Chapter 77: Cause and Effect, Price
Liu Songyi, Shen Miaoyun, and Elsa arrived at the scene, but only a scene of devastation remained, littered with signs of a fierce battle, yet not a soul in sight.
After communicating with the Company dispatch specialists through the group chat, they learned that the others had moved to a different location after the battle.
It was no wonder the Patient Exchange Group had arrived too late. If it weren’t for Li Shaoheng’s spatial manipulation ability, even the Company personnel wouldn’t have made it in time.
Moreover, Artist clearly hadn’t wanted to prolong the fight. The seemingly intense battle had only lasted for two or three minutes.
However… the aftermath was troublesome.
“This putrid, decaying flesh is everywhere. Even if ordinary people can’t see it, the stench is unbearable.”
Even Liu Songyi, a seasoned criminal investigator, couldn’t help but frown. Shen Miaoyun, who usually stayed in the back, hadn’t lowered her hand from her nose since arriving at the scene.
Only Elsa seemed unfazed, perhaps having experienced too many similar situations.
“Shen Miaoyun, can you deal with this rotting flesh?” Liu Songyi asked, turning to her.
Shen Miaoyun endured the stench, used her ability briefly, and shook her head.
“No, this flesh isn’t decaying because of an ongoing ability effect. My power is useless.”
Compared to healing injuries, Shen Miaoyun’s ability was more effective against ongoing damage caused by abilities, such as toxins or Grotesquery transformations.
Moreover, this flesh was already “dead,” leaving Shen Miaoyun with nothing to work with.
“I see…”
Liu Songyi sighed. Cleaning up this scene would be troublesome.
This wasn’t something they could just casually dispose of. Who knew what kind of curses or abilities it contained? Reckless contact could be fatal.
“In any case, I’ll go apply for a scene lockdown and let the Company specialists handle it,” Liu Songyi quickly decided. His police status was useful in situations like this.
As for this troublesome matter, it was best left to the professionals. After all, the Company specialists weren’t providing free aid.
Elsa remained silent throughout, unable to speak, just quietly “observing” the flesh and the surroundings.
She felt a strange sense of familiarity…
“Xiao Qian, let’s go.” Receiving Liu Songyi’s order to retreat, Shen Miaoyun breathed a sigh of relief and quickly wheeled Elsa away, muttering, “That’s terrifying. It’s a good thing we didn’t arrive in time…”
She was a healer on the Myriad path. Why would they send a healer to the front lines? How much combat power could a healer possibly have?
The group was severely short-staffed. The newbie, White Witch, was still on leave, so she had been forced to come along.
Elsa nodded. She had only been there as backup.
Her ability was powerful, but its limitations were significant. She had been deployed only because of their lack of personnel.
Liu Songyi instructed the two to return to Qingshan Hospital and turned to walk towards the city. He was the busiest person in the exchange group. With Old Ji bedridden, he had to handle everything.
After everyone left, the already deserted bus stop seemed even colder.
But…
A faint, slender figure slowly materialized from thin air.
“It’s appeared again…”
A soft whisper, laced with the lingering fatigue of awakening from slumber.
“But… it seems to have disappeared again.”
The figure solidified, her bright eyes regaining their clarity.
She sensed the dense aura in the air, her expression turning grim.
“Why did it appear so quickly this time? In its current state, it should need at least three more months to spawn a new ‘egg.’”
Every six months, without fail, for the three years it had been in Jiangcheng County, only today was different.
Ji Ying had stopped the Puppet Ballad’s attempts to recover countless times, preventing the birth of several “eggs,” with only two exceptions, both of which had been dealt with.
“What happened?”
The figure crouched down, examining the putrid, decaying flesh on the ground.
After a moment, she reached out, picked up a piece of the flesh, reeking of Silent Demise, and slowly put it into her mouth.
She closed her eyes, chewing slowly, as if savoring a delicacy, a smile gradually appearing on her lips.
“I see…”
“So that’s how it is…”
“As expected, I wasn’t wrong. Only you can kill the Puppet Ballad.”
The pale moonlight illuminated the figure’s face, revealing Ji Ying’s features.
She continued chewing the flesh, savoring the memories within.
Again and again.
“Truly remarkable, the wielder of the Puppet Ballad’s ability… even I can’t resist the temptation of its power.”
Ji Ying lowered her head, looking at her arm.
She had once cut herself to prove her humanity to Luo Ling.
But in reality, she had only shown Luo Ling for a fleeting moment, not a second longer.
