Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

[A troublesome problem, but... as expected.]

“It was a test,” Shubi answered without hesitation. “When you made your move, you deliberately suppressed some of the aftershocks directed at the ruins. Even if I hadn’t blocked them, the spaceship wouldn’t have been damaged. I noticed a trace of that, so I personally experienced your power.”

She saw the unidentified life form in front of her seem to raise an eyebrow.

"So that's how it is. You saw through my strategy, so you deliberately stood there to withstand it, using the analytical ability unique to the machine armor species to break through my power... No wonder you were able to identify the attack that even the Skywing species, which is many times stronger than you, couldn't see. So that's how it is."

“This record wasn’t uploaded; I can delete it,” Hughie replied immediately.

“But wouldn’t it be easy for me to just take you all out here?” The unknown life form moved its fingers as if holding a small ball, and lines that hadn’t touched Shubi and Jibril began to move, extending outwards as if to construct a dome. “While [Sky Strike] is powerful, I’m not without the confidence to completely sever it. Rather than struggling later, dealing with it all at once seems like a better strategy.”

“But you didn’t do that.” Jibril, holding the Celestial Strike Orb, suddenly spoke. “If you wanted to, we would be dead by now. But you didn’t—you were tempted, weren’t you? You just needed an excuse to make your decision.”

—Jibriel's attitude was pre-arranged. Because a peace negotiation opportunity gained through coercion required a certain degree of firmness, and also because the Skywing race completely lacked the ability to soften their stance or offer a way out. In fact, this was the most crucial and dangerous step. As soon as these words were uttered, the Sky Strike Orb Jibril held trembled slightly, as if it were about to blast itself directly towards the ground!

An unspeakable silence fell over the air. The will of this extraordinary life force solidified the atmosphere into glue, which then hardened into steel blades and iron mountains. The immense pressure caused cracks to appear on the distant surface of the earth, and even parts of the metal structure within Shubi's body trembled slightly under the external force!

The next moment, all the pressure came to an abrupt end.

“You’re right, I do need an excuse.” The smile on the lips of the unknown life form, which appeared to be female, faded, and the gaze that swept over them gave Shubi and Jibril the feeling that everything about them had been seen through. But before they could activate their pre-set plans, the unknown entity’s words jumped to another point.

"It's your skill to guess my purpose, and your ability to create threats is also your strength. It takes courage to bargain with me. Although you struck first, I could pretend nothing happened if the price is right. But..." Its gaze was as unpredictable and elusive as the aurora borealis in the eternal night. "What you can't get on the battlefield, you won't easily touch at the negotiating table—state your proposal, and if it satisfies me, I can let you leave."

“It’s simple, just a game.” Shubi’s mechanical eyes flickered slightly. “I have a perfectly fair game proposal. If you win, we’ll both be dead, of course. But if we’re lucky enough to win, then please let us go. Of course, I’ll delete the battle data under your control. And Jibril…”

“The life force of the Skywing race contains memories,” Jibril replied in a deep voice. “I can give you this part of their life force.”

“Interesting.” The unknown life form smirked. “In other words, how much I can gain from this deal depends on my own abilities. Directly interfering with the bodies of living mech-types and winged-types without resistance. Whether I can completely extract this information depends on me, and whether I can obtain more intelligence on this basis also depends on me… Very good, an interesting proposal. But it's missing one thing, and that is the guarantee of its execution.”

Hughie glanced at Jibril.

The latter's cross-shaped pupils suddenly contracted, and her fingers, which had already reached the transcendent level, trembled slightly. However, despite the tremor, her movements remained steady. Under the gaze of the unknown life form, she gradually gathered and coalesced the celestial sphere of light, pushing the critical reaction back to its initial state while leaving herself only a small amount of energy to maintain her adult form. The shimmering runes swirled together, compressing the sphere of light, which was originally half the size of a stadium, into the size of an apple, and then gently pushed it into the palm of the unknown life form.

