Chapter 66
A flash of silver light swept by, and the vacant No. 3 position was now occupied by a version of myself—long gray-blue hair, gray-white pupils, and an expressionless face.
Above this name, two striking labels stood out.
【No.3: "Gambler" "Cultist" Xia'er】
Had I just been brainwashed into a cult in the simulation?
As the white light before me quickly faded, the scenery began to take shape—I was sitting in the lounge of a casino, a light screen unfolding before my eyes.
【Reality】
【Year 741 of the Holy Era, June 20, 08:08】
【Evaluation: Congratulations, host! You've finally found your own faith! ^^D】
【Using an undetectable cheating method, you’ve become the most successful and promising "Gambler" in history... and then you joined a cult, haha!】
【Accept this; it’s well-deserved based on your performance.】
【Reward: Destiny Points ×25, 【Character Archive】 All slots unlocked】
【Destiny Points: 64】
【Note: When the character archive gathers all first-tier characters, the host will be granted a free Old Simulation.】
【In the Old Simulation, the host can influence reality and create a path of their own.】
Chapter Sixty-Five: Five Bottles of Potions and a Piece of Material.
Xia'er opened her eyes and let out a long breath.
She looked at the system interface before her, recalling the feeling from just moments ago.
Was this... mental brainwashing?
It was hard for Xia'er to distinguish whether the chaotic whispers that had nearly overwhelmed her thoughts while drinking the "Gambler" potion came from the potion itself, from the "Missionary" Jidi, or from the "Mother Goddess Sadana" that Jidi spoke of.
Regardless, the "Gambler" Xia'er archive was undoubtedly heavily tainted; using it would require utmost caution.
"System, will I still be in that uncontrollable mental state when loading the No. 3 archive?"
Xia'er inquired inwardly.
【The No. 3 archive carries the "Sadana Mark." Under its influence, No. 3 cannot attack others who also bear the "Sadana Mark" and will wholeheartedly believe in "Sadana."】
【Enhancing mental skills like 【Calm Thinking】 can improve resistance to mental pollution and similar effects.】
"Can the mark be removed?"
【The "Sadana Mark" cannot be removed.】
Hmm...
Is it corrupted?
No, not exactly corrupted.
According to the system, continuing to enhance my mental skills could help me resist this mental pollution.
And those with the "Sadana Mark" cannot attack others who also bear it.
In other words, if Xia'er uses the "Gambler" archive, other extraordinary cultists will be unable to harm her.
This effectively turns it into an undercover cultist archive.
Well, it’s like driving a wedge into the enemy's ranks.
Xia'er recalled Jidi's words before she lost consciousness.
Jidi had asked Xia'er what her connection was to those who had disrupted her plans.
Disrupted plans? What plans?
The only disrupted plans Xia'er could think of, aside from Thomas's replication ritual, were those of Xie Lun.
Thomas could be ruled out; Xia'er had read his diary, and he was just a pure bad seed with a bit of luck.
But Xie Lun's research notes were indeed full of suspicious details.
Where did his third-tier potions come from? Where did he obtain his sealing items? These were all mysteries.
Moreover, Xie Lun had deliberately held the ritual right outside the Church of the Savior—his hatred for the church seemed a bit unfounded, as if he had suddenly developed a grudge.
However, if this entire event was orchestrated by the cult that worshipped the "Mother Goddess Sadana," everything would make sense.
Now, Xia'er just needed to prove that this cult, which believed in the "Mother Goddess Sadana," was in opposition to the Church of the Savior to connect the dots of the truth behind it all.
These matters could wait until she returned to confirm with Aivina; if that didn’t work, she could always ask Adele.
For now, Xia'er set this aside. She opened the archive interface and looked at the new archive slots.
Previously, Xia'er had only three archive slots.
According to the system, once those three slots were filled, it had unlocked all archive slots for her—meaning she could clearly see how many paths she had.
As Xia'er opened the character archive interface, a row of character slots much longer than before appeared before her.
【Please select a character】
【No.0: Xia'er (Pure Mode)】
【No.1: Xia'er Avenger】
【No.2: Xia'er Avenger (2)】
【No.3: Xia'er Gambler, Sadana Cultist】
【No.4: None】
【……】
【No.16: None】
Sixteen slots?
Excluding Xia'er’s original Pure Mode, there were a total of sixteen archive slots, which made her head spin.
Sixteen first-tier paths...
Even if she didn’t manage anything else, just the money for potions would start at nearly twelve thousand Su pounds... Is the system serious?
Though Xia'er knew she had completed quite a few replication rituals, seeing so many blank slots still made her feel overwhelmed.
Is this some kind of grind-fest system? Do I really need to collect sixteen character cards?
What a ridiculous system; can’t I just draw cards directly?
Xia'er closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and suddenly thought of something. She asked the system, "If I level up a path to tier two and save it, does that count as collecting the first tier of that path?"
【Yes.】
"Then... if I transition from 'Judicator' to the adjacent 'Missionary' and save 'Missionary' to another archive, does that count as collecting the first tier 'Ascetic' of 'Missionary'?"
【Correct.】
That’s a relief...
At least I won’t have to drink every single potion.
But it’s still a considerable workload. Xia'er calculated the known paths along with the empty potion shelves at the Dedun Manor exchange and found that she was still missing a few paths.
This wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight; she would have to plan for the long term. For now, she needed to get past the immediate hurdle.
Aivina, who had directly disrupted Xie Lun's plans, was surely already on the cult's radar, and Adele, as Xie Lun's student, likely couldn’t escape the cultists' watchful eyes either.
The pressing question was whether her real self had entered the cult's line of sight.
Xia'er wasn’t sure, so she needed to try to clarify this in the simulation before she achieved a winning streak on the Death Roulette.
Fortunately, she had an archive with the "Sadana Mark," which might allow her to infiltrate the cult during a certain time frame.
Of course, the prerequisite was that she could find a way to remain conscious in that cultist archive.
Xia'er stood up, tucked the notebook the maid had given her into her handbag, and then opened the door to step outside.
"Please take me to the exchange area."
Xia'er said to the maid who had been waiting at the door.
She had no intention of continuing to gamble on the Death Roulette; Xia'er just wanted to quickly buy the potions and replication rituals she needed and leave Dedun Manor.
The maid led Xia'er out of the lounge and toward the basement. At the entrance to the basement, Xia'er saw Adele and Aivina talking outside the exchange area.
"Xia'er, where have you been? You disappeared in the blink of an eye."
Aivina sighed in relief upon seeing Xia'er, thinking she might have lost track of her and that Xia'er had wandered off.
After all, this was Xia'er’s first time at Dedun Manor, and if she got lost and ended up at the gambling table, she could easily end up bankrupt.
If she fell into debt and was dragged onto the Death Roulette, it would be a matter of life and death.
"I just had the maid take me to the lounge for a bit of rest," Xia'er replied.
"The lounge?"
Aivina frowned slightly, looking at Xia'er with concern. "What did you do there?"
"What do you mean, what did I do?" Xia'er blinked in confusion, hesitating before saying, "I had the maid give me a notebook to jot down some things... does that count as doing something?"
"Ahem..."
Aivina turned her face away and coughed a couple of times to cover her embarrassment, then changed the subject, asking, "Have you decided what you want to buy? Adele and I have already made our purchases."
Xia'er raised the bag in her hand, filled with Su pounds and some chips, and said, "I want to exchange all my money for chips first."
"I can assist you with that, miss."
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