---o---
[The time has come. You have learned from your higher-level self about the tragedy currently unfolding in the Scalegorge Waterscape. [The Destruction]'s footsoldiers are igniting their blades, slaughtering the Pearl-Guardians, but [Lord Ravager Phantylia] is clearly not present. You must shift your search for Phantylia to other locations on the Luofu.]
[The Cloud Knights have already assembled. You have led them to break through countless strongholds of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, throwing all these traitors who dared to plot against the Xianzhou and subvert the Luofu's rule into prison. They have all been handed over to the Ten-Lords Commission and thrown into the great prison of the Shackling Prison.]
["Causing degeneration for long life," "Greedily seeking immortality," "Luring others into the Mara-struck state," "Slaughtering their own kin," "Stealing state secrets," "Subverting the Xianzhou"...]
[Most members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are guilty of these ten great evils. They bear unpardonable crimes and will be utterly destroyed under the laws of the Alliance, with no chance of a reprieve.]
[But you are still troubled by this. These members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus are hardly big fish. You were already well aware of the special situation in the Alchemy Commission long ago; the Disciples there are innumerable. Throwing them in prison will at most quell some minor disturbances, but it is fundamentally incapable of stopping the Luofu's potential fall.]
[[Lord Ravager Phantylia] is hiding somewhere unknown, like a ghost haunting the Luofu...]
[Back when you were at the desk in the Seat of Divine Foresight, calling upon the Six Charioteers to lead the charge in sweeping away the Xianzhou's evils and purging the ten wickednesses, you had already asked Yukong, the Helm Master of the Sky-Faring Commission who had rushed back from Belobog at light speed, a few things—]
[Because the Luofu made a temporary jump to Jarilo-VI, almost none of the merchant guilds have been able to return to the Xianzhou [Luofu]. Therefore, Miss Tingyun, the chief representative of the [Blazing Fire] guild, has not returned. Your past experience is useless at this moment… because Phantylia has not possessed Tingyun at all and is now completely hidden in the shadows.]
[You know you must find her. If you cannot find the whereabouts of [Lord Ravager Phantylia], you are bound to repeat the despair of the last simulation—]
[The entire Xianzhou will burn in the calamitous flames of [The Destruction] summoned by the Lord Ravager, being thoroughly reduced to fine, gray ash…]
[But while the Xianzhou [Luofu] is martial and prosperous, it is also boundlessly vast. Countless grotto-heavens are folded into the main ship via spatial folding technology. Although the Cloud Knights are as vast as clouds obscuring the sky, guarding the Xianzhou, they are powerless to search the entire ship in a short amount of time. Even if they wanted to safely investigate Phantylia's whereabouts, they might not even be able to fully search the domains of the Six Charioteers…]
[Furthermore, because of the suddenness of the events, many of the Cloud Knights had been dispatched to Belobog to reclaim the icy wasteland and clear out Fragmentum creatures. The number of recalled Cloud Knights amounts to a single squad at most. Expecting this one squad to search the entire Xianzhou is asking far too much of them…]
[But now, because you hold the Reignbow's Decree, Arbiter-General Jing Yuan has already handed over command authority to you. You are now the acting commander-in-chief of the provisionally recalled Cloud Knights. Even though the current situation is giving you a major headache, you must still choose a direction for your Cloud Knight squad.]
Looking at the text on the screen, a helpless, bitter smile appeared on Fu Xuan's face.
"I never thought the first time I'd act as 'General' would be at a time like this…" she muttered to herself, her feelings complicated. Well, extremely complicated.
General Jing Yuan was getting on in years, having sat in the General's seat for eight hundred years. Although Fu Xuan had always greatly admired him, she was also determined to usurp his position.
Whether it was to push Jing Yuan into retirement, to realize her own ambitions by taking the General's seat, or out of concern that he would overexert himself and fall to the Mara, Fu Xuan had long been prepared to fight tooth and nail for the position of General.
But she never thought that today, the tables would turn, and the duties of a general would temporarily fall upon her because of all this.
Just thinking about it was vexing.
