Circle of Inevitability

Hearing Lumian's words, Franca and the others couldn't help but tense up slightly, as if they were already witnessing the arrival of something terrifying.

Lumian pulled up a chair and sat down, casually scanning every corner of the room. With a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, he said, "I wonder what it feels like to be kicked out of a dream. The Major Arcana card holders didn't provide any details.

"Will it be like leaping out of the deep sea, or getting booted into an endless spiral tunnel…"

He mused about how he might be ejected from the dream, his tone light, as if he were simply describing what he had for breakfast.

Franca suddenly felt a bit sentimental.

"Are all you Hunters like this? Facing danger without fear, and even joking about it?"

"Of course, I'm scared, but what good is pure fear?" Lumian chuckled. "No matter how frightened I am inside, I'll act like it's no big deal, and I certainly won't let my words betray any weakness."

Franca laughed.

"No wonder they say the toughest thing about a Hunter is their mouth."

"…" Franca froze.

Damn it, I didn't mean to make a crude joke!

She quickly added, "In this dream city, they say that those who can keep their composure amid great turmoil are worthy of being generals!"

Lumian's lighthearted comments eased the tension in the group.

Then, Lumian smiled again.

"Getting kicked out of the dreamscape isn't scary. We can try again. What's frightening is if the Celestial Worthy restricts us, sends his subordinates, and kills us in the dream. Then there's nothing left."

Jenna pondered his words and asked, "So you're saying that if things really go wrong, we should leave the dream early?"

"Pretty smart." Lumian leaned back in his chair, took out his phone, and swiped the screen twice before stopping, staring at it for a long time without moving.

Franca glanced at the screen and noticed it displayed the WeChat friend request interface.

"Thinking of adding Mr. Fool's QQ and WeChat with an alternate account?" she guessed immediately.

Lumian smiled wryly. "Yeah, but I can't think of a good reason. I'd be rejected instantly.

"Maybe I should use, 'Do you want to learn the truth about the world and the secrets of supernatural powers?' as a request?

"Mr. Fool—or rather, Zhou Mingrui—right now is just an ordinary person who's recently taken the Assassin potion. He's felt the allure of supernatural power but doesn't know much about mysticism. He desperately needs guidance."

Anthony, who had also taken a seat, shook his head.

"If Zhou Mingrui discovers on his own that you can teach him real occult knowledge, even if it costs him money, he might add you. But if you actively and enthusiastically try to guide him, it'll have the opposite effect."

"Exactly." Franca nodded emphatically. "He might block you immediately. He could even call the police, like, 'Hello, officer? There's someone here promoting superstitions. Might be a cult member.'"

Lumian fell silent, deep in thought, muttering to himself, "Maybe I should create a mystery-themed video account, build a reputation, and wait for Zhou Mingrui to come to me.

"But that would risk exposure to the Celestial Worthy's gaze. If the account gets too popular, we'll be targeted. If it's too obscure, Mr. Fool won't notice. Unless… we use targeted ads?"

Franca twitched slightly.

This guy's adapting to the dream city and online society faster than I expected!

She spread her hands. "I don't have the technical know-how."

Lumian continued brainstorming. "Maybe we could stage a minor mysticism incident involving Mr. Fool's friends or colleagues, then solve it ourselves. Word would get back to Zhou Mingrui through them.

"It's also a way to test the Celestial Worthy's surveillance patterns. But we'd need to prepare for the person responsible for this to be detected and targeted. We should have them move out in advance and maintain contact with us using more discreet methods.

"Hmm, it's feasible. Worth a try."

Instead of assigning a specific team member to carry out the plan, Lumian turned to Franca.

"Time to submit our resumes."

To the Intis Group.

"Okay." Franca pulled out her phone.

She'd already prepared the resumes.

She applied for an administrative role, while Lumian applied for security.

Among the four of them, Franca was the only one with formal qualifications, but her field was far removed from Zhou Mingrui's, so she couldn't apply to the same department. She had to choose a position that would allow frequent contact with him.

The other three? Anthony's cover was that of a retired soldier, Jenna was an arts student majoring in drama, and Lumian was a high school dropout who had learned some martial arts.

It wasn't that Madam Justice didn't want to forge academic credentials that could be verified online; even if she did, they'd be exposed during the interview.

They wouldn't be able to answer professional questions, and they might not even understand the questions!

For that reason, Franca chose to apply herself instead of sending Jenna, who, in theory, would have a better shot at an administrative position as an arts student.

