In the dead of winter, temperatures plummeted, and several days of heavy snow transformed the entire Jiangzhou City into a world of silver and white.
The school had started its winter break, and the students had already gone home. Xiao Lou was sent by his department to attend an academic exchange meeting, which lasted until the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month. He rested for a day, then packed his bags and flew back to his hometown to spend the New Year with his grandparents.
When Xiao Lou was young, his parents were too busy with work, so he lived with his grandparents in the countryside for a while. He was too young at the time, and his memories of his childhood are vague. But he goes back to his hometown every Spring Festival because family reunion is a tradition of the Xiao family. His father and uncles bring their wives and children home for New Year's Eve dinner and stay up all night together.
Xiao Lou arrived home on the afternoon of Lunar New Year's Eve. As soon as he entered the house, his cousin Xiao Xinyue greeted him with a smile and said, "Brother, why are you so late? Grandma was just talking about you!" She leaned closer and whispered in Xiao Lou's ear, "She was saying why you're not married yet."
Xiao Lou: "..."
Whenever I go home for holidays, I'm inevitably pressured by my elders to get married.
Xiao Lou is indeed considered an "older unmarried youth" now, still single at the age of 27.
He started school early, entering Medical School at 17. After graduating with a master's degree, he stayed on to teach, quickly becoming an associate professor at a young age. Xiao Lou has a gentle personality, is tall, and handsome; logically, someone with his qualities should be very popular in the dating market…
Unfortunately, he studied for a Forensic Doctor degree.
Upon hearing the term " Forensic Doctor," people naturally associate it with corpses. Who would want to be around a man who dissects corpses every day?
In fact, Xiao Lou is not a forensic doctor in the criminal investigation system and does not need to go to the crime scene to determine the cause of death.
After graduating, he stayed at the Medical University to teach on his advisor's recommendation. He spends most of his time teaching students in the Forensic Medicine Department, and in his spare time, he helps out at the Forensic Identification Center in Jiangzhou City. The cases sent to the identification center are usually for injury assessments in car accidents and fights, and occasionally for genetic testing and toxicology. He hasn't seen a corpse in a long time.
***
Upon entering the living room, Xiao Lou politely greeted the elders and distributed the gifts he had brought. His grandmother, as expected, looked at him with a smile and asked, "Xiao Lou, when are you going to bring Grandma a granddaughter-in-law home?"
While massaging the old lady's shoulders, Xiao Lou said gently, "Grandma, I'm too busy with work right now. I want to think about marriage after I turn thirty."
Xiao Xinyue chimed in from the side, "Bro, if you had studied clinical medicine and become a doctor in a hospital, with your looks you would definitely have had tons of girls lining up to chase after you. But now, as soon as they hear you're a Forensic Doctor, most of the girls are scared away, hahaha."
Xiao Lou looked up at her sister, a half-smile on her face, and said, "That's professional prejudice. Forensic doctors don't dissect living people, it's not as perverted as in horror movies. Besides, I haven't touched a corpse in a long time."
Upon hearing the word "corpse," Xiao Xinyue felt a chill run down her spine and immediately turned and ran away.
Just as the restaurant was about to open for dinner, Xiao Lou helped her grandmother to a seat and changed the subject, asking Xiao Xinyue, "Have you decided which school to apply to next year?"
Xiao Lou's youngest cousin, Xiao Xinyue, is 18 years old this year and will be facing the college entrance examination next semester. When Xiao Lou asked this question, the elders' topic turned to what majors girls should choose to find jobs in the future. Xiao Xinyue actively joined the discussion, and no one mentioned Xiao Lou's marriage anymore, which made Xiao Lou breathe a slight sigh of relief.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, the elders started playing mahjong, while Xiao Lou took his younger cousins to play in the next room.
Xiao Xinyue took out a brand new deck of cards and said, "How about the three of us play Dou Dizhu? The loser gets a drink, okay?"
My cousin Xiao Wei rolled up his sleeves, looking eager to try: "Come on, I'm best at playing Dou Dizhu!"
Xiao Lou isn't interested in playing cards, but every year when he returns to his hometown for the Spring Festival, his elders always set up a mahjong table. His younger brother and sister find it too boring to play cards together, so as the eldest brother, he has no choice but to keep them company.
Dou Dizhu is one of the most common card games. The rules are simple: the "landlord" can add a few cards to their hand to increase their strength, while the other two "peasants" need to team up to fight against one other player. The two sides are divided into two camps, and whoever runs out of cards first wins.
