Overclocking

"Akulos of Orouko..." Xia Xiu looked at the white worm, a flicker of interest in his eyes.

Orouko was one of the Four Saints of the Flesh.

Orouko's titles were the Horned Beast, the Savage Lord, and the Pale Hunter.

The authorities Orouko represented were strength, war, violence, savagery, hunting, and two seemingly contradictory qualities-loyalty and betrayal.

The white worm in Harry's eyes had another name during the Flesh Empire's era: the "Sacred White Worm." Its Flesh creation designation was [BIO-006].

During the empire's era, BIO-006 specimens were symbiotic organisms found within Flesh worshippers and Flesh creations. They served as a second immune system, granting their hosts resistance to disease and enhanced regeneration.

During that era, BIO-006 was also believed to be associated with the physical transformations of certain Flesh worshippers who possessed no lineage. It could also increase resistance to the Divine Feast, granting holders of the Flesh Supremacy Lineage immunity to some forms of [Cognitive Collapse] while partaking in it.

Moreover, it was exceptionally compatible with the Third Return.

"We are all followers of Yarn, believers in He Who Covers the Boundless! We are brothers who ought to help one another. Naturally, I will do everything in my power to help you find Adaposs's creation!" Xia Xiu declared to Harry with righteous conviction.

"That's good." Harry smiled in relief.

Standing beside them, Dorn watched their enthusiastic exchange and couldn't help curling his lip.

What a hypocrite.

Harry was decisive. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Xia Xiu, he decided to perform the ritual right there. He asked Xia Xiu to open his field. Naturally, Xia Xiu had no objection and immediately enabled location sharing for his Flesh Supremacy Lineage.

Following the ritual's requirements, Harry had Xia Xiu and Dorn stand on either side of Nadocks's Seal. Their positions formed an equilateral triangle. Then Harry struck the ground with his wooden staff again.

The shadow behind Harry actually stood up. Over two meters tall, it walked toward the storeroom.

A little later, the shadow returned carrying seven large, sturdy rats. It placed them in the center of Nadocks's Seal, then split off seven shadow chains to bind them tightly. Its hand also transformed into a blade.

The first rat was beheaded.

The second rat was castrated.

The third rat was suffocated.

The fourth rat was battered.

The fifth rat was blinded.

The sixth rat was impaled.

The seventh rat was beaten viciously.

"Strength is forged from the suffering of the weak. Here, the weak perish. Here, the strong are born. I drive myself onward, from the pale reflection of Yarn's sacrifice of flesh and blood to unbearable power, shedding my fragile shell," Harry chanted loudly.

Bang-

All the rats burst into minced flesh. Their blood flowed along the markings of Nadocks's Seal, soon covering the entire seal in crimson.

[Adaposs notification: You have now entered the [Overclocking] phase. Consumption beyond your authorized allowance will be deducted at a rate of 10 spirit units of EVE particles per second. When your balance becomes insufficient, you will be placed on the [Overclocking List].]

Fuck! We're already overclocking... Even Eden isn't this stingy!

Xia Xiu was inwardly speechless.

Overclocking, jokingly called "buy now, pay later for supernatural abilities" by players, could be a unique state, ritual, or technique. For example, if a phase-one thaumaturge wanted to perform phase-two thaumaturgy, they had to push beyond their limits through [Overclocking].

Harry's current ritual was clearly beyond what phase one could accomplish. It involved an authority like [All-Seeing].

Setting aside the techniques for entering [Overclocking], there was the price one had to pay afterward.

The first phase of [Overclocking] deducted EVE particles. This was called the [Offset Payment Phase]. As long as you managed to hold out through it, you wouldn't end up on the damned [Overclocking List] or have to undergo the utterly ruinous [Contractual Rank Payment].

The [Overclocking List] was a special register used by the various lineage think tanks to record overclockers. It was also known as the wage-slave list, the sucker list, and the list of people exploited by heartless bosses.

Lineage holders placed on the Overclocking List had to complete tasks assigned by their think tanks, and those tasks varied depending on the think tank involved.

Eden, for example, generally demanded that you cut down a few cultists. If you were lucky, it would just make you help people for a month.

The Anomaly Spectrum, however, was fucking outrageous. Its think tank's repayment tasks often involved sacrificing an entire city or making trouble for a hostile lineage.

When Xia Xiu belonged to the Heaven Lineage in his previous life, he saw suckers come to the Sanctum to throw their lives away every month. He clearly remembered the looks on their faces, as though they'd been forced to eat shit.

Work for an outrageous boss, and even your death would be outrageous.

Some ritual offerings and requirements were special methods of paying the price of [Overclocking] in advance, shutting down the boss's outrageous demands.

Unfortunately, some bosses really had no fucking shame.

If he couldn't make it through the EVE particle Offset Payment Phase, Xia Xiu would immediately terminate the ritual.

He would rather be Eden's wage slave than Adaposs's sucker!

Fortunately, Adaposs wasn't completely unreasonable. A ritual to locate someone wasn't enough to land them straight on the [Overclocking List]. After consuming 200 spirit units of EVE particles, a circular mirror began to emerge over Nadocks's Seal, and a peculiar scene appeared on its surface.

A port with an L-shaped harbor appeared in the mirror. The view kept zooming in, closer and closer, until an enormous sign came into view. It read: [Port Authority General Cargo Terminal].

General cargo, roll-on/roll-off ships, timber, and scrap metal...

The image finally settled on a man and a woman. The man wore gold-rimmed glasses and looked utterly bedraggled. He held the hand of a woman wrapped from head to toe in a trench coat.

Crack-

After reflecting the pair, the mirror shattered. Nadocks's Seal beneath Xia Xiu's feet dissipated with it.

"Do you know where that is?" Xia Xiu asked the excited Harry.

"Tilbury Port. It's Fog City's main port, on the north bank of the Thames in the eastern outskirts," Harry answered excitedly.

"We'll leave now to find those two. They're probably trying to leave the Fog City area through the port. We have to catch them before they get away!" Harry decided on the spot.

Neither Xia Xiu nor Dorn had any objections, so the three immediately set out for Tilbury Port.

Fog City · Tilbury Port.

Hooooonk-

A cruise ship stopped near the port and began lowering its anchor. In a dim warehouse nearby, March held Lisa's hand.

"Lisa, once we stow away on the cruise ship and get out of the Fog City area, we'll be free." March's eyes shone.

"Free-dom-" Lisa said, her command of human language still awkward.

"Yes, freedom!"