Millennium Witch

But later, for some unknown reason, just like the dinosaur era on Earth, all the creatures of that era died out at some point, and the world entered the Dharma-ending Age.

This enormous, mysterious, and bizarre historical turning point gave rise to the image of the "Twilight Lord," a deity who mechanically descends to earth.

The so-called heavenly "Garden of Eden" is the most desired and beautiful spiritual sustenance for people in the Dharma-ending Age, who yearn for that high-magic era with abundant elements.

“A turning point… Could it be that the ancient civilization, which existed 3 years ago, was also destroyed because it encountered a mysterious ‘doomsday’?” Yvette murmured to herself, feeling that this sounded like a whole cycle of destiny.

The second update today will be a little late.

Are you satisfied with Chapter 26?

Given the high-magic environment of the ancient civilizations and the unanimous presence of "dragons," Yvette harbored some doubts about Rosalind's location on the Radiant Continent. However, these doubts were quickly dispelled—if this were truly the case, the origins of the initial aberrations remained a mystery.

However, in the following days, Yvette did not continue to delve into the free mythology and historical research materials. Firstly, there was simply too much material, an overwhelming amount, to read through. Secondly, her curiosity about the origins of the civilization's demise was merely curiosity, not something she felt compelled to investigate thoroughly.

In contrast, she would rather observe Dr. Reger's treatment process as a "young" intern—after all, she had already paid in advance.

This situation continued for many days, and because of the rumor that "a super pretty little girl with silver hair and red eyes has appeared at the Hoffman Clinic," the number of patients at the Hoffman Clinic was much higher than usual, and there was often a queue at the door.

This left the Hoffmans both exhausted and happy every day, as they seemed to be able to pay off their children's student loans much faster.

However, after about a month, those days abruptly ended.

That morning, the Hoffman family's peace was shattered by the arrival of three police officers—someone had reported Reggie Hoffman for practicing medicine illegally, and the police were there to take him in for questioning.

So when Hans and Marie returned from school in the evening and learned of the incident, the entire Hoffmann family was plunged into immense pain and sorrow.

"How could this happen..." Rosalyn was bewildered when she returned home from next door. It all happened so suddenly, giving her no time to prepare.

Yesterday, she could still chat and play happily with Hans and Mary, and have dinner with Reger and Mrs. Susan. Today, such days are over. Because the breadwinner of the family has collapsed, Hans and Mary's expensive student loans are simply beyond Mrs. Susan's ability to manage on her own. The best outcome is that Hans and Mary will transfer to a regular high school, or even drop out of school altogether to work.

You never know which will come first, tomorrow or an accident... Yvette thought to herself, without responding to her apprentice's words.

She was powerless to help in this matter. If Mr. Regel were innocent, that would be fine, but it turned out to be true, and not only true, but he also had the even more dangerous experience of purchasing and learning pirated rune knowledge. With such double crimes, unless he paid a huge sum of money, he would face at least ten years in prison.

These ten years were enough for Hans and Marie to miss the most important stage of their lives, cutting off any possibility of breaking through social class barriers and forever sinking into oblivion in the Blackwater.

"Teacher, is there anything we can do to help them?" Rosalyn asked pleadingly, unable to bear watching her only two friends fall into such a painful vortex.

“It’s difficult, though not entirely impossible, but…” Yvette said, “there’s no need, because it’s just a dream.”

She was very blunt, and it was indeed true. Money could certainly get Regel out, but she didn't know when the dream would suddenly end, and she couldn't possibly spend the money she'd used to buy important documents on something like this—that would be too extravagant.

"Ah, yes, it's a dream..." Rosalyn paused for a moment, then realized that she wasn't in the real world, but in a dream existing in the past. No matter what she did in the dream, she couldn't change the established facts of what had happened in the past.

She fell silent and stopped making those unreasonable demands of the teacher, but she kept her head down, as if she couldn't shake off her disappointment.

The next afternoon, standing in the corridor on the 18th floor of the Wright Apartments, Rosalind saw Hans and Mary walking out of the apartment with blank expressions, carrying cardboard boxes and placing them on a small cart outside.

She walked over and asked, "Where are you all going?"

“Mom talked to the apartment manager and moved the rented room to an empty room on the 15th floor below, so we can get a little bit of the rent back…” Mary said in a low voice. Looking at her red eyes, she must have cried a lot since last night.

