Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

And so the azure silhouette vanished silently. The form disappeared, and all traces of it were erased without a trace. Yet even so, a silent but profound change still occurred in every corner of this star called Terra.

What happened? What changed?

No one knows.

Meanwhile, high in orbit outside Terra, Alice, who had temporarily switched identities, opened her eyes inside her own lifeboat.

The first thing she did after waking up was to retrieve all the recent satellite cloud images of this planet. She wanted to figure out what changes had occurred on this celestial body that had suddenly become so important for some reason...

...Her gaze suddenly stopped at the location of the Andromeda Nebula!

Section Twenty-Six: Re-editing

Someone is plotting against me, someone unexpected and unplanned.

Alice withdrew her gaze from the cloud map. After noticing the unusual movement in the Andromeda Nebula, she instantly knew everything that had happened in that starry sky—the battle, the power, and… that face, which, although slightly different from the Patchouli in her memory, was fundamentally the same!

Andromeda!

[Luo Ye had previously warned me that Patchouli's past life was extremely troublesome... I thought I had taken it seriously enough, but I never expected it to reach this level. She didn't even give me time to react or prepare, easily suppressing Patchouli's will and completing her resurrection!]

[It's hateful... but what can I do?]

I have to help Patchouli... help...

[To act directly...no, I can't be so reckless. Hmm...I need to put aside the thought of helping Patchouli first, otherwise I won't be able to think rationally.]

She looked away, blinked as she made calculations in her mind, and in that quiet moment, some of the thoughts that had arisen from her concern for Patchouli were stripped from her mind and reconstructed. Then, she was finally able to think calmly and rationally again.

The situation changed unexpectedly, yet the change itself was within my expectations. Indeed, I was unable to execute a pre-prepared strategy flawlessly to the end. So…

[...go find Luo Ye.]

The portion of her will that she had severed was constructed into a form with the same face as hers, and then she silently and invisibly cast it into the void. And while doing this, she still controlled the body she was in and began to examine the continent of Terra beneath her feet.

Looking down from the 'Yesterday', the planet Terra resembled a small ball of dirt rolled in a snowdrift. Its surface sky was filled with massive clouds of Originium dust. The continents below were divided into several sections, each teeming with diverse life forms.

There are no people on this planet, or at least not many. Apart from the few Qin Min who also participated in the 'tachyon game,' all the life forms are intelligent alien species. But when Alice compared them with the observations in her mind before she left, she found that they all showed some strange changes.

It is neither body nor mind, but change exists.

What has changed? —I don't know.

But she knew even more certain that she wouldn't be delusional—beings of the extraordinary, godlike level and above never experience delusions. And if they were, it would likely be the end of their lives.

If I won't die here, then the problem lies with the planet beneath my feet.

It's impossible for a mere planet to naturally contain a variable that could cause something extraordinary in the heart of a being beyond race... Shenqi's daughter. Therefore, it's only possible that a new force has entered this battle.

A new force, an unfamiliar force. Their power and purposes are entirely unknown, but they certainly possess far greater leverage than Alice herself at this moment—at least, they are better at concealment and hiding. And the strength of a super-life form is always a holistic concept. Victory in one area means a high probability of victory in all others.

[At least a high-ranking expert... or even a quasi-saint. Tsk, if this weren't Anubis's trial, I'd suspect a sage or even a true saint was involved. But if that's the case, then perhaps my 'noticing something amiss' was actually assistance provided by a high-ranking being who supports me?]

【Headache……】

But... what should I do?

She incorporated more and more parameters into her calculations, and her thinking became increasingly refined and complex.

A direct, reckless battle won't work. At the very least, we need to rescue Zheng Zha. Only with a reliable tank in front of him can we attempt a direct confrontation.

[Skipping this planet for now and dealing with other matters... that's certainly a viable strategy. After all, the situation on this planet is quite stable at the moment. And before all the conflicts erupt, the Overlord and Fenrir won't be able to determine a victor so quickly.]

The girl pondered in her mind, rearranging her previous plans.

Originally, she planned to use the Originium Disease antidote to stimulate the already fused Overlord/Fenrir-Pan-Originium Will, instantly maximizing their conflict so that she and Sirin could see through the flaws in Fenrir's ideology and thus free Overlord from the struggle of their past lives. This was a simple and effective strategy, but unfortunately, it now needs significant revision.

