Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

On the last day, Zheng Zha exchanged one day for time to return to the Legend of Gods and Demons.

Cairo remained the same Cairo, blasted into ruins, but the remains of the altar bore traces of Evelyn and her companions' survival and departure. The worst-case scenario hadn't occurred; at least Zheng Zha didn't encounter a living Bodhisattva upon arrival. And while the altar was forbidden by the main god to be brought back to the main god's space, it did provide Zheng Zha with some reassuring information.

—Zhang Jie can be resurrected, but the price he needs to pay is twice that of an ordinary veteran. Since there is a premium, it means that the main god approves of his resurrection.

The good mood brought by the good news lasted until the main god's teleportation was activated.

'Enter the teleportation beam within thirty seconds. Target locked... Final Destination 2, commencing execution.'

Section 2. This is what happens when you break traffic rules.

An astronomical observatory in Massachusetts, 2009.

"Temperatures continue to rise, and solar activity has been increasing lately." A male employee looked up from the monitor, took a sip of his coffee, and frowned. "It's going to get even hotter in the next few days."

“Solar flare? Electromagnetic storm?” a colleague next to him said casually. “Who knows what crazy thing happened? I have a friend who works at NASA, and he said that six satellites have lost contact, and the signals of eleven others have become unstable. Right now, the signals in the entire atmosphere are all chaotic. Maybe in a few days we won’t even be able to make phone calls.”

"Oh, that's terrible. But thankfully, it's not today that's terrible." The staff member shrugged, looking nonchalant. "I have to attend my son's school's 50th anniversary celebration this afternoon, as long as that doesn't interfere, it's fine. As for the rest... who cares?"

“You make a good point, Jerry.” His colleague nodded. “What kind of elementary school is that? William Dawson? I think that’s the name. Last time you mentioned they were preparing a really interesting anniversary celebration. What was it called again? A time capsule?”

“It’s just a child’s game.” The staff member put down his coffee cup and continued fiddling with the simulated sun model on the screen. “But my son cares a lot about this, so I can’t be late. Hopefully the weather will be better this afternoon; it’s about an hour’s drive from here to the city…”

His colleague offered him a word of comfort.

"Don't worry, it's okay if you're late. Taifei is a good kid, he'll understand."

“Let’s hope so. Kids are hard to deal with.” Jerry shook his head and refocused on his work. “Alright, my dear Tom. There are still a few hours before we get off work, and we have important things to do.”

"OK, let's work on these reports."

They continued processing the vast amount of data they had obtained from the observatory, and soon the brief chat was forgotten.

The weather is getting hotter and hotter.

………………………………………………………………………

Main Quest: Survive for twelve days. During this period, you will receive 1000 reward points for each main character you rescue from the Grim Reaper's pursuit. If all main characters survive by the end of the quest, the entire team will receive an A-rank side quest and 10000 reward points.

When the nine members of the Zhongzhou team regained consciousness, they found themselves sitting in a bus parked on the road. Naturally, there were no normal passengers on the bus, only eight newlyweds dressed in various ways, lying haphazardly on the seats.

Undoubtedly, these are newcomers. Therefore, the difficulty of this horror film lies in having seventeen people.

"The 17-player difficulty is higher than the 11-player difficulty in Legend of the Gods and Demons, but lower than the 20-player difficulty in Ju-on 2. It should still be within our range. However, the A-level side quests... I remember the reward for the seventh wave of Ju-on was only B-level plus 5000 reward points." Zheng Zha pinched his chin and shook his head.

"It seems this extra reward will be hard to get; we need to be prepared for failure. Let's try our best, but if things don't work out... then let's prioritize getting through this horror world safely. Alright, let's base our strategy for this horror world on this goal. Zhang Heng, you're the newcomer, so the reward for explaining it is your responsibility."

He turned his head and looked at Alice.

"Margot Royd, what are your thoughts on this mission?"

Alice turned her head slightly; having already decided to play a supporting role in this horror movie, she naturally wouldn't try to steal the spotlight at this moment. She simply made an apologetic gesture and then spoke.

"I'm sorry, my analytical methods require sufficient intelligence to be available. Therefore, I cannot give a definitive conclusion right now. I will let you know after I have organized the intelligence."

