Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Whatever, whatever. Even if I wrote it like this, some people would still say I'm forcing a happy ending and that the script is broken. Say what you want, I'm too lazy to argue.

— puffed up with anger.

Section 18. The Origin of a Single Thought

There is no place in this world more comfortable to sleep than in the embrace of a lover. At least, that was true for Alice.

When she awoke from her deep sleep and groggily opened her eyes, she felt Patchouli's hand stroking her temples, tidying her short, pale blonde hair.

"Was I asleep... Patchouli?" The last thing she could clearly remember was the moment she ended the online meeting. At that time, she seemed quite exhausted and just wanted to stay by Patchouli's side.

"How long have I slept?"

“You can keep sleeping, Alice.” Patchouli gently pinched her earlobe. “Sixteen hours, seven minutes, and seventeen seconds have passed since you closed your eyes. You still have plenty of time.”

"Patch, don't pinch my ears. They tickle." Alice squinted. "I really didn't expect doing this to be so exhausting, even more tiring than when I was operating the puppet army in battle. It's definitely unwise to rashly step into unfamiliar territory... What's the situation outside like now?"

“They changed the functions of the United Nations, removed the Secretary-General, and formed a new joint conference,” Patchouli replied. “Some geographically close countries have already opened their borders, but most are still arguing.”

"Overall, the situation is quite encouraging. The blueprints you provided to them are already in operation. It shouldn't be long before the first finished product is produced. After all, the 'world factory' has existed from the beginning. Given the necessary technological conditions and the availability of design drawings, manufacturing what you need is not difficult."

“That’s because I gave them Russian goods from outsiders.” Alice pursed her lips. “Russian items are notoriously bulky, rough, easy to manufacture, simple in process, and surprisingly durable. If it were German, they would have to wait at least two more days before they could start production.”

“Alice,” Patchouli sighed softly. “Why do you waste your emotions in such a meaningless place?”

"From the beginning, you hoped they could complete this project as quickly as possible and produce as many products as possible. Now that they have, why are you feeling dissatisfied?"

Alice paused for a moment, then turned her head away, looking somewhat conflicted.

"Perhaps... it's because we're somewhat resentful." She muttered and complained, "Every advancement in technology, whether it's us or outsiders, is the result of countless efforts and sacrifices. Yet now it's being given away to so many countries around the world almost for free."

"I...feel very uncomfortable."

"How awkward, Alice. You're usually so averse to outsiders." Patchouli gently patted the back of Alice's neck. "Alright, it's time to get up. I'm getting tired of holding you like this."

"Um... I want to lie here a little longer." Alice wanted to whine a bit, but under Patchouli's kind gaze, she reluctantly got up. She stretched and straightened her clothes—the little devil, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately handed her a damp towel and some warm food.

"Losing to outsiders... Although it's somewhat bitter, they did create a path with unlimited potential and won a fair victory on the battlefield. The victor is king, the loser is villain... Since we are the losers, we should accept the fate of the losers. Perhaps we will have a chance to turn things around in the future, but until then, we should respect the victors."

Her gaze seemed to transcend the great library hidden beneath layers of barriers, looking down upon the mortal realm from the heavens.

"But as for the people of this world, I don't think they are qualified to be compared with outsiders. Even though this is my homeland in my previous life, my attitude towards them is only to protect them, not to respect them. I will fight for them, but I haven't found enough redeeming qualities in them yet."

"Your attitude means nothing to them."

“Heh, you’re right.” Alice chuckled softly, picking up a hot towel and carefully wiping her face. She exhaled a soft breath as her mind cleared. “Even if I dislike them, I still have to give them the technology to help them through this apocalyptic crisis. Although the karmic ties are severed, helping them is just a side effect. But since I’ve already done it… any further words would be too sentimental.”

“You’ve always been so dramatic, Alice,” Patchouli bluntly pointed out her sore spot. “My favorite thing to do is to put on a reluctant face and then do the extra work. But… that’s exactly the Alice I like, so there’s no need to change.”

"Oh, Patchouli. Hitting someone in the face is a bad habit." Alice's eye twitched slightly. If anyone else had said that to her, she would have immediately unleashed a barrage of spells. But since it was Patchouli... well, let her talk her as much as she wanted.

She picked up her cutlery and began to enjoy the bedtime snack the little devil had prepared for her. All the food was prepared exquisitely and was high in sugar, enough to nourish her overworked brain.

The little devil's cooking skills were as good as ever. At least much better than Alice, who had to enchant even an apple slice. Of course, compared to Patchouli, that was another matter entirely—Alice would never let Patchouli into the kitchen while she was still conscious.

“Well, there’s one more thing I need to tell you.” Patchouli sat opposite Alice, resting her chin on her hand and watching Alice eat slowly. Then, as Alice picked up a juice to moisten her throat, she suddenly interjected.

