The Parasitic Insect twisted and writhed at the mouth of the bottle, desperately trying to escape. The young man quickly sprinkled a thick layer of silver-gray powder around the bottle’s opening.

Under the influence of the powder, the insect's frantic movements slowed, and its head drooped lifelessly.

Watching this, I felt my anxiety ease slightly.

But I still kept my hands over my mouth, too afraid to make a sound after my previous outburst nearly caused disaster.

The young man glanced up at me, then carefully sealed the insect in the porcelain bottle. It was only then that I realized the creature was over four inches long.

He sighed deeply and gave me a reassuring look. “Don’t worry, it’s powerless now.”

“Is it...really dead?”

I asked, my voice trembling. “Could it...come back to life?”

My mind raced with fear. If such a small insect could hide in a jade pendant, what might it do in a more spacious container?

“No, it’s not dead.”

The young man said, placing the bottle in his black bag.

“This is a Blood Parasitic Insect. It drains a person’s blood, energy, and luck. What we have here is a Baby Insect. We need it to find the Mother Insect.”

"What!"

I stared at him in disbelief. “Are you saying Linda has a Mother Insect?”

I had heard stories about wealthy people using dark arts like raising poisonous insects or ghosts to safeguard their fortune.

But I never imagined such things would touch my life.

“It could be her or someone behind her.”

He replied, looking more relaxed now. He rubbed his temples and tried to comfort me.

“Don’t worry. From what I see, the Mother Insect hasn’t activated yet. Otherwise, you wouldn’t just be unlucky—you’d be facing something much worse.”

When someone siphoned off another's luck, it must be done gradually and with precise timing; otherwise, it would backfire.

This gave me a small measure of relief. My life wasn’t in immediate danger. Swallowing hard, I said respectfully, “Thank you for saving me, sir.”

“My name is Sherwood Walker. You can call me Sherwood.”

He introduced himself calmly. “We can talk more tomorrow. Let’s get some sleep.”

With that, he tossed the quilt back and lay down, as if our conversation had been about mundane matters and not a life-threatening encounter with a deadly Parasitic Insect.

While Sherwood fell asleep quickly, I couldn’t find any rest.

I lay awake, replaying every moment of my relationship with Linda over the past few years.

Linda is just an ordinary college student. It seemed impossible that she could know about dark magic.

If she had known, she would have acted much sooner, not waiting until our junior year.

There was only one explanation.

She must have met someone recently who understood dark magic.

That person saw my good luck and decided to exploit it for her.

Linda and I rarely interacted with people outside our campus. How could this have happened?

Suddenly, a vivid memory flashed through my mind.

That had to be it!

I remembered an incident not long before the eyebrow-cutting episode. Linda had taken me to the food street outside our school, saying her cousin was visiting and wanted to have barbecue with us.

Linda's so-called cousin had an unkempt beard, a sinister glint in his eyes, and a prominent scar across his face. He didn’t seem like a trustworthy person at all.

During our meal, I could feel his gaze on me, darting back and forth, making me so uneasy I could hardly breathe. I worried he might have some unsavory intentions toward me.

Fortunately, he did nothing inappropriate and left shortly after dinner.

At the time, I dismissed my discomfort as paranoia, thinking I was being too judgmental. But now, it was clear that this encounter was connected to the strange events happening to me!

I stayed awake all night, finally dozing off just before dawn.

Sherwood’s voice woke me. “Wake up, we’re almost arriving.”

"Okay."

Groggy, I sat up, grabbed a bottle of water from my bag, and took a few sips to wake up. Then, I gathered my things and followed Sherwood off the train.

I had a meeting with my client at 2 p.m. Initially, we planned to review the contract in the morning, but there wasn’t time now. Instead, we took a taxi straight to the plastic surgery hospital in the city center.

The scar at the corner of my eye was fresh and shallow, so the plastic surgeon recommended laser scar removal for quick results.

After the preparations, the procedure only took an hour, and the scar was completely gone.

Gazing at the smooth skin where the scar had been, I felt a wave of relief. I turned to Sherwood and whispered, “Is this okay?”

"Yes."

