Chapter 438
Afterward, she took a hot bath to wash away the salty smell from the sea, sat at the table, wrote and drew for a while, then turned off the light, lay down on the soft bed, and slowly drifted off to sleep, ending her day's journey.
Late at night, the cruise ship slowly set sail, heading towards a distant country.
The following day, in Gloriana, Como, in the backyard of an unfinished memorial.
Chu Yuanqing walked to the tombstone, where several Scottish roses were placed.
These are paper flowers dyed with Scottish green pigment. They are exquisite and beautiful, but the petals are faintly yellowed, perhaps due to recent rain and drying.
It's highly likely that Liuli made it herself; the flowers sway gently in the breeze, conveying a subtle and indescribable emotion.
Chu Yuanqing stood there for a while, thought for a moment, and then took out a small, somewhat old wooden box from his guitar case.
This was a gift from someone else; its outer casing was decorated with cloisonné enamel, giving it a slightly Great Xia Chinese feel, which was completely out of place in Gloriana.
Chu Yuanqing squatted down, placed the box next to the tombstone, and politely placed a bunch of white roses that had recently bloomed on it. She was in a daze for a long time before she remembered to take a stroll through this memorial hall that was not yet completed.
Chu Yuanqing left the backyard to look at the other party's parents' belongings, but did not linger. After 10 minutes, she left on her own, like a dream evaporating in the daytime, slowly disappearing from the memories of the security guards and staff.
She remained silent throughout, as if she knew that if she said another word, she would leave nothing behind.
Half an hour later, in a taxi heading to Como Airport,
The Witch asked:
Don't you want to browse around a bit more?
Chu Yuanqing gazed at the fleeting scenery outside the window and said earnestly:
I want to, but I can't stay too long.
The Witch pondered the meaning behind the words, remained silent for a moment, and then her tone became cheerful again:
"So, next, is it time to meet Xiao Xuan's Dad?"
"To be honest, I've never met her family either, so I'm quite curious."
Chu Yuanqing hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and replied:
"I need to go see him, but now is not the time."
The Witch tilted her head and asked:
"Where shall we go?"
Chu Yuanqing lowered her eyes to look at the advertisements on her phone screen. She was using a phone from the Holy United States, and there were hardly any <Flash Dance> idols from the Eastern Empire on it. Almost all the pop-ups were of a certain Doomsday Diva's smiling face.
The Pure White Witch gently stroked the figure on the screen with her fingertips and whispered:
"I want to go to Austria to see Mama Aili and the children at the orphanage, and... say goodbye."
PS: Waaaaah, the series is almost over and it's going to be shut down, so nobody's reading it anymore. I'm devastated.
Volume 1: 413. A Piece of History Was Obliterated.
Time flies, and another week has passed in the blink of an eye.
The Crimson Extreme Realm, a frigid region covered in solid ice and mountains, almost devoid of life, is rumored to harbor ancient viruses dating back millions of years, even to the Cambrian period.
If viewed from above, the boundless sea, ice, mountains, and earth veins stretch as far as the eye can see, seemingly originating from ancient mythology, all painted with vibrant colors like roses.
It was a world of countless shades of light red, pale red, rose red, and deep red, forming a gradually interwoven crimson landscape. Unlike normal red tides—a harmful ecological phenomenon—they were pure and beautiful, with a transparent, glassy quality, like a fairyland.
Located between the Donghuang Federation and the Holy United States, this place is an uninhabitable area with temperatures consistently below -50°C. Seventeen years ago, it resembled a typical snow-capped mountain landscape, and humans only left behind a few research stations here as outposts for research and exploration.
On the day the Disaster God descended and [Pure White] protected the world, it devoured all the [Calamity Species] that had degenerated back to their eggs in the territory, staining it with a beautiful and dreamlike gradient of red. The entire region also began to crystallize harmlessly, and was eventually given the name Crimson Extreme Realm by the upper council.
But for Astrid, and all the high-ranking humans who knew about the Covenant, another name for the Crimson Extreme Realm better represented the significance of its birth.
That is, the heart of the world.
Seventeen years ago, they heard a mysterious call and made their first communication with the Planet Consciousness in the Crimson Extreme Realm.
This exchange enabled human civilization to gain an initial understanding of the severity of the calamity, and under the guidance of the stars, they discovered the obsidian, efficiently uncovered its true effects, and subsequently discovered ether technology, invented the artificial lantern, and gave birth to the first Magical Girl.
That covenant that allows humanity to work together in a false environment of peace, comfort, and tranquility, without internal strife, war, or selfishness, ultimately uniting as one, is precisely derived from the assistance of Planet Consciousness.
