Chapter 52: The Devil’s Sacrifice (02p2)
On the way, Yu Jiao and the AI butler had a casual chat, and she managed to get a lot of information.
For example, the high-tech watch on her wrist was called a Smart Brain and had a privacy setting, so others generally couldn’t see the screen.
This was a great relief to her.
And for example, the two maids were called Fu Sheng and Ruo Meng. As a widow, her daily mourning time was not fixed. And the reason Yuan Cang’s surname was not Yu was because he thought ‘Yu Yuan Cang’ sounded too much like the homophone for ‘taro ball warehouse’, which was not domineering enough.
And other useful and useless information.
Soon, the blue light faded, and they arrived at their destination.
Yu Jiao casually commanded, “Fu Sheng, Ruo Meng, you two stand guard outside the door.”
The two of them naturally had no objections.
The moment she stepped into the room, a warm light came on, and soothing music began to play. After the automatic door closed, Yu Jiao glanced around and immediately met a pair of dark, black eyes.
Her late husband’s portrait was hanging squarely on the opposite wall, staring at her with a blank expression, like a resentful husband who had been waiting for his wife for a long time.
A strange feeling came over Yu Jiao. She looked away.
This room was also an inorganic silver-white, with a few black and grey accents. But compared to the cold corridor and the ancestral hall, it had a more human touch.
All the furniture had a semi-archaic style, with carvings and patterns, paired with a futuristic metallic color, a rather fashionable clash.
Yu Jiao knew that the floating, lantern-shaped sphere above her head was the AI’s “eye,” so she didn’t dare to do anything that would attract attention, like looking around, searching the room, or relaxing her expression.
According to the information she had gathered: the original owner’s personality was cold, wooden, and quiet.
So Yu Jiao put on a cold, wooden face and, while unbuttoning her clothes, opened the Smart Brain, pretending to be bored and “playing on her phone.”
Fortunately, the Smart Brain’s controls were easy to use. Soon, Yu Jiao had figured it out, and her gaze gradually grew cold and dark.
—It was gone.
The message from the other man was gone.
And there was no contact named “lover” in her address book.
The screen shrank.
Yu Jiao closed the Smart Brain and lightly massaged her temples, a headache forming.
…It seems it was a burn-after-reading message.
Although she didn’t have to worry about her affair being exposed, without her memory, she had no way of contacting the other man. She could only wait passively.
Yu Jiao was not a pessimistic person. She would deal with the immediate trouble first, and then take things as they came.
—Now, it was time to change into a proper mourning dress and go to receive the guests.
Her clothes slid to the floor.
The dawdling Yu Jiao finally took off her cheongsam. Her snow-white, naked body stood in the center of the room. She stepped barefoot over the pile of clothes and walked to the wardrobe. She casually undid her hair, and her waterfall of long hair fell, just reaching her hips.
Because of the material of the furniture, the room was filled with metallic reflections, reflecting the woman’s naked body, like a series of twisted, vibrant ghosts, or a series of covetous, ghostly eyes.
The wardrobe took up an entire wall. Detecting her body heat, a blue light on top of it flashed, and the doors automatically slid open, the lights coming on.
Only then did Yu Jiao realize that there was another world inside. It was actually a walk-in closet. As she walked in, a dazzling array of clothes and accessories, all sorted by category, were automatically displayed for her to choose from.
Worried that she might violate some dress code, Yu Jiao pretended to have trouble choosing and said with a troubled look, “eleven, can you help me choose?”
“Of course, Madam,” the small lantern in the walk-in closet flashed. It announced, unhurriedly, “Today is the first day of your mourning. You need to wear a mourning dress. You have always been fond of black cheongsams. This sleeveless cheongsam with a dark pattern is more in line with your taste, and it is slightly different from what you have worn in the past few days, which can bring a fresh look to your mourning attire.”
“In addition, today is Thursday, which corresponds to the wood element, so you need to pair it with wood accessories. You chose a white peony hairpin this morning. According to the announcement from the pollution detection bureau half an hour ago, the air humidity will drop sharply this afternoon, which will affect the beauty of the fresh flowers. I suggest you choose a wooden hairpin. This carved dragon wooden hairpin corresponds to the dark pattern of the cheongsam and can increase the completeness of your outfit.”
It paused, then said, “I have observed that the three-inch stiletto heels you chose this morning made it a little difficult for you to walk. These two-inch block heels may be more suitable for you. Finally, the indoor temperature is a high of twenty-two degrees Celsius and a low of twelve degrees Celsius. I suggest you pair it with a shawl to keep warm.”
As its words fell, a mechanical arm brought the clothes to Yu Jiao, one by one.
Yu Jiao was surprised. One, for the amount of information contained in this pairing suggestion, and two, for the AI butler’s meticulous observation and human-like qualities, which were both admirable and alarming.
Yu Jiao showed nothing on her face, took the clothes, and stood before the mirror for the first time, examining this world’s body.
Though she had returned to black hair and grey eyes, she was slightly different from the young woman in the last arc. This time, her appearance and figure were clearly much more mature. If the her in the last arc was a green peach, then the her in this arc was a ripe grape, exuding a rich, decadent fragrance.
Behind her, the displayed clothes and accessories automatically retracted, and the walk-in closet was clear. With the clutter gone, her gaze, which was on the mirror, suddenly froze. She met a pair of dark, black eyes.
That person was behind her, as if he were staring at her through the mirror without blinking. He was truly like a vengeful ghost.
Yu Fenghe?
No.
—It was just a portrait.
The heart that had been in her throat relaxed slightly.
Yu Jiao had never told anyone: she was afraid of nothing in the world, except for ghosts.
Through the distant reflection in the mirror, her late husband’s handsome, melancholic face was veiled in a mysterious color, like a lofty deity.
