Chapter 15 - The Black Lotus Key
Maya recognized the symbol immediately.
“Black Lotus Vault.”
Eli waited.
“That sounds friendly.”
“It isn’t.”
The vault had belonged to a cultivation syndicate that collapsed twenty years ago. Supposedly, its treasury had never been found.
Every major family in Riverside had searched for the keys.
Including the Vanes.
“So my five-dollar ring came with organized crime DLC.”
Maya ignored him.
“Do not tell anyone.”
“Mr. Zhou?”
She hesitated.
“That depends how much you trust him.”
Eli did trust Mr. Zhou.
Which frightened him because he barely trusted himself with online subscriptions.
The system finally reacted.
[LEGACY QUEST UNLOCKED]
Find the Black Lotus Vault.
Requirement: Qi Gathering I.
Current cultivation: Body Tempering IV.
Eli groaned.
“Everything interesting requires a higher level.”
Maya leaned over his shoulder.
“What does it say?”
He locked the screen.
“Personal finance.”
She stared.
“You’re terrible at lying.”
“Thirty-eight percent in statistics. Remember?”
That night, someone broke into Eli’s apartment.
Nothing expensive was taken.
Mostly because nothing expensive existed.
His laptop remained.
His emergency cash remained.
The fridge remained tragically empty.
Only one drawer had been searched.
The drawer where he had kept the ring before wearing it.
His system displayed:
[INTRUSION COMPLETE.]
[ENEMY OBJECTIVE: STORAGE RING.]
Then:
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: HOST.]
Eli slowly looked toward the hallway.
A floorboard creaked outside his bedroom.
May you like
Someone was still inside.