After submitting the resumes, Franca looked at Lumian with a smile and asked, "I've got some good news. Can you guess what it is?

"Stop! No eye color changes!"

Lumian pondered for a few seconds.

"Did we win the lottery?"

There weren't many things that could be considered good news and could be shared in front of Anthony, so it had to be that.

"Guess how much?" Franca wasn't disappointed that Lumian had guessed it right away.

Lumian couldn't help but laugh.

"Miss, you bought so many tickets with the same number, and I've already looked up the minimum for the second prize. What do you think? Can I guess how much you won?"

Franca smiled sheepishly and said, "That's not the point. The point is, didn't you notice anything strange?

"When we fought the revived corpse, the hidden Marionettist didn't intervene. When we were outside Star Dream Provisions Store, someone warned us about technological methods of eavesdropping like devices and hidden cameras. And now, we've won a lottery ticket we staked twenty-plus times on.

"What's this called? Some force is helping us!"

Jenna, who had already discussed this with Franca, added, "We think it's an expression of Mr. Fool's subconscious tendencies within the dream. It's symbolic.

"Neither he nor the Celestial Worthy holds absolute dominance right now. During the day, he's stronger; at night, the Celestial Worthy is more powerful. But even at night, he's not entirely powerless."

Lumian nodded slowly.

"I did notice that fate thread was special but didn't think it would lead to a lottery win. Maybe 'special' itself was the hint from fate."

He found nothing in Franca and Jenna's theory that needed correction.

"Praise The Fool!" Franca stood up abruptly, placing her hand over her heart in a gesture of sincere reverence.

She continued, "Who's going to claim the prize today?"

She had already looked up the prize collection process online.

Lumian and Jenna both looked at Anthony, who nodded calmly.

If it were the three Demonesses, they would have to put on more disguises, but Anthony didn't need any.

Anthony nodded calmly. "I'll go."

At ten in the morning, when none of them had encountered any abnormalities, Lumian headed to the bedroom to catch up on sleep.

Franca drove the gray sedan, with Jenna, Anthony, and Ludwig in tow, following the navigation to the lottery center in the dream city.

As she drove, Franca gradually grew agitated, muttering, "Why do we hit a red light at every intersection?"

Jenna, in the passenger seat, pondered for a moment,

"Could this be the Celestial Worthy's dream tendency manifesting, symbolizing that our actions won't go smoothly?"

Franca calmed down, focusing more intently on her driving. She even relied on her Demoness's spiritual intuition to avoid accidents on the way to the lottery center, determined to avoid a "misadventure on the way."

Due to the unfortunate timing of red lights and traffic jams, they arrived nearly half an hour later than planned.

Before Franca could hand the lottery ticket to Anthony, she saw a figure leap from the rooftop of the lottery center and crash onto the ground with a sickening splat, blood pooling everywhere.

"Was that really necessary? All I won was the second prize…" Franca was dumbfounded.

Anthony got out of the car and mingled with the crowd to find out what had happened.

He returned shortly after and reported what he'd learned to his companions, "The person who jumped was the head of the lottery center. Fifteen minutes ago, the anti-corruption department showed up."

"To stop me from claiming the second prize, they sacrificed the head of the lottery center?" Franca didn't know what expression to make.

Undeterred, Franca sent Anthony into the center with the lottery ticket, but the staff informed him that prize claims were suspended for the day and to return tomorrow.

Back in the gray sedan, after a brief silence, Franca gritted her teeth. "I was this close to winning big, and now they won't let me cash in!

"We'll bring Lumian tomorrow. Maybe we'll need to influence fate!"

When they returned to the rental apartment, Lumian was already awake.

After Franca recounted their ordeal, she asked concernedly, "Why are you up before noon? Shouldn't you sleep a bit longer?"

Lumian chuckled. "I was woken up by a phone call."

"Wow, you just got this number a few days ago, and you're already getting spam calls?" Franca joked knowingly.

Lumian shook his head. "No, it was from the Intis Group. They want me to come in for an interview tomorrow morning."

"An interview call this quickly?" Franca blurted out in surprise.

Why haven't I gotten one yet?

My resume is way better than Lumian's!

Lumian took out his phone, unlocked the screen, and handed it to Franca. "Maybe this is why."

Franca took the phone curiously, only to find a news article on the screen.

"During last night's thunderstorm, a car was struck by lightning, leaving one dead and three injured…

"The deceased and injured were all security personnel from the Intis Group…"

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