Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

After posting over a dozen enthusiastic messages, Cheng Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, only then noticing a notification suddenly popping up in his mind:

"The Judgment of the End of Light, Sylvia de Claire"

"Intimacy Level: 8 → 10 (40% attribute sharing)"

Intimacy level increased? Why?

What did I do? All I did today was play "Yuan Shen" and grind "Yuan Shen". Are "Yuan Shen" players really that charming? They can win over beautiful girls on their own, even if you leave them alone?

I don't understand.

Since things have come to this, I should just go to sleep.

I'll log into Fate/Grand Order again tomorrow after I wake up.

…………

Day three.

In the Silver Glow City Library, Sylvia sat by the window, a copy of "Outline of Kingdom Laws: Civil Law" open in front of her. Sunlight streamed in through the towering stained-glass windows, casting a small patch of amber light on the open pages.

She stared at the spot of light for a full ten minutes, without absorbing a single word.

He didn't come today either.

She silently read the line to herself, then quickly crossed it out.

He just had something to do.

Of course, the god-man has things to do. He comes from the continent of Teyvat and has to fight against the Bright Tide, so he must be very busy.

Moreover... I'm not the only genius he's chosen to cultivate.

Her fingers tightened around the quill, the tip drawing a thin line of ink along the edge of the parchment.

Wait, why should I be angry because he has other geniuses to nurture?

No, I just... I just need his power.

I can't fight, I can't kill, I can't cultivate... Without him, I can't do anything, which is why I need him.

That's all.

It's nothing else.

She picked up her pen again and forced herself to look at the pages.

Article 37 of the Civil Code stipulates the statute of limitations for lawsuits concerning the inheritance of real estate.

The first sentence had seventeen words, and she read it five times but still couldn't remember it.

Is he not coming back?

Perhaps he has already found someone stronger, more useful, and more... more worthy of his staying than me.

Maybe--

"Whoa—!"

A scream rang out in front of her, and Sylvia jerked her head up.

A seven or eight-year-old boy fell to the ground, his eyes red-rimmed, with five or six books scattered in front of him that he had knocked over.

He was wearing a faded blue cotton coat with patches on the knees.

"I'm so sorry!" The little boy scrambled to his feet, frantically picking up his books. "I didn't mean to! My friend was chasing me—I really didn't—"

"It doesn't matter……"

Sylvia was about to offer some words of comfort when she froze upon seeing the little boy's face.

In an instant, Sylvia felt as if she were back on that rainy night, the firelight illuminating the deserted village, a man screaming on the gallows, children huddled together trembling in the prison cart—

The little boy in front of us is the same child who reported his grammar teacher for teaching him "the main character and the subordinate character are present".

"...It's you."

Sylvia looked at him, slowly knelt down, helped him pick up the last book, and gently brushed the dust off the cover: "Are you hurt?"

The little boy shook his head frantically, then pulled a piece of paper folded into a small square from his sleeve and quickly stuffed it into Sylvia's palm.

Then he grabbed the books, ran off without looking back, and disappeared into the shadows at the end of the bookshelf.

Sylvia stood still and unfolded the note.

There was only one line of text on the paper—

"Your Excellency Sylvia, the adopted sister of Bishop Cicero, welcome home, Demon God."

"13 Minker Street, at dusk today. I came alone."

"—The Cult of the Primordial God"

Her fingers stopped at the edge of the paper.

They knew that Cicero and I had become sworn brothers, and they knew that I was his "sister".

Yes, that little boy might have been a member of the Primordial God's cult from the beginning. He witnessed himself and Cicero becoming sworn brothers and joining the cult, so naturally he would tell the other members of the cult.

This is a heretical sect, a group of madmen wanted by the kingdom, the same group that once tried to sacrifice her to the demons.

She should burn the note immediately and tell her father what had happened. But—

“I’m not going to be an aristocrat anymore, Mambo.”

"I want to transform the original sect."

