Chapter 67
The red-chip masked maid beside her gave a slight curtsy and spoke.
Xia'er handed her the handbag, watching as the maid took it into the exchange area. Before long, she returned, handing the bag back to Xia'er.
"Four thousand five hundred pounds in chips, please take a look, miss."
Xia'er took the handbag, inhaling deeply.
What a robbery!
Over five thousand pounds had turned into just four thousand five!
"Since you're a newcomer, I’ve given you a little discount on the chips. I hope you don’t mind."
Seeing Xia'er silent, the maid worried that she might have offended her by offering too much of a discount.
What if she had misread the situation and inadvertently caused offense? After all, the thoughts of wealthy individuals are hard to predict.
"Thank you," Xia'er replied stiffly, then, with the handbag in hand, she walked over to the area for exchanging first-tier potions.
Aivina and Adele had also finished purchasing their potions and were now quite relaxed, following Xia'er to see what she intended to buy.
With four thousand five hundred pounds in chips, she could buy at most five potions, and deciding which five was now Xia'er’s dilemma.
First off, the "Gambler" path was definitely out of the question. Besides the fact that only members of the Deaton Manor could not purchase it, if Xia'er wanted to advance, she could simply enter the simulation, execute fifty people, and not waste more destiny points on exchanges.
As her proficiency in execution improved, Xia'er would surely be able to kill faster next time, saving time in the process.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t preview the replication ritual before buying the potions. Xia'er had to rely on her memory from browsing notes at Aivina's house and the names of the potions themselves to make educated guesses about the rituals, aiming to select potions she might have already completed.
Xia'er purchased the potions "Blood Painter," "Adventurer," "Detective," "Butcher," and "Coroner."
With the remaining chips, she bought the materials for the "Instigator" potion. She only had part of the materials for it, but now that she had gathered everything, she could attempt to brew the potion.
Xia'er wanted to buy the "Instigator" potion outright, but she simply didn’t have enough chips.
Thus, Xia'er left Deaton Manor with five potions and several potion materials, following Aivina and the others.
As they reached the carriage, a wave of emptiness washed over Xia'er after her shopping spree.
She looked at the bottles and jars stuffed inside the handbag, feeling as if her heart was bleeding.
She had just struck it rich, and before she could even warm the money in her hands, it had transformed into potions and materials.
"Well, I’ll take my leave now. Thank you for accompanying me shopping."
Adele gave a slight bow towards Xia'er and Aivina, expressing her gratitude.
"Wait a moment," Xia'er called out to Adele, looking at her and asking, "Do you still have the antidote for dehydration? Could you sell me a few bottles? I can... pay you later."
"No need for money. It’s not something valuable, and it’s my responsibility to share it with more people."
Adele pulled a vial from her waist pouch and handed it to Xia'er, advising, "Just have a regular person take a drop and dilute it before drinking. There should be about twenty drops inside."
"I'm currently staying at 31 Gem Avenue in the city center. If you need more, just come find me."
After leaving her address, Adele took her leave, clearly ready to research the "Plague Doctor" replication ritual.
"Shall I accompany you to deliver the medicine?" Aivina opened the carriage door and said to Xia'er, "I have nothing to do on my way back anyway."
Aivina knew that once Xia'er got the antidote from Adele, she would likely want to share it with her sister, and perhaps there were others she wanted to give it to. It was a perfect opportunity for Aivina to see what Xia'er’s social circle was like.
"Come on in; the carriage is faster," Aivina offered a seat, saying, "If we get it there a second sooner, it might work even better."
Aivina's last comment finally swayed Xia'er. She accepted Aivina's kindness and hopped into the carriage, giving a few addresses.
Since they were now in the outskirts, the places Xia'er mentioned were a bit far. It took nearly half an hour for the carriage to reach the first stop—Bolen Private Academy.
The graduation ceremony had taken place yesterday, and the decorations were still up, with only a few teachers helping out.
