Chapter 40: Losing a Round
A while later.
Night Lan sat on the sofa with a pale face, looking absolutely miserable after hearing the entire story from Hughes. This was the first time Hughes had seen her like this.
Usually, she either lounged around lazily or was lively with a cute smile always on her face, having a sweet tooth and seemed to be an insulation against all unhappiness.
But after listening to the process of the noble meeting, things started to take a turn for the worse.
Hughes thought this all had something to do with that Fraudster youth.
That guy seemed to have some relationship with Night Lan, probably more than a regular one.
Now, Night Lan looked like she had mixed feelings of anger and panic.
She didn’t seem to dare believe that Ulysses was in danger.
But once she heard Hughes’ explanation, her confusion began to fade away.
The entire noble meeting was full of abnormalities, as if a giant hand was controlling its flow behind the scenes.
First, the low-level handling of a reported noble.
Then the exposure of the Fraudster’s true identity.
Finally, the Fraudster’s demise.
All of this had an overwhelmingly eerie feel to it.
It was said that the exposed Fraudster ran outside and was surrounded by a group of experts.
Then, a female monster with strange bone wings appeared, causing massive casualties before being completely wiped out.
There could be no mistake.
This so-called monster was actually the Cursed Bird that Ulysses had brought with him.
And finally, Ulysses himself.
He also died there.
Just how absurd was this whole process?
At least, Night Lan thought so.
Why did Ulysses’ plan fail?
Over this month, Night Star had been following Ulysses, knowing his abilities and his perfect arrangement.
She even used [Probability Interference] on the success rate of this action, which was very high.
But at the last moment, everything fell apart, leading Ulysses to a dead end.
This was absolutely impossible!
Unless…
Anger flashed in Night Lan’s eyes.
“Ballad Conductor!”
Night Lan gritted her teeth and spat out these five words with a tone full of anger and resentment.
Dead.
The “main character” of her story has died, despite her meddling!
It was the first time with Lianhua.
And now with Ulysses!
Night Lan was certain that the Ballad Conductor had secretly struck down her friend!
Struck down Ulysses!
Just then, Sharon returned from outside and saw Hughes and Night Lan in the living room.
“You’re both here. By the way, I heard something outside. There’s a mysterious figure causing trouble at the Jinde noble’s territory, apparently snatching something, nobody could stop them, quite hilarious, isn’t it? It looks like the Jinde noble lost face.”
Hughes raised his head slightly, a hint of surprise flickering in his eyes.
Jinde noble was precisely the one who got the body of the Fraudster.
Had he just been informed by Night Lan, and now he was already under their nose?
Although he wasn’t sure what exactly was seized, his intuition told him it should be the Fraudster’s remains.
Was it Night Lan who did it?
No.
Night Lan was still seated here; who else could it be?
As Hughes puzzled over this, Night Lan stood up, murmuring dejectedly.
“Hughes, that Fraudster is my friend…”
Hughes was momentarily stunned, a sharp pain piercing his heart. His face turned red with shame.
“I’m sorry… I didn’t lend a hand…”
Feeling extremely guilty about failing to save a friend in distress just a few meters away, Hughes’ heart was instantly swamped by guilt.
“It’s not your fault. It was me who didn’t tell you earlier.”
It wasn’t Hughes’ responsibility anyway.
He didn’t know the Fraudster’s true identity.
Night Lan also promised Ulysses not to reveal his information to anyone.
Moreover, even if Hughes tried to save him, it would likely have made no difference.
If the Ballad Conductor really took matters into his own hands, no one could change Ulysses’ fate.
Now, Night Star had reclaimed Ulysses’ remains from the nobles.
The Cursed Bird, possibly a Star Eclipses, might have been completely eliminated.
It was a devastating defeat.
So, what was Night Lan doing next?
Ulysses was confirmed dead and couldn’t be revived by the Wish Machine.
Hughes was left alone.
Night Lan couldn’t leave Hughes.
She was afraid the Ballad Conductor might strike again, bringing tragedy to Hughes.
As for Night Lan…
Switching scenes.
Night Lan placed Hughes’ remains carefully and went to the rooftop.
Now she was furious.
She wanted to confront the Ballad Conductor right away!
“Wish Princess, where is the Ballad Conductor? Find him, this is my wish.”
[Impossible]
Would there be a cost?
Night Lan remembered what happened before entering this timeline.
Originally, she wished she could interfere in the tragedy involving the Ballad Conductor but was only allowed to do so after paying a price.
The spiritual energy required for the wish might not be enough.
“What can I give?”
The Wish Princess did not respond.
She wouldn’t acknowledge anything other than the host’s spiritual energy as a payment.
Thus, life span, emotions, and other dark bargains were out of the question.
Also, Night Lan’s other abilities inside her body relied on the Wish Princess, making those useless as well.
In this situation,
Night Lan had almost no chance against the Ballad Conductor’s power upgrade.
However, the Ballad Conductor couldn’t harm Night Lan either.
She vaguely sensed the Wish Princess’ weakness.
“Wish Princess, enhance existence perception, let me find him myself.”
This was the method Night Lan had just thought of.
The Wish Princess quickly responded to this wish.
The “existence perception” function of the [Existence Interference] was enhanced to a genuinely extraordinary level under the power of the Extraordinary Star.
It was on par with the complete version of [Existence Interference].
Night Lan rapidly released her perception, a sense of one existence covering the area and expanding continuously.
As long as there was any abnormality within the perceived region, Night Lan could rush over immediately.
But as time ticked by each second,
until dusk arrived,
Night Lan found nothing.
She couldn’t locate the Ballad Conductor.
During this process, Night Lan kept moving, expanding her perception range, even reaching the country’s border and entering the uncharted territories.
No matter how hard she searched, there was nothing.
The Ballad Conductor had disappeared like a ghost.
Realizing her own helplessness, Night Lan could only return to her little hut dispiritedly.
She wanted to calm down properly.
Not to mention Hughes,
as long as he was still around, Night Lan wasn’t completely defeated.
But she had to admit,
her capability to alter the outcome was still inferior to the Ballad Conductor’s ability to create tragedy.
How frustrating.
—
Inside Sharon’s mansion.
Hughes and Sharon were talking.
“So, that Fraudster was actually Night Lan’s friend? She must be heartbroken by her friend dying, right?”
Sharon felt pained for Night Lan.
Night Lan had just returned to her room, wanting to settle down for a while.
Hughes sighed softly.
“Take care of her. Now it’s late, I should go back.”
“Alright, stay safe on your way.”
Just as Hughes was about to get up and leave,
Night Lan came out of the room, with reddened eyes, clearly showing signs of crying.
“Wait, I want to go back with Hughes.”
