Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

................................................

The Upper World is nothing like what most people imagine. In the minds of the most elite veterans selected by the Federal Government, the Upper World must be an extremely dangerous, treacherous region, filled with bizarre and advanced technological creations in every corner. Every shadow hides a terrifying enemy that even the deepest nightmares might not see, and every step the human army takes forward requires paying an incredibly heavy price.

They are not afraid of death… Those chosen by the Federation's high command, who had planned for centuries, to cross the Gate of Worlds and arrive here are not afraid of death. Because they are fully aware of the responsibility they bear for freeing billions imprisoned in this false world. And they are willing to pay any price for it.

however……

They did not encounter any enemies.

To be precise, they did not encounter anything that could be called an enemy.

When they awoke from their nutrient pods in the upper world after passing through the Gate of Worlds, they were greeted by a vast and expansive mechanical dome—the ground was metal, a composite alloy they could understand. Between the alloys were pipes, gelatinous pipes they could understand, and connecting between these pipes were countless life support pods they could comprehend.

The upper world lacked the advanced technology they had envisioned. From what they saw with their own eyes, many areas were even less technologically advanced than the lower world. And the terrifying legions they had imagined never appeared. What they saw were merely a group of bizarre-looking, but actually harmless, multi-legged robots.

Three hundred years ago, the Speaker of the Federation led a large group of people to survive under their very noses for several months. And three hundred years later, their combat capabilities remain unchanged.

Because from the very beginning, their design goal was not combat.

"I should have thought of that sooner."

When Chu Xuan saw the Federation's Speaker again, this decisive, resolute man, whose aspirations remained unchanged even after three hundred years, was standing beneath a massive, operating machine. One hand rested on the control panel, his eyes fixed on the enormous screen displaying complex data.

His once brilliant blond hair had turned completely gray.

“You know what, Chu.” He heard Chu Xuan’s footsteps, which he hadn’t tried to conceal. He didn’t turn around; his fingers were still pressed on the control panel in front of him. “Just now, I found the files of my friends from three hundred years ago in the database of the ‘Voyage.’ They didn’t die at all. Their memories were simply erased, and they were relocated to new nutrient pods. Then they lived their ordinary lives as completely uninformed people.”

“Oh, you probably don’t know what the ‘Voyage’ is.” He paused, glanced at Chu Xuan slightly, and then lightly stomped his foot. “The steel beneath our feet is the ‘Voyage.’ An ark that has been operating for thousands of years, and also what I’ve always considered a ‘cage’.”

“You don’t look well.” Chu Xuan said with certainty.

He wasn't surprised by this truth, because he had predicted it from the beginning, and after the Federal Speaker recounted his experience, he became even more certain of his idea—if the lower world really was a prison, how could there be no jailers and guard dogs? If the lower world really was a prison, how could the upper world be indifferent to escaped prisoners?

The answer is obvious—the world is not a prison, but a protection. Those menacing machine sentinels are actually servants of these billions of slumbering beings, and they never intended to harm anyone who accidentally escaped the lower world. Capturing them is merely a matter of sending them back into the dream world according to regulations.

"Of course I'm not doing well. No one would be happy to find out that their obsession of the past three hundred years was just a joke. But I can't give up here yet."

The Speaker of the Federation sighed deeply. He turned around, his gaze towards Chu Xuan filled with complex emotions.

“I know you are not from this world, and I know why you came here. If it were in the past, I would have done everything in my power to bury you here after learning the truth. But now…” He shook his head slightly. “I just saw your battle records in the lower world. And before you came here, the system here told me that two energy sources with readings that could not be estimated appeared on the ‘Voyage’.”

"So you made a wise choice." Chu Xuan pushed up his non-prescription glasses.

“No, it’s not a wise choice.” The Federation Speaker shook his head slightly. “I’m just keeping my promise to you, that you can choose any spoils of war to take with you after we reach the upper world. After all, although we can build interstellar fortresses, we can’t get up there without the data and plans you provided… Perhaps we can do it in a few hundred years, but the ‘Voyage’ won’t actually last that long.”

He slowly moved his hand away from the control panel, and as he did so, the huge machine behind him began to operate and transform, slowly opening its portal like a giant treasure chest.

