A Desperate Gambit

[It hurts so much, so much, so much, so much!]

The moment Liuxia’s legs were attacked, her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground.

The young woman’s face instantly paled, and cold sweat beaded on her skin. She opened her eyes wide, scanning her surroundings, yet all she saw was an impenetrable darkness, rendering everything invisible.

[What kind of ability is this? Has it stolen my sight?]

[No, it’s not that simple. I just ran into an invisible, soft wall—that must be the person!]

[So, they’ve altered my senses?]

Just then, Liuxia’s keen hearing picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. The young woman immediately turned her head in that direction.

“Who… who exactly… are you?” Liuxia asked, gasping in pain.

She knew an enemy who hid their identity would likely not answer, but it didn’t matter; she only sought to buy more time.

However, to Liuxia’s surprise, the other party seemed completely unconcerned about their identity being exposed.

“Hmm, it hasn’t been many days since we parted, has it? Have you forgotten me so quickly?” The voice that reached her was the same familiar tone Liuxia had heard before.

“Tell me, on the surface, you’re a person now, aren’t you? But in reality, inside, are you still a foolish Goblin? Or perhaps some other non-human entity?”

“Am I right, Liu Xia…?” The voice finally revealed Liuxia’s true identity.

At the instant she heard those words, a look of terror flashed across Liuxia’s face, as if she were reliving a past, desperate experience.

“You! You’re the Investigator who pursued me before?” the young woman cried out.

“Ah, it seems your sanity is more intact than I imagined. I’m truly curious, you know. Last time, how did you manage to transform into such an adorable young girl while I was chasing you?”

“Did someone help you?”

“…” Faced with Investigator Liao’s questions, Liuxia clamped her mouth shut, refusing to utter a single word.

But at the young woman’s silence, Investigator Liao merely chuckled softly.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t say anything. I can guess, it must be Li Chunsheng, right?”

“Honestly, I never expected you to place such trust in me, considering I was disguised as Li Chunsheng.”

“I’d long heard that people from the Holy Temple use Goblins as raw materials to create various treasures, but I truly didn’t expect they could even make a woman out of one.”

“So, are you a real woman now? Or are you merely an Authority Artifact in the guise of a woman?”

“Heh heh, isn’t that much like a, well, a pleasure toy? Are the pleasure toys used by the upper echelons really so luxurious?”

Faced with Investigator Liao’s remarks, which were filled with mocking wonder and bordered on outright humiliation, Liuxia showed an expression of utter despair.

However, the young woman wasn’t concerned about her own humiliation; she was only worried about Li Chunsheng’s future.

[It’s over. The fact that Chunsheng harbored a Goblin has been exposed.]

[People from the Holy Temple will come to take him away, won’t they?]

[I’m so sorry, Chunsheng… Liuxia has harmed you.]

Investigator Liao, however, seemed to misinterpret Liuxia’s expression, believing her despair was for other reasons.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill anyone right now. After all, you’re a very useful bait, aren’t you?”

[Bait?] Liuxia’s expression froze.

“But it’s truly disgusting, isn’t it? Do you really retain memories from when you were a man? You actually managed to kiss your ‘master’ in broad daylight, back then?”

“He seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. It appears your master is quite the pervert, too, huh? He’ll probably cherish you as a toy…”

“Or perhaps that Li Chunsheng has a fetish, and you’re actually in a romantic relationship?”

“We are not that kind of relationship! You! What are you going to do to Chunsheng?” Liuxia finally couldn’t hold back, demanding excitedly.

“Oh, getting agitated now, are we? So there really is something going on, then? Those upper-class nobles from the Church and the Holy Temple certainly know how to have fun, don’t they?”

“Alright, I won’t tease you anymore. I’ll take you to meet your little boyfriend right now—you can die together!”

With that, Investigator Liao stepped forward, reaching out to grab Liuxia, who was still kneeling on the ground.

Suddenly, Liuxia exploded into action. Relying on her heightened senses to roughly pinpoint the source of the movement, she violently thrust her small head upwards.

[If it’s that Investigator, that position should probably be…]

[The place where ‘Shuanghui Ham with Fish Balls’ is located!]

“What? Hiss…”

Under the most intense pain a man could experience.

“Ugh…!” Investigator Liao’s eyes rolled back, and he instantly crumpled to the ground.

At that moment, the darkness before Liuxia’s eyes vanished instantly.

She looked down at the ground. Investigator Liao was lying there, frothing at the mouth. Perhaps due to the abnormal interruption of his Authority, traces of blood were even mixed in with the foam. He was clearly unconscious.

However, Liuxia did not attempt to deliver a finishing blow. The young woman knew that Investigator Liao, being Bronze-tier, was not someone a Black Iron-tier like herself could easily harm.

Her ability to injure him just now was merely the result of a calculated ambush against an unsuspecting opponent.

If she were to awaken him, she would likely be caught again on the spot.

[Chunsheng… at least you, you must be safe,] Liuxia thought, and with her newly recovered legs, she hurried in the direction Li Chunsheng had left.

“I must warn Chunsheng, and then we’ll leave together!”

****

Meanwhile, in the back room of the bar.

“Godfather… giving that person that kind of potion directly? Won’t there be a problem?” Uncle Long, sitting on the sofa, suddenly raised a question.

“That was clearly just a Goblin Awakening Potion. I doubt many ordinary people could withstand the process of forced awakening.”

Uncle Long’s face showed a hint of distress, but he wasn’t worried about Investigator Liao; he was regretting the expensive potion they had acquired.

That potion was one used by the Holy Temple on death row inmates, specifically designed to forcibly awaken them into Goblins, to be used as various materials. It was incredibly rare outside, with almost no circulation.

“Of course, only if he passes this test can we truly trust him. This is merely a token of allegiance,” Li Qiuyu said with a faint smile.

“If he can’t endure it, he’ll degenerate into a Goblin. If he can, he’ll become one of us, a comrade.”

“As an Investigator, he’s part of the system, while we are an external force. He must become a Wild Knight, like us, to truly become one of our own.”

“Don’t be fooled by the Holy Temple often asking us Wild Knights to do their dirty work; in reality, they will never truly absorb us into their inner circle!”

“What we want is to infiltrate our own people into their ranks!”

“If he can’t endure it, then his body can be used to create the next potion. If we keep trying, surely someone will be able to make it through?”

“However, I’ve been observing him for a long time. Investigator Liao has good potential and already had the possibility of awakening as a Wild Knight. I believe he’ll be able to withstand this potion, don’t you think?”

Li Qiuyu raised his wine glass and drank the last of the liquid.