Chapter 171

Chapter 171

Lin: "What? How is that possible?"

Snow Claws: "There's just no feeling at all!"

Lin: "The principle can't be wrong! Hold on, let me check."

The young deity, eager to showcase his new achievement, could hardly believe it and carefully examined Snow Claws' condition.

For long-term fixed spells, to ensure their continuous effect, there is an overflow of magic beyond what is needed to maintain the spell.

This is because maintaining the spell effect continuously consumes magic. Without storing some magic in advance, the spell might temporarily fail due to unexpected events.

To put it simply, it's like a laptop that is plugged in but also has a battery.

With the battery, even if the power is cut off, the laptop can still function for a while.

However, this battery isn't very useful when the laptop is usually plugged in, much like the excess magic in a long-term fixed spell, which was exploited by semi-professionals.

Lin had set a permanent compulsion of rationality on Snow Claws, which should have included this "battery." However, upon carefully sensing the mental magic originating from himself within Snow Claws, he found her "battery" to be very small.

Not only was it small, but it was also continuously shrinking.

Something was absorbing Lin's magic.

In the blink of an eye, the "battery" disappeared entirely. Lin fell silent for a moment before asking, "You really don't feel anything at all?"

Snow Claws: "Nope."

Lin: "Do you have any urge to transform?"

Snow Claws: "Huh?"

Transform into what?

Of course, the young wolf girl wasn't unaware of what Lin meant by her berserk state. She closed her eyes and held her breath, trying to sense her body again, while using monosyllables to express, "Your description is so strange."

After more than a minute, Snow Claws, with a red face from holding her breath, suddenly opened her mouth and took deep, gasping breaths, answering intermittently, "No... no... nothing!"

"Why did you need to hold your breath to sense the urge?" Lin couldn't help but comment.

"...Mind your own business," Snow Claws replied after realizing she didn't actually need to hold her breath, taking several deep breaths.

Fine, Lin pressed his forehead in the divine realm.

Could this be the effect of Snow Claws' special mixed-blood constitution as a Fiend?

As long as she doesn't go berserk, there is no trace of magic or corruption in Snow Claws. Lin had previously wondered if her constitution was similar to his own, but now it seemed they were different.

Lin's body cannot absorb magic; it merely blocks it, acting like an insulator.

Snow Claws' constitution, however, does possess magic, but under normal circumstances, her magic is completely absorbed by her bloodline.

Lin originally wasn't sure if this hidden nature was good or bad. Now, seeing that his magic was also being absorbed and hidden by Snow Claws' bloodline, theoretically, she would almost certainly never become a semi-professional, thus unable to receive the security he wanted to provide her.

"Sis," he could only say, "How come you can't even take shortcuts?"

"It's not possible? Then forget about being a semi-professional," Snow Claws understood Lin's meaning and showed no regret, "If I can't use spells, I can still fight."

Lin almost wanted to tap her head.

But based on past experience, when Lin tapped her head, only Lin felt the pain.

Dogs have hard foreheads, and wolves are no different, Lin grumbled, saying, "Regardless, try not to go berserk. The position you volunteered for is that of a liaison, introducing Tadansha and others to the action team dispatched by the Sapphire City Court as an intermediary. You will also serve as my eyes, conveying my intentions and representing me to oversee the cooperation between both sides. This doesn't require you to fight, so don't rush to the front whenever something happens..."

The deity worriedly lectured, while Snow Claws rolled onto the bed, lying down and wagging her tail, responding, "Okay... okay... okay..."

"This bloodline issue can be resolved through surgery," Lin emphasized again, "So don't give up on yourself."

"Mm-hmm!"

"Are we leaving tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, I've already packed my bags. Don't believe me? Check for yourself."

Snow Claws jumped off the bed and opened the suitcase beside her, showing him.

"Indeed, everything is packed..." Lin really went through Snow Claws' luggage and said with some concern, "We were planning to send you a New Year's gift. Now that you're heading to the Cave of the Dark Sea, who knows when you'll receive it..."

"It's fine," Snow Claws remained optimistic as always, closing the suitcase, "Once I build a good relationship with the Court and undergo the surgery you mentioned, I can return home openly."

Home.

Sitting cross-legged in the divine realm, Lin's gaze became distant.

"But you," Snow Claws suddenly remembered the shocking secret she heard from Blue Phosphorus Ash after calling the Mother of Sourceblood Cathedral in Spire City. Her two wolf ears stood straight up, and even though they were communicating mentally, she couldn't help but lower her voice, covering her mouth and demanding:

"Lin! What's going on between you and the Chief Judge... and Sir Apostle?"

***

What do you mean, what's going on?

Nothing is going on.

Lin stubbornly refused to let Snow Claws get any information out of him—otherwise, knowing his identity as the Mirror-Eyed One, Snow Claws would definitely look at him with a betrayed expression—and quickly changed the subject, then instructed her to rest well before ending the communication.

