The Daily Life Of A Cyberpunk Magician
Chapter 187 - 151: Fox, Have You Ever Lost?_2

Chapter 187: Chapter 151: Fox, Have You Ever Lost?_2

He had always been able to effortlessly control the overall situation, but today at the police station, two unexpected events occurred in succession.

The first was about Wolf. He wanted Wolf to display a sense of impotence and rage in front of the camera, thoroughly crushing the credibility of the Seventh District Police Station.

But it was evident that Wolf’s clear and empathetic words boosted the image of the police station instead.

However, that was a minor matter. Once he revealed the truths about the Seventh District one by one, the public would naturally gravitate towards his side.

On this point, he had absolute confidence. After all, in the DEF district, everyone’s heart harbored a fire ignited by the circumstances of Lonely City’s Seventh District, so they felt a natural aversion and resistance towards the order of Lonely City.

Regardless of the reasons for their own downtrodden state, people would only blame society as a whole.

As for the second matter, it was obviously the one before him—the disappearance of the poker cards brought by Jiang Shu.

He also had rich experience, but now...

He was completely clueless about what was going on.

The simpler the effect of magic, the more baffling it was.

He also understood what was truly impossible for a magician or a deceit master, and the current situation...

Fit the definition of "impossible."

Could it be... was there a Key Master helping him?

Fox thought easily of a possibility that could achieve the "impossible," so he asked with suspicion, "Is it the authority of a Key Master?"

"Ha-ha, are you serious?" Jiang Shu seemed to be amused by him, "You should be well aware of how many people there are in this police station and who they are. You should also know who’s around me."

Fox was silent, not speaking.

Of course, he was aware; he had investigated everyone here and knew all that needed to be understood.

Here, the most likely to be a Key Master, apart from Jiang Shu, were only Wolf and Kirie.

Wolf had just revealed his Character Card, and its Mysterious Coefficient did not match, so he was excluded. That left only one possibility...

Kirie Tsukimiya?

"Kirie, show your Mysterious Coefficient to Mr. Fox," said Jiang Shu, apparently reading his mind, and called out to Kirie waiting outside the door.

"Okay," Kirie nodded, willingly displaying her Mysterious Coefficient.

0.

A professional technician with a foundation in science naturally would not be involved with any mysterious elements.

However, this scenario puzzled Fox even more, and a question mark gradually grew over Devil Wind’s head standing beside him.

"You’re a hypnotist." Suddenly, Jiang Shu spoke, his voice carrying a mysterious and distant tone, "You should be well aware of what the sixth stage of hypnosis is."

"Negative visual hallucination." Fox blurted out the answer almost subconsciously, but then he stared hard at Jiang Shu, a suppressed and fearful voice emerging from the depths of his throat, "Impossible, impossible."

Negative visual hallucination, the phenomenon where the subject cannot see certain things.

This was the ultimate stage of hypnosis, almost unattainable, requiring a very high level of suggestibility in the subject and near-demonic skill from the hypnotist.

Even so, it was only probable to reach this state.

"Why impossible? You should know well that negative visual hallucination, if difficult, can be very hard, but if simple, is also very simple," Jiang Shu chuckled again. Without noticing when it had started, the red JOKER card in his hand had turned into a complete deck of poker cards.

He casually manipulated the cards, and Fox’s gaze was involuntarily drawn to his movements.

Jiang Shu was shuffling the cards with his side facing Fox, and the faces of the playing cards were also towards Fox; therefore, as Jiang Shu shuffled, Fox could see the red Joker’s mouth slowly stretching into an exceedingly ironic and mocking smile.

"In life, it often happens that something is right in plain sight, but you just can’t find it. Then some time later, you discover it right there, in a spot you had just meticulously searched," Jiang Shu gathered up the cards, pressing down on the neatly stacked deck with his thumb, "You know, this is ’negative visual hallucination.’"

"Of course I know, but it’s not the same thing," the confusion in Fox’s eyes was indescribable.

He certainly understood this, but it was clear that it should not be confused.

"Your path has narrowed," Jiang Shu just shook his head, lightly passing over the topic. "Let’s continue the game. Are you ready to make a choice now?"

"No, that’s not right," Fox suddenly clenched his teeth, staring intently at Jiang Shu, "You could not possibly hypnotize me, nor could you take me to the sixth layer. That’s impossible. You just used a magic principle that I didn’t understand."

Clearly, Jiang Shu’s intentionally ambiguous hints were driving Fox mad, causing him for the first time to act out of character.

And behind this madness, there was actually fear.

Fox knew that he was one of the people with the highest level of hypnosis in this city. If he really had been hypnotized by Jiang Shu, and even taken to the sixth layer without his slightest awareness, then Jiang Shu’s abilities...

They were simply terrifying.

"Perhaps," Jiang Shu neither confirmed nor denied, his expression still easy and breezy as if he wanted to skirt around the topic, "Continue, make your choice."

But Fox was not ready to let Jiang Shu off so easily, feeling the need to know the answer, he continued with a calmly crazed tone, "Tell me the answer, and I can exchange anything for it, be it money or Black Silver, or whatever else, anything."

"Heh," Jiang Shu let out a light laugh, "Someone once told me that all knowledge comes at a price, even if it’s insignificant. Otherwise, it’s piracy. I equally dislike piracy. So, just give me one gram of Black Silver."

"I’ll give you a thousand grams!" Fox still fixed his gaze on Jiang Shu, then reached out his hand to Devil Wind.

Devil Wind glanced at that small hand, pondered for a moment, and then took out a small box from his person, placing it in Fox’s hand.

"Tell me!" Fox handed the box to Jiang Shu, then went straight to the point, "I could also tell you a secret, a secret about Black Silver. Even if you’re not the Key Master, Black Silver will be extremely useful to you."

"Oh?" Jiang Shu showed a puzzled expression, indicating he was all ears.

Fox glanced at Devil Wind, who understood the cue, went over, and closed the doors to the conference hall.

"In Lonely City there are thirteen Second Level Deformed Areas, publicly declared as Life Forbidden Zones, and indeed they truly are. But if you have Black Silver, not only can you survive inside them, you can also harness the mystical powers within the Deformed Areas to modify and strengthen your word items," Fox slowly revealed this deeply hidden secret, something not many in Lonely City would know, "And the Deformed Areas are the only places in Lonely City not controlled by the Main Brain. There, you can’t use anything brought by the Main Brain; you can only rely on your own power and wisdom, and the word items you have gained through practice."

"I understand," Jiang Shu nodded after hearing the message.

Then Fox pressed on, "Can you tell me now? Is it a magic principle or something else?"

Jiang Shu pondered for two seconds before slowly responding, "Fox, have you ever lost?"

Fox: "???"

"The thing I am about to reveal will surpass your understanding of the entire first half of your life. Even so, do you still want to know?" Jiang Shu spoke gently, but his every move was filled with an aura of mysterious and formidable power.

"Tell me," Fox simply repeated his request.

"I see you’re determined," Jiang Shu nodded, then suddenly issued a rapid command, "Now, right leg disabled!"

As his words fell, Fox instantly felt his right leg go completely numb with no sensation, and his body involuntarily fell, kneeling on one knee to the ground.

He looked at Jiang Shu in shock, "You! When did you!"

Although Devil Wind’s expression didn’t change, the shock in his eyes was no less than that of Fox’s.

And in a corner unnoticed by either of them, three Tablet Spirits were huddled around another Tablet Spirit, which was completely blacked out due to a dead battery. They looked at each other, then began performing CPR and artisanal resuscitation on the powerless Tablet Spirit.