Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Enemy... Why would a comrade become an enemy?

It's quite simple. Since their past lives chose from the very beginning to assimilate the vessels when they reached a stable fourth-order stage, it means that their past lives already had a clear understanding of the team members' current power and level, and had prepared contingency plans. Undoubtedly, their past lives would overwhelm their present lives in an instant, then dominate their bodies and power.

But that refers to the worst-case scenario where there's no room for maneuver. This trial exists precisely because a chance for a turnaround has emerged. Those in the past failed to activate all their plans at the right time. Those in this life, however, made preparations and were determined before entering this predicament. This means that at the start of this trial, neither the past nor the present can gain the upper hand—perhaps the past could gradually take control due to their abundant preparations, but that's definitely not the case now.

Neither their past nor present lives, nor their respective primary consciousnesses, can surface before the decisive battle. Their memories will be concealed, while their beliefs and paths will remain, constructing a virtual, disguised persona. This period before the two wills determine the victor is Alice and Sirin's opportunity to act.

Find them, assist them, awaken them—and in the process, the arrangements left behind and revealed by past and present lives will definitely make this virtual personality regard those who try to interfere with it as enemies that must be eliminated!

After all, they didn't know which side would intervene. They didn't know which side would receive help, and ultimately, which side's success would be secured!

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

Alice felt as if she had broken through an invisible wall; from this moment on, the preferential treatment of Anubis's teleportation point was declared over. She and Sirin simultaneously fell silent, then looked around together.

She found herself and Celine inside a small aircraft. Out of caution, she didn't immediately activate her energy or powers. Instead, she shifted her gaze to survey the surroundings of their compartment. Seeing that she had already begun to move, Celine went about her other tasks.

She quickly spotted an active data terminal. Reaching out and touching it, data about the spacecraft instantly appeared in the distance.

—'Prefecture-level Living Ship: Yesterday. Sovereign Owners: Citizens [Lin Xi], [Ma Ai]. Ship Operation Status: Good, Energy Reserves: 96%. Available Resources: 4240 Standard Units. Access Rights: Geng. Current Coordinates: Swan Province, outer space of Administrative Star No. 91. Spatial Location: 83794 Xin Ding Jia Jia 09782.'

—'Data network status: Connected—The Supreme Emperor is watching over you.'

Alice raised an eyebrow.

The Emperor... is watching?

Was this a routine announcement, or a hint? She and Celine exchanged a fleeting glance in the reflection on the wall. A tacit understanding formed between them.

Alice continued flipping through the data terminal in her hand, checking the relevant data at the reading speed of an ordinary girl among the Qin people in this world. As she leisurely browsed, she paid particular attention to data regarding identity and origin.

【Lin Xi】, 【Ma Ai】... these are indeed two simple and straightforward Eastern-style names. They're basically just inverted homophones of the original names' abbreviations. But something is better than nothing. Since this is Anubis's arrangement, at least they won't have any flaws at the beginning.

Alice's gaze shifted downwards, and after a couple of seconds, she had a complete grasp of the terminal's many unique functions. She reached out and casually tapped a few times on the control panel. Details of her and Sirin's elaborate scheme of disguise 'inadvertently' flashed through her field of vision.

It is now... the 923rd year of the 21st millennium since the founding of the Great Qin Dynasty. To put it simply, it can be called 1923. Numerically, this is the year when the main plot of the movie *The Mummy* will begin. In the more than 20,000 years since the founding of the Great Qin Dynasty, the empire has been undefeated in its conquests, crushing all who dared to challenge it and bringing all visible star systems under its control.

Over ten thousand years ago, the First Emperor abdicated. His successor, Hu Hai, through a series of fortuitous events, ascended the throne and has ruled ever since. However, since two thousand years ago, the empire has had no more star systems or alien races within its sights to conquer. As a period of peace approached, internal strife began to fester within the empire. Having proven his abilities through long rule, Hu Hai decisively ordered an encouragement for civilian exploration. He granted all Qin citizens a flying vessel at birth and spearheaded a fervent spirit of adventure and expansion. This policy proved remarkably effective.