“This is our sincerity, as you should have seen.” Shubi stared intently at the powerful and secretive figure before him. “If you have changed your mind, you can kill us now. But you don’t seem to intend to do so, so please allow me to explain the rules of the game.”

The lines of the chessboard swirled, detaching themselves from Shubi and Jibril, and like a ball of yarn, firmly encircled the shrunken sphere of light. The white lines then turned gold, ultimately shaping into the form of a golden apple.

"Speak," the goddess holding the golden apple said, expressing her attitude with a single word.

"Among the wreckage of that goblin warship are several weak races called mortals. They know nothing of the battle between you and us, or even much about this world. They don't know what is strong, what is weak, what is power, or what is authority. They are weak, so in their eyes, the Skywing race and the Mech race are not much different, because they are all overwhelmingly powerful to them. Therefore, they can be the unbiased judges."

Hughie's eyes darted around as her core computing engine raced, carefully considering every word she should say next.

"The game is simple. There are three of us, including you and us, and there are also three of them. So let the three of them make a vote and decide who between you and us deserves the unknown treasure more—if it's a tie, or you have two or more votes, you win. If it's the other way around, we win. What do you think?"

"It sounds like the odds are not evenly distributed, and it doesn't seem fair."

"You can change it."

“Very good,” the unknown life form nodded. “Then we don’t need three people anymore; only one person needs to make the choice. Let the leader of the three choose, and the choice… can be slightly changed.”

It tossed the golden apple in its hand. "Let him choose who should have this golden apple. Whoever has the golden apple is the winner, and the winner must eat this golden apple that combines the full force of my attack and that Skywing creature's attack over there."

Section 19. The Paris Problem

Just as described in the information Alice obtained, and just as Chu Xuan deduced from the intelligence, mortals in this world have no hope of survival.

Why is there no hope? Because they are utterly worthless. While mortals possess intelligence, their weak bodies and lack of elven perception cause them to be relegated to the bottom of the fifteen races recognized by the gods. Even in the eyes of the orcs, who rank last among the fifteen races, so-called mortals are no different from goblins, cavemen, ghouls, or wandering spirits—lower-class monsters barely clinging to life, lacking any real purpose, barely edible, but mostly just public nuisance.

Yes, they can barely be used as experimental subjects, and occasionally exploited as food. But when resources are plentiful, they are nothing more than living garbage, taking up land and wasting air. The fifteen races that claim to be intelligent view mortals the same way mortals in many parallel worlds view rats and cockroaches. When times are tough, they can be used as food and materials; when times are more comfortable, they need to be eliminated. And in either case, mortals are never even given a second glance by these powerful beings.

If you're not taken seriously, you won't be used; without the right to be used, there's no possibility of climbing the social ladder. In this era where the elven magic system is already very mature and has even extended to interstellar development, seeking other technological paths is simply a pipe dream.

Therefore, the fate of mortals cannot be changed. Unless... there is no unless.

I know... but what can we do? We mortals are already struggling to survive like weeds in dark corners. On top of that, where do we find the energy to think about anything else?

But I'm still so unwilling to accept this... When will this endless, inexplicable war finally end?

Inside the wreckage of the goblin warship, three mortals huddled like corpses in several hidden corners. One of them could still move, while the other two trembled in a deep coma, as if trapped in a nightmare.

They were members of an exploration team from a mortal settlement about seven to ten days' journey from here. Their names were Riku, Ivan, and Aray. Ivan was the oldest and most experienced, Aray was the youngest and most energetic, and Riku was the leader of the exploration team and the entire mortal settlement. Among the thousands of people in the settlement, he was the calmest, most perceptive, and most efficient and decisive.

They had observed a minor conflict in this airspace more than a week ago, witnessed the crash of a goblin warship, and waited and observed in the settlement for nearly ten days. Only after the ten-day observation period ended and it was confirmed that no superior race had come to clean up the ruins did Riku decide to take the two most capable members of the settlement besides himself on an adventure to search for usable resources here.