Astrid.
This was the strongest Magical Girl in human history, and it was for this reason that she gave up the power, authority, status, and freedom of the Primal Witch, becoming the core of the covenant in the Crimson Extreme Realm, and sinking into the deep sea of glaciers.
Ultimately, with the gifts of the stars and the full support of human civilization, the magic of the [Celestial Ornament] was woven around her soul, making her a truly impartial arbiter who could communicate with the stars.
Over the next few years, humanity wove the prototype of Dream Weaver and planted supercomputer subsystems around the world, allowing her consciousness to manifest in the form of Super AI code, granting her some freedom.
Only then was the alliance officially implemented.
Given the vast differences in political systems, races, cultures, ideologies, and other aspects of human civilization, only Super AI is absolutely impartial, possesses real power, is trustworthy, never betrays, and has infinite computing power can efficiently coordinate such a bloated and complex race.
During that period, Astrid was the only "dictator" recognized by the stars and humanity, until the Covenant incorporated all nations into the plate and boldly established a simpler and more efficient political system. Only then did she "step down" and become a mere tool and assistant.
However, even today, if humanity loses this Super AI, it still cannot unleash most of its potential.
Therefore, the importance of this Crimson Extreme Realm is self-evident.
This place is not only the world's only source of obsidian, but also the location of Astrid's true form, making it the lifeblood of civilization. It is heavily guarded, and like the thirteen forbidden zones, it is always garrisoned by troops and Magical Girl.
At this moment, deep within the Crimson Sea, the boundless darkness is peeled away by rays of light like branches, and through a dense and beautiful Ethernet network, a fortress of light appears to be constructed from energy and magic.
This wonder, built with ether technology, spans a narrow seabed fissure, drawing on faint geothermal heat, and stands silently like a dormant ancient dragon.
At this moment, endless data, transmitted via the Ethernet network in the form of quantum propagation, fell into the depths of the Light Fortress, reaching the [Celestial Instrument] as its central hub, and was transmitted into that person's soul, transforming into a vast sea of data.
In an instant, the recent global data on Flashdance, tour traffic, idol popularity, world situation, progress of event planning... and even all elements related to the Savior Plan, spun in my consciousness like a giant Rubik's Cube with countless faces, and then immediately became neatly arranged in colors.
"The 7,819 large-scale touring performances were successfully held, generating a massive amount of light that flowed into 197,123 magic bases. Among them, 96 bases experienced poor transmission, resulting in serious errors at the microsecond level, and require readjustment."
"The Ethernet network responsible for filtering out shimmering impurities consumes too much energy. 391 Ether reactors are not enough to provide all the energy. We need to graft thousands of nuclear power plants and use magic to convert even more magical energy."
"The directional anchor points for the thirteen restricted areas are correct..."
A large amount of data flashed by, illustrating the various errors that were unavoidable due to the tight schedule.
The final conclusion is as follows:
"After repeated trials and elimination of 74 errors, the feasibility of the World-Class Spell has been tested once again."
"Currently, the success rate without [Lighthouse] guidance is 7.1781%, while the success rate with [Lighthouse] guidance is as high as 59.182%, both higher than the previous data."
Astrid completed her hourly calculations, reported them to the think tank, and compiled them into the daily report of the Savior Plan, which was then provided to the upper council for review.
The arbiter's consciousness sank, data transformed into tentacles, engulfing the entire world, like a god overlooking everything, then instantly recoiled, gathering the remaining human consciousness into a single entity, which fell into Austria, located in the Holy United States.
Saint Wolfgang, the small chapel by the lake.
Sister Ellie finished her day's prayers, washed her face in the trough beside the Pool of Our Lady, put her veil back on to block out the light, and, relying on her exceptional spatial awareness and coordination, returned alone to the small classroom in the courtyard.
The gentle nun had her eyes closed, obscuring the romantic allure of the toffee-like dress. She listened patiently to the children's play, her long, golden-brown hair, like that of a thrush, swaying in the wind, making her appear like a virtuous and kind mother.
The children in the orphanage were all very young, but they were all very sensible. Even the mischievous ones would avoid bumping into Sister Ellie while playing.
It's recess time now, and the teachers who volunteered to teach are sitting to one side, handing out snacks and candies, playing with the children and being very popular with them.
"Teacher Lin, why do you always carry a guitar case?"
"Sister Lin, can Nia hug you? You smell so good."
"Why is the teacher's hair white? Can I touch it?"
"When I grow up, I want to marry a girl as beautiful as Teacher Lin."
"Sister Xiaolin, I want to hear you sing 'Edelweiss'!"
