Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"Dormammu, I've come to talk to you..." Doctor Strange brushed the dust from his eyes, and then all the surrounding scenery came into view.

"...conditions." He felt that something was wrong with the situation here.

Section 59. Read and Burn After Reading

Things have changed...

When...some interesting things happen in this low-energy American comic book world, billions of fragmented worlds silently converge on the surface of the energy sea.

On the eight branches of the Tree of Events, the fruits hanging on six branches are nearing maturity. And the seventh enormous fruit, which has gathered the most reincarnation teams, is also steadily progressing towards perfection.

This was not the final result of the ritual's normal operation. Due to the demon team, the Saint Hunting Ritual, which would have concluded successfully in about a hundred thousand years, had to resort to short-sighted methods at the crucial final moment. If one could elevate their perspective infinitely within this single universe, they would witness the magnificent spectacle of the silver serpent coiled on the Virgo Supercluster and the unknown darkness of deep space mutually antagonizing, intimidating, and occasionally clashing. They would witness countless stars turning to dust in this clash that touched the power of saints, completely erased without leaving a trace—a grand battlefield.

What price did the Demons pay for this?

No one knows, perhaps not even they themselves. But as the current strongest beings in the cycle of reincarnation, regardless of the cost they pay, once converted into resources that can be understood by ordinary people, the resulting gains will absolutely far exceed the losses that the Central Continent Team would have to bear in their pursuit of quick success in this world.

This is the prerequisite for deterrence to be achieved, and also the prerequisite for compromise to be achieved. Even if the Central Continent team doesn't achieve its full potential, it will inevitably experience a qualitative improvement in this world. The Demon team, on the other hand, is destined to incur huge expenses with meager returns in this world.

The silver serpent on the Virgo Supercluster writhed silently, watching its only enemy in this single-universe scenario. The other primordial saint legions, which were originally expected to descend during the Saint-Hunting Ritual as predicted in the worst-case scenario, had remained completely still, and it was estimated they wouldn't reappear. With all variables and concerns eliminated, this complex game of chess naturally drew to a close.

The serpent continued to watch its enemy. And the unknown darkness of deep space remained unseen. In the silence, alien civilizations across several star systems within the interference range of these two colossal entities suddenly erupted into a raging war. These alien inhabitants may have believed they knew why they were fighting for their civilization, but they were unaware that this war sweeping across the galaxy was merely a silent clash between two celestial behemoths. Whether they won or lost, the final outcome would bring no benefit to these civilizations. Yet, such wars had been repeated countless times throughout the long ages.

The snake continued to watch its opponent, and the snake knew that its opponent was also watching it. When the external forces relied upon by both sides reached an absurdly high level, intelligence, strategy, struggle, and passion all became useless waste. The only thing left was a simple game of strategy and a contest of quality.

This battle will soon end, and one of this scale is destined to be unrepeatable. The power of a Saint at the fifth level of the Gene Lock is ultimately too absurd for mortals, and even for the vast majority of extraordinary life forms. When the final battle arrives, this unbridled power will inevitably be excluded, unable to set foot on the battlefield—

—Perhaps this world is a process of elimination, who knows?

And in the brief interval between the snake's and its adversary's mutual gaze, on the eighth branch of the tree of events, the fruit, also converging and already in its final stage, trembled silently for a moment during its fusion.

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

The fourth layer of the box is the world of No Game No Life Zero.

In the fairy realm, which exists eternally in the cracks of time and space, two visitors from beyond the realm arrived silently. The fairies who had appeared innocent and lively when Alice descended shed their disguises at this moment. When Xiao Honglu and Zhao Zhuikong arrived, what greeted their eyes was an elemental storm with its own consciousness.

"Oh dear, Patchouli seems quite unhappy." Xiao Honglu gave a helpless smile, casually unfolding a card containing a shield. The elemental storm, capable of turning mountains to dust in an instant, silently dispersed to both sides outside the shield, and after being reshaped, the storm drifted away as if it had never seen the two of them.

