Card Chapter 3: Demon Nest Riot! (Patreon)

The shrill, urgent alarm pierced Russel’s nerves.

He strode to the window; everywhere he could see was already smothered in a thick fog.

Terrifying howls echoed continuously from within the haze.

On the television, the alarm broadcast looped again and again.

In the apartment building where Russel lived, frantic footsteps rang out.

When he opened the door, he saw all the residents hurrying downstairs.

The auntie from the opposite flat spotted him and waved anxiously. “Xiao Luo, hurry—let’s go!”

She seized his arm and pulled him into the stream of people.

Amid the crowd, Russel noted how, despite their fear, everyone was evacuating in an orderly fashion. He sighed inwardly—people in this world had long since grown accustomed to rifts from secret realms invading reality.

At the gate of the housing complex, a loudspeaker was blasting a recorded message on a loop:

“A Card Crafter is on the way to rescue you. Residents, please remain calm and wait patiently.”

“A Card Crafter is on the way to rescue you. Residents, please remain calm and wait patiently.”

Thick black fog had already enveloped the surroundings.

No one from Happy Homeland Community dared move recklessly—no one knew when a monster might lunge out of the mist.

Creatures from a secret realm could generally be slain only by cards created by Card Crafters.

That was why, at the very start of these incursions, the world had been powerless to fight back.

Yet the vast majority of ordinary people could craft only Black‑Iron‑rank white cards—things like a clucking chicken or other low‑grade beasts.

Restlessness began to ripple through the crowd. Shanghai was simply too large, and even the Association’s Card Crafters were stretched thin whenever a rift erupted.

This time, the invasion came from “Demon Nest,” the largest secret realm near the city.

Suddenly, people on the outer edge screamed.

“Monsters! They’re from Demon Nest!”

Amid the shrieks, pairs of scarlet eyes materialized in the fog.

A young man at the perimeter gritted his teeth. “Paw‑Patrol, go!”

Black‑Iron‑rank white creature card: Paw‑Patrol—summons one randomly selected large dog.

A German shepherd appeared this time.

Pointing into the fog, the young man commanded, “Paw‑Patrol, attack!”

The shepherd bolted forward, barking ferociously—“Woof! Woof! Awoo…”—but its snarls soon dwindled to a whimper and fell silent.

The young man’s face turned ashen.

Around him, people’s composure began to crack.

“Mama, I want my mama!”

“The Card Crafters must be off protecting rich people—why else aren’t they here yet?”

“I don’t want to die…”

While panicked cries rose and fell, the monsters emerged from the fog at last—seven ghouls, the lowest‑tier creatures from Demon Nest.

Three of them still had fresh blood spattering their jaws; razor teeth glistened with scraps of flesh.

Yet at the sight of mere ghouls, Russel actually relaxed.

From what he remembered, any Black‑Iron Card Crafter could handle ghouls. What frightened him were the indescribable horrors recorded in his memory—like Demon Nest’s infamous “Flesh‑and‑Blood Sovereign.”

He sighed. The principles instilled in his previous life would not allow him to stand by and watch a tragedy unfold.

Shaking off his distraction, Russel stepped forward to eliminate the ghouls—only to find the auntie gripping his left arm. “Xiao Luo, don’t you be reckless.”

Gently pulling free, he smiled at her. “Aunt Xu, I’m a Card Crafter now.”

Aunt Xu froze. A Card Crafter? She had known the young man next door dreamed of that path, but she hadn’t heard he’d succeeded.

Under her doubtful gaze, Russel squeezed past the residents to the front.

All eyes turned toward him.

“Who’s that kid?”

“No idea…”

“Drag him back—he’s too young to throw his life away!”

By now, the ghouls were only a dozen paces from the crowd.

Russel could see their foul drool dripping onto the ground.

He brushed the card in his mind, and Yoriichi Tsugikuni appeared before him.

The residents fell instantly silent—then burst into chatter.

“Is that a Card Crafter?”

“A Card Crafter! We’re saved!”

“But he’s so young… Can he really do it?”

Tuning out the noise, Russel whispered, “I’m counting on you, Yoriichi.”

Yoriichi nodded lightly and drew his katana.

With a soft exhale, the blade glowed crimson.

In the next heartbeat he vanished from sight.

When he reappeared, he stood amid the ghouls—one had already been decapitated.

Perhaps provoked by their comrade’s death, the remaining six leapt simultaneously, pouncing from all directions.

Yoriichi inhaled, knees bending slightly.

A blinding arc of fiery red steel flashed before the residents’ eyes—

—and in an instant, the six ghouls were cut clean in half.

Gasps erupted from the crowd.

Russel drew a sharp breath. He had known a purple‑quality card would be strong, but not this strong.

According to official data, a Black‑Iron Card Crafter wielding blue‑quality cards could at most fight five ghouls at once—Yoriichi had felled seven in a single breath and hadn’t even warmed up.

Shaking his head to clear it, Russel stepped forward, spiritual energy winding around the corpses.

With a tug, seven faintly glowing material cards formed in his hand:

Summon‑type material: [Ghoul] (Green) × 7

Marveling at the profit, Russel muttered that Card‑Crafting really was lucrative. A single Black‑Iron green material averaged over twenty thousand yuan—he’d just earned 140k in one go.

While he was inwardly celebrating the trade, Yoriichi silently positioned himself in front of Russel, blade raised.

A massive silhouette was taking shape in the fog.

Russel’s brow furrowed—whatever it was, he wasn’t sure Yoriichi could handle it.

Just as dread tightened his chest, a man’s voice drifted from the mist. “Sorry, sorry—I ran into a Gluttonous Behemoth on the way. Am I too late?”

The looming figure resolved into a colossal silver wolf, two stories tall.

Its icy eyes locked onto Russel.

“Hey, so you’re the one who handled those ghouls? Not bad, kid.”

The voice’s owner suddenly appeared beside Russel, making him jump.

He turned to see a young man in a floral shirt, beach shorts, and flip‑flops.

The newcomer waved at the giant wolf. “All right, Howling Moon, don’t scare the fellow.”

Obediently, the wolf lowered its head and rumbled contentedly under the man’s hand.

“Name’s Xiao Yifei, third‑year, Card‑Crafting Department, Shanghai University.”