Under Nick's leadership, the translation of the seven calamity wheel book proceeded very smoothly.
Whenever a section was translated, Nick would find a casual reason, such as to deepen his impression, to ask Coulson about the already translated original manuscript.
Through this simple method, Nick could slightly rule out the possibility of Coulson intentionally blurring the translated original manuscript.
Coulson also understood Nick's thoughts, and he could only repeatedly recite the Arabic text on the original manuscript to prove himself.
In fact, both of them knew that there were too many ways to crack this simple interrogation technique, but this was the only verification method available at the moment.
"Coulson, what are the three key elements of the Misfortune Transfer Secret Art?"
"1. Equivalent Pollution: For every misfortune transferred, the caster's luck will decrease by at least an equivalent amount; 2. Causal Law Increment: Continuous casting will incur an exponential cost; 3. Unavoidable Backlash: The price of fooling fate will eventually fall back on the caster himself."
Coulson replied without lifting his head; he had almost memorized the sentences in that book.
After hearing the same reply again, Nick raised his head and clapped his hands, "Alright, everyone has worked hard. That's all for today. Everyone can leave, but it's best not to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters."
As Nick walked towards the door, Coulson jogged over and whispered, "Director, has White's body been brought back?"
Nick stopped and patted Coulson's shoulder, "You've been working hard recently. You don't need to handle this matter. Go back and rest."
With that, he turned and left.
...
In the S.H.I.E.L.D. building's lounge, Coulson lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Looking back, he shouldn't have asked that question last night; it was too sensitive.
Was it because he was too tired... and his thinking was affected?
With this doubt, Coulson fell into a dream.
After he entered the dream, through a mysterious connection, Xie Huiming began to twist his dream.
The reason for doing this was that Xie Huiming looked into the future and found that if he did not continue to exert influence, due to Coulson's self-reflection and Nick's caution, the seven calamity wheel book would eventually just become one of the items contained by S.H.I.E.L.D., no longer having any subsequent impact.
Ding-a-ling~
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A sound similar to an email notification rang out.
Coulson opened his eyes and found himself in a divination house, with the already deceased White in front of him.
"What's the date today?" Coulson subconsciously asked.
"February sixteenth. If nothing unexpected happened, I've been dead for two days," White said very calmly.
Coulson's body tensed, and concepts like 'possession' and 'resurrection' flashed through his mind.
"Don't worry, if I had that kind of ability, I wouldn't have died so simply."
"Mind reading?"
"No, just simple observation. Otherwise, how could I be a diviner?"
"I thought you were relying on your superpowers."
"One of the three key elements is that the cost of casting increases exponentially."
"Did you write that book?"
"No, but it comes from the same source."
"So, how do you know the words in that book, and how do you know I've read it?"
"Because this is your dream."
With that, the surrounding space began to collapse, and the environment rapidly reconfigured, turning into Coulson's apartment.
Captain America posters were on the walls, some related cards were on the desk, and a small shield pendant was placed on the corner of the table.
Looking around, Coulson looked at White again, "This is my dream, but it's under your control?"
"Only temporarily. I really didn't expect your talent to be so high. You succeeded in awakening just by touching it, absorbing a part of my remains."
White opened his hand, and wisps of white gas flowed in his palm, gradually forming the familiar appearance to Coulson: that gelatinous substance.
"These are fragments of spirituality, and also the remains left after the collapse of the path I walked. But don't worry, you only absorbed a very small, positive part, and its influence on you will soon disappear," White continued.
"Can you explain in more detail? I don't understand," Coulson said.
"Before the World was born, certain existences had already appeared. They possessed the power to manipulate rules, and we call them Demon Gods."
"Later life often imitated or borrowed power from predecessors to gain strength to advance on the path of transformation. We call such people Transcendants, aiming to transcend the mundane."
"After the screening of time, some repeatable and relatively less dangerous paths were passed down, and the path I walked is the Si Chen Road."
"To better understand their own state, predecessors divided this Si Chen Road into levels, a total of four tiers and sixteen ranks."
"Before I died, I should have been in the fourth rank, Man-Dwelling Walker, attempting to break through to become a Shadow of the Lamp. Clearly, I failed."
White, like an enlightened Professor, taught some basic knowledge to the person in front of him.
"Then why did you fail?" Coulson continued to ask.
"Failure is normal, because I didn't even know how to become a Shadow of the Lamp. The ancient texts in my hand only recorded the first four ranks: Dust-Covered, Dawn Disciple, Gate-Gazer, and Man-Dwelling Walker."
"Is there a time limit for advancement? You seem quite young."
"No, I just had no choice. Someone cursed me to death, and only by breaking through could I find a way to survive, so I had to give it a try."
"Then is it possible that your failure was also influenced by those people?"
"Possibly, so when I died, I cursed myself. My corpse, my remains would be filled with misfortune, bringing bad luck to anyone who touched them."
At this point, Coulson looked at himself; he recalled his own experiences.
"Don't worry, my attack wasn't indiscriminate; there was a White list," White said, patting his arm.
Coulson smiled, "Then, were the attackers I encountered later the ones who cursed you to death?"
"Not necessarily. Maybe he wanted to snatch my remains, or maybe he just saw you spreading spirituality like an ignorant person and wanted to take a shortcut."
White said, and clapped again. Coulson noticed his body emitting a faint white light, like a light bulb.
"This..."
"Don't rush, this is the result of you overeating. I will teach you how to solve this problem."
White walked to the door, looking at Coulson, "Now, before I completely disappear, let's take an early look at Man-Dwelling."
The doorknob twisted, and the door slowly opened.
What met their eyes was a vast grassland and forest, with plants verdant and dripping, but none had shadows.
Above the sky, many flowing clouds permeated, constantly colliding and intertwining to form blurry images, then suddenly dissipating.
In the gap between the grassland and the forest, there was a small opening. It was full of attraction, making people unconsciously step towards it.
White pressed one hand on Coulson, pointing in a direction, "Don't get lost. Man-Dwelling is more dangerous than you imagine, even at the edge of the forest."
Following White's direction, Coulson saw insects with flapping wings and scurrying black shadows in the grassland.
"Many of those are evolutions of the lost. The price of impulsiveness is to become one of them."