"So... don't worry, we still live in the same apartment building," Hans reassured her, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

Rosalyn didn't know how to respond, so she offered to help carry some things. While carrying them, she suddenly remembered something and lowered her voice, "Um... have you ever thought about... who... reported it?"

“I don’t know. The whistleblower is anonymous. And now…” Hans sighed, his brow furrowed with exhaustion and helplessness, “what’s the point of investigating who it is now?”

Rosalyn didn't say anything more. She knew that finding the whistleblower at this point was useless; it was all too late. This was essentially an emotional impulse. She was curious whether the whistleblower understood the consequences of his small act, and whether he would regret his actions.

A week has passed.

As the last patient left with a sigh, the electronic sign for the "Hoffmann Clinic" went out its final, faint light. This once quietly shining little clinic officially closed, with a funeral-like solemnity. The news spread rapidly through the neighborhood, and many people were shocked to realize for the first time that the highly skilled and inexpensive Dr. Hoffmann actually did not have a medical license.

However, due to their past performance and reputation, most of them still expressed their condolences to the Hoffman family, and many even brought gifts to their door.

Another week passed, and unable to afford a lawyer, Reger stood trial in court.

But perhaps due to his good attitude in admitting guilt, or perhaps because his reputation won the jury's sympathy, he received a relatively lenient sentence, which was reduced from at least 10 years to 6 years.

This is still quite a lot, but it can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

On the night she returned from the day of the verdict, Rosalyn learned from Hans and Marie that they had applied to transfer schools.

Unable to afford the fees of a top-tier school like Black Tower High School, they transferred to Blackwater High School, a third-rate school that couldn't be worse.

Mrs. Susan, on the other hand, set up a roadside stall on a noisy and dirty street corner, selling simple food to support her family and pay off her high student loan interest on a meager income.

This was the first time Rosalind had witnessed the process of a family's destruction so clearly.

In her view, the Hoffman family had done nothing wrong; they were all good people. Mr. Reiger, though unlicensed, was genuinely skilled, saving patient after patient with his low fees. He deserved flowers, not handcuffs. But now, an anonymous whistleblower had destroyed them, completely legally and without fault. This was utterly abnormal, completely contrary to her imagination of the advanced, beautiful, and abundant world of Origin Civilization.

“Teacher,” Rosalyn said softly, her voice filled with deep bewilderment and confusion, as she looked out the window of room 1809 at Mrs. Susan’s hunched figure bustling around her stall on the street corner below. “Why is it like this?”

“That’s just how the world is,” Yvette said without looking up. “It’s just that you didn’t see the whole picture at first.”

Rosalyn fell silent. As a 12-year-old girl from a backward civilization, her beautiful fantasy about the original civilization remained strong, so strong that even after witnessing a gang fight, her idealized image was not shattered.

But now, she has to admit that she has developed a bit of disgust for this world.

“Gronnie Clinic,” Yvette said, looking at the holographic screen.

"What, teacher?" Rosalyn didn't hear clearly.

“The head physician at Groney Clinic is Gos Groney, the sender of the anonymous whistleblower letter. If you want to know his thoughts, you can ask him now,” Yvette said calmly, lowering her eyes.

……

As night deepened, a chilling autumn rain began to fall from the dark sky. At first, it was a fine, almost silent drizzle, but soon it began to patter, striking the metal exterior and the cold glass curtain wall. Under the dim streetlights, it wove together into a curtain of rain that shimmered with a pale silver light.

The clinic was nearly empty on that rainy night, except for Goss Groney, who sat behind the counter inside. A man in his thirties, he had his legs propped up on the table, leisurely scrolling through videos on a hologram until Rosalind pushed open the door. Only then did he take his feet down and ask, "Young lady, buying medicine or a consultation?"

"Are you Dr. Goss?"

“Yes, you know me?” Goss smiled.

“No, I wanted to ask you why you reported Mr. Hoffman,” Rosalyn said bluntly.

Goss's smile vanished, replaced by astonishment and wariness. He rose from his chair, stood up, and said coldly, "What report? What nonsense are you spouting!... Who told you? Did those poor bastards from the Hoffman family send you to cause trouble?"

“I know it was you. I just want to know why you did this.” Rosalyn looked up at him, and although she appeared slender and petite, she did not look weak at all.

"Why do you do this?" Goss sneered, thought for a moment, and then replied, "Of course, well, for justice."

