Chapter 76: Dead End

"Sir... I actually know a very good psychological doctor. Do you need me to introduce you?"

Even though he was terrified in his heart, Xia De still asked politely. The man in the wine-red formal suit opposite was very likely the Ringed Shushi of 【Mercury Blood】 mentioned by Miss An Na Te just now. He had just heard the news, and was caught when he turned around. His luck seemed to have really run out.

But without panic, Xia De understood what he had to do.

"No, I'm just looking for you. This book told me."

The man shook the small book in his hand at Xia De. That book was only the size of a palm. This kind of small book was usually for people traveling to pass the time.

The cover of the book was like a crumpled leather material. Besides the title and a sentence, there was nothing else. Xia De of course had never seen the language used for the title and sentence, but he still interpreted it:

【"Puppeteer's Script"】

【Perhaps people think they can control fate, but they don't know that all this is already in fate.】

"Do you need me to introduce it?"

The middle-aged man shook the book in his hand. He was still sitting at the stone table, at least ten steps away from the edge of the grape trellis, but Xia De didn't dare to escape at all:

"Our partner 【Blood Spirit School】 hasn't sent anyone yet, but they just sent a part of the Angel-level relic 【Puppeteer's Script】 discovered from the 'delivery room'. Of course, this is not a complete script, only a part of the script that can be used ten times after being split. I think it counts as Secret Keeper-level. It is said that this was written by the crazy puppeteer in the chaotic era of the Fourth Era, but the parts people get are all blank. Under very harsh conditions, one can use one's own blood to write content on the paper pages, pay the price, and thereby influence reality."

He explained like a chatterbox, his eyes looking at Xia De, while Xia De looked at his charred left arm.

The detective wanted to step back, but the hair-raising feeling made him not dare to move at all.

"You don't believe it? Although the 【Blood Spirit School】 people haven't arrived yet, having this is enough. It is fate favoring 【Mercury Blood】, and our goal will definitely be achieved. Perhaps you think the synthesis of Mercury Blood is crazy, but with this, it is not illusory. This is very convenient for finding things."

This matched Old John's information. The information from the stingy shop owner was completely correct.

The man signaled Xia De to sit opposite him, but Xia De didn't move:

"So, what does this have to do with me?"

He felt his brain running wildly, thinking of ways to escape.

The man was still chattering, as if he had prepared these words for a long time:

"Not long ago, the 【Old God 'Vampire Duke Lao Ai' Statue】, which is one of the necessities for synthesizing 【Mercury Blood】, was stolen. We tried to find the statue through the paper pages of the script, but didn't expect the statue's holder to be too strong and not affected by the incomplete script at all. Dwarf rat Peter also died because of the search.

So, we wanted to take a step back and find and punish the guy who discovered the statue. But in a very rare situation, when I wrote a death ending for you, the writing failed."

Xia De heard the woman in his heart laughing.

The man in the wine-red suit waved his charred left arm at Xia De:

"In the process of writing, a drop of blood from my finger wound accidentally dripped, changing the written words. The 【Relic】 does not accept alterations, so it automatically modified the smeared part, changing it to me paying the price, letting you be favored by the fate's Old God before midnight tonight."

Among the five True Gods, there was no one who took "fate" as the main divine position. Therefore, the "God of Fate" often mentioned by Ringed Shushi was an Old God who had already fallen.

The smile on his face became distorted. That was a hatred that turned into hatred after a long-term hostility toward an enemy. Although Xia De didn't even know of this person's existence a few minutes ago, the struggle between the two had already lasted several rounds:

"What luck, young man. Can you tell me how you made that drop of blood drip? Silver-Eyed One asked me to be responsible for finding the lost statue. Do you know how much I paid for you?"

The man's voice became low and suppressed, but Xia De still didn't open his mouth. He really didn't expect someone to hate him so deeply.

"I've been looking for you all night, increasing the possibility of our meeting through the eighth opportunity of this book. But you are really too lucky tonight, and I am very curious, why are you running around when you come to attend the banquet?"

Although the man in the wine-red suit had a distorted expression, the tone of confusion was not a disguise:

"I set multiple locations for you and went to find you, but you kept moving, and even ran near the stable, almost making me fight with others. Are you really here to attend the banquet, instead of here to participate in a race?"

Xia De opened his mouth, not knowing how to answer. He couldn't explain this matter.

"When I was playing Luo De cards here, it should have been your opportunity, right?"

Panicked in his heart, but his tone was still calm. Escaping seemed impossible, but perhaps he could use the spell 【False Immortality】 to feign death to muddle through.

"But there are too many people here. For the 【Lord of Blood Banquet】 advent ritual, I cannot disturb the True God Church before the ritual begins... Your luck is even good enough to frequently meet the True God Church Ringed Shushi squad when I almost caught you. Young Sir, do you know how much I paid for your good luck tonight?"

This way of saying made Xia De feel hair-raising.

The man's expression became cold, he shook his sleeve to cover his charred left arm, and his yellow eyes, like snake-like creatures, looked at Xia De:

"Look, you finally came to see me. Luck is just luck after all, and what I possess is power! Damn it, in a while, I must see what your heart looks like! Do you know how much I paid for you?"

This kind of statement made Xia De feel hair-raising.

The man placed the small book on the stone table and signaled Xia De to sit opposite him.

Xia De of course didn't want to do this, but as the increasingly terrifying aura on the man appeared, blood-red chains seemed to dance behind him. The chains were winding and wriggling like snakes, and the stinging feeling in his heart forced Xia De to walk to another stone stool by the stone table.

The man in the wine-red suit didn't look like a person, but gave him a wild and dangerous feeling like a wild animal. The current situation could almost be considered a dead end.

"Still too weak..."

The oppressive atmosphere made him unable to breathe, but there was no despair in his heart. He would absolutely not lose confidence in survival until the last moment.

"Alright, Sir, take out all the 【Relics】 on you. Take your time, don't act rashly."

After confirming Xia De sat down, the man said, and then took out the fountain pen from his bosom:

"The script still has two chances to use. For you, I am very willing to waste one chance. But I will not pay the price to let you die directly. I want to let you feel greater pain!"

He uncapped the pen and wrote on the 【Puppeteer's Script】, reciting the content while writing, as if reciting a poem:

"Oh, person opposite,

Please abandon your arms.

Disarm your weapons,

Throw away your power,

You,