Chapter 262
For nearly twenty minutes, Merritt followed the shadow until she finally stopped outside a house in the Gem District. A familiar carriage was parked outside, the very one the cult leader had used when leaving.
“Gulp—”
Merritt swallowed hard. The black-and-white shadows around her had come to a halt on either side of the door, seemingly waiting for her to knock.
Under the silent pressure, Merritt approached the wooden door, slowly raised her hand, and knocked.
“Tara, could you open the door for me?”
A familiar voice came from inside. As footsteps approached, the door swung open, revealing a girl with cold features and dark green hair. The rich aroma of stewed meat wafted out from within.
“Come in.”
The girl stepped aside, and Merritt took a deep breath, stepping inside slowly.
Before she could take in the room's decor, the clattering sounds from the kitchen drew her attention.
Turning her head, she saw the red-haired cult leader, surprisingly wearing an apron, stirring something in a pot with a ladle, as if she were cooking.
A cult leader… cooking?
Merritt found it hard to believe what she was witnessing, standing there momentarily at a loss.
She had entered with a mindset of fighting to the death, but the stark contrast of the scene before her left her momentarily dazed.
What was supposed to be a trip to the gallows had suddenly transformed into a cozy, normal family breakfast—if one could overlook the black-and-white shadows at the door.
“You're here?”
As if she had heard the sound at the door, the apron-clad cult leader stepped out of the kitchen, smiling as she asked, “I remember your name is… Leticia? Can I call you that directly?”
The elegant smile and her unhurried manner brought Merritt back to her senses. She looked at the red-haired girl, her lips slightly pursed.
She must have been a young lady from a well-to-do family before becoming a cultist…
Merritt thought to herself.
“What do you… want from us?”
Merritt spoke, her peripheral vision quickly taking in the details of her surroundings, so she could reconstruct them as fast as possible.
Though she had just recently ascended, her talent was undoubtedly top-tier.
“What do we want?”
Xia'er blinked, shaking her head with a smile. “Just inviting a new friend for breakfast… it should be about time.”
Merritt watched as the cult leader turned, scooping three bowls of meat soup onto a tray before walking out with it.
“Have a seat.”
Tara glanced at Merritt as she spoke, then walked past her to sit at the dining table.
Seeing that the two had already taken their seats, Merritt hesitated for a moment before stepping forward to occupy the empty spot, her gaze fixed on the meat soup before her.
A heart, nearly filling the entire wooden bowl, caught her eye, and her pupils trembled slightly.
“Pig heart soup, want to give it a try?”
Xia'er leaned on the table, her fingers interlaced under her chin, smiling as she watched Merritt.
Pig… heart?
The size of the heart was indistinguishable from that of a human heart.
Even in its fully cooked state, she could almost see the dark red muscle beneath the oily surface, faintly pulsating.
The more enticing the aroma from the bowl, the more terror and nausea Merritt felt.
This was a cult; it couldn’t possibly be a pig’s heart…
“Ugh…”
Finally, Merritt could no longer hold back, turning away to retch.
“Tsk…”
Seeing Merritt’s reaction to the food she had painstakingly prepared, Xia'er frowned slightly.
“If it were the ‘Instigator’ here, she would have devoured it… Does your Pleasure Society really know how to find ‘pleasure’?”
Xia'er spoke slowly, her tone finally revealing a hint of coldness.
Pleasure Society? How did she figure that out so quickly?
No… she doesn’t have any information about us; this is just a bluff…
“I’m just a newly ascended ‘Dream Thief’,” Merritt turned to Xia'er, trying not to look at the heart in her bowl. “If I’ve offended you in any way, I apologize.”
“She’s newly ascended?”
Xia'er looked at Tara, and upon receiving a nod in response, she turned her gaze back to Merritt. “No wonder your rhetoric is so clumsy… The whispers of the potion must be hard to bear, huh?”
Xia'er’s words seemed to stab at Merritt’s chest. Her expression shifted slightly, but she quickly suppressed her emotions. Yet, that minor change did not escape Xia'er’s notice.
“I don’t know whether to call you kind or foolish,” Xia'er shook her head, continuing, “You didn’t even brainwash that ordinary coachman to make him commit suicide when questioned.”
As she spoke, Xia'er pulled out a pocket watch, glancing at the time. Seemingly casually, she added, “By now, they should be nearing the destination the coachman mentioned. Poor fellow; may he fare better with the Holy Ascendancy, at least there are more clever people inside.”
At this, Merritt could no longer contain her emotions. She quickly lowered her head, her pupils trembling.
She had been operating under the identity of “Leticia,” with a perfect facade, and even “Leticia’s” parents had completely accepted her as their daughter. Merritt had never considered the possibility of exposure.
No matter how she thought about it, she never imagined that a ridiculous accident like a collision would lead to the exposure of the entire team.
But how did they determine that she was part of the Pleasure Society? Just because she had lied about her name?
Regardless… she had to act now; she couldn’t let the team be ruined because of her.
The structure of the first floor was already taking shape…
The complete layout of the first floor began to coalesce in Merritt’s mind, a sphere of light forming, with a bright glow dominating the majority. The dazzling halo exploded before her eyes, and when she looked up again, everything had returned to normal.
She glanced toward the archbishop Tara, who was still sipping her meat soup, completely unaware.
When Merritt turned her gaze back to Xia'er, she found the cult leader still watching her with a bemused smile.
Sister Mary had said that this cult leader had a keen insight… Had she managed to deceive her? Or had she already seen through her?
At that moment, Xia'er looked at the suddenly vanished system screen, a faint smile appearing on her face.
She had been wondering if her luck in these two recent encounters would lead her to mistakenly target the wrong person, but now it seemed…
Her luck was truly extraordinary.
Next, it was just a matter of waiting for the other party to modify her memory, triggering the system’s automatic protection…
Just quietly watching the performance unfold.
It was merely a mundane “uniqueness” and a trivial piece of knowledge.
Let’s give it a try; it’ll be fine.
PS:
This isn’t an extra update; tonight’s update should come after midnight. I’m adjusting my schedule, so I can write more at night, but don’t wait for it; it might take a while.
I’ll stay up a bit longer and then sleep. Come back, my normal routine!
Good night in advance!
Chapter 153: Extraordinary Loss of Control… and Otherworldly Beings?
Xia'er remained composed, simply smiling as she observed the other party.
The level of the other person was such that, even from the perspective of an “Instigator,” Xia'er could only draw one conclusion.
Naive.
This even made Xia'er question how she had managed to digest the “Instigator” potion and complete the “Dream Thief” replication ritual.
Her cunning was only slightly better than Adele’s, but still very limited.
Could it be that she first digested the 1st-tier “Listener” potion and then jumped to the adjacent 2nd-tier “Dream Thief”?
Given the other party’s performance… that possibility was quite high.
Xia'er had always had a lingering question, but she hadn’t had the time to ponder it until now.
When ascending from 1st-tier “Instigator” to 2nd-tier “Dream Thief,” the “Dream Thief” retains the abilities of the “Instigator” and receives corresponding enhancements.
Xia'er’s own 1st-tier “Avenger” had ascended to 2nd-tier “Judicator” under similar circumstances.
But what about ascending from 1st-tier “Listener” to 2nd-tier “Dream Thief”? Would that “Dream Thief” gain the 1st-tier “Instigator” abilities from the same path, or retain the 1st-tier “Listener” abilities from a different path?
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