The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 64: Hunting for Prey

Lumian quickly skimmed through the letter from the "Magician" lady, extracting the key points he needed to remember. Clearly, the first and third solutions to the Montsouris Ghost problem were just jokes. The only truly useful option was the second one: using "Corrupted Mercury" to exchange the fate of "encountering the Montsouris Ghost."

Frankly, Lumian hadn't thought of using "Corrupted Mercury" to stab himself and proactively alter his fate before. It wasn't until he was attacked by the Montsouris Ghost, pushed to the brink of death, that he managed to seize the only chance for survival from the chaotic flood of thoughts. Due to the urgency of the situation, he couldn't carefully select the fate he wanted to exchange. Instead, he swapped the fate of "being attacked by the Montsouris Ghost" rather than "encountering the Montsouris Ghost." This meant that he hadn't completely escaped the shadow of death—he had only avoided the first crisis.

Of course, even if Lumian had been given enough time and space to choose the fate to exchange, he probably still would have chosen "being attacked by the Montsouris Ghost" over "encountering the Montsouris Ghost." The attack had already occurred, and he had no confidence that swapping "encountering the Montsouris Ghost" would stop it. He could only rely on the most certain plan to protect himself.

"Hmm, I need to find someone soon to use the 'being attacked by the Montsouris Ghost' fate stored in 'Corrupted Mercury' to exchange for a good fate of theirs. Then, when I'm in a good state, I'll stab myself to complete the exchange of that good fate with the 'encountering the Montsouris Ghost' fate and seal the latter within 'Corrupted Mercury'..." Lumian quickly formed a plan to solve his current predicament, combining his experience with the advice from the "Magician" lady. Afterward, "Corrupted Mercury" could once again be called the "Cursed Blade." Anyone stabbed by it would bear the fate of "their entire family, including themselves, dying."

The downside was that the effect would take some time to manifest.

Lumian drew the "Corrupted Mercury" from his waist and gazed at the blade wrapped in layers of black cloth, feeling the usefulness of this extraordinary weapon more clearly than ever before.

He seriously considered the possibility of finding a professional to repair "Corrupted Mercury." Otherwise, this magical dagger would likely only last until the end of the year.

Perhaps the extraordinary gathering Mr. K was organizing could provide resources for that.

"My guess was right. The 'Magician' lady wants me to get close to Aosta Trulle in order to attend Mr. K's gathering and join the secret organization behind him..." Lumian put on a wide-brimmed round hat, donned a black coat with a formal style, and left room 207, heading downstairs.

As a "hunter," it was time for him to start searching for prey.

Just as he stepped out of the "Golden Rooster Inn," Lumian saw Charlie sitting on the three steps leading to the street, his face pale and eyes melancholic as he gazed at the sky, a lit white cigarette in his right hand.

"What's wrong?" Lumian approached and casually sat down beside Charlie.

"I feel like I've lost my soul. It's fallen," Charlie replied. He was dressed in a white shirt and red vest, with a black formal coat draped over his left arm, as if he had put the hotel uniform back on.

Lumian chuckled and directly asked, "Did you do that thing with the old lady?"

Charlie immediately turned his head and looked at Lumian, seriously correcting him, "Call her 'Madam.' She's only in her fifties."

He then took another drag on his cigarette, blowing out a smoke ring. "You know, she gave me a diamond necklace worth at least 1,500 Felkin. I couldn't resist—she's so dazzling, so alluring, she just broke into my heart."