Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 60 Will the sun rise as usual tomorrow?

After the light flashed, a few more figures appeared in the narrow and dim alley.

Alice rubbed her eyes and barely managed to break free from the dizziness of returning to the real world. Looking back, she found that the living Ringer and Medien were standing in front of her. The clarity was so touching that it was like a leap from the 2D pixel era to the 3D high-definition era.

She immediately became happy, patted the brother and sister on the shoulder, and said proudly: "Well, I told you that you would win this game, right? Genius players are not called geniuses for nothing. You, Lingge, and you, Metien, must remember my heroic performance well in your heart. Don't forget it for at least a week, okay?"

“Yes, yes, yes!” Metien’s little face flushed, and she nodded repeatedly like a squirrel: “You are so amazing, Sister Alice! Not to mention a week, even if it’s a month or a year, I will remember it well!”

In fact, such a magical experience is enough to be engraved in your mind for a lifetime and never forgotten.

It's like the shepherd in the storybook who accidentally entered the fairy kingdom while chasing a lost lamb, or the boy who fell off a cliff and rode on the back of a dragon. What a magnificent and dreamy experience it is - the only flaw is that the game world created by Alice is just a grid of small cubes, not as beautiful as the fairy kingdom.

Of course, in terms of thrill, it should be comparable to a boy riding a dragon.

"Hum hum!"

Alice was so proud that her ponytail was almost up in the air. If she were to stand on the top of the Alps now, she would be able to blow the cold air from the Indo-Pacific Sea to Rotdana, the "City Surrounded by the Sea" in the Mindreas Empire, so that the people there could also feel the harsh winter climate in the northern border of the Great Brittany Kingdom.

Lingge ignored her and scanned the dark alley, but he didn't see anyone else except them. A puzzled expression appeared in his eyes. Alice, who was waiting for his praise, came up and asked curiously, "Who are you looking for, Lingge? I'm right in front of you?"

"I don't know where she went, though."

"what?"

"Ah?" Alice scratched her head, not understanding what was going on. "She was killed by me, so of course she won't show up again."

She suddenly thought of a terrible possibility and was shocked: "Is she trapped in the game world?"

She deliberately puffed out her chest, her face full of praise for me, but Lingge asked: "Miss Saint Xia Liya... do you know where she is?"

"Strange, where did she go?" Alice looked around and realized belatedly: "It seems that I haven't seen her since I came out. Could it be that -"

It’s just like the plot of the classic anime “Sword Art Online” from centuries ago.

Lingge didn't admit it, but he didn't deny it either, and said, "Feiali is missing too."

She tilted her head and glanced at Ling Ge: "Why do I feel like you know her?"

She quickly took out the SLP game console and the cartridge of "First Fantasy: Four Warriors" and took a look, but found that they had lost their light, as if the energy was exhausted. She tried to insert the cartridge into the slot of the game console, but there was no response. If it weren't for the occasional flash of the blue lines on the surface, Alice would probably think it was really broken.

"It's okay." The young man took his sister's hand and said to the maid, "Let's go home first."

Besides, after going through so much, they really need to go home and calm down. You see, a certain pink-haired little girl is still excited. If Lingge and Alice were not discussing business, she would have chattered.

It doesn't look like anyone is trapped.

Alice put away the game console and cassettes, and said to Ling Ge: "I think she is quite mysterious, just like the NPC in the game who is responsible for guiding the protagonist, and only appears at the critical moment. In this case, let's wait for her to come to us. She must have something to say to us, and..."

The hero who defeated the powerful enemy and saved the battle is standing in front of you. Don’t you plan to say something?

After hearing what he said, Alice realized that the shepherdess who was supposed to be here, Saint Shallia, another hero of this battle, was missing. Looking around, there was no trace of her in every corner, and there was no sign that she had ever appeared.

In other words, if one dies in the "game world", will all traces of one's death in reality be completely erased?
Lingge looked deeply at Alice, who looked at him blankly with her big ruby ​​eyes, not understanding what he wanted to say.

