Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Alice had no objection to this. It didn't make much difference to her where she was anyway. She clearly sensed that after last night's events, this land had gained hundreds of 'special personnel' with D- to C-level enhancements. The remaining people converted their gains into knowledge and technological entities.

This will allow the country's technological level to develop rapidly, reaching an absurd level in a very short time. Whether they can use this to grow into an independent advanced civilization or become a puppet parasitizing advanced technology is entirely up to them.

But that wasn't important, at least not to Alice. Giving this civilization a chance was just a convenient move for her. What she truly valued were her companions trapped in this cosmic dream.

She discovered Zhang Jie.

Yes. When she got out of the car, she saw Zhang Jie. She saw him pushing a wheelchair in the lobby of a nearby building, arguing heatedly with several officers.

She had no interest in listening to what Zhang Jie was arguing with them about. Even if she could hear it, she would pretend she didn't. For Zhang Jie, any external interference related to her companions was dangerous at this moment. Therefore, no matter how things developed, she intended to remain silent and observe.

So she walked past him as if he were a stranger.

Alice was then told that this building was where they, as foreigners with unofficial status, would be staying.

This is a perfectly normal development. After all, the benefits brought by the sphere of light are simply too enormous. It's even enough to redefine the international landscape of this world. Until both sides can calmly sit down at the negotiating table to weigh the gains and losses, everything that could potentially tip the scales should be eliminated.

Alice knew this, so she quietly chose an inconspicuous and quiet room while most people were feeling anxious.

Then, wait in silence.

To outsiders, she appeared to be a withdrawn and aloof girl, spending her days drawing and writing in her room. She was unsociable and didn't participate in activities with her peers. This put her in a disadvantageous and exclusionary position among exchange students and international students.

She doesn't care... Is there anything she cares about?

Well, objectively speaking, the exclusion she faced, in a sense, increased the Central Plains people's evaluation of her, who constantly scrutinized and documented everything that happened here. This slightly increased her chances of having her name on a list during international negotiations. Other than that, however, it had no impact on her whatsoever.

She simply waited quietly, watching and observing.

She witnessed the international situation changing rapidly. The secrets that the people of Central Plains had kept so closely were eventually leaked. She saw the hands poised to press the nuclear button at any moment, and the compromises that the people of Central Plains were bound to make.

She saw that the number of 'special personnel' on the Central Plains was increasing, and becoming stronger. In just half a month, the number of 'special personnel' on the Central Plains had reached four digits, and the most powerful among them had already obtained B-level enhancement. She also saw that the defensive fortifications beneath the sphere of light were becoming more and more solid, and that many 'special personnel' were even stationed there permanently.

She witnessed the formation of the erosion phenomenon and saw unsettling omens gradually appearing in various corners of different countries. The powerful figures and their advisors easily dismissed these phenomena as part of, or rather, a side effect of the sphere of light phenomenon. This only strengthened their resolve to end the negotiations quickly.

Finally, she saw Zhang Jie.

She saw Zhang Jie pushing his wheelchair, visiting those officers again and again. He climbed the thresholds of those offices time and time again, only to be rejected again and again, and then try once more.

Then, finally one day, a unit whose name Alice didn't bother to look up accepted him.

He finally got what he wanted. But clearly, this was just the beginning. His inner struggle was far from over, and he was still far from waking up from the chaos.

He might stay here a while longer. But it doesn't matter, Alice has time to keep him company here.

Just after Zhang Jie found his new job, one day, that smiling guy appeared in front of Alice again.

The negotiations have concluded. The people of the Central Plains have decided to conditionally share the secrets of the Light Sphere with several nations—East America, the Western Sea, the Arctic, and others—that are on equal footing with them. This first group of people will be selected by the people of the Central Plains from a list.

Alice's name was in the middle of the list. She was granted permission, under tight 'protection,' to travel to the location of the orb and access this source of power for the new era.

Section 37 Change

Alice Margot Lloyd. When she appeared on the shortlist, she was the least favored candidate.

Being ignored... What does it mean to be ignored?

Not the strongest, not the weakest, not the best, not the worst, not even the most mediocre, but the most balanced. And those in this position are what is called 'unappreciated'.

