"You can trust every Believer who devoutly believes in 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' did not answer and continued walking forward coolly. That was her Character Setting—she did not look like a nun at all, yet she was one. Well, no, she was a Priest now.
Cassidy did not press further. She trusted her instincts. The things within a person's heart could not be hidden; a glance or a few words could reveal one's nature.
And after spending time with 'Lin Qi,' Cassidy believed she was someone worth winning over.
Just then, 'Lin Qi' suddenly quickened her pace and headed toward the mouth of a side alley.
Cassidy was slightly puzzled, but soon spotted a small, thin figure crouching at the alley entrance. It was a filthy little boy with ragged clothes, huddled near the exit and timidly watching the bustling street outside.
He wanted to go out but was afraid, only daring to hide in the shadows cast by the gas lamps. A battered little bowl sat before him.
'Lin Qi' walked over, took two Copper Coins from her pocket, and placed them in the bowl.
The little boy eagerly grabbed the coins. After thanking 'Lin Qi' a few times, he turned and dashed into the alley.
"May Janus bless him and let him grow up healthy," Cassidy said as she walked over.
"Janus won't bless something like that," 'Lin Qi' said. "And he won't grow up healthy either. He might die suddenly in some corner within a few days."
Cassidy frowned. "Berman City's public security isn't that terrible, is it?"
"Public security can't solve everything. God won't give a homeless child a Steamed Bun, so most people won't either. Those living at the very bottom will never have opportunities, and whether they live or die... depends on the mood of those above them."
As she spoke those final words, 'Lin Qi' turned to look at Cassidy.
Her red eyes were so calm they sent a chill through Cassidy's heart. Perhaps only someone who had experienced it could understand... Cassidy's thoughts trembled. She admitted she belonged among the upper class 'Lin Qi' had mentioned and knew little about the plight of such lowly people.
But in truth, the one who had experienced those things was Ryan. As an officer of the Bureau of Investigation, he had handled far too many cases like this.
Berman City's public security was fairly good, but only on the surface. The Black Hand Organization, Nobles, wealthy merchants, and other groups oppressed ordinary people everywhere. A child like that boy could not even be considered an ordinary person.
Sometimes, while on patrol, Ryan would come across corpses beaten to death in alleys. No one would claim them, and the cases would ultimately be hastily closed as accidents.
Investigate the murderer?
Forget it!
There was a high chance it would lead to some Noble and a small chance it would lead to gang forces. Neither was someone easy to provoke.
Ryan had once wanted to change the situation, but as he witnessed more and more of it, he gradually became numb.
"Damn it, why am I agonizing over this?"
In front of the Game Interface, Ryan scratched his head, set the game to AI Standby, and simply stopped paying attention.
These were not good topics to discuss with Her Highness the Princess. Better to let the AI keep flirting and raise her favorability.
"Master Ryan is a kindhearted man. Too bad he can barely save himself now."
Ryan muttered to himself and stopped paying attention to the game.
While the game was idling, he sorted through the current situation in his notebook and came to the conclusion that things were "fairly optimistic."
They really were fairly optimistic. His identity as an undercover agent was stable, his days at the Bureau of Investigation were improving, and his Alt Account was developing smoothly.
After tearing out and burning the notebook page, Ryan, with nothing else to do, chose to work out at home. A hundred push-ups, a hundred squats, a hundred... Afterward, he showered and waited until eleven that night to open the game again.
'Lin Qi' had already returned to the church. Ryan checked the Idle Record and found no problems.
Unexpectedly, Cassidy's favorability had risen again, and by even more than last time. It was quite a nice gain.
Ryan controlled 'Lin Qi' as she wandered around the cemetery, killing every Wandering Soul that spawned. Even a grasshopper was meat, and there was no reason to refuse the Steamed Buns they dropped.
Dong—!
The church clock chimed.
[You heard the Echo of Time and Space.] [The cycle has begun. Through Janus's Gateway, you glimpsed authority from the Old Days. Black Flame burned from ancient times to the present, reducing lingering ashes to cinders and unfolding New Life.] [You knelt before the Janus Statue and chose—]
'Take out the Copper Coin.'
The moment the option appeared, Ryan made the choice with practiced ease.
Whoooosh!
A fierce wind suddenly surged through the church.
Black wind filled the entire church, making the Rose Window rattle loudly.
[A powerful Evil Spirit has broken through the rift and descended. Please respond with caution!]
Along with the game prompt, a massive black shadow emerged from the Black Mist.
[Lingering Rift Spirit Lord Lv.15]
"Fuck, a level 15 boss?!"
Ryan's face darkened. He knew the final stage would not be easy, but he had not expected such a huge level gap.
The Evil Spirit Lord was not much larger than an ordinary Evil Spirit, but it was genuinely level 15—three full levels above 'Lin Qi,' with boss attribute bonuses on top of that.
'Lin Qi' rushed forward and stabbed it once. The Evil Spirit Lord's HP Bar twitched slightly, as a sign of respect.
"The damage is so low. It's too hard without changing classes."
Even so, Ryan did not panic. When the Evil Spirit Lord attacked, he controlled 'Lin Qi' to dodge.
