In that dimly lit room of the Eye of Wisdom, the pressure in the air seemed to increase for a moment. The woman, who had been desperately searching for the 'Barbarian' formula, spoke in an extremely low and suppressed voice:
"I want to buy the ingredient. Please wait for a moment? I... I will arrange it right away."
From behind her disguise, Miao Miao looked at the woman. Her senses and knowledge of the novel told her that this woman was now completely helpless. She knew that Klein had already practically 'looted' this woman over the Barbarian potion formula. The only thing the woman had left was that 'holy whip.
Miao Miao noticed that in the original novel, this whip was sold for 850 pounds. But due to her presence and slight changes in the situation, the woman managed to sell it for 900 pounds.
Miao Miao thought to herself: "Butterfly effect! Even my small decision or presence is changing the predetermined flow of events in this universe. What was 850 in the original story is now 900. This difference of 50 pounds might plant the seed for an even bigger change in the future."
After that, Miao Miao did not delay any further. She directly sold the "Grass of Madness" she had to that woman for 500 pounds.
Now, including her previous 1460 pounds, she had a total of 2360 pounds.
Klein thought to himself: "Who is this woman? The way she keeps taking out rare items one after another and setting prices according to market demand, it seems like she controls the supply chain of some large organization. And that Barbarian ingredient... did she know that someone would be desperate for it at exactly this moment?"
The Eye of Wisdom was an extremely cautious Beyonder. He knew that many valuable transactions had taken place in this gathering and that Beyonders did not trust each other. So for safety, he instructed everyone to leave at different times instead of all at once.
First, he gestured towards Klein. Five minutes later, the Eye of Wisdom signaled for Miao Miao to leave. She stored the pound notes into her space ring.
She could feel that the Eye of Wisdom swept his spiritual gaze over her once.
Miao Miao smiled coldly in her mind: "Trying is useless, old man. None of your sealed artifacts or spiritual powers can penetrate the walls of my system."
With the help of an attendant, she left the room. She was still wearing the black hood of her coat and was thinking about turning invisible. But she felt someone watching her. It was Klein, who was hiding in the shadows and observing Miao Miao.
Miao Miao made herself invisible within the thick fog.
Klein was somewhat stunned, because none of his intuition worked on that woman. Klein hired a carriage and set off towards Minsk Street.
Miao Miao, who had been moving invisibly and climbing several walls, was reminded of her real world and her first transmigration. The red moon in the sky was somewhat incomplete.
When she reached about twelve meters away from her house, her sharp eyes caught a shadow. In a corner of the alley, a man was standing, leaning against the wall.
Miao Miao noticed an odd groaning sound coming from the man's mouth. His body was trembling, and from his movements it seemed he was losing control—just like a Beyonder does when they are about to Lose Control.
She had expected it to give off some familiar Beyonder pathway signal. But the result shocked her.
Miao Miao thought to herself: "Impossible! My glasses are not detecting any Beyonder energy or spiritual signs. This man is a normal person, not a Beyonder. But this physical distortion and groaning... this is not normal. If he is not a Beyonder, then what is changing inside him?"
Miao Miao, still invisible, moved closer to the man. Her instincts signaled that perhaps some hidden experiment was being conducted on ordinary people in Backlund, or that some special 'curse' was spreading that existed outside the rules of Beyonder pathways.
She thought: "From his condition, it seems he has come into contact with some evil force that has taken root deep in his soul. Klein has already left, but this problem is so close to my house... I can't just leave it like this."
When Miao Miao was completely out of reach using her special invisibility coat, that groaning man suddenly lunged directly at her.
She stepped aside and avoided the attack, but a sharp shock rose in her mind—"I'm invisible! A normal person shouldn't be able to see me."
At that moment, her system activated. The surrounding fog, the flickering gaslight, even the vibrations in the air froze in an instant. In this familiar Time-Stop environment, everything should have become motionless like stone. But Miao Miao's eyes widened when she saw—the strange man was still moving slowly!
Miss Assistant's voice was heard,
"Warning! The primary target of this spiritual virus is not you. It is actually targeting Klein Moretti. It acts as the shadow of his fate. This virus was born from the readers' dissatisfaction with the story and their negative emotions."
Miao Miao shivered for a moment. She realized that this virus was not part of any Beyonder ability, but rather a 'narrative killer.
Now, from the body of that ordinary man, not only was a green aura leaking out, but from his fingertips, condensed bullets of negative emotion were shooting out like rain.
Miao Miao was dodging with extreme agility. Her experience as a professional killer and spy was helping her keep up with this impossible speed.
A familiar crooked smile appeared on Miao Miao's face. In a cold voice, she said, "So what am I supposed to do? This is Klein's matter. He is the 'The Fool' of this world. He is used to handling his own fate. Why should I take this trouble upon myself?"
Miss Assistant, who was wearing a shimmering green gown, spoke in a slightly stern voice,
"Warning! You must protect Klein. This is one of the primary conditions for your return to the real world. If Klein falls under the control of this negative virus, the existence of this story will collapse—and you will be trapped in this fictional labyrinth forever."
Miao Miao froze. Her blue eyes narrowed. A spark of fire brushed against the edge of her white coat, but she paid it no attention.
She asked slowly, "So you're forcing me? Is your 'plot protection' more valuable than my freedom?"
"Don't you want to return to the real world?" Miss Assistant said in a softer tone.
"Of course," Miao Miao replied with a cold smile.
Suddenly, the green substances came out of the man's body, and he collapsed to one side. The gathered green substances quickly merged together and took shape. In the mist and gaslight, a human figure gradually became clear.
Miao Miao's blue eyes widened in shock. Her heartbeat stopped for a moment. Because the figure standing in front of her was none other than Sherlock Moriarty.
Miao miao instantly scanned the figure with her glasses. She had expected her glasses to identify it as an "Illusion" or a "Puppet." But she was stunned by the result. The lenses of the glasses couldn't find any difference. Even her spiritual senses failed to distinguish between this fake figure and the real Klein.
The victorious smile vanished from Miao Miao's face. She was completely shocked.
This is impossible! It's not just Klein's appearance his Beyonder aura and spiritual signature are exactly the same! Has the virus created a complete 'Shadow Clone' of Klein? Don't tell me this shadow is also Sequence 7…?
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