Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

Chaoyang’s hand trembled, almost dropping the teacup to the ground!

"Hey, wake up!"

He hurriedly propped up the other’s head, first listened for breathing and heartbeat, then pinched her philtrum, but there was no improvement. What was this situation... illness? Poisoning? No, the contract was still stably connected; she wasn’t exhausted due to external forces.

Chaoyang reviewed his own condition and suddenly thought of something.

Could it be... due to a lack of wishing power?

Thinking this, he bit his own finger, placing the fingertip into the Angel’s mouth. The latter licked it instinctively, then began to suckle.

After passing a third of his wishing power, Ailuodi slowly opened her eyes, her complexion also returning to rosy.

"What are you doing?" she asked in surprise after spitting out his finger.

"What else could I be doing? You were lacking so much wishing power, you almost died. Why didn’t you say something?" Chaoyang frowned.

"You misunderstood." Ailuodi was stunned for a moment and then glared at him, "Didn’t I tell you before? Angels won’t die without wishing power; at most, they’ll be like ordinary people. Just now, I hadn’t transitioned and was still maintaining the activity mode of Thistlefort until my wishing power ran out, then I remembered this. Even if I had fainted, it would have been similar to sleeping, and I would wake up after my energy recovered."

"Now look at you, already short on wishing power, and yet you gave quite a bit to me. Demons aren’t like Angels; without wishing power, they will die!"

Although it sounded like a reproach, her tone was soft, without any hint of blame.

Chaoyang immediately understood why she had exhausted her wishing power — she was likely continuously using abilities similar to Spiritual Rhinoceros Vista or summoning storms, which could be used passively when wishing power was plentiful, but needed caution during periods of scarcity.

"Don’t Angels have much wishing power when they Awaken?"

"I suppose so. When I Awakened, other than knowing my own identity, I was almost no different from an ordinary person. The power I had was accumulated bit by bit over time."

So, if both of them were to return to their initial states, Chaoyang would still have some seed money, while Ailuodi would be completely depleted.

"Are you sure it’s okay to give me so much wishing power?" the Angel asked with concern.

"About five hundred or so. I’m left with a thousand; if I don’t use abilities, I can live for more than twenty days. But whether I share wishing power with you or not, such a small amount of chips is far from enough."

The enemy was a Primordial God, and currently the most effective way to strike was to use the power of the Rot Divine, namely thermonuclear weapons, which could not be produced with one thousand five hundred wishing power. Moreover, creating clones, Dream Entering Technique, and Spiritual Rhinoceros Vista all consumed wishing power. Regardless of whether this is a vivid illusion or time reversal, he had to save up enough chips before the enemy revealed its true fangs.

Without wishing power, there’s no room for error, let alone taking the initiative to intervene in the situation, to change the predetermined fate of City of Defense being overrun or to preserve oneself when disaster strikes.

Chaoyang had already realized that growth was the most important thing at the moment.

"Do you have a plan?" Ailuodi asked.

"Yes, the issues you’ve collected are indeed important, but we need to familiarize ourselves with the environment first. It would be best if we could sign a few contracts to quickly gather some wishing power." Chaoyang glanced at the sky; it was probably just past noon, and the sun outside was quite brilliant. "We should take another trip to the coast around four or five in the afternoon, to see what Ransu Company is up to."

"How about going to the bar tonight to gather information?" she asked with a smile, "And have a little drink to calm the nerves?"

"No problem, let’s proceed with this itinerary!"

...

After leaving their residence, Chaoyang activated Spiritual Rhinoceros Vista, standing on the suspension bridge between buildings to overlook the entire city. Their location was at the western end of City of Defense, which corresponded to the affluent areas of other cities, as could be seen from the well-kept condition of the surrounding houses and the dress of the passersby.

The belief columns here were also quite weak, mostly purplish and bluish, which indicated that most of the believers already belonged to someone else. Chaoyang was not considering them; he was only interested in quick money.

Towards the south and the east were areas mixed with bungalows and shanties, and indeed, a few unclaimed wisps of wishing power could be seen. The problem was that these glows were quite faint, almost hidden in the sky, indicating that the owners of the wishing power were ordinary people, incapable of bringing him much return.

But did he have a choice now?

No, just like when he arrived at the Magnificent Castle.

"Head south," Chaoyang said decisively.

Fortunately, he was no longer the clueless rookie he had been; he was the King of Demons.

"Do you think... that the double shadow in those lines of text could refer to us?" As they walked, Ailuodi muttered.

"Angels and demons? That’s an Earth concept..."

"But the other party is a Primordial God, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they could traverse all worlds."

"Hmm... you’re not without reason. But if you and I are the double shadow, what does that imply?" This was the part of the four lines that puzzled Chaoyang the most. It seemed like some kind of guidance, as well as a riddle. But whatever it was, there had to be a place to respond, right?

"It might not mean anything; maybe it just sounds good?" Ailuodi laughed, "I’m just getting the feeling more and more that angels and demons are two sides of the same coin, and they wield their greatest power when combined."

"What about pitying the world?"

"That refers to me," she declared without hesitation. "Angels pity the suffering of the world; it’s quite fitting."

Chaoyang shrugged, "And hate arises from the heart?"

"That’s a demon. Apart from you, demons have committed numerous atrocities. They must hate this world in their hearts."

"What about the causality that cannot be heard?"

"Hmm... Perhaps the reasons for the millennia of strife between angels and demons have been buried in the sands of history?"

"So these four lines are about you and me," Chaoyang curled the corner of his mouth, "It’s as if they mean something and nothing at the same time."

Ailuodi giggled, "We’re just guessing, after all. Maybe the Primordial Gods are just waiting to see us entertained."

"Not likely... Primordial Gods can’t understand humans, nor can they empathize with us." The warning from Shi Yin involuntarily came to his mind.

—— Listen well, only the God of Causality will protect you... It is humanity’s honor to accept Gui Yi!

Suddenly missing the annoying Slime, he found himself feeling somewhat nostalgic.

Where was it now? Was it still alive?

"Hey, Chaoyang, something feels off..." Ailuodi suddenly tugged at his sleeve and switched to telepathic communication.

The latter was taken aback. They had just left the "wealthy area" and entered the slums. In the dark corners between the houses, there were occasionally a few people lying in the shade. These people were emaciated, with yellowed eyes that followed their every step, their faces a mix of loathing and hostility. Even without communicating, Chaoyang realized they were not welcome there.

Was it because he came from the wealthy area?

Or was it that their clothes were too clean and tidy?

"Don’t panic, these people are weak and pose no threat."

Chaoyang looked up at the sky; the first glimmer of wishing power was about 500 meters ahead.

A wish of this level, combined with the surrounding environment, was likely a longing for food or healing from sickness. Both could be alleviated with money, which made them the type of wish with small input and quick return; the contract would be quickly fulfilled — not to mention, Bariff was not a man without a penny to his name. On the contrary, he had plenty of money in his wardrobe and desk drawers, as well as several opulent rings that clearly held significant value. For a demon, exchanging money for wishing power was always a profitable deal.

After passing through a dark alley, the two came upon a disheveled boy squatting in a damp corner, cradling a girl even smaller than himself.