The next day, Jack Young said goodbye to all his friends and family, then boarded a flight to Inner Mongolia. On that same day, Eternal Night Holdings began filing reports and preparing for audits at their Chengdu branch, scouting land and recruiting staff—looks like they'll have a team up and running soon. Jack stopped by for a look, and among the first group of core staff sent from headquarters, he even spotted the sharp-suited, stone-faced Charlie. With that, Jack could head to Inner Mongolia with peace of mind.
"Baotou, clues, opportunities..." Jack sat in the airplane cabin, gazing out at the endless sea of clouds, lost in thought. He'd always scoffed at Fate Guides—never thought their fortune-telling was reliable. But Fate Guide Qian Kun, maybe what he said was worth a shot. The mysterious kid vanished without leaving any contact info, hurrying off to who knows what.
Jack was sure it had something to do with what Qian Kun divined during that near-drowning incident.
Yesterday's scene replayed in Jack's mind—he remembered Fate Guide Qian Kun's expression vividly. At first, pure joy, then shock, disbelief, even a bit of astonishment. Finally, he changed the subject with a hasty, "No traces left!" and only then did he give that cryptic prophecy about Jack. Maybe Baotou really was the place, maybe there really was an opportunity. But in that moment, whatever Qian Kun saw definitely wasn't just about this little trip.
"Forget it, I'll handle my own business. Better focus on my own problems first." Jack did a quick mental inventory—turns out he had plenty to deal with. Besides his memory issues, there was the matter of his mental link with his other self. Ever since the Void Storm and that accidental trip to the Martial Arts World, the psychic connection had felt weird and strained, like something heavy was weighing on it. Who knows which problem this Inner Mongolia trip would solve, if any.
Maybe he'll solve all of them? That would be even better.
While Jack was napping on the flight north, over at Leidongping on Mount Emei, in a remote and quiet temple, Fate Guide Qian Kun arrived.
Fate Guide Qian Kun walked into a very inconspicuous courtyard, dark circles under his eyes and travel dust all over him—he'd clearly rushed here without rest. Even so, he straightened up, tidied himself, and then gave a meticulous greeting to the girl across from him, even though she was blind: "Fate Guide Qian Kun, Fourth Pillar of the Global Observation Agency, here to visit. Miss Nina, it's really not easy to get a meeting with you."
That's right—the girl quietly sitting in the wheelchair was none other than Nina. Hearing Qian Kun's words, Nina gave a faint, bitter smile. "I never thought we'd meet under these circumstances. You really risked everything to divine my location."
"Out of the Six Pillars, I'm only the Fourth. A Fate Guide is all about talent, qualifications, and luck. To find someone as high-ranking as you, I had to risk it all." Qian Kun was being modest, but there was a hint of pride in his tone, like finding Nina was a badge of honor. "Miss Nina, you know why I'm here. What do you think about that matter?"
Fate Guide Qian Kun put extra emphasis on "that matter," his gaze burning as he stared at Nina, hope flickering in his eyes.
But Nina just shook her head. "We're observers of the world, not judges of fate. We can watch the world's axis shift, but we can't meddle in anyone's destiny. In the threefold realm of 'Known,' 'Unknown,' and 'Conjecture,' we're just kids fumbling through the maze called 'Conjecture.' We don't even know our own purpose, let alone have the arrogance to step into the 'Unknown.'"
"But some things just have to be done!" Fate Guide Qian Kun stepped forward, face flushed with urgency. "The world axis keeps turning, and the destiny of the Fated One will steer the course of everything. We can't let the Fated One be snuffed out! In the future I've glimpsed, the Fated One might..."
Nina shook her head again and smiled faintly, gently cutting off Qian Kun's excitement. "But do you even know what a Fated One is?"
"Uh..." Qian Kun hesitated, lowering his voice. "Everything's shrouded in mist these days. The world axis keeps turning, my premonitions are getting sharper, but I still can't grasp what the Fated One really is. Wait—don't tell me you've figured it out?"
"I haven't, either. But I do know this: the world axis has twelve marks, spinning like a clock. Six are odd, six are even. The Global Observation Agency, as the world's observers, are those six odds. As pioneers and watchers, we learned our mission early. But the six evens? They're not so lucky. They carry the weight of fate, but it's not all set in stone. Everything collides and changes—who can really see through the fickleness of destiny?" Nina, though just a young girl, suddenly sounded like a wise sage talking sense into a wayward soul. "We're observers of the world. Any interference from us could send the river of destiny into chaos."
Qian Kun listened to Nina's advice, but stubbornly shook his head. "You've got your reasons, I've got my convictions. We're not the only ones wading into the river of fate. Some have already stirred the waters, so I have to set things right. The Fated One must awaken. Since I'm here, you should know I'm not backing down." He took out his phone and placed it in front of Nina. On the screen was an incredibly complex divination diagram. He solemnly pleaded, "Help me out."
"Sigh... Fine, I can't stop you anyway. But sometimes, even if fate brings us together, if the time isn't right, no matter how well we know the Fated One—even if we're practically family—we still can't peek into the mysteries." Nina put her hand on the phone and began to sense carefully.
The little room fell silent again. Qian Kun didn't say a word, holding his breath and waiting for the result.
After a long while, Nina finally let out a deep breath and, exhausted, gave her answer: "Shanghai."