Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"Welcome to the 'Yesterday's Broken Ship' quick play area. Luo Ai and Lin Xi from the Yesterday, and Rob from the Winter Wind, the game's organizer. Please feel free to start playing."

Six greetings, a mixture of male, female, mechanical, and electronic voices, rang out simultaneously. Then, everything returned to its previous silence. A greeting, but only a greeting. This was normal in this world, because the Qin people, as an immortal race, had a completely different understanding of interpersonal relationships than their ancient ancestors.

In the past, mortals were short-lived beings. They were social creatures because their spirit and cognition were very fragile; once separated from society, it was difficult for a person to live for long.

The Qin people of today are immortal beings, and they no longer value society as much as their ancestors did. Their spirits are strong and resilient, and they no longer need to fear the poison called 'loneliness'.

The Qin people were different. Although they still lived in the society of the empire, they were no longer bound by it. They were very cautious about interpersonal relationships. They had the time and patience to spend a hundred years observing and deciding whether to befriend a stranger.

Therefore, Qin people wouldn't meet easily. At least not in their actual physical form. A simple greeting was itself a sign of resistance to contact. Under normal circumstances, the person being treated this way would understand and accept this form of social interaction.

Sirin's lips moved; she was preparing to use her status as a game participant to contact the Winterwind, where Rob was located, and obtain more information through communication. However, before she could do so, Alice blocked her actions by ordering the ship to construct a carrier container.

Yesterday's number will soon be involved in this fast-paced game.

"Why are you doing this? Have you already obtained enough information?" Sirin wondered, but she still took action. She and Alice chatted about the game while making preparations for participating in the tachyon game.

—【Yes, I've gathered enough information. Because I know the Overlord better than you, and I know the elements possessed by the Overlord as an individual better than you do. And just now, I observed the clue I was hoping for in that greeting.】

Her gaze fell, fixed on the greeting. Even without using any power, she could clearly discern the faint residual information within that powerful greeting, suggesting it had been passed through someone else's hands.

That is……

—【Chelsey.】

Chapter Nine: The Overlord, Part Two

To shape a body and piece together an identity.

It combines flesh and blood, and links cause and effect.

When Alice opened the container's eyes, she found herself at the top of a city.

A city, a moving city, a city whose main body is heterogeneous carbon and special composite alloys, capable of operating on the earth like a crawling snail.

A city where prosperity hides suffering.

She could easily sense the noise and bustle in the air, as well as the unrest and pain hidden beneath.

But that doesn't matter, at least not to her. Because for her, what truly matters is...

“Hu Hai isn’t watching us anymore.” She looked at the sky, feeling the lightness that came with the disappearance of the invisible gaze. She knew very well that Qin Er Shi’s gaze had temporarily shifted away from her and Xi Lin… at least not as closely as before, as he had been watching their every move.

It's infuriating; as an emperor, this guy is far too conscientious. While Alice could certainly establish a nation and monitor every citizen's every move, even down to the atomic level, she wouldn't actually go into such detail. After all, she's never really taken the nation she's built very seriously.

She was a transcendent being, a being that transcended everything within the Source World. Theoretically speaking, in a real fight, she should be able to subdue Hu Hai, who was not yet a transcendent being, in a short time. However, theory is theory, and practice is practice. She had a premonition that if she rashly joined forces with Xilin to fight Hu Hai, their side would definitely be the ones to suffer.

Why is that? Alice had a rough idea in her mind. Combining this with the information shared by Sirin about Qin Huang's galaxy-scale body, she roughly had a clue about Hu Hai's true identity.

[The First God... a First God who is unrestricted and can freely unleash its power. It is not a Transcendent being because its ability to interfere across universes has been suppressed or prohibited to ensure the war doesn't spread elsewhere and introduce new variables. But aside from this, the power it can unleash in this single universe definitely surpasses that of ordinary, or even senior, Transcendent beings!]

[Damn, a high-level expert who can do everything except intercosmic interference? Or is he even more powerful, a flawed quasi-saint? Damn it, how exactly did Ying Zheng manage to deal with this guy back then? Or did he just walk away because he couldn't handle him... or is it simply that Hu Hai in this trial is special?]