Xia'er approached one of the teachers to inquire about the principal's residence, then returned to the carriage to direct the driver.
The teachers assumed Xia'er had missed the graduation ceremony and wanted to retrieve her diploma, but Xia'er remembered from her previous simulation diary that she had seen Principal Jenny die in the quarantine area near the clock tower.
Principal Jenny had also contracted dehydration.
Grateful for the kind principal who had helped her, Xia'er was eager to repay her kindness. When she arrived at Principal Jenny's home, she found her lying on the bed, barely alive, with only a worried old servant to greet her.
After diluting a drop of the antidote, Xia'er administered it to Principal Jenny. Once she appeared to have recovered from the dehydration symptoms, Xia'er left her home.
The next stop was her sister Lichi, who lived in the jewelry district. Xia'er handed the diluted medicine to Lichi, who didn’t ask what it was and drank it down immediately. After chatting for a bit, Xia'er returned to the carriage.
During their conversation, Lichi occasionally glanced at Aivina in the carriage, making Aivina feel a bit embarrassed, prompting her to step out and greet Lichi.
The final stop was Amy's house.
Baron Hastings had heard some rumors about dehydration, and he was somewhat surprised that Xia'er had obtained the antidote so early. However, when he saw the Russell family carriage outside through the window, he relaxed and accepted Xia'er’s goodwill.
Amy, on the other hand, was not concerned about dehydration or the antidote; she was more interested in why Xia'er hadn’t attended the graduation ceremony yesterday, wondering if something had happened.
It was clear that Amy had been worried sick, unable to contact Xia'er and restricted by her father from going to the clock tower area.
After chatting a bit longer with Amy, Xia'er returned to the carriage.
She had basically given the antidote to all the ordinary people she knew, and now she needed to prepare for her own potions and replication paths.
She had to study all the potions and replication rituals she had obtained to see if there were any she had already completed or if she could complete multiple rituals at once.
Additionally, she needed to ask Aivina about Sadana and the cult in a safe place—specifically, Aivina's home.
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Chapter Sixty-Six: Which Side to Kill? Kill Them All!
"Let’s head back."
Once Xia'er returned to the carriage, she sat across from Aivina and closed her eyes to rest.
"Is it over?" Aivina asked, surprised. Adele had only used a few drops of the antidote.
Xia'er... had no friends left?
Aivina had initially wanted to see more of Xia'er’s social circle, but she hadn’t expected it to be so pitifully small.
Aside from her sister and the school principal, there was only one friend left whom Xia'er deemed worthy of receiving the antidote.
This life could truly be described as a straight line between two points.
Aivina looked at Xia'er, who was resting with her eyes closed, unsure whether to offer some comfort.
"Mm."
Xia'er opened her eyes and looked at Aivina, saying, "When we get back, there are some things I want to discuss with you."
Hearing Xia'er suddenly wanting to talk, Aivina took a deep breath.
"Can I choose not to talk?" Aivina's voice dropped a notch.
But Xia'er didn’t respond, simply closing her eyes again.
She didn’t know if Aivina was still under the watch of the cultists; she had to ensure they were in a relatively safe environment before discussing "Mother Goddess Sadana."
On the way back, Aivina felt anxious, speculating about what Xia'er wanted to discuss with her.
At the same time, she was curious about why Xia'er had purchased so many first-tier potions.
Given Xia'er’s narrow social circle, why did she need to buy so many potions?
Could it be for the intelligence organization behind her?
Unlikely.
A mysterious organization capable of gathering so much intelligence wouldn’t waste money buying replication rituals; they must have information about the rituals already.
Was Xia'er using them herself?
Even if she were, it wouldn’t make sense to buy so many; she couldn’t possibly drink them all herself.
Even if Xia'er truly needed potions, Aivina would recommend she pursue the "Detective" path.
Aivina couldn’t vouch for the other paths, but she could offer some professional advice on the "Detective" path.
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