Chapter 154: The Indifferent Xu Zhi
Finding [Lust] wasn’t all that difficult. The target likely thought that in a city as big as Cloud City, there had to be a place to hide. What he didn’t realize was that now, every corner of Cloud City was within Xu Zhi’s line of sight.
[Lust] could really run—he managed to get from the west side of the city to the east in just half a day. Unfortunately, it didn’t help.
Catching [Lust] didn’t take much effort. His abilities were completely countered by Xu Zhi, and in a one-on-one, he was no match at all. After just a short struggle, Xu Zhi disabled his limbs and dragged him back to the city center.
“So, what do you plan to do with him?” she asked, looking at the unconscious [Lust].
[Feed him to the Little Aberrant. Let it see if it can absorb everything about Lust, including the root.]
Xu Zhi replied, “That’s a bold idea.”
[Learned it from you.]
“You trying to confirm something?”
[Yes. Think of it like conflicting attributes—like how a high priest can’t take on multiple roles. If the Little Aberrant can absorb this fake root entirely, then it means… it really is fake—and the same kind of fake.]
“What do you mean?”
[I mean, even if those roots were fragments torn from different true roots, they still couldn’t be absorbed by a single entity. If the Aberrant does absorb it, that means the roots weren’t torn from different sources—they’re all from the same one.]
“Oh.” Xu Zhi nodded in understanding.
In other words, this would prove that the enemy didn’t even bother sourcing from multiple roots—they just tore bits off a single root and forged them into fake ones.
No—more accurately, for some reason, the enemy could only tear from one root and had to go through great lengths to disguise them as different ones.
Why go to all that trouble?
“Anyway, let’s confirm this theory first.”
Dragging [Lust] with one hand, Xu Zhi headed to the rift where the Little Aberrant dwelled. When it saw her, it got so excited it almost flung its affection at her face. Sadly, it still couldn’t move properly, so it could only wiggle its black branches, rustling them into a breeze.
“Alright, alright, I get it. I’ll come visit you more often,” she said, resignedly. Then she threw [Lust] in front of it.
“There. Brought you some food. Try eating it. If something feels off, stop immediately.”
At Xu Zhi’s instruction, the Little Aberrant finally turned its “gaze” to [Lust]. One look was all it took—the hunger that surged out was overwhelming.
Well then, guess it’s edible.
Several black branches drooped from the Aberrant’s massive body, moving with a kind of intelligence as they coiled around [Lust] and lifted him into the air. Then the Aberrant began to greedily drain the blood and energy from his body.
Xu Zhi observed closely. The console also monitored for any abnormalities during the feeding so she could step in if needed.
But…
There were no issues. The Little Aberrant smoothly devoured [Lust]—including the fake root.
It even leveled up five times because of it.
It was like the Aberrant had eaten a mega nutrient pill—an ultra XP boost—with zero side effects.
“So what High Priest class is it now?” Xu Zhi asked, surprised.
[Still Wrath.]
“What about Lust?”
[…Gone.]
“That’s… normal?”
[Obviously not. No matter what, a root shouldn’t just disappear like that. It shouldn’t dissolve into pure energy and fuse with the Wrath root. The only explanation is—they were originally the same root.]
That basically confirmed it.
[Feed the other two to the Aberrant as well. No need to waste them.]
“What about Yu Shenwei…?”
[No, keep her for now. We can trace things back later through her.]
“Got it.”
[Still, you were awfully ready to feed her to the Aberrant, huh?]
The narration seemed a bit surprised by Xu Zhi’s indifference.
“Oh, that?” Xu Zhi casually twirled a strand of hair near her cheek. “I’ve always treated her as a tool from the beginning.”
“I still think that way now.”
She smiled slightly. “Did you think I’d form a bond with her and become friends?”
“Nope. I don’t want things to get complicated.”
[Understood.]
Xu Zhi’s thinking was a bit unusual, but not hard to grasp.
She feared that if she became friends with Yu Shenwei, she’d hesitate to kill her later. So she cut off the possibility of forming any emotional ties from the start.
Cold? Or just clear-headed?
[Not necessarily a bad thing.]
Still, the narrator hadn’t expected her to be this ruthless. From her usual behavior—joking, teasing, even occasionally acting cute—you’d think she had some emotions. But clearly, none of it was sincere.
Then again, in this world, too much emotion could be a fatal flaw.
After the Little Aberrant finished absorbing the three “Archbishops,” it grew significantly in size, and its stats became even more extreme. However, its level remained stuck at 49, unable to break through to 50, and no new transcendental abilities emerged.
[Unless something unexpected happens, it won’t reach level 50 even if it eats the rest.]
[Because level 50 is a threshold. Crossing it will bring about another transformation.]
“What would make it break through, then?”
[Probably the moment it becomes a true High Priest.]
Xu Zhi sighed. “Who knows when that’ll happen?”
Right now, even the roots are fake. No one knows where the real ones are—maybe [He] has already hidden them away.
[So don’t expect that to happen anytime soon.]
[Focus on improving your own strength. By now, you’ve probably absorbed about half the knowledge in your mind, right?]
Xu Zhi nodded. “About that much.”
Her mastery over [Authority] had grown significantly. She could now open a “backdoor” in Cloud City that allowed free entry and exit, with no limit on how many people could pass.
Because of this, she decided to strike a deal with the Federation.
She would create [Passes] that allowed those holding them to enter Cloud City once.
After all, the black mist in Cloud City couldn’t be fully absorbed by the locals. It would be better to trade it with the Federation.
As for the price of the [Passes], Xu Zhi decided to consult Zhong Lingfan.
Yes, she was planning to tell Zhong Lingfan that Cloud City’s passage would open.
She no longer feared Zhong Lingfan might betray her. Plus, she intended to share with him the recent events and some of the crises this world faced.
If one person’s brain wasn’t enough—drag someone else into it.
If Zhong Lingfan had the [Lamp] attribute, he surely wouldn’t want to see the world destroyed, right?
