Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"God, grant each of us three thirty days of story world time. Target: Legend of Gods and Demons," he said.

The next moment, as the main god deducted reward points, a hazy, half-awake state enveloped the three of them. Everything before their eyes became blurry and indistinct, like a frosted glass sheet on a cold day with warm air blowing on it; everything became untouchable.

Upon reaching the third stage, this hazy feeling, which was not clearly perceived before, can now be accurately remembered in the mind. In the past, although this hazy feeling also existed, it was nothing more than a brief moment between opening and closing one's eyes to a weaker, more experienced person.

As this hazy perception gradually became clearer, and the vague spatial awareness transformed into precision, the hot wind originating from the desert in the early 20th century swept over them. They blinked, and the familiar desert ruins came into view.

Cairo.

Cairo was utterly destroyed in the clash of extraordinary forces. Whether it was the flesh and blood of the Outer Canon Bodhisattva or the miniature black hole constructed by the Eye of Horus from Apocalypse, the destructive power was far beyond what the mortals of the city could withstand. Their flesh turned to mud, their bones to ash, and even their dwellings were eroded, leaving only piles of severely weathered and broken stones.

weathering.

The remains of a city should not weather away in just a few days.

Patchouli reached out and touched the sky in her field of vision. Her brow furrowed slightly as she sensed the more stable environment than expected. An unexpected conclusion formed in her mind's eye.

"The impact of the Apocalypse is weaker than expected. The magic in the atmosphere has begun to activate. Although ritual spells will still be unusable for the next hundred years, simple tricks like creating a fireball are no problem at all. It seems that at least three years have passed in this area since you last arrived here."

She turned her head to look at Zheng Zha, who was clearly somewhat anxious.

"I don't see the altar," Patchouli said calmly. Her voice was like a spark igniting a fuse. The instant she finished speaking, Zheng Zha retrieved the Destruction Greatsword, which he had taken from 'Slaughter,' from his storage ring. The two powers within him immediately began to stir, instantly forming a layer of pale red flames on his body!

He lowered his voice and asked, "Any clues?"

Without a doubt, if Patchouli were to utter the name of any person, faction, or even country at this moment, the rage brewing in Zheng Zha's heart would be enough to make that target vanish from the world in an extremely short time! His anger had already materialized into a blazing beast, and this nascent alien species craved blood!

His eyes began to distort, and a sense of decay and reconstruction seemed to emanate from within him. Perhaps in a few minutes, he would be unable to suppress his rage and forcefully advance to a higher level, plunging this land into catastrophe!

—It might only take a few minutes.

However, Alice's words quickly calmed him down.

“Alright, Zheng Zha. Calm down. Your altar is right there; you can't run away.” Alice clapped her hands lightly, signaling the others to shift their attention. “This world is a legend of gods and demons, but it's not the kind of world where supernatural forces only exist in the story's locations. From the plots of the second and third books, we know that this world is full of all sorts of demons and monsters. In the past, we might not have been able to come into contact with them at all, but…”

She paused, then continued, "Last time we turned Cairo into ruins, causing such a commotion that it was impossible not to attract attention. That's why I made you come back here specifically last time, to confirm the altar's effectiveness and activate the backup spell I left in Hamunaptra, so that we could bury the ruins of this temple."

“…Tell me, where is the altar?” The light emanating from Zheng Zha’s body dimmed, and his turbulent internal structures rapidly reverted to normal. Although his hand was still on the hilt of the Destruction Greatsword, he was clearly calmer now.

But there were only a few.

He was suppressing his anger, suppressing his fear. He couldn't imagine what the concept of 'comrades cannot be resurrected' would look like in his mind. Just a slight contemplation in that direction brought to mind a suffocating, terrifying darkness—he didn't know what he would become if that happened.

He didn't know, and he didn't want to know.

His companions were dead, yet he felt little sorrow. The reason for this was that he knew the Sun Scripture in his possession could resurrect them—and since resurrection was possible, death was merely a temporary, unreal separation—he could easily suppress such negative emotions. But if this reason were no longer valid… even if there was only a possibility of it being no longer valid, the dark emotions sealed within his heart would boil and surge, as if they were about to devour his heart at any moment!

