The Path to Completion

"Candles!"

Lin Fan looked at the candle and heard Sister Ma's voice outside. With no time to hesitate, he picked it up, deliberately made some noise, and ran out the door to draw everyone's attention. Then he pushed open the window, jumped down, and tossed the candle in his hand onto the rooftop.

Canceling the Time Ring Ritual, Lin Fan returned to the present. After searching the room, he spotted a familiar-looking middle-aged man studying a foreign language. Once he finished studying, the man sat to one side to catch his breath.

"What a little vixen." The middle-aged man sighed, lit a cigarette, and took a bag from the other side of the bed. Pulling out several gold bars, he said, "Things have been a little off lately. I have no idea what those above are busy with, and I don't know when I might be brought down. Put these away for me. Consider them one of my escape routes."

"Godfather, what are you saying? You'll definitely be fine." The woman spoke coyly as she picked up the gold bars and placed them in a safe hidden behind a wall painting nearby.

Lin Fan stood to one side and saw the password clearly. Besides gold bars, the safe contained jewelry and cash. After memorizing the password, Lin Fan left the room while they went to shower and quietly opened the computer in the study.

"My Time Ring must be completed." Lin Fan sensed the missing ring within him, and his blood began to surge. The blood in his body seemed like a giant snake lying dormant beneath his skin, ready to leap out the moment the time came.

The incompleteness of time was like a perfectionist seeing an incredibly conspicuous black spot on an otherwise nearly perfect painting—and the spot