PGVCW 38

Playing God in Various Catastrophic Worlds
 
Chapter 38: Departure and the New World
 
 
Logically speaking, heading toward a new world always required extra caution. Yet Xia Wang'an didn't feel this was any different from coming to the Cangming world. After the grand disciple-recruiting ceremony concluded, all disciples began studying "introductory courses" under the guidance of robots. The surface-level explanation was that only after completely finishing the introductory courses and developing a trace of Qi sense within their bodies could they step onto the flying ships and head to Kunlun together. In reality, all the Blue Star people returned to Blue Star to prevent any situation where "the Savior encounters an emergency in the magical world and cannot return within three months".
 
Some technicians were unwilling to leave, but a single sentence from Xia Wang'an—"I'm not sure if the passage of time is consistent between the two worlds"—completely killed the debate. What if a single day in the new world turned out to be equivalent to a whole year in the Cangming world? Then their sacrifice would be far too heavy. Just before deciding that everyone would evacuate the Cangming world, a timing tool was erected within the Rescue Heaven Sect branch sect. Simultaneously, Blue Star began keeping time as well.
 
Cai Cai hugged Xia Wang'an: "Come back safe and sound." "Rest assured." Xia Wang'an was now somewhat accustomed to interacting with people; mimicking Cai Cai, she hugged her back: "I'll be right back." Cai Cai, abruptly squeezed, choked out: "Wang—Wang'an, lighter, I'm about to be crushed to death!" Xia Wang'an hurriedly released her grip, patting Cai Cai's head with a trace of worry: "Why are you so fragile?"
 
Cai Cai: "...... Is there any possibility that you're just too strong?" She previously hadn't felt much about her close friend being the Savior, mostly because they were simply too familiar with each other. But occasionally, in these everyday trivial matters, Cai Cai would suddenly realize: Wang'an is the Savior, and she is overwhelmingly powerful.
 
The Savior Xia Wang'an possessed a strong awareness of looking after her friends, immediately stuffing three thick notebooks filled to the brim with content into Cai Cai's hands.
 
"These are all my cultivation insights." "Inside are records of circulating spiritual power using solid, liquid, and gaseous methods respectively, as well as some notes on how cultivation achieves an energy balance with the physical body, and how Dharma spells manifest optical, electrical, and pneumatic phenomena through magical arrays......"
 
Xia Wang'an rambled on earnestly for a long time, then patted Cai Cai once more with a force guaranteed not to twist her head off: "As long as you cultivate diligently, you will definitely become formidable!" Of course, she would still be number one, hehe.
 
Cai Cai, holding the three heavy notebooks in her arms: "......" Ah, Wang'an was still her usual self. For a moment, she didn't know whether to feel happy or distressed, feeling as though she had returned to that complicated state of mind back in junior high when her grades dropped and Wang'an took her along to review.
 
Yuan Ning watched with considerable envy and glanced over several times: "May I borrow these to read?" Xia Wang'an nodded magnanimously: "Of course you can, Qiu Zhuang and Lin Ke can read them too." Qiu Zhuang, who had sensed the situation turning south and tried to slip away quietly yet failed: "......" What the heck!! How come practicing immortality still requires studying?!
 
Meanwhile, Lin Ke—who, seeing a crowd gather, had promptly squatted down in a corner—blankly lifted his head. He didn't actually grasp what three books this thick truly represented; he only obeyed Xia Wang'an instinctively, nodding honestly: "Okay, I'll read them carefully."

The Magical World and the Filth
Seeing that her companions were all so motivated, Xia Wang'an was very happy—a joy that lasted right until she arrived in the new world. Xia Wang'an had been to many worlds: those steeped in slaughter and chaos, teetering on the edge of destruction, or already ruined. For a world in the midst of a cataclysm, seeing rotting corpses or white bones everywhere was hardly a rare sight. She could accept anything. However, finding the ground covered entirely in feces was somewhat too avant-garde for a Savior currently wearing a gorgeous new outfit.
 
This attire had been rushed out overnight by the apparel department after learning the new world was a magical world. The notion that "clothes make the person" had been thoroughly verified in the Cangming world. Moreover, the apparel department had also discovered that the Savior adored wearing all kinds of pretty new outfits. This trait mirrored other humans her age; regardless of gender, the action squad personnel were deeply fond of those handsome, stylish, and slightly mysterious uniforms. Even the most trouble-averse ability users didn't mind spending a tiny bit of time putting on the attractive garments custom-fitted for them by the apparel department. A bunch of youngsters under twenty, bearing the future of all Blue Star upon their shoulders, were venturing into different worlds to fight for their lives—so what if they were a bit chuunibyou, cared deeply about aesthetics, and liked showing off a little! How could the apparel department possibly refuse to satisfy them!
 
