He unlocked the door with his fingerprint and pushed it open.
Back home, Luo Shu took a deep breath and walked over to the sofa. Ignoring the shattered window and the clothes he had tossed onto the floor earlier, he quietly took two items out of his pocket.
A dark blue gift box containing the Demon Heart, and the deep red Lucky Wallet.
Luo Shu placed both items on the low glass table, pushed aside the instant noodles from two days ago, then sat on the sofa. He gazed at the two Abyssal Artifacts, lost in thought, seemingly considering what to do with them.
"Abyssal Artifacts with the property of being 'alive,' huh..."
Luo Shu glanced at the two Abyssal Artifacts on the table, fell silent for a moment, then said:
"System."
[I am here.]
Luo Shu asked calmly, "How do I communicate with these two Abyssal Artifacts?"
[The target Abyssal Artifacts possess only the property of being 'alive' and a limited degree of instinct. They lack defined intelligence and cannot fulfill the requirement of 'conversation.']
At this, Luo Shu froze for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief.
Since these two Abyssal Artifacts had no defined intelligence, the Lucky Wallet's two previous falls and the Demon Heart's attempt to lure Miss Mira closer could all be explained as 'instinct.'
If it was instinct, that meant no 'mastermind' was plotting against him.
Of course, that was assuming his system 'servant' had not fabricated its explanation.
Luo Shu never thought too highly of himself. He had only been an ordinary person in his previous life, hardly someone worth such elaborate scheming on the system's part.
It could simply take what it wanted by force, yet chose to scheme and lay plans instead. If some powerful being really was that bored, Luo Shu would just accept it.
With that thought, Luo Shu immediately ordered, "System, examine the Abyssal Artifacts more carefully."
The system appraised Abyssal Artifacts for free. Just as it had claimed, it seemed to spare no effort in helping Luo Shu grow.
[Appraisal results are as follows:] [Artifact: Demon Heart (elite rank).] [A special artifact created through an Alchemist's methods using the heart left behind after an elite-rank Succubus's accidental death.] [Primary functions: hypnotizes women below elite rank; produces 1 drop of succubus blood (excellent rank) per calendar year.] [Side effects: 1. Cannot be actively used by women. 2. Hypnosis ends upon the holder's death. 3. Repeated use on the same individual will cause her to develop excessive desire for the holder and enhance all her basic attributes, transforming her into a Succubus.] [Artifact: Lucky Wallet (Hero rank).] [A wallet created by a Grand Alchemist from a scale belonging to a demigod-rank Serpent of Destiny.] [Primary function: when the wallet contains the user's photograph and money, carrying it, accidentally losing it, and recovering it will grant the host one demigod-level blessing of good fortune.] [Side effects: 1. The wallet will actively seek out someone with greater luck to attach itself to. 2. If the wallet contains no proof of identity, its ownership is automatically revoked. 3. After being lost more than 3 times, the wallet will abandon its owner even if recovered.]
Reading the descriptions of the two Abyssal Artifacts before him, Luo Shu stared at them with a frown for a while, then asked tentatively:
"System, can you recycle these two Abyssal Artifacts?"
As soon as Luo Shu finished speaking, both the ring inside the gift box and the wallet began to tremble.
Both seemed to understand Luo Shu's intentions. Driven by instinct, they actually began ramming into each other on the small table, as though they believed Luo Shu would keep whichever artifact managed to shove the other off.
[Answer: the system has no artifact recycling function. Furthermore, possessing Blessed Artifacts will increase the host's influence and monthly points income. Please be advised.]
"So there's no artifact recycling function..." Luo Shu felt rather disappointed by the answer. If he could recycle them, the wallet was worth eighty thousand points and the ring sixty thousand. He could have become rich overnight.
But now, although he was wealthy, that wealth was only in assets, not a large amount of cash. That made things awkward.
"So all I can do is keep these two with me and use them?"
As soon as Luo Shu said this, the ring and wallet stopped fighting and dropped onto the table with a clack.
If not for the ring-shaped dent in the wallet and the ring lying on the table outside its gift box, Luo Shu might have wondered whether any of that had actually happened.
"Come to think of it, I don't seem to have received any points after getting these two artifacts. Is that because I'm not their holder yet?"
[Answer: yes.] [To establish use of the Demon Heart, it must be worn on the ring finger.] [To establish ownership of the wallet, place identification documents and at least 150,000 yen in cash inside it, with a risk of loss.]
Hearing the system's response, Luo Shu fell silent for a moment. His gaze lingered on the 'risk of loss,' then he addressed the two artifacts in a grave tone:
"You two, what do I gain by keeping you around?"
Sitting on the sofa late at night, asking a ring and a wallet what he would gain by keeping them.
The scene seemed rather bizarre, yet both the ring and the wallet responded to Luo Shu.
The ring, which had a slit pupil inside its ruby, seemed to shed tears, squeezing out two bright red drops before its gemstone dimmed slightly.
The wallet, meanwhile, voluntarily spat out Tachibana Kirika's driver's license, then began spitting out ten-thousand-yen bills one by one, until it had spat out thirty.
Then it stopped moving.
Seeing this, Luo Shu glanced at the Demon Heart.
"Your payment is two drops of succubus blood? What good are those?"
[Answer: 2 drops of succubus blood can upgrade the ordinary ability 'Mind Reading' to an excellent ability, advancing it into 'Hypnosis.' Familia member Utaha Kasumigaoka can use them to increase her ability's rank.]
"...I really want to ask whether the next step is turning Utaha Kasumigaoka into a Succubus, but I'll let you pass for now."
Luo Shu could not help making that quip. Then he imagined Utaha Kasumigaoka as a Succubus and hurriedly stopped himself before his body could react. He reached out, picked up the ring, and slipped it onto his ring finger, then picked up the wallet and opened it for a look.
Seeing the empty compartment covered by transparent plastic inside the wallet, Luo Shu immediately understood that it was meant to hold identification.
He pulled the wallet open and peered inside, immediately spotting a hundred-yen coin.
At this, Luo Shu said with a peculiar expression:
"So other people need to deposit at least a hundred and fifty thousand yen to activate your ability, but a hundred yen is enough for me?"
The coin inside the wallet hopped, landing with its lettering facing up, as though affirming his words.
"Well, would you look at that."
Luo Shu put the money on the table, along with his own money, into the inner pocket of his suit. Then he placed his student ID in the wallet, folded it shut, and slipped it into his pocket, joking:
"Looks like living artifacts do have their perks."
"I just wonder if I can be exempted from these side effects."
As though the two Abyssal Artifacts' pledges of allegiance had sparked a competition, the system's notification immediately appeared:
[Unless the side effects of an Abyssal Artifact exceed this system's upper limits, they cannot affect the host.]
"So you're pledging your loyalty too, huh?"
Luo Shu broke into a helpless laugh. He shook his head, leaned back on the sofa in a relaxed manner, and asked:
"System, list the points I've earned."
As his words fell,
There was a [Ding!],
And the system's notification tone rang out.
Before you continue