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Chapter 472. The Conspiracy Continues, Who is the Mastermind?
"Om..."

For a moment, my consciousness was hazy, as if I were passing through a thick film of water.

When I opened my eyes again, the light had become softer.

She was sitting at a dining table covered with a clean, off-white tablecloth.

A chandelier hangs overhead, casting a warm glow that illuminates the dining table covered in exquisite porcelain.

The air was filled with the aroma of toasted bread and butter, along with a subtle hint of coffee.

Everything seemed comfortable, peaceful, and even... unrealistically cozy.

And across from her, Andorra was sitting there.

He wore a floral overcoat, his hair was neatly combed, and beneath the brim of his hat, his face, shrouded in shadow, wore a slightly sly yet reassuring smile.

"Vera, you're here?"

Jiang Jianxin was suddenly startled.

It wasn't because of this seemingly Andorran "person," nor because of the abrupt change in scene, but because of the title—

Vera.

The next second, an extremely absurd, almost comical feeling rushed into my heart.

Jiang Jianxin instantly understood what tricks this polluted area, or rather, "that thing" entrenched there, was up to.

It was nothing more than reading fragments of her memories of Andorra from the surface of her consciousness, fabricating this illusion, attempting to impersonate her friend, lower her guard, and then launch a deadly attack in this seemingly safe environment.

It's a classic, but also old-fashioned, formula.

But it was precisely because of this that it gave itself away in its very first sentence.

It's impossible for Andorra to call her "Vera".

This is the world corresponding to the third cycle of the third playthrough. In this cycle, her only interaction with Andor is their conversation in the carriage.

Andorra would only respectfully remove his hat and bow before addressing her as "Your Highness," and the two did not have much of a relationship.

Jiang Jianxin tapped his fingers lightly on the cold hilt of the sword, somewhat puzzled, and asked his intuition:

What happened to this contaminated area? How did it get exposed so quickly?

This is an old contaminated area; it's not as simple as it seems. You need to be careful.

The answer was truth.

Jiang Jianxin didn't say anything more. She recalled her memories from the second reincarnation and calmly played along with the eerie acting, saying:
"Yes, I'm back."

The man across the table from "Andorra" smiled and then said:

"I bought a new vase of flowers."

His tone was light and cheerful, even carrying a hint of expectant anticipation, as if he were showing off a treasure:
"Look, isn't it beautiful?"

As he spoke, he slowly took out a celadon vase from behind his back.

The bottle has an elegant design and a warm, lustrous glaze.

But what was stuck in the bottle was a piece of pitch-black foreign object covered in sticky blood.

Jiang Jianxin's pupils suddenly contracted.

It was a severed hand.

She felt a sense of familiarity.

My stomach suddenly spasmed, and a wave of nausea surged up my throat.

If she were truly a weakling lacking ability, at this moment, besides feeling nauseous with fear, she would probably only be able to suppress her trembling.

But she wasn't.

She is a war tycoon who rose to the top in this collapsing world through ruthlessness and bloodshed.

and so--

"Om——"

A sword rang out suddenly, clear and melodious like a dragon's roar, carrying a chilling killing intent.

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Jianxin flicked his wrist, and the Tangguang Sword was drawn from its sheath, transforming into a cold light as it slashed horizontally at the waist of "Andorra" across the table.

"Om..."

Before the strange figure opposite could even change its expression of astonishment, its body was cleaved in two by the devastating sword light.

"Gurgle..."

The two severed parts disintegrated in an instant, turning into a pool of constantly writhing and bubbling black liquid that dripped onto the ground.

Jiang Jianxin stood with his sword in hand, his face as cold as ice. The tip of the sword pointed diagonally at the ground, and a few drops of black water slowly slid down the blade.

"Old man."

She spoke calmly to the pool of filth that was gradually losing its vitality:
"Humans are no longer your prey."

The strange creature was annihilated with a single sword strike, yet the surrounding contaminated area showed no signs of collapse.

Jiang Jianxin sheathed his sword and glanced at the desolate space.

really.

There are other things hidden in this nest.

Jiang Jianxin slowly got up and continued forward, following the winding trail of blood.

Far from that dim light source, the surrounding darkness surged in like a tide, engulfing our vision.

However, the darkness did not last long—a grayish-white color gradually appeared ahead. In the center of that grayish-white area, a huge cross stood prominently.

Andorra was nailed to a cross, covered in blood. His limbs had been severed at the root, the wounds a bloody mess, the white bones starkly exposed.

Blood flowed down the mangled torso, pooling into a thick, dark red puddle at his feet.

A headless human figure stands in front of the cross.

Its neck was bare, replaced by a blue and white porcelain vase roughly sewn onto its shoulder.

The bottle is decorated with a deep blue lotus scroll pattern, which gleams with a cold light in the dim light.

At this moment, it was tightly gripping Andor's neck with both hands, slowly stuffing his limp, tattered body into the mouth of the blue and white porcelain vase.

Andor's consciousness had long since faded, and blood stained his disheveled hair, trickling down his cheeks.

Unable to struggle, he could only let the vase monster do as it pleased, his body forcibly twisted and squeezed, slowly disappearing into the belly of the vase.

The outline of that vase looked strangely familiar.

Jiang Jianxin suddenly remembered the "crown prince" of Black Pupil Pharmaceuticals.

After the collapse of Black Pupil Pharmaceuticals, many secrets were uncovered, but the origin of the "flower vase prince" remained unexplained.

According to Zuo Siquan's previous account, she was once the Crown Prince's fiancée, and it seems that the Crown Prince was a normal human being when they got engaged.

What happened that snowy winter that turned everything into this crazy mess?
Jiang Jianxin stood still, his breathing extremely soft.

The vase-like person seemed unaware of her presence.

It picked up the vase that had already been placed in Andorra and slowly took a step back.

Right behind it, the previously bottomless darkness suddenly lit up.

—It was a display shelf that seemed to stretch endlessly.

Countless vases were neatly arranged on the shelf, and each vase had a human head on its mouth.

Some had wide-open eyes, while others had distorted faces; they stood on the shelf like a group of frozen specimens.

The vase man gently placed the Andorra vase in an empty spot, and then slowly pulled out a new empty vase from the bottom of the shelf.

Jiang Jian was tempted.

She touched the ground with her toes and floated forward like smoke, her right hand silently resting on the hilt of her sword.

The blade in the scabbard is about to ring out—

The vase-shaped person suddenly turned around.

The blue-and-white porcelain vase was almost touching the tip of her nose.

The cool porcelain glaze reflected a faint light, and the lotus scroll pattern stretched out before my eyes.

"You've finally arrived?"

A high-pitched, distorted voice came from the bottle.

Jiang Jianxin suddenly opened his eyes wide.

That feeling came back.

My mind was silent; my intuition was blocked.

That carbon bullet, brimming with malice, resurfaced in my mind's eye.

The vase-maker slowly raised the new vase in his hand; the mouth of the vase was deep and dark, as if it could swallow all light.

“Look, Your Excellency.”

Its voice was imbued with a kind of mocking cruelty:
"I specially prepared a new vase for your head."

(End of this chapter)