Chapter 107

Chapter 107: Avina’s Healing Therapy.

“Not enough.”

In the dark alleyway, a police officer held a cloth bag filled with silver shillings and said, “Do you know what commotion you caused? Get lost, I can’t accept this money.”

“Hey! Bert!”

A man stepped forward, lowering his voice and saying, “I gave you more than this before!”

“Step back, kid.”

The policeman drew his truncheon from his waist, pressing it against the man’s chest. “You messed everything up. You’re out of the game, understand?”

“Damn.”

The man cursed softly and tried to reach for the bag of money, but his hand was quickly blocked by the truncheon.

He angrily looked up at the policeman named Bert, saying, “You said you couldn’t handle this, Bert. What do you mean?”

Bert shook the bag of coins and smiled, “These are just enough for me to pretend I didn’t see you, letting you off the hook for this opportunity to catch someone.”

Bert’s words made the man’s blood boil, but after a few seconds of angry staring, he turned and ran into the dark alley.

Only after the man had disappeared did Bert sneer, turning away with the bag of coins and walking down the street.

A thin police officer, who had taken off his helmet and was fanning himself, saw Bert. He put down his black steel helmet, spat out the chewing tobacco, and said, “Everything is safe, sir.”

Bert looked around and grabbed a handful of silver coins from the bag, dropping them into the officer’s helmet and patting him on the shoulder. “Keep patrolling, we’ll meet up later.”

“Yes, sir.”

The young officer left, and Bert, holding the bag again, smiled.

Since the leader of the Heishuidang, Solari, died, most of their networks had been severed, making it easier to extract more benefits from them.

But this wouldn’t last long… The Heishuidang was now trying to sell weapons, and without Solari’s protection, they would likely be destroyed within a month and replaced by another gang.

Before they were wiped out, they needed to extract as much as possible.

Bert walked down the street, swinging his truncheon and humming a tune, seemingly in high spirits.

But soon, he stopped and lifted his lantern, looking ahead.

In the distance, a beautiful girl staggered forward, her steps unsteady, as if she were drunk.

Hmm?

At this hour, in the Clock Tower Lane District, she could only be a poor resident here.

If he could find out where she lived, Bert could guess her identity and situation.

“Miss, do you need help?”

He grinned and walked forward quickly, but when he reached the girl, his smile turned to fear.

The girl slowly raised her head, looking at the empty night sky.

The next second, a strange flintlock appeared in her hand, aimed at the sky, and she pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The loud gunshot made Bert jump.

How did she get a gun? Why is she shooting at the sky?!

While the flintlock couldn’t be reloaded quickly, Bert dropped his kerosene lamp, took out a silver whistle, and raised his truncheon.

Beep-beep!

The sharp whistle echoed, calling for backup and warning the girl. He raised his truncheon to knock the gun out of her hand.

But in the next second, the girl, her eyes red with rage, aimed her weapon at Bert’s chest and pulled the trigger.

Bang!

A bloody orchid bloomed on Bert’s chest.

The girl’s body ignited with invisible flames, her dress dissipating, replaced by the black robes of the Salvation Goddess Religion. Her hair was singed and curled by the unseen fire.

The whistle shattered the night’s silence, drawing more policemen towards the scene.

…

“Huff… huff…”

Xia’er, now in her “Judge” form, sprinted through the alleyways.

Despite the blood fog obscuring her vision, she could still make out her position by feeling the walls and the floor.

Xia’er began to sense something was wrong.

The layout and streets similar to the Clock Tower Lane District, the helpless flesh monsters, and the despairing cries in her mind.

All these made Xia’er realize she wasn’t in the Other Realm anymore. She was in reality.

This wasn’t a terrifying illusion created by extraordinary abilities; everything seemed normal except for her own distorted mental state after entering the Other Realm.

So, the flesh monsters she killed might just be ordinary people.

Luckily, this was a simulation, and no matter how many lives she took, it wouldn’t affect reality.

But her current mental state worried her greatly.

Initially, Xia’er just wanted to escape from Xiu, but Xiao Zuo dragged her into the Other Realm.

Although Xiao Zuo shielded her sight and hearing, Xia’er’s mind was still heavily polluted.

Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky.

The bad luck hadn’t ended!

Why then? Despite her mental state affecting her perceptions, she could still think clearly.

Was it the function of [Calm Thinking]?

No… If [Calm Thinking] worked, the simulated self during the first deep simulation wouldn’t have gone mad.

Xia’er followed her blurry memories, running away from the Clock Tower Lane District, using the broken bones on the ground as a guide.

The roads hadn’t changed, but there were more streetlights. Xia’er tried to identify her location by reading road signs, but the text on them was completely unreadable to her.

To her, the text looked like it had been distorted by an AI, forming shapes she couldn’t comprehend.

