Chapter 195

【Ye Zheng, are you going to try to save her?】

Sunlight filtered through the heavy curtains, spilling across the dark oak desk and lighting up the documents and books spread over it. Ye Zheng sat in a high-backed chair, her expression thoughtful. Her back faced the stained-glass window. The soft light traced the outline of her hair and silhouette, yet it couldn’t quite reach her cheek.

“I won’t save her.”

Ye Zheng smiled, pulled out another classified report concerning Sela, and wrote a single line across the document.

With a light tap, she set her pen down and said, “I’ve already decided. I won’t save her, but I won’t stop her either.”

Sela was no longer the minor villain from the original storyline. Her existence had already become something even the Church was wary of.

She had always arranged for people to secretly monitor the movements of Sela and Annabella, mainly to verify the location of the dragon spine. Originally, Lu Qi would get in touch with her from time to time, but recently she had fallen out with Sela and was now being confined by her in a small room.

The undercover operative embedded within Sela’s faction reported that Lu Qi wasn’t in immediate danger for the time being. At the same time, he tactfully conveyed that Sela harbored an even deeper grudge against her, the current Papess.

From the words “even deeper grudge,” Ye Zheng gleaned a great deal of meaning. Sela was most likely extremely dissatisfied with her becoming Papess and was desperate to overturn the Church as soon as possible, replacing it with her own saints. That was probably why Sela had been acting so aggressively lately.

『You were the one who saved Sela and gave her the chance to rise. You allowed her to grow step by step into what she is today, yet her attitude toward you is still this awful…』

The system’s mechanical voice carried obvious indignation. Ye Zheng could almost picture it pointing accusingly at Sela.

“Unless she climbs higher than me one day, her attitude toward me won’t change.”

Sela’s paranoia and rage were like the blazing sun that nourished her. Only when she grew taller than that fiercely burning sun, so that looking up at it no longer scorched her eyes, might Sela’s anger finally fade.

“I gave her the dragon bone only to use her hands to conceal it and shift the danger elsewhere. The reason she’s reached this point is because she has the potential.”

“As for jumping down to pull her up back then… it was probably nothing more than a fleeting and cheap surge of pity on my part.”

It was just like ten years ago, when her younger self would plead with her mother to reward the street urchin performing desperately. When she learned that Sela had spent ten years in despair and loneliness, accompanied only by monsters in the Blood Flower Aberrant Realm since the age of seven, was her state of mind at that moment the same as it had been a decade earlier?

That was why she had reached out when Sela was falling, like tossing a silver coin into a beggar’s bowl. To her, it wasn’t anything worth boasting about, nor did she feel the other party owed her anything because of it.

『Sela now holds the dragon bone. If she chooses to target you, she could cause you quite a lot of trouble.』

At those words, Ye Zheng smiled, a trace of inscrutability in her expression. “I’m far away in the Upper District. If she wants to personally drag me down, she’ll have to break through many obstacles.” 

“And some of those obstacles are exactly the ones I want to clear away.”

Snuffing out Sela’s wildfire wouldn’t be difficult. Ye Zheng knew her strongholds, her trump cards, and even her temperament as clearly as the back of her own hand.

But after giving it more thought, the Church’s administration in the Western District had just gone through a massive reshuffle because of the Zhou Yun incident. Right now, she didn’t have any suitable justification to replace them with her own people. And it wasn’t just the Western District—management across multiple regions was hard to interfere with. On top of that, she didn’t currently have enough capable talent in reserve.

It’d be better to let Sela burn however wildly she pleased. Let her wildfire spread from the Western District all the way to the Papal Palace, scorching away the rotten foundations. Then she, Ye Zheng, would bestow new life upon them!

Even though the wildfire she was indulging carried the risk of turning back on her. Although Sela couldn’t be fully controlled this world needed a little more rage didn’t it?

✧✧✧✧✧

Late at night, deep within an abandoned residence in the Western District.

