Ring of Fate

Chapter 957 Reminder (Please give me monthly tickets in the last two days)
Because Franca and Roxanne had ordered chicken and taro in advance and asked for them to be cooked immediately, the three of them quickly enjoyed the steaming hot food.

Franka asked the waiter to prepare a medium-spicy soup base for the dipping bowl, and added some minced garlic, chopped onions and coriander. Finally, she poured in oyster sauce, which is salty and fresh, with a hint of sweetness, and can well enrich the spicy taste. Franka especially likes to add this when eating hot pot.

She glanced at Zhou Mingrui and found that his choice was similar to hers.

Great minds think alike... Franka picked up the taro instead of the chicken first. It had been stewed in the pressure cooker until soft, rolled in the dipping bowl, and blown for more than ten seconds. The first bite was full of the aroma of starch and the taste of the taro itself. They also absorbed the spicy and delicious oil of the soup base. Combined with the salty and sweet taste of oyster sauce, it makes people salivate quickly and effectively reduces the residual heat.

Franka ate three pieces of taro before she remembered a piece of chicken.

She would rate this as one of the top three vegetarian dishes in the hot pot world, the other two being potato chips and leafy lettuce.

The three of them ate in silence for a while. After filling their stomachs, Luo Shan took the initiative to start various topics to avoid an awkward situation.

With her livening up the atmosphere, the three of them had a pretty good chat, ranging from company rumors and gossip to the recent employment environment and the current situation of their former colleagues.

The handsome security guard naturally became part of the topic. Luo Shan regretted that he had not been guarding the gate recently, so she could not see it with her own eyes.

Suddenly, Zhou Mingrui asked about Franca's professional situation, curious about why she changed her career after graduation.

Franka talked about her true feelings when she was studying:

"Working like a slave doesn't make much money, and it's life-threatening. You have to wait until you're 30 or 40 to have a decent income. I felt I couldn't stand the hardship, so I changed my career. How many 20s can we have in our lifetime?"

Zhou Mingrui expressed his understanding:
"There are people everywhere on the Internet saying that those who persuade others to study medicine will be struck by lightning. However, being a doctor is a late-stage profession. The older you are, the more popular you are. I have a childhood friend who also changed his career after graduation. He worked in two other jobs and didn't make any progress..."

At this point, Zhou Mingrui paused, frowned unconsciously, and then continued:

"I used my connections to go back to my hometown hospital to work as an intern."

There is such a childhood friend? There is no mention of him in the information... It is obviously not Peng Deng, nor the female childhood friend who likes traveling... While Franca was confused, Zhou Mingrui talked about medical matters.

Franka perfectly played the role of a former medical student who changed careers three years ago. She could still talk about the basics, but had almost forgotten anything more in-depth.

She is not a "generalist"!
——This current identity is almost a replica of her original state, and she plays the role like a duck in water. The only difference is that she has not actually graduated, and she has changed her career for six or seven years.

When Zhou Mingrui nodded imperceptibly, Luo Shan glanced at Franca and said with a smile:

"Have you ever tried one of those new drinks with great designs and unique names?"

Franka smiled back and asked instead:

"Have you ever drunk it?"

Without waiting for Zhou Mingrui and Luo Shan to answer, Franca lowered her voice:
"I recently heard an urban legend that there is a mysterious vending machine that randomly appears in different places, selling blind boxes of drinks. Some of the drinks in these blind boxes have special effects that allow people who drink them to gain abilities corresponding to the names of the drinks. The drinks sold in supermarkets and convenience stores are ordinary, normal drinks."

After saying all these words in one breath, and without showing any abnormality, Franka relaxed a little.

Zhou Mingrui looked at Franca, who had returned home and changed into a white T-shirt, loose trousers, a pair of white shoes, and tied her hair into a ponytail, and smiled and said:
“I’ve also seen rumors about this on the Internet.”

Franca's eyes fell on Roxanne's face.

Luo Shan bit her lip and said in a tone that sounded like she was deliberately telling a ghost story:
"Actually, I have encountered that mysterious vending machine."

Suddenly, Zhou Mingrui also looked at her.

Roshan laughed:

"I bought a blind box, and the drink inside was 'Shaman', but after I drank it, nothing happened and I didn't gain any abilities.

"To be honest, when I went to look for the vending machine the second time, it was indeed gone. It was no longer in its original location..."

Luo Shan's voice became unusually low when she said the last sentence, and the bubbles rolling in the hot pot seemed to freeze for a second.

Zhou Mingrui looked at her without saying anything, as if he was evaluating whether this was a ghost story or the truth.

Luo Shan then smiled and said to him:

"Didn't you drink it too? I later saw a similar vending machine in the company lobby. I drew a bunch and gave you a bottle of 'Instigator' drink, right?"

"I didn't drink it." Zhou Mingrui laughed. "Someone gave me a bag of dried mushrooms before, saying that they are great for making drinks or tea. I thought I'd give it a try, so I poured the 'Instigator' drink into my cup and soaked the dried mushrooms in it. Later, I went to do something else, and when I returned to my seat, the cup was empty.

"At that time, I was still thinking that there shouldn't be anyone in the office so disgusting as to drink from someone else's cup. Maybe the cleaning lady was disgusted by the soaked mushrooms and thought the cup of water was no longer useful, so she helped me deal with it.

“Now that I think about it, this is a bit strange.”