The wind howled. Yet, something enormous still crawled through the wind. It might be a giant, a behemoth, or perhaps some strange natural phenomenon.

"Perhaps we should come back later?"

The two surveyed their surroundings. This once idyllic, isolated space was now engulfed by raging elemental storms and energy tides. Each of the fairy-like beings controlling, or rather, constituting, these elemental storms possessed A-level enhancements and third-tier genetic locks. Furthermore, in the grasslands and forests that remained undamaged even amidst the storms, numerous powerful third-tier beings roamed freely.

“No, we’re not late. Now is the perfect time.” Zhao Zhuikong shook his head slightly, his gaze passing over the elemental storm to several dimly lit hills belonging to the fairy race. Those mountains stood firm amidst the destructive storm, for the materials they were constructed from were upgraded versions of the strong interaction materials obtained from the Trisolaran civilization. Furthermore, countless hidden magic arrays and energy circuits operated continuously within them.

“This isn’t Patchouli throwing a tantrum; it’s just a natural phenomenon in this fairy realm.” He reached out and, through the invisible shield and the turbulent energy tides, plucked a fallen leaf from the wind. As he did so, the leaf left a faint white scratch on his fingertip—he hadn’t used any special power to pluck the leaf, but in this fairy realm, the leaf he picked was nothing more than an ordinary leaf.

"But she's definitely not in a good mood right now." Zhao Zhuikong crushed the blade, using approximately ten thousand tons of standard explosive yield to do so, roughly equivalent to the finger strength of a heavy thermobaric bomb. This meant nothing to him, but this blade was probably nothing to Patchouli. And through this simple calculation and comparison, he came to the unfortunate conclusion that he probably wouldn't last more than a hundred seconds in Patchouli's home turf.

His heart was filled with anxiety, but even so, he had to endure it. A woman caught in a nameless rage is beyond reason. And having raised his sister, he knew this all too well.

This is Patchouli's territory, her mage tower, her demiplane. Changes here are in sync with her will; the celestial phenomena depend on her mood. When visitors arrive, she will know immediately. And since their arrival is completely undisguised yet they still face this violent energy tide, it can only prove that her current state of mind is extremely dire.

After all, the Patchouli of the past was kind to everyone in the group, and she seemed to have no regard for anyone else in her eyes. The fact that she would abandon even these subtle pretenses suggests that what happened here is entirely unknown.

But since she chose to unconsciously vent her anger instead of continuing to maintain a facade as if she were dealing with strangers, does this indicate that her attitude towards the other members of the team has actually changed? Does it mean she no longer sees them merely as strangers or work colleagues?

[...In that case, perhaps this could be considered a good thing.]

Xiao Honglu inwardly scoffed. He finally understood why Alice had chosen to send him here instead of descending herself to speed things up. This situation was bound to be quite awkward for certain people with specific stances. But—

Taking your anger out on innocent children is not the behavior of a mature woman! Patchouli!

The next moment, having figured things out, Xiao Honglu reached out to stop Zhao Zhuikong, who couldn't resist doing something... dangerous. With a thought, the silent, unknown barrier vanished just as silently as it had appeared. And before the energy storm that could have made his face sting arrived, his voice, carried by the spreading spell, traveled in all directions.

"It's us! Patchouli! Where are you!"

The voice of a 'twelve-year-old' echoed through the heavens and earth, and the next moment, the sweeping tide of energy suddenly froze in mid-air as if a switch had been pressed, then silently dispersed in all directions like a floating machine that had lost all power. Sunlight streamed down from the sky, and white clouds dotted the clear blue expanse. The lush green grass and dense trees shimmered in the sunlight, and a few drops of morning dew adorned the sides of the leaves.

—And nobody cared that not a single drop of rain had fallen.

The two visitors paid no attention, nor did the host. Under Xiao Honglu's gaze, a magnificent rainbow transformed into a bridge, silently extending from beneath a towering tree that had been nowhere to be seen just moments before, with the other end of the bridge anchoring precisely beneath their feet.

