Chapter 39
“Run!” Adele tore off her mask and shouted towards Charles. With a violent cough, she collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from her mouth in desperate spurts.
Charles, however, quickly bypassed Adele and sprinted towards the dense pile of corpses, scanning left and right in a frantic search.
She couldn’t escape.
A fierce thirst engulfed her mind, and she fought against the urge to rip off her mask and drink the filthy water pooling around her. She needed to find the one living extraordinary being among the sea of bodies and tents, the one reveling in the fruits of a ritual victory.
But the suffocating dizziness came crashing down on her, her life evaporating rapidly.
...
**Chapter 41: Reality Meets Aivina (Part 1)**
“Reality”
“June 18, Year 741 of the Saint Era, 17:10”
“Evaluation: Congratulations, host, you have unlocked a niche method of dying.”
“While you’ve gathered some information through the art of conversation, is it really enough? Believe in yourself; you can do better.”
“Take this; it’s what you deserve based on your performance.”
“Reward: Destiny Points *3”
“Destiny Points: 31”
Charles awoke in bed, and the moment she opened her eyes, she rolled out of bed, grabbed her handbag, and dashed out of the room.
Stepping outside her home onto the street, the sun was nearing the horizon, yet the street still bustled with life.
After exiting the Bell Tower Alley, Charles hopped onto a public carriage, paid 4 pence for her fare, and received a ticket.
This was the fastest way she could find to reach the city center police station, and now she could only hope that Aivina was still there.
Two horses pulled the jolting carriage, which had two rows of wooden benches, capable of accommodating nearly twenty passengers. Even the top of the rectangular carriage had seats.
After finding a random spot to sit, Charles began to mentally sort through the events she had experienced in the simulation.
She had gathered a few key pieces of information.
First, tomorrow, June 19th, when four patients die of dehydration within a single day at the church, the church will report the incident, and the spread of dehydration will begin to accelerate.
Second, it was highly likely that someone was conducting a rank-up ritual, speculated to be the “Plague Bearer” ascending to “Source of Cholera.”
Third, the Church of the Savior could not handle such a large-scale infection and had reached out to the Redemption Society for collaboration. Once the area was sealed off, the Redemption Society would begin investigating the causes of dehydration from the outskirts towards the center.
Fourth, in sixteen days, on July 4th at noon, a more intense infection would erupt in the resettlement area centered around the Bell Tower Church, with infected individuals losing all bodily fluids in less than half a minute...
Charles understood what the system meant by saying she could do better. At the very least, she was already regretting not having obtained Adele’s contact information sooner.
If she had reached out to Adele earlier, she could have used her to find the elusive High Priest Yulis and directly inform them of these developments. Perhaps they could have salvaged some situations or even developed an antidote sooner.
Now, she had to find Aivina and attempt to relay this information through her. Fortunately, with the existence of the Eye of Order contract, telling Aivina was safer than snitching herself; after all, Aivina wouldn’t betray her.
At this moment, Charles’s primary goal in taking action in reality was not only to get Aivina to report as soon as possible but also to ensure Aivina arranged for her sister to leave the Bell Tower Alley.
The sooner Lichi left the Bell Tower Alley, the less danger she would face. Until Lichi’s safety was assured, Charles found it hard to focus on the next simulation.
The public carriage stopped at a platform not far from the police station, and Charles hopped off, heading straight for the station.
The officer at the reception area seemed to recognize Charles—after all, anyone who had seen her would find it hard to forget her striking red hair—and did not stop her from going upstairs.
She stood at the end of the third-floor corridor, in front of the investigation department door, and knocked.
After a while, just when Charles thought no one was inside, Aivina’s voice finally came from within.
“Who is it?”
“Aivina, it’s me, Charles,” she replied at the door.
After another ten seconds, Aivina’s voice came again, “Come in.”
Charles opened the door, and the moment she stepped inside, her brow furrowed slightly.
There were no other uniformed officers in the office, but standing next to Aivina’s desk were two figures in black robes, their necks adorned with silver raven masks.
One of them, a silver-haired girl, was none other than Adele.
Charles maintained her composure, giving a slight nod to the two figures in black robes. Adele and the tall, thin, bespectacled man in the brown robe both returned her a smile.
“Is there something you need, Miss Charles?” Aivina asked calmly, looking into Charles’s eyes. “There’s no work left for today.”
Why were members of the Redemption Society meeting with Aivina at the police station?
Had the Church of the Savior already begun collaborating with the Redemption Society?
No, that didn’t seem right. According to High Priest Yulis, the church would only start reporting investigations after four people died at the hospital tomorrow. The Redemption Society shouldn’t have begun collaborating with the Church of the Savior yet.
It must be that Aivina had privately sought out the Redemption Society...
Since Aivina had found the Redemption Society before the church, why hadn’t she appeared at all during those ten days in the simulation? Why hadn’t she come to ask for the investigation results? She didn’t seem like someone who would be so untrustworthy.
“Aivina, I have something urgent to discuss with you. Can we talk privately?” Charles asked.
“It’s fine; you two can chat. We were just about to leave,” Adele said, putting on her mask and addressing the man beside her. “Let’s go, Shear.”
The man, referred to as Shear, turned to Aivina with a smile and said, “Thank you for the information, Miss Russell. My student will handle the follow-up work. I’ll take my leave now.”
With that, he donned his mask and politely nodded to Charles as he passed by, then left with Adele.
Charles chose not to engage directly with Adele, as there was still another suspected extraordinary being present.
It was better for fewer people to know about Charles’s identity.
Once they left, Charles closed the door and walked towards Aivina.
“Is there something you need, Miss Charles?” Aivina asked, looking up at her from her seat.
“I’d like to make a deal with you,” Charles said, extending her hand and pulling out the Avenger’s Potion from her canvas bag, placing it on Aivina’s desk. “A story, or the potion?”
Aivina’s mind momentarily short-circuited.
Just hours after summoning a beautiful ordinary girl, here she was, slapping a vial of potion on her desk and wanting to make a deal.
What was going on?
And she asked, “A story or the potion?”
This ordinary girl named Charles even knew her way around...
But from any angle, she still looked like an ordinary girl, right?
Aivina suppressed her surprise, pulling her gaze from the potion back to Charles.
“May I ask what this is about? Why did you come to me?” Aivina inquired.
**Chapter 42: The Day After Tomorrow (Part 2)**
“I have information about the dehydration disease that I need you to pass on,” Charles said.
“Pass it on to whom?”
“To the Redemption Society.”
Aivina studied the red-haired girl before her, gradually falling into deep thought.
She realized she was finding it increasingly difficult to read this girl... What else did she know?
“What about earlier?” Aivina tentatively asked.
“I don’t want others to know that this information came from me,” Charles replied, understanding her confusion. “I recommend you give the information directly to Adele, and let her pass it on to her sister. I trust they will make the right judgment.”
Aivina took a deep breath, her expression finally turning serious.
Charles knew more than she had imagined...
“Go ahead, what’s the information?” Aivina said. “I can pass it on for you, and I won’t need anything in return, as this information about the dehydration disease is something I need as well. If it proves true, I can offer you a reward.”
Aivina was clearly a straightforward person who didn’t lack money; she didn’t try to take advantage of Charles, just like in the simulation, where even after she found the potion’s materials, she still paid Charles for her efforts.
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