Circle of Inevitability

952 Items That Can Be Sold

Seeing the situation, Lumian didn't insist; after all, Xu Xinyang still had the important task of paying the bill. He couldn't possibly cover for him, right? He hadn't even received his first month's salary yet!

Lumian then called over to the colleagues who had collapsed at the beginning but had now recovered, arranging for them to send the different drunks home nearby. If there was no one going in the same direction, they would call family members to come pick them up.

After finishing this task, Lumian pulled up a chair and sat down, taking a few sips of liquor as if it were a beverage. This made the few colleagues who were still somewhat sober twitch at their temples.

Is this guy the reincarnation of a wine vat?

Glancing at the still bustling main hall outside, Lumian idly took out his phone and began replying to messages and browsing trending topics.

As he scrolled, he noticed that the content being pushed to him now included a lot of alcohol-related topics, including but not limited to "Which brand of baijiu tastes best", "Beer tasting", "Legal liability for alcohol-related accidents caused by pressuring others to drink", "Civil compensation for alcohol-related sudden deaths by others at the same table", "Alcohol is a carcinogen"…

Does this count as a form of monitoring? Lumian pondered as his thumb slid across the screen.

When the last drunk was taken away, he stood up and left the hot pot restaurant. He searched for the location of Xinhong District and found it was just over two kilometers away.

It was past 8 p.m. now, and the sky had darkened completely. The scorching breeze had taken on a hint of coolness. The street lamps on both sides were bright, and there were many pedestrians passing by, brushing shoulders without disturbing each other.

Lumian savored this state of being immersed in the crowd yet detached from it, his mind gradually relaxing and unwinding.

He walked past shops playing old songs, crowds dancing to lively rhythms, and a bustling bar street, hearing shouts of "Cheers! Cheers!" coming from inside.

Returning to the rental apartment, Lumian saw Ludwig in the kitchen, standing on a small folding stool, busy preparing food. Anthony sat by the dining table, writing down his observations from the day.

His task was to continue observing Zhou Mingrui and those close to him, watching for any abnormalities or subtle changes after they came into contact with Lumian, Franca, or Jenna.

Seeing Lumian return, Anthony looked up and said, "He insists on cooking himself. He finds preparing his own breakfast and late-night snacks more enjoyable than studying textbooks or doing homework."

"He's become more human-like," Lumian said with a chuckle.

He had just sat down when the door opened and Franca and Jenna appeared in the doorway.

"There's an urgent matter we need to discuss together, to complement each other's strengths," Franca explained succinctly.

Her interaction with Zhou Mingrui today was the kind that only left a certain impression, and this already had experimental results. It wouldn't cause her to be kicked out of the dream or face restrictions.

So before taking further action, she could discreetly touch base with Lumian and the others.

She and Jenna had taken a taxi to a stop one station away and sneaked over using the shadows.

"What's the matter?" Lumian sat up a bit straighter.

"I'm having a private dinner with Zhou Mingrui tomorrow night, thanks to Luo Shan!" Franca pulled out a chair and sat down, asking Lumian with a mix of excitement and nervousness, "This doesn't affect your experiment plans, does it?"

"A little, but it's not a big problem. Taking big steps to try things out first, then working backwards to eliminate possibilities one by one is also a method of experimentation," Lumian said after a few seconds of thought.

Franca let out a sigh of relief and said, "Then let's discuss how to give Zhou Mingrui hints. This should show some progress compared to before, but not excessively, otherwise we can't rule out options and would have to risk a second attempt later."

Lumian tersely agreed and provided several approaches from a Conspirer's perspective. He then evaluated Franca's contingency plans and explanations, while Jenna helped fill in any gaps from an Instigator's standpoint.

Anthony was responsible for empathizing with Zhou Mingrui's possible psychological activities and instinctive reactions, even role-playing as Zhou Mingrui during rehearsals.

After twenty to thirty minutes of discussion, Franca finally had two feasible plans that were likely to achieve her goals.

"Brainstorming really does work!" she exclaimed sincerely.

Jenna then recounted her experience of selling the painting at the Star Dream Provisions Store, not omitting a single detail.

After listening to the end, Franca thoughtfully took out the Beyonder characteristic obtained from the reanimated Panatiya from her Traveler's Bag.

She showed it briefly before quickly stuffing it back. "Can we sell this thing to the Star Dream Provisions Store?

"We can't use it for now anyway, so why not exchange it for money and find a way to rent useful items? Whether the mission succeeds or not later, the Major Arcana card holders should reimburse us or help buy it back."

"We can try, but I think that individual probably won't accept it," Lumian said as he also took out an item from his Traveler's Bag.

It was the corpse wax candle obtained from the Blue Avenger.

