Chapter 273 The New World Begins (Three-in-One) Just lying down...
Lying down is incredibly addictive, but after buying a multi-million dollar piece of jade jewelry at an auction, she still felt a little bored.
"I will give this set of jewelry and the one I bought yesterday to my sister and sister-in-law respectively, as gifts for my child."
Sang Zhitao yawned, ignoring those who wanted to greet her, and went straight into the hidden passage that the auction house had specially provided for wealthy people like them who didn't like interacting with people but enjoyed the atmosphere of the event.
"Who is that young lady? She probably bought half of the jewelry we auctioned today, right?" The middle-aged man who had just sat behind Sang Zhitao couldn't help but frown as he looked at his companion.
"I don't know, but it seems like I've attended several auctions held by major auction houses these past few days, and I've been very generous with my money." The man next to me couldn't help but click his tongue. "The Eastern Kingdom has developed so much in recent years, and there are far more wealthy people than before."
"It's a pity the world's richest person isn't from their country." The middle-aged man who spoke first couldn't help but chuckle.
The man next to him shook his head: "If it weren't for the fact that the rich people in their country are now refusing to participate in world rankings, things might not be so certain."
As he spoke, he pointed to the AI on his wrist: "Do you really think the boss of this company is not qualified to be the chief?"
The middle-aged man who had spoken first choked and fell silent.
There are quite a few people discussing Sang Zhitao's identity, mainly because she has been very high-profile lately.
Because of her identity and fear of being discovered and assassinated, she generally doesn't like to go out.
The Second World is different. Its core has always been controlled by the Eastern Kingdom, making it impossible for those assassins to deal with Sang Zhi Tao.
As a result, she became known for her wealth and generosity at major auction houses during this period. She didn't care about the price of anything she liked, whether it was in the tens or nine figures. This made it impossible for outsiders to tell how much she was actually worth. After all, she always seemed so nonchalant, as if she only spent a dollar or two.
"You're so lazy..." That day, Sang Lezhi had just finished her work in the lab and finally had time to visit her sister. She found her sister lying on the sofa with her legs dangling and her back pressed against the carpet on the floor, like a melted cat, happily playing an old-fashioned game console.
"What are you playing?" She walked over and sat down cross-legged. Seeing that she was still engrossed in playing, she couldn't help but lean closer and ask.
Sang Zhitao didn't reply to her, but simply raised the game console in her hand slightly.
Sang Lezhi couldn't help but roll her eyes when she saw the game screen.
The screen shows a match-3 puzzle game.
Looking at the number marked as level 10,992,043, Sang Lezhi couldn't help but joke, "Is this game still alive?"
Sang Zhitao had just finished a game and couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "A classic that will live on forever."
Sang Lezhi picked up a cucumber from the side speechlessly: "This cucumber..."
She took a bite and stood there, stunned.
Sang Zhitao propped herself up and glanced at it before casually saying, "It was sent by your agricultural team. They said it's a new type of fruit cucumber."
"Durian-flavored cucumber?!" Sang Lezhi opened her mouth, unsure whether she should spit it out.
Sang Zhitao shrugged: "I even had peach flavor yesterday, I like that."
Sang Lezhi looked at the plate of cucumbers and didn't dare to touch them. Instead, she reached for some kind of meat slices on the side.
Sang Zhitao quickly spoke up to stop them: "No! That's a real clone!"
Sang Lezhi quickly tossed the sliced meat back onto the plate before looking curiously at Sang Zhitao: "You haven't finished eating yet?"
Sang Zhitao sighed: "No, I couldn't bear to eat it. I haven't encountered her clone for two worlds."
“That’s not right, isn’t your fortune-telling world…?” Sang Lezhi paused for a moment before finally speaking up to refute.
Sang Zhitao paused for a moment before realizing, "Oh right, I forgot."
Sang Lezhi glanced at the game console in her hand and said speechlessly, "Play fewer games."
Sang Zhitao gave her a disdainful look: "You seem to be the kind of nagging mom that everyone online hates."
Sang Lezhi couldn't help but tap her on the head before asking, "You've been back from the world of superpowers for a year now. Aren't you tired of staying here every day? When are you going back to Earth?"
"Your brother-in-law also said that the jewelry you gave him was too valuable, and he plans to treat you to a nice meal."
