After I Fully Prepared for the Apocalypse, the Ungrateful Cried with Regret

Sherry Renner’s words somewhat aligned with what Mordecai Quinn, Base Commander of Meridia Base, had investigated regarding the Ziegler family.

That was, anyone who had come into contact with a member of the Ziegler family could easily be deduced.

If the Zieglers tracked her down based on Zachary Ziegler’s death...

”It really is a bit troublesome,” Nina Jacobs said.

”Just what kind of exciting things did you run into out there? I’ve lived this long and have never encountered a Ziegler,” Sherry said. ”However, I’ve also heard that some Zieglers conceal their identities and live incognito among the masses.”

The Ziegler family’s ancestral mandates on forced marriage and reproduction were resisted by some of their descendants. In every generation, there would be Zieglers who quietly left the family, even changing their names.

But the Ziegler bloodline could never be changed.

”If only my master were here. He might have a way to help you obscure cosmic divination, making it impossible for them to find you.”

”Does obscuring cosmic divination also use Talisman Paper?” Nina asked.

”Yeah, and it requires High Tier Talisman Paper, which I don’t know how to draw.

”In the past, my master and a friend of his both knew how to do it. But I thought it was useless back then. If I had known, I would’ve studied properly with him.”

Sherry could only regret her lack of skill.

”It’s fine. Even if they find me, they’ll have to weigh their own capabilities first.”

Nina’s words were also meant to comfort Sherry.

Sure enough, it would be safest for her to advance to an Advanced Superpower User as soon as possible.

Based on what Sherry said, Nina decided to go with her to the Argent team’s residence to take another look and see if there were any subtle clues left behind.

The Argent residence had already been sealed. It wouldn’t be rented out to the next tenant until everything inside was cleared out.

Since Sherry was from the Enforcement Bureau, it was easy for her to get the keys to the small building.

”York already brought people to search this place once, so there probably isn’t anything left.” Sherry walked into the courtyard, observing as she spoke.

”Yeah, but I still care a bit about those people whose Talisman Paper failed.” Nina also noticed that aside from some basic furniture, the place was practically empty.

Even the trash cans had been scrubbed clean.

”Anyway, the world is vast and full of wonders.

”People who know Mystical Techniques naturally have a slightly higher chance of survival than ordinary folks, so it’s normal to run into a few.

”Or maybe my Talisman Paper really did just fail,” Sherry said.

”You’re good at everything, except you lack confidence in yourself,” Nina remarked as she inspected every drawer and under the beds.

”Right, right, right, I need to be more confident.

”Huh? I actually found something good. Hehehe.”

Sherry fished out a smooth, round piece of jade from the gap beside the bed.

”Jade?” Nina watched as Sherry wiped the stone over and over again.

”Yeah, people like us love this stuff. Jade absorbs the essence of the earth and is good for restoring one’s origin energy,” Sherry explained.

Jade stones that had been passed down for centuries or millennia had the best effects, though ordinary people rarely encountered them.

”This piece in my hand is just passable, but at least it’s warm jade,” Sherry added.

”If I ever come across any in the future, I’ll bring them back for you.”

Nina remembered she had quite a lot of jade in her storage grid, though probably none with the hundreds or thousands of years of history Sherry mentioned.

”What a true friend! I’ll thank you in advance then.”

Sherry only took Nina’s words as a joke, but then she saw Nina pull a glass bottle from the top of the wardrobe.

The spot was incredibly well-hidden; she hadn’t noticed it at all just now.

The glass bottle was dark yellow and looked a bit old.

”It’s probably been up there for a long time. It doesn’t look like it’s worth much either,” Sherry commented.

”No, this bottle must have been placed up there recently,” Nina said, noting there was barely any dust on it.

”They put it there?” Hearing this, Sherry leaned in for a closer look.

”It looks like... a leaf inside?” Nina said.

Through the dark yellow glass, they could only see something resembling a withered leaf lying at the bottom of the bottle.