He couldn't help but reach out with his other hand, the one not holding the knife, and grab Alice's arm tightly, demanding, "There! Hurry!"

"...right under your feet."

The ground shook. The remains of a temple, sealed by thick sand and a triggered barrier, trembled and emerged from the ground. Seconds later, the massive altar encased in the temple ruins appeared before everyone's eyes.

"I'm sorry." Zheng Zha nodded apologetically to Alice, and the next second he appeared beside the altar. He carefully took out the Golden Book of the Sun, and then stretched out his finger toward the edge of the altar—the restless emotions on his body suddenly stopped the moment they touched the altar, and then dissipated instantly with a soft exhale.

“The altar is fine,” Zheng Zha said to the witches. “The divine message has been given, and I can now resurrect my fallen companions at any time.”

"Hmm." Alice glanced at her arm that had just been pinched, and casually injected herself with an injection to repair the slightly cracked arm bone—ritual magic could not be used in the Apocalyptic environment, and unfortunately, healing spells were also prohibited.

She waited until her bones recovered to the point where she could move normally before raising her head and looking at Zheng Zha with one eye, saying, "Then let's stick to the previous plan. Let's revive Chu Xuan first, and we'll talk about the rest later."

"...Sorry, I was a little..."

“I’ll get my revenge later,” Alice interrupted him. She then glanced at Patchouli, who immediately understood. Several small flying machines then circled and took off, quickly disappearing into the dome of the sky. From the shadow beneath her feet, many tiny dolls floated out, flying around to detect any anomalies and maintain constant vigilance.

This is not a world devoid of supernatural phenomena, nor is its government entirely unaware of them. Although at least three years have passed, the inquisitive gaze drawn by the destruction of Cairo has not completely departed.

There was only one thing she was certain of: artificial satellites absolutely did not exist in this world, in this era.

She will soon get the information she needs.

Meanwhile, on the altar surrounded by the ruined temple, accompanied by a beam of light emanating from the sky, a blurry human figure was rapidly taking shape.

—That man is about to return to this world.

Fifth Quarter - He Changed the Zhongzhou Team

—'Deduct 8,000 reward points, one B-level side quest, and revive to execute.'

Accompanied by the solemn voice of the chief god, almost everything in Zheng Zha's field of vision changed. The resurrection altar beneath his feet remained an altar, but the scenery outside the altar transformed into the top of a building in the world of Ju-on. He saw a slender figure wielding two heavy pistols, relentlessly firing at the gray-white ghostly figures that kept attacking from all sides. After killing them all, necrotic blood spilled from his mouth and nose—he then reversed the gun and shot himself in the abdomen. As he fell, and the seventh wave of enormous ghosts appeared, he reached out and touched the sky, as if trying to grasp the bright moon in the heavens.

Time then reversed, and Zheng Zha's perspective shifted to the depths of a hidden base. He saw a group of people wearing masks and white coats carefully waking an infant who neither cried nor laughed from countless necrotic culture tanks. He watched as the little boy grew taller and bigger under wary and distant gazes, eventually becoming the ever-stylish and aloof Colonel Chu Xuan.

He understood and knew everything about this man. He saw the countless wounds, tears, sorrows, and loneliness accumulated within Chu Xuan… yet they could never be released through his non-existent senses. How could someone born without the sense of touch understand pain? How could someone born unable to taste or smell know bitterness?

And pain... even if you can't feel it, pain still exists.

Unable to vent, the pain could only accumulate, ferment, and rot within, eventually solidifying again into an indestructible, solid rock—his will had long surpassed steel, his heart as firm as a rock. Yet, within this iron and stone, tiny drops of blood and tears still flowed and rolled—and continued to rot.

Zheng Zha felt he could finally understand this man named Chu Xuan. The lingering resentment that had remained in his heart after Luo Li's explanation vanished. As the light and shadow of that memory faded and the surrounding scenery returned to normal, he sincerely reached out a hand to the revived Chu Xuan.

"Chu Xuan, I need your help."

