Chapter 187: Superstition Lottery

Lanxing

The future Su Lin stared with reddened eyes at the few lottery items in his hand and at his feet.

【Clear Void Sword: A Nascent Soul-grade Dharma artifact, stained with the blood of a Deity Transformation cultivator. (Senior Brother, this is a righteous backstab — Lan Zhen)】

【Ghost Camera: Phases through walls, tracks, tails, turns invisible. (The original intent behind my invention of this item was to maintain order — Adric, sentenced to 732 years' imprisonment)】

【Crossing Tribulation Spring Water: Raises Luck value, carries the attribute of purifying negative statuses. (RNGesus won't save the unlucky, but spending money can. The same product is available in the Shangcheng; ten bottles and you can try jumping off a cliff — jump ten times and you might obtain a random inheritance.)】

"My god," the future Su Lin stared blankly at these "scraps of junk," his voice hoarse: "Where on earth did that freakish luck of his come from?!"

*Clatter*

He flung the Dharma artifact in his hand onto the ground, gradually calming down.

Once or twice would be fine, but that past version of himself, who was different from his present self, had luck so absurdly good it defied the heavens.

That guy probably hadn't even noticed. No — the things he drew on a normal day were all so good that, for him, he simply didn't understand what an ordinary person's lottery looked like.

'Dammit! I'm so jealous!'

——————

Backlund Suburban Daily

【A rumor has recently been circulating in the post-war hospitals: a ghost with mushrooms growing on half its face and weeds on the other half has been wandering about. It feeds on illness, wounds, and grief. If you see it, don't be afraid — it is friendly.】

Su Lin set down the newspaper filled with all sorts of gossip, walked to the louvered window, parted the slats with his fingers, and glanced at the scene inside the tavern.

Business was unexpectedly not bad.

He sat on the sofa and browsed the System Shangcheng for a while. All along, the system function Su Lin used most wasn't item exchange, but rather

the lottery.

It wasn't until tonight that Su Lin suddenly recalled that he usually treated the System Shangcheng like a shopping app — every time he went in, he mostly just stared longingly, occasionally buying some "toilet paper" Consumables, like Time Sands and the like.

He didn't know when it started, but his main spending had shifted over to the lottery. Su Lin fell silent for a long time once he realized it.

When did I turn into a gambling dog? After browsing the Shangcheng for half a day, Su Lin silently opened the lottery page.

'I'll just do one pull. Just one.'

'Take a gamble and a bicycle becomes a motorcycle.'

'No — I've quit for so long, am I really going to give it up now? I can't throw away last time's regret just for a moment of pleasure.'

Su Lin rubbed the gold coin in his hand and walked outside.

He gazed at that group of famous Loen rich second-generation heirs, still drunk on pleasure and reveling, celebrating that they hadn't perished in the bombing, and fell into thought.

'Seize the day — isn't earning money just for the sake of enjoyment?'

'No, with my current cheat, lowbrow amusements can't satisfy me.'

'No — I've quit for so long, am I really going to give it up? Don't let desire pierce through my will.'

"All in! All in! All in!" the gamblers egged each other on at the side.

Su Lin's pupils dilated slightly. At a gambling table nearby, a brown-haired woman pushed all her chips onto the number 60. As the wheel spun, the ball stopped on 60!

The woman wore an inscrutable smile at the corner of her lips, leaned out, and swept the chips into her arms. The people around her erupted in celebration, firing salutes for the coronation of the Gambling King! If not for that sudden surge of luck and the sense of dissonance...

*Snap*

Su Lin snapped his fingers, and Delun. Aiso immediately appeared beside Su Lin, awaiting orders.

"She's a Beyonder of the Monster pathway. Once she leaves, clobber her from behind and take the money back." Su Lin glanced around, then leaned close to Delun. Aiso's ear: "Keep it discreet — just teach her a lesson."

"Yes."

If his Loen official identity weren't still useful, Delun. Aiso would want to keep watch here 360 days a year.

The Loen Kingdom's Sifa Force? Don't know them at all.

Su Lin walked out of the tavern, contacted Miss Kelaien, and received an affirmative reply.

The Monster pathway Beyonder's luck-controlling ability just now gave him a new idea — he wanted to try a different method.

Just one superstitious pull! The last one!

Elsewhere in the East District, inside a rented room with a similar layout.