Their operation went smoothly, at least initially. The biggest obstacle they encountered while infiltrating the goblin warship wreckage was a few tightly packed pieces of construction debris, which they easily overcame with shovels and crowbars. However, after finding a wealth of intelligence, including the latest world map, in the ship's main control room, a less than perfect ending awaited them.

The war came suddenly, the explosion came suddenly. When the 'Sealed Sun' was released, even the three people in the main control room, theoretically the safest area deep within the warship, could clearly sense the destructive power that seemed to collapse the heavens and earth and annihilate everything. The chessboard-like formation woven by Zhao Yingkong that followed sent chills down their spines—the chilling killing intent that stretched to the heavens and swept across the eight wastelands was simply too terrifying. Even a tiny wisp of it was enough to scare two of these incredibly brave mortals to death.

Ah, yes, Ivan and Ale had already fainted from fright. Only Riku, who had kept his heart closed off since childhood and possessed superhuman mental fortitude, remained. And when the commotion outside finally subsided and everything fell into an unspeakable silence, the white-haired youth finally revealed a relieved yet slightly bitter smile.

Ah, this is merely the aftermath, a small fraction of the battle's power, yet the most talented among us mortals have been rendered useless. For us like this, even simply surviving is a luxury.

It was quiet outside, unusually quiet. Though he hated to admit it, the phrase 'the calm before the storm' was the most fitting description of the scene—and when this realization dawned on Riku, the forced smile on his lips vanished without a trace. Then he glanced at his two unconscious companions and sighed, whether with helplessness or relief, it was hard to tell.

The battle on the outer perimeter ended with that single, overwhelming killing intent that even he, with his closed-off mind, couldn't suppress. There were no explosions, no destruction, no follow-up chase. There was only that single, pure killing intent—so the conclusion is obvious: that killing intent was merely an illusion, like a reflection on water, never truly materializing. Yet, the two sides in the battle had already been decided, and only decided in terms of victory or defeat, not in terms of life or death.

If it doesn't involve life or death, then it implies peace talks. This 'conflict' was short-lived, so its scale should be small; it's not a war between races but rather a conflict between individuals. Given the current situation where these fifteen races are mutually hostile and their alliances are complex, such secret agreements between individuals are very likely to be kept secret.

The best way to keep a secret is naturally to make all living things with ears disappear.

But I am still alive.

Riku glanced at the spirit needle disc in his hand, an exquisite device he and his sister had created together to detect densely populated areas of elves in the nearby atmosphere. Now, however, the spirit needle disc was pointing directly at the outside of the central control room, slowly shifting towards the doorway!

This is probably the most compelling evidence imaginable, far more compelling than the previous pile of wild thoughts stemming from mental confusion. The Spirit Needle Disc clearly indicates that one, or multiple, life forms possessing a large number of spirits are approaching—they have undoubtedly discovered us and have a purpose in doing so!

[Can something like this really happen? Not outright silencing them, but rather having some need for useless mortals like us… If we manage to return alive, we must record it in the archives. We must let future generations know that we mortals aren't entirely worthless.]

He pressed his hand to his chest, popped a piece of compressed rations into his mouth to replenish his energy, and his mind immediately settled into a state of fullness and satisfaction as he chewed. He didn't wait for the visitor to enter the control hall; instead, he straightened his clothes and went out to greet them.

This life is likely lost here, but the fact that they haven't made a direct move means we have some value to them. Therefore, there's still some room for negotiation.

The most basic goal is to prevent them from paying attention to mortals. The second goal is to conceal the existence of the settlement to avoid arousing their interest. The next goal is to ensure the settlement's safety and generate value. And then, the most important thing is to save the lives of those two unsuspecting individuals.

After achieving the above goals, I'll try to see if I can survive.

