Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"Then this world is acceptable to me for now. I don't need to cleanse this world to redesign and start the seventh era. As for the current human civilization..." She glanced at the occasional pedestrians walking on the street. She didn't read any negative or evil emotions in them—naturally, the people in Eden didn't need to compete, so they didn't have too many desires—"Although I don't particularly like them, I won't erase them from this world without a reason."

"I thought you had come to hate humans. Was I just overthinking it?"

“How could that be?” Alice’s lips twitched slightly as she forced a smile and shook her head. “What I hate is the organization that shoved them into my life, and their intrusion into my private world without my permission. As for mortals themselves, my views have never changed.”

“Among mortals, there are kind people, evil people, despicable people, and noble people. There will certainly be people I dislike, people I hate, even people I find irritating to see and wish I could erase from history. Yet there will also certainly be people worthy of my respect, learning, emulation, and even reverence—I myself am part of the mortal population, and mortals are an unimaginably vast collective. To define mortals as a whole based on the actions of a single individual or a group is foolish and unnecessary.” She tilted her head, looking at Patchouli.

Do I look like a stupid person to you?

Patchouli reached out and pinched her nose. "You look incredibly stupid!"

"Goo! Wozere! Wozere! (I'm sorry! I'm sorry!)" Alice waved her hands frantically. She struggled to run away from the bench. However, unfortunately, her arm strength was no match for Patchouli's, and the final result was...

"Ladies, is there anything I can help you with?"

Accompanied by a soft and polite voice, a girl dressed as a maid, a common sight in games, appeared in their field of vision. Her positioning was perfect, placing her in a position that didn't intrude on their personal space yet still effectively emphasized her presence. Her tone was also very pleasant, not likely to offend anyone, and her unique vocal register had a soothing effect—undoubtedly, she was a ship girl. And indeed, she wore a special badge on her chest—presumably an item signifying her ship girl identity. It bore the code '40975'.

Patchouli then released Alice. While talking to Alice, she had noticed the ship girl moving around the park, cleaning up litter and fallen leaves. Clearly, she was either the area's caretaker or had some other similar responsibility.

“Sorry, we don’t need anything.” Patchouli nodded politely to the ship girl. “We just plan to stay here for a while.”

"You don't need to apologize to me, nor do you need to explain." The ship girl with the number '40975' bowed deeply to Patchouli, as if in response to her nod, the bow reaching a full ninety degrees. "I'm sorry to have disturbed you both. If you need anything else later, please just call for a nearby ship girl."

After saying that, she lifted her maid's skirt, took a few steps back facing the two witches, and was about to leave.

[Her word choice is a bit off. Why did she call out to the nearby ship girls instead of calling her? Wasn't she just here cleaning up... or am I being paranoid?]

[Never mind, I'll just ask.]

"Please wait a moment," Alice suddenly asked. "Will you still be here later?"

"If you have any other needs, other ship girls will be at your service." The maid ship girl stopped, her sensor-equipped eyes gradually shrinking and expanding. "You don't seem to be a resident of this island. If you have any orders that you need me to carry out, you can give them to me immediately."

"Why now? Can't we wait until later?"

"If you need me, I can wait here until you give me your orders." The ship girl's voice remained gentle. "If you don't need me, then there will be ship girls better than me to serve you later."

A jumble of emotions welled up within Alice, and her fingers trembled slightly. She took a soft breath and asked, "Where are you going?"

"I made a mistake." The ship girl's tone remained unchanged, as melodious and pleasant as ever. "A ship girl who makes a mistake should be dealt with within half an hour."

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

If I, Jiuyuan-chan, want to survive, I have to update three times tomorrow _(:з」∠)_

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Paradise Lost, Part Eight

“Alice.” Patchouli’s fingertips gently pressed against the back of Alice’s hand.

“I know, this situation was actually expected.” Alice raised her hand and pushed up glasses that weren’t actually on her forehead. “Props that are too cheap are hard to cherish, especially when there are plenty of substitutes available.”

Her gaze shifted to the ship girl in front of her.

“I am not a resident of this island and am not familiar with its customs. Could you explain to me what the so-called ‘processing’ is like?”

"It is my pleasure to serve you, guest of honor." The maid ship girl politely lifted her skirt and returned to the distance that was most conducive to conversation between the two. She seemed completely unconcerned about the conversation between Alice and Patchouli, or rather, she was indifferent to all orders except those related to herself.

She never beats around the bush when answering questions.

