Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 447: Have you completed the game?

Leticia felt like she was falling into an endless abyss, in which a blood-red full moon was disappearing. It gradually became distant, as if it was swallowed up by the gloomy darkness. The girl gradually relaxed as she fell, as if she had unloaded a heavy burden, because she hated the full moon, especially the strange, cold and deep blood moon. When she could no longer see the full moon, she felt very relieved.

"Forever, forever, disappear."

She murmured unconsciously, as if she was talking to herself, or as if she was talking to an invisible ghost in the abyss: "Don't appear in my life again, I won't go with you."

Because, in this muddled world, there is still the person she loves.

At the same time, a cold, mechanical, emotionless voice suddenly sounded, echoing indifferently in the empty world, rising and falling like a tide, rushing towards us with an unstoppable momentum that was more powerful than the torrent of time.

[Those who hide in darkness may have a soul that yearns for light; those who long for eternal life may just be pursuing an irresistible fate. In the ancient land, the descendants of the blood of God are determined to set off a tide of resistance, but the flames will burn everything out, and the ruins of a century ago will bury all the unwilling roars or angry sobs to the bottom of the valley, sinking and struggling in the dark swamp, with nowhere to go. ]

[When you see war, what do you see? When you decide to fight, who is your enemy? When you want to protect, where does that belief come from? The blood boiling for life has always been flowing in our veins, but if we have never thought about the meaning of its existence, great deeds and righteousness will become empty words. Everyone must have his own creed, understand, practice, and surpass it. ]

[You still have a lot to learn about this, young assassin, but this does not prevent you from taking the first step.]

[You have passed the dungeon: Dark End Alien Gathering Place, Void Root Swamp.]

……

Leticia turned her head and saw Alice standing with her arms folded under a crooked red tree not far away. She looked very proud, which was consistent with her impression of her. In addition, there were others: Lingge who was observing the battlefield in the distance, Ovira who was rubbing her eyes and yawning, Saint Xia Liya who was quietly reminding her not to fall asleep here, and Metien who had a little goblin on his head. After noticing her gaze, he raised his hand happily and greeted her.

The girl in his arms blinked her eyes: "Have I slept for a long time?"

But what is this sound?

"Only a minute passed, but it was long enough."

"You finally woke up, Leticia." Nevile breathed a sigh of relief.

【Game Clear. 】

"You guys," Leticia opened her eyes wide in surprise, "Why are you here?"

A familiar voice came from the side, teasing: "If she really slept that long, your grandma wouldn't be able to stand here and chat with us calmly."

"what do you mean?"

Nevile answered briefly, then gently put the girl on the ground. Leticia reluctantly left her grandmother's arms, muttering, "I thought it was an hour."

【Congratulations, dear player. 】

That’s right, grandma would definitely be very anxious, just like I would be very anxious when I couldn’t find her.

When she opened her eyes again, Leticia found herself in a warm embrace, with a faint fragrance lingering around her nose that made her feel so comfortable that she wanted to close her eyes and sleep. But Leticia did not fall asleep. Instead, she opened her eyes wide, and a worried and concerned face was reflected in her blood-clear eyes: "Grandma!?"

Alice was unhappy when she heard this: "You turned hostile just after you rescued him, didn't you? Don't forget who was diligently assisting you in the game and teaching you all kinds of advanced gaming skills just now!"

"That's not what I meant." Leticia didn't pay much attention to her nonsense, and looked a little hesitant: "But...what about game magic? Aren't you supposed to be the ghost in my mind?"

"It's over!" Alice pointed to the sky and said, "Can you take another closer look?"

Leticia looked in the direction of her finger, only to find that the eerie blood moon above her head had disappeared at some point. There was no more bloody moonlight that dyed the swamp and corpses. Only the heavy fog was still spreading, and the sounds of fighting and wailing could be faintly heard from the depths of the fog.

A confused look appeared in her eyes: "Man Yue, disappeared? What happened?"

“Because I’ve cleared the game.”

"What does clearance mean?"

