Folk Card Maker: Starting from Painted Skin.

Chapter 286 The Real and the False World
Zhang Jingtian chuckled; that line was truly a classic.

He often heard it from the monster's mouth.

"I trust my judgment."

"How do you know that the world you live in is real and not an illusion?"

Suddenly, the eyeball emitted a blinding light, which then enveloped Zhang Jingtian.

To be honest, the moment the beam of light shone down on him, Zhang Jingtian almost thought he was about to be melted by the intense light.

However, something miraculous happened. When the beams of light fell on Zhang Jingtian, he didn't feel any pain at all, as if he were sunbathing.

Then Zhang Jingtian saw that the Cataclysmic Legion in front of him had opened the door to his memories.

What shocked Zhang Jingtian even more was that the memories he saw were actually his memories from before he traveled through time.

At that moment, Zhang Jingtian felt a chill run down his spine.

How could this be?
He saw his life as an ordinary person, and even saw the various reactions of others after the accident that happened to him in his original world.

At that moment, he heard the voice of the eyeball:

"Look, isn't this world more real? Could everything you're experiencing now just be a dream?"

Zhang Jingtian was stunned; this was something he had almost never imagined.

Then the most terrifying thing happened to him.

Zhang Jingtian saw time reversing, and then returned to the time before his accident.

He became an ordinary person again.

"Going to work overtime again?"

In the neighborhood, some acquaintances saw Zhang Jingtian and greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, no, no."

Zhang Jingtian instinctively retorted.

The man then chuckled and said, "Your face is so pale; you must have been working too much overtime and haven't had enough rest. Young man, you need to take care of your health and not push yourself too hard. Otherwise, what if you suddenly die?"

Zhang Jingtian found it absurd and blurted out, "I was just too tired from fighting the Scourge for too long."

After saying that, the man chuckled.
"The Scourge? You've gone completely overboard with gaming, haven't you? I never knew you were still playing World of Warcraft."

Zhang Jingtian shook his head: "World of Warcraft? You mean, the Scourge is in the game."

Seeing Zhang Jingtian's strong reaction, the man sighed, then patted Zhang Jingtian on the shoulder: "Why don't you take some time off and go to the hospital to get checked out? Your condition is really bad right now. I know a psychiatrist, maybe I can ask him for you."

Zhang Jingtian immediately waved his hand: "I'm not sick, I'm really not sick!"

As he walked, his mind was in complete chaos. Was the Scourge just a game, not something real?
He thought for a moment, took out his phone, found his closest online friend on WeChat, and then sent him a message:
Do you know what a card maker is?

The netizens responded quickly:
"I know!"

The moment he saw it, Zhang Jingtian breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that his memory was not faulty.

But the second sentence from the other party was like a bolt from the blue, making Zhang Jingtian tremble with fear.

"Isn't it just a genre of online novels? I've read them, but most of them have bad endings or are abandoned."

Zhang Jingtian shuddered:
"You mean, card makers don't exist in reality?"

The netizen on the other end seemed stunned, and after a long pause, replied:

"Dude, it's not April Fool's Day, your joke isn't funny at all. And card makers don't actually exist."

Zhang Jingtian pressed his forehead hard, and vaguely, he seemed to hear a voice ringing in his ear: "What you see is not necessarily the truth."

What, then, is truly real?

Was all his previous experience, everything he encountered and experienced as a card maker, just a dream?
This result was clearly unacceptable to Zhang Jingtian.

He shook his head vigorously: "No, no, it can't be."

That night, Zhang Jingtian lay in bed, telling himself that as long as he fell asleep, he could return to the real world when he opened his eyes.

However, when Zhang Jingtian woke up the next day, he was only woken up by a phone call from a colleague in the work group.

"Why aren't you at work yet? You're an hour late! Your boss is standing at your desk, yelling at you!"

"I...I am..."

However, Zhang Jingtian suddenly forgot what that word was.

Just like all dreams, even when you've just woken up, you know every single detail of it by heart.

But before long, you'll find that you've forgotten everything from that dream.

At least Zhang Jingtian couldn't remember what kind of dream he had at this moment.

He thought it must have been a very strange dream.

Zhang Jingtian began his life as an office worker, and everything seemed to be on track.

During the day, I complain to my colleagues and curse my boss in my heart. Even though I have finished my work, I have to wait until eight o'clock to leave work.

He hasn't dreamed in a long time.

One afternoon, Zhang Jingtian saw a mentally ill person walking towards him.

Why would he think this person is mentally ill?
Because he was wearing a mask of the Monkey King and even carrying a stick on his back.

"You're a cosplayer?" Zhang Jingtian smiled as he saw the other person walk up to him. "I didn't expect you to be such a good cosplayer!"

However, the Monkey King did not leave; instead, he suddenly grabbed Zhang Jingtian's hand.

Zhang Jingtian frowned, thinking he had encountered a madman or a robber, and immediately said, "What are you doing? Let me go! I'm telling you, I'm calling the police right now!"

The Monkey King leaned close to Zhang Jingtian's ear and suddenly spoke:

"This is fake, not the real world."

Have you forgotten? You died a long time ago, a sudden death. Then your soul went to another world, where you are a genius card maker.

You've helped many people and saved many lives. But now, you've encountered a god-tier Scourge army that has corrupted your mind, making you forget everything about yourself…

Zhang Jingtian's eyes widened at first, but after he finally heard everything the guy in front of him had to say, he chuckled.

"Are you crazy? You're writing a novel here!"
I know you're definitely the kind of cult member who spends all day preaching about the end of the world, creating anxiety, and then tricking people into joining your faith!

The moment the words "cultist" left his mouth, Zhang Jingtian felt as if he had been pricked by a needle.

It was as if his consciousness had been locked.

And now, the lock suddenly seemed to have loosened.

Zhang Jingtian frowned and muttered to himself.

What, then, is truly real?

(End of this chapter)