Cloud Mist Island.

The wine in the cup overflowed with gilded shine.

Under the crystal light, the hall was filled with the sound of clinking glasses.

A maid with dark brown hair, holding a dazzling wine glass, entered the hall and saw desires everywhere—the upper-class sat within the hall, surrounded by rose-like flesh, enjoying the lavish banquet.

"...That group of lower races is causing trouble again? Their lifespans are so short, yet they're always stirring things up." The one speaking was a Dragon Descendant sitting at the head of the hall, sipping red wine, her golden-red pupils slightly vertical.

"Lady Leisili, the lower races on the surface, after all, are our source of labor. Without them pedaling every day to produce clouds, our living on the [Cloud Mist Island]⑦ could not float." A noble Blood Clan raised a glass, smiling as he responded: "You can't say that out loud. If you incite conflict further, those lower races might actually rebel against us out of sheer fervor."

Though he spoke thus, there was no trace of fear on his face. He was only concerned that the lower races might cease production due to resistance, thus harming his interests. He was not at all worried about the lower races overthrowing them... after all, the disparity was too great.

"At least we must maintain a facade of equality." A Crystal Clan member next to them curved her eyes, her entire body made of a texture reminiscent of crystal: "Pacify them, let them think they have a future, but in reality..."

Her voice trailed off with laughter.

The maid with dark brown hair stood honestly behind the column, holding a tray, listening silently to their words.

"[Game Day] is expected to arrive tonight at twelve." Leslie picked up a finger of unknown species, placing it in her mouth to chew: "The leader of [Anti-Destiny Alliance] sent me a message, inviting me before midnight to search for the Lighthouse Jellyfish with him."

"Anti-Destiny Alliance? That group loudly shouting to 'resist the World Tree, kill all Rin Clan!' madmen? Frankly, even though I've lived for four hundred sixty-seven years, I still don't understand if they're missing a screw in their head." The Duke of Blood Clan swirled the blood in his glass: "Their leader, Hui Mo, seems like a normal person; after all, he commands the Anti-Destiny Alliance spanning across five instances of Luowasha. But unfortunately, I wouldn't dare to oppose the World Tree. It's like someone shouting at the sea, 'I'm going to level you flat!'—too unrealistic. I'm just curious about how he brainwashed his tens of thousands of subordinates into willing to oppose the World Tree together, akin to committing suicide."

"Perhaps the Deity just sees them as jumping clowns... a group of madmen, daring to challenge the World Tree." The Crystal person said.

Leslie crunched on the finger, a streak of blood flowing in her golden-red eyes as her long black nails tapped the armrest, seemingly restraining her appetite:

"So where did that Lighthouse Jellyfish escape to? Today, I heard... there's still one Lighthouse Jellyfish alive in this world—I thought they were all eaten up."

"Rumor has it that it escaped toward the direction of the Eternal Sea. Once the Rin Clan resurrection ends, it's feared all of Luowasha will hunt that Lighthouse Jellyfish down." The Duke of Blood Clan said.

"Speaking of which." The Crystal person looked at the Duke: "It's been a long time since we've seen your son. As the heir of the Kata Blood Race, you sent him to the World Tree? That's not a safe place."

The Duke, Lv Bote, frowned slightly, his tone softening: "Yuqing lately has been stubborn, I just hope he finishes fooling around soon and returns to inherit the family business."

"He's only a hundred thirty-seven years old, quite young. Wanting to roam around is normal." The Crystal person smiled kindly. For lower races, they always consider with the harshest standards, but for high-class races, they're accustomed to finding reprieves and comfort.

"We've reserved a seat for him in [All Living Beings United]⑧. He doesn't need to take exams like others, directly starting as a member." Leslie said.

"Thank you all for looking after my son. Regarding the interests of the Blood Clan, I will defer to you all." Lv Bote bowed, smiling broadly.

At this moment, urgent footsteps echoed through the hall.

"—Mother! I'm here!"

It was a girl with flowing sky-blue hair, her strands like water.

"Watch your demeanor, Zhi Fei. I smell the scent of lower races on you... have you been fraternizing with those creatures again?" The Crystal person's face rose in anger.

