Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

For assassins, area-of-effect attacks within enclosed spaces are undoubtedly the most troublesome. It's like throwing a stun grenade into a crowded dormitory; the space is limited, and no matter where you hide, you're bound to be affected by the shockwave—everyone gets stunned, and no one can escape. But what if we change the scenario and set the assassin's target as a tough, muscular warrior? Then…

Zhao Ying shook her head, remaining hidden. However, she observed Zheng Zha raising his sword again, gathering his strength. She raised an eyebrow slightly, and the next moment, an elemental storm covering the entire sacrificial grounds' forecourt suddenly unfolded!

This time, there was nowhere to hide.

Zhao Yingkong dodged the storm's waves three times in a row, but suddenly appeared beside Zheng Zha just as the fourth wave was about to hit. The Netherfire Fang she gripped tightly sliced ​​open dark spatial rifts. It was about to tear through Zheng Zha's energy shield once more and pierce his chest!

In the very center of the space, a faint spark flickered.

Zhao Yingkong failed—an assassin can only win a direct confrontation when their opponent is weaker. This is precisely what a powerful assassin should do; their duty is to lurk in the shadows and deliver a fatal blow. Her failure to land her first strike meant the loss of the initiative. And when she unleashed her second attack, the destructive greatsword blocked her path!

The Fang of Hellfire clashed with the Crimson Blade of Destruction seven times.

Zhao Yingkong's every strike hit the most difficult point for the greatsword to exert force at. Each thrust of the Netherfire Fang tore spatial rifts in the blade, rifts strong enough to slice even the hardest diamond into thin slices. Yet, Zheng Zha was still able to unleash tremendous power far exceeding her limits at that most difficult point, and the Destruction Greatsword remained unscathed even after enduring seven spatial rifts.

Seven strikes, seven misses. But on the eighth clash, the Fang of Netherfire shattered beneath the crimson blade! The blade continued its downward thrust, its sharp aura carving a massive, tangible gash in Zhao Yingkong's chest before even touching her surreal form!

"...There's no other way, we have to use that."

Zhao Yingkong's pupils suddenly contracted to a tiny dot. And just as the blade was about to strike, a brilliant light burst forth from the depths of her eyes, from the window to her soul!

Transformation, Section Thirteen: Methods to Resolve Violence

The gene lock system has a drawback that, while not exactly a flaw, is that to unleash its full power, a physical body is a prerequisite. The size and strength of the body are irrelevant; even a mere gram of cells can allow a powerful individual with a high-level gene lock to unleash near-maximum power. However, if not even a drop of blood or a single piece of tissue remains, the combat effectiveness achievable solely through willpower and soul is significantly reduced.

Zhao Yingkong is currently in this situation. Although she has created an energy projection in this enclosed space that is almost identical to a real body using the special summoning tool Alice prepared in advance—a fake is still a fake, and a counterfeit flesh and blood body is ultimately just a counterfeit flesh and blood body. She has not a drop of blood, a piece of flesh, or even a complete cell in this space. Naturally, she cannot unleash the powers of the fourth stage of the Gene Lock that can only be used with a physical body.

Therefore, her combat power is less than a quarter of her peak. Because here, with this energy-mimicking body, she can only unleash two kinds of power. The first is the precision of microscopic manipulation, exerting force directly at the molecular level. The second is her only source of confidence in overpowering Zheng Zha at this moment: a dazzling light bursting forth from the depths of her soul.

The light of her soul.

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

The destructive blade swung backward violently, shattering space inch by inch. Centered on the focal point of Zhao Yingkong's vision, an extremely small and dark black dot took shape. This black dot rapidly expanded outward, from a point to a surface, from a surface to a solid—growing into a black sphere the size of a ping-pong ball within a few femtoseconds. The shifting gravitational waves then completely tore apart the integrity of the surrounding space!

This is a black hole, the purest destructive force in the real universe. Its birth originated from the light of Zhao Yingkong's soul. As soon as this small black sphere was born, she acted swiftly, projecting her power towards her opponent.

