Don't disturb the sorcerer's scientific research

Chapter 172 Jia Xiu's Infiltration Operation
The blessed cultists are indeed very strong. They possess superhuman physical qualities, with greatly enhanced strength and speed, as well as exceptional vitality.

It also showed great confidence, showing no fear in the face of the cloth that pulled out the scissors, and resolutely rushed forward.

As a member of a cult, tasked with burying the derivative body, he had clearly undergone some combat training, moving swiftly and skillfully.

With two battle axes in hand, he exuded a menacing aura; anyone who touched him would die.

With his extraordinary strength and burning passion, he managed to fight Bubu to a standstill.

It refers to Bubu cutting it open five times in five moves.

The scene was absolutely brutal; it was a complete beating of a child, a complete waste of the fact that it had acted like a formidable foe.

To be honest, Jia Xiu was a little worried at first.

It wasn't that I was worried Bubu couldn't win, but rather that it would be too troublesome to handle. The commotion from the fight would attract the main members of the cult in town.

Who knew it would turn out like this?

Judging from its manifestations, the greatest benefit of that blessing should be in terms of vitality.

They are exceptionally resilient.

Then it was gone.

Each time it's cut open, it can be pieced back together.

In comparison, the resulting increase in speed and strength is only so-so; it's certainly much more powerful than an ordinary person.

Unfortunately, this world is not just made up of ordinary people.

The blessed cultists are like infected villagers from Resident Evil, but super-recovered.

If they can't even withstand light firearms, they'd be nothing more than roadside trash in a magical world.

It makes sense when you think about it. If this blessing were really that powerful, capable of enhancing everything and making combat strength and recovery ability equally strong, then they wouldn't have ended up in a remote little town, relying on posting fake commissions to fish for resources.

"You've already lost."

Bubu is still very principled; according to the rules of the duel, it has already won five times in three minutes.

In reality, the actual action took less than twenty seconds; the rest of the time was spent waiting for the other party to put things together.

Bubu blinked her beady eyes.

It doesn't understand that if this cultist had even a shred of dignity, after being beaten like this, he should have admitted defeat, or at least made some sense to run away.

However, the opponent got up again and again, relentlessly attacking, only to be instantly defeated once more.

They look rather pitiful.

It makes it seem like Jia Xiu and his gang are the super villains, abusing and mocking the town's defenders who are putting up a tough fight.

Seeing the cultists get up again, Bubu was also in a bit of a dilemma. Repeatedly beating opponents whose level was far lower than his own was not a very honorable thing for a knight.

Jia Xiu observed for a long time, wondering if this blessing would affect the brain. He felt that the cultist's intelligence was not normal, or that the grassroots members of this sect had been severely brainwashed.

Watching it get up for the fifth time, Jia Xiu didn't finish it off. It wasn't that he had a hobby of watching cultists get beaten up, but rather that he was trying to figure out where the opponent's limits were.

He didn't believe this thing could regenerate indefinitely, and that it must have some weaknesses.

Even legitimate vampires can't do that. No matter how powerful a vampire is, if they suffer excessive damage, they will completely collapse and won't need to bask in the sun.

Judging from these recovery processes, although it is not very obvious, it can still be observed that each recovery process is slightly slower than the last.

It's reasonable to speculate that this thing has a limited number of recovery times, or it has an extremely long hidden health bar, so it's still possible to deplete it completely.

It turns out it's just a big sandbag.

There are now two solutions.

They persuaded Bubu to abandon any chivalrous spirit and instead used the most lethal and drastic method to finely chop it into minced meat.

After a few cuts, it probably won't be able to get it back up.

Or perhaps, Jia Xiu has an even better idea.

A rare creature with extremely strong vitality, somewhere between a human and a monster.

What does this mean?
This means a very rare, valuable, and hard-to-kill perfect experimental subject.

Moreover, even if someone has strong vitality, their combat power is just so-so; they are no match for a real opponent and can be controlled.

It just so happens that those who have already experimented on vampires can experiment on it again.

Recording the results is a completely new research finding.

No matter the circumstances, even in a small village controlled by a cult, they always remembered the "grand cause" of the Water Paper.

Even if I only manage to get a couple hundred experience points at most, it's still better than nothing.

"Bubu, it's okay, leave the rest to me."

Jia Xiu patted Bubu's hat and said.

