Chapter 935: New Residence (Thanks to Old Kohler for donating to the Xia Zuo Savio Silver Alliance)

"Damn, can it really be this coincidental?" After extracting the key information from the news, Franca blurted out.

Yesterday afternoon, Lu Mian made his first contact with Mr. Fool's dream image, Zhou Mingrui, and last night there was a thunderstorm that caused the Intis Group's security department to lose four people?

Was this a chain reaction in the dream caused by the contact, or was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes?

"I don't know if this symbolizes something good or bad..." Jenna, who had finished reading the news, whispered with concern.

Lu Mian was quite calm.

"Whether it's good or bad, becoming an employee of the Intis Group and a colleague of Zhou Mingrui is something we must do. We have to go, whether there are problems or not!"

Because the Intis Group interview was imminent, Lu Mian and the others used their lunch break to go out and find a real estate agent to look for a new place to live.

According to the pre-arranged plan, their subsequent actions would be carried out individually or in pairs, so as not to interfere with or affect each other, avoiding the situation where one person being eliminated would lead to the whole team being kicked out.

—During the observation phase, the risk was low, so they could act together, but once they reached the contact and probing phase, every step could potentially cause the Celestial Worthy to cast his gaze.

This time, Lu Mian and the others chose Dechuang Garden, a residential complex that was only five years old. The facilities were very new, and the surrounding shops included many big brands and internet-famous types.

They chose this place because the data provided by the Major Arcana card holders indicated that Luo Shan, an employee of the Intis Group's Administrative Department who had a corresponding image in reality, rented a place here.

She was also a target that needed to be contacted and probed.

In the lobby of the complex, the sun-reflecting marble floor and several sets of gray sofas complemented each other, exuding a clean, bright, and light-luxury temperament.

"A one-bedroom apartment costs two thousand in monthly rent." After seeing off the real estate agent and the landlord, Jenna muttered with a pained heart.

It was almost catching up to the three-bedroom apartment they were currently renting.

The difference in rent between different locations and building ages was actually this huge!

"We have to rent it even if it's expensive!" Franca said through gritted teeth.

We must claim that lottery ticket tomorrow!

This was another six thousand in expenses!

—Although the landlord and the real estate agent were both men, Jenna didn't use "Charm" when bargaining, and even used "Lies" and makeup techniques to make herself appear plain. She only relied on her "Instigator" ability to shave off two hundred in rent and one month of advance payment.

Lu Mian nodded slightly, agreeing with Franca's attitude.

In his view, as long as it was for the sake of completing the mission and within their capabilities, money that needed to be spent should be spent; they couldn't be stingy, no matter how much it pained them!

As his gaze swept across, he noticed an automatic vending machine in the corner of the lobby, and the beverage bottles inside had a very designed look.

Recalling the hints in the data, Lu Mian walked over and saw that apart from the few bottles used for display, the rest of the products were packed in boxes, requiring a blind selection.

And the names of these new beverages were extremely familiar to him:

"Seer, Assassin, Bard, Sleepless..."

"These are all potion names..." Franca followed him over, took a breath, and whispered, "They wouldn't actually be real, would they?"

She also remembered the "Fully Automatic Vending Machine" and "Fully Automatic Wishing Machine" recorded in the data.

Lu Mian looked at the automatic vending machine for a few seconds and laughed.

"The highest is only Sequence 7, and the variety isn't great. If there were 'War Bishop' or 'Unaging Witch' ones, I'd want to spend a few thousand to empty this machine."

"Even if there were, we couldn't digest them." Franca took out her phone and prepared to scan the QR code on the screen.

She said eagerly,

"Let's see what I can draw."

"According to the Law of Convergence of Extraordinary Characteristics, you'll most likely only draw things related to 'Witch' and 'Hunter'." Jenna reminded her calmly.

Franca laughed.

"The point isn't what I draw, but to draw one out and test it on a mouse to see if it's a real potion."

During the conversation, Franca finished scanning the code and paid five yuan.

Click, a blind box was pushed out and fell into the retrieval port.

After taking it out, Franca unwrapped it and found the bottle was deep black, with protruding areas outlining a roaring wolf face:

"Sleepless!"

"Huh, one from the Darkness pathway?" Franca was quite surprised. "Not 'Hunter', and not 'Witch'?"

She then found the explanation herself:

"My sequence isn't high enough, and I don't have divinity, so the convergence effect doesn't seem to be that great."

After putting the Sleepless beverage into the "Traveler's Bag," Franca suddenly laughed.

"Actually, Sleepless beverages can be made normally by adding caffeine and theophylline until you die!"

The group didn't linger in the automatic vending machine area, walking through the lobby toward Building 5—the apartment they had rented was there.

Before walking out of the lobby, Lu Mian's heart stirred, and he naturally looked back at the automatic vending machine.

The corresponding corner was empty.

The machine that sold potion beverages had disappeared!

"As expected..." He wasn't surprised at all.

Franca and the others followed his gaze, also feeling that the inevitable outcome had finally arrived.

