Chapter 265
To test this possibility, Xia Er and Ta La engaged in a few simple poker games together, resulting in three wins and two losses—nothing extraordinary.
Once, even in a situation where Ta La was guaranteed to win, she deliberately called for an extra card and lost. It was only after Xia Er pointed it out that she stopped throwing the game on purpose.
The effect of her good luck had faded...
This indicated that it had withstood a terrifying disaster comparable to a meteor strike at least once.
This made Xia Er begin to suspect a possibility.
Encountering "Leiticia" might just be a certain event, but whether or not she could uncover the joy behind it was an option influenced by her good fortune.
If she flipped the card twice in a row, she might have found it directly, triggering a disaster.
But that was merely Xia Er's conjecture.
The interruption of the clue regarding "Leiticia" made it difficult for the investigation to continue. It was foreseeable that the Joy Society would remain active in Bo Lun City in the future, and the Sheng Lin Sect would also be included in their disruptive plans.
Unfortunately, Xia Er had no more time to follow up.
However, at least this simulation was not entirely fruitless.
A chessboard unfolded before Xia Er, with the Joy Society as the player, Bo Lun City as the board, and the Food Import and Export Association, Bo Lun City workers, the Orlando Republican Army, the Goddess of Salvation Sect, and the high-ranking members of An Su as the pieces.
Moreover, the Joy Society, as the player, had no opponents to contend with; they stood invincible.
Because they were not driven by any interests in their actions.
Every piece on the board was a sacrifice, with the most deeply affected being the Goddess of Salvation Sect. Their foundation in An Su was already beginning to crumble. If there were no significant reversals in the future, it was almost a foregone conclusion that the Goddess of Salvation Sect would be ousted by the high-ranking members of An Su.
What would the Goddess of Salvation Sect do then? Would they abandon the parish and followers they had cultivated for hundreds of years? Would they leave directly, or would they truly resist?
The latter was likely the scenario the Joy Society truly wished to see—a subversive situation.
In the remaining hours, Xia Er did not remain idle.
With nothing to lose, she intensified the actions of the Sheng Lin Sect.
Even Yuli Si from the Goddess of Salvation Sect was assisting Xia Er, mobilizing the remaining followers and priestesses in Bo Lun City to begin searching for members of the Orlando Republican Army and the Joy Society, even including nobles who might be involved.
The entire Bo Lun City seemed to transform into a large witch-hunting ground, with the military temporarily falling under the control of the Sheng Lin Sect, combing through every corner of the city, compiling lists of the Republican Army, and reporting layer by layer to Xia Er.
Such a terrifying operation directly alarmed the capital, An Su. The Queen's Sword had begun to gather troops to sweep away the cultists in Bo Lun City, and even within the Sheng Lin Sect, people were being dispatched to prepare for a reckoning with Ta La.
But at least for today, Xia Er was the absolute ruler and leader of Bo Lun City, with her word being law.
A wealth of information was compiled into paper booklets, continuously handed to Xia Er. In the remaining hours, she spent nearly all her time reviewing various pieces of information.
This was a completely unreasonable method of information collection, but even so, it failed to uncover any members of the Joy Society. Xia Er was not particularly surprised by this outcome.
The permanent population of Bo Lun City had previously been just over 230,000, but during this period, it had seen significant expansion, with many new immigrants and refugees arriving.
Xia Er's cult had only a little over ten members, each responsible for searching a specific area. However, the brainwashed cultists sent to conduct the searches were mostly not extraordinary beings.
Even if they found members of the Joy Society, it was likely they would only search in dreams and come up with a "no anomalies" result.
On the other hand, they had managed to uncover quite a few members of the Orlando Republican Army.
Thus, the simulation time continued until it ended, and a flash of silver light appeared before Xia Er, transporting her to a space of pure silver.
Her shark-toothed doppelgänger stood across from her, smiling. From this second-person perspective, Xia Er realized that her smile after drinking the "Butcher" potion was somewhat unsettling.
In this space, the potion's effects on Xia Er had faded, and she became aware of how her personality would change under the influence of the "Butcher" potion.
