Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Alice: [Just agree to it. Although the Overlord hasn't overcome his inner demons according to the prediction records, he is indeed a promising newcomer. One more of him won't make a difference, but we can't just agree so bluntly.]

Patchouli: [Yeah, I feel the same way.]

“I think it’s a good idea.” Alice nodded. “I’ve heard about him from Zero Point; he’s an excellent firepower specialist. But when it comes to newcomers, I think Ming Yanwei is also a great candidate. I’m confident I can persuade her, and because of some previous circumstances, I have a fairly mature enhancement plan for her.”

“Okay.” Chu Xuan nodded, completely ignoring Zheng Zha’s aggrieved expression beside him, which seemed to say, ‘Why didn’t you ask my opinion when I’m the captain?!’ Instead, he said directly, “Then the new recruits will be these two. And I also have suitable choices for the veterans who will be resurrected first.”

"Zheng Zha, revive Zhang Jie."

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

Holy crap, 5500 meters! I'm exhausted. It should have been split into two parts. _(:з」∠)_

Section 6. Ammunition Overstock: Help Us!

The choice of who would perform the resurrection was quickly made. Zheng Zha had some remaining reward points, enough to barely resurrect both newcomers, while the witches would have to cover the bulk of the costs for Zhang Jie. Since Alice was the one who made the deal with Zhang Jie, it was ultimately decided that Zheng Zha would resurrect Ba Wang and Ming Yanwei, while Alice would handle Zhang Jie.

Alice didn't know much about Overlord. Even based on the prediction records, his role in the Central Plains team was roughly equivalent to a mid-to-close-range suppressive firepower player. Until the final battle, he seemed to be limited by his talent, stuck at the inflated second tier due to drug use, and he also failed to fix his mental vulnerabilities, let alone address his inner demons, which he couldn't even touch.

—He seems to be just a figurehead.

—It's just...fantastic.

Ah~ Now that I don't have to rack my brains over such troublesome things as layout, I can finally do what I'm better at. Seriously... anyone can nurture a genius, even let them grow wild. The real skill is turning mud into a wall, and besides, this one has some basic skills, so he's not completely hopeless...

Therefore, this should be an appropriate low-difficulty reconstruction project, which has been absent for a long time.

Alice stroked her chin, rapidly switching between a series of enhancement methods in her mind. Just as she was pondering this while Zheng Zha was single-mindedly performing the Overlord's resurrection ceremony, Chu Xuan silently walked to her side.

“I need a quick and significant boost,” he said bluntly, giving Alice the answer she wanted to know without waiting for her to ask why: “The team’s current strength slightly exceeds the limits that ordinary people can interfere with without any boosts. While my thinking method is effective, my computational ability and basic skills have become weaknesses. This will lead to unnecessary risks in the subsequent planning.”

“Understood, there are corresponding enhancement plans.” Alice nodded and handed Chu Xuan a palm-sized portable personal terminal. “I have compiled our preferred magic systems and related applications into a document, and you can choose the option you like from it.”

"Okay." Chu Xuan didn't stand on ceremony and directly accessed his personal terminal. He casually turned on the screen and, while quickly reviewing the various enhancement plans marked on it, asked Alice, "Is it a newbie or Saito Hajime?"

“It’s Saito Hajime, how come you…” Alice’s fingers trembled slightly, and her heart clenched suddenly.

He actually figured it out!

"It's just a simple process of elimination. There are only a few people who survived the Ju-on world. Zheng Zha deliberately avoided mentioning Zhao Yingkong and Saito Hajime when introducing their combat strength. I know about the 'Kong' plan and many things that happened to her, so her possibility is eliminated. That leaves Saito Hajime."

"At least one of these two must have experienced an unexpected change in his fighting ability or behavior, otherwise, given his personality, he wouldn't have remained silent just now. Besides, persuading Zheng Zha shouldn't be too difficult for you."

"The possibility of another team battle after a team battle is very small, so the time when you meet your counterpart is most likely when the world of Gods and Demons ends and you return to your own personal world. Since you did not vigorously promote my resurrection after the end of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, but chose to forcibly persuade him after the end of Final Destination, then there must have been an unexpected change in the horror movie Final Destination."

A glint flashed in the glasses on his nose. His slightly tilted gaze accurately captured the soundproof barrier quietly unfolding from the small doll, and the figure of Zheng Zha, who was completely immersed in the memory flashback triggered by the resurrection of the Overlord.

"The probability of a newcomer being a transmigrator from a parallel world is 30%, the probability of a veteran experiencing rebirth or precognition is 20%, the remaining miscellaneous factors are about 10%, and there is a 40% chance that I'm wrong. After you answered my first question, I can naturally pinpoint the correct answer."

"...Would you like me to make a copy of the record for you?"

