[New Function: After the host tells a lie, the host can spend Credits to make that lie briefly manifest as reality.]
[New Method for Obtaining Stellar Jades: The host can exchange Credits for Stellar Jades at a ratio of 1,000:1. Maximum exchange limit: 14,400 Stellar Jades (90 pulls).]
'So, the lie I told Lu Zhaoran—about how having more Credits makes me stronger—actually manifested in this way?'
Looking at these two brief lines of text, Cipher immediately recalled the bluff she had spun earlier. Putting aside the news of the Stellar Jade exchange for a moment, the newly added function left her genuinely shocked.
To be able to forcibly turn a lie into reality... what did that imply? It meant her Deceitful Divine Power no longer had limits.
During a battle, she could spend Credits to forcibly obtain a specific ability, use it, and then make the enemy believe she truly possessed that power. Once the enemy was convinced, she could use her Deceitful Divine Power to solidify that ability permanently!
Her eyes burned with focus as she stared at the new interface. She let a lie slip from her lips.
"I possess the exact same power as the Hermit Princess. Any living being I touch shall return to the River Lethe!"
[1,000,000 Credits consumed. Lie has become reality. The lie expires after killing one biological entity (excluding microorganisms or flora) or after ten minutes have passed.]
As the words faded, Cipher felt several wisps of purple aura coil around her body. This aura was identical to the one she had just used up.
"One million credits to kill one person?" Cipher looked at the subtitle and the purple mist clinging to her skin, a smile tugging at her lips. "That's a huge profit!"
However, the smile soon vanished, replaced by a look of concern directed toward the warehouse.
'Why is it so quiet over there? Even if they aren't fighting, it shouldn't be so silent that not a single sound leaks out.'
"Whatever. I'll go check it out."
Flipping her coin into the air, Cipher sprinted toward the warehouse.
★ ★ ★
"Ha... ha..."
Lu Zhaoran gasped for air, using her knight's sword to prop herself up. Her clothes were shredded by cuts and scorched by burns. Although she only had two actual wounds, both were on her neck, where thin trails of blood slowly seeped out.
Standing opposite her were Chu Qingyu, his body crackling with lightning, and Lin Zhenyi, holding his silver knife.
"Ms. Lu, stop this pointless resistance." Chu Qingyu spoke, his voice cold. "It has only been a minute, and you're already in this state. How much longer do you think you can last?"
Lu Zhaoran didn't respond. She stared intently at Lin Zhenyi, her eyes filled with disappointment and confusion.
"Senior Lin, you've become indecisive." She touched the marks on her neck and spoke slowly. "You had two clear chances to kill me, but you hesitated. You didn't strike. That isn't like the man I knew."
"...My mission is to stall you, not to kill you," Lin Zhenyi answered after a long silence.
"Heh. If that's the case..." Lu Zhaoran tightened her grip on her sword. "I'm done defending. Either you kill me, or... I kill you!"
She lifted her blade, ready to charge and settle this in a life-or-death struggle. But before she could take more than a few steps, a series of rapid beeps erupted from the terminals of the two men.
At the sound, the expressions of Lin Zhenyi and Chu Qingyu shifted. Lin Zhenyi turned and spoke rapidly to his companion. "They failed. Let's go."
He slashed his knife through the air behind him, carving a pitch-black spatial rift into existence. He stepped through without hesitation. Chu Qingyu cast one last begrudging look at Lu Zhaoran before grabbing Tan Rui and Chu Ke, vanishing into the rift after him.
A moment later—just as Cipher activated Chrono Surge outside—the sensation of death reappeared, followed by a thunderous crash.
Thoom!
Cipher slammed the door open. Moving at godspeed, she circled the warehouse twice, searching for enemies. However, aside from Lu Zhaoran and her sword, the interior was empty.
Cipher deactivated Chrono Surge and rushed to Lu Zhaoran's side. She let the deathly aura dissipate and reached out to support her friend.
"Xiao Ran, what happened in here? I couldn't hear a thing from the outside." Cipher frowned, looking at the wounds on the girl's neck.
Lu Zhaoran shook her head and gently pushed Cipher's hand away. Her knight's sword vanished into her spatial storage.
"A senior of mine... he's been missing for ten years. We thought he was dead, but I never expected to meet him here today..." She pursed her lips and touched her neck again. "He sealed the space around this warehouse. As long as the warehouse itself wasn't attacked, it acted as an isolated pocket of space. That's why I couldn't hear you, and you couldn't hear me."
"Just a few seconds ago, they seemed to realize something. They opened a spatial rift and left immediately."
"I see..." Cipher felt a pang of annoyance.
She suspected they had sensed her killing the two outside; otherwise, they wouldn't have retreated so decisively. If she had activated Chrono Surge immediately after the kills to provide backup, she might have captured the others as well.
"Sister Cipher, let's head back. Without knowing the exit point of that spatial rift, it's basically impossible to catch them." Lu Zhaoran noticed Cipher's frustration and quickly offered a reminder.
Cipher shook her head, indicating she had no intention of chasing them.
"Let's go. I took out two A+ rank combatants from the Countercurrent Alliance today. They shouldn't be bothering us again anytime soon."
"Right."