Mystery Paradise: Wishing Power Demon

"Paradise Sect?" A tall and a short person looked at each other, both somewhat puzzled.

Ailuodi did not elaborate further. Bringing up the name Paradise Sect was her idea. On the way back from the seaside cave, she suddenly thought, might not only she and Chaoyang be affected by the Evil God—if everyone who saw that green light was influenced, perhaps others had also been pulled back to the City of Defense 15 years ago. With their appearances and voices altered, the yet unborn name of Paradise Sect would serve as a beacon to gather them.

She stepped forward to check the girl’s condition: no serious external injuries, running a high fever, weak pulse, most likely infected with a disease. Angel also noticed a slender wound in her palm that was visibly swollen and red.

"When did this injury happen?"

"Four days ago... She cut herself while moving stones by the sea," Sweet Potato replied.

"Do people of your age also have to work for the Ransu Company?"

"Because there’s food given. Working for a day earns a piece of hard bread, and three days earns a copper coin... There are no other places hiring in the city anymore."

Ailuodi wanted to say something, but in the end, she could not bring herself to say anything. It seemed the boy’s father had died because of the system set by Bariff, and even though the boy knew that Bariff was one of the heads of the Ransu Company, he and his sister still did odd jobs for the company, only because they wanted to fill their stomachs.

They wanted to survive.

Ailuodi opened her waist bag and sifted through over ten contracts to find the one most fitting for the current situation—Chaoyang had prepared numerous unsigned contracts in advance, roughly divided into medical, food, and housing categories, the very things that people in an impoverished area most desperately needed.

"Sign this, and your wish can be fulfilled." She unfolded the contract in her hand.

"What is this... We can’t read," Sweet Potato’s brother bent closer to look, "and we don’t have any money left..."

"No matter, I can read it out for you," Ailuodi explained the content of the contract in detail. Due to the complex reality, Chaoyang dared not set targets too rigidly; for medical contracts, for instance, the aim was to improve or alleviate pain rather than cure entirely, because both of them lacked the ability to directly save lives or relieve injuries. "As for what wishing power is... you can think of it as life force; after paying the price, you will not die but feel weak, symptoms that might last a day or two..."

"Sweet Potato, this thing... we better ask big sis..." The older one hesitated. After all, paying with life force sounded somewhat Heretical Cult style.

"I’m willing to sign it!" Before he finished, the boy interrupted, "My sister can’t hold on any longer, I don’t want to wait anymore."

"Then... press your handprint here."

Once Ailuodi confirmed the handprint was pressed, she asked Chaoyang, "Is it okay for you just to see the contract?"

"Correct, the contract is established on the complete consent of both parties; I also cannot sign in advance," Chaoyang responded quickly, "It’s settled, the contract is formed; you can start the treatment now."

She saw Chaoyang’s signature appear beneath the boy’s handprint.

The subsequent treatment was a standard medical procedure. Judging from the swelling and high fever, it was most likely a bacterial infection; the most applicable solution was intravenous antibiotics. Additionally, her bag contained a plethora of common prescription medicines—including antiviral agents, disinfectant, cold medicine, allergy medication, and pain relievers—all of which Chaoyang had spent over two hundred wishing power to replicate.

Ailuodi adeptly set up the IV bag and then inserted the needle into the girl’s vein. Along with the antibiotics, she also added a bag of glucose solution to replenish the urgently needed various nutrients for the patient.

Seeing the completely transparent plastic bag and the medicine as clear as water, the other two were stunned in amazement. Despite seeing this method of treatment for the first time, nobody dared to voice any objection. Even those ignorant of medicine could sense how precious such a purely refined medicine was; it was not something ordinary people could obtain.

An hour later, the girl’s fever subsided.

Her breathing gradually stabilized, her flushed face began to fade, and her condition was visibly improving.

"Divinities be praised!" The tall one breathed a sigh of relief.

The boy was equally thrilled.

"Thank you, thank you, Paradise Master!"

Indeed... they didn’t even dare to hope for his sister’s complete recovery, a mere improvement was already tremendous news.

"Then, your wish has been fulfilled," Ailuodi took out the contract.

"Please take my life force!" the boy said earnestly, puffing out his chest.

Instantly, the contract turned into a golden light and, to their astonishment, disappeared without a trace.

In that moment, Ailuodi felt a warm current also flow into her own chest—not from some emotion, but a tangible warmth.

’Contract fulfilled, 56 points of wishing power received, I’m giving you a tenth of it,’ Chaoyang’s voice echoed in her mind.

’You don’t need to give me any... you need wishing power more than I do.’

’That’s why it’s only a tenth. I told you it’s an immersive experience; fulfilling a contract naturally comes with a reward. Besides, these are noted in the contract’s annotations, you can’t return it even if you don’t want it.’

A tenth is 5.6, which doesn’t seem to make much of a difference... Ailuodi, while packing up the IV drip, asked, ’Only 56 points of wishing power? That’s not enough to break even.’

’That’s how it is with mosquito legs; could you expect a malnourished child to have a strong wish power? So we have to divide the medicine into several portions to make a profit.’

The angel looked hesitantly at the girl lying on the bed. In a hospital, a doctor surely wouldn’t prescribe just one dose of medicine, given her condition she might need two or three IV bags to fully recover. But as Chao said, if they used all the medicine on one person, they would only make a loss in wishing power. Stabilizing her condition to prevent further worsening was already the ideal outcome.

’We should head to the next Wish Force Pillar location,’ Chao reminded her. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Ailuodi took a deep breath, pulled twenty copper coins from her waist pouch, and handed them to the boy, "I will come back in two days. Don’t go work as laborers for the company during this time."

"You... are giving us money?" The brothers were stunned. Not only did the representatives from Paradise heal without charging, but they were also actually providing money, something unheard of from any other faction!

"Didn’t I say already? It’s not just the plague afflicting your sister; she’s weak and has low resistance on a regular basis. It won’t do if she doesn’t eat properly. So... take this money and buy some proper food. Consider it part of the contract as well."

After saying that, Ailuodi turned and walked towards the door.

"Wait a moment!" The tall boy suddenly called out to her, "Will the grand Paradise Master truly respond to every Prayer?"

"As long as they genuinely pray."

The stronger the will to pray, the easier it is for Chaoyang to detect it.

"My name is Marei... I know many others who need help." He hesitated for a moment before finally stamping his foot and saying, "They might never have heard of the Paradise Sect, so their prayers haven’t reached the Paradise Master’s ears, but I swear, they’re praying every night for divinities to save them!"

’What do you say?’ Ailuodi asked.

’Is that even a question?’ Chao chuckled, ’Having these people come together on their own is much more convenient than us going door to door. Tell him to spread the word. I can monitor everyone’s wishing power from here.’