Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Inescapable Doom (6000-word chapter)

The words “misfortune” and “bad luck” appeared far too frequently in the notes.

Xia’er was not someone who often complained about “luck.”

If something went unexpectedly wrong, Xia’er would only think that she hadn’t considered everything carefully enough, and would ponder how to improve and do better, reducing the probability of encountering the same situation next time.

But even her current self reading about what happened in the simulation could see through the text to the sheer bad luck of those situations.

On the evening of June 25th, on the way to the banquet hall, Nia’s warhorse inexplicably lost control, causing the carriage to crash toward Xia’er. Although she dodged in time, her lower leg bone still fractured, requiring her to recuperate at Adelle’s place for several days, thus missing the banquet entirely.

All the information about the banquet came from Aivana.

Moreover, every few days afterward, misfortunes kept befalling her simulated self:

• A vintage crystal chandelier in Aivana’s house aged and fell,


• She narrowly avoided being stabbed by a knife thrown during an upstairs quarrel while walking on the street,


• A stray bullet from a gang fight almost hit her…

All were low-probability, trivial events, yet each one nearly caused fatal harm to Xia’er.

Fortunately, with the help of [Prophet Vision], Xia’er managed to barely dodge most calamities. However, as the frequency of dodging increased, it seemed like some sort of catastrophic disaster was bound to trigger—a fate that forced her simulated self to use save points to transform and avoid danger.

Not only Xia’er but even Aivana and the others noticed this abnormality. No matter how thoroughly they checked, they couldn’t find anything unusual about Xia’er. There were no curses, no traces of extraordinary abilities, and Xia’er herself had never interacted with any other extraordinary people. It was as if these disasters were purely due to bad luck.

Aivana did propose a theory. The next stage of a “Gambler,” the second-tier “Doombringer,” might experience such phenomena during the digestion of potions. But a “Doombringer” resists “doom” themselves or uses their own “doom” to disadvantage enemies when extremely close—there was no way to remotely add doom onto others.

Yet during those days when Xia’er faced doom, there were no extraordinary people around her.

At first, Xia’er suspected the third-tier “Fated One” sent by the Derton Group. However, the key issue was that this “Fated One” didn’t even know Xia’er, and she hadn’t attended the banquet that day.

According to intelligence gathered by Adelle from her sister Yulis, this “Fated One” had been busy investigating clues at Derton Manor recently, even hiring a few “detectives” for assistance.

Aivana, upon questioning those detectives connected to the Rossul Family, received the same answer—that the “Fated One,” Officer Lucy, had been so preoccupied within the manor that she hadn’t left since the day of the banquet.

In the simulation, Xia’er guessed that this “doom” must be related to her “fated death,” the unseen force pushing the simulation closer to its predetermined conclusion.

But what was the source of this “doom?”

Xia’er continued flipping pages, her mood growing somber. Just reading the text made her feel oppressed. Every day felt like living on the set of “Final Destination”—even drinking water carried the risk of choking. And under such circumstances, she still needed to investigate the source of the doom.

After enduring numerous terrifying bouts of doom, Aivana couldn’t bear to watch anymore and suggested Xia’er leave Borough City.

Knowing that staying in Borough City wouldn’t yield much progress, Xia’er in the simulation decided to follow the original plan, leaving Borough City with her sister to head to An Su, hoping that stepping away might alleviate the effects of this doom.

Rereading the final page of notes she’d seen before, Xia’er remained confused. She had no choice but to flip back to the first page and start studying again.

This time, instead of immersing herself into the simulation, she adopted the perspective of an observer. She tore out a sheet of paper and created a fishbone-shaped mind map based on a timeline, arranging all the events noted in chronological order and adding emphasis to the days marked by “doom.” Thus, a clear timeline of events unfolded before Xia’er’s eyes.

Although the timeline was now organized, Xia’er was still at a loss regarding the conditions that triggered the “doom.” The arrival of doom was completely unpredictable. Whether lying at home or conducting investigations outside, doom followed relentlessly, and the later it progressed, the more severe the disasters became.

And leaving Borough City didn’t resolve the problem either. For instance, just as Xia’er boarded a train leaving Borough City, despite there being no extraordinary individuals aboard, a massive disaster still occurred, depleting all of her mortality points and leaving her in a state of imminent death. Without her intervention, this death would have been certain.

