Chapter 114

“This is more chaotic than I expected.”

I had always thought that being a Count would come with a respectable status and a considerable fortune, but that was just my misunderstanding.

“I don’t want to eat this!”

“Aida, there are many people outside who are starving because they have even less than this. You shouldn’t complain.”

My younger sister, Aida, threw the bread aside and burst into tears, while our father, Count Bradley Somerset, sternly reprimanded her.

I glanced at the food in front of me, thinking that the dining scene in a noble household might resemble that of an ordinary family.

On the table lay a thin, unidentifiable soup and bread as hard as rocks.

Certainly, these were not appetizing dishes for even a child.

Determined to eat, I tried to dip the bread into the soup, but just as I broke it apart—

Crack!

Did I just hear the sound of wood splintering?

—

Chapter 114: Gang Boss Xia’er and the “Inspector.”

[Contact Tara early on, give her the rules of misfortune and那段古安苏语, and let her return to the hidden monastery of the Arrival Sect for investigation]

[By the time I arrive, I should be able to get a reply from Tara]

[Also, I can ask Tara about some information regarding the replication ritual of first-tier potions, and see if there’s the best replication plan]

[If I get the best plan and can implement it quickly, prepare the potion and the replication ritual so that I can complete the ritual and drink the potion once I arrive]

Xia’er paused, rereading the previous text and adding some supplementary explanations.

[Lucy and Obold are both proud individuals; they are not easy targets. The letter should primarily guide them, adding some fabricated rules of misfortune that you can manipulate to control them]

[These matters aren’t something that can be figured out in a short time; you need to think about it yourself. Keep going, simulated self]

[No matter what method you use, the ultimate goal is to obtain the sealed objects in their possession, which is for verification]

[Wishing you success]

Xia’er put down the pen.

Now, she would leave more detailed content to the simulated self, letting her take control. After all, she was also herself, and their thought processes wouldn’t differ much.

And plans made out of thin air might not go smoothly and could encounter many variables. These adjustments would have to be made by the simulated self.

All she could do was wish that the simulated self would have smooth sailing.

Xia’er opened the system and entered the simulation interface.

The current system time was 8:01 AM, giving the simulated self only five days…

Clearly, this time was insufficient. Those were two third-tier individuals, not ordinary people to be trifled with.

It depended on how far the simulated self could go.

Even if she couldn’t obtain the sealed objects from those two, completing one replication ritual to earn Mortality Points would suffice.

She could use the [Spiritual Summoning] ability to summon Xiao Zuo after drinking the potion, stealing their sealed objects.

As long as she could hold on until the end of the simulation, she could use the system introduction to figure out what those two sealed objects were.

Having determined the general plan, Xia’er no longer hesitated and started the simulation.

“Tomorrow.”

“No. 0.”

Dazzling silver light suddenly appeared in front of Xia’er, enveloping her vision completely, gradually causing her to lose control of her body…

…

[Tomorrow]

[Sheng Year 741, June 29th, 12:58 PM]

[Countdown: -23:59:59]

The silver light in Xia’er’s eyes gradually faded, revealing a silver-white system prompt box in her field of view.

The arrival time had not been advanced, suggesting that the simulated self hadn’t caused any major incidents.

The sky was overcast, and Borough City was once again drizzling. Raindrops pattered against the umbrella above Xia’er’s head.

Sensing control of her body, Xia’er looked down and suddenly realized she didn’t have an umbrella.

She turned her head and saw herself walking down the streets of Clock Tower Lane District. On her left, a man holding a black umbrella and wearing a black-gray newsboy cap was holding the umbrella for her.

When he noticed Xia’er’s gaze, he lowered his head even further, seemingly avoiding eye contact.

Xia’er: “?”

What is the simulated self doing?

Xia’er turned around and saw that behind her were a dozen or so men and women in black raincoats and windbreakers, all wearing black-gray newsboy caps. When they noticed Xia’er turning around, they all bowed their heads deeply.

Who are you?

One of the women in a black raincoat, carrying something in her arms, ran up to Xia’er and extended her hands, offering a notebook to Xia’er.

“Boss, here it is.”

