Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"Then, the Overlord left Terra not long ago. He is now a standard True God and has not been able to advance any further. As for Zhan Lan, she has become a Transcendent Species and will pursue her own path after this trial ends—she plans to go to the Primordial Heavenly Realm to spread the word about Gaia's resurrection and cleansing. She has even prepared to die completely once."

"Compared to Zhan Lan, Xiao Honglu is a bit more conservative. In his previous life, the Human Ancestor Ziyi was defeated and admitted defeat in the Dao War. It's just a pity that he was not a main force in that battle, so he did not gain all the benefits—he should have the level and combat power of a true god at the end of the battle. As for whether he can surpass him... I'm not very sure, but his success rate should be relatively high."

She simply recounted all the remaining information.

“Zhang Jie did not participate in this battle of past lives. I guess this may be because he was a semi-guide, so he was abandoned by his powerful past life long ago—but he has successfully overcome his inner demons while I am talking to you. He is now a standard fourth-level student and is striving towards the level of a true god.”

“Cheng Xiao and Luo Gandao are completely unqualified. Cheng Xiao is one thing, his gains in the last round allow him to try to touch the Light of the Mind in this trial. As for Luo Gandao... he has many problems, and the work of his divine remains is very serious. Right now, he can be considered a senior fourth-level cultivator. As for whether he has improved, it is hard to say.”

"As for Ming Yanwei... Luo Ye guided her and helped her resolve the issues from her past life. She is now trying to overcome her inner demons in order to reach the fourth level. Although the chances are relatively slim, I think we can still have some expectations for her."

“Hmm…” Alice paused for a moment, feeling as if she had missed something.

"Who else was there?" She rubbed her temples.

"Midnight." Patchouli's voice brushed past her ear—

"Ah, Zero." Alice shook her head vigorously. "And Zero... How can this guy's presence be so weak?"

She patted the back of her neck.

“I don’t know what Zero’s current state is. To be honest, since Sirin and I arrived in this trial universe, I haven’t seen Zero at all. I even suspect that he didn’t participate in this trial at all, but was sitting under the God’s sphere of light waiting for us to come back and give him a full account of what happened. But… I think he should be somewhere in this universe.”

“This shows that his abilities have grown to the point where they can have a serious impact on you, Alice.” Patchouli reached out and rubbed the back of Alice’s neck. “This shows that he is growing, that he hasn’t stopped moving forward. Compared to that team of killer siblings who are more like berserkers, Zero is more like a true assassin… and I believe he will play a huge role at the crucial moment in the final battle.”

“I hope so.” Alice nodded, pressing down on Patchouli’s hand that was rubbing the back of her neck. “Well then, that’s about all the information I have. Patchouli, what about you? After dealing with Andromeda for so long, you should have some unique or special findings, right?”

Alice held out hope, always feeling that Andromeda's actions were not as simple as they appeared. Unfortunately, however, all her hopes were tragically dashed.

“I’m sorry,” Patchouli shook her head with a hint of regret. “Although I gained some information from Andromeda’s inadvertent leaks while fighting for control of her body, I didn’t really get anything remarkable. Andromeda… all I could read from the depths of her heart was endless hatred and rage. Perhaps, she really is just as she says and does, simply hoping for the destruction of both races.”

So Alice shut her mouth.

The exchange of intelligence concluded there. Alice did not perceive any fundamental advancement in Patchouli's life level or any change in her actual combat strength—she could only sadly admit that Patchouli had not reached the fourth level, and her life level remained at the Transcendent level.

It's a pity, but that's all we can do.

After that, the two discussed the current situation, future projections, and even the goals and methods of the myriad races. After the discussion, they returned to their posts where Andromeda had been before.

Just like before, just like in the past—to outsiders in Terra, it was simply that these two already close top scholars had become even closer than before. It was nothing surprising, nor did it warrant any extra attention.

And so, time continued to flow—

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

The second ruler, Amiya, reigned for a century. Although this was not the end of her lifespan, she followed the tradition of her predecessor and chose to abdicate the reins of power. After a sufficiently long period of discussion and election, the third ruler, unsurprisingly, was a mortal.

This is not surprising, truly not surprising. For mortals had been preparing for this moment since they first arrived on this land two hundred years ago—they craved power, they craved more profit, so they united more closely than the warring nations on the outside. And they successfully seized the final spoils in this second power transition on Terra.

They paid a huge price for this—a price they considered huge enough.

And they naturally want to reclaim everything they believe they have contributed, given that the overall situation has already been decided.

