Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"The fourth-stage advanced gene lock hasn't been unlocked yet..." Zheng Zha raised an eyebrow, then relaxed.

"Ha, anyway, Zhan Lan, you're already a Transcendent Being, right? Isn't that amazing? Our chances of winning in the upcoming battles have increased even more. We should celebrate!" He laughed heartily, and Zhan Lan responded with a gentle smile. The other members of the Central Continent Team also smiled, burying the regret that lingered in Zhan Lan's heart.

Contentment brings happiness. If one has already gained something through hard work, then one should not ask for more if the situation is unchangeable. After this matter was settled, another consensus emerged in the minds of some of the members present.

"Kindness should be repaid, and grudges should be avenged." Zheng Zha's smile vanished, his face becoming serious and focused: "Since Zhan Lan received so much help from that Miss Bi Na Ming Ju at this crucial step, then the grudges we had with that Miss in the Final Destination 2 universe should be wiped clean—at least my part can be. What are your thoughts, everyone?"

He looked at Zhao Yingkong, who opened her hands.

He looked at Saito Hajime, who nodded.

Although their actions differed, they both ultimately conveyed an "indifferent" attitude. After all, neither Saito Hajime nor Zhao Yingkong actually had any real grudge against Hina Narihito at that time. As for those who truly had a grudge—not counting Zhan Lan, Zhang Heng was already gone. And finally, Xiao Honglu…

"I have no objection." The 'little boy,' still looking like a twelve-year-old, wagged his finger. "The more you know, the more you understand. Our own actions were partly to blame for our downfall. And since you, Brother Zheng, believe that the two can be balanced out, then I don't think there's anything wrong with that—this karmic entanglement has been severed. Doesn't that lighten our burden a bit?"

Zheng Zha nodded in agreement. As for Alice and Patchouli's final opinions, there was no need to repeat them—it was Luo Ye who orchestrated this matter. Luo Ye's position always represented Alice and Patchouli's. Since the two witches didn't intend to voice their opposition, their expressed will was clearly one of agreement.

Thus, the cause and effect were resolved.

This is the most troublesome 'karma' for the Transcendent race and the four high-ranking members above it, which has been reduced by one point compared to the current Central Continent team. Members below the True God level may not feel it yet, but members above the True God level all feel that they have taken a small step forward after Zheng Zha's announcement.

This is highly subjective, difficult to quantify, and impossible to pinpoint precisely. After all, for a transcendent being that has surpassed all phenomena in the source world, what hinders their progress, besides internal obsessions, are external circumstances—the need to repay kindness and avenge wrongs. Ultimately, all constraints must be broken—after all, the path to transcendence is always accompanied by encounters with more and more phenomena. Unless one possesses exceptional talent and fortune to the point of being able to transcend all things while simultaneously breaking through obsessions and maintaining one's true self, this process will be extremely difficult and lengthy.

The saying that one must endure countless eons to attain enlightenment is not an exaggeration in the vast oceans, but this truth has little relevance to the current Central Continent Team. After all—

—The final battle is approaching.

There is not much time left before the main god teleports.

Zheng Zha nodded, letting his thoughts wander briefly in his mind—while Alice was making her plans, he left his avatar behind for a meeting. His true body, however, returned to their homeland with Lori, who had become an independent being. When he discovered that members with similar intentions had arrived at the same destination, he split his original worldline's Earth into several unrelated parallel worldlines. He took Lori and their parents, who remained on Earth, to one of these worldlines, while leaving the remaining worldlines to his companions with unfulfilled wishes.

He didn't actually do anything unnecessary.

He simply corrected the timeline, returning himself and Lori to their youth, and then rekindled their lost connection—an ordinary, ambitious junior high student, an ordinary, energetic young woman. In this corrected timeline, under the satisfied and gratified gaze of their parents, a youthful and beautiful school life was etched into their memories.

The pure love he had wanted to give to Lori, but was unable to, was finally fully conveyed to the object of his affection. And in this new timeline, the two spent a happy, ordinary life together.

