The afterlife blew up Gensokyo

"I don't understand what you're saying at all. What does all this have to do with the card you made? And... how much chili did you put on this grilled fish?"

"I like spicy food."

Shi Bai nodded seriously.

"...the previous question."

"Don't you understand? Simply put, I want this world to grow and prosper... Is that so hard to grasp?"

Shi Bai took out another grilled fish and started grilling it again, while Shi Bai pursed his lips.

"You must have heard me mention that ancient history earlier, right? Don't you think that if we continue along this current trend, we are repeating the mistakes of history? The world's capacity is limited."

"So that's why you're thinking of restricting the spiritual energy of heaven and earth? But this method is clearly just treating the symptoms, not the root cause, isn't it?"

Heca took a bite of the grilled fish in her hand, her face full of worry.

"Furthermore, if the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is restricted, there may be..."

"At most, there can only be some minor monsters. It's impossible for a great monster of that level to be born again. Ordinary people are ordinary people, gods are gods, and monsters are monsters. Immortals and mortals are not related. Your level is still too low."

As Shi Bai brushed chili oil onto the grilled fish again, he casually added a comment.

"Shinki had already foreseen the major trends of the future, which is why she single-handedly guided the transformation from divine rule to human rule, and even specially built a dwelling place for those gods. As for the Lunarians living in the Moon Capital, they completely severed all contact with the people on Earth... Anyway, all you need to know is that in the future, this world will ultimately be dominated by humans."

"Do weak humans rule the entire world...?"

Heca nodded thoughtfully.

"So cutting off the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, plunging this world into the Dharma-ending Age, is actually a way to protect humanity, right? Although strong individuals can emerge among humans, their short lifespan limits everything... Is this really a way to protect humanity?"

"It's not about protecting humanity, it's about protecting the entire world."

Shi Bai took out a glass bottle containing chili powder and waved it at Heka in front of him.

"If the world itself is like this glass bottle, then without proper regulation, the ever-increasing number of immortals, celestial beings, and great demons will eventually fill it up, leading to an explosion. The destruction of the ancient mythological era was due to reaching this dangerous tipping point, forcing the world to self-destruct. The Eastern God Clan was originally chosen by the world itself as its chosen one. If they had invaded other worlds and plundered their resources under their leadership, that era might not have ended so tragically."

He lowered his head and sprinkled chili powder on the grilled fish, his face expressionless.

"But unfortunately, the prolonged wars made them extremely averse to war. For that limited time of peace, they were willing to destroy themselves so that their descendants could live a peaceful and tranquil life. Those who love martial arts will perish by martial arts, and those who love killing will stop by killing. The Eastern God Clan understood this principle very well, so they passed on their last hope. Otherwise, how do you think a dragon god who treats all living beings so gently was born?"

Shi Bai raised his head and looked into Heka's eyes.

"We have no right to judge their actions."

"Hmm...you look so scary right now. Suddenly telling me these secrets makes me feel like you're about to kill me to silence me..."

Unconsciously, Heca hugged himself tighter, and his body involuntarily shrank back slightly.

"Uh... is it scary?"

After a slight pause, Shi Bai laughed.

"Isn't it less scary now?"

"...It's even scarier now."

"........."

"Seriously, when you laughed just now, it felt like you were about to pull out a big cleaver and chop it off my head."

Heca emphasized, holding the grilled fish firmly in front of him as a warning.

"Just like the four-eyed, six-cornered pencil murderer you described in your book..."

"Let's get back to business. Anyway, I'll have to tell you these things sooner or later."

Interrupting Heca's words, Shi Bai turned his head away expressionlessly.

"If we don't want the world to dry up, it's essential to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. Cutting off the connection between heaven and earth is still a long way off; we should at least wait until we recruit enough immortals from the celestial realm. That's reducing expenditure. As for increasing revenue, that means the very essence of this world must become stronger."

"Wait, you're not planning to plunder other worlds, are you!?"

"Those who love martial arts will perish through martial arts, and those who love killing will be stopped by killing. I am a model youth of the new era, not some wicked demon king with a bitter hatred. Do you think I am that kind of person? Haven't you heard of a win-win situation?"

Faced with Hecan's suspicious gaze, Shi Bai rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Do you know how many worlds exist beyond ours? I can tell you very clearly, it's infinite. Every day, countless worlds like ours disappear and are destroyed, and every day, countless new worlds are born. Add to that the various parallel worlds that arise from the interweaving of these worlds, and the world outside is far more diverse than you can imagine. Do you know what it means to be prepared for a rainy day?"

"Uh... I know what it means to worry about something that's already happened."

Heca nodded with a serious expression.

"You... never mind, you'll understand later anyway."

Pressing his slightly sore forehead with his hand, Shi Bai gave up the idea of ​​explaining everything to the other party.

"The Dragon God is the embodiment of the world's will and represents the center of the world. I will not allow anything that could potentially harm the Dragon God to happen."

"Alright, now you can tell me what you're using these cards for, right?"

Heca waved the stack of jade tokens in her hand at the man in front of her.

"You've been trying so hard to change the subject, and you've never given a direct answer to this question. Now tell me."

"...You haven't forgotten to ask about this."

Shi Bai gazed silently at the blue sky.

"Since you want to know, there's nothing wrong with telling you... I want to make a pay-to-win gacha game."

"and then?"

"What? And then? That's it."

He spread his hands, looking completely innocent.

"I'm sure this pay-to-win gacha game will be a huge hit once it's released. I've already witnessed how popular it will be."

"...Do you think we would spend money to buy this?"

Heka silently returned the stack of jade tokens in her hand, her face blank with disbelief.

"Also, I feel that if you dare to launch this card game, you will most likely be hunted down by everyone above."

