Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1495 The Echoing Sound

Even though Rosemerada was unsettling, the ranger had no choice but to follow her.

"The Ark of Miracles"—that's what Rosemary told her, the name of her last plague.

"Don't worry too much about it. Most of the people in this city are going to die anyway, since there's no place for them on the ark."

Rosemerada smiled and looked at the ranger.

"If you laugh in a more grotesque way, I can feel like I'm talking to one of my own kind." The ranger pursed his lips, then suddenly noticed a beam of light refracting down from his side and above.

"Someone's there!" She drew her sword abruptly. Rosemaryda immediately looked in that direction as well.

On the second floor of a house whose roof had been ripped off, by the window, stood a monk draped in a red robe. His face was indistinct, with three eyeballs hovering above his head, and he held a very unique-looking short sword in his hand.

"Hmm... I heard there was someone spreading plague around here, and I thought it was a plague apostle... It's not bad, but it's not a target we should be attacking..."

The monk's voice was very clear, and both the ranger and Rosemerada could hear it clearly.

“This unique short sword, I think Blue Cobalt mentioned it before. Could you be ‘Sun-Hanging’?” Rosemerada asked with a smile.

"This is just the name I used in my deal with Pan De'ang, and the outcome of the deal didn't satisfy me much. The plague apostles he brought were too useless; there aren't many opportunities left."

He looked down at the short sword in his hand.

Chaotic Numbers - Ten - Serial Killer Beacon

To destroy the future of others in order to nourish one's present self.

Once you enter the scene, you must use this weapon to kill the following targets. After killing a target, you will randomly gain one of their future abilities in the scene. However, if you fail to complete the following objectives in the scene, you will become the hunting target of all tourists in the next scene.

Note: Even if you cannot carry this item due to restrictions on the distribution point, you still need to kill the specified target as required; otherwise, the above effects will still apply.

Those who are later called the weak among the strong, fourth: those who kill those who will become world-renowned strongmen in the future must be currently unknown. This rule specifically refers to the level of individual power. (4/4)

Those cowards who are later called heroes, the third type: those who will stand up in the future and reverse the inevitable disaster, must be destitute in the present. This rule specifically refers to the achievement outcome. (2/3)

Those soldiers later known as the King's Soldiers, secondly: those who kill those who will become the future rulers of a territory and bring peace, must currently be within a quasi-military organization; this regulation specifically refers to the power structure. (0/2)

Those mortals who would later be called gods: 1. To kill someone who will become a god in the future, one must not yet have reached any of the standards for godhood. This regulation specifically refers to a change in the nature of existence. (0/1)

Chaotic mathematics: When in the same scene as other chaotic numbers, it produces a chaotic pattern.

Scene Addition: Fate: The Vanished Future: Your destiny should be above that of others.

—Grip the sword hilt tightly; mathematics will not deceive you. All goals that should be thwarted are before your eyes. Remember the only result of that equation: ten.

"Chui Ri" looked down at the two people below. He had originally thought that those who could cause a stir in Violet City would meet certain requirements, but unfortunately, these two did not.

“Are you the plague apostles that Pandeon mentioned…acting alone? I can kill you here, but I think I just heard some divine words. What are you planning to do?” he asked Rosemerada.

“This is not something I can say to the church, even though you are a collaborator,” Rosemerada replied. “Killing us here won’t be easy, Chrysalis. If you’re looking for a specific target, I suggest you hurry up. If something changes in Violet City, you might not have the chance then.”

Chui Ri pondered for a moment, then disappeared behind the wall.

"He's gone?" The ranger stared at the scene, seemingly unable to believe that he had left so easily.

“Because he probably doesn’t have as much time as we do. The fact that he’s come all the way here proves that he might really be in a panic.” Rosemerada put away the notebook she had just finished casting the spell on. “Neither of us has anything of value on us, so he doesn’t think it’s worth wasting his energy on us.”

"An arrogant fellow."

The ranger sheathed her weapon and glanced at the other side disdainfully. She wasn't afraid of a fight, but if she made a commotion, she would be discovered. Although the church couldn't monitor the entire city like before, there were still plenty of experts nearby.

Especially monsters.

"How many monsters did 'The Mystery of Immortality' create?" the wandering swordsman asked.

“That’s countless, but he’s on the path he’s searching for, and those monsters are just difficult to kill. I really hope he can achieve something.” Rosemerada took out a sachet, lit it, and threw it on the ground.

"You don't want this place anymore?"

"No, it's the place where we were discovered after all..."

"The few cultivators who provided us with accommodations were scouting from just 200 meters away."

“That’s really unfortunate.” Rosemerada walked away. “We need to find the next group of refugees as soon as possible. It’s getting harder and harder to find suitable targets. If this continues, I may not be able to send out all the Miracle Arks before winter comes.”

"What will happen if I can't finish sending it?" the Ranger asked.

“What if the stars fail to reach where they are supposed to be?” Rosemerada countered.

The two quickly left the burning incense ball, and soon after, as the faint fragrance spread, several enormous monsters appeared around them, and then a fierce battle that shook the heavens and the earth was torn off, not to mention the houses.

=
In Vanessa's studio at the church, she was squinting at Ophelia who had come to complain.

"Why did you take in so many people? Can you manage them all? Besides, with such a diverse crowd, do you know how many malicious individuals have infiltrated this place? Winter is almost here, how are you going to feed, drink, and take care of so many people? And if someone secretly tries to sabotage you, I'm afraid you won't even survive the winter! Where's Thorne? I haven't seen him."

