New Century Warriors

Chapter 59: Turning Dark in a World Where the Pointers Don't Move

Looking at the dagger hanging in the air, Lei Ye suddenly felt a strange sensation in his heart.

Lei Ye soon found out where this strangeness came from.

It has no taste.

Of course, it's normal for a dagger to have no smell, but... he glanced at the witch sitting to the side. The dagger had been pulled from her filthy leather boot. Everyone in the squad looked exhausted, but they had ordered a deluxe barbecue set meal, usually bought to celebrate the completion of a raid. This meant they had just returned from a nighttime mission. The witch had been walking all night, and that kind of stuffiness was the most appealing thing. How could he not smell a trace of her?

Speaking of which, when I fry eggs in the morning, I can taste them while chewing, but I can't smell the aroma.

Lei Ye hesitated for a moment.

He grabbed her foot and pulled the boot off.

The moment the leather boots with mud spots on their surfaces were taken off, a wisp of white steam rose out, which quickly condensed and floated in the air.

Very good. Lei Ye, who hadn't quite grasped the meaning, looked at the condensed energy and roughly understood the principle.

Humans have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Therefore, it can be inferred that the sense of smell is sealed during the time-stop state. Fortunately, this sense is not very useful and has almost no impact on combat.

Oh no, this has a big impact on Raino!

This is time stop! Time stop!

The most unique keywords, the most frequent searches, the most virginal fantasies.

How can we do nothing at a time like this!

But Lei Ye had already done what he wanted to do most, which was to take off the shoes of that beautiful girl. He went straight for her shoes, but his sense of smell failed him during this wonderful reward time. How could he accept this?

"Hey," Lei Ye held up one finger, "I have a way."

Inside the inner pocket of that long coat was Lei Ye's storage bag. He searched through the trash section and took out all the empty bottles and cans that had once been used to store medicine.

Lei Ye held his leather boot in one hand.

By continuously touching the air, a steady stream of steam is created that floats out and condenses in mid-air. What was originally just faintly visible to the naked eye becomes increasingly dense as the steam accumulates and piles up.

Lei Ye held the empty can in one hand.

Back and forth, they collect the condensed energy floating in mid-air.

Such a rich flavor must be the essence of essence; he couldn't even imagine what a beautiful taste it would have.

Lei Ye screwed the cap on, and something intangible was quietly changing in his heart.

Everyone harbors a wild beast within them, waiting only for the right moment to unleash it.

Lei Ye hasn't had a good time these past two days. There was the Goblin Cave, then Loya, and then last night's deadly battle. He's been holding back his anger.

So now he couldn't help but have that bad thought: I've given so much, what's wrong with enjoying it?

Anyway, this is time stop, so no matter how bad he does, no one will find out after the time stop ends.

Now I am, the evil Raiyo, oh yeah!

In one fell swoop, Lei Ye stripped all the shoes off the female explorers who were eating, leaving none behind.

I also collected the condensed energy from all the shoes.

Finally, he placed all the shoes on the table, arranged the illusion crystal in a corner of the ceiling, and took a group photo with everyone who was eating.

Oops, failed group photo attempt.

Lei Ye had posed for so many photos for nothing, only to discover upon inspecting the Illusion Crystal that it wasn't even started; the Magic Drive Engine was in a stagnant state.

My buddy wasn't just playing with feet; he got some new information, didn't he?

Mechanism 3: During time stop, magically driven magical items cannot be used, but special magical items such as storage bags seem to be unaffected.

No wonder the watch on his wrist didn't move. It contained a small magical drive engine, so it could be considered a small magical artifact. If it were a purely mechanical watch, it could probably calculate the duration of this skill during the time-stop state.

Let's go make one then.

Upon arriving in the lobby, Lei Ye went all out and even took off the shoes of the saleswoman at the counter.

However, when Lei Ye removed the shoe, what he saw was a worn-out black stocking with the toes showing.

Lei Ye's heart trembled slightly. The guild had been very busy lately, so the sales clerks had changed several times. This sales clerk was a veteran in the guild, and she was the only one who had stayed at her post. Of course, she wasn't short of money to buy a pair of socks; she was just too busy to even have time to buy a new pair.