This notebook…

Xia’er didn’t say much, just reached out and took the notebook, flipping through it amidst the rain.

She noticed that her attire had changed, now wearing a black trench coat with a shoulder cape, black gloves, and a black derby hat… This meticulous outfit gave Xia’er a strong sense of déjà vu.

Xia’er scanned the information written in Chinese in the notebook, gradually feeling relieved.

[Sheng Year 741, June 24th, Noon]

[Four hours have passed, and I still haven’t thought of a particularly good plan]

[The main reason is that I can’t currently interact with Extraordinary beings, even meeting Tara would bring me misfortune]

[Meeting Tara is considered a violation of the rules. I want to try using this as a ‘punishment’ for the other two]

[They will visit Avina this afternoon, so I should come up with a solution before then]

[What I thought earlier was correct. Without my own power base, doing everything myself would indeed waste a lot of time]

Xia’er flipped the page and continued reading.

[Sheng Year 741, June 24th, 8:00 PM]

[Finally, I decided to approach them as a ‘teammate’ through letters, attempting to trick the third-tier individuals is not wise, mainly due to the ‘Destined One’ Lucy]

[If she rolls two positive sides with the Strong Fortune Coin, she might arrest me on the spot. In the face of absolute luck, all calculations seem laughable]

[She likes gambling, but I don’t]

[Anyway, if things don’t work out, you’ll have Xiao Zuo steal the sealed object, right]

[The letter has already been secretly handed to Avina, and we’re waiting for their response]

Turned the page.

[Sheng Year 741, June 25th, 11:00 PM]

[They did receive the letter, but I couldn’t observe their reaction]

[Fortunately, Avina attended the evening banquet and brought back information about the two of them]

[Lucy and Obold both knew about each other’s misfortune rules through the letter, but they seemed to think the letter came from the other, almost getting into a fight at the banquet. They naturally didn’t believe the rules and benefits mentioned in the letter… This really messed things up for me]

[I must do something to make them believe]

[At this time, Tara should have arrived in Borough City. Tonight, I will find Tara, interact with Extraordinary beings, and escalate the disaster]

[I can use the transformation ‘save’ to avoid disaster, but they will suffer greatly]

[Sheng Year 741, June 26th, 4:00 AM]

[Although there were some hitches, Tara still treated me as the ‘Mother Goddess’ after seeing the ‘Divine Servant’ at Amy’s place. She can still utilize me]

[Now, Tara has returned to the Arrival Sect. Perhaps when you arrive, Tara will have the message back]

[Regarding the replication ritual, Tara indeed has a complete, highly successful ‘Inspector’ replication ritual, though… never mind, it’s a simulation, you should be able to accept it]

Indeed…

Xia’er also noticed this issue.

Obold and Lucy both benefited from following the rules, whereas Xia’er seemed to remain unchanged. This puzzled her a bit.

Was this because she wasn’t Extraordinary yet? Or was it due to a bug in the rules preventing the ‘reward’ from being distributed?

Xia’er continued to read, and soon her attention was drawn to the entry on June 27th at 11:00 PM.

[Sheng Year 741, June 27th, 11:00 PM]

[Something happened]

[Previously, during the simulation, they hadn’t taken any action since they barely understood the rules and were still in the dark]

[But this time, with the hints I provided, Obold has guessed some things — Avina’s messenger has been discovered and killed, and he has started taking action within the rules]

[Today at noon, Lucy died at Derton Manor. I bet you, on June 27th, her ‘Strong Fortune Coin’ was definitely two tails]

[But strangely, after Lucy’s death, her ‘Strong Fortune Coin’ disappeared]

[I’m seventy percent sure that Obold took it…]

[Fortunately, he is in the open, and I am in the shadows. He would never suspect that another chosen one is just an ordinary person]

[However, Avina’s situation might be dangerous. I’ve written a letter to Avina, asking her to take Nia hunting for a few days to avoid any bad things happening]

Lucy died first?

The only way for the ‘Destined One’ to be easily killed is if her ‘Strong Fortune Coin’ rolled two tails in a row, stripping her of all good luck.

Xia’er hadn’t expected Obold to act so boldly…

Would Obold face consequences for this?