Sang Zhitao waved her hand dismissively: "No need, I'm going to time travel today."
"Today?!" Sang Lezhi suddenly stood up, her fingertips trembling as she pointed at Sang Zhitao, as if she were furious. "You brat! Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Sang Zhitao looked at her excited sister speechlessly, knowing that the previous incident had frightened her: "I know, Uncle Li and I have already told them."
Sang Lezhi then realized that she had been in the lab for more than ten days and it was normal that she hadn't heard any related news.
Having figured it out, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down on the ground.
"Did Team Leader Sheng An bring you the documents?" She looked around but didn't see any familiar figures or documents.
"It was sent directly to me." She tapped her wrist, passing the information to Sang Lezhi.
Looking at the densely packed folders, Sang Lezhi paused for a moment, then opened the folder labeled "Original Text".
“This story…” Sang Lezhi frowned.
"It's very complete and detailed, right?" Sang Zhitao put the game console aside, took a slice of meat from the table, ate a couple of bites, and found that it tasted like braised sea cucumber with scallions. She pushed it aside in disgust.
"Not only the details, but even the thought process you wrote at the time, the hidden plot lines, the symbolism, and the character design ideas are all complete." Sang Lezhi flipped through the other folders with a grim expression.
This book contains the most detailed and complete information to date, even more so than her previous completed works.
"I wrote about the Elf World when I was around ten years old. I was young and naive back then, so even if I wrote something dark and tragic, it wouldn't involve anything too complicated." Sang Zhitao pinched a dried peach and took a bite.
"But I was twenty years old when I wrote this book about the magical world. I was determined to make it big, so I did a lot of work on the details and settings."
“Such a detailed book…” Sang Lezhi’s expression turned serious. “What did Team Leader Sheng An say?”
“What can they say?” Sang Zhitao couldn’t help but laugh. “Whether there’s a complete book in front of it or not, at most they can help analyze the details to make sure I don’t miss anything, or help me calculate the subsequent developments, but most of the time they can’t help much.”
Upon hearing this, Sang Lezhi couldn't help but sigh, "Yes..."
Sang Zhitao chuckled and said, "It's no wonder they're like this. Who would have thought there was such a thing as Zhen?"
"And this time? Did they say anything? Will it be during the development of the story or after?" Sang Lezhi tapped the smart device on her wrist and looked up to ask.
Sang Zhitao shook her head: "Don't worry, we don't need them. I know what I'm doing."
Sang Lezhi looked at her blankly. Sang Zhitao paused for a moment before shaking her head and explaining, "What follows is between me and Zhen. Some things are beyond human control."
“Really…” Upon hearing this name, Sang Lezhi frowned.
"My relationship with her..." Sang Zhitao couldn't help but click her tongue, "It's complicated. You don't need to worry about it. Based on our few encounters, she can't deal with me."
After hearing this, Sang Lezhi was at a loss for words. After all, as Sang Zhitao had said, the struggles at her level were no longer something that humans could interfere with.
"Take care of yourself, don't be impulsive, and remember that there are people waiting for you at home." After many years, Li Mingguo once again stood by Sang Zhitao's side before she traveled through time.
After obediently nodding in agreement, Sang Zhitao glanced at his family members standing behind him and the people in the base.
Now she no longer needs the power of the jade pendant to travel through time, and naturally she no longer disappears engulfed in green light as others have seen before.
With a gentle wave of her hand, Sang Zhitao revealed a green door to everyone.
She stepped through the door, where a green mist engulfed her halfway. She turned sharply to look at the group, pointed to the door, and said, "I've stabilized the passage. You can test it out. I think the space team should find something."
Everyone was stunned, and before they could react to the meaning of her words, they saw her figure disappear through the door.
"Physics team, Space team, restart the research project on the time travel mechanism." Li Mingguo was the first to react and immediately gave the order.
The others nodded in agreement, and after the rest of the groups left, only the researchers from the space and physics groups turned around with shining eyes and went to the lab to push the equipment.
Sang Zhitao yawned as she climbed down from the treehouse.
She tapped the void, but did not obtain any information about her body from the Heavenly Dao of this world.
"Huh? Why is the Heavenly Dao of this world... fragmented?" Sang Zhitao received the Heavenly Dao's feedback, but found that the Heavenly Dao's message was fragmented and incoherent.