On the screen, Black Mist churned and transformed into tentacle-like strikes that slammed down three times in succession. 'Lin Qi' evaded the first two but was hit by the third, losing one-fifth of her health.
It was not much, but Ryan's heart still tightened.
That was only a normal attack.
Its attack power was high and its speed was fast. In less than two minutes, 'Lin Qi's' HP Bar was nearly empty. Meanwhile, the Evil Spirit Lord had not even lost one-tenth of its health.
"Damn it, how am I supposed to fight this?"
Not even Soulslike games worked like this!
Ryan could only gnaw on Roasted Chicken while thinking of a strategy.
Just then, the system popped up a message—
[Switch to consciousness control mode?]
Consciousness control meant he would convey his thoughts through his consciousness, then let the Game Character carry them out.
It was a mode between AI Standby and full manual control. Ryan often used this mode when entering the game now because it was convenient.
But when fighting monsters, he still instinctively chose manual control.
On one hand, he wanted to enjoy the game. On the other, Ryan had confidence in his skills.
"System, what do you mean by that? Are you saying my manual control is worse than idling? If you're saying that, then I—"
[Consciousness control mode activated. Please issue instructions:]
"Lin Qi, I'm counting on you!"
Bang!
'Lin Qi' was sent flying again, her body smashing through a church pew. But she quickly flipped to her feet, gripped the Blade of Erosion in reverse, and a faint chill flashed in her red eyes. Her entire aura changed in an instant.
She went from a rookie to an assassin!
Ryan realized he had fallen into a misconception—manual control was stronger than idling.
That was how it usually worked. He had played so many games; what AI was not dumb as hell?
Either it only worked in simple mode and mechanically carried out a single character's actions, or, in some games, auto-pathing could even be interrupted by Wild Monsters.
But Empress Online was different. At least, the real-world version was. Aside from being excellent at clearing story content, Ryan discovered that under AI control, 'Lin Qi' was so strong she was practically a God of War!
Midnight, church, a Priest and a waltz.
Facing the Evil Spirit Lord's attacks, 'Lin Qi' moved nimbly, counterattacked, and gradually erased the gap between them through the AI's efforts.
Watching the Evil Spirit Lord's HP Bar fall by half, Ryan briefly suspected that 'Lin Qi' had secretly gained extra attributes. It was not until he took over once and got beaten senseless that he had to accept reality—fine, I really was worse than the AI.
"Come on, other me. You have to kill it."
Although the AI was powerful, the Evil Spirit Lord's attacks were simply too strong. Once its HP Bar dropped below 50%, its speed and attack power rose sharply again. A single hit could take away one-third of 'Lin Qi's' health.
Every time she was hit, 'Lin Qi' could only eat Roasted Chicken to recover. But there was too little Roasted Chicken. By the time the Evil Spirit Lord's health fell to one-quarter, it was all gone, leaving her with only Steamed Buns.
Steamed Buns could restore health, but as her level increased, they were completely insufficient.
"Less than one-fifth left."
Ryan stared tensely at the screen.
He was actually torn between fleeing and continuing to fight. If 'Lin Qi' died, it would be a huge blow to him.
He would have to wait a day to rebuild the character, then level up all over again.
Not only would all her skills and attributes be gone, but it would also be a problem figuring out how to connect with Cassidy after rebuilding the character.
But if he left, he was unwilling to accept it. What if this quest was a one-time opportunity?
In the end, Ryan did not give up. If he did not dare take a gamble in a game, when would he ever dare to gamble?
Take a chance, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle.
One-tenth!
'Lin Qi' landed another strike, reducing the Evil Spirit Lord's health to one-tenth.
At that moment, the Black Mist gradually formed a massive ghostly face. It opened its huge mouth toward 'Lin Qi' and unleashed a mental attack.
Bosses using their ultimate moves when their health ran low was something Ryan knew all too well.
But he had not expected this thing's ultimate move to be a mental attack.
"Purification!"
As Janus's Blessing descended, the mental control was dispelled in less than half a second. Rather than retreating, 'Lin Qi' advanced, using Swiftness to accelerate into her final charge!
Squelch!
One slash, then another.
The Evil Spirit Lord seemed to enter the recovery phase after using its skill, standing still without any reaction as 'Lin Qi' slashed away its remaining health.
Bang!
The Black Mist dispersed, and three glittering orbs appeared in Ryan's field of view.
"It's over?"
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 items were a Soul Jade and a piece of equipment.
[Black Gloves] [Quality: First Tier Fine] [Effect 1: Magic Power +2, magic power release efficiency +10%.] [Effect 2: Magic Break, partially dispels magic power release.] [Equipment Requirements: Spirit 15, Magic Power 18] [Description: Black Death God, white gloves, Black Gloves, white...?]
"First Tier equipment, haha! My father's son is going to get rich!" Ryan laughed.
In Empress Online, equipment quality was divided into ordinary, good, excellent, fine, epic, and legendary.
Beyond that, there was also extremely rare Mythic equipment, which could only be obtained through special quests.
Equipment without tiers could only reach excellent quality at most, such as the Blade of Erosion.
Before you continue