Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

—'Reincarnation Squad' Senzhou is being deployed... Time point not anchored, spatial coordinates not confirmed.'

—'Reincarnation Squad' Demons are being deployed... Time...'

—'Detected F-level God-level access. Timeline reset complete. Information and timelines regarding the arrival of other reincarnation teams have been hidden from both participating and non-participating teams. Special team battle rules remain in effect; idle reincarnation teams will be deployed to the 'unnamed' special composite world in order of strength.'

—'The project is complete.'

A certain domain, a certain uncertain point in time.

Alice, dressed in a red dress, gazed up at the pillar of light that should have fallen from the heavens, her feet resting on an endless, shattered galaxy. Trillions of intelligent life forms were locked in a galactic war she had instigated, tearing and slashing at each other. Every now and then, hundreds of stars would dim in an instant, only to be replaced by a dazzling brilliance that illuminated the entire galaxy.

"Being interrupted just as this occasional recreational activity is about to reach its climax is extremely unpleasant. At least show some interest, God. Even though it's extra rest time, isn't it a bit inconsiderate to show up at this crucial moment?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the blazing core region in the center of the galaxy, composed of countless stars, shone brightly in the same instant. Then, after the visible light spread outward for nearly ten seconds, it suddenly collapsed inward, and in an instant, darkness replaced light, and then took over the role of radiance, swallowing the entire galaxy into eternal darkness.

The war ended, in a way that no one in this world expected.

“Exx has successfully defeated Vichiette in the Force War, and she has now obtained the fifth Primal Stone. The 'Force' element in this Outer World will cease to exist.” A gentle voice appeared behind her. “Shall we try to destroy the principles of civilization here? Alice, if we consume the gains we have made in this world, there is about a one percent chance that the collapsing Force will will become the Heavenly Way of this world. We may be able to make up for the authority we have lost now.”

“You’re just enjoying the thrill of destroying the world, Patchouli. The Investiture of the Gods isn’t even fully repaired yet; it’s unwise to waste resources on this one percent chance.” Alice, dressed in a red dress, shook her head. “Besides, the captain is currently enjoying some quality time with his girlfriend on Earth. We’d better not do something so foolish that could easily lead to our deaths.”

"What a pity, such a rare opportunity. The principles of civilization are excellent materials for refining the Philosopher's Stone. It seems my advancement plan will have to be postponed again." The voice hidden behind her quietly disappeared.

In the distance, boundless light erupted once more from the star field swallowed by darkness. A colossal will gradually materialized from the radiance, then formed a blurry shape. Several powerful entities, like Alice in her red dress, occupying a corner of the galaxy, watched its transformation, ensuring that this ascension would not be disturbed by any unexpected factors.

A few seconds later...

"It won't be long, Patchouli. Your promotion won't be long." Alice in the red dress shifted her gaze and continued looking at the pillar of light that had failed to descend in the distant sky.

"The true child of fantasy is about to be born, and my ruthless stepmother won't be sitting obediently in the audience."

Section 2: Informal Development

The infected werewolf has eerie green eyes, sharp claws, weighs around 200 kilograms, and has a claw strike force of around 300 kilograms. Coupled with its powerful heart and reconstructed, hardened bones, and its beastly fighting instincts, it can easily defeat an elite 19th-century town guard in narrow, urban warfare without incurring significant casualties.

Unfortunately, even though it's a werewolf mutated from a human, it naturally develops a weakness in its waist and abdomen after becoming a werewolf. Add to that the mild madness it possesses as part of its tutorial and the penetrating wound that runs through one of its legs, and the threat it poses to humans is significantly reduced.

Strength might be sufficient, but lack of mobility remains a fatal flaw. Alice, unsurprisingly, wasn't ambushed by the creature hiding behind the door. Instead, she used a harpoon made from a blood vial holder to deliver a heavy blow to the mentally impaired werewolf from a distance. The spearhead, though blunt, still inflicted a wound. The sturdy IV tubing attached to the harpoon further hampered the werewolf's movement after it dodged some of the spears. Although this restraint would likely only last a few seconds, those few seconds were enough for Alice to rush to the werewolf's side with her sharpest spear and deliver a fatal blow to its throat.

