Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

“Since you possess two ‘Golden Cores’ within you, I will name this purification method ‘Foundation Building.’ Alice has installed a stellar extraction tower in Kolenda. Once operational, it can drain the sun from the insect planet in a very short time and trigger a simulated supernova explosion… The power will certainly be far less than the original, but the quality will be sufficient.”

She smiled at Zheng Zha, whose face, which had been full of enthusiasm just seconds before, was rapidly becoming stiff and ashen.

"The Supernova Foundation Building Method, you can look forward to it." She said softly, "I guarantee, the effects will be outstanding."

"...Can I take back what I just said?"

Chapter 52 A Word Spoken Cannot Be Taken Back

"Sure."

Patchouli's answer surprised Zheng Zha greatly. If he could move his hands now, he would definitely pinch his face hard to make sure he was living in a dream.

—Then Patchouli finished speaking.

"You state your needs, I'll provide a solution; it's a very simple matter." The purple-haired girl spread her hands, making a gesture of 'whatever you prefer.' "Since you yourself prefer a more conservative approach, then there's no need for me to waste extra time and energy doing something thankless."

She pressed a few times on the terminal at the bottom of the transparent jar, and the metal tentacles used to examine Zheng Zha's body detached from his body, carrying the collected tissue samples, and quickly disappeared back into the bottom of the container.

"Then the question returns to the previous stage. You need to make a choice: Option One or Option Two?" Patchouli tilted her head slightly and continued to ask, "Or perhaps a combination of both, using only the shallow 'foundation building' option 2.5? If that's the case, the process will be very quick and extremely safe, with absolutely no accidents."

Zheng Zha closed his eyes.

He hadn't expected Patchouli to be so easy to talk to, but Patchouli's attitude backfired and cornered him.

I am the captain of the Zhongzhou team.

If even I don't set an example, then what right do I have to lead my companions through countless perilous cycles of reincarnation?

“…Norege,” he said slowly, “what are the chances of success for your ‘Supernova Foundation Building Method’?”

“I’ve tried six experiments with mimicking supernovae, and I succeeded four times. So the current success rate is two-thirds,” Patchouli explained unhurriedly. “The failures occurred about a thousand light-years away from here, and I can tell you that the result was that the planet used as the test site was torn to shreds… Of course, the results of the successes are pretty much the same.”

"This is just the success rate of simply completing the mimicry supernova. Add to that the subsequent assembly work, the re-editing of the energy system..." Patchouli thought for a few seconds and gave a somewhat uncertain answer. "The final success rate is probably about 50/50."

“If you succeed, you can activate your self-created skill ‘Explosion’ while in the third-tier gene lock state, gaining some of the fourth-tier power. In terms of pure output, it’s even stronger than the lowest-level fourth-tier transcendent creature. And if you fail…” Patchouli shrugged. “I don’t need to elaborate on the result, but you should be able to tell from my attitude.”

"Sometimes, not pushing yourself too hard is actually a rational and correct choice."

Zheng Zha fell silent.

"...I need to think about it."

“Then you’d better hurry, we don’t have much time.” Patchouli nodded and left the jar containing Zheng Zha’s medicine. She then went to Zhang Jie’s bedside and sat down in the swivel chair at the head of the bed.

"How is it?" Patchouli asked.

"I'm alright, I won't die." Zhang Jie glanced at her weakly, reaching out as if to take a cigarette from his pocket to light it—his hand fell limply halfway down, he didn't even have the energy to light it. He explained helplessly, "Physically, I'm fine, but the mental trauma is a bit severe. When I was fighting that guy from the Senzhou team, he suddenly attacked me hard, and I almost couldn't recover."

"Is it serious?" Patchouli flicked her fingers, and a delicate cigarette landed in her hand. A wisp of fire rose from the tip of her finger, and the aroma of tobacco immediately filled the air.

"The raw material is pollution-free cigarettes from the God of War brand. I modified it a bit while working on another project, adding some mental-enhancing compound medicine. It should help with your injuries." She put the lit cigarette to Zhang Jie's lips. After taking two puffs, the latter's spirits visibly lifted.

“If you had something this good… you should have said so earlier.” Zhang Jie’s complexion improved slightly, and he gripped the cigarette tightly. His face was noticeably rosier, and his speech became a little more fluent—he looked at Patchouli expectantly. “Is there more?”

“This will do. I don’t have many materials on hand.” Patchouli shrugged. “I thought you would have some potions that could heal mental injuries. After all, you are a high-level mental user who has been a guide; you should have some in stock.”

