Relax, I'm not some troublemaker from a role-playing game.

Chapter 42 Alice, do you still remember what friendship means?

In the liminal space between consciousness and unconsciousness, Bai Xi faintly heard intermittent footsteps.

And, she felt as if she had been moved to some place, lifted up a bit, and the sensation beneath her body had become softer.

But the pain in my mind was getting further and further away from me, as if I was about to transcend it.

It was as if they had already seen the dawn of their own transcendence, and the angels guiding them ahead.

Only when heaven was within reach did Bai Xi realize a problem:

Damn it, people only go to heaven when they die. It's not that I'm not in pain anymore, it's that I'm fucking dying!

He bled almost all his blood out, lost consciousness, and went into shock. How could it not be easy for him!

Bai Xi twitched symbolically twice, and vaguely heard a cute, flustered "Ah!" in her ear.

Then, in the last moment before going into shock, he managed to open his eyes halfway open.

Then, he vaguely saw the white-haired girl holding a bandage, hurriedly wrapping it around her head again and again, on the verge of tears.

It was almost impossible to tell whether it was worry or sadness, or perhaps both.

"Don't be hurt, don't be hurt..."

She muttered to herself, growing increasingly anxious, and tears welled up in her already red eyes once more.

Bai Xi closed her eyes peacefully.

I'm better now.

She's so cute.

This was the last thought that flashed through Bai Xiga's mind before he suddenly went into shock.

........................

Consciousness operated unconsciously in the long chaos until, in the silence, it seemed as if a light shone down, and then consciousness finally broke through the chaos.

Return to the light.

Bai Xi opened his eyes, feeling dizzy. He swayed as he sat up, slowly processing his surroundings.

Memories flashed through his mind, reminding Bai Xi of everything that had happened before.

He looked around blankly, and then realized that he was on a makeshift bed, and beside the bed, a small white-haired girl was huddled up, half of her body lying down.

Bai Xi carefully got up, but this startled Alice.

She suddenly raised her head, her eyes still red, and when she saw that Bai Xi had woken up, a hint of joy flashed in her eyes.

But soon, her excitement subsided again. She seemed to remember something and pursed her lips.

Bai Xi hesitated for a moment, then sighed and reached out to touch Alice's hair.

"How long did I sleep?"

"It should take six or seven hours."

Alice said crisply, while Bai Xi fell silent once again because there was nothing to talk about.

Even though she had promised Chaos and had done a lot of mental preparation beforehand, she still found it difficult to speak when the time actually came.

"I'm so glad you're alright. When I saw you suddenly appear at the door, I thought you were going to die."

Finally, Alice murmured to herself and collapsed onto the bed.

"Oh, right, Alice..."

Bai Xi nodded gently, as if she had finally made up her mind, and spoke.

But Alice shook her head:

"No need to say anything more, Mr. Bai, I already know."

For a moment, Bai Xi was speechless. He stared at Alice, watching her give a bitter smile.

Then, after a long silence, Alice finally asked softly:

"Mr. Bai, what was it like when my brother passed away?"

Bai Xi didn't answer, racking her brains for a description. After a long while, she lowered her head and whispered:

"I didn't see clearly, but I think it was standing, right?"

She said nothing more, nor did she elaborate further. Alice nodded gently and asked no more questions.

Her fingertips brushed across the thick book, as if she were reminiscing about something.

Bai Xi sat there, at a loss.

He had to wait for news from Stoffey, and until then, he needed to remain in the basement. But now, he was starting to think about leaving the basement.

Dilemma.

"But how did you know?"

After a long while, Bai Xi finally mustered up the courage to ask Alice in a soft voice.

[Detection check score = 25/70, success on difficulty]

Suddenly, Bai Xi noticed the black blood flowing from Alice's fingertips, and his gaze sharpened.

It was that black blood again. He felt it looked familiar. Both the aura it emitted and its appearance were very familiar.

Suddenly, he remembered something, and a flash of inspiration struck him.

He jumped out of bed almost instantly, without any hesitation, much to his surprise.

The next moment, he walked up to Alice, grabbed her hand, and stared intently at the black blood on her fingertips.

