Ethan held his forehead with his right hand, but despite racking his brain through meditation, he couldn't recall the blank memory before his "journey."

For instance, why was he in the refugee convoy heading to Ximu Town?

And, why did the Goddess recognize him?

Ethan considered himself not to be some big shot in the past, someone who would find it hard to associate with such figures. The only explanation was that Lindong also came from the same place as him, and unlike Song Xian and other pioneers, Lindong's powers seemed more like that of a GM in more common terms.

That was closer to people's description of "omnipotence." She could grant anyone power, turning them from an unknown nobody into a tyrant ruling multiple dimensions. She could also retract these blessings at any time, causing those people to fall from heaven into hell.

Then, the Elemental Shaper, Ice Arrow, and Fireball Skill...

"Don't underestimate yourself."

A stern voice interrupted Ethan's thoughts. In the Golden Pool, a more dazzling figure appeared out of nowhere. The fire element, usually a man of few words, had rarely appeared in front of him actively, and seemed to carry a subtle sense of "hating iron for not becoming steel."

"Your power does not come from Her."

The majestic voice said, almost speaking the famous line "don't be girly," "but compared to Her, you are not yet whole."

"Not whole?"

"If you're not whole, then make yourself whole. Take back the things you lost with your own hands."

Leaving these words, the fire element upheld his elusive style, turning into scattered light points and vanished without a trace.

"He means to say that you have much room for improvement."

The ice element patted his shoulder. Looking at the familiar face, Ethan felt his nerves were about to go haywire. Now there were already three Lindongs, all looking identical, just with slightly different personalities.

Teacher Lindong's personality was the most cheerful, like a cat that loved to hiss and play pranks, and was also the most clingy.

The ice element seemed to have an antisocial personality, deeply inheriting Old Ba's style.

Future Lindong was the most mysterious, typical of a riddle person style.

Ethan couldn't help but wonder, as he learned more about this world, whether more Lindongs would appear in the future? If another Lindong came, they could gather a full table to play mahjong.

"Although She is very strong, if seen from another perspective, She has no room for growth anymore."

Unlike the fire element, the ice element rarely showed the side of a caring older sister, comforting his "junior who didn't perform well in the monthly exam."

Ethan admitted that when he didn't do well in high school exams before, he indeed fantasized about having such a gentle senior sister.

But that was just a fantasy during every hot-blooded boyhood.

"Don't you already know the direction of the investigation?"

The senior sister winked at him, "that 'graduate' who spoke with Song Xian. But speaking of which, if Song Xian was a tomb raider caught in the act, would the person who came here with him really just be an ordinary graduate?"

...............

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The vast room had been silent for a long time.

After the golden light on the shrine extinguished, no one spoke a word anymore.

Everyone knew what this meant.

The people in the room wore different expressions. Some were serious, while others were indifferent, like the red-haired girl with twin ponytails sitting in the last seat, focused intently on applying nail polish. Each of her nails gleamed translucently, and after finishing the last step, she contentedly flipped her hand in front of her.

"You have something you need to explain to us, Scarlet?"

Finally, someone broke the silence.

"Huh?"

The red-haired girl with twin ponytails raised her head, full of innocence, "What's the matter, did I do something wrong again?"

This innocent demeanor made many people's brows knit tighter.

"They all have one thing in common, which is meeting you before setting off."

Their outcomes were also strikingly similar.

Not long after that, Merlin defected from the guild and stole a Divine Artifact crucial to the guild, the same as the King of Gold. After meeting the seemingly harmless girl before their eyes, he embarked on a journey without hesitation.

But in reality, this didn't fit Song Xian's character.

He was a coward, or in more high-emotional terms, a cautious person. He didn't like battles on equal footing. If he had to fight, he would only wish for one-sided slaughter. Yet this time, in the face of unclear intelligence, he ventured to that realm alone.

The result seemed not unexpected, indeed Song Xian died, and the shrine belonging to the King of Gold extinguished forever.

In fact, some among them had vaguely sensed it already.

"Huh? Are you saying I caused their deaths?"

The girl seemed startled by the sudden accusation, "How could it be? I clearly only saw him off as a friend before he left, but you guys, obviously looked down on him before, and now acting like you were good friends with him."

Saying this, the girl counterattacked, "Are you really his friends?"

...

The conversation hit an impasse.

Regardless of whether this girl was feigning innocence or really knew nothing, before she made any definite acts against the guild's interests, they had no way to take coercive measures.

"I want to know what you talked about?"

"Food, clothes, and a dragon egg I recently found."

The red-haired girl paused, absentmindedly looking at the part brushed with nail polish, "Just small talk between friends."

"Whoever killed him, we must eliminate the threat in its cradle."

Someone else said.

"That's unnecessary."

The red-haired girl said without lifting her head, "Even if we do nothing, he will come to find us."

"You know?"

"I'm guessing."

...............

"** what happened after all?"

Cynthia's voice startled Vivian beside her.

What did she just hear?

The Hunting Goddess actually cursed!

The lofty Goddess now seemed very excited, breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling. In fact, Vivian felt the same, an odd sensation hard to describe in words.

Although only a second or two had passed, Vivian felt as if a long lapse of consciousness occurred, and the first thing upon coming to was to catch her breath. She had held it in for long, leading to an accelerated heartbeat.

"Where's the cat?"

Cynthia asked again.

It seemed she just saw a cat, a lovely white kitten, with a soft voice.

"Went home."

Ethan said.

"Went home?"

"But the cat said she prepared a gift for you."

The nonsensical conversation left Cynthia even more puzzled. But she easily noticed the "gift" left by the cat because it was just too conspicuous—a ball of twisted space, vaguely revealing a scene on the other side, looking somewhat familiar but hard to discern due to distortion.

"How to open this gift?"

"Walk into it."

...

Cynthia didn't immediately respond, her heartbeat accelerating, seemingly guessing at the content of the gift.

"Go ahead."

Ethan urged her.

Cynthia took a deep breath, stepping forward.

Her steps felt incredibly heavy, each lift consuming tremendous energy.

This short distance of a few meters took an indeterminate time, but in this already tumultuous time where everything was turned upside down, that was the least important.

She finally walked into the twisted space.

A gentle breeze blew by, accompanied by the scent of grass and soil, with the light murmur of flowing water intertwining with the sound of the wind.

What kind of gift is this?

Cynthia bit her lip.

There was no great treasure, just a pond.

Beside the pond sat an old man fishing on a stone.