Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

The Trinity's suppression forces were highly efficient; the flames were brought under control, the remaining resistance was eliminated, and the sporadic gunfire gradually subsided.

Lady Luck shrugged and pulled Lady Destiny to a relatively intact corner of the wall. They began to talk in hushed tones, their eyes occasionally glancing at Lin Yi and then scanning the busy students around them, their eyes flashing with curiosity and calculation.

Lin Yi ignored them.

He walked out of the church, across the scorched ground, and through the streets filled with smoke and the stench of blood.

The soldiers in Trinity uniforms were carrying out their mission in an orderly manner, and they all stopped and saluted when they saw Lin Yi.

He arrived at the ground entrance, where Kirito Nagisa and Lily Garden Saintia were already waiting.

Saintia sat in a wheelchair, wrapped in a thick blanket. Her face was still pale, but her spirits were relatively good.

Kirito Nagisa, on the other hand, was in the posture of a capable commander, listening to a report from his subordinates.

"The core area of ​​Arius has been cleared, with 2,147 prisoners captured, including 63 seriously wounded who have been sent to a temporary medical station. Our side has 29 lightly wounded, with no casualties," a Trinity officer reported. "Several warehouses have been discovered in the town, storing a large amount of weapons, equipment, supplies, experimental records, and unidentified devices."

Kirito Nagisa nodded: "Keep all supplies and data safe. Keep prisoners under centralized guard and verify their identities. Seal experimental items separately and no one may touch them without my order."

The officer accepted the order and withdrew.

Kirito Nagisa then turned to Lin Yi, her expression complicated: "Teacher, upstairs..."

She pointed to the ceiling: "The situation is not good. Although the gravity anomalies and sky phenomena have gradually returned to normal after the Upside-Down Black Tower disappeared, panic and chaos have broken out in various school districts. The Federation Student Council's communications are basically paralyzed, and Acting President Shichigami Rin is probably in a terrible state."

Lin Yi looked up and gazed at the outside world through the broken ceiling.

The crimson color was fading, but the sky remained murky, and the sounds of explosions and riots could be faintly heard in the distance.

The balance in Kivotos has been completely broken, and this chaos will not subside anytime soon.

"I'll leave this to you," Lin Yi said to Tongteng Zhu. "I need to go back to the Federal Student Association headquarters."

He didn't explain why, having resolved the biggest threat—"color"—but the real trouble was just beginning.

"Do you need an escort?" Kirito Nagisa asked.

"No need." Lin Yi shook his head. "Hina, Tsurugi, and the Abydos team, come with me. The rest of you stay here to assist Trinity."

Without delay, he turned and left.

Hina and Tsurugi silently followed, while Hoshino gestured to Nomiya and the others. The Abydos five-person group quickly assembled and followed at the end of the group.

The two goddesses exchanged a glance and followed with smiles—they clearly didn't intend to miss out on the upcoming "excitement."

The group left the ruins of Arius and boarded the aircraft provided by Trinity, speeding towards the headquarters of the Federal Student Union.

The scene along the way was shocking, with rubble and debris scattered on the streets, cracks in the exterior walls of some buildings, and occasionally panicked students being led to shelters by disciplinary committee members or Valkyrie police to maintain order.

Although the sky was no longer blood-red, it remained gloomy, as if it might press down at any moment.

Lady Luck, peering out the car window, whistled, "Wow, this is really chaotic. The mental fortitude of your 'Academy City' isn't very strong."

The goddess of fate adjusted her glasses and calmly analyzed: "Living in a relatively closed and stable environment for a long time, it is inevitable that large-scale panic will occur when suddenly encountering a world-class shock to rules and an existential threat. The key lies in the crisis management capabilities of the ruling institutions."

Lin Yi did not participate in their discussion.

24 hours.

He has only twenty-four hours to gather as many resources as possible before returning to the cycle of reincarnation.

The idea of ​​supporting an army of hundreds of thousands of gods was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it also meant an astronomical consumption of resources.

He must seize this opportunity to extract every last bit of value from Kivotos before leaving.

The aircraft flew through several school districts before finally arriving at the White Bird District.

The once towering sacred tower has vanished, leaving only a neatly shaped circular pit, as if it had been dug out of thin air by something.

A cordon has been set up around the crater, and engineers from the Federal Student Union are busy at work.

The temporary command center was located in a nearby annex building, and the people coming and going looked hurried, creating a somber atmosphere.