Sherwood nodded approvingly, “This should end your streak of bad luck. Your afternoon negotiations should go smoothly.”

Really?

Could it be that simple?

It turned out Sherwood was right.

In the afternoon, I arrived at my client's office as scheduled. I presented the remedial measures for the issues in our previous project, expecting some pushback. To my surprise, they agreed without hesitation.

If I completed this project successfully, I would be promoted to a full-time position!

But first, I needed to deal with Linda and the person behind her, reclaiming the good luck that was rightfully mine.

Linda had moved out of our dorm after she started dating her wealthy boyfriend and rarely came back unless it was necessary.

I was trying to figure out how to lure her back when I opened the dorm door and found her sitting in a chair, angrily muttering to herself with a fierce expression.

Seeing her filled me with the urge to slap her for all the harm she had caused.

But I needed to find the mastermind behind her actions, so I forced myself to stay calm. I bit my lip and smiled as if nothing was wrong.

“You’re such a busy person. What brings you back today?”

Linda, not even bothering to turn her head, snorted.

“My instructor’s stupid experiments are driving me crazy. I made a mistake with the data and got chewed out.”

Linda’s academic performance had always been mediocre. Even though she managed to continue her studies into graduate school, she frequently made mistakes. This wasn’t the first time.

Just by looking at Linda’s expression, I could tell that her mistake was serious, not some minor error.

Thinking of this, I had some thoughts in my mind, but I kept my composure and gently gave her some suggestions.

“The instructor values accurate data, so it’s normal for him to criticize when something goes wrong. Once he calms down, you should apologize.”

“Why should I apologize to him? I don’t even want to be a graduate student anymore," she snapped.

Ever since Linda started dating that wealthy guy, she had become increasingly arrogant and dismissive.

She paused, about to continue her rant, when she turned and noticed my face. She looked startled. “Yasmine, why is the scar at the corner of your eye gone?”

I decided not to reveal the truth. Casually, I replied, “That scar was small but annoying to look at every day. The beauty salon had a promotion, so I decided to have it removed with a laser treatment.”

As I spoke, a theory formed in my mind.

Could it be that fixing the scar had disrupted Linda’s ability to siphon off my luck? If so, it might explain why her own luck was faltering now.

If this was true, Linda wouldn’t be able to hold on to the graduate position she had secured through underhanded means.

Linda’s eyes widened in anger. They practically glowed with fury, and her voice turned harsh. “Why didn’t you tell me you were getting the scar removed?”

I knew exactly what she was worried about. Inside, I was laughing at her panic, but I replied evasively, “Oh, come on. It was just a little scar. It didn’t cost much. Do I need to ask for your permission or compensation?”

My vague response clearly frustrated her. She struggled to hide her anger, finally managing to calm herself down. With a forced smile, she spoke.

“I’m just in a bad mood today. Don’t take it personally. By the way, my cousin Garret’s visiting tonight. Let’s go out for dinner together!”

I had expected Linda to act, but not so quickly.

Her impatience could work to my advantage, giving Sherwood a chance to meet the man sooner and break whatever spell was affecting me.

With a deeper smile, I agreed.

“Sure, I haven’t had a decent meal or good sleep in days because of the project. Now that it’s over, I’m ready for a nice dinner.”

“The project that was about to collapse... you managed to save it?”

Linda’s anger, simmering earlier, now boiled over.

Her eyes blazed with fury. If looks could kill, I’d be dead.

“Yeah, if everything goes well, I’ll be a full-time employee by graduation.”

Feigning fear at her intense reaction, I took a step back and asked softly.

“Linda, what’s wrong? Are you upset that I managed to negotiate the deal?”

“No, of course I’m happy for you.”

Linda was cunning. She quickly recovered from her outburst and forced an awkward smile, biting her lip.

“Rest for a bit. Let me ask when Garret will arrive.”

Okay."

I ignored Linda and started unpacking my things, then texted Sherwood, inviting him to join us for dinner.

His response was quick and to the point: [OK.]

With Sherwood’s confirmation, I felt a wave of relief. Pretending to scroll through my phone, I kept a close eye on Linda.