A wave of confusion washed over the girl. She was currently certain of only two things. First, even if she and Xilin joined forces, they were almost certainly no match for Hu Hai. Second, the record of the final guardian of her past life's legacy—the progenitor god possessing a portion of the power of the Central Continent's main god—must exist there. Whether these two things were connected remained to be further investigated.

She turned her head, interrupting her thoughts, and looked at Miss Celine, who was also deep in thought. Some things can indeed be communicated directly through glances and unspoken understanding. But more complex matters require other forms of communication.

She saw that Celine had also paused her thoughts and continued her previous topic. She nodded to her.

“But we still need to be careful,” Sirin explained. “If we use power that exceeds the limitations of the Qin people’s abilities or surpasses their understanding, it will still be watching us.”

"What we've gained now is simply the freedom to speak as we please."

“But that’s enough.” Alice nodded. Then she changed the subject. “Cirin, I have some conjectures I can’t explain the source of the information to tell you. Regarding Hu Hai, I think it’s possible that he is…” She described her conjecture.

As expected, she saw a growing seriousness creep into Celine's eyes. However, just as she finished expressing her conjecture and was about to catch her breath and grab a cup of coffee, Celine abruptly cut her off.

“That’s very likely, Alice.” Sirin nodded slightly, her expression worried. “However, I also have a guess I want to tell you, Miss Alice. About that Sekhmet and her kingdom you mentioned… I may have seen similar things related to them before.”

“Is it…?” An ominous premonition surfaced in Alice’s mind.

"It's a very powerful, strange, and probably very ancient creature. I discovered it while exploring a simple fantasy world called 'Dragon Knights.' They are sealed in a spatial rift underground and don't seem to belong to genetic locks, obsessive souls, or cultivation systems. Instead, they are something else entirely—something very bizarre and twisted."

Celine saw Alice cover her forehead before she could finish speaking.

“Uh…” she asked uncertainly, “Am I mistaken about something? I remember the people guarding that seal called them ‘witches’… Is something wrong?”

"No." Alice shook her head, covering her forehead and face. "Your guess... is very correct, quite possibly. I was just wondering, how did you survive back then?"

“I didn’t survive.” Sirin tilted her head, asking in confusion, “You know my luck, Alice. Dying in the cycle of reincarnation is a natural and common occurrence for me. Zhao Zhuikong and I both died inexplicably after seeing those monsters called ‘witches.’ By the time we realized what was happening, we were already waiting for the resurrection bar to load in the Cross Chapter.”

"You...you're amazing." Alice gave her a thumbs up, filled with admiration.

Dragon knights, heretical sorcerers… Ah, she really wouldn't have remembered these things if Sirin hadn't brought them up. After all, her first reaction after seeing that record—which supposedly would trigger a lethal meme if leaked—was to erase that part of the memory from her mind. Without the keyword to activate it, who knows how long those sealed memories would have remained in her mind?

The heretical sorcerers are weapons created by the sages, the ultimate embodiment of the concept of a 'legion'. It is said that in the primordial war of creation, the original form of the sorcerer already participated as a major force in the battle against all races. And when the war between creation and the myriad races ended, and humanity began to deal with its internal problems, initiating the struggle between sages and immortals, between genetic locks and the traditions of cultivation, the heretical sorcerers, as weapons of the sages, were thrown into endless slaughter.

Regardless of the exact amount of bloodshed involved, the sages and celestial beings ultimately reconciled. While establishing the Primordial Heavenly Court, they destroyed or sealed away the weapons that had caused the slaughter of countless kin. The 'Heretical Great Witches' were among the highest-ranking artifacts sealed away. Their combat power—in terms of destruction and survivability alone—was perhaps equivalent to that of powerful beings at the fourth-highest level.

Now, in Sirin's words, Sehmet has become a heretical great sorcerer—this is not impossible, as the sage doesn't want to personally intervene or hold back. Therefore, the possibility of unleashing a weapon that won't hold back is indeed very high. And if this theory holds true, then the powerful warriors in Sehmet's kingdom are probably all second-rate 'sorcerers' who absolutely possess at least the combat strength of a strong fourth-tier warrior.

Very good, excellent.

Alice had initially thought that Hu Hai was mainly focused on Xilin, so she could take advantage of Sekhmet's absence to do something sneaky. But now it seemed like a rather foolish idea. After all, expecting a weapon born for war to be unable to detect her actions was a self-deceptive folly. The only saving grace, however, was that the very nature of these two meant they were unlikely to use their brains... the kind of brains that employ complex strategies and tactics.