Among all the potions, the "Butcher" potion was currently the most emotionally stable one, aside from the "Assassin." Perhaps it was due to its excellent digestion and fusion.
Aside from a strange penchant for turning people into meals for others to taste, it had almost no drawbacks... although that alone was enough to be considered inhumane, it was manageable within the simulation.
After saving the "Butcher" under No. 6, Xia Er left the silver space.
The silver before her gradually faded away.
...
【Reality】
【Year 741 of the Holy Calendar, July 2, 00:11】
【Evaluation: Why is it heads? Why is it heads? Why is it heads? Why is it heads?】
【I’ve prepared my title, and you give me heads to avoid danger?】
【By the way... think about it, is the reason you didn’t directly resolve the Joy Society that your imagination is too limited? Perhaps you should try a certain archive with a unique thought process^^】
【Take this; it’s what you deserve based on your performance.】
【Reward: Destiny Points ×46, 【Nemesis Lv.2】, 【Omniscient Lv.1】】
【Destiny Points: 199】
The system's comments, tinged with a hint of reluctance and mockery, appeared before Xia Er, but she paid them little mind and directly closed the screen.
Compared to the cold, oppressive underground prison she had been in at the start of the simulation, as her consciousness returned to reality, Xia Er felt the warmth of the bed and the soft body nestled in her arms.
She tightened her embrace slightly, holding the person a little closer.
Aside from the dizziness from exiting the simulation, Xia Er felt a slight tingling in her right arm, as if it had been pressed for too long.
As she opened her eyes slightly, she saw Ai Wei Na facing her, her head resting on Xia Er's arm.
Xia Er remembered that before she entered the simulation, Ai Wei Na had been turned away from her... Did she think she was asleep and quietly changed to a more intimate position?
She wondered how this awkward personality had developed.
Looking at Ai Wei Na's peaceful sleeping face, Xia Er's mind drifted to the horrific sight of her being burned in an explosion, with significant muscle and skin missing.
Xia Er lowered her head slightly, their noses brushing together, feeling Ai Wei Na's breath. She turned her face and kissed her.
In the darkness, the soft sensation of their lips gradually calmed Xia Er's heart.
Thank goodness, nothing had happened yet.
Even in the next simulation, knowing everything in advance, Xia Er would not let it happen again.
Her movement seemed to wake Ai Wei Na, who had just fallen asleep, but she didn’t fully awaken.
“Xia Er…”
Ai Wei Na mumbled something sleepily.
But after a day of handling matters and drinking quite a bit, Ai Wei Na didn’t open her eyes; she simply draped her right leg over Xia Er's waist, leaned in a bit closer, and settled back into a deep sleep.
Xia Er had originally planned to get up and carefully review what had happened during the simulation and the information recorded in her mind with "photographic memory," but given the current situation, she knew that getting up would surely wake Ai Wei Na.
Under the moonlight, Xia Er noticed that Ai Wei Na's eyes, which had cried, were slightly red and swollen, and her brows were slightly furrowed, as if she were dreaming of something unpleasant.
She raised her left hand and gently stroked Ai Wei Na's hair. Once Ai Wei Na's brow began to relax, Xia Er closed her eyes.
“System.”
Xia Er silently thought.
In the recent system settlement, aside from her existing skill 【Nemesis】 being upgraded to Lv.2, it seemed she had gained a new ability 【Omniscient】.
Xia Er needed to check the specific descriptions of the upgraded 【Nemesis】 and the new skill 【Omniscient】.
【Nemesis Lv.2: Passive ability. Those who experience fear from you and those you kill in the simulation will feel slight fear towards you in reality. The more times they are killed, the deeper the level of fear they experience.】
【Omniscient Lv.1: Passive ability. If someone constructs a creation pointing towards you, you will be aware of its existence. By consuming mental energy, you can briefly control the creation.】
With the upgrade of Nemesis, it could now trigger without killing... was this a small improvement?
As for the latter, the Omniscient ability gave Xia Er a sense of déjà vu.
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