Circle of Inevitability

The surface of the magic mirror claiming to be Arrodes rippled with aqueous light, and the surrounding darkness became hazy.

One by one, ancient Feysac words that seemed to be dripping blood quickly appeared on the mirror: "Beware of the night."

Beware of the night? Lumian repeated this answer while instinctively looking outside the Star Dream Provisions Store.

At this time, the August sunlight was bright and brilliant, reflecting golden light off many glass windows across the street, unconsciously making people feel certain and secure, while also instinctively dreading the heat.

Lumian quickly recalled his experiences of the past two nights, realizing that neither night had been peaceful: The first night, the dream image of Oracle Danitz was murdered, and the orderly at Mushu Hospital revived the corpse of a Demoness of Despair;

The second night, they encountered the reanimated female corpse in the monitoring room, a fierce battle ensued, and they nearly made the local news headlines as a major case involving guns, explosives, and biochemical toxins. Fortunately, to avoid causing panic, the police did not disclose specific details and only launched a secret investigation.

In comparison, nothing major had happened during the two daytimes. The only anomaly was the revival of the Oracle's corpse, which had walked into Mushu Hospital without causing much commotion.

Daytime is relatively safe, while night is more dangerous? During the day, Mr. Fool's power is dominant, while at night, the Celestial Worthy's consciousness is more active? Lumian briefly analyzed the answer from the magic mirror Arrodes.

At this point, the blood-colored words on the silver mirror's surface twisted and writhed to form new content: "Based on the principle of reciprocity, it's my turn to ask a question.

Lumian nodded fearlessly, while Anthony beside him remained silent.

On the magic mirror, new words began to form one by one: "Regarding your sister Aurore…"

Lumian's eyebrows suddenly twitched, and at the same time, the words on the mirror's surface suddenly blurred, rearranging into new content: "After becoming a Demoness, do you want to be fucked by men?"

"No," Lumian answered briefly and decisively.

No punishment appeared.

Lumian murmured in confusion, "The question is so simple?"

First, it suddenly changed the question, then asked one that he currently had a clear conscience about. How could this create social death?

On the mirror's surface, waves of light floated, and several lines of ancient Feysac words that seemed to be dripping blood appeared:

"The great Arrodes is very friendly to everyone who enters the dream and wants to awaken Mr. Fool!"

I see… This magic mirror is very loyal… Just as Lumian finished this thought, he saw the words on the mirror change: "Based on the principle of reciprocity, it's my turn to ask a question.

"If you answer incorrectly or lie, you will be punished."

That also counted as a question? Lumian hadn't expected his mutterings to become a question.

He hadn't even demanded that the magic mirror Arrodes answer!

On the surface of the antique silver mirror, a bloody question appeared before Lumian's eyes:

"What does it feel like to wear women's underwear?"

Still quite friendly indeed… Lumian answered expressionlessly, "Constricting, a bit tight, not very comfortable, but it gives a sense of stability and security."

Considering that the magic mirror Arrodes had only answered "Beware of the night" for the first question, Lumian felt that asking more questions now wouldn't yield much more information. So he put the antique silver mirror with black eye-like gems on both sides back in its original place.

He thoughtfully looked towards the cashier counter and asked the shop owner, "How much is this mirror?"

If the price was right, perhaps he could buy it. As Mr. Fool's personal item, the magic mirror might provide important information at crucial moments later on.

The shop owner in the black dress finally raised her head.

For some reason, Lumian felt the sunlight outside suddenly dim a little, as if large clouds had drifted by.

The interior of Star Dream Provisions Store became even darker.

In this environment, Lumian, with his Night Vision, could still clearly see the shop owner's appearance.

Her eyes were a rare pure black, her face extraordinarily beautiful, but she didn't look like a local.

The shop owner smiled and answered Lumian's question, "5 million."

"How much?" Lumian blurted out, and even Anthony's expression changed slightly.

"5 million," the shop owner repeated the price.

I have to think twice even about spending 50 now, and you're quoting me 5 million… Lumian abandoned the idea of buying the magic mirror Arrodes.

He knew that this price was actually very cheap. This was Mr. Fool's personal item, the great Arrodes, its true value definitely worth 5 million, or even far exceeding this price, but one had to allow those without money to grumble a bit.

With an attitude of gaining knowledge, Lumian pointed to the brass-like book. "How much is this?"

"9 million," the shop owner answered politely.

Lumian couldn't ask further.

He now only knew one thing, this brass book was more valuable than the magic mirror Arrodes!