“I used to have it.” Zhang Jie sighed sadly. “But I lost it after dying once. The Supreme God is not a magnanimous guy. I basically left with nothing after my resurrection. Apart from my abilities and Na’er, I have none of the treasures I bought.”

“I originally thought that since we had kept the score so low and had just experienced a team wipe, it should be a score-farming event, so I didn’t prepare much. Who knew that…” His melancholy turned into a bitter smile as he shook his head. “This team battle… was too outrageous.”

"Oh?" Patchouli made a gesture of listening attentively.

Zhang Jie grabbed a cigarette and took a deep drag.

"Everything went smoothly up to the beginning. Although this horror movie has a grand interstellar background, the enemy insects and the human expeditionary force are basically either idiots or rookies. It's not difficult to fish in troubled waters. And the combat strength of the Southern Flame Continent team is not beyond my expectations... a captain with half a fourth rank plus three or four main members with first or second rank gene locks. For a world that is not particularly difficult in terms of actual difficulty, this is already a powerful force that can be considered presentable... Of course, we need to be stronger."

“However, the Morizu team…” He shook his head with a wry smile. “They’re simply monsters.”

“Those two aren’t very strong,” Patchouli said, looking at him. “The next time we meet, they will be dead.”

“I know,” Zhang Jie sighed. “But you should also know that the Senzhou team has another captain. And that captain must have reached the fourth level. And that’s the problem.”

“I made some discoveries during my battle with that psychic from the Senzhou team named Nijabin. My power is actually superior to his. The reason he defeated me is because he possesses a secret treasure… No, perhaps this description doesn't quite capture it for you. You're not a psychic, so there are some things you can't understand. But if my intuition is correct… what he possesses is a living spirit. A light that… transcends the ordinary.”

He flicked the ash from his cigarette, trying to get up from the hospital bed but failing. In the end, he could only lean against the headboard, his tone serious.

“I’m not quite sure what that is, but Patchouli, you should know that I’ve been to the Final Destination world before… of course, it’s a different branch of the Final Destination world you’ve arrived in. I didn’t encounter those ancient angels you mentioned there, but I did encounter something else… I encountered Death.”

"It's hard for me to describe exactly what that thing is to you. I only know that if that being, overflowing with the aura of death, were to make a move, even as a half-guide of the main god, I would probably have to die once. I would be forcibly banished from that world. And I sensed a similar light in that being to the mentalists of the Morizu team."

“I suspect that the psychic on the Senzhou team is able to manipulate space through that ‘light.’ And the inner substance of that light…” Zhang Jie shook his head sadly. “I have some guesses, but I’m not sure.”

Patchouli lowered her eyes.

Zhang Jie didn't provide much information, but for her, who had previously reviewed the prediction records, it was detailed enough evidence. Through this information, she was able to determine the true nature of that 'light beyond reason'.

[The Light of the Soul... huh. Although it was long ago estimated that the captain of the Senzhou team had a small chance of possessing the strength to unlock the middle stage of the fourth stage of the genetic lock and overcome his inner demons, once this conjecture is confirmed... it's really not something to laugh about.]

The girl sighed inwardly.

During his battle with Rost, Zheng Zha learned from their conversation that Rost's extraordinary power originated from a treasure called 'Power'. Adding to this the psychic Niga Abin's possession of a mysterious artifact, possibly possessing 'Spatial' attributes and resembling the Light of the Mind, a simple chain of deduction could be pieced together.

—The captain of the Mori team must possess the power to completely subdue these two.

—The captain of the Senzhou team didn't care about these two treasures, which could give people the combat power of the early stage of the fourth tier, and might even be some kind of spiritual light.

—The Senzhou team is a breeding team.

Without a doubt, the best treasures in a breeding team belong to the strongest member. And within the ruling hierarchy, structured as king-subject-servant, even if a treasure is worthless to the strongest, it won't be easily bestowed upon lower-ranking members.

So……

[The captain of the Senzhou team should have already reached the fourth tier, and the things attached to these two reincarnators must be the light of her soul that she separated or differentiated in some way... I see, I think I understand what this guy is up to. What a ruthless and cruel king.]

However... the Light of the Soul? Fortunately, we don't need to defeat it directly from the front...

Patchouli raised her hand.

“I have a general understanding of the situation. I know what it is and I have a plan to deal with it. There’s no need to worry about the ‘extraordinary light’ that the Senzhou team’s captain and those two possess. When the time is right, they will naturally not pose an obstacle.”

Her tone was confident, and her words gave people a sense of trustworthiness.

Zhang Jie clearly wouldn't distrust her.

“What role should I play in your plan?” Zhang Jie asked.