She turned her head and glanced at the next cabin. The entity named 'Lin Xi' was now lying quietly in the life support system within the cabin—the plan had clearly gone wrong from the moment Xilin failed to return on time, and she was now unable to understand the turmoil Xilin was facing.

After all, the body that Sirin is currently in is simply 'Lin Xi', an artificial soul with fabricated memories—she will act according to the predetermined personality and beliefs of 'Lin Xi', while Sirin's original body has infiltrated an unknown area and is now missing.

I don't need to look for Sirin, because she won't die.

She has no past life; she still carries the remnants of Aichidra's fortune, and she is inherently very adept at 'preserving herself 2,' or rather, 'clinging to life.' Even if left unattended, nothing will go wrong... at most, my workload will increase slightly, and I'll be a bit busier.

It's terrible if it's not sour. And...

"...I'd better detach myself from this identity. Perhaps this will help me see the current situation more clearly."

Alice lowered her eyes, and a record of the individual 'Luo Ai' was quickly and perfectly woven into her mind. She revised its soul and its memories, ensuring that it could function as a 'Rhine Life Science Researcher' while smoothly implementing the previously prepared plan. Before this artificial soul could operate, she made some minor adjustments to the content of the plan.

The cure for Oripathy will still be developed, but it won't be as quick as initially planned—it will be a rather lengthy process, perhaps taking several years. At least, Alice doesn't intend to reveal this crucial element before the original key plot point, 'The Opening of Sekhmet's Kingdom'.

She decided to stall for time. She suspected that her current identity as 'Luo Ai' might no longer be as secretive as before. And 'Lin Xi' might even have become a crucial clue held by some hidden enemy!

We must abandon this place. We must leave this place.

Even so, the Overlord cannot give up... So, let's take action with the new plan as its main objective: 'delay the original plan, set up decoys to maintain the previous situation, while the main body constructs a new identity and waits for an opportunity to rescue the Overlord and deal with the hidden new enemy.'

She made up her mind and gently exhaled the last breath she had as 'Luo Ai'. The next moment, all extraneous memories and superfluous thoughts were erased from 'Luo Ai's' mind. And the artificial soul immediately began to function.

She looked at it, watching the girl, whose face had been hers just seconds before, shake her head in confusion. She muttered a few complaints under her breath before returning to the cabin. She watched as it 'regained its interest in the tachyon game' and reconnected to its life support system, linking itself back to its body on Terra.

—Hu Hai's detection accuracy is only at the atomic level, while she is at an absolutely safe depth.

Just as she was pondering what role she should play in re-entering the script, her emotions almost surged in a way that would expose her!

Because she saw her!

She saw Ceylon, she saw black, and she saw Angelina on her long journey.

She saw Luo Ye's incarnation, Ming Yanwei, and Zhan Lan who was still unaware of her true nature!

Besides them, she also saw the doctor from Rhodes Island.

I saw Andromeda!

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

Meanwhile, on the other side of the universe.

Another part of Alice visited the country where another part of Loy was located. And the turmoil in the depths of her heart grew like weeds.

—'We must protect Patchouli, and we must do it now.'

—'Questioning Luo Ye about how things got to this point'

—'Take Patchouli back from her past life, immediately, right now!'

—'If we fail, if we fail…'

"We have to find a way to save Patchi." — She landed somewhat hastily on a dimensional fault line dominated by Loyal, and all she saw around her was decay and decay.

Beneath my feet lies a towering mountain, its structure a massive inverted vortex formed by countless man-made and non-man-made structures piled upon each other. It's as if the entire world is collapsing and converging towards the mountain's summit, where a withered sun hangs silently atop the peak.

This was a decaying, dead land, gradually heading towards nothingness. On this land, there was no longer any pure land for mortals to inhabit. She could clearly sense the fading aura of decay in the air, like the decay of corpses. And as she took a step forward, she even felt her own mind decaying.

The concern and worry for Patchouli Knowledge that had surged within her heart visibly subsided. Perhaps "subsided" isn't the right word; "decay" would be more fitting. She clearly sensed the boiling thoughts in her mind begin to calm down, subside, and then her thinking stabilize once more.

The way of Luoye is the way of decay and twilight.

She couldn't completely eliminate the worries and confusion that Alice's obsession was constantly generating, but she could suppress them, so that they would no longer interfere with Alice's actions and thoughts, at least for this moment.

think.

The more critical the situation, the more necessary it is to think calmly.