Alice and Celine exchanged a glance, and a terrible possibility simultaneously surfaced in their minds.

"You tell me,"—this was said together—"what if some intelligent being, temporarily suppressed in their past life, decides to become their 'brain'? What should we do then?"

The two looked at each other blankly, sighed, and shook their heads.

Well, this is indeed a possibility that couldn't be worse. Overwhelming force combined with a slight lack of intelligence will ultimately result in their utter misfortune. And what's worse, this is destined to happen. Because hoping that they can resolve everyone's past lives before Sekhmet arrives is simply wishful thinking!

"Let's... let's focus on what's at hand first," Alice said awkwardly, stammering slightly.

"Yes, yes," Xilin replied haltingly, forcing a smile.

The two girls exchanged a glance, then sighed in unison. Alice was alright; she had Luo Ye, who had initially said he could help but hadn't shown up yet. That meant Patchouli was unlikely to have any problems for the time being, which was the main reason Alice dared not rush to Patchouli's aid first in this situation. However, Sirin's side… was probably a little anxious.

It's a real headache; just thinking about Zhao Zhuikong's situation gives her a headache.

However, considering that Zhao Zhuikong and Zhao Yingkong likely shared the same past life, forming a unified body and mind, and that they could fight one against two, they probably have more room to maneuver than others.

……perhaps.

So, after exchanging necessary information and suppressing their melancholy, the two turned their attention back to this world, to this fast-paced game. Having chosen the native incarnation mode, Alice now sported cat ears and a cat tail, while Sirin had several head feathers and hands that could transform into wings—both now conforming to the local people's perception of them as natives. In this world, Alice's species was called 'Feline,' and Sirin's was 'Liboli.'

A variant of an ancient language, meaning cat, and bird.

And the city they are currently in should be called—

—Longmen.

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

Longmen is a commercial city whose core competitiveness lies in trade.

Longmen is a city with a huge gap between the rich and the poor, but both the upper and lower classes are governed by an orderly system.

As Alice and Celine descended from the top of the city and casually strolled onto the widest street, they saw a group of protesters carrying signs and chanting slogans marching past them.

"Give citizenship to those infected!"

Treat everyone equally!

"Let us work! Let our children go to school!"

Those people were dressed in different ways, mostly poor people, a few neatly dressed. They were men and women, old and young, some with big hooves and horns, some with rabbit ears and cattles, some with cat ears and fils, and some with small Dulings. They were different in terms of status, bloodline and age, but they had two things in common.

The first sign is the appearance of scattered black stones on the body's surface. This is a phenomenon unique to this world called Originium Disease, an incurable disease caused by excessive contact with Originium crystals, which leads to the crystallization of the physical body. Patients with this condition are ostracized due to the lethality and contagiousness of their illness.

The second sign is a symbol, an armband with a distinctive "X" stroke. This signifies that these people belong to the same organization, or rather, share the same ideology.

"Alice, do you remember the 'Yesterday's Broken Ship' scenario that the tyrant was playing before he left?" Sirin asked, staring at the armband and observing the nonviolent action.

"I remember, that game wasn't finished, but the current theme should be the story of a group of radical infected rights organizations calling themselves the 'Reunion Movement' and the moderate 'Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals' fighting each other. The Reunion Movement launched a large-scale riot, destroyed a city called Chernobog, and in the latest storyline, attacked the city beneath our feet, Lungmen."

“And if I remember correctly, that [X] symbol is the emblem of the Reunion Movement.” Sirin raised an eyebrow, looking at the Lungmen guards on both sides of the street who were merely maintaining order but hadn’t actually taken action. “And yet they can now move openly in the streets without being treated as terrorists and shot directly—I don’t feel any hatred towards the guards. Only impatience and a little bit of sympathy.”

What does this mean?

“This means the script has been changed, or it’s not the right time for the story to unfold yet.” Alice scoffed, glancing at a few organizers in the crowd who weren’t trying to hide themselves. “I tend to think, and hope it’s the former, because it means outsiders have replaced key figures in the Reunion Movement and prompted them to make changes.”

"How so?" Sirin tilted her head in agreement—she knew what this meant. With clues, finding her companion's new identity wasn't difficult; the difficulty lay in how to awaken the right person, rather than fulfilling the past life.