"According to a law enacted by legislators four hundred years ago, ship girls who make mistakes will be reduced to metal and organic matter and thrown back into the sea. At the same time, their serial numbers and files will be cancelled, as if they never existed in the first place."

[Lawyer?] A question mark flashed through Alice's mind, but she decided to put that topic aside for now and follow the previous clues to continue questioning the ship girl in front of her.

"What method will be used to restore it?" Alice asked.

"Use the compressor, guest from out of town." The ship girl, number 40975, tilted her head slightly, making a gesture of 'confusion'. "Would you like me to explain the compressor's function and operation to you?"

“No need, I know what that is.” Alice twitched her fingers slightly, then shook her head gently. “A compressor… that’s really creative. Should I say that not using a smelting furnace is already an improvement? And the legislators…” She hesitated, a strange emotion surging within her causing her to change the subject again.

"Didn't you think you could survive?"

"Ship girls are born to serve humanity, and so should they die, as outsiders." The ship girl before her answered calmly, adding, "This is how we were created. If there is a creator in this world, then this must be the destiny He has arranged for us."

Before she could finish speaking, Alice's moving fingers stopped. Then Patchouli quickly took her hand.

Alice.

"I'm fine, I'm alright." Alice shook her head slightly, forcibly suppressing the strange feeling that surfaced in her heart.

“She’s right.” She sighed softly and pulled Patchouli up from her seat. “How a civilization develops depends largely on the external factors that interfere with it. And a civilization that grows up in a closed environment, no matter what it becomes, should be the responsibility of the creator who made it.”

"It is the fault of the Creator, and has nothing to do with humans or other living beings living in this world. If the Creator had not compromised from the beginning, the world would certainly not be what it is today."

"I don't understand what you mean. Do you need anything else?" The ship girl looked at her with a puzzled expression, but this time, her puzzlement might actually be about something real.

Alice waved her hand.

"I'm sorry, I asked some pointless questions... Let's skip that. This is our first time on this island, and we know practically nothing about this area. If you don't mind, could you show us around the island and explain the various facilities and services available?"

Alice asked, looking at the ship girl in front of her. And as expected, she immediately received an affirmative answer.

"It is my pleasure to serve you, my guest from afar."

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

The bubble world isn't large; most of it is ocean, with a small portion being land. This land is further fragmented into several large, isolated islands by Alice. The habitable area is limited. Furthermore, because the land is essentially the dissipation of matter resulting from energy collisions at the outer light channel, the theories of plate tectonics and land reclamation techniques cannot be applied in this world—areas that were sea from the beginning will always remain sea, and places that were land from the beginning will always remain land. The gravitational tides, with their limited range of variation, might have some impact on the boundary between sea and land, but that is only temporary, unstable, and subject to change at any moment.

In other words, it's unlikely that human forces in this world will unite under a single banner. After all, the islands are too far apart, and due to abundant resources, population growth is slow. Naturally, there's no need for the islands to fight each other. The only external force that could potentially unite them, the deep-sea fleet, doesn't possess a sufficiently powerful sense of oppression. Therefore, before Alice's arrival, she had speculated that the mortals in this bubble world would be a disorganized mess.

She was wrong.

The mortals didn't disintegrate because the concept of 'united' simply didn't exist for them. Infinite resources, a comfortable environment, robust bodies, long lifespans, and, ultimately, low reproductive rates. The combined result was that the concepts of nation and ethnicity simply didn't exist. There was no hierarchy among people—the fleet commander everyone aspired to be was no more noble than the less sought-after farm inspector. Because everyone was a thinker, and thinkers are beyond human control; only the ship girls, the laborers, can be controlled. Therefore, naturally, there was no distinction of superiority or inferiority among people.

There are no nations, no ethnicities, no classes, and no laws. Naturally, even currency wouldn't exist in such a world. Private ownership still exists, but the inhabitants don't receive distribution according to labor; instead, they can directly obtain what they want based on their own needs, anything that doesn't infringe on the interests of others. Therefore, there are no laws binding people on each other; the only ones subject to legal regulation are the ship girls.

This is a wondrous world, a bizarre world. Yet, it is a world that fulfills the needs of the Creator. In this world, mortals are the protagonists of destiny, free from illness and disaster, ruling over everything except the depths of the ocean. The only external enemy, the Abyssal Fleet, has caused no damage to the mortal world worthy of being recorded in history for millennia. Thus, mortals gradually gravitate towards the ancient sages imagined in the legends of the outer realms—peaceful, virtuous, helpful, and selfless—though such sagehood is only relevant to mortals. It has nothing to do with the ship girls.

