In the end, Fang Zheng sent Raven away to Tianming.

After all, from a legal perspective, Raven bought the island, and the island sank in the Honkai disaster, and the Honkai disaster was planned and caused by Bishop Otto, so the Destiny must bear the responsibility for compensation. Although Otto is dead, it does not mean that the Destiny does not have to pay compensation...

In fact, Theresa was also confused when she heard the news from Fang Zheng... But in the end, she agreed that if the woman named Raven could provide enough evidence to prove that she had indeed purchased the island, and that the island had indeed sunk due to the Honkai disaster, then Tianming would bear the responsibility for compensation. As for the wanted order for Raven... It was not impossible to cancel it depending on the situation.

After all, it was their destiny that was wrong first.

After leaving this mess to Tianming, Fang Zheng got up and went to the headquarters of World Snake again to see the "top secret" that Raven mentioned.

"It's right down here..."

Standing at the entrance of the passage blocked by rubble, Fang Zheng nodded slightly. Tianming and Anti-Entropy had already sent people here once to recover the data of the World Serpent itself. The only thing they gained was the body of "Jackal", the mastermind behind the Sky City Disaster Plan, and some of the data she had studied on Honkai Energy.

As for the others, there was not much gain. After all, the Zerg's mopping-up skills were the best in the world, and being able to leave a few corpses behind was considered a result of mercy.

So after both parties searched once and made sure that nothing was missed, they went home directly.

But in fact, they did miss something.

According to Raven, behind the sacrificial site in the deepest part of the World Serpent Base, there is actually a secret passage that leads to a mysterious place - which is also the place where all the World Serpent cadres receive baptism and complete their "transformation."

Raven did not explain any more specific details, but told Fang Zheng, "You'll know when you get there."

So Fang Zheng came here.

Obviously, Tianming did not conduct a thorough search here, which was normal, because Fang Zheng's cannon shot directly penetrated the bottom layer of the World Snake Base, and this place was also a mess. So Tianming searched here, and after finding nothing, he decisively called off the search.

But now Fang Zheng...I want to see what is here.

Looking at the ruins in front of him, Fang Zheng stretched out his hand and snapped his fingers.

“Pah.”

The next moment, the huge pile of rubble in front of him turned into dust in an instant, and then was swept up into the sky by a gust of wind, disappearing without a trace. Then, a deep, dark stone passage appeared in front of Fang Zheng.

Then, Fang Zheng just walked in.

This tunnel was very dark and very long, as if it went straight to the center of the earth. Fang Zheng even began to suspect that the World Serpent base was actually used to hide this thing?

Just when Fang Zheng was puzzled, a bright light appeared in front of his eyes, and then Fang Zheng walked in.

Then, the scene before his eyes appeared in front of Fang Zheng.

It was a golden palace.

It looks like an underground golden cathedral. The only difference is that the end of the cathedral is not decorated with statues or crosses, but a huge device that looks like a portal.

At the same time, a cheerful voice sounded.

"Welcome to the paradise of the afterlife."

Hearing this voice, Fang Zheng turned his head and saw a beautiful girl with pink hair sitting on the sofa not far away, looking at him with a smile. Noticing Fang Zheng's gaze, the girl smiled slightly.

"Even I would be shy if someone stared at me like that, you know?"

"Who are you?"

Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes and stared at the girl in front of him.

"It doesn't look like a human."

“It’s really surprising.”

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, the pink-haired girl showed a surprised expression.

"You are the first person who saw through my identity immediately after arriving here. Indeed, I am not a human being. Strictly speaking, I am just a memory."

As she spoke, the girl smiled and spoke again.

"Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Alicia. In the common language of Mu, Alicia means 'paradise, happy land'. My friends call me Aili, and you can also use this name. It sounds cute and like me. As for my identity... As you can see, I am one of the 'fusion warriors of the pre-civilization era' and Kevin's companion. Of course, I am not the real Alicia. I am just an incarnation she left behind, a memory that inherited her personality and experience."

Having said that, Alicia winked at Fang Zheng playfully.

"But it doesn't matter, you can still see me, talk to me, and even have some physical communication with me."

"oh?"

Hearing this, Fang Zheng raised his eyebrows.

"Including some in-depth communication?"

"I don't like frivolous people."

