Chapter 373: The Only Hope Among Endless Possibilities

The next day.

Hongguang International Airport.

Xie Qingxuan’s cold and beautiful face was bare of makeup. Her pale skin enhanced her ethereal and distant aura. She stood in the vast underground shopping mall near the entrance to the bus and subway, beside a fast-food chain.

Even though her mask covered her face, her beautiful platinum-colored hair and stylish outfit still drew frequent gazes and attracted the attention of nearby cameras.

The girl felt slightly uncomfortable and shifted back on her toes. Her emerald-green eyes hid behind sunglasses, and on her soft, delicate hair, she wore a cute beret. She was dressed in a simple white shirt and a neatly tailored Scottish plaid skirt.

Tang Liuli was not very used to being alone with her and, troubled by the many stares, she already sensed that someone might recognize Xie Qingxuan. She tugged at her sleeve, signaling to find a shop to sit down for a while.

Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment and agreed without much hesitation.

The three of them had a scheduled arrival time and, under the arrangement of Dream Weaver Rabbit, they boarded their flight. Kirimi Miyuki would be slower and would arrive at the airport about ten minutes later.

If they were recognized before then, given their popularity in Sea City, they would have no chance to quietly wait until Little Sakura arrived.

Xie Qingxuan entered a drink shop with few customers. After ordering a glass of lemonade, she looked at the green-eyed cat in front of her, who was apparently lost in thought staring into space, and asked,

“How has your time back home been?”

Tang Liuli snapped back to reality, showing a confused expression as she replied,

“The funeral was taken care of, but in a few months, I will probably have to go back again.”

“But yesterday… I still missed the past a little.”

Before she finished speaking, an inexplicable premonition made her change the subject. She did not mention the strange incident on the beach where she saw a beam of light and fainted for nearly half an hour.

Xie Qingxuan fell silent for a moment. Even if time reversed and the world reset, Liuli still had not gained a happily complete family. Compared to that, her own week living with her parents—awkward and strange as it was—could perhaps be called good fortune.

Though she wanted to comfort Liuli, her tongue was clumsy, and she could find no kind words to say.

After considering for a moment, Xie Qingxuan simply said lightly,

“I will hunt more disaster beasts to help with revenge.”

Tang Liuli knew the other person had misunderstood. Feeling somewhat relieved, she nodded in agreement. She picked up the lemonade the waiter had just brought, inserted the straw, took a sip, lowered her eyelids, and said,

“Little Xuan, we don’t have much time left.”

“This small amount of power is still far from enough.”

Although much information about the Disaster was covered in dust under the Corrective Force, as the Reincarnator who had nearly desecrated time in the first playthrough, her soul held an enormous amount of knowledge about the Disaster group.

Xie Qingxuan remained silent, understanding Liuli’s meaning.

The Thirteen Sects were merely pawns who received only scraps of authority from the Calamity God.

For example, in the Countermeasures Bureau’s classification, bishops appearing in the Ideal State could only be categorized as Grade B disaster beasts. Only those who, before death, could burn their souls to manifest the Calamity God’s authority could reach Grade A, at a level capable of destroying nations.

Yet the Supreme Disaster Beast was a continental-scale threat, classified as S-class.

Beyond that were the sequence apostles, embodiments of certain aspects of the Calamity God, possessing initial power to destroy planets, capabilities even beyond human imagination in New Game Plus.

This was also the highest combat strength the Calamity God could display in its embryonic form, rooted in the Forbidden Zone and absorbing the world’s essence during the first playthrough.

Only at the end did it achieve its complete form as the Calamity God.

But looking at the Countermeasures Bureau’s side, there were no more than twenty captains, all at most Grade B. The former Chief of Staff, the Original Witch—Esther—was the most talented among the later generation, having possessed Grade A combat power during her lifetime.