Zheng Zha nodded, then looked at Xiao Honglu.

"Xiao Honglu, why don't you analyze the current situation?"

“Okay, Brother Zheng Zha.” The little boy smiled and lightly jumped onto the back of the seat at the very front of the bus. He glanced at Alice and snapped his fingers apologetically.

"Final Destination is a movie series. I remember when I entered the loop world, it was showing up to the third movie, and it was well-received. Perhaps there should be a sequel... well, I digress. What I want to emphasize is that in this movie, the previous and subsequent films are connected. And the connection is much greater than in ordinary movies."

He stepped on the carpet in the carriage.

"This should be Highway 180, where the story of Final Destination 2 begins. The plot involves a girl named Kimberly who foresees a major traffic accident that is about to happen on the highway. So she stops her car in time, saving her five friends and a traffic policeman who comes to check."

"The major car accident on the highway still happened afterward, but the six of them survived. However, there is a rule in this world: 'Those who are destined to die are destined to die.' So, although they escaped the disaster, they encountered many accidents and coincidences in the following days, and these coincidences led to their deaths."

"For example, if a house catches fire, you might slip on the noodles you're cooking while trying to escape and get impaled by a falling fire ladder. Or you might see pigeons at a construction site, be attracted to them, and then get crushed by falling tempered glass. Or..." He gave several examples before concluding.

"...These people who deserved to die will die again. And what kills them is less a coincidence and more something else—[Order]."

"Order?" Zheng Zha raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, order.” Xiao Honglu nodded and said, “Without exception, their deaths were due to their own carelessness. They failed to put away what should have been put away, violated the rules, put the wrong things in the wrong place, and made the wrong moves at the wrong time. This led to their own deaths.”

"Besides that, Death's killings also follow an order. Who dies first and who dies last is predetermined. Even if you want to die, you can't die until it's your time. The only strategy to break Death's order is to disrupt it, to let those who are meant to die live and let those who are not meant to die die. To disrupt its order, Death's killings will end... for a short time."

"The protagonist who survived the first movie died in the background of the second. And the protagonist of the second movie suffered the same fate in the third. We are now in this car, which means that we have also entered the order of death. It must follow the order to kill us, so the first thing we need to do is find Kimberly and find out the order in which we died."

"Then, turn everything around."

Xiao Honglu placed his hands in front of him in a pyramid shape. He said confidently, "The Supreme God has actually given us a very clear hint—if all the main characters survive, we can obtain a huge amount of side quests and reward points. In other words, as long as we kill the main characters ourselves, we can end the order of death in advance and exchange our survival for huge rewards."

"The number twelve might also have a special meaning. Jesus had twelve disciples... well, maybe not. I think it might be an allusion to how many times Death will pursue us. But twelve times... that seems a bit too many. So let's put this theory aside for now."

"Let me summarize in conclusion," Xiao Honglu said with a soft breath. "What we need to do is to control Kimberly and the other survivors as soon as possible and get our order of precedence in the Death Order from them. Then, make sure they are alive—I recommend kidnapping them and taking them to the wasteland—the city with its many innocent victims would also be good, but I think you might not be willing."

"In short, the simpler the surrounding terrain, the better. As long as there's no order to break, Death will find it difficult to act directly. This way, it can't use those complex and covert methods of killing and can only unleash massive natural disasters to clash head-on with us. When that time comes... we can hold out for as long as we can. And if we can't hold out any longer, then..."

He glanced in the direction where the main characters of the story were.

"You know what to do, Captain Zheng Zha," he said calmly. Just then, the sleeping newcomers all opened their eyes.

Author's Note:

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

For Cirno mentioned in the previous section, you can refer to the video on Bilibili 【红白vs⑨】, the suffix is ​​201676.

Based on Cirno's strength, even without considering the double seventh rank, the current Zhongzhou team really can't beat her.

Section 3: Stop pretending, everyone here knows you're an undercover agent.