He is a transcendent being; he has indeed long surpassed the paternal love his parents once had. However, transcendence does not equate to forgetting. Even though he is no longer bound by them, he still wants to sever this bond.

And so, under the watchful eyes of his parents, he achieved the feat of having six generations living under one roof. He ensured the world operated in peace and stability for a century. He watched his parents grow old in contentment, enter a state of slumber, and finally depart this world satisfied. After that, he created countless more happy and fulfilling lives for his parents, before finally eliminating those offspring who had never existed in the first place—children merely products of his and Lori's will—and leaving this world.

The old ties are severed from this point on.

He, Zheng, was thus able to fully participate in the end-of-war world.

As he left, he glanced briefly at the other parallel worlds.

He saw Chu Xuan return to the point in time when he was created. He corrected the original world line, causing the entire Dragon Shadow Base and related projects to vanish. Chu Xuan thus became a seemingly withdrawn boy, and he had a father who no longer needed to waste time on trivial matters—he received the love he rarely experienced. He spent his long childhood surrounded by this love.

Then, Chu Xuan fulfilled his father's wish—he joined the research institute and, in a seemingly insignificant way, led the entire nation towards a scientific leap forward. In just a few years, he led his motherland to achieve a great revival, a feat that wouldn't be considered complete without surpassing all other foreign countries. And he watched as his father rebuilt the lost cause.

He restored his homeland to the top of the world. He created a worldline of a superior nation. Every absurd wish that a radical youth could imagine was brought to fruition through his hands. Until he was certain that even if he were to leave, this nation would stand at the top of the world based on its own strength.

My old wish has been fulfilled.

After Chu Xuan's father completed a major project and passed away peacefully, Zheng Zha, who was on the outside of the timeline, could vaguely see tears glistening in the corners of Chu Xuan's eyes.

Perhaps he has fulfilled the alliance he made with Zheng Zha. Perhaps he has rediscovered the emotions he had been missing.

However, Zheng Zha remained silent, and Chu Xuan ignored the former's observation. The two silently separated from the source world line, and a tacit understanding, stronger than their previous alliance, emerged between them.

—Chu Xuan still wore an icy expression. He continued to gaze at the world with indifference and detachment. But Zheng Zha knew that beneath that indifference flowed not the same cold ice sand, but blazing lava. That intense surge would continue to flow beneath the disguise, until the moment it was released, it would shock the entire multiverse.

Chu Xuan's final preparations were now complete.

Beyond Chu Xuan, in another timeline, further away, lies the Zhao siblings.

Zhao Zhuikong and Zhao Yingkong are two assassins, and the changes they made are not uncommon.

They canceled the Empty Plan, corrected the past, and created individuals who, along with their contemporaries, were traceable yet still inherited the Nameless Assassin's genes. In the future, they utterly defeated the Nameless Assassin, and in their own online world, they could push that victory back to the past—they had their younger selves kill the Nameless Assassin, and then they dominated the entire Eastern Assassin world.

After that, the rest is naturally the same old routine.

A peaceful life, carefree days. Those assassins of the "Sky Project," who should have lost control at some point and perished at Zhao Yingkong's hands, all survived. They went to school and lived like superhuman high school students. They experienced the exhilaration of youth, their passion surging on campus. And the world itself subtly shifted, transforming from a typical modern technological society into a heroic era teeming with heroes and chivalrous figures.

It was truly a hodgepodge, ranging from King of Fighters to Parasite Eve. All sorts of bizarre and supernatural events unfolded one after another. This allowed these high school superhumans to fully enjoy their youth, and in the years that followed, they freely defined this ever-changing world.

Ultimately, a new balance replaced the old. A new era replaced the old. When Zhao Zhuikong and Zhao Yingkong left this world as an ordinary pair of siblings with incestuous relationships, the original world line had already stabilized in the new order. Whether the masses lived happily or not is unknown, but the assassins of the "Kong" generation clearly lived fulfilling lives.

So they left and returned to the circular table beneath the sphere of light. After they left, Zheng Zha's gaze continued downwards.

