Your Fate Is in Decline; Bloodshed Awaits

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

[Accessory: Focus Necklace (Excellent)]

[Attribute: Mysterious Power +10]

[Effect: Removes effects such as hypnosis, illusions, 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]

Grandpa Ge took out all sorts of odds and ends, along with a few items that had no attributes.

Then the last item fell onto the table.

[Wrist: Shadow-Escape Bracers (Fine)]

[Attribute: Mysterious Power +20]

[Effect: Shadow Escape, active skill. Slip into a shadow and merge with it. Lasts five minutes. Cooldown: one hour.]

Li Ran's eyes lit up when he saw the Shadow-Escape Bracers.

Damn, it was a Fine piece of equipment.

There were five equipment grades: Common, Excellent, Fine, Rare, and Epic.

In the Points Mall, even the cheapest Common equipment cost 300 points.

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

Fine equipment cost between 1,000 and 2,000 points, while ones with skills cost at least 2,500 points.

How many quests would he have to complete to earn that many points?

The Shadow-Escape Bracers weren't just Fine equipment; they also came with a skill effect.

Li Ran immediately settled on one item.

The second item he had his eye on was the Focus Necklace.

It wasn't Fine equipment, but it was one of the best Excellent items and came with a passive skill.

This equipment could ward off certain mental attacks.

"Old Ge, I'll take these two, then. I hope you don't mind."

Old Ge had said he could choose two, so two it was. Li Ran wouldn't dare take more.

[Hidden Quest Completed: Grandpa Ge's Trouble]

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

Hearing the long-missed, icy voice beside his ear, Li Ran felt delighted.

After finishing his tea, Li Ran said goodbye to Grandpa Ge.

"Xiao Li, come by Old Ge's place for tea more often!"

"Sure thing, Old Ge. No need to see me out."

A short distance away, Song Linjia stood there, stunned.

Li Ran had actually walked out of the security office without a scratch?

And that old man had sent him off with a warm smile, as kind as could be.

Was this really the same terrifying old man who'd just been so moody and had threatened to break people's arms at the drop of a hat?

Song Linjia had seen it all with her own eyes.

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

"I just got lucky."

Li Ran smiled in reply, offering no further explanation.

He equipped the two items right away.

The Focus Necklace gave him +10 Mysterious Power, the Shadow-Escape Bracers gave him +20, and the quest reward added another +20.

Li Ran's Mysterious Power: 60

Points: 260

Active Skill: Shadow Escape

Passive Skill: Immune to mental attacks.

One quest had sent his strength soaring. The increase in his Mysterious Power also let him feel the strength filling his body, as if from within.

I should be able to beat my son now, Li Ran thought.

But he still couldn't beat Su Bingyao. His Mysterious Power and equipment weren't enough yet.

He still had a few unused items in his inventory.

An eyeball, an ID card, and a piece of worn-out clothing.

"The eyeball belongs to the Fortune Teller. If I remember right, he's by the entrance to the residential compound. I can take care of that quest while I'm there."

Li Ran headed toward the entrance.

Song Linjia followed behind him.

When they reached the entrance, Li Ran spotted a fortune-telling stall set up in a corner by the roadside. A Fortune Teller sat behind it.

The Fortune Teller wore cloth shoes and a Taoist robe, with a cloth bag slung over his left shoulder and a fortune-telling banner in his right hand. A large pair of sunglasses covered his face, and a goatee hung from his chin. Age spots speckled his face, and an old-fashioned, simply made hairpin held his hair in place.

He sat there, stroking his goatee with a knowing air, as if everything were already clear to him.

"They're here too."

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

The three were crouched in front of the fortune-telling stall, saying nothing as they sized up the Fortune Teller.

The Fortune Teller didn't speak either. He simply stroked his goatee.

The scene looked more than a little strange.

"Let's go."

Li Ran and Song Linjia walked over.

As soon as they approached, the three turned to look at Li Ran, their eyes filled with surprise.

Li Ran was standing right in front of them without a scratch.

"What are you guys—"

"Shh!"

Qiu Zhongji immediately raised a finger to his lips, signaling Song Linjia to stay quiet.

Then he pulled the two of them aside and whispered, "We figured out a rule. If you start a conversation, it triggers an event or quest. If you keep quiet, nothing happens."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Whether it's nonsense or not, it can't hurt to keep quiet in front of an NPC," Xiao Yi said. Then he pushed up his glasses and scrutinized Li Ran. "Did you complete the quest?"

All three of them looked incredulous.

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

Li Ran smiled. "I found the key he'd lost."

Qiu Zhongji, Song Linjia, and Chen Jiabin all looked envious. Only Xiao Yi's expression darkened. He narrowed his eyes slightly and said to Li Ran, "You're so lucky. Why don't you try your luck with this Fortune Teller?"

"Sure."

Li Ran nodded and walked toward the Fortune Teller.

Just then, Qiu Zhongji sprang up and stopped him. "If Li Ran can do it, so can I. How about letting me go first?"

Li Ran stopped. "I don't mind. Go ahead."

"Thanks."

Li Ran knew Qiu Zhongji was rushing because he was afraid Li Ran would complete the Fortune Teller's quest too.

It seemed they'd figured out a few rules. One was that quests couldn't be repeated.

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

On top of that, they had few clues, which made every piece of quest information extremely valuable.

Qiu Zhongji looked at the Fortune Teller and said, "I think I can handle this quest. The old man doesn't look dangerous. He'll probably just tell my fortune, and this Taoist looks so otherworldly that he might actually know a thing or two."

With that, Qiu Zhongji strode over to the Fortune Teller.

He plopped down across from the Fortune Teller and called out loudly, "Sir, I'd like you to tell my fortune!"

"Come and get your fortune told! I read true fortunes—every one of them! If I'm wrong, you don't pay!"

The Fortune Teller called out his well-practiced opening line in a calm, confident voice.

Then Qiu Zhongji stared straight ahead, clearly having triggered a quest.

After a while, Qiu Zhongji asked the Fortune Teller, "Sir, what can you tell from my face?"

The Fortune Teller stroked his goatee and leaned forward slightly, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "You're still young, boy, but you've got plenty of nasty ideas in that head of yours."

Qiu Zhongji froze, then blurted out in a panic, "I was wrong. You really are a master, sir!"

Earlier, while observing the Fortune Teller, he'd tested him and discovered he was blind.

How could a blind man read someone's face?

Blind fortune tellers usually calculated people's fate from their birth dates.

So he'd come up with a plan to exploit the man's blindness, hoping to test him and stumble upon a way to break through.

But he hadn't expected the blind master to see right through his thoughts.

The Fortune Teller tipped his head up slightly and kept stroking his goatee, his expression disdainful. "What do you want to know, boy?"

"I want you to tell me my fate."

The Fortune Teller made a calculation with his fingers.

His hand paused mid-stroke. The corner of his mouth curled up, and he said coldly, "Your fate is in decline. Bloodshed awaits you!"