Chapter 145
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Chapter 145: 【Time】
"You have been here long enough; it’s time to go back and take a look."
The child, unchanged in appearance and demeanor, spoke.
"Go back? To where?"
The long passage of time had left no marks on Shi Jin’s face, but it had clearly washed away most of her past memories.
The child raised an eyebrow, a mix of surprise and regret on his face as he said,
"It seems that no one can remain unchanged under the nearly endless flow of time.
"But you have done quite well."
This time, it was the child in the blue robe’s turn to play black. With a snap, the piece landed on the board, and the door to Shi Jin’s buried memories suddenly swung wide open.
She remembered who she was and recalled why she had come here.
"Do you remember why you came?"
Shi Jin nodded,
"The holy fire… Meow Meow Teach…"
"Ah?"
The two children tilted their heads to look at Shi Jin, both showing surprise, even the child who governed decay and was normally serious.
But Shi Jin had no time to respond; her body slowly vanished from the spot, as if leaving this world.
The two children exchanged a glance and continued their game that had just begun.
—
"Master… Fulan feels… unwell."
In the narrow, confined cell, Fulan’s words came out in fragments.
But if one listened closely, they could discern that nothing was missing; it was just like a tape player rewinding, fast and slow in rhythm.
"Don’t worry; it’s just the overflow of your ability during the awakening. You will recover soon."
Lin Qingliu, of a higher status, was completely unaffected. The moment Shi Jin’s ability overflowed, a notification confirming the successful awakening of a follower appeared in front of him.
This time, the overflow of ability also brought a noticeable wave of sensation, but unlike El’s experience, Lin Qingliu could sense that this had nothing to do with space.
He focused on the semi-transparent text in front of him:
【【Bestow a Blessing】has become effective
Follower Shi Jin has awakened
Current Level: One
Current Path (Unique): 【Time】
Manifested Ability: 【Ephemeral】】
【Triggered feedback effect of 【Bestow a Blessing】, you have gained a new ability
Path: 【Time】】
Manifested Ability: 【Ephemeral】, 【Slow Time】
All Paths: (Expand)
All Abilities: (Expand)】(I can’t believe I didn’t inflate the values more when I wrote the rough draft~)
【Ephemeral: Consumes stamina and mental strength to subjectively speed up one’s own time flow; current maximum time compression limit: 20 seconds (objective), current maximum compression ratio: 5】
【Slow Time: Consumes a large amount of stamina and mental strength to create a Slow Time field around oneself, allowing free control of the range of ability and duration within limits; current maximum Slow Time limit: 10 seconds, current maximum deceleration ratio: 0.2, current maximum radius: 3 meters】
Lin Qingliu stared at the words continually appearing in his vision, questioning why he didn’t inflate the values more when he originally wrote the rough draft.
One could say this ability would also be stronger in the later stages, but for now, Lin Qingliu felt that Wang Xiao, who had received professional training, should not be significantly slower in reaction.
The biggest difference between the two would probably be whether adequate thought could be applied during the reaction process.
Nonetheless, as the seventh pathway ability of his own, he had taken a step closer to fully unlocking all pathways.
Feeling a power entering him from what seemed like emptiness, Lin Qingliu lightly waved his fist.
His body, already made resilient from the Blood and Flesh pathway enhancements, gained speed from 【Ephemeral】, creating a brief whirlwind within the narrow cell.
"It seems she is waking up soon; the next step is up to you. Don’t forget your lines."
"Don’t worry, Master; Fulan remembers everything clearly!"
Having attained the desired ability, Lin Qingliu took a deep breath and once again used 【Dimensional Shift】, slowly sinking into the ground as if being swallowed by a muddy pit sculpted in time.
Minutes later, Shi Jin’s eyes began to spin faster and faster until she suddenly woke up, gasping for air like someone saved from drowning.
"Hah, hah…"
The darkness of the cell re-entered Shi Jin’s vision, but this time, her eyes held an unprecedented simplicity and weariness.
The memories left by divine enlightenment were sealed behind endless high walls, but the changes they brought to Shi Jin would forever remain in her mind, like an invisible brand.
"You are awake! It looks like you passed the gods’ trial and became a member of the Holy Fire Meow Meow Cult, which is ever-living."
Shi Jin then noticed a not-heavy colorful little cat still perched on her chest.
In a daze, she seemed to recall something: "Master Hand," black market, 【Follower】, judgment…
A series of keywords flooded her mind, as if threatening to overload her not-so-developed processor.
Of course, among them, the most memorable was the Holy Fire Meow Meow Cult.
"Did I… succeed?"
"Yes, you are now a member of the Holy Fire Meow Meow Cult. From now on, the powerful, beautiful, and knowledgeable Miss Fulan officially becomes your boss."
Just freed from divine enlightenment, Shi Jin felt a bit confused and asked without much thought,
"Oh, when will I get to see her?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a kitten’s paw landed softly on Shi Jin’s head.
"How dare you! I am Miss Fulan!"
At that moment, Shi Jin finally remembered her interactions with this cat before falling asleep. Feeling a bit guilty, she hurriedly nodded,
"Yes, yes, you are Miss Fulan."
"From now on, you will be my subordinate, and now I will assign you your first task!"
Having sorted out her thoughts, Shi Jin gradually understood everything and listened quietly to Fulan’s instructions:
"Your first task: Demonstrate your superpowers during tomorrow’s trial to trigger Special Laws, either to avoid a death sentence or to prevent hard labor.
"Don’t be too nervous; Miss Fulan will stay with you the whole time."
"But how will you…"
Before Shi Jin could finish her sentence, Fulan had already taken a bite on her handcuffs.
With just a few fierce tugs, she torn the metal cuffs apart. Shi Jin stared blankly as the colorful little cat transformed into the shape of the cuffs and "clicked" into place on her wrist.
At that moment, she felt relieved that her attitude had always been decent; otherwise, those teeth capable of cutting through steel might have been used on her instead.
Stretching her hands a bit, Shi Jin once again felt the slightly raised kitten paw pattern on the side of the handcuffs.
Realization dawned on her; the handcuffs she wore on the first day of her trial had the same pattern.
It seemed the Holy Fire Meow Meow Cult truly possessed powerful abilities and had long been watching her, which was no exaggeration.
"Miss Fulan, you always keep your word!"
A series of vibrations traveled through Shi Jin’s hand bones to her ears; Fulan’s voice was especially clear now.
"Now, let me briefly explain the contents of the Special Laws."
