Chapter 37

“System.”

Xia’er murmured to herself in her heart.

The familiar interface unfolded before her eyes, with only the “Warehouse” interface glowing, while the others remained dim and unclickable, just like when she entered the simulation previously, allowing her to only see the time.

If not for the fact that there was a contract obtained from the system stored in the warehouse, even the warehouse would be unusable.

The simulated self… had she gone mad?

Xia’er briefly searched through the usual places where she would hide things, but found nothing—no gun, no gold coins, no potion, no notes—nothing remained.

Pushing open the door, Xia’er descended the wooden staircase to the ground floor, where she saw a mess strewn across the floor.

Metal water jars and wooden buckets were scattered everywhere, along with thick layers of glass shards and pottery fragments piled in the corner. Some of these were used for storing drinking water, while others had once contained various kinds of alcohol, filling the air with a nauseating stench of alcohol.

Drinking alcohol to quench thirst… could this really be something she would do?

A sudden buzzing sensation suddenly attacked her, and Xia’er stopped in her tracks, supporting her forehead with her hand.

She could hear various cries of sorrow and anguish ringing in her ears, these wails echoing in her mind like delirious mutterings, but her emotions were now dominated by excitement.

At Level 1 of 【Calm Thinking】, this impulse was suppressed, and Xia’er revealed a puzzled expression.

What’s going on?

This doesn’t seem like the symptoms of dehydration…

Once the ringing in her ears subsided slightly, she looked toward the door.

Xia’er saw the familiar canvas bag casually hung behind the door. She approached and opened it, and fortunately, two potions and two notebooks were quietly lying inside.

Xia’er put on the black cloak used for rain protection, slung the canvas bag over her shoulder, pulled up the hood, and pushed open the door, stepping out onto the street.

The gloomy weather made it impossible to tell if it was day or night. There was not a single person walking on the street, and even the factory noises that had been constantly audible day and night were silent. Only the water barrels and earthenware jars lining the sides of the street remained, standing quietly and eerily.

A shadow tiptoed behind Xia’er, hands raised above her head as if to shield her from the rain.

Xia’er planned to go to the Salvation Goddess Religion and try her luck.

Such a major event had occurred, and the workers in Clock Tower Lane District, who were the basic support of the Salvation Goddess Religion, were mentioned only briefly in the notebook by High Priestess Yulis. This didn’t seem quite reasonable.

Where were the higher-level Extraordinary Persons in the Salvation Goddess Religion? Why did the notebook mention that those sent to support were still not on the path of Extraordinary, instead coming to suffer and digest the potion—seeming to treat this place as a testing ground?

After Aviana made a deal with her to protect Li Qi, there had been no further news. What were her and her family’s thoughts?

Investigating alone in Clock Tower Lane District was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. Xia’er wanted to understand the thoughts and actions of the known Extraordinary forces regarding the current situation.

As she brainstormed, Xia’er headed towards the clock tower. Oddly enough, the closer she got to Clock Tower Lane District, the stronger the buzzing in her head became.

Suddenly, her steps halted.

A phantom image appeared out of nowhere before her eyes, as though moonlight poured straight into her knees!

Silent moonlight instantly passed through her knee and embedded itself into the black stone road behind her!

No pain?

Precognitive vision!

Only momentarily stunned, Xia’er’s body suddenly rolled to the right. In the next second, a silver light shot down from above, piercing through the spot where Xia’er had been standing, embedding itself into the ground.

The object almost completely disappeared into the pile of black rubble, leaving only a bright silver knife handle exposed!

The surgical scalpel was revealed.

Surgical scalpel?

As Xia’er recognized the surgical scalpel, it suddenly flew up into the air and darted towards its source. Upon closer inspection, one could notice a glint of silver connecting the handle to the blade.

An Extraordinary Person!

In an instant, the shadow behind Xia’er plunged into the ground. It moved swiftly like a swimming dragon on the black stone road, then stretched out a hand and caught the flying knife’s shadow that was cast down.

At the moment the shadow was seized, the flying knife paused in mid-air for a second. The next second, the shadow directly merged into the flying knife’s shadow.

The shadow seemed to ignite with black flames. The flames followed the nearly imperceptible fine shadows cast by the silver lines, burning forward until they stopped 24 meters ahead.

The distance was insufficient!

After Xia’er steadied herself, she didn’t hesitate and ran towards the direction of the burning flame. As Xia’er ran, the black shadow continued to burn forward.

“Avenger?” A voice echoed from the rooftop ahead. Immediately after, a figure wearing a black robe and a crowbill mask made of black and silver leaped down and landed steadily not far in front of Xia’er.

Seeing that Xia’er showed no intention of stopping, the figure wearing the crowbill mask took several steps back and shouted, “No! Don’t! Misunderstanding! We’re on the same side!”

The words of the masked person had no effect on Xia’er. She quickly closed the distance to within 24 meters of the masked person. From the shadow beneath the masked person’s feet, a shadow-like black hand emerged and grabbed the masked person’s ankle.

Just as Xia’er’s shadow was about to twist the masked person’s ankle, the masked person raised their hand and lifted the mask, saying hastily, “Redemption Society! Tribunal! We’re on the same side!”

Beneath the silver crowbill mask was a tall girl with long silver-white hair. Her face was covered with a thick gauze mask, and her blue eyes were filled with panic.

Xia’er’s shadow climbed up her ankle step by step, wrapped around her waist with her legs, and locked her neck with her arms.

As long as she made any sudden moves, Xia’er would not hesitate to snap her neck.

If she hadn’t mentioned the “Tribunal” earlier, she would already be dead.

“Redemption Society?” Xia’er maintained a safe distance of about 18 meters and asked, “Why are you here?”

“Ah?” Xia’er’s words made the silver-haired girl pause for a moment. After a while, she responded, “You’re not from the Tribunal?”

“I’m not,” Xia’er did not deny the judgment.

“Then what are you…”

“A kind-hearted Extraordinary Person passing through.”

Even though it was drizzling, Xia’er could almost see the sweat beads on the other person’s forehead.

The Redemption Society, is it an extraordinary organization?

She stopped attacking after recognizing Xia’er as an Avenger. Is she familiar with the Extraordinary People of the Salvation Goddess Religion?

Moreover, the silver-haired woman aimed her attack at Xia’er’s knee, not at a more fatal area.

“What is your purpose here?” Xia’er did not waste any time and tightened her grip slightly.

“Investigating this dehydration syndrome,” the silver-haired woman answered quickly, feeling the pain in her waist, “It’s part of the Replication Ritual. We’ve already cooperated with the Salvation Goddess Religion!”

The Replication Ritual… cooperating with the Salvation Goddess Religion?

Xia’er frowned slightly and continued, “What cooperation?”

“A large-scale unknown cause epidemic has erupted in an important diocese of the Salvation Goddess Religion. They sought help from the Redemption Society, with the condition that…”

“The condition is that all the gains, including all the bodies of those who died, will be shared after the matter is resolved.”

All… bodies?