Chapter 447

Lu Mian was also a bit dumbfounded.

Can it still be played like this?

He pondered it carefully and found that it really could—the occult knowledge that came with the gift only said that if the misfortune wasn't transferred out and returned to the original owner, it couldn't be pried again through "Fortune Transfer Technique." It didn't say that people whose fate had been changed by items like misfortune gold coins couldn't have their luck transferred again.

One cannot underestimate others. Although they are silly and not smart enough most of the time, occasionally they will have whimsical ideas and unusual methods... Aurora once said that no matter how stupid a person is, if they think about it a thousand times, there will always be one success... As a "Conspirator," one cannot ignore similar possibilities, otherwise, one will sooner or later be tripped by a "rope" and fall hard... Lu Mian gained some enlightenment from this matter and gained a bit of experience.

Based on the fact that after he promoted to "Conspirator," there hadn't been a situation where the potion power was slightly out of control and leaked out, and he had clearly digested a bit more potion just now, in a few days, he would be able to pray for a "Penitent" gift and have the ability to form a new balance.

Lu Mian looked at the little bull, which was struggling with its "sitting posture," and pondered the question:

"Can such a process be repeated indefinitely?"

Bouvard's hooves tapped on the brass-colored mechanical keyboard, while Jenna was responsible for reading the content on the paper:

"Every time luck is transferred, the river of fate will undergo certain changes, advancing a section. This leads to the misfortune happening earlier and earlier after the transfer process ends, until it takes effect immediately, and the difficulty of prying it also increases continuously.

"The fate on a misfortune gold coin cannot be pried by a 'Penitent' after passing through two or three people, and the same goes for unlucky banknotes.

"A 'Mendicant Monk' can only maintain the existence of one fate item at the same time; a 'Penitent' can maintain two."

Unlucky banknotes refer to a 20-franc paper banknote originally contained in the gray-blue cloth bag, with the bust of Intis's first president, LeVance, and the large wharf on the Senzo River on the front.

So it's not that you don't want to get more misfortune gold coins, it's that you can't... Lu Mian nodded slowly:

"How many more days can the misfortune gold coin and unlucky banknote last?"

"Ten days." The little bull typed out two words quickly.

Franca had heard Lu Mian mention "Fortune Transfer Technique," which made her and Jenna careful to distinguish spoils of war when facing gifted followers of the Fate pathway, and not to step on things they shouldn't.

Listening to the conversation between the two at this time, she muttered silently:

What unlucky banknotes, I think they are life-selling banknotes!

I knew some similar evil arts before I transmigrated, but I thought they were fake, feudal superstition. But now it seems that humans have convergent thinking when the environment is similar, and even the evil arts created are relatively close. Or does our world also have traces of the Fate evil god or gods in similar domains?

Lu Mian pointed to the two small metal bottles besides the misfortune gold coin and unlucky banknote and asked:

"What are these?"

"They are both prophecy potions," Jenna read out the sentence the little bull typed.

Prophecy potions, I've always found them troublesome and haven't bothered to get them. Moreover, if I find a corpse to feed prophecy potions to, I might be influenced by Termiboros secretly, getting inaccurate or misled results... Lu Mian cast his gaze toward the item found in Bouvard Pomperol's other pocket.

It was a monocle with a shape so strange that Lu Mian didn't dare to recognize it:

Its main body was a round, thick cover that seemed to be composed of pale flesh and dark blood vessels, which seemed to be wearable directly on the ear.

One end of this circular part extended outward, connecting to a lens formed by the entanglement of transparent purple tubes, inside which flowed a hint of blood color.

Just now, when Franca put on gloves and took this item out, some strange and illusory sounds rang out faintly by her ear, but she couldn't hear them clearly.

"What is this?" Lu Mian asked.

Bouvard tapped the keyboard of the mechanical typewriter:

"A dangerous magical artifact. I call it the 'Eye of Truth'.

"It seems to have suffered severe contamination, leaving only the ability to see through illusions and see the light of spirituality. If worn, one might hear the voices of certain hidden existences at any time, gaining negative effects that cannot be stopped.

"If only carried, without flesh-and-blood contact, and without attempting to use it, there will only be slight tinnitus and auditory hallucinations."

An incomplete "Eye of Mysticism," huh... Lu Mian was silent for several seconds before asking:

"Don't you have things like ritual sheepskin or ritual dogskin?"

"There are three pieces of ritual dogskin at my home." The little bull had a strong desire to confide, and Lu Mian hadn't asked for details that he had taken the initiative to answer using the typewriter, "The incantation for use is 'Ring', and the incantation for release is 'Arrangement of Fate'. Any language that can pry supernatural power can be used."

Quite devout, huh... Lu Mian exhaled and laughed:

"What other valuable items do you have at home?"

"There are more than 13,000 in banknotes, gold coins, gold bars, and jewelry with a current value of 30,000 francs, 20,000 francs in stocks and bonds, and property deeds for three houses." The little bull "counted" its assets.

Stocks? That must be obtained quickly and sold through the black market, otherwise, they might fall tomorrow! Franca keenly captured the keywords for her.

