Millennium Witch

Soon, in a cheerful mood, Yvette left the wilderness, passed through a dense forest covered with ferns, and arrived at a hill outside the Water Tower. She looked down at the post-apocalyptic city and mentally compared it to the pre-apocalyptic city of Fusjiang.

Before the apocalypse, Fusjiang was a crowded, colorful beehive filled with low bungalows painted in red, orange, and white, with skyscrapers rising only in the city center.

Now, that place has been transformed into a vast, boundless blue lake. Only a few towering building skeletons remain, like stone spears left behind by giants, stubbornly piercing the water's surface, suspended alone on the azure waves. They are connected by decaying wooden walkways or rusted metal bridges, forming a solitary island kingdom floating on the water.

Knowing that she was about to leave, she didn't rush to fly back. Instead, she strolled for several kilometers along a metal walkway suspended above the lake, reflecting the sunlight and shadows in the clear water, before leisurely entering the interior of the Water Tower Kingdom.

Along the way, she also saw many familiar places, such as Yangon Street near the city center, where the two-story villa she initially rented was located, and further away, the only remaining part of the Soul Fire Church was the spire, barely protruding from the water. Over the years, it had become unrecognizable, and if it weren't for some of the carvings on the spire still looking somewhat familiar, she wouldn't have been able to recognize it at first glance.

"Good afternoon, Miss Yvette. Have you had lunch?" A gentle, synthesized mechanical voice came from inside the collapsed building. Yvette looked in the direction of the voice and saw a young man-like android gathered with several other of his kind.

Yvette thought for a moment before remembering that the android puppet resembling a young man was Ed, the governor of the Water Tower Kingdom.

When she first arrived in the Water Tower Kingdom and delivered Mr. Copper's letter to Ms. Bellflower, it was Mr. Ed who helped her with the process. In the end, he led her, along with Ice Rain and others, to Ms. Bellflower's grave.

"Are you preparing lunch?" Yvette looked into the room. A fire was burning on the spotless floor, and several puppets were inserting wooden sticks into the dead fish and circling them next to the fire.

But they clearly didn't grasp the essence of grilling fish. The fish was grilled until it was like a lump of coal, but they didn't intend to stop. It was as if they were performing some kind of sacred ritual, completely focused.

“Yes, it’s the technique Mr. Douglas taught us before he left; it’s human ‘art’,” Ed said with a smile. “Although Mr. Douglas has left us forever, we will continue to pass on this skill.”

Why does it sound like Dugrabi is dead... Yvette thought.

Then, when Ed asked her if she wanted some grilled fish, she looked down at the dark mass of carbonized material, hesitated, declined the governor's offer, and took her leave.

"Are you leaving?" Ed's android face showed anthropomorphic surprise.

"Ah."

"Won't you stay a little longer?"

“It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?” Yvette thought for a moment. “How long have I been here?”

“Not much, just four years,” Ed said.

"Has it already been four years?" Yvette asked in surprise. Perhaps because of the lack of major events to serve as anchors in her memory, she felt that the four years she spent in the Water Tower Kingdom had passed in the blink of an eye, as if it were only four months. The richness of her experience was not as great as the two or three months she spent fighting wits and courage against the Holy Spirit Cult in the dream world.

However, four years is not a very long time for her and the puppets. For immortals without lifespan limits, it is quite common to postpone everything to ten or even a hundred years later.

It's true that the situation in the dream world is too urgent; there are always treacherous subjects trying to harm me.

“I’m already very familiar with the scenery here, it’s time to set off,” Yvette said.

"What a pity." Seeing that she was determined to leave, Ed let out a realistic sigh and did not try to stop her. "Have a safe journey."

Evie nodded, then, as if remembering something, said, "Oh, by the way, there's something I'd like Mr. Ed to do me a favor with..."

She meticulously entrusted Ed with information about Rosalyn, along with a photocopy of her portrait, and only felt relieved after receiving the governor's solemn assurance.

In the afternoon, Yvette called Ice Rain and Abella, and together they boarded the magic motorcycle and slowly flew away from the Water Tower Kingdom.

Just like in her dream, in reality, her next stop is also the East Coast.

However, instead of rushing to the next continent for refuge, her plan was to circle the entire Black Tide Continent coastline, exploring all the cities and areas she encountered along the way, to ensure that no matter where she came from, Rosalyn would be noticed by the surrounding Puppet Kingdoms immediately, like planting a ring of flags.

