I discovered a world bug.

"So you mean you learned how to make amulets in one night—to be precise, less than three hours?"

Qin Lang sat opposite Lin Shu. Jin Yue was still doing data analysis, but he no longer paid attention to it and focused all his attention on Lin Shu.

"yes."

Lin Shu nodded.

In fact, he was more surprised than Qin Lang.

No, what's with this attitude?

You already have a fairly complete ritual procedure in your hands. I have also told you that I have a large amount of ritual materials summarized by Xu Changshun. By comparing the two, isn't it very simple to reconstruct the complete ritual?

Why are you all looking at me like I've accomplished something incredible...?

What? You call yourselves an official group, but when it comes to rituals, are you even less knowledgeable than me?

Lin Shu looked at Qin Lang with a puzzled expression, while the latter slowly took a breath and continued to ask:

"Let me confirm again, you've just started using a new ritual, and on your first day, you were able to perfectly replicate it immediately, and it's even effective?"

...Just kidding.

Actually, it wasn't the first day I tried it. When performing the rituals of "divination by yarrow stalks and tortoise shells" and "snake raising," I only tried it once and succeeded immediately.

What's so strange about this?

"yes!"

Lin Shu nodded again, and Qin Lang, seeing his bewildered expression, couldn't help but laugh.

Based on the current situation, the attacks in the early morning were actually much more dangerous than anticipated.

The enemy's attack was not "targeted," but rather it may have been an indiscriminate, wide-ranging strike.

He had assumed that this attack would proceed without hindrance, just like any other, leaving the victims with no clues and no way to retaliate.

But he guessed wrong.

Although his attack was powerful enough to burn through ordinary "Purple Star Enclosure Protective Talisman", it failed to penetrate the new peace talisman that Lin Shu had made in a very short time.

It is highly likely that he was forcibly interrupted halfway through his ritual.

This "interruption" has most likely already backfired on him...

This is a victory.

It could even be said that this was the first truly significant victory achieved by our team since its inception!

Although our side paid a price, the price the enemy paid was definitely not low either!

Thinking of this, Qin Lang looked at Lin Shu.

"Comrade Lin Shu, I feel like you're completely unaware of what you've done..."

"But I can tell you, you've done us a huge favor."

"At the most conservative estimate, you've already saved two people."

"It's even possible that you saved all of our lives."

"I want to express my sincere gratitude to you—if you have any special needs in the future, please contact me."

"I will definitely help you within my personal capabilities!"

...Me?

Lin Shu was still a little confused.

"Are you sure... it was me who did it?"

"Why are you all so surprised? Can't you do it?"

Qin Lang shook his head, turned to Lu Ran, and said:

"You explain it to him."

"it is good."

Lu Ran nodded and asked:

"Do you believe that performing a ritual simply requires following a predetermined procedure and completing all the steps to achieve the desired effect?"

"yes!"

Lin Shu nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Isn't this how it's supposed to be?"

In his view, this was a very natural thing.

Ritual should be a set of "scientific" execution guidelines. Like all other scientific phenomena, it does not depend on the specific person performing it.

If one relies on a person, the ritual ceases to be a ritual and instead slips back into the realm of "metaphysics".

This is something I cannot accept.

Hearing Lin Shu's answer, Lu Ran shook her head.

"That's what we thought at first too."

"But based on the information we have gathered and the results of our own experiments, we have concluded that the ritual is not symmetrical."

"symmetry?"

Lin Shu subconsciously repeated the keywords, while Lu Ran nodded and continued:

"Yes—you have an engineering background, so you should understand what symmetry means."

"Suppose there is a chemical experiment where, under similar external conditions, the result will be the same regardless of the time, place, or who performs it."

"For example, if I conduct a water splitting experiment, whether I do it here or in space, I will eventually produce two gases: hydrogen and oxygen. This is spatial symmetry."

"The rules of temporal symmetry are similar—but rituals do not possess symmetry."

Lu Ran paused for a moment, then pointed to the pile of amulets and said:

"You get different results when you perform the same ritual at different times."

"The results may differ even if you perform the same ritual in different locations."

"Do you understand this?"

"Absolutely."

Lin Shu nodded in response.

Isn't this the element of "location" and "time"?

Although it looks asymmetrical, it is actually a more generalized symmetry.

It also has strict requirements regarding time and environmental conditions.

What's so hard to understand about that?

"Okay, if you understand, then there's no problem—now, what you're missing is the understanding of the 'asymmetry of the executor' in the ritual."

"In fact, the same set of rituals can have different effects when performed by different people."

"Of course, we have seen that everyone can obtain the corresponding results according to the established rituals, that's for sure."

"But there is a difference in success rate and quality among them."

"We can't quantify the advantages and disadvantages at the moment; we can only talk about the success rate."

"Old Qin told you before that we all know how to make amulets, but the success rate is extremely low. Only a very few people can make amulets relatively consistently."

"And even for them, the success rate is less than 10%."

"But your success rate... seems a little too high."

Lu Ran pointed to the pile of amulets and asked:

"Most of the amulets here are drafts; you actually drew a total of 12 complete amulets."

"Of these 12 coins, how many are the ones you said you 'felt a connection with'?"

Lin Shu glanced at it briefly and replied:

"This one, this one, this one... there are 7 in total."

"Above 50%..."

Lu Ran looked at Qin Lang, and the two exchanged a glance, their expressions complicated.

50% success rate...

Even for a well-established mage or a so-called leader of a lineage, this is already considered incredibly high.

But the young man in front of him seemed completely oblivious to this.

He even thought it was a matter of course!

Qin Lang stood up and patted Lin Shu on the shoulder.

Then, he solemnly stated:

"You have a bright future ahead of you... You were born to walk this path."

I was born to walk this path...

As Qin Lang finished speaking, Lin Shu instantly recalled the look in Xu Changshun's eyes when she said goodbye at the Second Hospital.

At that time, I had already noticed his special attitude towards me, and even wondered if he wanted to pass on his mantle to me at the end of his life.

Later, things turned out to be just as they seemed, and I even thought I had guessed correctly.

But now it seems that his gaze has a deeper meaning?

Could he have foreseen his own "talent" beforehand, which is why he chose him?

If he could actually see it, then he would be...

How did you see that?

Lin Shu felt her mind was in a mess, but Qin Lang quickly regained his composure and brought everyone back on track with a single sentence.

"Alright, we can conduct further research on this issue after you officially join us."

"But now, we need to focus on the problems at hand."

"After this defeat, our enemy must have suffered a very serious blow."

"Now is the time to seize the window of opportunity and launch a swift counterattack."

"Jin Yue, how's the investigation going?"

Jin Yue, who had been keeping a close eye on the progress of the equipment analysis, looked up.

He answered:

"One bad news, one good news."

"The bad news is that Li Yu is very cautious and hasn't left us any substantial clues."

"But the good news is..."

"I have obtained his device's network access map, as well as the airplane app's network access map and his account change information."

"From this data, we can analyze his entire activity trajectory."

"Within these trajectories, I discovered a very serious misalignment..."