Chapter 397
Today, I truly have no excuses left; I’m just a mess. My state of mind has been off for the past few days, and no matter how I write, I’m never satisfied. So, I decided to write a chapter about daily life, to slow down the pace and give my brain a little break, preparing for the upcoming plot.
I’ve been avoiding the new storyline for a while now. Once I dive in, I have to think hard and push through, but running away won’t solve anything.
Tomorrow! I’ll aim for 8K! I can succeed without needing a boost from Kun Danji!
Good night!
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**Chapter 214: The Funeral of Xia'er (6048 words)**
**"The Coming Days"**
**"July 28, 741 AD, 23:17"**
**"Countdown - 23:59:59"**
Cold, dark, and the scent of blood.
Xia'er slowly opened her eyes. All she could see was the fading system panel, nothing else in sight.
The numbers displayed on the panel made her breath hitch slightly.
She had arrived sixteen days early.
The version of herself in the simulation... was dead?
What had she done in the simulation that led to her death? And where was she now?
Even in a subsystem, her combat power shouldn’t be something an ordinary extraordinary being could mess with, right?
That brain? The Order of the God of Order? The Strong Sound? Or had she gone to find Princess Vitalis...
Questions surged in Xia'er's mind one after another.
But what she needed to clarify most urgently was: where exactly was she now?
She could feel herself lying on a soft cushion, but the surrounding space felt cramped and confined.
Xia'er reached out, tentatively feeling forward, and soon touched the top.
The surface was slightly cold wood, and as she gently stroked it, she could feel the exquisite carvings etched into the wood.
Could it be...
Xia'er felt around her, quickly confirming her suspicion.
She was trapped in a rectangular wooden box, a very luxurious resting bed...
To put it simply, it was a coffin.
Xia'er tried to push forward with both hands, slowly applying force, but it didn’t budge an inch.
Was she already buried?
Wait, the version of herself in the simulation had been alive when buried, right?
Why was she alive and buried? If she was buried alive... then she must have left something behind...
The space inside the coffin was limited, so Xia'er began to explore the small area bit by bit. She didn’t attempt to break open the coffin because she had no idea what the situation outside was like.
She rolled over, searching every inch of the place where her head had rested, but found nothing. She even tore apart the cushion, pulling out some feathers, but there was nothing hidden inside.
Fortunately, Xia'er was small enough to turn around in the cramped coffin.
After adjusting her position, she finally felt something wrapped in thick cloth where her feet had been resting.
A burial item?
Xia'er carefully unwrapped the cloth in the dark, and by feeling the shapes of the items inside, she quickly identified what they were.
A small oil lamp, a box of matches, a notebook, and two bottles.
She shook the matchbox gently, confirming it was full, then pulled out a match and struck it against the rough side of the box. The red phosphorus on the match head ignited.
The faint glow illuminated everything around her, and she quickly assessed the items before her.
After the match went out, Xia'er waited for about ten seconds in the stillness, confirming there was no sound from outside, then opened the lamp shade, struck another match, lit the wick of the oil lamp, covered it again, and adjusted the flame to the lowest setting to conserve the limited oxygen in the coffin.
With the dim light of the flame, Xia'er quickly flipped open the notebook and began to read what was written inside.
On the first page, there were some additional notes, like a preface.
**"If you’re reading this, it means I’m already dead. Here are a few key points you can quickly confirm:"**
**"Eleanor is fine; Edward is just a puppet; the death of the Saint of the Goddess of Salvation is related to the Order of the God of Order; Adele doesn’t know the function of the brain; Ashford is still alive, and he knows."**
**"Beware of the Pharos Medical Society."**
**"If you finish reading this and no one comes looking for trouble... just keep reading."**
It was clear that this was the version of herself in the simulation, using the briefest language to leave her the most important pieces of information. The simulated version even seemed to think she wouldn’t have time to read the rest.
Xia'er paused for a moment, holding her breath.
Aside from the sound of the flame burning, she heard nothing else.
No matter; if she couldn’t escape this simulation, it was fine. She would gather the information first.
With her worries set aside, Xia'er began to quickly flip through the notebook.
As she read through the contents recorded in the notebook page by page, she finally understood what had happened during those short ten days in the simulation.
The moment the simulated Xia'er realized she had entered the simulation, she had already begun to act.
First, she immediately sent Tara to gather the members of the Holy Arrival Sect in Ansu City who held high noble status, establishing contact with them. This was a significant force that could be utilized.
Then, after discussing the banquet time with Aivina, the simulated Xia'er had Tara take Amy to the Archbishop’s residence of the Goddess of Salvation, while she disguised herself as Tara’s attendant, providing support from the side.
The purpose was to observe closely whether Tara could accomplish everything on her own without her influence.
After all, the contact with Eleanor had to happen in reality. Although the simulated version had met her once and Tara and Amy had met her once, it wouldn’t hurt to try again.
The task of contacting Eleanor went very smoothly, especially when Eleanor triggered Amy’s divine servant protection, immediately recognizing Amy as the true saint.
Though she still hadn’t completely changed her view of the Holy Arrival Sect, she was particularly obedient to Amy’s commands.
It seemed that in the eyes of this "Dark Worm Preacher," meeting a divine servant carried a different weight than encountering a dark worm.
The simulated Xia'er didn’t attempt anything more. If this simulation had only tested Amy and couldn’t make Eleanor completely loyal, then Xia'er would have to take matters into her own hands next time.
After temporarily settling matters with Eleanor, the simulated Xia'er focused on preparing for the banquet on the 21st.
Once news of Aivina in Ansu spread through the tabloids, Windsor indeed stopped visiting Aivina, merely sending a letter to catch up and inviting Aivina to Windsor Palace for a chat when she had time.
The banquet arrangements and the reprinting of invitations were all handled by Lucy, ensuring maximum efficiency and no mistakes.
On the 18th, everyone, including Xia'er, moved out of the Dedton Member Hotel, leaving Aivina alone there, waiting for the banquet to begin.
While waiting for the banquet to start, the simulated Xia'er was also searching for potions that her real self could use, gathering quite a few, most of which she had taken from Lucy.
By the time the banquet began, the simulated Xia'er had collected four or five bottles of potions and devised several promotion plans.
From Xia'er’s reading, it seemed the banquet was going even more smoothly than expected.
With Tara and Lucy’s connections, many nobles attended, most of whom were extraordinary beings.
Windsor also brought along several nobles and officials from the Order of the God of Order to the banquet, but no trouble arose—there were simply too many extraordinary beings present; whatever happened, it was impossible to avoid everyone’s attention completely.
During the banquet, Eleanor helped Xia'er see through Edward’s disguise, only to discover he was indeed just an ordinary person; the "Subverter" was someone else entirely, and Edward was merely a puppet.
The simulated Xia'er didn’t capture Edward to avoid alerting the enemy.
The banquet achieved even better results than Aivina had anticipated; even the police carriage that had been openly following her had vanished—Aivina’s displayed "connections" had made those wanting to harm Nia reconsider.
With no incidents at the banquet, the only potential problem lay with that brain.
Xia'er continued reading.
After Adele finished organizing her lab, Xia'er went directly to her, retrieving the brain for Adele to study what it truly was.
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