Tower Defense, Good

What would happen?

She did not need Si Ming to respond; she already had the answer herself.

"That avatar of the evil spirit wouldn't have actually needed us to intervene to be repelled. And this, in fact, is the revelation we were meant to obtain."

A revelation from the Main God.

It let the reincarnators know that the name was the key to breaking the deadlock in this world, let them know that Guanyin possessed a restraint against the Buddha Mother, and ensured that while the reincarnators knew all of this, they remained in the shadows. Even the little girl herself would not suffer any real trauma, instead serving as a medium for Guanyin, capable of keeping her life after repelling the Buddha Mother.

Perhaps so.

"So?" Si Ming did not turn his head, his gaze continuing to scan the surrounding area.

"If we hadn't done anything at the time, we might have held more initiative now." She hesitated for a moment, then continued: "And if Nannan had spoken her true name back then, perhaps that evil spirit would have suffered deep, direct damage from an Orthodox God when it least expected it. Our subsequent battles would have been easier to win, and the ritual to invite the god could have proceeded all the same..."

An interesting thought.

Upon hearing this, Si Ming almost wanted to laugh—not out of mockery, but out of gratification, because this finally signified one thing.

It meant that this reincarnator named Valentina was, for the first time, thinking from the perspective of the Celestial Team as a whole, rather than her own personal inclinations or biases.

It was good news, worth opening a bottle of champagne for.

But before that, he would deign to offer her some clarification.

"You have mistaken two things, Ranger," he said.

"Hm?" Her attention was clearly captured.

"First," Si Ming raised a finger. "The past does not require assumptions; what has already happened does not require regret. And you should remember quite clearly that the reason we intervened was not because you saved that little girl, but because this evil spirit showed too little respect for our power."

"But that wasn't..." Valentina started to speak, then stopped. She still remembered exactly who Si Ming had been setting the stage for at the time.

So, she could only nod awkwardly—she hadn't felt awkward before.

"And second, Guanyin probably couldn't handle this evil spirit."

"...Ah?" Valentina turned her head to look at the temple where the ritual was being prepared. Jacob had already set up the formation for the god-inviting ritual and was currently chanting the Lotus Sutra.

She turned back to look at Si Ming.

"I don't mean we couldn't win, but that we couldn't resolve it." Si Ming corrected his phrasing. "You should have tried it before, right? Communication between this island and the outside world has been completely severed. Considering the increasing number of satellites in the sky, I highly suspect that our every move is under the close scrutiny of the entire outside world."

"...I still can't link to external communications."

"Normal." Si Ming nodded. "Once our work tonight is finished and we produce some results, by tomorrow morning, we will likely be able to receive calls from the outside world at any roadside phone booth or abandoned mobile phone. But until then, do try to have some patience with them."

She understood.

The people outside were watching this place closely and had not taken any action. Considering there were tens of millions of living people on this island, this could only mean that the outside world was currently forced to adopt a passive, conservative strategy of waiting for changes.

The whole world was helpless against this.

The whole world had not reacted to the reincarnators' previous actions.

Thus, the current situation was naturally quite clear and distinct.

"This... evil spirit, is it even more troublesome than expected?"

"That is why we are holding the god-inviting ritual here." Si Ming nodded. "And I believe a simple ritual still won't solve the problem. At most, it will buy us an opportunity to resolve it. As for the real reason, I think you know it very well, Ranger."

Side quests do not fall from the sky; that is the way of the reincarnators.

Reward points have the possibility of being farmed, but side quests must be won with blood, fire, and swords.

"I understand." Valentina's shoulders relaxed slightly, and she let out a soft breath. "Thank you... Professor. You've made me feel much more at ease."

"I should thank you too, Ranger." Si Ming simply nodded at her. During their conversation, he had circled the entire defensive line, and now, high-purity holy water formed a standard ring.

Part of the work was complete. The remaining part involved burying exorcism talismans, more suited to local customs, into the soil and stones.

"Thank you for choosing to come to me when you encountered something troubling, instead of burying it in your heart." And certainly not going to anyone else.

"...I just thought you might be better at it." She turned her head away, feeling a bit awkward, and prepared to leave. "Anyway, thanks for the clarification. Professor, I have my own duties to attend to as well."

"Go ahead." Si Ming waved his hand.

She jumped down.

Soon, she found the defensive position she had hoped for. With the activation of her storage item, three high-tech automated turrets, linked to her prosthetic operating system, were released and moved to the appropriate defensive zones, driven by eight mechanical limbs.

