Chapter 394
Xia'er stood up from the sofa, only to feel her legs go weak beneath her.
Tala, who had been standing nearby with her full attention on Xia'er, hurried over to support her. Her height was just right for Xia'er to rest her elbow on the top of her head.
“Phew...”
Xia'er let out a slow breath, and with Tala's help, she sat back down. Turning to Tala, she lowered her head and said, “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me, Lady Xia'er. It's what a servant should do.” Tala quickly bowed her head, trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.
Just moments ago, while supporting Xia'er, her cheek had accidentally brushed against Xia'er's side, and her hand had rested on Xia'er's slender waist...
She was already beginning to etch that faint fragrance into her mind, leaving little room for anything else.
At that moment, Xia'er sat on the sofa, slightly closing her eyes to gather herself.
The multiple simulations she had undergone in a single day had indeed drained her mental energy—perhaps it was also due to the potion she had consumed.
In the past, spending 24 hours in a simulation would translate to only a few minutes to a little over ten minutes in reality. This time, although the simulation wasn't particularly intense, it had stretched reality to over twenty minutes... This indicated that Xia'er's mental strength was nearing exhaustion.
Even the soothing touch of Aivina had not faded from her mind for long.
It seemed that today was not suitable for any further simulations...
Aivina was still away, and Xia'er opened her eyes, beginning to consider what else she could do besides simulations.
Asking Aivina about Isabella would have to wait until she returned.
Finding Princess Vitalis... At this hour, according to the route she had provided, she should have already headed to Pharos, and Xia'er couldn't simply cross borders to capture her.
There was still one more thing...
Xia'er opened the system shop.
「【Corrupted Parasite Brain (Slightly Cracked)】」
「Destiny Points: 10」
「【Eve Lafayette's Personal Emblem】」
「Destiny Points: 1」
Xia'er decided against exchanging for the parasite brain, as she wasn't sure if having two brains existing in the same time and space would lead to any unforeseen consequences or attract the attention of the strong sound.
The best approach would be to clear a space in the system warehouse, exchange for the item, and then directly store it there, retrieving it during a simulation to hand over to Adele, to see if she could help research what it was.
In the previous simulation, “Detective” Xia'er had directly held the brain in her hand, but nothing had happened.
As for the last simulation, when Adele was still “the Physician,” she probably wouldn't be much help either. Xia'er believed that at least a “Plague Doctor” level extraordinary being would be needed to remain unaffected by this thing.
If Ashford were around, he would surely be able to make some discoveries, but unfortunately, he had been blown to bits and wouldn't recover for at least a hundred days.
Xia'er glanced at her current six-slot system warehouse.
【Deadly Blood Roland】, 【The Endless Manual of Forgetting】, 【Soul Incitement Box】, 【The Sage's Toy Box】, along with Hiu's letter emblem and a bishop's emblem from the Holy Ascendancy.
Xia'er had already moved her bound exclusive seal item, 【Echo of the Silver-White Timebinder】, out, yet there still wasn't enough space.
After a moment's thought, Xia'er decided to remove Hiu's letter and emblem, as well as the Holy Ascendancy emblem.
With a flash of silver light, a letter and an emblem appeared in Xia'er's hand, the letter containing another emblem.
These items had become less useful to Xia'er, especially in both reality and future simulations.
She could now quickly gain the trust of the Holy Ascendancy and the Goddess of Salvation through other means, rendering these two items nearly obsolete.
She would have Tala keep them safe, and when she needed them for past simulations, she could ask for them back. For now, it was best to remove them from the system warehouse.
Xia'er handed the two items to Tala and said, “Please keep these two items for me.”
“Of course, Lady Xia'er.” Tala slightly bowed.
Tala was not surprised at all by what Xia'er could produce from her hands, let alone just two emblems.
Xia'er spent 10 destiny points to place the brain she had brought out from the previous simulation into the system warehouse, leaving her with a balance of 506 destiny points.