The Light of the Soul is the sum of all wisdom and power of a sentient being. It is both divinity and the fruit of the Tao. Once a newly born extraordinary life has stabilized on its new level of existence, it is destined to discover this immortal power originating from the depths of its heart for various reasons. Within the Gene Lock system, the manifestation of the Light of the Soul is the limit of the initial stage of the fourth level, a sign that it is about to touch upon a higher level.

Zhao Yingkong had already touched this limit long ago, and she had even accumulated enough experience at this boundary. She not only mastered the basic application of her own spiritual light, but also developed it further, allowing it to manifest interference powers related to spacetime abilities!

Time, and space.

Time and space are actually a unified whole, and changes in gravity mean changes in spacetime. As that tiny black sphere expands to the size of a ping-pong ball, the surrounding flow of time also experiences localized acceleration and deceleration. And while time changes, space itself expands and contracts on an equal scale!

The tiny distance of less than half a meter between Zheng Zha's sword and Zhao Yingkong's body was forcibly stretched and extended by nearly ten times.

The flow of time within an inch of Zhao Yingkong's body was forcibly reduced to one-tenth of the normal rate when she activated her ability!

Zheng Zha's strength and speed could no longer provide him with an advantage at this moment, while Zhao Yingkong's mobility and stealth abilities increased several times over!

As one diminishes, another grows.

The black hole is just one manifestation of her power.

She moved with almost instantaneous speed from in front of Zheng Zha to behind him, and the spacetime around them shifted again as the black sphere expanded—she raised her hand, her right hand clenched into a fist, protected by a constantly shifting time membrane. When she delivered a straight punch towards the back of Zheng Zha's head, that fist, enveloped by multiple time flows of varying speeds, easily pierced through the protective barrier behind him, slamming his head into the ever-expanding black sphere!

She didn't waste a single ounce of energy, and the collision of her fist and head produced no loud noise or commotion.

In the silent stillness of their collision, Zheng Zha's head shattered within the miniature black hole formed by gravitational convergence. His skull and brain matter were torn into tiny fragments by the raging spatial forces, then further fragmented into even smaller constituent units. Zhao Yingkong, without hesitation, reactivated the Light of the Mind she had previously unleashed. Immediately following, the unrestrained spacetime released during the black hole's collapse transformed into a destructive storm that spread in all directions!

The entire forecourt of the fire-lighting ritual site suddenly became like an old-fashioned display screen with a poor signal, filled with color blocks and noise.

In an instant, the entire area was torn into countless fragments by the raging spacetime storm. Overlapping spaces, disordered time—every material structure within her sight was destroyed and reassembled hundreds of times before the storm subsided. Every molecule was broken down into atoms, and every two atoms were reassembled into molecules. All matter in the courtyard was transformed into a chaotic broth in the storm, and when the storm subsided and the entire space returned to stability under the world's restorative power, Zhao Yingkong could no longer observe any material structures of any scale.

There was no land, no rocks beneath the land, no water veins or minerals at the base of the rocks. Apart from the unbreakable spatial barrier encompassing all of this, her vision could only perceive the thick, grayish-white fog formed from the dissipating broth of matter. And under her gaze, the fog rapidly parted to the sides, revealing the only tangible aggregate of matter within the fog.

That's Zheng Zha.

Zheng Zha, who has no head.

He still held the red, destructive greatsword in his hand, its blade remaining spotless even after the baptism of the spacetime storm, just as it had been before the attack. And the next moment, the sword and the hand holding it were before Zhao Yingkong!

The assassin raised an eyebrow.

The first strike, aimed at the blade, was blocked by her dagger.

The second punch was blocked by overlapping and intersecting spacetime barriers.

With the third strike, Zhao Yingkong anticipated Zheng Zha's movements and target before he could even make a move. Before Zheng Zha's blade touched her body, she activated the Light of the Mind for the second time, creating a long and incredibly sharp spatial rift in the path of his blade!

