Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Luo Ye did not stop her.

She silently shared all the intelligence she had gathered with Alice, watching her quietly in the process.

She knew that Alice was no longer worried about the changes on Terra—now that so many forces had entered the fray, all aiming at her trial to become a saint, these forces were destined to fight each other openly and covertly. After all, becoming a saint was not something that could be easily achieved by simply picking the fruit; once she took that step, everything would be predetermined. Therefore, before she reached that point, the situation on Terra would tend towards a strange balance.

Moreover, another part of Alice will remain on Terra, ensuring that no conflict will escalate to the extreme due to special factors.

So, everything is ready. The new plan will replace the old scheme.

And before leaving...

"Alice, where do you plan to start?" Luo Ye asked.

“Let’s start from all places together,” Alice replied, her form becoming increasingly unstable, and after the cycle of disintegration and reconstruction ended, numerous avatars had already appeared in every corner of the mountaintop.

"I will go to all the key locations at the same time and deal with all the problems simultaneously."

Luo Ye nodded; she did not object to this strategy.

but……

"Besides that, let me offer you a little advice, Alice."

"While you are traveling among the stars, take a good look at the Qin Empire, see what it looks like, its structure and achievements. This may be of some help to your journey."

“I’ve been watching them very closely.” Alice paused for a moment, then realized. “Are you talking about the preparation of ‘momentum’? Indeed, since ‘Qin’ has a historical prototype, the connections between the causes and conditions are naturally particularly significant. I haven’t used large-scale information interference in a long time… Since becoming a true god, my battles and research have basically consisted only of the use of power… Hmm, that’s not good.”

She nodded to Luo Ye.

“I will remember this, sister. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“But that’s not what I meant.” However, Luo Ye shook his head in denial.

“I mean, you should take human civilization seriously.” Her expression was complex, her tone earnest. “You do indeed harbor a certain degree of goodwill towards them; that’s true, it’s an autonomy you fought so hard to gain in the Moon World. But…”

“You cannot underestimate their potential…and threat, just because of goodwill and pity.”

"...Do you think that Hu Hai is the only person in the entire Qin Empire worthy of your attention?"

Side Story: Memories of Creation, Part 1

—【I am not you!】

—【I am Zheng Zha! Zheng as in Zheng Zha! Zha as in Zheng Zha!】

In the dark, chaotic world, a colossal, luminous human figure roars towards the sky.

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

"Gu! What should we do next?!" someone roared in his ear.

"Gu! Gu! We fight alongside you!"—someone roared in his ear.

"Gu, you can't... die here." — Someone whispered in my ear.

The man's vision cleared, and the sounds around him became more distinct. The moment he finally opened his eyes, everything before him turned gray and fell silent.

Before him lay a mountain of corpses, and he was trapped beneath it.

Before him lay a sea of ​​blood, and he was being strangled and drowned in it.

As the man pushed aside those familiar yet blurry, broken, and cold pale limbs, and stood on his feet amidst flesh and bones, what came into his view was a large tribe that had been destroyed, leveled, slaughtered, and purged.

The man should have been angry—but he wasn't.

The man should have felt sad—but he didn't.

As the man stretched out his hands, staring at the semi-viscous blood between his fingers and the crescent moon between them, a massive cacophony resounded in the deepest recesses of his mind.

Images flicker, showing a peaceful and prosperous village. Strong warriors, led by men, venture into the nearby woods and hills to hunt wild beasts. Returning laden with their spoils, they are joyfully greeted by children and women with water and fruit. They skillfully prepare the game, and sing and dance during the evening feast. As night falls, the men raise their heads and look up at the sky.

The shuttle flying high in the sky is like a celestial river flowing.

You are the tribe's leader, a warrior, and the one with the greatest potential.

One day, a flying shuttle suddenly plummeted from the top of the sky. It landed in a nearby forest, igniting a massive fire. From the flames emerged a handsome but enraged young man with bat wings. He passed by a village, then inexplicably frowned, and countless sharp blades appeared behind him.

Then—it fell like rain.

Your tribe was slaughtered for angering a passing demon noble.

Is it because there's something it dislikes in the tribe? Or is it simply because it's not feeling well?

Is it like a short-tempered person kicking away a pebble in the road? Or a bullied child venting their anger on anthills and insects in the grass?

It's unknown; stones and insects cannot comprehend human thought. And when countless force field blades fell like massive feet in thick boots, the only thing the stones and insects could do was endure.

Endure the pain, endure the death. Endure... annihilation.

Your loved ones died, your friends died, your comrades died, your lover died. And you are the only one left alive.

