Chapter 1

Nanxing City, Card Alliance.

On the vast square, there was a sea of people.

The third-year students from the Mist Class of dozens of middle schools in Nanxing City had all gathered here.

In the area marked with the Spring Middle School emblem, dozens of students in blue and white uniforms stood in neat formation.

Li Yi was one of them.

At this moment, he was staring intently at a peculiar card in his hand, his expression blank.

The card was about thirteen centimeters long and six centimeters wide, with golden patterns on its edges.

The back of the card was red and black, with a delicate six-pointed star emblem in the center.

The front was engraved with a lifelike silver pistol, with a small white gem embedded in the middle of the top edge, and a five-pointed star mark in the upper left corner.

[Desert Eagle]

Type: Weapon

Level: Bronze One Star

Quality: Common (White)

Description: A powerful hunting pistol.

This was a Bronze One Star card, with a common quality.

A Bronze One Star common quality card, abbreviated as One Star White, was the lowest level of combat cards.

Putting the card away, Li Yi took out his phone and opened the Penguin News app.

Soon, many news articles appeared.

[Recently, a new mist has descended on Pingyuan City, and the Card Alliance is planning to organize 50,000 professional card hunters to explore it...]

[Latest news: An unknown monster has emerged from the mist in Jianghe City, threatening the safety of nearby residents. The authorities have dispatched card hunters to hunt it down.]

[Renowned card master Qiu Tianji entered the medium-sized mist world in Heyang City. After 81 days, he successfully solved the mist and won the ultimate reward, obtaining a mysterious card.]

[The Bermuda Triangle forbidden mist area has shown signs of activity, with unknown monsters appearing. The United States has dispatched professional card hunters to investigate.]

...

Closing the Penguin News app, Li Yi opened his phone's browser and began searching for the information he wanted.

Card Alliance... Mist World... Card Hunter...

As he input these key terms, a variety of bizarre content appeared on his phone.

Li Yi frowned as he read through all the content.

After a long time, he sighed softly, "Life is unpredictable."

He had now confirmed one thing.

He had crossed over.

This world was not the one he had previously been in, but a place similar to a parallel world.

In his previous life, he was an ordinary office worker who had argued with his boss over work matters.

Feeling depressed, he went to a bar and drank himself into a stupor. When he woke up, he found himself in a strange place.

After a few days of confusion, he gradually sorted out the memories in his mind.

In this world, his name was also Li Yi, and he was an ordinary third-year student in the Mist Class at Spring Middle School in Nanxing City.

From his memories, he learned that this world looked very similar to the one he had been in before.

However, in some aspects, it was completely different.

For example, cards.

This was a world of cards.

Speaking of cards, one must mention the frequent mysterious mist events that occurred around the world.

Inside the mist were unknown worlds.

Cards came from these mist worlds.

Records of the mist date back to over two thousand years ago.

The large-scale outbreak began about a hundred years ago.

At that time, mysterious mists began to frequently descend around the world, engulfing certain areas and causing people inside to mysteriously disappear.

People at the time only felt fear and uncertainty about the mist.

It wasn't until later that someone emerged from the mist, bringing information about the internal conditions of the mist and the mist cards.

People then learned that the mists around the world contained different worlds.

Various mist cards could be obtained from inside.

These cards had magical powers.

Moreover, those who emerged from the mist world could gain the ability to control cards.

Such people were called card hunters.

From then on, the world gradually entered the era of mist cards.

People constantly traveled between different mist worlds, collecting cards.

Various powerful and diverse mist cards emerged, gradually changing the world.

With the rise of mist cards, the profession of card hunter also began to rise, gradually becoming the mainstream profession in the world.

In China, card knowledge has been incorporated into compulsory education.

Everyone, from the moment they enter school, receives some knowledge about cards.

Even many schools have set up specialized mist classes to train card hunters.

For example, Li Yi himself was a student in the Mist Class at Spring Middle School in Nanxing City.