Lin Yi got out of the car and walked straight to the command center.

The command center was more chaotic than expected.

Dozens of screens simultaneously displayed surveillance footage, data streams, and communication windows from various school districts, with piercing alarms and reports mingling together.

At this moment, Shichigami Rin stood in front of the central command console, her eyes bloodshot, her hair disheveled, her once neat uniform jacket casually draped over the back of her chair, her shirt sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and she was roaring into the communicator.

"District 5! I'll say it again! Prioritize evacuating students to the underground shelters! I've already sent out the supplies allocation list! Follow the list! What? The transport team is stuck on the road? Then call in the nearest disciplinary unit to clear the way! I authorize the use of non-lethal force to clear the obstruction! Now! Immediately!"

She abruptly hung up the call, rubbed her temples, and turned around just in time to see Lin Yi and his group walking in.

She paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the impressive group behind Lin Yi.

“Teacher.” Shichigami Rin’s voice was a little hoarse as she forced herself to cheer up, “What about Arius…”

“It’s resolved,” Lin Yi interrupted her. “The color has been removed. Now, I have something more important to discuss with you.”

She glanced at the noisy surroundings, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's go to the conference room next door."

The small meeting room has excellent sound insulation; once the door is closed, the noise from the outside world is shut out.

Shichigami Rin gestured for everyone to sit down, then leaned against the edge of the conference table, arms crossed, and looked at Lin Yi: "Speak, what is it?"

Lin Yi didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his plan: "I plan to take all the students of Kivotos with me, as well as as many resources as possible. Before leaving this world, I need the full cooperation of the Federation Student Union to integrate the resources of all the colleges and transfer them to me in a unified manner."

There was silence in the conference room for a moment.

Shichigami Rin blinked, as if she hadn't heard clearly: "...What?"

"I'm taking everyone with me, and all the resources I can take," Lin Yi repeated, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.

The weariness on Shichigami Rin's face was instantly replaced by absurdity and suspicion.

She stared at Lin Yi, trying to find a trace of joking on his face, but failed.

She then looked at Hina, Tsurugi, and Hoshino—figures who held considerable influence in Kivotos.

Hina remained calm, Tsurugi grinned, and Hoshino scratched his head.

“Teacher,” Shichigami Rin’s voice turned cold, “this joke is not funny. Putting aside the absurd idea of ​​taking away ‘all the students,’ do you know how much resources Kivotos has? The accumulation of thousands of years by various academies is distributed in every corner of the world. Even if the Federation Student Union invested all its manpower and resources, it would be impossible to complete the statistical integration in less than a few months, let alone ‘transfer’.”

“We have twenty-four hours,” Lin Yi said.

Shichigami Rin almost laughed in anger: "Twenty-four hours? Are you crazy or am I crazy?"

“He’s not crazy,” the goddess of fate, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

“He possesses the ‘Seed of Reincarnation.’ In theory, he can control Giwatos’s aura system and forcibly intervene in the status of all students.”

Shichigami Rin turned to look at Lin Yi.

Lin Yi stretched out his hand, palm facing up.

The transparent icosahedral crystal quietly emerged, with countless points of light flowing inside.

The moment the crystal appeared, Shichigami Rin felt the halo above her head tremble slightly, as if she had encountered the source.

“This…this is…” Shichigami Rin’s voice trembled slightly.

She had never seen the Seed of Reincarnation, but as the acting president of the Federation Student Council, she had access to some top secrets and vaguely knew that there was a control core at the bottom of the Kivotos system.

"The Seed of Reincarnation. The highest administrative authority over the Giwatos Aura System. With it, I can access any student's information, adjust her aura status, and even forcibly interrupt or start the reincarnation process. In other words, I am now the de facto controller of Giwatos."

Shichigami Rin's face turned pale.

It wasn't that she didn't believe Lin Yi's words; rather, she believed them too much.

"As for resource integration," Lady Luck interjected with a grin, a golden die now casually twirling in her hand, "if there's a strong enough reason, plus a little 'luck,' it might not be impossible. For example... what if we told everyone that if they cooperated, they could leave this awful place and go to a wider world?"

Shichigami Rin's body stiffened.

Leaving...Kiwatos?
This idea is a distant dream for the vast majority of students.

But for someone like Shichigami Rin, who is in a high position and knows part of the truth, it is an unknown that is both desirable and terrifying.

