Chapter 5: "The Beginner's Guide"

As time passed, the chubby boy’s shuffling became slower and slower. Sweat beads formed on his forehead, and even his lips began to tremble slightly.

This magic trick has a common nickname—“The Card of Fate.”

The magician lets the audience choose a card, then precisely finds the selected card within a chaotically shuffled deck.

It’s considered an entry-level trick.

However, there are seventeen different ways to perform it. The more basic method relies on a key card technique, subtly controlling the position of a “key card” during the shuffle, then placing the spectator’s chosen card just above or below this key card when it’s returned to the deck.

By locating the key card, the magician can pinpoint the spectator’s card.

A slightly more cunning approach involves tampering with the props: although the backs of the cards look identical, each pattern is actually distinct.

An even more advanced technique uses “psychological manipulation” to guide the spectator to select a predetermined card. It appears as though the choice is free, but through verbal hints and subtle gestures, the chosen card is prearranged.

This method demands exceptional confidence and performance skill from the magician.

He was very familiar with this trick. The year he became an adult, he performed this beginner’s trick for his master.

It was the first time his master failed to see through his magic.

That year, he invented the eighteenth way to perform the “Card of Fate” trick.

Now, the chubby boy before him was using a somewhat crafty method, manipulating the props. But as he shuffled repeatedly, he realized he couldn’t find the “Ace of Hearts” anywhere in the deck.

Sweat dripped increasingly down his forehead.

Finally...

“Can you even do it or not?” Jiang Min, standing nearby, could no longer hold back and interrupted.

“Wait...” The chubby boy, breathing heavily, forced himself to pull a card from the deck, hesitantly asking, “Is it this one?”

It was the Ace of Spades.

“No.”

“How about this one?” The boy pulled out the Ace of Clubs.

“No either.”

Jiang Min stared oddly at the chubby boy. “It’s the Ace of Hearts. Your magic trick is a bit sloppy…”

“I know it’s the Ace of Hearts,” the boy said, his voice breaking with frustration and even a hint of tears. “But I can’t find that Ace of Hearts anymore. It’s like it disappeared.”

“Enough.”

Chen Jiang shook his head with a light chuckle, flipped his right hand, and pulled an Ace of Hearts from his sleeve, slipping it into the chubby boy’s coat pocket and patting his shoulder. “Here it is. Stop looking.”

“Go back to your seat. Class is about to start.”

The bell rang.

Only the chubby boy stood there, disbelief written all over his face, along with Jiang Min. Silent Snake, following behind Chen Jiang, couldn’t help but smirk inwardly. Performing magic in front of Jiang was like showing off a big blade in front of Guan Yu.

Even their master had long failed to understand Jiang’s magic.

...

The bell rang.

Chen Jiang listened attentively. It was the first time in his life sitting in a classroom. A beautiful young woman droned on in the hot room, reciting textbook content, quickly making him sleepy.

Though he listened carefully, he regrettably understood little.

His major was Archaeology, with 37 students in the entire class.

Amid the drowsy atmosphere, the chubby boy in the corner was still racking his brain, trying to replay the scene. He clearly witnessed the whole process but never saw when Chen Jiang took the Ace of Hearts.

Jiang Min, the class monitor, was equally distracted.

She sat in her seat as if her soul had left her body, unable to comprehend how Chen Jiang had taken the Ace of Hearts without ever touching the deck. She herself had taken the Ace of Hearts from Jiang’s hand and inserted it into the deck. How had Chen Jiang taken the card through the air?

That she had been admitted to this university proved she wasn’t stupid, but she just couldn’t understand the principle.

However, she realized one thing: if Chen Jiang agreed to represent the class to perform at the freshman welcome party, he would undoubtedly dazzle everyone and steal the show.

...

The class ended quickly.

There was only this one class today. Since it was the beginning of the semester, there were few courses, allowing freshmen to gradually adjust to college life.

Right after class, the chubby boy quickly intercepted Chen Jiang before Jiang Min could, his expression extremely earnest.

“Brother Jiang, I want to apprentice under you. Will you teach me magic?”

“No, you don’t have the talent.”

Then he turned and avoided Jiang Min, leaving the classroom without a backward glance, with Silent Snake following.

...

On the way home.

Silent Snake sat in the passenger seat and asked curiously, “Brother Jiang, how did you do that? I saw you put the Ace of Hearts into Jiang Min’s hand, and after that, you never touched the deck.”

Though he was Chen Jiang’s partner, many of Jiang’s tricks remained a mystery to him.

“It’s simple.”

Chen Jiang sat in the driver’s seat, steering the sports car out of campus with a soft laugh. “The card Jiang Min took was another card I gave her.”

“The Ace of Hearts was always in my sleeve.”

“When I returned the Ace of Hearts, I just took back the card I gave her.”

“A simple sleight of hand.”

“Wanna try?”

With his left hand on the wheel, his right hand flipped, revealing an Ace of Hearts in his palm. He gestured for Silent Snake to draw it. After Silent Snake took the card, Chen Jiang opened his palm, and there still lay an Ace of Hearts.

“A simple double-faced card trick. I remember when Master taught this, you were listening too, right?”

Silent Snake sheepishly replied, “I wasn’t smart enough. I was just thinking about when lunch would be served…”

He didn’t ask why Jiang happened to have a card with a back design matching the one in the chubby boy’s deck.

He already knew.

Jiang’s props were all made by him.

He also knew Jiang carried at least twenty brand-new decks on him.

“By the way, Brother Jiang.”

“All the background information about the classmates and substitute teachers has been sent to your email, including the chubby boy’s father, who is an influential entrepreneur in Chaosong City—basically a wealthy merchant. Jiang Min’s family has officials, and they are quite high-ranking.”

“Okay.”

...

Time quickly passed to the next morning.

The 24-hour countdown to return to “Gods’ Paradise” was about to end. This was their first official day entering “Gods’ Paradise.” The last time had been just a rookie dungeon.

Chen Jiang and the others had long finished washing up and sat in the courtyard, waiting for the countdown’s end.

At the moment the countdown ended,

the surrounding world froze instantly, shattering into countless fragments. When reassembled, the two found themselves in an entirely new place.

A vast plaza, roughly the size of four soccer fields.

Nearly tens of meters high.

A closed space with no sunlight or visible light sources, yet astonishingly bright. Floating above the plaza were four large characters: “Gods’ Paradise.”

Several hundred people had gathered in front of several round pillars. The nearest pillar bore a line of dazzling small characters at its top:

“Newbie Guidance Center.”