Alicia pouted slightly, while Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry, just a casual question... By the way, I'm not necessarily your friend."

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Yes, I am not afraid to tell you... Kevin has been killed by me, and the World Snake has also been destroyed by me. I came here just to see what the final secret that the World Snake left behind with so much effort is."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng looked around the golden palace in front of him.

"You...killed Kevin?"

"Yes, he wanted to return to this world and implement the Stigmata Plan. I couldn't let him succeed, so I killed him."

Fang Zheng said this while staring at Alicia.

"How? As his companion, don't you intend to take revenge on me?"

"I see, that's how it is..."

Alicia nodded slightly in thought, then she smiled and clapped her hands.

"But there's nothing we can do about it. The Stigma Project... well, I personally don't really like it..."

"Project Stigma, Project Spark, and Project Ark have all failed."

After confirming the identity of the woman in front of him, Fang Zheng didn't mind chatting with her for a few more words. So he walked over, sat on the sofa, and then told Alicia about the situation in this world. During this process, Alicia's expression changed from time to time, especially when she heard the end of the Ark plan, the Ark was destroyed by aliens, and even found the coordinates of the earth from the Ark database and planned to attack the earth, she was even more surprised.

"...I never thought something like this would happen. It seems that even Dr. Mei didn't foresee such a development."

After hearing all this, Alicia was immediately filled with emotion.

"Then you can tell me what this place is for."

"Um……"

Facing Fang Zheng's question, Alicia put her hand to her mouth and began to think carefully.

"Everyone has different opinions about this place. To me, this is just a fairy tale book that records the deeds of thirteen people in the past, but I think the answer you want is more than that. Then I might as well tell you directly that this is our trial ground."

"The trial ground?"

"That's right. Everyone who comes here will accept our test. Once we acknowledge them, we will give them our gifts and grant them even more powerful power..."

"The gift... could it be related to the Stigmata Project?"

"That's about right."

Alicia smiled and nodded. After hearing her answer, Fang Zheng stood up and stretched out his hand. As he moved, Frostmourne emerged from the void.

"Then there is only one thing I have to do next."

"Hey? Wait a minute!!"

Seeing Fang Zheng holding the sword with both hands, Alicia jumped up from the sofa in panic for the first time.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to destroy the last shelter of a lovely and pitiful girl?"

"But if this thing continues to stay, the Stigmata Project will continue."

Fang Zheng obviously did not change his mind despite Alicia's pleading.

"I can almost guess why the World Serpent placed its base here, because this place is the core of the 'Stigmata Project'. Kevin's death cannot completely end the Stigmata Project. If I don't destroy this place, it is hard to say whether someone will come here by chance at some point in the future and start a new 'Stigmata Project' again..."

"But it's just a possibility... maybe not?"

"Haha, anything that has a one percent chance will become a hundred percent."

Fang Zheng smiled coldly at Alicia's answer.

Just kidding, the protagonist fell off a cliff and accidentally discovered a secret room that had been sealed for hundreds or thousands of years, and then gained powerful strength from it and began his journey to become a proud and powerful person.

These are all classic plots in online literature.

Fang Zheng would never be willing to keep this thing and play the villain.

"Are you really that cruel?"

At this moment, Alicia was staring at Fang Zheng with tears in her eyes, looking like a weak girl who was being bullied.

"Look at me. I don't have any hostility towards you. Besides, we are just memories. We are only responsible for testing visitors here. We can't even leave here. How can we carry out the Stigma Project? We just hope to spend a peaceful and happy time here, that's all... Just because our existence is a threat, do you want to destroy us?"

Hearing this, Fang Zheng raised his eyebrows and silently put down the sword in his hand.

"Hmm... Indeed, considering what happened to the Twelfth Herrscher, this seems a bit excessive."

“Right…”

Seeing Fang Zheng change his mind, Alicia breathed a sigh of relief.

"But... you actually know the Twelfth Herrscher?"

"I understand your times better than you think."

Fang Zheng put down the sword in his hand.

"Well, I'll give you a chance to convince me not to tear this place down."

"no problem!"

Hearing this, Alicia immediately smiled.

"First, let me show you around!"

As she spoke, Alicia grabbed Fang Zheng's hand and pulled him into the depths of the golden palace.