Chapter 102

After carrying the unconscious patient downstairs, Jiang Liu’s expression was one of indescribable fatigue. If they wanted to complete the mission, they had to deal with the nun whom the residents called a demon. Even though she knew everything would reset after leaving the instance, and that Yang Caisi would be standing before her, alive and well, the moment the mission was settled, Jiang Liu still couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Her face took on a rare, grim look, and her disgust for Qiao Ke deepened. He was forcing her to make a choice. If her heart was too soft and she couldn’t act, her only option was to give up on the instance, or else be stuck in a stalemate in this world.

So, did this instance have a time limit?

Jiang Liu raised a hand to rub her brow, then suddenly heard a knock at the door. The sound was faint at first, so much so that she almost thought she was hearing things. But then, violent knocking began to ring out, and the heavy wooden door shook, already pushed open to a crack.

“What’s that noise?” Zhao Ziming jolted, running to the door in a few steps to check. With just one look, he froze on the spot, feeling as if the blood in his veins had turned to ice. It made him consciously aware that he should run, yet his legs felt completely powerless.

—The outside was packed with people.

The patients who had been sleeping soundly in the clinic had all woken up at some point. Like zombies, they stiffly pounded on the main door. The more than two hundred people could have surrounded the entire church, their figures stretching as far as the eye could see.

In the moment he was stunned, these people had already pushed the door open with their combined efforts. They ignored Zhao Ziming, who was frozen at the entrance, and squeezed inside in a crowded mass.

“What are you spacing out for?” Jiang Liu stepped forward and pulled him back. Her words instantly snapped Zhao Ziming back to his senses. He stared at the teeming crowd and forced a stiff smile.

“How did they all wake up?” he asked, swallowing hard and stammering.

Jiang Liu’s lips were pressed into a tight line, her gaze fixed on the crowd. She watched them chaotically rush to the base of the Holy Wall and fall to their knees with a thud. Tang Rui silently ran behind Jiang Liu while they weren’t looking and subconsciously lowered his voice. “What do we do?”

“Let’s see what happens first. You guys watch the staircase, don’t let anyone rush up,” Jiang Liu instructed, thoughtfully following the movements of the crowd.

Unlike Joseph’s situation, even after reaching the Holy Wall, this group of people still had a dazed and stiff appearance. Their minds weren’t fully clear. They first knelt before the Holy Wall for a long time, then, as if sensing something, they all turned their heads in unison to look in Jiang Liu’s direction.

The scene was incredibly bizarre. If one had never witnessed such a sight, it would be hard to imagine this in a dilapidated church in the dead of night: a vast crowd kneeling scattered on the ground, turning their heads in perfect unison like puppets to look at one person.

Zhao Ziming’s heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. He carefully held his breath, not daring to speak, afraid that any move he made would provoke the crowd. But the conflict he anticipated never came.

The patients stared at Jiang Liu for a moment, then unexpectedly adjusted their direction and knelt down before her. She could almost hear the thudding sound of their foreheads hitting the floor. Their previously chaotic movements suddenly became synchronized. They looked at Jiang Liu as if she were a god from a legend, and their primitive faith compelled them to worship her.

“Please save me.”

That is what they said.

Even Jiang Liu had never encountered a scene where hundreds of people were performing such a grand ceremony for her. Her mind went a little blank. After a moment, she came to her senses and realized something. During her struggle with Qiya that morning, she had taken back the cross and hadn’t returned it to Zhao Ziming yet.

Jiang Liu felt her pocket and, sure enough, touched something hard. As she pulled out the cross, the patients’ postures became even more devout. They practically prostrated themselves on the floor, none daring to look directly at her.

“What’s going on?” Jiang He was a bit bewildered. After confirming the patients weren’t aggressive, he approached, his eyes full of confusion.

“This item originally belonged to the church,” Jiang Liu explained, holding the cross and looking around. Her gaze finally settled on the broken statue not far away. The statue only had half a head left, and its neck looked empty. She measured the size and guessed it was originally supposed to be hung there.

The patients were surprisingly quiet, maintaining their kneeling posture on the ground as if they had no interest in their conversation. Jiang Liu breathed a sigh of relief, finally having a few theories in her mind.

She handed the cross to Zhao Ziming, then walked over to the Holy Wall, took out her phone, and played the audio file again.

“I need to go find Tang Ruo. Who’s coming with me?” Jiang Liu waved her phone, but her gaze had already fallen on Tang Rui.

Tang Ruo had mentioned that the mayor was bedridden, but the notes also stated that he had never entered the church to pray. Therefore, the mayor was a special existence in Sliben Town, and he would surely tell her more.

The three exchanged a look, and Tang Rui stepped forward voluntarily. “I’ll go.”