In fact, Lei Ye didn't have much contact with her, and he didn't even know her name.

But like most of the other explorers in the guild, he saw the saleswoman's dedication and knew very well that she was a true service provider and a truly good person.

He placed the shoes on the counter, and looking at the condensed energy floating in the air and the saleswoman's somewhat tired but perfect professional smile, Lei Ye felt a moment of disorientation and glanced at his own hands.

"What...what have I done?"

Power can distort a person's mind. Lei Ye never expected that he could control the enormous evil power left to him by Ye Lei, but he was unable to maintain self-control during the time stop.

Even if he realized this fact, there was no turning back. He was already intoxicated by this power; it was just too exhilarating.

As compensation, he took out his best pair of stockings from his storage bag. Although he didn't know why Raino from Line 2 would keep so many brand-new stockings in his storage bag, they came in handy at this moment.

He offered to help the saleswoman take off her old shoes and put on new ones, and also massaged her heels, which were a little stiff from standing for so long.

Oh dear, I've been standing for a long time, and I'm sweating a bit, even feeling slightly sticky.

Lei Ye casually wiped his hand on the saleswoman's clothes, stood up, and nodded with satisfaction as he looked at her new socks, feeling that he had done a good deed.

"Thank you for your hard work!" He snapped to attention and saluted.

Why not go all the way and do a good deed?

Looking at the pair of similarly worn shoes, Lei Ye calmly tossed the old socks into his storage bag, lost in thought.

Those of you in Hills who aren't sleeping at home are in luck! Boss Lei is giving you some perks today.

Lei Ye made up his mind and went to a clothing store.

He slapped two large gold coins on the table, then emptied the store of all the women's shoes and socks.

Along the way, he personally changed the socks and shoes of every woman he passed.

This was a huge amount of work and took Lei Ye a lot of time. While doing this, Lei Ye was constantly on edge, afraid that the time-stop state would suddenly stop at some unfortunate moment. As a result, he was actually giving out benefits when a woman whose shoes he was changing suddenly screamed and yelled that he was being a pervert. But it felt like several hours had passed. Even when Lei Ye couldn't find anyone else to change shoes with, the time-stop state continued.

"This filthy skill set is truly overpowered," Raino couldn't help but think.

When Ye Lei first mentioned the time-stop skill, he thought it would be like the world, where you could pause for a few seconds. He never expected it to last so long.

This guy is an absolute freak. If it weren't for Kermira giving him a powerful passive ability, he wouldn't have been able to fight back at all. His mechanics are just too nasty.

What's even more disgusting is that, putting aside the unbearable combat, if that guy uses time stop to do something bad, we're doomed.

Even the heartthrob Lei Ye became a beast of desire while in a time-stop state, so what if that guy, as the one who initiated the time stop, is a lecherous thief...?

Coincidentally, we're passing by the Great Baths of Hillius.

It is an enterprise under Lei Ye's name.

Originally, the Hills on Line 1 did not have such facilities. Explorers without fixed residences who wanted to take a bath had to go to more expensive day-rental hotels with bathrooms, or they had to fetch water from public canals to wash themselves.

But after Lei Ye on Line 2 got some money, he actually built a public bathhouse, which can be considered a benefit to the people.

As far as Raino knew, this large bathhouse was very popular among the female explorers of Hillius.

Although it was morning, there were certainly several women who had just finished their nighttime appointments washing themselves in the bath.

Raiyo, of course, was in a state of time stop...

...I won't peek anymore!

All the feet inside had been washed, and Lei Ye had no interest in them whatsoever; nothing was as interesting as these fresh passersby.

Although he didn't know if that filthy person was some kind of pervert, Lei Ye was a man of high moral character and would certainly not do something as despicable as peeping into a bathhouse.

But we must guard against such filth. What if he comes to Hillius and, instead of causing trouble, goes straight to the women's bathhouse?

In fact, Lei Ye wasn't just taking this opportunity to indulge in lust. While delivering shoes around, he also wandered around Hills, patrolling the area, but found nothing.

