13 Mingke Street

Chapter 64 Awakening...Stronger?

It's getting dark.Karen sat at her desk in the bedroom, with a piece of white paper and a new box of paint on the table.After much hesitation,Karen still couldn't bear to use the box of paint, but instead picked up a pencil that she had previously asked Lunt for, and started drawing on the white paper.She first drew the eyes, then expanded to the other facial features, and finally drew the neck and shoulders.Soon,a "person" that Karen herself didn't even recognize appeared on the paper;even the distinction between genders was somewhat blurred, and Karen herself was not sure if it was a man or a woman.After finishing, she didn't bother to admire it herself, but instead flipped the paper over, facing it downwards.If another psychologist were standing here at this moment, they could analyze Karen's psychological state through this drawing, but Karen had no interest in doing a self-analysis.

"Bro, do you need me to pour you a glass of water?" Lunt, lying on the bed playing with cards, asked."Okay."Lunt got off the bed, walked out of the bedroom, and soon came back with a glass of ice water, placing it on Karen's desk."Bro, are you feeling down?""No." Karen shook his head, "Maybe just feeling a bit bored.""Then this card is for you."Lunt placed a card in front of Karen. It was a beautifully printed card with a full moon on it, labeled with "Moonlight Purification, can dispel all negative attribute magic effects."Lunt had a stack of similar cards in his hand. This was one of the most popular toys among male students of his age in recent years. Lunt spent more than half of his pocket money every month collecting these cards.Karen could understand this. In his past life, he also bought many packs of instant noodles to collect these types of cards when he was a child."Thank you."

"You're welcome, bro." Lunt lay back in his bed.Karen took a few sips of ice water, leaned back against the chair, and stretched lazily with her hands supporting her."I'm going out for some fresh air, want to join me?"Lunt asked curiously, "Will grandpa come with us?""We can go ask him together."Lunt stuck out his tongue, "Bro, I don't want to take that risk."The family's reverence for grandpa was deeply ingrained."Here, bro, take another card." Lunt pulled out another card and handed it to Karen.Karen took it, and on the card was a drawing of a person with a shadow stretching out to the side.

"Shadow Guardian - Summon a black figure to accompany you."Karen asked, "You gave me two, are you willing?"Lunt laughed, "Some cards are easier to obtain, not difficult to collect. I have many of the same ones.""Well, that's good."Karen walked out of the bedroom, the door to her grandfather's study was open and she could see Uncle Mason's figure inside. He was standing on a ladder, changing the light bulbs.Karen walked in and helped her uncle hold the ladder.Uncle Mason said as he changed the light bulbs, "Mr. Longmar, an old church member, is on his deathbed. Mrs. Longmar called to ask your grandfather to pray for him. Young Mr. Longmar personally came to pick him up.""Grandfather is really hardworking." Karen said."Who says he isn't? Half of the stable business at home is thanks to your grandfather's reputation. Okay, it's changed."Uncle Mason came down from the ladder and walked to the switch, turning on the lights.

"By the way, Karen, do you want to have a late night snack? Your aunt just bought a box of canned sardines for the two of us this afternoon.""That's great, but I'm not hungry right now. It would be a crime to eat canned sardines when I'm not hungry. So, I plan to go for a walk.""Oh, then you're really missing out." Uncle Mason said with some regret. "You know, the time our family allows us to open canned sardines is actually very short, especially after winter when we can't open all the windows for ventilation. They often think we're setting off poison gas bombs. Sigh, poor people can never understand the true essence of good food, right?""Yes, let's mourn for the sardines that have lost their soulmates."Karen pretended to be sorry and walked out of the study and downstairs.Upstairs at the dining table, Aunt Winnie and Aunt Mary were quietly arguing over a certain item on the bill. They didn't notice Karen when she came downstairs.In the quiet living room on the first floor, only the light at the staircase was on, so the corners of the room were dark and could easily trigger many thoughts for outsiders.Karen looked at the living room door, but instead of rushing out, she went into the basement and stood in front of her aunt's workshop.The two bodies of the welfare recipients lying inside had been preliminarily processed by her aunt. The magician was wearing a cheap suit, while Mandira had been changed into a red dress by her aunt.Karen looked at Mandira, and after a while, Mandira seemed to sense something and sat up from the steel bed.