Looking at this pale yellow candle with a reddish tinge, Lumian thought for a moment before saying, "We discussed before that Demonesses might have symbolic meaning and special uses in the dream city. Now I want to say that Hunters might also have significance: I'm a Hunter, the first person killed was the Oracle who was also a Hunter, and Anderson, who is clearly abnormal now, is also a Hunter.

"Given this premise, items related to Demonesses and Hunters might prove useful later on, and we can't predict which ones. That individual will probably not accept them, instead letting us keep them and wait for the right opportunity.

"Hmm, we can try. If She doesn't accept them, it would provide initial validation for my theory."

Jenna, Franca, and Anthony all nodded thoughtfully.

The four of them then took out many mystical items they weren't currently using, planning to have Jenna take them to the Star Dream Provisions Store to sell the next day.

Looking at these items, Jenna pondered for a few seconds before saying, "That individual is a true deity… Isn't it somewhat disrespectful to bring such a hodgepodge of items of varying value?"

Anthony nodded in agreement with Jenna's statement.

Franca added, "Yeah, it feels like we're treating Her like a junk collector…"

As she spoke, Franca fell silent, as did Lumian and the others.

In the end, they selected only three high-value items.

After discussing everything, Franca stood up, stretching her arms and said, "I'm a bit excited and nervous thinking about substantially hinting at Mr. Fool's dream manifestation tomorrow night."

"What time is your appointment tomorrow night?" Lumian asked.

"Seven o'clock. Luo Shan said those tech folks rarely leave work on time, so we need to allow for extra time." Franca also mentioned the meeting place.

Seven o'clock, huh… Lumian raised his right hand and rubbed his chin.

At this point, Jenna carefully said, "Don't be too nervous. You might not even manage to meet up successfully. I've seen posts on those apps where people set a time and place for a date, but their busy boyfriends or girlfriends end up working overtime at the last minute and have to cancel."

"That's a possibility…" Franca was momentarily dumbfounded.

…

The next morning, Jenna once again arrived at the Star Dream Provisions Store.

She took a ride-hailing car as before, but this time encountered no obstacles or abnormalities.

Walking up to the checkout counter in the back of the Star Dream Provisions Store, Jenna politely asked, "Do you take this item?"

She placed the Beyonder characteristic from the reanimated Panatiya on the counter.

In the suddenly dimmed environment, the shopkeeper raised her head, looked at it, then shook her head and said, "We don't take this one."

So you really don't accept it… Does it need to be made into an item, or is it as Lumian speculated, that things related to the Demoness and Hunter pathways will have important uses later? After putting away Panatiya's Beyonder characteristic, Jenna took out the corpse wax candle in a small glass bottle. "Do you take this?"

"We don't take that either," the shopkeeper said without a trace of impatience on her beautiful face.

Not taking items either… Jenna thoughtfully put away the corpse wax candle.

Then, she took out an item from her Traveler's Bag.

It was a set of silver-white full body armor.

Pride Armor!

Jenna didn't try to hide the special nature of the Traveler's Bag as she placed the Pride Armor sideways on the counter.

The next second, she noticed a faint smile appear on the shopkeeper's face.

Almost simultaneously, the Pride Armor moved.

Like a crab, it moved sideways, clanking towards the entrance of the Star Dream Provisions Store.

However, the silver-white full body armor moved slower and slower, gradually turning upright.

When it was just two or three steps from the exit, it came to a complete stop, motionless.

It seemed to have turned into ordinary armor.

At this point, Jenna and the shopkeeper were both behind it, facing each other.

It showed no reaction.

In her astonishment, Jenna heard the shopkeeper say with a hint of amusement, "I'll take this item. 30,000 still."

So items like the Pride Armor can indeed be sold… But why did the Pride Armor react so strongly at first, and why isn't it even confronting the people behind it now? Though puzzled, Jenna didn't dare to ask.

…

Lumian, who learned he would be switching to the mid-shift next week, returned to the rental apartment.

He left at 6 p.m., arriving half an hour early at the entrance of Jinxiu Dongfang Community on Sifang Street.

He wanted to scout the environment first, as it might come in handy later.

As Lumian's gaze swept the area, he suddenly saw a familiar figure.

It was Anderson Hood, wearing a black T-shirt with abstract patterns.

Anderson also saw Lumian and walked over, smiling as he said, "I'm in the habit of arriving early."

Lumian responded with a smile, "Me too."

Anderson nodded. "Since we're both early, let's start the tour earlier. The friend you mentioned was indeed yourself."

"If that's what you want to think, I can't do anything about it," Lumian said with a smile, not arguing.

Anderson didn't seem to mind as he turned and led him into the Jinxiu Dongfang Community.

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