Only then could she feel at ease going to Emerald Isle and repeating the same continental trip.

This is certainly a very long process.

First, the post-apocalyptic wasteland is dotted with the ruins of large cities, which were once proud symbols of the New Eden United States, the Rusty Bone Free State, the Black Tide Federation, and even the Southern Alliance.

Even if she only focuses on the ruins of some third-tier cities and above, and only spends one month in each city harvesting aberrations and searching for dream mists, the number of places she needs to "search, attack, and withdraw" is far more than three digits.

Moreover, she most likely won't stay in one place for only a month. If she encounters a place with beautiful scenery or an interesting local puppet kingdom, several months might pass by in the blink of an eye.

But that doesn't matter, because the travelers on this journey are not short of time.

……

Time flies.

Crossing the Fus River, she reached the east coast of Black Tide Continent, explored further downstream, and finally circled back to Yvette's initial landing point on Black Tide Continent, near Agasher. This epic exploration around the continent took her more than 20 years in total.

Considering that she spent four years in the Water Tower Kingdom, and has now circled the continent, passing through countless cities, in just 20 years, her efficiency can be described as extremely high.

During this process, Yvette's magic power and aberration magic power also increased significantly. The former broke through to around 3100 points, finally surpassing Abella, while the latter's total amount had long since exceeded 20.

But that's not the real key point. The key point is that she had a rather clear premonition that if she continued to devour, her pure white touch would definitely undergo some changes soon.

As for what changes will occur, it is currently unknown.

Publish first, then revise.

Chapter 135 Return to the Island and Eternal Sleep

Returning to the Black Tide Island landing point, Yvette stayed there for a day and finally decided to go back to Ish Island before heading to Emerald Island.

Besides checking the condition of the envelopes they left behind and whether they had been touched, it was also because the evolution of the Pure White Touch had reached a critical point.

She had a strong feeling that this evolution was not simple and might require a long period of dormancy.

Since that's the case, she certainly doesn't want to sleep outside; if she's going to sleep, she'll sleep at home.

Soon, Yvette told Ice Rain and Abella about her idea. She had originally planned to say goodbye to them here; from now on, she would return to her hometown on Ish Island, Ice Rain would continue her travels, and Abella could do whatever she wanted—it was none of her business.

To her surprise, both of them expressed a desire to visit Ish Island.

Let's go together then. Anyway, it's been a long time since we've had any guests on Ish Island, and there are plenty of empty rooms in the villas at the manor.

Ice Rain's decision to travel to Ish Island was purely out of curiosity. She simply wanted to see what a secluded island like that could nurture a kind-hearted young lady was like.

Abella, on the other hand, coveted the magical knowledge her master possessed. She didn't want to rush through it before she had thoroughly learned it from the inside out.

Long ago, Abella believed that if she wanted to take her career to the next level, her only option was to become a lackey of a divine power with a monarch, accumulate merits to exchange for promotion opportunities, and finally use the sixth-stage mother nest to complete the transformation from lord to commander.

But now that she has lived with her master for so long and has gradually learned some knowledge of rune literature, she suddenly had a new idea.

If she follows her master and learns more profound and unpredictable magical techniques, is it possible for her, as a lord, to kill a sixth-stage commander, seize the commander's mother nest, and achieve "proof of the Dao through force" and violent advancement?

Wouldn't that mean we wouldn't have to be dogs for any high-ranking divine heirs?

Of course, being a dog for an owner is still being a dog, but the owner is cute and doesn't control her life or death. At most, she might occasionally absorb a little bit of her evolutionary factor, which is completely harmless...

What? You're saying she's fallen and forgotten about revenge?

No, this is forbearance.

Among the fragments of human memories she awakened, there were many such scenes of enduring for many years, only to have fortunes reverse over the next thirty years. Especially that crooked smile, she had already mastered it. Sooner or later, she would be able to reverse the status of master and servant and use that expression on her shy and hesitant master.

Yes, just thinking about this scene made her feel incredibly happy. Before that, what did a little bit of hardship and perseverance matter for this ambition?

……

A few days later, in Ish, Central District.

Back at the familiar manor, Yvette parked the magic motorcycle on the overgrown green lawn. Looking at the desolate villa covered in dark green vines and with its windows covered in thick dust, she couldn't help but sigh.

Even without going back to check, she could confirm that Rosalyn hadn't returned during this time; otherwise, given her personality, she would have kept the place perfectly tidy.

