Chapter 22: The Unrelenting Mockery of Fate

Silence.

Absolute silence.

A deep hush fell over the surroundings. No one had expected that this powerhouse, clad in elite equipment, would extend an invitation to such an ordinary girl. Though the girl was indeed pretty, were there truly a lack of beautiful girls in the dungeon lobby? In this world, the one thing never in short supply was a pretty face.

"Is this some new kind of scam?"

The thought flashed through Lin Xue’s mind, but she dismissed it in an instant. It wasn't worth it! She felt that her current status, standing, and qualifications were simply not worth the effort of a First-Turn powerhouse in elite gear to orchestrate a deception. Any low-level mercenary squad could lure her in with a well-known, simple trick. This was a league far above her; her reason told her she wasn't even worth such a high-end swindle. After all, if she wanted to join a squad, she would have to willingly jump into their typical "blood-harvesting" traps anyway.

"Are you speaking to me?" Lin Xue took a deep breath and stood up to ask.

Lin Xia smiled and replied, "If not you, then who?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the various agreements nearby, his eyes lingering for a moment on the document titled "Voluntary Waiver of Wage Earnings." Just as he had expected, the employment paths and scams encountered by low-level professionals were nearly identical. Lin Xue did not disappoint him; in such circumstances, any rational person would choose to accept.

Shortly after, he led Lin Xue to meet Wang Meng, Deng Qi, and Xiahou Chuan. The three of them reacted much like Lin Xue—stunned and incredulous when Lin Xia approached them. Yet, like her, after a brief moment of contemplation, they chose to follow him. Perhaps in their hearts, they suspected this encounter might be a scam. But for those at the bottom of the professional ladder, if one wanted to cross class boundaries and rise to a better life... one had to gamble! Gamble on others! Gamble on the future!

Most importantly, they were well aware of their own standing. A true First-Turn professional had no reason to deceive them. To put it bluntly, the money he could earn just by strolling around was likely far more than what he could gain by scamming them. Furthermore, if a First-Turn professional came looking for them personally, could they even resist? Since they couldn't, they had no choice but to accept.

This anxiety, fear, and hesitation vanished into thin air the moment Lin Xia led them to clear the Level 5 dungeon, "Red Tooth Village," at lightning speed. It turned out that Lin Xia’s invitation to join the Red Heart Squad wasn't just empty talk! He wasn't feeding them hollow promises! He was genuinely spending his own material earnings on them, purchasing Primary God-Given Crystals to help them level up and grow stronger. These were tangible, touchable benefits!

So... what was there to worry about? Could the future be any worse than the misery of being deceived, manipulated, and exploited in the dungeon lobby?

[You have altered the fate of Lin Xue, preventing her future tragedy of soul-burning.]
[Fate Points +25.]
[You have altered the fate of Wang Meng, preventing his end of dying while covering his comrades' retreat.]
[Fate Points +25.]
[You have altered the fate of Xiahou Chuan, preventing his future end of perishing alongside a debt-collection team while clutching an alchemical bomb.]
[Fate Points +25.]
[You have altered the fate of Deng Qi, preventing his future death by a thousand cuts.]
[Fate Points +25.]

A series of notifications suddenly appeared before Lin Xia.

Lin Xia: "?"

Four people, twenty-five Fate Points each? So uniform? Could this be another silent mockery from Fate? Was the entire Red Heart Squad just a bunch of "two-fifty" idiots?

Regarding this mockery of fate, he actually wanted to say... if you’re going to mock me, don't be so coy! Just multiply it by ten, make it a clean two-hundred-fifty, and point at my nose while you insult me—wouldn't that be better? Sarcasm is never as satisfying as a direct insult to one's face. He guaranteed he wouldn't even resist.

"You all should head back now," Lin Xia said softly, looking at the four. "Go home tonight and think carefully about your future."

With that, he turned and left. When he had emerged from the dungeon earlier, he had happened to cross paths with the Dragon Tooth Squad. One could only enter the dungeon lobby once a day. Usually, to seek greater benefits and extraordinary resources, squads would leave the safe zone and head into the wilderness to fight. The Dragon Tooth Squad wasn't even strong enough to defeat a Level 9 boss, let alone him, now that he had completed his job advancement. Therefore, for this unscrupulous squad that had deceived him in his first simulation—draining eight hundred milliliters of his blood—the best ending was death.

He didn't want to dwell on the fact that the scam he had destroyed had not actually harmed him in this reality. Since he had accepted these "gifts," was it not natural to take revenge for his past self from another timeline? There was another, less significant reason: he wanted to conduct an experiment regarding fate. Last time he came, he had ruined the Dragon Tooth Squad's blood scam, which would have led to their death at the hands of a Level 9 boss a month later.

Fate Points were the product of changing the surrounding destiny. If he were to intercept and kill the Dragon Tooth Squad ahead of time, would their fate change once more? In one fell swoop, he would have effectively sheared the sheep of fate twice. From that perspective, Fate’s occasional mockery of him was perhaps not entirely unjustified.

"Understood, Captain," Lin Xue asked softly, "How shall we contact you tomorrow?"

Lin Xia replied, "Meet at the dungeon lobby at nine tomorrow morning."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Xia’s figure vanished from the spot.

"Everyone, let us meet again tomorrow," Deng Qi said with a salute before turning to leave. The others did the same, departing decisively without a hint of hesitation. They did not stay there to gather or discuss their current situation. It was pointless! As far as they could see, this was a good thing! Since that was the case, they simply had to seize the opportunity. Why engage in actions that offered no benefit and would only displease the captain?

At the same time, outside the Jiangcheng Safe Zone, the Dragon Tooth Squad headed straight for the Misty Wetlands after leaving the safety of the walls. As Lin Xia tailed them toward the wetlands, he discovered an unexpected bonus. He saw members of the Red Crow Squad standing at the boundary between the outskirts and the depths of the Misty Wetlands, huddled together and whispering about something. It wasn't that his eyes were particularly sharp, but the Red Crow Squad’s attire was simply too eye-catching. They wore crimson-red clothing, with the shape of a red crow engraved on their backs. Most importantly, the words "Red Crow Squad" were etched onto their armor, as if they were terrified someone might not know who they were.

"Well... my luck is truly good today. Two matters resolved at once," Lin Xia murmured, his lips curling into a grin as he watched the Red Crow Squad.

The captain of the Red Crow Squad noticed Lin Xia’s gaze and gave a slight nod in return. Given Lin Xia’s current attire, it was clear at a glance that he was a professional they could not afford to provoke. In dealing with the strong, the Red Crow Squad had always been known for their "politeness."

*Whoosh!*

A flash of cold light streaked before his eyes, and the next moment, the Red Crow Squad captain felt his head grow strangely light. The next instant, he seemed to see a familiar headless corpse gradually drifting away from him. That, it seemed, was his own body.

He... was dead?