Chapter 263
If the answer is the latter, then even among the same tier of 2nd and 3rd stage extraordinary beings, the abilities behind her are vastly different.
After all, no one knows what kind of potion she consumed in the first two stages.
Xia'er kept a watchful eye, planning to verify with Tara after dealing with the girl in front of her.
At that moment, the girl spoke up, interrupting Xia'er's thoughts.
"I don’t understand what you’re saying at all... I just want to meet my friend."
Merritt shook her head, her voice trembling as she said, "What have you done to my coachman... and you mentioned... the Holy Ascendancy?"
Perhaps it was the fact that she had dragged herself into a dream that gave the girl some confidence. She maintained her "timid" persona, but her speech was noticeably more fluid, as if she wanted to pull Xia'er into her rhythm.
The earlier fear had been genuine, but now, her "fear" was entirely an act.
Having seen through her intentions, Xia'er pretended to glance at the pocket watch in her hand before speaking directly:
"Stop struggling. In one minute at most, your friend will be brought here, and when you see them, you won’t be able to argue anymore."
Xia'er deliberately revealed a time frame to her; in fact, the people from the Holy Ascendancy probably hadn’t even arrived yet.
She needed to apply a bit of pressure, forcing the girl to alter her own memories.
At the same time, she could use this simulation to see what would happen if her memories were altered, so she wouldn’t be at a loss in similar situations in the future.
"Our family has no affiliation with the church; we bear no ill will towards the Holy Ascendancy... please believe me."
The girl in front of her seemed to feign ignorance about Xia'er being from the Holy Ascendancy, her tone now tinged with a hint of pleading.
Knock, knock, knock—
At that moment, a soft knocking sound came from the door.
Xia'er glanced at Tara, who had set down the wooden bowl in her hands. After receiving a nod from Xia'er, she walked to the door and opened it.
Watching Tara's back as she went to open the door, Xia'er pondered.
If both she and Tara were dragged into a dream, would they appear in the same dream? Or would they each enter different dreams?
As for whether Tara was real or not, just from her silhouette, Xia'er found it hard to discern.
Tara opened the door, revealing a figure cloaked in black. He bowed his head and said something to Tara, who then turned to Xia'er and said, "My lady, we’ve caught the person."
A barely perceptible smile tugged at the corners of Xia'er's mouth.
Now, if Xia'er simply said, "Let’s go," she could test Tara's authenticity. The dream constructed by the girl in front of her might collapse—after all, she had no way of knowing where the person was being taken.
"Bring them in."
Xia'er commanded.
"Yes."
Tara nodded and waved to the cloaked figure.
Tara was a fake; she was in another dream.
Even if they had captured someone from the Pleasure Society, Xia'er couldn’t interrogate them directly in the house on Gem Avenue, as there were too many distractions that would hinder her progress.
She had initially instructed Tara to bring everyone mentioned by the coachman to the previous underground temporary base.
Having confirmed that only she and the girl in front of her had independent consciousness within the dream, Xia'er felt a flicker of interest.
A few young men and women dressed in luxurious clothing were brought in with their hands bound. Xia'er merely glanced at their faces before drawing a conclusion.
These were not members of the Pleasure Society; they were merely people from the "Dream Thief's" memories.
However, Xia'er still took note of their appearances, as they were all dressed in noble attire.
If these were "ordinary friends" familiar to the "Dream Thief," Xia'er might be able to identify this "Dream Thief" and their current location and name through portraits in reality.
Now, please release your fear and let me see your abilities.
Xia'er stood up, walked to the kitchen, carefully selected a suitable kitchen knife, and then slowly approached the young man kneeling on the ground.
"Are you from the Pleasure Society?"
Xia'er tilted her head slightly, her flowing red hair cascading down her shoulder, swaying gently.
"What... what is the Pleasure Society? I don’t know anything about it."
The young man’s face was filled with terror as he spoke rapidly.
Swish—
The knife sliced precisely through the young man's throat and carotid artery, blood spraying out in an instant. He fell to the ground, disbelief etched on his face, convulsing like a shrimp before gradually falling silent.
This scene made Merritt, who was seated at the dining table, widen her eyes in shock.
This... this is what a cultist looks like?
She swallowed hard, watching as Xia'er, knife in hand, approached another young woman, bending slightly to gently lift the woman’s chin with the knife's tip.
"Do you know about the Pleasure Society?"
"I... I don’t know..."
Swish—
Xia'er applied pressure upward, the knife tip piercing the woman’s throat, sinking deep toward her skull. She gently twisted her wrist, stirred, and then withdrew the knife.
Blood sprayed out, splattering across Xia'er’s cheek—she certainly knew how to kill without getting blood on herself, but that wouldn’t have the desired effect.
Xia'er straightened up, tilted her head slightly to stretch her neck, and turned to the girl at the dining table, smiling as she shook her head, "No choice; she said she didn’t know."
At this moment, Merritt was frozen in place, her heart racing as she looked at the cult leader, whose half-bloodied face was now smiling terrifyingly at her.
A madwoman... she’s definitely a madwoman!
She only needed to brainwash them to make them spill their secrets; there was no need to kill! She... she just wants to kill!
Seeing her completely unconcerned, even smiling expression... how many people has she killed?
At that moment, Xia'er, observing Merritt's expression, realized there was no need to continue testing.
She stepped through the bloodied footprints, walking up to Merritt, her eyes glancing at the table as she gently shook her head.
Xia'er reached out, plunging the bloodied knife into the wooden bowl containing a heart, slowly lifting the piece of pig heart and bringing it to Merritt's lips, saying, "Being picky isn’t good, Miss 'Leticia.'"
The heart, exuding a meaty aroma, drew closer, the blood from the knife mingling with the broth sliding down the heart. Even though they were in a dream, Merritt felt waves of nausea.
The heart was getting closer to Merritt's lips, her heartbeat quickening, as if a blood-soaked, pulsating human heart was approaching her.
Just as the heart was about to touch Merritt's lips, she finally couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer.
"Miss Xia'er."
Merritt leaned back, and as she looked up, she met Xia'er’s gaze directly, saying, "Wait a moment..."
In Merritt's light brown eyes, faint blue and purple glimmers flickered as she slowly continued, "Since you’ve been asking me questions since earlier... isn’t it my turn now?"
This is...
In an instant, Xia'er felt the area around her eyes plunge into darkness, the girl with light brown hair becoming the only figure in the shadows.
Her form twisted and distorted, scattering into multiple afterimages before Xia'er.
This was the ability that Aivina had used on her during the previous simulation.
It was the power of the "Listener"!
However, compared to Aivina's use of it, the "Listener" ability employed by the girl in front of her was even more terrifying, leaving Xia'er with no means of resistance as she fell into this illusion.
Was it because they were in a dream?
In a dream, would the abilities of "Instigators" or "Listeners" that disrupt the mind be enhanced?
Yet, at that moment, Xia'er felt no panic... she still retained control over her body, though it was difficult to maintain focused thought.
If this were reality, she could simply spend 5 life points to switch her save, instantly nullifying the control... it seemed the existence and abilities of the system almost perfectly countered these extraordinary beings who relied on mental attacks.
But to Merritt, Xia'er’s current demeanor appeared as if she had completely fallen under her control.
After all, she was just a 1st stage... it was far too easy.
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