When he regained his sight, Jiang Ming slowly became aware of his body again.
He had returned to his room.
First, he looked at his palms. Not a speck of dust clung to his slender fingers, and his hands were completely intact. His ankle, which had been sprained during the game, moved freely now.
This confirmed one crucial fact: injuries sustained inside the game didn't carry over into the real world.
But what about everything else that just happened?
With a trace of doubt lingering in his mind, Jiang Ming muttered, "Panel."
To his astonishment, the same panel he had seen inside the game appeared right before his eyes.
The Mountain and Seas still existed within his mind, clear as ever.
That meant the supernatural powers granted in the game had carried over into reality—without any of the risk or damage.
Jiang Ming let out a long breath and began piecing his thoughts together. He took off his down jacket and carefully returned the knife to its place.
Then, he grabbed his phone. His fingers moved fast as he opened the three major forums, hoping to see if others had gone through similar experiences.
Just before diving in, he glanced at the time.
00:01:30
The clock hadn't moved?
Yet in the game, he'd spent several minutes battling that vicious rabbit. Somehow, time had stood still here. That only deepened his curiosity.
He quickly scrolled through the exploding forum headlines:
[I encountered a monster in the dungeon][Quality classification of destiny cards (incomplete)][Let us welcome the superpower era!!][WC, look at my superpowers! ~]
All three major forums—Mouba, Mouhu, and Moubo—were in chaos. He clicked on a few threads that caught his interest.
One post stood out.
["Hello everyone. After waking up, I asked a bunch of friends to collect data. So far, the known card qualities are ranked from lowest to highest as follows: Common, Excellent, Rare, and Epic."]
Jiang Ming frowned slightly.
No Mythic tier?
He took note of the rankings and moved to the next post.
This one had a video.
A man, fully covered with a mask and glasses, stood in front of the camera, visibly excited. "Brothers, superpowers are real!"
Then flames ignited from his palms, flickering as he controlled their shape and size.
The comment section was packed with questions about his destiny card's quality, but unsurprisingly, the original poster deleted the thread soon after.
Show off, then vanish.
Jiang Ming rolled his eyes and quietly tapped "Report" before continuing his browsing.
But the phenomenon was too new. Information was still trickling in, most of it unverified. He would have to wait a while longer for the details to mature.
Just then, a message popped up on his phone:
["Students, please remain at home for now. Class times will be announced later. Also, refrain from using your newly acquired powers for any illegal activities."]
Jiang Ming replied with a simple "Received."
More messages poured into the class group chat.
The class monitor, Lan Fangyu, had even posted a video.
On screen, Lan Fangyu faced the camera. "Classmates, what's the quality of your destiny cards?"
Then he casually lifted a 100-kilogram barbell with one hand.
"My power massively enhances my strength," he said with a smirk. "This superpower is really something..."
Jiang Ming lost interest and shut the video.
Soon after, a known class troublemaker uploaded a clip.
"My destiny card's decent too," the guy said, then caught a fly with a pair of chopsticks—without even looking.
Jiang Ming spent half an hour watching clips like these. They showed all sorts of powers, all derived from people's destiny cards.
But one detail caught his attention.
Everyone only had one ability.
That made his own Mountain and Seas card all the more extraordinary. If its 108 pages each represented a different ability...
Then couldn't he potentially unlock far more than anyone else?
The plan was clear now.
He wasn't just going to be a top student anymore—he was going to become a card master.
With his thoughts sorted, Jiang Ming turned off the phone, flicked off the lights, and lay down.
According to his usual schedule, he should've been asleep by 11 p.m. It was nearly two hours past that now.
He didn't even bother with the dozens of messages tagging him in the group chat.
The next morning, Jiang Ming turned on his phone.
To his surprise, the most active chat wasn't from the class group.
It was a part-time job group he had joined during his previous gigs.
Jiang Ming got up, washed his face, and put a pot of porridge on the stove. While waiting for it to cook, he scrolled up in the group chat to catch up.
["Damn, the families above my unit are going at it!"]
["Holy crap, I just heard an explosion. I'm hiding right now!"]
The group went wild, urging the guy to give more updates.
Finally, about half an hour later, he replied—with a video.
In the video, the poster stood on a green belt, aiming the camera at a tall apartment building.
Flames and thick smoke billowed from a unit on the 17th or 18th floor.
Then, the unbelievable happened.
A person opened the window and jumped out.
The camera followed his fall.
He slammed into the ground with a thunderous impact.
And stood up. Unharmed.
Jiang Ming's eyes narrowed. He zoomed in and replayed the footage several times.
On the moment of impact, the man's entire body had turned white.
"Iron Man?" Jiang Ming whispered.
He listened to the sound of the landing several more times to be sure. There was no question—the man had landed like a wrecking ball and walked away without a scratch.
The video continued.
The cameraman ducked to the side, keeping the lens aimed. The white-skinned "Iron Man" sprinted past him.
The camera panned back to the burning apartment.
To Jiang Ming's surprise, the fire was now out.
At the window stood a figure with long hair, arms raised, pointing at the fleeing Iron Man.
Then, flames burst from her hands and rapidly condensed into a fireball the size of a watermelon.
She hurled it at Iron Man.
The fireball streaked across the air like a missile.
But after flying about ten meters, it simply fizzled out into sparks.
The video cut off.
The group exploded with comments.
["What the hell?! These powers are insane!"]
["Wait, did you guys awaken superpowers too?"]
["Of course! Anyone over 16 should be seeing this by now!"]
["My power's pathetic compared to those two..."]
Jiang Ming skimmed through the chatter until the original poster commented again.
["Damn! The federal agents moved fast. They blocked Iron Man at the exit. I heard gunshots too. No idea what's happening now."]
["Crap, that woman with the flames burned my apartment down!"]
["Holy hell. The police are fighting her now. I just heard more gunshots!"]
["I think she's gone. Ambulance just arrived. They covered her... with a sheet."]
Jiang Ming stopped there.
He quietly served up the porridge and sat down with a bowl of pickles.
It was fascinating, but ultimately not his concern.
He double-checked that all his doors and windows were tightly locked.
One thing was clear: the federal authorities were moving at lightning speed.
In the past, even violent brawls didn't usually involve firearms. But now?
Clearly, the stakes had changed.
Buzz~
His phone vibrated again.
A message from Fan Huai popped up:
["Brother Ming, check out this site right now. It's insane!!!"]