"There's no need to use chivalrous methods to deal with opponents who lack chivalry. That's called flexibly applying chivalrous virtues. Now, we should let it play a greater role. That's called thrift."

Having said that, he smiled and walked towards the other person.

The cult members, already driven to madness by the cuts, looked on in bewilderment at their new adversary who was slowly approaching them.

This blessing has this drawback: during frequent recovery, the energy is supplied to other parts of the body, leaving little for the brain, and the IQ will be in a semi-off-line state.

Even though it had become foolish, its keen intuition still allowed it to determine that although this new opponent was not as powerful as the previous one, it felt more dangerous.

That smiling face is terrifying...

The nights in Çachdis are exceptionally long.

It was a long time; Mia had already collected all the necessary information, and Jia Xiu had conducted eight experiments, but the sun still hadn't appeared.

Only eight experiments were conducted because Jia Xiu hadn't forgotten that at least one person needed to be able to use their brain, and especially their mouth, so that the deceased could communicate.

If the experiment is too radical, it's not good if the patient can't recover.

Moreover, time is limited, so we only do what is convenient and quick.

After several brief "fun experiments," the cult members had completely lost their vitality and spirit of resistance, appearing listless and dispirited.

Judging from the current situation, Jia Xiu estimates that it can be restored three to five more times.

However, since there are no suitable experiments to conduct, let's give it a quick and decisive boost, rapidly depleting its remaining "health."

At this moment, Mia said, "Should we try to save this derivative? If they find that the original derivative is missing tomorrow, they'll know there's a problem."

What do you mean by "help me out"?

Only then did Jia Xiu notice the original derivative body.

The wounds on his body from the ultraviolet flashbangs had not yet healed, and he looked like he was barely clinging to life.

It seems that this special derivative has lost most of the original life force of the vampire, but gained greater power in return.

“Uh…” Jia Xiu scratched his head, “It seems that basic healing spells are not enough to heal this kind of injury.”

It's good news that this derivative is so sensitive to ultraviolet light.

"Since this is a derivative entity, shouldn't we feed it some blood?"

Ram proposed it.

"That makes sense, but how much blood would it need?"

Mia countered with a question.

"Never mind how much we need, this is all we have."

Jia Xiu brought the cultist over; it was time for him to make his final contribution.

"Hopefully it has enough health."

The ultimate fate of cultists who manipulate derivatives is to become their blood bags.

Complete the closed loop.

The creature with blood at its mouth remained unconscious, but its feeding instincts were activated, and it began to bite and suckle furiously. Its body, burned by ultraviolet rays, began to recover rapidly.

At the same time, Jia Xiu unexpectedly noticed that the damage caused by bloodletting seemed to be stronger than that caused by other methods of injury.

The cult member, rapidly losing blood, showed no signs of recovery and gradually turned into a shriveled corpse.

The originally expected three to five recovery sessions also failed to materialize.

"Therefore, what blessed cultists fear most is continuous massive bleeding."

Cults that use vampires to gain influence are afraid of being bitten by vampires.

What "there will be an antidote within three steps"?

After the derivative body recovered from absorbing blood, Ram put the coffin back on, threw it back into the pit, and covered it with soil.

"Bubu, can you talk to the dead now?"

"Let me try."

Bubu cast the spell again, and sure enough, the moment the spell took effect, the cultist's body struggled to sit up, his eyes unfocused, staring blankly as he waited for questions—the standard effect of a dead person conversing.

"Ahem," Jia Xiu cleared his throat, "When is the day the Moon Mother Goddess awakens?"

Upon hearing the question, the cultist's remains slowly raised their heads, looking at Jia Xiu as if deep in thought.

He did not answer the question immediately.

what's the situation?
Jia Xiu looked at Bubu with a puzzled expression.

“Um,” Bubu looked left and right, “This time it definitely worked. It’s not talking, it must be because it sees you as an enemy, so its remaining will is refusing to answer questions. Yes, that must be it.”

After saying that, Bubu nervously straightened her hat.

I failed to complete the boss's task again, which is a little embarrassing.

Is there such a saying that the remaining will is refusing?
Jia Xiu recalled that he seemed to have heard similar things before, but he had never studied how the dead could talk and was not very familiar with it.

Since it's just a remnant of will...

“I’m not your enemy,” Jassi said. “I was just passing by. You died because you ran into a vampire. Oh dear, that’s so pitiful. You still have two holes in your neck. It’s not our fault.”