“There’s no rush.” Patchouli shook her head slightly. “Before that, I need your help with something… When you were fighting the psychic from the Senzhou team, you were very close to them. Even if you didn’t do it intentionally, you should still have some visual records of the Senzhou team’s reincarnators in your memory… especially the graphic records on their wristwatches. I need you to retrieve them from your mind and identify the Senzhou team’s main mission.”

"You really know how to order people around, Miss Patchouli." Zhang Jie had lost count of how many times he'd forced a wry smile in the past hour. He glanced at the modified "God of the Mode" cigarette in his hand, now reduced to a single stub. His lips twitched involuntarily.

He now understood why Patchouli had so thoughtfully shaped the potion into the form of his favorite cigarette, instead of simply injecting him. After all, the emperor's troops weren't short of starving soldiers, and he had been tested on his memories in this half-crippled mental state; it wouldn't be right not to offer some compensation. Moreover… her purpose went beyond that.

"Is it really necessary to go this far?" Zhang Jie asked, looking at her.

"You deliberately whitewashed the minds of the mental power users in the Southern Flame Team, just to deal with this kind of situation, didn't you?" Patchouli retorted. "You made the emergency medicine yourself, but now you can't bring yourself to use it?"

She glanced at Zheng Zha, who was struggling with his inner turmoil inside the jar and had no time to think about anything else. She continued, "Of course, this isn't really an urgent matter. I don't need the Senzhou team's main quest right now, but your combat strength will be indispensable in the upcoming battles."

“You must heal your injuries quickly, Zhang Jie. If you really can’t bring yourself to do it…” She paused, then said somewhat reluctantly, “I can spend some extra resources to pull that girl’s consciousness out of her coma. You can consume all her mental energy without harming her; it will only awaken her from her memory lapses. Then she can spend this cycle of reincarnation as a real little girl—if she can survive to the end.”

"...Let's just say I owe you one."

"You don't need to owe me anything. Just give it your all in the battles from now on," Patchouli replied calmly. A thought flickered in her mind, and a new schedule was quickly created. Then, her gaze shifted again, returning to Zheng Zha's side.

Zhang Jie's situation is now resolved, the hidden dangers have been eliminated, and after absorbing Xue Ling'er's blank spirit, Zhang Jie's abilities might even be enhanced to some extent. Combined with his pre-prepared arrangements, defeating Nijabin shouldn't be difficult. Therefore, only one matter remains to be addressed.

"You should make a decision, Captain Zheng Zha."

Chapter 53 - Before the War

Zheng Zha's choice was not surprising; he once again chose the "I want it all" option. Thus, the solution became Option Three, which offered the greatest risk and reward. Then, Patchouli personally performed some basic treatments on him.

This is not a suitable location for surgery. To complete the entire transformation, we must travel to Korenda—the stellar extraction tower that Alice buried inside that planet remains dormant. Once we arrive there, we can activate the extraction tower and complete this simulated 'supernova foundation building'.

And obviously, the Mori team members would be in that area as well.

That will be the site of the decisive battle, at least for this phase—Senju and his companion, unable to locate the Central Continent team, will certainly seek out and contact the expeditionary fleet in the Insectoid galaxy. Because they possess sufficiently powerful psychic abilities, even if they are discovered by Federation officers with heightened psychic sensitivity, they will have enough time to gather sufficient intelligence and take appropriate action before that happens. And if their efficiency and luck are strong enough, they might even be able to brainwash the entire expeditionary fleet's leadership before the alarm sounds—

—Of course, it doesn't matter even if they actually succeed.

Because Zhang Jie remembered their main mission. And their main mission dictated that they wouldn't easily harm the expeditionary fleet. And as long as the expeditionary fleet existed... then the scales of victory would tip in favor of the Central Plains team.

After all, since Patchouli had anticipated this possibility and even guessed that they would infiltrate the expeditionary fleet, she would inevitably have made arrangements in advance. In fact, the entire expeditionary fleet was now essentially a giant mousetrap, waiting for the little mice called the Senzhou Team Reincarnators to follow the bait and fall into it, so that they could be caught in one fell swoop.

Meanwhile, with Zheng Zha setting an example, Zhang Jie on the other side could easily make up his mind as well. In the following time, Patchouli ordered the fleet to switch to autopilot mode and prepare to jump towards Kolenda. She then took Zhang Jie, who was barely able to get out of bed, to the area where the remaining reincarnators of the Southern Flame Continent team were located, and two minutes later, she presided over the mental devouring surgery.