Luckily, the appearance of glass windows helped her determine that she was near the connection between the Gemstone District and the Clock Tower Lane District, an area with many jewelry factories.

As long as she kept running straight, she could pass through the jewelry district and reach Avina…

Xia’er’s thoughts paused momentarily.

No…

Without the “Gambler” save point, Xia’er wouldn’t be constrained to seeking help from a divine servant.

Seeking help from a divine servant might not cure her, and the most likely outcome would be that they’d kill anyone who dared to pursue her.

To eliminate her current state, Xia’er could only think of one person.

Avina.

Avina was skilled in healing the spirit and soul, and she had many extraordinary items that might help Xia’er.

However, finding Avina could expose her to bad luck.

But Xia’er decided to seek Avina anyway.

She couldn’t bear it.

Spending 100 Mortality Points, even in a regular simulation, she could run it ten times.

With so many points, she had barely scratched the surface of the investigation, and the giant bird possibly connected to the bad luck still circled in the air.

Now, Xia’er might have killed several patrol officers disguised as flesh monsters, whose rodent-like skulls could have been whistles.

The commotion in the Clock Tower Lane District would surely draw the attention of the Salvation Goddess Religion.

Given her current state, she needed Avina’s help to heal and mitigate the effects of her actions.

If Avina suffered any harm due to this, she would deal with it later.

Soon, Xia’er set her target and ran toward the Jazz Bridge District along the stone-paved road.

During her run, she occasionally looked up to see the long-haired raven still circling above her, its presence unaffected by the blood fog.

The attack of the Lethal Bloody Orchid couldn’t hit it, and the shadow’s range couldn’t reach it. It hovered freely, waiting for the right moment to strike.

From Xia’er’s observation, the giant raven showed no sign of intelligence and didn’t seem to care about her seeing it, as if it were just a projection.

Quickly, Xia’er reached the Jazz Bridge District and approached Avina’s residence, leaping over the fence and rushing inside.

Thanks to the slow information dissemination of this era, the Church personnel might not yet know about the strange shootings in the Clock Tower Lane District.

Zzzz——

A pale blue, honeycomb-shaped barrier unfolded in front of Xia’er, slowing her down.

“Come down.”

This was Nia’s barrier.

Seeing this barrier, Xia’er felt her heart relax slightly.

With Nia around, she could probably get Avina out of danger if anything happened. At least, she could ensure Avina’s safety.

In Xia’er’s eyes, a silver armored figure leaped from the window and landed steadily at the door without making much noise, as if the heavy armor were made of paper.

Seeing the silver armor, Xia’er let out a sigh of relief.

This indicated she hadn’t come to the wrong place.

It was hard to imagine; this armor was the most normal thing Xia’er had seen since entering the city.

The metallic hum vibrated from the gaps in Nia’s armor, but Xia’er only felt a sharp noise, unable to discern any words.

“Nia?”

Xia’er tentatively called out, but noticed that Nia had already reached behind her back to touch the sword and shield.

It seemed that not only was Xia’er unable to understand what Nia said, but even Xia’er’s own words couldn’t be accurately conveyed to Nia, even just calling out a name.

Xia’er didn’t need to try writing either; she was certain that what she wrote would appear as nothing but disordered gibberish to others, possibly even affecting Nia’s fragile mind.

After much thought, Xia’er couldn’t find an effective way to communicate, so she resorted to the basics.

She raised her hand, pointed to her head, then shook her head.

Then, she lifted her right hand at a forty-five-degree angle, pointing towards Avina’s room, and tapped her temple with her index finger again.

My mind is troubled, I need Avina’s help to heal — this was what Xia’er wanted to express.

Nia clearly understood the gesture, but to be safe, Nia’s right hand turned red, and the silver armor on her hand began to melt and reshape.

Soon, two pairs of silver shackles with chains appeared in Nia’s hands.

Nia tossed the shackles to Xia’er, who caught them effortlessly.

Xia’er understood Nia’s intention; Nia sensed something amiss and decided to impose some restrictions on Xia’er to prevent her from causing harm when she lost control.

Xia’er didn’t hesitate; she directly fastened one set of shackles to her wrist, and after a moment’s thought, bent down to lock her feet as well.

The silver shackles were incredibly sturdy, making it difficult to break free by force, but they didn’t suppress Xia’er’s extraordinary abilities. As long as Xia’er wished, shadows could still emerge from her reflection.

She had defended herself, but not completely.

Nia gestured for Xia’er to follow, leading her directly into the house.

At this time, the servants were all asleep, and only a few gas lamps were still lit in the manor.

But Xia’er could hardly see anything clearly now; even the gas lamp lights looked like glowing red eyes in the fog, under the blood mist.

The fog around Xia’er had become thicker, almost affecting her breathing. It was hard to believe, but Xia’er felt a drowning sensation, as if her lungs were completely blocked by blood.

