Chapter 44
“There's a very high probability,” Xiu said, “that once Ta starts to think the ritual will fail, the potion will backfire on Ta.”
“But... the ritual has already taken place. What can you do to stop it?”
“Kill all the infected before Ta can act. Would that still count as Ta completing the ritual?” Xia Er asked calmly.
Upon hearing this question, Xiu's gaze fell upon the corpses scattered across the ground, and finally, her head tilted slightly.
**Chapter 47: You Should Become a Hermit (Part Four)**
“You... strictly speaking...”
Xia Er heard Xiu's voice in her mind, fragmented and hesitant, as if her question had thrown the radiant bishop into confusion.
Having disrupted her twice in less than an hour might affect her ability to perform the ritual, but thankfully, this was just a simulation; the real Xiu wouldn’t be affected.
After a brief pause, Xiu's voice echoed in Xia Er's mind once more.
“Strictly speaking, only those who die from infection are counted in the resurrection ritual. In cases like this, where the death is accelerated by a sealing object, it still counts as an infection-related death, but the prerequisite is that it must be a virus of one’s own concoction. Those who take this route are often unusually narcissistic about their own viruses and poisons.”
“If you kill the infected before they die from the infection, then their death won’t be counted in the resurrection ritual.”
Upon hearing this, Xia Er nodded slightly.
If she could disrupt the ritual in advance, the one who set it up would undoubtedly reveal themselves, because if the ritual couldn’t proceed smoothly, Ta would surely die.
Whether by inciting panic to make people flee the Bell Tower district or by killing a large number of them, it would attract the “Plague Bearer” conducting the resurrection ritual.
The mortality rate of dehydration syndrome itself isn’t high; it requires the sealing object to cause large-scale instant fatalities, and the condition for this is a mass gathering of infected individuals.
The person orchestrating the ritual was quite knowledgeable about the Savior Goddess Church's handling of plagues, knowing that the church wouldn’t ignore the lives of its followers, and that high-ranking members couldn’t approach. That’s why Ta chose to detonate the virus right in front of the Bell Tower Church.
At the same time, Ta was well aware of the inspection routes of the Redemption Society, allowing them to time the last simulation to July 4th, when the infected congregated most densely, directly using the sealing object to trigger a lethal outbreak.
One thought after another flickered in Xia Er's mind, only to be dismissed. She had a rough plan in mind, but still lacked some crucial information.
For instance, how the sealing object operated—did it only activate its passive defenses after being triggered, or was it always in a state of passive defense?
Understanding this would significantly aid Xia Er's plan.
“Bishop Xiu, do you not know how this sealing object operates?” Xia Er asked.
“No, I don’t know its origin. Unless I conduct repeated experiments to document all its characteristics and side effects,” Xiu replied.
“What about some of the major extraordinary families? Could they possibly have information about this sealing object?” Xia Er inquired. “Do you know Ai Wei Na Luo Su?”
“Luo Su.” Xiu pondered for a moment before speaking. “During the time I couldn’t enter the Bell Tower district, I could only visit others who had provided information to the church and the Redemption Society. One of those informants was Miss Luo Su.”
“Prominent families might indeed know about the origins of sealing objects that even the church is unaware of, as they possess and trade many sealing objects themselves. However...”
Xiu's voice paused briefly in Xia Er's mind before continuing.
“When I found Miss Luo Su, she was already dead.”
“Dead?” Xia Er narrowed her eyes.
During the first simulation, she hadn’t told Ai Wei Na anything, and after that, she never appeared again.
The mortality rate of dehydration syndrome is low even for ordinary people; it only becomes more severe over time. If a cure could be developed before death, everything should be fine.
For extraordinary beings, it’s even less likely to be fatal. Ai Wei Na wouldn’t have died from an infection; her family wouldn’t allow such a simple fate to befall her.
Another possibility is that she was “dealt with.”
Ai Wei Na had been aware of the dehydration syndrome before Xia Er and had begun her investigation earlier. However, she didn’t realize whether it was just a common infectious disease or if someone was orchestrating a resurrection ritual.
