Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

But there was nothing I could do. The opening chapter had only been written five sections when it exploded with arguments, so I panicked. Then I learned about the crackdown at the meeting, and the seemingly doomed capital city was revived. As everyone knows, the outline fell apart, and I'm not very good at writing politics (mainly because I'm afraid to), so Xiao Ai became mentally challenged. Although I quickly shifted the blame... but then again, didn't that just make things worse?

So, there was no other way but to delete and rewrite it. The ratings plummeted instantly, and the new version was somewhat dragged out in the early stages due to changes in the outline. Not many people read it anymore—well, anyway, I judge the quality of a script by the number of posts. Seeing that row of 30-40 posts made me feel 80-90% disheartened. A few days later, I asked the editor if my script was doomed, and then a few days later, I asked again.

Thankfully, Bai Lu is a forgiving person and comforted me, who had completely lost my composure. This gave me the confidence to stay focused and avoid giving up entirely. And the subsequent plot finally started to improve, although it didn't quite reach my desired standard, but at least... it was watchable.

Well, anyway, I won't say anything more. Thank you all for your support along the way. The next story is about Death Apocalypse—not the Death from the anime, nor the Apocalypse from Marvel—and I will try my best to write a more exciting story. I hope everyone will continue to support me, and those who have been waiting for this volume to be released can finally read it. After all, looking at that rock-bottom 3,300 subscribers, I feel like I've become a complete couch potato.

Finally, before Death's Apocalypse, there's an interlude for relaxation. I'll write some lighthearted, slice-of-life scenes to lighten things up. I'll open a vote for this one, and I'll choose the interlude's content based on the results before 9 PM tonight.

1 - Resident Evil: Urban Ruins Tourism - Fighting Weak Zombies

2—Alien: A Journey Through Spaceship Ruins and the Countryside of a Primitive Planet

3 - Ju-on: A Japanese-style trip accompanied by ghosts and demons

4—Gods and Ghosts: Let's wreak havoc on Egypt's ancient ruins tourism once again.

Lastly, I changed the name and content of the Star Artifact in the final act of Volume Two. It's sad that nobody noticed the reference, so I'll make it clearer.

And, it's the end of the month, please feed me and vote! — Just thinking about how I still owe twelve extra chapters makes me so sad _(:з」∠)_

Intermission Tourism Preparation

Section 1: I... can still keep grinding...

The teleportation process was as swift as ever. When thirty days had passed and the main god announced the completion of the side quest, the two witches crossed time and space and returned to the cycle of reincarnation of the Central Continent team.

—The onlookers even maintained that "blessing" posture.

"Everyone, it's been a month. We're back." Alice greeted the Central Continent team with a smile. Before leaving the Transformers world, she took about thirty seconds to adjust her mindset, calm her emotions, and switch to a high-energy, focused state. She also became much more languid.

She was utterly exhausted. Sentinel Prime's matter, the problem with the Stellar Extraction Tower, Optimus Prime's matter, Sam's matter... each one had taken her a tremendous toll—even the easiest task, dealing with Sentinel Prime on the moon, took her three or four days to complete the initial research on the supercomputer [Screen One] found in the wreckage.

And the rest were even more troublesome and demanding than the last, especially dealing with the relationship between the Autobots and the nations of the earth, ensuring that the two sides could coexist peacefully and trust each other... This kept her running around and talking herself hoarse.

That's enough, Alice felt like she could collapse from overwork at any moment. Even with Patchouli's help, her three weeks of 'leisure'... were anything but easy.

“Although I’ve had experience before, you guys are really fast…” Zheng Zha put down the hand that had said ‘Have a safe trip’ with a strange expression, and looked the two ladies up and down. Their clothes were not much different from when they left, but they looked quite relaxed and a little tired.

"You had a pretty good time, didn't you, Margot Lloyd? Vacationing and all that... let me tell you, the last time I went back to the real world, it turned from a nice family visit into an urban shootout. It was awful..." He shook his head, giving a hearty laugh.

"Anyway, welcome back to the Main God Space. You must have some interesting stories to share with everyone, right? How about we go back for another meal and chat some more?"

“There is a story, of course,” Alice nodded. “But it’s not the funny story you’re imagining. It’s a heavy, long, but also exhilarating journey. I’ll tell you all about it later, but before that… I’ve confirmed something else important—”

She said earnestly, "I discovered that I can also trigger the main god's side quests in other worlds outside the main storyline. This is because I gained some extra reward points and side quests during this journey back."

She looked at the crowd who were stunned by the shocking news.

"The previous training plan needs to be revised. The strengthening strategy remains the same, but we can no longer go to so many story worlds separately. We have to act as a group to avoid being caught off guard when we trigger missions that are beyond our difficulty limits."