He and Luo Shan sang the same tune, making the urban legend more and more realistic.

Franca didn't seem frightened at all. She looked around and lowered her voice:
"Since you are so frank, I will tell you the truth too. To be honest, I have also encountered that vending machine."

Luo Shan asked cooperatively:

"What did you win?"

Franca looked at Zhou Mingrui, pushed up her black-framed glasses, and smiled:

"'assassin'."

Zhou Mingrui looked at her quietly, waiting for her to continue.

Franka smiled and added:
"I'm a fan of Assassin's Creed. Look, my WeChat name is 'True Hidden Blade'."

As she spoke, she picked up her phone, showed Zhou Mingrui her WeChat name, and continued:

"I was very satisfied with the name of the drink. I imagined myself as an assassin, able to perform the 'leap of faith' as ​​if it were real, and also able to hide in the shadows so that no one could find me..."

Franka deliberately explained all the changes and abilities brought about by the "Assassin" potion, trying to make Zhou Mingrui believe that she had really drunk the "Assassin" drink or was very familiar with things related to "Assassins".

As she described, her heart beat faster involuntarily and her whole body became tense, as if she was about to be kicked out of the dream.

Zhou Mingrui tactically drank a sip of iced soy milk and ate a piece of taro.

After putting down his chopsticks, he smiled and said to Franca and Roxanne:

“That’s my dream, too.”

Franka took the opportunity to remind:

"Then you have to pay attention. I saw a rumor that there is a big problem with the subsequent drinks of 'Assassin'. Well, it's just like leveling up in a game. When you drink a drink to a certain level, terrible things will happen."

"What terrible thing?" Luo Shan asked curiously.

Franka shook her head.
"I do not know either.

"I only heard that the 'assassin' drink is followed by the 'instigator' drink, and the problematic one is after the 'instigator' drink..."

Her voice got lower and lower.

Zhou Mingrui ended the topic:

"Okay, okay, let's keep making this up. It will become a complete urban legend sooner or later."

"Yeah." Franka smiled and said that the previous content was all made up by herself on the spot.

The same is true for Roxanne.

The three of them chatted about other things until it was completely dark, and they all felt very satisfied with their meals.

After saying goodbye to Rosanne and Franca, Zhou Mingrui walked to the other end of the street.

The smile on his face gradually faded, and thoughts emerged one after another in his mind:
"They didn't seem to be testing me, but rather hinting, prompting, and reminding me...

“Is there really a big problem with the ‘Assassin’ drink?
"It may also be because I deliberately chose a crowded and lively place, so they didn't find an opportunity to use their abilities to influence them...

"Let's wait and see if there are any accidents or attacks...

"If we can confirm their intentions or good intentions, we can find an opportunity to have a real chat later...

"If avoiding the problem doesn't solve it, then face it..."

As his thoughts raced, Zhou Mingrui turned into a small path and walked into the shadows.

On the other side, Franca took Roxanne to the nearest shopping mall.

For the next hour, she wanted to stay in a more crowded and brighter place.

Just after leaving the "Yizhou Roast Chicken" store and walking a dozen steps on the roadside, Franka suddenly felt dizzy.

The next second, she felt like a deep-sea fish that was scooped out of the sea. She tried her best to breathe but couldn't take in even a breath of air. Her head and body were strangely expanding, like a fragile balloon that was constantly being inflated.

She grabbed her neck in pain, trying to pull the trachea out of her flesh and blood and connect it directly to the air.

Her legs began to weaken and her body fell to the ground, her thoughts stalled and her mirror double lost contact with her.

Did the Lord notice me? This thought flashed through Franca's mind.

In the gray sedan parked on the opposite side of the road, Lumian quietly watched Franca's face turn extremely red, watched her lips turn blue and black, watched her grab her slender neck and scratch bloody marks on the surface of her fair skin.

Luo Shan stood nearby, looking confused and at a loss.

Lumian, who was sitting in the passenger seat, remained motionless, still watching quietly.

He saw Franca half-fallen on the ground, and saw Franca struggling to open her handbag, taking out the mobile phone inside with difficulty, and unlocking the screen.

Above the screen is an interface prepared in advance, and placed together with the phone are cosmetics, multi-faceted mirrors and a small black bag.

In Lumian's sight, Franka's eyes bulged out, and she tapped the phone screen with her thumb with a painful and ferocious expression.

Then she collapsed completely, dropping her handbag to the ground.

The items in the handbag rolled out, and the small black bag mysteriously disappeared.

After a few seconds, Lumian in the car opposite looked at Franca who slowly stood up with empty eyes, and said to himself and Anthony calmly:

"Contacting Zhou Mingrui at night and reminding him of the existence of supernatural powers will cause you to be kicked out of the dream very quickly."

PS: I’m asking for monthly tickets in the last two days~
PS2: I recommend a book, "The Eve of Ascension", a new book by the author of the previous book "Gun of Embers", which is more science fiction and cyberpunk.

Introduction: Incarnation killer, feathering technology, shepherd plan, longevity plan...are all these a blessing or a trap?

This city always tempts you with a glimmer of hope. Whether it is a dream woven by lies or a utopia constructed by illusions, they are all close at hand and within reach, making people willing to throw themselves into the fire and risk their lives.

Today, a great node in human history has arrived, and the dawn of ethnic group upgrading is beginning to appear.

(End of this chapter)