For this expedition, Xia Wang'an's outfit adopted themes from peacetime magical film and television tropes: wide, flowing mage robes on the outside, paired with a neat, form-fitting combat-ready design underneath. They had even thoughtfully added dagger-holding leg straps to the thigh section, ensuring Xia Wang'an could draw a blade and let an enemy's blood within a single second. She wasn't carrying a sword this time; after all, her 2.8-meter-long great blade was still pinned in her hair as a hairpin. Though she lacked a standard waist sword, the apparel department—having researched numerous historical texts—crafted a magical staff for her instead. Its exterior looked unimaginably ornate, with a gemstone embedded at the tip. In reality, however, it could be unsheathed; once pulled apart, what lay inside was a long sword, embodying the core principle of catching opponents off guard. Although Xia Wang'an felt this staff could never be as unexpected as her hairpin-sword, she accepted it happily because it looked gorgeous and matched her new outfit perfectly.
 
Yet at this moment, the gorgeous Savior holding a magical staff was stuck in a tree, refusing to come down.
 
I will absolutely not step down into the poop. Xia Wang'an told 007: I'm dressed this pretty not to come step in crap.
 
007 didn't particularly mind the filth below. Honestly, corpses were far dirtier than waste matter, especially decaying bodies with that stench... though it lacked a nose, it could well imagine. It still remembered the scene of its host leading it through a mountain of corpses without changing her expression. For her to now balk at stepping down from a tree over such a tiny bit of filth—007 was overwhelmingly happy. It saw things clearly: precisely because someone stood beside her, the host could act so righteously picky about her environment and grow "delicate". Compared to that past life's host who walked expressionlessly through mountains of corpses, 007 felt far more pleased with this present host who grew unhappy over a floor full of dung.
 
Then, its "delicate" host continued speaking:
 
How about I just destroy this world? That way I won't have to step in poop.
 
007: ...... Very well, the host was still very much the same old host.
 
Spotting figures approaching with its sharp vision, it promptly warned: Host, there are people coming; this world hasn't reached the eve of destruction yet!! So please scratch the thought of destroying it!
 
Xia Wang'an also noticed several figures walking through the woods and let out an "ah": There really are people.
 
007: ...... It was clear from that tone, Host, that you genuinely regret not being able to obliterate this world.

An Encounter in the Woods
"My lord, there is someone in the tree!" "How could someone be in such a tall tree? Is it an elf?"
 
Several men clad completely in armor—to the point where their faces were obscured—strained their necks looking upward. Xia Wang'an looked down at them as well; due to the distance, those below couldn't clearly see her face, but the gemstone atop the staff in her hand flashed brilliantly under the sunlight, harshly dazzling their eyes.
 
"Oh my god!! My lord! Up in the tree is a noble lady!!" someone cried out in alarm. Immediately afterward, the men visibly panicked, running swiftly toward the base of the tree. "Milady, have you encountered danger?" "Are you stuck up in the tree and unable to come down? Don't worry, we will rescue you!"
 
Xia Wang'an watched with her own eyes as they trod right through the feces while running over, chattering away in unintelligible gibberish, nearly making her unable to hold back from unleashing a blade. No, she couldn't; she mustn't contaminate her blade.
 
Host, the language of this world is unreadable.
 
007 wasn't surprised by a language barrier. A miracle like the Cangming world—where mutual communication worked instantly—was a rarity; most worlds the host had visited in her past life featured completely different tongues. Early on, Xia Wang'an would occasionally bother to learn a world's language. Later on, growing increasingly impatient, she simply stopped bothering; after all, even if there was a language barrier, beating everyone flat would ensure those people listened to her regardless.
 
Sure enough, though she couldn't understand them, Xia Wang'an was already plotting:
 
I'll just go down and beat them up once.
 
007 quickly reminded her: Host, you have backing now; you don't need to beat them up, just leave it to headquarters to handle. It generally stood by its host's side most of the time, but the faith power extracted from terror kept its host perpetually trapped in pain and chaos; 007 didn't want to see that outcome. Whether it was swiftly deciphering this world's language or uploading it into the real-time translation device, both were child's play for the Xia State. Besides......
 
Host, look, they seem to want to help you.
 
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Xia Wang'an paused. Freshly arriving in a new world and immediately encountering people wanting to help her felt like a fairy tale to her. After all, these worlds were all in periods of cataclysm, and in a world undergoing destruction, people were hardly likely to be paragons of pure goodness. Encountering a lone young girl, the native inhabitants' first reaction in most worlds would be: "She looks easy to bully, I'm going to bully her." Otherwise, the Cangming world wouldn't have been such an exception.
 
The black-haired maiden hesitated: Really? Xia Wang'an was accustomed to wiping everything out upon arrival. Situations where she plunged straight into combat killing sprees right upon entering a new world happened frequently. But if someone harbored genuine goodwill toward her, she could reluctantly suppress her killing intent.
 
