Chapter 370
At this moment, the watch chain before her had already been activated... There was no stopping for Xia'er now.
She had to figure out the logic behind the watch chain's operation.
As time ticked away, the watch chain in front of Xia'er began to move rapidly, coiling like a silver serpent, looping along the same path over and over again.
A familiar silver light enveloped everything before her.
...
"Future Day"
"October 25, Year 741, 12:00"
"Countdown - 12:01:34"
"Mm... mm..."
Princess Windsor, who had long since become a corpse, was now softly humming on the chair before her, her dazed eyes fixed on Xia'er, a gaze so aggressive it was unsettling.
Windsor, who had been staring at Xia'er, suddenly felt an inexplicable wave of fear. She squeezed her legs together, trembling slightly, staring blankly at Xia'er.
As if realizing her own loss of composure, the emotions she had been brewing began to fade. In a fluster, she hurriedly slipped on her dress, not even bothering with her shoes, and rushed toward the door, saying, "Wait... see you later, darling."
Even though Windsor was forcing herself not to meet Xia'er’s gaze, her words couldn’t hide her shock and panic.
Xia'er calmly watched Windsor leave. Not long after she had gone, two maids arrived as scheduled, entering the glass room to tidy up the mess.
Xia'er stood up and walked directly to the table, picking up the notebook on it. Just as before, she commanded the maids to burn it all, scattering the ashes with water, mixing them with the ashes of other books.
Having gone through this once, Xia'er moved swiftly this time; her heart was already resolute.
She had to wait for Qiangyin to arrive again... to see the marks he left behind.
Whether or not she could perceive the changes in Qiangyin, she had to make a decision quickly and leave this simulation.
She couldn’t let Qiangyin gather more information... Each time she returned, he would leave behind even more clues.
Once he accumulated enough, he would surely untangle all the threads...
Xia'er gazed out at the green path beyond the glass door, waiting for a figure to appear.
Less than ten minutes later, a familiar silhouette appeared at the end of the corridor.
It was Qiangyin.
At that moment, as he conversed with a maid, he seemed to notice Xia'er’s gaze. He looked up, his eyes meeting hers through the glass.
In Xia'er’s view, a deep, terrifying mark was etched into one side of Qiangyin’s face, and right beneath the corner of his eye, a bizarre key-shaped imprint glimmered.
Every mark on Qiangyin’s face corresponded to the images of the cipher she had memorized. Seeing the information he left behind, a relieved smile finally broke across Xia'er’s face.
Completely erroneous information...
Qiangyin was out of the game.
Xia'er raised her hand, and an illusory handgun appeared in her grasp. Only she understood the power that this silver weapon held.
Qiangyin looked at the sudden appearance of the object in Xia'er’s hand, a hint of confusion crossing his face. But before he could react, he saw the red-haired girl turn the gun, aiming it at herself.
What is she... doing?
“Bang—!”
The trigger was pulled, flames erupted from the barrel, and the girl with the eerie smile had her brain splattered, blood mist spraying across the pristine glass beside her.
No... no... why?
That smile seemed to amplify in Qiangyin’s mind. He hadn’t even had time to feel fear before he was engulfed by the silver light.
What’s happening?! Who is she?!
The silver light completely swallowed him, and the fear that had just surfaced in his mind dissipated in an instant.
...
July 17, Year 741, 12:15:05.
In the Vitalis Palace, during a royal luncheon, several prominent figures sat around the dining table, listening to the queen at the head of the table.
This was a lunch briefing; at several fixed times each week, the queen would summon her most capable officials to dine together at the Vitalis Palace.
This was an informal setting, so the reports and discussions were not overly complicated; it was a routine operation.
"The explosion at the Royal Medical Society, in my judgment, is likely a conspiracy orchestrated by the Orlando Republican Army, with the mastermind possibly linked to the mysterious Pleasure Society."
Sitting in the third position to the queen's left, Qiangyin held a teacup in his left hand. After elegantly sipping his tea, he continued with a wine glass in hand, "I suggest we start by investigating the Orlando Republican Army."
"Mm..." The Vitalis Queen slowly set down her knife and fork, glancing to her right, she spoke, "My lord, what do you think?"
Charles, who had been shoveling meat into his mouth, paused his actions, discreetly glanced at Qiangyin, then turned to face the Vitalis Queen.
"Your Majesty, I agree with Lord Qiangyin's suggestion; the investigation should begin with the Orlando Republican Army." Charles spoke slowly, "We should start with the nobles connected to Orlando..."
Clang—
The teacup fell onto the plate, the crisp sound of shattering drew the attention of everyone present to Qiangyin.
At that moment, Qiangyin stared blankly at his left index finger, which was crumbling away— the teacup had fallen as he lost his finger, shattering the edge of the antique plate.
Not just his finger, but the flesh on his face was also slowly disintegrating, as if he had lived through countless years.
A familiar dull pain throbbed in his brain. He instinctively stood up, raising his right hand to cover his left cheek.
"Apologies, Your Majesty, I'm feeling a bit unwell today..."
Qiangyin spoke without even looking at the queen, receiving no response from her, and quickly left the table, pushing open the dining room door and striding outside.
What’s going on?
"To Windsor Palace."
Once in the carriage, he quickly issued a command, and the carriage soon took him to Windsor Palace.
Upon entering Windsor Palace, he headed straight for the washroom, ignoring the maids' greetings. After opening the washroom door, he shut it behind him and looked into the oval mirror above the sink.
"Major incident... protect Windsor... Key Person? Pleasure Society? The fusion of the Savior Goddess Church... the Holy Arrival Sect..."
He turned and opened a hidden door, following the secret passage down to the lower level. He flipped open the notebook on the central table of the secret chamber and retrieved the black box nestled within the pages.
He casually cut off a piece of flesh and tossed it into the box. As the black box gradually opened, Qiangyin looked inside.
There was... nothing.
The watch chain had been activated.
But what was the time limit? Why hadn’t his future self given him any hints?
This should be the third cycle... two different regions of flesh had vanished.
The Pleasure Society... did they not want to continue the northern ritual? Was this a bite back at this moment?
Qiangyin's face turned ashen as he pondered in the dim underground chamber, rapidly considering various possibilities.
First... he had to find the "Subverter" known as the Key Person.
Once he found them, everything would fall into place.
...
The silver light gradually faded from Xia'er’s eyes, restoring her vision and perception.
"Ugh..."
Xia'er braced herself against the table, feeling the world spin in her mind, unable to stop herself from gagging. Her brain and stomach churned, and everything before her seemed to blur into double vision.
At that moment, she was sitting in a hotel room, and besides the hotel’s set lunch, a phantom system panel hung before her.
"Reality"
"July 17, Year 741, 12:15"
"Evaluation: 100 points let you play twice! This simulation really cost you a fortune for just 100 points!"
"After the host's tireless survey, a significant population gap between the East and West districts was discovered; the East district's population density is nearly four times that of the West. However... not everyone was killed, so it seems a bit hard to tally..."
"But considering this is the host's first contact with the fourth tier, and the total survey count has exceeded a million, let’s make this reward a bit richer."
"Also, the host's actions reflecting the new 'uniqueness' have pleased the system. Go ahead, embrace that 'uniqueness' that rightfully belongs to you!"
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