"What I mean is - it's very complicated. I'll explain it to you later." Alice waved her hand casually, indicating that this topic was too troublesome to talk about, so it's better to skip it for now.

"Oh."

Leticia wasn't the type to ask questions, so since Alice said so, she nodded silently and accepted the answer.

Nevill had been quietly listening to the conversation between the two, and only asked when they finished, "So, Leticia, are these gentlemen the... spirits behind the scenes that you mentioned before?"

It has a unique personality and doesn't look like a ghost.

"Well, they are my..." Leticia hesitated for a moment before she said softly, "Friends."

Then she looked up at Nevill again, her expression a little nervous: "Grandma, I haven't forgotten what you said. You always told me not to get close to humans. You also said that they are a bunch of greedy and selfish bastards. Contacting them will never end well... I remember all this, but Metien and the others are different. They are really good people and my friends, so..."

They helped a stranger vampire girl so selflessly without even asking for anything in return. Even though Leticia was very wary of them in the beginning and suspected that they had some ulterior motive, now she had to admit that they were indeed good people, a group of selfless, kind-hearted, and genuine good people who, except Alice, had transcended vulgarity.

"I know." Nevill gently stroked the girl's hair, but her eyes fell on the people opposite. Among them, she was most concerned not about the maverick Alice, nor about the equally outliers Saint Shallia or Olvera, but about Lingge who had always been watching coldly and had not expressed any opinions. With her rich life experience and social experience, she keenly realized that this taciturn young man might be the one who really called the shots in the group.

She said, "I don't mean to blame you, Leticia. The knowledge I taught you before was just to hope that you could use it to protect yourself, so it's inevitable that it's a little exaggerated. In fact, the world is very complicated, life is also complicated, and humans are an especially complicated race. Among them, there will be shameful betrayers and greedy people, but they also often give birth to selfless saints and noble souls. Therefore, I am happy to believe that these gentlemen in front of me are good people, and, in the name of the Silver-eyed Countess, Neverville Wei Garcia Valenhild, thank you all for helping Leticia."

The last sentence was said to everyone. In order to show her sincerity, she bent down slightly, lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand, and performed a very classical, noble and elegant etiquette to express her gratitude.

Alice was a little scared by the grandparents calling her a good person. She quickly shook her head and said righteously, "I'm not a good person. If I have to say, I'm a genius player who has gotten rid of vulgarity!"

What is that? Is it the latest popular term in human society to praise others? Why does it feel a bit strange?
Nevile frowned, not understanding what was going on. Alice was about to explain to her in detail how valuable the title of genius player was, but was interrupted.

It was Lingge. He withdrew his gaze from the battlefield in the distance and said in a cold tone: "We can save these words for later. The current situation is that the swamp is not safe. I think we'd better leave here quickly."

The incessant sound of artillery fire and the turbid water beneath their feet that rippled with the shaking of the earth made his words seem very convincing. After being reminded by him, everyone felt that the environment around them was eerie and somewhat terrifying. The huge beasts looming in the mist were fighting fiercely with the machines made by humans. The horrible roar and the sound of metal breaking were no less than the previous explosion of the castle. Even the shadows of the red branches reflected in the mist looked like monsters with bared fangs and claws, issuing hoarse and sharp threats.

Further away, the mangroves growing within the Kuoya Arc were in pieces, and everywhere were mutilated corpses and blood mixed with mud and water. Tonight, the swamp had turned into the largest slaughterhouse, and the spiral sandworms and ghost anglerfish lurking in the water were feasting on the rich harvest of flesh and blood.

The war between the cult and the swamp aliens was still going on, and it was unknown when it would end. After realizing this, the strangers who did not want to be involved quickly reached a consensus with the countess, putting aside the meaningless self-introductions and polite words, and trying their best to escape from the most dangerous area.

Even Alice, who always liked to join in the fun, didn't object, probably because she had played enough of the previous game.

Soon, the group left their temporary hiding place and moved towards the outer area of ​​the swamp along the edge of the Kuoya Arc, carefully avoiding the fierce battlefield.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)