"Do you like her that much? You can't even bear to hurt her shadow?" Igola asked. "Or has your affection for the original carried over to the shadow as well?"
"No, I just..." Yaxiu shook his head. "...feel it's a bit unfair to her."
Igola stared at him for a long while before slowly nodding. "Still, discussing how to deal with Niya now is indeed premature. Unable to deploy our sorcerer combat power, we might not even be able to capture Dead Frenzy, who can match you in swordsmanship.
"Besides, there's also the possibility that she isn't an angel. According to her profile, she was still a college student six months ago and began her serial killings five months ago, on the run ever since. Her spree didn't suddenly start this month, so it doesn't look like a personality mutation caused by an angel's true body possessing her."
"What was her motive for killing?" Yaxiu asked.
"The Police Department didn't figure that out either," Igola said. "It's worth mentioning that she didn't become an orphan until she was eight. Her biological mother and stepfather died in an accident."
Yaxiu froze. "Sword Princess does have a mother. Does that mean her mother experienced the emotional backflow phenomenon in the past?"
"Very likely, but you shouldn't put too much stock in emotional backflow."
The deceiver flicked the paper file. "For ordinary people, emotional backflow actually doesn't mean much. Especially for ordinary people burdened with families—even if their personalities become twisted, they still retain their reason. They fear sorcerer violence, care about how others view them, yearn for a better life, and even feel a sense of responsibility to care for their family. If she keeps working to earn money and take care of her family, her personality will most likely gradually return to normal.
"Heath's notes mentioned a crucial point: the personality difference between shadow and original isn't 'opposite,' but 'different.' In other words, they might share the same desires and interests, and might even like the same person, but the personalities they display are different." Igola spread his hands. "And personality is the combined effect of objective environment and subjective consciousness. As long as the objective environment is powerful enough to suppress changes in subjective consciousness, personality will naturally return to the right track.
"But it's different for sorcerers. Because they wield violence, a change in personality is enough to make them want to resist their environment. The people Heath killed were certainly all successful sorcerers. To them, work was merely a path to realizing personal value. When emotional backflow struck, it was akin to 'sudden depression,' so naturally they lost all interest in continuing their current work."
"Speaking of which," Igola suddenly asked, "what level of strength is that Sword Princess of yours?"
"...Same as us."
The deceiver wore an expression that said 'just as I thought.' "Then we truly need to handle Niya with care. If Niya dies and triggers emotional backflow, and then Sword Princess encounters some trigger in reality that gives her the urge to tear up every rule... she really will become a bad woman who's a perfect match for you."
At that moment, Rose returned from the restroom, sat down, looked at Yaxiu, and asked:
"I forgot to ask earlier—why are you protecting Dead Frenzy Niya?"
"There's a very complicated reason behind it," Yaxiu sighed. "I don't know where to begin..."
"You want to hold hands, exchange bodily fluids, and then engage in negative-distance contact with her?"
"It's not that I want to with her, it's—" Yaxiu exchanged a look with Rose, suddenly realizing there was no point in explaining. He simply nodded. "Think of it that way if you want."
"So you won't hire her to replace me as your assistant, right?"
"The only person qualified to replace you is him," Yaxiu said, pointing at Igola. "But he's unwilling, so you don't need to worry."
Rose nodded. "Then I'll help you. Niya has a bullet wound, and the Police Department is monitoring medical facilities across all of Jiashe. This is your best chance to capture her and lock her in a dark room. I'll clear out a fully soundproofed room for you at the villa. Do you need me to purchase sex toys?"
Yaxiu and the other two exchanged glances. Igola pondered aloud, "This is indeed a good opportunity. Not only is her mobility restricted, but more importantly, given her condition, she can't wander around aimlessly. She'll only flee to the places most familiar to her... But we don't know where her safehouses are either."
"I put together a psychological profile of Niya just now," Rose said. "She's the kind of criminal who grows more rational the more dangerous things get. She won't hide in a safehouse just because she's injured, because she'd worry about leading the police straight to it. She'll only go to public places she's most familiar with—even if the police discover her there, she won't feel any attachment, and she'll have plenty of room to maneuver."
Rose pulled a map from her pocket, unfolded it, and marked three areas on it. "These are the areas where she is most likely hiding—the shopping mall where she used to work part-time, her university, and the site of her first murder."
Yaxiu: "Why—"
"Because a first murder is like a first love to a killer," Igola explained. "The first time is always cautious, naive, fearful, and full of anticipation, so she would definitely have scouted the surrounding area thoroughly and prepared all possible escape routes. On top of that, given her recklessly daring fanatic personality, hiding at the site of her first murder would be a thrilling challenge to her."
The deceiver glanced at Rose. "Did you study criminal psychology?"
Rose shook her head. "No."
"Then how did you know she might go to these places?"
