Chapter 149: Resolved
“Why are there still people fleeing at the last minute?”
“That’s not exactly heroic behavior.”
Xu Zhi looked around again, but still couldn’t detect any sign of [Lust] with her [Eye of Secrets]. She had Little Zhen scout the area again, staying alert in case the enemy circled back for a surprise attack. Only after that did she finally lean against the wall and let out a long breath.
As she fully relaxed, a dull ache started to creep into her head, and her body felt utterly exhausted. Worst of all was the empty, hollow feeling brought on by depleted transcendental energy.
The various wounds on her body had only partially healed on their own. Some were still bleeding, making her face noticeably pale.
For once, Xu Zhi didn’t try to think about anything—she simply let her mind go blank.
About ten minutes later, she finally came out of that vacant, trance-like state. She took a few [Moth]-attribute cores from the warehouse and popped them into her mouth to restore her transcendental energy. She also tested whether she could store [Sloth]’s body in the warehouse, but discovered she couldn’t.
“As expected, this thing’s still not completely dead.”
Such tenacity… Truly worthy of being a Tier-2 of the [Cup] attribute.
Ye Yan, on the other hand, was most definitely dead and could be stored in the warehouse. Xu Zhi planned to take his corpse back and use it as fertilizer for her lesser aberration species. After all, the body of a high priest was practically a super tonic for anything with the [Cup] attribute.
The physical pain probably wouldn’t subside anytime soon. It was annoying, but still within her tolerance. What worried her more was the mental fatigue—it would take longer to recover than her body. Even after replenishing her transcendental energy, the exhaustion remained.
Xu Zhi reflected on it carefully. She hadn’t actually been in many battles this intense. Thankfully, most conflicts were more about transcendental power clashes than actual combat technique. Aside from a knife style she learned from Shen Jinwen, she didn’t really have any impressive combat skills to speak of.
“.Miss Xu?”
A voice called out cautiously from nearby. Xu Zhi opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.
It was Lin Zizhen—still alive, surprisingly.
A flicker of surprise crossed Xu Zhi’s eyes. She hadn’t been too concerned with whether the Federation’s Transcendents survived or not. But now she noticed there were still three survivors—more than she expected.
And it just so happened that the three survivors were the team leader, the [Lamp]-attribute transcendent, and Lin Zizhen.
Seeing that Xu Zhi had responded, and confirming that this striking, gray-eyed girl was indeed the same unremarkable Xu Zhi he had once met, Lin Zizhen gathered his courage to approach a little—but still didn’t dare walk right up to her like he once might have.
To be honest, he had assumed Xu Zhi might be strong. But he never imagined she could be this strong.
Moreover, her appearance had changed drastically from the photos in her old files.
Then again, it made sense. She was no longer the girl scraping by on government welfare, barely surviving. She was now a powerful transcendent.
“Miss Xu, here’s your deposit.”
Lin Zizhen had good instincts. Even in the chaos, he hadn’t forgotten to grab the black suitcase full of cores. Now, without hesitation, he handed it over to Xu Zhi.
Xu Zhi took the case, and though her face had been expressionless from fatigue, it softened slightly. Lin Zizhen, ever observant, felt slightly relieved at this.
“Miss Xu, I was wondering—what should we do now…?”
He didn’t presume to suggest staying in Cloud City or leaving. Instead, he asked for her guidance.
Though Lin Zizhen personally wanted to remain and gather more intel, their team had taken heavy losses, and the existence of a traitor needed to be reported. Whether to stay or go—he felt torn.
Luckily, it wasn’t his call to make.
Xu Zhi thought for a moment. “You should leave. Those three just now were likely the last remaining Archbishops of the Federation.”
“I’ll come collect the rest of my payment from the Federation in a week. At that time, I hope someone with actual authority will be available. I have something to discuss with them.”
“Understood,” Lin Zizhen nodded immediately, without a hint of hesitation.
Even without clearance to make decisions, he knew how to answer.
Xu Zhi had defeated three Archbishops on her own. That meant she could kill anyone she pleased. The Federation would certainly meet most of her demands now.
“The exit’s still in the same place. I won’t be seeing you off.”
With that, Xu Zhi closed her eyes to rest again. Lin Zizhen understood she didn’t want to talk any further.
Though the two from the capital were reluctant to leave Cloud City, they also knew that without Xu Zhi’s permission, they had no right to stay.
With some regret, the three of them left the energy-saturated Cloud City—only to be immediately surrounded by other Federal Transcendents stationed nearby.
Everyone wanted to know what had happened inside, why they were the only ones who came out, and why so few survived.
The moment they stepped outside Cloud City, the three felt an abrupt discomfort. It was like being dropped into thin air after living somewhere breathable—suddenly, no matter how hard they breathed, they could no longer absorb any transcendental energy.
They had used a great deal of energy just to endure Ye Yan’s pressure, and now they felt more drained than ever.
But they couldn’t rest yet.
Each had to report what they had seen and experienced inside Cloud City. And likely, for quite some time, they’d be forced to recount the story over and over—until the Federation had no more questions left.
—
Inside Cloud City.
Xu Zhi rested for quite a while before opening her eyes again.
She wasn’t in a hurry to chase down [Lust], who had escaped. Her condition was poor, and even if [Lust] leveled up again, she wasn’t afraid of a one-on-one.
Besides, all the remaining survivors in Cloud City were gathered in the city center, guarded by the Little Aberrant species. If [Lust] went there, it would be like walking into a trap.
As for other areas? He could go wherever he liked.
Once she was fully rested, there was no way he could stay hidden.
After all, her [Authority] allowed her to sense every corner of Cloud City. Finding [Lust] was only a matter of time.
Pulling herself together a little, Xu Zhi had her retinue bring the broken remains of [Sloth] and started heading home.
Back there, she still had to choose a new retinue member. She had delayed the decision out of concern over fighting the Archbishops—she feared another dependent, immobile retinue like her Little Aberrant species.
But now that the danger was temporarily past, and she herself needed some rest, it was finally time to nurture a new retinue.
