Little Bowl pondered for a moment and said, "…If the obstacles to resurrecting Ms. Ai Ye are really as Mr. Xugou previously described, then the matter of resurrection will become far more difficult than we initially calculated."

Upon hearing this, Xugou's face was filled with great disappointment.

No matter how many people can be revived using the Power of Great Impermanence, the one he truly cares about is not within that scope. The more he desires something, the more unattainable it becomes. This unbearably cruel rule seems once again to have appeared before my eyes.

"Now I possess the power I once didn't even dare to imagine, capable of splitting mountains, parting seas, and even cutting and altering history at will… yet I can't even save the one I love. What use do I have for this power?" Xugou said as if cursing himself.

It seems that Little Bowl didn't just realize the potential difficulties in resurrecting the female researcher Ai Ye at this moment. Even I noticed some doubts at the time, so it's impossible for Little Bowl to have missed it. It was just that he needed to persuade Xugou earlier, and perhaps wanted to extract more intelligence from him, intentionally using some simple rhetoric.

However, it seems that the situation was not entirely hopeless. I heard some room for maneuver in Little Bowl's earlier tone and raised the question: "You say 'difficult'… does that mean it's not entirely impossible?"

Xugou seemed to snap back to reality, a hopeful light appearing in his eyes.

Little Bowl nodded first, then said: "This is analyzed from the attitude of the Master of Divine Seal. If resurrecting Ms. Ai Ye were utterly impossible, then the Master of Divine Seal would have told Mr. Xugou so from the beginning. But the reality is that he has always been awaiting Mr. Xugou to present the Divine Seal Fragment and exchange it for the answer. This implies that a method must exist.

"And regarding this method, although I can't fully calculate the detailed content, I can speculate on the general direction."

Xugou immediately became excited, but after a slight change in expression, he paused again, afraid that his hopes might be dashed, and asked half-convinced: "You… can infer the thoughts of the Master of Divine Seal?"

As it happens, Xugou seemed to have never witnessed Little Bowl's abilities.

With his expected perceptiveness, he surely would have noticed the extraordinary nature in Little Bowl and might even have seen the blessing of Little Bowl upon me. Combined with the other party's earlier attitude and identity as a Void Envoy, he could not truly regard her as an ordinary young girl. However, that was limited to recognition of her power; he did not know the extent of Little Bowl's exceptional wisdom.

Thinking that he would soon witness the prowess of Little Bowl, I felt a preemptive sense of pride.

Little Bowl turned her head to glance at me with a slight smile, then turned back to look at Xugou, solemnly saying, "Mr. Xugou, your situation is somewhat similar to mine."

"You?" Xugou was slightly stunned.

"To make a long story short, I'll get straight to the point. The reason Ms. Ai Ye cannot be resurrected is because your rebirth was established upon her sacrifice. In other words, your life occupies her existence. Unless this condition is undone, resurrection is out of the question." Little Bowl said.

Upon receiving this answer, Xugou's spirit lifted and said, "You mean… to resurrect Ai Ye, all I have to do is die?"

"That statement is inaccurate. Even if you commit suicide, the fact that your life is based on Ms. Ai Ye's sacrifice will not change. It's like making a table from a wooden stake; even if you destroy the table afterwards, the original stake won't return," Little Bowl said. "The key is to retract this fact, which requires the use of ritualistic means… Simply put, you must be used as a living sacrifice, to exchange for Ms. Ai Ye's life."

"But wouldn't the result be the same?" I asked.

No matter which path is chosen, it seems that Xugou must die. Between him and the female researcher Ai Ye, only one can live. Even if he can revive his deceased beloved, he is destined never to meet her.

"—So that's all it takes!" Yet Xugou burst out with ecstatic emotion, "I am willing, I am willing to give up my life! I am already a person with little time left, just a rotten life that could only be prolonged through Ai Ye's sacrifice. She is the one who truly deserves to live… So, how should I perform this ritual? Can you tell me?"

Little Bowl seemed surprised by Xugou's sudden excitement and hurriedly said, "Please don't be so agitated… First, I must tell you that you probably cannot obtain such a ritual through any means other than the Master of Divine Seal.