And so, one change after another followed in the years that followed—the third ruler first elevated the status of mortals, and then began to restrict and suppress other races. Under his influence, a series of interconnected decrees were issued over decades. In the end, he placed mortals above all other races on Terra—he even wanted mortals to rule Terra as masters forever.

Thus, the war began. The seventh kingdom in the ceremony also fell into the flames of war.

The ideal state was no longer the ideal state. Everything finally came to its final act. And as the land of Terra shattered and disintegrated into several large, separate pieces in an exceptionally massive explosion, Alice, observing from the void, finally obtained a result from her research into the motivations of all races.

"Is this all the races wanted to prove to you?" Patchouli, who was still operating the transcendental experiment beside her, turned her head and asked, "Prove that they created a failed ideal state?"

“No.” Alice shook her head. “They’re not trying to prove that all races can build an ideal kingdom. They’re just trying to tell me… to tell me that all races are willing to work hard, while mortals will only mess everything up.”

Did they succeed?

“Accusations against mortals are unfounded; a single piece of evidence is worthless. But…”

"...If all they wanted was a ticket, then they have achieved their goal."

Alice said calmly.

And then—she turned her gaze to the mass battlefield that had already covered the entire outer universe.

I've done everything I was supposed to do, and I've taken all the benefits I was supposed to take.

So, before leaving, let's give the Lord God face and go through the motions.

Side Story: The Pursuit of Ideals (Part 1)

The world was destroyed.

This is not an exaggeration, but a fact.

When Lin Xi heard about the upheaval in Terra, she rushed from the depths of the Warp back to her homeland and finally arrived at her destination. She witnessed the collapse of Terra.

From the ground to the sky, everything was torn in two. On one side were the kingdoms inhabited by mortals, and on the other side belonged to the native races of Terra. In addition, many scattered fragments collapsed and fell to some unknown, hidden places in the warp.

Terra was not supposed to be like this.

She knew, she understood. Because she knew that after Terra was immersed in the sea of ​​consciousness called the Warp, over these long years, its form of existence had long since merged with this sea of ​​minds—this planet, this continent, had long since become something idealistic. And this meant that as long as the minds on Terra remained one, then Terra could never be torn apart.

—At least it won't break under external forces below the star system annihilation level.

But now Terra is destroyed.

She looked around but saw neither fleets from other nations nor strange monsters from the depths of the void—she only saw the flickering energy across Terra in the distance and sensed the war and suffering that ravaged the land.

Terra – in the midst of the Civil War.

In less than half a second, she guessed the trigger and fuel for the civil war. She couldn't help but close her eyes sadly, and distant memories of her time as a mortal flooded her mind.

"I am but a mortal," she thought to herself. "A mortal for about twenty years."

"But I am also Liberi." She instinctively raised her hand, stroking the feathers atop her body: "I am a resident of Terra, having lived, strived, and struggled on this land for hundreds of years—all my honors and achievements are built upon it. But as a mortal, I had nothing."

Twenty years versus two hundred years. Being penniless versus achieving fame and fortune—it's not difficult to draw a comparison between the two, and making a choice doesn't take much time.

And so, she made her decision in an instant—the moment she opened her thoughtful eyes, she saw her trustworthy companion waiting for her beside her. She had even placed her hand on the hilt of the greatsword.

“We will not participate in this war.” In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to lay a hand on those mortals who, apart from their physical structure, bore no resemblance to her past—which caused Skadi’s eyes to dim slightly.

“But we must stop the damage from spreading.” — And her next sentence made Skadi’s eyes light up again.

"Lin Xi, what should we do?" she asked, her dark red eyes gleaming with anticipation.

“Save…” She didn’t say the word “save people” directly. Instead, she corrected herself: “…save the civilians caught up in the disaster first.”

She spoke, and her companion immediately responded—in fact, while she and Skadi were discussing it, she had already piloted their warp vehicle toward the nearest shattered landmass. By the time they finished their discussion, she was already standing on the edge of that landmass and saw the group of civilians who had lost control in the sudden chaos of war.

This is Terra, once Terra. A world of ideals situated within the Warp. The reason this land has been shattered and destroyed is not only due to the impact of the civil war, but also fueled by the panic that has spread among the people.

In the world of the mind, the mind reflects reality.

If the mind is restless and uneasy, reality will naturally fall apart.

Therefore, based on these reasons, as long as the restless mind is calmed down, the broken earth will naturally return to its original state.

This was a viable strategy, so Lin Xi did it.

Because her and Skadi's faces were not unknown on this land—she had done many things, participated in many adventures that could be recorded in the annals of Terra, and held a pivotal position in them—the two were renowned adventurers, pioneers, and warriors. And she only needed to step forward, show her face, and say a few words to easily calm the panicked emotions on this shattered land.

