Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Since Franca and Luo Shan had already pre-ordered the chicken and taro and requested them to be cooked immediately, the three of them soon began enjoying the steaming hot delicacies.

Franca asked the waiter to fill her dipping sauce bowl with a medium-spicy soup base. She added some minced garlic, chopped green onions, and cilantro, then poured in some oyster sauce. This combination provided saltiness and umami flavors, along with a hint of sweetness, nicely complementing the spicy taste. Franca particularly enjoyed preparing her hotpot dipping sauce this way.

She glanced at Zhou Mingrui and noticed his choices were similar to hers.

Great minds think alike… Franca picked up a piece of taro first instead of chicken. The taro had been pre-cooked to softness in a pressure cooker. After rolling it in the dipping sauce and blowing on it for about ten seconds, she took a bite. It was full of the fragrance of starch and the taro's own flavor. The taro had also absorbed the spiciness of the soup base and the deliciousness of the oil. Combined with the salty umami and slight sweetness of the oyster sauce, it made her salivate quickly, effectively reducing the residual heat.

Franca ate three pieces of taro before remembering to try a piece of chicken.

She would rank this as one of the top 3 vegetarian options in hotpot, along with potato slices and leafy stem lettuce.

The three ate quietly for a while. After filling their stomachs a bit, Luo Shan actively initiated various topics to prevent any awkwardness.

With her livening up the atmosphere, the three chatted quite happily, covering everything from company gossip and rumors to the recent job market and the current situations of former colleagues.

The handsome security guard naturally became part of the conversation, with Luo Shan expressing regret that he hadn't been guarding the entrance recently, preventing her from seeing him in person.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Mingrui asked about Franca's professional background, curious about why she changed careers right after graduation.

Franca shared her genuine feelings from her student days, "Working like a dog and earning little, while endangering my life; having to slog until your thirties or forties to barely have a decent income. I felt I couldn't endure that hardship, so I changed careers. How many times in life can you be in your twenties?"

Zhou Mingrui expressed understanding. "There's a saying online that those who encourage others to study medicine should be struck by lightning. However, being a doctor is a late-blooming career; the older you get, the more valuable you become. I have a childhood friend who also changed careers right after graduation, but even after working two other jobs, there wasn't much success…"

At this point, Zhou Mingrui suddenly paused, unconsciously frowning before continuing, "He used connections to return to his hometown hospital as an intern doctor."

There's such a childhood friend? The documents didn't mention this… It's clearly not Peng Deng, nor is it that female childhood friend who likes to travel… As Franca pondered this, Zhou Mingrui began discussing medical topics.

Franca perfectly played the role of a former medical student who had changed careers three years ago. She could still discuss basic concepts but had mostly forgotten the more in-depth knowledge.

She wasn't a Savant after all!

Her current identity was almost an exact copy of her actual history, making it easy for her to play the role. The only difference was that she hadn't actually graduated and had changed careers six or seven years ago.

As Zhou Mingrui nodded imperceptibly, Luo Shan glanced at Franca and asked with a smile, "Have you tried that new drink? The one with the great design and a unique name."

Franca smiled back and asked instead of answering, "Have you two tried it?"

Before Zhou Mingrui and Luo Shan could answer, Franca lowered her voice, "I recently heard an urban legend about a mysterious vending machine that randomly appears in different places. It sells gacha boxes of that drink. Some of the drinks in these gacha boxes have special effects, giving the drinker abilities corresponding to the drink's name. The ones sold in supermarkets and convenience stores are just ordinary, normal drinks."

After saying this in one breath without experiencing any abnormalities herself, Franca relaxed a little.

Zhou Mingrui looked at Franca, who had changed into a white T-shirt, loose pants, and white sneakers, with her hair tied back in a ponytail after returning home. He smiled and said, "I've also seen such rumors online."

Franca's gaze fell on Luo Shan's face.

Luo Shan bit her lip and said in a deliberate ghost story tone, "Actually, I've encountered that mysterious vending machine."

Suddenly, Zhou Mingrui also looked at her.

Luo Shan laughed. "I bought a gacha box, and the drink inside was Shaman, but after drinking it, nothing happened. I didn't gain any abilities.

"Honestly, when I went to look for that vending machine a second time, it was indeed gone, not in its original location…"

Luo Shan's voice became unusually deep for the last sentence, making even the bubbles churning in the hotpot seem to freeze for a second.

Zhou Mingrui looked at her without speaking, as if assessing whether she was telling a ghost story or speaking the truth.

Luo Shan then grinned at him and said, "Didn't you drink one too? Later, I saw a similar vending machine in the company lobby. I got a bunch and gave you one bottle, the Instigator drink, right?"

"It's not like I drank it." Zhou Mingrui laughed. "Someone had given me a pack of dried mushrooms earlier, saying they were great for infusing drinks and tea. I thought I'd try it, so I poured the Instigator drink into my cup and added the dried mushrooms. Later, I got busy with something else, and when I returned to my desk, the cup was empty.