Because…
Within the slowly closing wound, amidst the flowing blood, white mycelia threads flickered, greedily consuming her flesh, but quickly being devoured by the blood, barely maintaining the self known as “Ji Ying.”
This was her war against the Puppet Ballad, within this body that could barely be called human.
“No matter what, I have to eradicate the Puppet Ballad within this ‘boundary,’ completely extinguishing that despairing ‘Disorder.’”
Ji Ying slowly closed her eyes, her form dissipating.
Meanwhile, in Qingshan Hospital.
Ji Shinian, lying in bed, suddenly started coughing violently. An Yu, who was tending to him, rushed over to support him and saw that his blood had stained the sheets.
“Ah, this…”
An Yu was flustered. She hadn’t received any medical training, her only knowledge of first aid coming from what she had learned at school.
She was only looking after him temporarily, her turn on rotation.
“It’s nothing, just an old problem,” Ji Shinian waved his hand dismissively, catching his breath, his expression turning grim.
What was going on?
He hadn’t actively used his ability, yet it had been triggered by something.
Focusing his senses, he realized it was “Ji Ying’s” thread of fate…
The strange thread of fate had appeared for a moment, then vanished, another inexplicable appearance, its location far from the city center, near the suburban area.
“I shouldn’t have looked…”
Ji Shinian sighed, regretting his actions.
These were the threads of cause and effect. He had been cautious, but he hadn’t expected that merely revealing a bit of information would result in such a severe backlash.
It wasn’t just Luo Ling who found Awakened Ones on the Other Shore path cryptic. It was a common sentiment in the Awakened world. It wasn’t entirely their fault, but a consequence of the entanglement of cause and effect.
Some fates shouldn’t be glimpsed, some fates shouldn’t be revealed. These were the restrictions placed upon Awakened Ones on the Other Shore path. Violating them could result in anything from nothing happening at all, to eternal torment… it was completely random, a gamble.
That was why Other Shore Awakened Ones often spoke in riddles and metaphors.
“Do you need some water?” An Yu asked with concern.
Ji Shinian shook his head, then after a moment of silence, he said,
“Have Xiao Liu come to the hospital… it’s time to wake that sleeping one.”
He looked out the window at the seemingly ordinary night in Jiangcheng County.
But how much longer could such ordinary days last?
“Perhaps… a storm is coming.”
…
In an unremarkable small house in Jiangcheng County.
After a crisp snap of her fingers, a tall woman appeared in the dimly lit room, beads of sweat on her forehead.
“That was close… almost got ambushed by that old fox.”
Despite her words, a smile played on Scientist’s lips.
A rare battle, a good warm-up.
However, sending a researcher like her to the front lines was a terrible idea.
It was all because of…
She turned and looked at the dwarfish man slumped in a chair, frowning and covering her nose.
“Artist, explain yourself. You couldn’t even handle two little girls?”
And he reeked, had he rolled around in a pile of corpses?
And his injuries seemed quite severe…
Not only had he paid the Price of a finger, but half his body was paralyzed. Looking closely, the golden insignia on his hat was also dull—meaning his artwork had lost its power.
“…I made a mistake,” Artist said softly.
He had used a ritual to escape, which came at a considerable Price. Two of his artworks had been destroyed.
It couldn’t be helped. Artist knew he couldn’t put himself in danger.
He could tell that Luo Ling had almost exhausted her strength, and he knew Cen Xiangyun’s abilities inside and out. As long as he didn’t act recklessly, they couldn’t defeat him. He could have retreated calmly.
But… he was worried about unforeseen circumstances.
What if the Company had sent more than just those two?
What if the local Awakened organization had mobilized all their forces?
What if… that strange, black-haired girl used another unexpected ability?
There had been enough surprises today. He couldn’t afford any more. Performer’s death was a lesson learned.
Knowing when to cut his losses, Artist had decisively used his trump card to escape, returning to this temporary hideout.
“A single ‘mistake’ doesn’t explain this,” Scientist said, unimpressed. “You should consider who you were up against, and who I was up against.
“Holy moly, I didn’t expect the Company to send Li Shaoheng. He’s practically the weakest among those who can kill me.”
In other words, among P8 specialists, besides Li Shaoheng, no one posed a threat to Scientist’s life, and even among P9 specialists, there weren’t many.
As for P10… those were the Company’s strongest, their every move closely monitored. Those who could rival Philosopher wouldn’t be deployed easily.
Although it sounded absurd, Scientist was indeed a researcher. Her combat abilities were average, not as strong as Artist’s, but her survival skills were top-notch. Only the Company’s P10 specialists could kill her for sure.