“Just a few minutes ago, that country you know tried to contact us through the network link you used to send data. They said they wanted to talk to us directly.”

Alice nearly spat out her juice. But the moment she opened her mouth, she realized Patchouli was sitting right across from her, so she forced herself to drink it down. The resulting side stitch and coughing made her pale, and soon tears streamed down her face.

"Patch, you...cough cough, can't you..." The little devil standing behind her quickly came over and gently patted her back, finally managing to get her breathing back to normal. "Can't you wait until I finish eating first!?"

"Sorry, I didn't realize it for a moment." Patchouli smiled as she watched her flustered appearance. "Do you need me to connect the communication? He's practically an elder from your hometown, shouldn't you say a few words?"

"No! Hang up! Ignore them!" Alice crossed her arms and resolutely shook her head from side to side. "Absolutely ignore them! Pretend they don't exist!"

She let out a heavy sigh. "If I had known things would turn out this way, I wouldn't have sent those documents in the first place. Luckily, I encrypted most of the data, so they can only unlock the next stage of technology once they reach the corresponding technological level. Fine, consider it a special privilege, but everything else is rejected!"

She pointed to her head.

"I always have this feeling that if I answer this call, my brain will immediately go blank, like it's been pinched by a crab. So I absolutely refuse to answer any calls!"

"Hey, I think it's kind of cute that you're a little slow," Patchouli said, glancing at her companion with a hint of regret. "Since that's your decision, then I'll just ignore those people. Okay, let's finish our food quickly; we still have things to do later."

Her toes lightly touched the floor of the Great Library. The next moment, the floor of the main control hall instantly transformed into a one-way transparent structure. A bustling night city immediately appeared before Alice's eyes, and a towering iron tower in a wide square particularly caught her attention.

She started the web conference an hour after daybreak in the Atlantic, and now it is seventeen hours later. Although geographically different, the view is still of night.

“This is… Paris?” Alice raised an eyebrow.

“To be precise, it’s the Eiffel Tower,” Patchouli replied. “This magic isn’t something we can handle with a small skirmish. We need to establish nodes at the top of every recognized famous tower in the world. While you were asleep, I crossed the Americas, the Pacific Ocean, and the Eastern Continent to set up nodes there. Now, only the Western Continent countries remain. And finally, and most importantly, the Egyptian region.”

"I think you should get to something done, or are you planning to rest a little longer?"

Alice quickly finished her dinner.

"I'll go right away."

Author's Note:

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

The current statistics show yesterday's bounty count: 200 monthly tickets, 12 in tips, and 800 razor blades. That's a total of 11 chapters... Heh, looks like I was worrying unnecessarily. There really isn't much pressure.

By the way, there are also the seven lessons from last month... I did the math, and if I don't count the ten lessons that were blown up, I should have paid back six lessons by now, so there's one lesson left...

Then, the current first chapter has 3000 views and the average subscription is 2400... I don't really understand the market, but I feel like it's become a dead stock?

Chapter Nineteen: Time to Find Invincible Iron Bull

Eiffel Tower...

This tower is a Parisian landmark, situated on the Champ de Mars on the south bank of the Seine, standing 324 meters tall. Its history spans over a century, from its completion in 1889 to the present day.

In France, there is no building taller than the Eiffel Tower. Therefore, in the subconscious of the French as a whole, this tower possesses the concept of 'the tallest'—a concept that Alice needs.

She landed gently on the power lines at the top of the tower, like a blue butterfly stepping on a flower stamen.

As night fell, Paris, the international city, remained as bustling and vibrant as ever. Alice had returned the network to the world's inhabitants upon concluding the meeting. Although the Imp was constantly monitoring the nations' every move, this did not hinder the normal functioning of society.

Should we bring Patty a gift back home? After all, it's the fashion capital...

As she pondered this, she channeled the magic in the atmosphere to create nodes while simultaneously examining the various trendy commercial districts within this vast metropolis. The magic used to amplify her vision activated, revealing the bustling and vibrant details to her.

While still outside the world, her last stay in France was in the early 18th century. Paris then, though just as bustling, vibrant, and lively, was surprisingly unsanitary. Unlike now, where even though Alice had delivered a huge 'surprise' to the world just seventeen hours earlier, the people here hadn't descended into chaos and panic.

She had assumed that at least a few hundred people would hold banners and protest, demanding that the government punish her as the 'executioner who killed countless innocent lives'—even though Alice had indeed killed that many people.

Did I underestimate their intelligence or overestimate their courage? Oh well, whether they're stupid or smart is irrelevant to me. I'll just appreciate their artistic creations instead.

