In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

The saintess's voice rang in my ears, warm yet tinged with coldness, "Then let me help you, okay?"

"Come on, fight for me."

Happy National Day! Enjoy your holiday!

I was going to take a day off today, since it's my birthday... but I'll still update, even though it's a bit rushed, boohoo.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 294 Today I'm going to be a male mom!

2023-10-17

"you……"

Noticing the abnormality in her body, Qin Yiyan tried with difficulty to turn around.

The saintess ignored her and gently flicked her fingers to stop her.

Xu Shi watched as, under her manipulation, the red-haired silly girl's eyes were gradually covered by cloudy white, and her whole body became as stiff as a puppet.

This was exactly what he had expected.

Although he had a lot of information about the Saintess and knew that her abilities were more support-oriented, he never really considered her as a support from the beginning and was always on guard against her backup plans.

After all, she is the "observer" of "heavenly justice," how could she be without any combat ability?

Obviously not. Even Miss He from Night City of Sin has a multifaceted ability called Super Beast Imitation Painting. If I hadn't been in absolute control at the time, I would probably have had a good time with her.

It's normal to lack information; who would think of something that hasn't been shown before? These are all top-secret items, and of course, they won't just be told to you casually.

Therefore, he was not at all surprised that the saintess in front of him had displayed abilities beyond intelligence gathering. At most, he was slightly surprised to show his respect, after all, she was the first dual-ability user in the Hualan Empire.

Perhaps, according to the original plot of this experimental field, she was the key figure who introduced this concept.

However, the situation has changed drastically, and with no other option but to reveal this trump card in desperation.

"This ability is quite interesting."

Xie Qingyan, who was standing to the side, also noticed this, but she focused more on the Saintess's abilities themselves.

"Human manipulation"

This was the name she temporarily gave to this ability—to forcibly make others lose their self-awareness through some means, turning them into puppets in the hands of the ability user.

Even without considering the power level, this ability itself is outstanding.

Unlike Xu Shi's "entropy of evil thoughts," "human manipulation" is obviously simpler and more brutal in controlling others. It directly erases consciousness and turns people into dogs. This cannot be called evil; it is more like hypnosis.

Judging from how smoothly and effortlessly Miss Saint performed her actions, her ability level must be quite high, conservatively estimated to be S, and S+ is not out of the question.

However, she also noticed a blind spot: "human manipulation." If anyone can really manipulate others, why would she manipulate her teammates instead of her opponents?

After a quick mental analysis, she had roughly sorted out her thoughts.

This is mostly because this ability requires prerequisites. Take Xu Shi's "entropy of evil thoughts" as an example. His spiritual erosion also requires planting seeds and letting them take root and sprout little by little. It doesn't mean that it can directly corrupt people. It requires a process.

Looking at it this way, perhaps the saintess in front of us is similar. She also needs some means to subtly influence those around her in the long term, and then when the time comes, she can manipulate them regardless of their personal will, just like she is now.

So the prerequisite is...

"baptism"?

Considering the other party's identity and background, the fiancée easily took this into account. The other party was a saintess of the Holy See, and indeed, she would often use this overt auxiliary ability on those around her.

This has been a long-standing practice of the Vatican. While strengthening faith, it also subtly elevates those who are blessed. Naturally, people enjoy it and even regard being "baptized and blessed by Her Holiness the Holy Maiden" as an honor.

But considering her second ability that has now been revealed, perhaps while empowering others, this ability is also laying the groundwork for manipulating others?

It's like a slow-acting poison.

There is no more reasonable guess than this, and in this light, Miss Saintess, the "observer," seems to be much more active than He Yuxia. At least she has been secretly making arrangements, or rather, to add an extra layer of insurance for the stability of this experimental field.

If nothing goes wrong, all will be well; but if an unforeseen situation like this occurs, she can use these arrangements to make amends.

So it seems like he's quite the workaholic, much better than Miss He Er's half-baked job... But Xie Xiaogou wasn't concerned about that; she was more interested in the fact that the other party had dual superpowers.

For the people of Night City, having two superpowers is no longer a rare thing, but the situation where there is a connection and cooperation between the first and second abilities is quite novel.

After all, in their original understanding, dual superpowers are achieved through technological means, and even Shen Qin, as the source, is no exception. No one is born with two superpowers.

That means that the different abilities of dual-ability users are independent entities. Her previous research focused on how the two abilities complemented each other. For example, Shen Qin and Xia Ke'an transplanted self-healing abilities, thereby eliminating the damage that the original abilities caused to their bodies.

Or perhaps the transplanted concept of "unity is strength" is what makes up for the inability of "the increase of entropy of evil thoughts" to affect positive emotions.

However, the Saintess's two abilities are quite different. They have a certain degree of interaction with each other, even more so than tailor-made, but the two abilities are very different, obviously not branches derived from leveling up.

