Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"You said you were asking me." Luo Ye tilted her head slightly, but then seemed to think of something and deflated. "Alright, according to the agreement with Chu Xuan, since you didn't choose to die, I have to take care of all these miscellaneous matters for you. After all, it's a fair battle. If the strength of the two sides is not equal, it's meaningless to simply decide the winner with brute force... Ask me anything you want to ask."

"You seem to think that she doesn't value mere physical strength?"

“Of course,” Luo Ye nodded, admitting his point of view without hesitation. “I despise those who are strong simply for the sake of being strong. If a person has no ideals, no beliefs, no self-awareness and no path to follow, he is not even as good as a beast. If I see a life that is willing to give up everything just to survive, even in the most desperate situation, I will trample it into the dust.”

"—And if you don't ask a valuable question soon, I'm going to kick you out now."

Alice nodded slightly, and some materials collected during the recent surgery appeared in her hand.

“I just dealt with that werewolf… I don’t think it was just left there for no reason. And since this is a dream world formed from the Hunter Saint’s Cage, I should be able to gain some power by killing it… But where is the power I should gain? Do I have to bring a puppet over?”

"That was just a prop to make some idiot who thought he could die once and skip the plot die a real death. Since the attempt failed, it naturally has no other use..." Luo Ye raised an eyebrow, slightly avoiding Alice's gaze, and after a few seconds, he finally sighed again.

"Alright, alright, here you go." She snapped her fingers, and a blue, white, and gold object smacked Alice in the face. It was…

"...Shanghai!?" The little doll that had been smeared directly on Alice's face flew up pitifully, carefully hiding behind Alice's hair, only revealing half of its small face as it looked at Luo Ye in fear.

“Now that I’ve become Gehman, the Maria doll can only be made from what’s available. After all, I’ve never taken on any apprentices, so I can’t exactly drag Marisa over from across the world. So, you’ll have to make do with Shanghai. It’s equipped with the authority for rituals, which can help you and others purify the saintly power gained through killing—of course, absorbing it directly from killing a lot is also fine. But the fact that the Saint Hunting Cage has been corrupted and downgraded into the Child of Slaughter ritual is none of my business.”

Alice hugged the aggrieved Shanghai and gently rubbed it.

"What about Penglai?"

"Penglai will stay with me; it'll be used to deal with some unusual incidents anyway," Luo Ye shrugged. "And here's another piece of information for you. In these worlds, the Gene Lock is the only viable path to transcendence. The power of a Sage is only to help you reopen your Gene Lock and extend the opening time. Apart from that, all other supernatural paths are ineffective."

"There is no magic, no fighting spirit, no spells, no internal energy, no true qi, no divine power. Apart from pure physical strength and genetic locks, there is nothing. This worldview does not support such things, so if you can't use them, you simply can't. Besides, the path of farming and advancing technology is also not feasible."

Her fingers gently touched together. "I don't know what kind of worlds those fragments of power contain. But I know they definitely belong to different eras and different scenarios. Some are from the Middle Ages, some are from the Industrial Age, and some might even be modern cities. But no matter what kind of world it is, their technology trees are locked."

"It would have been impossible to make a nuclear bomb in the Middle Ages. Even if you took out two pieces of iron of the right purity and then squeezed them together with the power of a critical reaction, they still wouldn't explode. It's just impossible, no matter how many detours you take or how many combinations of technology you use. Even if the sun was still burning, even if you unlocked the fourth-order genetic lock, you still couldn't create a reactor inside your body, because the worldview didn't support doing that."

"In short, fight like a warrior, Alice." Luo Ye smiled at her. "Quantitative changes won't lead to qualitative changes here. The consequence of developing infrastructure is nothing. This is a rule written into the Hunting Saint Cage from the very beginning, and it is impossible to resist or change it. And you should also understand that this restriction is actually a protection for the Central Continent Team."

"So, is there anything else you'd like to know?"

“That’s all.” Alice patted Shanghai’s little head. She wasn’t anything special, but from the conversation just now, she clearly sensed a slight inconsistency in Luo Ye’s behavior. And these slight inconsistencies were enough for her to draw some very strange conclusions in terms of content.