Not counting the houses that are not easy to be traced by official Beyonders and are difficult to cash out, there are more than 60,000 francs... Worthy of being a liaison responsible for a portion of the "Sinner" organization's followers and corresponding industries... Lu Mian immediately asked where Bouvard's residence was.

Finally, he asked about the situation of other liaisons and important members of the "Sinner" organization, but Bouvard didn't know. They were all in single-line contact with the Sanson family, responsible for their own affairs, had no intersection with each other, and only met once or twice occasionally at the Sanson home.

Lu Mian listened quietly, didn't immediately decide Bouvard's fate, and turned to Franca, Jenna, and Anthony Reid, who was waiting outside the door and didn't want to be seen by Bouvard:

"Adding Paulina's assets, we will harvest 75,000 francs, the 'Eye of Truth,' three pieces of ritual dogskin, two bottles of prophecy potion, one misfortune gold coin, and one unlucky banknote.

"The latter two items, you can't take; only I can carry them. I want the 'Eye of Truth,' one piece of ritual dogskin, and them. You decide for yourselves what spoils of war you want."

Jenna cast her gaze toward Franca, feeling that this companion had "sacrificed" quite a bit and had the right to pick first.

Franca ended her invisibility state, thought for a moment, and said:

"I want those two bottles of prophecy potion and one piece of ritual dogskin. Uh, forget it, I still can't adapt to it. Change it to 15,000 francs, all in gold!"

Jenna then looked toward the door, signaling Anthony Reid to pick.

Anthony's voice rang out soon:

"I want two pieces of ritual dogskin. They will be very useful to me. Shar, I will need to ask for your help when the time comes.

"Hmm, add another 20,000 francs."

At this time, Jenna discovered that there were still a full 40,000 francs left for her.

She looked at Lu Mian with some unease:

"I'm just helping you work, paying off interest."

"Working also has spoils of war," Lu Mian said with a smile, "Take it all. After promoting to sequence 7, does it feel like making money has become easier?"

Jenna was silent for a few seconds and said:

"Okay, 25,000 of it back to you, 15,000 to Franca."

In this way, her total debt dropped by nearly half in an instant, and she no longer owed Lu Mian. The speed of making money was indeed beyond her imagination.

The little bull Bouvard listened to the four of them discussing the distribution of spoils of war and had a very strange feeling, because the vast majority of the spoils were or had once been his.

Seeing that Lu Mian and the others were focused on the discussion and didn't pay much attention to him, even the witch who had originally used the "Invisibility" ability to be responsible for secret monitoring had walked out, Bouvard's heart moved.

He felt that Lu Mian definitely wasn't a "Penitent" yet, otherwise he wouldn't have asked certain questions just now. Since the other party wasn't a "Penitent," it meant that the ritual cowhide wrapping him likely came from Guillaume Bénet—he hadn't been stimulated to wake up by the power of Fate while unconscious, which indicated it wasn't a ritual held on the spot.

And Bouvard knew the incantations for using and releasing the "Livestock Creation Technique" items of Guillaume Bénet!

After a question-and-answer session that wasn't short, Bouvard's spirituality had recovered a bit. He began to gather his spirit secretly, preparing to chant the incantation "Lord Archbishop."

Just as the first word echoed inside the brown cowhide, Bouvard's eyes froze, discovering that Lu Mian had been looking at him with a half-smile for some time.

"Humph!"

Two rays of white light rolled over, and Bouvard fell unconscious once again.

Lu Mian looked at the little bull lying on the ground and smiled:

"Tested it, no other secrets, just mastered the release incantation of the parish priest."

He didn't deal with Bouvard first, but discussed the distribution of spoils of war, just to test what other secrets this liaison of the "Sinner" organization, whose spirituality had recovered a little, had.

"Take it away?" Franca looked at the unconscious little bull and asked.

Her hidden meaning was whether to take it to the Plaza of Sacrificial Pillars in the catacombs, where it might be possible to prevent some gifted power from returning to the mother body, forming a Beyonder object.

Lu Mian thought for a moment and said:

"It's easy to be discovered, just deal with it here."

He couldn't locate any area in the catacombs from the outside, making it difficult to transport Bouvard in. And passing through various entrances would be discovered by the catacomb managers guarding the doors, who would block them or directly "call the police."

"Okay." Franca was silent for two seconds and said with some anticipation, "I just happen to want to try the 'Prophecy Potion'."

This required a corpse that had been dead for less than seven days and had not been purified or turned into ashes.

Lu Mian stood up and pointed outside the door:

"Call me in after Bouvard is dead through and through."

He was carrying the "Torture" gloves; staying at the scene might cause the return of gifted power to have mutations.

Franca said "Hmm," turned her head to look at Jenna, and said with a smile:

"You do this; this is an opportunity to play the 'Witch'."

"Can this be used to play the 'Witch'?" Jenna had previously felt that the sequence name "Witch" was too abstract and general, unable to think of an intuitive and concrete way to play it for a while.

Franca said with a smile:

"In occultism, a 'Witch' is seen as a feminine power that brings disaster, while also possessing traits like mystery, evil, and power.

"Think about it, a woman using black flames to kill a human, feeding the corpse strange potions, letting it make prophecies about the future—isn't that very evil and mysterious, very witch-like?"

(End of chapter)