The kindness of mortals is reserved for other mortals. The goodness of mortals is also reserved for other mortals. As for ship girls... they are probably not considered living beings on the same level as mortals. Or perhaps they are not considered living beings at all, but merely used as convenient tools.

Good props need to be cherished. Damaged props need to be maintained. And those disposable props that malfunction will naturally end up in the junkyard or recycling center.

When Alice expressed her desire to tour the island, ship girl number 40975 quickly hailed a four-seater convertible driven by another ship girl, number 40724. Once the two witches were comfortably seated in the back, the car drove along the streets at a leisurely pace, introducing them to everything on the island as they went.

The car wasn't moving fast, and the air was fresh. Yet, something strange was stirring within Alice. It felt like a premonition, or perhaps a curse; she found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. Her heartbeat, which she should have been able to fully control, became erratic.

She looked out the window, watching the verdant treetops rush past her. She hadn't heard a word of the explanation given by the ship girl in front of her. She was completely unaware that Patchouli was holding her hand; she was simply staring, observing, the green patches in her eyes seeming to form a distorted strip, and something seemed to be writhing within that strip.

She shuddered almost imperceptibly, and then everything returned to normal. The car beneath her continued its leisurely progress, and the road was perfectly clear.

There were no police, and no traffic order. The vehicles, powered by the ship girls, posed no possibility of accidents. Even if someone wanted to cross the road, they could drink five kilograms of strong liquor, blindfold themselves, cover their ears, and wander aimlessly without a chance of being hit by a car. Therefore, this tour was smooth and uneventful.

'Smooth' and 'without any waves'

The vehicle continued moving forward.

The city's structure is simple because the mortals of this world don't need too many useless measures. Material abundance does not equate to spiritual liberation. Apart from the villa-like residential buildings, the city is mostly filled with food and daily necessities supply points and public buildings such as street parks. After excluding these buildings, there are only two facilities worth visiting.

One is a port where ship girls and commanders reside, while the other is a school that trains commanders and other professionals. After Alice expressed her desire to go to school, the car carrying her quietly made a small turn.

"There are seventeen schools on this island, with two or three in each city. And in this city, the nearest school isn't far from you two," the ship girl in a maid outfit explained. As soon as she finished speaking, the car stopped. The witches had successfully arrived at their destination.

The moment the car stopped, she felt her heart pounding again. A blush crept onto her cheeks, and she practically jumped out of the car.

The ship girl, who was about to continue explaining the history and background of the school, quietly fell silent. The witch, who jumped out of the car, seemed to hear her companion's calls but ignored them. She walked straight toward the school before her, her steps firm and swift, and a not-so-good but gradually becoming clearer premonition appeared clearly in her heart along with the general structure of the academy.

It was a vast complex of buildings, resembling a colossal temple built during the ancient Greek era. The school had no walls or guards on its exterior; anyone could freely enter and exit at any time. The main structures were supported by dozens of massive columns, each requiring three people to encircle. Each building was approximately ten meters tall, and each school building was only one story high.

College, school.

Is this a school or a temple? Is this a repository of knowledge or a place where truth resides?

Alice didn't know, nor was she interested in knowing. She could only feel the premonition in her heart growing clearer with each step she took. And a strange, unusual realization also surfaced in her mind.

Alice had no interest in listening to the lectures at the academy, nor did she care to remember the appearance or name of any person or ship girl on this land. She ignored the greetings and acquaintances around her, heading straight for the building filled with books and documents. Once her gaze was drawn to the floor, she reached out and pulled a book directly from the shelf.

Only after she pulled out the book did all the sounds and scenes revealed in the bubble world become clear again in her perception.

"Alice, are you alright?" Patchouli followed beside her, looking at her with concern. "You just..."

However, Alice simply shook her head and unfolded the book in her hands. The title page bore the book's name and the author's name. And in this book, labeled "Kantai Collection Laws," the first line was particularly jarring to her eyes.

“Indeed, nothing happened without reason.” Alice sighed softly as she slowly read the words aloud: “Humanity should be supreme—Luo Ye.”

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

Alright, it's almost the end of the month. Excluding this section, I'm still 4,900 words short of achieving perfect attendance. In other words, it'll be two updates or one large chapter from now on. I think I can manage to stay a perfect attendance record this month... Damn, why is February only 28 days long, and I even used three leave slips this month...?