“Your intelligence is very thorough, Luo Ye.”

"It's just to ensure my Zhongzhou team doesn't suffer too many losses." Luo Ye tilted his head and said, "Do you really think I'm going to hold back?"

The next moment, she clapped her hands lightly—and the teleportation began.

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

Votes 2 and 3 have both exceeded 100... Ah, I need to use adult methods now.

Anyway, Bloodborne is all about the main theme... so it's normal for the actual content to become a bit frivolous... right? _(:з」∠)_

This concludes the fourth section, the commentary segment.

Looking at Alice, who had completely disappeared from his sight, Luo Ye couldn't help but rub his temples hard and sigh.

It's very troublesome to combine a bunch of genuine truths into a lie, especially when the person you're deceiving is in sync with you. This is because it means all micro-expressions, media, hints, and various rhetorical techniques become completely ineffective. You can't even entertain the thought of 'deceiving yourself'; you can only use various skewed facts to mislead the deceived, leading them to a conclusion completely opposite to the truth.

Did Chu Xuan overdo it? Ah… he certainly overdoes it, especially when Luo Ye woke up and appeared before him in physical form. But what can he do about it? Overdoing it doesn't mean failure; it's just a temporary loss of control. And in this world… what plan is perfect from the very first step?

That's not a plan at all; that's just piling up building blocks step by step. These days, what wise person would only set one path for their plan without arranging seventeen or eighteen alternatives at various forks? None! Even Neos, that weakling, has multiple escape routes. From beginning to end, even now, everything is proceeding according to Chu Xuan's plan.

“Yes, everything is going according to plan. Whatever the variables, at least for now, it’s still in the plan.” Luo Ye took his fingers off his temples and slowly moved them around.

Chu Xuan had already indicated that Chang'e's dying counterattack was part of his plan.

The collapse and destruction of the dream world was already part of Chu Xuan's plan.

Even the fact that the Main God would bring in other reincarnation teams, including the Demon Team, and that the Demon Team must have used some means to block the Main God's mission notifications—was also part of Chu Xuan's plan.

The only thing outside the plan was when and to what extent the adoptive mother, Shen Qi, and the mastermind behind the main god would intervene. But worrying about such things was pointless. It was now completely certain that the main god and the primordial world were not on the same side, and that Shen Qi and the mastermind of the main god had some kind of agreement. Naturally, she couldn't possibly stay on the primordial side. After all, the original Chang'e had already been brought down, which meant that these two… let's consider them two powerful figures who didn't object to the reincarnators killing the primordial saints and profiting from it.

“They won’t do anything, at least not during the Saint Hunting phase.” Luo Ye rested his chin on his hand, thinking slowly. “Even if that cheap mother of mine were to take action, it would only be at the end of this cycle of reincarnation, when Alice successfully defeats me and the Child of Illusion is born. Before that, ensuring, or rather, acquiescing to the arrival of the Demon Team should be the limit of her intervention.”

Fourth, the Light of the Soul, a crucial link. From a certain lofty perspective, only by reaching this stage can one be considered an independent individual existing in the multiverse. Before that, regardless of the configuration, one is merely a mass-produced assembly-line product, easily churned out in countless numbers. Therefore, it is only natural that Shen Qi would cast her gaze upon this world at that time, and for something like her, opening her eyes to observe and taking action were not much different.

"But that kind of thing has nothing to do with me. By the time Alice, that cheapskate mother, steps into the fray, I'll be completely and utterly dead. Let Alice and Chu Xuan have their headaches then."

She slowly exhaled, and the loosening of her fingers gave her a bit more energy. Although she didn't need to worry about what happened afterward, she still had a few things to do before that...

"The Demon Team will definitely be brought down, because although the Central Continent Team has made many preparations and has good luck, it is still lacking in the ability to truly kill a Primordial Saint. The Main God has tacitly approved this Saint Hunt, so he will not allow such a huge benefit to be wasted. But since there is no notification, it means that the Demon Team has used corresponding methods to block it."

