Chapter 10: The Insect Race Calamity
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 10: The Insect Race Calamity
For a fleeting moment, Edward felt as if Xie Bai were the only thing in this world worth believing in.
But the thought vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
He had to be joking. He had spent his entire life pursuing the ideal of alchemy above all else; he didn't even believe in gods, so how could he possibly worship a person?
Edward didn't realize that his soul was completely shackled, leaving him utterly unable to resist Xie Bai.
The effects of Lust's Blessing were hidden deep within, subtly influencing his mind to the point where he wouldn't even realize he was being manipulated.
As it stood, even though Edward had no conscious intention of submitting to Xie Bai, the moment she requested something, his subconscious would rationalize it and convince him to comply.
All of this was information provided to Xie Bai via System prompts.
Even Xie Bai found the effect of Lust's Blessing to be somewhat insidious.
As long as the target showed even a hint of deference or a slight inclination to yield, Lust's Blessing would forcibly seize upon it, planting a seed of mental distortion in their heart.
Insidious or not, Xie Bai was quite satisfied with the results.
"A name? Hmm..."
Looking down at the kneeling Edward, Xie Bai tapped her finger against her lips in thought.
Finally, she spoke. "Just call me Bai."
A single syllable—Bai. It immediately dialed her sense of mystery up a notch.
Edward had no objections. He carefully tucked the wallet away and asked, "Then, do you have any further arrangements?"
Next?
Xie Bai thought for a moment and asked, "Is there a place to sleep here?"
"Uh, well, if you don't mind, you can have my room. I'll just sleep on the floor out here."
Xie Bai clapped her hands together. "Then it's settled."
Edward led Xie Bai to his room and tidied the bed for her. After seeing her settled in, he politely closed the door.
Once he was sure everything was in order, Edward finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew... finally got this little lady settled."
After confirming no one was around, Edward cautiously opened the wallet.
"Units, tens, hundreds, thousands..."
"Five hundred million. It really is five hundred million..."
Edward suspected he wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.
A full five hundred million gold coins. If someone gave away that much money, even Master Roland would feel the sting. Yet that girl named Bai had produced it casually, without so much as a blink.
Edward began to wonder if Xie Bai was so wealthy because she was the mysterious Cult Leader of Chaos. After all, the Chaos Church was spread across the entire continent; their leader was bound to be rich enough to rival nations.
Alternatively, she could be some old monster who had lived in seclusion for years, possessing wealth accumulated over millennia.
Currently, Edward leaned toward the latter. After all, Bai was so cute—how could she be one of those evil, cruel people from the Chaos Church?
Besides, she was so understanding, gentle, and considerate.
He must have been out of his mind earlier to mistake such a kind and lovely girl for an evil Chaos Cultist.
At that thought, Edward gripped the Alchemy Wallet tightly, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Alchemy research is such a money sink. I've always had to use cheap materials for every project. Now that I have five hundred million in hand, I can buy whatever high-end materials I want. I refuse to believe things will still explode if I just throw enough money at them! And now that I'm rich, maybe I should find a time to ask Ellie out?"
Edward was busy calculating what to do with his windfall. Just as he was fantasizing about his new life of luxury, an aged voice called out.
"Edward."
Edward froze. He turned his head stiffly. "Master Roland?!"
The newcomer was indeed Roland. He stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze questioning. "It's the middle of the night. Why are you standing outside your door like a post?"
"Uh... well, I..."
Edward suddenly started stammering. He hadn't thought of a reason to hide Bai's presence yet.
"If it's embarrassing, don't say it. Was Ellie over again?" Roland didn't press him further when he saw Edward hesitating. "Did you get kicked out? Did you make her angry?"
"Forget it, I won't meddle in your relationship. Come with me to the Astrology Tower right now. I have something important to tell you."
Hum—
The scene instantly shifted from the living quarters to a study. Before Edward could even ask for clarification, he had been transported into the heart of the Astrology Tower.
"Master, why the rush? What's going on...?"
Edward had a feeling that if his master came looking for him in the middle of the night, it was either a big deal or a world-ending disaster. Usually, Edward was the one getting kicked out of Roland's place for "disturbing his rest." For Roland to seek him out was unprecedented.
"It's nothing too big," Roland said.
Edward breathed a secret sigh of relief.
"It's just that the Void Insect Hive awakened today. His Majesty has declared a state of war. As the capital, Carlos Lilanka is closest to the Hive and will serve as the first line of defense."
Edward: "?"
*
Morning.
Xie Bai climbed out of bed, eyes bleary with sleep. Driven by extreme hunger, she instinctively grabbed a piece of bread from the bedside table and started eating.
"Mmph... chew... gulp... wait?"
Where did the bread come from?
Xie Bai looked at the bread in her hand, her head still a bit foggy.
"Probably breakfast Edward prepared... Yawn... I'll just finish this and go back to sleep. So tired..."
After absentmindedly devouring ten loaves of bread, she flopped back down to sleep.
Suddenly, a cacophony of gongs and drums erupted outside.
"Extra! Extra!"
"The Insect Race Calamity is descending! The Aodu Empire has entered a full-scale state of war! The Emperor has announced he will personally lead the front lines to defend the nation's gates!"
"The Empire has declared an end to the Expedition! The Grand Marshal is being recalled to defend against the Calamity!"
"The City Lord has issued a new decree: anyone fleeing Carlos Lilanka during the war will be banned from the city for life!"
"Extra! Extra!"
...
"Ugh... what's all the racket? What 'Insect Race Calamity'... didn't I just wipe out a batch yesterday?"
Xie Bai tossed and turned, unable to ignore the shouting outside. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and crawled out of bed.
"Seriously, what is all that noise..."
She opened the window and saw various alchemy machines parading down the street, joined together to form massive war behemoths. It looked like a military procession.
"What on earth? The Insect Race Calamity is here? The Empire is at war?"
"Are those bugs really that scary?"
"Or is this some kind of promotional event for the game's closed beta?"
"An Imperial Calamity?"
Xie Bai was a bit dazed. After getting a basic grasp of the situation, she decided to go back to sleep.
Usually, in these "start of the game" world events, the plot doesn't just kill everyone off. The ending would likely involve everyone repelling the insects, securing the future of humanity, and then having a big happy ending together.
In short, no matter how much chaos was happening outside, it didn't have much to do with her. In fact, as long as she went to harvest the Hive once every three days, this "Great War" wouldn't even be able to get off the ground.
"If my ways of gaining Reputation weren't so restricted, I might actually show up and play the hero."
As she spoke, she collapsed back onto the large bed.
"There are plenty of those insects, but their levels are just too low. If only I could strengthen them somehow."
Xie Bai buried her face in the pillow and drifted off into a deep sleep.
A moment later, she suddenly bolted upright.
"That's it! The insects are too weak, so I can just help strengthen them!"
"Isn't there that villainous Chaos Church that's bent on destroying the world? They must have a way!"
No time like the present!
Xie Bai scrambled out of bed, entered her Spirit Form, and slipped out unnoticed.
"I'm back!"
Just as Xie Bai left, Edward returned carrying a pile of groceries.
"Eh? Where'd she go?"
Edward looked at the empty room, feeling a bit bewildered. After a moment's thought, he didn't dwell too much on where she might have gone.
After cleaning up the bread crumbs on the sheets, Edward decided to finish preparing the day's meals first.
"Alright, time to get to work!"