The initial shortlist included 10,000 candidates. The Central Plains people, and later, the forces from East America, North Ice, and the Western Sea, prepared an analysis team of at least ten people for each candidate. This was to monitor the candidates' mental state, shifts in thought, and alignment preferences, among other miscellaneous tasks. Their daily, hourly work was relayed to a larger, more centralized decision-making body, minimizing the possibility of any candidates spiraling out of control.

Of course, this is actually the lowest level of treatment. For those 'special personnel' who already possess high-level enhancements, capable of splitting mountains and wielding various mysterious powers, the nations prepare treatment at least ten times more luxurious. And all of this is to ensure that the power brought by the sphere of light remains under the control of the world.

After all, everyone wants to become powerful. But the sphere of light doesn't accept everyone. Apart from the initial group of 'special personnel,' all subsequent individuals attempting to access this source of power must undergo different types of trials. Success grants power. Failure results in paying a price or turning to dust. And as of now, mortals have no way to exploit the loopholes here.

To gain power, one must bear risks. Risks are varied and unpredictable.

Those with exceptional martial arts skills might be tested by writing a sonnet in a short time. Those skilled in calculation might be forced to remain submerged in the deep sea for ten minutes. The people of Zhongzhou paid a heavy price but still couldn't figure out the intricacies. What they were certain of was that all their prior preparations were unnecessary.

There's no way to prepare, no way to fake it. So those in high positions of power can only gain strength by risking their lives. That's why they decided to settle for second best: controlling those who gain power, and then extracting knowledge and power from them. That's why they place such importance on the list of candidates, and why they go to great lengths to ensure that the people on the list don't exceed their expectations.

Alice Margot Royd's appearance on the list was a result of international maneuvering. There were many others like her, not from the Middle Kingdom, but not easily controlled by their countries of origin. When she first appeared on the list, her name was among the top 616. But when the shortlist of 10,000 was reduced to 2,400 successful newcomers, her position rose to 115.

She wasn't the best, nor the worst, nor the most mediocre. She was an average student who showed some potential but didn't stand out. This made her seem as unremarkable as those average to above-average students in elementary school exams.

Ah, that's right. Teachers generally don't focus much attention on students at the middle or upper level. They tend to focus only on the top and the bottom students, and then have high expectations for the middle and lower-middle level students. This is because they always assume that middle and upper-level students can manage themselves, but they don't need the extra resources to reach the top like the top students.

Therefore, she is not valued, or at least relatively not valued.

After successfully passing the trials and obtaining permission, she chose a knowledge-based enhancement exchange under the arrangement of the Western Sea people. In between participating in missions, she was assigned the task of managing some of the information files that the Western Sea people had placed around the light sphere.

In short, she's a librarian with supernatural powers. Although she doesn't actually need to do anything, this role is merely one way to enhance her sense of belonging. After accepting this responsibility, she gains a support team of around a hundred people from various countries.

They monitored her, and also served as her assistants in her daily life. Two months after the sphere of light descended, the total number of 'special personnel' was fixed at a dynamic figure of nearly 100,000. Alice, however, remained largely ignored here.

They are not valued.

She hadn't shown much strength. In the past two months, she had completed four missions and gained some experience. Currently, her skill level was comparable to a CC-rank enhanced sorcerer.

CC rank is a relatively average, but slightly above average, level. This is because the Light Sphere is subject to the rule that 'lower-level side quests cannot be synthesized into higher-level side quests'. Currently, the top-ranking members among the special personnel are several holders of A-rank enhancements. B to BB ranks account for 3%, while C to CC ranks make up 22%.

She's neither strong nor weak. She's not mediocre, but rather an unremarkable slightly above average.

She was gentle in demeanor, yet her personality seemed somewhat aloof. She maintained only a minimal level of friendship with the few 'good friends' the people of Xihai had arranged for her. Furthermore, the daily, clandestine psychoanalysis had detected virtually no unstable factors within her.

On her first day as a special agent, the logistics team described her as a calm and collected female college student, slightly inclined towards women, but with no intention of dating or starting a family. She possessed a conservative personality and approach to life. She could be easily appeased without requiring excessive resources.

After she completed a mission and received a starting C-rank enhancement, her profile changed to: "A newly promoted special personnel who adheres to reason and order. Her emotional life remains unchanged. She follows the rules but dislikes socializing. Her personality remains the same; she doesn't particularly value personal gain. Gathering missions could be considered."