Then, she stepped onto the stone steps, turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open. The smell of decay immediately hit her.

Instead of immediately using wind magic to ventilate the room, she turned her head to look at the table. The wooden box containing the letter was still there, unopened. She wasn't surprised. She silently put the box away, then pushed open the creaking windows one by one, letting in the fresh scent of plants to dispel the odors in the room.

Immediately afterward, Bingyu and Abella also volunteered to help. Bingyu retrieved a broom and dustpan from a corner of the cobweb-covered bathroom, while Abella returned to the RV, grabbed a rag, wet it with water magic, and went inside to wipe the tables and chairs.

The thorough cleaning lasted for three days. On the fourth day, after continuous and tireless cleaning, the manor was finally restored to its original state. Yvette finally felt relieved and began to prepare for her upcoming long sleep.

In her preparation plan, the top priority was to cultivate medicinal fields.

Having undergone training in the dream world, she was already a qualified magical potion master. During her more than 20 years of travel, she had also collected enough rare and precious plant seeds, all of which she stored in her RV. Although she didn't know how long her long slumber would last, she felt it wouldn't be short, so she could take a long-term view and plant the long-growing medicinal herbs as soon as possible.

However, the troublesome thing is that these seeds have different requirements for temperature and humidity, so they have to be placed in different places and the environment has to be simulated using homemade magical equipment. It's like having to create several separate miniature ecosystems.

Following the completion of the plan for the herb field, the next step was to refine undead creatures.

Using necromancy techniques from the Holy Spirit Cult, and through years of research and exploration of the advanced soul brain within her, she has figured out a way to refine the spirit of undead creatures into miniature soul brains.

This is tantamount to turning the undead from a semi-magical creature into artificial intelligence disguised as undead.

Then, by simply inputting the corresponding general-purpose AI model, she can transform undead creatures such as skeletons and zombies into a unique type of AI robot to replace her in maintaining the manor's status and tending the herb fields.

That's an absolutely brilliant idea!

She was somewhat astonished by her own talent!

Furthermore, undead creatures have another advantage: they are inanimate objects and cannot be infected or mutated unless they encounter a special entity like Zero.

The only drawback is the need to replenish magic energy regularly, but this is easily solved. She only needs to prepare a huge magic power storage center so that the undead can replenish their own energy, ensuring that there is no rest all year round.

……

Thus, although she had long since reached the critical point of evolution, Yvette spent more than a year preparing before she could truly relax.

During this time, she created herb fields with different functions, medium-to-large-scale magical energy storage stations, and over a thousand AI skeletons roaming the central district, assigned tasks such as patrolling, cleaning, gardening, and maintenance.

These skeletons were even equipped with runic firearms crafted by Yvette herself, enough to easily repel the first and second-tier aberrations that invaded the area.

As for Bingyu and Abella, although they would be willing to help, Yvette certainly wouldn't consider them in the dynamic model of the manor. After all, she wouldn't confine the two of them to the island forever. The magic motorcycle was in the yard, and they could leave whenever they wanted. With Abella helping to look after them, Bingyu shouldn't encounter any danger on the sea journey back.

……

At the beginning of the second year, fine snowflakes drifted down from the leaden clouds, covering the rooftops, treetops, and lawns of the manor, draping the island in a silver coat.

At dawn, Yvette pushed open the door, and the cold air rushed into her lungs. She walked through the thin snow, making her final rounds of inspection of the manor.

She first looked at the medicinal herb field.

This area was originally a vegetable garden and animal pen, but now it has a huge glass greenhouse. Each greenhouse is equipped with industrial-grade environmental simulation equipment that she made herself. Some areas are warm and humid with mist, while others are dry, cool, and brightly lit. This ensures that medicinal herbs with different preferences can thrive here.

Meanwhile, several skeleton soldiers stand guard here to prevent any unscrupulous wild animals from sneaking in and stealing food.

Yes!

Today, we no longer need power grids; we've replaced them with AI skeletons. It's a world of difference from two hundred years ago—that's the magic of technological progress.

In the future, once her evolution is complete and the medicinal herbs have matured sufficiently, she can attempt to refine Black Tower Medicine's core product—the Active Rune Set. Simply fuse the fixed spell formula into the potion, and whoever drinks it will have the corresponding spell bound to their blood like an innate ability, making it effortless to use and requiring no mental strength whatsoever.