It's impossible for this volume to finish this month. Let's see if we can finish it in the first half of next month... Damn, that means I, Jiu Yuan, will also be a two-watch beast next month...

Section 68, Gospel 1

Luo Ye, a familiar name, a name that has gradually become unfamiliar in my memory, a name that... shouldn't be here.

Before Alice was called Alice Margot Lloyd, before she was an ordinary Chinese student studying in the United States, before she suffered that misfortune due to the unexpected attack, before she lived like an ant and died like an ant, she, Alice, once had that name.

In the world of Starship Troopers, she once fought a battle deep within her heart against a woman who called herself Luo Ye. But that was merely a collection of curses and resentment surrounding her, simply using the name Luo Ye without any real substance. However, this time…

"I found it strange. I made corresponding arrangements in every era. I painstakingly investigated every possible detail in every era. But those transmigrators kept appearing one after another. I had already discovered that strange black rift, but I only conducted a cursory investigation and then ignored it, even subconsciously ignoring it in the following eras..."

"...So the enemy I have to face isn't just that transmigration agency attached to the fate of humanity. Is there also a part of myself?"

"To be precise, it should be your main body." A completely unfamiliar voice, so unfamiliar that Alice seemed to have only heard it on a tape recorder, came from behind her. She turned around abruptly, only to find that the entire world had fallen into complete silence at that moment. The wind stopped flowing, the water was still, light and darkness were frozen in the void, forming discontinuous fault lines, and all the living and inanimate things inhabiting the world had entered a state of complete stillness at this moment.

The world's dominion had been usurped, and the authority belonging to the Creator had fallen into the hands of another being besides Alice and Patchouli. Almost simultaneously, Alice and Patchouli jointly deployed an all-around defensive shield capable of dealing with any situation. A faint but clear light shone outward, restoring visibility to an area of ​​about one hundred meters around them.

Light and time are inextricably linked, and time can only flow normally in areas where light and darkness are not frozen. The radiance surrounding the two merged, and then more magic circles and rune chains appeared one by one in the void.

“Alice, I don’t think this is the enemy you originally intended to deal with, but the one I was planning to witness with you.” Patchouli opened the Great Library in her hands, her expression wary as she surveyed her surroundings. “I’ve never heard of a demon being able to materialize and directly interfere with the real world… Have you gotten involved with some strange things again?”

“I’d like to provoke something strange.” Alice reached out, instinctively wanting to summon the Staff of Control, only to suddenly remember that her other half was currently playing hide-and-seek with Adam in the Tower of Babel world. Worse still, her current fourth-tier authority was unresponsive, meaning that while her available power was still within the transcendent realm, it was less than a third of its peak. “If it were truly some strange object from the outside world, I wouldn’t need to worry like this.”

The witches gazed at the shadow before them, wary of their surroundings while casting their attention in all directions. They sensed each other's heartbeats and emotions, calming their own thoughts. Just as the two rediscovered their past connection, a figure, gradually becoming clearer, appeared a hundred meters away at the point where light and shadow met.

She was... remarkably ordinary-looking, the kind of young woman you could easily spot ten or eight of at a glance on a bustling street. Average figure, unremarkable looks, short hair, and a pair of outdated black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose—she wore a light black fitted blazer and unbranded flat leather shoes. She exuded the distinct naiveté of a college student just entering the workforce.

That was Luo Ye, the real deal, with not a single fake Luo Ye on its body.

"Severing the three corpses, achieving freedom. Only before I reached this point did I realize how foolish I had been for the past seven hundred years. A transmigrator who turned himself into a native—I should be at the top of the list of most embarrassing transmigrators." Luo Ye flexed her fingers, complex and powerful energy surging around her. Her mind was focused, her expression serious, and her brows held a resolute determination to fight to the very end.

“What was I thinking, believing I was Alice Margot Lloyd? It was just a disguise to adapt to my new environment, yet I became more and more involved as time went on…” She tilted her head slightly, looking at the two witches before her, who were equally prepared. “But thankfully, there’s still a chance to turn things around. After I deal with you, I can return to my pure self.”

"Looks like you've got yourself into the real body." Alice's lips curled into a cold smile. "You're nothing but a demon, and you're acting so arrogantly just because you've gained a slight advantage. I don't remember being such a terrible woman. Maybe you should find a soft bed and continue being your Pokémon."

Her words did not cause the slightest change in the other person's mood.