Chapter 118
Now, it would only take another 20 Fate Points to exchange for it, but first, Xia'er had to clear some space in her already full warehouse.
Currently, Xia'er’s warehouse had only four slots, occupied by the 【Order's Eye Contract】, 【Letter from the Radiant Bishop】, 【Deadly Blood Roland】, and 【Echo of the Silver-White Timebinder】.
The previous 【Otherworld Page】 had already been extracted by Xia'er in the simulation and was stuck to the mask of "Instigator" Xia'er, making it impossible to remove.
The mask that Nia had given her, perhaps because of the 【Otherworld Page】 stuck to it, had an exchange price of 100 Fate Points.
The price was too steep; Xia'er certainly couldn't afford to exchange for that mask. If the need arose, she could simply spend 5 Fate Points to get a new 【Otherworld Page】.
To exchange for the 【Sadana Emblem】 now, she had to clear out one slot in her warehouse to ensure it wouldn’t be discovered.
After a moment's thought, Xia'er decided to take out the 【Echo of the Silver-White Timebinder】 to carry with her.
This was Xia'er’s exclusive sealing item, and even if others obtained it, they wouldn’t be able to use it.
Just carrying it posed no side effects, making it far better than other items that could cause trouble if discovered.
Most importantly, Xia'er had been using this pocket watch for three years, and its absence had indeed made her feel somewhat out of sorts.
A flash of silver light appeared, and the familiar exquisite antique silver pocket watch materialized in Xia'er’s hand. She casually placed it in the right pocket of her skirt, fastening the delicate clasp of the chain to her belt.
Xia'er reached deep into her pocket and felt the slightly cool pocket watch; the familiar sensation brought her comfort.
Finally, she directly exchanged the 【Sadana Emblem】 from the warehouse.
Having previously exchanged for a letter she wrote to herself, leaving her with 192 Fate Points, she now spent 20 to obtain the 【Sadana Emblem】, bringing her balance down to 172.
The exchanged 【Sadana Emblem】 appeared directly in the warehouse. Whether it would activate just by staying in the warehouse like the 【Order's Eye Contract】 remained to be tested by Xia'er herself.
At this moment, Xia'er had reached the entrance of the manor. She turned back and saw that the light in Aivina's room on the third floor had gone out, while the study's light was now on.
Having already taken a nap, Aivina would surely be unable to sleep tonight, likely preparing to read all night. As for Adele, she would probably end up sleeping on the floor or the sofa in the study, after all, she couldn’t stray too far from Nia.
It seemed Aivina had indeed listened to her advice and was not acting on her own. If they didn’t act recklessly, it wouldn’t introduce more variables into Xia'er’s plans.
In moments like this, Xia'er often thought about how useful the "Instigator" ability was. With just a simple suggestion, and under the enhancement of the system skills, first-tier Aivina and Adele had virtually no capacity to resist.
The cool night breeze swept by as Xia'er walked forward, reopening the letter to review the list.
To remain completely undetected by the Holy Church, there were many things Xia'er couldn’t do herself. The more she did, the more traces she would inadvertently leave behind.
For this, she needed an inconspicuous "proxy" to prepare everything for her.
And all she needed to do was activate the spiritual summoning at the most critical moment.
This candidate definitely couldn’t be Jidi.
With the incident at Dedton Manor, Jidi, as the priest managing the cultists in this area, would surely be a prime target for investigation. The Holy Church would undoubtedly uncover something from her residual blood and flesh.
Xia'er sifted through the list, searching for a suitable candidate, but after flipping through over a hundred names and addresses, she found no one appropriate.
Among the cultists Jidi had developed, although they came from various professions, they were all low-ranking due to fear of exposure, mostly servants or secretaries close to the higher-ups.
Moreover, the Holy Church’s selection of cultists was rather intriguing.
Most people on the list had criminal records, and many were desperate individuals. In the brief accounts of several, Xia'er even suspected they had antisocial personalities.
Under the Holy Church’s baptism, they returned to normal society, lurking as cultists to relay information to Jidi.
Xia'er recalled that the "Radiant Bishop" Bragg was originally a notorious pirate sailor, yet he too had been developed into a cultist by the Holy Church.
Their logic for recruiting followers seemed quite different from that of the Goddess of Salvation cult.
Could it be that there was another form of the "Ascetic" ritual within the Holy Church?
Or was it that those who had committed many wrongs were easier to assimilate into the "Ascetic" potion?
Xia'er skipped over the first few pages of the list and directly looked at the marked extraordinary individuals at the back.
The ordinary cultists on the earlier pages were basically managed by those seven first-tier cultists; they had no idea about the higher-ups like Jidi, nor did they know that the Holy Church's base in Boren City was right outside Dedton Manor on Creek Mountain.
Furthermore, their identities were not ones that could access Dedton Manor.
If Xia'er wanted to brainwash and dispose of a helper, she had to find someone among those first-tier extraordinary individuals.
Xia'er remembered clearly that Jidi had left some blood and flesh after the spiritual summoning, but those first-tier extraordinary individuals had been nearly drained by the spiritual beings.
Having one of them do her bidding meant that when the time for sacrifice came, the spiritual beings would erase all traces for her.
If the Holy Church truly found remains among the corpses, they could only trace it back to the Otherworld.
Soon, Xia'er had chosen a very easily instigated target.
The woman who had crawled out from under Jidi's desk, the first-tier "Gambler," Georgina.
She had ample reason to seek revenge on Jidi, and with just a little suggestion from the Instigator, she could immediately be turned into an ally.
After glancing at the address on the list, Xia'er stuffed the envelope back into her satchel, turned, and headed toward Gem Avenue.
At one o'clock in the morning, the sounds of factories still echoed in Clock Tower Alley, and she could see homeless people still wandering about. However, Gem Avenue in the Gem District was much more glamorous by comparison.
Most of the residents here were workers from jewelry processing factories or employees from the central district. Although the night was not noisy, any area near a bar was brightly lit and bustling.
Yet, they walked in small groups, and Xia'er, alone, attracted quite a few gazes, making her feel quite uncomfortable.
To avoid the frequent unwanted advances, Xia'er slipped into an alley and climbed up onto the rooftops.
The numerous row houses provided her with excellent footholds, allowing her to navigate between the buildings much more easily than in Clock Tower Alley.
The physical enhancement from being a 【Monster Hunter】 didn’t seem very pronounced to Xia'er, perhaps due to her high level of 【Agility】.
But in reality, Xia'er’s strength and physical condition had already surpassed that of most average adult males.
It was just that her basic physical condition was somewhat lacking; her body’s foundation was what it was, and even with the system skill enhancement, it didn’t reach an outrageous level.
Before long, Xia'er stopped at number 144 on Gem Avenue, the closest point to the jewelry processing area.
Standing on the rooftop of 144, she opened the simulation interface.
She walked to the edge, looking down at the small balcony on the fourth floor, and jumped down.
Clang—
The hard soles of her boots landed on the railing, producing a crisp sound, and Xia'er’s gaze caught sight of a woman lying in bed, seemingly startled awake by the noise, sitting up with her back to Xia'er.
At home.
That’s good.
“No.1.”
Xia'er silently recited the first position, her figure twisting as she transformed.
【No.1】
【“Instigator” Xia'er】
【00:29:59】
A system interface appeared before Xia'er, along with a countdown timer.
Her Fate Points balance dropped from 172 to 167.
She raised her hand, brushing her fingers over the mask on her right cheek, then pulled open the unlatched curtains, smiling as she said, “Don’t move… Georgina.”
Georgina froze in place, her initial instinct to turn around halted, as if she sensed some terrifying presence.
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