Chapter 554
Lucy’s mouth was still moving, but she had completely lost track of what she was saying. The deafening ringing in her ears drowned out the voices of those around her.
It wasn’t until she caught sight of a pair of dark purple eyes that she paused, momentarily stunned.
It was as if a heavy dose of sedative had been injected into her; her previously turbulent emotions stilled in an instant, allowing her to think clearly for the first time.
Calm down... Lucy... It’s just your boss who’s dead...
There’s still a powerful ally here who took out your boss... Hold on to her, Lucy!
“Yes!” As if to bolster her courage, Lucy suddenly looked up, directing her gaze toward the red-haired girl and exclaimed, “I identified the body of Prague! Seventy percent of the remains found at the scene have been confirmed!”
“Too loud...”
Xia Er’s gaze shifted from the shattered crystal before her to Lucy, and she continued, “How much do you know about the Dedton Group’s operation to eliminate members of the Holy Dawn Sect?”
“I was in Berun City during the internal sweep...” Lucy took a deep breath and replied, “But I’ve reviewed quite a bit of material since returning. What specifically would you like to know?”
“About Prague,” Xia Er said, looking intently at Lucy. “Bliss City is the main area of activity for Prague. Were there any members of the Holy Dawn Sect who were originally active in Bliss and were captured by the Dedton Group?”
Lucy took a moment to recall Xia Er’s question.
It had been months since those events, so it was understandable that she struggled to remember.
But soon, as she sorted through her memories, she nodded at Xia Er and said, “I remember there was a regional manager from Bliss who was captured... I was focused on skipping the regional manager stage and going straight for the general manager position, so I paid more attention to that...”
That would fit.
Keleisi’s contact with the necklace couldn’t have been too long.
But in a way, it was indeed related to her...
Xia Er raised a hand to rub her forehead.
This was the most troubling part...
No matter how hard she tried to conceal herself, some strange presence would always find a way to connect with her in corners she barely noticed...
This seemingly fated, inescapable encounter had haunted Xia Er ever since she acquired the pocket watch.
Now that she had confirmed the approximate date of Keleisi’s contact with the necklace, she needed to verify Keleisi’s specific plans during that time...
This was crucial to the original plan of “Sadana.”
At that moment, while Xia Er’s face showed little emotion, her heart was in turmoil, not much better off than Lucy’s.
Sadana was a being from the other realm.
It was unaffected by simulations.
The only advantage for Xia Er was that Sadana couldn’t cross the boundary into reality alone; even a moment’s appearance would require energy that could turn Keleisi into a mere husk.
When facing Sadana, Xia Er lost all the advantages that simulations provided...
But the other side also had its own disadvantages...
Moreover, Sadana harbored an unusual hostility toward her.
Though its power far exceeded hers, this was not a war that was entirely unwinnable.
“Aivina, can we give it a try?” Xia Er turned to Aivina, speaking up.
“Sure, I’ll give it a shot,” Aivina nodded.
Xia Er’s gaze shifted to Keleisi’s body on the ground.
She hadn’t expected the indescribable gaze the system spoke of to be cast upon her so soon...
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PS:
Tomorrow, 10,000 words, Guitar Hero supervision.
It’s the end of the month, please, I beg for monthly tickets, just a little boost, so that Aivina’s illustration can stay on the cover for an extra day next month!
Please!
Good night!
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Chapter 287: A Long, Long Time Ago (12,038 words)
Keleisi’s body had already undergone significant decomposition; her bones and muscles were at a point where they would shatter with the slightest touch, making long-distance transport impractical.
Under Aivina’s guidance, Xia Er carefully cradled Keleisi’s skull and placed it on the cleared space of the dining table.
“I need to... ensure her brain is intact. If possible, it would be best to remove her eyeballs completely...” Aivina had no practical experience with corpses, so she could only relay her needs to Xia Er, who would assist her.
To ensure everything went smoothly, Xia Er had Tara call Adele over. Although Adele specialized in potion-making, her practical experience with human anatomy was greater than anyone else present.
While waiting for Adele to arrive, Aivina prepared the necessary tools, while Xia Er used tweezers to gently peel back Keleisi’s scalp, carefully breaking the brittle skull into pieces to remove it—
This process was akin to cracking a raw egg without damaging the membrane; any slight tremor would cause the thick, yellowish liquid inside to spill out. It required a delicate touch.
Fortunately, Xia Er had some experience with cranial procedures.
By the time Adele was brought into the dining room, Xia Er had already removed the hair, skin, and bone from Keleisi’s head.
Initially, when she learned that Xia Er had invited her to her home, Adele had come with excitement, skipping dinner and even bringing some pastries as a gift.
But as she stepped into the dining room, thick with the stench of blood, she was left utterly bewildered.
The expressions of those gathered around the table varied, all eyes turning toward Adele as she entered, the eerie and oppressive atmosphere enveloping her instantly.
For a moment, she imagined that Xia Er was simply handling some ingredients with great care, but the overwhelming stench of decay reminded her that everything before her was all too real.
Gulp—
Adele swallowed hard, her earlier hunger completely vanished. She stood there, clutching the oil paper bag containing the pastries, feeling utterly lost.
For confidentiality reasons, Tara hadn’t informed Adele of the purpose of her visit, and it seemed she had genuinely thought she was coming for a feast.
“Adele,” Xia Er waved her over, saying, “Can you remove her eyeballs completely? The body is in a severe state of decay, and I’m not sure about the condition of the eyeballs, so I didn’t dare to act recklessly.”
“Oh... okay...” With Xia Er’s direction, Adele’s confusion faded. She handed her belongings to Tara and quickly walked over to Xia Er’s side.
She noticed the headless corpse lying on the ground, but perhaps due to her frequent encounters with such things, Adele didn’t seem frightened by it.
She didn’t know what had happened here, nor did she understand Xia Er’s intentions; she only knew that Xia Er needed her help, and that was enough.
Once the situation exceeded Adele’s capacity to comprehend, she chose to stop thinking and fully trust Xia Er—commonly known as... overload.
“Pass me the tweezers.” After taking the tweezers from Xia Er, Adele took a deep breath and carefully touched the corpse’s eyeball with the back of the tweezers.
Just a gentle touch, and the eyeball seemed on the verge of rotting; under such circumstances, it was unrealistic to expect to remove the optic nerve intact with tweezers.
Adele quickly opened her coat and retrieved several small boxes from within, directly opening a few on the nearby table.
Each box contained small vials about the thickness of a human pinky finger. After selecting a few potions, she looked at Xia Er to confirm, “Is it just the intact eyeball that we need?”
Xia Er glanced at Aivina, who had already filled a clean plate with a layer of light blue liquid. She nodded at Adele, “Yes, we need this to construct the soul link... just one will do.”
“If it can’t be removed completely, that’s fine; it just means we won’t be able to ‘read’ it.”
“Got it.” Adele nodded, seemingly recalling something, and asked, “If we can’t remove both eyeballs intact, what about one or part of one?”
“That’s acceptable,” Aivina confirmed.
Adele quickly prepared the potion in her hands, mixing several vials together and pouring them into a glass cup. As the last clear potion dripped into the cup, a large amount of white mist surged forth, swirling from the glass.
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