The shop owner added with a smile, "Most of the items in the store are antiques, and related to mysticism, so they're not cheap. But you can choose to rent them, calculated by the day."

"Rent?" Lumian pointed at the magic mirror Arrodes in surprise. "How much to rent for one day?"

"220,000," the shop owner's voice was as gentle as a serenade.

220,000… This isn't much different from buying it for 5 million, we can't afford it either way… Lumian first grumbled to himself, then based on his rich dream experience and a Demoness's spiritual intuition, he muttered softly, "Saving up 5 million to buy the magic mirror, and saving up 220,000 to rent it for a day, both have corresponding symbolic meanings?"

The shop owner didn't seem to expect Lumian to rent or purchase, and lowered her head again to focus on her phone.

Lumian indeed didn't have the ability to rent or buy now, so he and Anthony walked towards the door of Star Dream Provisions Store.

After a few steps, he suddenly thought of something and turned back to ask, "Has anyone rented the magic mirror before?"

The shop owner raised her head again, a smile appearing on her beautiful face. "Yes."

Lumian's pupils suddenly dilated. "Who?"

Someone really rented the magic mirror Arrodes in the dream city?

What did they use it for?

The shop owner answered with a faint smile, "It's my duty to keep my clients' privacy and secrets."

In Lumian's mind, thoughts flashed like lightning.

He finally didn't pursue the question further and turned to walk out of Star Dream Provisions Store.

Just as they approached where they had parked, Lumian and Anthony saw a foreign man with brownish-yellow hair crouching beside the gray sedan their team had rented, looking left and right, occasionally taking a photo.

Seeing the car owners return, this foreign man slowly stood up.

He was about the same height as Lumian, wearing a pair of plain glasses on his nose bridge, with some light yellow stubble on his face. His chest muscles were developed, his arms were thick, stretching his blue shirt to near bursting point. He wore faded jeans and carried a black travel backpack on his back.

"Why are you photographing our car?" Lumian asked cautiously.

He now had a kind of illness where he felt that every person in the dream had a corresponding identity and symbolic meaning.

The foreign man said, "Such a vintage car is rare to see; it fills a gap in my knowledge."

"Knowledge?" Lumian asked puzzledly.

Is this guy studying cars?

The foreign man smiled and said, "I'm an international student, studying at the university here. I really like this city, I like everything here, so when I don't have classes, I carry my bag and phone, walk around and take photos everywhere, recording every detail that makes up this civilization."

"I see…" Lumian felt this guy was a bit strange, but as he was still in the first stage of observation, he didn't want to have too much contact with him.

At this point, Anthony suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

The foreign man glanced at Anthony and smiled as he answered, "Stiano. What about you guys?"

"Li Ming," Lumian gave his fake name for the dream city.

Anthony also introduced himself, "An Ruide."

After chatting for a few more sentences, Stiano, this foreign man, continued to wander aimlessly with his backpack and phone.

Once in the car, Lumian fastened his seatbelt and looked at Anthony.

"Why did you ask for his name?"

Anthony rarely took such initiative.

Anthony thought for a moment and said, "He gives me a strange sense of familiarity.

"I'll use hypnosis to ask my subconscious later, to see where this sense of familiarity comes from."

Lumian nodded and started the car.

Halfway through the drive, Anthony suddenly came out of hypnosis and said to Lumian, "I've found the source of the familiarity. I get a similar feeling every time I enter a Church of Steam cathedral."

He was originally a Steam believer.

"The corresponding dream image of a high-level figure in the Church of Steam?" Although Lumian had disguised himself as a Steam believer before, he had hardly ever entered a Church of Steam, so he didn't have the same feeling as Anthony.

"Maybe," Anthony wasn't too sure.

…

At noon, in the rental apartment.

Lumian said to Jenna, who was supporting Franca as she came out to eat, "This afternoon, you and Anthony take Ludwig to check out Dream Tutoring Classes in person. I'll stay home to take care of Franca.

"According to the information provided by the Major Arcana cards, Mr. Fool also enrolled in this tutoring center. This is one of the best ways for us to naturally and normally come into contact with Mr. Fool.

"Moreover, we can observe the impact of the Oracle's death on this tutoring center."

"Mm," Franca spoke up. "It seems a bit strange that the Oracle, as an adult man, was reported missing after just one night of not returning."

Jenna thought for a moment and said, "Maybe Mr. Fool's subconscious thinks this matter is urgent."

"There might be other reasons," Lumian glanced at Ludwig, whose face had soured upon hearing about the tutoring center, and said, "Jenna is responsible for communication and probing, Anthony for observation. I'll leave this matter to you guys."