The current Chief of Staff was the former Savior, the creator of [Pure White], and the hero who ended the Disaster group. At the peak of her power, he reversed time, took in the powers of thirteen [Calamity Gods] and the blessings of all humanity, then centered on the Martial God Technique, enabling him to burn through entire galaxies and swiftly defeat the Disaster group.

But…

“Little Qing is about to die.”

Tang Liuli softly spoke the harsh truth.

By Xie Qingxuan’s side, the pink paper crane representing Little Sakura no longer bounced around; it showed visible grief, wilting as it leaned against the cup of lemonade, completely still.

No one was a fool.

The three had not noticed before because their memories weren’t awakened, so the identity of a magical girl could easily mislead them. But as they fully transformed into true idealist lifeforms, their memories gradually unlocked, and the information gap narrowed, many questions were laid bare.

One, why did [Pure White] exist?

Because she had physical issues, otherwise with this Savior’s personality, she would have long ago burned the Disaster group to ashes and wouldn’t have left any Church of the Gods roaming about.

Two, why did Chu Yuanying become a magical girl?

Because most of his power was probably inside [Pure White], tasked with suppressing the Disaster group; to take action, he had to rely on the newly born power of the magical girl in the New Game Plus.

Three, why couldn’t they tell them certain things?

Because this fool was afraid they would be saddened, so she thought it better not to say anything.

All of these truths were slowly realized, guessed, and processed by the three over six months in the Ideal State, and even now they had not confronted Chu Yuanqing directly—purely out of care for his feelings, unwilling to let this fool overthink.

During the few days each returned home, they repeatedly discussed these matters.

Tang Liuli said softly:

“The only way to save her is to kill them all before the Calamity Gods hatch.”

“That way, at least we can liberate [Pure White], allowing Little Qing to reclaim her own power and have the breathing room to heal her wounds.”

Xie Qingxuan nodded silently; Liuli’s words hit the core of the problem.

No matter the reason for Chu Yuanqing’s injuries, sharing the burden and helping her regain her powers was certainly the correct approach.

But… it was too difficult.

In the first playthrough, she, Kirimi Miyuki, Tang Liuli, and Charlotte may have slain apostles and Supreme Disaster Beasts, but none had been able to defeat a [Calamity God] alone.

And now, although the mechanism of magical power compensation blessings and the magical girls’ own strength raised the caps for her and Miyuki, there was simply no time to grow strong enough to challenge a [Calamity God].

Even if they were all currently unhatched embryos.

“We need time.”

“We need the Slit World, just like before, to steal moments from time.”

Tang Liuli felt somewhat melancholic.

For one who could turn back time, time’s value only became more precious.

Her version of herself in the first playthrough had explored countless Slit Worlds to investigate the Disaster group; she was like a player who had collected every record, striving to pave a smoother path for those who came after.

It could be said that every step taken by the Savior team in the first playthrough, from the precise timing of killing a Supreme Disaster Beast to which Slit World to enter, was arranged with extreme meticulousness.

Tang Liuli still remembered her first encounter with Chu Yuanying.

As a child, she had been separated from her family during a Disaster and awakened to the Blood of Sighs. Too weak at first, she had to repeatedly turn back time just to claw a slim chance of survival.

During this process, she was eaten by a disaster beast, betrayed by humans, sold out for revealing her abilities to her parents, and even became a sacrifice for a cult, as well as a tool for an ambitious person, yet she managed to turn back time and escape each time.

In the end, after struggling to survive, she met a tragic end as the planet perished; in her last moment of life, she heard the sigh of satisfaction from the Disaster group, and in extreme survival and avoidance of desires, she awakened a second time to the Wall of Sighs, a concept that could defend against everything.

At this point, she desperately tried to overcome her fear and weakness, wanting to save the world from endless suffering of death, to live in the beautiful sunlight.

But for a runaway, this was very hard to do. Compared to being a brave warrior who wielded a sword to forge a future, she would rather place her hopes in the heroes among humanity.

—Even though she had long been deeply disappointed in humanity.