"It can't be that unlucky, can it?" Sang Zhitao's lips twitched.
Although the previous world of superpowers she experienced was in complete disarray, with even half of its protective barrier collapsing, the Heavenly Dao did not shatter like broken glass in this world. Instead, it retained some basic consciousness.
“Here…” Sang Zhitao placed her hand on the tree where the treehouse was located, “Sky Continent Elf Race.”
Sang Zhitao raised an eyebrow, recalling the plot of the original book.
Six hundred years ago, two enormous cracks appeared in the sky, bringing forth two broken continents.
One is called the Sky Continent, and the other is called the Soul Continent.
Sky Continent is a traditional Western fantasy world, filled with magical wonders and legendary creatures such as dragons, dwarves, and elves.
The Soul Continent is shrouded in thick fog, often guarded by strange and grotesque monsters.
It wasn't until three hundred years ago, when a group of severely injured people emerged from the Soul Spirit Continent, that everyone realized that humans still existed on the Soul Spirit Continent.
The place that accepts these two worlds is called the Magic Continent, but it is a modern civilization where magic can only be used by borrowing magic scrolls.
Initially, the three continents were relatively peaceful, but the monsters of the Soul Continent often stole from other continents and devoured mages. Eventually, the mages of the other two continents joined forces to break its chains and throw it into the Sea Source, which is close to the rift, and built a magic guardian tower on the shore overlooking the Sea Source.
But this peace did not last long. Tiny cracks appeared one after another on the mainland, and many people were attacked, killed, or injured.
In the original book, Sang Zhitao set the storyline six hundred years after the appearance of the rift. Due to the influence of the rift, the rules of the three continents changed, and humanity was greatly troubled.
The protagonist, Lin Xiao, was predicted to be born as the savior on the Sky Continent. He grew up in a small human town and was a natural optimist, but also a natural unlucky guy.
However, this also gives him a natural ability to predict the appearance of cracks.
After encountering Aria, a genius magic mechanic from the Magic Continent, and Shadow Queen, a mad magic devourer from the Soul Continent, and with the help of the Guardian Tower, they embarked on a journey to find and devour the rifts.
“It seems the story hasn’t even begun yet.” Sang Zhitao lifted her hand from the tree.
As an elf from the Sky Continent, she didn't know anything about the savior from the tree, meaning the trio hadn't yet embarked on their adventure, or at least hadn't found refuge with the Guardian Tower.
"Greetings, esteemed guest, our Majesty wishes to see you." Just as she was contemplating whether to approach the protagonist, an exceptionally beautiful elven girl respectfully approached her.
Sang Zhitao was momentarily stunned by the face. She thought she had seen all kinds of beautiful women on Earth, and even in the Second World and holographic games, there were many top-tier artificial faces. But never had a face like the one in front of her made her freeze for a moment.
"Okay." Seeing the girl looking at him blankly, waiting for his reply, he quickly asked.
"Okay, this way please." The girl smiled and stood in front, leading the way.
Sang Zhitao nodded and followed immediately.
The two wandered through various treehouses, heading deeper into the elven territory.
Along the way, it only took Sang Zhitao five or six minutes to go from being dazed to being numb. After all, anyone would become numb after seeing hundreds of stunningly beautiful faces of all kinds in five or six minutes.
"Mom! I want to stay here and never leave!!!" Sang Zhitao screamed inwardly after seeing the Elf Queen's stunningly beautiful, androgynous face.
"Honorable guest, this is the Dragon Clan Chieftain," the leading girl introduced, pointing to the tall woman next to the Elf Queen.
The woman had bright red hair, slightly raised phoenix eyebrows, and sat casually in a chair with her toes touching the ground. Her movements exuded a cool and sophisticated charm.
"Hiss!" Sang Zhitao couldn't help but gasp, glancing at the Elf Queen and then at the Dragon Clan Chief.
Both photos are stunningly beautiful, each with its own unique charm, leaving her unsure where to look.
"This is the human emperor." The girl leading the way seemed to be used to everyone's reaction when they saw Sylph and the dragon chieftain, and she turned Sang Zhitao to the other side without making a sound.
Sang Zhitao, who was still lost in the beauty of the human emperor, calmed down the moment she saw him.
It was like flames meeting ice; with a soft "poof," all that remained was a pile of dead ashes.