"At that time, I thought nobody in the office would be so disgusting as to drink from someone else's cup. I wondered if the cleaning lady saw the mushrooms soaking and thought it looked gross, assuming the drink was no longer wanted and helping me dispose of it.

"Thinking about it now, it is a bit strange."

He and Luo Shan's back-and-forth made the urban legend seem increasingly real.

Franca didn't appear scared at all. She looked around and lowered her voice, "Since you're both being so honest, I'll tell the truth too. To be frank, I've also encountered that vending machine."

Luo Shan played along and asked, "What did you get?"

Franca looked at Zhou Mingrui, pushed up her black-framed glasses on the bridge of her nose, and smiled noticeably. "Assassin."

Zhou Mingrui quietly looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

Franca added with a smile, "I'm a fan of 'Assassin's Creed.' Look, my WeChat name is even 'True Hidden Blade.'"

As she spoke, she took out her phone and showed her WeChat name to Zhou Mingrui, then continued, "I was very satisfied with the name of that drink. I imagined myself becoming an assassin, able to perform a real Leap of Faith and hide in shadows, undetectable…"

Franca deliberately described all the changes and abilities brought by the Assassin potion, wanting Zhou Mingrui to believe that she had either actually drunk the Assassin drink or was very knowledgeable about Assassin-related matters.

As she described this, her heart involuntarily began to beat faster, and she became tense, feeling as if she was about to be kicked out of the dream.

Zhou Mingrui tactically took a sip of his iced soy milk and ate a piece of taro.

After putting down his chopsticks, he smiled at Franca and Luo Shan and said, "That's my dream too."

Franca took the opportunity to warn, "Then you should be careful. I saw in the related rumors that there's a big problem with the follow-up drinks to Assassin. It's like leveling up in a game—after drinking to a certain level, terrible things happen."

"What kind of terrible things?" Luo Shan asked curiously.

Franca gently shook her head in response. "I don't know either.

"I've only heard that after the Assassin drink comes the Instigator drink, and the problems start after the Instigator drink…"

Her voice grew progressively lower.

Zhou Mingrui ended the topic. "Alright, alright, if we keep making things up, this will eventually become a complete urban legend."

"Indeed," Franca smiled, indicating that her previous content was all made up on the spot.

Luo Shan did the same.

The three chatted about other things until it was completely dark outside, each feeling very satisfied with their meal.

After saying goodbye to Luo Shan and Franca, Zhou Mingrui walked towards the other end of the street.

The smile on his face gradually settled as various thoughts surfaced in his mind.

They don't seem to be probing me, more like hinting, suggesting, warning me…

Is there really a big problem with the follow-up to the Assassin drink?

It's also possible that because I deliberately chose a crowded and lively place, they couldn't find an opportunity to use their abilities to influence me…

I'll observe for a while and see if there are any accidents or attacks…

If I can confirm their intentions or goodwill, I can find an opportunity to really talk later…

If avoiding doesn't solve the problem, then face it…

Lost in his thoughts, Zhou Mingrui turned into a small alley and walked into the shadows.

On the other side, Franca led Luo Shan towards the nearest shopping mall.

For the next hour, she wanted to stay in a place with more people and better lighting.

Just after leaving the vicinity of the Yizhou Roast Chicken restaurant, walking about a dozen steps along the roadside, Franca suddenly felt dizzy.

The next second, she felt like a deep-sea fish suddenly pulled out of the ocean, desperately trying to breathe but unable to inhale even a trace of air. Her head and body were bizarrely expanding, like a fragile balloon being constantly inflated.

She painfully grabbed her own neck, trying to pull her trachea out of her flesh to directly connect with the air.

Her legs began to weaken, and her body started to fall to the ground. Her thoughts stuttered, and her mirror avatar lost connection with her.

Has the Celestial Worthy noticed me? This thought flashed through Franca's mind.

In the gray sedan parked on the opposite side of the road, Lumian quietly watched as Franca's face turned extremely red, her lips turning blue-black, as she grabbed her slender neck, scratching bloody marks on her fair skin.

Luo Shan stood beside her, looking bewildered and helpless.

Lumian in the passenger seat remained motionless, still quietly watching.

He saw Franca half-fallen on the ground, struggling to open her handbag and having difficulty taking out her phone before she unlocked the screen.

On the screen was a pre-prepared interface, and along with the phone were cosmetics, multi-faceted mirrors, and a small black bag.

In Lumian's vision, Franca's eyes bulged out, her expression painful and fierce as she tapped the phone screen with her thumb.

Then, she completely collapsed, dropping her handbag on the ground.

The items from her bag rolled out, and the small black bag mysteriously disappeared.

After a few seconds, Lumian in the car across the street watched as Franca slowly stood up with empty eyes. He calmly said to himself and Anthony, "Contacting Zhou Mingrui at night and hinting at the existence of Beyonder powers will result in being quickly kicked out of the dream."