'Om—'

With a soft hum, the headless Zheng Zha was cleaved in two diagonally from the front. A bloody line torn from his left shoulder to his right thigh completely severed his body. Meanwhile, the tendrils and fibrous tissue that had grown abruptly from between the flesh and blood to reassemble the two severed pieces were shattered by the spatial tremors. The distorted space expanded again, and several perfectly positioned spatial rifts successfully formed bridges, transporting Zheng Zha's two severed torsos to the upper and lower ends of this space respectively!

More spatial faults were then rapidly generated under Zhao Yingkong's will.

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

About five minutes later, Zhao Yingkong emerged from the portal formed by the thick fog. Two Penglai maidens who had been waiting at the door rushed forward to greet her, looking her over and asking her questions in hushed tones.

"Resolved?" Fujiwara no Mokou asked bluntly. "The fog gate is still there. Has anything changed? But you seem to be fine."

“It’s resolved.” Zhao Yingkong nodded slightly. Her expression was cold, and her aura had clearly diminished considerably compared to before she entered the fog gate. “I dealt with that guy who only needed muscles and no brains. But unfortunately, I couldn’t wake him up. I could only divide his body into 16,000 parts and isolate them in spatial rifts with varying time flows. It’s neither a victory nor a defeat, but he won’t be a problem for the time being.”

Mokou's eye twitched slightly. As a native of Hourai, she had naturally experienced the horrific ordeal of being cut into many pieces and then sealed away—she knew very well what level of being had blocked their path. Knowing just how effective this level of sealing technique could be—her tone unconsciously became slightly more urgent: "Can we go to the Firelink Shrine now? How much time do we have? Is the area outside the Firelink Shrine also sealed off by a spatial barrier?"

“You can indeed head to the Firelink Shrine immediately.” Zhao Yingkong glanced at her, then continued, “After I sealed the captain, some flaws appeared in the spatial structure inside. Although the overall integrity can still be maintained, it shouldn’t be a problem to open an opening and smuggle a few people through. There’s enough time; you can walk through the foremost closed space at a leisurely pace. However, outside the shrine… I think you’d better make preparations as soon as possible.”

"...I would like to hear the details."

“Outside the Fire-Binding Ritual Site… there’s no spatial barrier.” Zhao Yingkong gestured, indicating that the group should walk and talk as they went. She led the two Penglai girls through the fog gate, and the traces of battle that Mokou and the others saw made the two unfortunate girls’ hair stand on end!

In the forecourt of the entire Firelinking Ritual site, there were no discernible man-made or natural objects. There was no air, no land, only an endless void and a thick fog of matter floating everywhere. Within the fog, tens of thousands of spatial fractures, like crystal pillars, silently floated, and within these tens of thousands of crystal pillars, pieces of flesh ranging in size from a fingernail to an index finger struggled and writh.

“This is my captain,” Zhao Yingkong said softly. “To be precise, it should be the captain’s physical body. His experience, will, courage, intelligence… his reaction ability are not here. If I’m not mistaken, then they are probably in the forecourt of another Firelink Shrine. After all, Gundyr has two forms, one is the Ashen One, and the other is the Hero. The captain who is here now is probably less than a third of his full strength.”

"...Do I and Mokou need to fight him?"

"There's no need. Although the captain's thought process is relatively calm, his willpower is extremely strong, and the possibility of him being controlled is negligible. It's more likely that the behind-the-scenes interferers placed his soul and consciousness in another Firelink Shrine to drag him there and prevent him from becoming a variable in the plan. After all, he's only good at killing people, not at shattering the void. And if we want him to learn how to analyze and use spatial structures from scratch, it will probably take a... quite a long time."

Zhao Yingkong stretched out her hand, and the red, destructive greatsword emerged from a 'crystal pillar' and was firmly grasped in her hand. She then slashed fiercely towards the direction of the gate to the Firelink Shrine in the front courtyard. A narrow and somewhat unstable portal appeared before them.