"About a thousand years ago, before the humans of the upper world had left the solar system, an unusual stellar event plunged the entire solar system into a countdown to destruction. So the entire human society at that time united to build a series of huge arks in an attempt to leave the solar system. The model of those arks was 'Voyage'."

"Humanity succeeded, but only partially. The number of arks built before the destruction of the solar system was not enough for all of humanity to escape together. Even with space utilized to its maximum, it could only carry about one billion people. So, after the destruction of Earth, the remaining one billion survivors could only drift in space."

"However, space is not peaceful. Without the protection of planets and atmospheres, human creations are more fragile than imagined in the universe. The first arks of the expedition consisted of thirty-one ships, but after a hundred years, thirty of them were destroyed by various natural and man-made disasters. And the last one... also fell into the suspended void without any material supply because its warp technology was inadequate."

The Speaker of the Federation closed his eyes. He could almost imagine the despair that group of people had faced—being in the void, without resources, without supplies, without a reference point for leaping, with only endless silence and darkness, and death gradually approaching.

"So they built the lower world," Chu Xuan said.

"Yes, they used their remaining resources to create nutrient pods large enough to cramm everyone in. Then they could keep the Voyager adrift with minimal supplies. But you're wrong about one thing: they didn't construct the lower world. What helped them construct the lower world was a mysterious object discovered in the cantilevered void."

As he spoke, the enormous machine behind him finally opened completely. Through various stringent protective measures, a golden, spherical metal block, about the size of a football, appeared before Chu Xuan's eyes—the sphere gently floated towards the first Speaker and then landed on his fingertips.

“This machine is the mainframe of the lower world—though called a mainframe, it’s actually just an operating terminal. The entire lower world wasn’t so much constructed as it was always within this sphere,” he said softly, gazing at the seemingly weightless metal sphere on his fingertip. “Back then, people tried everything but couldn’t unlock any secrets within this sphere except by focusing their mental energy into it. So in the end, they just made a terminal. And with the rapid depletion of resources, most people had to immediately enter a state of hibernation. Then, a hundred or two hundred years passed, and some things happened during that time, and the final result was what I described earlier.”

"Everyone, including those who were scheduled to guard the outer world, entered the lower realm. The last person to enter stopped the logout process—well, after hundreds of years of drifting in the void, unable to eat anything but nutrient solution... well, so be it. And against this backdrop, the Voyager drifted alone in the suspended void for hundreds of years. Until one day... some lucky guy just happened to run into a program bug."

He shook his head slightly.

"Who could have imagined that the so-called Arachnids were merely a bug accidentally left behind by the developers when creating the mainframe's terminal? I was able to reach the upper levels because of this bug, and the lower levels were plunged into war because of it. But in reality, all of this..."

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses. He hesitated for a very rare moment.

"You can choose to keep it."

“No, it’s not necessary,” the Federal Speaker replied. “Promises made should be kept. I just had all the crew log out, and the rest are virtual personalities simulated by this thing—although they are indeed just like the real ones, even more so. But they don’t belong to the same world as us. And…” He pointed to his head.

"The knowledge we gained in the lower world still exists, and for us now, escaping from the suspended void is not difficult. Now that I have awakened as the leader, it is natural for me to lead the remaining people to forge our own path. At the same time, I am not sure if leaving this behind will cause the past to repeat itself. Rather than letting my people fall into the illusion again, perhaps it is a better choice for you to take it with you."

With a gentle push, the golden sphere floated to Chu Xuan's front. The Supreme God's pronouncement also rang in his ears.

—Temporary side quest: Bring the [Tower of Babel Fragment] back to the Main God Space. Quest completion reward: None. Quest failure penalty: None.

He could take it away, or he could leave it behind. The choice was entirely up to Chu Xuan.

....................................

This volume is finished. I'll post the end-of-volume summary later. _(:з」∠)_

End-of-volume summary and open bounty

Well, this concludes the 300,000-word Star River arc. The word count was within budget, but it still feels a bit long... But it doesn't matter, anyway, this arc is finished, the expected plot progression has been completed, and now it's time for the next story.

Actually, this volume isn't particularly mind-bending; it's basically just digging a few plot holes and then facing them head-on. However, as expected, with higher power levels, some of the smaller, more intricate plot points become harder to write—this is a newly discovered flaw, which I'll try to fix in the following sections. Also, some of the more fragmented parts were a bit wordy… uh, I'll try to correct that too _(:з」∠)_

That's all for now, and a new chapter is about to begin.

