"What's the difference between Mercy and Compassion?" Bai Ling asked confusedly. These two words seemed to have similar meanings to her.

"I don't know much either, but I can tell you some information about them. Mercy, lawful good, can be disclosed, a Buddhist derivative anomaly, advocates helping others, actively provides material aid and spiritual support. Legend has it that people who have seen him hear a phrase: 'No matter where you've been lost or what mistakes you've made, at this moment you will be forgiven by me, your suffering will be ended by me.' These foods are made by Mercy's infected or followers. Both humans and anomalies can eat them equally."

"What about Compassion? It should be good too, right?"

"Good?"

Chi Xiaoyu shook her head solemnly.

"There's very little information about Compassion. Compassion, neutral evil, everyone who has seen it has died. There's no eyewitness report, but someone passed on a dying message through their contracted anomaly: 'Beware of angels... black wings.'"

"What about the others? Can you tell me more information about them?" Bai Ling asked like a curious child.

Chi Xiaoyu patted Bai Ling's head. "Want to know?"

"Kiss me here once if you want to know." Chi Xiaoyu pointed to her right cheek.

Bai Ling looked at the girl who had leaned her head forward, her face turning slightly red. She quickly pecked Chi Xiaoyu's cheek.

"Quick, tell me!" Bai Ling was now eager to know about the Blood Witch, as she might be related to her.

Seeing Bai Ling's embarrassed expression, Chi Xiaoyu couldn't help but laugh.

"Incomplete, neutral good, I don't have clearance to view, only know that she once protected an elementary school. Contract, lawful neutral, the parchments we usually sign are under its protection. Those who violate them will be targeted by it and punished.

Blood Witch, chaotic evil, once invaded E City, then disappeared. I wasn't present, but seniors say that at the time, a crimson moon hung high, and everyone who looked at this red moon would be contaminated, likely becoming infected. And from what the director implied, this Blood Witch was using E City as an advancement ritual, trying to sacrifice an entire city. But since we're still alive, she must have failed."

"What about the process?"

"I don't know either. The records only mention one line: 'I am the Blood Witch, guide of the red moon...' Then when she was halfway through her advancement, the line changed to 'I am the Crimson Queen...' and there's no more record."

When she heard that line, Bai Ling clearly felt a sadness from the depths of her heart, as if that failed witch was herself.

"I, I feel a bit unwell. I'll go first..."

"Eh?"

Chi Xiaoyu watched Bai Ling leave hurriedly.

'Is it because I made her kiss me, and that made her angry?'

In a small alley, feelings of sadness, discomfort, and loneliness kept coming.

"I am the Blood Witch, guide of the red moon, beginning of crimson, ender of all life."

"No, I'm not." Bai Ling resisted that commanding script. The voice kept echoing around her ears.

Just then, a female voice sounded:

"I am the traveler of time, the end of time and also the beginning of everything, the savior from the future and also a sinner, Sands of Time—Silence."

The voice no longer echoed around Bai Ling's ears. Everything began to quiet down. Bai Ling, sitting on the ground holding her head, no longer felt so uncomfortable. What had just happened to her?

"Are you still there? What just happened to me? What did you just recite?"

In the midst of silence, that voice reluctantly said:

"Good night."

○

Lin Bai's sister, Lin Xinyao, was currently scrolling through her phone lying in bed. The girl kept changing positions on the cooling mat, moving to a cooler spot when she got too hot.

"It's so hot, and it's not even summer yet."

"I'll see my brother tomorrow, heehee."

At that moment, in Lin Bai's hometown, D City, in a certain residential community:

"Ha— Ha— Cold— So cold, aren't you cold?" A man wearing a down jacket asked a nearby pedestrian. His body was shaking constantly, with an almost manic expression on his face. Strangely, his nose was continuously emitting white mist, as if it were the dead of winter.

The man beside him, annoyed at being asked, waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm about to die from heat, what cold?"

But when he looked up at the man in front of him, he immediately became concerned. I'm wearing a T-shirt and you're wearing a down jacket?

"Hey man, if you're sick, get treatment. It's over 30 degrees, and you're wearing such a thick jacket?"

The man frowned and stepped back to distance himself.

"It's cold— Ha— Really cold— Aren't you cold— Aren't you cold— Hahaha— How can you not be cold."

"Crazy person."

Seeing this, the man quickly left the place. After all, someone wearing a down jacket in this weather and shouting about being cold definitely had issues.

Returning to his home:

"You're back. I saved you dinner."

His wife had set a table full of dishes for him. Strangely, his wife was wearing pajamas. In this weather, wearing such fluffy pajamas would be too hot, but the man didn't pay attention. Looking at the sumptuous meal, he happily looked at his wife.

"What's the special occasion? So many dishes?"

His wife didn't answer, but urged the man to eat quickly. Seeing this, the man didn't pursue the question and picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks.

"Huh, why is it cold?"

"Is it cold?"

"Cold."

His wife revealed an eerie smile, and her entire body hunched over. She hurriedly found a down jacket and put it on the man.

"Ha— I'm cold too— If you're cold too— Join us."

○

After calming down, Bai Ling took out her phone.

"Huh?"

In the anomaly chat group, she found a video.

In the video, an old man wearing cotton clothes was sitting on the ground. Whenever someone passed by, he would shakily hug them, mumbling:

"Cold— So cold— Save me— Someone— Save me."

"Mental case, right?"

The passerby disgustedly moved his foot away.

But there were still kind passersby who patiently asked:

"Grandpa, in this weather, you're wearing cotton clothes, why are you still saying it's cold?"

The old man hurriedly stretched out his hand, letting the passerby feel it.

"Cold— Do you feel it— Is it cold?"

"It is a bit cold."

"Cold, right?"

"Cold."

The old man smiled and hurriedly draped his cotton clothes over the passerby.

"Eh? No..."

The passerby suddenly felt very cold too, his thoughts beginning to scatter.

"Cold— So cold— Ha."

Bai Ling watched this eerie video. Group members were replying to the person who posted it:

-Damn, what is this?

-In this hot weather, must be a mental case.

-Obviously an anomalous incident.

-Where is this anomaly?

Bai Ling hurriedly asked.

-D City, - the video poster replied.

My hometown? Bai Ling thought worriedly about her sister.

-Isn't this person from the Mutation Investigation Bureau? Why are you telling them?

-Oh well, I told them. It's too far away, and I'm too lazy to go anyway.

-Fine then.

○

[Brother, what's up, in the middle of the night?]

[Where are you?]

After confirming her sister was safe, Bai Ling relaxed. She couldn't use Bai Ling's voice to reply to her...