Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

"Quest complete: Unlucky Coin, +35 Fate Points".

After all that effort, I only have 35 Fate Points!

That makes sense; if they really pulled out the Dragon Slayer Sword, it would probably only take a few strikes. The main problem is that Colt and the others were there, so they couldn't really unleash their full power.

592 points of destiny, keep going! You can do it!

Zhao Hao quietly followed Colt back to the Bureau of Mysteries to register and undergo inspections.

Although Colt chose to "meddle," it turned out that the old woman's corpse had indeed risen from the dead—a truly extraordinary event. He was right! Furthermore, since there were no casualties, the process wasn't complicated.

Zhao Hao received a reward of 1500 dollars and 20 merit points.

Zhao Hao asked Colt what the merit was for.

Colt replied, "This is for people like you who are not part of the official staff; you can exchange it for some good stuff from the bureau."

"Oh, what kind of good stuff do you use?"

Zhao Hao got excited when he heard this. Counting the previous Eye of Misfortune incident, he now had 30 merit points!

Colt popped a donut into his mouth and said, "With your meager achievements, you should just give up!" He then picked up his coffee and left.

Zhao Hao sat in the lounge for a while, and seeing that no one was around, he couldn't help but have an idea.

He stood up and assumed a forward-moving posture.

Last time I came, they notified me that I could check in, but I didn't dare to do it then. This is a great opportunity!

"Successfully checked in at the Free City branch of the Mysterious Bureau. Obtained item card: Mysterious Badge."

Zhao Hao sat down, secretly amused as he ate his cookies.

While reviewing the surveillance footage, Xirui, the female agent who first received Zhao Hao, chuckled, "This Zhao Hao is quite childlike!"

A group of agents nearby nodded in agreement.

After being driven home by the Mysterious Bureau, Zhao Hao immediately checked the new cards as soon as he entered the door.

[Mysterious Badge]

Black Iron 1-Star Item Card

Wearing it: Conceals and confuses your information, making you difficult to discover, detect, and predict.

Note: You can't see me! You can't see me! You can't see me~

A badge about the size of a one-yuan coin appeared in Zhao Hao's hand, with a safety pin on the back that could be hung on his clothes.

The description of this thing is as vague as the Five-Colored Rope, and it only has one star for Black Iron.

"This thing, you just wear it on your body? I wonder how effective it is?"

This day was truly extraordinary. Not only did he fight the old lady, but he also got soaked in the rain, especially his wrists. In the middle of the night, the pain woke Zhao Hao up! When he turned on the light, good heavens, there was a huge bruise on his hand!

When I arrived at the store the next day, I could barely use my right hand.

Uncle Tie had a way. He poured a bowl of strong liquor, pointed his sword at it, lit a fire, and then started rubbing Zhao Hao with the burning liquor!

The burning liquor was on my wrist. When the fire went out, the handprint disappeared, and the pain was gone!

magical!

Zhao Hao shamelessly fawned over him!

"Uncle Tie, is it easy to learn your skill in cutting paper figures and folding paper dogs? Watch me, see if I can learn it!"

Uncle Tie glanced at him, then stuck the three incense sticks in his hand into the incense burner. "You're no good!"

"What's wrong? I'll change it!"

"Basically, the vast majority of spells require awakening Qi, that is, awakening spiritual energy. You are just a mortal now, you can't learn it!"

In short, the scriptures still need to be copied!

According to Uncle Tie, during the Song Dynasty, cultivation was generally measured in years.

It is only now that psychic energy has been revived that Zhao Hao has a chance to awaken his psychic energy through simple scripture copying. If this had happened during the period of psychic energy dormancy, even with excellent aptitude, he wouldn't have been able to even get close to it without ten years of arduous cultivation.

Over the years, these extraordinary individuals have basically had to rely on hand-to-hand combat to survive. At most, they might practice simple Qi cultivation to strengthen their bodies. With the advent of firearms in the modern era, they were almost wiped out!

As for the methods of paper cutting, there are many taboos, such as not being exposed to light, and being afraid of water in the early stages, etc. These are all minor methods.

Uncle Tie said he was a member of a folk religion, which generally refers to unorthodox sects in folk religions, such as the shamanic practices in Northeast China, Lu Ban magic, Meishan religion, Yinshan magic, Yemaoshan, folk witch doctors, and so on.

Zhao Hao, however, didn't believe it. He felt that Uncle Tie must be a follower of Taoism, for example, the patriarch he worshipped when offering incense was Lingbao Tianzun! Moreover, Uncle Tie's knowledge and demeanor seemed very much like those of a major sect. Perhaps he had his reasons!

Although Zhao Hao's idea of ​​using paper dolls and paper horses could not be passed on, Uncle Tie still told him about the importance of the extraordinary path.

There are countless extraordinary individuals in the world. Within the Song Dynasty alone, there are hundreds of reputable lineages and nearly a thousand unorthodox practitioners!

There are countless other schools of extraordinary individuals in other countries and civilizations.

However, extraordinary individuals can generally only follow one path, and once they have chosen a path of extraordinary ability, they will face many limitations.

