Chapter 114: [Stay Clear-Headed, Make the Right Choice]
Rather than “checking,” it was more like feeling.
Xu Zhi skillfully channeled the extraordinary energy within her. She immediately sensed her reserves had increased once again, her physical condition had improved, but more importantly, both of her extraordinary abilities had grown stronger.
There wasn’t much to say about [Eye of Secrets]—it had always scaled with her supernatural level. From initially only seeing a person’s attributes, to now being able to perceive the energy flow of rituals, and likely even more things now—though she’d have to explore that herself.
As for [Moth], it had become faster-acting and could now affect more people simultaneously. When a moth appeared in a crowd, it could influence everyone within a certain range, muddling their thoughts and blurring their grasp on common sense—making them more easily swayed. Especially ordinary people: the moment they saw a moth, it was as if they’d been brainwashed—instantly obeying Xu Zhi’s commands.
She could now sense the position and general emotional state of each person affected by a [Moth], and even control the degree of influence. She could make someone appear perfectly rational on the surface, while one thought from her would plunge them into confusion.
For extraordinary individuals, her influence still required mental assessment and a gradual infiltration process. But now that her supernatural level surpassed most others, unless someone had a very unique ability or maxed out mental defenses, few could resist her [Moth].
Unfortunately, there were too many extraordinary people in the residential zone right now. Despite her increased energy reserves, it wasn’t enough to bring everyone under the [Moth]’s influence.
Not that she cared. Xu Zhi didn’t think it was worth implanting [Moths] in just any ordinary extraordinary person.
She only needed full control over the inner circle of the residential district and its management system.
Looks like it was time to change their workplace and living quarters—perhaps install some prettier lights. Lights decorated with moths, for example.
To be honest, she didn’t truly trust anyone. Rather than trust, she believed in control and deterrence.
Besides, if she implanted a [Moth] and didn’t activate its abilities—only let it lie dormant—it wouldn’t affect the host at all.
There’d be no confusion, no false loyalty. After all, any extraordinary energy could conflict with a host’s original attributes. In the beginning, she might get many blindly obedient subordinates, but over time, they’d become hollow puppets—or even die from conflicts between their own power and the [Moth]’s influence.
To put it simply, someone with a [Lamp] attribute like Zhong Lingfan, if they began obeying Xu Zhi’s commands over their own reasoning, would be in direct conflict with the self-awareness associated with the [Lamp], leading to energy decay or even the destruction of their own identity. That was not a good outcome.
However, not all influences caused instant conflict—it only happened when the effect became deep enough. So Xu Zhi didn’t plan on letting the [Moth] take over immediately. She’d let it subtly influence the target, foster closeness, and only then allow it to go dormant.
That level of influence wouldn’t cause major internal conflict, nor would it fully disturb the person’s mind.
For now, she only saw the [Moth] as a backup plan. The ability was strong—but not perfect. Maybe, after one more upgrade, it would allow her to fully control others without erasing their identities—turning them into true puppets who could still grow stronger.
That was what Xu Zhi was aiming for.
She felt zero guilt about planting such a ticking time bomb inside her “own people.”
After all, as long as they didn’t disappoint her, she’d never detonate it.
All she’d done was make the residents trust her more—more willing to follow her commands. That couldn’t be a bad thing.
After checking the changes from her level-up, Xu Zhi picked up the game console again and asked, “Why hasn’t my evolution level changed?”
“How exactly does that get upgraded?”
[Your evolution level is different from your vassals’. It can’t be raised just by increasing your supernatural power. It represents a more fundamental transformation.]
“I don’t follow. Explain it more clearly.”
[Unless you reach a certain milestone on this path, your evolution level won’t increase. Beyond that, it’s all down to fate—or yourself.]
She understood—but only barely.
“Fate” and “yourself”—how annoyingly cryptic.
But Xu Zhi knew the narrator well by now. If it spoke this vaguely, pressing further wouldn’t help.
[However—]
The narrator spoke again.
[If you’re already planning to head to the city center to resolve your issues, then perhaps… there, you might find a chance to upgrade your evolution level.]
Xu Zhi’s gray eyes flickered. “The city center really is a treasure trove, huh?”
No wonder all those aberrants were guarding it. There must be something very important there.
“Now, I can head back to Midnight, right?”
Xu Zhi wasn’t one to procrastinate—she wanted to deal with things as soon as possible. She had no particular desire to become a high priest anyway.
[Yes. You just leveled up, and the moth energy is at its peak, fully suppressing the Cup. It’s the perfect time.]
[But remember—once you enter Midnight, do NOT attempt to tap into the power of the Cup inside you. Avoid anything Cup-related at all costs.]
[If anything detects the Cup’s aura in you—turn around. Run.]
[This time, don’t use the Lamp as your core. Use the Moth.]
Xu Zhi understood why the narrator wanted her to use [Moth]—to better mask the aura of the [Cup].
[However, without the Lamp’s protection, the danger within Midnight will increase significantly. Your stay must be shorter. Even if you’re stronger now, you must exit within thirty minutes—regardless of outcome.]
[Also, there may be temptations within Midnight. You must distinguish what is truly valuable and what is dangerous, useless bait.]
[Stay clear-headed. Make the right choice.]
That was the narrator’s final reminder.
And it was a phrase it had repeated several times when she’d entered her dreamscape.
“Well, that part’s still the same.”
“Don’t worry. I’m getting very experienced at staying clear-headed.”
There was still some time before Midnight descended. Just enough for her to craft a batch of [Moth] lamps at the [Forge].