She knew what "graduation" might mean—disappearance, being swallowed up.

But what if... what if we could actually leave safely?
She'd been here too long. So long that she'd grown accustomed to the busyness, the exhaustion, the endless paperwork and disputes, so long that she'd almost forgotten what the "outside" world was like.

Kivotos is large, yet small, so small it's like an exquisite cage.

"You... have a way to safely get everyone out of here?" Shichigami Rin's voice was dry.

“I have a way to get you out of here,” Lin Yi said, without specifying the method, “but the prerequisite is that I need resources. A large amount of resources to ensure everyone’s survival and development after we leave.”

He paused, looking into Shichigami Rin's eyes: "Don't you want to go out and see?"

Shichigami Rin remained silent.

Only the faint noise coming from outside the window and the low hum of the indoor air conditioner remained in the meeting room.

Hina, Tsurugi, Hoshino, and the others remained silent, but their eyes spoke volumes—they yearned.

Even the most home-loving Hifumi would probably be curious about the "outside world".

“…I need evidence,” Shichigami Rin finally said, her voice regaining its composure. “Proof that you can really do it. Otherwise, I can’t risk the entire Giwatos.”

Lin Yi put away the Seed of Reincarnation and looked at the Goddess of Fortune and the Goddess of Destiny: "Help me find someone. The president of the Federal Student Council, Ayana."

Shichigami Rin looked up abruptly: "President? She's not missing..."

"She didn't die, she's just trapped in some kind of gap," the goddess of fate interjected.

She took out the gear pocket watch; the hands on the dial were spinning rapidly, and strands of extremely fine golden threads floated out from the dial, probing into the void, as if trying to capture something.

Lady Luck also put away her playful expression and gently tossed the golden dice in her hand.

The dice floated in the air, the symbols on all six sides lighting up simultaneously, emitting a hazy glow that resonated with the golden threads of the goddess of fate.

When the two goddesses join forces, their power far surpasses that of ordinary detection methods.

They are adept at interfering with fate and probability, and finding an existence stuck in the cracks of the rules after being attacked by "color" is difficult, but not impossible.

A few minutes later, the goddess of fate's eyes lit up: "Found it. On the edge of Kivotos, near the authentication barrier leading to the 'outside,' there's an abandoned train car that forms a temporary fold."

"Let's go." Lin Yi stood up.

The group set off again, boarding the Federation Student Association's private aircraft and flying towards the border of Kivotos.

During the flight, Lin Yi looked out the porthole at the scenery rushing past below.

Cities, wilderness, mountains, oceans... This sanctuary created by ancient gods is indeed beautiful and vast, but it also carries an indescribable sense of isolation.

The aircraft eventually landed in the boundary area.

This is a desolate plain, and in the distance you can see a slightly distorted barrier—that is the boundary between Kivotos and the void, the certification barrier that students need to pass through when they "graduate".

Scattered across the plain were some old railway tracks and abandoned train carriages, resembling the remains of a long-discontinued tourist route. The goddess of fate led the group to one of the carriages.

"Right here." She pointed to the carriage door. Lin Yi pushed the door open.

The interior of the carriage was covered in dust, the seats were broken, and the windows were shattered.

Everything seemed normal. But then, the goddesses of fate and fortune struck at the same time, and a golden thread appeared on the empty space in the center of the carriage.

The space rippled like water, and a hidden crack slowly opened, revealing a narrow, dimly lit mezzanine space behind it.

Lin Yi was the first to go in.

The mezzanine space was only a few square meters in size, and there was nothing inside except... the person lying on the floor.

It was a girl who looked slightly older than Shichigami Rin. She had long, smooth, light blue hair and was wearing the standard uniform of the Federation Student Council, but the uniform was badly damaged and covered with dried blood.

She had two through holes in her chest and abdomen, with unnaturally charred and crystallized edges, as if she had been struck by some kind of extreme energy.

The wound wasn't bleeding, but it hadn't healed either; it was just exposed, revealing the mangled internal organs and bones behind it.

She was still alive, but her breath was so faint as to be almost imperceptible, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Her halo hovered above her head, its light dim and flickering erratically.

This is Ayana, the missing student council president of the Federation.

Shichigami Rin covered her mouth, her eyes instantly reddening.

Such injuries would be fatal to any student countless times, and Ayana has survived this long entirely because of her special abilities.