She succeeded. She simply stood on high ground and gave a few encouraging words, and the shattered land stopped collapsing. And after she re-established order, the torn land began to drift, floating towards another main continent that had been torn apart during the civil war.

The first step has yielded initial results.

They immediately left that place and went to another broken, floating land to repeat their previous work.

Sometimes things go smoothly; there is still some order in the broken earth, so it can hold on until she, or an authoritative individual like her, arrives and restores stability.

Sometimes things didn't go as planned. When she arrived, the land had already completely collapsed. Only the panicked and bewildered Terrans were left struggling and swaying in the warp void with nowhere to lean on—she and Skadi had to spend a great deal of time and effort picking up these poor lost souls one by one and settling them in the spaceship that had been transformed from a small boat into a giant ship.

During the rescue, she encountered Amiya, whom she hadn't seen for two hundred years—the once naive girl from Carter's had now become a true queen. Upon Lin Xi's arrival, she summoned the Rhodes Island landship, which had been sealed away for over two centuries, from her memory and transformed it into a reliable and effective rescue base.

Rhode Island Pharmaceuticals, which had disbanded many years ago, has re-established its banner at a critical juncture two hundred years later. Lin Xi was not surprised to encounter many familiar faces on the ship, as if everything had returned to more than two hundred years ago, to the time when the infected united to face natural disasters and hostile gazes.

After everything had largely stabilized, she asked Amiya for advice.

"Amiya, what are you planning to do next?" she asked, just as she had when she worked at the pharmaceutical company on Rhodes Island.

“Go find the Doctor.” Amiya’s voice was much more mature and calm than before, but some of her inner qualities remained unchanged. “The research institute where the Doctor works is now a major target, which means she has what those… rioters want. And I’ve heard that the Doctor and Miss Roy have been conducting a secret and complex research project for nearly a century. We can’t let those rioters get what they want.”

“We’ll go and bring the Doctor back, and…” Her voice hesitated slightly, but only for a moment. “Rhodes Island also needs a command expert like the Doctor to unleash its full combat potential.”

She was articulate and her arguments were well-founded. Clearly, Lin Xi would not object to her suggestion.

But Lin Xi was still thinking. Thinking about a name.

[Luo Ai... I seem to vaguely recognize the name Luo Ai... Not only is she the dean of the Academy of Sciences, but she should also be...]

"...I remember now. When I first arrived on this land, wasn't my only companion this guy named Luo Ai? I also remember that I came here because..."

Why did I come here?

Memory is a troublesome thing, like a string of interconnected pearls. Touching one will quickly bring up another. Whether it's good or bad, joyful or sorrowful, it will clearly rise to the surface in the mind along with the inertia of recollection, and gradually spread and proliferate.

I remember now.

The reason I'm here is because of someone named Alice. And the reason she chose me is because I'm someone else's vessel for resurrection. And I... once possessed that person's power, and she could even fully awaken within me at any moment.

But how did everything turn out this way? When did I forget the power that resided within me? Even forget those deeply etched memories of my past?

And, in that other world, do I also have... a younger sister?

Her thoughts were interrupted.

When she regained her senses, she found herself in the central hall of the research institute—during the time when her memory was interrupted or forgotten, she and Rhodes Island Pharmaceuticals had infiltrated the heavily guarded research institute amidst the flames of war, and now she was standing right in front of Dr. Andromeda and Dr. Roy!

"You..." She couldn't help but widen her eyes, about to say something.

"Long time no see, Sirin." She saw Dr. Luo Ai facing her, but he uttered a completely different name from hers!

An unnamed panic crept into the girl's heart.

However, the next moment, she felt a hand lightly land on her shoulder.

“You scared her, Alice.” – The first thing that rang in her ears was a gentle voice tinged with a hint of reproach. Immediately following was a slender and exquisite body. Ankle-length purple wavy hair, bright yellow eyes with a slanted cross emblem. Ethereal and elegant attire, a noble and graceful demeanor – all of this pointed to one single answer!

It's 'her'!

That life lurking within me!

That powerful individual who would have taken everything away from him in the past, but who revived himself through his own body!

Lin Xi's pupils shrank to a tiny dot the moment she saw the girl named 'Xilin'. And the next moment, she realized the world had stopped functioning!

Has time stopped? Or has space been imprisoned?

She didn't know; all she knew was that she was still conscious, but that conscious awareness was limited to her physical sensations. At the very least, she couldn't use that awareness to understand the conversation between Sirin and the two individuals who appeared to be Dr. Andromeda and Dr. Loe.