Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Fourth Stop: Death Apocalypse - Part 2

Chapter 1: The World Is Dead

Alice blinked, and found herself back in Rome, outside the Papacy, surrounded by the usual silence. A warm breeze blew by, and everything that had just happened seemed like a dream.

She raised her hand and tapped her temple. This triggering gesture immediately re-established the secret communication channel between her and Patchouli, building a secure and efficient communication bridge between them through satellite networks and the Great Library's encrypted communications.

“Patch,” she said, lowering her eyes. “Are you eating a peach right now?”

"...No, I threw it away. You've already met her, haven't you? It really is her? Who's more famous than that emperor?"

"Yes, it is indeed her. However, it's quite different from what we expected... I've copied my memories and am sending them to you now. Please check your inbox."

The information in the air fluctuated violently along with her will, and about thirty seconds later, she received the expected feedback from Patchouli's side—the communication was restored, and the two wills touched in the void.

Did you receive it?

Alice maintained the communication while gliding lightly into the air. Her gaze wandered through the city, across streets and over buildings, pausing briefly at the food stalls along the Italian streets. Her gaze quickly returned, and her weightless body moved towards the more bustling parts of the city.

Considering Patchouli's tastes, food gifts were best avoided. Although she chose to throw away the peach, Alice felt it was best not to steer the conversation towards food, given her past traumatic memories. Patchouli quickly responded in their communication.

Hmm... I've already seen it. This development is truly... astonishing. What are your thoughts?

"She showed mercy. I'm certain she'll keep her word and destroy the entire 1,000-kilometer layer of Earth's surface at the last second. But you and I both know that Earth is 6,300 kilometers deep, and our chosen battlefield is Lop Nur. That means we only need to descend 1,000 kilometers along the 'ear of the Earth,' cross the boundary between the upper and lower mantle, and then prepare earthquake-resistant measures that can last for one second. And the Great Library has a high probability of doing that."

Alice crossed the heart of Rome and landed once more on the world-famous Condotti, a fashionable street. She searched for the renowned fashion boutiques and jewelry stores, then ruled them all out, focusing her attention on gemstones.

Patchouli had no shortage of clothes or jewelry, and her taste was far removed from that of people in her time. More importantly, Alice had personally sewed and crafted hundreds of outfits for her, enough to wear every day for a whole season. Therefore, compared to meaningless mechanical industrial products, beautiful gemstones were a far more suitable gift.

Her thoughts were slightly slowed by searching through the clutter. Though brief, it was a delay of about half a second—she then summarized her previously unfulfilled ideas with Patchouli on the other end of the communication.

"Releasing water is not enough to describe this; it should be called releasing the ocean... or rather, releasing a Milky Way," she exclaimed.

However, Patchouli simply waited quietly for her to finish speaking before changing the subject.

That's not what I'm asking. I'm saying how credible her words are—I'm referring to that theory of harvesting civilizations.

“…At most three points.” Alice pursed her lower lip, pondering. “I’ve even played Mass Effect, so there’s no reason she wouldn’t know it. Even if she really didn’t, after building so many civilizations, she must have figured out the logic behind it. She wouldn’t be so stubborn as to be a harvester for six hundred million years. And harvesting these low-level civilizations that haven’t even escaped the constraints of gravity. That can’t possibly be her resources. So the foundation for her success is definitely not as simple as she says.”

"She may not have lied to me, but she certainly didn't tell me everything. I know very well that what she told me must have some meaning, but the specific meaning... I haven't figured it out yet."

She entered a quiet jewelry store, ignoring the devout believers who had died with their souls burned out, her gaze sweeping over the windows displaying precious gems. Her eyes lingered briefly on a crescent-shaped hair ornament inlaid with diamonds, blue-purple crystals, and platinum.

"But this doesn't affect the outcome." Patchouli's voice continued from the other end of the communication line.

"Yes, indeed. Whatever her true purpose, it's inevitable that she will make her move at the end of the twelfth day. And before the final judgment on the twelfth day arrives, we will probably face even more trials... Do you remember that the world we came to is Final Destination 2?"