It's as if she prepared this in advance... Could she really be born with dual superpowers?

Or perhaps, "Tianli" possesses some more advanced technology that allows them to easily accomplish things that they cannot.

Both explanations are possible, after all, the "principles of Heaven" are mysterious, and what has been investigated so far is only the tip of the iceberg.

As for whether it's possible for someone to be born with dual superpowers... we can only say that just because something hasn't been seen doesn't mean it doesn't exist, right?

and so.

A hint of excitement shone in her eyes.

"Xu Shi, capture him alive."

No matter what the situation is, researching it will always yield results, not to mention that she now has "copying" capabilities; just copy it and she'll know everything, right?

"If anyone's going to arrest someone, it's you. I don't have that kind of ability."

Mr. Xu's answer was very modest.

That's absolutely true. You, Xie, are like a war goddess now, so it's certainly more appropriate for you to do this kind of thing yourself.

What? I've become stronger too?

Don't worry about the details. It's impossible for me to be bossed around. It'll never happen in my life.

“…Go to hell.”

Even though she thought she was fully prepared for this scoundrel's terrible nature, Xie Qingyan was still so angry that she wanted to jump up and down when she heard him say that.

The thing is, what that bastard said wasn't wrong; it did seem easier for her to catch it herself...

Forget it, now's not the time to throw a tantrum. There will be plenty of opportunities to deal with him later!

So she simply licked her lips lightly, and then untied the hairband she had just tied.

Xie, the great beauty, seems to be more accustomed to activating her tentacle monster, ah, no, her battle form, in this manner.

From a psychological perspective, this is a manifestation of self-liberation, transforming from a dignified young lady into a crazy beauty or something.

In this mode, she always gives people a unique sense of beauty.

But Miss Saint didn't think so.

It was easy to tell from her eyes that she was angry.

No wonder she was angry.

Although the conversation between Xu Shi and Xie Qingyan was very brief, as someone in the know, how could she not understand what the two of them meant?

Arrest me?!

So you've already planned how to use me as a guinea pig before the fight even started?

This attitude was utterly insulting; the fact that she held back her curses was the last vestige of dignity she had as a saintess.

Although she is a person who upholds "natural justice," her character is still very real. She can't act like a shrew, or she'll completely fall apart.

But whether she's criticized or not won't change anything. Everything she's showing now is completely different from her previous image. Anyone with a brain knows there's something wrong with her, and her public persona is out of the question.

and so.

next second.

Then they saw that the other members of the Vatican were gradually becoming like Qin Yiyan, turning into puppets in her hands in fear.

Clearly, this arrangement was not limited to her closest confidants; perhaps long before their arrival, the Holy Maiden had already firmly grasped the Vatican in her own hands.

"You're scared after all."

Seeing this, Xu Shi merely scoffed, "Is what you're doing really in accordance with the rules of 'natural law'? If they find out, won't they punish you by making you into a velvet ball?"

How could she not be afraid? It was obvious that she was also wary of Xu Shi's previous verbal sparring, not to mention that people like Lu Baiyan had already shown signs of wavering, and who knew if he would turn against her halfway through?

Rather than being hesitant and timid in doubt, she needed an emotionless war machine at this moment.

"Once you die, everything will be back to normal."

A cold smile appeared on her face, and with a flick of her slender finger, she said, "Go, kill them!"

However, Xu Shi was not afraid at all. Before the Holy Maiden could finish speaking, Su Lin and Lin Yue took the lead and attacked her from the left and right.

Both are assassin-type players, best suited for decapitation strikes.

The tentacles behind Xie Qingyan also began to fly wildly. Compared to one-on-one combat, her ability was more suitable for dealing with multiple enemies, making her a master of dealing with many.

The remaining Tang Shuang, Shen Qin, and the others were responsible for fighting against the unconscious silver puppets. No matter what they were, they would all be smashed to pieces.

As for Xu Shi... all she needs to do is be beautiful.

Hey, just kidding.

Of course, he had to take care of those who were unable to fight: Jiang Chengcheng, Gu Yi, Xia Ke'an, and Pan Ling. The scene was in complete chaos, and protecting them from harm was also very important.

Even Pan Feng is in this group, but given her current skill level, this is a battle she can't possibly get involved in.

"I……"

Xiao Feng was a little disappointed. She really wanted to fight, but on the way here she heard about Xu Shi's heroic deeds at the dock and suddenly realized that her fighting ability was not as good as her master's.

Her master could overpower the Silver Knights of the Holy Temple, but she couldn't.

"So, Master, you're not a weak man who can't even kill a chicken."

She blurted out her complaint without thinking, then quickly corrected herself, "Ah, that's not what I meant. I just didn't know Master was so amazing. You're always the one giving advice..."

"?"

Xu Shi was completely confused. Was this how I was perceived by you all along?