He saw Zhang Jie, but Zhang Jie only lingered briefly before leaving. Perhaps as one of the few members of the team who overcame his inner demons on his own rather than through rituals or sheer stubbornness, his role as a semi-guide meant he didn't need to pay much attention to these now largely meaningless connections. Besides Zhang Jie, many others had also arrived in this world.

The Overlord went to Siberia. Instead of warping time and correcting the past, he used resurrection magic to summon a fallen comrade back to this world. He introduced Chelsea to this important old friend, receiving a blessing and vodka as the perfect response. After a night of heavy drinking, he returned to the Main God Space.

Xiao Honglu then returned to the research institute where he had spent most of his childhood. He used a scenario of "possessed by an evil spirit" to give the scholars and doctors studying him a sufficiently 'exhilarating' experience. He ultimately didn't take any random lives, but he caused a huge uproar in society. From then on, research on neuroscience became much more cautious. Many research institutes that didn't intend to follow the proper path were investigated and shut down under his guidance, receiving the consequences they deserved.

So he left, the old grudges settled. And naturally, he had no lingering attachment to this place.

And so, all was over.

The karmic ties of the Central Continent Team's reincarnators, who had formed a connection with Earth, were largely severed—Zheng Zha did not witness Zero's actions. Saito Hajime concealed his own timeline. And in the end, as he returned, he glanced at Cheng Xiao, who was dealing with family matters, and Luo Gandao, who was assembling a Gundam in the real world.

Well, there's not much to say about these few salted fish.

Ming Yanwei never returned to Earth; she merely fired an arrow from outside the planet, blasting a chaotic gang district, comparable to Meteor City, to shreds. Perhaps she has resolved her inner conflicts, or perhaps she no longer has any attachment to Earth.

Finally, Zheng Zha's consciousness ceased its unnecessary wandering—he returned to the meeting around the table. The members of the Central Continent Team awaited his decision.

“…Margot Royd,” he asked after a few seconds.

“Let me give you a brief overview,” he said. “Before we set off, let’s take a final look at the current situation and the resources we have at our disposal.”

Section 5. The Composition of the Overall Trend

Alice then spread her hands, transmitting the current situation in the universe to her companions.

—The universe outside Gensokyo has been operating for a very long time. This is assuming that the future, due to cosmic fusion, has not been anchored into concrete events. The current era is the twenty-ninth millennium in the Gregorian calendar for mortals. The influence of many reincarnators has already permeated it, constructing a shape of 'potential'. And with the increase and expansion of variables, Alice's monitoring and control over them is gradually reaching its limit.

In the twenty-sixth millennium, non-demon reincarnators interfered with the shifts in the three billion-year time barrier. They caused the Old Ones to create a new Familia, modeled after elves from fantasy lore, but far more powerful—a fusion of immortal beings and elite warriors. Each individual within was incredibly powerful and exceptionally gifted.

They are called the Eldar.

Their timeline extends to the 'modern era'. The end result is the emergence of Eldar nations within this galaxy of the pseudo-multiverse, a culmination of the war. They possess technology and power far surpassing that of mortals, along with more advanced and superior individual qualities and social systems. And they are already planning to take action against the mortals of their golden age.

Of course, they didn't actually take direct action.

This unknown squad of reincarnations detected Alice's subtle actions on the side of the Celestials at the temporal barrier. They then seized the opportunity to instigate the perpetual war between the Eldar and the Necromancers. Soon after, another squad of reincarnations began to interfere in this universe.

It's obvious that there shouldn't be so many powerhouses on Alice's level in this cycle of reincarnation. Therefore, these reincarnators who can maintain their secrecy and confront Alice within their scheme clearly have external support behind them. Perhaps they come from the primordial heavens, perhaps from remnants of various races, perhaps related to innate demon gods, or even possibly remnants from the chaotic era—in short, they have interfered with the universe, turning its clear waters murky.

—The third faction created a race called the Orcs.

Space Orcs are powerful, bloodthirsty, and warlike. They have implanted their unique technology deep within their genes—from the moment of their creation, they are simultaneously hostile to all forces present. Even during the time of the Ancient Star Gods, they fought against both the Eldar and the Space Undead.

