouragement before leaving. 

After all the questions, only Gu Nianye and Su Liqian were left. 

“…Are you planning to follow me the whole time?” 

Gu Nianye glanced at Su Liqian. 

“‘Secret God’ members have been quite active lately. I’ll walk you home.” 

“Secret God”? So that’s the name of that organization? 

Su Liqian quietly took note of the name and nodded. 

“Thanks, Captain Gu.” 

“Mhm.” 

The man didn’t say another word the whole way. He just followed behind her, not too close, not too far. It wasn’t until she got to her apartment building and turned around that she realized Gu Nianye had disappeared at some point. 

Being constantly watched wasn’t exactly pleasant—but considering she didn’t have much ability to protect herself yet, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing either. 

At least she didn’t have to worry about suddenly dying without a trace in this unfamiliar world. 

Even though Gu Nianye was cold and quiet, he seemed pretty strong. 

Maybe he was sticking around because he thought she had some clue about the “Secret God.” In a way, that made them kind of… reluctant partners. 

Sitting at her desk in the bedroom, Su Liqian pulled the card out of her pocket. She opened up the Star Net and started searching for videos of Yan Shuiyue, comparing them over and over. 

No matter how many times she looked, the girl on the card looked almost exactly like the girl in the videos. Honestly, it might even be the same person. 

But how could a card master be inside a card? 

Su Liqian didn’t dare jump to conclusions. She searched the Star Net for answers with terms like “Can people be sealed inside cards?”, “Do cards exist that perfectly match real people?”, “Are there summon cards that can call real individuals?”, and “Where is Yan Shuiyue now?” 

Unfortunately, after searching for most of the day, she still didn’t find anything useful. 

There were too many mysteries in all of this. Su Liqian rubbed the card in her hands, trying to inject spiritual strength into it. But there was no response. It was like a bottomless pit, swallowing up her spiritual strength without a trace. 

She didn’t try again and just kept the card close for safekeeping. She’d have to investigate its secrets later. 

After all that, she logged into the forum and browsed through recent posts about the matches. 

[So what happened yesterday was real? Anyone there live?] 

The thread title immediately caught her eye. 

1L: It’s real, don’t ask.

2L: Wait, what happened? Is my internet slow or something?

3L: Is it THAT thing?! I heard about it too! Creepy stuff.

4L: What’s with the cryptic hints in this thread??

5L: I was there. Nearly scared me to death.

6L: Heard it’s connected to that recent rampage incident. Pretty terrifying. 

7L: Can’t say too much. Just a word of advice: free lunch doesn’t exist. Don’t go chasing shady “opportunities.”

8L: I’m so lost reading this thread. What are you guys even talking about?

9L: Surprised this post is still up. I bet it gets deleted soon. 

As expected, anything related to yesterday’s explosion disappeared pretty quickly. Su Liqian had no choice but to back out and browse other posts. 

[Which of this year’s dark horse candidates from the Sixth Star District actually has a shot at advancing?] 

1L: As the title says. Just like previous years, we’ve seen some surprise contestants shine, but only a rare few make it through the finals. Who do you think has real potential?

2L: Honestly, I think the overall quality of our district’s contestants is better this year. Maybe we can finally give the Fifth Star District a run for their money.

3L: Let’s be real. Except for a few standouts, most of them are pretty mid. Our district always ranks lowest in the Zhouyi Star Realm. This year won’t be much different.

4L: Off-topic! There are a few good ones this year. Just look at Ji Yanxi. With him, our district’s results will definitely improve.

5L: No doubt Ji Yanxi will advance.

6L: There’s also a contestant named Su Liqian. She seems pretty solid too—pretty popular in our district right now.

7L: Totally. Su Liqian’s performance is great, but honestly, her Dream Caster persona is just so cool. I love her cards. Haven’t missed a single one of her matches. She’s got tons of cards and keeps improving in battle—fastest growth I’ve ever seen.

8L: Su Liqian’s all about surprise tactics, but those tricks won’t work on real powerhouses like Ji Yanxi.

9L: Brother, name one contestant this year who can actually beat Ji Yanxi? That’s dimensional crushing. Aside from her one loss to Ji Yanxi, Su Liqian’s been undefeated. That’s not good enough for you? How strong are you then?

10L: Ye Zilan from Lanxi and Qing Li, the ace of Chenya, are also pretty impressive.

11L: I just want to see God Su create an Illusion World simulation sphere in my lifetime! I’m obsessed with her cards!

12L: Aside from Ji Yanxi, it has to be Su Liqian. She’s the only Dream Caster to come out of the entire Zhouyi Star Realm this year. Card Masters are everywhere, but Dream Casters are one in a million. That alone gives her the edge. 

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