Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

The Ascended Kingdom, protected by a spurious god and residing within the Cosmic Dream, can deploy elite, fast-moving squads wielding a variety of dazzling and uncontrollable powers to every corner of the Qin Domain at any time. Its existence equates the front lines with the rear, rendering Qin's numerous defensive measures ineffective. Meanwhile, the Fallen Kingdom, also capable of traversing the Cosmic Dream, possesses immense pure military might, disregarding all allies and enemies, and solely attacking the strongest.

Qin is the strongest, so they fight Qin. Although they haven't signed any alliance, they are the most recognized by the other four nations. After all, while Sekhmet was indeed divided into many by the ritual, the corrupt nation most affected by her naturally bears the most of her marks.

She kept Huhai preoccupied, preventing him from directly destroying any of the states within the ritual through partial annexation. Since he couldn't act, his hastily created servants naturally couldn't gain anything either. After all, they were essentially empty states, possessing nothing but the Qin Emperor's protection and favor.

Thus the war continued.

Each day was several times more intense than the day before.

However, in this increasingly intense symphony of war, Terra, as an ideal nation, becomes a lonely note that escapes the score—Terra has always been preparing for war, but Terra has never experienced war.

This is actually not outside of Alice's ritual, after all, the ideal country should not be embroiled in war.

However, avoiding being drawn into war requires more than just good fortune and hard work; one's own strength is also a crucial factor. In these times of ruthless and merciless warfare among nations, once exposed, one will inevitably be dragged into the war immediately.

Therefore, within these few years, Dr. Roy and Dr. Andromeda, two scientific experts representing the pinnacle of Terra's technology, conceived and created the second epoch-making achievement.

—They expanded their sea of ​​consciousness, consuming the mass of several star systems in a region far from the war, finally succeeding in creating a sea of ​​consciousness large enough to contain the entirety of Terra. This naturally borrowed the design technology of the Cosmic Dream. However, unlike the Cosmic Dream's lack of bias, this sea of ​​consciousness leans more towards the beauty of dreams.

This is a beautiful dream.

And with beautiful dreams, nightmares naturally find a chance to be born. However, until that opportune moment, which may be many years from now, erupts, beautiful dreams will remain just that—beautiful dreams, and ideal states will remain just that—ideal states.

This time, Dr. Loe and Dr. Andromeda did not name this new sea of ​​consciousness, but instead allowed the inhabitants of the entire Terra world to choose a name for themselves. After a heated and eventful public debate, the people of the ideal nation finally achieved a result that was recognized by the majority of individuals.

'Subspace'—Terra ultimately decided to use this name for the solidified ocean of consciousness that would continue to expand. And just as this achievement began to function, successfully concealing the entire planet in a hidden area distinct from the Dream of the Universe, amidst the cheers of the crowd, Alice and Andromeda's second meeting outside of work took place.

This time, the chosen location was a fully automated self-service restaurant. Everything was done by the diners themselves, and the restaurant seemed exceptionally spacious at this moment.

"Would you like some black tea?" Alice brewed a pot of black tea and greeted Andromeda. The aroma of tea filled the air around her, and the tea in the cup was crystal clear.

“No need, I still prefer green tea.” Andromeda shook his head and took a bottle of chilled jasmine tea from the vending machine next to him—although it wasn’t entirely green, it was at least a type of green tea.

Alice wasn't angry; she simply set the pot of brewed black tea aside. She then opened the vending machine. Her finger moved across the coffee, across the cola, and lingered briefly on the colorless soda between them.

She took the bottle of soda. With a 'pop,' the knob turned on, and the aroma of flavoring and sugar filled her nostrils.

"Are you planning to admit defeat?" Andromeda asked, casually picking up various exquisite dishes from the conveyor belt and putting them into his mouth.

“No.” Alice took a sip of her soda, savoring the sweetness and the tingling sensation of oxidation as she answered. “I haven’t found a way to win yet, how could I possibly give up the fight like this?”

“And…” she gently swirled the glass in her hand, watching the bubbles rise to the surface of the soda. “Even if I can’t figure out how to win, it doesn’t mean victory is in your hands.”

“Then I’ll wait and see,” Andromeda replied, her tone a mix of disappointment and anticipation. She simply finished her jasmine tea in one gulp, gave Alice a slight nod, and left.