"The Great Impermanence is revered as a God, an object of worship. A ritual using the Great Impermanence as a living sacrifice is unprecedented. You might think that you are not a true Great Impermanence, so you might be an exception, but the key issue lies in the magnitude of mana and existence. In this respect, you are not inferior to other Great Impermanences. At least to my knowledge, there is no ritual capable of bearing such a heavy burden, unless it's designed by the Master of Divine Seal himself, with his virtually omniscient abilities."

Xugou also calmed down, "I see… but wait…"

Saying this, he seemed to realize something belatedly, his voice tinged with suspicion, "Aren't you trying to recruit me as a fighting force? Why are you now telling me this information? Although I would do anything to resurrect Ai Ye, in your eyes, she should just be a researcher burdened with the darkness of the Human Bureau…

"If I go to the Master of Divine Seal myself to exchange for the necessary ritual to resurrect Ai Ye, and then offer my own and Ai Ye's lives in exchange... Isn't this an extremely disadvantageous deal for you?"

I'm curious about this too. Although I don't really want to make Little Bowl sound too calculating, when it comes to outsiders with enormous value, Little Bowl is unlikely to let them go down a path of self-destruction. She should have planned for Xu Gou to obediently follow her suggested direction, or at least she might have anticipated that things wouldn't develop in a negative direction.

"I'll need to wait a bit before explaining this question to you," Little Bowl said seriously. "For now, I will help you meet Ms. Ai Ye again. Mr. Xugou, are you ready?"

Xu Gou's attention was immediately diverted, and he adopted a serious expression, though his voice carried a slight trembling as he said, "I'm ready... uh, no, wait a moment, can I restore my damages first? I don't want to meet Ai Ye in this state..."

He looked at me with a pleading gaze, and I agreed, "Okay."

So he quickly repaired his tattered black power armor, the silver-white mana light flickered on his body, dissolving the blood on the armor's surface and the floor completely.

"Little Bowl, are you okay with this? Given how special Ai Ye is, the difficulty of spirit communication shouldn't be the same as with an ordinary person, right?" I asked.

"It's not a problem. Originally, it might have posed some challenges, but as a spirit communication medium, Mr. Xugou is strong enough, and special enough... so it's not an issue," Little Bowl said. "Then, I'll begin."

With that, she gently tapped Xu Gou's massive power armor.

A white light appeared at her fingertip. Then she reached out with the same finger towards the floor nearby, the white dot detached from her finger, landed on the floor, and rapidly expanded and split, transforming into soft white beams of light.

All the white beams converged inward, as if an invisible weaver had used light as thread to knit a human-shaped outline in the air.

Xu Gou seemed to hold his breath. I could hear the powerful thumping of his heart within his chest. His heartbeat grew faster and heavier.

A moment later, a graceful woman in a white lab coat, wearing a simple sweater and trousers underneath, with her hair tied in a ponytail, appeared before us.

Her appearance looked quite young, not much older than me, perhaps two years older at most, making her my senior. She seemed like a female student one might encounter strolling on a university campus, rather than one of the evil scientists who once served the Human Bureau.

She slowly opened her eyes, and we entered her field of vision.

Xu Gou, like the Weichi of old, made a dumbfounded sound, then called out as if in fear, "Ai Ye...Ai Ye?"

"...Hmm?" Ai Ye seemed not yet to understand.

She looked at Xu Gou, who called out to her, and then at us, saying with a face full of confusion, "This is... what's happening? And this power armor... Xu Gou, is that you?"

"It's me, Ai Ye... it's me!" Xu Gou seemed on the verge of tears.

Unlike the Great Unpredictable Qilin, Ai Ye appeared not to grasp her situation immediately. She repeatedly looked at her hands and said, "Wasn't I already dead..."

"We summoned you, Ms. Ai Ye," Little Bowl said.

Then she introduced herself and me to Ai Ye, explaining the situation in detail. Gradually, Ai Ye came to terms with this reality; and during this explanation, Xu Gou seemed to regain some composure.

"I didn't expect you to become the Great Impermanence... and so many earth-shattering things happened afterward?" Ai Ye looked at Xu Gou with surprise.

But before he could respond, she suddenly showed an ecstatic expression, clenched her fists, and shouted, "And— the Human Bureau was destroyed? That pervert-y and cruel widow Ying Lingyun is dead? Ha, that's hilarious! Good riddance, excellent!"

When thinking of researchers, I mostly imagine a rational, cold image, but this one is unexpectedly lively. If not for the white lab coat, she would be the very picture of a spontaneous young girl who loves a good spectacle.