Xiao Honglu shrugged, while Zhao Zhuikong shook his head helplessly. 'Tsk, women'—both of them wanted to say that, but they wisely chose to remain silent. The moment their feet stepped onto what appeared to be a rainbow, but was actually a colored version of a space bridge constructed of visible light, their forms vanished from this side of the mountain, reappearing at the foot of the trees.

A magnificent fairy palace appeared before the two, and they could finally see their first target: the fairy lord with the physique of a poor young girl and sharp ears.

She was sitting at the head of a tea table, her gaze fixed on a spot on the guest table, where only an empty cup of black tea remained. Although they didn't know what had happened, Xiao Honglu and Zhao Zhuikong wisely refrained from sitting at the guest table or on either side of it, instead finding two ordinary chairs in the hall.

Then--

The Fairy Lord remained staring blankly at the teacup, showing no sign of paying attention to the two guests.

The two looked at each other.

"Ahem." Xiao Honglu cleared his throat. Then he said, "Sister Patchouli, we..."

“First of all, at this point in time, I am called Arisa. Secondly, I know why you have come here.” His words were rudely interrupted by the Lord of the Fairy Race. “The progress of the ritual has been forcibly accelerated, and some of the procrastinating steps cannot continue to proceed as scheduled. And the two of you are indeed the right people to descend here.”

She glanced at Zhao Zhuikong.

“It is indeed very necessary for someone to be forced here. This is an indispensable opportunity for her, and without my current intervention, it will be difficult for her to break through the mid-stage of the fourth phase of the genetic lock and gather the light of the mind here—her quantity is sufficient, and in terms of quality, she can barely catch up if she tries. The only thing lacking is a catalyst-like opportunity, and I think that's what you're here for?”

She didn't specify who she was referring to, but all three people present knew who she was talking about.

“Yes, that’s exactly why I came here.” Zhao Zhuikong nodded slightly, his expression more serious than ever before. “She must break through to the fourth rank here. I can’t wait to do it, but since this is a training ground painstakingly planned by you wise men, there must be some taboos and key points. I’m here for these reasons.”

The Fairy Lord nodded, snapped her fingers, and a book that looked as thick as the Oxford Encyclopedia appeared before Zhao Zhuikong's eyes. He took it, but before flipping through it, he looked at her cautiously, his gaze searching for any further instructions.

"There aren't many taboos or key points, but the amount of detail is enormous. You can't take this book with you; you have to memorize it all, and then you'll naturally know what to do."

She said this, and her recipient immediately began flipping through the book at a pace that was neither slow nor fast. Despite having the extraordinary perception and memory of a fourth-tier being, he could easily have finished the book in two seconds, but this idiot brother, suffering from a sister-complex, was turning the pages at a speed observable by ordinary people. His level of attention was evident, and the Fairy Lord's gaze immediately shifted.

“Pa...Arisa-neechan, do I also have things to do here?”—Xiao Honglu clearly sensed that gaze and understood its meaning. His expression changed rapidly, first with hesitation, then with helplessness.

There was no sound, but he knew from the subtle changes in his gaze what kind of job this was. Although he had been mentally prepared, he still felt a little helpless when the time came.

“I can’t appear directly in front of the Central Plains team at this point in time right now. But you can,” the Fairy Lord said calmly. A scroll bar appeared in her hand, and the next moment it was transferred to Xiao Honglu’s palm.

"The specific details are inside. There are some things I can't say, but you can read them."

"Read and then burn."

Chapter Sixty: Alice's Road

The bottom layer of the box is located in the world of the ancient scrolling scroll...

Since Alice left the Ghostly Ruins that sealed away the ancient vampire Serana Valhatch, nearly half a month had passed without her noticing. As the middle of the month approached, the already frigid White Territory was unexpectedly blanketed in snowflakes and intermittent freezing rain. The sleet quickly turned into even worse weather, transforming within days into a harsh frost that impeded the movement of any living thing.