Without a doubt, the surgery was a success. Patchouli easily extracted Xue Ling'er's main consciousness, and Zhang Jie was then able to devour her now-empty spiritual energy without any hindrance. The process lasted for about thirty minutes, and when Zhang Jie opened his eyes again, an aura stronger than his previous peak was released from his body.

He became stronger, stronger than before.

His newly healed spirit did not become clouded by the incorporation of the foreign object—he completely devoured and absorbed Xue Ling'er's refined, blank spirit. In the process, his biggest weakness—the excessive strengthening by the main god, which resulted in his total spiritual power far exceeding his control—was also eliminated in this severe injury.

He finally gained complete control of his power and became a true third-tier ultimate mental power user. Although the gateway to the fourth tier remained strong, it was no longer as hopeless as before.

As a bonus, Xue Ling'er from the Nan Yan Continent team also woke up when he did. Although Zhang Jie had completely stripped her of her psychic abilities, turning her into an ordinary mortal, her genetic unlocking stage and many of the skills possessed by psychic users remained. If she returned to the Main God Space or had some fortuitous encounter in this world, she would immediately become a newly forged powerhouse again. Faced with this situation, the remaining members of the Nan Yan Continent team, who had initially harbored some hostility, could no longer maintain their sullen attitude.

After all, it was a team battle among the Reincarnators, and their side had struck first. Losing meant they had neither the right nor the advantage, and being brutally beaten to the point of near annihilation meant they had to bear the bitter consequences themselves. However, after forming an alliance (albeit an unequal one), the Central Continent team faithfully fulfilled their promises.

They neither harmed any of the remaining members of the Nan Yan Zhou team nor put them in any certain deadly danger. While Xue Ling'er's blank mental state certainly benefited Zhang Jie, on the other hand, if Zhang Jie hadn't acted, she might have had to sleep until returning to the Main God Space, which would have cost a lot of resources. But now... at least she has the ability to become a pawn on the chessboard.

Of course, the most important reason is that the Zhongzhou team is very strong, overwhelmingly stronger than the Nanyanzhou team.

Since the strong are willing to show their compassion and magnanimity, the best response the weak can give is to offer their submission and gratitude.

In short, the two teams maintained a relatively harmonious and peaceful relationship. Patchouli also took some time to provide the survivors of the Southern Flame Continent team with some inexpensive equipment and magical buffs. This slightly improved their survivability, at least preventing them from being killed by the insects on Kolenda. As for the team battle with the Forest Continent team... they were not yet of any use.

Although her actions were quick and consumed almost no resources, they significantly improved her overall image in the eyes of Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie. Their initial resentment, stemming from the pressure of the situation and lack of choice, vanished. They also became much more cooperative in assisting her with her numerous experiments.

These various miscellaneous tasks took the Central Continent team about two hours. Soon, the jump began and ended. Patchouli, who had prepared a covert route in advance, easily evaded the expeditionary fleet's star system detection system and arrived in the surrounding space of Kolendadu from another direction—she ordered the hunting fleet to hide in the asteroid belt outside Kolendadu, while she, along with Zheng Zha and Zhang Jie, infiltrated the insect planet aboard the Great Library, and after easily bypassing several reconnaissance ships, arrived at the location of the Stellar Extraction Tower.

—That vast underground void that was once inhabited by the god of the swarm, but was emptied of the swarm millions of years ago.

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

Meanwhile, at the Federation Expeditionary Force fleet.

About an hour and a half ago, the entire expeditionary fleet, under orders from the flagship, suspended its orbital suppression bombardment of Kolenda. Ground forces also shifted from offense back to defense. This was because, through reliable intelligence channels, the expeditionary force had received unsettling information—the Hunting Fleet had been suddenly attacked by the space insectoids. Not only had all the Federation heroes perished, but their flagship had also been taken over by highly intelligent aliens, becoming abhorrent weapons in the hands of humanity's enemies.

This intelligence report, upon closer examination, contained numerous flaws. However, after the captains and commanders of the various ships traveled to the flagship on transport ships to attend the ceremony and returned safely, all expressing complete conviction about the report, the lower-ranking expeditionary officers and soldiers who still harbored doubts had no choice but to remain silent.

Federation soldiers do not have the habit of questioning their superiors or going off on their own during wartime.

Therefore, when the terrifying intelligence from the flagship was confirmed to be true, all ships in the hunting fleet were treated as hostile targets and removed from the command system, with all communication networks and remote access cut off. All remaining ships in the expeditionary force were also granted special firing permission: if a ship from the hunting fleet appeared within a ship's firing range, that ship could, and had to, immediately open fire to ensure its complete annihilation in the shortest possible time.