The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 168: Clues

In the abandoned tunnel, Lumian opened his eyes.

He had unexpectedly fallen asleep, but this had allowed him to recover some spirituality. At least his headache had subsided, and the burning sensations in his blood vessels, organs, and skin had completely disappeared.

What greeted Lumian's eyes was complete, pitch-black darkness. He fumbled to light the lamp he had previously extinguished and saw Jenna, dressed as a female mercenary, sitting diagonally across from him, leaning against the tunnel wall. She was staring down at the olive-green canvas backpack and five ritual animal pelts placed in front of her.

Sensing the movement, Jenna raised her head and looked at Lumian.

After examining him for a few seconds, she said mockingly, "You're finally not as annoying."

The negative effects of the "Decorum" brooch had ended? Lumian instinctively sighed in relief.

A faint smile appeared on Jenna's face as she stood up, picking up the olive-green backpack in front of her. She said to Lumian, "Several times, I thought about taking advantage of you sleeping to punch you in the face and smear dog poop all over you, but in the end, I controlled myself."

"Thank you," Lumian said with neither much sincerity nor gratitude.

Jenna slung the backpack over her shoulders, bent down to pick up the five ritual pelts, and said with a leisurely smile, "No need to thank me."

She then walked toward the exit of the abandoned tunnel, leaving behind a comment, clearly amused: "After all, you are my friend."

Still mocking me... Lumian grumbled, picking up the lamp and following her.

At 3 White Jacket Street, in Apartment 601.

Now dressed in casual attire—a women's shirt and light-colored riding pants—Franca finally waited for Lumian and Jenna's return.

She glanced at Lumian's charred upper body and said with a laugh, "Jenna didn't take the chance to stab you a few times?"

"The negative effects of 'Decorum' weren't as strong as I thought."

Before Lumian could respond, Jenna said frankly, "For the first couple of minutes, I could barely control myself and had to step outside the tunnel where he was resting, checking every few minutes to see if there were any dangers coming from underground, the ceiling, or behind the walls. But even then, I wanted to blow up the tunnel and bury him alive."

That's not what you said earlier... Lumian couldn't help but glance at Jenna.

He couldn't tell if what the "Instigator" had said in the tunnel was true or if her current words were the truth.

Franca laughed and gave Jenna a thumbs up. "That must have been tough.

"You even considered attacks coming from underground, above, and behind the walls. You didn't let your guard down just because it was an abandoned, mostly sealed-off tunnel with no one around."

Jenna's eyes gleamed with pride as she smiled and said, "Don't you always tell me horror stories? So many of them have scenes where a hand suddenly reaches out of the dirt and grabs someone's ankle, or a blood-soaked head drops from the ceiling, or a person emerges from the wall and grabs the protagonist."

Is telling Jenna horror stories one of your nightly entertainment activities? Lumian glanced at Franca, feeling that her intentions weren't entirely innocent. "See? Listening to stories is useful!" Franca said happily.

She turned to Lumian. "Do you need a doctor?"

Those burns look quite serious.

"No need. For an 'Arsonist,' this is just a minor injury," Lumian said, not mentioning that he would be fully healed by six o'clock the next morning. "If worse comes to worst, I can find 'Mouse.'"