After she completed her second mission and exchanged the side quests and reward points for the technical blueprints and engineering projects desired by the people of the Western Sea and the Central Plains, her profile further changed—she is a special individual with a broad perspective, whose emotions and personality remain largely unchanged. She is nostalgic, mentally stable, but lacks motivation. Stimulating elements could be considered.

The next day, she received news that a close friend from her university had been diagnosed with a previously incurable congenital disease. However, thanks to the national resources and the medical technology she had acquired during her previous data collection mission, the friend had received appropriate treatment. In the days that followed, she volunteered for an interdimensional mission, where she upgraded her enhancements to CC level.

The profile was revised again—a seasoned special agent with a clear overall perspective. Emotions, personality, and mental state have all stabilized. However, potential is limited, making it difficult to adapt to high-intensity warfare. Repeated external emotional stimulation is not recommended. However, suitable for long-term data collection missions in low-level areas.

Two months passed quickly. A month ago, she became a CC-level special personnel, receiving the daily assignment of a librarian. Subsequently, the people of Xihai and the people of Zhongzhou, who controlled this area, signed contracts with her, on the condition that she would no longer be forced to participate in high-difficulty missions and would receive substantial social resource compensation. In the following months, she only needed to perform a gathering mission once a month and exchange 90% of the acquired resources for designated technologies and entities to continue to receive the nation's recognition and support.

To be fair, these are not lenient or fair conditions.

If a true reincarnator were to see this contract, then either in the future or in the present, a war between the reincarnators and the earthly nations would inevitably break out, with the former almost certainly emerging victorious. However, the situation is somewhat different here.

Scholars believe that the appearance of the orb of light is not an isolated phenomenon. It may be a gift from heaven, or it may be a sweet trap. But there is another possibility: that its very existence is a sign of divine benevolence and assistance—and the scholars' conjecture was fully confirmed in the second month after the orb's arrival.

It was an attack. A natural disaster.

A colossal, ferocious, and terrifying beast suddenly appeared on the islands of the East China Sea. From the moment of its manifestation, communication became impossible, as it unleashed its destructive power upon the surrounding cities and wilderness. After spewing poisonous acid and sulfurous fire from its mouth, utterly annihilating a nearby city, the mortal realm decisively and immediately sounded the alarm for war.

This is war, even though we don't know where the enemy came from. But it is still war.

Because scholars pieced together most of the information about this behemoth in a very short time using intelligence from various sources. And the information they obtained made all the decision-makers' hearts skip a beat.

This is not a beast, this is a weapon. This colossal creature is equipped with numerous biological devices, ready to be deployed at any moment. And even considering its beastly form with reduced intelligence, its individual combat strength is still rated A by scholars.

Rank A represents the current pinnacle of human combat power. Knowing this, and after attempts at negotiation failed, the nations on Earth quickly launched a war of annihilation against the beast, determined to destroy it. Victory, for the nations, was not far off.

They are decisive, extremely decisive.

From light to heavy firepower, from physical barrages to high-energy bombardment, and when the mushroom cloud finally rose, mortals finally understood that a new era was about to begin. Because the experiments concluded that nuclear explosions were no longer a definitive solution. The ultimate weapon capable of sweeping away the earth was no match for the protection and armor of this extraterrestrial visitor.

The mortals ultimately prevailed. After paying a heavy price, shattering a small island in the East China Sea, they finally won through a difficult struggle, aided by advanced technology and the assistance of A-level special personnel. The mortals had to admit that their era of mechanical technology had ended; from now on, it would be a time when mortals could only survive by relying on the light sphere.

Two days later, another giant beast attack on the Indian subcontinent proved that this was not an isolated or accidental event, a tragic reality.

As a result, the world ushered in new changes.

Did they become more united and motivated? No, they didn't.

Because there are still many kingdoms on earth, and within these kingdoms, many ethnic groups exist. These ethnic groups have different traditions, languages, and even religious beliefs. And when these elements come together, they point to a struggle for the right to speak.

After all, there is only one sphere of light. While the number of slots exceeds 100,000, it's not excessive. More importantly, it's merely a dead otherworldly behemoth. The crisis it brings isn't profound enough. It's not enough to force the nations of the surface to the point where they face certain death if they don't unite.

Thus, the world was at war before visitors from other lands even arrived.

