Can't I raise myself?

"You can trust every devout follower of Janus."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Cassidy chuckled. "But I feel like I'm very willing to believe what you say."

'Lin Qi' didn't reply, continuing to walk forward coolly. Her character setting was like this; she didn't look like a nun at all, yet she was a nun. Oh no, now she was a priest.

Cassidy didn't press further. She trusted her intuition. A person's inner self couldn't be hidden; a glance, a word, would reveal their nature.

And after interacting with her, Cassidy believed 'Lin Qi' was someone worth recruiting.

Just then, 'Lin Qi' suddenly quickened her pace, heading towards the entrance of a small alley.

Cassidy was slightly puzzled. Soon, she saw a small, thin figure crouching at the alley entrance. It was a scruffy little boy, clad in rags, huddled at the mouth of the alley, timidly watching the bustling street outside.

He wanted to come out but was afraid, only daring to hide in the shadows cast by the coal lamp, with a worn-out bowl placed before him.

'Lin Qi' walked over and took two copper coins from her pocket, placing them in the bowl.

The little boy eagerly grabbed the copper coins. After saying a few words of thanks to 'Lin Qi', he turned and rushed into the alley.

"May Janus bless him to grow up healthy," Cassidy said, walking over.

"Janus won't bless such things," 'Lin Qi' replied. "He won't grow up healthy either. He might die in some corner within a few days."

Cassidy frowned. "The public order in Berman City isn't so terrible that it warrants this, is it?"

"Public order can't solve everything. God won't give a wandering child a steamed bun, so most people won't either. Those living at the very bottom will never have a chance, and whether they live or die... depends on the mood of those in power."

As she spoke the last sentence, 'Lin Qi' turned to look at Cassidy.

Her red eyes were calm to the point of chilling the heart. This was something only those who had experienced it would understand... Cassidy's thoughts trembled. She admitted she belonged to the 'those in power' group that 'Lin Qi' mentioned and didn't understand the plight of these lowly people.

However, in reality, it was Ryan who had experienced these things. As a police officer, he had handled too many such cases.

Berman City's public order was considered decent, but only on the surface. The oppression of ordinary people by groups like the Black Hand Organization, nobles, and rich merchants was everywhere. The little boy just now couldn't even be considered an ordinary person.

Sometimes, during patrols, they would find bodies beaten to death in alleys, with no one to claim them. They would then be summarily closed as accidental deaths.

Investigate the killer?

Don't even think about it!

There was a high probability that the investigation would lead to some noble, or a small chance it would lead to those gang forces. Neither was someone to be trifled with.

Ryan used to have the idea of changing the status quo, but as he saw more and more situations, he gradually became numb.

"Damn it, why am I agonizing over this?"

In front of the game interface, Ryan scratched his hair. After setting the game to AI Standby, he simply stopped caring.

It's not good to discuss these topics with Her Highness the Princess. Let the AI continue with romantic nonsense and boost affection points.

"Master Ryan is a kind person, but unfortunately, he can't even protect himself right now."

Ryan muttered, no longer paying attention to the game.

While idling, he organized the current situation in his notebook, concluding that things were 'still optimistic'.

Indeed, things were still optimistic. The mole's identity was relatively stable, his days at the Bureau of Investigation were going smoothly, and his alt account was developing well.

He tore off the page from his notebook and burned it. With nothing else to do, Ryan chose to work out at home: one hundred push-ups, one hundred squats, one hundred... After finishing, he took a shower and logged back into the game at eleven PM.

'Lin Qi' had returned to the church. He glanced at the idle record; there were no issues.

Unexpectedly, Cassidy's affection had increased again, and by even more than last time. It was a good harvest.

Ryan controlled 'Lin Qi' to wander around the graveyard, eliminating all the wisps that spawned. Even small gains were still gains; he might as well pick up the steamed buns that dropped.

When--

The church clock chimed.

[You heard the Echo of Time and Space.]

[Reincarnation has begun. Through Janus's Gateway, you have glimpsed the authority of the old days. Black Flame has burned from antiquity to the present, incinerating the remnants and ushering in new life.]

[You kneel before the Janus Statue and choose--]

'Take out Copper Coins.'

As soon as the option popped up, Ryan, familiar with the process, made his choice.

Woooo!~

A sudden gale swept through the church.

Black wind filled the entire church, rattling the Rose Window.

[A powerful Evil Spirit has broken through the rift and descended. Please proceed with caution!]

Following the game's prompt, a massive shadow figure emerged from the black mist.

[Lingering Rift Spirit Lord Lv15]

"Fuck, a level 15 boss?!"

Ryan's expression darkened. He knew the final stage wouldn't be that simple, but he hadn't expected such a significant level jump.

The Evil Spirit Lord's size wasn't much larger than ordinary evil spirits, but it was a solid level 15, a full 3 levels higher than 'Lin Qi', and it had boss attribute bonuses.

'Lin Qi' charged forward and slashed, the Evil Spirit Lord's HP Bar flickered slightly as a sign of respect.

"The damage is so low. It's too hard to fight without changing jobs."

Despite this, Ryan wasn't in a hurry. As the Evil Spirit Lord attacked, he controlled 'Lin Qi' to dodge.

In the screen, black mist surged, transforming into tentacles that slammed down three times. 'Lin Qi' dodged the first two, but was hit by the last one, losing a fifth of her HP.