“As agreed, here’s the land deed and the gold. Thank you so much for your generous assistance!”

The man dressed in a white clerical robe smiled in satisfaction. The attendant at his side presented the prepared offering to the other party. His smile was radiant, but his deep-set eyes never let their guard down, constantly observing the other side.

The blonde girl standing before him had only brought along a middle-aged woman for the meeting. She was smaller than he’d imagined, and her dry, disheveled golden hair made her look somewhat undernourished. The rumored Sela was quite different from what he’d envisioned, but that didn’t matter. She had already fulfilled their agreement and helped him eliminate a formidable rival.

Both his superiors and subordinates felt a mix of disgust and fear toward this mysterious girl who acted without restraint. Only he had recognized her concealed value. Sela was clearly an extremely useful weapon.

He’d heard she came from a poor background, so her manner was like that of an uneducated, short-sighted bandit. A small amount of profit should be enough to win her over.

Now that they were meeting formally, seeing her appearance only made the man even more confident that he could win her over. Sela was nothing more than a lucky girl who had stumbled into great power. The middle-aged woman beside her, with her rough look, also seemed like an ordinary farmer and carried no level of vigilance at all.

The man secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had brought ten ability users with him to meet Sela, and even more were lying in ambush outside as a precaution. After all, her notorious reputation preceded her.

“Our deal is complete. There are still people waiting for me outside, so I’ll take my leave first. We can keep in touch in the future.”

He waved his hand, openly implying that he still had people waiting outside. Although Sela had the ability to nullify powers, abilities always had range limitations. He believed Sela knew that as well.

After saying that, he lifted his foot in a pleased mood and began walking past Sela.

Bang! Suddenly, his back shoulder was violently grabbed. The man staggered and fell to the ground. Immediately after, a box of gold coins came smashing down onto his head, leaving him dizzy.

The expressionless middle-aged woman held the box above his head and poured all the gold coins over him.

The man looked at Sela, who stood nearby with a leisurely expression, in disbelief. He then glanced at the ability users he’d brought. They had already surrounded him and helped him up, all while watching Sela’s movements with wary eyes.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“This box of gold coins is too light. You gave me fakes, didn’t you!”

Sela tilted her head to the left, her wide right eye staring at the man with suspicion.

The man was stunned. How was that possible? Had someone found out about their deal and tampered with his goods?

“I...”

“Ah, the things on you must be real, right?”

Sela reached out and ripped the man’s brooch off. Upon closer inspection, the ruby embedded in it gave off a faint glow. Sela felt the gemstone’s color closely resembled her own eyes, and she instantly fell in love with it.

Staring at the girl completely absorbed in admiring the ruby, the man’s expression darkened entirely. With his signal, the ability users beside him launched their attack in an instant!

Sela didn’t even lift her head. The woman behind her stayed perfectly still, simply watching. Those men filled with killing intent suddenly froze mid-charge, then comically collapsed to the ground like petrified statues.

Sela finally looked up, drawn by the noise, and let out a ruthless snort of laughter. Then her expression tightened as she nimbly dodged a flashing cold blade.

She glanced at the suddenly appearing assassin, then at the grim-faced man not far away. The man gritted his teeth and said, “You can nullify abilities, and the person you brought has petrification powers. No wonder you’re so confident.”

“But the people I brought today aren’t just these useless ability users. There are also highly skilled assassins. Even if you nullify their abilities, they can still kill you with ease!”

The man’s eyes flickered slightly. Rather than actually fighting and causing a commotion, his goal was to force Sela to back down.

“You’re serious? They can kill me with just physical skills?”

Sela showed an excited expression the man hadn’t expected. Her red eyes sparkled with interest as she swung her arms back and forth, looking eager to try.

Last time in the Blood Flower Aberrant Realm, she hadn’t been able to beat Ye Zheng with her fists, and she had always held a grudge about it, secretly practicing ever since. That idiot Lu Qi actually had surprisingly decent physical skills and was a good training partner. But recently she had locked her up, so there was no one left to spar with.

