NOVPUBLooking at the blushing Julia, Daniel calmly said, "I never speak without basis, because I can see the future."
The anger in Julia’s heart slowly faded, yet her eyes still held a mix of skepticism and embarrassment.
She couldn’t immediately verify Daniel’s words because they pertained to future events.
Furthermore, she found it hard to maintain her usual icy demeanor in front of him, considering the ’Succubus Pattern’ was tattooed on her most intimate area.
If Daniel truly saw the pattern, it meant he’d seen everything.
"That damn pervert! I knew he was no good!" she thought.
Julia gritted her teeth and defiantly said, "What you’ve said now doesn’t prove anything about your so-called precognition!"
Daniel countered, "Then what would convince you of my ability to foresee the future?"
Julia pondered for a moment, "The lottery!"
"Tomorrow night is the Libertopia National Lottery drawing. Only by predicting all winning numbers can you prove it!"
The national lottery had prizes ranging from level one to five.
Getting just one number right was already a huge challenge, predicting all was nearly impossible without true foresight.
Without a hint of doubt, Daniel picked up a pen and hotel notepad from the table, swiftly writing down five series of seven numbers.
He didn’t seem to hesitate, as if he genuinely knew the numbers beforehand.
Once done, he handed the note to Julia.
Julia skeptically studied the numbers, with Mike leaning in to get a look.
Mike, in disbelief, asked, "Are these really the winning numbers for tomorrow night?"
Daniel nodded, "Of course, I’ve already seen the future."
"However, let me be clear: the future isn’t set in stone. For instance, if after receiving my predictions, you tamper with the drawing process, then naturally, the numbers I’ve written won’t be the winning ones."
Daniel spoke with a calm certainty, as if he was completely confident.
But in reality, he had no clue about any lottery numbers.
Otherwise, he’d already be a jackpot winner under divine protection, rather than hustling in the open air at the Container Hunt Auction.
His real plan was to check tomorrow’s winning numbers and then use the Echo Stone for time reversal.
Both Julia and Mike were swayed by Daniel’s overwhelming confidence.
Still, Julia retorted, "Mr. Daniel, this is the final test. I hope you’re not wasting our time. If tomorrow’s drawing doesn’t match your prediction, you’ll face the consequences…"
Daniel replied calmly, "If they don’t match, I’ll stake my life on it."
Both Julia and Mike were taken aback.
There’s really no need to make such a huge bet. Even if it doesn’t work out, it only means he won’t ever be hired by the global Investigation Bureau.
Neither of them had anticipated that Daniel would possess such confidence. To be honest, they were both thoroughly convinced by now.
All that was left was to await the lottery results tomorrow evening.
As for evaluating Daniel’s integrity, that could wait until after they had verified his abilities.
Julia, growing increasingly restless, abruptly stood up, making her way towards the exit.
Daniel timely remarked, "Miss Julia, I hope you can open your heart. Don’t deliberately resist the man who wants to be close to you, or else the future I foresaw for you may be altered by your own doings."
Just as Julia opened the door, she stumbled, almost falling flat. Turning around, she shot Daniel a fierce glare before storming out, slamming the door behind her.
Yet, something within her began to shift. Maybe it was time to let go of some of her emotional baggage to allow a man to embrace her once more?
Inside the room, Mike offered a polite smile, "Please don’t take offense, Mr. Daniel. Julia is just like that. She’s not inherently bad. Once you’re colleagues, you’ll understand her better."
Daniel nodded, then posed a question, "Why did you join the Investigation Bureau?"
Caught off-guard, Mike scratched his head, then chuckled, "What else? For safety, of course."
"Ever since I encountered those monsters, I’ve been living in constant fear, terrified of being eaten. After joining the Investigation Bureau, although I often have to take the initiative to hunt them down, I feel safer with the Bureau behind me."
"What’s more, the benefits at the Investigation Bureau are great. As a level one Evolver like me, I receive five hundred grams of gold and a Gene Magnet every month."
