Soul Trigger

Chapter 606 A Family in Financial Difficulty

She stopped her bicycle, kicked off the kickstand fiercely, and then strode over to Ji Li, grabbing his collar as if he were her enemy:
"Do you know how worried Aunt Duke is about you? She's been going to the police station every day for the past three days to keep track of your whereabouts."

Now that we've finally gotten the news, the police say you went after that damn Anya Foster?!

Damn it, what on earth are you thinking?
He was tricked into going into the wilderness by those idiots and made a fool of for three days. After returning, he started to set his sights on the town's princess.

How come I never noticed you were so courageous before? What, have you given up on your dream of studying mathematics?!

Ji Li looked at his half-sister, who was standing right next to him, with a strange gaze:

Aquil Wright.

This guy just grabbed his collar and rattled off a whole string of profanities without stopping.

This made Ji Li wonder if the original owner of Pulitzer was truly pitiful yet hateful, with even his sister, who lived under the same roof, disliking him so much, or if this was just the personality of the child, Aiquier.

However, she did indeed see herself as Pulitzer, which gave Ji Li more confidence in the deep red ceremony for the tombstone.

After all, it's the first time using it, so we have to be prepared for the possibility of a mishap. These are all close associates of the Pulitzer Prize.

Seeing Ji Li's "foolish" expression, Ai Gui'er's anger flared up, and she opened her mouth to continue her tirade—

"let go."

In an instant, she felt a chill rush to her head, and the flat syllables pierced the depths of her soul and exploded with a bang.

As my vision blurred instantly, every cell in my body emitted a piercing scream:

Run away!
After a dizzying spin, she stumbled backward, knocking over the bicycle with a thud, and then fell to the ground with a thud, crawling uncontrollably backward to get away from Ji Li.

In her dazed gaze, the brilliant sunlight shone on the back of "Pulitzer," casting his face in complete darkness.

Even though the sunlight shone on her, it brought no warmth, only endless coldness.

“You you you…you…”

At the same time, she felt her sphincter muscles begin to tremble and spasm uncontrollably.

The rude girl was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground, and the darkness swirling in Ji Li's eyes gradually dissipated.

Compared to the [Death Star], which was born from the fusion of many characteristics, Sir Death's Despair Spirit is actually much less destructive in terms of the same level of spirit.

Instead, this personality relic, in addition to possessing the characteristics of the White Island system, also specializes in various "curse" abilities.

Ji Li just used the "Panic" curse on the rude girl.

Compared to direct and powerful spiritual pressure suppression, the release of the Panic Curse involves smaller fluctuations in spiritual energy and can be effective against those of the same level.

Even with the intensity greatly reduced, the rude little girl was still just an ordinary human being, and it was still too much for her.

At this moment, in Aiquier's eyes, boundless darkness was expanding behind Ji Li, as if endless whispers were coming from his ears.

Her heart was pounding, but it wasn't the racing heartbeat that Anya experienced when Ji Li led her through the maze.

Rather, it is the intense heart palpitations experienced by an organism when facing a predator at the height of fear.

Aiquier suddenly squeezed her legs together, and even felt a warm, moist sensation seeping out rapidly from under her uncontrollable sphincter muscles.

She immediately screamed, jumped up, shoved Ji Li aside, and rushed into the house without looking back.

Looking at the bicycle still lying on the ground, its wheels spinning, Ji Li shrugged:

Ha, little carbon-based monkey.

He picked up his bicycle and pushed it toward the house, whereupon he saw the door that Aquile had forced open be pulled open, and a middle-aged woman with gray hair came out.

Pulitzer?

She wore thick glasses, and her clothes were visibly old and faded.

Upon seeing Ji Li, she was initially taken aback, then quickly walked to him with somewhat stiff legs, cupping his face in her hands and looking at him from left to right:
"It's good that you're not hurt, it's good that you're not hurt..."

She let go, sighed deeply, and gave Ji Li a hug.

This is Mrs. Duke, Aquile's aunt and Pulitzer Orin's current temporary guardian.

Pulitzer also called her aunt.

Compared to the rude young girl, this aunt didn't complain about Ji Li running around. Instead, she skipped the topic and gave him some earnest advice:
“I’ve heard everything about what happened at school from Aquile, so I won’t go to gatherings like this next time.”

You don't need to pay attention to those kids' malice, and you don't need to compete with others. Sticking to your own path is more important than anything else.

Aquil was just worried about you. Don't take what she said to heart. Just be glad you're back safe and sound.

Ji Li shifted her head slightly, a little unaccustomed to the hug:

Thanks for your inspirational quote; poor Pulitzer would be delighted to hear it.

Unfortunately, I was the only one who could listen to him.

Looking past her aunt's gray hair, Ji Li saw Aiguier preparing to close the window on the second floor of the house.

When their eyes met, she quickly pulled the window shut like a startled rabbit.

She has a pretty good figure.

But dear aunt, you must not have noticed that she wet her pants when you came out.

Seemingly because Ji Li didn't react, Aunt Duke was still trying to say something, but was interrupted by Ji Li patting her on the shoulder:

"Let's go in."