"Anyway, it wasn't made to sell to you..."

Carefully putting away the prototype cards that had been painstakingly created, Shi Bai muttered to himself.

To be fair, although he has many plans in mind to implement, he doesn't intend to reveal too much about them now that the establishment of Gensokyo is still far off.

He has said everything he could say so far, but he hasn't said a word about what he couldn't say.

In the distant future, gods and monsters became legends, and science became the mainstream of the world. Could humanity have reached such a high level solely through its own development?

Humans are already exhausted by the constant emergence of monsters, so where would they find the energy to delve into science and explore the truth?

So here's the question: why did the number of monsters gradually disappear in later generations, and even become legends?

Given a good understanding of most of the world's development, deriving the cause from the result is actually a fairly simple matter.

Sever the dragon veins, cut off the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and sever the connection between heaven and earth.

When the world enters the so-called Dharma-ending Age, that will be the time when humanity will experience a period of rapid development, instead of struggling against the invasion of monsters as we are now.

Heca's statement about protecting humanity itself is, in some respects, not entirely wrong.

What he's saying now is simply stating what will definitely happen in the future.

However, what he was after was much more.

The so-called end times will definitely come in the future. After the mystery is removed, human technology will develop rapidly. But what is the highest level that human technology can reach?

Technology and mystery are not inherently superior or inferior to each other.

Even an ordinary human being can reach a higher level than gods or monsters by using the power of technology.

A prime example of this is Professor Strawberry, Yumemi Okazaki.

In the world where Okazaki Yumemi lives, there is no such thing as magic. In her world, all forces, such as gravity, electromagnetism, and interatomic forces, can be solved by a "unified theory" that can explain all known forces in the world. There is no force that is not applicable to this theory.

Pure science brings pure power.

As a genius who became a professor at a world-class university at the young age of eighteen, Okazaki Yumemi's power naturally appears extremely strong.

Not only does it possess nuclear-powered mechanical maids and self-propelled nuclear bombs, but it can even fix the moon's position in the sky, not to mention the "possibility space travel ship" that can "move to parallel worlds," and the devastating weapon "four-dimensional positron bomb for destroying Earth."

In other words, Okazaki Yumemi alone possesses the power to destroy the world.

Because she was pursuing magic, a power that doesn't actually exist in their world, her thesis was rejected by their society and ridiculed. So, she and her assistant boarded a spaceship to search for worlds where magic exists, and accidentally ended up in Gensokyo, which triggered the story of "Touhou Dream Time and Space".

If Okazaki Yumemi alone could possess that level of power, then what about the academic organization in her world that controls the highest level of technology?

Shi Bai has never underestimated the power of science.

As this world enters the Dharma-ending Age, the power of science will surely rise, but the mysterious power will continue to be passed down.

At a certain point in time, he will guide the revival of the world's spiritual energy, and then combine the power of science with the power of mystery to break through barriers in another sense and make the world stronger.

Therefore, to some extent, he can be considered to have gone to great lengths for Xiaoye and the future of this world.

...Of course, it would be even better if we could have snagged a strawberry professor beforehand.

However, Okazaki Yumemi is clearly a limited character. Although the flow of time is different in different worlds, and a certain Strawberry Professor may have already been born at this time, it is difficult to accurately find the scientific world where Okazaki Yumemi is among countless worlds.

Even if he possessed the talent of "True Luck," the chance of success would be infinitely less than 0.0000001%. Otherwise, when he was kicked out of this world, he wouldn't have needed to spend so much time and effort to return.

All he can do now is wait.

Once Gensokyo is fully established, and once the development of this world is on the right track.

As for now...

"...The matter in Hell has finally come to an end, and my time working in the Underworld should also come to a close. After that, I should go back."

Shi Bai pressed hard on his neck, which was quite sore, and spoke to Heka beside him.

"You're planning to return to the real world?"

Turning her head, Heca glanced at the man beside her with a hint of surprise.

“That’s right. After working in the underworld for so many years, my condition has basically stabilized, and it’s time for me to leave.”

Shi Bai smiled.

"Strictly speaking, I still have a lot of things to do right now. But if I have time, I'll still come to the underworld to have some fun."

What do you plan to do in the real world?

Heca tilted her head slightly, clearly showing some curiosity.

After all, to be frank, the other party is living a good life in the underworld and has absolutely no reason to return to the mortal world.

"Having been away from home for so long, I definitely have to go back and see my wives."

Nodding, the person looked completely matter-of-fact.

"Wives..."

Heca's eye twitched violently.

"After that, I still need to collect some precious illustrations, such as those of Futo Shinko and the others. I was able to find out the current timeline from those ghosts... Maybe I can even find Ren-ma?"

Shi Bai reached out and touched his chin, looking thoughtful.

"Hmm... if we're lucky, it seems like we can get both the Temple of the Gods and the Star Lotus Ship together..."

"...I'm getting more and more curious about what the criteria are for being included in your encyclopedia."

"Loli, cute, BBA!!!"

"........."

ps：ヽ(ー_ー)ノ

Chapter Twenty-Six: The So-Called Evil Immortal

In late summer and early autumn, the weather should gradually cool down, but the sweltering heat shows no sign of decreasing; instead, it keeps rising.

In recent years, disasters have struck the world one after another, with severe droughts affecting vast areas and leaving nothing but barren land.

As the saying goes, strange phenomena give rise to evil spirits. Under such harsh conditions, the number of evil spirits on the land of China has increased, strange events have occurred in various places, famines have occurred frequently, and plagues have spread.

Unlike Buddhism, Taoism emphasizes purity and non-action. Most seekers of the Tao are ethereal and reclusive in the mountains and forests, detached from worldly affairs. Only a very few disciples walk in the mortal world to sweep away evil spirits and demons.