"It seems Chu Xuan at least didn't intend to ambush me." Alice tilted her head, pulled the stent from the werewolf's throat, and slightly turned to avoid the blackish-red blood gushing from its chest cavity—scientifically speaking, the blackish-red blood meant that the werewolf's movement was powered by its heart and oxygen from the air. However, the specific situation of this world was still unknown, so it was impossible to draw conclusions easily.

She took a slight step back, waiting for the werewolf, whose throat had been pierced and heart ruptured, to die completely while coughing up blood and convulsing, while observing the various furnishings in the hall where the werewolf was—clearly, everything here was exactly the same as the opening scene of 'Bloodborne' in her memory. On both sides were more hospital beds, with silver candlesticks, presumably plated with silver, placed beside them. Several corpses with faint bestial features lay dead on the ground, one of which was the werewolf's recent prey.

"The clothing of the Caucasian race is very much in line with the attire of the lower and middle classes in Victorian society. Depending on the degree of bestiality, their physiques also increase accordingly. But even among those with the least degree of bestiality, the physiques of humans in this world are stronger than those of ordinary people in other normal original worlds in the 19th century."

Alice used a support to manipulate several pieces of remains, carefully examining the distribution and strength of muscle tissue and the hardness of bones through the cracks in the wounds. After all, according to the Bloodborne universe, blood contains ubiquitous invisible parasites—for this reason, it's best to avoid direct contact with blood other than one's own until appropriate protective measures are taken.

"Perhaps comparable to the level of mortals in my home world around the fifteenth century?" Alice pondered for a moment, considering and making comparisons before reaching this conclusion. "Hmm, in terms of strength, they are indeed about the same. And the fifteenth century in my home world... did indeed have this level of technology and decorative style."

She paused for a moment, her beautiful brows furrowing.

"It can't be that far-fetched, can it?"

Her fingers twitched slightly, and just then, the unfortunate werewolf who had been struck through the throat and heart by a handmade harpoon finally breathed his last with a mournful cry.

It wasn't a disguise, because the wolf was truly dead; its muscles were relaxed, its blood had stopped flowing, its heart had stopped working, and its brain was no longer functioning. At least on a mortal level, it was utterly and completely dead.

There was no change. Alice didn't feel any improvement in her abilities; her perception and strength remained unchanged—she quickly moved her fingers in a series of movements, and even her reflexes showed no increase whatsoever—it seemed that simply killing monsters didn't grant her any power. Her previous conclusions might need further consideration.

We have to take a risk.

“There aren’t any scalpels around, but there are silvered candlesticks.” Alice used what she had on hand, crafting several simple dissection tools from the nearby silver candlesticks after using them to support the harpoon. First the werewolf, then the werewolf’s mangled remains, and finally the few relatively intact beast-like corpses—her hands were steady, and her movements were quick. She was actually quite skilled in dissection. But what surprised her was that these corpses…

...It's no different from the experimental materials she's cut open in the past?

"The number of bones is the same, the distribution of internal organs is the same, the body cavity structure is the same, and even the brain is no different from that of a normal mortal. It's one thing for a simple infected person, but this werewolf is more like a person with a wolf-shaped skeleton than a person who has turned into a wolf. Although the waist and abdomen have the weak points of canines, the spine has not changed into the spring structure unique to canines."

"what the hell."

Alice raised an eyebrow slightly, reaching her conclusion after a rapid twenty-minute autopsy. She hadn't gained any strange powers or enhancements from the process. Nor had she found any unusual organs in the corpses that were different from those of ordinary biological species.

There were no strange crystals in their heads, no oddly colored stones in their chests. The werewolves and beast-infected individuals did grow hair, but it was simply ordinary human hair that had become thicker and longer. Their skin hardened and toughened, but it was still ordinary skin. Their sharp nails were merely keratin, and their muscles had simply become more robust, without any supernatural energy.

If some of these corpses were found in the 20th or 21st century, they would certainly be recognized as carriers of some kind of disease rather than some strange creatures from a fantasy world. Even if they have the shape of wolves, they are still essentially just mortal flesh and blood.

No clues were found in the flesh, bones, or brain. There were no additional supernatural organs, not even the rudiments of one. So, indeed, the source could only be found in the blood—Alice shook her head slightly, not considering collecting the blood she had deliberately left unattended, which was gradually turning semi-solid. Instead, she turned her gaze to the closed clinic door, then back upstairs.