Chu Yuanqing sat in front of her small drawing board, facing the children gathered around her. The smile in her eyes rippled gently like water, and the atmosphere around her was gentle and peaceful, making the questions from the group of curious children seem orderly and not noisy.
Apart from East Flow Island, this was the place where she had stayed the longest.
A week ago, she came to the chapel and met Sister Ellie, introducing herself as Lin Yuki and saying that she was a guitarist from Dongliu and wanted to travel to the town and stay for a while.
Initially, she just wanted to find a reason to talk to Sister Ellie, but somehow it inexplicably turned into her working as a music teacher for the children to cover her travel expenses for staying in the chapel.
Seven days have passed since then.
Although the children in the orphanage had long forgotten her, it wasn't difficult to become familiar with these innocent, naive little ones who clearly distinguished between good and evil.
Even without using the money she earned from performing to buy gifts, the Pure White Witch, with her maxed-out affability, was practically a born kindergarten teacher, and she became familiar with the children on the very first day.
As for teaching, her music theory skills are not yet advanced, but she can easily teach children to recognize the staff, the basic pronunciation of notes, and lead them in singing nursery rhymes like "Edelweiss."
Of course, at Sister Ellie's suggestion, she would occasionally act as a math teacher, teaching basic multiplication tables and arithmetic problems, and assigning simple homework to the children who had too much energy to spare all day.
Even if she wasn't taught blessings or Martial God Skill, teaching music and math wasn't bad at all; in fact, she found it fresh and interesting.
If she had enough time, she might have been willing to stay much longer.
As Chu Yuanqing looked at the children's smiling faces, her thoughts surged. Cracks had appeared in her lowered, gilded pupils, and the same was true for many other parts of her body. A layer of magical energy, like a water film, covered her in disguise, maintaining a facade of normalcy.
The cold moon and warm sun, however, bring suffering to human life.
This line from Li He's poem is a true reflection of himself.
Now, no matter how reluctant I am, I have to say goodbye to Sister Ellie.
Therefore, she naturally could no longer be the children's music teacher.
The Pure White Witch pinched Nia's smooth cheek, hugged the little girl who wanted to smell her scent, and patiently answered the other children's questions with a smile on her face.
After Nia finished basking in the pleasant fragrance of Teacher Lin, she blinked her eyes expectantly and asked:
"Sister Lin, are you going to sell animal balloons again today? Nia has become so good, she can definitely blow up a lot more for you today."
After the little girl finished asking her question, the other children also looked at the teacher expectantly, clearly looking forward to this long-established routine.
The Witch squatted down next to Sister Ellie, watching this scene with a mix of warmth and amusement.
Because he hadn't been livestreaming to shower his fans with rice lately, Chu Yuanqing was almost penniless after arriving in the town.
In order to buy snacks and gifts for the children, she had a sudden inspiration. She found a bunch of balloons that she had taken from a fan's package in her guitar case, braided them into animal shapes, and sold them in the town while riding her electric scooter (bought on East Flow Island).
The first day went well; none of the children in the orphanage recognized her.
The next day, she awkwardly bumped into Nia, whose eyes were sparkling, in the town, revealing her side job.
On the third day, it inexplicably turned into an outdoor activity where the children helped make balloons, went out to sell them with Qing Bao, and then bought snacks together to go back to the church.
This outdoor activity has continued to this day and has become a fun attraction that brings a smile to the faces of the townspeople, with the balloons often selling out in less than half an hour.
Chu Yuanqing looked at the expectant children, took out all the remaining balloons from the guitar case, distributed them to everyone, and said with a smile:
"We're not selling anything today. What kind of little animals do you all like? I'll make them out of balloons and give them to you, okay?"
The Pure White Witch's suggestion quickly won the children's unanimous agreement.
Although balloons can't compare to snacks and other toys, everyone really wants things that Teacher Lin makes by hand.
"I want a cat!"
"I want a very big dog."
"Crocodile! Crocodiles are so cool!"
"Can we make a little Lin sister out of balloons? Nia wants one!"
"I like birds, I want a yellow parrot."
"Does it have to be an animal? But I want a tank!"
The children's thoughts were all in a free-flowing stream, seemingly unconstrained by animals. They happily blew up balloons while gazing longingly at their beautiful teacher, creating a very harmonious atmosphere.
Sister Ellie smiled; even though she couldn't see the scene, she could tell how much the children loved their teacher.
Hmm, maybe...
Is this Lin Yuki's innate affability? When she first met the other person, she inexplicably felt close to and liked them, which is why she took the initiative to propose volunteering to be a teacher.
Otherwise, given her love for children, other travelers who came without knowing her situation would never have come up with such a solution.