Fu Xuan sighed again, then led her Cloud Knights toward the Alchemy Commission without pause.
The Scalegorge Waterscape was about to be invaded by the pawns of [The Destruction] and violated by the fiends of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Fu Xuan could imagine with her toes how crazed those fiends would be upon seeing the Pearl-Guardians and Vidyadhara eggs, pouncing on them to flay their skin and drain their marrow to concoct their "miracle elixirs" for longevity.
The situation was critical. They had to march nonstop to have a chance of preventing this disaster.
But that wasn't all. Since they had to pass through the Alchemy Commission to get to the Scalegorge Waterscape, and Fu Xuan had just purged all the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus from the commission in the simulation, the Cloud Knights she brought with her would have to leave about half their number behind to sweep through the Alchemy Commission's grotto-heaven, investigating everyone from the Elixir Censer Master on down, and throwing all fiends tainted by the Disciples into the Ten-Lords Commission for harsh interrogation.
…However, these were all plans Fu Xuan had already thought of. What she needed to consider now was not this.
She composed herself slightly. While marching forward, she glanced at the simulation screen to her side.
The text on the screen faded, and a new simulation option box appeared:
[Time is not on your side. The moment of choice has arrived.]
[A Lord Ravager is still hidden on the Xianzhou [Luofu]. This cannot be tolerated… You must root her out and find her hiding place!]
[The Cloud Knights are unstoppable. Even though they were recalled on short notice, they are now filled with boundless morale…]
[Now, you must choose a direction for them…]
[Find [Lord Ravager Phantylia]… and utterly defeat her!]
[Please Choose—]
[1. "Phantylia would never hide in the countryside. She must have infiltrated the central hub of the Six Commissions—This seat commands a full search of the Luofu's Six Commissions!"]
[You are certain that [Lord Ravager Phantylia], a massive Heliobus aggregate like a Heliobus Primus, would surely desire a special host… This is the fundamental desire of the Heliobus race, a nature that not even Phantylia can completely escape.]
[Moreover, since Phantylia wants to invade the Luofu, she would naturally choose to infiltrate the Six Commissions, to hide within the central hub and eavesdrop on all intelligence. Therefore, regardless of where [Lord Ravager Phantylia] is currently hiding or if she has possessed a new body, hiding within the Six Commissions is the most likely answer. You decide to issue an immediate order to search the Luofu's Six Commissions… Except for the Ten-Lords Commission, which Phantylia could never infiltrate, the other five commissions are highly likely to be hiding her.]
[2. "To hide herself, Phantylia may be lurking in an inconspicuous alley… We must protect the civilians first. The search will begin in the bustling city streets!"]
[You are certain that [Lord Ravager Phantylia], as a special creature most adept at beguiling the hearts of mortals, would never brazenly insert herself into the Six Commissions. With the Luofu's sudden jump to Belobog, it would be very difficult for Phantylia to find a host within the Six Commissions who would not be easily discovered after being possessed. Her previous choice of possessing Tingyun was because the "Blazing Fire" merchant guild had just returned from outside the Alliance. She took the opportunity to possess the well-rounded guild emissary to infiltrate the Sky-Faring Commission without participating in its important meetings, making it difficult for anyone to notice her existence. But now, most of the members of the Six Commissions on the Luofu are on leave in Belobog, and many merchant guilds, diplomatic envoys, and visiting scholars have not yet returned. The entire command structure of the six commissions on the main ship is streamlined, consisting mostly of high-ranking officials. Possessing any one of them would create a huge security risk, and with the administrative system of the Six Commissions currently running smoothly, it looks nothing like someone has been possessed by Phantylia. In that case, she must be biding her time… First, start investigating from the Starskiff Haven and Exalting Sanctum to prevent an attack on the most populated areas. You decide to issue an immediate order to lead the Cloud Knights into Exalting Sanctum and Starskiff Haven, initiating an extremely difficult lockdown and search of the bustling city streets.]
[3. "Since Phantylia has already marked the Abyssal Roots of the Arbor, why not lie in wait and wait for the prey to come to you?"]
