Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

So, a few seconds later, she answered in a hoarse voice.

“There’s some truth to that…” However, she immediately changed the subject. “But that’s not my reasoning. My philosophy… differs somewhat from yours.”

"What kind of idea is that?" Miss Walper tilted her head to the other side in confusion. "Does the swan have to cut off its own flesh and blood, tear off its own feathers, remove its own bones and blood, so that it can return to the flock of ducks and become an ordinary duck that is no longer called the ugly duckling?"

“No.” Ming Yanwei shook her head. “I think… this swan can try its best to help the other ducks become swans too.”

“Then you are truly an idealist.” The messenger smiled, pursing her lips.

"And you?... Miss Angelina?" Ming Yanwei asked, "What is your philosophy...?"

“I am the messenger of natural disasters.” She saw the messenger in front of her blink and twitch her ears. “I foretell natural disasters, I announce natural disasters, I guide natural disasters… I am the bird of death, the harbinger of omens, I bring intelligence, I bring omens. As for the rest… that is not something I need to consider.”

—The ugly duckling that becomes a swan will fly away and never return. She will only flap her wings and let out a loud cry as she soars through the sky when the flock faces annihilation.

It turned out to be the case.

Ming Yanwei nodded, reverting to her 'Black' identity. She stared at the messenger before her, a realization dawning on her.

If you really are a native, I'll twist my own head off and eat it right here and now!

Her eyes darted around, and a scene from deep within her memory, before the trial began, flashed before her eyes. She remembered what everyone else was doing while she was watching Ba Wang play that trashy game from yesterday's broken ship. Her gaze then focused on the Ace of Spades that Zhan Lan had taken after Xiao Honglu overturned the card table!

Damn! This guy had one in his hand when we met!

Then why doesn't Luo Ye care about her? Why is she still trapped in this fabricated identity?

Am I really the worst one?! Is that why I need special treatment?!

Ming Yanwei began to contemplate life.

Just then, the echo of an aircraft came from a distant place.

—The person we were waiting for has arrived.

Chapter Twenty-Three: Zhan Lan, Part Two

The roar grew louder as it approached, the spinning propellers and the Originium reaction becoming increasingly clear. A medium-sized aircraft, resembling an otherworldly airship, landed on the distant port's helipad. A group of Ursus guards from Chernobog surrounded it for a routine check. It seemed the process would be completed smoothly in just a few minutes.

Ming Yanwei immediately snapped out of her reverie and looked at Miss Zhan Lan, who was still seemingly waiting for something, and was wearing Angelina's skin. Her gaze was complex, and deep down she was practically seething with anger—you bastard, you've already confronted me directly, what are you pretending for!

She reached out her hand, opened her mouth, and the word "Zhan Lan" almost slipped out!

In that instant, the look in her eyes changed!

From afar, a burning gaze suddenly focused on this place. A gamma-ray burst, comparable in size to a star system, had converged into a stream of brilliant light. Its arrival heralded destruction and annihilation!

No, that was a star. A star compressed into the shape of a long, thin spear, its structure on the verge of collapse, but its essence unchanged!

She saw the earth beneath her feet shatter into pieces like a water-filled balloon, endless amounts of the earth's core material being recklessly ejected into space and then evaporated. The condensed cloud formed after the material evaporated spread outwards, instantly transforming into the shape of two giant wolves locked in combat!

One wolf tore open the chest of the other, and then, in the instant that the sunlight's gaze had pierced through the two giant wolves, the two giant wolves were pierced through at the same moment—the most extreme celestial phenomenon in the universe, a supernova explosion bursting outward from the wounds of the two wolves, disrupting space, tearing apart the Milky Way, and then collapsing into a small point of destruction in an instant.

A black hole was born, and a slender hand grasped it.

The owner of the hands unfurled fiery wings that resembled overlapping starlight, within which lay a magnificent pattern like a star map of the Andromeda Galaxy. And as the black hole was clenched and compressed, transforming into a point of mass akin to the birth of the universe, the twin star cluster wings illuminated in their entirety.

The third stellar spear struck, silently shattering at the fingertips of the winged woman. She saw a decaying, rotting sun rise from an unknown depth and distance in the vastness of space. And at the very top of the heavens, at an unknown height, another brilliantly shining sun plummeted downwards.

Behind the decaying, rotting sun followed countless decaying, rotting civilizations. Countless ruins and rubble, endless catastrophes and apocalypses. Dead kingdoms followed the sun, singing in unison behind her. Trillions upon trillions of eyes unfolded in the song, each one withered and fading.

But behind that glorious sun, there is only light, pure light. It comes from chaos and covers the boundless.

The sound of birdsong rang in her ears. She saw a strange bird flapping its wings, circling the Daughter of Stars between the two suns. Long ribbons of light trailed behind its wings, and the scattering of these ribbons was accompanied by death and decay throughout the world.