Or was mutual hunting allowed within the rules?

Given this unexpected turn of events, Xia’er decided not to provide any more clues to Obold, or she too could become prey.

Xia’er quickly turned to the next page.

Sure enough, the simulated self decisively stopped providing clues to Obold and decided to watch and wait, seeing if disaster would strike either Obold or herself.

Before leaving, Xia’er asked for help from a group of people, all Blackwater Party thugs from Clock Tower Lane District. Using them didn’t weigh heavily on her conscience.

To comprehensively monitor Obold’s activities in Clock Tower Lane District, the simulated Xia’er devised a large-scale plan.

After the leader of the Blackwater Party died, the organization was leaderless and split into several factions, fighting daily for territory and increasingly severe protection fees. The Salvation Goddess Religion even wanted to intervene.

The simulated Xia’er used the Blackwater Party thugs to capture the leaders of the splinter factions and executed them, then took over the remaining remnants, renaming the group Blood Word Party.

Thus, Xia’er could control a powerful force in Clock Tower Lane District without interacting with Extraordinary beings. New members of the Blood Word Party would keep an eye on Obold’s movements.

Such surveillance would eventually be detected by Obold, but Xia’er didn’t worry because she only needed to stay in this world for 24 hours. Even if Obold noticed something, it wouldn’t affect her.

As long as Xia’er retrieved the two sealed objects from Obold before leaving, she would be fine.

However, Xia’er felt puzzled by one thing.

Obold killing Lucy didn’t trigger any misfortune…

This made Xia’er worried about the “person” or “thing” behind the rules.

Could the ultimate goal be like a gladiatorial arena, where three people fight to the death, leaving only one survivor?

Xia’er temporarily set aside her thoughts and looked at the attachment in the notebook.

It was a high-success-rate replication ritual for an “Inspector,” given to Xia’er by Tara.

Previously, Xia’er had bought a replication ritual at Derton Manor, which was quite simple.

It involved drinking a potion, digging up three corpses, and stitching them together until the new corpse could move again.

But the replication ritual given by Tara to Xia’er was much more complex…

It required drinking a potion, digging up two fragmented Extraordinary corpses, and stitching them together until the final product was indistinguishable from a normal human.

The more precise the stitched corpse resembled a normal human, the faster the potion would digest.

What kind of “Inspector” is this? Better call it a “Gravedigger” or “Necromancer.”

Fortunately, this replication ritual didn’t require cooking… If guessing by name alone, Xia’er felt that a “Butcher” would most likely use cooking knowledge.

After all, broadly speaking, a “Butcher” refers to someone who slaughters, processes, or sells livestock.

Xia’er closed the notebook and looked at the group of people following her, momentarily at a loss for words.

From their respectful and fearful attitude, it was clear that the simulated self had used a lot of bloody methods to deal with those remnants.

The notebook recorded that Xia’er’s residence had moved back to 44 South Stone Street, and it seemed the Blood Word Party had directly purchased it with its funds.

The potion and other items should still be there.

Xia’er didn’t speak, just followed her memory toward South Stone Street. The burly man beside her hurriedly held up the umbrella.

Walking past a glass display window, Xia’er saw herself in the reflection. Her long hair was tied into a low ponytail, hanging down her back, exuding a strong gangster vibe.

You took over the Blackwater Party, and now everyone wears newsboy caps, and you wear a trench coat with a derby hat and a single ponytail… Borough City looks like Birmingham.

Reborn and starting a Razor Gang in Shanghai滩, with Machima as the boss?

That’s quite a play.

But the idea isn’t entirely wrong. Since you can’t rely on Avina, you can only use these ordinary people.

With the Blackwater Party thugs backing her up and previous bloody sweeps, the people below wouldn’t rebel for a while.

These people had been disciplined by the simulated Xia’er, making them easier to command.

During these 24 hours, she could use them to continue monitoring Obold, and she had to finish digesting the potion within 23 hours and wait for Tara’s intelligence.

Finally, she would have one hour to steal Obold’s sealed objects. If necessary, she could let Tara disguise as the Tribunal to lure Obold away, even if it meant sacrificing Tara for her god.

