Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

[I see, so that's how it is? It's...it's really like this?]

His mind became clear because of that moment of inspiration, and the next moment, he finally knew where his problem lay and how to solve it.

Because he chose the wrong approach from the very beginning. Patchouli wasn't testing his leadership skills or his captaincy at all—she already considered Zheng Zha a captain when she explained her plan. What she really wanted to verify after all that was his 'captain's' decisiveness!

That's right. From the very beginning, she positioned herself as an advisor—offering suggestions, formulating plans, and then submitting them, all in anticipation of the leader's decision! She didn't need Zheng Zha to prove his qualifications as captain. She just wanted to see Zheng Zha's judgment.

If there are no other spots for the Central Plains team in the plan, then just add them. If you're not satisfied with the proposed solution, then just change it. Planning and scheming are the job of advisors. What a leader truly needs to do is make decisions, carefully selecting the appropriate option from various plans. Thinking about pointless things is a complete waste of time. Because that's not what a leader is supposed to do!

[So... it was I who thought I wasn't cut out to be the captain...]

Thinking about it now... Margot Royd probably already put me in the captain's position after our conversation back at the villa. It was my own failure to exercise the captain's authority and responsibility; it was my own questioning of myself. That's why... everyone has become so divided.

They must be very disappointed. Leaving aside the others, Margot Lloyd is definitely disappointed. My self-doubt due to my lack of ability led to this situation. But in a team, there's never a rule that the strongest or smartest person has to be the captain!

Ah... It took me so long to figure this out. This time, Norrell must be very disappointed... but at least I want to tell her what I've come up with, so she knows she still has plenty of resources to contribute to the planning!

He opened his mouth, ready to pour out all his thoughts and insights. However, in the next moment, a healing light blocked his words. He felt his damaged body rapidly recovering, and the energy he had consumed was effectively replenished in a very short time.

“One minute and forty-six seconds, unexpected.” She raised her hand and made a 'keep quiet' gesture. “Don’t overthink or overwork your brain during treatment. This is not conducive to the recovery of brain damage.”

She turned her head and nodded slightly in satisfaction at Zheng, who had obediently shut up.

"It seems I didn't do anything unnecessary. The technique of interfering with thinking and inducing emotional fluctuations did have some effect. You should have realized your position and responsibilities. To be honest, you figured it out much faster than I expected. Perhaps you've made some progress in the spiritual realm? But this doesn't affect the overall situation, and I believe you should already know what the overall situation is."

Zheng Zha nodded repeatedly.

"That's good." Patchouli reached out and formed a bunch of runes. With the surge of magic, the already rapidly moving gravity field suddenly accelerated by another three or four points. The journey that would have taken at least ten minutes was reduced by nearly a third of the time—she let out a soft breath, her face revealing neither disappointment nor satisfaction.

—She shouldn't be too disappointed.

“Don’t worry, the second plan I gave you wasn’t complete before. Everyone in the team naturally has their own mission, and no one can be missing.” She said calmly, “However, your reaction speed is really a bit slow. If it were Alice who was this slow, I would definitely give her a good beating and then crack open her skull to see if water got inside… But if it’s you… this level is alright.”

Zheng Zha immediately felt insulted.

Then he sadly realized that he really couldn't refute it. Because after adopting Alice's way of thinking, he gave the correct answer in less than half a second. If the simulation was like this, the real thing was even more so.

So he could only ask, with a pained expression and stammering.

"So... am I considered qualified?"

"Sixty points, so-so." Patchouli shrugged and said, "At least it's still within the realm of redemption. Captain Zheng Zha."

Chapter 57: A Familiar Feeling

They remained silent for the rest of the journey.

The journey of a few minutes passed in the blink of an eye. With the help of the high-speed delivery of the anti-gravity field, the town where the church was located soon came into view.

“Lack of maneuverability is a significant weakness. I will build some small aircraft equipped with anti-gravity fields and vectoring nozzles for others to use. If you have any opinions, you can raise them before I start construction.” Patchouli stopped the anti-gravity field about one kilometer from the town.