“I should have already died in the Curse of the Dead. Judging from your tone, expression, and posture, you still have the strength. So, based on your personality, there's no reason for you to resurrect me when you still have other options. Therefore, there must be external intervention.” Chu Xuan pressed his chest, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding environment, and then immediately noticed the witches standing outside the temple ruins—his eyes lingered on the little doll on Alice's shoulder and the books in Patchouli's arms, forming the Great Library.

“I see.” He turned his gaze back to Zheng Zha. “I’ve guessed the general situation. Since you’ve decided to wake me up, you should be at least 50% confident you can persuade me. Tell me, if this is indeed a feasible proposal, then I will help you.”

"I have a way to restore your senses, to let you feel pain, feel joy, smell, and taste like a normal person. To give you everything a normal person should have—I have a way to help you," Zheng Zha replied. He looked at Chu Xuan, who had finally broken his composure and whose fingers were trembling slightly as he touched the altar, and emphasized, word by word, "I have a way to help you, and the key lies in the ability to alter genes in the later stages of the Gene Lock. I have now touched the threshold of the fourth stage, and I can prove it to you now!"

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

About three minutes later, Zheng Zha's proof and theory gained Chu Xuan's approval. Of course, he didn't disobey Alice's repeated instructions and force his way across the fourth threshold; he merely probed it lightly at the edge. Even so, the evidence he provided was more than enough for someone as intellectually challenged as Chu Xuan!

Chu Xuan responded to his request for help, listening to his explanation of the current situation while pondering as he walked towards the exterior of the temple ruins. At the temple entrance, he and the two witches were at a suitable distance for conversation.

"Ah, let me introduce you. This is a very reliable partner who joined the team after you left. She is—"

"Alice Margot Royd, and Patchouli Knowledge. The source is Touhou Project, a complex world comprised of multiple shooting games." Chu Xuan interrupted Zheng Zha just as he was about to begin his introduction. He looked at the witches and gently adjusted his non-prescription glasses.

“Hello, Chu Xuan. You have a good eye.” Alice nodded to him, and Patchouli greeted her in return before continuing to repair the large library she was working on.

"Puppets, heavy grimoires, gold and purple—you have many distinctive features. I've seen materials from the Touhou Project, and the music is beautiful." Chu Xuan nodded to her. "Excluding some random possibilities, you should be the external force that propelled my resurrection. Judging from your lack of concern about your origins being exposed, I have a few guesses—have you seen my counterpart?"

"To be precise, it's a copy, and I've only heard about it."

"Then what you saw must have been your own counterpart. I see. Besides the team battle rules I predicted, there are also special reincarnation teams in the Main God Space that replicate and concentrate specific talents. It seems that both your counterpart and my counterpart have put a lot of pressure on you. So you must know more than I expected. Let's talk about it later."

Alice and Patchouli looked at each other in bewilderment.

Alice: [This guy... seems pretty good.]

Patchouli: [That's what I was thinking too. Maybe our workload will be much lighter afterward. Let's wait and see. If he really is as inhuman as the records describe, then we can just dump all the planning and layout work on him. It's better for the two of us, half-baked researchers and planners, to stick to our areas of expertise.]

Alice: [Same feeling.]

As they were discussing, Chu Xuan turned back to look at Zheng Zha. "Alright, give me a general overview of the team's situation... never mind, I'll ask and you answer. I can see you're still under pressure. Considering the surrounding area, hmm, the ruins of ancient Egypt, plus that golden book in your hand, this should be Hamunaptrae, the Mummy, a tomb raiding maze, or perhaps a legend of gods and ghosts." He checked his wristwatch, looked at the sky, determined the sun's position, and then lowered his gaze to the remaining, somewhat modern-looking ruins on the ground in the distance.

"This should be Cairo, Hamnata shouldn't be in Cairo. Even if a nuclear bomb was developed in the early 20th century, it couldn't have bombed Cairo like this—how many worlds have you lived through since I died?"

"Two. The eleven-player difficulty version of Legend of the Gods and Demons team battle and the seventeen-player difficulty version of Final Destination 2."