With her pencil tapping against the table, Xia’er changed her approach. She began comparing the days where she was forced to use mortality points against days without calamities, marking them accordingly.

Great calamities…

Swish swish swish—

Xia’er’s pencil scribbled across the paper, categorizing her calamities into levels.

• Level 1: Dodged disaster


• Level 2: Minor injury


• Level 3: Severe injury requiring the use of mortality points

Dodging disasters happened quite frequently; sometimes, she could evade multiple calamities in a single day. Level 1 calamities were the most common throughout the timeline.

From Level 2 calamities, patterns began to emerge. The first minor injury occurred on the night of June 25th, when she was unprepared while trying to dodge the runaway horse, resulting in a fractured lower leg.

The second incident happened when a royal member visited Aivana for dinner. The antique crystal chandelier fell, and Xia’er, diving aside, dislocated her fingers and fractured her forearm due to landing incorrectly.

Most subsequent incidents coincided with Xia’er meeting certain extraordinary individuals.

As for Level 3 calamities, which required the use of mortality points to avoid severe injuries, the pattern was even clearer. These occurred when Xia’er prepared to investigate the “Fated One,” encountered the most loyal fanatic of the Arrival Sect, or was about to drink a potion. This happened eleven times in total, all closely tied to third-tier matters or events that would likely drastically alter her destiny.

In contrast, the moments marked without doom provided Xia’er with a rough pattern. Although not perfectly accurate, and with some exceptions, many calamities roughly aligned with her interactions with extraordinary entities.

All these instances of doom occurred when Xia’er interacted with extraordinary forces—but failed to explain why she still faced calamities after leaving Borough City and other extraordinary powers behind. Moreover, hundreds of people perished on that steam train alone.

“Sigh…”

Xia’er sighed. With too few samples and only one trial, other variables weren’t accounted for, making her thinking somewhat strained.

She rubbed her temples and jotted down a few names:

• Derton Group: Lucy Hilufa


• Redemption Society: Professor Ashford


• Salvation Goddess Religion: Xiu


• Royal Family: Opoldusadious


• Arrival Sect: Archbishop Tara

These names belonged to individuals Xia’er had actively contacted during her investigation in the simulation, each encounter leading to significant disasters.

Now, given that calamities persisted even after leaving Borough City, Xia’er had to return to conduct a thorough investigation. During this simulation, she must focus on investigating these individuals, potentially uncovering clues from them.

Time was running out; she needed to return to Borough City as soon as possible.

In previous simulations, Xia’er had the task of “surviving.” Now, without that restriction, she could investigate more freely without worrying about exposure.

Picking up a few rolls of money, Xia’er prepared to leave, hoping to find any townsfolk still awake to buy a carriage to return to Borough City as quickly as possible.

Just as Xia’er reached the door, lifting her hand to open it, the wooden door opened, and a bullet hovered before her eyes.

Xia’er: “…”

Her hand froze on the doorknob.

Doom… wasn’t over yet.

This vision was granted by [Prophet Vision]. Her footsteps hadn’t been concealed earlier, alerting someone outside.

A shadow slithered beneath Xia’er’s feet, slipping through the door crack and out.

“Aah…”

“Mm!”

“Cough…”

Pained sounds echoed outside as Xia’er slowly turned the doorknob and looked out. Outside stood three ragged men and women. One held a worn black revolver, while the others wielded daggers. They had been lurking outside the inn’s entrance for some time.

Though their faces were covered, Xia’er recognized one of the dagger-wielding women as a waitress from the inn.

Frozen in place, their bodies cast fearful expressions illuminated by the kerosene lamp on the wall. Behind them, hidden from the lamp’s glow, three burning shadows crouched beside their silhouettes, their flaming chains binding the limbs of the intruders’ shadows tightly.

“Borrow…”

“Speak.”

Xia’er’s face revealed a faint smile that didn’t reach her eyes, and on her beautiful visage, this combination of apparent charm brought an almost maddening fear to those present.

The three individuals moved forward with rigid bodies. Xia’er glanced back to confirm Li Qi was still asleep, then quietly closed the door behind her and followed the trio.