Luo Ye provided only an opportunity; to seize it, Alice had to rely on her own power—this was not a fleeting chance. Therefore, Alice easily grasped it, capturing the state of 'clarity' with that momentary clarity and maintaining it under her own power.

Alice's Way is the Way of Change and the Birth of All Things. She allows the state of 'clarity' within her mind to constantly develop and change in scale. And each change is able to just right suppress the enormous anxiety and irritability that arises from the touching of obsessions deep within her heart.

It was truly unexpected that her first battle, transcending any level, would be a confrontation with herself. Only when everything began to stabilize did she take a deep breath, step forward, and begin her ascent towards the summit of the mountain.

The path isn't long. It doesn't take long to walk from the foot of the mountain to the top.

When Alice finally arrived under the fading sun, her eyes were no longer filled with anxiety and confusion.

And then, she saw her.

She saw Luo Ye sitting alone on a rock atop a mountain, a rock transformed from an unknown statue. Around Luo Ye, white, leafless flowers bloomed on the withered, parched earth.

She wasn't quite sure what this scene meant or represented. But she could tell that Luo Ye was in a very good mood for conversation.

“Luo Ye.” Alice looked at her sister.

“I saw your battle with Andromeda.” She paused, and her counterpart from the other side shared some interesting information with her.

So she added another sentence.

“I also saw your avatar left in the world of Terra, I saw Ming Yanwei, Zhan Lan who has not yet awakened, and Andromeda who stole Patchi’s identity.”

She saw Luo Ye nod slightly and extend a hand to support her chin.

"So?" Luo Ye tilted her head, looking at her. "You've come to ask me for help? You think you can't save her on your own?"

“I can,” Alice shook her head slightly. “I left an avatar on Terra, and that part of me will successfully save her. But…”

“I don’t overestimate myself. Saving Patchouli and defeating her past life, that woman named Andromeda, is quite a challenge for me. It’s unlikely that I can help Patchouli get rid of the mirage of her past life while also dealing with other enemies. That’s why I’ve come to seek your assistance, and I hope to obtain some information about your battle with Andromeda.”

“There was no battle between us, but I can give you the data.” Luo Ye flicked his fingers, and a white flower detached from the branch and floated towards Alice’s head. The latter caught it lightly and watched it transform into a sea of ​​information that flowed into her thoughts.

Alice blinked.

She scanned all the intelligence in an instant, and then...

"It's a bit more troublesome than I expected... A sage-level past life, fallen from grace, and Andromeda who also despises humanity." She frowned, then slowly relaxed. "It's a challenge." Her words, however, remained brimming with confidence.

Confidence is a good thing.

At least in the current situation, it's a good thing for Alice to have realistic self-confidence. It means she still has the will to fight, rather than becoming conservative under external pressure.

But she still couldn't help Patchouli on her own. So she still needed to seek help from Loye.

“Can you feel it? There’s something unusual about Terra.” Alice stretched out her hand and drew a sphere in front of her that projected the entire image of Terra. With a slight movement of her fingertips, another Terra that looked almost identical to the first appeared on the side of the sphere.

The former was the Terra she had seen before she arrived, while the latter was the Terra she had encountered before she first descended as 'Luo Ai'. Both were pixel-perfect replicas of her appearance in her memory, and now they coexisted beside her, before Luo Ye's eyes.

“I sensed something was off. Something I can’t quite describe, and I can’t pinpoint the exact nature of it. Besides, Celine’s current situation is also unclear. I don’t know if she’s alright, but I feel there must be some variable that we hadn’t been able to calculate before.”

She saw Luo Ye lower her eyes.

“Don’t worry about Sirin, I roughly know what happened to her. As for the variable you mentioned…” Luo Ye frowned, thought for a moment, and then answered with a slightly cautious tone, “Strictly speaking, my clone on Terra didn’t sense any changes in Terra. But since you sensed something unusual, let’s assume for now that there’s something fishy going on.”

She looked up at Alice.

“I can’t determine the nature of that variable, but we can use deduction and elimination to make a judgment… Assuming you didn’t discover the anomaly on Terra, then you would stay on Terra and, in a short time, push forward your previous plan to make the Originium Will riot, thereby uncovering and defeating Fenrir’s Path, and saving the Overlord… Is that right?”

“Hmm,” Alice nodded slightly. “But this plan will go awry, because even if I don’t return to the starship, I can still detect the changes in Andromeda and thus know about that battle. And when Andromeda appears, and inevitably appears before me… I’m afraid I’ll have a hard time controlling myself.”