“Only two.” Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly, then suddenly asked, “When did Zhang Jie die?”

"Legend of Gods and Demons... How do you know Zhang Jie is dead!?"

"I can tell from your deadpan face and the way you're clutching the Golden Sutra. Zhang Jie is a very problematic person. He's either an extremely powerful veteran left over from the previous cycle of reincarnation or a representative of the main god. But he's also restricted by the main god, so the latter is more likely. Perhaps he's a representative who has gained some freedom under the will of the main god, like a program bug."

“He was keeping a close eye on me before. If I made the slightest mistake, I have no doubt that he would have slapped me to death. Since you are still alive and standing here, Zhang Jie's problem must have been solved. And considering that you have unlocked almost two more levels of your gene lock than when I died, my guess should be correct—the four people standing here now are all the remaining members of the Zhongzhou team, right?”

“…Hmm.” Zheng Zha nodded, a hint of disappointment in his voice, but his gaze remained firm. “I will resurrect the others. In the end, in Final Destination… they didn’t actually have to die. But… I’m still too weak, even with Margot Lloyd and the others helping me…”

"The difficulty of the seventeen-person team couldn't possibly be higher than that of Ju-on. It seems that a lot has indeed happened during the time I was dead. What kind of enemy did you ultimately face? How many times stronger than Kayako?"

“…Many times.” Zheng Zha clenched his fist slightly. He felt as if he had returned to that apocalyptic battlefield, resembling an ancient wasteland, facing the immense power wielded by the ancient angels of the Apocalypse, each capable of overwhelming mountains and collapsing rivers. Back then, he too shone like a morning star… But when he returned to the cycle of reincarnation, the massive armor that carried the burning energy of an entire civilization's history was inexplicably left behind in the world of Final Destination. Although he had reached the edge of the fourth stage of the gene lock, unless he crossed that threshold, the true power he currently possessed had plummeted several times over.

So he emphasized again: "Many, many times more. In the end, we will face the seven horns of the Last Judgment, and when we finally confront the sixth horn, the Gate of the Dead that appears after the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have been defeated, each of the ancient angels that appears has the power to kill three of Kayako's original forms in one blow. And there are two hundred million of them."

Chu Xuan stopped in his tracks. For the first time, Zheng Zha saw him frown—he turned his head and scrutinized Zheng Zha closely, his gaze as if he were studying rare materials, which made Zheng Zha feel a chill run down his spine.

"Wha...what happened? I wasn't lying! I personally tore apart 'Slaughter' and chopped off about a hundred ancient angels of the Dead Kingdom!"

"No, I'm just curious how you managed to raise the difficulty of the missions to this level in both worlds," Chu Xuan replied. "Resident Evil, Alien, Ju-on. If you considered Resident Evil's difficulty level to be 5, Alien's to be 20, and Ju-on's to be around 35 to 40, even an ordinary person without any enhancements would have a chance to survive by luck or through plot forces. But according to you, Final Destination's difficulty level is at least 1000 or higher. The Supreme God shouldn't make such a mistake under normal circumstances. Perhaps you chose the wrong way to break the deadlock—it seems this is one of the reasons I was awakened?"

He used a question format, but his affirmative tone clearly indicated that he didn't need Zheng Zha to answer. His gaze suddenly shifted from Zheng Zha to an open area in the ruins of Cairo.

"Strike with all your might there, the strongest strike you can muster, and then tell me the difference in combat power between you and everyone else in the team, and the direction of their strengthening."

"Oh." Zheng Zha nodded in response. He then took a deep breath, put away the Sun Scripture, and took out the Destruction Greatsword that he had just put back in his storage ring. As the gene lock was opened to the limit of the third stage, he felt that everything around him slowed down.

He could sense the minute changes in the energy within his body. Although he was far from being able to manipulate individual particles or waveforms directly, he could completely control even the smallest, hair-thinstance of them.

So he gathered one hundred strands of demonic blood energy and innate true energy from his brain and dantian respectively in one go!

He controlled them, allowing them to intertwine like gears in his middle dantian as time slowly passed. And the instant they touched, generating a massive annihilation reaction, the resulting energy was released outwards through the medium of the 'killing' destructive blade!