"Are you bored staying here? Shall we go out for a walk together?"Tomorrow morning, these two bodies will be placed on the first floor one after another. After completing the procedures and taking photos, they will be sent to Paul's crematorium for cremation.Karen walked to the living room on the first floor and, after making sure that no one from the family was coming down, Mandy followed her. She was wearing a long dress and had makeup on, giving off a gentle and quiet vibe.As soon as they walked out of the gate, Karen saw a figure in a red suit walking towards them. It was Alfred.Alfred saw Karen and also noticed Mandy standing behind her. He couldn't help but think to himself:Oh my, is this the quirk that only great beings possess? Going out for a walk with a deceased person in the middle of the night?"Young master."Alfred greeted Karen.Karen didn't expect Alfred to come at such a late hour. If he had come out a little earlier, he wouldn't have had to "call" Mandy to accompany him."Why did you come?"

"It's like this, young master. I have already found some clues about the circus, so I have come to report to you. They haven't actually left the city of Luo Jia, but are hiding in a farm, keeping an eye on the wind direction. I will continue to use my connections to keep an eye on them and gather more information.""Okay, for the information, send a copy to Mr. Dis as well.""Yes, I understand. Should I go report to Mr. Dis now?"Alfred felt like he shouldn't be the third wheel, even though the young master's female companion for the evening...was a corpse."Grandfather is not here, he went to Mr. Longmar's house to pray.""Mr. Longmar?" Alfred chewed on the name."He should be just an ordinary believer," Karen said."Okay, I understand, young master."Dis had told him, there were only seven days left, and it was almost midnight, so there were only six days left.In this precious countdown, Dis deliberately went to an ordinary believer's house at night to complete the duties of an ordinary priest.

Is it difficult to understand? No, it's easy to understand because that's just how Dis behaves."Alfred, have you been to Wien?" Karen asked as she walked forward."I have, Wien is a fascinating country." Alfred replied as he followed along.He answered simply because he knew that even if the young master had not been to Wien, he would surely have found ways to learn about it.The intention of the question was to suggest in a less direct way: Why don't you come for a walk with me?One person, two people, three people on a stroll.Karen walked in the middle, Alfred half a step behind and to the side, while Mandira followed steadily behind Karen's steps.For the rest of the way, Karen didn't initiate any more conversation, Alfred wisely remained silent, and Mandira certainly wouldn't suddenly say:Oh, the moonlight tonight is lovely.They entered a small park on Minke Street, which was actually just a slightly larger open space with a few bonsai trees and a couple of benches.

Karen sat down on the bench, with Alfred sitting next to her.Originally, in her mind, Karen also gestured for Mandira to sit down, and Mandira accepted the gesture, walked to Karen's front, turned around and sat directly on Karen's lap.If Karen were to reach out and embrace her, it would be a typical ambiguous sitting position between lovers.Alfred's eyelids twitched slightly, but he quickly looked away and gazed at the dim streetlights across the street. What a beautiful view, these streetlights truly reflect the wonder of the Creator.Karen didn't expect Mandira to choose to sit like this either. Her aunt couldn't possibly have dressed her in thick clothes, and whether the body was afraid of the cold was another matter. In any case, under normal circumstances, they couldn't complain to their aunt.So, with Mandira only wearing a skirt, Karen felt a very cold touch, and her muscles had long since stiffened, making it uncomfortable, as if she was being leaned on by someone with all their muscles.Mandira, go sit over there.Karen thought to herself.Mandira stood up and walked to the bench on the opposite side, facing Karen and Alfred."Alfred," Karen called out.

"Um, sir?" Alfred, still immersed in the artistic beauty of the street lamp designer, almost didn't react."Can Mandira maintain this state?" Karen asked."No, because the spiritual energy stored in a person's body is limited."Alfred's eyes began to turn red as he pointed to Mandira and continued to explain to Karen:"I can clearly see the 'saliva' left by the seductive demon on Miss Mandira, which is a formation. The purpose of this formation is to better preserve the spiritual energy in Miss Mandira's body and make it easier to control.In general, Miss Mandira's spiritual energy will still be in a state of continuous decline, but the presence of the formation on her body will slow down this process.On a smaller scale, the formation on Miss Mandira's body actually wears out faster and needs to be recharged every once in a while, like putting on makeup.I have already seen signs of the formation peeling off on Miss Mandira's body. Perhaps tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, she can still come out for a walk with you like tonight, but tomorrow she may walk with a limp and the day after tomorrow her walking posture may be strange. The day after that, Miss Mandira may only be able to crawl behind you.In the future, as the formation completely dissipates, she will probably be like those ordinary people who have been 'awakened' by you in the past, waking up for a while and then returning to silence.""So, this state cannot be sustained indefinitely?"

