"Restoring your sight isn't all that difficult, in a sense."
Froy seemed convinced by Chen Lun's words, and a faint smile appeared on her fair face.
"It's all right. I already learned from it that I might not have much time left..."
She slowly spread her arms, letting the breeze brush over her.
Chen Lun could tell that her happiness came from the heart.
"But even if I only get a month or two of freedom, I'll still be happy. Whether I can see doesn't matter so much anymore."
Chen Lun shook his head.
"Don't worry. I won't let you die."
Froy froze briefly, lowered her arms, and slowly walked up to Chen Lun.
"Why... are you so kind to me?
I don't think I have anything worth all you've done for me."
"Uh..."
Chen Lun was momentarily at a loss for words.
He could hardly tell her that he had once seen her tragic future.
Or that he had to rewrite her fate to stop her from becoming a major villain boss whom the Red Apple Church would later send to hunt him down.
Of course, Chen Lun had another little ulterior motive.
Froy was so popular that perhaps he could use her as his "poster girl" once the players arrived.
In any case, it absolutely had nothing to do with the rewards from an A-rank hidden quest chain...
I, Chen Lun, am an honest, kindhearted man with a strong sense of justice!
"Froy... it's because you remind me of my little sister."
Chen Lun spoke with a perfectly straight face.
Froy paused, seemingly believing him completely.
She lowered her head, pressed her lips together, and said softly in her ethereal voice:
"Thank you... no one besides my brother has ever been this kind to me."
Late at night, the Purple Moon hung high in the sky.
Brother Stuarton hurried up to an unremarkable apartment building.
He paced back and forth hesitantly, constantly wiping away his sweat.
"Although I already reported the situation to the bishop, His Excellency is far away in Amber City... he won't be able to get here anytime soon."
The portly monk glanced around.
This was the central district of Jadeite Town, where the surroundings were relatively pleasant. Guards carrying lanterns could occasionally be seen patrolling the empty streets.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he slipped a letter into the mailbox outside the fence, then turned to leave.
"To be safe, I'd better notify the Containment Bureau and have them search the town."
Stuarton walked very quickly, as though something terrifying were chasing him.
"The fellow who killed Father Carter and destroyed the Apple Orchard Prison is probably hiding somewhere in town.
Rose above, please don't let me run into him."
On the surface, only three organizations in Jadeite Town had supernatural beings among their ranks.
The Red Apple Church, the Moon Church, and the empire's official organization, the Containment Bureau.
Relations between the churches were poor, so with his own bishop unable to arrive in time, Stuarton chose to seek help from the neutral Containment Bureau.
Being known as a tattletale might be embarrassing, but Stuarton did not care in the slightest.
Even if it was the Red Apple Church's reputation he was tarnishing, that meant nothing compared with his precious life.
Stuarton passed through several blocks and returned to the Red Apple Church on the western side of town.
He suddenly noticed a figure staggering toward the church entrance and collapsing there.
"Hah... hah..."
The figure lay face down, breathing rapidly, seemingly in terrible pain.
Stuarton approached slowly and warily.
He soon realized it was merely a drunkard.
He sighed in relief and cursed under his breath.
Just as he was about to step past the man and enter the church, the drunkard suddenly called out to him.
"W-wait!"
"If you want to receive Rose's charity and hear the Lady's gospel, come early tomorrow and get in line."
Stuarton spoke impatiently, then turned to leave.
"Don't go!"
The drunkard grabbed Stuarton's robe.
The portly monk immediately frowned and shook him off in disgust.
"Get lost! You damned drunk! I'll call the church guards and have you locked up!"
"Brother! I... I want to report someone!"
The drunkard raised his head. It was none other than Old Ham, who had caused trouble at the Scimitar Inn earlier that day.
He was drenched in sweat, his face had turned dark, and his voice trembled as he spoke, as though he had contracted some strange illness.
"He... he kidnapped a nun from your church... she's at..."
Before he could finish, Ham suddenly let out a scream.
Then he toppled to the ground, coughed up foul black blood, and died.
Stuarton jumped in fright. After examining him carefully, he realized the man had been poisoned!
"Could... could this be a warning from that supernatural being!?"
The portly monk was horrified by his own guess.
"No, I have to call back all the church guards stationed outside!"
He immediately turned and ran into the church.
He stumbled all the way, nearly smashing his forehead into the door.
Chapter 21: Setting Out Today
Chen Lun stood by the window, looking at the Purple Moon in the night sky.
"[High-Sequence Flesh School Mystical Substance]..."
This kind of supernatural substance generally formed after the death of a supernatural being or creature.
Once a corpse lost its spirituality, it could no longer contain the mysticism within, which would precipitate out and remain as a [Mysterious Object].
If the corpse was badly damaged, or the process of precipitation into a [Mysterious Object] was interrupted, the mystical remnant would be incomplete and form only a mystical substance.
Additionally, if a [Mysterious Object] suffered an attack far more powerful than itself and its structure was completely destroyed, it would likewise turn into the corresponding mystical substance, yielding anywhere from one portion to several.
Mystical substances could not be destroyed, however. They seemed to be the most fundamental units of physical manifestation in the supernatural realm.
Chen Lun settled his mind and spent some time searching his memories. He did indeed recall several ways to obtain [High-Sequence Flesh School Mystical Substance].
But most of the quests, events, and locations involved were far away, and he had no way to reach them for now.
Others were too dangerous. With his current strength, he had almost no chance of even setting things in motion.
Some carried such a high risk of death that they were not worth attempting.
After filtering through the options, Chen Lun knew of only one way to obtain this high-sequence substance at his current stage.
"Amber City. Dolly, the 'Big Eater'!"
He remembered it so clearly because an incident involving him had caused quite a stir on the forums.
In his previous life, a small guild had accidentally triggered a side quest in Amber City that required them to protect a councilman.
They had initially thought it would be easy, but the guild members taking part in the quest kept dying one after another, ultimately causing the quest to fail.
Not only had they gained no rewards, but the councilman's death had also subjected them to an official investigation, and the guild members had lost almost an entire level.
The guild leader had gone to the forums to complain, which actually drew the attention of quite a few major guilds and expert players.
As they investigated further, the players uncovered an assassin organization called the Circus.
The assassin tasked with killing the councilman was named Dolly, nicknamed the "Big Eater." He was a [Flesh Faction] supernatural being with one foot already in the middle sequence.
Although Dolly was strong, he was far from invincible.
Faced with the fearless Fourth Calamity, he was soon done for.
After they killed him, a lone player who had originally come just to join the fun luckily managed to snag a piece of loot.
To everyone's surprise, it was a portion of [High-Sequence Flesh School Mystical Substance]!
The player had cleverly fled, hidden, and logged out, executing a series of moves worthy of a master sneak.
Only some time later, after he had handed the high-sequence substance over to the organization he had joined and reaped plenty of benefits, did someone accidentally expose what had happened.
Some were furious, some watched the drama, some were envious, and others were puzzled.
How had an NPC in the low-to-middle sequences dropped a high-sequence substance?
No one knew, and it became an unsolved mystery.
Chen Lun had one other reason for choosing to seek out Dolly, the "Big Eater."
Before you continue