Zongman: Evolution Paradise

Effect: It contains the power to ward off evil as long as it is not destroyed, but unfortunately it requires spiritual power to activate.

Bonus: None

Conditions for use: Pure women

"The beads are surprisingly effective, but is the weakness due to the sorceress's poor spiritual power?"

Looking at the data displayed by the amusement park, Jolyne wondered.

Looking at the pessimistic-looking Miko Yotsuya, Jolyne handed the bead to her and said, "It's just that the string broke. The bead isn't broken. We can collect them and string them together in a more secure way, like with a steel wire."

Although it requires spiritual power to trigger, as long as you find a way to wear it on your body, forcing it to come into contact with evil spirits, it will naturally exert some effect on its own.

Looking at the palm exposed in front of her, Yotsuya Miko looked up in a daze with her pale golden eyes.

Jolyne was also looking at her. Their eyes met, and Yotsuya Miko quickly looked away, belatedly taking the bead and bowing respectfully, saying, "Thank you..."

“Eh…you are…” Yurikawa Hana recognized Jolyne’s appearance, pointed at Jolyne but couldn’t say anything, and finally came up with, “The ramen-eating champion in the shop.”

"That's so rude, Hana." Yotsuya Miko quickly covered Yurikawa Hana's mouth.

Baihe Chuanhua's chest trembled as she struggled to say, "No, I want to get to know him. He seemed really impressive when I saw him eating last time."

"No matter where he is, Jolyne always manages to run into girls he knows."

Kato Megumi remarked meaningfully from the side.

Jolyne glanced at her, nodded in agreement, and said seriously, "Then it must be because my charm is just too strong."

Ignoring the young people's interactions, the sorceress pondered the feasibility of Jolyne's suggestion.

"By binding it tightly to our bodies with stronger ropes, we can handle the big guys, but we also won't be able to get close to the smaller creatures..."

After figuring things out, the sorceress recovered somewhat from the blow of being unable to fight off the evil spirit.

With an expression of admiration for Jolyne, the sorceress said reservedly to Yotsuya Miko, "He's right. Anyway, it's just that the rope broke, and the beads' effect is still intact. Replacing it with a stronger rope might make it work."

"In that case... thank you everyone!"

Yotsuya Miko thanked him sincerely, then bent down and began to pick up the beads that had fallen to the ground.

After helping Yotsuya Miko collect all the beads, Yotsuya Miko put them all back into the original box.

Because they still needed to buy some limited-edition silk fish-shaped cakes, Yotsuya Miko and Yurikawa Hana quickly said goodbye and left.

It's worth mentioning that the magnanimous Yurikawa Hana actually added Jolyne on Line, seemingly indicating that she's quite interested in Jolyne.

Kato Megumi watched as Yotsuya Miko carried the box away into the distance, then glanced at the shaman, her mood becoming somewhat complicated: "They didn't even charge us. Could we have really encountered some kind of priest?"

Chapter 141 Death and the Chariot

"So, what brings you here?" the sorceress asked Jolyne sternly.

Jolyne glanced speechlessly at the sorceress, wondering what she was up to with her serious demeanor. She pulled Kato Megumi to her side and said calmly, "I'm here with her. Please treat our real guest with respect."

"what!"

The fortune teller then noticed the girl in front of the shop, looked at her repeatedly in disbelief, and asked Kato Megumi, "Are you sure you're not some kind of ghost or something?"

Kato Megumi: "..."

“I’m pretty sure I’m human.” Kato Megumi stretched out her hand so the shaman could feel the warmth on it.

The sorceress cautiously extended her fingertip to touch the two guests, then quickly separated them. Confirming that they were indeed people, she turned away somewhat embarrassed, unable to bear looking at them.

"Oh no, I'm getting presbyopia now. I guess I should just go back to the countryside and retire after this job is done."

The fortune teller, having suffered another blow, had lost all motivation.

……

Once the sorceress had calmed down, Kato Megumi, under Jolyne's curious gaze, revealed her needs.

"I'd like a fortune telling, is this place okay?"

"Of course! Crystal ball, tarot cards, pendulum—which do you want?"

The fortune teller placed the props in front of Kato Megumi one by one. After thinking for a moment, Kato Megumi pointed to the tarot cards.