The weather was cold, but this level of cold was not enough to stop Alice from moving forward. However, her client, the vampire heiress who claimed to be in a hurry to go home, said that the frost would affect her lungs, and had already settled into the warm bed in the hotel in Morningstar City, the capital of White Land, without any intention of moving her feet.

If she didn't leave, Alice naturally couldn't leave either. After all, with only four and a half months of memories, Miss Alice had no real goals in mind. Her existence was merely a boring exercise in carrying out the requests of one client after another. She could agree to kill all the vampires in an entire territory just because of a little girl ghost's dying wish. And when she decided to fulfill the request of this classical young lady, she didn't demand too much of her client.

She was the one who said she wanted to go home, and she's also the one who wants to stay here to escape the cold. What she wants to do is her own decision; it doesn't matter where I stay.

But why would I do that?

The girl pondered, gazing through the window at the falling white snow. Her thoughts swirled silently, the sound of the snow hitting the ground echoing in her ears.

It was five in the morning. Under the blizzard, the entire city of Morningstar was as silent as a sleeping behemoth. The vampire, who should have been living a life of constant sleep and day-night reversal, was soundly asleep in bed—unlike any vampire she knew, she had no sunken cheeks, no bluish skin; outwardly, she was just a pale, pretty young girl with slightly unusual eyes. And this creature didn't even seem to have much of a need for blood; after all, she hadn't drunk many drops of blood in the thousands of years she had spent in the stone coffin.

Despite being a vampire, he behaved like an ordinary mortal. Perhaps there was a special reason behind it, or perhaps such behavior involved a huge secret. Perhaps... there were many possibilities. But no matter how many possibilities there were, this unusual behavior couldn't stir even the slightest ripple in Alice's heart—at least that's how it seemed.

Because it doesn't matter, it's completely unimportant—from the very beginning, Alice lacked curiosity and a desire to explore her clients. She only knew that she had no goal, so she needed to find one randomly. As for the background of the person who gave her the goal, or what their feelings were, they were all useless junk to her—at least that was the case in the past.

She would think, but she would never think about how to use the waste. If the waste tried to interfere with her actions, she would eliminate it without hesitation—she did think, and the questions that lingered in her mind were indeed there, but they were always just a few—at least until today.

Why am I standing here? — I don't know.

Why should I fulfill this obligation? — I don't know.

Why am I...? — I don't know.

Her thoughts raced back and forth, but the final conclusion was utterly nothing. Just like four and a half months ago when she awoke from a daze near the Helgen fortress. No matter how hard she tried to think, she couldn't reach a reliable conclusion.

Today, however, she has even more questions in her heart.

What am I doing here? Why am I even here?

Alice gazed at the blizzard in the darkest hour before dawn, and suddenly felt that if she wanted to, she could simply draw her sword and slash, dispersing the clouds, stopping the blizzard, and bringing clear skies back to normal. She even felt that with a little more force, she could cut from Whitelands to Hafendal with a single stroke, tearing hundreds of miles of earth apart with her will, carving a path straight to Serana's doorstep.

—Am I really that strong? Perhaps not, perhaps yes. Although she had never unleashed such a sword strike before, and although she had recently suffered greatly under the dragon's claws, at least now, at this moment, as she gazed up at the dark sky, she felt she could do it.

She knew she could do it, and she also knew why she wouldn't. If it was merely to fulfill a request given by a vampire, perhaps from an ancient princess, then she only needed to make a single, forceful strike, take a step, and reach her goal, then seek the next, equally meaningless step. But…

I don't need to consider this vampire's thoughts, nor do I need to indulge her whims. That's how I was in the past, and that's how I should be in the future. She should be worthless to me, merely a tool to achieve my goals. But why am I doing this useless thing here?

New questions arose in her mind. In this brief moment of gazing at the snowy night, more perplexing thoughts arose than in the previous four months combined. Old questions remained unresolved, while new confusions multiplied. And these new questions, mingling with the old ones, ultimately pointed to a wondrous fact, one that she could clearly discern.