It started as an economic war, then a war of public opinion. And then it became a war between proxies.

Smoke and fire erupted across the land as local inhabitants and soldiers clashed, all for the sake of a powerful nation on the other side of the planet. Their blood was shed in vain, for their slaughter yielded neither the desired nor the undesirable outcome. As the war between the proxies escalated, nearing its peak, and attracted the attention of other nations, finally, some could no longer contain themselves and took action.

The entire fleet of East America set sail, intending to seize the orb of light on Middle-earth during this lull. They moved swiftly, they were well-prepared. They proclaimed victory, but instead brought death upon themselves.

They were almost there. After the Eastern Americans' army successfully landed, the Northern Ice chose to go through the motions, while the Western Sea chose to stand by and watch. While maintaining a facade of assistance, they secretly did a lot of work to allow the Eastern Americans to get closer to the location of the light sphere.

And so, their fate ended there.

These special personnel, trained to protect humanity, were stained with the blood of their own kind before even achieving their first victory against external enemies. And in an instant, the tide of battle turned, shifting the disadvantage to the East American side.

The process is complicated, and so is the result.

In the end, the East Americans were forced back to the negotiating table and had to pay a huge and painful price for their actions.

Perhaps, when next month begins, there won't be so many nations on this continent anymore. A brand new world government will replace the old order. But before that, there are some matters, both minor and major, that need to be addressed.

— Alice Margot Royd.

Without permission, she participated in the previous battle that determined the future of the world, as a Westsea person.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: By Chance

That wasn't exactly a commendable battlefield performance. Alice Margotrovid's individual power on the Central Plains didn't even exceed the upper limit of a CC-level enhanced user. The spells she used were simple and basic. She didn't employ any special tactics. Her value on the battlefield was at most equivalent to a fully-equipped cloud bomb with EMP, far inferior to those A-level personnel who could literally tear mountains apart.

She didn't do much, and the subsequent impact wasn't significant. She wasn't even the first foreign special agent to participate in the war. And her achievements were only barely worthy of speculation regarding CC-level combat power.

The reason she appeared in the discussions at the World Joint Conference was simply because her name started with A, and she happened to be placed first according to the alphabetical order.

And naturally, the rulers of the various countries did not spend much time on this issue.

then……

A day later, the joint conference of the nations of the earth concluded. An eerie calm permeated the international arena. But through numerous channels, both overt and covert, intelligence circulated about the impending formation of a 'World United Government'.

If you can't beat them, join them; that's the only right thing to do.

The reason this is circulating only as rumors and hasn't been officially announced by state media is quite simple: the distribution of benefits at the top has not yet been finalized.

Everyone wants to gain the greatest benefit. Even those with self-awareness may find themselves unable to act against their will at crucial moments. They may know they are incapable, but they have to bite the bullet and go through with it. This means that the formation of a world united government is definitely not a process that can be accomplished overnight—unless there is a sufficiently powerful external force that compels them to quickly unite.

So, could there be such an external force?

There might be one in the future, but not now. Therefore, it will take some time for this contract to turn from a rumor into reality.

This is something that can only be agreed upon in the near future, perhaps weeks or months. This leads to considerable anxiety for many people until an agreement is reached. Any inappropriate, excessive, or violent behavior could become the trigger, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Therefore, those "special personnel" who did not belong to the Central Continent during the war between the Central Continent and the East America, but who participated in the war, will naturally be dealt with discreetly and cautiously—the East Americans need them to maintain the "great power dignity" necessary for negotiations, and the Central Continent people are even less likely to abandon them. Meanwhile, their original countries, those forces with a certain international influence, each have their own calculations. And this will ultimately lead to an inevitable result.

So, on the evening of the day after the conference ended, an unknown man from the Middle Kingdom visited Alice Margot Lloyd. He came with an entourage and first greeted Alice in a very friendly manner. Then, in a voice tinged with regret and disappointment, he told her some news.

“I have some unfortunate news for you, Miss Margot Lloyd. First, your support team has had to be reassigned due to some ‘unforeseen circumstances.’ If you don’t mind, a new team will be at your service starting tomorrow. But they may not be able to see you as often as before.”

“I have no objection,” Alice, who was being visited, replied indifferently, holding a thick book in her hand. “And you can also tell me any other information.”