Jiang Liu nodded, her hand already pressing the play button. The series of obscure prayer sounds came from the speaker. She noticed that the nearby patients seemed to react to it, all pricking up their ears to listen carefully. But perhaps the power of the cross was too strong; the recording didn’t make them agitated again. They just struggled for a moment before being soothed, continuing to lie prostrate and motionless.

Jiang Liu breathed a sigh of relief. She and Tang Rui simultaneously reached out and carved a line of words on the wall, stroke by stroke—

“I want to see my companions.”

The expected scene did not appear. As the strokes were completed, the Holy Wall remained motionless, as if it had entered a cooldown period. Tang Rui frowned, about to ask a question, when Jiang Liu suddenly raised an eyebrow and reached out again to carve another line of words. “I want to know where they are.”

As the dagger was put down, the pristine white wall finally showed some movement. The same familiar room appeared. Xu Meng was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at her phone, but Tang Ruo was nowhere to be seen. Then, the scene changed, and an empty corridor appeared. Tang Ruo was cautiously moving through it, looking back from time to time at her surroundings, her expression exceptionally vigilant.

The two of them were not together.

Jiang Liu pinched her chin and lowered her eyes, finally understanding how the Holy Wall worked. If she wasn’t mistaken, this wall had existed for a very long time. Just as when she first arrived in this instance, its function was simply to ‘display’. To see the past, to see the future, to show you what you wished to know—that was the true purpose of the Holy Wall.

As for what granted their wishes—that was a different power.

To verify her guess, Jiang Liu shot Zhao Ziming a look. He quickly understood and, mimicking Tang Rui’s actions from the previous night, stared at the two of them and asked the air.

“Please let them pass.”

A fierce wind blew in, once again extinguishing the candles in the church. After a moment of darkness, Jiang Liu and the other man disappeared again.

***

Yang Caisi shook her still-drowsy head. Sensing that Jiang Liu was no longer nearby, she slowly let out a sigh of relief. She was in the innermost room on the second floor, which was furnished very simply. On the wall directly in front of her hung a large abstract painting. Up close, it was just a collection of lines of varying shades, making it impossible to understand what the creator was trying to express. But if you stepped back, you would realize it was actually a portrait, and by squinting, you could vaguely make out the silhouette of a person.

With the disappearance of Jiang Liu and the other, the lines seemed to come to life, becoming more and more concrete, as if an invisible hand in the air was wielding a brush, perfecting the painting. I made it in time.

Yang Caisi sighed in admiration and slowly sat down on the futon on the floor, half-closing her eyes. She could still feel the heavy sleepiness in her body. The medicine Jiang Liu used was high-grade; if not for her special status in The System, she probably wouldn’t have woken up so quickly.

She gently curled her lips, her gaze falling on the ring on her ring finger, a complex emotion creeping into her eyes. She naturally understood Jiang Liu’s intentions, but her sister absolutely could not give up the instance because of her and end up being assimilated by the people here.

Yang Caisi gently raised her hand, brought the Communication Ring to her lips, and placed a light, solemn kiss on it. All the patients had gathered, and the instance was about to officially enter its countdown. She had to complete her arrangements before Jiang Liu noticed.

Yang Caisi took a deep breath, finally feeling a bit more awake. She supported herself against the wall and slowly got up, disappearing down the corridor.

***

It was the same familiar room. As expected, Jiang Liu was thrown onto the bed, nearly landing on Xu Meng. The sudden weight startled Xu Meng, who quickly turned her head to look behind her. Upon seeing Jiang Liu, she visibly relaxed, and a smile blossomed on her small face. In her surprise, she didn’t forget to lower her voice. “Sister Jiang! Xiao Rui!”

Tang Rui was a bit dazed from the fall. Hearing Xu Meng’s voice, he was about to speak but was silenced by Jiang Liu’s hand over his mouth. She put a finger to her lips with a “shush.” He immediately understood and, lowering his voice, looked at Xu Meng. “Sister-in-law, where’s my sister?”

“She said she was going out to check the layout of the manor and would be back in a bit,” Xu Meng replied. Then, as if remembering something, she looked at Jiang Liu and said, “Have you read the notes?”

“Yes.” Jiang Liu nodded, got up, and tiptoed to the window to observe the situation outside. “Do you know where the mayor is?”

Xu Meng didn’t answer, instead beckoning her over. “I was just about to tell you. Look at this,” she said softly.

She took out an old pocket watch from her pocket. The watch looked aged, with a tarnished metal frame, but it was very clean. The hands were stopped at exactly three o’clock. Xu Meng glanced at her phone, which showed that it was currently half-past two, and then she spoke with relief.

She and Tang Ruo had been locked in this room. On their first day, they had turned the room upside down and knew everything inside out.

“This watch appeared suddenly.”

Xu Meng said, raising her hand to gesture towards the windowsill, pointing to a specific spot. “Around noon, it was placed on the windowsill. We suspect the mayor did it.”

In other words, she believed the mayor was hinting for them to go find him at three o’clock tonight.