Magic High School.

All Li Ge could say was that this world was too abstract; Abaddon, if you're dead, you can bite a lighter.

"Li Ge, do you recognize what this thing is?" Valerie asked, taking out something that looked more like a technological product.

It was a spherical object with a pointed rod on top, and many buttons and knobs on it.

I don't know, but let's dismantle it first.

Then, Li Ge noticed the problem. This thing looked like a radio? Or a communicator?

He saw a crystal and a structure similar to a diode. Although he didn't understand it very well, he had at least learned a little about it in his previous life and had some impression of it.

It can be determined that this thing is signal processing.

Suddenly, a sound seemed to come from inside.

"Buzz buzz buzz... Banquet... Divine Child... Destroy... Run away..." A man's voice, accompanied by a strong electrical noise, echoed here.

Li Ge: "..."

Abaddon, if you're dead, you can bite a lighter; the classic riddle-maker is here too.

Chapter 161 Are there Templar Knights here too?

Li Ge finally understood what this thing was. It was either a radio or a communicator, and its appearance was just a bit too strange.

However, it's the classic riddle-solving teammate and intelligence again.

Sigh, Li Ge complained, "Abaddon, you've been through so many horror games, how come the stuff you come up with is like you've lost your mind?" Li Ge could find no less than ten similar settings in various horror games that felt familiar.

"Buzz buzz buzz..." The next moment, the sound completely disappeared.

The others exchanged bewildered glances. They might have suddenly sensed that there was something more to it than met the eye when they saw Li Ge's expression.

"What's wrong? Why do you have such a strange expression?" Xiao Ye asked. She was the first to notice that Li Ge's expression was as if he had entered a members-only restaurant.

"No, it's nothing. Maybe I overestimated this place..." Li Ge complained. Then the group prepared to start repairing the thing.

It appears to be powered by magic, but in the most critical area, the magic array on this thing is damaged.

"Let's see if there are any other compatible parts," Xiaoye said.

Among them, perhaps only Xiaoye was relatively familiar with this kind of magical device. Whether in his previous life or in this life, Li Ge's Holy Empire was actually technology-oriented. He could change a battery in a radio, but when it came to magical devices, he was completely clueless.

As for Yilian and Valerie, he had figured it out. Valerie's hometown was in a very backward medieval-like situation, while Yilian's hometown was most likely still in a tribal form, so there was no point in expecting anything from the two of them.

Soon, Xiao Ye saw the electric chair that Li Ge had found earlier. After taking it apart and looking at its internal structure, she quickly pried out a metal plate with complex inscriptions.

"Go find six wires." Xiao Ye nudged Li Ge.

Li Ge quickly unplugged the six wires, and then, like a skilled electrician, she connected the wires to the six corners of the array, and then connected them to the damaged array on the radio.

"No, the function of a magical device also relies on wiring, right?" Li Ge was immediately filled with questions.

"Otherwise what? Either draw the corresponding magic circuit, or simply run the wire directly. Otherwise, how do you think we should connect it?" Xiaoye rolled her eyes.

Anyway, it seems that through this seemingly random operation, they managed to reconnect the radio-like device. As the static continued, Xiaoye began searching for the frequency from which she had just received the sound.

“Xiaoye, you seem to know this thing quite well.” Valerie said, watching Xiaoye fiddling with it.

"Nonsense, that's what they do back home. They probably made a living by recycling old magical artifacts before they joined the company." Li Ge gave Valerie a hard elbow to stop her from talking nonsense.

"Hiss..." Valerie gasped.

Li Ge: "..."

Okay, he forgot that the girl wasn't wearing armor this time, so he used a little too much force.

"Li Ge! Come on, let's have a go!" Valerie was also annoyed and was ready to have a full-blown fight with Li Ge right there.

"Okay, found it." On the other side, Xiaoye also found the channel from which the voice had just come.

Then, the sound with the electrical noise from before gradually became clearer.

"I am a paladin of the church. Children who receive this message, flee immediately. I will assist you in escaping Gensokyo. The Divine Child's banquet is tomorrow; please leave before then. After you leave, we will attempt to destroy Gensokyo..."

Then came the same sentence repeated over and over. It seemed that this wasn't a communicator, but merely a receiver, which was why the other side could only keep sending this message over and over again.

“How so?” Valerie asked.

“I reckon the task of this exam isn’t just to be a good kid and wait to ascend to heaven. It’s clearly part of Abaddon’s cunning schemes. I suspect this is the real mission: to completely destroy this place. But obviously, Abaddon thinks it’s difficult for us eleven-year-olds to destroy it alone, so he’s chosen to bring in an outsider,” Li Ge began to analyze and explain.

"Why do you seem to know that Abaddon so well? Didn't you say you didn't know him?" Valerie's words almost made Li Ge choke.

"I... it's just that that person is too famous in the Mysterious Academy, I really don't know him..." Li Ge said without much confidence.

Then, Li Ge noticed that Yi Lian didn't seem to be with them. He leaned over to look and saw Yi Lian frowning as she flipped through a small notebook.

"Ripples?"

“The list here seems to be able to be verified against that radio you were fiddling with,” Yi Lian said, taking out her notebook.

"What's wrong?" The group walked over with the radio and saw Yilian open the booklet to a page.

“I was puzzled before by the fact that the list included how many paladins were assassinated, as a way to record merits. But considering what you heard on the radio, I might be able to guess something.” Yi Lian pointed to a page where names were crossed out in red, as if they had been beheaded.