Descending to the first floor of the inn, the figure at the front desk was nowhere to be seen. Xia’er followed them to the desolate wasteland behind the inn.

Xia’er looked down at the three who were already kneeling before her, focusing on the one holding the gun as she asked, “Who sent you?”

“Ah!! Uh…”

As soon as her throat bindings were slightly loosened, the man let out a wretched scream, but in the next moment, his throat tightened again, his bulging eyes nearly popping out.

The sound of his bones cracking only intensified the fear in the other two. Xia’er turned to the woman holding the knife and asked, “Who sent you? Answer my question.”

“Do not utter any other sounds.”

The overwhelming fear of the three caused the mutterings in Xia’er’s mind to grow stronger, restless emotions surged within her chest, and even the flames around the three shadows grew fiercer.

“Cough… cough…”

The woman’s throat was slightly relaxed, after a bout of coughing, she tremulously began: “My lord, my lord… it wasn’t my idea, it was him. He saw the money in your bag, I just led them to your room—I was threatened!!!”

Threatened, yet still wielding a dagger?

“Mm!!! Mm!!!!”

Hearing the woman’s words, the other two men struggled more noticeably, clearly indicating that the truth differed from what she claimed.

A sudden impulse…

Xia’er sighed lightly… another calamity without cause.

If categorized by her own system, this would be considered a predictable Level 1 disaster without injury.

“Is there anywhere nearby where carriages are sold or rented?”

Xia’er’s tone softened slightly as she continued, “I need to rent a carriage.”

Upon hearing Xia’er’s softened tone, the woman was close to tears. She tried to lower her voice as much as possible, saying, “In the stable… there is a carriage and a horse in the stable. I’ll give it to you, I’ll give it to you! They stole it and haven’t sold it yet, no one will know!”

“Hmm.”

Xia’er nodded and turned to leave.

Behind her, the dull sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed.

Three, two… zero…

The painful muttering in Xia’er’s mind gradually faded, making her feel somewhat more at ease.

She arrived at the stable and saw the carriage parked to the side, along with a thin horse sleeping inside the stable.

A new problem confronted Xia’er.

She didn’t know how to ride a horse, nor did she know how to “assemble” the horse and carriage together.

And… who knew if the horse might suddenly go mad during the carriage ride, charging into a ditch with Xia’er aboard.

After pondering for a while, Xia’er came up with a perfect solution.

She returned to the inn, opened the door, and woke her sister who had been sound asleep.

After informing her sister that they needed to return home quickly, Li Qi didn’t question Xia’er why, merely drowsily grabbed her belongings and descended the stairs, boarding the carriage with Xia’er.

In the carriage, Xia’er pulled all the curtains shut. Li Qi, woken up halfway through her sleep, leaned against the curtain and soon fell asleep again.

A shadow emerged from beneath the carriage, glancing at each other, the shadows walked towards the sleeping thin horse. Chains were thrown, embedding themselves into the horse’s shadow.

Almost instantly, the horse succumbed to death, its shadow torn away by the burning chains, leaving its body behind.

The black chain bound the fiery shadow-horse to the carriage, while the shadow sat in the driver’s seat, controlling the shadow-horse to slowly turn and run out of the town, following the road toward Borough City.

Deep into the night, a terrifying carriage, devoid of any horse pulling it, rushed directly into Borough City under the cover of darkness.

Some drunkards who hadn’t returned home yet caught sight of this scene, but after a brief moment of fright, they dismissed it as a drunken hallucination and didn’t think much about it.

Xia’er sent Li Qi back home, telling her she would report the incident before leaving her. Then Xia’er controlled the carriage, heading toward Creek Mountain outside the city.

The positions of others weren’t very clear, but Lucy, the specialist from Derton Group, her location was mentioned in the notebook.

The notebook said that she almost always stayed at Derton Manor investigating, except for that banquet, she hadn’t even entered the city.

However, her path was third-stage “Destined One,” inherently tied to fortune. Xia’er’s intuition told her that this person was highly suspicious.

Xia’er’s carriage slowly stopped in front of Derton Manor, which was now completely surrounded by barriers.

An employee of Derton Group wearing a green token mask approached respectfully, bowing toward the carriage and asking, “Derton Manor is under renovation. May I inquire who you are…?”

