Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

The old wizard laughed self-deprecatingly. Lin Yi and Su Xiao ignored the old wizard and quickly walked to the front of the Wizarding Association branch, looking out onto the street.

Everywhere you look, there is dilapidation; the wooden houses are covered in stains, and in some places the wood has rotted into dust.

The pedestrians on the street were pale and thin, and their clothes were not only tattered but also patched. The only things that were similar to before were the fruits and vegetables on the street stalls. However, compared to their previous freshness and plumpness, these fruits and vegetables were now shriveled, and some stalls were filled with rotten vegetable leaves.

"Young man, would you like some?"

An elderly woman selling fruit picked up a bunch of grapes from her stall. The grapes had already lost their moisture and were about to turn into raisins, but the kindness in the old woman's eyes did not fade because of the dried grapes. Compared to the false 'happiness' that Su Xiao had seen before, this was real. Although poor, she was kind.

The whole city has changed; instead of warm sunshine, the sky is filled with dark clouds.

The shock of this drastic environmental change caused the dormant power within Lin Yi to instinctively stir.

This aura...something's not right!
Like a few drops of poison mixed into cloudy wine, the nature of this power is quite different.

Lin Yi instantly recognized the source of these powers—ancient gods!
But what alarmed him even more was that there were two other completely different ancient god auras, clinging to the foundation of this world like maggots. Although they were relatively faint in this area, their existence was still very conspicuous.

"Three...ancient gods?" Lin Yi's heart was stirred.

This completely contradicts the common sense of travel in the void.

The ancient gods, what greedy, arrogant, and territorial predators they were!
They view the world as a private nursery or a private dining table. Any intrusion by an entity of equal standing usually triggers a relentless war of devouring until one side is completely absorbed or expelled. Peaceful coexistence is impossible, let alone the bizarre state of "coexistence" that exists now.

Unless... this "world" itself is so special that it is unimaginable, and the "value" of its origin or some kind of quality is enough to "feed" the three ancient gods at the same time, making them feel that maintaining the status quo is more advantageous than fighting each other.
Or perhaps something forced them to form some kind of temporary "alliance"?
Recalling the time-space power that Xia had been abducted, a clear image formed in his mind.

Hungry predators, smelling an abundance too great for them to devour alone, temporarily set aside their disputes and joined forces to attack the Reincarnation Paradise team carrying the "food."

No wonder the hunters and contractors responsible for protecting the power of spacetime were almost completely wiped out.

Faced with the combined attack of three ancient gods and those opportunistic violators lurking in the shadows, Xia was able to survive in such a desperate situation and successfully send out a distress message. He must have exhausted all means to do so, and it can be described as a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

All these thoughts raced through Lin Yi's mind like lightning, but in reality, only a dozen seconds had passed.

From Su Xiao's perspective, Lin Yi was only slightly stunned by the stark contrast in environment and the true face of the world, as if he was processing this huge amount of information.

He himself was also rapidly analyzing the root causes of the world's anomalies.

However, Lin Yi's next move surprised everyone, including the old wizard Hughes Archid who had just completed the contract guidance.

Lin Yi took a step forward, and before the other party could react in time, his right hand shot out like an iron clamp, tightly gripping the collar of the old wizard's robe, which was stained with some unknown dirt. With a forceful pull, he dragged the old wizard's thin, bony body closer.

"You...!" Hughes Archid's cloudy eyes flashed with panic. He clearly hadn't expected anyone to dare to attack the "guide" so soon after signing the contract.

[WARNING: Hunters are prohibited from harming the Arcane Wizard Hughes Archid, a friendly unit!]

The Paradise of Reincarnation's warning was timely, preventing Lin Yi from taking any further action.

Lin Yi ignored the warning and went straight to the core: "Where are those three ancient gods hiding?"

The moment the words "Ancient God" were uttered, Hughes Archid's pupils contracted violently.

