Lu Ding, male, 19 years old, a transmigrator carrying the golden finger "Monster Containment Prison," is a freshman in the Geological Exploration Department at Yunhai University.
During summer break, with free time on his hands, Lu Ding decided to complete his internship report early.
University regulations require every student to undertake an internship. While finding a position aligned with one's major is preferred, it's not mandatory—credit is awarded based on the quality of the internship report.
Perfect timing.
Lu Ding needed money. After all, as a transmigrator with a golden finger, orphaned parents were a given trope.
His university attendance relied on state subsidies and his own scholarship from academic excellence.
Daily living expenses still fell on him.
Since earning money meant work, and an internship also meant work— he might as well combine the two. Submitting the internship report early was ideal anyway.
Just as Lu Ding wondered how to spend his summer, he stumbled upon a job posting for geological surveyors.
The ad promised an internship certification and a generous salary: ¥8,000/month for top-university students. Those with "special talents" could negotiate higher pay. As for what "talents" meant—only architecture or geology majors might have an inkling.
Geomancy.
Exactly. In a tech-driven society, openly discussing metaphysics was taboo.
Yet in certain industries, you'd better believe in it—at least a little.
Coincidentally, Lu Ding knew a thing or two about these matters.
He wasn't some staunch materialist either.
*You transmigrate to another world and still cling to materialism?*
Besides, his golden finger was literally called "Monster Containment Prison"—clear proof this world wasn't as simple as it seemed.
If monsters didn't exist, why would he have this power?
So, ever since making sense of his transmigration, Lu Ding had delved into the occult.
He'd studied it relentlessly until now—
all to avoid being helpless when he finally encountered monsters.
*Go all out and strike where it hurts!*
Specifically against ghostly entities.
Flesh-and-blood monsters might give him pause, but when it came to spirits or vengeful ghosts? Though lacking hands-on experience, Lu Ding felt terrifyingly confident.
Whether those methods worked or not, he refused to back down.
Thus, Lu Ding made the call. A middle-aged man with thick regional accent answered.
Hearing Lu Ding had "special talents," he invited him for an interview on the spot.
Arriving at the site and stating his purpose,
the project supervisor personally interviewed him.
Lu Ding immediately launched into geomancy principles: grave positioning, monument alignment, mountain excavation taboos, dragon vein restrictions—quoting classics until the supervisor was thoroughly impressed.
As for why he avoided fortune-telling or destiny readings?
*That was intentional.* Though skilled, he kept silent.
*What if they asked for a demonstration?*
Lu Ding dared not guarantee accuracy. One wrong prediction could cost him this well-paying internship.
Amid the project manager's repeated approval, Lu Ding got hired.
After nearly a month of hard work, payday approached— then disaster struck at the construction site!
That evening, as work was nearing its end.
A large stone had been unearthed at the construction site. A red liquid, like blood, was still seeping from its damaged section.
It terrified all the workers on the spot.
Upon receiving the news, Lu Ding arrived at the scene in great excitement.
The project manager was also there, surrounded by a dense crowd of people pointing at the large stone.
Lu Ding pushed his way into the group. Seeing him, the project manager grabbed Lu Ding and asked quietly.
"Lu Ding, you know a lot. Take a look at what this thing is."
It was true that Lu Ding knew a lot, but it was all book knowledge from ancient texts. He'd never seen anything like this in real life. And stones that bled? Ancient texts recorded plenty of those.
Matching them one by one would be far too slow.
He simply grabbed a nearby impact drill.
His face flushed with excitement as he declared: "Who cares what it is! As long as it bleeds, that means it can be killed!!!"
He had waited far too long for this day!!!
Finally!
He had finally encountered something that might be a monster!
Today, he absolutely had to destroy it!!
Seeing Lu Ding raise the impact drill to act, the people nearby hurriedly tried to stop him: "Young Lu, you mustn't! You mustn't! If you violate a taboo, terrible misfortune will follow!"
"Exactly, exactly! This might be some kind of Tai Sui."
"I've heard the older generation say Tai Sui grows in the earth, and eating it can prolong your life."
"No, no, I heard my grandfather say Tai Sui is a fierce deity. Better to offend Yama than to offend Tai Sui. I think we should just bury it back."
Seeing the crowd blocking him and preventing action, Lu Ding thought to himself: *This absolutely will not do.
"What Tai Sui or not Tai Sui! Our site needs to start work. It's just a stone we dug up. If the project gets delayed because of it, who's going to take responsibility?"
He turned his head, scanning the crowd. No one spoke.
Finally, Lu Ding's gaze landed on the project manager, Luo Anping.
In that moment, everyone looked at him.
Luo Anping felt trapped.
Yeah, they couldn't let this thing delay the project, could they?
Luo Anping cursed inwardly: *Goddamn it, why do all these messed-up things happen to me?*
Construction sites dreaded digging up things like this.
They dug one up last year, attracting the attention of the relevant authorities. Now another one this year. Was heaven deliberately messing with Luo Anping?
It was then that Lu Ding poured fuel on the fire.
"Not talking now, huh? In the end, Manager Luo will be the one to take the blame. You've got it all figured out, haven't you? Manager Luo, you decide. It's just a word from you. Say we don't drill this stone today, and I'll put this thing down right now."
*I'll come back secretly tonight.*
That thought echoed in Lu Ding's heart.
He continued: "If you give the nod, I'll drill seven or eight holes straight through it. Don't forget, I've got skills. My fate is strong enough; I'm not afraid of these things at all."
It was this very statement that gave Luo Anping confidence.
Originally, he hadn't wanted to provoke this thing. In construction, it was better to believe it exists than to risk ignoring it.
But when Lu Ding said he had skills, Luo Anping realized: *It's not me doing the drilling, it's Lu Ding. What do I have to fear?*
Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he made the call.
"Drill it!!"
Lu Ding could no longer suppress the grin spreading across his face.
"Everyone, step back!"
Seeing they couldn't dissuade him, and since they weren't the ones doing it, the surrounding workers scattered to the sides to watch the spectacle.
Only Lu Ding remained. He started the impact drill, raised it, and drove it straight into the stone.
As the drill bit broke through the surface, red liquid gushed out, some splashing onto Lu Ding's clothes.
Seeing the wild excitement on his face, the watching workers took several more steps back.
A sliver of fear crept into their hearts for this young man who didn't look very old.
*He's truly ruthless!!!!*
Luo Anping's eyes widened. *I definitely didn't hire Lu Ding wrong! When there's trouble, he really steps up!*
*Raise his pay! Must raise his pay! Give him a bonus tomorrow, add ten thousand!*
As the drrr-drrr-drrr sound of the impact drill filled their ears, Lu Ding's heart felt like it was leaping into his throat.
*Why isn't my golden finger reacting yet?!*
*Give me a sign! GIVE ME A SIGN!!!!*
With this silent scream in his heart, a large chunk of rock broke away from the stone sphere.
A terrifying sight appeared: two tightly shut eyes were embedded in the sphere. Before anyone could even gasp in shock, the eyes on the stone sphere snapped open. Everyone present was an ordinary person; none had ever witnessed such a scene.
Shouting "Ghost!" and "Monster!", they scrambled to run away.
Even Luo Anping was no exception.
But he saw Lu Ding still standing there, unmoving. His expression conflicted, he ultimately didn't run away alone. Turning back, he grabbed Lu Ding's arm.
Xiao Lu, run!! This thing is a monster!!!"