"If none of the four are suitable, we will randomly administer one of the four ghost sequence formulas to you."
The Man in Black's tone was flat.
Everyone present was startled.
The calm hall grew restless, except for the first person who went up earlier; his expression of surprise and relief was hard to conceal as he patted his chest and sighed.
But the others couldn't be happy.
Panic and unease were written all over their faces.
"Are you crazy? Administering a formula to someone involves their life safety, and now you want us to take an unsuitable formula? Are you trying to kill us?!"
Someone couldn't sit still on the spot.
But the next second.
Click... Gun safeties clicked open repeatedly, and the machine guns on the wall rotated, all aiming at the people present.
The unrest was instantly quelled.
"Administering a ghost sequence formula is indeed very dangerous, I don't deny that. Out of ten people, perhaps not even one will survive, let alone taking a ghost sequence formula that isn't suitable for oneself; the danger will greatly increase."
The Man in Black narrated unhurriedly.
And it was just a narration.
He did not waver from the decision to administer unsuitable formulas.
He calmly motioned for the second person to come up while explaining, "Don't worry, taking an unsuitable ghost sequence formula is a certain death for most ordinary people, but you won't. There's still a glimmer of hope."
"What do you mean by that?" Jiang Jiuguo frowned slightly, catching the key point in the Man in Black's words: "Are we different from most people?"
"Yes."
The Man in Black saw that everyone was successively touching the ghost sequence cornerstone, and with the situation stabilized, he no longer remained silent as before and answered straightforwardly.
His gaze fell on Jiang Jiuguo.
Instead of answering, he asked a question.
"Do you know Feng Shui and Numerology, or Fortune-telling?"
"I know a little." Jiang Jiuguo nodded slightly: "I usually like to read some supernatural and fantasy novels that contain folk customs, and they introduce some of it."
"That makes things easier," the Man in Black said, "You should know what a 'Hard Bazi' is, right?"
"I know."
Jiang Jiuguo recalled for a moment, then looked at the inquiring gazes of the crowd and offered an explanation.
"A person's birth year, month, day, and hour represent their bazi. A 'Hard Bazi' refers to people born in certain periods; these people are said to always overcome dangers and difficulties when they encounter them. So you captured us because, according to Feng Shui and Numerology, we have 'Hard Bazi'? Is that reason really so absurd?"
Towards the end, he questioned the Man in Black.
"Is it absurd? Do you think the things unfolding before you today can be explained by science?" The Man in Black slowly said, "When you become a ghost, you'll understand that some things are better believed than not."
Jiang Jiuguo fell silent.
He had no intention of refuting.
Given what had happened today, he was more inclined to explain it with metaphysics than science.
The Man in Black said, "I chose you because you have Hard Bazi. Don't worry, the previous batches of people we captured were the same, all with Hard Bazi. Many of them also didn't match any of the three ghost sequence cornerstone formulas, but some made it through."
But not many made it through, right?
Jiang Jiuguo pouted.
Recalling the corridor of Numbered Rooms he passed through, not every Numbered Room had someone inside; most were empty, indicating that many of the captured individuals likely died.
"Compared to the last batch, you are very lucky."
The Man in Black picked up the fourth ghost sequence keystone.
"The previous batches only had three Ghost Sequence keystones for matching; now you have four for matching, which increases the probability of a match."
The Ghost Sequence keystone matching continued.
During the time Jiang Jiuguo and the Man in Black conversed, more than half of the people had completed their matching.
Less than a third of the people successfully matched and sensed a ghost sequence formula.
The remaining two-thirds all failed to match.
A polarized scene appeared in the hall.
The former group was like winning the lottery, dancing with joy the moment they matched successfully, constantly showing off to those around them.
In contrast, the latter group looked as if they had eaten a duck neck with teeth, their faces dejected, as if mourning a parent, and they began to think about writing wills and other posthumous affairs.
"Even with an extra Ghost Sequence keystone, the matching rate still hasn't increased?" The Man in Black frowned, dissatisfied with the matching results.