And then the blade fell. It fell during the tribe's feast, amidst the people's bewilderment. The sturdy hardwood was easily split, the supple leather armor and shields rendered useless. In an instant, more than half of the tribe's old and weak perished. And the remaining strong warriors were filled not only with fear and shock, but also with rage.

Even ants will fight back when trampled. Even if the fight is futile, it's better than silently turning to dust.

So the warriors roared and took up their weapons. Then, the man who was their leader led the charge.

Then, his companion was pierced by the blade and fell down.

Suddenly, the man felt a dull pain in the back of his head.

[You're the only one. Because they used corpses to shield you, the only one with the potential for revenge.]

People don't care how many ants escape when they step on them, unless they're incredibly bored. But if someone is truly that bored, they won't choose to stomp on the ants; instead, they'll observe, play with, casually crush the ant they find amusing, or give it some scraps of food.

Perhaps its only stroke of luck was that this demon youth wasn't bored—it was merely annoyed, merely dissatisfied. It wasn't bored. And it wouldn't care how many ants would crawl after it stomped on them.

It might have seen a man knocked down by his own companion and hiding under a pile of corpses. But it wouldn't care.

It never cares. Unless an ant actually bites its foot.

Will you carry the burden of their lives on your shoulders, becoming a warrior of resistance? Or will you forget everything and become a coward who cowers and begs for mercy?

And so, the blood-soaked man opened his eyes in the silent village. He gazed at the sky, and even before night fell, he could still see shuttles and giant stars gliding at the top of the river of heaven.

This world is...incredibly vast.

This world has no place for the weak.

They can't tolerate anyone.

[How will you choose? The ancient one from the Pan tribe.]

The man lowered his eyes and pulled a broken but still sharp axe from the corpses at his feet.

The surface of the axe reflected the roar from the depths of the dark sky.

—【I am not you!】

—【I am Zheng Zha! I am completely different from you!】

The roaring sound vanished in a flash, like an illusion.

A torrential downpour began. This wasn't natural rain, but a magical reaction triggered by the detection of a nearby wildfire. The cold, enchanted rain washed over the man, cleansing the bloodstains from his body and the mud from his hands. He saw the corpses of his kin dissolve in the rain, while he remained unharmed.

The automatic cleaning device is used to remove dust and repel insects.

To 'heaven', men are no different from dust.

The man didn't say anything; he simply picked up his axe and walked outside.

Although he didn't know where he was going or where he could go, he walked out.

He walked and walked, crossed one mountain, and then ten more.

He walked and walked, crossed one river, and then a hundred more.

Sometimes he encounters wild beasts, sometimes he encounters magical beasts that hunt wild beasts, sometimes he encounters natural disasters, and sometimes he encounters natural disasters caused by correcting natural disasters.

He didn't dodge; he just stubbornly walked forward in silence.

When he encountered a hungry herd of beasts, he used his axe to cut a bloody path through them.

When he encountered a magical beast hunting a herd, he used his axe to split open the beast's forehead.

When faced with violent celestial changes, such as raging tornadoes and flash floods, he used his axe to cleave through the mudslides and gales.

When faced with a cataclysmic disaster—those invisible rays, those tangible force fields, those automatic spells that calm storms but release massive heat waves, and those automatic curses that halt earthquakes but kill all living things on the surface—he used his axe to cleave the rays and force fields, the spells and curses, in two.

The man doesn't understand elegant fighting; he only knows how to swing an axe.

Men don't understand profound knowledge and mysteries; they only know how to split things in two with an axe.

The man continued forward.

Forward, forward!

Sometimes he would arrive at peaceful tribes, where the local inhabitants would warmly welcome him.

Sometimes he would reach impoverished tribes, where he would use his axe to kill the monsters or curses that plagued the surrounding area.

More often than not, he saw the ruins of the village, and the remains that had dissolved or eroded in the torrential rain or cold wind.

He read it, wrote it down, and then continued on his way.

As the man grew older, so did his strength. Gradually, his reputation spread. One day, as he passed through a village, a man dressed impeccably, with eyes clearer than the stars, stopped him as he was about to leave.

"Gu, where do you want to go?"

"The end of the world," the man replied in a muffled voice.

What do you want to do there?

"I want to find a place, a land where my people can live freely and not die for some inexplicable reason."

"If you can't do it by yourself, I'll help you."

"who are you?"

“I am Jun, Jun of the Hong tribe.”

So Jun joined Gu. What started as a solo journey became a duo.

—【I am not you! I am completely different from you!】

Sometimes the man could still hear that roar, which sounded like a hallucination. But it would soon disappear without a trace, not even lingering in the man's memory.

So the man continued onward, heeding Jun's advice, and no longer continued to walk alone.