A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 387 Unlucky Guy

A few minutes later, Plumeria's voice came through the speaker again: "I'm ready, Master."

"Let me explain the rules of the game," Ning Zhe said.

“Okay.” On the other end of the phone, Plumeria, wrapped in a cashmere blanket, stood on the balcony and said, holding her phone, “Now I will throw a porcelain plate from the balcony to the ground below. You and I need to guess the number of pieces the plate will break into, and whether it is a prime number or a composite number. You win if you guess right, and you lose if you guess wrong.”

"It does sound like a fair game." Ning Zhe nodded slightly. Fairness is a necessary condition for gambling, and it is also the core rule of gambling.

It's just unknown what methods Plumeria will use to ensure her victory.

Ning Zhe didn't think much about the problem. If he accidentally figured out her cheating method and ruined the illusion of 'fairness,' then the bet would be void. Gamblers don't play unfair games.

“Okay, the plate has fallen downstairs.” Plumeria said softly, “Now, let’s count down from 3 to 2 to 1. Please say your answer at the same time as me.”

Immediately afterwards, a female voice, somewhat resembling Plumeria but more mature and spirited, came from the speaker: "3, 2..."

"1."

“A composite number,” Ning Zhe said.

“Neither,” Plumeria said.

“You lost.” Plumeria chuckled softly. “The plate fell into the flowerbed downstairs. It didn’t break, so the number of pieces is 1. I won this game.”

The gambler's rules come into effect, and the loser must pay the bet.

The bet Ning Zhe made with her was [a ghost].

“Just what I wanted.” Ning Zhe rested his chin on his hand, looking at the call interface on the screen. Of course, he wouldn’t pay the bet. It was Fenwu who lost to Plumeria, what did it have to do with him, Ning Zhe?

As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Zhe's face, which was a jumbled mess of features that resembled an abstract painting, suddenly "untangled" a little, as if a thread had been gently pulled out of a tangled mess. Overall, it was still a tangled mess, but it wasn't as messy anymore.

"I've received your bet." Plumeria's gentle voice carried a hint of sweet laughter: "It is indeed 'a ghost'."

Okay, Fenwu paid the bet, and ownership of one of the ghosts he possessed has been transferred to Plumeria... Ning Zhe pondered for a moment and asked, "What's the name of the ghost you just won?"

“…[Fenwu],” Plumeria said. “His name is Fenwu.”

“Fenwu?” Ning Zhe’s hand, which was supporting his chin, suddenly stopped. “What are His rules?”

“I don’t know, Master.” Plumeria’s voice was filled with shame. “I only won ownership of Him, and I don’t know His core rules and flaws.”

After all, their bet was on the ghost itself, not on any information related to the ghost.

"Go and experiment with the rules of Fenwu right now, and let me know the results," Ning Zhe ordered.

"Okay, I'm coming right now—ah!" A scream came from the speaker, followed by a loud bang of something hitting something, then the rustling of breaking plant branches and rubbing clothes. Plumeria picked up her phone from the mud and said hurriedly, "I'm sorry, Master, I just fell off the balcony. I don't know why the marble railing suddenly broke, but luckily there were flower beds below..."

After listening to her account, which was interspersed with groans of pain, Ning Zhe frowned and said, "You mean, you just fell off the balcony for no reason?"

“Yes, Master,” Plumeria said. “Meilin, I’m alright.”

"Don't push yourself, miss, your arm is scraped and needs to be cleaned immediately..."

Hearing the anxious tone in Mary's voice on the other end of the phone, Ning Zhe's expression became serious: "Don't act rashly, Plumeria, keep Mary away from you."

"Did you hear that? Master told you to stay away from me," Plumeria said immediately.

"But……"

"No buts." Plumeria dismissed Mary with a firm tone, sat down in the dent she had made in the flowerbed, and said, "Is there anything else I need to do?"

“Not for now… or rather, I just hope you don’t die.” Ning Zhe took a deep breath and continued, “I don’t know the core rules of the [Fenwu] ghost. It’s probably related to luck, because its flaw, or rather its side effect, is to bring misfortune to the ascendant who controls it.”

“I see.” Plumeria suddenly understood. No wonder the supposedly sturdy marble railing broke for no reason. It turned out that [Fenwu] had brought misfortune upon herself.

“Not only you, but anyone who gets close to you will also be plagued by misfortune, so you’d better keep Mary away from you, or she’ll be in big trouble,” Ning Zhe added.

“I’ll have her drive away right away,” Plumeria said immediately.

After a moment's hesitation, she asked again, "I remember the Ascendant who killed Katya and released the Gambler to target you, his codename seemed to be [Fenwu]. Is this the ghost of that person?"

“It’s him, no doubt.” Ning Zhe didn’t deny it: “That person uses the code name [Fenwu] on the upgraded network. This ghost must be very important to him. I originally wanted you to experiment with the rules of this ghost and then share the information with me, but it seems that’s not possible now…”

“You’re currently plagued by bad luck; acting rashly could lead to your accidental death,” Ning Zhe sighed.

"I can do it, Master! I'll go and experiment with the rules of Wrath for you right away. I'm sure I can help you... Ouch!" Plumeria said, trying to get up from the flowerbed, but the next moment, a sharp pain came from her palm.

Plumeria raised her hand and saw that the flesh of her palm had been cut open, revealing a deep wound that exposed the bone. Fresh blood was gushing from the ruptured blood vessels, and a few pieces of white porcelain were scattered in the soil of the flower bed, stained with blood.

It was that porcelain plate from before. It wasn't broken, but my falling body crushed it, and my left hand just happened to land on those broken pieces...

It's starting to work so quickly? [Fenwu]'s side effects.

"I told you not to act rashly." Ning Zhe could tell from her voice that Plumeria was probably injured somewhere again. He said helplessly, "Cherish your life. She is very important to me. At least for now, you absolutely cannot die."

"Yes, Master." Plumeria obediently replied, tucking her phone between her thighs, pulling a clean white silk scarf from her pocket and tying it tightly around her left wrist to stop further bleeding. She then took a spare sanitary napkin from her skirt, tore open the packaging, and pressed it onto the wound.

I will take good care of myself, if you need me to do so.

(End of this chapter)