Chapter 67

“How ruthless you can be to yourself.”

The sixty-seventh chapter begins here.

“Xia’er, what are your thoughts?”

Aivana asked Xia’er, who was observing the replication ritual of the “Judge”.

Since she first met Xia’er, she had always felt that Xia’er was someone with a well-thought-out plan and would execute it no matter how risky, even if it meant taking on dangerous plans.

Just like the ambush on Xie Lun before.

When Xia’er proposed carrying out an execution, Aivana also thought that Xia’er’s plan was too risky. However, Xia’er insisted that the Crown Guard Nia should not face Xie Lun alone, as if she knew the consequences of such a confrontation.

Joint execution was indeed the method that left Xie Lun with the least resistance — one person held down while another instantly executed them — Xia’er’s actions were as smooth as if they had been rehearsed.

Therefore, when Xia’er suggested that the Holy Presence Church might be behind Xie Lun’s promotion, Aivana would first consult Xia’er’s opinion.

“What about you? What do you plan to do?”

Xia’er countered Aivana.

Xia’er also wanted to know what Aivana, or rather the Rossul Family behind Aivana, would do after learning all these things.

After some consideration, Aivana said, “I will first send a confidential letter to the Church as a reminder, asking them to investigate. If the Church does nothing within two days, I will choose to temporarily leave Borough City and head to An Su.”

Speaking of which, Aivana shook her head helplessly and continued, “The situation has developed to the point where it is beyond my control.”

Report first, and if that doesn’t work, leave this dangerous place…

If it were Xia’er, she would probably make a similar choice.

But Xia’er wouldn’t wait; she would submit the report and then immediately take Li Qi away from Borough City, without waiting two days to see the results.

After learning from Xia’er about the heavy news that the Derton Manor harbored cultists, Aivana bid farewell to Xia’er and left Xia’er’s guest room, leaving behind a sacrificial sacred relic.

Aivana didn’t seem too worried about being brainwashed by the cultists because Crown Guard Nia was protecting her 24/7. In case of any emergency, Nia could directly take Aivana away.

Although Nia wasn’t particularly strong in combat, she excelled in protection, which was far more useful than a sacrificial sacred relic that required activation.

After Aivana left the room, Xia’er opened her satchel containing five bottles of potions and began flipping through the replication rituals she had purchased.

Different organizations had different interpretations of the replication rituals for each extraordinary path, all based on the experiences of those who had successfully ascended. Although each replication ritual had subtle differences, only those with proven success rates could be sold.

The truly optimal solutions, or those close to optimal, were likely held by large organizations with many members in the same path.

For instance, the Rossul Family mostly followed the “Detective” path, so their “Detective” ascension plan was the result of countless trials and optimizations.

Take the Salvation Goddess Religion, for example. Their understanding of the “Reformed Monk” path must be far superior to others. Their “Reformed Monk” replication ritual would be the most formulaic and successful approach.

However, despite being on the same “Reformed Monk” path, the Holy Presence Church had significantly more “Missionaries” than the Salvation Goddess Religion. This indicates that the Salvation Goddess Religion hadn’t discovered or used the optimal solution for the replication ritual of second-tier “Missionaries.”

This is likely because the Holy Presence Church has no reservations about preaching. Their “Missionaries” can brainwash ordinary people or first-tier extraordinary individuals without hesitation, without worrying about their feelings or the church’s reputation, as long as more people become fanatics.

After reviewing the replication rituals of five extraordinary paths, Xia’er furrowed her brows slightly.

Most of these replication rituals were not suitable for combining with Xia’er’s plan.

Except for the “Adventurer” and “Detective” paths, the other three paths required drinking the potion before starting the replication ritual.

For example, the “Blood Painter” needed to drink the potion while in a normal state, creating artworks that would drive people mad after their minds were already polluted, and then holding exhibitions.

If more than three people went mad after viewing the exhibition, the ritual would be considered complete.

However, Xia’er guessed that this wasn’t the optimal solution.

Ordinary people needed to drink the potion to gain partial abilities to create artworks that drove people mad.