Luckily, Nia’s armor faintly glowed, helping Xia’er maintain her sense of direction.

Following Nia, Xia’er stumbled down the stairs, the shackles clinking together with each step.

Only when Nia stopped in front of a dilapidated wooden door did Xia’er realize that they had arrived at Avina’s room.

It must be around three or four in the morning…

Nia slowly opened the door. Xia’er took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

No matter what she saw now, everything changed in a strange way. People and objects lost their original appearances in her eyes.

Realizing this, Xia’er didn’t want to see familiar people turn into monsters in her eyes.

Xia’er walked forward with her eyes closed until she stepped onto a soft wool carpet and stopped.

In her ears, incomprehensible, guttural language continued to echo, as if Nia were communicating with Avina.

About ten seconds later, Xia’er felt her hand being gently pulled forward by a soft hand.

Soft… hand?

Xia’er felt puzzled.

Before, the monsters she saw didn’t have the concept of “hands.” Most were a mix of insect limbs or tentacles, sometimes with bones attached.

Could it be that they look different but feel the same?

Xia’er couldn’t resist squeezing the warm palm, which indeed felt like a human hand.

Under Avina’s guidance, Xia’er sat on the edge of the bed and was gently pushed to lie down.

Perhaps closing her eyes helped her avoid seeing the blood mist, as Xia’er’s heart gradually calmed down.

She felt hands touching her eyes, and when she felt warmth, a white light tore through the darkness.

“Xia’er?”

A familiar call made Xia’er lower her guard. She slowly opened her eyes.

Before her was a grayish-white world, with a translucent, pale blue figure standing in front of her, waving a hand in front of her eyes.

This was Avina’s apparition.

“What happened, Xia’er?”

Avina’s calm voice echoed, asking Xia’er why her mind…

My mind?

Xia’er lowered her head and slowly raised her hands.

In the grayish-white world, Xia’er saw herself sitting naked on a dark ground, but her apparition wasn’t pale blue; it kept flickering.

Each flicker changed the color of Xia’er’s apparition, and each flicker also caused Xia’er’s body to undergo some changes, like pink tendrils emerging from beneath her skin or thin bug wings spreading from her back.

These changes continuously caused Xia’er’s mind to feel pain.

“Can you tell me what has happened over the past few days?”

Avina’s voice became gentle, “And those strange… dooms?”

Whether it was due to Avina’s extraordinary ability or her current fragile state of mind, Xia’er couldn’t suppress the urge to talk, starting to recount the events after the train explosion.

The bizarre rules about not being able to interact with extraordinary beings or leave Borough City…

The fake Tribunal investigating the dooms, Lucy Hilufa trapped in Derton Manor, and Obold voluntarily giving up his wealth and status…

Continuous misfortunes, two negative “Strong Fortune Coins,” the pursuit of the Salvation Goddess Religion’s Radiant Bishop Xiu, short-distance travel to the Other Realm…

While recounting these events, Xia’er maintained a clear state of mind, deliberately omitting parts about the system and stopwatch, telling Avina about today’s events.

Every time Xia’er mentioned something, she felt her mental stress visibly ease, and even the continuous sharp pain turned into a dull ache barely noticeable.

After recounting everything, Xia’er felt a cool sensation spreading from her brain throughout her body, as if she had been doused with ice water from head to toe. Her pressure instantly decreased, and her thoughts became clearer.

This is the healing ability of the Listener…

Previously, during her unconscious state, she only felt extremely comfortable, but now it seemed that this was the correct use of the Listener’s ability.

As Xia’er recounted her experiences, Avina listening in front of her gradually felt her mood sinking.

In just one day, Xia’er had gone through so much… even becoming a second-tier Tribunal without Avina knowing.

Avina wasn’t too surprised by this, considering Xia’er’s Tribunal potion was given to her by Avina herself. The only surprise was how deeply Xia’er had hidden it.

However, the events Xia’er experienced just a few hours ago were too rich, making Avina feel overwhelmed by the amount of information.

Xia’er had too many secrets, and even after revealing so much, Avina could still sense that Xia’er was hiding more secrets.

But now wasn’t the time for Avina to think about these things. She put aside her doubts and looked at Xia’er, slowly approaching her and hugging her shoulders.

“You’ve done well… Just get some rest now…”

“You’re lying on the grass, with a cliff on your right…”

“But you accidentally slipped and fell, into a pond below…”

“You woke up from the fright…”

Under Avina’s vague, ethereal voice, Xia’er began to feel a strong sensation of falling, followed by the realism of hitting water and suffocation, as if everything she described were truly happening.

Xia’er struggled to wake up, pushing herself up from the copper bathtub, gasping for air.

She quickly scanned her surroundings, noticing Avina watching her and realizing where she was.

This was Avina’s bathroom, and she was lying naked in the bathtub.

Mind… restored?