She glanced at Zheng Zha, and a visible energy wave was released as she formed several consecutive hand seals. Instantly, the townspeople were enveloped in an indescribable fear. They screamed in terror and fled the town in small groups, then ran without looking back into the vast and safe wilderness.

With a great battle imminent, the angels will only appear when outsiders attempt to enter 'Eden'. This means shifting the battlefield is impossible, and the town is destined to become ruins. Therefore, the desolate wilderness outside the town becomes a relatively safe area.

The expulsion of residents is merely a simple form of psychological intervention—stimulating specific areas of the human brain with directional information waves of a particular frequency. This can easily trigger a host of glands, such as the thyroid, adrenal glands, and gonads, to release hormones, thereby causing many internal organs to operate under overload, and naturally generating feelings of fear.

While this wasn't a particularly troublesome matter for Patchouli, the depletion of her magic and mental energy was still undeniable. Normally, she would never waste extra energy like this before a battle. Her actions were merely to consider the feelings of the others and to clarify her own stance.

'I know you are all kind people who don't want to harm the innocent, and although I am not, I can cooperate with you to become that kind of person. I won't have any clashes with your values ​​during unimportant times'—that's what Patchouli wanted to express.

Zheng Zha clearly felt this sincerity.

“Thank you… It’s always good to save as many lives as possible within our capabilities.” He nodded to Patchouli, then asked, “What kind of aircraft are you talking about…? Like those small airships in science fiction movies?”

“You can have that kind if you want.” Patchouli made a gesture, and a three-dimensional model formed by the aggregation of light signals appeared in her palm. It looked like a speedboat equipped with wings, a rapid-fire cannon at the front, and missile pods mounted on the wings on both sides.

"Storm-shaped assault boat - equipped with assault cannons and rocket pods, anti-gravity driven, fast, heavily armored, capable of providing some jamming firepower, and as simple to operate as driving a bumper car - if you want an airship, I can make one of this specifications for you."

“Uh…” Zheng Zha examined the model. Admittedly, he did have some initial impulse when he first saw it. But after noticing the scale, his excitement immediately turned into frustration.

He said with some sadness, "It's too big and inconvenient to carry around. Also, it's a bit clumsy. Driving a bumper car is simple, but you still have to use your hands and feet."

"Too big? Not flexible enough?" Patchouli raised an eyebrow, her gaze sweeping over the 'storage' ring on Zheng Zha's finger, and she immediately showed a look of sudden realization. "Oh... it can't fit in the 'storage' ring? That makes sense, and for you, a steering wheel is indeed a burden. Then let's change it."

She flicked her fingers, and with a strange twist, the optical model she had constructed in the air quickly transformed. It changed from a winged speedboat into a triangular surfboard without sails, with strange, protected nozzles underneath and attached weapon-like tubular structures. It looked very agile, and most importantly, it could be controlled without hands.

"I haven't named this thing yet, so let's just call it a flying board. I saw this kind of flying device in a documentary called something like Spider Monster when I was helping Alice collect old movies from the outside world. I thought it was quite interesting, so I figured out the design blueprints myself in my spare time."

"It's small and foldable. It's also very maneuverable, easily performing all sorts of fancy maneuvers. But correspondingly, it's very difficult to operate. Without special training in agility and spatial awareness, it would take most people at least two years of training to use it with ease. But those who have unlocked their genetic potential and warriors with mental enhancements should be able to learn how to pilot it quickly. I think you meet the requirements."

"This is it," Zheng Zha immediately decided. He then added, "Approximately how long will it take to produce a finished product?"

“It will be ready tomorrow, not long,” Patchouli replied quickly. “Angels are flying units, so we need to configure them properly to fight them. I will equip the flight boards with electromagnetic radiation generators to ensure that those guys can be forcibly revealed if they dare to get close. Oh, and one more thing, Alice asked me to prepare space containers for everyone when we were in the God's Space. They are basically all debugged now and are on their way here. Once we deal with that angel, these goods should arrive by then.”

“I believe they will come in handy. Oh, and Alice should have prepared protective shields for everyone else before leaving the villa, but their effectiveness should be nearing its limit, especially for Zhang Heng. His protective force field has been completely depleted. I will replenish it for him later, but it's best to prevent him from being directly attacked in the battle.”