Although Fialli was eliminated, the changes near the municipal square seemed to have not subsided. The sound of people jostle and shove could be vaguely heard on the main road. If they didn't leave quickly, what if another vampire jumped out from somewhere? This time, Alice's game console couldn't be started.

The three of them did not stay there for too long and walked out of the alley. Their backs gradually went away. Alice's curious voice could be faintly heard in the wind: "Lingge, when you decided to save your skills for Metien instead of healing yourself, you didn't know that as long as you won this battle, you could be resurrected, right?"

"kindness."

"Then why do you make this choice?" "Because if you don't do this, you can't win."

"Well."

"what happened?"

"Nothing, I just suddenly felt that you seem to be more of a player than me?"

"..."

The sound gradually faded away and eventually could no longer be heard.

When the backs of the three people completely disappeared at the end of the street, Saint Xia Liya slowly walked out from the shadows at the corner and quietly stared at the direction they left. The golden light in her eyes was like a scattered star cluster, full of ancient and mysterious charm.

The lamb bleated at her feet, as if asking something.

What it asked was: Now that you have finally found someone, why don’t you chase after him?

Saint Xia Liya retracted her gaze, half squatted down, gently stroked the lamb's head, and told it in a gentle voice: "Don't be anxious."

“Although fate is inevitable, it sometimes seems too coincidental. For people, it is full of unpredictable changes.”

"He still doesn't fully believe what I said, so let him think about it calmly. Because only after thinking can people make the right choice."

"When he is willing to listen to my voice, I will appear before him again."

"Bring him the truth of the world."

***
The massacre near the Municipal Square and the Maintis Conference Building is coming to an end. The fully armed magic knights are sweeping Saints Street without mercy, like a huge machine running rampant in the fields. Wherever they pass, the straw falls down and is caught in the sharp saw teeth and crushed into slag. It doesn't matter whether they are magicians, undead or ordinary people... In the cognition of the united sects, no one who appears on Saints Street today is innocent.

The blood moon hanging high in the sky gradually merged into the illusion. The giant arm covered with black scales saw that it was impossible to do anything. It did not continue to resist and slowly shrank back to the other world behind the blood moon. Immediately afterwards, the enchanting and hazy moon shadow swayed, like ripples on the water, and seemed to be about to dissipate.

At this moment, a small black bat flew out from nowhere and rushed towards the moon shadow. Before anyone could react, it crashed into the bloody moonlight.

The blood moon, which was already on the verge of collapse, was hit by the bat and instantly shattered into countless sharp fragments, falling from the sky. The door was closed, and the breath of the heavenly feaster was no longer to be found, leaving only Saint Street in a mess.

"Closser," Lang Ning, who was unable to stop him, looked at the shattered blood moon with a deep gaze, "He escaped."

"It's okay, this is also part of the plan."

A voice said that it was Lestrade who appeared beside him at some point. It was him who had just commanded the magic knights to launch the attack. As for the fate of the cultists in the underground space, there was no need to say more.

"I have launched the positioning device into Closel's body. As soon as he re-condenses his body, he will immediately send back the coordinates of the Celestial Eater's lair." Lestrade's mouth drew a hint of cold smile. "When that happens, notify colleagues in the Inquisition and give him a small surprise."

Lang Ning nodded silently.

Then it’s time to clean up the mess.

Mr. Clement, the general head of the parish, contacted the city hall to explain the truth of the incident to them and firmly reiterated the necessity of implementing the "Religious Decree"; Mr. Longdenell, a representative of the believers, visited the churches involved in the incident to put pressure on them and force them to close the churches; Captain Lestrade of the Night Watch contacted various newspapers in the city to restrict the content of related reports; as for the tribune Longning, he had to go back to write a report on the incident, submit it to the headquarters of the association, and request further instructions.

With their joint efforts and the invisible deterrence of the united cult, the city of Linville will soon break free from the adverse effects of this incident and return to a peaceful life.

There have never been any cult sacrifices, no blood moon incidents, and no so-called massacres or purges.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise as usual.

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)