It successfully shaped many pioneering heroes. These heroes discovered vast territories and encountered foreign tribes for the empire. After the relaxation of the fiefdom system for exploring citizens, a large number of Qin people enthusiastically threw themselves into the adventures of exploring the empire's outer regions. However, the two illusory identities, [Lin Xi] and [Ma Ai], who were literally blood relatives, perished in a failed expedition. Only two genetically engineered girls remained to carry on the legacy of the dead.

This was unavoidable, as the Qin Emperor's reign had locked the timeline. Even a true god couldn't reverse the flow of time to resurrect the dead. Therefore, the dead remained dead. Their offspring could only be randomly paired using genetic samples stored in a database to ensure the two families didn't die out. Because these two families were longtime friends, the official in charge decided to place the two newborn test-tube girls on the same ship and raise them together. Just half an hour earlier, the empire's orphanage had completed its final stage of development.

In other words, they are both sixteen years old, in the prime of their lives. And because of their family background, they own a spaceship with far better features than other people their age, and can use their privileges to travel to many secret locations outside the capital star system at any time.

A pretty good start, which saved a lot of work.

Alice turned her head to look at Miss Celine, who had also finished her work. She casually tossed the data terminal she was holding to Celine, who seemed a little dizzy, trusting that Celine knew which information required special attention.

"What's wrong? You look a little confused," she asked, sounding like a little girl concerned for a friend—[Will the interference with the spacetime axis be successful?]

"Barely," Xilin rubbed her head, naturally adopting the role of a timid person. "This is my first time acting alone, and I feel a little lost." — [It's difficult. Forcibly interfering with time will likely attract Hu Hai's attention. I don't think we can handle it.]

"Hmm, don't know what to do? Don't rush, we have plenty of time. This is just the beginning." — [It's not too bad; at least it proves that others can't interfere with the spacetime axis. This way, we don't have to trace their whereabouts one by one in the past or future. For us, who are in a weaker position, this background is actually quite advantageous... as long as Hu Hai is just Hu Hai, and Sekhmet is just Sekhmet.]

“Yes, that’s how it is,” Celine nodded. “So… should we stay here? Or should we set sail and head to some unfamiliar place?” — ​​[That kind of thing is definitely worth paying attention to. Well, let’s leave it at that for now. What’s the best course of action next? Should we gather intelligence gradually, or adopt a more aggressive exploration method?]

“We’re adults now, aren’t we? Let’s explore the surrounding star systems first; maybe we’ll find a good place.” Alice replied with a grin. In the time it took to talk to her, she had already subtly learned how to pilot this small, habitable starship. She set it to autopilot mode, with the destination at an unrecorded coordinate in space.

—[We must choose a radical approach to exploration. We don't have much time for thorough preparation. After all, this situation is different. Moreover… we both know our usual slow-paced style. Using the old methods now would introduce uncertainty.]

“Mm.” Celine nodded, and after seeing Alice take the pilot’s seat in the main control room, she also settled comfortably into the co-pilot’s seat. While Alice was figuring out the ship’s general structure and handling methods, she also reviewed the data on the data terminal and expanded upon it. She was rapidly learning about the general structure of this world.

—【That's settled then. Alice, this time you'll be the mastermind, and I'll assist you by filling in any gaps. As things stand, this world isn't significantly different from our previous predictions. So, if you have any special methods… well, use them as you see fit.】

She sat down quietly, like a genuine sixteen-year-old Qin girl, flipping through the surrounding star map and making minor adjustments to the ship's course.

They are currently located in the Cygnus Province. The Cygnus Province is actually the Cygnus Nebula, a cluster of stars approximately 1,500 light-years from Earth. It contains thousands of stars and around 100,000 terraformed habitable planets. Theoretically, this is still within the heart of the Empire. However, the star systems are vastly different, and venturing into it is akin to entering a wilderness.

