'No need to panic when the sky falls, greatly reducing the chances of a mood slump,'
'Enjoy life's fate, mood cap increased, and mood gains are doubled,'
'Stay calm, mood fluctuations are minimal,'
"Oh, stay calm... Stay calm my ass! This damn so-called psychological health system's BUFF still screws with my mental health, fuck!"
Li Fan couldn't hold back anymore and jumped up with a roar like an angry dragon.
Then, he saw his mentor, the old Taoist, turn his head with a stern look, and he quickly nodded, bowing and sitting cross-legged, "Sorry, sorry! Don't mind me, don't mind me!"
But the old Taoist had already approached with a sullen face, standing before Li Fan like a withered tree, casting a massive shadow that nearly hid his face—as if a head teacher burst into the classroom to catch someone during evening self-study.
Li Fan, sweating coldly, gulped and eyed the other nervously.
The Taoist stared back at Li Fan for a while, then reached into the void, pulling out several sesame cakes and tossing them into his lap before turning back to sit on his cushion.
"..." Li Fan glanced at the old Taoist, then at the cakes in his lap. Before he could react, the system started messing with his head again.
'Confirmation of host choosing inborn luck, Stay Calm.'
Oh my god...
'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'
Fuck your mother... what kind of crap system is this...
'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'
Shut up, will you!
'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'
Li Fan rolled his eyes and slumped onto his cushion, staring at the space above his head.
'Li Fan, mood, 97/100'
Right, that's it, no attack, defense, speed, roots, comprehension, or even the data for the five elements, nothing. Just a mood value...
Fuck it! Which nut job developed this crap system!
'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'
Li Fan really wanted to roll his eyes hard enough to flip the system over. Dealing with this kind of crappy system was exasperating; he angrily nibbled on a sesame cake in his hand... oh, it's actually quite tasty.
'Li Fan's mood increased by 1 point.'
Li Fan, "..."
'Li Fan's mood increased by 1 point.'
Right, two cakes eaten and two points regained... but I can't eat any more...
Since it's like this, then to maintain mental health, I just need to eat regularly, right? So what's the freaking use of you, this psychological health system, other than actively fucking with my mind, damn it all to hell!!
'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'
'This system also offers a lottery draw.'
Lottery draw!
'Li Fan's mood increased by 1 point.'
Draw, draw, draw!
'Lottery function temporarily unavailable, current charging progress, 8/100'
Fuck! Seriously, what system doesn't even give out a starting ten-draw these days? You have no future, you get that!
'Li Fan's mood decreased by 1 point.'
'Lottery function temporarily unavailable, current charging progress, 9/100'
Oh... alright, alright, shut up, I get it.
Li Fan, struggling with a headache, rubbed his temples. Dealing with this crap of a system was really fucking tiring...
From what he could discern so far, the system's points were based on changes in Li Fan's psychological state. Every mental fluctuation contributed to charging the lottery, and both increases and decreases counted towards the total of 100 points needed to get a draw.
Although he didn't know what sort of crappy thing he'd pull from the draw, the system wasn't just a blank slate. It gave Li Fan something to look forward to—there was a draw, so sign-in missions and leveling couldn't be far off, right? He just had to gradually figure it out.
But what was really awkward now was that Li Fan's initial fortune somehow ended up with that 'Stay Calm,' limiting wave actions to just 1 point!
Such a trap! At this rate of earning one point and losing one point, it would be an eternity before it charged up enough for a single draw, damn it!
While Li Fan was fretting over his mood-manipulating system, the sky outside had gradually darkened without him noticing.
"Ha! The illusory moon in the sky!" The old Taoist in front suddenly erupted with a strange laugh, "Boy! You're out of luck! If you can't stand it later, just gouge out your eyes! And remember, if you don't want to die, don't look up!"
What?
If you don't want people to look up, don't fucking tell them not to look up! That simple logic was lost on the old man, and so he set Li Fan up.
Li Fan was lying back on his cushion picking his nose when he subconsciously looked up toward the night sky obscuring the heavens.
Two large, round moons were reflected in his eyes.
They clearly weren't Earth's moon—one on the left and one on the right, one big and one small, one blue and one purple, as if two fireballs were held in the palms of an eight-armed demon lord, shining down from the sky.
The demon lord's six ghastly faces were lit up, half green and half purple, with obsidian inlaid on their heads glinting like countless eyes had opened.
Li Fan thought he heard a sound like the humming of a dragon sword, and suddenly the entire bamboo forest, covered in darkness, surged with a black and purple miasma. Soon after, the clouds gathered, a fierce wind arose, and a whirlwind spun up from the ground around Li Fan's cushion, blocked by the circle drawn by the old Taoist's wooden sword, creating layers upon layers of smoke screens, almost obscuring the sky.
Li Fan felt as if he was in the middle of a storm, clinging to his cushion and lying prone, the raging black wind swirling with dust and stones, forming a vortex that reached the heavens, obliterating Li Fan's view, leaving only that purple-glowing bright moon in front of his eyes.