Chapter 54
She had always had a vague understanding of the extraordinary system in this world, and now that she had the chance to learn more, she certainly wouldn’t let it slip away.
Aside from her knowledge of the extraordinary, she also lacked some basic rituals, so it was a good opportunity to see if there were any rituals she could use.
With a clear goal, searching for potions would be much more effective.
Currently, she had 49 destiny points left, and Xia Er didn’t plan to simulate directly.
Xia Er intended to save them for completing rituals in the simulation, drinking potions, and trying to explore more pathways. If she succeeded in joining, she would enter De Dun Manor and use the remaining time in the simulation to understand the rules and various betting games there.
This meant that her next simulation had to be one where she had qualified to enter De Dun Manor—essentially, becoming a member—before she could start.
She aimed to make the most of each simulation, minimizing waste as much as possible.
Moreover, Xia Er had a very obvious advantage that no one else had.
That was, the price she paid for potions was significantly lower than others.
Because after buying the potions and completing the ritual process, she could directly enter the simulation, finish the ritual, drink the potion, and maintain her state...
Then return to reality and refund the potion.
She would only lose a service fee in Su pounds, but she would have completed the ritual and consumed the potion.
If the random simulation time was very close, say only an hour, Xia Er might not even need to pay upfront; she could enter the simulation and pay later, effectively getting a free ride.
However, as she progressed to higher tiers, potions became harder to obtain, and if De Dun Manor didn’t sell them, this method would no longer work.
She would take as much advantage as she could.
As Xia Er flipped through the other extraordinary spiritual notes collected by Ai Wei Na, she began to formulate her future plans in her mind.
The more she learned about the experiences of other extraordinary beings, the more she resolved some of the doubts she had previously held.
One of those doubts was about the life forms of Tier 3 extraordinary beings.
So far, Xia Er had only encountered Tier 3 extraordinary beings twice.
One was the "Glowing Bishop," Xiu, and the other was the "Crown Guardian," Ni Ya.
When Xia Er first met Xiu, she had been unable to break free from the state of peering into another realm, and thus saw Xiu transform into a terrifying insect-like monster before her.
Afterward, Xia Er felt nothing, thinking it was just her mind being tainted, making her see a monster instead of a person.
But when she saw the empty body beneath Ni Ya's armor, she began to question.
Did Tier 3 extraordinary beings undergo changes in their life forms?
Previously, the "Plague Doctor," Xie Lun, had written in his notes that he could never complete his role and become a "Newborn" because he couldn’t escape the shackles of his old life.
Did all extraordinary beings above Tier 3 experience changes in their life forms?
The notebook in Xia Er's hands answered her question.
Yes, Tier 3 is a small transformation. All extraordinary beings, depending on their pathways, digestion, and potential, would undergo different degrees of assimilation by the potions, resulting in varied life forms.
Strictly speaking, the smaller the change in life form, the lower the degree of assimilation by the potions, which means they could digest the potions faster and had more potential to advance to the next tier.
Conversely, the more their life forms changed, the greater the degree of assimilation, leading to slower digestion of the potions and almost no chance of advancement.
Ni Ya, the "Crown Guardian" beside Ai Wei Na, was likely an extraordinary being whose life form had been deeply altered by the potions.
Could someone who had transformed like that still be called human?
Certainly not; to ordinary people, that would be a monster.
It seemed she needed to pay more attention to the completion of the ritual in the future, striving to exceed or perfectly complete it each time.
As the sun began to set, Xia Er, who had been engrossed in her notes, turned her head to relieve the stiffness in her neck. It was only when she saw the dusk outside the window that she realized something.
Today... was the graduation ceremony?
She seemed to have forgotten to pick up her diploma...
But it wasn’t a big deal; she couldn’t attend due to her dehydration condition anyway.
So now she was a high school dropout.
Name? Xia Er.
Education? Middle school!
Feeling a bit hungry in her stomach, Xia Er put the notebook down and headed downstairs, looking for the kitchen to prepare something to eat, and maybe whip up a little something for Ai Wei Na too.
Ni Ya... even though she didn’t know if she ate, she might as well prepare a portion.