Hmm... We released a poll before, and the final result was Bloodborne leading by a wide margin, with Dark Souls slightly behind. Well, since it's the result of a poll, it's fine to write it that way. However, after careful consideration, I feel it's a bit too early to tackle the inner demons now. And I don't want to be criticized as an idiot for making the plot too complex. So I've decided to adopt an adult's approach, which means I want it all.

Hmm, I won't go back on my word. The next world is Synthetic Bloodborne. But before that, I'll write a long interlude. And the theme of the script is Touhou x Dark Souls.

The main characters will return to Gensokyo during the intermission, and then... well, I won't even mention writing something as lighthearted and cheerful as slice-of-life, something even I don't believe. But I definitely won't touch anything dark or disturbing. Also, I plan to bring Kamiki out early to lay the groundwork and prevent the Bloodborne arc from becoming too mind-bending, and the previous idealistic magical system will also be discussed here. In short, please look forward to it.

Ah… finally, let's start a bounty. I'm looking for an excuse to spend money on in-game purchases lately… Anyway, it's the same as before: 20,000 RMB in rewards or 200 razor blades for each chapter. The deadline is from now until this time next Saturday, the 24th. There's no upper limit; the bounties I post never seem to fill my daily quota. However, since it's the end of the volume, I need to take a break, so I'll only be updating one chapter tomorrow, the 18th. The bounty will start being paid out from Monday.

That's all.

Seventh stop: Eastern Dark Souls

Section 1: It's harvest season again...

As usual, when the pillar of light from the main god shone, Zheng Zha's Lolita, Zhang Jie's creation 'Na'er', and the little witch created by Ming Yanwei waited anxiously below the main god's platform. Soon, the light faded, and the reincarnators appeared. Unlike before, this time there were no casualties and no one was injured. The eight veterans and two newcomers returned looking refreshed and energetic. The ensuing program, naturally, was a grand celebration.

Those with families need no further explanation. They naturally rushed back to their private spaces to do things beneficial to their physical and mental health. The others, except for Chu Xuan who had already used up his baby-making quota, naturally followed suit—leaving aside Ling Dian, whose quirks are debatable between a sister-complex and a brother-complex. Cheng Xiao created a pretty girl with a braid hanging down her neck, while Luo Gandao, having successfully undergone a transformation, summoned a beautiful girl who appeared still wearing a school uniform after a long period of contemplation. And what happened next…

...In short, that was it. Everyone went home and went to sleep. It wasn't until noon the next day...or rather, in the afternoon, that the Reincarnators' post-battle debriefing meeting was held at the main god square.

So, that's the good thing about becoming a reincarnator. Regardless of everything else, the main god can at least arrange marriages and guarantee the reincarnator's satisfaction. Because girls can be directly customized and given away for free on the spot. As for whether this price is worth it... that's a matter of opinion.

....................................

Inside the hall, the banquet held by the main god exuded an enticing aroma. This time, Zheng Zha had gone all out, spending thousands of reward points to purchase a truly sumptuous feast made with rare and precious ingredients from the main god. Thousand-year-old pure ginseng and mountain lingzhi mushrooms were merely used as garnishes on the table, while the real dragon liver and phoenix marrow were the main dishes.

An ordinary person could probably extend their lifespan by several months just by inhaling the aroma of this feast. And if they could eat a bite or two, even a person with a congenital intellectual disability could ascend to heaven in one step, with all their meridians flowing smoothly, becoming a qigong master who could be recorded in history books.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a single ordinary person present. Therefore, even though most of the people present were experiencing some hunger due to a day and night of work, which wouldn't actually cause any real problems, all the reincarnators were able to sit comfortably in their seats, watching their captain, Zheng Zha, and waiting for him to deliver a long speech before the meal.

And Zheng, of course, did not disappoint those present.

"To make a long story short, I'm not some old-fashioned fool who likes to read from a script for two hours before meals."

Zheng Zha picked up his chopsticks, politely drew a circle in the air, and then placed a vermilion fruit, the main dish, into his bowl. His voice was loud and clear, and his will was conveyed to every diner at the table.