Then, they saw the chain signal on the monitor and, as the ship came to a standstill, heard a crisp, directional sound wave that seemed to appear out of nowhere beside them.

—'Cemeter-class living quarters: Yesterday—The hull has been inspected; no pollution, no contraband.'

—'Crew Confirmation: Lin Xi, Ma Ai—Personal data checked, mental state normal, physiological functions in good order, access permission granted, in progress…'

"—You have passed the inspection and are permitted to proceed—the Supreme Emperor is watching over you."

A stable, transcendental cyborg life form had just scanned the ship and its passengers. Naturally, it detected nothing. After the data verification was complete, the 'Yesterday' easily passed through them and quickly entered the outer reaches of the star system.

Warp drive, a simple and universal technology. When Yesterday came to a stop in the empty expanse of space, Alice, having finished her data retrieval mission while piloting the ship, rubbed her temples.

“There seems to be nothing here.” Sitting in the passenger seat, Celine surveyed the various data on the monitoring equipment, her lips slightly pouting like a genuine young girl—[So, what’s the next step? Should we go find O’Connor and Evelyn’s reincarnations first? Or should we search for the whereabouts of the others?]

Alice shook her head slightly.

"Finding new stars isn't that easy. This is Imperial territory, and although there are no markers, others have definitely passed through this area... We need to keep going further." — [O'Connor and his reincarnations aren't in a hurry; Anubis won't let its script be changed so easily. Our primary objective now is to deal with our companions, or at least find a breakthrough.]

"Hmm... so which direction should we drive in? Just blindly pick one?" — [Who should we start with? Zheng Zha? Should we deal with the most reckless one first to gain some combat strength?]

“You can figure that out just by thinking about it!” Alice’s lips curled up as she stretched out her hand, pointing the navigation directly to the region with the fewest administrative stars. “Where there are fewer people, there will definitely be fewer explorers. That way, we’ll have a chance to discover new worlds that no one has ever been before!”

—【No, let's start with the Overlord. He's not exceptionally intelligent, but he's not stupid either. His strength isn't overwhelmingly great, but it's not overwhelmingly weak either. Within the team, he's a standard middle-tier player. Starting with him will be most beneficial for taking this very first step!】

“Is…that so?” Sirin tilted her head, casually connecting to the tachyon network that could transmit data even during warp drive. She casually searched for some data related to exploration and adventure, reading it at a pace befitting her current identity.

—【I have reservations about this. But since you've already decided, proceed at this pace. I will trigger that keyword, but I still hope you've made sufficient preparations in places I'm unaware of. Otherwise, I really don't approve of such a rash move.】

Alice simply smiled calmly. She symbolically pushed the control stick, guiding the ship to another distant star.

The signals of the empire still linger here.

This place remains under the emperor's watchful eye.

Celine continued to casually browse the information on the Kuaizi Network, and then seemingly 'randomly' used the name of the ship 'Yesterday' as a keyword to search.

And naturally, she saw one in the long list that was sure to catch the eye of a girl her age.

——'Yesterday's broken ship, the last fast-paced ride for young people'

At the very top of the introduction page, there is an anthropomorphic Arctic hare.

"Hey, the game's name is exactly the same as our ship's!"

Chapter 8 - Overlord

A message appeared... and it was quickly discovered by two reincarnators who were pretending to be sixteen-year-old girls.

Quick play, or fast games. In this vast Qin world, it is a very popular activity. Because in this era where food and clothing have been solved and there is no war, the only thing the Qin people can consume resources for besides realizing their self-worth is entertainment.

Entertainment, in a sense, can be considered an extension of the service industry. However, in this starry kingdom, the service industry is actually severely restricted.

Because, apart from the emperor, no Qin person will submit to another Qin person. Even with abundant resources, a Qin person will not serve another Qin person simply because they have a request. In this empire, there is no currency, only what is called 'resources,' which are essentially energy reserves used for trade. And for every Qin person, every citizen with an independent living vessel, as long as the internal void furnace of the vessel is operational, the total amount of resources available is infinite.