"Interfering with the main god's mission arrangements, then that must be considered some kind of authority. And the authority gained from hunting a saint is level E, so the demon team probably obtained level F or even lower authority. Ah... that's not important, what's important is why they would do such a thing."

Luo Ye rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.

The answer isn't actually that complicated. The Demon Team simply hopes for more profits and to create an opportunity to fish in troubled waters. After all, no matter how strong the Demon Team is now, they can't possibly be stronger than a fifth-tier being, nor stronger than the ritual of the Hunting Saint Cage. In other words, if the Main God provides the timing, Chu Xuan, who controls the Hunting Saint ritual, could very well detect them immediately upon their arrival. Then their fate would likely be out of their own hands.

Would the Demon Team suspect the existence of the Saint Hunting Ritual? Definitely. Because the Demon Team is essentially a carbon copy of the Central Continent Team, they would certainly realize that without creating this strategically advantageous position, the Central Continent Team, being far weaker than them, would never have been able to initiate a Saint War.

The Supreme God might impose some kind of restriction, such as no rewards or even point deductions in team battles. But ending the cycle of reincarnation early wouldn't be without its appeal for Chu Xuan. Therefore, the Demon Team would definitely not put themselves in danger from the very beginning... and the Supreme God probably wouldn't either. The result is that the Demon Team will only descend when Chu Xuan loses control of the Hunting Saint Ritual, or when he's too busy to attend to other matters. And that opportunity, aside from the final battle with the Primordial Chang'e, is unthinkable.

That makes sense. The Central Continent team painstakingly orchestrated such a large-scale and lengthy scheme. Why would they let other Reincarnation teams, who hadn't contributed anything, reap the rewards in the end? While the Main God is unreliable, it's generally a fairly balanced operating mechanism. It's normal for the Central Continent team to reap the benefits first, then let other Reincarnation teams do the hard work and get a share in the process. But the Demon team clearly isn't satisfied with that.

"That's why the Demon Team wanted to block the Main God's announcement and gain the right to secretly descend into this world ahead of time. The other Reincarnation Teams that were also dragged down were bait they deliberately threw out. They would inevitably be exposed, and their exposure would divert some of Chu Xuan's attention. After all, if we could eliminate the Demon Team in advance, or use up one of their collective resurrection attempts, or make them gain nothing in this war that was destined to be highly profitable—offending the Main God for that reason wouldn't be unacceptable. But if it's those second-rate guys like the Celestial Team... it's really not worth going against the Main God to attack them."

Luo Ye ended her thoughts.

The demon team's scheme was now clearly laid bare before her: they wanted to take a risk and secretly arrive ahead of time, seizing more benefits from this battle to hunt for saints. They might even draw upon the saintly power of the original Chang'e, or perhaps even turn the tables and usurp control of the hunting ritual.

Their plan was well-executed, but unfortunately, Chu Xuan wasn't unaware of it. So when the inevitable moment arrived—the desperate counterattack by the Primordial Chang'e—Chu Xuan went along with it, allowing her power fragments to escape and construct a new world. The scattered fall of the Central Continent team members was also intentional; after all, the Primordial Chang'e's will needed to be suppressed, and each member of the Central Continent team needed their own resources and space to grow. Beyond that, they also served as bait.

They are the bait, used to lure out the various reincarnation teams and then properly 'dispose' of them. While serving as bait, the fragments of Chang'e's power and the smuggled reincarnation teams are also resources for those reincarnators who haven't yet achieved significant growth to hone their skills—after all, with Chu Xuan controlling the Hunting Saint Ritual at the top to cover for them, even if they mess up and die, they can simply find a reason to be resurrected and start over.

They were the bait, luring the demon team out from the shadows while achieving the aforementioned objectives. While Chu Xuan was assigning numerous tasks, Luo Ye had each of them entangled in a vast web of causal connections. Regardless of their identities as they fell into the various fragmented worlds, regardless of whether their minds were still clear or their memories intact, they would inevitably be drawn into the causal vortex at the center of the world, becoming key figures in the inevitable great wave. Power and secrets would automatically find their way to them, and if the demon team wanted to reap the rewards, they would be an inescapable warning network.