He could sense that this woman harbored genuine affection for the original owner of the body she had replaced.

Clearly, whether as legal guardian or adopted son, Pulitzer was a true and genuine family member to her. He followed behind Mrs. Duke, also taking in the old house before him.

Mushrooms grew under the eaves, and the water pipes were rusty.

The wooden steps outside the entrance creaked, a corner of the window on the second floor of Equiel was broken, the roof was covered with moss, and Pulitzer's old, faded clothes were on his guardian...

All of this foreshadows Mrs. Duke's dire financial situation, that of a struggling benefactor.

However, Odin has already avenged your adopted son, so he won't take his identity for nothing.

Ji Li entered the house.

Although the house is a bit old, it is a semi-detached house located in the suburbs, and the space is quite spacious.

The first floor has a spacious entryway and living room. The coffee table is covered with newspapers and dust. Instead of a television, there is an extinguished fireplace and a blackened stove hook in the living room. The carpet is also covered with dust.

The restaurant was rather messy. Fast food boxes were still on the tables, and several potatoes were piled on the cutting board in the kitchen, with slices of potato lying next to the cleaver.

In addition, there is a walk-in closet, and a balcony on the side opens onto a small, verdant courtyard, with a red kennel in the corner.

A Border Collie darted out from inside, jumping and barking at Ji Li.

He patted the guy's head, and the Border Collie ran to the basement entrance on one side, picked up a ball, and then squatted down, wagging its tail and looking at Ji Li expectantly.

He picked up the ball and threw it into the garden.

The Border Collie happily rushed over:
Forgive me for always saying that animals are spiritual beings, but the dog didn't show any unusual behavior towards his presence.

Therefore, Ji Li believed that the testing of the Crimson Ritual could be put on hold for now.

To welcome Ji Li's safe return, Mrs. Duke said she had prepared a lot of food for him.

After enjoying the culinary skills of the top chef at Yuanling Prince's Mansion, Ji Li gained a whole new understanding of food.

So he was really looking forward to his aunt's cooking skills.

But this expectation was basically dead as the dishes were served one after another:

Baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, and even small frozen potatoes made into a soup.

Ji Li: "..."

Perhaps the most luxurious food on the entire table was the bowl of cream soup placed in front of Ji Li, and the steak that was originally meant for Aiguir but was now being served to Ji Li—

Because Ecker is the captain of the school volleyball team and also a single-track sailing student athlete, she has to train regularly, so her family usually prioritizes providing her with nutrition.

This time, because it was a "feast" prepared for Ji Li, it was given to Ji Li.

The impolite girl didn't seem to have much of an opinion. She was wearing her new yoga pants and avoiding every glance from Ji Li. Her recent experience had clearly left her shaken.

This meal made Ji Li realize that this family's budget control was much stricter than he had imagined.

"There's a plate of spaghetti in the fridge, would you like to try some?"

"Thank you, I'll have this."

After declining Mrs. Duke's offer, Ji Li instinctively reached for chopsticks, but ended up grabbing a fork from beside him.

After examining the color of the stainless steel reflecting the light, he expressionlessly shoved it into the steak on the plate:
Just eat it as is.

After dinner, Mrs. Duke intended to spend some time with Ji Li, but seeing that the latter had no interest in it, she gave him some instructions and hurriedly left.

Her profile says she's a supermarket manager, earning around £2000 a month.

But this income is not enough to support her two children who are in high school, so she has to go out to do part-time work this weekend.

Ji Li asked around and found out that it was for helping to care for the elderly, and the income was 12 pounds per hour.

As for Aigui'er, he didn't say a word to Ji Li after the meal, and didn't even dare to look him in the eye. He turned around and ran out to train.

[You scared the girl. Be careful.] —Filin's voice.

Of course I know, that was also to test the effectiveness of the ritual.

Filin's concerns are not without reason.

Although Ji Li had great faith in the crimson ritual of the tombstone, he had no experience using it and wondered if scaring the original owner's sister so badly that she wet herself right away would affect the effect of the cognitive rewriting.

Anyway, let's go upstairs and take a look first.

After the meal, Ji Li had a basic understanding of Pulitzer's family:
The ordinary families on White Island were struggling financially.

In other words, in order to minimize the risks he might be exposed to, he cannot have high material consumption in the short term.

He also needs to find a reasonable source of funds for his operations, and the European black card given to him by the madwoman can no longer be used casually... There's one more thing to do now.

The second floor has three bedrooms and a storage room, and there is also a small attic on the top floor.

Pulitzer's room was the largest, and Mrs. Duke loved him no less than her own niece, Ai Quill.

As soon as Ji Li grasped the doorknob, he sensed something was wrong—

There is a spiritual reaction.

He activated his spiritual energy and slowly pushed open the door.

The interior was messy, with Pulitzer's clothes and various Olympiad exercise books piled on the bed.

But most of the paper was covered with densely packed handwritten sheets of paper, all of them letters.

The spiritual reaction came from these letters.

(End of this chapter)