This should be the world of Bloodborne, so this should be the Yusefka Clinic where the game begins. A friendly NPC will reside above the clinic, providing some guidance to the player. In fact, Alice could have approached the woman named Yusefka before encountering the werewolf to speak with her, gather information, and obtain assistance—the clinic door, which is inaccessible in the game world due to plot reasons, has many ways to open in the real world. It's just that in Alice's initial plan, Yusefka wasn't someone she could approach right away.

Because this kind doctor is destined to die, a member of the Choir, the antagonist in the Bloodborne universe, will kill her and replace her very early in the game. In the mid-game, the player hunter even has the opportunity to confront her directly, where they will witness her formidable power.

Alice had considered saving the doctor. However, judging from the game's presentation, the choir member and Dr. Youssefka likely shared a close blood relationship. They looked alike; they could easily be mistaken for sisters. Furthermore, considering Dr. Youssefka's initial gentle and kind yet strangely dismissive behavior, it's possible her imposter had been in her clinic from the very beginning, and her rejection of the player was actually a form of protection.

Rescue is probably very difficult, especially given the complete lack of information about the surrounding environment. If Zheng Zha were here, he would likely charge in without hesitation. But Alice clearly has different considerations than that muscular gorilla.

About an hour has passed since I woke up.

During this hour-long operation, I spent two-thirds of the time fighting the werewolves and dealing with the aftermath. I didn't make any effort to conceal the noise I made. However, I received no feedback. Yusufka's door was up there; I had seen it before—but the mechanism I left on the stairs didn't trigger. The door didn't open, no one made a sound, which perhaps indicated a less than favorable development.

Alice tallied her findings and confirmed that she could no longer obtain more information without leaving the clinic. However, during the previous hour of research, a portion of her attention had been fixed on the outside of the closed clinic doors, but she hadn't heard anything of value.

There was a sound of wind, so it wasn't due to exceptionally good soundproofing. But aside from the wind and the creaking of the iron gate, there was nothing else—since nothing had changed after an hour, waiting a little longer probably wouldn't make a difference either. In that case…

"I guess we still have to go up and take a look."

The girl pondered and came to a conclusion. While the werewolf's autopsy didn't yield much valuable information, it at least proved that the extraordinary powers of this world were indeed severely suppressed. Aside from the still unanalyzed element of 'blood,' the monsters were more like modified creatures than fantastical beings. And since this was a modification and enhancement consistent with classical biology, the chorus members with humanoid forms couldn't be that strong.

Perhaps I was just finding an excuse to convince myself to save the doctor. Although it took me a full hour to convince myself to do so.

Alice shook her head. She had another explanation in mind: her subconscious sensed the danger outside and the uncertainty upstairs, which made her hesitate here. Despite being well-prepared, she lingered here for a full hour.

Ah, the subconscious. Since becoming a superhuman, the term 'subconscious' hadn't crossed Alice's mind in a long time. This long-lost sense of unfamiliarity made her heart tremble slightly, a tremor tinged with a hint of unease—she slowly swallowed these complex emotions that only mortals possess. Then, she took a deep breath and began her journey to the upper levels of the clinic.

The road isn't far, only a few dozen meters. Even walking slowly, it won't take more than a minute.

However, the higher Alice climbed, the more she felt her heart beating at a strange frequency. Her thoughts remained clear, but her heartbeat quickened involuntarily—not out of fear or excitement, but a peculiar tension. It seemed that something worthy of her attention and capable of significantly impacting her lay hidden behind the door at the top of the stairs.

What could it be? What could it be?

She walked to the top of the corridor, took a deep breath, and was about to knock on the door when she discovered that it wasn't locked at all! Not only was it unlocked, but as she approached the door, a gust of wind seemed to come from nowhere, causing the door to swung open with a speed beyond her reflexes!

Alice saw the objects inside the door, the clinic divided by various items and hospital beds, and a person sitting in a chair at one end of the clinic, leisurely casting an observation glance at her!

Without a second thought, she raised her homemade harpoon and hurled it into the doorway!

'Thud—' A sharp object pierced flesh. Then a sound that Alice knew all too well, yet desperately wanted to hear rang out.

"You've become more decisive than before, Alice. Or perhaps Patchouli's scheming still leaves you somewhat resentful, so you acted without hesitation once you found someone to vent your anger on?"

