Chapter 493
When Lucy first arrived in Ansu, she was eager to help Xia Er and her friends find a place to live and build relationships. Almost every time mealtime rolled around, she would show up at their door with desserts in hand—this time was no exception.
At the staircase, Xia Er encountered Lucy and handed her a letter.
The letter contained instructions for Lucy—something that seemed utterly nonsensical to outsiders.
“Take all your subordinates... on vacation?” Lucy murmured as she looked at the letter in her hand. “What... does this mean?”
“This is your first test from the organization,” Xia Er explained without going into too much detail. She knew what Lucy wanted. “If you pass, we’ll consider bringing you into the organization.”
“Really?” Lucy perked up instantly, though she didn’t think it would be that simple. “Don’t worry, I’ll complete the task perfectly and as quickly as possible.”
How could a test from a mysterious organization be as simple as taking her subordinates on vacation?
And to the nearest train, no less?
That nearest train was the clue... The real test from the organization would only appear on the train or during the journey.
Lucy’s mind raced with thoughts of the challenges ahead as she quickly left the hotel to gather all her subordinates.
Meanwhile, Xia Er, having finished her own arrangements, stepped out and boarded a carriage heading to the Church of the God of Order.
Among the three parallel task lines, the one Amy and her team were responsible for was the simplest. They had successfully persuaded Eleanor multiple times in simulations, and Xia Er had enough experience to ensure that what she taught Tara would go smoothly.
Aivina’s task wasn’t too difficult either. From Xia Er’s previous conversations with Charles in the simulations, it was clear that deep down, he felt a certain debt towards Aivina.
In reality, Charles was already hesitating to agree to jointly eliminate the strong sound, and he wouldn’t refuse simple requests like changing the banquet location—especially since Aivina would be the one asking.
As for Xia Er, there were more variables at play.
Previously, when she interacted with the Pope of the Church of the God of Order, she had the protection of a Level 4 guardian. But this time, she was alone... Xia Er wasn’t sure if the collaboration would even materialize.
Strictly speaking, all three task lines had their uncertainties, but this was the best distribution method Xia Er could come up with for a higher success rate.
Next, it was a matter of doing her best and leaving the rest to fate.
When the carriage stopped in front of the Church of the God of Order, Xia Er stepped down and scanned her surroundings.
The large-scale cavalry blockade hadn’t appeared yet... This didn’t necessarily mean it was a good sign. If Xia Er’s earlier theory held true, even in simulations, a blockade should still exist...
However, it had only been twenty minutes since the simulation began, and it was nighttime. The strong sound might not even be in the West District or Ansu City yet; they would need to wait a bit longer to draw any conclusions.
At this moment, Xia Er was still dressed in the black robe of the Tribunal. Before she entered the Church of the God of Order, she was naturally stopped.
Knowing that directly stating she was looking for the Pope wouldn’t work, Xia Er explained to the guard that she was there to see Cardinal Henry and handed over a note.
The note contained the words “Bi Jie” (彼界), written in Ancient Ansu. Upon seeing this, Henry would surely come to meet her.
Having gone through this twice in simulations, Xia Er moved quickly. For the person in this simulation, she was a true “multi-run player.”
If only she could skip dialogues like in a game, she would have been even faster.
This time, besides showing Bi Jie, Xia Er also needed to clarify that she had no connection to the Church of the Savior Goddess...
But this wouldn’t raise any suspicions, as most of the members of the Church of the God of Order, composed mainly of “detectives,” already had a list of extraordinary individuals from the Tribunal, and Xia Er’s name wasn’t on it.
As in the simulations, Xia Er met with Pope Erigema and extended her invitation for collaboration.
But just as the Pope asked Xia Er to demonstrate her abilities, a hitch occurred when Xia Er attempted to use spiritual summoning...
Just like in reality, Xia Er borrowed a finger from Pope Erigema and began the summoning ritual.
She had given enough blood, and the blood array appeared before her, the crimson vortex swirling as it always did... even the iron finger had been drained.
But Little Zuo... didn’t emerge.
This was a blood array specifically designed for Little Zuo, and failure was not an option.
In Bi Jie, there should have been a blood-red vortex connecting to reality beside Little Zuo.
Yet the crimson vortex swirled quietly before Xia Er, with no signs of movement—only Pope Erigema and Henry were oblivious to anything amiss, astonished by Xia Er’s ability to conjure the door to Bi Jie with her bare hands, thinking that waiting was part of the summoning ritual.
Thinking back... it seemed Little Zuo hadn’t prayed to her in a long time...
As Xia Er attempted to contact Little Zuo directly with the All-Knowing, a faint red light flickered in her mind.
Within the red light, a shadow appeared—an armored figure in white...
A ghostly metallic hum echoed in Xia Er’s mind.
“Lady Xia Er... your little pet seems to be a bit preoccupied at the moment...”
“What’s wrong with it?” Xia Er frowned, communicating in her mind.
“It’s... evolving. The transformation of life, you know.”
The armored figure in white nervously explained, seemingly afraid that a single misstep would earn it a little “warning” from the Master of Time.
“Ahem... is there anything I can do for you?” the metallic voice chimed in again.
“Just throw something from Bi Jie out,” Xia Er sighed lightly. “Anything will do... preferably something related to the person who used to steal from you.”
“Sure thing, sure thing.”
The red light dimmed, and before Xia Er, the scarlet vortex began to spin faster. Soon, a dark green object, exuding a terrifying and ominous aura from Bi Jie, was tossed out and landed on the table.
Thud—
The object hit the ground with a squelching sound.
At the same time, a faint buzzing filled Xia Er’s mind, and even the potion within her began to stir restlessly.
Xia Er looked at the object... it was a large, dark green brain.
“What is this?!” Cardinal Henry nearly shouted in shock, quickly stepping back and averting his gaze.
Pope Erigema, on the other hand, stood frozen in place, struggling to suppress the chaotic whispers in her mind as she stared at the pulsating, whispering brain.
If she could have shown any expression at that moment, it would have been impossible to hide her shock.
The Church of the God of Order had spent hundreds of years exploring the nodes of Bi Jie, and so many had died over the years, yet they had only managed to obtain one brain...
And here was this girl, who had merely gathered some blood and casually summoned one...
How could that not be shocking? How could it not make one question their life choices?
She even doubted whether the girl had stolen the brain stored in the Church of the God of Order to deceive her.
Suddenly—
From the door to Bi Jie, a torrent of grotesque, dark green brains began to spill out, nearly filling the entire table.
“Enough.” Feeling the violent spiritual alarm ringing in her mind, Xia Er frowned and quickly called off the actions of the pure white armor.
Henry screamed and fainted.
Pope Erigema, utterly drained, collapsed onto the Iron Throne, staring at the pulsating dark green brain before her, devoid of any strength or thoughts.
In the end, Xia Er had to intervene and shove some of the brains back to stop Pope Erigema from reacting, who had finally come to her senses and agreed to lend Xia Er the Bi Jie node. She even offered to help set it up, with the price being that those brains, which held no value for Xia Er, would be handed over to Pope Erigema in the simulation.
Aside from the consumption of blood and mental energy, this was essentially a no-cost deal for Xia Er.
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