Her gaze swept across the fashionable streets, watching the men and women dressed like peacocks strolling through the crowds. Certain unique outfits made her raise an eyebrow, while the pretty ribbons and embellishments particularly caught her eye.

Come to think of it, it seems like I haven't changed my clothes in ages... Patchouli seems to be the same way; ever since she entered Gensokyo, her wardrobe has only had one style. And it's not just the two of us... it seems like many others are like this too? Is this some kind of hidden curse? But I haven't felt anything at all.

Alice wasn't much of a shopper, and she wasn't even interested in makeup or dressing up. Not just her, Patchouli was the same. The only result of them going shopping was that they'd walk into one end of the street empty-handed and walk out the other. This was true in the 16th century, the 17th century, and the 18th century. Even after they moved to Gensokyo… well, Gensokyo doesn't have markets.

Her gaze swept over several clothing stores decorated with suggestive pink neon lights. They were specialty stores selling nighttime lingerie, and some of the oddly chosen styles made her fingers tremble slightly.

If Patchouli wore it...

She suddenly shook her head vigorously.

No… How can I let someone else make the gift for Patchouli? It's just tailoring, isn't it? I can do it myself!

She struggled to suppress her emotions, and it took a great deal of effort to barely calm the tempting thought. Her gaze then shifted to an area unrelated to the business district.

I need to find a way to distract myself...

She quickly noticed a historic building—a complex of four separate, corner-framed towers that, in Alice's eyes, possessed a greater and more organized density of information than the city center. Anyone studying magic there would find it incredibly effective. She immediately retrieved information about the building from her memories.

That was the National Library of France. With nearly fifteen million volumes, it may not be as grand as some other libraries, but it was certainly a center of culture and history. Countless rare, unique, and precious books were stored there, some perhaps hidden from view, others constantly admired and viewed. In Alice's mind, the value of this library surpassed that of the city itself.

Humans will eventually die, but knowledge can endure. Even in the midst of war with outsiders, no magician would attempt to attack a library—for magicians unanimously believe that if knowledge is lost in the pursuit of victory, then the glory of victory will be tarnished.

Although they did not win.

[I've got it... I can buy some books to take back. Patchouli loves reading. Although the technology in this world is very backward, the connection between thought and culture and technology isn't very strong... I'm sure I can gain some inspiration from it.]

But now that we have the internet, am I really going to buy those cheap printed books? At the very least, it has to be the original, or a handwritten copy… Hmm, those kinds of books are very hard to find.

[Should I imitate Marisa...? No, that's too inelegant.]

She was lost in thought when her phone suddenly rang. This pulled her out of her reverie, and she knew that only one person... or one living being in the world, had their own phone number.

"Optimus Prime." She composed herself. "What can I do for you?"

“We need your help.” The voice of the Cybertronian leader came from the other end of the phone. “The AllSpark has left a puzzle in Sam’s brain, marking the location of the Source Matrix.”

"so?"

"The puzzle is written with knowledge of Earth; it's incredibly complex, beyond the reach of both Sam and us. So we can only place our hopes on you, Alice Margot Lloyd. With control of this world's communication network, you should be the most knowledgeable person on this planet. If even you can't solve this puzzle, I can't imagine anyone else who could."

Alice smiled.

Of course she knew what the riddle was, and she knew the real answer to it. Although she couldn't reveal information about the second part because of the Supreme God, some information didn't need to be deliberately revealed.

"Leave it to me. The riddle is... never mind, online communication is ultimately not ideal. Come over here. I'm in Paris, France right now. At your Cybertronian speed, it shouldn't take long for you to get here."

"...We will arrive within an hour."

"See you in an hour then."

Alice hung up the phone, taking one last look at the National Library of France. After a moment's hesitation, she finally cast a small, insignificant spell—the gift could wait.

Once this node was set up, she returned to the Great Library.

Author's Note:

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

I was originally planning to post both sections together... but never mind, I'll post them after the next section.

Section 20: Riddle Game

Optimus Prime is a punctual Cybertronian; if he says he'll arrive in an hour, he arrives exactly one hour later. Not a second more, not a second less. And when they appeared on the outskirts of Paris, Alice and Patchouli met them in an abandoned park.

Alice didn't intend to expose the Great Library. It was her trump card, a winning strategy that could only be fully realized by keeping it hidden until the very end. Of course, since it was a trump card, someone needed to control it from behind the scenes. Her reason for not wanting Patchouli to face the dangers on the front lines was precisely this. Although this decision earned her a severe beating from Patchouli.

But since she got hit, it means the plan will proceed as she intended. In that case… being punched a few times by her friend was worth it. Besides, Patchouli couldn't bear to hit her hard; in reality, those few blows were practically like a massage.

She spoke first as the other person entered the park.