After all, anyone would react the same way if they saw two beautiful women and then suddenly encountered a wrinkled old man with an orange peel-like appearance.
"Hello." Sang Zhitao hadn't yet found any information about her current body, so she just pretended to be obedient and greeted them.
“I am the Elf Queen Sylph.”
"Dragon Clan Chief, Dragon Girl".
"Gaius, Emperor of the Human Karei Empire".
“Sylph…” Sang Zhitao paused for a moment, feeling that the name was somewhat familiar.
It took her a long time to realize that this name was given to her by the Wind Elf Queen, Irene, when she transmigrated to the first world, the Interstellar Elf.
She was momentarily stunned, and when she came to her senses, she realized that the leaders of the three factions were still waiting for her reaction.
"Understood." Sang Zhitao didn't introduce herself, after all, she wasn't sure if she had a name in this world.
"So, what is the name of our distinguished guest?" Sylph asked with a smile after glancing at the dragon girl.
Sang Zhitao raised an eyebrow before smiling and saying, "My name is Sang Zhitao, you can call me Taotao."
“Yes, Your Excellency, Ms. Sang Zhitao,” Sylph replied with a smile.
After glancing at Gaius, the Dragon Girl said to Sang Zhitao, "We have been looking forward to your arrival for a long time, but we did not expect you to appear only now."
Her voice carried a hint of resentment and sadness, a complex mix of emotions so overwhelming that even analyzing it was a mental challenge for Sang Zhitao.
Sylph seemed to think the Dragon Girl's words were too harsh, and said with a smile, "Please don't blame the Dragon Girl for her eagerness; we have been waiting for you for far too long."
Sang Zhitao frowned slightly, looking at the three of them with confusion: "Wait for me?"
Sylph nodded, her face filled with melancholy: "You are the savior of prophecy, the last glimmer of hope that we and this world have been waiting for."
Sang Zhitao was surprised for a moment but did not calm down. She had experienced being regarded as a savior after transmigrating before, but she had never encountered being discovered so soon after transmigrating.
Seemingly feeling that Sylph had revealed everything and there was no need to hide anything anymore, Gaius continued, "The world, as you know it, has reached its final moments of collapse. We have used every means, exhausted all human lives, and gone through many, many years and many, many attempts..."
Gaius's voice trembled with emotion: "We have waited so long, you are the last light we have sought."
Sang Zhitao listened for a long time but still didn't understand what she was supposed to do, so she couldn't help but interrupt, "Um... what exactly do you need me to do?"
The three were stunned for a moment, then looked at each other in bewilderment before the local host, Sylph, said, "Actually, we don't know either. The oracle only said that you would resolve all crises."
The three of them were stunned for a moment, and couldn't help but look at each other before Sylph, the master of the elven forest, spoke up: "Actually, we don't know what you need to do either. After all, the oracle only said that when you appear, all crises will be resolved."
Sang Zhitao couldn't help but twitch her lips after hearing this. She hated these vague divine pronouncements the most, as they never spoke in human language.
Of course, on the surface, she still smiled and said to the group, "Okay, I understand."
"Then..." Sylph seemed taken aback by her casual reply and couldn't help but ask, "What do you plan to do next?"
Looking at the various fresh-looking fruits unique to the Elf Forest laid out on the table, Sang Zhitao picked one up, put it in her mouth, and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to praise the taste.
"Let me think..." The other three stared at her intently, waiting for her to give her an answer.
After a long while, once Sang Zhitao had eaten half a plate of fruit, she finally spoke up, saying, "Find me three people first."
“You say so,” Gaius, the human emperor, was the first to respond, patting his chest.
Sang Zhitao has now fully absorbed the power of the jade pendant. Although she cannot be called the complete form, she has gained most of the power of the world's consciousness. Even though her power was compressed in the other world, she is still the ceiling of combat power in that world.
Therefore, her plan was to obtain relevant information about the other world directly from the Heavenly Dao upon arriving in it, and then quickly resolve the crisis to accumulate power so that she wouldn't be able to escape when facing the real one later.
After all, she didn't believe that the other party wouldn't have worked hard to cultivate during this time, only to kill her when they met again.
She never expected that the Heavenly Dao of this world had been shattered into a mess. Not only could she not get any help, but she also had no information about her past.
