Lin Wei had never been paranoid before. That wasn't his nature.
But now, everywhere he went, he noticed the glances.
The street vendor who stared too long. The man in the café who pretended to read a newspaper. The black SUV that showed up outside his building—twice in one day.
He checked his windows. Changed his phone. Switched hotels at midnight just to see if anyone followed.
They always did.
The power of the Infinite Card was no longer a secret. Someone—or something—had begun to hunt its source.
And that meant Lin Wei.
He started digging.
If others were watching him, he needed to know more than they did. Not just about the card—but about the system behind it.
He scoured forums, darknet sites, conspiracy blogs. Most of it was nonsense: ancient alien tech, AI gods, Illuminati whispers.
But then he found something real.
A buried thread on an encrypted financial board, marked only by the title: "The Infinite Card Exists."
The user was anonymous. No avatar. Just text.
"It's not a myth. The card is real.It gives money, but it takes decisions.I had one. Until I didn't.You don't 'own' it. It chooses you.And when it's done, it leaves you broken—or dead."
Lin Wei's hands tightened on the mouse.
He clicked through more messages.
One read:
"Don't try to trace its origin.Don't contact the government.And never try to outsmart it."
Another user had replied:
"I lost my wife because I paid off the wrong debt.Everything has a balance."
The thread ended abruptly after that. Deleted. Erased.
But Lin Wei had seen enough.
The Infinite Card wasn't just a bottomless bank account.
It was a test.
And he was failing to understand the rules fast enough.
Three days later, the attack came.
Not a gunshot. Not a car bomb. Something far quieter.
Someone emptied his apartment.
Lin Wei returned from a walk in the park—trying to calm his mind—to find his penthouse open. Not broken into. Not ransacked.
Just… clean.
Too clean.
The furniture was gone. The paintings. The electronics. Even the sheets on his bed.
Only the card remained, sitting calmly on the countertop.
He picked it up, hands trembling. Checked his phone. No messages.
Until one arrived, three minutes later:
"You were warned.Wealth attracts more than admiration.Chapter Six continues."
And then another, a moment later:
"Funds replenished. Assets recovered: 0.Next lesson: Learn to defend."
He opened the Balance of Impact app.
Karma: PositiveLevel: 2Ripples Created: 16Observers: 4Security Risk: Medium
Below that, a new option:
Activate: Defense Protocols [Yes/No]
He hesitated, then tapped Yes.
Immediately, a new window appeared: a list of services, assets, and options he didn't recognize.
• Private intelligence• Surveillance countermeasures• Anonymous safehouse locations• AI risk assessment reports• Discreet personal protection
Everything was available at the tap of a button.
He selected Anonymous Safehouse and Surveillance Countermeasures. The card glowed faintly in his pocket.
Fifteen minutes later, he received a new message:
"A car will arrive in 12 minutes.No ID. No tracking. No questions."
The car was black, sleek, unmarked.
Lin Wei slid in silently.
The driver nodded but said nothing. A clear glass partition separated them.
No radio. No GPS. Just motion.
Within 40 minutes, they were far beyond the city limits, weaving through a back road that led to an old gated villa, surrounded by forest and silence.
Inside, everything was state-of-the-art: bulletproof windows, security drones, jammer fields.
But there were no staff.
He was alone.
And that scared him more than anything else.
He sat on the villa's balcony that night, staring at the moon over the trees.
The card had taken him from poverty to wealth in under a week.
But now he was running.
Was this what power looked like?
Solitude. Shadows. Enemies.
His phone buzzed again.
This time, the message came with a file: a video clip.
He opened it and immediately froze.
It was surveillance footage—blurry, but unmistakable. His old friend Chen Peng was being dragged into a black van by two masked men.
The timestamp was from two hours ago.
Attached to the file was a single message:
"Your actions ripple outward.Help those you've touched… or watch them break."
Below that, a choice:
Deploy Rescue Protocol – Cost: UnknownIgnore – Risk: Severe
He didn't even hesitate.
He tapped Rescue Protocol.
The screen shimmered once. Then faded.
No confirmation. No assurance.
Just silence.
For the rest of the night, Lin Wei couldn't sleep.
He sat by the window, eyes locked on the darkness beyond the trees, waiting for a sign.
Any sign.
By dawn, another message arrived:
"Rescue complete.Chen Peng safe.New ally status: Unlocked."
Attached was a photo: Chen Peng in a hospital bed, bruised, but alive.
Lin Wei exhaled slowly.
Then another message came, colder than the rest:
"You are now a piece on a larger board.More will come for you.Prepare for Chapter Seven."
He looked down at the Infinite Card.
For the first time, he felt something new.
Not awe.Not greed.Not curiosity.
Responsibility.
And with that came something sharper than fear:
Purpose.