The bedroom.
"Sniff, sniff..."
Cipher's nose twitched slightly, causing her relaxed expression to tighten into a frown.
'How... why do I smell such a heavy scent of blood...?'
"Sniff, sniff..."
Her nose twitched again. This time, Cipher snapped her eyes open and scrambled out of bed.
'It's not an illusion. Why did the scent of blood suddenly get so strong? Did something happen?'
Filled with unease, Cipher threw open the door and rushed into the living room. However, when she saw the scene at the front entrance, her eyes widened in shock.
She finally knew where that thick stench was coming from.
Standing at the doorway was Xiong Lei, his entire body soaked in crimson. His arms, chest, shoulders, and even his cheeks were covered in a horrific array of wounds. Some were jagged gashes where the flesh had been sliced open and turned outward, while others were puncture wounds and grazes from firearms.
Dark red muscle fibers and pale subcutaneous tissue were exposed to the air—a sight that made the heart skip a beat.
Blood bubbled out of these terrible wounds, trickling down his body and leaving a trail of startling, bloody footprints behind him.
In his arms, he cradled Luo Lin and Lin Wei. Both were unconscious. Though they had sustained injuries, they were mostly grazes—insignificant compared to Xiong Lei, who had essentially become a man made of blood.
Lu Zhaoran stood by the door, looking utterly shocked and paralyzed. Her right hand was still gripping the doorknob; she had clearly just opened it.
"Xiao Ran! Get Xiong Lei inside, quick! I'll check if anyone is following him!"
Cipher was the first to react. She shouted at Lu Zhaoran and bolted out the door.
Once outside, Cipher scanned the surroundings. Aside from Xiong Lei's trail of bloody footprints and a few numb-looking pedestrians walking down the street, there was no sign of anything suspicious.
Seeing no trace of the enemy for now, Cipher hurried back inside. She saw Lu Zhaoran examining Xiong Lei while Luo Lin and Lin Wei had been placed on the sofa.
"Xiao Ran, how is he?"
Cipher slammed the door shut and asked Lu Zhaoran anxiously.
Lu Zhaoran shook her head, her face pale. "Overclocked use of his ability. Massive muscle tearing, plus numerous blade and gunshot wounds. He's suffering from severe hemorrhaging. It's critical."
"He needs immediate treatment. I'm going to the basement to get medicine. Sister Cipher, keep an eye on things up here!"
With that, Lu Zhaoran sprinted toward the study.
Once she was gone, Cipher turned her gaze toward Xiong Lei.
"Sigh... looks like I have to use that function again..."
Cipher muttered under her breath, then let a lie slip through her lips:
"I possess a healing ability as powerful as Feng Jin's."
[300,000 Credits consumed. Lie has become reality. The lie expires after ten minutes.]
As soon as the system notification finished, Cipher felt a surge of energy—a power that seemed capable of curing all things—flowing from within her.
"It's working!"
A look of pleasant surprise crossed Cipher's face. She immediately began channeling that internal power toward Xiong Lei.
As the energy was consumed, Cipher could clearly see the wounds on Xiong Lei's body beginning to knit together at a rate visible to the naked eye.
A moment later, Lu Zhaoran returned, clutching a jar in her hand.
"I'll start the procedures... Eh?"
The moment she reached Xiong Lei, she realized his wounds were already rapidly healing.
Stunned for a heartbeat, she recovered quickly and turned to Cipher.
"Sister Cipher, did you do this too?"
Cipher nodded. "I have a friend who is a very skilled doctor, so I know a thing or two about healing abilities."
"This..."
Lu Zhaoran didn't know what to say.
God-tier speed could be explained by high physical stats. Immunity to a death curse could be explained by powerful items or blessings.
And the "stronger with more Credits" part was likely just Sister Cipher's unique-type ability—after all, while rare, strange abilities did exist.
But why did Sister Cipher also have a medical-type ability? Logically... a person only awakens one ability, right?
Yet, the fact was right before her eyes: she had clearly used a healing-type power. This forced Lu Zhaoran to believe it.
Wait... did Sister Cipher lie to me about the Credits thing? Is a medical ability her true power?
But if medical-type is her actual ability, where did that overwhelming combat strength come from? Can a healer be that good at fighting? Good enough to kill two A+ ranks?
Lu Zhaoran felt like her CPU was about to overheat. She stood there frozen, clutching the jar, staring blankly at Cipher.
'Hm? What's wrong with Xiao Ran?'
Looking at the dazed Lu Zhaoran, Cipher wondered in confusion.
Just as she was about to ask, the system's voice suddenly blared in her mind.
[Ding! Detected that Lu Zhaoran is questioning the lie: 'The more Credits I have, the more strength I can obtain.' Please dispel the doubt immediately. Otherwise, Deceitful Divine Power will fail, and some system functions will become unavailable.]
Cipher's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
What the heck? How did Xiao Ran start doubting that one? Was it because of what I just said?
Cipher's mind raced. She quickly pinpointed the culprit that had triggered Lu Zhaoran's skepticism toward her previous bluff.
Taking a deep breath and organizing her thoughts, Cipher reached out and patted Lu Zhaoran on the shoulder.
"Why are you just standing there in a daze? Weren't you going to treat Xiong Lei?"
"Sorry, I was just thinking about something."
Lu Zhaoran was snapped back to reality by the pat. After apologizing, she moved toward Xiong Lei to continue his care.
"Thinking about something? You weren't wondering where my healing ability came from, were you?"
"Eh?"
Lu Zhaoran hadn't expected Cipher to be so direct. She blinked, then nodded honestly.
"Remember how I told you Credits have a special use for me? Well, this is that special use."
As she spoke, Cipher reached out again. A flash of rainbow light surged from her hand, and the wounds on Xiong Lei's body began to heal even further.
Seeing this, Lu Zhaoran immediately understood what Cipher was implying.
"You mean... this medical ability is something you obtained using that credit-consuming power?"
"Exactly!" Cipher was very satisfied with that answer.
She crossed her arms, a smirk playing on her lips. "I can use my friends' abilities by consuming a portion of my Credits. This is the 'special use' I mentioned. Pretty impressive, right?"