Chapter 39: Yin Talismans

The next day, Zhao Kuo woke up a little after 7 a.m. Seeing that his luck value had reached 100%, he felt a sense of anticipation.

In the train car, Tang Yingying was preparing breakfast. She was surprised to see Zhao Kuo emerge from the back. "Why are you up so early? You only slept for four hours."

Tang Yingying was cooking porridge, adding some minced meat and mushrooms to it.

Zhao Kuo shook his head and asked, "How many treasure chests did you get last night?"

Tang Yingying pointed to the corner. "One intermediate chest and three beginner chests. I have to say, your luck is incredible. You got two intermediate chests and three beginner chests. I'm starting to understand why you have so many good items."

Zhao Kuo didn't respond. Instead, he silently combined all the beginner chests into intermediate ones.

With a total of five intermediate chests, Zhao Kuo hesitated for a moment but decided not to open them immediately.

"How far are we from the next station?" he asked.

Tang Yingying thought for a moment. "Probably just over 900 kilometers. If we go full speed today, we should arrive by midnight. Why?"

Zhao Kuo stood up. "If I'm not mistaken, once we reach the next station, three intermediate chests can be combined into one advanced chest. Advanced chests have a higher chance of dropping better items. We should save them."

Tang Yingying was slightly taken aback. She stirred the porridge in the pot and said, "I'm not sure about that, but it sounds reasonable!"

Zhao Kuo glanced at her but didn't comment further.

At Lushan Station, three beginner chests could be combined into one intermediate chest. If nothing went wrong, the next station should have a similar upgrade.

Even if it didn't, opening the intermediate chests later wouldn't be a loss.

After all, it was just a matter of waiting a dozen or so hours. He could afford to wait.

Just then, Zhao Kuo noticed something through the window and quickly stopped the train.

The emergency brake nearly caused the porridge to spill. Tang Yingying looked alarmed and asked, "What are you doing?"

"That stone tablet," Zhao Kuo pointed to a black stone tablet standing in the snow not far from the train. Under the light, it shimmered with a bright luster.

"Is that the tablet Luo Ping'an mentioned?" Tang Yingying set the nearly finished porridge aside and moved closer to Zhao Kuo.

"Let's go take a look."

Zhao Kuo opened the train door, and the cold air rushed in. The temperature outside was over -30°C, causing both of them to shiver involuntarily.

It seemed even colder than the past few days.

Nevertheless, they quickly made their way to the stone tablet.

The material of the tablet was unusual. At first, Zhao Kuo thought it was black granite, but upon closer inspection, he realized it lacked the distinctive patterns of granite. Moreover, it felt slightly warm to the touch.

Could it contain some kind of radioactive element? Zhao Kuo's heart skipped a beat.

But he quickly dismissed the thought. If it were radioactive, someone would have figured it out by now.

"But how do we use this thing?" Tang Yingying circled the tablet and placed her hand on the densely packed, incomprehensible characters carved into it.

In an instant, the tablet began to glow brilliantly.

Zhao Kuo was startled and tried to pull Tang Yingying away.

After all, the tablet had a 50% chance of granting a new skill but also a 50% chance of stripping away an existing skill.

With his luck value, Zhao Kuo wasn't worried about the probabilities, but Tang Yingying didn't have such luck. If she lost a skill, it would be a huge blow.

She was being too reckless.

But Zhao Kuo's actions were too late. The radiant light enveloped Tang Yingying in an instant.

For a moment, both of them seemed to hear a strange sound.

"I… gained a new skill," Tang Yingying murmured.

Zhao Kuo breathed a sigh of relief. The outcome wasn't bad. Gaining a new skill meant their duo's combat power had increased.

"What skill?" Zhao Kuo asked.

Tang Yingying hesitated, her face suddenly turning red, but she still displayed the skill's attributes.

**[Heartfelt Choice]**​

**[Passive Skill: When holding hands with a member of the opposite sex during combat, increases the strength of both parties' skills by 15%. This boost increases as the intimacy between the two grows.]**​

It was a decent passive skill, but the condition for activation was a bit…

Still, holding hands wasn't entirely unacceptable.

Overall, the result was good. So why was Tang Yingying blushing? It was just holding hands. Didn't she hold hands with boys during kindergarten dances?

Zhao Kuo couldn't quite understand.

He mimicked Tang Yingying's earlier action and placed his hand on the black stone tablet.

An indescribable feeling washed over him in an instant. Zhao Kuo seemed to see a familiar starry sky again, but this time, in addition to the star symbolizing his profession, another bright star appeared.

And it felt vaguely familiar.

The radiant light enveloped his body, and his luck value decreased by 50%.

**[Player has activated the trait, Fate Manipulation. Current progress: 5/10]**​

A moment later, Zhao Kuo emerged from this strange state. He turned to look at Tang Yingying, his expression turning slightly odd.

"What… what's wrong?" Tang Yingying asked.

Zhao Kuo shook his head. "Nothing, it's just the skill I got…"

He then displayed the skill's attributes.

**[Yin Talisman Crafting]**​

**[Can use straw to make yellow paper, which is then infused with female yin blood to create Yin Talismans. These talismans can deal damage and repel spirits, ghosts, and demonic entities.]**​

"What's yin blood?" Tang Yingying was full of questions, her curiosity piqued.

Yin blood, in this context, refers to the blood produced during a woman's menstrual cycle.

After hearing Zhao Kuo's explanation, Tang Yingying's face turned even redder. "What the hell! You're not thinking of… ugh, you're such a pervert!"

Zhao Kuo watched Tang Yingying flee in embarrassment and rolled his eyes.

If he tried to buy yin blood on a trading platform… he'd probably be labeled a pervert too. And yin blood…

If it weren't for the fact that Yin Talismans could damage spirits and demons, Zhao Kuo would have sealed this skill away and never used it again.

It was somewhat disgusting and perverse.

This stone tablet…

Zhao Kuo looked at the tablet, wanting to try dismantling it. Ever since he learned that abandoned stations could be broken down into wood, he wanted to try dismantling everything he came across.

But unfortunately, the tablet remained unmoved, showing no signs of change.

Who knew what material it was made of to have such unique properties?

Zhao Kuo sighed and boarded the train. Inside, Tang Yingying was sipping hot porridge, her face still flushed.

Zhao Kuo didn't say anything and simply sat across from her.

Most of the furniture in the train car was crafted by Lei Dahui. It was sturdy and aesthetically pleasing. Zhao Kuo had introduced Lei Dahui to Luo Ping'an, opening up a decent sales channel for his furniture.

After all, Luo Ping'an had access to resources from many high-level players.

Just then, Tang Yingying suddenly spoke up. "I've thought about it. We really do lack ways to deal with supernatural entities right now, so… I'll give you some, but you have to split the talismans with me!"

Zhao Kuo looked up and said, "No, at most one-third."

"You jerk!"