Chapter 171: Premonition and Opportunity

Ke Lai En couldn't think of a reasonable explanation, but Lei Kedun simply waved his hand casually and brushed the topic aside.

Adjusting his expression, Lei Kedun feigned curiosity and asked:

"What path is that profane card?"

Seeing that the other party didn't intend to probe how he had done those things last night, Ke Lai En breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled, saying:

"The Black Emperor Path you mentioned before."

"The Black Emperor's ascension ceremony is to possess one's own realm, linking one's name with the title Emperor, becoming common knowledge among the people."

"And it also requires establishing a strict yet abnormal set of rules, compelling the populace to build nine pyramid‑like tombs, then entering one of them, and during the widespread sacrificial rites spread across various cities that most people partake in, ingesting the Sequence 0 demonic elixir."

Lei Kedun pretended it was his first time hearing of it, nodded, and his eyes showed a hint of surprise.

He then added, saying:

"The Black Emperor Path excels at twisting rules and using them; the Black Emperor's resurrection ability may be exploiting a loophole of death."

Ke Lai En nodded in agreement, finding the speculation quite reasonable.

Lei Kedun fell silent, sitting quietly in his chair with eyes closed, waiting for Ke Lai En to finish breakfast.

Ke Lai En also sensed that the other was waiting for him, so he slightly quickened his breakfast pace.

After finishing his breakfast, Ke Lai En curiously looked at Lei Kedun and asked:

"Do you have anything to do today?"

"No," Lei Kedun shook his head slightly, then said:

"What are your plans for today? I have a premonition; I should be following you during this period."

"Hmm? Following me? Why?"

Ke Lai En asked, clearly not understanding.

Lei Kedun rubbed his chin with his right hand, feigning thought, and said:

"Some premonition—I don't know why either; I can only say it's an intuition about the future."

The knocking sound of "Dong! Dong!" rang.

Ke Lai En rose to open the door; as soon as his hand touched the door handle, a scene outside the door flashed in his mind.

An elder with white beard and hair, dressed in a simple brown robe, stood outside the door with his eyes tightly closed.

Ke Lai En recognized him as the neighbor who often visits Lei Kedun, old gentleman Desitini.

Ke Lai En subconsciously glanced at Lei Kedun, thinking the elder was still here to see him.

After turning the handle and opening the door, Ke Lai En courteously stepped aside, yielding space and inviting the guest inside:

"Good morning, old gentleman Desitini."

"Good morning, Detective."

Lei Kedun, seated on a dining chair, saw Desitini enter, paused briefly, then quickly connected it to his premonition.

"Fate?" Lei Kedun murmured softly.

Although Desitini's eyes were closed, his stride was unaffected, as if he had no concern about kicking or tripping over anything while blind.

"I have sensed the trajectory of fate; it's not yet clear, but I feel it—perhaps it's the opportunity of Ascension Sequence Three, and it's drawing nearer."

As Desitini explained why he came, his tone grew increasingly excited.

Lei Kedun pulled a chair to the other's side and, curiously, asked:

"Today?"

Desitini shook his head and replied:

"No, I don't know—perhaps not—but I have prepared everything; only the final opportunity remains."

After Ke Lai En closed the door, he also came over, asking curiously:

"What opportunity? The ascension ceremony?"

Desitini nodded, then shook his head again; after a brief pause, he said:

"The Fate Path's Sequence Three is called the Chaos Walker; the opportunity I need is the optimal time for me to ingest the demonic elixir and ascend, which is also a ritual."

Lei Kedun raised an eyebrow, saying, not particularly surprised:

"When you find this opportunity, the ritual will naturally begin or manifest, right?"

"Yes," Desitini nodded in response.

Ke Lai En, who had been listening, pondered briefly, then said with a tone of wonder:

"The Fate Path's ascension relies entirely on luck, right?"

"That can be said," Desitini agreed, nodding.

Lei Kedun sat leaning against the table, puzzled why Desitini could sense his ascension opportunity now; initially, Lei Kedun thought the ascension would have to wait for the Great Smog Incident.

Doesn't the Chaos Walker's ascension require a large‑scale chaos as its opportunity?

He thought it over for a long while but reached no conclusion.

Lei Kedun simply stood up and said to Ke Lai En:

"What are you planning to do today? I'm following you."