Alice reached out her hand… Of course, she didn't intend to take the ornament from the window; she wasn't that inexperienced. She simply flicked her fingers, and a string of precious metals and gems used as spellcasting materials floated out from her sleeve. These precious materials then combined and pieced together, gradually forming an ornament that bore some resemblance to the object in the window, but was even more in line with Patchouli's temperament.

She imagined the accessory in Patchouli's hair and nodded with slight satisfaction. Just then, Patchouli's voice came to her ear again.

"...I remember, but we've already proven Death wrong. They were merely disguised angelic weapons...You mean there's still a possibility of reversals?"

“I do have a feeling… that what we are about to face is probably not as we initially imagined, merely a massive offensive constructed by natural disasters and angelic legions. And I think this conjecture will soon be proven true… if the Emperor's path is truly not limited to reaping the benefits of lower civilizations, then we will soon see what we truly have to deal with.” Alice replied absentmindedly, diverting some attention to preparing the gift box for the ornament, and then placing the newly made jewelry into the box.

"I hope your premonition is wrong." Patchouli's voice was somewhat hesitant.

“I hope so too. But… after talking with the Emperor, I always had a strange sense of unease. She kept proclaiming her own ideas and emphasizing some trivial things. But she remained silent about the main god and the really important information behind the scenes—at first I thought she was withholding information to prevent me from being crushed by this secret. But later… I felt that she did not have any goodwill towards me.”

"Hmm...maybe she didn't hold back."

Such a possibility certainly exists, but all we can do right now is remain calm and use our available resources to prepare for it. If I remember correctly, the solar storm should already be on its way to Earth... Are the peaches delicious?

“It’s quite delicious.” Alice was taken aback, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Why are you asking that?”

There was silence on the other end of the communication for several seconds.

"It's nothing." Patchouli's tone barely changed in the telepathic communication... or rather, it was imperceptible. "I need to set up the Stellar Extraction Tower now. A solar storm is coming; we can't let it burn the Earth's surface."

"Is that so? I admit this is indeed something that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. But—"

Alice.

"……Yes?"

【I love you.】

"……Me too."

Communication is interrupted.

Alice looked up at the already dark sky, her face blank.

"So Patchouli can be jealous after all..." the girl muttered to herself, but then immediately jumped up as if pricked by a needle. "What kind of jealousy is this?! Vacuum jealousy?! That girl and I aren't the same Alice!"

This was what they called an undeserved disaster. She tried to reconnect, but the other side remained silent—the sky beyond was already glowing a faint golden-red under the onslaught of the solar storm. Powerful electromagnetic rays bombarded the outer atmosphere, distorting all signals in the sky.

The solar storm has begun, and all communication at this moment is futile.

If you raise your perspective, you can see a leaping flame bursting forth from one of the brightest points on the sun's surface—a crimson band of light that is too enormous to be observed on a planetary scale, and the end of the band of light is extending into space and will soon overlap with Earth's orbit!

Escape is impossible, because the width of the solar band exceeds three million kilometers…ten light-seconds, a distance that would take Earth nearly thirty hours to traverse in its orbit. In other words, the width of this solar band is enough to scorch the entire Earth one and a quarter times its circumference. Under the erosion of this solar wind exceeding ten thousand degrees Celsius, the entire Earth's surface will revert to its primordial state; the oceans will evaporate, and all living things will be wiped out. Perhaps a few tenacious creatures might survive this first wave of attack, but the subsequent geological upheavals, caused by the complete disruption of the Earth's magnetic field, will be enough to wipe out any survivors.

Everything will perish, and with the technology available to mortals at this time, there is nothing they can do to face such natural disasters.

So... it's not their place to deal with all of this.