After letting out a sigh, Sang Zhitao briefly recounted the information about the three people.
Unexpectedly, the three people in front of them changed their expressions and subconsciously exchanged glances after hearing the names of the three main characters from the original book.
Sang Zhitao was focused on eating fruit and didn't notice the three people's unusual reactions.
"So, do you intend to wait for news in the Elf Forest, or...?" Gaius asked, frowning slightly.
Before Sang Zhitao could speak, the Dragon Girl said directly, "Of course, we should go to the Dragon Clan."
As soon as she finished speaking, she gave Gaius a mocking look and said, "Is there anywhere safer than our dragon race right now?"
Gaius's expression was somewhat unpleasant, but he was truly powerless to refute it. After all, as the dragon girl had said, the current human empire was indeed somewhat...
Sylph interrupted the dragon girl's unspoken sarcasm with a smile, saying softly, "Staying in Jinglin Zhisen is not bad either."
The dragon girl chuckled, her laughter so mocking that even the seemingly gentle Sylph couldn't help but frown for a moment.
"Dragon Girl!" she warned, giving the other person a glaring look.
The dragon girl shrugged indifferently: "It seems you've forgotten what happened back then."
Although she didn't explain what it was about, and Sang Zhitao didn't understand, seeing the expressions on Sylph and Gaius's faces, she instantly understood that all three of them knew about this unexplained matter.
Sang Zhitao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, subconsciously picked up a plate of fruit and put it in her arms, leaning back in her chair as if watching a good show, watching the three people's argument with great interest.
“Your dragon race doesn’t seem to be much better.” Gaius pondered for a moment before deciding to help the Elf Queen, who was also being bullied by the dragons.
Upon hearing his words, a hint of killing intent flashed in the Dragon Girl's eyes, but this killing intent seemed to be directed not at Gaius, but at a third party unknown to Sang Zhitao.
Gaius seemed pleased with himself for arguing with the Dragon Girl. He glanced at Sylph, and after receiving a nod from her, he whispered to Sang Zhitao, "You can go and guard the tower."
Sang Zhitao glanced at the dragon girl, who looked angry but didn't want to speak, and chuckled indifferently, "Sure."
The dragon girl glanced at Gaius, then at Sylph, and said nothing more, which was considered a silent acceptance of the decision.
All of them were very busy people from different ethnic groups, and they could only squeeze out time to get together. Now that they had finished discussing their matters, none of them wanted to stay any longer.
Of course, the Elf Queen didn't seem to intend to keep them for dinner, and she saw them off with the same gentle demeanor.
"Would you like to see the Elf Mother Tree?" Sylph asked, watching Sang Zhitao happily eating fruit.
The dragon girl had just offered to escort Sang Zhitao to the Guardian Tower, but Sang Zhitao refused. Sylph naturally assumed that Sang Zhitao wanted to stay in the Elf Forest for a while.
Because Sang Zhitao shared the same name as Sylph, she couldn't help but feel a bit of goodwill towards this race. Hearing the name of the Elf Mother Tree now, she naturally thought of the Mother Tree who had pampered her so much in the interstellar elf world.
Seeing that she agreed, Sylph's face broke into an even more genuine smile.
After passing through the elven palace, entering the forest path, and then traversing the heavily guarded jungle, they finally arrived at a huge pool of water.
A white-green mist hung over the pool, and the water below was deep and dark, revealing no hidden dangers. However, Sang Zhitao felt that the creatures below were far more terrifying than Sylph, who was a Saint-level mage beside her. Of course, she was not afraid.
"With this thing, why are you still so heavily guarded?" She glanced back at the guards behind her and couldn't help but tease them.
Sylph was not surprised at all that she could see what was underwater, and explained with a smile, "We still have to make it look like something is here, otherwise everyone will know there's something here."
Sang Zhitao laughed unexpectedly. She hadn't expected that the other party's arrangement was for such a reason, but upon closer reflection, she realized that what the other party said made sense.
Sylph led her onto a small boat made of giant leaves, and with a gentle wave of her hand behind her, the boat passed through the white-green mist and arrived directly in the middle of the pool.
In the middle of the pool stands a giant tree, its roots deeply embedded in the depths of the pool, its canopy like a cloud, and its branches stretching out in all directions.
Before Sang Zhitao could even disembark, the big tree couldn't resist stretching out a branch and tapping her.
