As the pale blue light curtain on her retina slowly faded, the two lines of system prompts regarding the instance settlement also dissipated into the depths of her vision. Lin Xiao withdrew her gaze, tapped lightly in the void, and summoned the familiar inventory interface.
The rewards for clearing the instance this time weren't exactly bountiful. Aside from a few useless crystals, no strange or rare items had appeared. She glanced at her balance: eighty-six crystals. This was her entire fortune at the moment. Although she was still a bit short for the next ten-pull, the system's pop-up window offering a "20% discount for the first time" was clearly hinting that she could act now.
Lin Xiao ignored this completely and shut the interface with a crisp motion.
In this swaying, crowded bus carriage, whether contemplating the system's schemes or conducting a lucky draw, both seemed somewhat out of place. She adjusted her sitting posture, leaned back against the chair, and closed her eyes to rest until the stop announcement sounded.
After getting off the bus, Lin Xiao, carrying the daily supplies she had purchased, made a detour to Wang Ruofei's place. The snacks the other party had asked her to bring were in the bag; this was Wang Ruofei's bottom line—even if she was dead broke, she would never touch that stomach-turning nutrient paste.
"You're back a bit late today," Wang Ruofei said, taking the snack bag with a satisfied look on her face.
Lin Xiao sighed. "On the way to buy things, I accidentally went astray."
"...What kind of 'astray'?"
"The philosophical kind."
Wang Ruofei silently took a deep breath. As an old acquaintance, she felt that Lin Xiao sometimes sounded like she had run away from some philosophy department. Meanwhile, Lin Xiao was calmly testing the boundaries of the confidentiality agreement; it seemed that as long as the rhetoric was artistic enough, the agreement wasn't impossible to bypass.
"By the way," Wang Ruofei seemed to remember something, "the group chat said the school is holding a job fair in two days. I plan to go join the fun. Do you want to come along?"
Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you always say that companies recruiting at schools treat students like cheap labor, and you'd rather let your resume rot in your hands than suffer that indignity?"
"...I don't remember my original words being that long, but they definitely weren't that eloquent," Wang Ruofei gave a wry smile. "My family is pushing hard, so I've decided to clutch at straws. What was that company doing again?"
"Forgot," Lin Xiao smiled. "We'll see when we get there."
For Lin Xiao, as long as it made money, whether the position matched her major didn't matter. Since Wang Ruofei had decided to 'seek medical help,' she naturally had no reason to refuse.
After bidding farewell to Wang Ruofei, Lin Xiao returned to Room 403 of Chenxi Apartment.
Putting things away and washing her hands, she sank into the soft sofa. Only then did she summon the system panel again. This time, her target was clear—the prize pool shimmering with a golden luster.
The animation for the ten-pull sped past her eyes, followed immediately by a row of trophies neatly arranged in her inventory.
Aside from standard skill books and potions, a permanent skill named [Box of Fate] lay quietly there. However, a line of small text in the system remarks was somewhat obstructive: Prerequisite skill [Eye of Insight] level insufficient, unable to activate.
Lin Xiao didn't hesitate and directly dumped all the newly acquired advanced manuals into [Eye of Insight].
As the skill level rose, a strange sensory change spread through her mind. When she looked at herself again, a few faint threads seemed to appear in her vision, extending from her body into the void. That was the visualization of fate.
Past, present, and future intertwined and entangled on these threads.
To verify the specific utility of this new ability, Lin Xiao used local materials and cast her gaze toward a few ants carrying food in the corner.
Under the gaze of [Eye of Insight], three lines also emerged on these tiny life forms. One bright, representing good luck; one dim, representing bad luck; and the third line was the most special—it was faint, almost nonexistent, foreshadowing an impending major change.
Lin Xiao tried focusing her attention on one of the ants. The line representing bad luck became distinct in her eyes. With a thought, she activated [Box of Fate].
The next second, the ant's original path shifted subtly, avoiding a falling water droplet by a hair's breadth.
This was the function of [Box of Fate]—to intercept and temporarily store destiny.
After repeated experiments, Lin Xiao summarized a few iron laws regarding this skill: for unexpected disasters, as long as the interception was appropriate, they could be completely avoided; but for irreversible fates like birth, aging, sickness, and death, what she could do was merely extremely limited delay or fine-tuning.
She was like an acrobat walking a tightrope of fate, carefully probing the boundaries of balance.
It wasn't until a stinging pain came from her temples that Lin Xiao had to stop this high-intensity observation. She closed her eyes wearily, and when she opened them again, it was pitch black outside the window.
The phone screen lit up, the faint light illuminating her face. 5:15 AM, an awkward time.
Lin Xiao stretched her stiff neck. Although she had slept, her mental exhaustion hadn't fully recovered. In her current state, she could use [Box of Fate] at most three times a day; any more would overdraw her energy.
She got up, washed her face, and prepared to welcome the new day.
Bauhinia Street, Anomaly Management Bureau.
This building bore distinct marks of the old era. Besides the above-ground office area, it also concealed deep underground facilities.
After fingerprint verification, the elevator descended smoothly, finally stopping at the thirteenth underground level.
The elevator doors opened, and a young man in uniform was already waiting there. He nodded slightly as he watched the woman walk out of the elevator.
The woman removed the ID badge from her chest, then reached up to take off a uniquely shaped jade pendant from her neck. As the pendant left her body, her facial features began to flow and restructure like melting wax.
A moment later, the originally capable face disappeared, replaced by one that was more mature yet still vaguely bore the shadow of Ji Youran.
"...Thank you for your hard work," the young man said, his gaze lingering on that unfamiliar face for a moment before returning to professional calm.