After calmly analyzing the situation, Lei Ye came to the following conclusion.

This person... is not here for the time being; he is doing something else. However, when he uses this skill, the entire world will be affected. Perhaps before this, Lei Ye has been frozen in time many times, but because he was frozen, he did not notice.

This was the first time Lei Ye had been affected by time stop while gaining the immunity to control effects. He subconsciously thought that it was Kermir's next target coming for him, but that wasn't the case.

But according to Ye Lei, that filth will eventually come.

Therefore, prevention is essential.

Raiye arrived near the cathedral of Hillius.

The church... was a completely unfamiliar building to Raino, because it wasn't on Line 1.

Churches and hospitals in this world are similar in nature, both being places to save lives, but they are very different. Churches seek out female orphans with healing talents and teach them God's doctrines and healing techniques in a way that is almost like brainwashing. When they come of age, they can choose to become priests and go out to work or make a vow to stay in the church forever, but in any case, they must give a portion of their earnings to the church.

Upon realizing this, Raino completely lost any affection for churches and never went there. In any case, he felt that unlicensed healers were more reliable.

However, Lei Ye heard that in addition to healing spells, the nuns also knew several other types of buff spells, such as [Magic Realm] which could enhance magic output or [Gate of Life] which could enhance physical recovery. These buff spells could usually last for several hours, and some well-funded explorer teams would come to the church to get a buff before going on a mission.

Lei Ye didn't need such a buff, but looking at the cathedral, he vaguely remembered that there was a kind of magic in the church that could make people clear-headed and wise. It was very uncommon and was only used in the confessional for believers who suddenly went mad or cried during their confession. He wasn't sure if anyone here knew how to use it, but if they did, it would be a very useful buff for him.

He pushed open the doors of the cathedral.

The cathedral is magnificent from the outside, but I never imagined that the interior would be as splendid as an ancient Roman temple.

Upon entering, a wave of warmth enveloped Lei Ye. He looked up and saw that each of the four large pillars of the cathedral was equipped with an air conditioner, blowing out warm air.

Come to think of it, this was all paid for with his money...

How extravagant!

Lei Ye thought of the priest; that matter never made a ripple in the end. And there was also Fu Siting, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. Lei Ye wandered around the church twice but didn't see anyone there.

This huge building is completely empty, with no one there.

It seems that the people of Hierius didn't really believe in gods.

A huge statue of a goddess stands inside the church.

She was a woman whose beauty defied description; it was a beauty that transcended common sense. She looked up at the sky with the Holy Grail in her hands, her expression carrying a faint sadness.

Perhaps this is the true form of the goddess who should have received Raiye. Indeed, she is much more pleasing to the eye compared to that blond guy.

Unfortunately, she died before Raino's story could begin.

Lei Ye felt a pang of sadness and took a closer look at the offering table beneath the goddess statue... which was covered with offerings.

Fruits, food, and sake.

These things were all quite ordinary. Lei Ye casually picked up a piece of fruit, put it in his mouth, and then looked to the side.

"Cough..."

The unexpected thing made him cough violently, choking on the offerings in his mouth.

In the very center of the offering table stood a short purple stick.

No...more than one.

Several short sticks of varying thicknesses stood in a neat row. If they hadn't been arranged so neatly, Raino would have found it hard to believe that these things were offerings to the goddess.

What kind of god is this again?

She is the goddess of love, beauty, harvest, and fertility.

Even the god of fertility wouldn't need to offer such tribute!

Not only were there short sticks, but there were also other things. Next to them were several uniquely shaped slime jelly pieces neatly arranged. Raino immediately thought of the slime jelly he had seen under the city wall, and subconsciously felt a little disgusted. However, considering that these were all offerings to the goddess, he shouldn't be using fakes. He moved closer to examine them carefully, and sure enough, they were genuine slime jelly products.

After hesitating for a moment, Lei Ye silently put the slime jelly pieces into his storage bag.

When I received the last piece.

Lei Ye hesitated again, holding the pink slime jelly in his hand, and remained silent.

He suddenly tossed his coat aside and stood on the offering table.