“…You always surprise us, Margot Lloyd.” Zheng Zha’s expression was complicated. “Looks like we’ve found a suitable way to deal with the Demon Team?”

“You could say that,” Alice nodded slightly. “But my clone will definitely be able to find out this information as well, so we’re still at a disadvantage. The battle that follows… could be quite difficult.”

“But we will definitely get through this, Sister Alice,” Xiao Honglu added promptly. “You mentioned before that different reincarnation teams experience the horror world at different times, didn’t you? Perhaps we’ll only encounter the demon team after we’ve gone through three or four, or even seven or eight horror movies. Instead of worrying about the future, it’s more appropriate to focus on the present.”

“You’re right,” Alice replied, raising an eyebrow slightly.

At that moment, Zhan Lan suddenly clapped her hands, interrupting their conversation.

"Alright, alright." She smiled and stood in the middle of the group. "Alice and Patchouli have just returned, and now is the time for them to rest. Besides, even if the Demon Team is fast, they can't possibly be here before the next horror movie. Alice, I'm sure everyone needs some time to consider and make choices about the enhancement strategies you arranged for us."

She looked at the others.

"Let's all go back to our rooms and get some rest, and think about which path we should take next. We can all gather here again at this time tomorrow and make a decision then, okay?"

No one objected to her proposal.

Zheng Zha nodded first, then led Luo Li, whose face was slightly flushed, back to his room. The information overload from the Demon Team and the extra mission had left him under considerable pressure. He would likely need to do something beneficial to his mental and physical health to relieve the stress.

Zhang Heng and Saito also left one after the other. The former couldn't get a word in edgewise yet. The latter, due to his naturally shy nature, didn't say much. He simply greeted Alice before leaving, then exchanged for a booklet about strengthening the occultist and went back to his room to browse it at his leisure.

Xiao Honglu, Zhao Yingkong, Zhan Lan, and the others also had their own things to do. Leaving Xiao Honglu aside, Zhao Yingkong and Zhan Lan had already planned to exchange for the Ember and the Aidaling Clan's enhancements, respectively. However, although they had made their decisions, they still needed to spend some time preparing and researching before starting the enhancements.

As for Zero... he was as elusive as ever. When Zhan Lan suggested going back to rest, he left the main god's square and disappeared without a trace.

Everyone had left, leaving only Alice and Patchouli in the vast main square. Naturally, they wouldn't linger there long. Hand in hand, they returned to their shared room, closed the door, and then—

With a loud 'thud!', he froze and fell to the ground!

"Ugh... I'm exhausted." Alice collapsed onto the floor, the cool floor actually making her feel comfortable. It felt like a thousand motors were roaring inside her head, and four-fifths of them were emitting black smoke and a burnt smell. "Next time... I'll never do something so thankless again... I haven't slept a single minute in three weeks!"

"Shut up, Alice," Patchouli, who was also lying down, replied irritably with her eyes closed. "Shut up! And you asked for it!"

She was so lazy that she could barely speak. She almost fell asleep standing up while talking to the other members of the Central Continent team. If it weren't for maintaining her witch's demeanor, she probably would have collapsed without hesitation the moment she returned.

Alice's fingers trembled.

A second later, Shanghai and Penglai cautiously floated out of her shadow. The two little dolls exchanged a glance, then controlled the anti-gravity field to gently transfer the two pathetic, lazy witches from the cold floor to the soft bed.

Shanghai breathed a sigh of relief.

However, in the next moment, Patchouli grabbed Shanghai's wings, hugged it tightly, and kneaded it vigorously.

"Sure enough, Shanghai is still the best to me." Patchouli closed her eyes, ignoring Shanghai's struggles and holding it tightly. "Unlike that annoying guy who promised to spend time with me after he was done, and then waited until twenty-seven seconds before the time was up! I should have thrown you off the Great Library! Besides studying those aliens' science and technology, can't you even glance at anything else?"

“…I was wrong.” Alice closed her eyes and lay motionless. “Let me sleep for a bit…I’ll definitely make it up to you later…sigh…”

With a loud 'thud!', poor Shanghai bumped right into Alice's forehead. Penglai quickly went over to help Shanghai up, tenderly...rubbing Shanghai's forehead.

All you do is sleep!

Alice slowly opened her eyes, the bloodshot veins in them instantly disappearing. At this moment, she was undoubtedly exceptionally angry.

She slowly got out of bed and tugged at her slightly loosened collar.

“You’re right, Patchouli, I shouldn’t just be sleeping.” Her spine cracked as she turned her neck. “I still have things to do.”

She pounced on him, pinning the clueless guy firmly to the pillow. An unnatural, cold light shone in her pale blue eyes.