After that, she began to embrace the blessing of the “prophecy” and reached out to the well-known heroes in her memory, who were good people and had strong blessing abilities. Through the power of regression, she aimed to be a strategist guiding the future.

But what came her way was endless failure.

Tang Liuli had a flawed character; death did not make her stronger, but brought her mental weakness, sensitivity, fear, and slow action. By the time she personally set her plan in motion, she had already wasted two cycles.

As for taking formal action, there were many obstacles. She had finally learned how to deceive people and act, but once she earned their trust, she discovered that changing someone else’s destined path could also end badly due to the butterfly effect.

In the age of great disasters, human life was not worth much. The cost of using the Wall of Sighs was random sacrifices of flesh, limbs, and organs. With bad luck, just using it once could cost a life, and it did not greatly increase survival ability.

So, after much wandering, she simply gave up entirely. The weak version of herself could not make good use of the power of the Blood of Sighs. Perhaps the heavens wanted humanity to go extinct, which was why this blessing was given to her.

After giving up, Tang Liuli began to rely on regression, measuring the earth with her steps, and aimlessly exploring the unknown world turned strange by the Disaster group.

Until…

In one of the cycles, she met the hero who held the Immortal, clearing the way and bravely fighting against the Calamity God with the strength of a mortal among endless possibilities.

—Chu Yuanying.

No one could understand how joyful and shocked this tired and desperate Reincarnator felt deep inside when she saw that young savior.

It turned out that the Calamity God was not invincible.

It turned out that there was truly someone who could create the miracle of defeating gods.

It turned out that this world, civilization, and humanity really still had hope.

From this point, fate began to turn, and this Reincarnator, who could travel through time and fix regrets, found a ray of light among endless possibilities and began to try to form a bond with him.

Tang Liuli looked back seven times and learned that Chu Yuanying belonged to the Final City, the City of the Sky located at the dome. She then looked back a full nineteen times to find a way to enter the Final City and connect with him.

After that, she gradually got to know Charlotte, Kirimi Miyuki, and Xie Qingxuan.

It is worth mentioning that these three seemed like precious characters with limited roles; if not interfered with, except for Charlotte, who was a childhood friend, the other two could easily stop knowing each other due to various reasons.

Chu Yuanying not knowing these two led to their deaths.

Kirimi Miyuki would serve as Saiō King, using blessings in the shrine for many years, but ultimately, she would lose all her vitality, and her soul would be offered to Tenno-Gochu.

Xie Qingxuan would exist in a quantum state of Schrödinger—either existing or not—quietly passing away in a city that followed Helldir.

The worst part was, if the first one died, Chu Yuanying, who had not yet understood the Martial God Technique, would take an extra year without Levatin to successfully defeat the Calamity God, causing everything to fall apart and leading to a complete failure.

If the latter died, after Chu Yuanqing defeated the Solar Calendar, the entire planet would explode. Even if her The Wall of Sighs protected half the city, she would only witness the Disaster group revive in the depths of space as the galaxy expanded, resulting in total devastation.

Even more hopeless was the fact that with each attempt, they got closer to success.

The Calamity God started to notice Chu Yuanying early on; there was even one time when it took advantage of the information gap to trap everyone, almost catching her in the timeline and destroying all hope.

It was from that moment on that Tang Liuli realized the Blood of Sighs was not invincible, and the Calamity God also had similar, even more powerful abilities.

The first few hundred cycles did not show any results because she did not influence the big picture, but after becoming involved in Chu Yuanying’s fate, the fate of all humanity and even the Disaster group began to waver, twist, and change, making them take notice.

This was why she told Charlotte to “kill me.”

Without using “Burial” to clear the timeline, humanity could not possibly have defeated the “Calamity God,” who also knew the future.

Tang Liuli could only gamble that she had arranged everything in advance, using all the information and clues from previous cycles, gathering this team of saviors crowned by the stars at the earliest time, and then calmly facing death at a certain point, entrusting hope to them.

In the end…

“Little Qing succeeded; she reached the end, saved the world, and rescued us, perfectly fulfilling our agreement.”