—There is a bird that looks like a duck but has a rat's tail. It is good at climbing trees and its name is Jie Gou. If it is seen, the country will suffer from many epidemics.

The Hooked Bird is the messenger of all diseases and calamities. And after she circled the Daughter of the Stars once, the deadly poison wrapped in the band of light surged in all directions.

Time is sick; it is distorted and warped, with fragments of the past and future constantly appearing in the present. Ancient nebulae cover the stars of the present, and the skies of the future encroach upon the earth of today.

Space is sick; it cracks and connects, portals, tangible and intangible, appearing everywhere. Hands reach out from the stones, eyes bloom with flowers, rivers gush from every leaf, and droplets scream as they merge into an ocean of light.

Matter is sick; it melts, reconstructs, reconstructs, reconstructs. Ultimately, it piles up into incomprehensible shapes before distorting and collapsing. And in the midst of collapse, it rises or falls on its own, merging into decay, becoming part of decay itself. It merges with radiance, becoming a new ocean of light.

The energy was sick; it coalesced, reacted, the reaction failed, it dispersed, the dispersion failed. Finally, it churned into a massive mass resembling porous cheese. It was flattened and absorbed by the rising and falling suns, while the remainder was captured by the Daughter of the Stars, who unfurled a second pair of wings on her back.

The instant the third pair of wings showed signs of growth, countless puppet-like threads emerged from the depths of the void, from a place so far, so far away that they were unfathomable. They entangled the Daughter of the Stars, gnawing at her, tearing at her, ripping out clumps of glowing, unidentified structures from her body. The Daughter of the Stars, whom she felt she should know, smiled and reached out to embrace something in the void.

At that moment, her gaze shifted, and she saw the Hooked Bird, which had circled the Daughter of the Stars and the entire universe, come to rest. Her wings drooped, turned to stone, and then decayed. She died, and at the point of her death, a magnificent gate unfolded.

Ancient, nameless evil reached out its limbs from the door, accompanied by a pervasive silence, where even death itself would meet its end. And when the first door opened, the trillionth door opened as well—she saw arthropods, she saw arms and legs, she saw decaying flesh and organs, she saw pure white light singing as if it were sentient.

There is no hope left in this universe.

It is unlikely to even have the chance to be reshuffled by the Great Cataclysm, because in the abyss of death, something unseen is about to be conceived and manifested based on it.

Human civilization had long since ceased to exist. The seemingly powerful and prosperous, seemingly indestructible Qin Empire was like a castle on a sandy beach amidst the collapse of heaven and earth. Its vast territory crumbled in an instant, while those fortunate lands protected by true gods struggled to hold on, but their demise was only a matter of time.

Then, she heard a sad sigh.

She saw the Daughter of the Stars withdraw her embracing hand, her slender fingertips clutching a beating heart. And as she swallowed that heart, her breath surged with boundless speed!

"I will return, I will be the ruler of all the stars in the world..."

The girl formed from the stars didn't finish her declaration, for a puppet string still connected her, and with a second sorrowful sigh, it snapped her neck—her form completely disintegrated in an instant. With a final, bewildered smile, she gathered, merged, and finally fell into a pair of slender, blood-stained hands, transforming into the shape of a thick book.

She finally saw the form hidden in the void, a form that looked familiar to her.

It was a woman who looked exactly like the Alice Margotrovid she knew. The woman had a huge, irreparable hole in her chest. And the instant she saw it clearly, the woman's long blue and white dress turned blood red.

Then, the woman pressed the heavy book into the hollow of her chest.

—A decaying solar kingdom collides with the brilliant radiance of the sun.

—The remaining flames of civilization were extinguished, and familiar or unfamiliar wills were rapidly released from all directions.

—A gigantic figure of light reached out, trying to prop open the sky.

—The cold, mechanical structure unfolds its form, appearing as a complete cycle.

In that instant when all these events seemed to erupt, she heard a third sigh, one that no longer contained sorrow, no longer contained any emotion. Then, a declaration that pierced through the multiverse echoed in the ears of all living things.

"Today, I shall become a saint."

"Today, I shall fulfill my sacred duty."

"Today, I will..."

She didn't hear clearly, or rather, she didn't hear it at all, and didn't want to hear the last half-sentence.

Yet even though she refused to listen, those words still reached every corner of the diverse seas. That was—

--"go back!"

A voice, filled with weariness yet strangely familiar, rang out—it was Sirin's voice! And that voice accompanied the transformation of all things!

She returned to the port of that mobile city, back to the moment she was about to utter that name. She thought she would bite her tongue hard. But before her nerves could compel her to do so, another delirium ensued!

She saw a long, blood-red river suddenly snap, and in that unfathomable, eternally deep place, something unseen opened its eyes in that instant!

