[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-ring-of-fate":3,"chapter-the-ring-of-fate-the-ring-of-fate-chapter-975":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Ring of Fate",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2298944,4496,"Chapter 975: An Unexpected Visitor","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-975",975,"\u003Cp>When Lu Mi arrived at the Administration Department, several professionals were already collecting physical evidence for analysis—including leftover milk tea, liquid from the automatic water dispenser, discarded takeout containers, vomit, and swabs wiped across computers, desks, and air conditioning vents…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once they finished, another team of clothing specialists began a full decontamination procedure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this process, the remaining administrative staff who still insisted on working, including Luo Shan, had to wait in the hallway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi glanced around and found that, besides General Ai and Luo Shan, only two people showed no signs of the occult pathogen—both their expressions and movements were perfectly normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One was a man, taller than average for Yangdu, over one meter eighty; the other was a woman in her thirties, with a round face, slightly overweight, neither beautiful nor ugly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They weren’t here for Huang Zong… or rather, not for Huang Zong’s body… What reason could a Mystic have for toiling away in the administrative department of the Indus Group? Lu Mi pondered their motives by reflecting on his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that some Mystic was among those who went to Red Moon Hospital—perhaps a “Witch,” waiting for the chance to taste Huang Zong’s essence, then feigning serious symptoms upon sensing the occult pathogen’s presence and spread, just to avoid suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luo Shan also spotted the supposedly handsome security guard and felt her expectations hadn’t been disappointed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, General Ai received a phone call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The cases aren’t serious? Their conditions have stabilized?” General Ai asked, delighted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he heard Zhang Qing say on the other end:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lab results show mild viral infection. The doctors said they can go home after IV fluids, then take medicine for two more days and rest—no further issues.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Over ten people have already requested leave to stay home and recover. They’re asking if this counts as a work-related injury and whether they’ll get compensation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Ai’s temple twitched as he suppressed his emotions:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They should rest at home—don’t force yourselves to work and risk something worse. As for whether it counts as a work injury, come back and ask the Legal Affairs Department.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Understood,” Zhang Qing replied. “But over ten others say they want to return to work… though…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Though what?” General Ai asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Qing answered vaguely:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All of them are the ones who care about their appearance. Only Luo Fu isn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sickly beauty is still a beauty. Huang Zong might feel pity upon seeing them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Ai fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only newcomers are eager to work hard?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Lu Mi, pretending the Administration Department was in chaos, lingered nearby, offering help when needed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also to guard against Luo Shan being eliminated by the Celestial’s agents amid the confusion—she, as the “Painter,” had self-preservation abilities, but clearly lacked experience and would easily lower her guard in crowded places. Now, with Fu Lan Ka at the hospital, she couldn’t rely on her “Mirror Double” to escape the first strike.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Fu Lan Ka returned from Red Moon Hospital and began handling the backlog of tasks for Luo Shan and others, Lu Mi and Lao Xia returned to the Security Department on the thirteenth floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued pondering how to treat An Xiaotian.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He believed An Xiaotian’s vegetative state was symbolic—representing the decline and erasure of Antigonus’s spiritual imprint within the “Fool” singularity. This couldn’t be reversed by normal means; only a fundamental approach could work:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Strengthen Antigonus’s spiritual imprint within the ‘Fool’ singularity? But Antigonus can’t enter the ‘Fool’’s dreams. Even if He were willing to provide the corresponding item, we’d still need to contaminate Zhou Mingrui—the symbol of the ‘Fool’ singularity—to achieve our goal. That would destroy our image in Zhou Mingrui’s mind and render all prior efforts useless, and the risk is extremely high.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fu Lan Ka and Jianna’s idea is correct—using the power of the ‘Great Mother’ might awaken An Xiaotian. But not through healing, nor by making him father a child, but through ‘rebirth.’ Symbolically, it means restoring Antigonus’s spiritual imprint within the ‘Fool’ singularity to new life. Whether the reborn An Xiaotian becomes friend or foe is uncertain, but he will inevitably interfere with the ‘Fool’’s awakening…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Sequence 7 ‘Sorcerer’ of the ‘Villain’ Path can perform the Rebirth Ritual. Theoretically, all of Green’s ‘Great Mother’ devotees could awaken An Xiaotian. But since this involves reversing a symbol, only a ritual performed by a divine-tier being would likely work. In the Dream City, Green and the others believe only I, the false Son of God, possess such power—others don’t. Hmm, there’s one other place that might: the basement level of Mushi Hospital. But sending An Xiaotian there would simply be creating enemies for ourselves…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After much deliberation, Lu Mi concluded both current approaches carried serious flaws—their risks and negative consequences far outweighed any potential gains, and neither was one he or his allies would choose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He began considering the problem from the angle of finding loopholes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, he thought of one person:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Keji!