Catastrophe Card King

With the bread, the siblings wouldn’t starve for the next couple of days. He didn’t give them money because he knew they couldn’t hold onto it. The siblings, clutching at their bread, were visibly moved, the gloomy expressions on their pale faces brightening a bit.

The clown, seeing this, couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

He stood up and put his gas mask back on, his gaze once more returning to its usual cold, detached state.

Leonard Churchill turned around and left.

just a few steps later, he heard the sister’s hurried voice from behind, “Thank you, sir. My name is… Winter.”

Upon hearing this, Leonard, still beneath his gas mask, gave a small smile.

He did not look back but continued walking away.

Despite his own struggles for survival, even he could not bear to see other people’s hardship.

That is what a clown does, after all.

Life pelts him with its pain, and he responds with laughter.

A clown’s ridiculous performance brings joy to others.

As Leonard thought about this, the idea emerged.

Had it not been for the kind-hearted Big Beard in the traveling circus who took him in, perhaps he’d have frozen to death that winter, lying next to the railway in a cold tunnel.

This was just a small scene he had stumbled upon in his life, not significant enough to cause a change. A simple act of kindness.

Or perhaps an occupational hazard after playing the role of a clown for so many years?

Perhaps.

Leonard didn’t dwell on it too much.

He walked on and soon arrived at a shop with a sign stating, “Old Benson’s

Antique Bookstore”.

At the entrance, inscribed on a wooden board was, “Buying and selling all kinds

of ancient documents.”

It was a small bookstore selling guides to the Breathing Method, Card Making Scripture, and various magical scriptures.

The Great Dark Breathing Method Leonard had last time was bought from this shop.

The shop was small but popular among the Hunter’s circle for its reasonable price. Many hunters liked to sell their items here, so it had a fair amount of quality items.

Leonard planned to take another look at the collection available this time. “Boss, the Great Dark Breathing Method I bought last time was very practical. It was worth every penny!”

Upon entering, Leonard started with some smooth talk before adding, “This time, I plan to look at other items.”

“Oh. Feel free to look around.”

Upon hearing this, the owner realized him as a repeat customer. His typical, uninterested manner was nowhere to be seen as he permitted him to peruse some lesser-known scriptures.

Leonard was not polite and started looking around the shop.

The Breathing Method and other guides weren’t accessible for perusal, but he could observe the ancient text on the slates and antiques.

It didn’t matter if he understood them or not, the important thing was his ability to remember every detail he saw!

He took his time looking at each item carefully, imprinting each one into his mind.

Knowledge was always the most precious asset.

All signs symbols or characters from any civilization could be understood if one had enough reference points to study. One could gradually decipher them.

This was the case for hieroglyphs, ideograms, alphabet scripts… everything.

The various mysterious symbols and curses of this world worked the same

way.

They were fundamentally patterns used to express ideas and messages from the writer.

Leonard thought that if he remembered enough symbols, it could help him understand the ancient text of the world.

The secrets of the world would then slowly unfold.

Looking at the scriptures, Leonard suddenly felt that his ability to remember everything had great potential. In the future, he could possibly even become a [5-Wisdom Career Sequence] scholar or card master?

He kept looking at various items in the shop, his mind fervently taking note of each symbol.

Leonard was looking very quickly because his attention was divided amongst so many texts. To bystanders, it would seem like he was casually skimming through everything.

The shop owner said nothing.

There were many people coming in and out of the shop. Leonard only glanced at them occasionally, not paying much attention.

Unbeknownst to him, a new customer entered the store; her loud voice arriving before she did, “Old man, do you have any new arrivals?”

Leonard did not pay attention at first.

He turned to look at the source of the voice, following his instincts.

Yet, upon hearing the inquiry, the shop owner got to his feet abruptly. His tone seemed ingratiating, as if a distinguished guest had arrived.

“Ah, yes! Yes! Yes!”

As he spoke, from his Storage Ring, he pulled out a stack of black and white photos and enthusiastically explained, “These are recently discovered ancient documents by the hunters. If you want the original copies, I can grab them from the warehouse.”

The newcomer responded, “No need for now, let me take a look first.”

Upon hearing it, Leonard was puzzled: ???

The owner usually didn’t care much for customer service, but he was being so warm to this particular customer?

He’s even using a respectful tone.

Who exactly is this person?

From the comer of his eye, he managed to take a quick look at the newcomer, a woman clad in a black leather biker suit. She had a perfect figure accentuated by the tight-fitting leather. However, her face was obscured by a half gas mask, and while her face wasn’t visible, her gaze was sharp.

Leonard didn’t care much about physical appearance, but he immediately noticed her Mechanical equipment.

Its majority was hidden under her clothing, but Leonard managed to catch a glimpse of the detal and knew at once what it was.

It was undoubtedly the most sophisticated Mechanical equipment he had ever seen.

ATR-33 Military Individual Exoskeleton? Someone has access to this?

He hadn’t seen one before, but he’d heard about it.

As he understood it, it was one of the most advanced pieces of individual equipment currently utilized by the Federal Military. Anywhere outside the military, this was considered “contraband”!

She must hold a powerful position.

As Leonard guessed about the woman in the leather jacket’s identity, he glanced at the stack of photos that the shop owner had handed over..