"Mother... even the lower races have beings no less inferior to us! They've already developed metal objects capable of destroying cities, causing catastrophic effects just by igniting a fuse, which they call [nuclear weapons]! If you continue to be so arrogant, one day, those groups you look down upon will turn our Cloud Mist Island to ashes!" Zhi Fei said excitedly.

"[Nuclear weapons]? Never heard of it, what a foolish concept?" Leisili laughed exaggeratedly.

"Zhi Li'er, I've always said, your daughter should stay away from that wild child of lower race research, that... what's his name? That Yamada from the Mechanical Race." Lv Bote shook his head.

Zhi Fei defended: "I'm telling the truth! If you all just delve into the surface, you'll know... those Human Race kingdoms, those underground Gnomes and Dwarves... are entirely different from a century ago—they call it [technological explosion], [industrial revolution]! Mother, meet Yamada, although he is from the Mechanical Race, he truly possesses wisdom no less than ours..."

Zhi Li'er sternly ordered: "Withdraw!"

Zhi Fei bit her lip, sky-blue hair shimmering with water light. Under her mother's stern gaze, she turned and left.

Seeing this, Leisili and Lv Bote lost the mood for pleasure, bidding farewell and departing.

Zhi Li'er lowered her gaze slightly, feeling vexed for her rebellious daughter. To alleviate her emotions, she glanced at the screen beside her—an invention of the surface organisms, named [Internet]. Those lower beings without a future or prospects love to berate and rant online, directing their grievances at themselves, indeed entertaining.

...

[Beef Vermicelli Bun: Fellow forum friends, I want to ask, is Game Day truly dangerous?]

[Want to Eat Jellyfish: That's just the villain group exaggerating! So many experts say Game Day is a blessing, yet you oppose it, bunch of keyboard warriors, what's your motive to rebel against high-class races?]

[Rainbow Sticky: But the first Game Day seemed to result in many deaths...]

[Crown Cassica: Being selected for Game Day, you should rejoice! Don't overestimate yourselves; if you don't go, others will!]

[Flowers Bloom Wealth: Hui Mo killed so many people, it's clear he has ill intentions; he dares to rebel against the World Tree, sooner or later he will be punished.]

[Dream Returning to the Construction Site: When will a wealthy lady of high-class race fancy me? I don't want to keep grinding shells...]

...

As Zhi Li'er watched the screen with a sense of superiority, in the shadows, the brown-haired maid moved slightly.

"Swish!"

In a flash, the maid's figure darted forward, the tray tilted, a glint of the knife flashed, and the white blade descended. Her movement was so swift that before Zhi Li'er could react, the blade had already pierced her heart.

Glowing blue blood seeped from her chest, and Zhi Li'er, clutching her chest, looked in shock at the maid before her.

"You..." Zhi Li'er had never thought to guard against an ordinary maid.

The knife delved deeper, and the maid twisted the handle, shattering Zhi Li'er's crystal heart. In extreme disbelief and despair, Zhi Li'er looked at the maid's face so close to her, suddenly realizing this appearance...

"You, you are..." Zhi Li'er widened her eyes.

The maid tore off the black and white hair ornament on her head, her brown-black long hair cascading down, and then tore away the cotton pad on her chest, revealing a flat chest. She... no, he sneered, twisting the knife in his hand:

"The Crystal Clan Leader doesn't remember me? Just now you insulted me as a low-class race. To complete the task of assassinating you, I've endured humiliation for so long. Although I like the maid outfit, I don't want to cater to your inferior tastes."

The light in Zhi Li'er's eyes froze finally as shock and unwillingness.

...Who would have thought that the dignified leader of the Crystal Clan would be assassinated by a Mechanical Race member and die.

Yamada Machiichi withdrew the knife, his lightly made-up face indifferent, and drops of glowing blue liquid trickled down the blade. A trace of uncontrollable desire flashed across his eyes, almost wanting to lick the bloodstains, but he quickly suppressed this craving.

With his right hand, he pulled at the black-and-white bow behind him, and the layers of the long skirt fell to the ground, instantly reverting to the male form of long clothes and trousers. Such a one-second costume change had always come easily to him. In any instance, he excelled at disguising himself to approach targets, whether for assassination or to cling to power.