Uncle Tie gave an analogy: "If a Christian priest follows the Vatican's path of supernatural powers, then he basically can't learn these paper effigy and paper horse magic; the difference in their methods is too great..."

Finally, Uncle Tie also asked Zhao Hao to get Colt to introduce him to a shooting club.

Uncle Tie: "Although psionic energy is reviving and the superhumans are gradually recovering, firearms are still more effective at lower levels. You should practice more; it won't hurt!"

Because of Colt's introduction, the club owner gave him a discount. Zhao Hao also has to set aside a few hours each week to shoot a few rounds!

Fun!

Moreover, according to Uncle Tie, guns are the most effective means for superhumans when prices are low.

You'll know if you watch the Mysterious Bureau; most firearms can handle that, at least that's how it used to be...

It is conceivable that as the mysterious become more active, the combat power of the Black Iron Rank will rapidly increase, and the threat of guns will quickly decrease.

For example, this time, the old lady came back to life, leaving Colt and his group looking disheveled.

The next day was the end of the month, and the sign-in reward was five times the normal amount.

On the third day, Zhao Hao did better this time, scoring 20 points (4 x 5)! 612 Destiny Points, that's great!

And at the end of this month, a new feature appeared, similar to a weekly report. It's a monthly report!

July 1978 Monthly Report: July is the month of plant growth; plants will grow more luxuriantly, and extraordinary abilities related to nature will be enhanced to some extent…

A diary is a record of one's main activities and achievements for the day.

A weekly report describes the changes in the situation around you over the past week.

Is this monthly report describing the workings of the entire world?

But it doesn't seem to be of much use, does it?

After witnessing Uncle Tie's paper doll and horse tricks, Zhao Hao's desire for extraordinary abilities and psychic powers intensified. He diligently copied scriptures every day, two, three times… until his head was spinning. It seems Uncle Tie's incentive plan was a success!

Another week passed, and this day was July 7th, a Friday.

When Zhao Hao arrived at the store, he found Uncle Tie packing his things and preparing to leave.

"Uncle Tie, where are you going?" Zhao Hao asked.

Uncle Tie waved his hand, "Come on, I'll take you to the market!"

"Going to the market?!"

With questions in mind, Zhao Hao started the old jeep in the shop and drove to the suburbs as instructed by Uncle Tie.

It wasn't far, just outside the Song Dynasty district, about a 20-minute drive.

Then Zhao Hao saw a bustling crowd with stalls set up in an open space!

There were quite a lot of people there, a large crowd, shoulder to shoulder, at first glance, there must have been several hundred.

There are quite a few stalls; you can see seven or eight stalls of different sizes in this small area alone.

The small stalls are simply a cloth spread on the ground, with the stall owner squatting on one side or bringing their own folding stools or small folding stools.

Those large stalls are often set up using a vehicle, like a pickup truck or jeep, with several tables pushed together! There are even sheds that look like large tents.

The goods were dazzlingly diverse, ranging from old furniture to porcelain and ornaments, from old oil paintings to old books, from old toys to metal crafts. There were also uniquely modified bicycles, and discarded old cameras, rotary telephones, typewriters, guitars…

Uncle Tie patted Zhao Hao on the shoulder: "How's it going? Pretty lively, huh?"

"This is?"

"This is the largest flea market in Liberty City, held once a month. Especially our old Song Dynasty items are very popular."

Zhao Hao did see quite a few Song Dynasty faces, some setting up stalls and others strolling around.

Uncle Tie pulled out five Franklin bills and handed them to Zhao Hao. "Go take a look around, sharpen your eye, and try your luck. Someone always manages to find something good here... We'll meet back in the car in twenty minutes!"

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Chapter 25 You Only Care About Yourself

Wow! $500 for the event?! Uncle Tie is so generous!

Uncle Tie took a few steps, then turned back and said, "Oh, right, keep an eye on your wallet."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hao immediately perked up.

This kind of place is a melting pot; you can see most of the world's major ethnicities and all sorts of skin colors. So it's not surprising that there are all kinds of people there!

Zhao Hao had $500 given to him by Uncle Tie, and he also had $300 in change, which was no small sum.

With the money safely tucked inside, Zhao Hao walked into the crowd.

Goodness, people with white, yellow, black, brown, and dark brown skin... some had headscarves, some wore white caps, some had shaved heads, and some had braids...

There were many stalls, some selling old records, some selling all kinds of small porcelain items, and Zhao Hao even saw one that specialized in selling old posters, old newspapers and old letters!

Posters and newspapers are one thing, but there are even some old personal letters? Goodness!

Believe it or not, there were actually five or six people surrounding the stall asking all sorts of questions, and the owner would occasionally hand out yellowed letters framed in glass to customers.

Just as Zhao Hao was about to leave, a glimpse suddenly flashed in his peripheral vision!

He squatted down in front of the stall selling old letters, pretending to look at the items, but his eyes were actually fixed on a letter that looked very old and had blurred edges.

"Can I take a look?" Zhao Hao asked.

“Of course, sir. These are all old memories and stories, and someone will always be interested in them.” The mustachioed stall owner looked like an Englishman.