They are the bait, and Alice, capable of acting independently, is the line to pull in the net. Whether they succeed or fail—even if Chu Xuan's guess was wrong from the start, and no other reincarnation teams actually arrived—Alice will still collect the scattered Central Continent team reincarnators and the escaped fragments of Chang'e's power one by one. Then, they will finally gather here to complete the final battle.

A plan that seems perfect.

Unfortunately, the Demon Team also has Chu Xuan, and naturally, they will take various countermeasures. Although the overall situation is as it is, it's impossible for things to go completely unpredictable. While the final outcome has been predetermined, there will inevitably be other developments before that.

That concludes the explanation segment.

Luo Ye had arrived at a self-consistent theory, which meant she no longer needed to waste her time here. Although she had indeed taken over Gehman's job as the guardian of the dream, it didn't mean she could do nothing but daydream—though she certainly wanted to do nothing at all.

--never mind.

The girl sighed, then lightly snapped her fingers, and a dark portal silently appeared beside her. Beyond the portal lay a foamy world, a fragmented landscape of land surrounded by a dark, deep ocean. Ocean and land clashed, and many female warriors equipped with mechanical suits were being pushed back by the surging tide of forces emerging from the deep sea; the balance of light and darkness was nearing its breaking point.

"Honestly, it's supposed to be my own Dao Foundation, but I just left it there after I made it?" Luo Ye shook her head slightly, quietly changing into a white naval uniform. She thought for a moment, then opted not to wear a hat, only donning white gloves, and removed her glasses, placing them aside.

"They've been making one Styx Apocalypse after another, and it's easy for them to smash people with it, but they don't seem to care about extracting all sorts of concepts at will. Won't performing so many apocalyptic-level rituals cause the world to collapse?"

“…Never mind.” Luo Ye shook her head and sighed sadly. “Who told me to keep cleaning up her messes behind the scenes? I should just let go and let her experience the feeling of her Dao Foundation collapsing when the battle is about to begin.”

She grumbled under her breath, but despite her complaints, she still had to keep doing what needed to be done.

There was no way around it; life was already hard enough, so a little more suffering wouldn't matter. Harboring the beautiful vision of dying a quick and complete death, no longer having to hide behind the scenes, working tirelessly year-round, and vying to take the blame, Luo Ye ultimately stepped into the bubbles with steps that were neither heavy nor light.

Then, the foam closes.

The empty clinic finally fell silent. No one, no living thing, nothing changed. Apart from the storm raging outside the clinic, only the black-rimmed glasses that Luo Ye always wore remained on the table, swaying slowly and rhythmically.

After a while, it finally stopped and ceased to function.

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

The teleportation ended. Alice slowly opened her eyes.

[That Luo Ye is definitely hiding something from me... But it doesn't matter, we'll have to fight to the death eventually. When that day comes, everything she's hiding will be meaningless.]

[In the end, only one of us can survive; it's either me or her who dies. So there's no need for me to waste any more time on this issue. Even if she actually...] A thought that had already taken shape flashed through Alice's mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

The same applies to…

Having finished her simple and effective reflection, Alice, having reaffirmed her sense of self-worth, began to observe her surroundings.

This is not a good place.

As far as the eye could see, there was a country road paved with dry, hard earth and a few scattered pebbles. The road was narrow, with horseshoe tracks at the top. Judging from the depth and span of the tracks, the horses were quite robust, ordinary nags without any special pedigree or special equipment.

Good, at least this is a normal, safe place. As a beginner's village, turning left after leaving the gate is the best possible development, as it doesn't lead to the Demon King's castle. And when she shifted her gaze from the main road to the decorations on both sides, more evidence increased the validity of her inference.

The crudely made wooden railings, the undeveloped plains, crows, and at the side of the road, a huge, withered tree laden with the bones of hanged men.

Ah, excellent. In the war-torn Middle Ages, there are no strange powers, just a world of steel and bones in constant conflict. Perhaps some supernatural forces exist in this world, but they likely won't be the dominant theme. However, the clues are still scarce, so we cannot draw any conclusions yet.