"Today, I've invited you all to a special feast of Vermilion Fruit, prepared by the Supreme God. This is a specialty of the Supreme God's Space, and you can't miss it. Let's talk about the future of the Central Continent Team and its development direction while we eat."

"Everyone, please."

Having said that, he popped the vermilion fruit, radiating spiritual energy, into his mouth. With a satisfied sigh as he swallowed the treasure, the atmosphere at the table immediately warmed up. Everyone picked up their chopsticks or knives and forks, and the post-battle inventory meeting for the Central Continent Team's reincarnators began.

"Well then, let's first tally up what everyone gained from the last horror movie." Zhang Jie spoke first, pouring himself a glass of Wutong Spring water. After thinking for a moment, he lit a cigarette. "To be honest, I really don't think it counts as a horror movie. It wasn't scary at all, and it didn't really have much to do with the plot. Maybe from now on we should just call them the Cycle World, which is how we officially establish that term here."

"So be it, a cycle of reincarnation. It's just a different way of saying it; it's all the same." Zheng Zha waved his hand casually. Having advanced to the fourth tier, he was now completely confident in dealing with most reincarnation crises—he knew just how strong he truly was. Although he had been nearly beaten to a pulp in the final battle against Ex in the Star River Fleet before its end, he and Alice had still ultimately emerged victorious. And victory brought confidence.

"This time we've really had a great harvest. We didn't suffer any casualties. We also took down five people from the Nan Yan Zhou team and eight people from the Sen Zhou team. Just the thirteen points and the basic reward for completing the mission are 29,000 points plus a C-level side quest. Add to that our personal gains, the points from killing bugs, and some miscellaneous side quests... This time we're quite well-off."

Zheng Zha paused, glanced at the banquet in front of him, and then continued with a chuckle, "I currently have over 48,000 reward points. I've completed three B-level side quests involving killing three members of the Gene Lock, the Shattered Star side quest, and two other A-level side quests involving killing other Zerg... Feel free to suggest anything you'd like to upgrade; I don't think I need to upgrade anything right now."

Forty-eight thousand, a delicate number.

If they could have ordered a few more, it would have been enough to exchange for 50,000 reward points to escape the cycle of reincarnation. The feast before them was clearly not a lavish banquet that could be obtained with just 3,000 reward points. And since Zheng Zha had done this, his attitude was very clear—

"I won't leave. I'm the captain of the Central Plains team. I will fight alongside everyone until the end of this cycle, or until everyone has enough money for their journey home. Until then, you can rest assured that you can entrust your backs to me."

Zhang Jie stood up, tossed the Wutong Spring water aside, picked up a bottle of celestial wine labeled "Peach Banquet," and opened it. He made a toasting gesture towards Zheng Zha and then drank it all in one gulp. Overlord, Zero Point, and even Alice and the others raised their glasses—no one uttered a word throughout the entire process. Everything was understood without a word.

After that, Zheng Zha let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"Alright, I think we still need to spend some money." He smiled, his already superhumanly strong body slightly flushed and warm. "I plan to resurrect Sakura, Saito, Zhang Heng, Xiao Honglu, and Zhan Lan. I also think a newcomer named Wang Xia is quite good... What do you all think?"

“Let’s hold off on Saito Hajime for now,” Alice suddenly said. “He has some trouble… In the Final Destination world, he instructed me not to try to revive him until there is a fourth-tier powerhouse in the team who can fully control himself. In other words, he can only be dealt with by at least a fourth-tier powerhouse. I think it’s better if we respect his will.”

Zheng Zha nodded and looked at Ming Yanwei. The latter frowned slightly, looking hesitant.

[Phew...it seems there's still some hope for Zhang Heng. It would be a real problem if Ming Yanwei didn't care about reviving him at all. Brother, this is all I can do for you. If I don't bring this up, you might be forgotten until the end of time!]

His mind raced with thoughts, but on the surface, he quickly changed the subject.

“Then Mingyanwei, you continue to consider. For now, we’ve decided to revive Zhan Lan, Xiao Honglu, and Zhao Yingkong. I’ll pay for the reward points for their revival. Once we’ve dealt with the resources we have, we’ll go to the God and Demon World.” His tone was certain, and clearly no one was going to argue with him about it. After he finished speaking, Chu Xuan took over the conversation.