"Justice?" Rosalind looked at him incredulously, feeling an indescribable absurdity.

"A fraudster with no qualifications is posing as a doctor to swindle people! I stopped him. If that's not justice, then what is?"

“Shameless scoundrel! You’re lying! You’re just jealous that Mr. Hoffman’s business is better than yours, and his reputation is better too!” Rosalyn said through gritted teeth. She had already figured it out on the way there, but she still wanted to hear him admit it himself.

The night rain outside intensified, and lightning flashed in the dark clouds. Goss smiled contemptuously: "Even if you say that, I'm still doing this for justice."

Then, looking into the girl's angry eyes, he continued, "If this isn't justice, then why was my report accepted so easily? Why were the police able to arrest him 'legally and legally'? Why would a solemn national court, based on solid evidence, solemnly and earnestly convict him?"

“That’s because…because…” For a 12-year-old girl, it was too difficult to sort out the logic and launch a counterattack in an instant. Rosalyn only instinctively realized that the other party was sophistry, but she couldn’t say what the problem was.

“So, the answer is clear: Regel Hoffman is an evil criminal, and his wife and children are accomplices who benefited from him.” Goss shook his head and silently used his cybernetic body to issue a command, activating the store’s defense program.

"They aren't, and you're only reporting them to steal customers and make money!"

"So what if it's for money? Incompetent swindlers should go to jail. I'm just doing what's right and earning a little extra money on the side, is that so wrong?" He said nonchalantly, "From beginning to end, it's a very simple matter. Black is black, and white is white. And you, lovely little girl, what exactly do you want me to answer? What do you want to hear?"

"you……"

"And even if I say what you want to hear, so what? He's the one who pleaded guilty in court, not me. Go ahead and report me if you dare, but I do have a medical license."

Hearing these words, Rosalyn finally fell silent. Her fists clenched and unclenched several times, almost losing control and letting the magic spell fly out. She still couldn't believe that someone could be so shameless, making her want to cleanse him on the spot like a demon, otherwise she felt she was about to become deformed.

"You can't do it, Rosalyn, you can't do it..." She took a deep breath, her pupils trembling, then suppressed her emotions, turned around, and walked towards the door under Goss's mocking gaze, like a defeated puppy, utterly pathetic.

Outside, the night rain poured down, as if the whole world was submerged in a cold, inverted black sea. The moment she stepped out of the clinic, the cold, damp air hit her face, instantly making the girl much more awake.

Then, her gaze pierced through the dense curtain of rain and caught sight of an unexpected figure—the teacher.

At that moment, Yvette, dressed in a black dress and holding a black umbrella, stood alone on the sidewalk a few meters from the clinic entrance, maintaining a perfect distance from the clamorous rain, like a detached deity. Upon seeing Rosalyn's bewildered gaze, a rare and slow smile curved her cool lips.

"Teacher, I'm sorry, I..." Rosalyn walked over in the rain, lowering her head in shame.

But Yvette did not mean to criticize.

"Just now, you restrained your impulse and didn't directly tear down his shop. I'm very satisfied." She held the umbrella over the student's head and said gently, "As a reward, I'll report Goss for you. Are you satisfied?"

Chapter 27 Tower

A dozen minutes later, the sharp sound of sirens ripped through the silence of the rainy night, and a hovering police car, flashing a cold blue light, landed precisely in front of Groney Clinic.

Several police officers got out of their car, subdued a terrified Gos Groney, and then launched a large-scale search of the clinic. They discovered several gray transaction records hidden in certain magical terminals, encrypted with multiple layers of encryption and disguised as ordinary bills.

The crimes involved include substandard counterfeit drugs, addictive drug trafficking, illegal weapons trafficking, and restricted surgical techniques, among others, and the sheer number of offenses is shocking.

Faced with the exposure of these transaction records, coupled with incriminating evidence provided by a mysterious anonymous whistleblower, Goss, who had been smug and arrogant, collapsed as if struck by lightning. He was roughly dragged into a police car and suffered the same fate as Regel Hoffman.

Standing under an umbrella in the dark corner of the street outside the clinic, Rosalyn stared blankly at the sudden unfolding scene and said in bewilderment, "Teacher... did you make this?"

Yvette nodded slightly and said calmly, "In the Blackwater District, unless you're a saint, you'll have some connection to the gray industry, it just depends on how well you hide it. And unfortunately, I'm very good at uncovering these things."

