Your Destiny is Decaying, Blood Calamity Approaches

Li Ran looked at the pile of items on the table.

[Accessory: Focus Necklace (Excellent)]

[Attribute: Mysterious Power +10]

[Effect: Can remove effects such as hypnosis, illusion, charm, and fear]

[Weapon: White Spirit Dagger (Common)]

[Attribute: Mysterious Power +5]

[Trap Item: Thunder-Attracting Kite]

[Effect: Touching the kite string triggers a lightning strike]

Old Ge took out many miscellaneous items, including some props without any attributes.

Finally, the last item dropped onto the table.

[Wrist: Shadow-Escape Bracers (Fine)]

[Attribute: Mysterious Power +20]

[Effect: Shadow Escape, active skill, allows the user to slip into shadows and merge with them. Duration: five minutes. Cooldown: one hour.]

Seeing the Shadow-Escape Bracers, Li Ran's eyes lit up.

Good heavens, it was actually a Fine-grade piece of equipment.

Common, Excellent, Fine, Rare, Epic; these were the five grades of equipment.

In the Points Mall, Common equipment cost at least 300 points.

Excellent equipment cost at least 500 to 1,000 points.

Meanwhile, Fine equipment cost between 1,000 and 2,000 points, and those with skills cost at least 2,500 points or more.

Just how many missions would one have to complete to earn that many points?

The Shadow-Escape Bracers were not only Fine-grade equipment but also came with a special skill effect.

Li Ran immediately locked onto one item.

For the second item, Li Ran set his sights on the [Focus Necklace].

Although it wasn't Fine-grade equipment, it was a top-tier piece of Excellent equipment that came with a passive skill.

This equipment could resist certain mental attacks.

"Old Ge, I won't stand on ceremony then. I'll take this one and this one."

Old Ge had said two items, so two items it was; he didn't dare to pick any more.

[Hidden Mission Completed: Grandpa Ge's Trouble]

[Reward: Mysterious Power +20, Points +200, Special Reward *2] ```

Listening to the long-lost cold voice in his ears, Li Ran felt wonderful inside.

After finishing a cup of tea, Li Ran bid farewell to Old Ge.

"Little Li, come by Old Ge's place often to have tea in the future."

"You got it, Old Ge, please don't bother seeing me out."

Not far away, Song Linjia stood in the wind, feeling completely bewildered.

Li Ran had actually walked out of the security office unscathed?

And the old man was seeing him off with a smile, looking kind and amiable.

Was this really the same terrifying old man who was moody and would break someone's arm at the slightest provocation just a moment ago?

Song Linjia had witnessed all of this with her own eyes.

After Li Ran approached, she asked in surprise, "How did you do it?"

"Just good luck."

Li Ran responded with a smile, not offering any further explanation.

He immediately equipped the two items.

Focus Necklace Mysterious Power +10, Shadow-Escape Bracers +20, Mission Reward +20.

Li Ran's Mysterious Power: 60.

Points: 260.

Active Skill: Shadow Escape.

Passive Skill: Fearless of mental attacks.

A single mission had caused his strength to advance by leaps and bounds, and the increase in Mysterious Power also made him feel his physique invisibly brimming with strength.

"I should be able to beat my son now," Li Ran thought to himself, his mind on the boy.

However, defeating Su Bingyao was still out of reach; his Mysterious Power and equipment were simply insufficient.

He still had a few items in his personal storage space that hadn't been put to use yet.

An eyeball, an ID card, and a piece of tattered clothing.

"The eyeball belongs to the Fortune Teller. If I remember correctly, he should be right at the entrance of the residential complex, so I can finish that task while I'm at it."

Li Ran headed toward the complex gate.

Song Linjia followed close behind him.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Li Ran immediately spotted a small stall tucked into the corner of the wall by the roadside, where the Fortune Teller sat.

The Fortune Teller wore Daoist shoes and robes, a satchel draped over his left shoulder, and held a divination banner in his right hand. He wore a pair of large sunglasses, sported a goatee on his chin, and his face was dotted with age spots. His hair was tied in a bun, secured by a simple, ancient hairpin.