When he heard someone mention his name, Zhang Heng, who was at the back of the line, subconsciously looked up. However, he found that no one present was looking at him.

So he lowered his head dejectedly.

"You're really well prepared..." Zheng Zha's eyes twitched, and a feeling of powerlessness quietly rose from the bottom of his heart. However, the next moment, he felt his heart pounding rapidly due to external factors. A radiance emanating from Patchouli's fingertips washed over his soul like a warm current, instantly filling him with courage.

"To do a good job, one must first have the right tools." Patchouli snapped her fingers, glancing at Zheng Zha, whose face was contorted by the simultaneous psychological turmoil and physical excitement, and blinked gently. "Alice likes to quote Eastern sayings, and I think that's a good habit because the sayings she quotes are usually very insightful."

"I feel like whatever she says makes perfect sense..." someone couldn't help but mutter to themselves.

“Yes.” Patchouli tilted her head in confusion. “Is there a problem?”

"No...no problem."

"Let's change the subject. When should we make our move?"

"Soon." Patchouli glanced at the sky; the sun was about to set below the horizon, and the moon had not yet risen. The sky was thus a distinct blend of pale red and deep purple. It was beautiful, yet seemed to possess a strange allure and danger.

"We'll make our move before nightfall."

“I expect you will be fully recovered before then. Meanwhile, my legion will need a few more minutes to arrive.” She turned her head, gazing into the distance. “And I’m also waiting for Alice’s analysis report.”

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

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away in Boston...

Alice clenched her fists slightly as she sat on a hillside far from the point of impact of the macro cannon. Watching the setting sun gradually disappear into the distance, and seeing the police and army finally arriving at the scene and establishing a cordon after a long period of time, a strange feeling quietly arose within her, quickly filling her entire being.

The angel was dead, at least in its manifested form. Absolutely, undeniably, it was utterly destroyed by magic. Even the energy structure that constituted its body was completely dismantled, becoming Alice's experimental data.

The results were remarkable, but nothing more. This information allowed her to spend less time researching the angels' weaknesses and creating corresponding weapons, which was indeed a significant advancement in a conventional strategic sense. However, compared to something else she gained from the angels, this achievement was utterly meaningless.

She heard a voice before she disposed of the angel.

A voice that is somewhat familiar, yet whose characteristics cannot be found in the ocean of memory.

It was a female voice, its timbre as clear and beautiful as a young girl's, its tone as deep and resonant as an old woman's. Yet, between these notes and tones, what she could discern was the vicissitudes of thousands upon thousands of years, a vicissitude that only a transcendent being who had long seen through all phenomena—the cycle of formation, existence, decay, emptiness, suffering, origination, cessation, and the path to the cessation of suffering—could possess.

This is a strong person.

An unimaginably strong individual.

If it were merely about strength, that would be one thing; Alice had dealt with monsters in her past that could crush her with a single finger. She knew that power wasn't everything, and victory wasn't solely achieved through bloodshed. However, when she truly understood the meaning of each word in that sentence, she was genuinely bewildered.

The sentence was simple, just a dozen or so words. However, the amount of information it contained could not be described in those few words. It was an ocean, a vast ocean capable of drowning everyone.

—'You've become a reincarnator, Alice Margotrovid.'

When such a sentence reached her ears and took on a clear meaning in her mind, her first reaction was to unleash every spell she could, turning everything within sight into dust—of course, she didn't do that. Within a tenth of a second, she recovered from the chaos and forcibly stopped all the abnormal actions she was about to take or had already taken.

She couldn't quite remember what happened after that. She only knew that her mind had become sluggish and chaotic, like an old computer infected with a bunch of cutting-edge viruses. Her ability to think was almost gone; only her body, driven by witch's instincts, continued to process, collect, analyze, and preserve the angel's remains. It was almost half an hour later when she finally came to her senses from this intense information overload. Her location had changed from the point of impact of the macro cannon to the safe hillside she was currently on.

However, the storm in her mind did not subside.

“She knows me, and she also knows the Supreme God.” Alice gently clenched her fingers, her sky-blue eyes gazing absently at the horizon at dusk.

