Chapter 112: Creating a Bottle of Life
Blackthorn Security Company.
Lu Ze stood in front of the company, scanning the somewhat weathered sign. A sense of emotion welled up in him.
He was already so familiar with this place.
Stepping inside, Rosanne was, as usual, sitting behind her desk, dozing off with a newspaper, her head bobbing.
He walked further in, greeting Xiga and Luo Yao, who were chatting on the sofa.
Crossing the partition into the corridor, Klein, Leonard, and Cohen Lee were playing cards in the lounge on the left.
Lu Ze smiled at them, then turned and entered Dunn's office.
"Captain, I'm back to work."
He said to Dunn, who was behind the desk.
"Hm, welcome back."
Dunn put down his pipe and smiled deeply, "Is Cecilia doing well?"
Oh right, my excuse for taking leave was that my younger sister was tired of school.
Lu Ze nodded, "I spent a day with her at home. Her mood is much better now, and she's willing to go back to school. But I've already requested leave for her, so I'll just take this opportunity to let her rest a few more days."
"That's good."
Dunn was noncommittal, "If there are any other issues later, you can tell me. Perhaps I can help. Haha. A nightmare that leaves a deep impression is enough to make those who like to bully others wake up."
Captain, you just want to find an excuse to scare a little girl and take the opportunity to act, don't you?
Lu Ze grumbled, but his heart felt a little warm. He knew that Dunn was concerned about him.
Leaving the Captain's office, he almost bumped into Klein.
"Why aren't you playing cards with them anymore?"
"I needed to see you, so I let the two of them go downstairs to play cards with Frey."
Klein said.
You needed to see me?
Lu Ze was slightly surprised.
Then he heard Klein say, "Melissa came home yesterday and said she was accosted by ruffians in Lower Street. Luckily, Cecilia passed by and helped her and her friend."
It turned out that after Melissa was rescued, she wanted to express her gratitude but didn't know how. After her two brothers offered suggestions, they finally decided to invite the siblings to watch the popular play "the count returns" at the theater this weekend.
"It's not just Melissa; Benson and I are also very grateful to her. If she hadn't been there, Melissa would have been in danger."
Klein said sincerely. Melissa hadn't explained it very clearly, only saying that Cecilia chased the ruffians away, so he didn't know how skilled Cecilia was, nor did he realize that Cecilia might have already become a Beyonder.
This weekend, huh?
Today is Friday, and Ms. M could make her move at any time. He wondered if he would even have the chance to make it to that day.
Lu Ze hesitated, wondering whether to decline. But seeing Klein's expectant gaze, he reconsidered. What the hell, if he lived, he'd go; if he didn't, it wouldn't matter anyway.
"Alright, I'll go back and tell Cecilia. We'll go together then."
He smiled and agreed.
What followed was uneventful, just an ordinary workday, though it might be his last. Under Ms. M's surveillance, Lu Ze continued his self-study, chatted with colleagues, rested, and exercised as usual until quitting time. He then took a trackless carriage back to his house at Narcissus Street 6.
Upon returning home, he suddenly felt that something in the house was different. The familiar and repulsive fragrance seemed to have faded considerably.
Ms. M isn't here?
An opportunity!
"Lu Ze, you're back."
Cecilia got up to welcome him. She had a hooded cloak over her dress and hadn't had time to take it off, as if she had just returned.
"Where is she?"
Lu Ze asked casually.
"She went out. She was just leaving when I got back, only a few minutes ago."
Cecilia's answer made his heart pound even more. If Ms. M had just left, then she had given him more time.
He had to seize this opportunity!
So Lu Ze walked towards Cecilia, seemingly calm, making small talk. Just as the two were close enough, he pressed the black ring on his finger.
The last chance the Goddess had given him, a chance to block Ms. M's surveillance!
"Swish!"
Dark threads broke free from Lu Ze's fingers and quickly wrapped around him. Because Cecilia was close enough, her body was also affected, enveloped by the black threads.
Blocked!
Lu Ze saw with the eyes of a Secrets Supplicant that the blood energy monitoring Cecilia was also controlled, and he knew that both of them were temporarily free from Ms. M's surveillance at that moment.
"Lu Ze? This is—"
"Cecilia, don't ask anything! I don't have time to explain! Listen to me, follow me!"
He had no time to explain to his sister. He quickly grabbed her wrist and led her straight to his bedroom on the second floor.
Although Cecilia didn't know what her brother was going crazy about, she still cooperated and followed his steps, entering his bedroom to watch him squat down and pull out a suitcase from under the bed.
A thick, pungent smell of blood rushed out.
Good, the preservation ritual was still effective, still very fresh!
Lu Ze immediately saw Mrs. Sharon's heart. Although it had been a few days, because he had used a ritual for preservation, its freshness was still sufficient, and its spirituality had not dissipated.
He quickly pulled out various materials from his embrace and began to prepare them.
Only then did he have time to explain to his sister:
"Listen, Cecilia! This thing can extract the flesh and blood that woman fed you, so you'll be free from her control."
"Lu Ze, you should use it first."
"Don't argue with me! Stick out your hand!"
Lu Ze interrupted Cecilia, grabbed her arm, and pulled up her sleeve. Looking at his sister's delicate arm, he felt a pang of heartache for a second, but still hardened his heart and cut a finger-long wound.
Cecilia trembled slightly.
Immediately after, he picked up a mercury flask, used it to collect the blood flowing from his sister, and then added various herbs to the flask. After the preparations were complete, he placed the bright red, foul-smelling Demoness's heart at the mouth of the flask.
The opening of the flask was very small, and the heart couldn't be squeezed in at all. Lu Ze merely managed to keep the heart stable and then began the most crucial step.
He recited the honorific name of the Hidden Sage in Hermes:
"Incarnation of Spirit and Numbers,
The source of all knowledge,
The Hidden Sage above the wilderness."
Indifferent eyes slowly opened in the invisible high sky, and an evil and frantic power surged into his body, accompanied by a vast amount of knowledge.
"I pray to you;"
"I pray for you to grant me strength;"
"Grant me the power to complete the 'Bottle of Life'"
Enduring the immense pain brought by the forced infusion of knowledge, Lu Ze continued to pray. He raised the dagger against the Demoness's heart, using the power granted by the Hidden Sage to engrave forbidden patterns on the heart.
Soon, the Demoness's heart became even redder, as if it had turned into a soft, living creature, wiggling and squeezing through the flask's opening, then plopping into the blood and herbs.
"Thump-thump, thump-thump."
Under the immersion of the liquid in the bottle, the heart, which had originally died, actually began to beat again.