“No need. A revised prophecy can easily interfere with my judgment. You only need to remind me at specific times that you deem necessary. There’s only one thing I want to know.” He gently adjusted his glasses, a barely perceptible tremor in his cold voice: “…Did his plan ultimately succeed?”

[I see… No wonder you took such a great risk and were so eager to verify the future prediction records with me. If I were a time traveler who knew the future and was even slightly narrow-minded, this action would cause the future to tilt in some unknowable direction. Because it is indeed very important to you.]

“You should be able to guess the result,” Alice replied, a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth. Having figured things out, she felt much more relaxed, even harboring a playful mood and intention.

Unfortunately, the person she was talking to was not cooperative.

“I need a precise, affirmative answer that can serve as empirical evidence.” Chu Xuan looked at her seriously—his gaze was always serious, but this time it was even more serious.

"In the predicted final battle, you fully reached the fourth level the moment you defeated your clone, and at the same time gained the freedom you had always dreamed of."

"Is that so?" Chu Xuan gently flexed his fingers. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but his nerves, which had been taut since his resurrection, seemed to relax considerably. He nodded to Alice and replied, "You didn't lie, and there was nothing misleading in your words, so that's good. Until that day comes, I will help the Central Continent Team, including you, to survive in this cycle of reincarnation."

[This guy really can guess everything! He even knew that neither of us were in his prediction!?]

“And,” he added, “the music from Touhou Project is very good.”

"I knew someone like you would never play a bullet hell game... Even if it's for training reflexes, it shouldn't be something so easy." Alice pouted. "So you were just there to listen to music? Fine, now you can only listen."

Chu Xuan ignored her meaningless sarcasm, which implied a 'consensus had been reached.' He simply turned his head to look at the center of the altar, at the Overlord, or rather, the retired Soviet mercenary Kamplovsky, who had been resurrected from his slumber but clearly still didn't understand the current situation. He walked straight over and took over the task of explaining the situation to the Russian giant so that Zheng Zha could continue resurrecting Ming Yanwei.

The sound barrier remained open. Although Shanghai had adjusted the barrier's properties to allow one-way sound transmission, Alice had no interest in listening to Chu Xuan and Ba Wang's conversation. She turned her head to look at Patchouli.

"It seems we can really relax now. Chu Xuan is easier to talk to than expected. It seems that the future prediction we got from Saito Hajime won't be as effective as we thought."

“Of course.” Patchouli nodded. “The butterfly effect has a huge impact. When we are two variables with huge amounts of data invested into this timeline, the deductions excluding the two of us will naturally produce many errors. It’s reasonable for Chu Xuan not to accept the sharing of records, but he should also have considerations such as guarding against mental pollution. Although I don’t think someone like him would be affected by pollution, these records… it might be a good thing to forget them.”

“It’s a double-edged sword,” Alice chuckled. “Anyway, I won’t be involved in the planning afterward, so it won’t affect the team. As for myself… well, I’m already burdened with debts, so knowing a lot won’t hurt me. But you, Patchouli, aren’t you planning to erase your memories?”

“Wouldn’t that make me seem inferior to you? I’m not doing that kind of business.” Patchouli pouted, then suddenly changed the subject: “My microsatellite just launched tells me that there’s an entire modern army heading in our direction about twenty kilometers away—this is 1926, and the hegemony of the old European powers has not yet faded. And the British are the dominant force in Egypt.”

"They, and the supernatural forces that must exist among them, should have been watching Egypt ever since the Battle of Cairo three years ago, and they should have already discovered the traces we left behind when we arrived—what do you intend to do?"

“Tell Chu Xuan, and let him decide. My brain has been severely overloaded lately, and even with the spare body, the phantom pain still lingers—I don’t want to do anything except slack off right now.”

Patchouli smiled and ordered Shanghai to remove the soundproof barrier. She stepped forward, raised her hand, and a small orb of light, constructed from messages and previously sealed within the Great Library, appeared at her fingertips—it contained all the memories experienced by the virtual personality built from fragments of Ming Yanwei's memories in the world of Ju-on. As Ming Yanwei was reconstructed from the altar and opened her eyes with a dazed expression, Patchouli pressed the orb of light into Ming Yanwei's forehead.

Convincing Patchouli, a woman still bound by emotional turmoil and contemplating self-destruction, was far too troublesome. Keeping her in the group with this hatred was also detrimental. Therefore, the witches decided to use time as a potion, using the long memories to wash away the pain in her heart—something they had decided upon back in the world of Ju-on, and Alice had specifically sought her opinion when the world of memories came to an end. And now it seemed…it was working well.

Upon waking, Ming Yanwei glanced at Zheng Zha and Patchouli, as well as Ba Wang and Chu Xuan standing a little further away by the altar. Then she nodded to Alice, who was receiving the Golden Book of the Sun from Zheng Zha, and asked, "Where is Zhang Heng?"