“Although there is no spiral sword, if you only want to leave this closed space, then using this knife is enough. Of course, it is only limited to this closed space. And other than that…” Zhao Yingkong paused slightly.

"Besides that?" Kaguya gently covered her mouth. "Do all other battles require a different key to end?"

“No, that’s not what I meant.” Zhao Yingkong shook her head, and two invisible force fields lifted the two Penglai girls through the open portal. “Actually, this is closely related to the third question you asked me. In short… you’ll soon realize it.”

The voice just fell.

The next moment, accompanied by the oncoming wind and the low murmur of nature, the dazzling sunlight filled the vision of the two Penglai people.

“I have to tell you some news that may be both lucky and unlucky for you. This so-called spatial rift actually only exists in the cemetery and the forecourt outside this fire-linking sacrificial site. Outside of this, there is no such thing as a closed space.” Zhao Yingkong’s voice rang clearly in their ears.

"Because the world has not yet ushered in a new season of rekindling the fire, the first flame of this era is still burning brightly, and the order remains stable. The chaotic convergence of time and space has not even begun. It is a time when the glory of a hero still shines upon all things, and ashes have no meaning in existence."

“You… or rather we, have arrived a little too early.”

Transformation, Chapter Fourteen: Hearing that someone wanted to steal fire

The fire-prevention sacrificial site is a majestic and magnificent ancient building, grand and desolate. When one looks at the main body of the sacrificial site from the front courtyard, it is as if a tiny ant is trying to look up at a tall fortress - it is located on the top of a towering mountain that reaches into the clouds, and after passing through the front courtyard, one still needs to cross a long road.

The road wasn't quiet. Although there were no people, no zombies, and no birds fluttering by, the path from the mountainside where the front courtyard was located to the sacrificial site at the summit was strewn with ancient tombs, some old, some dilapidated, but all at least several hundred years old. Many weapons and armor, decayed beyond recognition but exuding a menacing aura, were placed around the tombs, swaying slightly in the cold mountain wind and emitting a low, guttural sound like battle cries.

The cold wind rustled, and the metal clanged.

Zhao Yingkong stared at them, at those old, scrap metal pieces. In a daze, she seemed to see countless ancient heroes, weapons raised high, roaring in fury. They charged fiercely at her with sharp swords, heavy axes, pointed spears, cold blades, and heavy hammers. Their gazes were resolute, their momentum fierce, and they moved like collapsing mountains, unstoppable. In an instant, countless swords, spears, and halberds filled her vision, then vanished into a cool breeze just before touching her cheek.

"Hmm." Kaguya, who was not far behind her, let out a soft cry. Clearly, she had experienced the same thing.

"Don't worry about it, it's just the lingering thoughts of a group of warriors. It doesn't have any real harmful effect," Zhao Yingkong explained calmly, her steps still steady as she moved forward. "Since the end of the last season of linking the fire, for a thousand years, all the heroes and warriors who were qualified to link the fire, or slightly less qualified to serve as kindling when the Lord of Cinder burns, have all slumbered on this mountain. Although they failed the trial, their remains still contain power. And when the true season of linking the fire arrives, they will awaken again as the undead or the living dead, offering their souls as kindling to the hero who was qualified to pass the trial."

"...Your captain is really amazing."

“That’s normal. After all, the captain is a superhuman being, and one of the stronger ones at that,” Zhao Yingkong shrugged slightly and said softly. “But there’s no need to worry too much. He can no longer be an obstacle for us now, and when we meet again, he will become an asset to us.”

"Just like you just told us?"

“Just like I just told you,” Zhao Yingkong nodded. “We will try to awaken my team members one by one, and use their identities and powers to forcefully push this world to start the flame’s inheritance. And you just need to be like the protagonist in that game. Cut your way through and complete the flame-lighting ceremony.”