With these thoughts and determination, the white-haired boy calmly stepped out the door.

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

Before Riku were three beings who appeared to be women. They had clearly known his actions and deduced part of his thoughts the moment he woke up and took a step outside, so much so that when Riku reached the hall outside the main control room, he could take in all three life forms—this realization made his heart sink, and his originally stable mind trembled slightly again.

[Don't panic, don't show weakness. Since they've appeared here in this manner, it means that pretending to be crazy now is pointless. The end result will only be that one of them will easily wipe me out, and it might even implicate the others in the settlement.]

We must gather as much information as possible...

He tried to lift his head, a movement that went unimpeded, but when he took in the three life forms before him, which were perhaps female, a tremendous shock of information overwhelmed him, causing his vision to go black and his eyes to nearly bleed.

The one on the far left is a machine armored creature that looks like a young girl. She has long purple hair and a tilted halo. Looking at her, there seems to be some kind of illusion that makes him feel uncomfortable, but when he looks closely, that illusion disappears in an instant.

The one in the middle was a Skywing, her asymmetrical attire, pure white wings, and cross-shaped eyes all testifying to her identity. When Riku gazed at her, he felt a slight oppression, as if an invisible pressure from beyond his own being was washing over his nerves, causing his spine to tremble slightly.

In a different situation, he might have knelt down or even prostrated himself, as that would have been the best way to protect the settlement. But in this situation, he could only stand upright.

His gaze shifted, and the person on the far right came into view—he didn't notice anything unusual for the first second when he saw the right side, but in the second second his heart and lungs almost stopped!

What did he see? A mortal!? A mortal woman with black hair and black eyes, and not very tall!?

"No, no, absolutely not! It must be some race not recorded in the intelligence files." He struggled to calm himself. "How could those parallel to the Mech Race and the Winged Race be mortals completely unable to sense elves? Besides, mortals with black hair and black eyes are extremely rare. I've never seen them before, except for those two at the gathering over a year ago who clearly had complex secrets and were likely accompanying the Dragon Breaker's arrival—"

[—Dragon Break?]

His thoughts paused, and his gaze unconsciously swept along the path it had followed. As it passed the spirit needle disc hanging on his belt, he saw that the pointer was pointing precisely in the middle between the machine armored and winged races, leaning towards the winged race!

The next moment, perhaps through micro-expression observation, it was discovered that he had regained his composure, and a voice came clearly from his right.

"Mortal, I have a task for you." — The Skywing in the middle spoke in a slightly higher tone.

“We have a game between us, and we need a fair referee to decide the winner.” — The voice of the woman of unknown race on the right was cold and clear.

"So we chose you to be the referee and decide who gets the fruit." — The voice of the machine-type on the left was indifferent, like a flowing, cold stream.

A golden apple drifted silently down from above Riku's head and hovered peacefully in front of him.

"If you choose to give me the fruit, you will receive the knowledge of the Mech-type as a reward, and master intelligence and easily accessible methods of Spirit intervention. You can become wiser, or use this knowledge and intelligence to do whatever you want." — The Mech-type on the left stated its conditions.

"If you choose to let me win, you and your race will receive the protection of the Skywings. With my credentials, you can live in a land ruled by the Skywings without being purged. You will become the most powerful king in your race, and if you are already so, this permission will not disappear even if you die." — The Skywing from the center stated his price.

“I have nothing to give you,” the unidentified woman on the far right seemed to smile. “But if you give me the golden apple, I promise to make your short life comfortable and fulfilling. You can achieve anything you desire through your own efforts, as long as it's not unrealistic. Even the problem of being single that has troubled you for so long will soon disappear.”

As he finished speaking, the golden apple landed in Riku's palm. The three options represented three different camps, and they were clearly the adversaries who had previously been on the outside. Choosing one side would inevitably offend the other two.