"Yes, because this is a consumable item, I guess Miss Mandila should naturally belong to the category of people with strong spirituality. This type of person is actually very suitable for entering the religious circle for purification. The seductive demon from the circus probably also saw this point and chose her as the object to be sacrificed and controlled. In his eyes, Miss Mandila should be a very good material.""What about Miss Molly, is she the one you 'resurrected'?""No, no, no, it's not Miss Molly that I resurrected, but because of her family background, she has some special inherited traits in her bloodline, although very weak, and even that family has long been extinct, but...""Reversion?" Karen said."This description is very appropriate, probably. In addition, Miss Molly had a chance encounter with a source of pollution, which caused her to be contaminated early on. Even if there was no car accident, she was destined to gradually become a demon after being deeply polluted.I just helped her with some simple nurturing after her car accident, and more importantly, I took care of her thoughts and consciousness. After the successful transformation into a demon, she wouldn't become mentally disturbed and turn into a madman.Fortunately, Miss Molly has always been very emotional. Although she may scare some thieves to death without hesitation, overall, she has a normal person's logical thinking ability. The only flaw is that she can be emotionally unstable.But, people who are impulsive and emotionally out of control are also common in normal society, aren't they?""In this way, Miss Molly and Miss Mandila are completely different.""Yes, Miss Mandila is a true transformation after death, while Miss Molly was already a half-demon, half-human being before the car accident."

"Also, that seductive demon only controls Miss Mandira's body through a simple formation, allowing her to repeatedly perform on stage with some mechanical movements.His methods are different from yours, Master, in terms of 'awakening'. In my opinion, your ability is more similar to that of a judge in the Order of the Gods, which is to rekindle the remaining spirituality in a corpse, a natural way of 'awakening'. Whereas the seductive demon is more like hypnosis.""Does spirituality only deplete over time?" Karen asked. "And is this depletion irreversible?"Alfred fell into deep thought and after a while, he cautiously replied:"To be honest, these kinds of questions are better suited for the black cat at home. I swear, your black cat is the most knowledgeable in this world... for a cat.""There are some things I feel are more appropriate to ask you, because I believe Alfred will always stand by my side.""!!!" Alfred."Yes, Master, I will always be your most loyal servant." Alfred took out a cigarette and handed it to Karen.Karen waved it away and said, "You can smoke it yourself.""Of course, Master."

Excited, Alfred lit a cigarette for himself. At the same time, a new mural idea came to his mind. When the great being wanted to smoke, his loyal servant Alfred would light the lighter for him. God said, "Let there be light," and Alfred helped God create the light. Alfred was so excited that he forgot to exhale the smoke after taking a few puffs. He was a very rational, thoughtful, and wise person, but often, when he hit his high point, he would have a strong reaction that ordinary people couldn't understand."Master, about your previous question, I don't think it's absolute. Perhaps I need to correct my previous description. Some people who were powerful during their lifetime, if their bodies are well preserved after death, their spiritual power will be abundant. In addition, the ritual of the Order of the Awakening is to awaken the dead, and these awakened corpses inherit some of their memories from their lifetime, meaning they see themselves as their former selves.This also brings a limitation, that is, if a powerful enough corpse is awakened, not only do they have a deep accumulation, but their self-awareness from their lifetime is also partially restored. They can even continue to cultivate and supplement themselves like they did in their lifetime...However, the latter cultivation will definitely have some specific changes, which also involves some adaptation issues. But theoretically, it is possible to achieve it with a certain probability."

But the problem is, the powerful corpses before death are materials that all major churches will actively reclaim. After the core members of the orthodox church die, their bodies cannot be disposed of at will. There will be people from the management department to reclaim and place them.Moreover,The most important thing is,I have heard... well, this is also easy to understand;That is, the more powerful and well-preserved the body is before death, the more difficult it is to 'awaken' him.Because this requires the caster to pay a geometrically increased cost to maintain, no less than... another form of divine descent ritual.Take Lord Dis as an example..."Pausing for a moment, Alfred immediately shook his head:"You can't use Lord Dis as an example, he is a special extreme example that destroys the sense of substitution.Take a normal order god judge as an example, it is not difficult for him to 'awaken' the body of an ordinary person.