"...He went to pick up a new batch of people." "Coming again? Don't you think it's abnormal that people come to seek refuge every day?" Ophelia shouted.

“This is definitely not normal. It’s reasonable for a group of people to get through occasionally, but it’s strange that people are coming every two or three days. We’re not the only shelter in Violet City.” Vanessa flipped to the last page of the document in her hand and quickly signed it. “Why are you so worried? You’re a prisoner. Just focus on making bricks.”

“I don’t want to die here,” Ophelia scoffed.

Vanessa sighed: "You're willing to stay here to prevent the curse on you from flaring up, right? If you come out with us, the church can easily cleanse you of the curse, and you'll regain your freedom. In that case, you can think about it more."

"What? You've made me burn bricks for days, and now you want me to think about even more for you?"

“I’ve discussed this with the pharmacist. You’re an outsider, so you might have a different perspective on the situation in the city. Even though we had a fight at the beginning, you haven’t done anything else these past few days besides complaining. Doesn’t that prove anything? Ophelia, since you’re planning to get on our good side, shouldn’t you offer something more?”

“You… fine.” Ophelia pointed at Vanessa, uttering the two words through gritted teeth, and then left.

Vanessa found it somewhat amusing; she felt as if she knew how to deal with Ophelia.

She seems to have seen someone similar before?
They can be rude, but once you get to know them, they're easy to communicate with and straightforward.

"Uh……"

Vanessa touched her forehead.

She felt that she was becoming more and more adept at handling many things lately. The change was that she was more inclined to do some field work, which meant dealing with the threats that those people had given her in the intelligence. She led the teams out herself for those tasks, and so far, apart from injuring a few people, there had been no deaths.

Such a successful operation further increased her credibility among the people. After all, this is what Violet City is like now; combat strength is the real deal, and people who can fight and protect others are the most popular anywhere.

Vanessa, however, did not find it particularly difficult. The pharmacist had only taken her out for a short run, and she had grown rapidly in less than a month. She was even certain that Veronica was no longer an equal in combat.

"It's just cleaning work..." she murmured, then paused for a moment. It was indeed a thought that had crossed her mind, but when did she begin to feel contempt for the crisis that was about to destroy Violet City?

But that's just how it is, just like people don't feel proud of themselves for wiping dust off the floor.

She was well aware of her opponent's strength, as well as the power she possessed. Such a clear comparison of power inevitably led her to this thought.

Vanessa stood up, closed her eyes, and thought carefully.

This kind of thinking is far too arrogant and should be curbed.

But she could have easily eliminated those crises; compared to the true stars, these crises were nothing more than a minor ailment…

"No, I need to find a pharmacist—"

“Sister Vanessa! Sister Veronica sent me to see you; it seems she has discovered signs of a plague!”

A little girl ran to the door, her voice interrupting Vanessa's thoughts. She immediately remembered this matter. Although the plague was within her jurisdiction, she was too busy to handle the matter, so the task of checking whether the people who had come to stay here were carrying anything like the plague was assigned to Veronica.

Since Father Thorne had not yet returned, Vanessa went directly to Veronica's place.

Veronica has compiled the medical examination results for some individuals, and since some materials are still missing, she has temporarily prepared some medications. In addition, Veronica even personally performed surgery on several cases to examine their internal ailments.

"Veronica, I heard you've discovered the characteristics of the plague?"

“The infectivity and pathogenicity have been confirmed, but we haven’t seen any fatalities yet. These plagues have been deliberately designed to be complex and slow-acting. I’m not an expert, so please take a look.” Veronica pulled out a few medical records and handed them to Vanessa. “If we were to isolate them now, our workload would increase even more. But before we figure out the transmission route, we really can’t let infected people live with other people.”

"Of course... What the hell is this thing?"

Vanessa frowned as she looked at the medical records.

Plagues come in all shapes and sizes, but they generally share a common purpose: some aim for rapid death, some for widespread spread, some for prolonged suffering, and some for spectacular results. Many famous plagues in history, including the "Heterodox" plague that is currently the most threatening in the city, fall into this category.

However, the plague symptoms she was seeing now did not conform to this understanding. They caused slow changes in people, but were neither fatal nor painful, and showed a clear inertia in their spread. No one around them was infected, and it was unclear how they had contracted the disease. People's appearances did not change much during the illness; at most, they felt weak and fatigued. Apart from that, given the current situation, without a special trigger, death was a very distant prospect—possibly even longer than these people's original lifespan.

“It’s… incomprehensible,” Vanessa said.

Veronica nodded: "Yes, I was able to confirm that the symptoms I observed were those of the plague only through prayer, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to confirm it. But the gods didn't give me any more instructions, so I could only identify the people first, just in case."

“This isn’t going to be easy. The plagues on these people are similar but different, which means it won’t be easy for us to make special reagents. We don’t have enough medicine to begin with.” Vanessa frowned. “I don’t believe the Plague Apostles would create useless plagues. These are probably triggered by some kind of switch, like the one I encountered before, which would break out when I tried to investigate it.”

“That’s something you’ll have to figure out, Vanessa,” Veronica said with a smile. “I’ll handle the identification, and you can deal with the enemy. Isn’t that how we should divide our roles?”

"Yes, I'll consider it... When Father Thorne returns, I'll discuss the follow-up plans with him. At least—"

—Just get rid of it.

—There is no need to pity those infected, even if they are innocent.

— Dispose of these people efficiently and quickly to ensure that the majority of people are not harmed.

Vanessa?

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about how to talk to Father Thorne. After all, he always uses methods that we can’t really accept, although in extreme cases his methods are indeed the most effective.”

That's exactly right.