Sir! Don't close the net!

Alma's lips twitched violently.

"

What else is in that man's mind...?

Chapter Seventy-Seven: The Unexpected Aging of Joints

"Distance, um... about right."

Li Yili glanced at the time on her pocket watch, then nudged Abel's leg across the table.

"The future has already been determined, sir. Wake up, we've arrived at our station."

Abel opened his eyes and subconsciously yawned. His eyes, which were a gradient of gold and red, were full of weariness, but a sharp light was gradually shining within them, dispelling the weariness.

Simply put, I've had enough sleep.

Li Yili's lips twitched, her smile forced and insincere.

"You're awake."

“I haven’t slept this soundly in a long time,” Abel said, getting up and tugging at his clothes. He looked much better. “Probably because I know someone will wake me up.”

"Really? —By the way, what would happen if I hadn't woken you up?"

“You’ll probably wake up at the next stop, then fight your way to Thorn City, shove your head into the ground, let you breathe in the last few breaths of thorny earth, then drag you to Love Slope and hang you,” Abel shrugged.

Li Yili swallowed hard. Abel's tone was relaxed, but he didn't want to gamble that Abel was actually the kind of person who could say terrifying things in a very relaxed tone.

"Aren't you glad you made the right choice, Mr. Sole Ruler?"

Abel reached out and pulled Li Yili's luggage out of the cabinet above his head. When he took out Gungnir, which was disguised as two fishing rods, Abel paused for a moment, but did not show any unusual expression. He then tossed the two fishing rods to Li Yili quite naturally and carried Li Yili's luggage on his back.

He turned and tilted his head to the other side of the train.

Li Yili's expression changed as she held the fishing rod. After hesitating for a moment, she picked up the fishing rod and followed. Soon they arrived at a section of the train where various large goods were stored.

Abel reached out and pulled open the car door. A gust of wind rushed in, making Li Yili's face tremble, while Abel just poked his head out as if nothing had happened.

"So, how do you plan to get down? This speed is quite fast. If you just jump down..." Abel pulled his head back and looked at Li Yili with a serious expression, "your spine will probably rotate a few times."

Li Yili rolled her eyes, stood by the door, and stretched out her right hand, feeling the impact from her palm.

"Hmm~"

“I didn’t lie to you,” Abel said, somewhat helplessly.

“I’ve heard that… when you reach a certain speed, it feels like you’re touching a woman’s breasts,” Li Yili said, scratching her hand. “Because I’ve touched them, I can confirm that this claim is absolutely scientifically based. Do you want to try it?”

Abel remained silent for a while before extending his right hand.

"So, Mr. Sole Ruler, how do you plan to get on and off this train safely? This train will not stop until it reaches the next station, and it will take a whole day to get there."

“Dismantle this carriage,” Li Yili shrugged.

"Eh?"

“Disassemble this carriage. After all, the steam train’s power comes from the locomotive. Only by cutting off the locomotive’s power will this carriage slow down more and more.”

Li Yili turned around and walked towards the carriage door while twisting her shoulders.

"Finally, it came to a complete stop. Ah—converting the cup size I just felt into speed, and taking into account the friction of the tracks, well, in five more minutes we can cut the carriage off."

"Wait a minute! What about the owners of all this luggage?" Abel forcefully raised his hand towards the various goods behind him.

“We’ll probably lose a lot of money,” Li Yili waved her hand. “After all, it’s a long-distance train from Instas, more than a day’s journey. It’s upsetting to think about losing these supplies.”

"Then why..."

“That’s why they came back to look for this carriage, isn’t it?” Li Yili opened the carriage door, turned around and shook her head at Abel. “They will find that a carriage is missing at the next station a day later. It’s a one-way track, which goes around in a circle, and only this train uses this track. Considering all the discussions and bureaucratic maneuvering, it may take two days for someone to arrive here.”

"Then they will find that an unlucky guy was caught up in this accident caused by the aging of the connecting joints of the carriages while checking his luggage. No one will suspect that this unlucky guy planned the accident, because he is a prominent figure in Instar, the head of Sheep Village Logistics, and he boarded this train to take a batch of samples to meet a big client and close a big project."

Li Yili raised her finger and shook it from side to side.

"But the accident had already happened. This influential figure completely missed the business meeting, and for a full two days. Knowing that the deal was off, the logistics minister of Yangcun could only buy a horse and return to Instas in disgrace, pretending that nothing had happened."

Abel stared blankly at Li Yili, unable to utter a single word.

"How about it? My script is pretty good, isn't it? So, are you interested in showing this mortal the amazing power of a god-favored one?" Li Yili raised her right arm and shook it like a noodle, "to make this crime even more perfect."

"you……"

Abel raised his hand, hesitated for a long time, and then managed to utter a sentence.

"Are there any samples you prepared in this carriage?"

"This is a trade secret; everyone knows what I'm talking about."

A prominent figure like Austin, the local bigwig at Instars, would definitely be handled with extreme care, so careful that it would be as if there were no samples at all.

Abel's lips twitched.

What do you mean by "it seems like there are no samples at all"? It means there are no samples at all.

"Not going to help? Fine, then don't bother."

Li Yili shrugged, looked around, picked up an iron rod, and, braving the strong winds blowing from both sides, jabbed it heavily into the connection between the carriages.

Abel raised his hand to his forehead.

Joint aging

"One! A real man only needs to remember one! Break it for me!"

Abel felt his feet sink and the whole carriage sway.

The joint has become loose; if Li Yili does it again, the joint will break due to aging.