Lin Yi stepped forward, squatted down, and placed his palm above the hole in Ayana's chest.

As the treatment takes effect, the charred edges of the wound begin to soften, the crystallized tissue gradually peels off, and new granulation tissue grows from the wound edges at a visible rate.

The fragments of internal organs were enveloped by vitality and reshaped and reconnected.

A faint cracking sound came from the broken bone, which was being reinforced by newly formed bone.

This process lasted about a minute.

When Lin Yi withdrew his hand, the huge holes in Ayana's chest and abdomen had disappeared, leaving only two patches of tender new skin, which contrasted sharply with the surrounding intact skin.

A few minutes later, her eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Those were blue eyes, the same color as her hair. At first, they seemed a little confused, but they quickly regained their clarity and sharpness.

She didn't sit up immediately, but first checked her physical condition and confirmed that the wound had healed before turning her gaze to the people surrounding her.

Her gaze swept over Shichigami Rin, she nodded slightly, and finally settled on Lin Yi.

Ayana spoke, her voice a little hoarse: "Thank you."

"Do you know me?" Lin Yi asked.

"While I was unconscious, my consciousness could only connect to the lower layers of Kiwatos to a limited extent."

Ayana struggled to sit up, and Nanagami Rin quickly stepped forward to help her: "I saw everything that happened to Arios. You dealt with Beatrice, eliminated the colors, and carried out your plan."

She paused, looked at Lin Yi, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "If you want to take everyone away, you need resources."

"Yes," Lin Yi readily admitted.

Ayana was silent for a few seconds, then smiled.

That smile held weariness, relief, and a resolute determination.

“Very good,” she said. “I’ll help you.”

The president's awakening and statement became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

When Ayana announced through the entire Kiwatos broadcasting system from the makeshift stage at the Federation Student Council headquarters that "all students will be safely evacuated from Kiwatos and head to the New World within 24 hours," the entire Kiwatos was initially deathly silent, then erupted into a deafening uproar.

Doubt, panic, excitement, confusion... a variety of emotions spread across every school district.

Ayana's authority is beyond question.

As the former president of the Federal Student Association who had disappeared, her credibility and decisiveness were enough to make most people choose to believe her.

Moreover, she explained in detail that the threat of "color" had been eliminated, and leaving was the only option to avoid a similar crisis in the future.

After receiving Ayana's secret order and detailed explanation, the higher-ups of the various academies quickly made their decisions.

Saintia of the Lily Garden and Nagisa of the Holy Trinity were the first to respond, ordering the entire academy to begin packing up all movable resources; Hina of the Gohena Academy was equally decisive; after a brief internal debate, Millennium Science Academy, Valkyrie, Hyakki Yagyō, Gehenna... one academy after another joined this unprecedented "great relocation".

Efficiency, driven by both life-or-death situations and the prospect of a brand new future, has been elevated to its extreme.

All stockpiled equipment, weapons, ammunition, and vehicles were categorized and packed; research materials, technical blueprints, and experimental data from various colleges were copied into portable storage devices; food, medicine, and raw materials in the warehouses were packaged in an assembly-line fashion; even some important fixed facilities, such as some precision instruments in the Millennium Science Park and some ancient relics of Trinity, were carefully disassembled and packaged.

Resources flowed like rivers into the sea, converging from every corner of Kiwatos via land, air, and even emergency short-range teleportation arrays, towards the plains outside the White Bird District Federation Student Association headquarters.

A huge open space has been temporarily cleared by engineering vehicles, and the piles of supply boxes are increasing at an alarming rate.

Lin Yi stood on the makeshift command platform, looking down at the bustling scene below.

Standing beside him were Ayana, Rin Nanagami, representatives from various academies, and two goddesses.

“At this rate, it’s feasible to complete the centralized transfer of major resources within 22 hours.” Ayana looked at the data panel in her hand, which was updating the progress bars of each academy in real time. “However, some small academies and independent bases in remote areas may not be able to arrive in time.”

"We'll send as many as we can," Lin Yi said.

He cannot delay the entire plan for the sake of a few people.

"What about the personnel?" Shichigami Rin asked. "Some students are unwilling to leave, or are afraid of the unknown."

"The principle of voluntariness".

He paused, then added, "In addition, inform all students that individuals may bring a small number of personal belongings, but there are restrictions on size and weight. Large quantities of supplies will be transferred by the college."

