Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

In communities like Zhao Hao's, garbage trucks sometimes only come every two or three days. Because of their meager salaries, sanitation workers are very perfunctory in their work.

Only those wealthy neighborhoods and upscale communities are truly clean and safe!

Zhao Hao found Lao Tie's antique shop, located at the entrance of a small alley, not exactly a prime location. But presumably, antique shops don't need storefronts facing the street.

It was just before eight in the morning, and the Song Dynasty city was already bustling with people from the Song Dynasty, but the antique shops remained deserted. Zhao Hao looked around for several minutes, but no one even glanced at that alley!

That's true. It's said that in this industry, you have to go three years without business, then make enough to live on for three years. It certainly can't be like a convenience store with a constant flow of customers.

The fact that this old antique shop didn't open at noon is a testament to the diligence of the Song people.

Zhao Hao straightened his clothes, walked over, and pushed open the door to enter.

As Zhao Hao walked into the antique shop, a person in a car in the distance scribbled a few notes in a notebook before driving away.

This person is a staff member of the Mysterious Bureau, and is observing and recording Zhao Hao's performance.

It seems that the Mysterious Bureau is not letting Zhao Hao run wild as the fat man said.

It's quite tragic, really. The Bureau of Mysteries manages the inner world and the supernatural community of Ameriko, but it doesn't have its own stable source of supernatural beings.

Because extraordinary individuals cannot be mass-produced, and it can even be said that no two extraordinary individuals are the same. Each one is unique.

The Secret Service is very good at training special agents, but they're terrible at training superhumans!

Therefore, they often have to cooperate with or hire extraordinary individuals to assist them in their work.

But in the world of espionage, you can't even trust your own people, let alone those who aren't your own.

Colt had a rare opportunity to encounter a newcomer in the extraordinary circle, so he decided to nurture him.

……

Zhao Hao pushed open the door and entered. The wooden door rang a copper bell, which made a clear sound.

Before Zhao Hao could even observe his surroundings, the Destiny Card System suddenly reacted!

"The check-in condition has been triggered?!"

The check-in requirement is to make a peace sign pose for ten seconds?!

At this moment, a short, thin figure came out from the inner room. Zhao Hao couldn't care less about this "check-in" thing and could only choose to deal with it later.

Zhao Hao said, "Hello, I'm Zhao Hao. Colt from the Mysterious Bureau introduced me here as an apprentice..."

He gave the newcomer a quick look. He was about 1.7 meters tall, thin, with a slightly square face, short hair parted to the side, and a short mustache. His features were very typical of people from the Song Dynasty. He was dressed in an old-fashioned black jacket and cloth shoes that were somewhat out of step with the times.

What's noteworthy is this person's eyebrows and eyes; they are thick and arched upwards at the ends, the legendary "sword-like eyebrows that reach the temples." Very dashing!

But compared to those sharp eyes, it's nothing!

He had a serious expression, but he wasn't in his forties or fifties as Gou Quan had claimed. Zhao Hao thought that although the man's attire was somewhat serious and old-fashioned, many people would believe he was in his thirties!

The newcomer nodded and looked Zhao Hao up and down with his hands behind his back.

This is Lao Tie, the owner of Lao Tie Antique Shop!

He stared at Zhao Hao for a while, making him a little uneasy, before finally speaking: "I already know from Colt. Zhao Hao, right? The neighbors all call me Uncle Tie, you can call me Uncle Tie too. Come and sit down." He pointed to the chair next to the small coffee table.

Uncle Tie pretended to look at Zhao Hao's information while looking puzzled.

He felt that Zhao Hao had the face of someone destined for a life of hardship and premature death, but now he had managed to escape death, which was truly rare. This showed that he had broken free from his constraints and had great potential.

Since he was a Song person, he had no reason to refuse Colt. After all, he owed the Bureau of Mysteries a favor when he settled in Liberty City.

Uncle Tie noticed the colorful rope tied around Zhao Hao's wrist and found it much more pleasing to the eye.

Living away from home for extended periods in foreign lands can cause the younger generation to gradually drift away from traditional culture.

Seeing that Zhao Hao had tied a five-colored rope on his wrist for the Dragon Boat Festival, Uncle Tie, with his old-fashioned style, was quite satisfied.

“Zhao Hao…” Uncle Tie pondered.

Zhao Hao was genuinely uneasy, thinking to himself: He probably doesn't know the "Ritian" meme, right? How inexplicably embarrassing!

Uncle Tie muttered to himself, "Isn't the Zhao family a royal surname?"

Zhao Hao thought to himself, "Oh no! As a superhuman, leaving home like this, could it be that he has a grudge against the Song Dynasty government? They're even hating me, Zhao Ritian, because of this! I'm innocent! Do you think I even deserve the surname Zhao?!"

Just when Zhao Hao thought his extraordinary training might be ruined, Uncle Tie spoke up.

"I am a folk sorcerer, a mystical scholar, and an antique enthusiast with some knowledge of magic. I am a semi-official collaborator with the Bureau of Mysteries. Now that I've accepted you, I will be your guide from now on..."

He counted on his fingers and said, "No business today, so I'll tell you about it..."

------------

Chapter 15 Copying Scripture

“I’ve seen your records. Now that you’ve experienced extraordinary events, many things are easier to discuss.”

Uncle Tie once again explained to Zhao Hao the various meanings of the inner world and extraordinary individuals.

Compared to Fatty, Uncle Tie explained things in more detail and hit the nail on the head.

That felt very professional!

For example, when discussing policy, the fat man is like the taxi driver—he's talkative, but compared to an old professor like Uncle Tie, he lacks a bit of professionalism.