It’s very possible she uncovered something crucial and was killed...
If that’s the case, sending her to protect her sister might have been a grave mistake.
Moreover, this decision was made by Xia Er in reality, unaware that Ai Wei Na, who held such immense family power, could meet a tragic end in the future.
Sister... instead, I pushed her into danger... But given the current developments, nowhere seems absolutely safe.
Xia Er didn’t have time to wait another day for the church to send someone to investigate the sealing object, nor could she afford to accompany Xiu to the church.
She looked at Xiu and said, “Bishop Xiu, I have a request.”
“Go ahead.” Xiu showed no signs of concern over Xia Er’s numerous requests, seeming to think that as long as she agreed to accompany her to the church, everything else was manageable.
“Your bishop’s emblem—if I present it in any other parish of the Savior Goddess Church, can I command the nuns and priests there to do my bidding?” Xia Er asked.
“Yes,” Xiu nodded. “Sometimes when I have matters to attend to, I give the bishop’s emblem to my subordinates, allowing them to carry it along with a letter to assist me.”
That makes things easier...
“Could you help me write a letter? And lend me your emblem?” Xia Er asked directly.
“I can’t,” Xiu firmly refused, but then added, “But you can tell me the content of the letter.”
“‘An unknown illness is spreading, and Miss Xia Er will handle all matters related to it. The entire Bell Tower Church will obey Miss Xia Er’s orders.’” Xia Er stated.
Xiu fell silent for a moment, and after a long pause, she couldn’t help but say, “Things have already happened.”
“No, they haven’t happened yet,” Xia Er replied decisively. “The goddess won’t allow this to happen; that is her will for me.”
“I just need to hold this letter for ten minutes, along with your emblem. I’ll return it to you afterward.”
After locking eyes with Xia Er for nearly twenty seconds, doubt began to creep into Xiu’s mind.
She... wasn’t insane, and she was utterly convinced that what she said was true, without a hint of deception.
This made Xiu question whether her emotional perception abilities were malfunctioning.
In the end, however, Xiu relented and said, “Ten minutes.”
A shadowy figure retrieved paper, a pen, and an envelope from the silent church for Xiu. She placed the paper on the figure’s back and wrote a letter that was even more formal than Xia Er’s description. Then she placed the emblem inside the envelope and handed it to Xia Er.
Just ten minutes—if nothing happens, she could simply take back the envelope and destroy it. There was no way Xia Er could make it disappear right under her nose.
After taking the envelope, Xia Er glanced at the pile of corpses nearby and asked, “Bishop Xiu, may I ask you one last thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“Where exactly is that sealing object located?”
“Over there.”
A shadowy figure moved to one spot in the open square and stood still, while Xiu pointed toward it.
“Not far...” Xia Er nodded slightly, then looked back at Xiu and said, “Thank you.”
With that, Xia Er stepped forward, heading toward the maintenance hatch of the sewer she had just mentioned.
“What do you intend to do?” Xiu asked, but her body remained still. She merely summoned two shadowy figures to follow Xia Er.
“Check out the sealing object.” Xia Er, holding the envelope, jumped down into the maintenance hatch and ran straight toward the location of the sealing object.
The shadowy figures following Xia Er gradually solidified, and Xiu’s mechanical voice echoed in her mind once more.
“Do you want to end your life? Why?”
In the distance, the circular ring had turned, and the terrifying eye suspended above began to fixate on Xia Er, its pupils rapidly constricting.
She could feel her life evaporating quickly, her throat burning as if it were on fire.
A shadow loomed behind Xia Er, suddenly raising its hand and delivering a punch to the back of her head.
The blow created a hole in the back of Xia Er’s head, but her body began to heal rapidly, her ability to move restored.
Xia Er raised her left hand, holding the letter high, while her right hand grasped the monstrous eye that had toppled into the sewer.
“I don’t want to end my life; I just want to end the pain.”
Xia Er closed her eyes, bringing this life to an end.
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