"Reviving a corpse with a strong spiritual presence during their lifetime will increase the difficulty;Reviving a being who was a demon or of another race, or a clergy member with a belief system, will come at a higher cost;And reviving a powerful being from their lifetime...there is a high chance of failure and draining oneself in the process.Just like a divine ritual, often the result of failure is the ritual leader becoming a sacrifice.So, young master..."At this point,Alfred suddenly stopped, then turned to look at his young master with a look of excitement."This doesn't make sense, young master. You haven't gone through purification, entered the system of the divine cult, or established your own belief system. In a way, you are just an ordinary person.But you were able to 'revive' the corpse at this moment, which means your burden in this matter will be much smaller compared to other judges."To give an inappropriate example,

It's like someone with a monthly salary of 3,000 Lu coins buying a radio for 800 Lu coins.But the young master of the house, with a monthly allowance of only 300 Lu coins, can buy the same radio for only 80 Lu coins.So, although the young master's income is low, the purchasing power he can achieve is the same.This means that when the young master enters the workforce and receives a normal monthly salary, he can spend 10 times more than people in the same level!As for why the shop owner is willing to sell a radio to the young master for only 80 Lu coins?This is difficult to explain, but also easy to explain;Because it is human nature to "deify" everything that cannot be explained,It can only be said that the young master can rely on his identity as a cultist to get the lowest discount.Even more exaggerated and irresponsible is a bold assumption... In fact, when the young master went to buy the handprint, the shop owner didn't even take the money for the radio. The 80 Lu coins were not for the shop owner, but for the taxi fare when the young master went to and from the shop."So, is this the reason why you wanted to take a walk tonight, young master?" Alfred faced Karen, his butt already off the bench, almost in a half-squatting position.

"I have been thinking about this question," Karen said, "If I really have a natural affinity with corpses, as Pu'er said, and possess a certain characteristic that allows me to write out the answer to the question myself.Does this mean that I can go and find some well-preserved and strong corpses to help them resurrect?In this way, can I have a very powerful bodyguard?Of course, not only will I gain immediate combat strength, but also experience, wisdom, and performance in certain special abilities."Dis promised himself that he would not die in six days;But when he went to Vienna, how could he ensure his absolute safety?After all, he was used to the absolute guarantee from Dis, and once he lost it, he would definitely feel uncomfortable.Naturally, he thought about his own special ability.These corpses are hard to find, one reason is the degree of preservation, and the other is the religious recovery system. Even the corpses of demons and other races are materials that each group fights for.But, if you look for it, there is always a chance to find it, isn't death unpredictable? Who knows where they will die for no reason?

"Master, your idea is truly amazing and great." Alfred exclaimed excitedly, "When we arrive in Wien, I will immediately start searching for suitable targets. We can conduct experiments in places like ancient tombs, decaying religious tombs, and even the Wien royal family's museum, which houses several well-preserved mummies. We can try them all."Karen nodded, this was his idea."It's getting late, let's go home." Karen said, the conversation was over and the specific execution after arriving in Wien would rely on Alfred. Even before Karen went to Wien, the obedient and sensible Alfred would probably start planning and arranging in advance.The three of them returned home together, luckily no one was on the first floor so Miss Mandira could enter normally. For many years, Puer had only been allowed to talk to Dis at home and not to anyone else. Karen was the same, he couldn't take Mandira's body to show his uncle and aunt, it would go against Dis's orders.Karen didn't rush to go to the basement, instead he pointed to the coffin that would be used tomorrow and signaled for Mandira to lie down inside. After she lay down, Karen stood by the coffin and asked in his mind:

"Would you like to be buried?""It's cold outside...but warm here...""Okay."Karen nodded and turned to Alfred, saying, "Before you leave, leave a stack of money and a letter at the entrance of my living room, saying it's for the burial of Mandira.""Okay, young master, I understand."Karen lightly tapped the side of the coffin and said, "Alright, you can go back and rest now. Tomorrow, you will be buried and I will personally come to bid you farewell and mourn for you."Mandira walked out of the coffin and headed straight for the stairs leading to the basement. But halfway there, she suddenly turned around and walked back towards Karen. She leaned in and lightly kissed Karen's face before turning around and walking back into the basement.Karen stood frozen in place, his fingers tracing the spot where he was just kissed.Alfred exclaimed, "Young master, your charm is truly unstoppable, even in life and death!"

Karen turned to look at Alfred, her expression serious:"She was sitting across from us in the park and overheard our entire conversation.For example, earlier when I gave her the command to go back to the basement, she voluntarily turned around and kissed me.This means that we excitedly 'awakened' a powerful corpse from its former life, and the first thing it might do after being revived is turn around and kill us.She's reminding me."