Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Lord Xia’er will surely be pleased.

This thought emerged in Xia’er’s mind and refused to dissipate.

She knew there was no evidence yet to support her current idea, but everything was just too coincidental.

Xia’er had to quickly make the Sealed Object or its holder behind the scenes come to light. The longer it dragged on, the more likely the situation would change.

Xia’er stopped pacing in the living room, took a deep breath, and smelled dust and wood flooring as a cool sensation swept through her mind, gradually calming her down.

The more such moments came, the less panic should arise.

She fetched a stool, sat at the corner of the stairs, and began reviewing the Replication Ritual process conducted by the Inspector to avoid any omissions.

Meanwhile, her position allowed her to observe movements from both the first and second floors while remaining hidden from the windows, where only her calves or shoes might be seen.

This maximized protection against stray bullets coming through the window, offering space for retreat upstairs or downstairs if danger arose.

With nothing else to do now, Xia’er could only think and wait for Tara to bring back the corpse or for someone from the Bloody Letter Party to deliver intelligence about Obold.

Time passed slowly, but Xia’er’s heart grew increasingly calm while waiting.

Corpses… stitching…

These days, Xia’er had seen plenty of corpses.

As for stitching… she did know how to do some.

But not stitching corpses, nor wounds.

Just mending Li Qi’s torn work uniforms.

Xia’er slightly closed her eyes, and in her vision, two ghostly corpses appeared. She raised her hands as if holding invisible needles and thread.

However, upon facing the ghostly corpses, her movements paused.

She felt at a loss on where to start.

Moreover, the corpses later wouldn’t be this intact. To make them appear normal, simply stitching wouldn’t suffice. It might even require extracting parts from relatively complete corpses as supplements.

After pondering briefly, Xia’er lowered her hands, and the ghostly corpses before her began to disintegrate into human fragments like assembling a model kit.

This way… the approach seemed better.

Xia’er slightly closed her eyes again as the broken corpses reassembled in her ghostly vision, giving her some ideas on implementing the Replication Ritual.

…

Ding—

A strange rusted coin tapped against a sapphire eye, producing a crisp sound.

“Hm?”

Obold held the coin in his hand and looked at the sapphire eye placed on the dining table, voicing his confusion.

Then, Obold pulled out a small knife, cutting a wound on his right fingertip, raising it above the rusted coin.

A blood droplet formed at his fingertip, its surface tension acting like a transparent film trying to pull it back, maintaining its perfect roundness.

But the droplet swelled, trembling slightly at his fingertip.

As gravity was about to take over and pull the droplet down, Obold suddenly flipped his finger, letting the blood accurately fall onto the Evil Eye.

The droplet enveloped the sapphire eye, flowing down its spherical surface. At this point, Obold asked, “Evil Eye, would there be any danger in placing my blood on this coin?”

The blood flowed down the Evil Eye and was absorbed by the shoddy wooden table, yet the surface of the Evil Eye remained shiny and new.

Seeing this, Obold lifted his hand and smeared the blood from his finger onto the eyeball angel on the obverse side of the rusted coin.

The blood of an Extraordinary Person always has unexpected uses wherever it is.

If one were to ask what part of an Extraordinary Person is most valuable, aside from undigested Potions and mutated body tissues, the most precious thing is their blood.

But blood contains a great deal of information, making it risky to give away casually. Hence, unless an Extraordinary Person is extremely desperate, they wouldn’t sell their blood.

Obold waited a bit, but the rusted coin showed no changes, causing him to frown.

Since he took the Sealed Object from Lucy, he hadn’t found any way to form a Pact with it.

Or rather, any way to use it.

It only fell automatically at certain times each day, usually alternating between heads and tails. Obold had no clue whatsoever.

But one comforting fact was that after killing Lucy, he felt his Potion digestion speed increased… even the bodily mutations he thought irreversible were almost fully restored.

He felt better than ever.

However, the only regrettable part was that the Evil Eye wouldn’t respond to any questions regarding the rusted coin, as though it couldn’t see the coin.

This was very rare; at least so far, Obold had only encountered this when using the Evil Eye to inquire about the Queen.

Well… lunch break was almost over, and he had to return to the Factory soon or risk encountering Doom.

The last time he fell into the furnace still vividly lingered in his memory. Fortunately, his resilience saved him from becoming ashes.

But recently, he’d discovered the patterns of Doom and gradually adapted to his current life. Though tedious, as long as there was progress, he could endure it.

Maintaining this pace of life, no Doom would find him, and he was confident in uncovering the person behind the Letters.

No Doom really was wonderful.

Obold casually picked up the Evil Eye and the rusted coin from the table, preparing to shove them into his pocket when his heartbeat skipped a beat.

Just then, he noticed an unusual sensation— the coin slipped from his grasp in a very inexplicable manner, falling toward the table.

Huh? Wasn’t it supposed to auto-flip only in the evening?

And he hadn’t triggered any Doom rules? Why???

If this wasn’t Doom, Obold absolutely wouldn’t believe it. How could a third-rank Extraordinary Person like him make such a mistake?

