Chapter 423
Upon hearing that Charles wouldn’t let her leave, Tara finally stood up. She wiped her reddened eyes and looked at Charles, saying, “Thank you, Lord Charles... Are you looking for a reliable candidate to serve as a temporary Pope?”
“Yes,” Charles nodded.
“I can bring someone,” Tara replied, her gaze steady on Charles. “She’s sort of my student... a cardinal I previously swayed from the Church of the Savior Goddess. If you agree, I can have her come and give it a try.”
Tara didn’t mind selling out her student as long as it meant she could continue to linger... stay by the side of the Mother Goddess.
“Take your time,” Charles shook his head. “Just hand me a pen and some ink.”
“Of course, Lord Charles!” Knowing she could stay by his side, Tara wiped away her tears and quickly fetched a pen and ink for him.
Charles took the pen, dipped it in the ink, and with a flick of his wrist, a silver light flashed, revealing a manual before her. She gazed at the manual, deep in thought.
Now she possessed a wealth of new information, but she still couldn’t act recklessly in reality.
She could indeed kill Mond directly and completely conceal Adele’s information—but doing so would leave the ticking time bomb that was Qiangyin still in play. If she did nothing and waited, that bomb would inevitably detonate.
There was also a point that Charles had overlooked.
The body of the “Key Person” was still in the hands of the Dedton Group.
Qiangyin would undoubtedly investigate; that body couldn’t escape scrutiny, as any investigation would lead to the conclusion that it belonged to the Key Person.
Of course, Qiangyin might think it was a perfect faked death, but as time passed and Qiangyin grew anxious, what if he truly began to re-investigate that body?
The Chaos Squad had been sold out by her. Although they couldn’t extract anything useful from them, they would lead Qiangyin to focus on all the extraordinary individuals present in Bole City at that time.
While it might take a long time for Qiangyin to achieve this, the outcome was certain.
Only Charles knew the flaws in her plan—there was no such thing as a perfect plan.
Thus, she had to try to address this flaw in the next simulation.
Could Mond be of any use?
Should she have him poison Qiangyin?
No, in the next cycle, Qiangyin would simply kill Mond and trace the clues back to her.
But perhaps she could approach it from some finer details...
Mond had a very close relationship with Lafayette, and Lafayette controlled Qiangyin’s mind, his accurate memories, and his living notes.
Could she... use this connection to implant a false memory in Qiangyin’s living notes, which were essentially Princess Windsor?
Make him believe he had already dealt with the Key Person... that the cycle had been broken...
The “Uniqueness” snake chain that Qiangyin held would only return after the first cycle ended, even if the matter was resolved—if Qiangyin died in the meantime, it would trigger the cycle again.
This gave Charles’s plan a perfect operational space; she could easily deceive Qiangyin into believing he had dealt with the Key Person.
As long as she found a way to completely kill him and extract the “Uniqueness” before triggering the next cycle, everything would be fine...
Charles raised her hand and began writing in the manual.
[Use Mond to get close to Lafayette, try to find a way to control Lafayette—have Tara’s student come quickly.]
[Need to create a perfect memory of having killed the Key Person for Qiangyin to read, to make him believe it.]
[Exposing Mond’s identity will definitely attract Qiangyin’s attention, and Lafayette will also fall under Qiangyin’s suspicion.]
[What you need to do now... is find a new Key Person; anyone can be it.]
[It could be Mond or Lafayette; find a way to create a new indelible scar on Qiangyin’s face, using his mark... “The Newborn” can do this.]
[In the meantime, you can use some destiny points to transform into “The Subverter” and save, to see “The Subverter’s” schemes, but don’t adopt them completely.]
Charles paused her writing, contemplating for a moment.
What kind of potion would be suitable for this operation?
She couldn’t use “The Subverter.”
Anyone associated with “The Subverter” would almost certainly be a known member of the Joyous Society, which would raise Qiangyin’s suspicions. Entering the simulation as “The Subverter” would ruin her plan.
“The Physician” and “The Ascetic” could help Charles better control the situation, and “The Physician” could also allow her to disguise herself as a member of the Pharos Medical Society.
[Prepare a few more potions; I’ll assess the situation later.]
[Draft a detailed plan; you can look at “The Subverter’s” plan for comparison.]
[On the other side, keep an eye on the people Tara is bringing; ensure the plan is executed as scheduled, and remember to exchange for the staff and the holy contract.]
[If you successfully control Lafayette, you can use her to gather information about the Order of the God of Order and their “Artificial Divine Persona” project.]
In the end, Charles left that line written down. Without seeing the specific situation after the plan was implemented, she wasn’t sure what potion would be most appropriate.
Not transforming directly into “The Subverter” for saving was because...
Changing in the simulation’s subsystem wouldn’t waste her destiny points.
Charles set down her pen.
Modifying Qiangyin’s memory... was a rather risky method, but if successful, it would grant her a long period of stable development.
It was worth a try.
The silver light flickered again, and the manual vanished from before Charles.
“Tara, I need to zone out for a bit,” Charles said, looking up at Tara, who stood beside her, the redness around her eyes still lingering. “Take good care of my body.”
“Yes, Lord Charles!”
Tara nodded.
She had come to understand the reason behind each of Lord Charles’s “slumbers”...
Perhaps it was to temporarily return to the divine realm to handle some matters.
During this time, Tara would ensure the safety of the Mother Goddess’s physical form.
After receiving Tara’s response, Charles opened the simulation interface.
She didn’t plan to exchange for the staff and holy contract directly; she didn’t know if doing so would attract the attention of some mysterious force, nor was she sure if the Church of the Savior Goddess had left any contingencies. She needed to have her simulated self make the exchange.
“Next Day: 3 Days (Year 741, July 21, 17:51) (Cost: 10 Destiny Points)”
“Next Day.”
“No. 0.”
Charles silently recited in her heart.
A blazing silver light enveloped everything before her...
...
“Next Day”
“Year 741, July 21, 17:51”
“Countdown -23:59:59”
Melodious music filled Charles’s ears, accompanied by the sounds of laughter and clinking glasses.
Taking a deep breath, she inhaled the aroma of delicious food and a hint of wine. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and the world unfolded before her once more.
A cool night breeze brushed against her face. In front of her, Aivina, holding a glass of juice, was toasting with a noblewoman dressed in an extravagant evening gown.
Noticing Charles’s gaze, the elegantly dressed Aivina turned to her, smiling as she raised her glass, seemingly indicating that she had kept her promise and hadn’t drunk any alcohol.
This was Aivina’s banquet... was it also outdoors?
It seemed to be in the latter half of the event.
Charles scanned the room, her pupils narrowing slightly.
Qiangyin, Windsor, Lafayette, Mond, Lucy, Seraphine... and a multitude of nobles, along with unfamiliar faces dressed in the garb of the Church of the Savior Goddess or the Order of the God of Order.
What? Why is everyone here?
Charles’s heart raced with anxiety. Just then, Tara’s delicate voice rang out from behind her.
“Lord Charles, are you drunk? Do you need me to take you to a room to sober up?”
Charles turned to look at Tara, who raised her hand toward her, quickly winking with her left eye, as if signaling something.
“Alright... take me there,” Charles said, placing her hand in Tara’s palm. It was then she realized she was also wearing a gown, her hands adorned with white silk opera gloves.
What... has happened?
Why did it feel like she had walked into a New Year’s celebration, ready to make dumplings?
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PS:
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