The past thus reflected into the future. When the timeline turned back to the twenty-sixth millennium, four dominant races had emerged in the galaxy—mortals, undead, elves, and orcs—and a massive war was about to unfold. However, before that war could erupt, a new change occurred at the spacetime barrier.

The insects have arrived. And these insects are a powerful race, like orcs, incapable of contact or communication, bringing only pure destruction. They attacked from beyond the galaxy at the spacetime barrier three billion years ago. This almost brought that entire spacetime barrier to a close.

Unfortunately, all their efforts were in vain.

The Zerg swarm known as the Tyranids were eventually driven from the galaxy. Several other races suffered immense pain—the Old Ones fell silent, no longer influencing the future. The Celestials vanished, with only a few powerful individuals remaining. The Undead slumbered, establishing numerous crypt worlds to lick their wounds. The Orcs declined, with only a few surviving on the galaxy's edge to continue the fight.

The Eldar, however, fell into depravity.

No more ambition, no more expansion. The Eldar even modified their own reproductive efficiency to reduce their resource demands. Created as weapons, they transformed into this after victory. And perhaps it's worth praising how intoxicating the fruits of victory could be.

They became a corrupt empire. Residing in a corner of the galaxy, their only activity besides indifference towards the nascent civilizations within the galaxy, indifference to their own pleasures. Occasionally, they would dispatch a flashy but technologically superior army to patrol the borders, dealing with resurgent tomb worlds and beast hordes' uprisings. But that was all; they would take no further action.

Thus, the past is reflected in the future once again.

The impending war of the twenty-sixth millennium vanished without a trace at the beginning of the twenty-seventh millennium due to the correction of reality. Everything returned to its original state—mortals had ended the Iron Rebellion and were still in their most prosperous Golden Age. They discovered the Eldar, and the Eldar discovered them, but both sides disregarded each other.

War did not break out. It lay dormant, waiting for the next opportune moment. During this long twenty-sixth millennium, the Eldar remained indulging in pleasure, while mortals were busy purging the Omnics and upgrading everything with a new system combining biological computers and intelligent AI. A strange silence fell between them, neither side daring to cross the line.

Thus, the twenty-sixth millennium came to a bumpy end. The twenty-seventh millennium then began.

The Guardians of the Human World invited Loy's apprentice, who readily agreed to assist them in establishing a clandestine organization hidden behind the scenes, ready to respond to any unforeseen needs. Afterwards, they returned to Terra and were astonished by the dramatic environmental changes—during the Iron Rebellion, both mortals and omnics, intentionally or unintentionally, had neglected Terra, the very origin of everything. This isolation of Terra from the outside world persisted for millennia.

The followers of the Druid school transformed Terra into a vibrant Gaia. Advanced technology was discarded, and physiological advancements created a life form somewhat different from the mortals of the old era—Terra's inhabitants possessed stronger bodies, more acute senses, and more acute reflexes. Although, due to their beliefs, Terra's inhabitants retained some traces of bestiality, the complete absence of reproductive barriers among them indicated that, despite their different appearances, they were still of the same origin and species.

They were still human. And the guardian of humanity, after much deliberation, acknowledged this conclusion. His subsequent interactions further solidified this belief. Because compared to the mortals outside, who had suffered a devastating blow during the Golden Age and were now showing signs of lethargy, the moral standards of the Terran inhabitants were clearly far superior.

Why did it turn out this way? — No one knows. Nor can they know. And after a long period of testing, the Guardians decided to remain permanently in Terra.

He felt that mortal civilization might one day be devoured by its own technology, plunging it into an extremely dire situation. If that moment were to come, then Terra beneath their feet—a Terra that had transformed from a steel jungle into a landscape of green hills and clear waters—might be humanity's last refuge.

So he began to wait, using Mancoondo's surveillance network to probe for any possible loopholes in the human kingdoms. And this wait lasted for the twenty-eighth millennium.

History has been changed once again.