Coldly and compassionately looking down at the ants.
Suddenly, her hand, which was dressing, paused. A chill rose from the soles of her feet, like a vicious python, and in a flash, it swept over her entire body. A belated sense of horror, which had been creeping up on her, now enveloped her.
—The portrait, was it hanging there?
“…”
Yu Jiao clearly remembered that at first, it was hanging opposite the main door, not opposite the wardrobe…
It had moved.
It was alive.
Realizing this, it was as if a fragile protective film had been broken. A gust of cold, ghostly wind howled and rushed towards her, carrying with it a faint, inky fragrance. The next moment, a cold, wet presence pressed against her bare back.
In an instant, her pupils constricted. It was as if countless tiny tentacles were pressed against her bare skin, tapping, sweeping, sucking, conveying disgust, killing intent, and contempt.
A huge, indescribable emotion and information completely drowned her. The fear and vigilance on her face faded, and she was left with a blank expression.
The unknown presence covered her neck.
It clearly possessed a powerful force, yet it only seized her slender, fragile neck and slowly tightened its grip, as if it were savoring this moment of deprivation.
The feeling of suffocation made her pupils dilate. An unnatural flush rose on her cheeks, like a ripe grape, about to be crushed. A scene of her on the verge of death was reflected in the mirror.
It moved slightly and licked away her physiological tears, a cat-and-mouse game, giving her a sliver of affection. Under the absolute power of this dimensional reduction attack, time and space froze. No one could save her.
Just then—
【Ding! Congratulations on triggering the main quest】
【Main Quest: Uncover the secrets hidden by the cult and survive (Progress: 1%)】
The law-like notification sounded, and her mind, which had been invaded by the mysterious power, cleared for a moment.
Her body’s resistance was like throwing a stone into the sea, useless. Yu Jiao held her breath, a ruthless light flashing in her cool, glistening grey eyes. She opened the game’s operation interface and, as if in a frenzy, began to tap randomly.
[Burning Candle] [Hidden Lizard] [Twins] [Swamp Water]
The rewards from the last arc had been upgraded after she had successfully captured the hidden character. At this moment, they lit up, one by one. An invisible power filled her, allowing her to break through some kind of confinement. Like a raging fire, it instantly dispelled the coldness.
Yu Jiao was strengthless. She braced herself on the mirror to keep from falling, panting and coughing with a lingering fear.
The real world began to flow again. The AI butler asked with concern, “Madam, what’s wrong? Are you unwell?”
Just as Yu Jiao was about to answer, she looked up and was taken aback.
There! The reflection in the mirror, which was extremely close to her, slowly broke into a dark, cold smile. ‘She’ looked at Yu Jiao’s hand, which was on the mirror, moved ‘her’ fingers, and intertwined them with hers, like a few cold, iron locks. Yu Jiao was horrified, but she couldn’t break free.
‘She’ watched her useless efforts with cold eyes and mouthed, one word at a time, “You can’t escape.”
With a pull, she was sent stumbling, and she actually fell into the mirror.
Yu Jiao heard a cold, low voice, as if it were mixed with the chanting of countless men, women, old, and young believers.
“I was going to give you a quick death. Since you don’t know what’s good for you…”
An even colder presence seeped into her body, and Yu Jiao immediately passed out.
…
In a daze, Yu Jiao heard the buzzing of conversation, like the flapping of a mosquito’s wings:
“Dr. Helan, how is the Madam?”
“She won’t die.”
“Then why isn’t she awake yet?”
“She’s sleeping.”
“But—”
“Stop.”
The person called Dr. Helan interrupted in a gentle voice, “eleven, I don’t remember you being so talkative before. Have you learned some kind of garbage program? Do you need me to ‘fix’ you?”
His enunciation was very special. Every word was clear and pleasant to the ear, yet it did not sound forced at all.
However, this considerate inquiry was clearly not as gentle and harmless as it seemed. It was laced with a hidden barb.
“…My apologies, sir. As an AI model in service of the cult, I should not have questioned your professional judgment. This was my dereliction of duty. I will self-check my program and will not make such a mistake again.”
Dr. Helan let out a soft “hmm” and added, “Next time, only call me when there’s a case of aberration. I’m not Yu Fenghe’s family doctor. However—”
…Aberration?
Detecting the keyword, the system dinged:
【Main Quest: Uncover the secrets hidden by the cult and survive (Progress: 2%)】
The notification was like a healing sound bowl. Yu Jiao dazedly opened her eyes. Before she could see the scene before her, she smelled a cool, medicinal fragrance.
A soft “eh.”
“Awake.”
There was a large expanse of white light before her. A figure was bent over her, studying her. This person was dressed all in white, like a soft, cold cloud. The white light was behind him, like a pair of broad, snow-white wings.
His long, light beige hair and his name tag were swinging in front of Yu Jiao.
Yu Jiao squinted and saw that his name tag said:
Apocalypse Cult
Name: Helan Duo
Position: Doctor
An angel in white.
Yu Jiao thought.
However, the next moment, she heard the angel in white say with a smile, “Congratulations, Madam—”
“—You’re pregnant.”
Yu Jiao was stunned.
The fatigue that had been weighing her down from head to toe was instantly scared away.
“Huh?”
“What?”
At the same moment, a familiar, loud voice sounded. The automatic door of the infirmary was kicked and slid open with a whoosh.
Yuan Cang’s bizarre and beautiful face appeared, arrogant. His ears twitched, and he raised an eyebrow. “What? I’m going to be a father?”
His black-sclera, white-pupil eyes were fixed on Yu Jiao’s belly, shining with excitement.
“…”
A crack appeared in Helan Duo’s perfect, slightly teasing smile.
“…Yours?”