Like Rosalyn, Yvette was also very concerned about the whistleblower behind the whistleblower as the Hoffman family was reported and torn apart.

In particular, the report occurred a month after she joined the clinic, and during that month, the clinic's clientele increased significantly due to the rumors of the "beautiful little nurse." This inevitably made her suspicious, and she wondered if the report might not have happened if she hadn't suddenly requested to stay at the clinic as a permanent observer.

Using her rune hacking skills, Yvette directly located the address of the anonymous tip-off letter from the police station, finding it to be at Groney Clinic, just 1.5 kilometers away, completely undisguised and without any counter-surveillance awareness.

Combining the information gleaned from Mrs. Susan, the answer suddenly became clear.

This was undoubtedly a very pure and simple competition among peers. In fact, Goss had known for a long time that Reger was practicing medicine without a license. But at that time, Goss's clinic had a decent clientele, higher revenue and profit margins than Reger's, and he was more relaxed, so he didn't bother to report him and make an enemy.

Recently, due to "someone's" connections, Reger has had many new patients, which is naturally business being taken away from Goss. Although his income is still higher than Reger's, Goss couldn't sit still as his clinic gradually became deserted. He directly sent an anonymous email, reporting the Hoffman Clinic.

And that's how things came about today.

To some extent, Yvette can indeed be considered the catalyst for the entire incident.

But this was certainly not her responsibility, and her actions in helping the Hoffmans find the whistleblower and retaliating in the same way were merely out of sympathy and disgust for Goss. She couldn't ensure that good people were rewarded, but she could make life less comfortable for bad people.

In addition, this is a rare opportunity for students to grow.

After all, in a wasteland world with only two people, due to limited conditions, Rosalind could not experience many of the setbacks necessary for growing from naivety to maturity.

Now, thanks to this grand dream, she has finally made up for some of the shortcomings, and she has fulfilled her responsibility as a teacher to some extent.

……

The autumn night's downpour came and went quickly. I hadn't walked more than a few steps on my way back when the sky cleared up, the dark clouds dispersed, revealing a silvery crescent moon, dotted with starlight, forming a hazy yet magnificent Milky Way.

Rosalind, who had somehow become an umbrella girl, folded up her umbrella and followed her teacher step by step.

Looking at the unfamiliar starry sky above her, so different from the one in her hometown, she suddenly coughed and asked tentatively in a somewhat shy and hesitant tone, "Teacher, did you... investigate Dr. Goss because of me?"

“No,” Yvette replied calmly, without stopping her steps.

"Really?" Rosalyn took two steps, turned to look at Yvette's beautiful jawline, her tone filled with undisguised doubt.

She still felt that her teacher must have done this for her sake. After all, her teacher was a reclusive master who had experienced countless storms and had long since seen through the illusions of the world. He even specifically reminded her that everything in her dream was fake. However, she still held a grudge about it, forcing her teacher to personally intervene and help her break free from her obsession.

"No." The answer was firm and unwavering.

“That’s it!” Rosalyn replied decisively.

"No."

"that is!"

"..."

Yvette glanced at her, then shut her mouth and fell completely silent.

Rosalyn didn't mind, chuckled, and strode towards the Wright Apartments.

A few days later, news of Goss being taken away by the police spread throughout Acid Street, prompting many who already knew about the tip-off, such as Susan, Hans, and Mary, to applaud.

Then, just like in the past, Groney Clinic also went bankrupt amid the whistleblower scandal.

However, unlike before, no one visited Goss's relatives to offer condolences this time, and Goss's fate was much worse in the verdict—although the illegal activities and gray industries he was involved in were small, the sheer number of them resulted in a 12-year sentence, more than double the 6-year sentence given to Greer.

On the evening of the day Goss was tried, the setting sun cast a golden glow, bathing the apartment's large window frames in a soft halo. Rosalind leaned against the window, watching Mrs. Susan bustling about at her roadside stall below, but her mood was completely different from what it had been in the past.

“Teacher, I heard from Hans that Mr. Reger Hoffmann was able to receive a light sentence of six years because a ‘kind person’ paid the judge and jury some money, but he didn’t know who did it because so many people came to his house to offer their condolences at the time.”

"Ah."

"Did you do this, teacher?"

"What do you think?" Yvette sat on the sofa, looking at the text on the holographic screen without looking up, and asked indifferently.