[You know that [Lord Ravager Phantylia] wants to burn the entire Xianzhou [Luofu], but incinerating a whole ship is no easy task. The Xianzhou is a true star-system-class behemoth; it contains the volume of an entire star system folded within it by spatial technology. To burn it would require the full power of an Emanator. An Emanator would need to use some tricks to destroy a normal star system, let alone an ecological dreadnought like the Xianzhou [Luofu], which is protected by an Emanator, has a complete infrastructure, and is far more durable than an ordinary star system. Therefore, Phantylia will surely need the help of a Stellaron and the Abyssal Roots of the Arbor. Since she will have to sneak into Boling, the Ancient Sea no matter what, it is better to lie in wait there. You decide to issue an immediate order for the Cloud Knights to withdraw and head to the Scalegorge Waterscape grotto-heaven, to guard the Vidyadhara palace ruins in Boling, the Ancient Sea, and avoid being attacked by the Antimatter Legion. You will also contact Herta and have her wait at the Abyssal Roots for you and Jing Yuan to arrive. With two Emanators lying in wait, how could Phantylia possibly escape?]
---o---
Looking at the options on the screen, Fu Xuan couldn't help but sigh softly.
These choices were really quite difficult. Each option had sound reasoning, which made it hard for her to choose.
Normally, if such a situation arose, she would simply perform a divination and easily get the answer. But not now.
After all, everything in the Life Simulation Game seemed to be shrouded in a black veil of mist. She had never once successfully divined anything that happened in the game. The divinations of reality simply couldn't see through the game.
What should she choose?
Fu Xuan hesitated. Just then, a lazy voice sounded from beside her.
"Lady Fu… why the long face?"
Jing Yuan strode over, his entire being exuding a lazy aura, as if he wasn't concerned about this突袭 war with [The Destruction] at all.
But that was just an appearance. If you looked closely into his pupils, you would see a brilliant golden lightning flashing within. That was the thunder of fury, the General's resolve.
The Arbiter-General was already seething with rage; he just never showed his emotions.
"Are you still worried about that so-called 'Phantylia' from the Reignbow's Decree?"
"Of course, General. My friend has already infiltrated the Abyssal Roots of the Arbor, only to find the mark Phantylia left behind, but not her physical form."
Fu Xuan glanced at Jing Yuan, who was walking beside her, and caught a glimpse of the lightning flashing in his eyes.
"General, where do you think Phantylia is right now? In the bustling city streets, or hidden within our Six Commissions?"
Hearing Fu Xuan's question, Jing Yuan pondered for a long time before answering slowly:
"…Either is possible."
"Every corner of the Luofu could hide a Heliobus… We cannot act rashly."
"We must eat our meal one bite at a time, and walk our path one step at a time. Let's clear out the Legion's footsoldiers in the Scalegorge Waterscape first, Lady Fu."
Jing Yuan made the final decision. "As for Phantylia's whereabouts, perhaps we will have an answer after dealing with the Legion's footsoldiers."
Hearing Jing Yuan's words, Fu Xuan fell into thought.
Indeed, Phantylia was in the dark while they were in the light. They could not make a rash decision and give her an opportunity.
Thinking about the options on the screen, Fu Xuan finally made her decision.
Temporarily locking down the Six Commissions, not to mention whether they could even catch Phantylia, the potential internal chaos could cause no small amount of trouble.
And lying in wait at the Abyssal Roots was meaningless. Ron and Herta were already there. If Phantylia really went to the Arbor, they would absolutely not be easily defeated. She would quickly receive a call for help, and then she could lead Jing Yuan to catch Phantylia in one fell swoop.
On the contrary, if Phantylia really was causing trouble in the bustling city streets, the Luofu would suffer an unbearable loss.
She waved her hand gently. To others, it looked like a casual stretch, but in reality, she had secretly swiped past the second option on the light screen.
---o---
And at the same time, on the other side—
Ron looked at the giant, dragon-shaped wooden canker before him and gently lifted the lid of the lantern in his hand.
The dim flame of hope leaped out, dyeing the Abyssal Roots of the Arbor.
The next moment… a pillar of fire shot to the heavens!