"These pages are all assassination lists, and many of the names are prefixed with 'Paladin.' I used to think it was a surname, but now it seems to be a job title."

"They're all members of the church, so why are they killing the paladins?" Valerie was completely baffled.

"Party strife? Or factional infighting?" That was the first thing that came to Li Ge's mind.

“That’s what I think too. I personally believe there might be power struggles and infighting within the church. It seems the power structure in this Gensokyo is such that at the very top are the church leaders known as the Divine Children, below them are the priests, and then the nuns and us, the Pure Children,” Yi Lian explained. He then turned to another page, where he saw a list of children who had come to confess.

The most recent one was a few days ago, a child named "Zero," whose name included the word "pure."

Thanks to the person who kept the record, they actually added a prefix to each name, which allowed them to know the corresponding information directly from the prefix without having to guess.

The radio in my hand kept playing the same repetitive sound.

Yi Lian flipped back to the list of paladins. They looked at it and saw that many people were not only paladins but also held other positions. Li Ge even saw someone whose prefixes included both "paladin" and "hacker."

However, his name was crossed out with a red line, proving that he had been assassinated.

This shows that the world has actually entered the information age. However, Gensokyo remains incredibly primitive, with firelight relying on candles, nuns still using lanterns, and the time still being announced by bells.

If they hadn't come to the confessional, they wouldn't have discovered that this was a world with products like radios and electric chairs, let alone that this world had entered the information age and even had a profession like hacker.

"It seems these paladins aren't with these priests and nuns; they might be the ones who most want to overthrow this place," Li Ge remarked.

“Yes, that’s what I think too. But the problem is how do we get in touch with this paladin? For now, we’ll treat him as the enemy of the enemy, that is, a neutral ally. Their goal might be to completely destroy this place. In any case, we’ve found a potential ally for the time being,” Yilian said.

"We'll hide this thing. Once we find a signal transmission array, I can modify it into a communication device," Xiaoye said, cutting off its power supply to stop it from making noise.

"You can do this too?" Li Ge was immediately surprised.

Xiao Ye rolled her eyes again, not wanting to argue with Li Ge anymore.

The group had gathered enough intelligence this time. Their task was to conceal this information, gradually piece together intelligence about another faction primarily composed of paladins, and establish contact with them.

As for the booklet, they didn't take it away, but instead took a picture of it with their wristwatch and put it back in its original place.

There are actually many flaws in this. The most important one is that Li Ge was brought here in full view of everyone, but his name is not on the document. Moreover, the nun who brought him here has already jumped into the sea and her fate is unknown.

Anyone who pays attention and investigates thoroughly will surely discover the problem.

Therefore, they didn't expect this thing to delay for long; a day or two would be enough. As for tomorrow's banquet for the divine children, they didn't know what it was, but it must be some important event.

So the group quietly left under the cover of night and returned to their cabin.

The intelligence they've gathered today is enough for them to uncover a part of the truth about the world.

……

The next morning, the group reappeared in everyone's sight. They needed to get up early to pray at the cathedral, then learn hymns, after which they had free time.

Today, the nun is gone, yet no one else seems to react. Neither the other nuns nor the old priest seem to have any interest in investigating her disappearance.

At most, when he saw Li Ge, his eyes would carry a slightly... inexplicable and indescribable meaning.

As for Daphne, she seemed completely different today. The biggest difference was that she had a little follower with her today.

It was a little boy, very polite, following behind her like her younger brother.

It seems she did something, and may have found some information that even they couldn't find.

After the hymns ended, the group prepared to return to their cabin immediately and take advantage of the break to gather some information from the cathedral when an uninvited guest arrived.

Daphne remained arrogant, seemingly disregarding the group, and walked into their cabin on her own. Her little follower, however, appeared hesitant, unsure whether to come in.

"Come in, they won't hit you," the fairy said directly.

Li Ge: "..."

"Girl, wasn't the beating you got last time bad enough? Now that the sun's out and the rain's stopped, you think you're all that again?" Li Ge had never seen such an arrogant girl before. He really wanted to roll up his sleeves right there and have a fight with her, and whoever lost would be eliminated.

"Heh, I'm always ready to fight if you want. But that's after we get out of here. Now, let's exchange information." She said directly, casually sitting down on a bed she saw, not caring whose it was.

Li Ge: "..."

Chapter 162 I Have a Dream

"You went to the confessional yesterday, didn't you? I'm very interested in the information you found there, and what I have will definitely interest you as well." She smiled and said, "Divine Child, you should have heard of that term before, right?"

Li Ge took a deep breath, trying not to be influenced by this arrogant guy.

"We know," they replied.

“I have a partial list of the divine children, and you would never guess who they are,” she said with a smile, while introducing her little follower beside her, “This is my little brother, named Zero. He’s also been to the confessional, and he’s lived here since he can remember.”

The group stared in surprise at the quiet little boy, and they immediately recalled that his name was in the booklet they had seen yesterday.

No wonder this fairy was willing to take the child with her.

"Give us that list of Divine Sons first," Li Ge demanded outright. Based on current intelligence, they didn't actually need the list of Divine Sons that much; what they wanted was a way to contact the Holy Knights organization and win over the Holy Knights—that was the best option.

Knowing who the divine children are is not of great significance.

However, they won't let this intelligence slip by; there might be some hidden trap inside.

"Okay, but I need to know first what you found in it." Her expression was no longer so irritating, but rather became slightly serious as she asked.

"We... Waaah..." Valerie was about to speak when Yilian instantly covered her mouth.

“Information from a potential ally who has been hostile to the people of Gensokyo,” Li Ge said.