Upon hearing Jia Xiu's explanation, the cultist's remains were stunned for a few more seconds.

"Ten days later, the day of the awakening of the great Moon Mother Goddess will arrive."

The remaining will was persuaded.

The benefits of talking to the dead, the will summoned by magic, and the fact that they are usually not very bright.

They are very easy to persuade and extremely easy to get information out of people.

"What preparatory steps and rituals are needed before He awakens?"

"Sacrifice, sacrifice to heretics and ungodly believers, to be completed on the day of awakening."

So, those unlucky adventurers were generally safe during those ten days; the time when they were supposed to run into trouble hadn't come yet.

This is a good thing. As long as he has the ability, Jia Xiu does intend to do his best to ensure the safety of these people.

It would be too pitiful to be scammed so soon after starting the adventure, and to be scammed all the way to death.

What does "disloyal believer" refer to?

"Before the Mother Goddess awakens and descends, the sect will conduct several trials to recruit new people who pass the trials and eliminate believers who do not perform well in the trials. Those who are not devout enough are not worthy to witness the great Mother Goddess on the day of her descent."

This answer was something Jia Xiu hadn't expected at all.

The Cult of the Moon Mother is indeed a cult, even more so than he thought.

Original believers must also participate in the trials, and those who perform poorly will become sacrifices.

What kind of last-place elimination system is this?

Are they this cruel to their own people?
"What exactly are the contents of the trial?"

"Not yet confirmed."

"What is your name, your role in the sect, and what is your mission tonight?"

"Samantha, Priest, tonight you will be responsible for retrieving the derivatives and checking the status of the remaining derivatives. Return to the denomination at the morning assembly and report directly to His Highness."

Jia Xiu was starting to lose his composure.

Not only is there a bottom-ranking elimination system, but there are also morning meetings where employees must report their work to their direct supervisors.

This cult actually has a rather modern feel to it.

Do they have to write work summaries or performance reports every year?

The good news, however, is that this gave him ample time and opportunity to transform into Samantha and infiltrate the sect.

After all, I only went back during the morning meeting.

No rush, keep asking.

"Your main daily work processes."

……

"Your upbringing."

……

"Your personal hobbies..."

Jia Xiu began a thorough investigation into his background and identity. Since he wanted to infiltrate the sect, the more detailed the information he gathered, the better, so as not to expose himself.

The consciousness recalled by talking to the deceased wasn't very intelligent, but its memory was quite good; it remembered everything it needed to remember.

It took Jassiu nearly two hours to gain a comprehensive understanding of Samantha.

It also includes details of the sect's daily behavior.

In Samantha's mind, that trial was quite important, not only as a process of selecting new adventurers and eliminating veterans, but also as a test for promotion.

As an ordinary priest, her path to becoming the highest priest under the High Priest depends on the trials she undergoes.

To learn more about this sect, Jia Xiu thought for a moment and realized that he would have to undergo trials for her after his transformation.

But it's not a big problem; he's good at this.

As dawn approached and the morning meeting was about to begin, Jashu didn't waste any time. Using the scroll given to her by Gillianis, she transformed into Samantha and threw the original Samantha into the pit that Ram had dug. Her mission was complete.

After transforming, Jia Xiu took a while to get used to his new body.

It's easier to adapt than when I was in the deep hell of demonic cultivation. Apart from feeling a bit heavy in my chest, there's nothing new or unusual about it.

"Bubu, create an illusion of me. You'll be playing the role of 'me' in town for the next few days. Then contact Gillianis and tell her you'll need her to save the day in ten days. Mia, what's the probability that the Mother Goddess of the Moon truly exists and possesses divine power?"

"98% are at the demigod level."

"Wow, that's great news! There's still 2% left."

"That 2% is higher than that of a demigod."

Jia Xiu remained silent.

The primary goal now is to prevent the ritual from being completed. If a demigod or higher were to appear, even the Radiant Knights would be helpless, and that would be a major disaster.

"Alright, you guys just play the role of novice adventurers in town for the next few days."

"Ram is indeed a novice adventurer."

"Yes, that's how you play the role."

Jia Xiu adjusted his clothes, and the charcoal slag and fragments on the ground were repaired with his restoration magic.

"They'd better have some clues about the Bubu mark."

Jia Xiu sighed and went to attend the first morning meeting in nearly three years since he transmigrated to the other world.

(End of this chapter)