The coin gradually stopped spinning on the table and started wobbling. Obold’s left hand, already covered in black armor, frowned as he stared at the coin standing at the edge of the table.

It’s fine… since I was born, luck has always been on my side. Even ‘Fated Ones’ can’t compete with my good fortune…

The coin fell, the demon face of rust facing the sky, its bloody smile mocking.

“Shit…”

Obold cursed under his breath.

Reaching to retrieve the fallen coin at the edge, a comical scene occurred.

His toe caught on a crack in the damaged wooden floor, and instinctively, he braced himself on the edge of the table. This slight movement shifted the table forward.

This small distance and vibration caused the coin to roll off the table, landing vertically on the ground. After bouncing and flipping a few times on the wooden floor, the eyeball angel side pressed against the ground again.

“What?!”

Obold’s pupils contracted, incredulously staring at the lying rusted coin on the ground, unaware that a drop of sweat trickled down his temple.

Shit…

Shit!!!!!!

Obold quickly bent down, scooped up the coin, and stuffed it into his pocket before rushing toward the door.

He couldn’t be late; he had to get back to the factory or Doom would compound!

Even trivial Doom might become the straw that broke the camel’s back under the effect of two consecutive coin flips showing tails.

Initially intending to burst through the door, Obold suppressed his anger and astonishment at the last moment, carefully pulling the door open to avoid damaging it.

If the door broke, he wouldn’t have enough salary to compensate the Landlord.

Outside, the weather was dim and gloomy, drizzling rain with a noticeable drop in temperature.

Obold hurried along the wet black gravel road toward the Factory.

He rented a place close to the Salvation Goddess Religion to avoid their inspections, though the Factory was far from his residence, necessitating a run.

But as Obold sprinted past a street, he gradually slowed down, his steps easing.

Where are the people on the streets?

At this time, workers should be returning en masse after their lunch break, filling the roads.

Yet, Obold hadn’t seen a single person on the streets during his entire run. Even the shops on the sides seemed to have closed their doors.

Looking back, the street behind him was also empty. Only the sound of raindrops and distant steam engines from the Factory reached his ears.

Faint blue fluorescence flickered rapidly on his body as black Armor pierced through his cheap, tattered clothes, covering his chest and arms.

I’m not late yet… Doom shouldn’t compound or strengthen… So why?

The tattered clothes fell to the ground as if freed from their constraints. He brushed the rain-soaked golden curls from his forehead.

“Who! Show yourself!!!”

Obold’s voice was filled with anger. Whoever it was today, they would pay.

They seemed to have heard Obold’s words.

A white figure emerged from the rooftop through the curtain of rain, standing at the very top.

“Hmph…”

Obold looked up at the white figure and gave a cold snort.

“Salvation Goddess Religion, is it? What does your esteemed church want with me? I don’t seem to have violated any of your rules.”

Obold’s words were extremely rude.

The Salvation Goddess Religion was inherently in fundamental conflict with the nobility, which was why it had been so severely suppressed.

And Obold, as part of the upper echelons of the nobility, certainly didn’t take the Salvation Goddess Religion seriously.

If a “Reformed Monk” dared to block him, without the constraints of the Doom rules, he could kill the monk, and the Salvation Goddess Religion would be powerless beyond condemnation.

“If you have nothing to say, please don’t obstruct my path.”

Obold raised his middle finger toward the rooftop and sneered, “Perhaps if I’m in a good mood, I’ll donate a few pennies to make your goddess grateful to me…”

As Obold continued, his voice grew quieter.

Because behind the previous white figure, another shadow—this one black—slowly appeared, standing silently on the rooftop, watching Obold below on the street.

Three… four… five…

Various forms of shadows, some white, some black, dressed differently, walked out from all sides of the rooftop and the streets, like ghosts in the rain, blocking every corner of the crossroads.

“Damn…”

What kind of operation was this? Was this still Borough City?

Or did the An Su Court of the Salvation Goddess Religion relocate here directly? How had he not heard about this?

The visitors clearly meant no good.

Without hesitation, the molten fire tower shield reappeared in Obold’s right hand. He held it in front of him and charged forward.

Break the encirclement first!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Like a human bulldozer, Obold rushed toward those black and white shadows with incredible speed, his immense strength plowing furrows into the ground that could hold water.

As he charged full-speed, armor gradually covered his body, fully equipping him from head to toe.

He felt no resistance at all; those black and white shadows were like paper, flying away under his unstoppable force.

At the moment he broke free of the encirclement, he withdrew the tower shield and continued running toward the end of the street.

Just kidnap a few civilians, and those ghostly things wouldn’t dare touch him!

Obold sprinted full-speed ahead and soon saw groups of people heading towards the factory nearby.

They seemed completely unaware of the scene here, either chatting or walking by themselves but avoiding this passage as though an invisible barrier existed.

“Come here!”

Obold suddenly swung his right hand forward, throwing a scorching red hook chain made of black armor straight toward the workers outside the street.

Dong! !!

Suddenly, the chain in mid-air was yanked down violently, crashing onto the ground with a heavy thud, splashing sand and water everywhere.

