Fighting you is like being in jail.

"What... what has Gensokyo become...?"

"At least it's still there, isn't it?"

Leng Chang nodded thoughtfully. Fortunately, Gensokyo still existed. If it were really gone, there would be no way to fix it.

Even if it is rebuilt, it will never be the same as before.

At this moment, Yukari Yakumo took a deep breath, closed her eyes to sense the situation at the shrine, and slowly opened them, saying solemnly:

"Reimu isn't in there."

Upon hearing this, Leng Chang's eyes turned into golden rings, and his powerful perception instantly spread throughout the entire world.

"Unfortunately, Reimu's presence cannot be felt throughout Gensokyo."

"What's going on? Reimu can leave Gensokyo?" Yukari Yakumo asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, but I've discovered something incredible: there's something underground at the shrine."

Leng Chang stepped onto the wooden floor and walked in step by step. Yakumo Yukari, who was a little surprised, followed behind.

The two walked on the wooden floor, their footsteps thumping, but there was no sound from inside the shrine, as if it had long been abandoned.

After a few steps into the room, Leng Chang's eyes suddenly turned to the door at the back of the room. According to the structure of the shrine, there was no room in this location, but there was a door here.

Incredibly, light flowed around the door, like a futuristic door from a science fiction world.

“Something’s wrong with this door…” Yukari Yakumo stared at the door with a serious expression in her eyes.

click

Without hesitation, Leng Chang opened the door. It was pitch black inside. As he stepped inside, the wooden steps beneath his feet suddenly twisted and deformed, and flowing binary code appeared on the surface of the steps. Each step stirred up subtle data ripples.

It's as if the world is a program made up of data.

The two remained silent as they descended about a hundred meters underground, when the space suddenly opened up.

The dome structure is made up of countless hexagonal data modules. The ground is not a solid object, but a semi-transparent sea of ​​data, yet standing on it gives one the feeling of a solid object.

A vermilion torii gate has been transformed into a server architecture, with fiber optic cables replacing shimenawa (sacred ropes). In the center, suspended by data chains, there is an empty space surrounded by infinitely extending fiber optic cables.

The air was filled with the smell of burning electronics, and tiny pixel particles were inhaled when breathing.

"What's this!!"

Yakumo Yukari's pupils contracted, her bloodshot eyes widened, and she stood there blankly staring at the huge torii gate database in front of her.

"Why would something like this exist in Gensokyo? Gensokyo is supposed to be a place of spiritual power and magic..."

She found it hard to believe, feeling it was so abrupt, as if a technological product had suddenly appeared in a world of swords and magic.

Leng Chang checked his surroundings and found that everything was deserted.

"Perhaps spiritual power and magic are no longer effective, and the only remaining means is technology."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Yukari Yakumo's face darkened. This explanation was perfectly reasonable, and it was precisely because it was reasonable that she felt uncomfortable.

Leng Chang, however, stood in front of the red torii gate and asked thoughtfully, "What do we do next? There aren't many clues here."

Let me look.

Yukari Yakumo walked up a few steps and placed her hand on the pillar of the torii gate. For some reason, she had a feeling of déjà vu.

Suddenly, a scene flashed into her mind.

Reimu, with a ferocious expression, grabbed her by the neck and pressed her down in the center of the torii gate.

'Only you, only you…'

Reimu's hoarse voice lingered in my ears.

Then everything went black, and nothing was left.

"what happened?"

Leng Chang noticed that something was wrong with Yakumo Yukari and asked her with concern.

Yukari Yakumo shook her head and said absentmindedly, "No, I just feel something's wrong. Just now, I had a picture in my head of Reimu choking me and pinning me to a machine."

"Oh?" Leng Chang was surprised, his eyes flashing with a sharp light. He guessed, "Is it possible that your memory has been tampered with? Should I check it?"

"If you really did tamper with it? What was your purpose?" Yukari Yakumo blinked in confusion. If it came to a certain point, she was certain that she would indeed do such a thing.

But what is the purpose?

Even if you ask me, I have no way of knowing.

Leng Chang shrugged, feeling speechless, but without hesitation, he placed his hands in front of Yakumo Yukari, his eyes turning golden once more.

Seeing this, Yakumo Yukari nodded and said earnestly, "Thank you for your help."

Previously, it was Madoka Kaname who examined Yukari Yakumo, so Leng Chang knew nothing about her condition.

The next second, the power of the Law of Cycles erupted, and pink magic enveloped Yukari Yakumo.

Her eyes widened and narrowed sharply, as if she had seen something unbelievable.

The shattered earth, the cracked sky, even space itself were showing signs of cracking.

Reimu stood in front, her fists clenched in resentment. Her red and white shrine maiden robes were torn in many places, and her face was stained with blood. Only her black eyes gleamed with unwillingness.

"Old woman, we've defeated the system..."

She looked up at the broken sky, her face filled with exhaustion, her lips trembling slightly.

"But the outside world has been destroyed, and now Gensokyo is going to be destroyed too. What kind of victory is this...?"

Tears welled up in her closed eyes, streaming down her cheeks and dripping onto the shattered earth.

Underground of the shrine.

The vermilion torii gate has been transformed into a server architecture, with fiber optic cables replacing the shimenawa (sacred rope). There is an empty space in the center, suspended by data chains, with infinitely extending fiber optic cables connected around it.