Sylph said politely, "Mother Tree, this is the savior the oracle spoke of."
Sang Zhitao grabbed the branch without any hesitation.
A voice instantly echoed in my mind: "Hello, I can smell the same scent of the Mother Tree on you."
Sang Zhitao couldn't help but twitch her lips, not for any other reason than that the voice coming from the Mother Tree in front of her was that of a baby.
"You...you're not an adult yet?" Sang Zhitao couldn't help but ask suspiciously.
"Yes, I'm not even ten thousand years old yet," the Elf Mother Tree replied obediently.
Sylph, standing nearby, was taken aback: "What do you mean, 'adult'?"
As soon as she blurted it out, she instantly realized what Sang Zhitao meant, looked at the Elf Mother Tree in surprise, and said incredulously, "The Mother Tree isn't even an adult yet?"
Sang Zhitao glanced at her sideways, nodded, and then ignored Sylph's breakdown. She grabbed the Elf Mother Tree's hand and said, "I once went to a world where I was the crown prince of the wind elves, and my mother tree loved me very much."
"Oh, I see. That explains why you smell like other mother trees." Having gotten the answer she wanted, the elven mother tree on the other side stopped paying attention to her.
Sylph had by now recovered from the news that the Elven Mother Tree was still a cub: "What else did the Mother Tree say?"
Sang Zhitao shook her head: "That's all. I guess they're just kids out of curiosity."
Hearing her doting tone, as if she were spoiling a child, Sylph looked at her forehead in disbelief and said, "Then let's go out quickly."
Sang Zhitao, of course, understood why she did this.
After all, not everyone can easily accept that they were conceived from a baby; the image is rather wicked.
When they returned to the main hall in the small boat after leaving the pool, Sang Zhitao said, "He's still a baby. Remember to give him some toys to play with from time to time."
Sylph nodded in agreement: "Shall I arrange for someone to take you to the Guardian Tower tomorrow?"
Sang Zhitao shook her head: "Give me a map, I'll go myself."
Sylph frowned deeply: "But..."
She really didn't want the other person to act alone; if anything went wrong, she would be held responsible.
However, after several attempts to persuade her, and after Sang Zhitao repeatedly refused, she had no choice but to agree.
After all, even she, one of the world's top ten martial arts masters, couldn't withstand more than three moves from him. She really didn't know who else could possibly harm him.
Sang Zhitao didn't intentionally avoid following the dragon girl; she simply remembered that the original book mentioned a huge rift appearing in the Sky Continent's Elf Forest, so she decided to see if there was any way to resolve it here.
But to my surprise, not a single crack appeared.
This event was described in only a few dozen words in the original book, without specifying when it occurred.
The information was obtained from the escaped elves during the adventure of the original protagonist, Lin Xiao, and his companions.
She didn't plan to wait for the rift to appear in the Elven realm, so she didn't plan to stay there for long.
After playing with the elves all day and resting for a night, Sang Zhitao said goodbye to Sylph early the next morning and left the elven forest.
"Wow, what a realistic Western fantasy world!" Sang Zhitao stood at the edge of the elven forest, looking at the stone houses with a distinct 11th-century Western European style, and couldn't help but exclaim.
"Hello, Lady Sang Zhitao." Just as she was dusting off her clothes and preparing to enter the town, a knight in silver armor stood in front of her.
“You are…?” Sang Zhitao looked at the man who was almost 2 meters tall and couldn’t help but take a step back.
"Greetings, I am Ore, the Grand Master of the First Knights of the Kare Empire. By order of His Majesty Gaius, the First Knights will escort you to the Guardian Tower." The man placed one hand on the longsword at his waist and clenched the other in front of his chest, giving a standard knightly salute.
Sang Zhitao looked the other person up and down for a long time before sighing and saying, "Alright then."
The Ore Knight mounted a beast that resembled a Western dragon, and lowered his helmet and visor: "Form ranks!"
Sang Zhitao stepped directly onto the magnificent carriage in front of her, only to hear Aure's voice outside: "Let's go!"
Sang Zhitao wasn't the only one in the carriage; there was also a lady dressed in black and white, with her collar buttoned high and her hair neatly combed.
She looked at Sang Zhitao and nodded respectfully, then explained with a smile, "I am Maria, the head lady-in-waiting of the palace. From now on, I and my team of ladies-in-waiting will take care of your daily life."