“I want them to turn their attention to the real enemy—those corrupt nobles.”

These were the words she spoke to Mr. Mambo.

She asked, and he agreed. He even said, "Since you're so determined, I'll lend you a hand," and then rewarded her with a lot of power...

Then he left.

Sylvia closed her eyes.

What if he doesn't come?

If I say "I want to change the sect," but after leaving him, I don't even have the courage to step through that door—wouldn't those words just be empty boasts, devoid of any real determination?

Why should I let him stay by my side?

She opened her eyes, folded the note in half, then in half again, and put it into the inner pocket.

…………

dusk.

13 Mink Street.

This is a very old street, sandwiched between two newly built commercial buildings. It is so narrow that it has been almost forgotten. The stone pavement is uneven and filled with last night's rainwater.

Number 13 is a three-story old house with red bricks that have faded to gray-white on the outside. The paint on the window frames is peeling off, and one of the steps at the entrance is broken and hastily repaired with cement. The cement is a darker and lighter shade than the surrounding bricks, and it doesn't look like the cult stronghold I remember at all.

Starr Silver Shadow stopped at the street corner. Paul gripped the steering wheel, glancing at Sylvia in the rearview mirror.

"Young Miss, do you really have friends... living here?"

“Hmm.” Sylvia didn’t answer immediately. She looked at the half-open wooden door, thought for a moment, and said, “It’s that kind of friend…you know, there are some things you can’t know or say. Just stay in the car.”

really!

Paul gripped the steering wheel tightly, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow.

Sure enough, it was the same friend who spoke to her on the phone the day before yesterday when the young lady was saying something about "playing with your body" in the car!

Is it really alright for me to drive you here for something like this?

The master will kill me when he finds out!

"Miss-"

“Just kidding.” Sylvia opened the car door and smiled. “If anything happens, I’ll message you.”

She didn't turn around, stepped onto the bluestone slab, and was just about to knock on the door—

The door opened automatically.

The room seemed more spacious than the outside. The old furniture was spotless, and the air was filled with a faint scent of lavender and old books. A small fire burned in the fireplace, its flames flickering on the wall. An old man sat in a rocking chair, a gray blanket covering his lap.

He raised his head, his cloudy blue eyes slowly focusing on Sylvia.

“The child told me that Cicero had a sister before he died, who was the eldest daughter of the Claire family.” The old man’s voice was hoarse. “I thought he was lying to me, so I punished him by locking him in the water dungeon—but it turned out to be true.”

Sylvia did not speak.

The old man didn't need her to speak; he turned around and walked deeper into the house.

"Come, child, every one of the original people needs to be watched by the demon god."

He pushed open an inconspicuous wooden door, behind which were stone steps leading to the ground.

"The ceremony took place in the basement."

Chapter 26, Solving the Equation: Skipping the Plot = ?

Until the old man pushed open the basement door, Sylvia thought 13 Mink Street was just an ordinary little building.

However, behind the door was an ancient hall that looked as if it had come from hundreds of years ago.

Ancient stone pillars and statues stand tall, a heavy atmosphere permeating every inch of space. The dome is an impenetrable darkness, and the ground is paved with slabs of lapis lazuli, each one engraved with dense runes.

In the center of the hall, a magic array slowly rotated.

It was a triple-nested ring.

Sylvia had seen a similar pattern in her father’s book—ten points linked by twenty-two paths, from the kingdom to the crown, forming a tree-like shortcut to God.

Within the magic array before us, all ten points of matter have been disrupted.

They rotate around an empty space, like planets around a non-existent sun. The topmost "crown" was taken out separately and placed in the very center of the magic circle, floating in the air and slowly rotating.

The old man stopped and turned to look at her:

"Whether you genuinely join a denomination or not, all formal members must undergo this ceremony."

"Here, you will learn the most secret truths. Once you see those truths, you can never forget them; once you know them, you can never deny them."