She didn't seem to intend to say anything more.

Of course, it's also possible that she had nothing to say.

As Alice watched Andromeda's departing figure, she frowned slightly.

She suddenly felt inexplicably irritated. The scene of Andromeda's first appearance in the universe suddenly appeared in her memory bank—she saw the pale purple girl appear in the void, and in the deepest part of her eyes, a flickering flame was suppressed.

Her gaze returned to the glass in her hand. She saw the foam floating on top of the soda, while most of the substance remained motionless beneath it.

The surface is foam, seemingly filling everything, but it is just an illusion.

The inside is the truth, seemingly covered up and submerged, but it is the true source of quality.

She suddenly thought of Lin Xi.

She suddenly laughed silently.

So this is what it means to gamble everything. This is how you achieve victory.

It turned out that the battle situation was completely different from what he had seen from the very beginning.

Chapter Sixty-Four - Alice IV

Several years passed after that.

The war continues, though it holds no meaning for the reincarnators. Every minute, every second, countless living beings perish in the dark starry sky, and these dead wills and souls gather and coalesce before or during their dissipation, accelerating the growth of the sea of ​​consciousness, which has now become a 'subspace'.

Growth, growth is always painful.

As the boundaries of the warp expand, more and more blank areas unaffected by Terra emerge in this ocean constructed by the spirit. Most of them are blank, pure and flawless like isolated islands in a salt lake. However, most does not mean all. In some obscure, dark, and impure objects, like dregs and remnants, flow from the material universe into the warp, bringing new suffering to this pure land.

Because this is the world of the mind, the strength of will and spirit here far surpasses that of the most solid metal in the material universe. Those with kind hearts, or those who believe themselves to be kind and are steadfast in their kindness, will shine brightly here, like saints in mythology. Those burdened by negative emotions, if they arrive here, will naturally transform into falsehood, evil, and ugliness, spreading suffering.

Thus, in the tenth year since the opening of the warp, the inhabitants of Terra discovered the first creature that could be called a 'demon'. It was a mediocre man from a satellite station shattered by warriors of the Pride Kingdom, who, before dying, was trapped in a broken life support pod, suffering despair and agony.

He died in the material universe and was reborn in the warp. He grew like a terrifying monster from ancient books, with a face formed from intertwined thorns and blades and molten organs—his heart was filled only with killing and suffering. His existence even made the Sarkaz ashamed to continue calling themselves monsters.

The inhabitants of Terra took pity on him, took him in, and allowed Amiya, the Demon Lord who had reigned on the Sarkaz throne for ten years, to use her power to manipulate emotions to gradually strip away his negative feelings. He was transformed from a demon back into a human, and then allowed to reside permanently in this warp.

Is this a good thing? I don't know, but it could become a hidden danger in the future.

Is this a bad thing? I don't know, but the inhabitants of Terra cannot abandon him, because it does not conform to the current ideals and customs of Terra.

In the aftermath, a wave of exploration swept across Terra. The Scourge Messengers, who had lost their jobs after taming the Originium, found a new and desirable purpose. They sprang into action, venturing into the far reaches of the Warp, their duties shifting from simply relaying information about the Scourge's arrival to that of mobile city-states. Now, they preferred to explore newly formed empty islands and rescue the 'demons' caught in the Warp.

High morality also has its downsides, namely, the inability to 'ignore the outstretched hand of help to those in need.' The actions of the Cataclysmic Messengers clearly gained unanimous approval from the world of Terra. And Amiya, the only demon lord with the ability to strip away and eradicate emotions, was obviously happy to complete this task.

Alice, now the chief researcher at the Terra Central Academy of Sciences, received a new commission. The inhabitants of Terra hoped she could find a way to replicate Amiya's emotional interference abilities, provide assistance to the Scourge messengers, and design applications to manage these negative emotions.

Clearly, Andromeda remained her deputy. However, before this new round of research collaboration could begin, an expected visitor appeared in Alice's office.

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

"Zhan Lan." — The messenger of calamity who appeared before Alice was no longer the high school girl she had been over a decade ago. But in Alice's eyes, perhaps this intellectual state was more in line with her image of her teammate. The moment she saw the data of this girl named Anxinyuan Angelina, she knew that this girl was Zhan Lan, and that her old friend had long since won the battle against her past life.