"So, the three chosen for resurrection are these three. Besides them, I've made a plan for the team's strengthening direction and steps." Chu Xuan's voice was as calm as ever. He didn't wait for others to nod or object, but directly stated his opinions.

“First, it’s you, Zheng Zha.” He carefully examined Zheng Zha. Then, he said slowly, “Since you’ve already taken on the expenses of reviving Zhao Yingkong, Xiao Honglu, and Zhan Lan, you still have two A-ranks and tens of thousands of reward points left. For you now, strengthening ordinary bloodlines is actually not very meaningful. But I still suggest you spend your reward points on strengthening your vampire bloodline and internal energy level—although they can no longer provide much help to your physique and energy, you still lack sufficient energy manipulation skills and methods. The inherited memories contained in advanced bloodlines can save you a lot of accumulation time.”

Zheng Zha nodded upon hearing this. He closed his eyes and directly communicated with the divine light sphere floating above the plaza. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes, his face filled with surprise and delight.

"The Supreme God assessed the bloodlines within me that had undergone 'Foundation Building.' It determined that these two bloodlines were respectively AA-level or higher 'Alien Demonized Vampire' and AA-level 'Alien Sublimation True Qi'! It even offered me two options. One was to directly convert them for free into AA-level mutated vampire grand duke bloodlines and AA-level self-selected grandmaster true qi, while also returning a portion of my reward points. The other option was for me to again contribute AA-level side quests and 20,000 reward points, and then directly merge and strengthen the two bloodlines into an S-level 'Chaotic Alien Vampire'! Chu Xuan, Margot Lloyd, what should I choose?"

Alice remained silent. Chu Xuan merely hummed softly, his tone as unwavering as ever.

"You should have already made your choice. Are you really willing to abandon the path you've forged halfway through?" His gaze shifted from Zheng Zha to the others.

"Zhang Jie, your current goal should be to find an opportunity to break through to the fourth tier. I think you don't need to strengthen any other bloodlines. So I suggest you spend your reward points on purchasing various items. You should have a good idea of ​​what to buy, so I won't give you any more advice."

Zhang Jie nodded, agreeing with Chu Xuan's opinion: "I really don't have anything else that needs strengthening. I'm not even at the fourth tier, so strengthening other things won't be of much use. I can buy some mental recovery potions, though, and I also plan to buy a few Rebirth Crosses... These things are pretty good for turning the tide of battle."

He didn't mention how many reward points or side quests he had earned, and Chu Xuan and the others didn't intend to ask. So the focus shifted from him to the next target.

Chu Xuan looked at midnight.

"I've decided to upgrade my Demon Eye to Rank A and also exchange it for Rank A Demon Bullet Shooter bloodline," Zero said calmly. "My talent isn't as good as yours, Captain, so specializing in one path is the most suitable development direction for me. Although Demon Bullet Shooter isn't very good at self-defense, it can still provide me with the ability to survive on the outskirts of the fourth-tier battlefield. The combination of Demon Bullet Shooter and Piercing Demon Eye also gives me the potential to threaten fourth-tier opponents."

“But you still lack a good enough gun.” Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses. He reached out, and a long sniper rifle, its exterior worn and its key parts wrapped in red and black cloth strips, quietly appeared in his hand, slowly floating towards Zero. “This sniper rifle is called ‘The Pursuer,’ a cursed weapon born from a long period of bloody battles. I believe you can use it well.”

Zero nodded and accepted Chu Xuan's gift.

"Kampavsky, continue to enhance the werewolf system. Your role is as a firepower specialist and melee filler. You should have enough resources to enhance your werewolf bloodline to A-level 'Werewolf Lord' and learn some suitable support skills. In addition, I have also commissioned Alice to create a set of ritual armor and a heavy firepower system for you. I believe this will allow you to make good use of your abilities."

"I had the same thought." The Overlord chuckled. In his previous 'Gate' world conquest, he'd unfortunately been thrown into the body of a local king on a remote outer island. He'd barely figured out his identity and status when a user of a teleportation-equipped Imperial Arms, leading a large group of Imperial Arms users' lackeys, stormed his door, intending to plunder his national treasury… Well, that was intolerable. Especially after he'd imagined himself as a transmigrated soldier king from a novel.