What came into Alice's view was a figure dressed in a women's suit that seemed out of place in this era. Ordinary glasses, an eel-like figure, and an unpleasant face that displeased her—this person, possessing all these characteristics, slowly pulled out the harpoon that had pierced her chest and tossed it aside.

"It's been a long time, Alice. Does seeing me make you so unhappy?" Luo Ye shook her head slightly; there were no wounds on her body, nor was there even a drop of blood on her.

“Patch’s matter…is related to you, isn’t it?” Alice gritted her teeth. “What are you doing here?”

"Here to release the water?" Luo Ye tilted her head slightly and smiled. "Just kidding, I came here to tell you something."

"Chu Xuan has gone too far."

Chapter Three: The First Hunter, Luo Ye

There was no doubt that what Luo Ye said was true—Alice knew the moment she opened her mouth that every word she spoke was true.

Separately, it's true; combined, it's also true. This likely stems from a kind of telepathic self-identity. Alice knows very well that Luo Ye cannot lie to her, and she cannot lie to Luo Ye either—she can remain silent, but what she says is the truth. And when she realizes this, her heart sinks slightly.

"This isn't the Heart Abyss, how did you get out?" Alice didn't directly ask about Chu Xuan. Since Luo Ye had already brought up the topic, she would definitely bring it up later.

“Because you are infinitely close to the fourth tier, or to be more precise, you are now actually in the middle stage of unlocking the fourth tier gene lock.” Luo Ye tilted his head slightly. “Your heart, soul, will, and obsession are all overflowing, and the abyss of your heart, which is filled with the light of your soul, is about to burst open. In other words, the time has come for us to determine the winner and loser, life and death. It’s time to decide whether what remains is ‘change’ or ‘unchanged’.”

"Because it was already overflowing, the impurities were squeezed out?" Alice gently pressed her heart. Strangely, the heart of flesh and blood she had when she was a mortal was beating at a steady pace, giving her a strange sense of rhythm—she took a light breath and continued to ask, "Then why don't you do it? Right now, you seem to have an absolute advantage."

"Make a move... Of course I want to make a move." Luo Ye shook his head slightly. "If Chu Xuan hadn't gone too far, I would have already made a move by now. After all, since I'm here, you should know that I've already reached some kind of cooperation with Chu Xuan. I've gained some privileges because of this, but at the same time, I've also been constrained."

"Chu Xuan doesn't care which of us will ultimately survive, since both Alice and Luo Ye are living beings capable of rational thought and retaining the same memories. Therefore, my cooperation with him is based on this. However, Chu Xuan will not allow me to undermine the interests of the Zhongzhou team, as the entire team is a valuable and almost indispensable tool to him. He will not allow any unexpected damage to the team."

Luo Ye turned her gaze back and lingered briefly on Alice's forehead.

"Your previous guess was correct. Chu Xuan and Chang'e did indeed have some kind of cooperation. The original Chang'e of the prehistoric world was indeed pulled down by the Apocalypse and constructed the Hunting Saint Cage. Our original plan was indeed to borrow the power of the saint through internal attrition, using Him to defeat Himself. However, the problem lies here. When our plan reached this final step, a small deviation occurred."

"...The original Chang'e is stronger than expected? Is that so?" Alice raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping around. She noticed that the windows here were also sealed tightly, with only a faint sliver of light filtering in from the outside.

"After all, she is a saint, after all, she has unlocked the fifth level, after all, she has lived for countless years, spreading her imprint throughout the world and forming a mythical being." Luo Ye shrugged. "It's not surprising that she has one or two trump cards. Both Chu Xuan and I were prepared for that. We just didn't expect... this centipede could survive to this extent even after death."

"This world is indeed the world of Bloodborne, and we did intend to demote Chang'e to the Blood Princess of the Moon according to the pre-set script, imprisoning her in the deepest part of the Saint's Dream. Then we would use her power to corrupt her legion, using this as a filter so that we, the reincarnators who were also deprived of our extraordinary power by the Apocalypse, could successfully devour the Saint's power she possessed before she awoke. Our plan was perfect, but unfortunately, at the very moment the world was about to take shape, this Blood Princess of the Moon, who had been demoted from the Saint Realm, awoke for a brief moment."

“I don’t know what price she paid for this. But the end result was that her main consciousness slumbered even deeper, but multiple aggregates of power carrying fragmented consciousnesses escaped from the Bloodborne Dream we had woven. And the result of her escape from here… is this.”