Dozens of shadow chains from the black and white figures on the ground had hooked onto Obold’s armored hook, pinning it tightly to the ground, binding it with the shadows beneath.

This loud sound caught the attention of the crowd at the next crossroads, who turned their heads toward the street.

“Hey, what’s that guy doing naked on the ground? He dug a hole in the mud!”

“Don’t look, we’re going to be late. You don’t want to lose your pay, do you?”

“Yeah, forget about it. Yesterday you lost a penny for being one second late…why doesn’t our salary increase by one penny per second?”

“Oh Tom, if you mention that again, I swear I’ll kick your ass with my boots.”

The factory bell rang, and the workers stopped chatting, rushing faster toward the factory.

They couldn’t see the armor on the extraordinary person, nor the layers of black and white shadows behind him. All they saw was a poor guy who fell in the mud.

And they would never remember why they took a detour to the factory today—it would just become an ordinary day in their memories.

“Damn it…”

Obold quickly turned around and stared at the dense shadows behind him, feeling his scalp tingle.

Work time was already delayed, and the doom…had begun to accumulate quietly, doubling under the effect of the coin.

There was no escape.

“What exactly do you want?”

Obold’s reason was almost overwhelmed by anger.

After enduring so much, everything was progressing according to plan, but why now? Just when everything was getting back on track and success was imminent, was he ruined by a church he used to ignore?

He couldn’t accept it!

“Do you know who I am?! In the name of Sadrius, I swear you will be punished for your actions!”

Obold tried to move, but the chain on his right hand was firmly anchored to the ground, preventing any movement.

Patta, patta, patta…

Footsteps approached from behind the shadows, clearing a path for Obold to see who came.

A slender figure cloaked in a hood appeared.

She slowly removed her hood, revealing pale hair streaked with green, dampened by the rain.

“Damn…a lackey of the Church! Let me go now, or when I get back, I’ll smash your stupid goddess statue!”

Obold shouted angrily. Every second counted; returning to the factory earlier might give him a chance to survive.

With the current accumulation of doom, soaking in the furnace a few more times would suffice, but if more time was wasted, he didn’t know what awaited him.

Thinking of this, Obold took a deep breath and looked at the girl approaching him, lowering his stance.

“If you let me go, I’ll immediately write a check for 100, no, 3000 Su pounds to the Clock Tower Church as a donation.”

Obold panted slightly, then added, “I swear in the name of my family, Sadrius.”

“3000 Su pounds…”

The girl paused in front of Obold, looking down, seemingly pondering.

A moment later, she looked up, smiled, and said, “Thank you, the Mother Goddess should be pleased.”

Mother…Goddess?

Not Goddess?!

Obold froze as the girl lightly waved her hand toward him.

Next thing he knew, countless shadows raced toward him across the ground, diving into his own shadow.

It’s over!!! It’s not the Salvation Goddess Religion!!!

Obold was dragged backward swiftly, wave after wave of shadows binding his shadow like chains.

…

The rain grew heavier, and Obold was dragged numbly along.

He didn’t know how long he had been dragged until he was brought into an unfinished new factory, where he collapsed heavily to his knees.

The factory was empty, but Obold’s pupils contracted sharply when he noticed a corpse lying nearby.

That decaying corpse belonged to Lucy…

Why…

“Set this place up. Wait for my return… Watch him.”

“Xia’er will surely be surprised…”

In Obold’s peripheral vision, the girl ran out of the factory, while cultists entered one by one.

They skillfully began drawing spirit arrays on the ground and carefully placing statues, among them, a figure dressed in noble attire recognized by Obold.

“Gemma? Gemma!!! You!!!”

The woman called Gemma slowly turned to look at Obold, her face devoid of any emotion.

“You weren’t in An Su? How are you here? Please… tell them I can pretend nothing happened. You can even hire a ‘Psychologist’ or ‘Dream Thief’ to erase my memory of the past month, and I won’t resist!”

“May the Mother Goddess bless you.”

The woman named Gemma merely gave a slight curtsey toward Obold before continuing her work, as if all past friendships had vanished.

Time passed minute by minute, and Obold’s despair grew deeper as the rain intensified and the sky darkened.

After an unknown duration, he heard chaotic footsteps and slowly looked up.

The well-dressed men and women knelt neatly facing the door.

Who…?

“This is the place… Lady Xia’er…”

The girl’s voice came from outside the factory, followed shortly by another clear and cold female voice.

“Is the area secure?”

“No problem, Lady Xia’er, all dangers have been eliminated.”

Two sets of footsteps approached from outside the factory.

Obold saw the girl leading humbly, keeping a bent posture.

And another figure who entered shocked Obold deeply.

This coat…this hair…this hat…the ordinary girl who stood before the gangsters?

She was actually a high-ranking member of the Arrival Sect?

And at that moment, Obold also noticed.

The originally calm and beautiful girl’s eyes widened upon entering the factory and seeing them, her pupils trembling wildly, as if she wanted to run away.

I’m dying soon, what is she afraid of?

Obold was puzzled.