The order was passed down quickly.

For the next dozen or so hours, the massive machine of Kivotos operated with unprecedented efficiency.

The supplies on the plain were piled up like a real mountain, clearly categorized and marked: weapons and equipment area, technical data area, living supplies area, rare materials area, special items area...

Lin Yi moved among these supplies, constantly taking out specially made "space capsules" from his storage space. The internal space of each capsule was equivalent to a large warehouse.

He activated the capsule, aimed it at the pile of supplies, and an invisible spatial force field sucked the boxes of supplies into the capsule.

He was like a human conveyor belt; wherever he went, piles of supplies disappeared at a visible speed.

Ayana and Rin Nanagami stood beside him, watching this scene with undisguised shock in their eyes.

This level of capability is completely beyond the scope of Kiwatos's technology.

"Teacher, are you really... confident that you can accommodate so many people?" Shichigami Rin couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

“I’m not sure,” Lin Yi’s answer was unexpectedly candid. “But if I stay in Kivotos, I’ll be discovered and devoured by other beings of similar ‘color’ sooner or later. Leaving at least offers the possibility of development.”

Ayana gave him a deep look: "What you want is more than just a shelter, isn't it?"

Lin Yi did not answer.

Eighteen hours into the resource collection, Lin Yi found a quiet temporary room and made a pact with the Goddess of Fortune and the Goddess of Destiny to ensure that they could find him as soon as they left.

"By the way," before leaving, Lady Luck suddenly leaned closer to Lin Yi, lowered her voice, and smiled mischievously, "that photo... you really don't want to keep it as a souvenir? Fate is usually so reserved; that kind of photo is a rare find."

Lin Yi looked at her expressionlessly: "Do you want your head twisted again?"

Lady Luck shrank back, chuckled dryly, and quickly dragged Lady Destiny away.

They did not leave Kivotos immediately, seemingly intending to wait until the very end and witness the end of this world with their own eyes.

Time passes minute by minute.

By the twenty-second hour, the collection of major resources was basically completed.

More than 90 percent of the supplies on the plains disappeared, all of them being stored in Lin Yi's dozens of spatial capsules.

What remains are some scattered supplies that couldn't be transported in time, or items of relatively low value but too large in size.

Students from various colleges began to arrive at the assembly point one after another.

The pure white formation of the Holy Trinity, the black ranks of Gohena, the technologically advanced uniforms of the millennia past, the police uniforms of Valkyrie... uniforms of different colors come together to form a colorful sea of ​​people.

The students, their faces filled with trepidation, anticipation, and reluctance, whispered among themselves as they gazed at the land where they had lived for so long.

Ayana stood on the high platform and delivered her final motivational speech.

Her voice carried across the plain through loudspeakers.

"...Kiwatos is our home, but beyond our home lies a vast ocean of stars. We are not fleeing, we are pioneers. We will carry the wisdom, courage, and unity of Kiwatos to a new world to build a new home..."

The speech was brief, but inspiring enough.

The Seed of Reincarnation lit up in Lin Yi's hand.

Countless golden lines spread out from the crystal, flowing down his arm and onto the barrier.

Lin Yi closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the core of the Seed of Rebirth.

He "saw" the entire halo network of Kivotos, seeing the tens of thousands of points of light.

Preparing to move.

The halos above all the students' heads lit up at the same time.

The soft light enveloped everyone, forming a protective force field.

They felt their bodies become light, as if they had broken free from the constraints of gravity.

Countless points of light entered the Seed of Reincarnation in Lin Yi's hand. These were all fragments of the students' souls. Simply put, Lin Yi was going to take all the students away through the Seed of Reincarnation.

The transfer process lasted for nearly an hour, and soon the plains became deserted.

Only Lin Yi, Ayana, Nanagami Rin, and high-ranking representatives from various academies remained.

Oh, and there are two goddesses sitting on top of an abandoned armored vehicle not far away, swinging their legs and watching the show.

"It's time to go," Lin Yi said.

Ayana took one last look at the plain, at the faint outline of the Holy Trinity building in the distance, and at the sky in Kivotos that was gradually returning to normal.

Goodbye, Kiwatos.

Perhaps, we'll never see each other again.

The seven-colored light engulfed everything.

Lin Yi closed his eyes and communicated with the Paradise of Reincarnation through his consciousness.

【Would you choose to return? 】

Yes. (End of Chapter)