Although it wasn't much, Ryan's heart still tightened.

After all, this was just a normal attack.

The attack was high and fast. In less than two minutes, 'Lin Qi's' HP Bar was almost empty. On the other hand, the Evil Spirit Lord hadn't even lost a tenth of its HP.

"Damn it, how am I supposed to fight this?"

Soul-like games aren't even played like this!

Ryan could only chew on his Roasted Chicken while thinking of a countermeasure.

Just then, a system message popped up--

[Do you wish to switch to Consciousness Control Mode?]

Consciousness control meant he would convey his thoughts through his consciousness, and the game character would execute them.

This was a mode between 'AI Standby' and 'Full Manual Control'. Ryan often used this mode when entering the game now because it was convenient.

However, when fighting monsters, he would subconsciously choose manual control.

On one hand, it was to experience the fun of the game. On the other hand, Ryan was confident in his skills.

"System, what do you mean by this? Are you saying my manual control is worse than standby? If you say that, I'll--"

[Entered Consciousness Control Mode. Please issue commands:]

"Lin Qi, I'm counting on you!"

Bang!~

'Lin Qi' was sent flying again, her body crashing through a pew in the church. But 'Lin Qi' quickly flipped up agilely, gripping the Blade of Erosion in reverse. Her red eyes glinted with a faint cold light, and her entire demeanor changed instantly.

From a noob to an assassin!

Chapter 22: Job Change, Silent Nun!

Ryan realized he had fallen into a misconception—manual control is stronger than standby.

Naturally, after playing so many games, weren't all AIs stupid?

Either it was the easy mode, only executing a single character monotonously, or like in some games, auto-pathing could be interrupted by monsters.

But Empress Online was different, at least the real-life version wasn't quite the same. Besides being good at progressing through the story, Ryan discovered that 'Lin Qi' under AI control was as strong as a God of War!

Midnight, church, Priest and Waltz.

Facing the Evil Spirit Lord's attack, 'Lin Qi' moved nimbly, counterattacking, the gap between the two sides was gradually being closed by the AI's efforts.

Watching the Evil Spirit Lord's HP Bar drop by half, Ryan once suspected that 'Lin Qi' had secretly increased her stats. It wasn't until he took over the controls midway and was beaten to the ground that he had to admit the reality—fine, I'm indeed worse than the AI.

"Come on, other me, you must defeat it."

Although the AI control was strong, the Evil Spirit Lord's attacks were too high. Moreover, after its HP dropped by 50%, it increased again, its speed and attack power rising significantly. Each attack could take away a third of 'Lin Qi's' HP.

Every time she was hit, 'Lin Qi' could only eat Roasted Chicken to recover. But the amount of Roasted Chicken was too small. When the Evil Spirit Lord's HP dropped to a quarter, she ran out, and could only continue eating Steamed Buns.

Although Steamed Buns could restore HP, with the level increase, these things were completely insufficient to fill the gaps.

"Less than a fifth left."

Ryan stared nervously.

He was actually hesitating, whether to flee or continue fighting. If 'Lin Qi' died, it would be a huge blow to him.

He could only rebuild his character after one day, and he would have to level up again.

Not to mention losing all his skills and stats, how he would connect with Cassidy after rebuilding his character was also a problem.

But if he left, he was unwilling. What if this quest was a one-time thing?

But Ryan ultimately did not give up. If you don't dare to take risks in a game, when will you take risks?

Bet it all, and a bicycle can become a motorcycle.

One-tenth!

'Lin Qi' landed another blow, and the Evil Spirit Lord's HP dropped to one-tenth.

At this moment, the Black Mist gradually transformed into a giant ghostly face, opening its mouth wide in 'Lin Qi's' direction, launching a mental attack.

The boss's HP was low, and it unleashed its ultimate move. Ryan was too familiar with this scene.

But he didn't expect its ultimate move to be a mental attack.

"Purify!"

As Janus's Blessing descended, the mental control was dispelled in less than half a second. Instead of retreating, 'Lin Qi' advanced, using a Swiftness acceleration for the final charge!

Puchi!

One slash, then another.

The Evil Spirit Lord seemed to enter a skill-casting stagger, standing still and unresponsive as 'Lin Qi' emptied its health bar with slash after slash.

Bang!

The black mist dissipated, and three shining orbs of light appeared in Ryan's vision.

"We passed?"

His eyes lit up.

'Lin Qi' walked over and picked up the three orbs.

One of them was the final Ancient Evil Spirit fragment.

The remaining two were a Soul Jade and a piece of equipment.

[Black Gloves]

[Quality: First Tier Fine]

[Effect 1: Mana +2, Mana Release Efficiency +10%.]

[Effect 2: Magic Break, dispels mana release to a certain extent.]

[Equipment Requirement: Spirit 15, Mana 18]

[Description: Black Death God, white gloves, black gloves, white...?]

"First Tier equipment, haha! My dad's son is gonna get rich!" Ryan roared with laughter.

In Empress Online, equipment quality was divided into Common, Good, Excellent, Fine, Epic, and Legendary.

Beyond that, there was also the extremely rare 'Mythic' equipment, obtainable only through special quests.

Equipment without a tier could only reach Excellent at most, like the Blade of Erosion.