Clang—

The carriage lurched violently, its speed began to drop, and the strong wind blowing in from the carriage doors gradually subsided.

Li Yili, holding onto the carriage door, raised her hand and waved to the receding steam train.

Goodbye~

The carriage, having lost power, felt as if it were being dragged down by countless hands, and its speed continued to decrease until it was crawling along the tracks like a snail.

Li Yili whistled as she walked over to Abel, took out binoculars from his suitcase, and, with her left hand on the carriage door frame and her right hand holding the binoculars, looked towards Thorn City.

"And then a new adventure is about to begin~"

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Ten Miracles Refers to Ten Washbasins

"One shot, one kill—nooo!!!"

"Ten consecutive miracles—no way!"

"A miracle for me! Cough, cough, cough—"

"The last ten... so fast! There wasn't even a pause!"

"Hahaha—I did it!!!"

"Ya-ha-"

A bizarre scene was unfolding in front of the Yangcun Logistics Building. Some people were writhing on the ground like maggots, some looked lost and dejected as if they had lost everything, and some were performing a series of backflips in the square in front of the Yangcun Logistics Building as if possessed by monkeys. At first glance, it looked like some kind of absurd ritual was being performed.

Not long ago, they were like human batteries produced on an assembly line, but now they showed huge differences. What amplified these differences was not their so-called talent, and had nothing to do with them at all, but simply luck.

In the face of luck, all things are equal.

Of course, this only applies to the residents of Instas. For people like El, luck can be controlled. By slightly adjusting the ratio, the chances of someone getting a good draw can be greatly increased. However, to prevent someone from being so lucky as to get three or four good draws in one go, there will always be only one "Mission Accomplished" wish bottle in the prize pool.

In Li Yili's words, scarcity increases value. If the drop rate of the Mission Accomplishment Wishing Bottle is too high, the residents of Instas will not cherish it. It is enough to prepare one or two "shills" to let them know that it is possible to draw the exchange coupon for the Mission Accomplishment Wishing Bottle.

"Today's success rate is lower than expected," Alma sighed, glancing at the lottery records compiled by the Cloud Clan executives brought by Abu. "Only two people got the Mission Accomplished Wish Bottle. This UR, SSR setting... that man is truly more wicked than imagined—"

UR - Mission Accomplished Wishing Bottle Exchange Coupon, is almost impossible to obtain statistically, and can only be obtained by emptying the prize pool.

SSR - Big Wishing Bottle, statistically speaking, you only have a chance of getting it if you drain half of the pool.

SR - Wishing Bottle: The probability of getting it is very subtle because the prize pool is entirely manually controlled. You might get several in one 10-pull, or you might get nothing in one 10-pull.

R – the Little Wishing Bottle, has a high probability of being drawn.

And then there were the cards that Li Yili called "N-level," which left Elma speechless: soap, towels, quill pens, fishing line, washbasins, and so on—the variety and quantity were terrifying.

To the residents of Instas who come for the wishing bottles, these are worthless junk, despite their supposed value.

But to be fair, compared to wishing bottles that never grant wishes, these everyday items are incredibly useful.

Li Yili's pool can only be described as poisonous, extremely poisonous, but from her perspective, this kind of poison is also quite good. Compared to the wishing bottle that would be thrown into a sea of ​​dead people as soon as she got her hands on it, making it impossible to fulfill her wishes, she would rather have ten basins.

Although many people cried today because they only got a bunch of washbasins from a ten-pull draw.

Alma hadn't been unaware of Li Yili's "good intentions." After all, Li Yili hadn't let the residents of Instas use money to draw lots. At first glance, it seemed like Sheep Village Logistics was operating at a loss, but upon closer inspection, she discovered that Sheep Village Logistics had signed contracts with many merchants selling daily necessities. Of course, "robbery" would be a more accurate description.

However, it must be said that such robberies have indeed revitalized a lot of the sluggish market.

Alma leaned closer to the window and looked down at the Sheep Village Logistics Building. The absurd ceremony in the square was still going on, but many people had already left. Those who won the grand prize would not give up and would be eager for the next big stroke of luck. Those who lost would be even more obsessed with the prize pool because they were unwilling to give up. The miracle called "guaranteed minimum" was still calling to them.

Most importantly, the raffle tickets are really cheap.

Alma's left hand

With his chin resting on his hand and a pen in his right, he kept tapping the jackpot record in front of him. This was not just a simple jackpot record, but the entire market economy of Instas. Only those with real names could participate in the lottery. In a few days, Sheep Village Logistics, or more precisely, the young black goats, would have a grasp of the movements of every Instas resident.

They will know exactly when and where those residents work, how long they work, how much they earn, which market most residents prefer, and which profession they are better at.

The method used to obtain this terrifying and detailed data was a simple lottery.

Alma looked up at the ceiling, her eyes darting around.

If used properly, this plan could even allow one to control a country.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Ugh—it feels like I walked for ages and didn't even go anywhere—"

Li Yili put down her binoculars and sighed deeply.

He was certain he hadn't gone the wrong way, but after walking for an hour or two, his legs were almost giving way, and he hadn't even seen a glimpse of Thorn City. He couldn't help but start to doubt his life.

"Your Crusade wouldn't have set up some kind of barrier for Thorn City, would you? You mean the kind of barrier that's actually very close, but completely invisible?"

Li Yili's tone, as if questioning how the murderer disposed of the scene, left Abel somewhat helpless. "The Crusade did not set up any barriers in Thorn City to prevent others from approaching."