"Just a little trick of empathy and putting myself in her shoes," Rose said. "Time is short. For Niya to have evaded capture this long, she must have effective means of treatment. In a few more hours, she might finish treating her wounds, so I've already hailed a car for you. Head directly to these three locations to investigate."
The three nodded and stood to leave the restaurant, only to see Rose sitting motionless. Yaxiu couldn't help asking, "Rose, aren't you coming?"
"I don't participate in combat, and I've already placed my order." Rose tucked a napkin into her collar and said, "Don't worry, I cancelled your dinners earlier. Go with peace of mind."
"Rose."
"Hmm?"
"Thank you," Yaxiu said. "Though you don't seem fond of physical contact, so I won't hug you."
Rose looked at him, then suddenly gestured with her hand. "Come here for a second."
Confused, Yaxiu walked over and saw her pointing at her waist dimple. "Tickle right here."
He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and tickled Rose's waist dimple. She instantly jolted as if struck by electricity, letting out a suspicious soft whimper from her throat.
"All right, you've said your thanks. Go, go." Rose took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, but the crimson blush on her face refused to fade, leaving her no choice but to wave her boss away.
Yaxiu walked out completely bewildered, thinking there was actually such a method of expressing gratitude in this world. He glanced at Harvey and reached out to tickle him; the necromancer had zero reaction. He turned to Igola, but just as he reached out, he saw the deceiver raise an open palm, as if saying, 'Dare to tickle me and I'll slap you.'
Nebula University.
Yaxiu didn't go to the site of the first murder where Dead Frenzy was most likely to appear, nor to the shopping mall closest to where Niya had vanished. Instead, he went to Nebula University, where she had once lived.
Perhaps it was because he had heard so much from Sword Princess about her colorful college life that he felt university had to be the most important place to Niya as well. But upon seeing the actual campus, he realized he had overthought it—Nebula University occupied a tiny plot of land, the dormitories weren't even on campus, and hardly any students lingered inside at night, with only the laboratory building lit up.
Still, since he was already here, he stepped into the pitch-black comprehensive academic building to check if anyone was hiding inside. But compared to the wanted criminal Dead Frenzy, he felt it was more likely he'd run into wild lovers who couldn't afford an hourly motel room.
In truth, Yaxiu wasn't sure if he really wanted to find Niya. He had no interest in some angel status. How he wished that somewhere unknown to him, some legendary sorcerer he didn't know would kill some angel he didn't know, and then he could happily leave Ruby Mountain and go on a date with Sword Princess.
At the end of the day, why did he have to suffer this kind of rotten luck?!
Was it because he used the Lesser Door of the Four Pillars to bring Igola and the others in? No, if they hadn't barged into the Starry Kingdom and had settled down in the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven two days earlier, Yaxiu naturally would have helped Igola and the others advance two days earlier, and they never would have unwittingly blundered into the sealed-off Ruby Mountain!
Why had they barged into the Starry Kingdom?
Because the Spectre Prophet Vichy always wanted to take advantage of whatever came by—tasting even a passing manure cart to check if it was salty—and tried to seize the Thousand Wishes Kingdom of Heaven!
Why did Senluo fall? Why had Silver Lantern been forced to transform into a god to guard doomsday Senluo?
Because the Spectre Prophet Vichy stirred up trouble, willing to drag the entire world to ruin just to snatch a god!
Even taking ten thousand steps back, why had Yaxiu and the others become legendary sorcerers right now? If they weren't legendary sorcerers, it wouldn't be any of their business even if Ruby Mountain blew up!
They had encountered the Nightmare in the Spectre Inheritance, which gave them the means to trigger the Colorless Dream and climb Ruby Mountain! If not for the Spectre Inheritance, they definitely would have had to rely honestly on raising their faction attainments to advance to legendary! The root was still the Spectre Inheritance!
So everything was the Spectre Prophet's fault!
Having pushed all the blame onto the Spectre Prophet, Yaxiu instantly felt much better. Right at that moment, he heard what sounded like noise from a distant lecture hall, so he tiptoed closer.
The sound inside the classroom suddenly vanished, as though the person within had noticed someone approaching. Yaxiu's heart pounded. Could his luck tonight really be this good—had he actually run into her?
He walked up to the classroom door and gently took hold of the doorknob.
He didn't hear a single sound inside, but a powerful premonition told him opening this door would make the trip entirely worthwhile!
After Yaxiu counted to three in his head, the classroom door suddenly opened—not by him, however.
An elf girl dressed in a white shirt and black pinafore dress appeared abruptly in the dim, star-dappled classroom.
Both Yaxiu and the newcomer froze. Immediately after, violent surges of sorcery power erupted from both of them, and the sorcery spirits long dormant within their souls were whipped awake, forced to clock in, and sent singing and dancing!
"Well, isn't this..." Yaxiu made no attempt to conceal his killing intent.
"Enemies crossing paths on a narrow road," Vichy sneered with a sinister grin.
Chapter 789