"You really... I almost fell for it."

Victoria looked at Lin Ye with some wariness. Just moments ago, she had truly believed Lin Ye could casually deal with the other party.

"It was actually quite troublesome just now. That man used his own body and spirit as the foundation of the ritual. At most, I could only influence the ritual's effects; directly resolving him was very difficult. If we got dragged down here by him and waited until that sphere got close, we'd be in a very uncomfortable position."

So, Lin Ye had secretly carved a large number of Berserk runes in the distance and projected them near the man through the spiritual network, exerting a certain influence on the man's mind.

That's right. This area wasn't too far from that Bloody Wasteland; it was still within the range of the parasitic network.

Moreover, the Sacrificial Night formal gown also seemed to have played a certain role, which was why the man believed Lin Ye's nonsense.

"Let's go. As long as we keep moving forward in this direction, that Silvery Sphere won't be able to catch up to us."

Using a spatial item to store the man's corpse, Lin Ye pointed to one side of the coastline and spoke.

"Won't catch up? That sphere's speed should match its target, right? If it's continuously guided by extremely fast-moving targets, it should be able to catch up quickly, shouldn't it?"

Victoria didn't think they could easily shake off that sphere. She felt they should find a way to deal with it before it got close.

"You're right. But what if there are no targets? As long as everything near the sphere that can become a target is cleared away, that sphere will become a mere decoration."

Although there were no parasitic creatures within the sphere's area of effect, outside that range, the parasitic network had already covered that region.

The parasitic network would clear away anything approaching the sphere to ensure it couldn't move quickly.

"What if the sphere's Master goes to guide its movement?"

Victoria understood Lin Ye's thinking. She couldn't help but admire the speed of his response.

"Heh, he'd better dare to come. He still owes me a Teleportation Card and a sports car."

Lin Ye hadn't yet found the location of the sphere's Master. The other party was using the sphere to kill people, so they definitely had means to hide their true body's location. But if the other party actively made contact with the sphere, then they were dead for sure.

"Alright, it seems you've planned everything out. Then I can just focus on being a fighter."

Victoria actually didn't like thinking about these scheming, intricate matters. She preferred more straightforward things.

"That's truly reassuring."

Having lost the sports car, Lin Ye and the other two could only walk along the beach. Their movement speed wasn't particularly fast, as enemies were everywhere here. Carelessly stumbling into traps set by enemies would be troublesome.

"What's that in the sky?"

Half an hour later, Xiao Mei, walking at the front, suddenly spoke.

"... Are you referring to the definition of the sky and the universe? Actually, I used to occasionally wonder about that too, especially at your age."

Lin Ye nodded, acknowledging the question she raised.

"I think it's a trap named freedom. The more one yearns for the unknown, the easier it is to become deeply entangled in it."

Victoria looked at the sky somewhat melancholically, as if gazing at a monster named the unknown.

"Um, I meant that huge blue strange fish in the sky. It seems to be smiling towards us. Can't you guys see it?"

Xiao Mei said, somewhat awkwardly.

"... That would be troublesome. I don't see the cheerful creature you mentioned."

Lin Ye's expression turned serious.

There were many things that could affect Xiao Mei. But things that could affect Xiao Mei within the parasitic network and still escape Lin Ye's detection altogether were not so common.

"I can't sense anything either. Are you sure there's something there?"

A wisp of spiritual fluctuation spread outwards. Victoria also looked seriously at Lin Ye. She wasn't sure if Xiao Mei was credible.

If Xiao Mei was credible, that was even more troublesome.

"I'm sure... and it's getting closer and closer."

Xiao Mei forcefully suppressed the urge to run. She didn't know if Lin Ye could help her, but running definitely wasn't a good choice.

A hand-puppet-sized Lin Ye suddenly burrowed out from underground. He climbed onto Xiao Mei's shoulder and then looked up at the sky.

"It really is possible... But why can't I see it... What's the principle behind this?"

Lin Ye muttered to himself while looking at the sky.

"You can see it too?"

Victoria glanced at the miniature Lin Ye perched on Xiao Mei's shoulder and asked.

"Mhm. This strange creature seems to be easier to see the lower one's spiritual level is. Furthermore, the image seen differs depending on one's spiritual level. If an ordinary person saw this creature, they'd probably be scared to death on the spot... Could this be some kind of biological weapon targeting ordinary people? But what would be the purpose of creating something like this?"

Lin Ye found it hard to understand the purpose of such a creature's existence. Because if the goal was to eliminate ordinary people, there was no need to create such an inefficient biological weapon. There were plenty of highly efficient methods available.

"Probably to distinguish status and rank. Mortals must not raise their heads to gaze directly at the sky, otherwise they must pay with their lives."

Victoria, however, quickly thought of a possible use for such a creature. In the era she was born, her homeland was a time when nobles ruled the world. Humans were divided into different ranks based on bloodline. Lower-class humans were only fit to stay underground mining, never having a single chance to look up at the sky in their entire lives.

"Oh, so there are things like this."

Prompted by Victoria, Lin Ye also understood the creature's purpose. Hierarchical systems exist everywhere because, without them, humans cannot define the meaning of their own existence.

He had only been considering the efficiency of killing before, not thinking in this direction.

"So what does this strange fish want to do? It's almost coming down!"

Xiao Mei couldn't help but take a small step back.

"The weak on the battlefield have probably all died by now. You're likely the weakest existence here at the moment, so it's targeting you. As long as you lower your head, it should be fine."

Victoria pressed down on Xiao Mei's head. But from Xiao Mei's perspective, the shadow in the sky not only didn't leave, but instead drew closer.

"This probably isn't the handiwork of some tenth-order spiritual energy user, because it would be utterly meaningless if simply lowering your head makes it leave."

The miniature Lin Ye was still sitting on Xiao Mei's shoulder. He looked up at the approaching strange fish, showing no intention of lowering his head at all.

"What are you doing? I thought you wouldn't do such meaningless things."

Victoria withdrew her right hand that was pressing Xiao Mei's head down.

"I'm just very interested in this strange fish. It's the first time I've encountered a fish that smiles."

Lin Ye could sense the spiritual imprint emitted by the strange fish. That spiritual imprint made contact with him through the miniature Lin Ye.

Bang!

The strange fish instantly exploded into fragments, like a popped balloon, offering no resistance whatsoever.