Chapter 193
After all, under normal circumstances, a first-level resurrection ritual only requires a few lives, yet the number of extraordinary beings who have died at Xia Er's hands, both in simulations and reality, is beyond counting.
The carriage traveled for about five minutes before finally arriving at a secluded clinic. Xia Er got out with her belongings and walked inside, where she saw a middle-aged woman in a white coat, wearing monocles, sitting behind a wooden desk.
The woman paused for a moment upon seeing Xia Er, then seemed to remember something and asked, "Xia... Er, Miss?"
"Adele sent me," Xia Er replied.
Nodding, she placed the box she was holding on the desk and said, "I need these two items embedded in my molars, intact."
The familiar wooden box and the familiar girl in front of her made the doctor unable to resist wiping her glasses with a handkerchief, glancing at the calendar on the desk.
Today is indeed the 21st...
The same girl, the same box, the same request.
Why does this scene feel so familiar?
After wiping the sweat from her forehead with the handkerchief, the doctor spoke softly, "Miss... I won’t disclose your information to anyone. That’s my principle, so you don’t need to test me on that..."
She remembered very clearly that this girl had come in about a week ago with the same request.
At that moment, Xia Er also realized something.
In the simulation, she had initially processed the poison here for experimentation and trial and error. Coming back for a second time did seem a bit odd.
After a moment of thought, Xia Er said, "I ran out of the previous batch and came to replenish."
Replenish...
The middle-aged doctor swallowed hard.
If she remembered correctly... that was a highly potent poison, right? She had spent time at the Redemption Society and knew very well that this crystalline package contained a very powerful toxin.
Moreover, Adele had repeatedly warned her not to damage it during the embedding process...
Was this girl treating poison like candy?
Knowing that the girl in front of her might also be extraordinary, the doctor didn’t dare to be careless. She immediately got up, locked the door, paused her business, and led Xia Er into the operating room.
Handling these items required extreme caution. The entire process of hollowing out the molars and embedding the poison took nearly two hours to complete.
After everything was done, the doctor wiped the sweat from her face and said, "Miss Xia Er, it’s all set... Please be careful and try to eat soft foods that don’t require biting."
"Thanks."
Xia Er asked, "Is the surgery fee still the same?"
"Yes, it’s still free. This is what I owe to Miss Adele," the doctor nodded.
"Good."
Knowing she didn’t have to pay for the surgery, Xia Er didn’t linger and walked out of the clinic, returning to the carriage.
At that moment, Xia Er felt something unusual.
In the back of her mouth, there were two strange protrusions, a strong sense of foreignness, as if she had accidentally bitten into a bone while eating.
It felt like she didn’t need to exert much force; just a slight bump could shatter the poison and the awakening agent together.
Xia Er could only gently bite her tongue throughout the journey, keeping her upper and lower jaws from closing together to avoid accidentally biting through the poison.
If she accidentally bit through it, she could only "be more careful in her next life."
By the time the carriage brought Xia Er home, it was already around seven o'clock.
As she opened the door, the aroma of meat wafted through the air. Xia Er looked toward the dining table, where a bowl of steaming meat soup sat, along with a portion of chopped vegetables that looked like a salad.
"You’re back?"
Footsteps echoed from the staircase, and Xia Er looked up to see her sister Li Qi coming down, wearing an apron.
"I thought you were taking too long, so I tried making dinner myself... How does it taste?" Li Qi asked with a smile.
This familiar and warm scene made Xia Er pause for a moment. Remembering the words of her simulated self in her notebook, she took a deep breath and said somewhat stiffly, "I..."
Xia Er intended to say she wasn’t very hungry, but looking at Li Qi’s smile, she chose to walk over to the table, ladle a spoonful of meat soup into a bowl, and drink it.
It was easy to guess that during these days, her simulated self had been cooking every day while Li Qi washed the dishes and cleaned up.
"It’s good."
The flavor was a bit bland, with too little salt—a common issue for novice cooks—but Xia Er still smiled and gave it a thumbs up.
"I have some work to take care of, so I’ll head back to my room for a bit."
With that, Xia Er slowly set down her bowl and chopsticks, her steps suddenly feeling a bit heavier as she walked upstairs.
Her simulated self was right; this was exactly the life she had longed for at the beginning.
Finding a better job, moving to a nicer place with her sister, being able to go shopping with friends after work, not struggling to survive, and enjoying life every day...
"You’ve been sick a lot lately; you need to eat well..."
Li Qi walked over to the table, puzzled. "Is my cooking that bad?"
After taking a small sip from Xia Er’s bowl, Li Qi’s expression turned a bit awkward. She smiled and said, "I’ll add some salt and heat it up before bringing it to your room... By the way, your friend sent some things over, and I put them in your room."
"Okay..."
Xia Er carried her canvas bag upstairs. Once back in her room, she closed and locked the door, leaning against it and letting out a long sigh.
Suddenly, she thought of an old meme from her past life.
It featured a middle schooler with a toy gun leaning against a car window, captioned, "If I pick up the gun, I can’t hug you; if I put it down, I can’t protect you."
Xia Er had thought such things only existed in memes or in the realms of non-mainstream depression, but here she was, facing a similar situation.
From the moment she activated the system and stepped into the simulation, to the instant she took a life for the first time, Xia Er knew there was no turning back on this path.
Xia Er noticed the exquisite handbag her sister had left on her desk. She opened it to find a vial of potion, a jewelry box, and a letter.
This was from Ai Wei Na.
After opening the letter, Xia Er read its contents.
[Dear Xia Er:]
[The money you sent has exceeded the amount needed to buy the potion. There’s too much stuff to fit, so I’ll send the extra money back to you tomorrow.]
[Although I didn’t take the "detective" route, I still hope you won’t walk the path of a "killer"... I’m not denying your choices; I’ve just seen too many "killers" and "butchers" in my family.]
[You asked me if I could get a "butcher," but I actually know where to find a more perfect potion. I’m sorry for deceiving you; it might be my selfishness. I don’t want my friend to become like that...]
[Though the "detective" path is difficult, I can teach you how to transition from "killer" to "lawgiver"... if you’re willing.]
[I don’t know what has happened to you, and you’re unwilling to share, which makes me feel uneasy.]
[Sorry, I seem to have rambled on a bit too much this time.]
[Maybe I just miss you, Xia Er.]
[—Your friend,]
[Ai Wei Na]
Xia Er set the letter down.
In truth, she didn’t feel much. For Ai Wei Na in the simulation, it had been nearly a month since they last saw each other, but for Xia Er, they had just met yesterday, making it hard to empathize.
However, she did feel Ai Wei Na’s sentiment.
Xia Er took out the vial of potion. She decided to consume it before seeking out Tara.
From the moment she drank the potion, misfortune was bound to brew. The vial in her hand felt less like a crystal container and more like Pandora’s box, ready to unleash demons.
Holding the vial up to her eyes, she saw the pale purple liquid swirling with countless unknown particles. Upon closer inspection, they resembled thin fish scales, but clearly, they were not.
Instead, they looked like the skin of some creature sliced away.
Xia Er removed the cap of the potion, and a fragrant aroma filled the air, akin to high-end perfume, exuding a gentle sweetness.
The scales that had been submerged in the liquid began to stir restlessly, as if they could hardly wait.
Xia Er raised her hand and drank the potion in one gulp.
A faint fruity flavor filled her mouth, and the cool liquid slid down her throat, being completely absorbed before it even reached her stomach.
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