He stared at Lin Yi in disbelief. This guy, within seconds of seeing the true nature of the world, had pinpointed the root of the problem?! His insight was simply unbelievable!
When Su Xiao heard Lin Yi clearly utter the words "Ancient God," a look of understanding flashed across her eyes.

He always felt that the distortion of this world was different from the worlds he had experienced that had been corrupted by ancient gods. The false happiness of that "order" was too deliberate, while the deep chaos seemed more complicated and difficult to understand.

Now everything makes sense—the problem lies in the fact that there is more than one ancient god residing here!
Three ancient gods were crammed into a world. Their powers, though different in nature, were equally corrupting. They eroded, distorted, and balanced each other, and may have even achieved a strange balance on some levels. This is why the rules of the world became so bizarre and surreal, and even the appearance of the world presented such a fragmented and indistinguishable state.

Under Lin Yi's piercing gaze and Su Xiao's silent pressure, Hughes Archid forced a bitter twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"As expected, I couldn't hide it from you... professionals." He gasped for breath, struggling to raise a withered finger and point to the teleportation array in the corner of the room, whose runes had just begun to light up slightly due to the signing of the contract.

“The place you are going to next is ‘Hru’… one of the main forces is entrenched there, and it is one of the main sources of ‘deception’.”

Lin Yi stared at him for a few seconds to make sure he wasn't lying before letting go of his hand.

The old wizard Hughes Archid, as if losing his footing, staggered back two steps and slumped heavily back into his creaking wheelchair.

Without saying a word or even glancing at the old wizard again, Lin Yi walked straight to the teleportation array in the corner of the room, where the runic light was fading.

The objective has been identified, and the information has been obtained; there is no point in lingering any longer.

Su Xiao gestured for Bubuwang and Baha to follow.

The light once again engulfed their vision.

The hunters have arrived in the wizarding city of Hru.

[Note: 'Hru' is a neutral danger zone. Due to special rule contamination and the influence of high-ranking characters, over 68% of story characters within this zone will ignore the basic negotiation effects derived from the Charisma attribute. Please proceed with caution.]

[Main Quest (First Stage): Seeing the Truth - Completed.]

You have gained 2 true attribute points.

[The hunter must activate the main quest (second stage) within the 2-hour time limit. To activate it, the hunter must contact and complete initial negotiations with the key neutral unit, the Maiden of Sorrow (Puppet).]

[Note: The hunter is currently located at 'Hru City - Edge Safe House'. This area is relatively safe, and the hunter can rest here briefly to recover from injuries, organize equipment and intelligence, etc. Please note that safety is not absolute, and prolonged stay may still trigger unknown risks.]

Su Xiao glanced at his feet. The faint light left by the teleportation array was gradually fading away. Under his feet was a dark gray carpet that had long lost the softness that fabric should have. It had hardened like a piece of weathered leather, and stepping on it only gave him a dull feeling, without making a sound.

The bedroom was small and its furnishings were so simple they were almost rudimentary.

A double bed and a wardrobe with a dressing table.

The oval mirror on the dressing table was filthy, as if covered with a layer of greasy, unmelted oil. Several dried, blackened streaks of blood splattered on it, outlining ominous patterns.

The most eye-catching thing is the double bed behind him.

Beneath the stained and discolored quilt, a clear, raised outline came into view.

An arm, completely reduced to bones, with slender knuckles that looked as if it would shatter at the slightest touch, drooped limply from the edge of the quilt and rested on the bedside.

The faint stench of decay in the air comes from this.

Without any hesitation, Su Xiao stepped forward and deftly lifted the quilt.

A corpse was exposed in the dim light. Its death was gruesome and bizarre. The flesh on the left side of its body had completely disappeared, leaving only grayish-white bones, which remained in a lying position.

The right half of the body was relatively well preserved. Although the skin had lost the elasticity and luster of a living person and presented a wax figure-like texture, the facial features and muscle texture were still faintly discernible, making it no different from a living person.

