152: Return to the Insect Dwelling

No chanting, no preparation, not even any superfluous movements.

Just a snap of the fingers.

If he wanted, he could prepare a stack of such Primordial Snap Cards in advance.

One would be a Fireball Spell multiplied by ten million.

One would be an Ice Cone Spell multiplied by ten million.

One would be a Wind Blade multiplied by ten million.

One would be an Arcane Missile multiplied by ten million... He could even store auxiliary and control skills in the same way.

A snap of the fingers, a Slow Spell with a ten-million-fold effect.

A snap of the fingers, a Weakness Curse with a ten-million-fold effect.

A snap of the fingers, a Group Fear with a ten-million-fold effect.

Thinking of that scene, Lin Yu himself felt a chill down his spine.

That was no longer combat.

That was a dimensionality reduction strike.

With a few snaps, wouldn't enemies just drop dead in droves?

However, a very realistic problem quickly surfaced in his mind.

When he conceived the first Card, Primordial Snap: Tenfold Fireball Spell, an extremely subtle yet incredibly clear sense of stagnation spread from his spiritual level.

It was full.

His “card slot” seemed to be occupied.

Lin Yu's movements paused.

He immediately calmed down and introspected his core abilities.

There, the Ghost Card floated silently, the beginning and end of the entire cycle.

Surrounding it were 22 layers of Multiplication Cards, stacked like brilliant stellar rings.

They formed the cornerstone of his power.

And just now, the moment he conceived that Primordial Snap Card, the position of one Multiplication Card on the outermost edge of the stellar ring was mercilessly squeezed out.

If he really created that Primordial Snap Card, that Multiplication Card would disappear.

One for one.

This discovery instantly doused Lin Yu's soaring ambition with a bucket of cold water.

He understood.

Any skill card he created that was not a Multiplication Card would occupy the number of Multiplication Cards.

This meant that for every extra trump card he prepared, his power limit, his endlessly stackable circulatory system, would be weakened by one part.

If he really prepared an entire set of dozens of Primordial Snap Cards on his person, as he had just thought... then his Ghost Card cycle might not even reach a hundred thousand times.

This was a counterbalance.

You can't have your cake and eat it too.

Lin Yu stood still for a long time, in silence.

Circling back, it all returned to the beginning: spiritual power, spiritual power!

Damn spiritual attribute... all paths were blocked by this spiritual attribute.

If it weren't for the fact that skill cards wouldn't disappear on their own if not used quickly, and keeping them on him would squeeze the number of Multiplication Cards, he really would have wanted to replicate a whole set of Primordial Snap Cards to carry around.

When trouble arose, he could just instantly cast a bunch of forbidden-level skills to clear the area.

Alas... what other paths could he take to improve himself?

Looking at Zhao Tianyang's receding back, Lin Yu suddenly had an epiphany.

Profession!

Professional characteristics.

This thought completely enlightened him.

Perhaps, during this time, he should also delve deeper into his profession?

After all, ever since his awakening, he had been a mad gambler.

Gambling five years of his youth, gambling all the misunderstanding from those around him, gambling his slim future.

All for a vague possibility.

Fortunately, he won the gamble.

The circulatory system of the Ghost Card and Multiplication Card allowed him to turn his fortunes around overnight, gaining the capital to contend with the entire world.

Yet his understanding of his own profession remained at the most superficial level.

Replication.

Multiplication.

And then, there was nothing more.

Could a golden epic-level profession really only have such limited functions?

He didn't believe it.

Now that he possessed infinite capital, any seemingly minor characteristic could potentially be infinitely magnified by him!

Thinking a step back... during Card Innovation, he had seen cards that could increase attributes.

Attribute improvement wasn't necessarily just through potions!

The more he thought about it, the more his heart surged.

He realized that he had been too narrow-minded before.

Like a beggar guarding a mountain of gold, he only knew how to break off a small piece of gold each day to exchange for steamed buns, never thinking of building the entire mountain of gold into a palace of his own.

Five years of dormancy, success in one morning.

He was too focused on revenge, too focused on becoming stronger, to the point of neglecting the source of his own power.

It was time.

It was time to calm down and thoroughly research the true usage of his profession.

As Lin Yu thought, he no longer paid attention to the noisy ruins behind him.

The Old Ghost's roar, the survivors' busyness, Li Mo's cautiousness... all of it no longer concerned him.

He had more important things to do.

He turned and started walking towards Insect Dwelling.

There, he would find absolute quiet and safety.

It was the best place for his crazy experiments.

On the streets of the black market, neon lights flickered, and people flowed like a river.

Lin Yu's figure merged into the crowd, like a drop of water in the sea, inconspicuous.

No one knew that the young man in ordinary casual clothes was conceiving a plan that could overturn the entire world.

He walked through familiar streets, his thoughts already drifting far away.

What was the essence of a Card Creator?

Was it the conversion of energy? Or the materialization of rules?

He held out his hand, palm open before his eyes.

If the essence of cards was merely a carrier of information... a utilization of rules...

One of the entrances to Insect Dwelling was hidden at the end of a dark, damp back alley, behind an inconspicuous metal door.

This was for extreme privacy protection.

Lin Yu skillfully verified his identity, and the heavy lead door slid open inwards, completely isolating the outside noise and chaos.

Unlike the ruins outside, which had just experienced a catastrophe and were still dusty, the inside of Insect Dwelling was as quiet as ever, even excessively so.

A faint, subtle tension permeated the air.

The lights in the corridor seemed to have dimmed a bit, and occasionally a resident would peek out of their room, see it was Lin Yu, and quickly retreat, their movements full of vigilance and unease.

It seemed the commotion from Old Ghost Hall had already spread throughout the black market.

A battle significant enough to overturn the black market's structure had turned these residents living in the shadows into startled birds.

Lin Yu ignored the prying glances and walked straight towards his and his sister's room.

His steps were not fast, but each one was incredibly steady.

In his mind, his thoughts on the essence of the Card Creator profession were still rapidly churning, deducing countless possibilities.

Lin Yu's heart began to beat uncontrollably faster.

He pushed open the door to his room.

The moment he stepped into the room, the door next door was suddenly slammed open with a 'bang'.

"Wah!"

A crying exclamation, a small figure carrying a fragrant breeze, rushed over without thinking and tightly hugged his waist.

It was Lin Yao.

"Brother!"

The girl's body was trembling slightly, her entire face buried in his embrace, her words filled with uncontrollable fear and lingering dread.