As Gao Wei stepped out of the alley, the surrounding noise surged abruptly. The worn street was filled with passersby of varied expressions, while farther off, vendors loudly hawked their goods, promoting their wares.
Tingen City was small—so small that minor merchants and low-ranking nobles sometimes had to pass through commoner districts. Naturally, when a noble's carriage approached, vendors and commoners would step aside.
Being struck and killed by a noble meant certain death for a commoner, with no compensation. Absurdly, the deceased's family might even have to pay for repairs to the noble's carriage.
Thus, Gao Wei, dressed in refined attire without noble insignia, drew little attention as he emerged from the dim alley. His elegant clothing suggested a tasteful wealthy man or a minor noble engaging in secretive business. Such occurrences were common in this era, and commoners, struggling to survive, had no interest in others' affairs.
"Where is this place.... Tingen?"
Gao Wei Abraham silently queried his main body in his mind. He stretched, savoring sensations absent during the billion years spent in the starry sky. Walking under warm, bright sunlight, Gao Wei felt a long-lost "joy."
Read this body's memories, the High-Dimensional Overseer told himself. Gao Wei pursed his lips, using his spirituality to probe the lingering spirit of the body's original owner, gleaning needed information and the cause of death.
Standing at the alley's entrance, Gao Wei was momentarily silent, his mouth twitching slightly as he walked forward.
It wasn't that he lamented his bad luck—the Abraham he possessed had no extraordinary characteristics. Rather, the Abraham had seen his killer before dying: a "Secret Supplicant" from the Aurora Order. Moreover, the Supplicant likely hadn't gone far and might have witnessed Gao Wei's resurrection from the underworld.
A Secret Supplicant was manageable, but the crazed True Creator behind them was unpredictable.
Why the Aurora Order? Gao Wei's expression grew odd. After a moment's thought, he turned back into the alley. Using his main body's vision to scan spaces invisible to ordinary people, the High-Dimensional Overseer located the Supplicant's traces.
"Main body, send me a Sequence 9 beyonder characteristic. He's here and may have seen my performance," Gao Wei said calmly. "Whether he saw or not, he must die. He's a Secret Supplicant. Even if he doesn't know what happened to me, the True Creator might cast His gaze."
A gentle breeze tousled Gao Wei's hair, carrying faint whispers that made him smile. He pulled a revolver from his pocket, snapping it open to check the bullets.
The revolver was loaded with gleaming yellow bullets, intricately engraved with demon-hunting patterns.
To onlookers, the revolver showed the Abraham's vigilance against potential beyonders. Yet, despite such precautions, this ordinary man had died to an unremarkable Supplicant.
"Even a Sequence 6 Spirit Guide would perish under enough bullets. A Sequence 9 Supplicant… I doubt he can survive," Gao Wei said. "The body's injuries suggest an ambush. He likely didn't draw his gun in time."
"But why would the Aurora Order assassinate an ordinary Abraham? I can't figure it out…"
The alley was short. Gao Wei "muttered to himself" as he walked, reaching the end in two minutes.
Ragged vagrants whispered on the ground, their eyes gleaming maliciously upon seeing Gao Wei—until they noticed his revolver, their malice fading and gazes clearing.
Near the vagrants was a foul garbage heap, with sewage pooling and a stench that deterred most, even police. Gao Wei gripped his revolver, signaled the vagrants to leave, and advanced as the alley felt more spacious. Aiming at the garbage heap, he decisively pulled the trigger.
Bang!
A pained scream revealed the Supplicant, rolling out from his hiding spot with traces of ritual magic, bleeding from an abdominal wound. His howls from witnessing Gao Wei's restoration nearly drove him to lose control, accelerating his transformation into a flesh monster. Gao Wei stepped forward, pressing the cold barrel against the beastifying Supplicant.
Pop pop pop pop pop!
Five bullets fired into the Supplicant's head halted his transformation, his mutated body collapsing. The main body's voice in Gao Wei's mind faded, leaving a faint connection. Looking up, he knew the divine war had ended; the Seven Gods resealed the barrier, blocking Outer Gods.
I must mask my Outer God characteristic with the Supplicant's quickly—the True Creator's ravings don't affect me.
The intense divine war, sparked by his main body, alarmed the gods inside the barrier. Adam and the Evernight Goddess would scan for Outer God corruption. Gao Wei sat, awaiting the characteristic's extraction, calculating the Evernight Goddess's return to Loen.
His main body could only seek ritual aid, while his avatar had to help Klein defeat the Lord of the Mysteries or prevent his emergence, undetected by Adam. He jotted notes, grateful for the Abraham's notebook, which suited his habit of recording from behind the veil—one of his few joys over eons.
Besides observing, he loved disrupting the Supernova Dominator's empires or, at the Circle of Inevitability's urging, ruining the Primordial Hunger's "meal," watching them fight.
"Time's up." Gao Wei swallowed the extracted characteristic, guiding it within. His pathway had two branches: one destructive, one ability-focused. Nailing the Lord of the Mysteries' coffin shut was a one-time chance, so he played it safe to avoid Adam's notice.
Detection meant game over, losing his chance in the gods' contest. Without supporting Klein enough, the Lord of the Mysteries would sweep him away. His body slightly lost control—a normal reaction to raw characteristic consumption.
A soporific breeze appeared; he ignored it, his second characteristic masked by the Supplicant's aura, undetectable even by Adam. Hiding would cause trouble. After stabilizing, he absorbed the potion, turned, and walked out, pausing at the bloodied ground, adjusting his hat, and entering the bustling street.
"Unknown Abraham, I've avenged you. Your body and name are mine," he told the lingering spirit. "I'll take your name, relationships, and fate. I'm Adrian Abraham now. Care for your family? Fine."
The spirit dissipated, replaced by a faint mystical connection to Mr. Door.
(End of Chapter)