Xiao Lou had great luck as the first player, drawing a royal flush.
Seeing that he had both the King and Queen in his hands, he said without hesitation, "Call me the landlord."
Xiao Xinyue and Xiao Wei had no choice but to join forces to beat him up.
As it turned out, Xiao Lou's hand was ridiculously good. In addition to a straight of 9, 10, J, Q, and K, he also had several pairs, a bomb of four 5s, and a pair of royal flushes, leaving his opponents with virtually no chance.
His younger siblings stared blankly as he played all his cards in one go.
Xiao Lou smiled slightly: "I won, you guys can drink your Cokes."
Xiao Xinyue and Xiao Wei could only drink their cola with long faces.
From then on, no matter whether Xiao Xinyue called for the landlord or Xiao Wei was the dealer, he would always be utterly defeated by his older brother. Xiao Lou's luck at cards tonight was so good that it was beyond description. He drew the royal flush several times, and his younger siblings almost threw up from drinking soda.
The three of them played cards until midnight.
The deafening sound of firecrackers rang out outside. His younger siblings excitedly ran to the yard to set off fireworks. Xiao Lou put on a coat and was about to go out when his phone suddenly lit up with a message: "Happy New Year."
Sender: Yu Hanjiang.
Seeing the familiar snow scene profile picture, Xiao Lou smiled slightly and quickly replied, "You too, Happy New Year."
Yu Hanjiang asked, "When are you going back to school?"
Xiao Lou said, "I'll go back after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year."
Yu Hanjiang said, "Thank you for your help last time. I'll treat you to a meal when I get back."
Xiao Lou said, " Captain Yu, you're too kind. We'll contact you again when I get back."
A loud "bang" came from outside the window, and fireworks of various colors burst into bloom one after another, illuminating the night sky as bright as day.
Standing by the window, Xiao Lou looked at the conversation history on her phone, and the scene of her first meeting with Yu Hanjiang involuntarily came to mind.
It was a rainy day when a female student at the Medical University fell to her death, alarming the Criminal Police Officer of Jiangzhou City. Xiao Lou wasn't familiar with the girl, but her last class was his. As someone connected to the case, Xiao Lou was asked by the police to give a statement.
As he entered the Criminal Police Officer unit, the first thing he saw was the man—a tall man in a dark blue police uniform, standing straight by the window, with long legs and a handsome profile like the most exquisite sculpture.
Seemingly sensing the gaze from the side, the man turned to Xiao Lou, walked over, nodded to him, and said, "Hello, I am Yu Hanjiang, the leader of the Major Crimes Unit of the Criminal Police Officers Brigade. Please come over to cooperate with the investigation, Professor Xiao."
Xiao Lou nodded politely to him: " Hello Captain Yu, I will definitely cooperate fully."
Yu Hanjiang led Xiao Lou into the interrogation room, gestured for him to sit down, and said calmly, "Name, age, and occupation are all necessary procedures for taking a statement. Please answer truthfully."
During the statement taking, the man's voice was deep and powerful, his expression extremely serious, and his gaze sharp as a sword, giving people an extremely strong sense of oppression. Being stared at by him, one could hardly breathe.
Even if Xiao Lou had no direct connection to this matter, she didn't want to look him in the eye.
—Those eyes were deep and cold, like a frozen lake in the dead of winter, sending chills down your spine.
The case was solved much faster than Xiao Lou had imagined, and it was confirmed as murder. The police caught the killer the very next day; the girl's roommate had pushed her off the building, an incident that caused a sensation online.
That time, Xiao Lou visited Jiangzhou City. The criminal police officer squad's case-solving efficiency has greatly improved.
He inquired about Yu Hanjiang through a classmate who was a forensic doctor. Apparently, Yu Hanjiang's background was shrouded in mystery; despite his young age, he had suddenly been appointed head of the Criminal Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. The Major Crimes Unit was a specialized task force established by Jiangzhou City to investigate serious criminal cases such as murder and rape. Since taking office, Yu Hanjiang had solved numerous cold cases, greatly improving investigative efficiency.
This man was incorruptible, cold-blooded, and ruthless, striking fear into the hearts of criminals. A single, menacing glance from him could send shivers down the spines of the guilty. He was said to be exceptionally skilled at interrogating criminals, even the most stubborn suspects would readily confess under his questioning. In just two years, Yu Hanjiang's name had become a legend in the Jiangzhou City police force.