Yesterday, the ship had 4,240 available resources, which meant that its daily energy surplus was 4,240 standard units of the Qin Empire. This energy was enough for the ship to freely teleport to any location marked on the star map in the galaxy, with a considerable surplus still available.

For the ancients, clothing, food, shelter, and transportation were the most pressing hardships in life. But for the Qin people, these problems were long gone—clothing could be produced in abundance using molecular printers. As for food, synthetic foods surpassed natural products in nutrition, taste, and appearance. For shelter, their customizable living vessels provided ample lodging. And for transportation, with sufficient permissions, going anywhere was effortless.

Ah, that's right. The Qin people lived in living ships, not on planets. Planets were cumbersome and difficult to manufacture, and after millions of years, the Qin people no longer cherished their homeland like their ancestors. The reason those planets were named administrative planets was also because only the star system governor, or 'village head,' would reside on a planet for an extended period, sharing the emperor's burdens while also managing the numerous automated factories and research institutions within the planet.

Most Qin people only travel to a habitable planet when their living ships malfunction and require repair or replacement, or when they wish to serve the emperor. They then reside and work on these planets. The so-called 'travel privileges' arose precisely for this reason; after all, it's unacceptable to allow ignorant citizens to disrupt the emperor's factories and delay construction.

The people of Qin trusted the emperor. To them, the phrase "The supreme emperor watches over you" was, in effect, the most reliable promise of protection. As long as they remained within the empire's borders and within the emperor's sight, if any citizen or ship encountered any mishap, the emperor's will would guide the nearest 'village head' to that location and relieve these citizens of their predicament.

What a good emperor! Hu Hai is truly unworthy of his name for doing such a thing. However, the focus at the moment is not on his true nature or what he is capable of, but on the entertainment activities that have arisen under his meticulous care, something called 'Quick Swimming'.

Kuaizi game, Kuaizi means particles with a speed higher than that of photons.

If we compare the rule of the Qin Dynasty to light, then the game of tachyons is a game played in a world where the light has not yet reached.

In other words, these are places that the emperor cannot see, or will not actively look at. And there are two such places in this universe.

The first type is the outer borders of the empire, the areas the emperor encourages his citizens to explore. The second type is the inner borders of the empire, areas the emperor can still see, but he will not actively seek them out.

Ah, that's right. Those places were inhabited by non-Qin peoples. In ancient times, when Confucianism was prevalent, the emperor and the Qin people would educate them, making them vassals of the empire and gradually assimilating them into the imperial bloodline. However, with the decline of the Hundred Schools of Thought and the advancement of technology, the empire changed its attitude towards them.

Because the Qin people are different from the mortals who lived on their home planet Earth in ancient times. Super-genetic engineering has long since completely altered the Qin people's physique. They do not tire, do not age, possess immense strength, and react with lightning speed. Even if their living quarters are destroyed by meteorites, they can still survive in space for a long time. Moreover, the changes in their mentality mean that the Qin people are not like those short-lived species who are confused by some inexplicable philosophical questions.

The Qin people had become an immortal race, having overcome not only the four basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, but also the four great sufferings of birth, aging, sickness, and death. It was precisely because of this that their birth rate plummeted, incidentally solving their population problem. Genetic diversity and cultural influence became utterly useless to the Qin people—they no longer needed or believed in the need to assimilate other ethnic groups. They were utterly ineffective to them.

Oh no, there is a little bit. And its sole purpose is entertainment. The so-called "Kuaizi Game" is like that: sealing off an alien civilization, which is inherently unqualified to touch the stars, within a star or galaxy. Then, one can observe their development and changes, or create a vessel to experience the customs of these inferior civilizations. If anything goes wrong, then naturally, it's either scrapped and started over, or the game world is abandoned. In any case, whether they exist or not, they serve no purpose for Qin beyond entertainment.

