Chapter 39

“Did you tell her about the cooperation?”

A white shadow extended from behind Yulis and stood beside the silver-haired woman.

“She was choking me… Ah! I’m wrong, sis!”

The white shadow’s fist pressed against the top of the silver-haired girl’s head, spinning fiercely several times, causing the silver-haired girl to howl in pain.

After a while, the white shadow retracted its fist. Yulis sat back on the sofa and said to Xia’er, “Let’s talk sitting down.”

She could sense that the girl in front of her had no ill intentions, and the matters she wanted to understand were all related to the unknown epidemic.

“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yulis. I am the High Priestess of the Salvation Goddess Religion. May I ask for your name?” Yulis asked Xia’er.

“My name is Xia’er. I work as an assistant in the Investigation Department of the Borough City Police Station, but this time, I am here on personal matters, not on behalf of the department.” Xia’er reintroduced herself.

“Xia’er… a good name.” Yulis said while recalling if she had ever heard this name before, but no matter how hard she tried, she had no recollection of it.

However, this girl named Xia’er seemed to know her quite well.

She had become an Extraordinary Person not long ago and was still struggling with the use of her abilities, yet she knew Xia’er’s name and some of her habits and quirks…

It was as if they had met before.

“Have we met before?” Yulis couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“Yes, in a dream,” Xia’er replied directly. “You called me the Holy Maiden of another path in the dream and tried to drag me to the church.”

“Miss Xia’er is jesting,” Yulis smiled and shook her head, but inside she was secretly alarmed.

Was she lying?

Had she really had such a dream?

“Now, may I ask High Priestess Yulis to answer my questions?” Xia’er asked. She didn’t have much time to waste in the simulation.

“Sure,” Yulis nodded.

The “Avenger” in front of her was so concerned about the large-scale dehydration syndrome, and Yulis guessed that someone close to her must have died from this disease, and she was planning to seek revenge.

This fit the behavior pattern of an “Avenger.”

Yulis gathered her thoughts and began to speak:

“At first, no one realized what was happening. Twenty days ago, the Church Hospital admitted a patient suffering from dehydration, but they couldn’t save him. The cause of death was acute renal failure.”

“When I arrived at the Clock Tower Church, five people had already died in the hospital due to dehydration, but most of them died from complications like epilepsy, kidney failure, and shock. The hospital still did not realize anything unusual.”

“Fifteen days ago, when four people died from dehydration in the church, they reported the incident. I started contacting the church to send investigators.”

“But soon, the investigation opened a Pandora’s box. The dehydration syndrome spread rapidly. The High Priest sent to investigate was forced to stop the investigation, report to the church, and request assistance…”

Hearing this, Xia’er interrupted and asked the question that had been troubling her:

“Why did the investigation stop? Aren’t you the temporary administrator of the Clock Tower Church? Aren’t you in the Clock Tower Lane District?”

Yulis shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her brow.

“Miss Xia’er, are you from the Clock Tower Lane District? Did you feel anything special there?” Yulis countered Xia’er.

Special feelings?

Xia’er recalled and indeed felt something peculiar.

At home, she experienced intense tinnitus, and her mind became more excited.

This feeling gradually subsided only after she left the Clock Tower Lane District.

“Yes, I experienced tinnitus and inexplicable excitement,” Xia’er answered honestly.

“This is the side effect of the potion,” Yulis sighed and continued, “The First Tier ‘Reformed Monk’ and ‘Avenger’…”

“Fortunately, their ability to perceive pain isn’t strong.”

“But as you go higher up, your ability to perceive pain becomes stronger. Currently, the Clock Tower Lane District is a place where all suffering converges. As long as I’m present, I can sense almost everyone’s suffering. If I don’t leave soon, I’ll be driven mad by this torment.”

“On the contrary, when ‘Avengers’ encounter pain, they enjoy it more and are easier to lose their minds. If they can’t resist the whispers in their ears, ‘Avengers’ will, under the endless pain, become butchers.”

So that’s why my tinnitus has been so bad…

“This illness… was created by an Extraordinary Person?” Xia’er asked.

“Very likely,” Yulis nodded. “We suspect this was a meticulously planned replication ritual, specifically chosen in the Salvation Goddess Religion’s district, preventing us from intervening… We can only ask the Redemption Society to investigate.”

The silver-haired girl behind Yulis peeked out and interjected, “It’s very likely the ritual of the ‘Plague Messenger’ advancing to the ‘Cholera Origin’! Many will die!”

Plague Messenger? Advancing to the Cholera Origin?

Which stage is this? Speaking of which, how many stages do Extraordinary Persons have in total?

These topics were completely beyond Xia’er’s knowledge. She hadn’t had the chance to ask Aivana about this yet; the questions she had previously asked were all related to her own life safety.

Perhaps sensing Xia’er’s confusion, Yulis directly asked, “Miss Xia’er, you drank the potion yourself and performed the ritual yourself, right? Your understanding of the Extraordinary comes solely from these two notebooks?”

“More or less,” Xia’er nodded.

“Below the Transcenders, there are five stages. The ritual Adele mentioned is the second stage advancing to the third stage,” Yulis explained.

“Second stage… How powerful is that?” Xia’er had no concept of the layers of Extraordinary power. She knew that after ascending, even the strongest ordinary person would not be her match in hand-to-hand combat, but she could still die from gunfire.

Adele didn’t miss any opportunity to provoke Xia’er: “Strong enough to take on ten of you!”

“If both sides are fully prepared, a first-stage against a second-stage, there’s absolutely no chance of winning,” Yulis admitted, echoing Adele’s words but in a more tactful manner.

“I’ve told you everything you wanted to know, Miss Xia’er… By the way, are you interested in the Salvation Goddess Religion? I can baptize you,” Yulis said, her expression softening as she looked at Xia’er.

“No, not right now,” Xia’er shook her head.

She was filled with worry.

The other party is a second-stage Extraordinary Person preparing to advance to the third stage… I’m just a newbie at the first stage. Xia’er hadn’t expected such a large gap.

Forget about if the other party succeeds in ascending, even if they fail, Xia’er wouldn’t stand a chance against them.

“Have you found the person who conducted the replication ritual?” Xia’er asked.

“No, they’re hiding very well,” Yulis shook her head.

“Thank you,” Xia’er stood up to express gratitude, then, carrying her canvas bag, she prepared to turn and leave.

“Where are you going?” Yulis asked curiously.

Xia’er didn’t turn around, just waved her hand. “Clock Tower Lane District.”

“Hey! You’ll die!” Adele couldn’t help reminding her.

But Xia’er didn’t turn back, as if she had already put life and death out of her mind.

Once Xia’er disappeared from the door and the door was closed, Adele reached out and shook Yulis’s shoulder. “Sis, why didn’t you stop her?”

“‘Avengers’ are like that,” Yulis shook her head. “They can’t be persuaded.”

Adele helped Yulis stand up, pursed her lips, thought of something, let go of Yulis’s shoulder, and chased after her. “This idiot, how does she plan to get in without a pass?”

Only when Adele closed the door and her footsteps faded away did Yulis shake her head again in resignation.

“Sigh… ‘Physicians’ are like that.”