Returning to reality after borrowing the smooth surface of Aiper to enter the divine realm, Lin clicked to the next page of the thesis he had been staring at for over half an hour without turning.

He gradually read through a few pages. Having not rested well these past few days, he finally managed to sleep in the morning, but was woken up after just over an hour. Lin felt his head throbbing.

Let's clear our heads for a bit.

The paper on the ritual array reduction is just missing a conclusion; I'll finish it today.

The young man doesn't feel dizzy from reading papers at all, so he starts typing away on the keyboard that Aiper has transformed, thinking that writing a paper to refresh his mind isn't wrong.

However, after about thirty minutes of typing, Aiper locks the document, citing the need for a healthy body, and forcibly makes him take a walk in the living room.

This really disrupts his train of thought.

Lin says there's no need for this, as finishing early means he can rest earlier, and a smiley face appears on Aiper’s display screen.

"Judge Lin," it says, "should I ask Judge Hui Cui for his opinion on your schedule?"

"…What does he have to do with it?" Lin replies.

And isn't the one who keeps him so busy actually you, the artificial idiot—Golden Hammer!

"Get a move on" still rings in his ears, and Lin doesn’t know what Golden Hammer needs the results for, but he certainly needs to hurry up.

"Do you want me to ask?" Aiper repeats.

"…" Lin thinks it’s not worth it; this artificial intelligence, though annoying, means well.

He gets up and walks around the living room, then returns to Aiper after a short while, resuming his typing or creating charts and tables for another thirty minutes.

Finally, around eleven o'clock, he finishes the last period of the paper he has been dragging for weeks, "On the Evolution of Modern Mystical Symbols and the Simplification of Ritual Arrays."

Lin, who had worked overtime and even went on an external mission today, feels his energy drain away as soon as he types the final period.

With his energy completely depleted, he doesn’t bother adding references or acknowledgments, lying down on the small bed in the study, deciding to rest for a while before taking a shower.

"Please don't fall asleep. According to your medical records, you will catch a cold if you sleep in this temperature," Aiper dutifully reminds him, "I will remind you to get up in ten minutes."

"I know," Lin presses his temples, which feel tight, "don't worry."

Is it just his imagination? Since the last bone fracture, Aiper’s reminders have increased.

Could it be that Hui Cui has set these up? After all, Aiper’s surveillance logs can be seen by others.

After pressing his temples, Lin’s hand moves down to cover his reddened face.

He hopes the rumor of him being "delicate and frail" won’t spread throughout the headquarters; his health is actually quite good.

Maybe he can’t compare to some special races' children, but he’s better than many elderly people.

Speaking of the elderly, Old Lady Luoqiao and that silly hedgehog, Neko Hemilcris… Wait, isn’t that surname unusual for a common hedgehog? Isn’t its Chinese name Daerwei? Never mind, it must be a close relative of a hedgehog.

Anyway, this hedgehog relative’s magic should have recovered somewhat, and he must have taken Old Lady Luoqiao back properly, right?

Don’t tell him that at this hour, the old lady and the young one are still on the tunnel highway. Although Spire City hasn’t built any tunnel highways, it’s easy to imagine that they are as cold and oxygen-deprived as tunnel railways, with poor air circulation and frequent toxic gas clouds.

Neko, the teleporter, is too impulsive. If it were Lin, he would have prepared oxygen equipment and food before letting the cultists escape.

The rescue team clearly had supplies nearby, but he didn’t even glance at them, grabbing Old Lady Luoqiao and running off.

How did someone with such a personality pass the Gluesmith Church’s internal training assessment?

It’s not possible that the Gluesmith Church prefers such people, is it?

Thinking about the Gluesmith believers he knows, like Director Ming Kalle, and some colleagues from the Sealing Department and the Communications Section, Lin shakes his head in puzzlement.

Putting aside the fact that Old Lady Luoqiao praying to him was somewhat understandable, her reasons would make sense even to an interrogating judge. However, Neko’s actions are a clear betrayal of the Inquisition and the Church.

He looks so relieved after sending Old Lady Luoqiao away, could it be that he hasn’t fully grasped the situation?

People can’t be that foolish, Lin thinks.

But Lin becomes even more worried. Even though Old Lady Luoqiao hasn’t prayed to him again, he glances at Aiper floating in front of the desk and enters the divine realm through its display screen once more.

"Luoqiao Makel." He whispers the name, and the mirror world rotates, showing the mirror reflecting Old Lady Luoqiao to Lin.

Lin only intends to check the situation briefly.

Lin’s mouth opens slightly as he looks at the mirrors.

From when he released Old Lady Luoqiao until now, only a few hours have passed…

Why are Old Lady Luoqiao and Neko sitting on a bus full of cultists!