In a month, he would face the most important moment of his life, the college entrance exam.

If he couldn't get into a mist university, his path as a card hunter would come to an end.

Just as Li Yi was lost in thought, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Li Yi, what are you thinking about, so engrossed?"

The speaker was a slightly overweight student in a school uniform named Chen Hu, who was his desk mate.

Hearing Chen Hu's words, Li Yi gradually came back to his senses. He shook his head and said nothing.

"I bet you're thinking about the practical simulation, right?"

"Don't worry, I've already asked Teacher Ma. Her requirement for us is to do our best, and the rest is up to fate."

Chen Hu said with a smile.

Hearing this, Li Yi suddenly remembered.

He and Chen Hu seemed to always be at the bottom of the class.

In his memory, they always took turns being the last and second-to-last in the class, earning the nickname "Black and White Duo" of the Mist Class.

Chen Hu was darker, and he was lighter, hence the nickname.

It could be said that if there were no unexpected situations this year, they had no hope of getting into a mist university.

Li Yi smiled slightly and nodded, "Erhu, do our best, and leave the rest to fate."

Chen Hu patted Li Yi's shoulder, "That's the spirit. Be more optimistic. Who knows, maybe we'll have a stroke of luck and do well this time."

"Clap, clap, clap..."

At this moment, a clapping sound attracted everyone's attention.

"Students, before the practical simulation begins, there are some things I must emphasize again."

The speaker was a short-haired middle-aged woman.

She was the vice-principal of Spring Middle School and also the head teacher of the Mist Class, Ma Dongmei.

"This practical simulation, like the college entrance exam, will take place in the Mist Crystal World."

"The Mist Crystal World, as you all know, is different from the dangerous natural mist worlds. The danger in the Mist Crystal World is relatively low."

"Even if you die inside, you will only be teleported out, with no risk to your life."

Ma Dongmei's voice was very loud, making sure everyone could hear.

She looked around the formation, satisfied to see all the students listening attentively.

She continued,

"Of course, this doesn't mean you can be careless when entering the Mist Crystal World. Even without the risk of death, you must be extremely cautious and not die so quickly."

At this point, she paused and glanced at Li Yi and Chen Hu.

Clearly, these words were directed at the bottom of the class.

Seeing Ma Dongmei's gaze, Chen Hu beside him slightly shrank his head, not daring to meet her eyes.

Li Yi, however, looked at Ma Dongmei, and information about her began to surface in his mind.

This Teacher Ma was no ordinary person.

Besides being a teacher at Spring Middle School, she was also a powerful professional card hunter.

In the world of card hunters, there were multiple levels: Apprentice, Professional, Master, Grandmaster, and Supreme Grandmaster.

Each level was further divided into three ranks:初级, 中级, and 高级 (初级, Intermediate, and Advanced).

Those who were just entering the world of card hunters, like them, were Apprentice card hunters.

For example, he and Chen Hu were both初级 Apprentice card hunters.

Some of the more powerful students in the class were Advanced Apprentice card hunters.

Li Yi, of course, knew about the Mist Crystal World that Ma Dongmei mentioned.

Mist worlds were divided into two types: natural mist worlds, also known as wild mists, and Mist Crystal Worlds.

Mist Crystal Worlds were special alternate dimensions formed by activating mist crystals.

Unlike natural mist worlds, the danger in Mist Crystal Worlds was relatively low.

Even if you were killed by a monster inside, you wouldn't truly die; you would only be teleported out.

Natural mist worlds, on the other hand, were different. If you were killed inside, it would be a true death.

According to the level of danger, mist worlds were divided into six levels: Ultra-small, Small, Medium, Large, Extra-large, and Super-extra-large.

Each level was further divided into five difficulties: Normal, Hard, King, Nightmare, and Hell.

The Mist Crystal World used for practical simulations was generally at the Ultra-small level.

As for the difficulty, it could range from Normal to King, with Nightmare and Hell levels being less likely to appear.