The main reason is that she feels that both crystal balls and pendulums are too abstract, and whether they are good or bad depends on what the fortune teller says. Tarot cards, on the other hand, at least allow her to see the meaning of the cards she draws.

What question do you want to have answered?

The fortune teller, while shuffling the cards, asked Kato Megumi this question.

Kato Megumi glanced at Jolyne, who was looking at the cards and tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. Kato Megumi said softly, "The future, what will my future be like?"

Hearing this question, the fortune teller glanced at Kato Megumi and said, "I thought girls this age would ask questions like love or studies."

“There are many ways to do tarot readings. The future is too broad a topic, so let’s use the simplest way: you cut the cards and draw one card to represent your future.”

"Because so much has happened today," the fortune teller suggested with great interest.

"It sounds like a good idea, but it's no different from smoking alone at home by myself."

Kato Megumi took the tarot cards and cut them again herself as instructed.

The fortune teller shook her finger. "As for divination, I am merely a witness. This is precisely what is meant by 'destiny is in your own hands.'"

Under Jolyne's gaze, Kato Megumi cut the cards and then took one. When she saw the face-up card, all three of them fell silent.

Death, riding a white horse and clad in armor, displayed his irresistible power.

Some have already fallen, some have accepted this cruel reality, some have tried to avoid it, and some have made futile resistance.

The tarot cards displayed this image, and Kato Megumi calmly asked, "Is this Death?"

"Hmm...it's the Death card."

The fortune teller was a bit troubled. Although there were no inherently bad cards in tarot, just different interpretations, it was still a little awkward for a girl to draw the Death card while pursuing her future.

"The Death card symbolizes transformation, endings, and new beginnings... If it's upright, it might represent an upcoming major transformation, a phoenix rising from the ashes amidst a glimmer of hope, new opportunities and beginnings, and inner growth..."

The fortune teller gave Kato Megumi a brief explanation of the meaning of the upright Death card, without going into the reversed version, since the reversed Death card can be described as lifeless.

Kato Megumi, expressionless, looked at the Grim Reaper riding a white horse, touched her lips, and said, "Sounds pretty good..."

Jolyne fell into deep thought. If it were an ordinary world, it wouldn't be so bad, but this was a supernatural world.

"Could the transformation, end, and new beginning of the Death card mean that Megumi Kato will become a player?"

Once you become a player, whether it's a miraculous rebirth or a new opportunity and beginning, it basically corresponds perfectly to the symbolism of the Death card.

Just as Jolyne was thinking, Kato Megumi nudged her arm and asked, holding up a tarot card, "Jolyne, would you like to draw one and try it out?"

“…Then let’s give it a try.” After a pause, Jolyne took the tarot cards, and without shuffling them again, simply drew one and displayed it in the air.

In the center of the image, a general in armor stands on a chariot pulled by two sphinxes, one black and one white...

Recognizing the card's name, Jolyne sighed and asked the inexplicably accurate fortune teller, "My Chariot should represent the upright position, not the reversed one, right?"

The Chariot card, upright, represents victory, conquest, and plunder, while reversed it naturally signifies loss...

According to the fortune teller, the Death and Chariot cards drawn by the two students were not very suitable. Considering giving up this sudden idea, the fortune teller decided to give Jolyne and Kato Megumi a serious tarot reading again.

However, Jolyne and Kato Megumi both refused. Kato Megumi simply felt that whatever she drew was what she got and there was no need to change it, while Jolyne felt that the fortune teller was really effective.

After becoming a player, isn't everything he does just about winning, plundering, and conquering?

Although the fortune teller was merely witnessing all of this, just as she claimed...

The shaman named Takeda Mie closed her door and posted a "Shop for Rent" sign on it. After today's events, all she wanted to do was go back to her hometown to retire and work.

Jolyne and Kato Megumi bid farewell to the fortune teller, bought some snacks from a roadside stall, and then said goodbye to each other, ending their day's itinerary.

Kato Megumi boarded a train going in the opposite direction from Jolyne, her palm holding the Death God card that the sorceress had given her.

"Transformation, endings, and new beginnings?"

Kato Megumi took a small mirror out of her bag and looked at her reflection.

"Should I get a new hairstyle? Maybe growing my hair long will attract more attention..." Kato Megumi thought to herself as she looked at her bob.