He sat there, placidly stroking his goatee as if he held the secrets of the world in his heart.

"They're here, too."

Song Linjia noticed Xiao Yi, Qiu Zhongji, and Chen Jiabin standing nearby.

The three men were squatting in front of the stall, silent, watching the Fortune Teller intently.

The Fortune Teller didn't speak either, just continuing to stroke his beard.

The scene looked rather bizarre.

"Let's go."

Li Ran and Song Linjia stepped forward.

As soon as they approached, the three men turned their heads, their eyes filled with astonishment.

Li Ran was standing before them, completely unscathed.

"What are you guys..."

"Shh!"

Qiu Zhongji immediately made a silencing gesture, signaling Song Linjia to keep quiet.

He pulled the two of them aside and whispered, "We discovered a rule: initiating conversation triggers events or tasks, but if you stay silent, nothing happens."

"What kind of fallacy is that?"

"Regardless of whether it's a fallacy, staying silent in front of an NPC is never a mistake," Xiao Yi said. He adjusted his glasses, scanning Li Ran repeatedly. "Did you complete a task?"

All three of them wore expressions of disbelief.

Qiu Zhongji hurriedly asked, "How did you do it?"

Li Ran smiled and said, "I found his lost key."

Qiu Zhongji, Song Linjia, and Chen Jiabin were all filled with envy, but Xiao Yi's expression darkened. He narrowed his eyes and said to Li Ran, "Since your luck is so good, why don't you try this Fortune Teller next?"

"Fine."

Li Ran nodded and started walking toward the Fortune Teller.

Suddenly, Qiu Zhongji jumped out and blocked Li Ran. "If Li Ran can do it, I can too. How about you let me go first?"

Li Ran stopped. "I don't mind. If you want to go first, go ahead."

"Thanks."

Li Ran understood that Qiu Zhongji was so anxious because he was terrified that Li Ran would finish the task associated with the Fortune Teller as well.

It seemed they had figured out a few rules, one of which was that tasks could not be repeated.

In other words, once someone completed a task, no one else could do it.

Given that everyone's access to clues was limited, every bit of task information had become incredibly precious.

Qiu Zhongji looked at the Fortune Teller and said, "I feel like I can complete this task. This old man doesn't look dangerous; it's probably just a matter of getting a reading. Besides, this Daoist has a sage-like air about him—maybe he really has some talent."

With that, Qiu Zhongji strode toward the Fortune Teller.

He sat down right across from the man and shouted, "Sir, I want my fortune told."

"Divination here, spiritual divination! Every reading is true—no pay if it isn't!"

The Fortune Teller recited his professional opening line with an air of calm detachment.

Then, Qiu Zhongji stared straight ahead, clearly having triggered the task.

After a moment, Qiu Zhongji asked the Fortune Teller, "Sir, what does my physiognomy reveal?"

The Fortune Teller stroked his goatee, leaned forward slightly, and pushed up the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose. "The lad is young in years, but his belly is full of wicked schemes."

Qiu Zhongji froze, stammering in a panic, "I was wrong. You truly are a divine man, sir."

In truth, when they had observed the Fortune Teller earlier, they had tested him by waving a hand in front of his face and discovered that the man was blind.

Yet, how could a blind man read physiognomy?

Usually, when blind men practiced fortune-telling, they calculated based on the eight characters of one's birth.

Thus, a plan formed in his mind; he intended to exploit the blind man's weakness to test the Fortune Teller, hoping to stumble upon a solution by chance.

However, he had not expected the blind master of divination to see right through his inner thoughts.

The Fortune Teller tilted his head slightly, continuing to stroke his goat-like beard with a look of disdain as he said, "Little brat, what is it you wish to have divined?"

"Divine my destiny."

The Fortune Teller pinched his fingers to calculate.

The hand stroking his beard paused, and the corners of his mouth curled into a cold sneer as he said, "Your destiny is in decay; you are fated to suffer a bloody disaster!"