Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Alice blinked.

She knew what atomic clock lag meant; it meant that the flow of time was abnormal, that it had slowed down. And that traces had still remained after such a massive energy surge. This meant that, in a stable, low-energy environment, the captain of the Nan Yan Zhou team could at least achieve a brief freeze of spacetime in a region!

Time-space freeze—this was a power she had never possessed. It was also the power that allowed the captain of the Southern Flame Continent team to escape.

"Ah...it seems my strategy was correct. Those nearing the superhuman level really do have some special skills. If I had been allowed to get close earlier, I would have suffered a huge loss on the spot, perhaps even serious injury. Tsk...it's time stop."

[Even though I haven't reached the fourth level, nor have I been able to achieve absolute zero, I can still freeze spacetime... Is it some kind of innate ability, or some kind of energy mechanism that I've never understood? Ah, I've been researching changes in spacetime recently, and I really didn't expect someone to deliver themselves to my doorstep...]

A smile appeared on the girl's lips. She reached out and, before the last ten grams or so of brain tissue could die, used her force field to capture the crown containing the remains of the Southern Flame Continent team captain. Shanghai, standing nearby, quickly retrieved a suitable container and stuffed the blue-haired woman into it before she was completely dead.

She won't die, at least not until Alice has 'used' her.

And the rest...

The girl raised her hand, controlling the starship to open the valves of the space capsule. When she returned to the starship, a pre-prepared rain of space debris, consisting of meteorites and asteroid fragments, would arrive and cover up all traces of their battle.

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

One minute later...

"Resolved?" Zheng Zha casually tossed the burly Nordic man, whose head had been beaten into a pig's head, to the ground and looked at his companions who were joining him.

"It's done!" Zhang Jie tossed the unconscious Xue Ling'er and Rose onto the carpet, sat down on the sofa, and then lit a cigarette with relish.

“It’s over…” Ming Yanwei breathed softly, her body bearing several scratches. Beside her, Ba Wang was grimacing as he switched back from werewolf form to human form while pulling out several arrows stuck in his body. The two of them had teamed up to ambush the last remaining archers of the Nan Yan Continent raiding party, paying the price of minor injuries for a small gain.

“Solved.” Alice twisted a container filled with an unknown liquid, inside which was a metal crown and a fist-sized lump of flesh that was rapidly multiplying. She casually put the container aside, and in the instant she released it, a faint spark of electricity suddenly flashed within the container, slapping the lump of flesh, which had quietly multiplied to the size of an apple, back down to the size of an infant's fist.

"You guys really made a big commotion just now." Zheng Zha's gaze swept over the others one by one, finally settling on the container next to Alice. "Although I couldn't see it, that attack a little over a minute ago gave me goosebumps. You used the Great Library's main cannon, didn't you? That... one-tenth of a solar cannon?"

"Yes, more or less. Although the energy properties are slightly different, the difference isn't significant." Alice nodded, paying little attention to the 'What the heck is that? It sounds amazing!' looks on Ming Yanwei and Ba Wang's faces, or Zhang Jie's 'Oh, I see, I knew it was so outrageous' expression—she simply raised her hand, pulled out a light screen displaying a dizzying amount of data beside her, and examined it closely.

“The opponent is quite formidable, both in terms of skill and technique.” She explained to Zheng Zha and the others while quickly flipping through the data. “Without relying on any external aids, my chance of defeat in a direct confrontation is as high as 30%, so I had to take some decisive measures and use the Great Library’s main cannon to silence her quickly. After all, for a witch, if the situation reaches the point where I have to engage in close combat with my opponent… then I’m probably not far from death, so I will try my best to avoid that situation.”

Zheng Zha looked at her, then at the container that held the crown.

"So... you beat him up like this in just one minute?"

Alice shrugged.

"I have no interest in fighting three hundred rounds with an enemy who is poorly informed but whose combat strength is at least on par with mine, fighting until we vomit blood, and then having to play each other's trump cards before finally deciding the winner through various games of strategy—I am a witch, not a warrior like you who are used to facing enemies head-on. I will not easily take action if I do not have sufficient information."

“Once I’ve gathered some basic information about the enemy, I’ll annihilate them with a swift and decisive strike. Then I’ll extract anything from their remains that might be of use to my advantage, to avoid any unforeseen complications.” She smiled gently. “It’s an old habit of mine. Unless there’s a genuine need to buy time, I won’t waste my energy and mana on this.”

Zheng Zha was speechless.

He enjoyed hand-to-hand combat and close-quarters fighting with muscular clashing—perhaps because that was his forte, just as heavily armored knights preferred to advocate for head-on confrontations in warfare—but he also felt there was no need to continue the conversation, so he decided to steer the topic away and try to ask Alice what they should do next.

But then he suddenly remembered something.

"Wait a minute." He pointed to the container in front of him, specifically to the brain tissue suspended in the nutrient solution inside. "This guy... isn't quite dead yet, is he?"

“Yes, that’s right, she’s not quite dead yet.” Alice nodded. “Her brain tissue is still active, and her soul exists, although it’s probably in a dormant state… but she’s undoubtedly alive. And I have a use for her; I might use her for some experiments or something… are you interested?”