The Supreme God has decreed that there are currently only two ways to escape the cycle of reincarnation. First, unlock the fifth-tier gene lock. Second, accumulate 50,000 reward points and exchange them for the 'Return to Origin' function. The only other option, if one insists on choosing a third path, is to become a dead person. A dead person can then easily escape the cycle of reincarnation.

However, the main god doesn't strictly control the leaks by reincarnators. Although leaking information usually results in points being deducted, if one is cunning and manipulates the leak, one can leak information about the main god's space without fear of punishment, just like the deceased Chu Xuan.

In other words, it's not incomprehensible that a character knowledgeable about the Main God Space would appear in a story world. It could be an accident, a scheme orchestrated by a supreme sage, or simply a retired reincarnator returning to their real world—this possibility, though low, is not nonexistent.

However, if, in addition to this, the reincarnator who knows of the existence of the Supreme God also knows of the existence of 'Alice Margotrovid', then the problem becomes very troublesome. Extremely troublesome, far more troublesome than anticipated.

"She knows me, and not in the kind of way that comes from intelligence documents, but in the kind of way that comes from actually meeting me and having spoken with me."

"But the 'me' she knows may not be the same person I am now."

The girl lowered her eyes, thinking seriously. One reasoning after another surfaced in her mind, only to be refuted one by one.

Reincarnators.

The greatest enemy of a reincarnator is always another reincarnator.

The person recognized Alice and knew her full name—the name of this life, not the one she herself had forgotten from her previous life. Furthermore, the person felt an unusual familiarity with the voice. Therefore, the answer was quite simple.

It's not an intelligence leak.

From the words spoken by the other person, it is clear that they knew about Alice first, and then learned about the concept of reincarnators. In other words, she and Alice were acquaintances.

As for how familiar they were exactly... Alice didn't really want to think about that.

Because she knew perfectly well that she hadn't found anyone missing or gone when she last returned to Gensokyo. However, this meant there was another, even worse outcome.

Section 58 Between Victory and Defeat

"Meeting an old friend in a foreign land...tsk, I really wouldn't want this kind of 'good luck' if it were possible." Alice looked at the setting sun gradually sinking below the horizon, a look of disdain in her pale blue eyes, but this look quickly turned into helplessness.

She had meticulously and thoroughly searched all the databases she could access via satellite network, and was certain that the Touhou Project setting book did not exist in this world of 'Final Destination 2,' nor was there a hardcore beer enthusiast named Junya Ota. In other words, the name 'Alice Margotrovid' and the image it represented could not possibly be known to the native creatures of this world. The concept of a reincarnator was completely out of the question.

The other party is an ancient monster; its exact lifespan is unknown, but it is certainly at least tens of thousands of years. Furthermore, given its knowledge of reincarnators, it must have had contact with the reincarnation world. Therefore, the possibility of its spirit aging and its strength weakening is extremely low.

[A head-on collision offers virtually no chance of victory... Leaving aside the disparity in combat strength, the intelligence suppression is far too severe. If the other side doesn't proactively reveal this information, I'm afraid I won't even know where I went wrong, even if I'm defeated.]

But it is precisely for this reason that I can make a judgment based on this.

The other party... may not necessarily be our enemy.

She thought to herself, but her palms were covered with a thin layer of sweat, and her ten fingers were tightly intertwined, forming a chaotic mess.

[If the other party were an enemy, there would be no need for them to proactively reveal such crucial information to me. For an information mage, intelligence is equivalent to the sum of combat power and life itself. This important piece of the puzzle could be of immense value to both Patchouli and me. And since they are someone familiar with 'Alice Margotrovid,' they wouldn't make such a grave mistake.]

[Then it can't be someone I met in Gensokyo, nor can it be one of my 'old friends' from the outside world. After ruling that out, only one possibility remains.]

That means the person she knows isn't 'Alice Margotrovid'. She knows another 'me' with the same name, the same appearance, the same temperament, but perhaps not the same experiences!

The girl lowered her eyes with a hint of worry as a concept she was reluctant to acknowledge appeared in her mind.