Wolf Spider Turrets, automated turrets effective against large numbers of light-armored or unarmored units. Equipped with small missiles and corresponding guidance systems, they could provide a significant advantage in small-scale positional warfare.

Perhaps they could.

Soon, this utility would be put to the test.

Si Ming's gaze shifted slightly to the other side—Song Tian, clutching his blade, had been standing at the temple entrance for a long time. He was clearly not the type accustomed to using firearms.

He really should find time to correct that bad habit of his. But before that—

Si Ming took out his railgun and his Fusion Gun. There was still a long time before dusk arrived. It was enough time for him to imbue the railgun ammunition with Night Battle Qi and prepare some light firepower for other occasions.

Time, then, flowed on in silence.

Time flows even more swiftly when one is busy.

Unbeknownst to them, the reincarnators of the Celestial Team had already set up their temporary defensive position. Inside the Guanyin Temple, Jacob, who was presiding over the ritual to summon the deity, had already recited the Lotus Sutra in praise of Guanyin Bodhisattva over a hundred times.

He was not an Easterner, so even with Ms. Chen as his plot-provided assistant, the ritual consumed more time and energy than he had anticipated—he would likely be of no use in the coming battle. Yu Zhiwei would also remain at the core of the ritual within the main hall to ensure that no unexpected stragglers could reach this place.

The number of defenders totaled three.

As dusk approached, ominous, flickering phantoms began to appear on the outskirts of the suburbs beyond the temple.

And so...

Everything was ready.

As the final glimmer of sunlight vanished beyond the horizon, Si Ming, no longer on the front lines, gently lifted his head.

He looked toward the sky, toward the distance, and toward the mass of dark clouds coming from afar, rapidly closing in on the temple.

"It's about time."

The plot and settings of the original story surfaced in Si Ming's mind. He remembered clearly that this evil entity known as the Great Black Buddha Mother favored hair and teeth, and its representative symbols were all manner of insects.

Crawling insects, jumping insects, multi-legged insects, winged insects.

Moths, dragonflies, cockroaches, flies—tens of thousands, hundreds of millions, boundless and endless.

They were that approaching cloud, whistling as they drew near amidst a cacophonous buzzing that could be heard from a kilometer away. The density and complexity were enough to make the vast majority of people feel visceral nausea the moment they laid eyes on them. The next instant, that pitch-black torrent slammed violently into the temple complex where the ritual was being held!

"Bang—"

Impact, explosion.

It was not the swarm hitting the ground, nor was it the reincarnators' firepower hitting the target area. The swarm of hundreds of millions of insects possessed the ability to travel long distances, propelled by the shroud of evil power. And this evil force hit a wall the moment it touched the space above the circle formed by holy water and talismans!

Tens of thousands of vile insects exploded directly in mid-air. Massive amounts of mangled limbs and foul-smelling green sludge were flung into every surrounding area—even with their evil power suppressed, the remains of these arthropods were still filth that emitted a pungent stench. And even though the first tens of thousands of insects had turned into pus, the subsequent black cloud of insects continued to gather and concentrate, pouncing toward the area where the reincarnators were stationed.

"Open fire."

The three Wolf Spider turrets rose in unison, and three sets of twin fire lines surged toward the area where the swarm was attacking. Over a thousand rounds of explosive ammunition soaked in holy water were fired in an instant, and the moment the muzzles spat tongues of flame, the sky protected by holy water and talismans lit up with one crimson cloud after another.

"Boom—boom, boom, boom, boom—"

A series of explosions followed, and the high-heat magnesium light instantly turned those pests from afar into scorching ash. Without a doubt, this opening assault organized by the evil entity had failed to achieve the result it desired. But this did not mean it was willing to stop here.

"Click—" The railgun chambered a round.

"Hum—" The railgun charged.

Since this weapon had already been exposed, there was no need to keep it hidden. In Si Ming's eyes, he saw the incoming swarm split, with a small portion diving into the shadows in the distance. The next moment, he saw materialized darkness surge violently from the shadows, launching a pounce toward the temple position!

The railgun's death beam tore through the air.

The next instant, the tip of the darkness that had been struck exploded violently, bursting into a dazzling fireball over ten meters in radius. A large number of severed limbs and broken arms, along with charred insects, were splattered into the distance. And the true essence within that mass of darkness was clearly revealed to the eyes of the defenders.

They were people.

Or perhaps they had been.