There were eight new recruits in total, five men and three women, all around their twenties or thirties. Having experienced Chu Xuan from *Alien*, Zhao Yingkong from *Ju-on*, and Alice and Xiao Honglu from *God and Demon*, the members of the Central Plains team naturally wouldn't underestimate these new blood prepared for them by the main god. In fact, after the main god's teleportation ended, when Xiao Honglu was analyzing and explaining, at least half of the veterans' attention was focused on these newcomers—listening to their heartbeats, observing their qi and blood, and detecting brain activity through hidden instruments or techniques. Even Xiao Honglu's analysis was a means for them to assess the newcomers. If any of the newcomers possessed a wise person like Chu Xuan or a practically strong individual like Zhao Yingkong, then interjecting during Xiao Honglu's explanation would be a good opportunity to gain the upper hand. However…

Zheng Zha and the others exchanged glances, feeling a little disappointed.

No one woke up early, so naturally no one could interrupt Xiao Honglu's analysis. In Zheng Zha's vampire perception, the blood and energy of the eight people lying in the seats were all at the level of ordinary people. Neither high nor low, nothing surprising or unexpected. Zhan Lan's mental scan yielded the same conclusion: apart from one woman whose brain was slightly stronger than the others, the rest… didn't warrant much attention.

Of course, this doesn't rule out the possibility that among the newcomers lies an unexpectedly powerful individual, observing coldly from the sidelines, merely watching from a higher vantage point like a spectator. But such a possibility is extremely low, so low that incorporating it into any plan would be incredibly foolish.

"Hello everyone, welcome to the world of reincarnation. This is the Central Continent Team, and I am Zhang Heng. The Supreme God should have already instilled some of his knowledge into your minds. Think carefully. You will remember many things," Zhang Heng said. The power of his wind spirit bloodline surged within him, and a miniature whirlwind, though not destructive, was very expressive, appearing in his palm and swaying gently.

Zheng Zha and the others were hoping the newcomers would give them some unusual feedback. Unfortunately, the scenario they wanted was not what they had envisioned.

Of the eight new recruits, one of the five men was wearing a military uniform and appeared to be a retired soldier. Upon seeing the whirlwind in Zhang Heng's hand, he instinctively assumed a defensive stance, then looked thoughtful. Zheng Zha noticed that the first thing he did upon waking was glance at the God Watch on his wrist. Although his facial expression was somewhat stiff, Zheng Zha could sense a sense of relief in the subtle movements of his eyes and fingers.

Zhan Lan's telepathic message immediately resounded in his mind.

[Zheng Zha, that soldier's thoughts are showing some unusual fluctuations. Xiao Honglu told me that his subtle movements revealed his understanding of the Supreme God... He must have known of the Supreme God's existence in reality. What are your thoughts on this?]

Zheng Zha blinked.

(Chu Xuan, in the past, deliberately used me to inform the local government of the Main God's message. Based on my understanding of the government, they would definitely try to contact and control the Main God. Therefore, there is a certain probability that this person is a government agent sent to infiltrate the Main God's space... or rather, an assistant prepared by the government for Chu Xuan.)

What do you plan to do? If your guess is correct, then this person must be a top elite in the real military. They are a very high-caliber new recruit and should be able to become an asset to us in the future.

(I don't trust Chu Xuan, and I trust even less the government that hunted me down to the point of having nowhere to run. A soldier's identity deserves respect, but if he really is one of Chu Xuan's men and doesn't intend to join us... then I won't consider him a priority for protection. Please have you and Margot Lloyd probe him later; I don't want any unstable elements in the team.)

[Understood, Miss Alice has agreed.]

The telepathic communication abruptly ended, and the brief exchange lasted less than two seconds. Undoubtedly, the whirlwind Zhang Heng held and the murderous aura he had cultivated after the bloody battle in the illusion were an excellent deterrent. Although the newcomers were startled, they at least didn't yell and scream like previous newcomers, as if to say, "Are you kidding me? This is just a TV show." Instead, they quieted down under Zhang Heng's intimidation, allowing the wind spirit to complete its explanation undisturbed.

This shouldn't take more than a few minutes.

"...Very good, that concludes the basic information about the Main God Space. You can learn more details later, but for now, I'd like you to introduce yourselves and share your special skills. This will help us make arrangements for you."