"Long time no see." She was too lazy to pour him coffee or tea; after all, Zhan Lan wasn't Patchouli or Andromeda. There was no need for such unnecessary arrangements.

—Of course, this was also because she knew that Zhan Lan would prepare her own drinking water.

"It's only been less than twenty years, it's hardly a 'long time'." Zhan Lan didn't stand on ceremony and sat down comfortably opposite Alice. "I'm leaving, Alice. I'll be leaving Terra soon, and will probably either directly participate in the battle against Hu Hai or return to the main god. I'm letting you know in advance."

"Looks like you've had a great haul?"

"Hmm, not bad." Zhan Lan stretched out her hand, and a phantom-like, strange bird with a long, thin tail and an eagle-like forequarters circled lightly around her palm. "The Bird of the Hook, a symbol of calamity, and also my past life... She was captured by mortals during the war between mortals and all races, and then transformed into a guide to calamities for all races. Mortals relied on her to find and exterminate the remnants of countless races, so much so that even though she was one of the myriad races, she was judged to be part of the mortals because of the heavy sins she committed against them."

"Her heart was already broken before she reached the end of her life, so she didn't make things difficult for me after she was revived in me. After watching me serve as a messenger of natural disasters for more than ten years, she readily entrusted everything to me and then sank into a long eternal sleep... She was probably really tired."

“May she rest in peace.” Alice bowed her head slightly. “So what do you intend to do? To carry on her legacy and take revenge on the mortals of this era?”

“No, I don’t plan to.” Zhan Lan shook her head. “Neither does she.”

"She simply wants to return to her original role, to become a symbol of calamity, like the messenger of natural disasters I am currently serving as—I will appear in all instances of natural disasters, that is, when nature is about to cause harm to the intellect, to warn those intellects that they will face calamity. And that is what I will do next."

She pointed to her chest.

"I will remain in this subspace until this body reaches the end of its lifespan, guiding the inhabitants here with the calamities that come from the material universe. When Angelina of the Heart of Peace reaches the end of her life, I will go to the outer reaches and appear in various calamity scenarios."

"Only natural disasters?" Alice raised an eyebrow.

“Man-made disasters are not within my sphere of influence,” Zhan Lan nodded. “I will not participate in your rituals. The struggles between races and civilizations are not my concern. However, after this trial ends, I should try to make a trip to the Primordial Heavenly Realm to inform that continent of the impending calamity.”

The calamity stems from Gaia's resurrection. Even if Gaia doesn't intentionally target mortals, the re-establishment of the multiverse rules upon her awakening will inevitably lead to cataclysmic upheavals affecting all realms and seas. Zhan Lan's past life clearly already knew the contents of this valuable intelligence, and Alice had already guessed its source, but there was no need to state it directly here.

"Is this her idea?" Alice asked.

“It’s her idea, and it’s mine.” Zhan Lan placed her hands neatly on her knees, straightening her posture. “I’ve reached an agreement with her, and I will do this even if I don’t inherit her estate.”

“So, that’s why you’ve appeared before me at this time.” Alice gazed at her, at her companion and comrade-in-arms. Through the disguised body of the Volper fox, she clearly observed a pale, pure light flickering deep within Zhan Lan’s heart.

The attainment of spiritual light is only natural. Having acquired all the legacies of his previous life, Zhan Lan presumably wouldn't need to take a few more steps to become a true god.

However, this was not enough, at least not enough for her to leave this place, travel to the primordial world, and successfully escape. That's why she arrived here at this time, to say goodbye while also making a request.

Alice extended a finger, broke it off, and handed it to the person in front of her. Her finger instantly healed as it broke, but compared to the past, this newborn finger appeared somewhat blurry from a perspective beyond this level.

"Take it with you. It will allow you to cross the Abyss of Death and successfully reach the Primordial Heaven. At the same time, it will also allow you to return safely even if you are annihilated in the Primordial Heaven. Unless you die at the hands of a sage." Alice said calmly. She knew that Zhan Lan's journey would obviously not end well—who would like a harbinger of death? But she also knew that the protection of the Supreme God on Zhan Lan had not been eliminated. In other words, even if a sage really attacked Zhan Lan, the Supreme God's protection would at least ensure that the unfortunate child's injuries were within the range of being sent back from the Abyss of Death.