007 had been studying psychological analysis with headquarters psychology experts lately; although these individuals' faces were hidden, based on their actions and behavior, it held quite a bit of confidence. They likely want to help the Host down from the tree.
 
One of the men even opened his arms, babbling away in speech that seemed to invite Xia Wang'an to jump down safely, assuring her he would catch her. Xia Wang'an immediately grew pleased. Yet she still muttered stubbornly: I knew it, how could anyone possibly dislike me. She was starting to like this new world—well, she still deeply despised the poop everywhere... no, she still loathed it immensely.
 
"Why isn't this lady moving?" "She must be terrified; perhaps she ran into a grizzly bear and was forced to hide in the tree." The several guards below conversed in low tones. "Where are her servants?" "Probably eaten by the bear."
 
In an ordinary dense forest like this, encountering a noble lady hiding in a tree left them with no other explanation than an attack by a ferocious beast. As for the possibility that Xia Wang'an wasn't a noble lady, none of the men present entertained such a thought. Even from afar, they could clearly see the enormous magic stone embedded in the stick the young lady held, as well as the luxurious garments woven with golden threads. If she weren't a noble, how could she possibly dress like that? The bright colors of her attire also signaled that this young lady's household possessed the financial strength to purchase brilliant fabrics. Moreover, she must be an exceptionally powerful noble within her family—look at that magic stone, dazzling enough to blind a person, which even their master, Count Albert, had never possessed.
 
"My lord, the lady is probably frightened out of her wits." After failing to communicate several times, the guards could only turn for assistance to the count's son, Lord Carlo. As fellow members of the nobility, surely Lord Carlo could successfully pacify this esteemed young lady?
 
Carlo was likewise deeply concerned for the safety of the lady in the tree; from such a height, even a mid-level mage would suffer a painful fall. A noble lady possessing such a precious magic stone would spell unprovoked disaster if she suffered injuries within his father's territory. He raised his voice in a self-introduction, attempting to comfort the noble lady:
 
"Respected lady, I am Carlo Albert, second son of Count Albert. This is my father's territory; please do not worry, whatever difficulties you have encountered, the Albert family is willing to help you."
 
Xia Wang'an watched the person mounted on the horse babble unintelligibly once more. Once the fellow finished speaking, he similarly opened his arms in a posture indicating readiness to catch her. She looked back and forth between the horse and the filth on the ground, and ultimately chose to leap down lightly, landing squarely upon the horse's back.
 
——At any rate, stepping in poop was fundamentally out of the question!
 
Carlo was momentarily startled by the noble lady's graceful, feather-light landing on his horse's back, but his expression quickly grew even more respectful than before: "Your magic tier is formidable; to leap down from such a height with ease..." This noble lady must be immensely cherished by her family; otherwise, she wouldn't possess such powerful magical aptitude at so tender an age. Yet thinking about it logically, it made sense—if her status weren't lofty, how could she possess such a massive chunk of magic stone? It even looked as large as a quail's egg.
 
Xia Wang'an couldn't understand Carlo's words, but it didn't hinder her from shoving him: "Get down, there's another person up there."
 
Only then did Carlo realize that the language spoken by this noble lady was one he had never heard before, though he recovered his composure after a brief flash of surprise. After all, the Maca Continent was simply too vast; it housed over a thousand countries alone, not to mention countless independent noble territories where language barriers occurred frequently. Though her words were incomprehensible, the gesture of shoving him away was quite easy to interpret. Especially since this lady possessed rather substantial physical strength—despite appearing to push him gently, Carlo had nearly been shoved off bodily.
 
He hurriedly dismounted of his own accord: "Pardon me, I was hasty for a moment and forgot to dismount. I hope I haven't offended you?" Although he couldn't fathom why someone facing a language barrier would arrive in the Albert territory and end up trapped in a tree, her lavish attire, exquisite and lovely visage, and snow-white skin—which clearly showed she had never engaged in manual labor—reaffirmed her aristocratic identity. Mind you, even his own eldest sister, the esteemed daughter of a count, lacked such spotless, tender skin as this young lady. And such an esteemed lady was indeed unsuited to share a single horse with a strange man.
 
Xia Wang'an had no idea what Carlo was thinking. Had she known, she probably would have remarked, "Keep you from seeing the sun forever and you'd look pale too." Unbothered by whatever he was muttering about, Xia Wang'an simply looked up to summon the robot down.
 
"1"
 
"2"
 
"3, get down."
 
123 was the mechanical bodyguard custom-built for her by various robotics experts whom Blue Star had expended immense effort to gather.
Though not a living human, Xia Wang'an remained fiercely protective of her own.

She chased Carlo off the horse specifically so she could let—