Chapter 266
As she upgraded to the next level, would it evolve into a state where simply calling her own name would allow her to know her existence and position?
Wasn't this akin to the ancient gods of legend?
If the simulation had this ability, then the "Dream Thief" could construct her own form in the dream realm, and as long as it pointed to herself, she would be aware of it?
Moreover, she could even expend mental energy to remotely take control of creations...
Xia'er realized that this was undoubtedly an extraordinary skill, at least in terms of rank, far surpassing the vast majority of skills she had acquired, comparable to a demigod—except for the lack of any combat power.
What had she done to gain this skill?
Had she killed two Tier 3 beings?
No, she had done that before.
Had she turned Bole City upside down?
Not that either; Xia'er had done worse without receiving this reward.
The only possibility was her action of testing the "uniqueness" against mental attacks.
This resembled a low-tier divine ability, definitely related to "uniqueness"...
However, in terms of practicality...
Aside from fishing, Xia'er couldn't think of any other way to utilize this ability for now.
As for what the system had mentioned earlier about entering the simulation with another save file...
Xia'er knew exactly which save file it was—the "Instigator."
Only the Xia'er from the "Instigator" save would truly understand all the thoughts of the members of the Joyous Society and provide countermeasures.
Even without the system's prompting, Xia'er had already decided to use the "Instigator" save to complete the next round of simulation.
Perhaps her newly acquired ability could allow the "Instigator" to demonstrate something for her, to see if it could develop a different function.
Xia'er directly opened the simulation interface and looked at the next available entry time.
[Future: 24 Days (Saint Year 741, July 26, 18:00) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)]
[Past: 10 Days (Saint Year 741, June 22, 11:00) (Cost: 10 Fate Points)]
[Old Days: ***, *** Days (???) (Cost: 10,000 Fate Points)]
Twenty-four days later?
This date made Xia'er’s heart sink slightly.
It was the day when Aivina would be attacked in the simulation.
Xia'er wished she could immediately continue the simulation to resolve this incident, to erase the image of Aivina lying in bed, wrapped in bandages, from her mind.
But right now, Aivina's mental state was already half-damaged, and after a full 24 hours of simulation, she had consumed quite a bit of mental energy.
Forcing herself back into the simulation again would undoubtedly cause irreparable harm to her mind.
Xia'er had to force herself to rest.
Taking a deep breath, feeling the softness in her arms and the faint fragrance in the air, Xia'er calmed down and tried to let her weary mind drift into sleep.
Fortunately, she succeeded.
Perhaps it was because of Aivina in her arms, but tonight's sleep was very smooth, and Aivina's healing also played a part.
She slept soundly until dawn, and only when she felt a warm breath did Xia'er slowly open her eyes.
As she opened her eyes, she saw Aivina in front of her, eyes tightly shut, cheeks slightly flushed.
With her back to the window, the morning sunlight illuminated her back, casting a golden halo around her silhouette. At that moment, she seemed to be trying to sneakily do something, eyes closed, her cheeks inching closer to Xia'er.
Perhaps due to the rest, the redness around Aivina's eyelids had faded quite a bit; now only a faint blush remained, which not only didn’t detract from her beauty but added a touch of cuteness.
However, Xia'er wasn’t about to wait for her to come closer.
Before Aivina could react, Xia'er slowly lifted her chin, propped herself up on the mattress with her elbow, leaned in, and gently pressed her lips against Aivina's.
This action seemed to startle the sneaky Aivina; she practically jumped back, rolling off the bed like a startled kitten at a corner.
"What are you doing, Xia'er?!"
Aivina stood up, propping herself against the mattress, arms crossed over her chest, looking down at Xia'er. Even in a defensive posture, the blush on her face betrayed her feelings.
Before Xia'er could respond, Aivina turned her head away and said, "Next time, remember to ask first. Don’t sneak around like that; it’s not like I wouldn’t let you..."
Uh...
Not sneak around?
Then what were you just doing?
At that moment, Aivina's heart raced. As soon as she finished speaking, she regretted it.
Did I just... say that too loudly? Was I being a bit unreasonable...?
Would Xia'er be angry?
Just as Aivina was about to soften and apologize, she turned back to the bed, only to find Xia'er kneeling at the edge, slowly raising her hand to lift Aivina's chin.
"Good morning kiss."
Xia'er smiled and asked, "Is that okay?"
"Uh... sure..."
This was clearly the move I had been rehearsing...
Aivina thought, feeling a bit defiant before she closed her eyes.
...
After washing up, Aivina briefly checked Xia'er’s mental state and, finding no issues, put on her glasses and left the bedroom.
Today, Aivina had a lot to do. As she put it, she wanted to save up enough money for both of them. Although Xia'er had told her not to worry about finances, Aivina clearly still didn’t fully trust that.
It wasn’t that she doubted Xia'er’s ability to earn money, but rather that she didn’t believe Xia'er could earn it legally.
At least when it came to making money legally, Aivina only trusted herself. If she left it to Xia'er, who knew what kind of trouble she might get into.
After Aivina left, Xia'er sat on the sofa, silver light flickering in her hand as a manual appeared before her.
Her mental state was stable and had recovered quite a bit; it was time to consider continuing the simulation.
She picked up a pen, placed the Endless Manual on her lap, and began to write.
[There are 24 days, which is ample time, and the information left is sufficient; you have a lot of room to maneuver.]
[Directly drink the "Instigator" potion, seek the potion for advancing to Tier 2 "Dream Thief," and the replication ritual; this may come in handy.]
Xia'er continued to write.
This time, she left herself—her future self as the "Instigator"—a considerable amount of operational space, only setting two hard indicators to prevent things from deviating completely beyond expectations.
The first was to ensure that Aivina would not be attacked again; that was non-negotiable.
Moreover, it would be best if the Joyous Society chose targets for chaos that were not in Bole City. No matter what, as long as Bole City was in turmoil, Xia'er’s current life would be affected.
She didn’t want to live in constant fear.
The second was to find a way to dissuade Adele from going to Beiansu.
From various sources, including Adele's letters, it was clear that Beiansu was in dire straits.
Adele was traveling with the rescue team of the Goddess of Salvation, and she might be affected.
Furthermore, after Adele went there, it took over ten days for a letter to return; communication between Beiansu and Ansu might have completely broken down, indicating the level of danger there.
Knowing in advance that there was danger, Xia'er didn’t want her friend to take risks.
Even if her goal was simply to save people, the premise of saving others was to protect oneself first, so that Adele could utilize her own talents to help more people.
In short, Xia'er didn’t believe Adele was suited for the front lines of disaster; what suited her best was actually working on the development of antidotes or vaccines in the rear.
The front lines were complex and fraught with danger; the naive Adele was more likely to fall into peril, possibly being used as a pawn without realizing it.
Moreover, considering that the famine might be accelerated by extraordinary beings, sending Adele there would undoubtedly be like sending a sheep into a tiger's den.
After writing down everything that needed to be investigated and the precautions, Xia'er reviewed what she had written, then the silver light flickered in her hand, and the manual returned to the repository.
The things she had recorded were now forgotten; it seemed her talent of "photographic memory" couldn’t compete with the side effect of the sealed object, "forgetting at a glance."
Perhaps continuing to enhance her linguistics might lead to a conceptual "photographic memory" that could counteract the manual's side effects, but for now, these matters weren’t significant for Xiaer's growth and weren’t what she should be focusing on.
Leaning back against the sofa, Xia'er slowly closed her eyes.
A silver-white system screen appeared before her, swiftly transitioning to the simulation interface as per her thoughts.
"Future."
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