“…That girl… is problematic,” Artist said, recalling the battle, his eyes darkening. “She’s too familiar with that Grotesquery, so familiar that it’s as if… she’s a part of it…”
Every use of her ability, every turn of events, had been unexpected.
Even though he hadn’t known her abilities, she had used his ignorance to her advantage. She had performed exceptionally well in that battle.
But who would have thought that a Low-Order Awakened One, recently chosen by a Grotesquery, would display such mastery?
Even a High-Order Awakened One couldn’t have done it.
“Too bad Performer contacted us when we were in Victoria. We couldn’t maintain the connection for long, and we knew almost nothing about this Grotesquery,” Artist sighed. Knowing more beforehand might have changed the outcome.
If Victoria and Jiangcheng County were in the same “boundary,” Performer wouldn’t have needed to use psychological suggestion for long-distance communication.
A simple phone call would have sufficed, much less troublesome, less likely to leave traces, and able to convey more information.
That was why this mission was so tricky…
The Harbingers weren’t like the Company. They didn’t have many members, most of whom were involved in the Victoria operation. Reinforcements were impossible.
“We don’t have much time,” Scientist reminded him. “Not only must the Company have noticed the situation here, but we also have our roles to play in the Victoria operation.”
The Victoria operation was even more important than this High-Risk Grotesquery. It involved a Taboo.
Taboos hadn’t appeared for three hundred years, but that didn’t mean they were gone. The Harbingers’ plan was to bring back a Taboo, to achieve their ideals.
“I know,” Artist murmured. “I’m thinking.”
If possible, he didn’t want to give up on this Grotesquery…
After all, this was a High-Risk Grotesquery on the Silent Demise path, and in such a weakened state. If he missed this opportunity… who knew when he would have another chance to obtain an Authority.
This mission was very important to Artist.
However, there was one question that had been bothering him since arriving in Jiangcheng County.
Why was this Grotesquery so weak…?
It didn’t make sense.
The local Awakened Ones didn’t even have a single High-Order among them, and both the Retrospect of Baiyan Village and his recent battle with the girl showed that the “eggs” spawned by this Grotesquery were at least at the High-Order Awakened level.
This meant that if this Grotesquery wanted to, it could simply spawn a few “eggs” and wipe out the entire Awakened organization in Jiangcheng County, even devour all the civilians, and regain its full strength.
If that were the case, Artist would have stayed far away. Even Philosopher wouldn’t dare approach a High-Risk Grotesquery at its peak.
But the reality was…
Whether it was unwilling to do so, or someone was preventing it, this worst-case scenario hadn’t happened.
Jiangcheng County maintained a semblance of peace, the local Awakened Ones blissfully unaware.
While Artist pondered, Scientist seemed unconcerned. Her objective in Jiangcheng County had been achieved.
Unbeknownst to anyone, she had already placed an Anchor Point on Elsa and could retrieve her beloved experiment at any time, just waiting for Artist to complete his part.
“Speaking of which, do we still need to find that white-haired girl?” Scientist asked casually. “I’ve been observing Elsa for a week, and that white-haired girl hasn’t appeared even once.”
She was a key figure in the Baiyan Village battle. If anyone could stop the High-Risk Grotesquery from devouring Jiangcheng County, it would be the White Witch.
But she had vanished without a trace.
“…Probably not,” Artist murmured.
One of the reasons he had created the Baiyan Village puppets was to find the white-haired girl.
But he hadn’t expected to find the white-haired girl, but another, even stranger black-haired girl…
Unlike Luo Ling’s assumption,
Artist hadn’t targeted her because she had become an “egg,” but because she had left traces of the Grotesquery’s aura when she briefly touched “Old Man Huang.”
His puppets had been specifically designed to detect this aura, so Artist had immediately locked onto Luo Ling.
Perhaps by coincidence, or perhaps for some other reason, when Artist confronted her, she had just become an “egg” of the Puppet Ballad.
“In any case, we have to kill her.”
Artist took out a paintbrush and, with a few strokes, sketched a beautiful painting on the wall.
A dark figure walking through a rain of black petals, only a pair of striking, dark gold eyes visible.
“…First, we start with this person.”
Artist shifted his brush,
Pointing to an inconspicuous corner of the painting, a frozen, ordinary-looking woman in plain clothes.
“Who is this?”
Scientist asked curiously.
“Her sister, the person she cherishes most,” Artist adjusted his monocle. “Emotions are humanity’s greatest weakness, and she seems to be no exception.”
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