“He…” Zheng Zha opened his mouth, organizing his thoughts to use the most positive words possible to praise Zhang Heng. Just now, he had seen Ming Yanwei’s memories and witnessed firsthand the moment when Ming Yanwei’s life underwent a dramatic change. From an observer’s perspective, he saw Zhang Heng’s weakness, incompetence, and… betrayal at that crucial moment.

He had nothing to say about it, but he felt he should try to give Zhang Heng a chance.

However, Patchouli gave her answer before Zheng Zha could speak.

"He is dead and has not yet been resurrected."

“I see…that’s fine.” Ming Yanwei said softly. She then turned her gaze to Patchouli and asked, “Do you have a bow and arrows? I’m sorry, this is the only thing I can use them for.”

“Since we’ve decided to awaken you, the necessary things must already be prepared.” Patchouli glanced at Zheng Zha, and after receiving a resentful look in return that seemed to say, ‘Since you’ve already prepared everything, just go ahead and do it,’ she pulled Ming Yanwei to the other side of the altar. This woman was still wearing the semi-transparent silk nightgown she wore after her resurrection, and it really needed to be dealt with.

Zheng Zha turned his head away somewhat awkwardly. He happened to see Alice's hand touch the edge of the altar.

“Wait a minute.” Zheng Zha suddenly spoke up, “I am the captain, and I… have an obligation to bear the past of everyone in the team. Zhang Jie’s memories and pain… I also intend to take on them.”

“This might not work.” Alice glanced at him, but then deliberately left half a page of the Golden Book of the Sun open for Zheng Zha to hold the book of resurrection with her.

“Let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work… then forget it,” Zheng Zha replied, his other hand also touching the altar.

"God, I want to resurrect Zhang Jie," Alice silently prayed. After receiving the "insufficient reward points" message, she conveyed to the God that Patchouli would share the other part of the task. The God, after consulting Patchouli and obtaining her consent, gave an affirmative reply.

—'16,000 reward points deducted, two B-level side quests completed, resurrection execution.'

The next moment, she and Zheng Zha gained the same viewpoint as before. In their vision, the last few minutes of the siege of Cairo were replayed. They watched as Zhang Jie's hand chop struck the Outer Scripture Bodhisattva from the qualitative change stage, and at the same moment, he himself collapsed due to the backlash of the power. The scene in front of them then reversed, quickly returning to the moment when Zhang Jie was born.

Zhang Jie has always been a loyal and righteous person, like an older brother.

From elementary school onwards, he was undoubtedly the king of the pack among that large group of mischievous kids. To become king, you needed two things: fists and prestige. His fists were hard, and his words carried weight. If a classmate was bullied by thugs from outside school, he dared to take a brick and go alone to confront those unemployed hooligans who were a head taller than him. If a friend misbehaved at school, he would take the blame without hesitation. Gradually, his peers called him Brother Jie, a nickname he quite liked.

From elementary school to middle school, from junior high to high school, the former ringleader gradually grew up. Then he gradually realized that in this world, talent, background, and money were far more important than his meager sense of loyalty and passion. He grew up day by day, and Brother Jie gradually became Zhang Jie, became Rascal Jie, became a loser and a deadbeat—in the end, he only had the passion and loyalty to help others, and ultimately did not go down the path of organized crime.

Since he couldn't go to university, didn't want to go into organized crime, and didn't have any special talents, the only thing he could do was join the army.

In his era, the one-child policy was prevalent, making it easy to join the army. He was physically strong, cheerful, loyal, and responsible, so he successfully became the well-liked "Brother Jie" in the army. His comrades respected him, his superiors praised him, and there were even whispers that they wanted to send him to military academy and promote him to officer. And he certainly did not disappoint those who placed their hopes in him.

He was involved in the flood relief efforts in 1998. And in the same year, he was also on the list of soldiers who retired due to injuries or illnesses.

He saved five people in the flood, but the flood also took his two legs—two legs for five lives, so it wasn't a bad deal. The government didn't treat him unfairly either, giving him sufficient health care funds and a substantial disability allowance every month. And then… that was it.

His hometown was also a disaster area, and when he returned home, he couldn't see a single familiar face in his sight.

So he lived alone, pushing his wheelchair, utterly alone. One year, two years, three years. Every year his comrades would take a day to visit him, but only for that one day. Just that brief moment. And apart from that, all he could do was smoke a cigarette and quietly wait alone under the sun from morning till dusk.

Later, none of his comrades came to see him anymore. Some went into business, some went south to sea, and some supposedly participated in some mission and were never heard from again.

Another year, two years, three years passed. His city seemed to have been rocked by some case; the archives or something else caught fire. And after it was all over, his disability allowance mysteriously vanished—he didn't care about the money; his family wasn't poor, they had some assets. He only cared about…whether anyone remembered him. Whether anyone would still call him Brother Jie.