To be fair, this wasn't a strategy without its risks. After all, the enslaved always try to rebel. There were always some whimsical individuals among the Qin people who would try to assist these rebels in their struggle against the Qin Empire. Two thousand years ago, the rise of the exploration movement was precisely because the signs of rebellion sparked by this game of tachyon alarmed Emperor Huhai. Although that rebellion, involving millions of stars, was easily suppressed before it even began by the seven-figure army of extraordinary beings mobilized by the emperor, it still served as a wake-up call.

The empire is now in its current state largely due to that failed rebellion. Even so, the game of takoyaki was not abolished by the emperor afterward.

After all, for a civilization of immortals, free from worries about food, clothing, shelter, and the fear of birth, aging, sickness, and death, if they didn't want to become a decadent empire destined for ruin, they would need to provide their people with some entertainment while expanding outwards. And a game like "Kuaizi" (a type of card game) that had already proven its worst consequences and could still be easily suppressed was far safer than letting these Qin people let loose and explore new ways to play.

Thus, the introduction to the worldview and background ended there. Alice and Sirin exchanged a glance, having to admit that this Qin Empire truly possessed the air of a civilization with immortality, rather than simply a society that had advanced technology but whose social structure remained stuck in ancient times. They quickly and naturally steered the conversation towards the 'tachycard game,' making themselves 'naturally and reasonably' 'interested' in it under the watchful eyes of Emperor Huhai.

The content is roughly as follows—

Alice: "A game of 'fast'? Hmm... what's so fun about that? Let's find a deserted star system and continue our exploration."

Sirin: "Hmm... but this 'last fast game for young people' thing... I'm a little concerned. Does it mean that once you participate in this game, you'll never play any other fast games again? Or... well, after playing it, you're no longer considered a young person?"

Alice: "I suspect this guy is just being mysterious. Hmm... what is he talking about?"

Sirin: "It seems to be a story that takes place on a planet called 'Terra'. The inhabitants there are somewhat similar to ancient beastmen. They can manipulate an energy crystal as if by instinct and perform some simple spells. However, due to a lack of technology, they also get infected by the crystal when using it... so it's currently in a chaotic state."

Alice: "I see. So this is a cautionary game, meant to tell other players how miserable the ancients would be without an emperor's watchful eye. No wonder they say it's 'the last fast game for young people,' which makes sense."

Celine: "I don't think that's what it meant..."

Alice: "Is that what you mean? We'll find out by going and seeing. Anyway, we haven't decided where to go yet. So, treating this as a temporary goal and giving it a try seems like a good idea?"

Celine: "But we... well, we've already arrived."

The general content is as described above. When the ship came to a stop, they were able to see a huge planet shrouded in storms and thunderclouds in the distance through the virtual porthole projected in front of them.

Something foreign still lingered in the air, and the emperor's gaze remained fixed on the starry sky.

Alice—[So, let's begin here. The Overlord gave me the signal 'Yesterday's Broken Ship.' Ming Yanwei gave me the signal 'Arctic Hare.' This means they will definitely make arrangements near these two. They could be the operators, or they could be participants in the game. Our goal is to find them, and then, awaken them.]

Sirin – [Understood. Let's start by investigating the game's operators. Based on previous intelligence, the game's operator is named 'Robo.' And so far, we've confirmed there are only five players involved. So, let's contact 'Robo' first. Then, based on the information we've gathered, we can decide on our next move.]

Alice – [If it's a reasonable decision, then let's do it.]

Their eye contact was fleeting, a result of their previous tacit understanding. They were now able to express their will through simple glances. Of course, this was far from the unspoken, implicit understanding between Patchouli and Alice. But for the current situation, this level was sufficient.

In the instant their eyes met, six greetings appeared simultaneously on the data panel in front of them.

"Hello, this is Luo Ai and Lin Xi from yesterday's post. This is Wen Hong from Bi Su Thirteen."

"Hello, this is Luo Ai and Lin Xi from Yesterday, and this is Zhi Xingxing from Yaoguang."

Hello...

"…………"