The delirium faded silently, along with the memories she had gained from witnessing everything. Like the tide washing over a sandcastle, in an instant, all of that was forgotten. What remained was only a resolute understanding, as if etched into her very bones, a understanding that would leave a scar even if it faded and healed!

—Never tell anyone!

—Absolutely, absolutely do not reveal the name of any of your comrades!

She blinked.

Only then did her eyes reveal a pain that even a superhuman ability to manipulate their nervous system at will could not erase—a pain less a warning and more a severe punishment!

She couldn't help but groan out loud—

"Miss Hei? What's wrong..." The messenger in front of her called out softly, quickly supporting her as she seemed to be unsteady on her feet. Her face was full of concern, and she asked with a mixture of doubt and worry, "Are you tired? Should you rest for a bit?"

"........."

"It's nothing." Ming Yanwei shook her head, the inexplicable stinging pain vanishing instantly. She knew she must have seen something, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. "It's probably just because I worked too long last night."

We need to tell Miss Luo Ye about this...

[And Zhan Lan... well, I have no right to keep her here now. But I still need to gather the necessary intelligence...]

"I'm much better now, it's nothing serious." She gently rubbed her forehead. Then, she naturally looked down at the package the messenger was carrying on his back. "Hmm... Angelina, are you at the port waiting for a ship? Are you going to deliver a message?"

“Mmm.” The messenger nodded without hesitation. “Disaster messengers sometimes also take on the work of ordinary messengers. I was originally supposed to deliver a letter from… well, someone else. The disaster in Chernobog delayed me, or rather, postponed it quite a bit. But now that things here are basically settled, I should go and do my part outside of my duties.”

"I see, I understand now." Ming Yanwei nodded.

In this world, so-called natural disasters are large-scale Originium storms. They easily destroy everything in their path and erode it into Originium products. Their interference with communications is equivalent to burying a mountain of magnets under a signal base station.

Therefore, two strangers who have only recently met cannot exchange contact information, especially if one of them is homeless and lives a nomadic life.

“The messenger must have had a tough time,” she couldn’t help but sigh softly. “It was a pleasure talking with you, Miss Angelina. I hope we can meet again someday.”

“That day will definitely come. I really rarely meet someone like you, Miss Black, who has the patience to listen to all my nonsense.” Angelina smiled shyly, like a bashful girl answering a teacher’s question in class. Her cheeks flushed slightly, as if she hesitated for a second or two.

“If… well, if Miss Hei, you’re free within this month,” she said somewhat uncertainly, “you can come to Lungmen to see me. I’ll be in Lungmen for the rest of the time.”

Messengers should not casually reveal private information related to letters. Neither the content of the letter nor the personal information of the sender and recipient should be disclosed. And for this young lady who clearly seems very passionate about her profession, revealing this much is already the limit.

[A letter heading to Lungmen... Besides Miss Alice and the others who are currently in Lungmen, I remember Angelina was born in Syracuse in the setting? Hmm... It seems there's a character in Lungmen connected to Syracuse? I think she's also a wolf? What's her name...?]

[...Lappland?]

Her thoughts raced, and she nodded slightly, indicating her understanding and noting it down. Just then, the Ursus's inspection of the Rhodes Island group's aircraft essentially came to an end.

So Ming Yanwei bid farewell to Angelina and set off to greet the two guests from Rhodes Island.

She was slightly surprised.

Because she discovered that there weren't two, but three people disembarking from the aircraft. Besides Dr. Kal'tsit, who was supposed to meet Ceylon at ten o'clock, and the little wolf named 'Red' beside her, there was another visitor who was completely unexpected!

It was a person completely wrapped in a closed coat. Judging from their build and gait, it was likely a young woman.

Ming Yanwei knew her because she was the 'Doctor,' the protagonist, and the player's vessel! She was the key figure who, when the 'Yesterday's Broken Ship' scenario existed as a game, served as the main perspective and influenced the story's progression!

Everything about her is a mystery!

She shouldn't be here, for there's no reason. She should have just recovered and was still in Chernobog's sarcophagus before she fell asleep. In any case, she shouldn't... at least not so early, so openly in this place!

But she should also be here, because she has the authority to be here. She is the military leader of Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals, the de facto helmsman of this behemoth. She has the right to monitor any intelligence related to the operations of Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals and to participate in it according to her own judgment!

In the blink of an eye, Black had already arrived before the group from Rhodes Island. She gave a slight bow, about to speak—

“I recognize you.” Kal'tsit interrupted her before she could speak, her pale green hair trembling slightly, her sharp eyes carrying a hint of scrutiny. “You’re Black from Siesta, the attendant and bodyguard of that Miss Ceylon… I remember the appointment with Miss Ceylon was at ten o’clock in the morning. Has something happened to you?”

Ming Yanwei… Hei nodded slightly.