Ke Lai En glanced at Lei Kedun, then at Desitini beside him, feeling that today he would travel as a trio.

After hesitating, Ke Lai En still voiced his original plan for the day:

"This morning I intend to go to the Krag Club."

Lei Kedun nodded slightly, while internally wondering if his premonition pointed to Wei Er.

Following Ke Lai En to the Krag Club, thanks to the gold bar and Desitini's luck, Lei Kedun and Desitini quickly became new members of the club.

Ke Lai En chatted with a friend he met at the club for a while, then went to the shooting range to practice shooting.

Lei Kedun and Desitini each took a cup of coffee, found a seat, and sat quietly, waiting for events to unfold.

Quietly waiting is not Lei Kedun's temperament; after sitting in the same spot for a long time, Lei Kedun feels bored.

De Siti Ni seems to have long been accustomed to this state of quietly waiting for things to happen, sitting very still on the sofa, and Lei Kedun even thinks the other has fallen asleep with eyes closed.

He reaches out and taps the empty coffee cup twice, and Lei Kedun sighs:

"If I had known it would be this boring, I would have brought two books to read."

"If you want to read, perhaps you should go to the library."

A middle‑aged man leaning on a cane, who was passing by, paused when he heard Lei Kedun's words and, smiling, added a sentence.

Lei Kedun turned his head, and a faint violet halo briefly flickered in his eyes, disappearing in an instant without catching the middle‑aged man's attention.

He saw nothing unusual about the man, but Lei Kedun still spoke up, inviting him to sit down and chat for a while:

"There don't seem to be many seats around; if you don't mind, you can sit here. No one is talking to me, which makes me a bit bored."

"Haha! I used to think people who like reading would enjoy quiet and solitude, but it seems you are not like that."

The middle‑aged man replied, then rested his cane against the sofa, seeming not to want to take many more steps while leaning on it.

Lei Kedun smiled and responded:

"I only enjoy quiet when I'm immersed in a book; otherwise I prefer a livelier atmosphere."

De Siti Ni, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa with eyes closed, at some point had turned his head; although his eyes remained shut, Lei Kedun felt the other could still see with them closed.

Keeping his eyes closed, he stared at the middle‑aged man sitting on the other side of the sofa, and after a while spoke:

"Sir, your recent luck doesn't seem very good, does it?"

Lei Kedun looked at De Siti Ni, then turned his attention back to the middle‑aged man he had invited; he could now be fairly certain of the man's identity.

Doctor Ai Lun·Ke Rui Si, Wei Er's father, whom he later chose to reboot.

Ai Lun glanced hesitantly at De Siti Ni, who kept his eyes closed; he had previously thought the old gentleman had fallen asleep on the sofa.

Lei Kedun spoke up to vouch for De Siti Ni:

"You can trust Old Sir De Siti Ni's judgment; he has an extraordinary understanding of fate."

"Is that so?" Doctor Ai Lun's eyes still showed clear hesitation, but after wrestling with it alone for a while he decided to trust the other, at least temporarily.

Since I'm already so unlucky, I can't keep getting duped!

"I've been unlucky for a long time."

Doctor Ai Lun rubbed his temple and replied, then hesitantly asked:

"Old Sir De Siti Ni, may I ask what your view on this is?"

Lei Kedun also looked at De Siti Ni curiously, eager to hear what explanation the other would give.

"This is a transaction; the ups and downs of fate are normal. When your luck drops to a certain point, it will recover and become even better."

"A transaction?" Lei Kedun murmured, already guessing that Wei Er, pursued too tightly by Wu Luo Liu Si, was now preparing to reboot.

"What?"

Doctor Ai Lun shook his head in disappointment; he had expected the old gentleman to say something that would clear his doubts, but he only offered a bit of consolation.

Lei Kedun stared at De Siti Ni; since the other had recognized the transaction, he should know more, yet gave no indication at all.

After a brief hesitation, Lei Kedun still asked aloud:

"Old Sir De Siti Ni, don't you want to meet your former chairman?"

"I have left the Life School, and I don't wish to take part in the contest of the Wheel of Fate. I came to Bei Ke Lan De solely for that opportunity."

De Siti Ni shook his head slightly, his attitude unmistakably clear.

I've had family matters these past two days, so updates will be fewer; I'll make them up later.

(End of chapter)