Mr. Miss Kelaien Mo Leidi, the fabricator of Backlund and Pritz Harbor ghost stories, sat at a desk, quill in hand, writing on a sheet of letter paper:

"Dear Mr. Azik:

"I am beginning to gradually believe in the saying that things reverse when they reach the extreme, and this is not because I have joined some cult or become addicted to gambling."

"Back to the main point — I have found that the interesting things in ancient history are far more numerous than imagined. I believe you should be quite interested, otherwise you would not have become a history teacher after losing your memory."

"These historical matters run deep, and it is not convenient to discuss them in a letter. Once you wake up, I would like to share them with you in person."

"I have crafted a type of charm called 'Yesterday Once More,' and I am sending you two. Compared to the one I sent last month, these two were made after I recently became Sequence 3, so the effect may be better? After all, I was only Sequence 4 at the time."

"Regarding George III's advancement to 'Black Emperor,' I will attempt to do something. The probability of success should be quite high, because I have invited two deities to participate. Rest assured, they are not evil gods, but the specific origins are not convenient to disclose for now. I don't know if it will trigger a divine war, so I want to keep it as discreet as possible."

"Finally, I wish you well, and I hope you wake up soon."

"Your forever student, Miss Kelaien Mo Leidi."

Miss Kelaien took out the Azik copper whistle and blew it once.

A massive skeletal messenger promptly rose from the floor, gazed down at Miss Kelaien, and respectfully took the letter.

After Miss Kelaien finished all this, he took out a paper crane from his wallet.

He wrote on it with a pencil:

"May I visit you tomorrow?"

The next morning.

Backlund, on the garden lawn of a standalone house.

Will Auceptin, not yet one year old, lay in a cradle basking in the sun. For a baby, appropriate sunbathing aids development.

Facts proved that environmental protection laws were still useful — at the very least, shortly after His birth, He could often bask in the sun. This too was a kind of luck ordained by Zhou Mingming.

A golden cat with glossy fur lay lazily on the grass near a small white table, where a nanny and a maid sat.

Dr. Allen had been busy lately because attacks by the Vosack Empire drastically increased his workload, forcing him to leave early and return late; his wife, as his assistant, was equally occupied, so the responsibility of caring for Will Onsatin fell entirely on the household maid and nanny.

Sunlight spilled across the green grass: the sleeping infant, the sunbathing cat, the dozing maid, and the detached villa in the background—all was serene.

Will Onsatin suddenly opened his eyes and sensed that the two maids beside him had fallen into deep sleep, including the household cat beneath the stroller.

This was clearly abnormal.

He looked toward the sky; the sun's light seemed brighter than before, and slowly, a human silhouette reflected within his eyes.

The silhouette, formed of light, first became a phantom, then a physical form.

Golden-white eyes, black hair, sharply defined facial features.

Su Lin landed soundlessly, as if weightless, holding an ice cream tub, and pulled out a historical projection from beside him.

It was Miss Kelaien, wearing a half-high silk top hat and a black double-breasted overcoat, his historical projection initially blank-eyed, then after two seconds, his gaze suddenly came alive.

"Wah—!" Tears streamed down Will Onsatin's face as he began wailing.

After a while, the chubby infant finally stopped crying.

"You've just betrayed me!"

He waved his chubby little hands, sobbing bitterly:

"You said you and a. Follower. came to visit."

"Where did you get a. Divine Follower.?"

"I'm so unlucky—do you plan to feed me to Uloshios, that stupid snake?"

"I'm so unlucky..."

Miss Kelaien had no idea what expression to wear, so he stared blankly, ignoring Su Lin's gaze, and suddenly remembered a Duan Zi he'd seen on a video on another Earth.

Counting Mr. Azk, Paleth, Lady Renet, and Will Onsatin, Miss Kelaien's Fool Throne now had the Four Great Angels of Elder, Young, Sick, and Disabled—and here was yet another Pregnant Angel.

So today is merely a meeting among colleagues.

Of course, Miss Kelaien could only think these words in his mind—he would never say them aloud.

"I came today to ask you for a favor." Su Lin lifted the ice cream tub to show his sincerity, also signaling he was not an enemy.

Will Onsatin stopped crying. "A favor is fine—but what flavor is the ice cream?"

"Strawberry." Miss Kelaien knew for certain, because that tub of ice cream from Saezoren Restaurant had cost him one pound and three shillings.

"Let's discuss the matter first."

"About"

After noon

"A single drop of the Blood of the Serpent of Fate."