This extreme contrast between life and death, decay and "preservation" has a strong visual impact.

Click~
The bones rubbed together, and the corpse on the bed suddenly sat up. Seeing this, Bubuwang was terrified.

"Woof! (Don't touch me!)"

Not to mention Bubuwang, even Baha shuddered, after all, the wizard city of Hru itself exuded an eerie feeling, and this corpse was even more terrifying.

"Soto..."

Strange sounds came from the corpse's mouth. Su Xiao stepped forward, his right hand wrapped in a crystalline layer, and grabbed at the corpse's jaw.

Click.

The corpse's head was pushed upside down, and Su Xiao inserted two fingers under the corpse's jaw, pinching a long, thin slice. "Thank you."

Su Xiao lowered his head and carefully examined the thin metal sheet in his hand.

It was icy to the touch and made of a special material, clearly not a product of this world.

Lin Yi recognized it; this thing was a product of the Paradise of Reincarnation, a very special instrument that only contractors of the Paradise of Reincarnation knew how to use.

Su Xiao used his thumb to apply a rhythmic pressure to a specific area of ​​the thin slice.

sizzle~
A sound came from inside the thin film, and soon, a weak male voice appeared.

“Brother, I don’t have much information, and time is running out. The fact that you can activate ‘memory fluid metal’ means that you also come from the Paradise of Reincarnation.”

The sound paused, followed by a series of dry coughs, as if the person was coughing up their lungs.

"The doll is very important. By the way, her name is the Daughter of Sorrow, a 'tool' favored by the Old Gods. Don't ask me what the Old Gods are, I haven't even figured it out myself, cough cough cough..."

After another bout of desperate coughing.

"If no thieves enter here, the doll's heart is on the cabinet next to her. Don't put the heart in her, otherwise she will learn to lie, or even... want to become alive again. Alternatively, you can break her heart in half, give her only half, and use the other half to tempt her. Don't try to hurt or offend her; she is a neutral unit. Paradise should have warned you. Oh, by the way, I am a Hunter, Tier 6."

The unknown hunter stopped speaking; he seemed exhausted and dying, and rested for a long time before continuing.

"I haven't figured out which side the wizards are on yet, but some wizards are trustworthy, and some are better off killed. Don't listen to their nonsense. Interestingly, the more insane a wizard seems, the more trustworthy he is. They're all driven mad by fear and are pitiful. As for those guys who seem normal, you'd better be careful. In this godforsaken place like Hru, the more you know, the faster you'll go mad."

After another ten seconds or so of heavy breathing.

"Sorry, this is all I can do. Damn it, I haven't even tried the witch yet, Malego..."

After a series of 'polite' last words, the recording ended.

Lin Yi silently stepped forward and helped Su Xiao lift the body of his companion, whom he had never met but was also a hunter, out from the crack in the bed. He tidied it up simply and covered it with a relatively clean rag from the room.

In the cycle of reincarnation, being able to leave behind a complete corpse and find a moment of peace is already a luxury.

The information this colleague obtained at the cost of his life is invaluable, and it is worthwhile for the two of them to collect his body.

"The puppet is the key; there are disagreements within the Wizarding Council. The three ancient gods... they are very cautious, as if they are 'raising' this world rather than draining it dry all at once," Lin Yi stated his judgment.

This sustainable exploitation suggests that the ancient gods were either in a special state or had ulterior motives, making them far more dangerous than their counterparts who frantically devoured everything.

Su Xiao nodded and took the crystal heart, which resembled a work of art, and the long key in her hands.

"First, let's find that 'Sorrowful Woman' and see what information she has."

I got up and went to the bedroom door. After pushing the door open, it was a bit dark outside. The moonlight illuminated a corridor with several windows on the other side.

After entering the corridor, Su Xiao found the stairs leading downstairs after walking a few steps, and there was a room next to the stairs.