…………

At dusk, Jenna, who had settled into Dechuang Garden, sat on a chair in the entrance area of Building 5, patiently waiting for the target to appear.

After an unknown amount of time, through the glass on the entrance door, she saw the figure they had observed before.

Jenna stood up very naturally and tucked the hair falling by her cheeks behind her ears.

She paced back and forth until a girl in her twenties, wearing a light green casual dress, with brown hair and a pretty face, walked in carrying a white handbag.

Jenna "happened" to turn to a position where she could meet the other person face-to-face, showing a look of pleasant surprise and a hint of shyness as she asked,

"Hello, do you know how to get to the community activity room?"

The green-dressed girl was Luo Shan, an employee of the Intis Group's Administrative Department and a colleague of Zhou Mingrui. She kindly pointed in a direction:

"Go out the east gate, and it's on the left."

"Thank you." Jenna expressed her sincere gratitude with a slight smile.

She had already removed her previous makeup and used "Charm" suppressed to the Sequence 7 level.

This smile was like a hundred flowers in bloom, making Luo Shan's eyes light up.

Luo Shan blinked, showing an appreciative expression:

"You're so beautiful..."

Before Jenna could be humble, Luo Shan asked enthusiastically and sincerely,

"Can you be my model?

"I study painting as a hobby, and I'm quite good at it. I especially love painting beautiful people and scenery.

"I'll pay you!"

Painting... Jenna's temple throbbed, and unpleasant memories were evoked.

For her, "Painter" was a terrifying profession.

She had once killed herself in a painting in a world of paintings.

Was Luo Shan in the dream corrupted and influenced by that evil god from the "Fantasy Society"? Jenna instinctively shook her head:

"I'm sorry, I don't have any thoughts of being a model for now."

"What a pity. My painting level is quite good. I'll show you my work later; maybe you'll change your mind." Luo Shan took out her phone and asked with a smile, "You're new here, right? I've lived here for several years and have never met a girl as beautiful as you. Let's add each other on WeChat?"

Jenna had originally considered finding an excuse to add Luo Shan on WeChat, but she hadn't thought about adding her today; it was too fast and seemed suspicious!

After pondering for a few seconds, she said hesitantly,

"I'm a tenant."

"So what if you're a tenant? I was a tenant before too." Luo Shan indicated that it didn't matter.

"Alright." Jenna deliberately made herself appear a bit weak, not very good at refusing others' kindness and enthusiasm.

When adding WeChat, she specifically chose "Chat Only."

This was to make herself appear reluctant to add strangers, without the initiative to add Luo Shan as a friend.

After taking a turn around the activity room outside the east gate of the complex and finding a place to eat a bowl of rice with toppings, Jenna found that it had already turned dark.

She returned to the rental on the 23rd floor and closed the door.

For the next two days, she would be staying here alone.

After turning on the star-shaped main light, Jenna's gaze swept across the gray-and-orange sofa, the decor that exuded simple beauty, the window frames with a metallic luster, and the sleeping bed faintly visible inside the bedroom, covered with a light-colored quilt...

Compared to the three-bedroom apartment Lu Mian and the others were currently renting, this one-bedroom apartment was clearly newer and better decorated—simple but not simplistic.

Jenna walked toward the window, her fingers sliding over the white dining table, the side wall wrapped in fabric-textured wallpaper, the artistic desk lamp, the long-necked vase with plastic flowers, and the cold edge of the window, casting her gaze outside:

Buildings of varying heights were scattered among the crisscrossing roads, with most windows casting warm lights that complemented the flowing lights of the cars on the road.

"So beautiful..." Jenna looked down at the scene, sighing from the heart.

She walked back to the sofa area, her steps becoming lighter.

Once we have money, we'll let Lu Mian and Franca and the others rent houses like this too!

Jenna sat down, waiting peacefully for any abnormalities that might arise from contacting Luo Shan.

As time ticked by, she started scrolling through her phone.

She saw someone commenting on the movie "The Great Pirate 3":

"Three beautiful female pirates surrounding him, and there was ambiguity with all of them, but in the end, he only took away a silly boatswain? WTF, refund!"

Seeing this comment, Jenna felt a bit bewildered for a moment.

She didn't feel there was any problem with that plot.

She knew the result would be like that the moment the scene started:

Gehrman Sparrow is Mr. Fool's incarnation and also his messenger; isn't it normal and logical for him to meet up with Mr. Fool's other messenger, Danitz, and then leave together?

Besides, in reality, Gehrman Sparrow didn't end up with any of the three female pirate admirals!

Jenna felt the flaw in that scene was actually that the messenger Danitz didn't play the role he should have, acting like a side character among side characters.

Next, Jenna played on her phone for nearly two hours, and not a single abnormality appeared.

She checked the time and stood up, walking toward the bathroom, intending to clean herself up.

She had just turned on the bright light in the bathroom when she suddenly heard a buzzing sound.

The entire house was plunged into darkness.

All the lights went out.

PS: Thanks to Old Kohler for donating to the Xia Zuo Savio Silver Alliance~

(End of chapter)