Luo Ye clapped her hands lightly.

The next moment, the securely sealed windows vanished in an instant. The ceiling disappeared, and the walls melted away like burning wax. Then, in Alice's eyes, a real world was reflected.

The entire world was only the size of the Youssefka Clinic! Like a game map with its opening sequence, there was absolutely nothing outside the clinic! The tightly sealed windows concealed no physical structures whatsoever. There was only an endless expanse of pure white, and visible to the naked eye, a raging storm of energy that whipped and lashed at the few remaining structures within that whiteness, shattering them against an invisible barrier!

"What a pity. If you had chosen to open the window or the door during that hour, even just a crack, I would have saved myself a lot of trouble." Luo Yezhong shook his head slightly, his tone tinged with regret. "Unfortunately, your intuition is incredibly strong. Despite being reduced to a mere mortal, you stubbornly dawdled for a full hour despite being at a complete information disadvantage, unwilling to explore even a single step to the outside. That's why I have no choice but to stay here and act as your guide."

Alice did not answer.

She didn't move, but stood still, carefully observing the pure white and energy tides surrounding the clinic. She looked very closely, so closely that she could vaguely see several hidden vortexes within the tides.

Two or three? Five or seven? I don't know, I don't understand, and I can't tell. But I can understand their function.

"You guessed right, those are the directions in which the original Chang'e's power carriers escaped. I don't know exactly how many there are, because it's a constantly changing number. Only by recovering them all... or at least most of them, can this shattered Bloodborne scenario be reconstructed. Only when the path to the summit of Yharnam, to meet the Blood Princess of the Moon, is clear can we win this war."

Clearly, Luo Ye noticed Alice's gaze and gave a reply.

"This is where Chu Xuan went wrong. According to the original plan, although our Central Plains team was completely demoted to mortals, our aptitude and growth potential still existed. We should have gathered here from the beginning, strengthening our power by killing more and more prey through a series of hunts—"

"With this vast amount of resources, we extraordinary beings have a high chance of advancing further, allowing the personalization of our Mind's Light to directly push our genetic lock to the fourth level of limits, and even reaching the fourth level of advanced levels is not out of the question. Those who haven't yet reached the extraordinary level will all be able to touch it in this world... at least to the third level of limits. After all, being reduced to mortals means starting anew, and it also means that the shortcomings left behind in the pursuit of strength can be completely made up for."

"Unfortunately, the world collapsed. You were the only one left behind; everyone else ended up in the worlds that evolved from the escaped fragments of the original Chang'e. That's why things got complicated."

"The Prison of the Saints still exists, but it has transformed from a one-sided hunt into a killing contest. While we can still advance by absorbing the power of the original Chang'e, in those evolved worlds, the escaped fragments of the original Chang'e's consciousness also bear the task of awakening the original body. If we can open a path to the depths of the dream before she awakens, she will be doomed as soon as we reach the Blood Princess of the Moon. But if she awakens first... what awaits us is not a pleasant outcome."

"The main storyline of 'The Wandering Earth' has been cancelled. This time, the Supreme God didn't give us a time limit for returning. In other words..."

"【Don't come back if you don't complete the mission】—that's what it means, right?" Alice replied, letting out a soft breath. The logical chain in her mind was complete. "So you can't attack me, because if I'm assimilated by you here, the Central Continent team will lose the initiative... Someone has to go and bring the others back and clean up those fragments. At the same time, someone has to stay here to ensure the stability of this final battlefield... Is that right?"

“To be precise, we still need someone to maintain the existence of the Hunting Saint Cage on the outside,” Luo Ye corrected. “But you’re right, I do have to stay here and use my own power to maintain this Blood Curse script so that it won’t be completely destroyed by the energy tide caused by the awakening of the original Chang’e. So you can be quite smug, because I really can’t do anything to you right now.”

She shrugged.

“You can think of me as the dream guardian of Bloodborne, the First Hunter, Gehrman. Because I am indeed the guardian of this dream, this cage. Every time you and the others break another fragment of the original Chang'e's power on the outside, this dream will recover a little more towards its original state. And when the final battlefield is completed, that will be the day when you and I decide to fight to the death.”

“It sounds quite simple,” Alice replied. “You’re not lying, but I have a feeling you haven’t told the whole truth either. Since you’ve already revealed so much, what harm is there in explaining a little more… or do I have to beg you?”