He flicked his fingers in rapid succession, and five playing cards shot out simultaneously, spinning at high speed as they flew two or three meters away. They hovered briefly in midair, then were swiftly pulled back, returning to Ethan Brooks's fingers.

With another flick of his fingertips, they were launched again.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

The five playing cards fluttered around Ethan Brooks like dancing butterflies, constantly swirling around him.

Sometimes they darted back and forth in straight lines, sometimes they traced a boomerang-like arc, and sometimes they spun in circles around him before returning to his hand.

The various flying trajectories of the cards intertwined into a blur of afterimages, dazzling to the eye.

Whenever two cards were about to collide, they would narrowly and skillfully brush past each other in a thrilling display.

It was as if they had been rehearsed countless times in advance—flawless and breathtaking.

After more than a full minute, Ethan Brooks's temples began to throb, and he clearly felt a bit mentally fatigued. Only then did he reluctantly stop.

The five playing cards landed neatly in his palm, so nimble and obedient that they seemed like an extension of his slender fingers.

"Whew!"

Using psychic power to control the cards continuously like this consumed a lot of his energy.

He rubbed his slightly swollen and sore brow and temples, then focused his mind: "Check skill card slots."

The card slot interface instantly appeared in his mind.

He first glanced at the [Card Control Technique] card—the experience bar had surged by a full tenth, which was quite gratifying.

Then he checked the skill card [Psychic Power], but its experience bar had only increased a little, about one-thirtieth of the way.

Huh?

Two identical white one-star skill cards, used at the same time, but the experience growth rate was different?

After a moment's thought, he could only roughly deduce that [Psychic Power] greatly boosted [Card Control Technique], but [Card Control Technique] didn't help [Psychic Power] much. The specifics still needed to be verified.

At this point, since he was feeling a bit mentally tired, Ethan Brooks's excitement over gaining a new skill had subsided quite a bit.

He couldn't help but start pondering a practical question: In a modern law-abiding society, what use could this rather lethal flying card technique possibly have?

Use it to attack people?

He'd probably end up in jail in no time.

Perform it as a magic trick?

Or make videos to become an internet celebrity?

While not entirely impossible, Ethan Brooks had no interest in becoming an influencer.

He mulled this over while packing his luggage. Once he finished, he set these distracting thoughts aside for now.

After all, once he wrapped up this role, he could draw cards again—maybe he'd get even more useful superpowers in the future.

Afterward, Ethan Brooks slung on his backpack, dragged his suitcase, and headed out the door. Passing by the full-length mirror at the entrance, he instinctively stopped to take a look.

The reflection showed a tall, well-proportioned figure, with eight-pack abs faintly visible beneath his T-shirt. His features were youthful, handsome, and full of sunshine—the kind of good-looking guy who could make a living off his face alone.

He admired his super-handsome self for a moment, then left the room, took the elevator to the hotel lobby, handed his room card to the front desk, and checked out.

He found a small restaurant for a quick meal, then ordered a ride-hailing car to the passenger transport center.

Soon, Ethan Brooks boarded the bus to Jinwu Railway Station. He also pre-booked a high-speed train ticket from Jinwu to H City via 12306. Once everything was arranged, he started scrolling through WeChat, ready to reply to some messages.

As a minor actor, he was used to leaving his phone in the dressing room while working, only catching up on messages after he was done.

After not checking for a while, he had accumulated quite a few unread messages on WeChat.

He went straight to the pinned chats.

His agent, Ms. Bolton, had sent a message an hour ago: "Yixia, have you wrapped up filming over there?"

Ethan Brooks quickly typed a reply: "Ms. Bolton, filming has wrapped up smoothly. I'm just about to head back to H City, should be home a little after seven."

The reply came instantly: "Alright, be careful on the road. Rest well at home tonight, and come to the office tomorrow morning."

"Okay, Ms. Bolton."

After replying to his agent Ms. Bolton, Ethan Brooks was about to respond to his mom's message when a new message popped up on WeChat.

Contact name—【Emily】: "I'm going to 【璟宸】 this afternoon to pick something up. Will you be home?"

Ethan Brooks was slightly taken aback.

Wasn't she filming in Sucheng?

She finished so soon?

He didn't check her Moments, just thought for a moment before replying: "I won't be home this afternoon. If you still have the community access card, you can go get it yourself. I've deleted your fingerprint from the smart lock. When you get to the door, message me and I'll set a temporary password for you remotely."

He waited a bit, but there was no reply, so he didn't think much of it and exited the chat to check his mom's messages: "Son, your dad heard that you broke up with that art school girlfriend and are about to be washed out of the entertainment industry. He was so happy at lunch that he had a couple extra drinks and just asked me to see if you can come back and inherit the family business?"

Ethan Brooks's face instantly darkened.

That old man, can't he hope for something good for me?

……

Chapter 3: Find the Old Man for Some Gold Coins?

……

Ethan Brooks and his dad had been in a cold war for quite a long time.