Reimu stood in front of the torii gate, gazing at the empty spaces connected by countless fiber optic cables.

"Old woman, we succeeded. We've built a program that can support Gensokyo using the broken system. Now all we need is energy."

"But we have run out of energy. Gensokyo no longer has a core capable of supporting such a powerful energy source."

A hand rested on Reimu's shoulder as she stared blankly, pulling her back forcefully. Her long, golden hair was reflected in Reimu's eyes.

His bangs partially obscured his eyes, but a gentle smile played on his lips as he turned back to give her one.

"Old woman? You..."

Reimu watched with teary eyes, biting her lip and trembling shoulders, letting the tears fall.

Even if you do this... you won't be able to hold on for long...

A snow-white hand pressed against her head, gently patted it, and then resolutely turned and left.

......

Pain, despair, I don't know how much time has passed.

The screams seemed never to stop as Yukari Yakumo, bound within the core, struggled frantically, trying to escape.

"Ling-Dream"

The screams were hoarse and agonizing, as if tearing everything apart.

Then, when she woke up again, Yukari Yakumo had forgotten a lot.

She had even forgotten why she was there in the first place, and when she saw Reimu again, she couldn't understand what had happened.

"Reimu, what happened? Why am I here!?"

"What...what did you do to me?!"

Anger, despair, and resentment erupted in an instant, and crimson vertical pupils flashed red light on Yukari Yakumo's face.

Reimu stared blankly at everything before her, saying mercilessly, "Can it still unleash such immense demonic power? We can't waste it."

Reimu--! You--

Yakumo Yukari roared angrily, and her demonic power was instantly absorbed by the surrounding optical cables.

The next second, Reimu grabbed Yakumo Yukari by the neck with both hands and pressed her firmly against the torii gate, her empty eyes reflected in her scarlet vertical pupils.

"Only you, only you... I only have you left, hold on... Just a little bit more, just a little bit more, and I can give everyone a beautiful dream in the end..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Yakumo Yukari's pupils contracted, as if she had remembered something. She gave up struggling, quietly released her grip on Reimu's hand, and murmured:

"Live on for my sake, Reimu."

"......,

Anger drew his eyebrows together, while sadness pulled them down at the corners.

His black eyes were devoid of light, empty as if something important was missing, filled with sorrow.

The corners of his mouth twitched as if he were forcibly raising them with his fingers, filled with falsehood, squeezing out wrinkles of a smile, trying hard to make himself laugh.

Reimu, her lips trembling, spoke painfully to the unconscious Yukari Yakumo:

"Why did you have to say something as cruel as 'live' to me..."

......

噗嗵

Beneath the long, Taoist-style skirt, her legs suddenly buckled, and her knees slammed heavily against the sea of ​​data flowing on the ground.

Yukari Yakumo gasped for breath, her back soaked with cold sweat, her pupils trembling uncontrollably, and she clutched her forehead with a severe headache.

"I remember now... I remember everything."

Leng Chang looked at Yakumo Yukari thoughtfully, having understood everything and fully grasped her situation.

"Is there any hope for Gensokyo? Rei-chang..." Yakumo Yukari looked up at Rei-chang helplessly, her frail appearance unlike what she should be, as if she had lost all her strength.

She reached out and grabbed Leng Chang's trouser leg, gripping it tightly until it crumpled, her trembling arm sending shivers down Leng Chang's spine.

Tears streamed down her face in the darkness, glistening with a crystalline light. She could see nothing but the trembling of her hands gripping her trousers, her head bowed low.

Leng Chang took a deep breath, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, and looked at the empty space in front of him.

"It's simple, I'll go."

Before Yukari Yakumo could react, Leng Chang strode forward, taking a firm step as if he had made up his mind, and walked up without looking back.

She left Yakumo Yukari with a magnificent silhouette, a testament to her carefree spirit.

"Tell Xiaoyuan and Xiaoyan... I owe them dinner."

Bang! Bang! Boom!

Suddenly, Yakumo Yukari shuddered, looked up sharply, and saw Leng Chang walk into that spot.

By the time she realized what was happening and reached out to stop him, Leng Chang was already lying in the empty space, and instantly the surrounding fiber optic cables violently drained the power from his body.

"Leng Chang... I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry..."

"Aaaaaaah—!"

Yukari Yakumo knelt before the torii gate, covering her face and crying uncontrollably. She was filled with remorse and guilt, and she was helpless, there was nothing she could do.

She was genuinely happy for everyone's help during this time, despite the fact that Leng Chang had helped her so much. However, she betrayed Leng Chang at this moment because of everyone's selfless assistance.

That person who acts like a leader in the group.

How am I supposed to face them like this?!

Cold—every—!

Yukari Yakumo knelt helplessly on the ground, kowtowing, afraid to raise her head or move. Overwhelmed by self-blame and guilt, she could hardly breathe.

Leng Chang lay in the empty seat, his body trembling, his lips twitching, and his eyes tightly shut.

His fists clenched so tightly they trembled, and his muscles tensed to the point of spasm, and he endured it all.

Suppressing laughter!

Hold it in! You can't laugh yet!

Forty seconds... no! Laugh again in thirty seconds!