His words were calm and sincere, posing no threat whatsoever. But the people present were all adults in their twenties and thirties; they all knew this was a one-time, impromptu interview. If Zhang Heng was lying, that would be one thing, but that whirlwind, that intense sense of oppression, and those guys sitting in the back of the bus who didn't look like ordinary people at all… Good heavens, this was the world of Final Destination. If they were abandoned by the veterans, how much chance of survival would they have?

They all chimed in, vying to introduce themselves and emphasizing their various strengths and values. Zheng Zha and the others simply smiled and watched quietly as Zhang Heng frantically processed the chaotic information—they had basically given up hope that the newcomer could be of any use in this horror movie. But if Zhang Heng could show some growth, then the effort they had put in would have been worthwhile.

The compiled information quickly appeared directly in everyone's minds through Zhan Lan's mental link.

There are eight newcomers, three women and five men, two of whom require special attention.

Wang Renjia, also known as Wang Xia, is a burly man with a square face. He describes himself as a retired soldier and reconnaissance soldier. He is skilled in observing enemy positions and setting booby traps, and is also proficient in modern light and heavy explosive weapons, possessing considerable close-combat ability. Undoubtedly, such a person would be considered a model soldier even in the country's top military—Zheng Zha and Zhan Lan exchanged a glance.

Zhu Wen, a beautiful and ethereal young woman with her eyes closed. She describes herself as a freelancer who also works part-time as a feng shui master. She is not blind; she simply keeps her eyes closed due to heterochromia (different colored pupils). She claims she can see the aura of death on people—Xiao Honglu coughed lightly.

Apart from these two, the others were much more ordinary.

Of the remaining four men, one was a lawyer named Zheng Xue, another was a middle-aged working-class man named Li Laoshi, and the last two were Wang Xiaoxiao, who, judging from his complexion and eye bags, was an ordinary college student who spent all his time in his dorm, and Yang Le, a strong young man with dyed hair.

The two women were Lu Chichuan and Huang Lilin, a young delinquent and an ordinary white-collar worker, respectively.

These people are the new blood that the main god provides in this cycle of reincarnation.

Section 4. I feel somewhat confused.

As soon as the protective shield of the Supreme God was removed, Alice immediately felt a slight discomfort.

The air is thick with confusion; the difficulty of casting ritual magic has increased by about ten percent... Is it a geomagnetic phenomenon? Or an electromagnetic storm? Or perhaps... has Death already begun its work?

She glanced at the sky and frowned slightly.

Death, the Death of Order.

According to Xiao Honglu's analysis, there is some merit to the conclusion that Death is the embodiment of order. However, Alice holds a different view.

Because causing ordinary people to die through a series of accidents... that's not difficult for her. In the Transformers universe, she once used information manipulation to wipe out all those who knew about Project Moonshadow overnight. And the form in which she acted wasn't much different from that of the so-called 'Grim Reaper'.

Perhaps Death is a physical entity, rather than a concept.

In short, let's treat this as a guess for now and verify it as the plot unfolds. I need to play it safe in this horror movie… at least until unexpected situations arise. But, seventeen people, an A-rank side quest…?

Megatron was just a B-rank side story... but Kayako was too. Ah, Kayako...

She lowered her eyes, concealing the unease in her pupils. Her fingers touched each other lightly, without making a sound or causing any disturbance.

Patchouli, what exactly did you do in the world of Ju-on?

She thought to herself, and as she prepared to think further, she felt Patchouli's hand gently rest on the back of hers. A reassuring light shone in those pale purple eyes. She could hear her own heartbeat, beating at the same frequency as her own; her blood flowed quietly through her body. Even though they were two different people, she could feel that she and Patchouli were one.

"...Fine, if anything goes wrong, I'll take the blame. What one person can't solve, two can always handle. But if neither of us can bear this responsibility..."

"...Isn't that why I'm still alive?"

Her eyelashes trembled slightly; once she made her decision, all her worries vanished. As the bus doors opened, the Zhongzhou team members stepped off. But the instant they left the bus, a deafening explosion erupted from the other side of the highway. Large chunks of flame and shattered car wreckage flew into the sky, followed by a thick cloud of smoke and the smell of tar.

The story begins. Kimberly, the female lead in Final Destination 2, successfully escapes the car accident, but only manages to save six people, including herself. The car accident that was destined to happen will still happen, and those destined to die will still die.