2 a.m.
Furina wasn't pulling cards continuously but intermittently, taking breaks in between.
Her way of venting was simple—munching on a bag of chips like a little hamster.
After finishing another bag, Furina patted her slightly rounded belly and let out a mournful whimper.
"Ugh…"
"Now I really have to watch my figure…"
"Good food brings joy, and losing weight happily is a good thing," Lu Heng said with a smile. "Besides, eating more is fine too. You need energy to lose weight, right?"
"That's not how it works!"
Furina pouted.
Not bothering to continue the conversation, she sighed and tapped another ten-pull.
Instantly, golden light illuminated the surroundings.
Furina was momentarily stunned.
It made sense—after nearly 8,000 pulls without even a single purple card, the sudden appearance of gold left her completely unprepared.
"Huh? Huh?!"
It wasn't until several seconds later, with the card lying quietly in place, that Furina finally snapped out of it.
Beaming with joy, she handed the card to Lu Heng, her voice practically singing, "Quick, take a look for me~"
"Your pull data is really unusual…"
Lu Heng muttered under his breath.
At the very least, Furina's pull stats were completely different from his.
While thinking this, he appraised the card for her.
[Eye of Insight]
[Tier]: 5th Tier · Gold
[Type]: [Skill Card]
[Traits]: [Detection] [Appraisal]
[Description]: A card that functions like the appraisal and detection skills found in games.
The description was brief, but the effect was anything but ordinary!
Lu Heng explained, "This card is actually quite practical. Using it allows you to uncover hidden details about an opponent. If you encounter something unfamiliar, you can also use it to investigate and appraise."
"For example, if you don't know what Mora is, using this card will tell you its name and purpose."
Furina listened carefully before equipping the card.
Then, she used it on the hat resting beside her.
[Furina's Hat]
[Description]: A crown-like hat crafted with XX craftsmanship… It symbolizes the identity of the Hydro Archon and still carries traces of Furina's scent. Additionally, it seems Furina hasn't washed her hair in one day and eleven hours.
"?"
Furina blinked, then said, "This…"
Her words caught in her throat before she chuckled helplessly. "It's… quite detailed…"
"Very practical, isn't it?"
"If you ever need to look for clues, you can appraise them too."
Lu Heng shrugged.
Furina tilted her head and asked, "Can I try using it on you?"
"Hm?"
Lu Heng raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning?"
"I've never tried it on a person before! I want to see what kind of information it shows!" Furina said with a serious expression.
"Go ahead and try, then."
Lu Heng didn't refuse—he was also curious about what the card would reveal about him.
"Okay!"
Excited, Furina used [Eye of Insight] on Lu Heng.
[Lu Heng]
[Race]: Human
[Age]: ?
[Equipment Tier]: ?
[Other]: ?
[Description]: A seemingly approachable card shop owner.
"What the heck!"
Furina pouted in dissatisfaction. "The only info here is stuff I already knew! If I didn't know you were human, even the race field would probably be a question mark!"
"That's not my fault."
Lu Heng spread his hands. "A fifth-tier card isn't going to work on me."
"I guess that makes sense…"
Shaking her head, Furina brushed off her disappointment and happily resumed pulling cards.
Meanwhile, Lu Heng fell into thought.
Furina's pull data was really strange.
He had pulled three gold cards himself, but only one was immediately usable without hesitation.
The other two required careful consideration.
But Furina? Two gold cards and one purple, all of them incredibly powerful!
It was almost as if Furina was unlucky in terms of pull rates but incredibly lucky in terms of pull quality!
Wait, why was it like this?
Lu Heng couldn't understand.
"Gold again!!"
Huh?
Another amazing pull?
Snapped out of his thoughts by Furina's shout, Lu Heng reluctantly appraised the card for her, his expression souring.
Smiles don't just disappear—they simply transfer from one person to another.
In this case, from Furina's face to Lu Heng's.
[Abyssal Maw]
[Type]: [Talent Card]
[Traits]: [Sustained] [Innate]
[Description]: Upon equipping this card, an Abyssal Maw will grow on the user's abdomen. It can devour power to evolve its owner.
"What the hell is this?!"
Staring at the gold-edged card depicting a gaping maw filled with rows of needle-like teeth, Furina immediately flung it onto the table, shuddering.
"Don't be scared. When closed, it'll just look like a stitched-up wound," Lu Heng said, his grin widening.
There was no doubt this card was powerful, but it had one glaring flaw—it was hideous!
And since it was a talent card, equipping it meant a literal mouth would grow on her stomach!
When closed, it would resemble a grotesque, centipede-like scar.
And when open? The sight of those densely packed, razor-sharp teeth was enough to make anyone recoil in horror.
"Scrap it! It has to go!"
"And I need to wash my eyes!"
Furina hugged her plush white bear tightly, pouting.
She felt like her heart had just been brutally assaulted.
How could she pull something like this?!
And of all things, it had to be a fifth-tier gold card!
"This is a formidable power, you know," Lu Heng mused.
"It's too ugly! Given the choice, who'd want a mouth growing on their stomach?!"
Furina's face was the very picture of refusal.
"Fair point," Lu Heng conceded.
With a mouth like that, eating wouldn't even require chewing—just open up and pour food straight in.
The mental image was so disturbing that even Lu Heng felt slightly queasy.
Furina dashed to the card dismantler.
Dismantling a gold card yielded a massive amount of experience.
Combined with the pile of low-tier cards, her equipment leveled up once again.
Watching her silver-tier equipment transform into a gold-tier fourth-tier device, Furina's smile returned.
"Fourth-tier gold equipment—ignoring the lifespan boosts from cards—has a base lifespan of 500 years now."
"Aside from increasing the card slots to nine, the new feature is mental protection."
"Mental protection?" Furina asked, puzzled.
"Yeah."
Lu Heng explained, "Longevity often means enduring the passage of time."
"Humans aren't stones. We can't remain unchanged through the ages, and even stones weather and erode."
"The longer a person lives, the more their humanity fades. Witnessing life and death, losing friends and family… the pain of these emotions leaves the soul riddled with scars."
"That's why the mental protection of fourth-tier gold equipment is so important. It ensures that even at 500 years old, your mind stays as lively as a 20-year-old's."
Five hundred years old… so I'm already that ancient?
"But why don't I…"
Furina hesitated before shaking her head.
The reason she hadn't faced this issue was probably because the "person in the mirror" had some means of protecting her.
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T/N:
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