Chapter 463
The massive, terrifying mycelium piled up in chaotic layers, growing higher and higher until it surpassed the tallest tower of the Savior Goddess, creating a peculiar sight that loomed in the center of Ansu City.
Xia Er looked up at the sky-blocking red "giant tower" before her, wishing to control it and make it shrink, but she found herself unable to do so.
She had hoped to reduce the size of this giant tower a bit or find a way to store it for future use... but it seemed that this expectation was in vain, as the mycelium lacked such capabilities.
Some strands of mycelium that had consumed different extraordinary beings had mutated slightly, even displaying variations in color.
Unfortunately... time was running out. Otherwise, Xia Er would have liked to study these mycelium further; perhaps she could develop a more stable and powerful strain of bacteria.
To Xia Er, the current scarlet bacteria were somewhat subpar... they were too easily countered.
Flames, ice, and even certain toxins affecting plants or animals could render them inactive.
In a familiar environment, even ordinary people could form alliances to combat it, let alone extraordinary beings.
That night, Xia Er had to keep running, suppressing any resistance that arose to allow the bacteria to continue spreading.
Fortunately, she had chosen to start from the center of the western district and had connected with nearly all the forces that could be linked, ensuring they would not resist.
Otherwise, if the spread had begun in the eastern district, by the time it reached the western district, those extraordinary beings might have truly halted its advance.
There was still room for optimization...
Xia Er raised her hand, and the giant tower before her twitched slightly. A clump of mycelium, flowing with blue blood inside, was pushed forward, crawling on the ground toward her.
Xia Er picked up the clump of mycelium, and once it shrank into a ball, she stuffed it directly into her pocket.
This clump of mycelium had absorbed the essence of a Tier 4 extraordinary being... it could also be considered Charles's "Hero Fragment," making its research value significantly higher than that of other mycelium.
With limited capacity for carrying mycelium, Xia Er certainly prioritized the rarer specimens.
"Let’s go." Xia Er waved her hand and headed toward the Canal Tower Bridge.
Tala followed closely behind, while Percie hesitated for a moment before joining Tala. Eleanor, the last in line, glanced back at the Savior Goddess's cathedral and then at the towering mass of flesh and blood. After a few seconds of hesitation, she finally followed suit.
The "Ascetic" and "Avenger" paths were sustained only by faith and conviction. Now, Eleanor had to view Xia Er as someone even more exalted than the Saintess to stabilize her wavering beliefs.
The excessive slaughter had left her mindset somewhat unstable, causing her faith in the Savior Goddess to waver.
It was fortunate that Eleanor was from the Tribunal; if it had been Madeleine accompanying them, she would have likely broken down by now.
The group walked toward the city’s exit, leaving behind the ravaged city, with only the towering spectacle of the blood-soaked giant tower remaining...
...
"Save, No. 11."
"No. 11: 'Source of Cholera' Xia Er"
"Reality"
"Year 741 of the Holy Calendar, July 19, 18:14"
"Evaluation: Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!!!"
"Is it really that impressive? A beauty that could topple nations!"
"This is an unparalleled, national-level municipal project that perfectly resolves the planning errors of the sparsely populated western district and the densely populated eastern district, ensuring a uniform and average distribution of the population across every area. 2,741,257 citizens have no objections, and there isn’t a single stubborn holdout^^"
"The system now grants you the title of 'City Planner.' May you achieve even greater glory in the field of urban planning!"
"Accept this; it is well-deserved based on your performance."
"Rewards: Destiny Points *340, [Nemesis Lv.4], [Agility Lv.4]"
"Destiny Points: 911"
Three hundred forty destiny points...
Xia Er slowly opened her eyes, watching the system screen gradually fade away, and took a deep breath.
That was quite a sum... but it still fell short of her expectations.
Was it because she had the assistance of Adele in researching the bacteria? Yet, Xia Er herself had executed at least two Tier 4 beings... and countless Tier 3 ones with her own hands.
Could it be because...
A possibility crossed Xia Er's mind.
That these individuals had already been killed once by the shadow worms she summoned, and the destiny points from a second kill would obviously be fewer.
Xia Er frowned slightly.
Should she have killed Eleanor and Percie before leaving? At least Percie definitely hadn’t died before... Eleanor had been used as a vessel for the descent.
But Percie wasn’t as absolutely loyal as Tala; if she truly turned on Eleanor or Percie, it would inevitably cause panic in the other... Xia Er didn’t have the confidence to kill both at once.
She had witnessed the escape abilities of the "Ascetic" and "Avenger" paths.
"Ha..."
Xia Er let out a slow breath, setting aside those complicated thoughts.
At the very least, she had accomplished her initial goal of wanting to earn more destiny points.
Three hundred forty destiny points had already surpassed any single harvest she had ever achieved, and even after enhancing [Calm Reflection] to Lv.5, she still had 411 destiny points left. For Xia Er, that was a goal achieved.
Without hesitation, Xia Er opened the system panel, navigated to the [Skills] page, and found [Calm Reflection Lv.4].
"Would you like to upgrade [Calm Reflection Lv.4] to [Calm Reflection Lv.5]?"
"Yes."
Xia Er silently affirmed in her mind.
"Destiny Points -500"
"[Calm Reflection Lv.4] → [Calm Reflection Lv.5]"
"[Calm Reflection Lv.5]: You can maintain calm thinking in any situation, significantly enhancing your mental strength."
Mental strength enhancement... and the skill description had changed from "in more extreme situations" to "in any situation"...
A refreshing sensation surged from the top of Xia Er's head to her limbs, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
To her astonishment, all the murmurs and noise in her mind vanished at that moment... even the lingering effects from the other realm had dissipated without a trace.
No, they still existed.
But their voices occupied only a tiny fraction, so faint that Xia Er couldn’t even find them unless she actively searched.
Undoubtedly, Xia Er's mental strength had been exaggeratedly enhanced, at least compared to before; it was like night and day.
No wonder it required 500 destiny points to reach Lv.5... it was indeed worth it.
It seemed that Lv.5 was a significant threshold; other skills might also experience a qualitative leap after crossing this barrier.
However, Xia Er's current destiny points were insufficient to push other skills to Lv.5; otherwise, she would have liked to see what would happen if she upgraded Charm or Nemesis to Lv.5.
So what’s next...
Xia Er glanced at the notebook in front of her, feeling no excessive excitement in her heart.
Because there was one matter she had yet to resolve.
The Strong Sound...
This ticking time bomb could no longer be left unchecked.
Xia Er felt that she could still venture into the other realm at least one or two more times, at most three...
She had to kill the Strong Sound...
To ensure he fell into an infinite cycle of death until he was completely gone.
Xia Er needed to kill the Strong Sound in reality once to confirm the time and place of his temporal regression... then, she had to set up a node from the other realm at the location of his regression, sending him back there infinitely.
How could she set up a barrier in advance at the place of the Strong Sound's regression?
This was something the past simulations could achieve.
But Xia Er needed Percie's help; she couldn’t be absolutely sure of killing the Strong Sound on her own.
Moreover, it would be best to drag the Pope of the Order of Order into this... that Pope had been able to capture the Strong Sound in the simulations, so she must possess some extraordinary abilities.
Should she make contact with that Pope in reality...
Though it was dangerous and would contradict Xia Er's intention of not exposing herself to others' scrutiny, she had no choice but to proceed.
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