She had just spent five minutes explaining to the two Penglai maidens what the concept of "arriving a little early" really meant. To be precise, it wasn't that they "arrived a little early," but rather that the changes in this world had exceeded the scope of the planner's predictions—Zheng Zha, as a super-strong individual who had unlocked the fourth stage of his genetic lock and possessed corresponding enhancements, could, without exaggeration, single-handedly suppress a planet-level civilization. Even the four primordial kings with their CG-version combat power would likely require him to fight them to determine who was stronger. And after inheriting the flame, the time he had sustained civilization should, by any calculation, be comparable to that of the original flame-bearer, the Sun King Gwen.

If the fire doesn't go out, the season for passing on the fire will never come.

If the season of linking the fire does not come, then the cycle of reincarnation in this world will not begin. Even if the bells ring again and again, the people of Gensokyo, who have been integrated into this world for thousands of years in the concept of time, will not be able to successfully integrate the fate of the humans in this world during the cycle of reincarnation—no, perhaps they can, but whether they will still be themselves when that time comes is a topic worth discussing.

“We won’t have much time left in this world; we’ve already lost almost half of it. And once we leave, you’ll really be in trouble. But until then, we’ll try our best to solve this problem in our own way.” — This is how Zhao Yingkong explained it to Fujiwara no Mokou and Houraisan Kaguya at the time.

She knew perfectly well that the ninety days she had exchanged with the Supreme God would not be extended or reduced, and that she and her fellow reincarnators would never have truly spent a thousand years here. Even though she had vivid memories of every single day she had spent sitting in the Ringed City for thousands of years as Felene, she didn't believe those memories were genuine.

She believes even more that—

A huge door appeared in front of the three of them.

"We've arrived." Zhao Yingkong stopped, the jumbled thoughts in her mind calming down. She reached out her slender hand and gently stroked the heavy stone door, the outer layer of which had been eroded by the mountain wind. With a slight pressure from her fingers, the massive stone door opened to both sides with a dull grinding sound.

Then, darkness fell.

There was only silence in the darkness.

"I remember there was an old man with a katana in the upper left corner of the Firelink Shrine..." Mokou glanced in the direction she remembered. With her exceptional eyesight, she spotted a towering tower.

“I haven’t sensed anything else moving in this area besides the three of us,” Zhao Yingkong replied quickly. “Although there’s more than one path to the Firelinking Ritual Site, all the paths left for the Firelinkers must pass through the forecourt area guarded by the captain. I don’t think anyone can pass the captain’s trial. So you don’t need to apply your game experience to this world.”

"Don't forget, there will be many zombies along the way in the game."

Mokou shut her mouth, but Kaguya realized something serious and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wait! You said there's no fourth person besides us here—then where's the blacksmith? Where's the merchant? Although it's not impossible to clear the game without even a single support NPC, surely there should be a Fire Keeper!"

"How can we continue without the Fire Keeper? We can't even begin the ritual to pass on the flame!"

“So we need to get started on this problem now,” Zhao Yingkong replied calmly. She snapped her fingers, and rows of burning flames appeared in the dark sacrificial hall. The candles, which had long since burned out and whose ashes had deteriorated into some kind of stone, ignited with almost no source of fire, and light immediately filled the vast sacrificial hall.

The hall was empty.

There was no spiral sword on the central altar, and the five thrones bearing the Lords of Cinder were covered in dust. The stench of decay that filled the air rushed into the three people's nostrils as the main gate opened, but before it could touch Zhao Yingkong, it dissipated in all directions due to the distortion of space.

“Our wise one, when setting up contingency plans, naturally wouldn’t overlook the possibility that the Fire Keeper doesn’t exist, so she naturally prepared a corresponding solution.” She walked down the steps and headed straight for the empty altar where the Spiral Sword should have been placed. “I will make some preparations here, which will take some time. You two can take this opportunity to walk around and take a look; perhaps you’ll find something useful.”

She waved to the two girls with her back to them, indicating that it was now their free time.

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

Mokou and Kaguya left the gates of the Firelink Shrine. One of them had a twitching eye, while the other's smile was stiff. When they looked at each other, a unique form of communication, existing only between these two old rivals, quietly began to unfold.