But Xia’er didn’t need to do that. She could use the “Other Realm Pages” hidden in the artwork to cause madness, and then drink the potion later.

There was one path, however, that Xia’er might have already completed, or could complete at any time.

The “Butcher” potion, after drinking it, would require dismembering a first-tier extraordinary individual or dismembering ten ordinary people and hiding the bodies for over five years, completing the potion.

This potion was also something Xia’er believed could be completed before drinking it.

Ordinary people couldn’t defeat a first-tier extraordinary individual, let alone dismember them, so they would definitely need to drink the potion first. But Xia’er didn’t have this concern.

Xia’er memorized these rituals in her mind, planning to complete them during the simulation if the opportunity arose. The more rituals she practiced, the better.

Her current priority was to complete the replication ritual of the “Avenger,” so that Xia’er would have some resistance when facing second-tier extraordinary individuals.

Xia’er took out her notebook and pencil from her old canvas bag, sat at the table, and pondered the potion in front of her.

The replication ritual for a second-tier extraordinary was not simple for Xia’er.

Judging a second-tier heretic while drinking the potion and making a declaration…

Letting aside how to judge this heretic — since Xia’er didn’t believe in any religion — simply capturing a second-tier individual was beyond Xia’er’s capability.

She needed assistance in the simulation.

Currently, Xia’er had a fairly comprehensive plan that only required using the simulation twice.

She would first enter the “Gambler” save file, joining forces with Jiti as a cultist, capture Yulis, and conduct a trial to help Jiti clean up the Salvation Goddess Religion and complete their original plan.

As long as the enemy identification in the Holy Presence Church wasn’t an issue, Xia’er could gain Jiti’s trust using information from the Salvation Goddess Religion.

After helping Jiti clean up the Salvation Goddess Religion, Xia’er would directly enter the “Avenger” save file, using the information obtained from Jiti to inform Yulis, and bring Yulis to clean up the Holy Presence Church’s lair, capture Jiti, and conduct a trial.

Moreover, in the “Avenger” save file, Xia’er could drink the potion right after making the declaration.

If everything went smoothly, this method would be the quickest way to complete the replication ritual of the “Judge” and achieve ascension.

The key to successfully executing the plan was gaining Jiti’s trust through the “Gambling” save file, which already possessed the Satarna Mark.

This was not an easy task.

“This is going to be easy.”

Char had already prepared herself to waste one save file to figure out the contact method through simulation. Three simulations would cost her 30 Mortality Points.

Thirty points for a successful promotion to a second-tier “Judge” seemed fair to Char, not to mention she could earn more Mortality Points each time she simulated.

Char opened the Simulation Interface to check the days of the upcoming simulation. Previous simulations had reached over a hundred days ago and were skipped by Char. The current simulation’s date was somewhat delicate, set two days later.

【Comeback: 2Day (Sheng Year 741, June 22, 15:05) (Consumption of 10 Mortality Points)]

If possible, Char would prefer to simulate an hour later when there would be fewer variables involved. However, simulating two days later was also acceptable, as it would allow her to record more events over those two days.

However, if she decided to use the “Gambler” save file for the simulation, there was one very important thing to consider.

That was solving the “brainwashing” problem.

The brainwashing occurred when someone controlled Char using a white shadow to make her drink a potion, planting some subconscious imprint during her vulnerable state.

Char closed her eyes and recalled the feeling she had back then.

She didn’t feel like she was brainwashed; she just felt genuinely close to Jiti, whose words were warm like a mother’s. When they recited “The Mother Goddess Sdana is above,” she felt an overwhelming sense of joy, believing that faith in the “Mother Goddess” was truly wonderful—even though she had no idea what the “Mother Goddess” was.

Unsurprisingly, once she entered that save file, she would also enter this brainwashed state.

At that point, she might lose control, let alone read her notes. She might be preoccupied with contacting the organization and helping them, only to realize what happened after waking up 24 hours later.

This had to be coordinated perfectly between her present self and her future self during the middle of the simulation…

Char picked up a pencil and wrote in her notebook in Chinese:

【Collecting information midway, I believe you’re already familiar with it, so I won’t repeat it.]