“No, I have absolutely no interest in your experiment. And…” Zheng Zha frowned. “I think we should just take down the enemy. After all, it’s a team battle, and killing enemies is perfectly acceptable. But since we’ve already won, I don’t think it’s necessary to torture them anymore… using people for experiments… I don’t feel comfortable with that.”

“This will be very beneficial to our future strategy. And it will strengthen the fighting power of our team.” Alice looked at him calmly. “Of course, if you insist, I will follow your instructions to end her life. But the Nan Yan Zhou team will be useless to us, and we will have to kill them all and then face the Sen Zhou team alone.”

"…………" Zheng Zha fell silent.

A few seconds later, he shook his head. "Never mind, we'll talk about this later. If it really doesn't work... never mind. I have something else I want to ask..."

He pointed to a patch of ash on the ground that hadn't completely dissipated, to the black corpse lying dead on the ground in the distance, to the arrows on the Overlord's body, and then to Zhang Jie.

"One, two, three, four. There are eight people from the Southern Flame Continent team in total: four assault team members, three forming a mental power group, and one captain in outer space. We can now confirm that we killed four people, and four are still alive. But why did we get five points?"

"Could it be that Chu Xuan and Norege have also made some gains?" he asked doubtfully. "But aren't they having a meeting on the expeditionary flagship right now?"

He asked this question, and the others around him also cast puzzled glances at Alice.

Alice raised an eyebrow.

She didn't answer, but simply twirled her finger. The next moment, the screen in front of her quietly flipped, and the countless incomprehensible symbols and numbers on the screen disappeared within seconds, replaced by a projection of reality that followed the viewer's perspective. From the screen, this was clearly Patchouli's viewpoint.

"It's a bit complicated to explain in words, you'll see for yourselves."

She made a 'please' gesture.

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

Time reversal...

When the transport ship arrived at the flagship of the unified expeditionary force, its hull trembled slightly...

“Then proceed according to the pre-arranged plan. Chu Xuan, you will be in charge of the meeting. I will deal with the sage from the Southern Flame Continent team.” Patchouli said softly. In front of her was a screen showing a blond youth biting into chocolate in a closed room, looking at the monitor with a vicious expression. The image on the monitor had been altered by Patchouli.

She looked at Chu Xuan, but didn't actually expect him to answer her. This was something that had already been decided; the witch, out of her cautious nature, had already gone over it once and for all, but Chu Xuan wouldn't simply repeat a strategy that had already been decided.

However, Chu Xuan replied to her.

“Nios.” His voice was as ethereal and serene as ever.

"what?"

“The sage of the Southern Flame Continent team is named Neos, someone I defeated in reality. He doesn’t know me, but I’ve seen his file,” Chu Xuan said clearly, rising from his seat and walking out of the transport ship. “He’s an arrogant and conceited person; that’s his weakness. If you want to prevent him from making a last-ditch effort, you can start there.”

"To undermine his confidence... thank you."

Chu Xuan nodded to her and didn't continue speaking. Just as Chu Xuan stepped out of the transport ship, a figure that looked exactly like Patchouli followed him—it was an android created by Alice, capable of bypassing the world's detection devices to attend the meeting in Patchouli's place.

She waited on the transport ship for thirty seconds until Chu Xuan's footsteps disappeared into the distance before she stood up from her seat and left through the hatch.

A distorted light surrounded her, rendering the guards blind to her. A soundproof barrier enveloped her body, ignoring detection devices. She moved swiftly and decisively, heading directly towards the secret chamber she deemed her target without taking any detours. The silver-gray swarm of nanobots seeped into the ship's hull with her steps, rapidly expanding outwards from the massive starship as she advanced.

She walked quickly, arriving at the door of Neos's room in less than half a minute. With just a slight thought, the defenses set up by the sages of the Southern Flame Continent team were completely eroded by the nanites she controlled.

She knocked gently on the door.

—And behind the door, all was silent.

The next moment, the entire steel gate melted and softened before her, devoured into fine dust by the swarm of nanobots. At the same instant, she floated through the gate and saw the astonished face of the blond youth.

The chocolate in the young man's hand fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

“Nice to meet you, Neos,” Patchouli said with a smile. “I am Patchouli, Patchouli Knowledge, Patchouli Knowledge from the Central Continent. I suppose you may not be so keen to meet me at this time, but I felt it was appropriate for me to visit you now.”

She saw the young man's pupils suddenly contract, as if he had instantly entered a state of unlocking his genetic potential—his muscles tensed for a moment, then relaxed. His gaze swept over the Nordic man beating Zheng Zha on the monitor beside him, and then confidence returned to him.

He picked up the chocolate that had fallen on the ground.

“I must admit I was surprised you were able to find me, Miss.” Neos grabbed a chocolate and took a big bite. “But you’ve already lost, and now I have the upper hand. Even if you manage to defeat me, it won’t change the fact that the Central Continent team has lost. Besides…”

"You might not be able to defeat me either."