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The ‘Fool’’s subconscious perception of Li Keji’s mushrooms likely stems from his interactions with Gelmán Spáro and Frank Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So far, he seems to regard Li Keji’s mushrooms as dangerous, capable of all kinds of possibilities, producing bizarre effects.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This city’s essence is a dream—a dream is subjective. If the ‘Fool’ truly believes Li Keji’s mushrooms can achieve the impossible, then Li Keji could create a mushroom capable of curing An Xiaotian and awakening him!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not the mushroom healing An Xiaotian—it’s the ‘Fool’’s subconscious being guided to reverse the symbol.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, such an awakening would be twisted, grotesque, horrifying. But if An Xiaotian could use it to deliver all the messages he wanted to convey to me, it would be acceptable…” Lu Mi grew increasingly convinced this idea involving Li Keji might work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He planned to find an opportunity to speak with Li Keji through the hospital room door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This biology teacher’s prototype was truly the “Physician”!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, Jianna, who was observing other avatars of the ‘Fool,’ received a call from Hol Film Company: she was to report to the Talent Department tomorrow to sign an agent contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Phew… I have a job now,” Jianna sighed in relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She even looked forward to filming movies and TV dramas, but felt awakening the ‘Fool’ wouldn’t take so long—it wouldn’t delay until she joined a production.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, she felt Hol Film Company was well-managed. She’d expected some interviewer to call ahead, hinting she’d need to do something to secure a good contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She’d even prepared to use “Enchantment” to make the relevant personnel lose their will—yet nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This differed greatly from what she’d seen and heard at the Old Pigeon Theatre.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder it’s run by the ‘Justice’ Lady…” Jianna relaxed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>………\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After nightfall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knowing the target’s schedule, Lu Mi slipped through the Mirror World while Zhala Tushitela hadn’t yet returned to the hotel, retrieving the surveillance footage stored in the pinhole camera and microphone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After midnight, he returned to his rented room in Xinhong Community and played the footage of Zhala Tushitela’s movements inside the hotel room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t to spy on Zhala Tushitela’s conspiracies or plans—if he had any, that would be better. Lu Mi’s main goal was observation: studying Zhala Tushitela’s behavior when alone, to determine how many puppets he could maintain, how often he could summon historical aperture images, and how long those images lasted before vanishing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was preparation for a future ambush and assassination of Zhala Tushitela.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Zhala Tushitela was also suppressed to Sequence 7, he still possessed an Angel’s rank—many of his abilities’ effects and ranges differed subtly from true Sequence 7 practitioners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, puppet count: a normal “Puppet Master,” upon first ascending to Sequence 5, could control only one puppet. If restricted to Sequence 7, theoretically he couldn’t control any puppets at all, relying only on puppetization to kill. But this ability might undergo qualitative changes at Sequence 4 or Sequence 2, reducing spiritual drain and lowering control difficulty. Even if suppressed to Sequence 7, the core ability would still exist—just less pronounced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That meant Zhala Tushitela could still control puppets, but only in very limited numbers—perhaps two, perhaps just one. Lu Mi needed to confirm these details.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without this intelligence, launching a direct ambush and encirclement against Zhala Tushitela—even with their numerical advantage—might still defeat or drive him off, but achieving their intended goal would be nearly impossible. The “Fortune Teller” Path is famed for its survival capabilities!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi stared intently at his phone screen, missing no detail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He skipped through the footage for now, selecting only scenes with visible activity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 11 p.m. last night, Lu Mi saw Zhala Tushitela, now dressed in a black robe, walk to the door and open it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone entered from outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The visitor wore sunglasses even at night, a plain black T-shirt and dark jeans—unremarkable attire—and stood around one meter eighty tall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who could it be? Lu Mi’s focus sharpened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After entering, the man glanced around, then removed his sunglasses, revealing a face Lu Mi recognized well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d seen videos of this man giving interviews and attending events online.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was Jia Yu—the actor portraying Gelmán Spáro!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t resemble Zhou Mingrui much—there should be no issue. Then why visit Zhala Tushitela late at night? What did we overlook? Lu Mi’s pupils dilated as he watched more intently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was grateful for technology’s aid, yet feared Zhala Tushitela had discovered the pinhole camera and microphone—and was deliberately staging this scene.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jia Yu sat on the sofa and conversed with Zhala Tushitela for nearly fifteen minutes, then rose and left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Mi immediately paused the surveillance footage and decided to first listen to whether the microphone had recorded any dialogue during that time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1638,"2026-06-20T06:22:37.987Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","cebb76bcd8685fc113f71e64ae02e6aa492c0502fdf735c73161a3efda1c9926","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-976","the-ring-of-fate-chapter-974",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-ring-of-fate-cover.jpg"]