Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

"It's best not to touch anything related to evil gods, let alone think about using it."

Lu Changsheng's tone was heavy, his gaze fixed on the distorted symbols on the token. Even from a distance, he could feel a faint but essential trace of blasphemy and chaos lingering on it, which made the jade pendant on his chest tremble slightly.

"Li Xingguo is the best example. Do you think he learned those rituals out of thin air and became a follower of evil gods? These kinds of items with clear directional symbols are often a kind of 'beacon' in themselves. Holding it now is like holding up a sign that says, 'I'm here, come and pay attention to me.'"

Cheng Caijun was so startled by Lu Changsheng's words that his hand trembled, and he almost threw the token away. His face turned pale.

"I...I'm just looking! I don't intend to use it! Really!"

He hurriedly stuffed the token back into his system inventory like a hot potato, and patted his chest with lingering fear.

"My god, this lousy system is such a rip-off! Of all the rewards, it gave us this weird stuff! Isn't this just harming people?!"

He grew angrier the more he thought about it, and opened the system panel again. Looking at his pitiful points and meager rewards, he couldn't help but complain:

"The system is so stingy! All they gave me was this crappy token. Oh, and there's this most baffling thing: 'Increase a certain attribute by 25%'. 25% sounds okay, but what attribute is being increased? Who knows if it even works? They might as well have given me some real points or equipment!"

Listening to his complaints, Lu Changsheng picked up his brush again, dipped it in cinnabar, and while concentrating on drawing the talisman, said calmly:

"If I'm not mistaken, it might be the 'Luck' attribute."

"Lucky?" Cheng Caijun was taken aback.

"Yes. In the world of strange rules, sometimes luck is more important than strength. A perfectly timed accident, the discovery of a crucial clue, or even a mistake when an enemy suddenly appears in a desperate situation can determine life or death. A 25% luck bonus may sound intangible, but at certain critical moments, it can be the difference between life and death."

Lu Changsheng held the tip of his pen above the talisman and slowly said, "This thing might be more valuable than a piece of fixed equipment. At least, it might have played a part in the fact that you were able to sneak out of your house tonight without being caught by your family."

Lu Changsheng didn't believe that Cheng Caijun could escape the control of his family based on his intelligence alone.

Unless his family deliberately let him out, Cheng Caijun is just incredibly lucky.

It now appears to be the latter.

Cheng Caijun blinked, thought about it carefully, and it seemed... to make sense? Although he had tried to escape many times before, he never seemed to have succeeded?

He originally thought that he had learned a lot from Brother Lu in the dungeon and had become stronger, but he didn't expect that the 25% luck had played a role in the mystery.

Thinking about it this way, he immediately felt much better:

"Hehe, so my reward is actually pretty good? The luck attribute, that sounds high-end!"

Lu Changsheng didn't reply; he had already focused all his attention back on the talisman in front of him. The pen tip fell, and cinnabar meandered along the lines of the yellow paper.

"It's almost dawn, you should go find a room to sleep. I'll go to sleep after I finish drawing this talisman."

With a stroke of his pen, Lu Changsheng said to Cheng Caijun:

"I'm going out for a walk tomorrow morning, do you want to come with me?"

"No way." Cheng Caijun shook his head helplessly. "I have to start new recruit training tomorrow morning."

"New recruit training?"

Lu Changsheng was taken aback; how come he didn't know there was a new recruit being trained?

"It's like this, Brother Lu, my strength is too weak right now, my stamina can't keep up, and my awareness is not good either. If it weren't for you, I definitely wouldn't have survived this time, so the higher-ups specially arranged a 29-day intensive training for me, the purpose of which is to improve my survival rate in the next mandatory dungeon."

Why don't I need to participate?

Lu Changsheng looked puzzled.

"Oh, Team Leader Yan said that your physical fitness is a bit weak, and the cost-effectiveness of new recruit training is too low for you. He told you to train more regularly."

Cheng Caijun chuckled obsequiously, "I heard from Team Leader Yan that some of your skills in the dungeon are something even the expert team needs to learn!"

As they were talking, Cheng Caijun pulled out a tablet from his bag and showed Lu Changsheng the future training schedule. It was several pages long, with a variety of classes including conscious training, physical training, general knowledge, and analysis. Lu Changsheng was overwhelmed by the sheer number of classes and quickly swallowed his desire to accompany Cheng Caijun.

He glanced pityingly at Cheng Caijun, who was grinning foolishly to the side.

Cheng Cai, Cheng Cai, after these 29 days, you might not be able to keep your body.

-

The next afternoon.

The bus door creaked open, and Lu Changsheng stepped off the bus carrying a worn-out backpack.

He wore a black mask and a baseball cap, with most of his face hidden in the shadows, revealing only a pair of calm, expressionless eyes.

It took him more than three hours to travel to this paradise. The mountains were layered and lush, with only a narrow asphalt road, barely wide enough for two cars to pass each other, winding its way through the area.

The bus turned around and left, kicking up a cloud of dust. Lu Changsheng took off his hat and mask, put them in his bag, and walked along a dirt road that had been worn smooth by countless footsteps into the mountains.

Scattered along the roadside are some old brick and tile houses, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.

Several villagers dressed in coarse cloth were sitting in the sun by the stone mill at the entrance of the village. When they saw him coming, they were not surprised, but just smiled and nodded.

"Chang Sheng, you're back?"

An old man with a missing front tooth grinned and greeted him.

"Yes, I'm back."

Lu Changsheng spoke in a low voice, nodding and smiling at the villagers, but he didn't stop walking and continued inside. The villagers seemed used to it and didn't ask any questions, but simply watched him leave with the same look they had for their own nephews and nieces.

The further you go, the fewer people you see. The dirt road gradually turns into stone steps, winding upwards. Dense bamboo groves line both sides, rustling in the wind, adding to the tranquility.

After walking for about half an hour, the view suddenly opened up. In a relatively flat mountain valley, there stood a building that could barely be called a "sect".

The walls, made of adobe bricks, were already dilapidated, revealing the straw underneath. The tiles were broken and incomplete, and cobwebs clung to the eaves. The two faded wooden doors were ajar, and a crooked wooden plaque hung above them, the characters on which were so blurred that only the two characters "Qingwei" could be barely made out.

An old man, wearing a faded gray undershirt and with a hunched back, was slowly sweeping the fallen leaves in front of his door with a bamboo broom that was longer than him.

The broom swept across the bluestone floor, making a rhythmic "shh-shh" sound.

Hearing footsteps, the old man looked up, revealing a face covered in deep wrinkles but with bright eyes. He saw Lu Changsheng, stopped what he was doing, and a joyful smile appeared on his face.

"Chang Sheng is back?" His voice was a little hoarse, but full of energy. "He looks alright this time."