"A lucky blessing that cycles without depletion."

Su Lin glanced at the restless dice in his hand and whispered: "You don't want me to throw you into the toilet, do you? Oh, you're obviously not afraid."

"What about this?"

Su Lin raised a cluster of condensed divine power—a flame of light.

The dice, possessing life, grew still upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Su Lin gently tossed it, nodded, and said: "Dice of Probability: Six."

The Unique of the Monster Path—Dice of Probability.

It possesses life; it can be frightened into remaining calm and obedient for twelve hours. Six means supreme luck—anything you attempt will succeed.

One means supreme misfortune—everything you attempt will go wrong; even drinking water might choke you. Three and four are normal luck or misfortune.

The closer to six, the luckier; the closer to one, the more unfortunate.

After preparing the cross, talisman, and blessed Buddha statue, Su Lin took a deep breath and opened the lottery page.

"Almost forgot."

He picked up his phone and played "Good Luck Comes."

【-】

【-】

【-】

Three gray beams appeared on the system lottery interface; from infinitely distant places, they streaked like meteors across space, ripples forming in the void, then the three beams fell into Su Lin's system backpack.

Item category.

Su Lin, heart pounding, opened his system backpack.

【One-Time Fusion Evolution Device】: Seamlessly fuses and integrates the traits of Ultimate Evolution, merging the selected object while automatically completing its qualities; if not undone within 24 hours, the state is permanently retained. (Even if you fuse two paramecia, it evolves into @#%! I even added evolution effects. —Crazy Scientist Seloth)

【Wind Spirit Moon Shadow VP Experience Card】: Effect: Add points! Duration: 3 minutes (Within the Nine Realms, I am supreme. PS: Still no one playing the "Worthless Youth Rises" trope? Really? Really?)

【Bi Yun Guan (Broken Jade Flute)】: A jade flute shattered by immense karmic burden; its lingering karma grants it extremely high status. Using it for divination or prediction obscures one's own karma and prevents tracing back to the source. (A mortal character claimed "Solely Deciding Eternity" and had a special melody with too much karma? Hmph—I don't just play this melody—I blow it across the Ten Thousand Worlds, damn it! Is there really karma?!?! —Hao Yu Immortal)

Su Lin stared at his system backpack in silence for a long time; finally, he looked at the Dice of Probability on the ground, then at his own hands.

It actually works?! No—it seems useless too.

After tidying up the scene, Su Lin stared at the three items in his backpack, lost in thought.

Under normal circumstances, these items seemed unnecessary.

Should I have made a profit?

Su Lin examined each item in turn, finally fixing his gaze on the last one: a dozen jade fragments of varying lengths.

Could this thing be...

————————

Above the boundless expanse of gray-white mist, within an ancient palace that seemed the abode of gods.

Streaks of deep crimson light shot upward along both sides of the long bronze table, solidifying one by one into blurred figures.

Justice. Audrey rose as usual, gathered her skirt in a slight curtsy, and bowed toward the highest seat: "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."

Right after that, she greeted the other Tarot Club members as well; she seemed to be in a good mood today, her voice light and the ends of her words lifting upward.

The others also bowed toward The Fool and exchanged greetings with one another.

As a Sequence 5 Spectator, Audrey would always pick out certain details from the Tarot Club members' movements and tones, thereby gleaning some information.

But very quickly, Audrey noticed something off.

Mr. Emperor's outfit today was a little different — if she remembered correctly, he had been a pirate on the sea before, and last time he wore a simple long-sleeved shirt.

Today's outfit, however, looked like that of a traveler; a thick long windbreaker wrapped him up tightly. Was he on land now?

His tone was also a little different from usual, lacking some of the excitement and desire to explore from the previous times. How to put it — Audrey felt he had become more mature.

Was it because of his experiences at sea these past few days?

Miss Kelaien, sitting in the seat of honor, did not notice anything amiss; just before he pulled those red stars into the gray fog, he had specifically observed Lu Mingfei's current situation.

His spirit body was the same as before, and nothing else had changed either.

There was still a change though — this kid seemed to have moved into a luxury single room; looked like he was doing all right for himself on Teresa's ship.

After the Tarot Club meeting wraps up, I should still keep Lu Mingfei behind to explain things, to prevent him from accidentally stepping on a landmine — that wouldn't be fun at all.

The boat of friendship capsizes the moment you say it will.

(End of chapter)