As the sky turned crimson, signaling impending destruction, Patchouli arrived at the main control platform of the Stellar Extraction Tower. The Central Continent Team members had been waiting there after defeating the last angel, and when Patchouli ended the communication and returned to the group, she was greeted by eyes filled with trust and expectation.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Patchouli,” Xiao Honglu said first. He glanced at the main control platform, which was controlled by a complex array of buttons and panels. After a slight hesitation, he asked, “Regarding Wang Xiaoxiao… we’ve already received the call. Patchouli, you made some arrangements on it, right? Are any of the new recruits… still alive?”

“Two survived, Zhu Wen and Wang Xia,” Patchouli said calmly—she always maintained a cool demeanor, so even if her emotions shifted slightly, it would be difficult for others to detect. While adjusting the buttons and screens on the control platform, inputting various key information, she answered Xiao Honglu's questions: “You know, Li Laoshi died in the church, so I controlled his body as a precaution. Sure enough, the lurking angel started killing after we had been gone long enough. Yang Le and Huang Lilin were the first to die, and Lu Chichuan was caught in the final self-destruct attack, which can also be considered my responsibility.”

She thought for a moment, then added, "Zhu Wen and Wang Xia were also slightly injured, but I've already sent a robot to handle the situation. Don't worry, their injuries aren't serious. My robot has already treated them, and they'll be fully recovered soon."

As expected, when she recounted the events above the base in a evasive manner and expressed her willingness to take responsibility, even the most virtuous Zheng Zha abandoned any thought of pursuing accountability or delving deeper into the matter—first, Wang Xiaoxiao was a deadly landmine. Second, the new recruits hadn't shown any usable potential and hadn't contributed anything to the team. Finally, the life of the entire planet was now in Patchouli's hands…or rather, in the hands of that slowly operating, terrifyingly aura-emanating stellar extraction tower under her command!

The deceased are gone, but the fate of the living is more important. Zheng Zha, standing silently to the side, revealed his thoughts with an urging gaze—'Hurry up, you're in a rush to save the world!'

His wish was soon fulfilled.

A few seconds later...

The band of light, about to touch the Earth's surface, twisted in space, like a magnet encountering iron, or a leaky cork being opened. In an instant, the boundless light and heat were drawn by some strange force, transforming into an extremely concentrated pillar of light that plummeted towards Earth!

That was light, that was destruction, yet this immense force of annihilation did not harm the Earth in the slightest. Above the stellar extraction tower, all the extracted energy was effectively utilized, forming a leak-proof energy channel on the outer side of the beam of light. With a slight tremor, the beam of light descended from the sky, traversing the outer shell of the Lop Nur refuge base. All barriers were instantly destroyed, and the beam shot straight down, following the path of the 'Ear of the Earth' into the lower layers of the earth!

At the tip of the pillar of light was the apex of the Star Extraction Tower, a tool that devoured stars but now served to save the world. The light and heat, enough to destroy the world and repeat itself many times over, were now drawn together in an extremely concentrated manner by Cybertronian technology and gathered at the apex of the tower.

The tower's effect has been achieved, and the fate of all living beings on Earth has been reversed from destruction. That pillar of light will continue to exist until the trajectory of the solar storm deviates from Earth's orbital path, at which point Patchouli will shut it down.

The world has been saved, and mortals should rejoice—even if most of them are unaware of the impending solar storm or that most of the Earth is now under the control of the mechanical legion, they should still celebrate their newfound life.

Yet, at this moment of celebration, a cool breeze quietly swept across the earth. It went unnoticed by anyone, yet lightly brushed the ankles of every living person on Earth. It was like a whispered illusion, incomprehensible and elusive. Even among the reincarnators, no one perceived its presence.

But it truly exists.

Because, before this gust of wind appeared, this world should have already faced death.

Author's Note:

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

Another order failed... Will BX be my fate then?

By the way, you can refer to the group avatar for the scenes in the first half of the chapter... or I'll see if I can insert an image...

Section Two: Order Has Been Destroyed

'So I wrote a script for each of these worlds, and at the end, I rebooted it to begin the next era. Because if I didn't do that…'

'...Then, they will be █████████████████████████.'