Su Xiao didn't rush downstairs. Instead, she pushed open the door to the room on the other side of the stairs. The layout was the same as the previous bedroom, except that there was no corpse on the bed.

The two bedrooms are sandwiched between the stairs, and that's the layout of the whole floor. Su Xiao went down the stairs, and the zigzag staircase soon reached the end, arriving at the first floor.

The first floor has a spacious layout, with various furniture pieces around the perimeter, and a retractable chandelier on the central ceiling.

By the light of the moon, Su Xiao spotted a figure standing beside the bookshelf. The figure was rather slender and stood there motionless.

Su Xiao lowered the chandelier, added some lamp oil to the groove of the lampshade and lit it. After pulling it up with a rope, the first floor of the small building became bright.

The firelight dispelled the shadows beside the bookshelf, revealing a woman in a brown dress with pale blonde hair standing there. Her hands were clasped in front of her lower abdomen, her long pale blonde hair was braided and hung down to her waist, and she wore a silver headdress that looked like a light piece of armor, but actually offered little protection.

"This is a doll?"

Su Xiao stopped in front of the doll, the Sorrowful Woman, and tapped her cheek with his finger. Surprisingly, the doll was soft, but had no body temperature.

Why isn't she moving? Is she still asleep?

Bahamut started spouting nonsense again, but the Sorrowful Daughter remained completely still.

Su Xiao examined the bookshelf next to the sorrowful woman and found a crystal heart that looked like an art piece, as well as a key.

This key is about ten centimeters long and has a round metal piece at the end for easy gripping.

After thinking for a while, Su Xiao began to examine the sorrowful woman. Soon, he found the keyhole in her palm.

Su Xiao inserted the key and tried to turn it.

Click click…

The clatter of a sophisticated mechanism filled the air; the sorrowful woman, like an old-fashioned clock, needed to be wound up.

After a few turns, the key got stuck, making a soft "click" sound.

As if some kind of restraint had been lifted, the sorrowful woman's eyes, which had been like dusty glass beads, were suddenly filled with a certain brilliance.

It is not the vitality of a living person, but a kind of... "light of consciousness" that has been bestowed upon them.

Her eyelashes seemed to tremble very slightly, and her gaze slowly focused, finally landing on Su Xiao, who was closest to her.

"Did you wake me up, sir?"

The sorrowful woman's voice was soft and gentle, without any obvious emotional fluctuations.

Just then, Lin Yi stepped forward.

He didn't speak, but simply took the crystal heart from Su Xiao's hand naturally.

He didn't hand it to the doll immediately, but instead held it up in front of the doll and gently shook it.

The crystal refracted a mesmerizing halo under the light, reflecting in the gradually focusing pupils of the sorrowful woman.

“We know what this is,” Lin Yi said, his voice as steady as stating a given fact, breaking the subtle atmosphere created by the doll’s words. “We also know what it means to install it or not to install it.”

Lin Yi paused deliberately, letting the words "what does it mean" leave a heavy echo in the air.

"That senior gave us advice with the last breath of his life."

He carefully observed the expression on the grieving woman's face—if that delicate yet lifeless face could be called an expression.

He saw a faint longing flicker in the depths of her eyes as the crystal heart drew near, but more than that, an indescribable sadness, a sadness that was not an act.

“We don’t want to threaten you, nor do we want to talk about cooperation in vain,” Lin Yi continued.

“We have our own goals that we must achieve. Tell us, how much do you know about that ‘Old God’ in this city? Any fragment of information, any rumors, are welcome.”

He leaned forward slightly, closing the distance between himself and the grieving woman, creating an invisible sense of oppression.

“In exchange, we can consider…making you a little more 'complete'.” He shook the crystal heart in his hand again, its alluring light almost within reach. But just as the Sorrowful Woman's gaze involuntarily followed it, he pulled his wrist back, shifting the heart slightly, keeping the treasure representing "completeness" and "possibility" at a distance that was both within reach and yet unattainable. (End of Chapter)