Mortals are weak; offending even one side can lead to annihilation. However, regret is now pointless. The small goals they had set for themselves had already crumbled with the clarification of the other side's intentions. Mortals were now in their sights, and the only thing they could do now was to preserve the thousands of lives in the settlement as best they could.

So first of all...

First, we can eliminate the mech-type.

Section 20: The Distribution of Apples

Survival is not the primary goal; the primary objective is to preserve one's own race. While the conditions offered by the machine-armored race are undoubtedly the most advantageous in the long run, offending the powerful Skywing race could lead to the devastating bombing of this area spanning hundreds of kilometers within a day, leaving not even a single insect alive.

This is not an exaggeration. Most mortals may not know the true extent of the Skywing race's power, but for Riku, who has been on the front lines for years and has handled every intelligence and tip-off within his race, it is perfectly clear. It is a colossal force capable of shattering stars and collapsing continents, and this level of power has been unleashed at least ten times even after the Dragon Break!

[Future opportunities are not as valuable as the wealth we possess. Even if the machine race could provide something that ordinary people could also use, and even make ordinary people a sixteenth race on par with the beastmen, that's something that will happen in the future... First, there needs to be a future.]

So... what's the price for the Skywing race?

Liku's mind raced. He quickly drew a conclusion based on the surface of the problem.

The Skywing race is incredibly powerful. It's said that before the Dragon Break, they were nominally the sixth strongest race, but in reality, the number one race under the gods. Even now, their power remains secure. If the entire race could be sheltered in their territory, perhaps the people in the settlement would indeed live a good life for a while. But then what...?

A shift in thinking led to the rejection of the Skywing Race's proposal. It's obvious that even if the Skywing Race fulfilled their promise, it would only be an individual's proposal, akin to bestowing land upon a mortal like a pet. This might be acceptable in peacetime, but now it's war…

War... Given the Skywing race's warlike nature, sooner or later a war will reach their territory and homeland. And when that happens, will the mortals living on the ground have any hope of survival?

No, mortals simply cannot escape the aftermath of a conflict at the level of the Skywing race. The Skywing race would never dedicate troops to protect mortals during a war. Because mortals are of no value to them; they need no food, no tools, no materials—mortals are utterly useless to them.

Choosing the Skywing race is also a dead end, although the Mech race shouldn't react with 'enragement.' Choosing it is simply slow suicide. The only difference is dying sooner or later, and... we also have to take the reaction of the last one into account.

His gaze shifted, the golden apple he held frozen in his hands for ten seconds. He knew he had to say or do something. But every time he tried to focus his gaze on the unknown life form on the far right, a feeling of oppression and unease filled his mind and body.

Without data or intelligence, the only certainty is that the one on the far right likely doesn't belong to one of the fifteen common races; it's highly probable to be a fantasy species or a weak deity. However, this level of information hardly qualifies as intelligence and is completely unusable as reference data for making a judgment!

Ah, that's right. Although it seems that the offers from the Mech and Winged races can be directly ruled out, theoretically, the only option left is the unremarkable proposal from the Unknown race. But theory is one thing, reality is another! All previous deductions were based on the premise that this choice had no inside story and didn't require consideration of external circumstances. However, it's clear that the recent war on the outside world has determined that this isn't a simple choice!

We must find a way to obtain more information...

"Excuse me, may I know what this apple is?" Riku gave a slightly shy smile after holding the golden apple for eleven seconds. "It's a bit much to be asked to make a choice out of thin air like this..."

A sound, whose direction and tone were indistinguishable, emanated from the hall.

"You can take your time to think, but your judgment must be fair and impartial."

"You don't need to know what this golden apple is, nor do you need us to provide any information for reference. You just need to make your judgment based on your own ideas and your own standards."

"You can give it to the one you think is the most beautiful, or the one you dislike the most, or the tallest person, or the one with the worst figure—the judgment is up to you, and whichever one you choose, you will receive the promised reward."