Watching Kato Megumi leave, Jolyne picked up a spider from the roadside greenery.

"Go into Kato Megumi's dream at night and tell her about the players."

Procrastination is not his style. Since Kato Megumi might become a player, it's better to tell her about it in advance.

If we don't mention the accident that led to Kato Megumi's death, and Jolyne's Chariot turned reversed, then it would be the plot of a female-oriented novel.

The next moment, another spider landed in Jolyne's hand, and Jorogumo's voice came: "That was just an ordinary spider, I'm right here..."

Jolyne: "...You've been a bit naughty. I'm punishing you by making you stand guard outside the door tonight."

Chapter 142 Mrs. Yukino

[This chapter has been ordered to be revised. Please forgive any grammatical errors or awkward phrasing.]

Back at the apartment, Jolyne bumped into Yukino Fuyuki, who had just returned. She was carrying several bags and placed them at the door, trying to unlock it.

Noticing Jolyne's arrival, Yukino Fuyuki stared straight at her door, but her flustered movements betrayed her inner turmoil; she even dropped her keys on the floor.

"Mrs. Yukino, was work tiring today?"

Jolyne casually struck up a conversation as she approached Yukino Fuyuki. As she bent down to pick up the keys, the shape of her bodycon skirt looked absolutely perfect.

Yukino Fuyuki covered herself with her hands, feeling a little embarrassed, and said calmly, suppressing her emotions, "It's not hard work at all, it's just a cashier job..."

"In that case, come upstairs for dinner tonight. I also have a gift for you later."

Yukino usually cooks for herself and rarely goes upstairs; she's cold and averse to socializing.

However, since Jolyne didn't use a questioning tone, Yukino Fuyuki lowered her head and didn't speak, which was taken as an agreement. She was also a little curious about what Jolyne was going to give her.

The apartment door opened, and Xu Lun helped her carry her things inside. They then went upstairs together.

Most of the family members are here. The human-faced dog ghost that we caught this morning is now dressed in a maid outfit, and its tail is being held and kneaded by Shizuka Marikawa.

Ai Haibara sat to one side reading a book, clearly having fallen out of favor with Shizuka Marikawa.

Yukino Fuyumi followed closely behind Jolyne, stiffly finding a place to sit down, her back ramrod straight.

“My next game is about to begin, what are your thoughts?” Jolyne asked.

Indeed, according to Yukino Yukinoshita's information, the first game begins three days after becoming a player, while the second game usually takes up to two weeks to start.

In other words, Jolyne will begin her second Paradise Game in a maximum of three days.

"Can we go to the food-themed world? I'm really curious about those glowing dishes, clothes-bursting dishes, and dishes that make you stronger, after hearing you talk about them."

Kanroji Mitsuri licked her lips and said with shining eyes.

Saeko Busujima asked, "Is there a world where you can unleash energy blasts from swords? I want to use Moon Breathing to split mountains and seas."

"Magic and arcane arts, I've heard of worlds where knowledge can be transformed into magic, and great mages who start with a supernova explosion... that must be very interesting."

Ai Haibara, always eager for drama, loves to watch the excitement unfold.

"Why don't we go to the world of supernatural beings?" Hanako whispered, wanting to become the kind of supernatural being that Jolyne had mentioned.

Going to the toilet without toilet paper will kill you, going to the toilet without flushing will kill you, going to the toilet while using your phone will kill you... Hanako gets excited just thinking about these things.

Yukino Fuyuki looked around, wondering why they weren't worried at all, and finally managed to stammer out, "Be careful."

"I'm still a level 3..."

Jolyne took out a command card and, surrounded by them, wrote down the three keywords: [food], [swords], and [magic]. Then the card burned, and the park sent a message.

[Item A-009527: You used the item - designated card. Your next game will definitely contain keywords related to food, swords, and magic...]

"I wonder what kind of world it will be. I hope the combat power level will be low."

Xu Lun said that he was only one S rating away from raising his player rank to S. With his current strength, as long as it was a normal level 3 world, he would basically be at the pinnacle of combat power in that world.

After a sumptuous dinner, Jolyne pulled Yukino and Fuyuki back downstairs.

"What is it?" Yukino Fuyuki leaned closer.

"I remember that Mrs. Yukino received some kind of ice and snow-related enhancements."