Moreover, Uncle Tie also mentioned some things that Zhao Hao had never heard of.

For example, strange objects!

Zhao Hao had heard this term from the fat man before, but at the time there was too much information to ask.

Uncle Tie said, "First, you need to make it clear that it's a strange thing, not a ghost. This is very important, you must remember it!"

Zhao Hao nodded: "It's because there can't be ghosts! I know!"

“The mysterious represents the unknowable, unusual and inexplicable phenomena, things or individuals.”

"Most of them have more or less negative effects, and some of them are extremely dangerous and may even cause huge disasters."

"The levels of these strange creatures are the same as those of superhumans, totaling 5 levels (excluding mortals). Because there are so many of them and they are all different, the Bureau of Mysteries has assigned them numbers..."

"The main task of the Bureau of Mysteries in recent years has been dealing with the strange objects that appear in the surface world. Managing superhumans is a secondary task..."

After talking for a while, Uncle Tie also told Zhao Hao what Fatty had said: Knowing too much is not good for you now.

"The mysterious knowledge and principles of the inner world are also a burden; if one exceeds them, they can be harmful. The more one knows, the heavier the burden becomes."

"Therefore, Zhuangzi said: 'My life has a limit, but knowledge has no limit. To use the limited to pursue the unlimited is perilous.'"

"Therefore, information and knowledge about the inner world, and even the existence of the inner world and extraordinary beings, are generally not easily revealed to mortals. Doing so would often harm the other party!"

"And some forbidden knowledge is even more dangerous; even if you are curious about it, you may be in danger!"

"Forbidden knowledge usually concerns mysterious beings such as gods, objects, and realms. What's that saying again? When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you."

The *Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Lord's Secret Scripture* states: "I have often heard that it is not people who diligently seek knowledge, but rather those who know who diligently seek others. However, I know this is erroneous. Those who seek knowledge do not actually seek others; in fact, they chase after others. Their ruthlessness and cruelty are like hawks and hounds chasing rabbits."

It means: I've heard that it's not people who are constantly pursuing knowledge, but rather knowledge that is constantly pursuing people. But I know this is wrong. Knowledge doesn't pursue people; it chases them. Its pursuit is cruel and emotionless, like a falcon and hound hunting a rabbit.

Therefore, in many cases, you can't avoid contact even if you want to.

Because once you get involved in certain events, that dangerous knowledge will actively pursue you! There's no escaping it!

……

Uncle Tie found a thick book and handed it to Zhao Hao, and also brought him paper and pen.

“Just trace the words and pictures in the scriptures. This is the basic skill, and it will probably take you several months to learn it... Don’t ask, just copy it. When the time is right, I will tell you.”

Zhao Hao looked at the strange scripture in front of him. Good heavens, it was as thick as a Xinhua Dictionary!

However, there isn't much content, as each page is only two or three millimeters thick, and the material of the cover and pages is unknown—it looks like leather or cork.

In short, my back no longer aches, my legs no longer hurt, and one page is equivalent to dozens of ordinary pages!

Zhao Hao picked it up and looked at the last page: 1937, published by Xin Song Bookstore, internal publication of the Central Daolu Academy, strictly prohibited from being circulated outside!

Zhao Hao: ? ? ? (?Д?) Are you kidding me? There are pirated books in the Otherworld too? Where did Uncle Tie find this thing? Biquge?

Even stranger was the text on the book!

According to Uncle Tie, this thing is a scripture. But Zhao Hao doesn't recognize any of the characters.

It's like a bent seal script, somewhat like a pictograph, but the strokes are so ethereal and unrestrained.

It looks like a pattern made up of a few drunken earthworms! This isn't plagiarism; it's imitation!

Moreover, the characters were extremely awkward; just looking at them made me feel uncomfortable.

Zhao Hao was so engrossed in staring at those words that he didn't realize that quite a while had passed by the time he came to his senses!

Zhao Hao saw that Uncle Tie was busy fiddling with the old objects and ignoring him. He thought to himself: "Just copy it! Do whatever I'm told!"

Regardless of anything else, shouldn't we at least show the right attitude?

This is like becoming an apprentice to a superhuman! According to Uncle Tie, in addition to some basic knowledge about superhumans, he will also be taught some knowledge about antiques.

If this were ancient times, after three years of apprenticeship, you would still have to work for your master for five years for free as tuition fees!

Not to mention the disciples who are the last disciples of their masters, who are meant to care for them in their old age and see them off in their final days.

Copy! Zhao Hao still had that much patience.

But this thing is really strange; you can't just copy it whenever you want!

Zhao Hao tried to imitate the cat, but he couldn't quite capture the essence of the tiger.

Moreover, if you stare intently at that "word" and ponder it, you will often experience some unusual mental states.

Unable to concentrate, inexplicably becomes mentally scattered, and may even experience auditory or visual hallucinations. Suddenly remembering certain things, feeling restless and unable to calm down, mentally confused, irritable, etc.

The more carefully you look at it and the longer you look at it, the more obvious this phenomenon becomes!

There's definitely something wrong with this scripture! No wonder Uncle Tie said it would take him months to copy it!

Finally, Zhao Hao gritted his teeth and persevered, managing to copy only three characters all morning, and they only looked about three-tenths similar!

If Zhao Hao hadn't drawn these characters himself, he wouldn't have known which three characters he was drawing!

After copying all morning, Zhao Hao was utterly exhausted. It wasn't until Uncle Tie called him for lunch that he realized he was drenched in sweat. His shirt was completely soaked!

Lunch was cooked by Uncle Tie; his cooking skills were quite good, and it was clear he didn't have a wife...

As a result, Zhao Hao felt much better and ate three more bowls of rice.