After one and a half days of lurking on Cloud Mist Island, he completed his advancement task—assassinating the Crystal Clan Leader Zhi Li'er. Now, he was supposed to find his team.

"Lighthouse Jellyfish... just by hearing, you know who it is. There should be many people looking for him now." Yamada Machiichi twirled the dagger.

He glanced at the story he'd written over 1789 words on: "Can the Mechanical Maid Dream of the Jellyfish".

He had already planned to write an adventure story using the classic hot-blooded fantasy comic style:

A bullied schoolboy considers jumping into the river to kill himself but is hit by a truck while saving a kitten. When he wakes up, he has reincarnated into the Otherworld! However, unfortunately, he's just an ordinary Mechanical Race member, living in the sewers of the surface, enduring the impoverished life of being looked down upon. Then, a naive High Breed Crystal girl meets him and expresses her wish to help the downtrodden. The boy and the girl hit it off and decide to change this world where the strong devour the weak and rescue Luowasha! At this moment, the adventure journey of the mechanical boy and the noble girl to save the world is grandly serialized!

"But, I killed her mother... is this a poisonous point in the story?" Yamada Machiichi scratched his head in distress. Although Zhi Li'er was a wicked high-ranking individual, she was after all Zhi Fei's mother. He didn't know how he would face her...

If she forgives him, it would be like that braindead supporting female character in harem stories, whose family was murdered but still helps the male lead count money, losing her self in the name of love for the male lead. If she doesn't forgive, it leads to a series of stomach-churning developments.

"Sigh... writing a story is really hard." Yamada Machiichi stepped over a pool of blood, the gleam of the knife in his hand turning over and over.

...

Lv Shu stepped through the puddle.

After leaving Crescent Island of the Blood Clan, a few people approached him; they were friends of Lv Yuqing. Since they were all heading to the World Tree, Lv Shu went with them.

One was a blond green-eyed man, sunny and cheerful, named "Yongchun." Another was a white-haired red-eyed girl, lively and a bit neurotic, named "Eva."

Lv Shu originally wanted to chat with them, but upon entering the slums, these two mercilessly killed simply because the poor blocked the way... truly two madmen.

Gray-black clouds shrouded the sky, and in the slums, there was no blue sky, no green grass. In some shabby alleys, white skeletal remains could be seen, not knowing which poor souls began devouring each other in their starvation.

"Please, have mercy, give some..."

As they passed under the bridge, a poor person crawled out from the shadows, clutching Eva's pant leg.

Eva was full of disgust, about to snap the poor person's finger bones when Lv Shu stopped her.

"Eat." Lv Shu squatted down and handed a piece of bread to the poor person. Watching the poor person devour it voraciously, a hint of loneliness and memory flashed through his eyes.

"Lv Yuqing, you weren't this kind before." Eva raised an eyebrow.

"Now, I want to be a good person." Lv Shu stood up. No matter what kind of person Lv Yuqing was before, now he was here.

"...But your kindness might not be repaid with kindness." Eva hinted.

Lv Shu was slightly taken aback, suddenly noticing hundreds of pairs of eyes emerging from the shadows, staring intently at him. The poor swarmed forward, surrounding him.

"Kind outsider, you gave him a piece, give me a piece of bread too!" An elderly woman with a hand full of holes extended her palm, her cloudy eyes full of hope.

"Kind person, give me a piece too... I've been hungrier for two more days than him!" A middle-aged man, reeking of trash, approached Lv Shu.

"You should give it to me, I am a child, my life is more valuable than yours... Move, you old geezer!" A child, looking about ten years old, shoved those around him, ruthlessly kicking others' leg bones.

Lv Shu stood dazed in place, like a piece of meat falling into a lake of piranhas, with a swarm of hands reaching for him.

He suddenly understood why on the way here, Yongchun and Eva had made their moves without hesitation.

Such barren and desperate living was enough to push any normal person into becoming greedy madmen.

...

——

⑦ Cloud Mist Island: An island floating above the surface, flying with the support of the mist provided by lower races. Due to its safety and concealment, some high-level races hold banquets here.

⑧ All Living Beings United: A large assembly certified by the leaders of seven high-level races, with certain commercial objectives.

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