【I need you to keep the “Gambler” Char awake when she arrives. I can’t think about this myself.]

【If it’s my idea, the “Gambler” Char will remember it too, but if it’s your idea, she won’t.]

【I need you to control the “Gambler” Char and use the “Substitute Sacrifice Sacred Relic” in a way she can’t refuse, piercing her body to collect her blood and wake her up.]

【The “Gambler” Char will arrive on the 22nd at 15:05.]

【Do it quickly, and make sure she doesn’t resist.]

【Best regards.]

Char put down the pencil and carefully reviewed what she had written, confirming everything was correct before directly opening the Simulation Interface.

Now, she couldn’t afford to think about how to wake the “Gambler” Char. If she thought of a method, the Char in the simulation would likely come up with something similar since they were the same person.

“Comeback, No. 3.”

A dazzling silver light appeared before Char, and as her Mortality Points dropped from 64 to 54, her consciousness gradually faded…

【Comeback】

【Sheng Year 741, June 22, 15:05】

【Countdown – 23:59:59】

As soon as she opened her eyes, Char heard a buzzing and whispering in her mind, but saw nothing in front of her.

Char could feel she was sitting in a chair, but her legs were immobile.

Her hands and feet seemed bound, but loosely enough that she could easily break free with a little effort.

“Oh, Mother Goddess…”

Char involuntarily sighed, hoping it would give her strength.

Swoosh —

A gust of wind sounded, and Char quickly tried to raise her hand to shield her eyes, but the bindings prevented her from doing so directly.

Piercing pain shot through her abdomen, causing her body to arch like a shrimp, and she fell off the chair.

She forcefully untied the ropes binding her and pulled off the blindfold covering her eyes.

But in that instant, she felt her spirit and consciousness being drawn away into an endless darkness.

The pain vanished instantly, and all sounds disappeared, along with the whispers in her mind.

What happened?

Mother Goddess, please protect me…

Before her consciousness could linger in this space for long, she felt another sensation of being pulled away.

Her consciousness returned to her body, along with the pain and the whispers in her head.

Huh?

Char raised her hand and removed the blindfold, taking in everything around her.

She wasn’t in Avina’s room anymore; instead, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.

Based on its size and layout, it looked like a hotel room.

Looking down, she realized her upper body was completely bare. She saw an arrow embedded in her abdomen, with a cage-shaped “Substitute Sacrifice Sacred Relic” attached to its tip. The relic had penetrated her abdomen halfway, and the purple flames on it hadn’t been extinguished by the flowing blood.

Her legs were tied to the chair with ropes, which were tightly wrapped but loosely tied at the top. A slight pull would loosen them.

It was clear she had tied them herself.

She supported herself with the arrow in her abdomen and stood up, noticing several bottles of potions and bandages laid out in front of her. The labels on the bottles read “Pain Relief,” “Disinfectant,” “Topical Application,” and “Oral Administration.”

Beyond them was a short cabinet, on which sat a homemade crossbow modified into a simple launcher. The short arrow that had pierced her abdomen came from there, and behind the crossbow were a few candles burning down to the bowstring.

Not… Couldn’t you have made Avina do this with the “Substitute Sacrifice Sacred Relic” around the same time?

Why go so far? I am you after all!

Char pulled out the arrow from her abdomen, holding the blood-soaked “Substitute Sacrifice Sacred Relic” in her hand. Following the instructions on the labels, she treated her wound.

After applying the medicine and wrapping the bandage, the pain in her abdomen almost subsided.

Good thing I kept my conscience clear. The medicine is complete.

Char put on the clothes laid out on the bed and walked to the crossbow, noticing the notebook underneath it.

She was full of questions.

These potions were clearly made by Adelle, but why not ask Adelle for help directly? And where was Avina? Shouldn’t she be at her home?

Perhaps because she suspected both Adelle and Avina were being watched, she chose not to interact much in the simulation.

Very likely.

Char flipped open the notebook and looked inside.

— 68 —