In his estimation.
The extra fourth ghost sequence keystone should have at least matched a few people, but the result was unexpected.
The fourth ghost sequence keystone had no effect whatsoever.
As of now, not a single person has matched with the fourth ghost sequence keystone.
"Now I somewhat understand why so many of us died to obtain this ghost sequence formula. Could the formula recorded within be a very special Ghost Sequence?" said the Man in Black's companion beside him.
He was responsible for recording the data of everyone's Ghost Sequence keystone matches, in order to distribute the ghost sequence formulas.
"Possibly."
The Man in Black did not deny his companion's conjecture.
He had not participated in acquiring this particular Ghost Sequence keystone, but as one of the persons in charge, he naturally understood what had happened. He heard that almost all of the various factions involved had perished.
In fact.
Their people managed to obtain this Ghost Sequence keystone purely by sheer luck.
And for this reason, after acquiring this Ghost Sequence keystone, they immediately brought it back to find people for matching, wanting to see what kind of ghost sequence formula this Ghost Sequence keystone contained. But so far, no one has been able to match it.
"It's your turn." His companion said to Jiang Jiuguo at this moment, "Come up."
The number of people matching was nearing its end.
Jiang Jiuguo stood up and walked onto the stage.
"I wonder if he'll succeed."
"Who knows, but it's probably a failure, after all..." The speaker looked around at the others: "Out of 54 people in total, 49 have gone up to match, and only 9 have succeeded."
"Begin," the Man in Black signaled.
Jiang Jiuguo held the first Ghost Sequence keystone in his hand.
One second, two seconds... five seconds passed.
There was no reaction.
Apart from the cold, stony texture in his hand, there was no other sensation.
Clearly.
The first Ghost Sequence keystone failed to match.
"..."
Jiang Jiuguo picked up the second Ghost Sequence keystone.
One second, two seconds... five seconds passed.
Still no reaction.
The second Ghost Sequence keystone failed to match.
"As expected, it's likely to fail. If the third one doesn't succeed, he'll have to prepare his will early," the speaker sighed.
"What are you talking about? Isn't there still the fourth one?" someone retorted.
His words earned him many eye-rolls from those around him.
The previous speaker also rolled his eyes: "The fourth one? Have you seen anyone succeed in matching it? I strongly suspect the fourth one is just making up the numbers, it's just an ordinary stone, and the Man in Black and his people are just using it to appease us, since one more means one more chance."
As everyone conversed, Jiang Jiuguo picked up the third Ghost Sequence keystone.
Immediately after.
Under everyone's gaze, one second, two seconds, three seconds... five seconds quickly passed.
"How is it?" The Man in Black's companion, responsible for recording, asked routinely.
Jiang Jiuguo silently shook his head.
Still no reaction.
The third Ghost Sequence keystone failed to match.
"Alas," the Man in Black's companion shook his head in disappointment, "It's alright, try the fourth one."
Although he said that.
His face, however, showed no anticipation, no hope.
"As expected, it still failed to match." The people around sighed.
As Jiang Jiuguo failed to match the third Ghost Sequence keystone, they turned their attention to the next person. In their eyes, even if Jiang Jiuguo picked up the fourth ghost sequence keystone and started matching it now, it made no difference; it would be the same whether he tried or not.
The fourth ghost sequence keystone couldn't possibly match... huh?
That's not right!
"Hey, look quickly." The previous speaker caught a glimpse of Jiang Jiuguo out of the corner of his eye and immediately froze.
One second, two seconds... in less than three seconds.
Jiang Jiuguo no longer felt only the cold touch of the'stone' in his hand; his mind felt as if struck by lightning, and streaks of information appeared.
He stiffened entirely.
"Could it be...?" The Man in Black and the person responsible for recording noticed the change in Jiang Jiuguo's demeanor, exchanged glances, their eyes filled with excitement.
Even though Jiang Jiuguo didn't speak.
Everyone understood his actions perfectly.
Jiang Jiuguo successfully matched the fourth ghost sequence keystone!
...