The girl’s emerald eyes sparkled as she picked up the paper crane, looked at Xie Qingxuan, and said very seriously:

“So, we must never go through the process of attacking the ‘Calamity God’ again, and we cannot allow Little Qing to sacrifice herself and die in such a frustrating way, or else, if we’re not careful, the situation may repeat the terrible past.”

Tang Liuli had lost most of her memories about the Disaster group, but her instincts, built up over many lifetimes, and the deep impression she felt inside, told her that the Calamity God was very cunning and dangerous, and not easy to suppress.

Chu Yuanqing was no longer the same, so weak that she seemed like a candle flickering in the wind.

With just one opportunity, the Disaster group, suppressed for 17 years, could launch a terrifying counterattack, and if they failed even once, the entire planet would evaporate in the cold universe.

“I can no longer grant blessings.”

“But I have a feeling that my instinct will guide me to find hope for a solution.”

“Before that, you and Miyuki must regain a power stronger than at your peak, strong enough to take the position of Chief of Staff from Little Qing!”

Xie Qingxuan agreed with Liuli’s idea of “scheming to take the throne,” saying:

“Indeed, having Little Qing as Chief of Staff will only make her push herself harder.”

The pink paper crane also jumped up and down in agreement.

Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment and said:

“The fastest way to become stronger is to awaken the consciousness of the stars. Their crown can make my existence more valuable than any boost in the Ideal State.”

Furthermore, it was important that the stars’ crown would be recorded in the Akasha records, so my existence would remain constant and not fade away due to being forgotten.

Tang Liuli agreed with this, considering the uniqueness of “The Power of the Titan.” After thinking for a while, she unlocked her phone, opened the Countermeasures Bureau app, and called over Dream Weaver Rabbit with a proposal:

“Even though I don’t know how to awaken the consciousness of the planet, if you reveal your identity as a magical girl, the public’s acceptance should significantly increase your existence value, right?”

Esther appeared like an ethereal ghost, lowering her gaze toward the two small idols. After processing the information, she fell into thought; revealing the magical girl identity was undoubtedly very dangerous.

However, considering that Chu Yuanqing’s identity was already public and that she was on the same team, it didn’t make much difference whether it was made public or not for the Disaster group, and it was something they could accept.

Besides, Xie Qingxuan was very strong.

When she first entered the Ideal State, she was able to kill the archbishop with her BUFF alone, being as strong as most team leader-level witches. After half a year of growth, she now possessed similar fighting power in reality.

Then, she nodded and said:

“I will try my best to keep your parents from running around and protect them well.”

This was the best protection that the Countermeasures Bureau could offer.

Now the situation was getting worse and the resources to deal with the disaster beast were limited, so they could only try to solve the worries of the magical girl.

After nodding, Xie Qingxuan thought for a moment, then logged into her account and posted a Weibo saying “I am a magical girl.” Unfortunately, just as she sent it out, Dream Weaver Rabbit quickly stopped her, saying it shouldn’t be so casual.

The pink paper crane also became anxious and jumped onto Honey Xuan’s head, clearly thinking this behavior lacked ceremony, to the point that a fan seeing it would first feel confused instead of shocked.

Tang Liuli did not complain; she was already used to the golden retriever dog’s odd behavior. When the other party became City Master, it was after killing an apostle and telling everyone in the city, “I am the king,” directly seizing power to make a statement.

For Little Xuan, the process was not important; what mattered was the result. It was similar to how she didn’t care if there were any rituals or dates before being romantic with Honey Qing; she simply wanted to be with Honey Qing.

“In any case, let’s announce it at the performance; editing it into the show will have a better effect.”

The green-eyed cat, together with Dream Weaver Rabbit, decided the outcome of this matter.

At the same time, Little Sakura also got off the plane, arrived at the store, and walked out of the airport with the two of them, reaching the entrance of the community where Chu Yuanying had lived for over ten years.