“You’re really good at giving gifts. No wonder a useless guy like you could’ve climbed up to this position.”

In that tense, explosive atmosphere, the man could only watch helplessly as Sela stretched her arms and loosened her muscles, her red eyes lazily scanning everything around her.

A strong premonition suddenly surged in him — he needed to get away right now!

Seeing the man turn around and run, Sela gave a look of contempt, her eyes growing even more interested instead of less.

She glanced at the full moon outside through the shattered window and, with a satisfied expression, pinned the ruby brooch onto her chest.

Tonight, she’d never planned on letting any of them leave alive anyway.

……

The bright moon hung high outside the window. Inside the dim room, a cluster of candlelight suddenly flared to life.

The candlelight illuminated Lu Qi’s face. Her warm-toned hair looked even brighter and more radiant under the glow, while her eyes were filled with unwavering determination.

Ever since she had beaten Sela up last time, she’d been locked up here. The room was extremely crude — crude enough that she could’ve smashed her way out with a single punch.

However, her 【Butterfly Dance】 wasn’t an offensive-type ability, and she wasn’t confident she could break through the tight security outside. So she had obediently stayed put for a while.

But she believed an opportunity would definitely come. Lady Annabella absolutely knew she was being held here, and so did Ye Zheng. They wouldn’t allow Sela to act recklessly forever.

And sure enough, today Lu Qi finally received a note stating that Sela would be leaving the saints’ base tonight, along with the guard rotation timing, escape route, and rendezvous point.

The note was unsigned, but Lu Qi immediately recognized Annabella’s handwriting. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. She finally had a chance to get out.

A small butterfly silently slipped out from under the crack beneath the door. Lu Qi leaned against it, pressing her ear tightly to the surface and listening carefully for any movement.

The information on the note was correct. There really wasn’t anyone guarding this place at this time.

Before long, the door slowly opened. Lu Qi carefully slipped out and rushed toward the agreed rendezvous location.

The moonlight pouring into the dim corridor faintly lit up her shadow, along with three other figures moving cautiously beside her.

✧✧✧✧✧

Whether it was the unrest in the Western District or the fleeing protagonist group, for Ye Zheng, the most urgent matter was still her coming-of-age ceremony, which was only twelve days away.

Her ever-changing 【Mother of All Things】 and her 【Stream】 ability, which had some resistance against 【Destruction】, were her greatest assets. However, relying solely on her own strength still wasn’t enough to guarantee victory.

Why would Sykes go berserk at her coming-of-age ceremony? Was there another hand pushing everything behind the scenes? What role would the emperor, who had proactively offered to host her ceremony, play during it…? She was no longer the innocent junior from the original plot.

There were still many problems that urgently needed to be solved, and time was tight. She needed to make even more preparations to deal with any possible crisis.

The next day.

Inside the Papal Palace, after Ye Zheng had finished dealing with her affairs, she glanced back at the bright, pleasant weather outside the window and decided to head out for a while.

Preparing for the upcoming battle was important, but Ye Zheng hadn’t forgotten the promise she had made back in the Western District — she would find a way to restore them to normal.

Those women who had been turned into aberrations by the Hope Project had suffered a tragedy indirectly caused by 【Mother of All Things】. However, Ye Zheng believed that tragedy wasn’t irreversible. 【Mother of All Things】 was also their hope for redemption.

The vast majority of them were in the Western District under Annabella’s care. But because Wen Jian had carried out secret experiments, there were also a few dragon-humans hidden away in sealed rooms in the upper district.

These days, she had gradually gotten used to her new 【Mother of All Things】 ability and believed she could control it properly. It was time to go see them.

Even if she couldn’t heal them right away, as long as they still retained even a fragment of their humanity, they would always feel lonely.

They were of the same kind as her. Even if, strictly speaking, she and they were no longer the same species now, it was their shared fate and deep resonance that truly defined kinship.

After all, she was going to lead them together as the villains of this world.