The plan was forming in her mind. Next, she just needed to execute it.

Finding Extraordinary corpses was indeed difficult. If this were a regular simulation, Xia’er would know many people who could turn into corpses, but in reality, they were all dead, leaving Xia’er without any corpses to use.

If necessary, she could ask Tara to dig up graves at Derton Manor, where there were plenty of corpses. Maybe she could even steal Lucy’s corpse.

Unfortunately, Prague’s corpse was fully absorbed, and Jiti’s corpse became a container for the Divine Servant… Uncertain if a Divine Servant counts as a corpse after death.

If it does, Xia’er would have a third-tier Extraordinary corpse and a second-tier container, whose strength was unknown.

This extravagant setup would likely be unmatched by any other “Inspector.” If Xia’er really did such a stitch job, it was unclear what kind of creature she would create, and whether it would positively impact the digestion of the potion.

Perhaps she should ask Tara. Based on the timeline, if everything went well, Tara should have returned to Borough City by now.

Few people were seen holding umbrellas in the light rain, and it was midday, so the street was not empty.

Many people quickly retreated to the sides of the road, fearing the plague.

Just as Xia’er was about to reach South Stone Street, a figure nearly made her stop.

Obold!

Fresh from the coal factory, covered in coal dust, Obold was wiping his face with a black-gray towel as he approached Xiaer, finally being blocked by Xiaer’s team.

Don’t show weakness. He doesn’t know who I am.

Xiaer quickly made a decision in her heart, slowly lifting her head and coldly scanning Obold. Her narrowed eyes showed a look of contempt, as if looking down on inferior pigs.

At this moment, Obold was also frustrated.

Why does a third-tier Extraordinary person have to work for over ten hours in a factory?

Doing such lowly work infuriated Obold, especially knowing that a mysterious person was giving him intelligence from the shadows.

Initially, he thought this was just a high-stakes gamble set up by the third-tier “Destined One” Lucy, leading him to confront her.

Only after killing Lucy did he realize that the letters were coming from someone else.

But he had already uncovered the secret of this “conspiracy”…

The secret lay in the sealed objects…

As long as he gathered the sealed objects, something better would happen, and he would seize the opportunity.

He was over seventy percent sure that the mysterious person sending the letters was weaker than him. Otherwise, they wouldn’t need to send letters through messengers; the mysterious person could just inform him directly.

Moreover, after killing the messenger, he received no retaliation, further confirming his suspicions.

Although he was now in the open and the enemy was in the shadows, with some time, he could uncover the truth and expose the person hiding in the dark.

He looked at his right hand, indistinguishable from an ordinary person, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Just two sealed objects had such a significant impact… What if he had three?

At this moment, he stopped and looked at the group of people in front of him.

Another bunch of lowlifes…

According to the rules of misfortune, Obold had to save enough shillings every week, neither more nor less, relying entirely on work.

But these Blackwater Party scoundrels were extorting protection money from him. After a brief beating, he thought they would stop, but they intensified their efforts to regain their honor.

If not for the fear of drawing attention from the Salvation Goddess Religion and being driven out of the area, Obold would never tolerate these sewer rats for even a second.

If it were before, he would never have encountered such ignorant people.

But when he looked down and saw the girl under the black umbrella, Obold froze.

“Get lost.”

The girl spat out a harsh word.

Obold didn’t say anything, just stepping to the side, constantly observing the girl.

When did the Blackwater Party have such a beautiful leader? The daughter of a gang boss?

And she was an ordinary person?

And that gaze… If any man looked at Obold like that, he would definitely gouge out their eyes.

When the girl looked at him like that, Obold felt no anger at all.

Now, Obold was extremely interested in the girl, but he decided to put personal feelings aside and focus on solving the current problem.

Obold continued walking in the opposite direction, while Xiaer breathed a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, it wasn’t her who killed him in the simulation.

Otherwise, if the “Scourge” activated, anyone would know Xiaer was no ordinary person, and it would make Obold suspicious.

At the same time, Xiaer’s vigilance increased.

Borough City was just beginning to develop heavy industry, and the city wasn’t very large, let alone reduced to the scale of a single lane district. Meeting familiar faces was too easy.