Then, as an afterthought, he added, "Oh, I forgot to explain. Our bodies possess multiple Gene Lock chains. When one chain is unlocked, the others produce a Resonance reaction. This reaction continues non-stop, constantly endangering an Evolver’s life. The more you use your abilities, the stronger the reaction, and if it exceeds the Evolver’s threshold, they could die instantly."
"No one really knows the reason behind this Resonance reaction, so there’s no real solution. We can only use the Gene Magnet to alleviate its effects and reduce the suffering of Evolvers."
Daniel, hearing this for the first time, appeared taken aback, "So, becoming an Evolver means enduring the pain of the Resonance reaction day and night, even facing the risk of death at any moment?"
Mike nodded grimly, "Exactly. That’s why every Evolver aspires to join the Investigation Bureau. The Gene Magnet was developed by the Bureau. Due to its low production rate, even the Bureau doesn’t have enough for its own use. On the market, the price of a Gene Magnet has been inflated to millions, making it practically priceless."
By now, Mike had reached the door, "Mr. Daniel, I look forward to meeting you tomorrow. Until then."
After speaking, Mike pushed the door open and left.
Daniel silently poured himself a cup of coffee and took his time savoring it.
He mulled over everything Mike had just shared.
Unlocking the Gene Lock came with such significant risks; perhaps there was no hurry to unlock his own.
In any case, with his current hundred-fold damage capability, he could handle most monsters.
As for the gold, he was relieved he hadn’t sold the mine.
Putting aside how gold might be used against monsters, if news got out that gold could restrain these creatures, the price would skyrocket.
It might even increase tenfold, a hundredfold!
A gold mine worth over thirty billion could easily turn into thirty trillion in a blink of an eye.
With this thought, Daniel pulled out his phone.
Abel’s voice came through, "Dan! You finally got in touch!"
"I saw the video of you fighting the monsters on TV. Was it real?"
Daniel responded calmly, "Yes, it was."
A prolonged silence followed on Abel’s end. In the background, the sound of Allen drawing in a sharp breath was audible.
Daniel continued, "You guys don’t need to worry about that for now. Just stay put in Libertopia, and you’ll be fine."
"But there’s something I need you to do for me."
Abel replied urgently, "Name it!"
Daniel instructed, "I’ll send you some money shortly. Hire some trustworthy people and mine discreetly."
Abel sounded puzzled, "You’re not selling?"
Without elaborating, Daniel said, "I’ll explain the details later. Just remember, no outsiders should approach that mine. Once the gold is extracted and refined, hide it in a secluded place until I return."
After thinking for a moment, Abel responded, "Understood. Don’t worry, I’ll handle this personally."
After giving a few more instructions, Daniel hung up the phone.
Then, using mobile banking, he transferred a hundred million StellarCoins to Abel’s account.
He finished his coffee, got up, and headed towards the door.
Daniel requested a VIP car from the hotel, set the location on his phone’s GPS, and then drove off.
By sheer coincidence or perhaps intentionally, the venue for the Evolver auction was set at Mauritania’s National Convention Center.
Ten minutes later, Daniel parked his car and walked into the convention center.
To his surprise, the auction was located underground in the convention center, and its entrance was incredibly discreet.
If he hadn’t learned about the entrance’s location from the forum, an ordinary person would never have found it.
Emerging from the staircase, Daniel spotted a dark corridor with a line of around twenty to thirty people stretching within.
At the front of the queue, there was a narrow door that only allowed one person through at a time.
Within the entire corridor, only this door had a faint light shining on it. With the dim light, you could just make out that the person standing at the door was wearing a white mask.
That masked individual was handing similar masks to each person entering.
"For your safety, please wear the mask throughout the auction. Removing it is strictly prohibited, and any consequences will be on you."
The line moved slowly. When it was Daniel’s turn, the masked person handed him one, "Please wear the mask, sir. It’s for your own safety."
Without showing any emotion, Daniel took the mask and inspected it.
It seemed to be a standard issue mask, probably for privacy protection.