After hearing about his deeds, Xiao Lou greatly admired the man and thought Yu Hanjiang was quite promising for his age.
Yu Hanjiang thought he wouldn't have much interaction with him, but a few days later, he suddenly went to the Forensic Identification Center office to ask Xiao Lou for help in identifying an extremely rare poison. Xiao Lou had specialized in Forensic Doctor toxicology during his graduate studies, published several high-value papers, and was quite famous in the Forensic Doctor field. Yu Hanjiang contacted him, and the two exchanged WeChat and phone numbers.
Xiao Lou assisted the police in solving this heinous poisoning case, and Yu Hanjiang's "thank you for your help" referred to this favor. The two had met four times, all for work, and their relationship wasn't deep. Therefore, Xiao Lou was quite surprised that the usually aloof Captain Yu offered to treat him to a meal.
Standing by the window, lost in memories, Xiao Lou didn't notice that the playing cards on the table suddenly glowed with a blood-red light. The light gradually formed a vortex, and the space around the cards distorted as if trying to suck everything around them into the cards.
***
On the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, Xiao Lou said goodbye to her family and flew back to Jiangzhou City. Thinking about the WeChat conversation on New Year's Eve, Xiao Lou simply sent Yu Hanjiang a message: " Captain Yu, I'm back. When do you have time to have dinner together?"
There was no response to the message.
He figured the other person might be busy, so he sat on the sofa in the living room, browsing the news while waiting for a reply.
It was past dinner time, and Yu Hanjiang still hadn't replied to the message.
Captain Yu's position is special, and his lack of response might mean he's dealing with a difficult case and is currently investigating and collecting evidence. Xiao Lou wisely refrained from bothering him further and went downstairs to grab a quick bowl of noodles.
After finishing his noodles, he wanted to go to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities. While crossing the street, he suddenly saw a bus speeding towards him from around the corner.
Xiao Lou's eyes widened, and her heart almost stopped beating!
He nimbly took off running, but the bus was going too fast. He had barely taken a step when he was violently thrown into the air!
Suddenly, everything spun around Xiao Lou, and he quickly lost consciousness.
***
When he awoke again, he was surrounded by a white fog. Through the hazy fog, a cold, mechanical voice clearly reached his ears: " Xiao Lou, congratulations on being chosen by Card World. You now face two choices—"
A: Die peacefully, forget everything, and your soul will completely perish, and you will never suffer from illness again.
B: Reincarnate in Card World while retaining your memories and face new challenges. However, the survival rules of Card World are extremely cruel, and perhaps in this...
"Living here is worse than being dead."
Xiao Lou was somewhat puzzled.
Was that voice a hallucination? And why were two strange options given to him?
Since he didn't respond, the cold, mechanical voice spoke again: "You have 10 seconds to consider. Memory erasure countdown in progress: 10, 9, 8..."
Xiao Lou decisively replied, "I choose B."
Regardless of whether the sound was an illusion or not, he could only choose the latter option from the two choices.
He was only twenty-seven, in the prime of his life, and he didn't want his memories erased and him to die completely. If he could just have a second chance, no matter how difficult or dangerous the new world might be… at least he'd be alive, wouldn't he?
There is hope as long as you are alive.
Xiao Lou quickly calmed himself down and asked, "Who are you?"
The other party coldly replied, "I am a highly intelligent system spirit from Card World. You can't see me, but I can see you."
The feeling of being watched made Xiao Lou frown. He took a deep breath and continued to ask, " What exactly is this ' Card World ' you're talking about?"
The next moment, countless cards suddenly appeared in front of him.
Those were the playing cards he used when playing Dou Dizhu with his younger siblings on the night of the Spring Festival. The backs had the familiar blue diamond pattern, the kind most commonly seen in the corner store. Heart 5, Diamond 8, Plum Blossom 10, Spade J... playing cards of various suits were strung together in a long chain, flashing quickly in front of him like a film reel playing at four times the speed.
In the white fog, the card chains quickly arranged themselves horizontally and vertically, the four suits mixed together without any discernible pattern. The densely packed playing cards formed a huge card wall within 10 seconds at a speed visible to the naked eye.
System: " Welcome to Card World, player Xiao Lou."
Author's Note: 1. This is a team-developed infinite flow novel, primarily featuring adventure, puzzle-solving, and level-based challenges. Various cards will be used during these challenges. This story is inspired by a combination of escape room games and card games. All escape room scenarios are fictional and have no real-world counterparts.