Finally, a sense of realization dawned on me.

"Mr. Bai?"

Alice asked hesitantly, instinctively trying to pull her hand away, her voice tinged with fear, "What's wrong?"

However, Bai Xi simply tightened her grip, took a deep breath, and calmly spoke:

"The Blood of Abhos".

For a moment, Alice's hand froze on the spot, while Bai Xi continued to stare at her, saying:

"Alice? What happened?"

Blood of Abhos

The most crucial step in the transformation ritual of the invisible child.

During the ritual, the person being transformed will gradually have all their blood replaced with the blood of Abhoth, thus abandoning their human nature and drawing closer to the Child of No Form.

The foundation of all transformation rituals for the invisible children. It is also the most painful step in the transformation ritual.

This is essentially equivalent to draining all the blood from your body while you are fully conscious, and then having fresh blood injected into you. The process alone is enough to drive a person insane.

Bai Xi finally remembered where she had seen this black blood before, and where the sense of unease came from.

Of course he should know. From the moment he recognized the transformation ritual of the Child of No Form!

Now, seeing Alice's fingers, Bai Xi felt a chill run down his spine. How concentrated was the blood of Abhoth? It was practically overflowing!

This is absolutely not the amount required for a regular conversion ritual, absolutely not!

But wasn't she born under the blessing of Seraphine?

Furthermore, why do Vagra and Chaos also have Abhos blood in them?

Too many questions flooded his fair heart in that instant, so much so that he momentarily ignored Alice before him.

When he came to his senses, he noticed that Alice's eyes were red again, and he instinctively withdrew his hand.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I might have been a little too hasty."

"It's fine."

Alice managed a weak smile, and Bai Xi noticed that her expression was somewhat pale.

He checked the mission again and then discovered that the investigation into the blasphemous work was still incomplete.

Alice is certainly not a blasphemous work, but that's really strange!

Could it be that old Mansfield wants to turn everyone in this manor into invisible children?

Countless terrifying speculations surfaced in Bai Xi's mind, but he quickly suppressed these thoughts and looked at Alice.

[Psychological test score = 11/70, extremely difficult to succeed]

You could tell from her expression that she was somewhat confused when she heard about the conversion ritual, but she was clearly aware of the state of her blood.

But she simply kept it to herself, nothing more.

"Every time this kind of black blood bleeds, someone dies. When it was flowing this afternoon, I guessed something was wrong. Then I thought, my brother hasn't come yet, it might be him."

After a long silence, Alice spoke softly.

"I'm sorry to have kept this from you all this time, Mr. Bai."

"But why haven't you said anything, Alice?"

Bai Xi murmured, asking in a low voice.

"I'll be seen as an oddball. The book my brother gave me says that blood should be bright red."

Alice closed her eyes and gave a helpless smile.

Bai Xi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then continued to ask, "Doesn't it hurt?"

"You won't get used to it."

Oh shit.

Bai Xi's chest heaved, and after a long while he opened his eyes, looked at Alice, and then closed them again.

Just as loneliness can be endured, so too can pain.

"Won't you get tired? Cold? Scared? What if you're sad?"

"You'll get used to it."

Alice shook her head, offering no direct response, but simply said this.

Because you have to keep going even when you're tired, you can't be in the sun when you're cold, no one will see if you're scared, and no one will comfort you when you're sad.

So instead of letting these things bother you, just get used to them.

Even Chaos couldn't attend to everything about Alice. He had too many things to do, and his love was mostly given to the entire family.

But who else does she know? That bastard old Mansfield?

Now, Chaos is dead, and the last person who allowed Alice to enjoy a glimmer of light has also died.

Perhaps Alice has shed her last tear.

All that was left for her was the bottomless despair and the habits she had developed to adapt to it.

Bai Xiqing couldn't help but shiver.

It's as if you can see the little girl standing in the middle of despair, not crying out for help, but quietly waiting for darkness to come to her. Waiting for her fate.

But it shouldn't be like this. Bai Xi felt that it shouldn't be like this.

He lay back down, closed his eyes tightly, and remained silent for a long time. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke softly:

Alice.

He said, "Do you remember what I meant by 'friend'?"