"Alice, you—wait!"—[A futile struggle]

'Rip—rip—'—[Sound of fabric tearing]

"Wait, no... don't do this, I was wrong! Ugh—" Patchouli's voice was somewhat panicked, but those who knew her well knew that it was just an act.

Soon, she said, the living organs lost their freedom, leaving only a series of mournful sobs.

The two little dolls quietly flew to the bottom of the bed and covered their eyes.

Section 2: Is this considered a return to familiar territory?

The war between witches is destined to be brutal, as both sides will do their utmost and use every means to defeat the other. There is no mercy on this battlefield, and neither Alice nor Patchouli will show any compassion or hand over victory easily.

However, since it is a war, it must eventually end. A draw is rare between the two of them, so when the war ends, it usually means a winner has emerged.

I am the winner.

Alice opened her eyes and looked at the timer in the room, which showed 21:42—more than a hundred minutes until the agreed-upon twenty-four hours. She should have spent about twelve hours in deep sleep.

...a scene that seemed familiar.

[Oh well, it doesn't matter. It's always the same; once a war starts, I can't control when it ends... Luckily, I prepared new clothes beforehand this time.]

She turned her head to look at Patchouli, who was still fast asleep—the girl's serene sleeping face was particularly alluring to her. Her soft, long hair, her relaxed brows, her faintly rosy cheeks, and... her thin, red lips that were still gently pursing Alice's left ring finger in her sleep.

It's like a soft and cuddly cat.

Alice could clearly feel the warm, moist sensation on her fingers, as well as the soft, wonderful touch.

[...cannot be manually operated.]

There's nothing we can do, let her sleep a little longer.

One hand was unusable, but the other could still move with difficulty. She made a few gestures, and Shanghai and Penglai, which were lying at the foot of the bed, obediently floated up. After connecting with her will, they opened a small portal at the entrance of the private space, peeked out to take a look, and then slowly floated into the square of the main god space.

The plaza was quiet. Apart from the large golden sphere of light still hovering silently, no one was present. Presumably, they hadn't gotten up yet, or rather... they were up but doing something else.

Let's try connecting to the main god like this first.

Alice thought to herself, her will following the puppet Shanghai to the area beneath the divine orb. She focused her attention on the divine orb, and immediately afterward, the vast radiant screen of the divine being appeared in her mind.

The strategy is feasible.

The Supreme God seemed indifferent to whether the majority of the reincarnator's body was in the plaza or in a private space. As long as a part of the reincarnator was close enough to it, it would autonomously exercise its power.

This is a good start. Hopefully, the remaining matters will proceed smoothly as well—her will then connected with the Supreme God. Her fingers trembled slightly, and Penglai, floating beside Shanghai, raised its staff of control.

"God, tell me what this is? How do I use it?" Alice asked.

At that very instant, the voice of the supreme god resounded in her mind.

'300 reward points are required to answer the questions posed by the reincarnator Alice Margotrovid.'

[Payment.]

'Star Artifact - The Staff of Domination - A naturally occurring weapon of a civilization accidentally generated within the story world of [Transformers 1]. It is unique and cannot be replicated; the user must possess a strengthened Soul Obsession system to wield it.'

What are the innate weapons of civilization? What is the system of soul obsession?

Insufficient permissions, no answer provided.

[...list the enhancements related to the Soul Obsession system]

A long list of related enhancements appeared in Alice's eyes. However, when she tried to select one, she found that all the entries were grayed out and unusable. Furthermore, none of the enhancements included any ratings or descriptions from the main god. There were only names like "Demon Ascension," "True Demon," and "Demon King," clearly indicating sequential advancement. Beyond that, there was no other information.

[...list the ones I can redeem]

The long list of entries disappeared immediately, leaving only one single redeemable option on the main screen.

'Breaker Physique: Rating 81, suitable for most supernatural horror movies. The user will possess some perception of spirits and a low resistance to spiritual damage. It does not provide physical attribute enhancements, but allows for self-purification of the soul. This enhancement will demonstrate its true value after transcending death.'

'The exchange requires two C-rank side quests and 4000 reward points. A prerequisite must also be met: Pure Obsession – Reincarnator Alice Margotrovid already meets this condition.'

"What the hell is this...?"

Alice pursed her lips in confusion. This was the first time she had ever seen the God of War offer such a poorly valued enhancement exchange, complete with strange prerequisites… A CC-level side quest, 4000 reward points. And in return, this was an enhancement that provided almost zero boost to combat power. If it weren't for a hint at the end of the description, Alice would have even suspected that the God of War's broken machine had a bug.

She thought for a moment, and then a sudden inspiration struck her. Some questions that had been troubling her resurfaced, and she immediately posed her next question to the Supreme God.

[God, how can we directly enhance the degree to which the genetic lock has been unlocked?]

Insufficient permissions, no answer provided.