Alice looked behind her—the road behind her was flat, without any dust or approaching people or horses. The soft afternoon sun shone on the shawl, which she had somehow changed into attire for a foreigner—Alice tilted her head and noticed an unfamiliar word on the shawl's buttons.

'Flora'—meaning flora, or the Roman goddess of flowers. Alice wasn't sure if it was a name or a trademark—she figured it was the former—and then, as she tried to find more information, she felt a slight weight on her shoulder.

It's Shanghai.

Alice shifted her gaze and discovered that her little assistant had transformed into a full-fledged doll. She could still sense the authority Shanghai possessed, known as the 'Power of the Purifying Saint.' But apart from that, it was no different from an ordinary handmade doll.

It can't fly, it can't move, it can't talk—it's just an ordinary handmade doll.

The intricate runes within the doll's body remained, but were not functioning. The magic furnace, which had undergone numerous improvements and was essentially no different from a sun, sat quietly at the doll's core, like a freshly baked brick.

"What Luo Ye is saying, doesn't the worldview support it...?"

Alice raised an eyebrow slightly, carefully hanging the now-dormant Shanghai logo on the waist belt of her newly acquired coat. Just then, a sudden gust of wind blew in her direction!

The scorching heat, the smell of charcoal, and the sound carried by the wind... a voice filled with hatred.

"—Repent in hell, witch!"

Chapter 5: An Unexpected Encounter with the Witcher

The wind came at the perfect time, the sound at the perfect time, and the words at the perfect time—Alice immediately came to this conclusion upon hearing those words. Then her mind and hands began to work in unison.

Without weapons, she had to remain hidden. But she had plenty of readily available materials—upon hearing those words carried on the wind, she clung to the dead tree like a writhing snake, climbing upwards. Using this meager cover and vantage point, she observed the distance while searching for knots to untie.

A rope capable of suspending a corpse in the wild, preventing it from falling even as bones, would certainly come in handy. Even if not, the sun- and wind-eroded bones could be hastily crafted into usable sharp weapons—previous rudimentary observations revealed a vast plain, it was daytime, there was no one behind them, and the tree's location offered only a small, obscuring slope. This meant that escape and reckless advance were foolish strategies; lying in ambush or taking cover were the better options.

[It's better to take the initiative than to wait for death. Since the scent and sound are coming from the wind, it means they can't be very far. At most, no more than a hundred meters, possibly even fifty or seventy meters. And since the other party didn't detect my presence at that distance when the wind direction reversed, it means they had difficulty tracking me. They are most likely a mortal.]

Her mind reached a conclusion, her fingers plucked the spoils. A few sharp branches were precisely spotted and locked onto in a fleeting glance as she climbed. And as they snapped silently, a thick rope carrying bones also drooped silently under the force of gravity.

The weapon was crafted, and the line of sight was anchored to intelligence. The broken branch split open the instant it snapped. The dangling corpse was then silently dragged to the ground. The noose was untied, and the rope itself, weathered by wind and rain, showed signs of loosening—Alice's one hand swiftly and skillfully disassembled it and combined it with other raw materials to create a new assembly, while her other hand was used to stabilize herself, ensuring that her eyes and ears could accurately gather more intelligence.

[It's been so many years since we last used locally sourced materials with such care...]

In a flash, her 5.6 superior mortal eyesight made her feel practically blind, but at least within a hundred or two meters, this level of observational ability was enough for her to accurately pinpoint anything unusual in the area—she didn't even need to search to locate the smoke released by the burning torches, and then, looking down from the smoke—not directly at people but carefully observing the weapons or objects in their hands—she accurately located a large group of people that fit the style of the late Middle Ages.

[Eleven people... 106 meters apart as the crow flies, negligible elevation difference, low wind speed, about level two headwind. They made two stakes... one had already been used, but wasn't lit; they directly stabbed a man to death on it with a sharp weapon... was it to save wood or were they too lazy to retrieve it? A woman was tied to the other stake... wood was still piled at her feet; was she the so-called witch?]