”Holy shit, could this be...!”

Sherry snatched the bottle, her eyes widening. She scrutinized it over and over, a look of sheer disbelief spreading across her face.

”What is it?” Nina asked.

”A butterfly...

”Not an ordinary butterfly. I suspect it’s a Soul-Attracting Butterfly!”

Sherry grew increasingly excited.

Sure enough, sticking with Nina always led to finding good stuff!

”The Soul-Attracting Butterfly isn’t a living creature. You can think of it like a piece of Talisman Paper.

”In the past, people would implant this kind of butterfly into the skin. After that person died, the Spiritwing would fly out.

”If that person was murdered, the Spiritwing could guide someone to find the killer.

”In short, it’s something used to track people down.”

However, Sherry doubted herself for a moment and opened the glass bottle to be sure.

”But this probably isn’t one, because anyone who can implant a Soul-Attracting Butterfly must be incredibly powerful.

”Plus, bringing it out usually means they’re currently looking for a killer...”

Sherry was still explaining to Nina when the tiny thing inside the glass bottle—which looked just like a withered leaf—actually twitched.

”No way...”

Sherry watched helplessly as the Spiritwing flew out of the glass bottle and landed squarely on Nina’s shoulder.

”...”

Nina stared at the Spiritwing. Its wings were transparent, faintly lined with red veins.

Was she the person this Soul-Attracting Butterfly was looking for?

It seemed determined to stay put on her shoulder.

”Sweet mother of mercy, who did you kill this time?” Sherry finally managed to say after a long moment of shock.

It didn’t matter who Nina had killed; what mattered was that she might have killed someone backed by a massive powerhouse.

”I don’t know,” Nina answered truthfully.

She had killed quite a few people, and she genuinely had no idea which one was connected to this Soul-Attracting Butterfly.

”Destroy it, destroy it now! Quick, get rid of it before someone sees and brings you trouble,” Sherry urged.

Once a Soul-Attracting Butterfly found its target, it became useless. After all, it was an inanimate object, just like a used Talisman Paper.

However, after a moment’s thought, Nina decided to take the Soul-Attracting Butterfly and store it away for now.

After all, she still didn’t know who exactly was looking for her.

Meanwhile.

Far away in a room at the South Riven Base, a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged suddenly sensed something.

Immediately after, he stared in disbelief at a glowing, heated pattern on the inner side of his wrist.

It was a butterfly that looked like a tattoo.

”Chloe’s Spiritwing... has reacted?”

A flash of anger appeared in the man’s eyes, mingled with a faint trace of sorrow.

”Father, did you call for me?”

A moment later, someone pushed the door open and entered. The rush of cold air made the older man break into a coughing fit.

”Chloe’s Spiritwing has reacted. It seems the killer is indeed at the City D Base,” Vincent Ainsworth said.

”It reacted this quickly?

”That’s great! It looks like Matthew Lowe and the others used the Spiritwing to find the killer who murdered my sister!”

Nathan Ainsworth’s face lit up with surprise. He had assumed their Tracking Technique had failed.

After Chloe Ainsworth died, the Soul-Attracting Butterfly had flown back.

The entire Ainsworth family was plunged into grief.

This not only meant that Chloe had failed her mission at the Riventon Base, but it also meant that she had lost her life.

Because Justin Stone was missing, no one knew who had killed Chloe, who was by his side.

Vincent Ainsworth had immediately used a Tracking Technique to deduce the killer’s location.

The results showed the location was towards the east.

However, when he tried again a few days later, the killer’s location had shifted to the distant west.

Coincidentally, they had people stationed at the City D Base in the east.

Suspecting that the person they were looking for was right there in the City D Base, they had sent someone over with Chloe’s Soul-Attracting Butterfly a few days ago.

Now that the Soul-Attracting Butterfly had reacted, it likely meant the people they dispatched had finally discovered the killer.