A Manual for Surviving a Weird World

Chapter 389 The broom star

Upon seeing the words appear on the note, Plumeria was overjoyed and believed Ning Zhe's words without any hesitation.

Mary put her arm around Plumeria's shoulder and sat quietly behind her without making any move. She knew that whatever she did now could lead to misfortune and an accident.

The two sisters sat leaning against each other on the carpet in the center of the bedroom, watching a new line of text appear on the sticky note:

Actually, I was never near you from the very beginning.

We are too far apart to be covered by the rules of the Serpent God, so all the rituals you performed were in vain; you received no protection whatsoever in terms of fortune.

The reason the medical staff were able to successfully bandage you and safely return you to your bedroom was not because the serpent god was protecting you, but because of the rules inherent in the demon, Fenwu.

"Oh?" Plumeria blinked, somewhat puzzled.

If it weren't for the good fortune provided by the serpent god, how exactly did Mary and the other medical staff manage to counteract the misfortune brought by the wrath?
The key lies in the number of people.

Ning Zhe glanced sideways at Feng Yushu, who looked obedient beside him, and wrote on the paper:

Based on my speculation, Fenwu is likely the Lucky Star among the Three Immortals of Yunling, also known as the Three Gods of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity.

[I have already seen the God of Prosperity and Wealth, and the God of Longevity and the God of Plague, and I have a general understanding of their rules.]

The names of the Three Immortals of Yunling are quite accurate: the God of Prosperity and the God of Wealth can indeed bring wealth, and the God of Longevity and the God of Plague can truly bring longevity.

Therefore, the lucky star Fenwu can indeed bring good fortune to people.

Ning Zhe paused for a moment, then continued writing:

But whether it's wealth, lifespan, or fortune, it's all achieved in a distorted and bizarre way.

I'll skip the rules regarding the God of Prosperity and the God of Longevity for now. The way the God of Fortune brings 'good luck' to his host is by inflicting misfortune on those around him.

Good fortune will bring misfortune equally to everyone around Him, including the ascended ones who control Him.

The misfortune brought by good fortune has a 'total' upper limit. When there are multiple other people around you, this misfortune will be shared by everyone—you will receive the least.

[If everyone else is more unlucky than you, then by comparison, you, blessed with good fortune, are naturally the luckiest one.]

The more people around you, the less misfortune each person suffers. Therefore, you were able to receive proper treatment and be safely returned to your bedroom after being surrounded by numerous medical staff in the flowerbed under the balcony.

The fewer people around you, the more misfortune each person bears. That's why the nurse who was in the bedroom with you was accidentally shot and killed by a dropped pistol. She couldn't bear all the misfortune that Lucky Star would suffer alone.

When you're all alone and there's no one around, you'll bear all the misfortune alone because there's no one to share it with...

Before the writing on the paper had fully emerged, Mary reached for the headboard and pressed the alarm without hesitation.

As the servants and on-call medical staff downstairs were alerted by the alarm, they entered the bedroom with Plumeria's permission, and Meilin's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. Ignoring the suspicious gazes of the others, Meilin clutched her chest, breathing rapidly, her back drenched in cold sweat, still shaken. If Ning Zhe hadn't promptly explained the rules of Fenwu, no one would have guessed that she had just narrowly escaped death.

"Everyone stand against the wall and wait in place." Mary's breathing gradually stabilized as she said, "Each person will receive an additional 3 times the bonus."

The slight impatience on the faces of the servants, doctors, and nurses vanished instantly. Everyone said it was no problem at all, and they all walked to the wall, turned around to face the wall, and stood ready.

These people were all professional logistics personnel who had assisted in handling the aftermath of more than one bizarre incident, so they naturally knew the importance of the situation. With so many people sharing the misfortune, their lives should be out of immediate danger for the time being…

Plumeria held the note in both hands and read it carefully several times before tearing off the pages with writing on them and burning them. She even carefully collected the ashes and put them in a delicate sachet, placing them in her inner pocket.

Meanwhile, Ning Zhe was recalling his first direct encounter with Fenwu.

That was in Chenyu Valley Prison in Qinzhou. Fenwu deliberately appeared in front of thousands of prisoners and used the rule that "the more people who know the truth, the easier it is to attract ghosts" to summon the wandering eerie creature known as the Blowing Lamp Ghost.

After that, Fenwu's next appearance was at the St. Gloria Opera House. This time, he killed the representative sent by the Golden Clan, stole the [Xi Zhao] empowerment item held by Katya, and released the Gambler.

"Both of his public appearances, one in prison and one in an opera house, were chosen in enclosed, densely populated areas, using the crowds to share his misfortune and avoid the influence of 'Good Fortune.'"

"Moreover, due to Fenwu's distorted rules of fortune, when everyone else is having a terrible time, Fenwu is always the least unlucky one."

Watching the sticky notes in his hand turn to ashes one by one, Ning Zhe understood that this was Plumeria erasing the traces of their communication.

As his thoughts wandered, Ning Zhe chuckled softly, as if something had occurred to him: "What lucky star? More like a jinx."

After waiting patiently for a few minutes, a line of beautiful handwriting appeared on the note in Ning Zhe's hand:

[Reporting to you that everything is alright, dear master.]

Upon seeing this line of text, Ning Zhe immediately realized that he had guessed correctly; the core rule of Fenwu was indeed that abstract 'good fortune shining upon him'.

However, Ning Zhe was not overjoyed. Although he had deduced the core rules of Fenwu, they did not necessarily help the current situation and even had a negative impact to some extent.

"The fact that Fenwu so easily paid out this ghost as a wager shows that Fuxing is to Fenwu what Zhaoyou is to me—important, but not that important, and often a burden rather than a help."

"Even if I separate Zhao out, it will not affect the stability of my own core rule chain in the slightest. Fenwu's situation is likely to be the same as mine."

Ning Zhe picked up his pen and wrote down the sentence, "Do not act rashly, wait for my command," then stuffed the notepad into his pocket and ignored it.

Turning his head, he looked thoughtfully at Feng Yushu's fair face and muttered to himself, "Fenwu... or rather, Fenwu's former master. His true core rule is undoubtedly Taisui."

He once plotted to control the summons to compensate for the shortcomings of the wrathful spirit, thus forming a second core rule chain besides the Great Evil.

Now, he has given up his resentment, just as a long-suffering ascetic has finally removed the shackles that bound his hands and feet.

(End of this chapter)