Chapter 8: Causality. Thousand Years of Pain
Miss Talulah exchanged her verbal pledge and two hundred grams of red gold for thirty tons of flour.
The person who helped purchase the items was Valon.
—This Black Hand was a very reliable partner when there was profit to be made.
[You have gained Talulah's allegiance through performance and provisions]
"I always feel like the boss is a rather extraordinary character."
Beside them, Hui Hui, who had been waving a flag for a while, wiped the sweat from her face, looking at the person whose demeanor once overwhelmed Talulah; her Crimson Demon Clan's characteristic red eyes were practically glowing.
"He who has strong soldiers and horses is Augustus; that's a truly profound saying."
"Oh, that line isn't my original; I copied it from somewhere else."
"The original quote is—'The Son of Heaven, he who has strong soldiers and horses shall be, is there really a fixed lineage!'"
Luo Su seemed to have heard Hui Hui's exclamation and said.
Hui Hui's expression instantly fell.
Right.
She had thought that a boss who could utter such domineering words would have some super boss setting hidden within him.
Turns out he was just plagiarizing?
"Speaking of which, who in the group has better luck?"
Suddenly, the young man asked the group members who were still together.
"Why are you asking that?"
Skadi's expression instantly became alert, even radiating a bit of killing intent.
She surveyed her surroundings, like an Orca ruler arriving in the Antarctic, searching for seals, ready to end their sinful lives with her Whale-Slaying Fist.
That display greatly increased Luo Su's favorable impression of Skadi.
Ah, a fellow countryman from the African tribe!!
He only regretted that she was a woman.
Otherwise, he would surely cut off their hair, burn yellow paper, and become sworn brothers with her!!
"Mine is very good!!"
Uzumaki Naruto directly raised his hand high, completely unaware that a certain Orca's eyes seemed to be glowing red.
Hui Hui quietly distanced herself from Uzumaki Naruto, as if afraid of getting blood on herself.
Currently, both the strongest and most complex-minded individuals in the group had unlucky faces; at this moment, someone actually jumped out to say his luck was good, not even afraid of being sent to the Antarctic to establish a branch company, responsible for finding polar bears.
"My luck is mediocre."
Miss Hui Hui remained untouched in the murderous jungle of the unlucky tribe.
"Mine isn't very good..."
Miss Raiden wasn't as complicated and chose to speak the truth—her luck wasn't great; her father was captured, she was targeted by Cocolia, and there was also a lesbian entanglement her body.
"Why are you asking this?"
The quick-witted Hui Hui looked at the card that had appeared in Luo Su's hand at some point.
Her expression held a hint of curiosity.
Luo Su was the most unique person in the group; anyone who wasn't an idiot could see that.
And he had been playing with that card for a long time, with a joyful expression.
This made it hard not to suspect that the card had some special significance.
"Hmm, for various reasons, I seem to have acquired a very unusual card."
Luo Su didn't lie, taking out the scratch-off-like card in his hand.
This was an item he obtained by tricking Talulah.
It was said to correspond to an unknown prize pool.
"It's a very Schrödinger-esque item; in short, before you scratch it open, anything is possible inside."
"If you're lucky, you might even get a Star Chart symbolizing a cosmic worldview; if you're unlucky, you'll probably only draw a portable compressed toilet?"
The group members all showed interested expressions upon hearing that, and even Raiden Mei, who usually didn't say much, seemed a bit eager to try.
"Let me! Let me!!"
Naruto seemed to get excited all of a sudden.
From Luo Su's perspective, this guy's first half of life was as tragic as a coffee table laden with tragedies.
But, he is the protagonist after all; he has the protagonist's halo.
Should he let him help scratch it?
Luo Su handed the card to Naruto.
Naruto didn't hesitate, directly pulling out a kunai and scratching at it. As he scratched, everyone in the Chat Group involuntarily craned their necks, like a flock of ducks being lifted by an invisible hand.
Hui Hui, the most curious of them all, even had her entire face practically pressed against the card; Naruto wasn't as close as she was.
Amidst everyone's expectant expressions, the card gradually revealed a faint golden color.
Luo Su's mood also became excited. No matter the setting, golden quality is never an ordinary item.
Golden Legend?!
After completely scraping off all the coating, a dazzling golden light directly burst forth.
"Ah!!! My eyes, my eyes!!!"
Because she was too close, Hui Hui was caught completely off guard, falling to the ground and writhing, screaming in agony.
It was pitiful yet comical.
It made one want to laugh.
—She was too close, blocking almost all the light by herself.
[As a mine owner, seeing his means of production damaged, should he mock?]
The prompter's words made Luo Su's smile completely disappear.
Ah, crap.
He almost forgot, this counted as his means of production.
"Hmm, you guys look at the item first, I'll go check on Hui Hui."
The struggling boss, in the early stages of his startup, went to check on his employee who was exceptionally good at courting disaster, leaving the remaining Chat Group members gathered around the card.
"...Should I look first?"
After confirming that Hui Hui was being looked after, Naruto took the lead and picked up the card.
He was the one who scratched the card, after all, so he indeed had the highest priority in Luo Su's absence.
Under the gaze of the others, Brother Naruto eagerly held it up, looking at it with his head tilted back.
And then—
"Ah!!!"
He let out a scream as if his backside had been critically hit by a spiritual injection stick.
As if he had seen something filthy, the usually carefree Naruto directly threw the card onto the table, clenching his legs and waddling backward like a duck.
????
Raiden Mei and Skadi both showed confused expressions.
Raiden Mei walked to the table, picked up the card, and Skadi also leaned in.
Just like Naruto before them, the faces of these two beauties instantly turned horrified, and they threw it down without hesitation.
?
Luo Su was full of question marks.
Seriously, are my brothers and sisters in the Chat Group so psychologically fragile?
A single card scared them out of their wits.
He gently placed the serene Hui Hui on the sofa and then stepped forward.
He wanted to see what kind of thing it was that could make half the members of the mighty Dimensional Chat Group change color upon seeing it.
"Let me see your true form!"
He snorted coldly, picked up the card, and proudly examined the skill.
Causality: Thousand Years of Death
Maximum Capture: One person
Maximum Attack Range: 400 (m)
A technique of "causality" that reverses the order of events.
At the moment of its release, the "result" of "the opponent being hit by Thousand Years of Death" is created first, and the "cause" of "the kunai hitting because the chrysanthemum was penetrated" occurs afterward. Without considerable luck or magic resistance, it is almost impossible to evade.
Skill Activation Condition: Wielding a kunai
Method of Learning: Tear open the card
Note: Kunai made from demon-slaying materials can greatly weaken the suppression of this combat technique by magic resistance. If you encounter someone with strong luck, you can try to continuously release the technique.
If you want to improve the effect, you can also apply chili essence to the kunai.
Luo Su's hand trembled, and he immediately dropped the card on the ground.
?!!!
What the heck is this?!