I'm intrigued by this ancient vampire I've only known for less than two weeks. There's something about her, or rather, something I subconsciously value.

A conclusion silently surfaced in her mind, but it didn't make her feel elated. From a very early age, Alice knew that she didn't possess the joys and sorrows of others in this world, and she was well aware of the implications of this unique difference.

—【I am a tool, and tools don't need so many unnecessary emotions.】

Alice continued to ponder. She didn't feel there was anything inappropriate or unreasonable about her identity as a prop. It was a conclusion she had drawn herself. She was also eager to know who had created her as a prop, and what kind of mission she possessed.

The thought of 'isolation experiment' seemed to surface in her mind, but before it could float to the surface of her consciousness and materialize into a complete concept, it silently dissipated under the influence of some unknown mechanism, without interfering with any part of Alice's thinking at this moment.

The thought process continued—she also knew that her idea was strange, at least in the eyes of most mortals in this world. In the past four and a half months, which hadn't been long, she had encountered more than once people who, for various reasons, had gathered around her, and after discovering her abnormality, wanted to bring her back 'emotions'—people she might have once called friends. And without exception, these people, after realizing the true nature of 'Alice', drifted away from her.

The lords and nobles in Whiterun who witnessed her slaying the dragon were like that. The lord's guard who followed her out of Whiterun, vowing to become her shield and sword, was like that. And the spellcaster friends she met during her brief stay in Morthal after her journey through Whiterun was also like that.

They wanted to help her, to help her regain her emotions. They might have been enthusiastic, patient, cheerful, or composed. But without exception, they all realized during their brief time together that 'Alice' actively rejected emotions and had no intention of reshaping them—and thus left with disappointment.

Alice had faced crises several times in the past for these very reasons. But she didn't blame them, nor did she resent their departure. Just as their arrival, their efforts, their intimate conversations and enthusiastic guidance were meaningless to her. From the beginning, she had never cared about the existence or will of these 'friends'. She only wanted to know why she was here, why she wanted to fulfill her mission, and why… she was herself.

She's been thinking about this all along, and this is all she's ever cared about.

This process continued until two weeks ago, when she dug the ancient vampire out of the sarcophagus.

Alice blinked.

Her gaze pierced through the night snow, the traces of stars clearly visible in her eyes. In this world, the so-called 'stars' are not actual celestial bodies. Rather, they are passageways leading to a realm called the 'Light Realm'. Legend has it that in the distant era of creation, a group of gods unwilling to participate in creation crossed over, leaving behind paths that became the sun and the celestial stars—this is a fact, a truth, as fundamental as an apple falling to the ground, or iron being harder than cotton. All learned people in the world believe this. Yet, when she gazed at the sky, she always sensed something amiss.

Are those stars... watching over her too?

She shook her head, dismissing the pointless and unfounded thought from her mind. The simple clock in the fantastical world beside her had already ticked from 5:00 to 5:15. And she had been gazing at the snowy night for a long enough time.

She left the window, walked down the corridor, and past the lavishly decorated luxury room of the hotel. She paused briefly as she passed her client's room, but without knocking, she walked straight in.

The room was dark, but that didn't pose any obstacle for her. So she skipped turning on the light, and in that moment, she found herself at the bedside of her client, the vampire princess named Serana.

—The vampire was still asleep at the darkest hour of the day. She slept soundly, so soundly that Alice could even clearly hear her rhythmic, slow breathing and heartbeat. The longer she spent with this creature, the less she felt it resembled a vampire. At times, Alice even hallucinated when gazing at her client, as if this person calling herself Serana wasn't Serana at all, but something entirely different.

This wasn't Alice's hallucination, as she had experienced something similar before. Before opening the sarcophagus, she sensed that the vampire was a lesser demon with wine-red hair and black wings; after opening the sarcophagus, she seemed to see a gentle scholar with long, flowing purple hair. And whichever it was, she felt a deep connection to them.