Xiaer had to be careful, trying to avoid direct encounters with Obold, as she would likely be unable to win unless she could set up a [Spiritual Summoning] array beforehand — but setting up such an array required Extraordinary individuals to be sacrificed, and there weren’t enough of them available.

Unless she resorted to sacrificing the Extraordinary individuals investigating at Derton Manor… Although sacrificing orthodox Extraordinary individuals was somewhat extreme, this was a simulation, not reality. If necessary, Xiaer would carry it out.

Soon, Xiaer returned to her residence at 44 South Stone Street. Two figures in newsboy caps were loitering on the street in front of the house.

Upon seeing Xiaer’s team, they quickly stood straight and bowed.

Xiaer stood at the door, and after opening it, the voice of the burly man echoed behind her.

“Boss, that man…”

Xiaer paused slightly, turning to look at him and saying, “Keep an eye on him, don’t let him notice, and don’t do anything to him. Just record his movements… You can go back now.”

“Yes.”

The man bowed deeply in the direction Xiaer had left, only relaxing once the wooden door closed behind him, then turning to the others.

“Disperse.”

They didn’t know why they felt an inexplicable fear towards Xiaer, perhaps only Xiaer herself understood.

Xiaer had just returned to the living room and felt a slight relief upon seeing the familiar scenery. Just as she was about to search for her potion in her room, she was stunned when she opened the door.

Tara was frantically getting off the bed, tidying up her clothes, and quickly climbing down, looking in Xiaer’s direction.

“What are you doing?”

Xiaer sighed inwardly.

You people from the Arrival Sect are certainly not normal.

No, not just not normal.

They are twisted.

“It’s not like that, Miss Xiaer! Please listen to me!”

Tara knelt down in front of Xiaer, nervously saying, “I originally just snuck in with the intelligence to wait for you, but during meditation, your despicable servant sensed the great and warm aura belonging to you in the holy place, feeling the thoughts open up and the thinking speed increase, resolving many previous doubts and entering a state of enlightenment…”

“Then, I found myself in this situation…”

Tara grew increasingly nervous as she spoke, biting her tongue several times. Once she finished, she lowered her head in guilt.

“Oh.”

Xiaer nodded expressionlessly.

It was like sneaking into my room, smelling my scent, and then jumping into bed…

Previously, Jiti had an unusual fascination with my legs and feet, and now, the thin and small Tara actually had a reaction to my scent…

Sigh…

Xiaer sighed internally.

If it weren’t for needing Tara, she would have dismembered this pervert and used her as material for the “Inspector” replication ritual.

“Where’s the intelligence?”

Xiaer asked.

“Here, Miss Xiaer. I checked it out, and it is indeed recorded in the book.”

Tara handed Xiaer a letter and continued, “Sorry, I couldn’t bring the book out… But I’ve recorded everything that needed to be noted.”

“This is a collection of records about the ancient era, including many accounts related to the Mother Goddess and the Church. The writers were mostly priests or Extraordinary individuals of that era.”

Xiaer opened the envelope and unfolded the paper, seeing the information marked in red.

[The Arrival Era]

[183-7-13]

[…]

[This item is ominous. Non-Destined individuals who come into contact with it will surely suffer misfortune. Those who survive disasters but do not follow the rules will surely die in mysterious events, with no survivors]

[It is not a divine artifact and should be sealed]

[…]

There were many gaps in the text, and reading between the lines, it was like a dark version of the Peach Blossom Spring from the ancient era. A group of missionaries found this “sealed object” in a basement.

But everyone who came into contact with it died mysteriously. Even those who survived by understanding the rules eventually died from natural or man-made disasters.

The entire passage basically described the terrifying nature of this sealed object, which was very similar to Xiaer’s experience.

Destined individuals…

Now, whenever Xiaer saw the term “destined,” she would assume it was related to the system.

Were the three of them holding pieces of a dismantled sealed object?

Or was a sealed object targeting the parts in their possession?

At least, Xiaer was ninety percent sure that this matter was unrelated to humans.

This was a sealed object that had existed since the ancient era.