Chapter 50
Since there was a solution for survival, it was time to find a way to optimize it. This was both a danger and a chance that could not be missed.
Xia'er took a deep breath, grabbed the satchel on the table, and dashed down the stairs. She rented a carriage and headed straight for Aivina's home.
Xia'er had no idea when Xie Lun would arrive at Aivina's house to carry out the assassination.
But if she could get to Aivina before Xie Lun, she would be able to gain Aivina's trust much faster.
“Driver, can you go a bit faster?” Xia'er patted the driver in front of her and handed him a five-shilling coin.
The driver, holding the reins, brightened at the sight of the coin, took it eagerly, and replied, “At your service, miss!”
“Crack—”
The reins snapped against the brown horse, which neighed and quickened its pace.
What had taken seventeen minutes in the simulation, Xia'er managed to do in just fourteen minutes. She glanced at the time; it was already six forty-six.
Knowing there were no guards at the entrance, Xia'er pushed open the unlocked door and ran straight into the estate.
In a room on the second floor of the estate, a suit of armor quietly observed Xia'er as she ran, but made no move to stop her. It seemed to regard her as no threat.
Xia'er quickly found the parlor on the first floor, pushed open the door, and saw Aivina reading inside.
Hearing the noise at the door, Aivina looked up, her expression blank as she regarded Xia'er. She adjusted her gold-rimmed round glasses and asked, “Miss Xia'er?”
After closing the door, Xia'er walked right up to Aivina.
“Are you waiting for someone?”
“Yes…”
“Don’t speak for now. Let me finish what I have to say. If you still have questions afterward, then you can ask.”
“My intelligence network has brought me new information.”
**Chapter 54: It’s Your Turn (Part 4)**
Aivina listened to Xia'er’s account, her gaze drifting over the items laid out before her, and fell into silence.
The letter from Bishop Huiguang, Xie Lun's research notes, the insignia of the church bishop...
Aivina confirmed each one; they were all genuine.
Watching Xia'er pack the items back into her satchel, she took a deep breath and said, “Your intelligence network... is indeed quite impressive...”
She was here today specifically to wait for Xie Lun, who had mentioned some progress in the investigation of dehydration syndrome.
Knock, knock, knock—
There was a knock at the parlor door.
Someone was knocking.
Xia'er's pupils constricted.
Xie Lun? So soon?
She had come prepared, displaying evidence so quickly, even exchanging research notes, all to ensure Aivina would completely trust her.
If she couldn’t ambush Xie Lun directly upon his arrival, a fierce battle would ensue, and she would risk infection from the unknown virus.
Because Xie Lun would surely grow suspicious upon seeing her here.
Xia'er and Aivina exchanged glances, both knowing who was at the door.
Xie Lun.
Xia'er bit her lip, quickly ruffled her hair, and loosened her collar a bit.
Then, she swiftly reached out, tousled Aivina's hair slightly, removed her gloves, tugged at her collar, and suddenly leaned down to bite her neck.
“Eep...”
Though Aivina maintained a blank expression as Xia'er played with her, she couldn’t help but let out a soft gasp when her neck was bitten.
She quickly realized how foolish that sound had been; Xie Lun must have heard it!
Aivina's face flushed red. This was the first time she felt such a sense of shame, and more terrifyingly, she found herself unable to harbor even a hint of dislike for Xia'er.
Could it be that she... liked being treated this way?
Aivina felt her mind slowing down.
“Leave him here. Come find me in the study on the second floor later,” Xia'er whispered softly in Aivina's ear, which was now flushed.
After saying that, she slung her canvas bag over her shoulder, pretended to adjust her clothes, and quickly made her way to the door.
Xia'er opened the door.
Xie Lun, who had been leaning slightly forward, curious about the sounds from within, straightened up and pretended to ignore Xia'er. He caught a glimpse of her flustered movements as she bent slightly beside him and, in a voice softer than a mosquito's buzz, said, “Hello,” before watching her dash away toward the study on the second floor.
Wait... isn’t that Aivina’s assistant?
I just saw her at the police station today.
Why is she at Aivina's house?
A hint of wariness crept into Xie Lun's mind, and the face behind the mask tightened.
As he entered the meeting room, he saw Aivina, flushed and nervously adjusting her collar.
The red bite mark on her fair neck was quite conspicuous.
Uh...
There’s no way I could have bitten her from that angle, right?
In that moment, Xie Lun seemed to understand something.
This young lady, who usually appeared indifferent to everything and cold to everyone, surprisingly had a “companion.”
No wonder she hadn’t joined any church and had chosen a path entirely different from her family.
But it didn’t matter; after tonight, Aivina would vanish from this world.
He politely turned away, facing the other direction, and jokingly said to Aivina, “Sorry, Miss Russell, it seems I’ve come at a bad time.”
Aivina, finally calming her racing heart, bit her lip at Xie Lun's words.
Xia'er was right; this man truly deserved to die!
“Sorry, Mr. Xie Lun, please wait here a moment while I tidy up,” Aivina said as she walked past him and out of the parlor.
“Please take your time; I’ll wait here,” Xie Lun replied, stepping aside slightly and holding the doorknob. “I’m not in a hurry—please tell Miss Xia'er I apologize.”
Xie Lun, with a gentlemanly demeanor, watched Aivina ascend the stairs before slowly closing the door.
Just as she left, he could more easily set up the pathogens.
Once everything was arranged, Xie Lun sat down, taking a deep breath.
Thinking back to the wariness he had felt upon seeing that red-haired girl, he removed his silver raven mask and shook his head with a smile.
He hadn’t realized he had become so jumpy.
Feeling fear at the sight of a non-supernatural red-haired girl... and that girl was carrying the bacteria for dehydration syndrome.
Once he finished digesting the potion, he wouldn’t have to live in such a state of anxiety anymore. He could leave this country and join the secret organization that person had mentioned, dedicating himself to researching viruses and seeking the next level of potion formulas and rituals.
He could almost envision a life free from this identity.
No more sleepless nights treating patients, no more anxiety about completing the “Newborn” ritual; he would be reborn in an entirely different way.
As for those ordinary people?
They should be grateful to be part of Xie Lun's grand ritual, becoming his eternal strength!
My potion is weak? My virus is powerless? Not a chance.
Mediocrity, lackluster research results, and a lifetime stuck as “the plague doctor”—Xie Lun would leave, while the powerful “Source of Cholera” would personally visit his loyal Ansu City.
Xie Lun closed his eyes and tilted his head back slightly, as if he could already envision the scene after the ritual's success.
No one would suspect that it was the unremarkable him who was hosting the ceremony.
So what if the mysterious organization caught wind of it?
As long as at the church gathering the day after tomorrow, he had his naive student walk into the sewer...
Bang~ everything would be over.
That unexpectedly obtained sealed object had truly brought him good fortune.
“Boom!!!!!!!!!!”
The brick wall behind him collapsed with a thunderous crash, and a nearly two-meter-tall giant silver-armored knight smashed through the front wall like a rampaging bull.
Before Xie Lun could react, he was slammed against the wall as if hit by a steam train, crashing through to the other side and creating a large hole!
Xie Lun's insides ruptured, blood spilling from his mouth as he stared blankly at the silver knight pinning him down, still dazed from the impact.
What... just happened?
He saw a pale-faced girl with fiery red hair standing beside the knight, holding a strangely designed flintlock pistol. Her thumb slowly cocked the flint hammer, and the green vines extending from the gun's handle burrowed into her arm.
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