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

[The following is an announcement from the Great Library regarding the management of all astronomical observatories of surface civilizations... Currently, 27,735 units are online. Detection amplitude adjusted to maximum, commencing detection... Target: all astronomical units within a one-light-second range.]

[Data integration in progress...]

[Test complete. Conclusion: No anomalies found in the one-light-second object. Due to the normal operation of the stellar extraction tower, the solar storm was contained at a point one-third of a light-second above the Earth's surface, and its energy was completely concentrated and injected into the extraction tower.]

[Additional warning: The Moon will enter the solar wind coverage area in eleven hours. This may interfere with the operation of the extraction tower, leading to unpredictable consequences. Immediate deployment of a treatment plan is recommended… The Great Library's current response: None; place in the pending treatment area.]

[Now proceeding to the next item, regarding geological testing reports...]

Alice gently rubbed her temples, then reviewed and approved the reports from the Great Library one by one. The machine army, covering a large part of the world, immediately sprang into action, executing each of her commands methodically.

Regardless of the Emperor's purpose, as for Patchouli... it would take at least two hours to get there now. Since things are already ruined, it doesn't matter if it's sooner or later. It's better to handle the current situation well, resolve the immediate crisis, and ensure that subsequent steps can proceed without hindrance.

“Those young Awakened Ones have all been confirmed. They're just waiting for your legion to come and take them away… What are you doing?” Zhao Yingkong appeared beside Alice with a gentle breeze, casting a questioning glance at her partner. Her gaze lingered on the gift box Alice was holding, and after considering the surrounding environment, she came to a rough conclusion.

"Is this a gift? For Norrell?"

"Ah."

"...You two are truly a match made in heaven, and you don't care at all what others think." Zhao Yingkong's lips twitched. "My alternate personality kept a certain distance from you two until I woke up. She probably couldn't accept your... way of being in a relationship."

"So you can accept it?"

“Oh, I’m different. The person I’m in love with is my brother, which, according to common social norms, is just as unacceptable as intimate relationships between women. So naturally, I won’t be influenced by conventional morality, because it’s already in my way,” Zhao Yingkong replied casually. However, while she appeared relaxed, her true thoughts might not have been the same—the insincerity in her words was almost overflowing, like a cup filled with too much water. It seems that moral values ​​do indeed have an influence on her.

Alice rolled her eyes at her, not wanting to delve any further into the topic. It would still be a few minutes before the mechanical legion took over the deserted city, so Alice decided to leave after those few minutes were up.

She coughed lightly and changed the subject.

“My mechanical legion will need a few more minutes to get through the aftermath of the previous battle and take over the city. After that, I will continue eastward until I reach the Eastern Continent and join the others. What are your plans? The plan has progressed to this point, and we don’t need your intervention for now.”

"Is there no need for me to take action...?"

The dominant personality, Zhao Yingkong, lightly flicked her fingers. Her gaze swept from the direction Alice had come from, paused briefly at the spot where Saito Hajime had died, and then closed her eyes.

"I guess you've already met the recipient."

"Ah."

"Saito Hajime is dead?"

“Hmm.” Alice nodded. “They are completely dead, and even the records that might have been stored in the Main God Space have been erased.”

“Is that so?” Zhao Yingkong, the main personality, sighed leisurely. “I still admire him quite a bit—knowing that he was going to die, he didn’t vent his negative emotions or unleash his final madness. Instead, he did his best to pave the way for his teammates and clear obstacles... I definitely couldn’t do that.”

“It’s a pity, our paths diverge.” The assassin girl shook her head gently. “I must confront my inner demons before I die and eliminate the monster lurking deep within my heart. The power of my alternate personality is essential for this, so we are destined to be incompatible.”

She didn't see through Saito Hajime's true intentions, and for various reasons, Alice didn't intend to tell her speculations to the main personality, Zhao Yingkong—the dead are gone, and Saito Hajime couldn't come back anyway. Since that was the case, there was no need to ruin the good image he had painstakingly cultivated. It was unnecessary, and not worth it.

After Alice and other main personalities finished speaking, Zhao Yingkong hesitated for a few seconds.