He didn't get what he wanted, and the world seemed to have forgotten him. He was left alone, a wounded old soldier, to wither and fade away until he despaired.

...Zhang Jie opened his eyes.

He glanced at Zheng Zha and Alice standing beside the altar, smiled, and asked, "Do you have any cigarettes?"

"Yes." Zheng Zha hurriedly took out a cigarette and lit it for him. "Welcome back, Zhang Jie... Brother Jie."

"Heh, the feeling of being alive is even better than I expected." Zhang Jie smiled as he took the gift, inhaled deeply, and then exhaled a long puff of white air. He suddenly turned his head to look into the distance.

"I was originally planning to catch up with everyone, but it seems we have some things to take care of now."

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

Several kilometers away, an elite British garrison stationed in Cairo was rapidly advancing towards the temple ruins rising from the sand. They were fully armed and equipped with heavy firepower. Several men dressed as papal priests were mixed in among them. As Zhang Jie's gaze fell in this direction, the garrison commander was loudly issuing orders to his men.

"The First Division will lead the charge! Once we see anything that can move, no matter what it is or what it looks like, use rifles, machine guns, and grenades to shoot it until it can't move!"

"If the First Division fails, order the artillery positions to bombard it! Use up all the ammunition!"

"I will wipe that temple and everything inside it from this world!"

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

Holy crap, another 5,500... My hands are getting sore... _(:з」∠)_

...Did I make Master Chu too powerful? _(:з」∠)_

Section 7. Who would understand this?

Just as Alice predicted, supernatural forces exist in this world, and these supernatural forces are intricately connected with the great powers of this era.

Egypt has its tomb keepers, and the Republic of China had its hidden spiritual practitioners in the deep mountains and forests. Meanwhile, the British Empire, though showing signs of decline by 1926, still possessed the world's most powerful army and territory, dominating Europe for centuries. Naturally, the British also possessed their own supernatural powers.

Without a doubt, the British were collaborators with the Papacy. After all, throughout their nation, including nobles, royalty, and commoners, those who were not believers were extremely rare. And when the British warhorses trampled into Egyptian soil, the Papacy's priests naturally arrived on that land as well.

They were weak; compared to the Outer Canon Bodhisattva and the Information Witch of 1923, they were all as insignificant as ants that could be crushed at will. And precisely because of their weakness, at the start of the decisive battle in Cairo, they were not seen by either side as an external force that might influence the course of the war.

Because of their weakness, they escaped the fate of dying in the aftermath of the Cairo War. And precisely because of their weakness, they were able to witness the entire war between the floating Hamunaptra and the Outer Canon Bodhisattva outside Cairo—they felt the power, the transcendent level of life, and the annihilating firepower capable of destroying an entire army with each shot. And when the Eye of Horus opened, a miniature black hole emerged, turning Cairo, a city of flesh and blood, into scorched earth, they, as the sole witnesses, recorded the entire event.

Whether they still held onto their original beliefs after witnessing all this is unknown. When they returned to their homeland, they unleashed a storm of immense impact. Because they brought back not only their memories, but also... something else entirely.

The remains of the Heavenly Demon—Bayaki.

Earth Demon – A fragment of the burrowing worm's organization.

And... a piece of stone ground, inexplicably preserved intact after enduring the massive impact, the self-destruction of the mimicry magic furnace, and the combined effects of the Eye of Horus, bearing a mysterious drawing. This drawing is the operational diagram of Chapter Five of the Seven Secret Records of the Mysterious Monarch—the Taiyin Corpse Dissolution and Metamorphosis Talisman!

Saito summoned the Heavenly Demon and Earthly Demon using only the first four chapters, and used them to secure Alice's victory in the battle. But this wasn't all he had done—he was still preparing the ritual for the fifth chapter, and had refined it to a critical state that only required one or two steps to trigger. Once activated, the Hound Gate, hidden in spacetime, would swarm in and indiscriminately attack the Reincarnators, a collective of individuals possessing the ability to 'travel through spacetime'!

This was his last resort, a desperate act to turn the tide. Alice had explicitly told him that the limit of his mind and spirit was the first four chapters, and that using the fifth chapter would mean certain death. The hounds would tear him apart, then use the will contained within his flesh and blood as a trigger to target Sesshouin Kiara, his nemesis, as their primary attack target. And this was Alice's final trump card to finish off after her plan went awry!

However, Alice didn't use this trump card, so Saito returned to the Main God Space alive. He should have destroyed the ritual before leaving... Perhaps he did try to destroy it, but in the end, the ritual diagram, which had been deduced to the final step and was only missing a trigger, was preserved and taken back to the European continent by a group of ignorant people.