Chapter 697
She had been in a meditative state, contemplating the path ahead—one step, or even several—simulating all possible outcomes in her mind.
In this state, her mental energy was rapidly recovering.
She had even deliberately interrupted her thoughts at night, reserving eight hours for sleep—something she hadn’t done since her time in Bolun City.
Aivina was still sound asleep in bed, and Shaer had no intention of waking her. Instead, he lay down beside her, holding her close as they spent the night together.
The next day, July 31, at six in the morning.
Shaer slowly opened his eyes from sleep.
At that moment, his mental energy had returned to its peak state after a day of Aivina’s healing and a full night’s rest. He felt better than ever.
Tomorrow, August 1, was the day Imogen would appear at the designated location.
And at noon on August 2, it would be the time for Shaer to simulate his next move.
“Tomorrow.”
“No. 0.”
Lying in bed, Shaer summoned the system without hesitation.
He didn’t even bother to write anything down for his simulated self; after a day of contemplation, he already knew what he needed to do.
A silver halo enveloped Shaer, and his destiny points dropped from 451 to 441 as he entered the simulation once more.
...
“Tomorrow”
“Year 741 of the Holy Era, August 2, 12:00”
“Countdown - 23:59:59”
Shaer’s awareness of his body returned faster than ever.
He slowly opened his eyes, the silver light fading away, revealing everything clearly before him.
This was not the room where Shaer had been, but the place felt oddly familiar.
It seemed to be a private prayer room within the Church of the Savior.
Under the glow of the oil lamp in the prayer room, Shaer took in his surroundings.
Standing around him were Aivina, Percy, Eleanor, and Tara, while in front of him was a woman bound hand and foot, wearing a hood and a veiled face.
“Imogen Soma.” Shaer spoke slowly, uttering her name.
Seeing the scene before him, Shaer understood what had transpired. It seemed his simulated self had prepared everything, just waiting for him to “execute” the plan.
“Milady... Your Excellency!” Imogen exclaimed, her voice trembling as she raised her head in desperation. “I’ve agreed to all your demands! I’m willing to do anything for you! Why are you treating me like this...”
Imogen seemed to sense the impending doom, pleading for mercy with all her might.
She had tried to resist, but the girl before her was so powerful it felt utterly hopeless... This was not someone she could fight against.
That red-haired demon... no, that red-haired girl’s abilities surpassed all of Imogen’s understanding; she could pause time!
How could one fight against someone who could manipulate time at will?
Imogen couldn’t even imagine a way to win; her struggles must have seemed like a joke to her opponent, as if reading a well-known comic.
So, she ceased all resistance, only wanting to know how she could survive.
“You agreeing... doesn’t mean you’re willing,” Shaer said, looking at Imogen. “I just need someone who will follow my orders wholeheartedly...”
“If you perform well, I might consider giving you a chance to live... After all, without you, finding the Dragon Eagle would be quite a challenge.”
As Shaer spoke, he turned slightly to glance at Aivina. After a brief exchange of looks, Aivina nodded slightly.
Aivina’s presence here must have been arranged by his simulated self, and it was clear what he wanted her to do.
Shaer intended to alter Imogen’s perception, making her completely loyal to him.
Modifying a Level 2 understanding to a Level 4 was quite difficult; if the other party resisted strongly, it could harm Aivina instead.
However, with Shaer present, there was no need to worry about any backlash causing ripples.
The moment Imogen’s whereabouts were exposed, her fate was sealed.
With her hands bound behind her, Imogen knelt on the ground, her eyes filled with despair and fear.
She ignored Aivina approaching her and instead looked past her, fixing her pleading gaze on Shaer.
Imogen seemed to be begging for mercy with her eyes, but unfortunately, Shaer was not one to show compassion.
Aivina’s pupils glowed with a purple light, and at that moment, Imogen surrendered all resistance.
Just as Shaer had said, completely giving up resistance might offer her a chance to survive.
Any hint of defiance could lead to the red-haired demon’s blade striking her neck in an instant.
As Imogen gazed into Aivina’s purple eyes, she relinquished all mental defenses.
It was only when her vision began to blur that a question echoed in her mind.
Where did this girl named Shaer come from?
It felt as if the entire city of Ansu had changed in an instant... Even though Imogen was in Ansu, she couldn’t fathom how Shaer had accomplished it.
Under Aivina’s hypnosis, Imogen gradually fell into a deep sleep.
In her slumber, her subconscious was slowly being rewritten, with “unable to attack Shaer” and “absolute obedience to Shaer” etched as ironclad laws in her mind.
After a long while, Aivina stepped back, closing her eyes.
For a Level 4 “Nightmare” to modify her subconscious was still somewhat challenging for Aivina, a Level 2 “Psychologist.”
Fortunately, Imogen showed no signs of resistance; any fluctuation in her spirit could harm Aivina.
“Shaer, it’s done,” Aivina turned to Shaer and said.
“Good, you can rest now.” Shaer looked at the weary Aivina and spoke softly.
Then, he turned to Tara, who understood the cue and approached Aivina, saying, “Lady Aivina, please follow me...”
Once Tara led Aivina away and closed the door to the private prayer room, Shaer turned his attention back to Imogen.
Controlling Imogen so easily... was not unexpected for Shaer.
In fact, even without Aivina injecting her subconscious, Imogen would likely obey Shaer.
However, Shaer preferred a puppet that wouldn’t betray her; she didn’t need any subjective initiative from Imogen, just complete obedience to her commands.
After all, those who acted on their own volition could be unpredictable, and Shaer wanted to avoid any surprises.
Shaer had considered several times whether to activate Imogen’s abilities in the simulation, infecting some people to preliminarily test her ideas.
But that thought was quickly dismissed by Shaer.
Previously, she had speculated about the minions of the God of Existence and their abilities, narrowing down their methods of obtaining information to two possibilities.
One was the unified oracle that synchronized information during each great cycle, and the other was sending important information through oracles at intervals.
If Shaer remotely controlled Imogen to do something in the simulation, and it was indeed the second method of information transmission, the minions of the God of Existence might see through her actions, prompting them to warn their followers to steer clear of Shaer or even eliminate Imogen.
Thus, before taking action, Shaer couldn’t expose her true intentions, even in the simulation.
“Knife.” Shaer raised his hand toward Percy, speaking flatly.
Percy drew a dagger from her waist, which, unlike Tara’s simple and short ritual knife, resembled a lavish decorative piece used for ceremonies and celebrations.
Shaer took the dagger and walked directly in front of Imogen, lifting her chin with the blade.
At that moment, Imogen’s slightly dazed eyes regained a glimmer of clarity as she looked up at Shaer, her voice trembling with confusion.
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