After spending the whole day exploring the library, Xia Er had gained a lot.
In one of the notes, she found a ritual for "Instigators," which was much more detailed and complete than Thomas's diary, and the author had successfully advanced using it.
Xia Er planned to start her next advancement from the "Instigator."
Instigate others to kill thirty-three innocent people: eleven teenagers, eleven middle-aged, and eleven elderly.
She had done it before, and it seemed she had even exceeded the requirement a bit.
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**Chapter 59: A Long-Awaited Warmth (Part 4)**
The sky darkened as the sun gradually set. Ai Wei Na stepped down from the carriage and looked toward the manor's gate.
For some reason, she felt more eager to return home today than at any other time, even though she had been living here for almost three years.
Without a butler or maid to greet her, Ai Wei Na pushed open the large door herself. As soon as she entered, a strong aroma wafted toward her. She turned her head to the right, where the scent was coming from the parlor.
What was going on?
Had a chef returned early?
Holding two bags in her hands, Ai Wei Na curiously walked toward the parlor and saw the scene inside.
Xia Er was setting the table, with several steaming dishes on the dining table, and a pot placed right in the middle.
Ai Wei Na carefully navigated around the scattered stones, and her footsteps caught Xia Er's attention. She turned around and looked at Ai Wei Na, saying, "You're back?"
"Yeah." Ai Wei Na nodded, feeling an indescribable sensation in her heart. She pointed at the dishes in front of her and asked, "Did you make this?"
"I usually cook at home too." Xia Er shrugged; having one more person meant more knives and forks, but cooking for one or three didn’t really make a difference. As long as she didn’t have to wash the dishes, cooking was quite a stress reliever for her.
Ai Wei Na cautiously walked around the table and saw the food divided into three portions, presumably for Ni Ya, even though Ni Ya didn’t need to eat.
"Where's Ni Ya? Is she going to eat?" After setting the table, Xia Er sat down and asked.
"Um... she won't be back that soon. You can save it for her and put it in the kitchen later." Ai Wei Na replied expressionlessly, telling a little white lie.
She didn’t want Xia Er to feel her efforts were wasted, and as for the extra food, she could secretly finish it later.
"What is this?" After sitting down across from Xia Er, Ai Wei Na pointed at the plate in front of her, unable to help but ask.
"Scrambled eggs with tomatoes," Xia Er pointed to the other dishes and introduced them one by one, "This is spicy stir-fried spinach, this is ginger and scallion chicken, and that pot is carrot beef stew."
At this point, Xia Er shook her head helplessly and said, "There weren't many ingredients, so I could only make these."
Aside from the stew, she hadn’t really heard of anything else, and the staple food was just bread.
Ai Wei Na couldn’t help but ask, "Is this... a specialty dish from Zhongta Alley?"
"Just a recipe I picked up." After saying that, Xia Er stopped paying attention to Ai Wei Na and began to dig into her meal, leaving Ai Wei Na sitting there in a daze.
Tonight's dinner was very different from the carefully prepared dishes by the chef, but the simple, unadorned food gave Ai Wei Na an inexplicable sense of warmth.
As she speared a piece of chicken with her fork, she looked at Xia Er and weakly said, "The chicken isn't deboned... Xia Er."
Seeing that Xia Er didn’t respond, Ai Wei Na had no choice but to put down the chicken and pick up a piece of egg to eat.
Sour and sweet... surprisingly delicious...
The chicken was also quite tasty, but a bit salty; she needed to take a bite of bread to balance it out...
Stir-frying spinach with chili turned out to be unexpectedly good... she had always thought it could only be used in salads or soups.
Before she knew it, Ai Wei Na had finished all the dishes in front of her. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this full.
Watching Xia Er sip the stew, Ai Wei Na found herself lost in thought. When Xia Er looked up at her, she quickly averted her gaze.
"What's wrong?" Xia Er asked when she noticed Ai Wei Na hadn’t touched her food, "Is it not good?"
"It’s good." Ai Wei Na nodded, then curiously asked, "Xia Er, you’re not from An Su, are you?"
"I am from An Su," Xia Er replied, a bit puzzled.
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