Sang Zhitao was somewhat surprised that Gaius had arranged everything so thoroughly in such a short time, but she didn't say anything.
Maria pulled a wooden box, about twenty centimeters in size, out from under the table.
The wooden box was exquisitely crafted, carved with roses and vines. The rose petals were inlaid with gemstones of varying shades of red, while the vines were made of green tendrils.
She didn't know which button she pressed, but the wooden box made a series of clicking sounds as it opened, and several intricately carved handles popped out.
She gently picked out a palm-sized silver dish from the left, on which were about ten tea bags: "Would black tea be alright?"
“Okay.” Sang Zhitao looked at her actions with anticipation.
Maria smiled and nodded, then took out three plates of pastries from the three small drawers on the right.
A plate of macarons, a plate of mini cakes, and a plate of candied fairy fruit.
Then he took out a mini silver pot from the front drawer.
After a few steps, a table full of exquisite and delicate afternoon tea was ready.
Sang Zhitao took a bite of the macaron and was so overwhelmed by the sugar that she almost choked. She quickly drank a sip of bitter black tea to finally suppress the unbearable sweetness.
"Are you alright?" Maria was startled by her reaction. Her originally calm expression turned somewhat flustered as she worried about neglecting her guest.
"It's alright, we can use a little less sweetness next time." Sang Zhitao coughed lightly and pointed to the pastries on the table. "I can't stand things that are too sweet."
Maria paused for a moment, looking at the pastries on the table with some confusion. These were the most popular pastries in the capital, praised not only by humans but also by some other races. Yet, this distinguished guest, whom the emperor had repeatedly instructed to keep, did not like them.
Sang Zhitao waved her hand, took a few sips of the black tea, and found that this bittersweet taste was what she was used to.
The carriage was escorted away from the town by the knights. Sang Zhitao thought they would be walking on a muddy traditional dirt road, but they did not expect to walk on a wide stone-paved road.
This made Sang Zhitao lift the carriage curtain and look for a long time.
Seemingly sensing the surprise beneath her calm demeanor, Maria smiled and explained, "This is a new road we've created in collaboration with the Magic Continent. Isn't it great?"
Maria looked at the gray stone road, her words tinged with pride: "Thanks to our great King Gaius, his wise decisions have brought us a bright future."
"What is she doing?" he asked, pointing to a woman nearby who was holding a bottle and crying.
From the moment she entered this world, she noticed that everyone, whether dragon, elf, or human, had a glass bottle hanging from their waist, containing what appeared to be a liquid.
The liquids were colorful and very beautiful.
She had assumed it was some kind of local custom, but she never expected to encounter a woman crying so bitterly. She instinctively realized that the meaning of this thing was probably not what she had imagined.
Maria withdrew her sympathetic gaze from the woman, sighed softly, and said to her, "Those are memory bottles."
"Memory bottle?" Sang Zhitao was taken aback.
Maria sighed and pointed to a man in the distance who was staring blankly at something. The man's eyes were empty until he saw some people with memory bottles hanging from them, at which point his eyes revealed a greedy look, like a hungry wolf seeing flesh and blood.
Many people carrying memory bottles instinctively ran away from him when they saw him.
"A hollow person?" Sang Zhitao said, frowning.
Maria glanced at her in surprise: "You know?"
Sang Zhitao nodded solemnly.
The original book records that all three continents experienced changes in their rules.
The anomaly on the Sky Continent was the Memory Plague.
As its name suggests, the Memory Plague causes those infected to slowly lose their memories. Neither humans nor other races can escape the infection.
They first forget their childhood, then gradually forget all their memories. Finally, their physical instincts, which arose from their growth, also disappear in this pollution. Eventually, they lose their ability to use weapons, their understanding of magic, and even their perception of the outside world.
Such people are called "hollow people"...
Lin Xiao and his group prevented the creation of the rift in order to prevent more ordinary people from being affected by the rule mutation.
Sang Zhitao thought that the story hadn't started yet and that there shouldn't be many hollow people, but she didn't expect that there would be hollow people in such a remote small town.
Judging from Maria's expression and the reactions of the knights, they were already used to seeing hollow figures like this.
Even the people around him mostly showed wariness rather than fear when faced with the hollow man.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com