A carriage without horses pulling it arriving at Derton Manor’s entrance—there was no doubt it was an extraordinary person.

Though the green-token employee himself wasn’t an extraordinary person, he had received relevant training, allowing him to maintain respect despite witnessing such scenes.

“Where is Specialist Lucy?” Xia’er got off the carriage and asked straightforwardly, “I need to see her.”

“Specialist Lucy? She is inside the underground evil church. May I ask who you are…?” The employee cautiously inquired, trying to verify Xia’er’s identity.

At this point, Xia’er’s “Judge” archive still had her wearing the robes specially prepared by Yulis.

Thus, Xia’er didn’t hesitate further and directly stated, “Tribunal, here to investigate the Holy Arrival Church.”

Only then did the green-token employee notice the Salvation Goddess Religion robes worn by the young girl under the pale moonlight. He quickly stepped aside and asked, “Shall I guide you?”

“No need.”

Xia’er shook her head and proceeded straight into the estate.

This green-token employee seemed unfamiliar, likely accompanying the specialist from headquarters.

Regarding the structure and secret passages of Derton Manor, Xia’er might even be more familiar than he was.

Xia’er reached the entrance of the manor, while the green-token employee trailed closely behind her, maintaining respect.

Just as Xia’er stepped into the manor, a series of loud booms resounded.

Bang bang bang—

The powerful vibrations carried several miles away, causing Xia’er to think it might be an earthquake or explosion.

Xia’er turned to look at the source of the tremors.

“That direction is…”

Xia’er sprinted to the left. At the same time, some members of various factions exploring inside the hall quickly ran toward the corridor upon hearing the noise.

Xia’er took the lead, kicking open the door of the card room.

This was the origin of the vibration and sound—the ritual site, above the dome of the Underground Sanctuary.

But now, the dome had completely collapsed, and the adjacent walls were also damaged. After opening the door, a large, dark cave leading directly to the Underground Sanctuary appeared inside.

“What happened?”

“A collapse?”

“Here! Goddess…”

“My goodness…”

The green-token employee stood agape, suddenly realizing something and shouting, “Lucy! Specialist Lucy is still below!”

“What? Is there someone below?”

“Quick, go to the hidden passage; that side should be intact!”

“Check all the hidden passages, prepare to rescue people!”

The crowd became noisy, heading toward different hidden passages.

A shadow emerged from Xia’er’s shadow behind her, leaping directly into the dark abyss.

In the next moment, Xia’er’s figure distorted and disappeared, replaced by a shadow standing in her place, while Xia’er’s true form had already appeared inside the collapsed Underground Sanctuary.

The ground was littered with shattered rocks and crushed sacrificial cultists reduced to dry corpses.

Four shadows quickly dispersed from Xia’er’s position, beginning their search. Meanwhile, numerous extraordinary people holding kerosene lamps and torches had already descended through the secret passages to begin searching for injured individuals.

“Here! Specialist Lucy is here!”

A shout drew Xia’er’s attention. She swiftly moved toward the source of the voice, pushing through the crowd gathered around to look at Specialist Lucy.

A massive rock pressed down on her lower body, her head appearing as if it could be crushed, her forehead entirely caved in.

“Ugh…”

A mouthful of blood spewed from Lucy’s mouth.

“Truly… unlucky… ah…”

A bloody coin slipped from Lucy’s hand, rolling on the ground to reveal the knight and dragon pattern engraved on it.

“Quick, find a ‘Physician’!”

Xia’er stood beside her, watching Lucy’s breathing become increasingly weak.

Wasn’t it her…

Or was it not just herself who encountered these misfortunes in Borough City?

Were others similarly affected?

PS:

Today doesn’t count as clearing drafts, it counts as repaying yesterday’s owed 1300 words. The rewarded chapters will start tomorrow because the backend needs to accurately calculate today’s votes and rewards.

You guys are too harsh, getting me to number one in daily sales, monthly sales, monthly tickets, new books, and even first in knives… five charts at once? Even though it’s only for a day, I’ve never seen such a scene?

Woke up to find the sky falling, quickly turned off the reward feature, otherwise I’m really afraid I won’t be able to repay it.

~~~~~

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