"Is that so?" Patchouli tilted her head slightly, smiling at him. The next moment, the first scoring notification from the Supreme God rang in both of their ears.

—'Zhongzhou team scores one point positive, Nanyanzhou team scores one point negative.'

The screen next to the young man instantly went blank. The next moment, the scene of the Scandinavians beating Zheng Zha turned into a scene where Zheng Zha cut the white strongman into ashes with a single slash, severely injured the black mage, and then raised his hand to beat up the Scandinavians.

—'Zhongzhou team scores +2 points, Nanyanzhou team scores -2 points.'

The screen suddenly shifted, and the scene of Zhang Jie punching Aya's head and leaving with the unconscious Cheryl and Rose was clearly visible.

“Your hacking skills are terrible, your main combat personnel are weak, your mentalists are mentally fragile, and your sages…” Patchouli smiled as she looked at him: “utterly foolish.”

He suddenly took a step back.

"I haven't lost yet!" The young man's face suddenly turned ferocious. "I'm prepared!"

"Are you referring to the lieutenant general who planned to question the heroes of Korenda at the conference, or the biology expert who advocated for swarm lurking entities? I regret to inform you that the first of them will die of a heart attack in thirty seconds, and the second was arrested two minutes ago on suspicion of academic fraud."

Patchouli looked down at him as if he were an ant crawling on the ground.

"Save your breath, Mr. Neos. Now that we've hacked into the network, these petty tricks are doomed. Your Southern Flame Continent team has no chance of resistance. The only reason I came here was to see just how foolish the idiot who orchestrated this situation was, and now it seems..."

"...That's certainly true to its name." She glanced at the chocolate in Neos's hand. "How old are you? Still eating sweets. Don't you know how to use energy bars to replenish your energy?"

Neos silently set aside the chocolate he hadn't finished eating.

He closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts. After a long while, he asked in a low voice.

"...What do you want to do?"

Patchouli didn't answer, but instead showed him a photograph Alice had just taken, showing only a few dozen grams of brain tissue and a headdress. His face drained of all color in an instant.

“I originally wanted to form some kind of unequal partnership with your Southern Flame Continent team. But now it seems there’s no need for that. Your teammates might be able to help us, but you… you’re too stupid.” Patchouli emphasized the words ‘your teammates’ slightly.

After she finished speaking, she immediately shook her head and turned away from Neos before he had enough time to think.

"Take your own life," she said softly.

------------

No more chapter splitting _(:з」∠)_

Section 18. A Person's Name, A Tree's Shadow

Neos did not take her own life as she had expected.

“Misleading language, you want me dead.” The young man suddenly calmed down, taking out a second chocolate from his pocket and eating it slowly. The light in his eyes narrowed into a focused gaze—he then shook his head slightly. “No, this should be a test. You want to test whether our Southern Flame Continent team is worth your time as a blade?”

“You’re smarter than I thought.” Patchouli turned around and sat down on the sofa in front of Neos. “If you really commit suicide, then the Southern Flame Continent team will indeed have no reason to exist. What we need is a pawn to probe the strength of the Light Forest Continent team, and you… are weaker than we expected.”

She shook her head slightly.

"In my prediction, while the Southern Flame Continent team should be weaker than our Central Continent team, the gap shouldn't actually be that large. Although your defeat is inevitable, you should at least be able to hold out against us for fifteen minutes. You might even inflict some losses on us, severely injuring one or two of our members..."

"...instead of being completely wiped out without any chance to fight back, as is the case now."

"So you're worried because the Senzhou team is in a higher tier in your calculation model?" Neos chuckled softly, but there was no smile in his eyes. "You're stronger than the God of War assesses you to be, and you're not a breeding team, so I think the answer should be quite simple: you possess items for resurrection or forcibly completing missions—no, if it's the latter, you don't need to worry about the Senzhou team at all."

"I understand. Your Zhongzhou team was wiped out in one or two horror movies... no, it should be the last horror movie. Only a few people managed to escape by chance, and then you resurrected the dead team members using resurrection items. That's why your Zhongzhou team is so powerful but has such a low rating... tsk, the main god really tricked me badly."

“You guessed pretty accurately.” Patchouli raised an eyebrow. “And your South Flame Continent team must have recently gone through a pre-team battle scoring phase, so your rating is inflated.”

“Indeed, but not only.” Neos gently placed his hands in front of him, forming a tower shape. “The reason why our Southern Flame Continent team has a higher rating than yours is one thing, but our actual combat strength is another—I hold the final trump card. And the reason you were willing to come here and talk to me, instead of killing me without my knowledge and taking the 7,000 points and the B-rank side quest, is probably because of this.”

“That’s right.” Patchouli nodded. “We made a estimate, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the actual combat effectiveness ratio of our three teams should be around 3:2:4, with the worst-case scenario being 3:2:5. You should know what that means…”

Neos closed his eyes.

His head tilted back slightly, and from his suddenly taut temples and the muscles all over his body, it was clear that he had at least entered the second stage of the gene lock. A few seconds later, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and a few seconds after that, the sweat was mixed with crimson blood.

He suddenly opened his eyes, his once bright blue eyes now bloodshot.