So Zhan Lan bowed slightly to her and left. And it wouldn't be long before news of 'the renowned messenger of natural disasters, Angelina, leading a team to the Outer Realms' was being broadcast on the information network. And decades or centuries later, news of her death would also linger on a similar, but more advanced, information network.

It was her own choice; there was no need to stop her. Alice sighed softly shortly after she left, glancing at the empty seat at the far end of her line of sight.

There sat an individual whose gender was indistinguishable and whose form was unclear, yet who gave Alice a feeling of 'icy coldness'. When Alice looked over, she sensed that the other person gave her a polite smile.

She knew, or rather, she could guess, who 'it' was. And she knew even more that at this moment, apart from herself—and perhaps Luo Ye—no living or non-living being in this universe could observe anything other than air from that seat.

"I won't ask for your name, since I can't possibly remember it anyway. But I imagine you are either the ruler or the agent of the myriad races of the primordial world. And my good-for-nothing companion, she and her past life must have obtained their knowledge from you, right?" she asked, glancing at the Terra land. She had known for a long time that the myriad races of the primordial world had already taken action on this land.

She felt the 'icy' entity seem to nod at her. And then—

It was difficult to discern the specific timbre of the sound; it sounded like an electronically synthesized voice as it entered her ears.

"The Bird of the Hook possesses inherent powers. In the past, at the birth of humankind, during the creation of the world, and on the eve of the calamity of all races, she appeared in various parts of the primordial world to warn all living beings. Her essence is the mortal's vigilance against the will of Heaven. She was born in response to the times, and is the guide to the only chance of life in the Great Evolution Forty-Nine. But she has long since died, so we are indeed here to give her a little help."

“As far as I know, the Primordial Heavenly Realm shouldn’t know that Gaia is about to be resurrected. With Zhan Lan going, they will definitely be able to prepare in advance. And this may not be a good thing for you.” Alice picked up her coffee cup and took a small sip. “…Is this part of a bargaining chip? You’re using this as an equivalent to get the one behind the main god to not interfere with your underhanded actions in this trial?”

Alice asked a question, but the individual remained silent.

Therefore, it is obvious that there is no need to continue asking.

Alice sighed.

"What exactly do you want?" she asked.

“We want an opportunity to prove our worth at the source of all things,” the other party responded.

“This is meaningless.” Alice frowned. “You can come and go as you please. Gaia doesn’t care how kind and noble you are, or how despicable and shameless you are. My mother may have a strong desire to kill you and all of humanity. But that’s one thing, another. This is Gaia’s territory, and she won’t do anything beyond the game until Gaia is completely defeated.”

“We know,” the icy entity replied. “We know perfectly well that the Mother of All Things regards us, the myriad races, as straw dogs. We know perfectly well that the Mother of All Things regards the primordial gods as straw dogs. But even so, we hope to do our part for the rebirth of the Mother of All Things in this moment of great change.”

"I didn't stop you." Alice picked up her coffee cup, indicating that she wanted to see them out.

"But you have the ability to prevent us from getting involved."

The girl's eyebrows immediately lifted.

"So this is why you chose this moment to see me? When my companions are reaping huge profits and have relied heavily on your help?" Alice sighed, setting down her coffee cup. "Alright, I promise I won't stop you, in the name of Luo Ye. Now you should be at ease."

Before she could finish speaking, the invisible figure not far away had completely disappeared from her perception.

"Tsk, do they all really trust Luo Ye that much?" Alice shook her head, sighing for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day.

It was another troublesome and boring day, but... being able to solve two troublesome things is not bad.

So……

With the urgent matter at hand settled, it's time to go find Andromeda.

—Let's just call her Andromeda for now.

Section 65. Alice. V

And so time continued to pass, and soon, another dozen years had gone by. After all, scientific research is not something that can be accomplished in a day, especially when Alice and Andromeda subconsciously raised their standards, elevating the mental pollution treatment technology, which was originally only acceptable within the current worldview, to the point where it could be used in the multiverse. This round of research became a rather long battle.