When Terra became 'Terra,' the sea of ​​warp consciousness from a distant land was embedded in this universe in the distant past. The remaining 'Deception' and 'Void' among the Star Gods had already laid the groundwork for the warp. After its arrival, it rapidly expanded and grew, gradually spreading throughout the universe in the years beyond the spacetime barrier. The first Old God, the ever-changing master Xinliezhi, was born as the vessel for Iris's arrival. The 'Void,' slumbering deep within Mars, also gained new followers under the influence of the warp, yearning for containment technology like Patchouli.

The spiritual world gradually began to interfere with the material world. The entire universe silently appeared in the warp as a reflection. 'Psionic energy' was implanted in history and came into contact with the Eldar of that era 2.7 billion years ago—their beliefs as sentient beings mingled with fragments of ancient star gods within the warp, conceiving and piecing together those ancient deities—

The changes of the past have been reflected in the present. Mortals are too young, lacking gods. But deep within the warp still lies the golden Earth, symbolizing the origin of all things. Besides this, the Eldar have acquired numerous ancient gods, and the Orcs have gained the Gork and Mowk, representing the origin of their struggle. And beyond them, an unparalleled number of powerful beings are in the process of being conceived.

The god representing war, the god representing life, the god representing aesthetics—and they are of the same caliber as the ever-changing wisdom lord represented by Alice and Patchouli. Moreover, their positions have already been pre-seized by the reincarnators.

They are yet to be born, they are about to be born. The timeline is constantly shifting and changing. And war is imminent—

—The war has not yet begun.

The war yet to come signifies peace. It means that the reflection of reality is equally pure in the Warp. Matter reflects the mind. When there are only minor conflicts in the galaxy, the Warp is naturally a peaceful paradise. It is embedded in history as the past, embedded in the works left behind by many potential beings who have come into contact with the Warp. And in the documents preserved within the various races, this peaceful Warp is called Paradise, the Land of Bliss, the Nine Heavens, and Valhalla, and all beings therefore yearn for them.

The old warp's setting is now fully embedded in this universe. The good will get better, and the bad will get worse. Beneath this superficial peace, the clouds of war are already brewing—the Eldar's corruption is inevitable. And in their more than two billion years of indulgence, their influence within the warp has long since reached a near-limit. And just one more step forward—

Everything will be turned upside down.

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

“That’s the basic situation. That’s the general information about the final battlefield.” Alice nodded, pausing the presentation of the universe. “The script for this world has been written. As expected, once we reincarnators arrive, the balance will be broken, and war will break out in full force. Mortals will start anew from Terra, embarking on the path of revival. The Eldar will awaken from their depravity and join the war as well.”

"The banished Tyrande will return, and the isolated Orcs will reignite the war. The space undead, and their crypt worlds, will gradually awaken. And in addition, there should be other scattered races joining the battle."

"This is an overview of the material universe, but in the subspace, the wars that break out will inevitably turn Heaven into Hell. All the ancient gods will awaken and fight each other with other deities. Eventually, the boundary between matter and mind will gradually blur, and the final battle will decide the victor."

"That's roughly the situation. It's the general trend, and even we can hardly change it." She paused to indicate that she was finished speaking.

“But it’s still very difficult.” Xiao Honglu naturally understood her unspoken meaning. “This is not a done deal; everything can still be changed. Is that right?”

“Yes, there is.” Alice snapped her fingers, constructing a three-tiered tower structure. “Three time layers, three wars. A war that has already happened in the past, a war that is happening now, and a war that will happen in the future. If nothing unexpected happens, we will participate in the war in the twenty-ninth or thirtieth millennium. And the changes that have occurred in the previous two battlefields will have a huge impact on the future.”

She pointed to the middle layer. The battle between the Ancients, the Star Gods, and multiple races overflowed from the galaxy and flowed throughout the universe.

"The Time Barrier, the war that is currently underway. Part of this war has already been locked in: the near annihilation of the Ancient Saints and Star Gods, and the survival of several other races. Changing this place is difficult, but if it can be successfully impacted, the influence on future events will be enormous."

Her finger continued to move down, pointing to the very bottom.