That evening, Guard Isabella walked briskly towards the changing room, ready to get off work and go home.
As she rounded a corner in the corridor, she happened to run into a familiar colleague.
"Veronica, I was just looking for you," Isabella warmly linked arms with the other woman, holding her arm close. "I made plans with Eileen to go shopping for clothes on Hundred Flowers Street today. Want to come along?"
(TN: 百花街 (Bǎihuā Jiē) - Hundred Flowers Street.)
"Uh..." Veronica glanced down at her arm held by Isabella, a flicker of awkwardness crossing her face, though she quickly controlled her expression. "Not today, I still have to work the night shift before leaving."
"Hey, didn't you start work this morning?" Isabella looked at Veronica, surprised, and tried tugging her arm. "You've been working overtime constantly lately. No need to push yourself so hard. Relax a bit today. Come on, let's go change together! It's rare for you to work the day shift."
"Next time. The Warden asked me to help him handle some matters..." Veronica offered a polite smile.
"Ooh—" Isabella immediately showed a knowing grin. "Got it, got it. Seize the opportunity well..."
"What opportunity?" A deep male voice suddenly sounded behind Isabella.
Isabella's body stiffened. She whipped her head around and saw Aiden just emerging from the archives room behind her.
"Warden!" Isabella quickly released Veronica and saluted Aiden.
Veronica glanced at Isabella and also gave a silent salute.
"Don't stand pulling each other in the middle of the corridor; it obstructs others," Aiden lectured expressionlessly.
"Understood," Isabella lowered her head slightly.
Rarely, she sensed her superior seemed to be in a particularly bad mood today. Usually, Aiden's attitude towards subordinates was much milder.
"If you're off duty, head home quickly. Be careful on the way," Aiden waved his hand.
"Okay," Isabella turned and quickly left the scene.
After watching Isabella depart, the "Veronica" standing there looked at the "Aiden" before her and nodded with satisfaction: "The experiment's effect is quite good. Not a single person could tell we swapped."
With that, "she" snapped her fingers, and in the blink of an eye, their appearances swapped back.
This was the effect of the "Existence" divine word taught by Sophie Carter: the power of the 'Double'. After mastering this power, Aiden began experimenting. Having finished most of his work, he used the divine word to swap "existence" with Veronica, then observed the effects through others' reactions.
"Sir, just now... being so intimate with a female subordinate, I feel it's inappropriate," Veronica muttered.
Do you have the right to say that?—Aiden immediately recalled yesterday's incident.
"You saw it too; Isabella was the one who hugged me just now," Aiden spread his hands with a smile. "I think not going to the changing room with her was quite gentlemanly of me."
"Sir, that's a crime!" Veronica emphasized seriously.
"I was joking, don't be so serious," Aiden waved his hand. "You walked around the Core Block too. Did anyone recognize you?"
"No," Veronica answered. "This ability is really amazing. Right after swapping, I felt like even the scent seemed different."
"And it can be used on objects too," Aiden nodded. "The experiment using the Amalgam Golem to replace me also succeeded. Unfortunately, the Amalgam Golem can't speak."
Sophie's explanation, coupled with an afternoon of practice, allowed Aiden to almost completely understand this divine word. Simply put, the effect of this power was to let one existence substitute for another.
At the initial stage, possessing only one divine word incantation, this substitution was merely "superficial," affecting the observed results of "existence." This disguise, like the "Concealment" power of the "Void" Authority, couldn't be distinguished by appearance, sound, smell, touch... all known senses. The disguise effect was much stronger than body modification. But it wasn't foolproof; once an observer knew the truth, they could see through this substitution of "existence."
Therefore, at the initial stage, it could basically only be used as a more advanced illusion. But according to Sophie, if progressed to higher stages, the effect of this power could become terrifyingly substantial, with the substitution effect gradually reaching reality.
For instance, if he used this power to substitute for some Passerby A, not only would everyone else treat him as Passerby A, but any effects he experienced during this period, such as injuries, could be optionally transferred entirely onto Passerby A after the power was deactivated, because these injuries were the results of external interference with the existence of "Passerby A" while the power was active.
The power could be used on a single target, making it substitute for a certain "existence," causing everyone else to believe the target was the substituted person or object. It could also be used on two targets, swapping their "existence."
When used on oneself alone, this power had almost no time limit. But when targeting others, there was a distance limit of about a hundred meters, and the duration would drastically shorten to two hours.
Sophie Carter and Susan Finger could continuously swap their existences because both used the power on themselves.
"Sorry, I have to leave you on night shift again today to watch Inmate 1562," Aiden looked apologetically at Veronica. "I've made you work too much overtime recently."
Although he had made a deal with Sophie, Aiden still didn't dare easily lower his guard against her.
Tonight, he planned to take some time to visit Susan Finger, who was currently playing Sophie. Just in case, he decided to bring the Codex.
Under these circumstances, he could only ask Veronica to watch Sophie, confined in her cell, a little longer. These past few days, to keep an eye on Sophie, Veronica had basically worked half a day of overtime every day.
"Sir, if you feel bad about it, just treat me to a meal," Veronica said, looking into Aiden's eyes.
Seize the opportunity well—such things actually didn't require Isabella's reminder.
"Alright," Aiden smiled helplessly. "Then after dinner, I'll head out for a bit. I'll trouble you here temporarily."
"Is it... something dangerous again?" Veronica asked, worried.
She didn't know what Aiden discussed with Inmate 1562 this afternoon, but she could sense... Aiden seemed to be preparing to get involved in risky matters again.
"I'll try my best to be careful," Aiden smiled and patted her shoulder.
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