After exchanging for the brain, Xia'er opened the simulation interface again to check the upcoming time nodes available for simulation.
「Future: Day 27 (Year 741, August 13, 20:00) (Cost: 10 Destiny Points)」
Finally, a decent time node had appeared...
In 27 days, not only could her simulated self retrieve the brain for Adele to study, but she could also find Isabella and Princess Vitalis.
If she were to be a bit more daring, she could even exchange for Lafayette's emblem and have her simulated self disguise as Lafayette to extract some information from the Church of the God of Order...
Moreover, being able to simulate 27 days into the future indicated that the strong sound still hadn't uncovered her identity, meaning she was still safe.
“Tala, if anyone comes looking for me, wake me up.” Xia'er waved her hand at Tala and then got up, heading toward the bed.
She was ready to rest a little longer.
“Understood, Lady Xia'er.” Tala watched as Xia'er lay down, then thought for a moment before walking to the door, gently opening it, and standing outside.
Though she wished to stay by the side of the Mother Goddess's vessel, it was clear that the Mother Goddess needed rest, and Tala needed to help keep visitors at bay.
About an hour later, Amy's figure appeared before Tala.
“Is Xia'er inside? Little Tala.” Amy asked, looking at Tala.
“Lady Xia'er is resting inside. May I ask what you need from her?” Tala slightly lowered her head and inquired softly.
“Oh... I just wanted to say that I've moved all my things to the new address and wanted to ask if Xia'er would like to come to my housewarming party tomorrow... It won't be a big gathering, just a few friends and relatives.” Amy looked at Tala and asked, “Could you please ask her when she wakes up?”
“Of course, Miss Amy. I will convey your message to Lady Xia'er as soon as she wakes up.” Tala nodded slightly.
“Thank you for that.”
Amy walked down the hallway toward the stairs, seemingly preparing to move out of the hotel tonight. She appeared to want to say goodbye to Aivina, but Aivina was not in the room.
It was around 8:30 when Aivina finally returned to the hotel.
Seeing Tala standing at the door, Aivina knew that Xia'er was still inside. She looked at Tala and asked, “Has Xia'er not gone out today?”
“Lady Xia'er has been resting in her room, Lady Aivina.” Tala slightly bowed her head, showing great respect for the partner of the Mother Goddess's physical form.
Aivina glanced back at Nia and said, “Wait for me outside for a moment.”
With that, Aivina gently opened the door and walked into Xia'er's room.
The sky had darkened, but the oil lamps in the room had not been lit, with only a sliver of moonlight illuminating through the hall window.
Aivina closed the door, lit a few lamps, and followed the dim light to the bedside, looking at Xia'er lying there.
At that moment, Xia'er was on the bed, seemingly unaware of Aivina's arrival. Her forehead was slick with cold sweat, her eyes tightly shut, and her brow furrowed as if she were trapped in a nightmare.
Seeing Xia'er before her, Aivina felt a twinge of pain in her heart. Fortunately, as a “Listener” and “Psychologist,” she was skilled at dispelling nightmares.
Aivina took off her glasses and placed them on the bedside table, then pulled out her handkerchief to gently wipe the sweat from Xia'er's forehead.
However, her action seemed to startle the tense Xia'er, who suddenly shot up, grabbing Aivina's wrist.
“Ah...” Aivina had intended to remain expressionless, but the force of Xia'er's grip made her gasp in surprise.
As Xia'er opened her eyes, the dim light allowed her to gradually recognize Aivina, and she slowly released her grip, saying, “Sorry, Aivina, I didn't notice you came in...”
Aivina set the handkerchief aside and rubbed her right wrist, where Xia'er had gripped her, now slightly bruised and on the verge of being sprained.
But Aivina seemed unconcerned; it was merely a minor physical injury. She understood that what Xia'er was enduring was a thousand times more painful.
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