However, the downside is that crafting active rune sets requires a high level of expertise in materials, techniques, and pharmacological knowledge, resulting in a high failure rate. Furthermore, even if successful, the runes will conflict with each other; using one will negate the previous one. Therefore, generally speaking, it's best to strive for high-end, unique, and multifunctional active rune sets; low-end sets are simply not worth crafting.

After inspecting the herb garden area within the manor, Yvette continued forward and saw that many skeletons were diligently sweeping up fallen leaves early in the morning by the meadow and lake, while others were pruning the branches and leaves of the green plants.

She glanced around, then left, walking through the ruined streets towards the agricultural area.

The agricultural area is another medicinal field after the transformation. Next to it is the magic energy reserve center she built. Many skeletons come and go here. Some go to replenish their energy, while the rest are the permanent staff of the reserve center. In addition to maintaining the equipment, they also take care of security work. Each of them carries a runic gun. If a first-stage or second-stage aberration appears, it will basically be headshot and killed the moment it appears.

In addition, the roads in the central district have been completely transformed compared to two hundred years ago. The rusty vehicles that once blocked the streets, the fallen streetlights, the ferns sprouting from the ground, and the collapsed concrete blocks have all been cleared away by the skeleton soldiers and moved elsewhere. The roads have become flat and wide, showing an unusual cleanliness under the snow.

Does this count as exploiting the dead?

Yvette shook her head, dismissing these strange associations. After taking a stroll through the thriving central district and confirming that no skeleton soldier was slacking off, she returned to the manor. There, she saw Abella coming out of the house, who greeted her respectfully, "Good morning, Master."

Yvette hummed in agreement.

"By the way, Master, I've recovered a little. Do you want more today?" Abella's voice carried a hint of deliberate sweetness, her cheeks slightly flushed.

The "want" she was referring to was not the kind of "want" you're thinking of, but rather the supply of aberrant factors.

Many years ago, Abella had already recovered to about the fourth stage level, and as an aberration, she was already quite powerful.

Therefore, for safety reasons, Yvette would continuously limit the concentration of her aberration factor by devouring her, preventing her from returning to the peak of stage five.

At first, she thought Abella would definitely not be able to stand this treatment and would leave on her own. But she never expected that Abella would not mind being exploited like a dairy cow. She just stayed and followed her wherever she went.

Later, after asking around, I learned that she was using this as tuition. Over the years, she had learned a lot of elemental magic techniques from Yvette, and if she recovered, she would definitely be much stronger than an ordinary fifth-stage lord. Therefore, she felt that it was not unreasonable for her master to ask her to offer such a small amount of evolution factors, and it was even a bit too kind...

Seeing Abella's shy expression, Yvette was silent for a moment before saying, "Don't use such an ambiguous tone."

Offering sacrifices is one thing, but those who don't know the situation might think she did something to the maid.

"Oh," Abella said honestly, then immediately became resentful, thinking that her master had no sense of romance at all. All her hard work in reading so many romance magazines left by the Origin Civilization had been for nothing.

"Also, you don't need to provide me with aberration factors anymore. I'm preparing for my 'promotion.' Go and call Ice Rain down," Yvette added.

"Huh?" Abella was shocked, but she quickly returned to the house and knocked on the door of a guest room on the first floor. She and Bingyu both lived on the first floor because the bedroom on the second floor had a previous owner, and the third floor was Yvette's residence. Only the first floor had extra rooms.

After she called Bingyu over, Yvette looked at Bingyu and said gently, "I need to rest here for a long time, Bingyu. Abella will send you back to the mainland in a while. I don't know how long I need to rest... but after it's over, I should go directly to Emerald Isle. You can wait for me there if we happen to meet."

“Alright, kind lady,” Bingyu said reluctantly, without objection.

She didn't know why Yvette suddenly needed to rest for so long, but since the other party said it was for training purposes, as a simple mechanical girl, she naturally didn't doubt it. Besides, this trip to Black Tide Continent had indeed been quite long, so she felt it was reasonable for the other party to want to rest at home for a while.

“Master, then I…” Abella opened her mouth, but hesitated to speak.

Yvette looked at her and said calmly, "I suggest you leave with Ice Rain as well. During my rest time, I won't be able to teach you anything. And the highest-ranking mutant on Ish Island is only a third-tier elite. I don't think you'd even look down on them. There's no need for you to stay here."

That made perfect sense. Abella was silent for a moment, then nodded gently: "...Yes."