Celine believed Alice had a way. Even if Alice didn't, she could come up with something. But before that—

"Hey! You two, what are you doing standing there!" A clear and spirited voice rang out from behind the two women. They turned their heads simultaneously, and what came into view was a female police officer with dragon horns.

The police officer quickly walked up to them, pulling them away from the roadside while whispering instructions.

"Be careful, ordinary citizens shouldn't get involved in this kind of thing." She had light-colored hair and horns like those of a Western dragon.

First, you have to find the right people.

Chapter Ten: The Overlord, Part Three

No one is born evil, nor is anyone born good.

Because good and evil are simply definitions of specific behaviors by a group. And these definitions evolve with changing circumstances. An action is good and virtuous if it serves the short-term or long-term interests of the group. Conversely, it is evil and abhorrent if it does not.

In ancient times, when a plague broke out that baffled priests and physicians, the act of confining the infected to a designated area and burning the entire village to ashes was considered an act of kindness. Those who made this decision did not intend to kill the unfortunate infected, but rather to ensure the survival of the uninfected.

Perhaps future generations will criticize his actions in that era due to technological breakthroughs and changing social norms, but in that time, the person who ordered the burning of the village and the killing of all creatures attempting to escape was undoubtedly right and, by the standards of the community, acted out of kindness.

Of course, that was in the old era. The same situation wouldn't make sense in the new era. After all, people in the new era have technology, ability, and determination. More importantly, they have hope of success. Therefore, if a plague breaks out in the technologically advanced new era, choosing a drastic measure might not be a popular strategy. Because times have changed; it uses the decision-making methods of the old world, but these decisions are no longer in the common interest of the entire group as they were in the old world.

Even so, if a new, intractable disease, one that cannot be controlled and poses a serious threat to the survival of the entire race, were to emerge in the world, then the 'remnants of the old era' might instantly transform into 'the wisdom and decisions of the ancients,' allowing new notions of good and evil to replace the old ones.

Can't understand? It's simple. Replace the word "epidemic" with "chaotic erosion" or "past pollution." Wouldn't that help you grasp some concept and understanding? Ha, ultimately, all suffering and despair stem from nothing more than the inadequacy of the individuals involved.

Because it's impossible, the only option is to give up. Giving up is a form of cutting away rotten flesh to stop the bleeding, and until the technology to heal the rotten flesh is discovered, or at least there's hope or some certainty of such a discovery, keeping it will only plunge the entire organism into a worse predicament.

And this world of tachyon games, this wrecked ship of yesterday, this city called Lungmen, has been infected with this disease. This disease of 'insufficient ability, so we have no choice but to give up'.

They cannot cure Oripathy patients because they cannot, and do not even know how. If it were simply a matter of inability, that would be one thing. After all, there are many intractable diseases in the world, many strange illnesses that doctors can only shake their heads at. One more or one less wouldn't affect the operation of the entire group. However, on top of this 'inability,' this incurable disease also possesses two rare characteristics.

First, it's highly lethal. Anyone infected with Oripathy will inevitably die; the tiny crystal fragments will eventually clog the infected person's circulatory system and even their brain. Even treating the symptoms rather than the root cause won't solve the problem.

Secondly, it is highly contagious. Direct contact with an Oripathy patient may not lead to infection, but direct contact with Oripathy stone greatly increases the likelihood of infection and is unavoidable. Furthermore, the bodies of all Oripathy patients gradually transform into solid blocks of Oripathy stone. Due to the high-energy nature of Oripathy stone, it may even explode like a bomb at a certain critical point.

A walking, living bomb, filled with deadly poison and constantly leaking toxic mist—this is the basic understanding of Oripathy sufferers in this world, formed by these two characteristics. The bureaucrats and scholars of this world are helpless against it—at least, almost helpless before the main storyline begins.

They couldn't do it, they were powerless, they could only give up.

Therefore, they can only allow the majority of healthy people to reject the minority of infected people. They allow the majority of healthy people to discriminate against the minority of infected people. They allow the majority of healthy people to oppress the minority of infected people.

They had no choice but to do this, because their civilization couldn't exist without Originium. They had to keep the healthy people sufficiently vigilant against the infected, because they couldn't afford the cost of bombs exploding in the crowd.