His skin suddenly turned bright red, with numerous bursting capillaries spreading throughout his body, and his hand holding the sword, having become a conduit for releasing annihilation energy, was covered in blood and flesh. However, with a low shout as he swung the sword, a blade of light hundreds of meters long was released outwards along the trajectory of the swing!

'boom--'

Three kilometers away, boundless light radiated outwards. The violent energy stirred up towering waves of earth, rocks, and sand. These waves rushed towards them, then dissipated slightly above the energy vortex created by Zheng Zha's return strike. After the first, most intense gust of wind subsided, the ruins and remnants within a radius of several kilometers from the explosion point were swept clean, like a riverbed sifted by a flood. A deep, nearly ten-meter-wide chasm stretched from three meters in front of Zheng Zha's swing to the epicenter of the explosion. And in the distance, a dark mushroom cloud was rising slowly.

Zheng Zha exhaled softly, and the injuries on his body rapidly healed as the energy within his body circulated. The numerous cuts on his right arm also healed quickly, and by the time he finished exhaling, everything except his right sleeve, which had been shattered into pieces, had returned to normal.

“I should be the strongest in the team right now, well, the strongest in skirmishes. I’m not too sure about Norrell, but if it’s Margot, I can guarantee victory in close combat within ten kilometers, and my chances of winning within a hundred kilometers are about 50%. But if I give her about a day to prepare, my chances of winning will probably drop to less than 10% or 20%.”

"Others, without the full support of Margot Lloyd or Norrell, could probably inflict about one-tenth of my current destructive power. Zhan Lan has exchanged for mental power detection and Elven bloodline; give her a set of powerful automatic turrets, and she can do something similar to me within hundreds of kilometers. Zero can severely injure or even kill me with a single shot from about thirty kilometers away. The archer Zhang Heng and the sage and spellcaster Xiao Honglu, who came after you, are slightly weaker, but they can still pose a certain threat to me."

"As for Zhang Jie... I'm not too sure, but he should be about the same as me now. Maybe even stronger. According to Margot Lloyd, his exchange is a double A-level telekinesis, and he also has a full set of enhancements in mental power."

He turned around and saw Chu Xuan silently wiping his glasses, which were covered in dust and had become blurry.

“I originally had a plan, but now it seems I have to scrap it all and start over.” He put his glasses back on and asked, “Three questions: First, how much time did you exchange in the world of Gods and Demons? Second, did you trigger the plot of the second, third, and prequel Scorpion King in Gods and Demons? Third, what was the price of resurrection, and how much usable funds do you have right now?”

"We redeemed for thirty days, and you probably did too. We only completed the first part of the Gods and Demons storyline; the situation was too tense at the time, and we didn't have time to do the other side quests. In the end, we currently have about 20,000 reward points and three A-level side quests. The price to revive a veteran is 8,000 points plus one B-level side quest. But newbies can revive with 1,000 points... Oh, right, Zhang Jie's revival requirement is 16,000 points plus two B-level side quests, and the main god requires double the amount."

Chu Xuan closed his eyes, thought for a few seconds, and then slowly opened them.

“Understood. What we need now is rapidly developed combat power to ensure we can complete enough side quests in the Legend of the Gods and Demons storyline to resurrect others. A month is a bit short; we might not be able to finish the third part, but we can consider the second and prequels. Among the new recruits, I recommend Resurrect Overlord; he would be an excellent firepower user capable of handling close to mid-range combat—” He turned his head to look at the witches standing not far away.

"I have a general understanding of the roles you've chosen for yourselves. It's indeed difficult for you logistics and support personnel to be on the front lines alongside this guy. So, do you agree with my proposal?"

The witches exchanged glances.

Alice: [How did this guy see right through our attempt to slack off? Is reviving the Overlord his bargaining chip? He needs his supporters… no, this proposal is just a test of our stance. Could it be…]

Patchouli: [He probably already knows we have the future prediction records we got from Saito Hajime. Maybe this is just a verification. Or maybe he has other purposes... What should we do?]