Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

“I am not yet certain of our position in the order of death. Are we an error that needs to be dealt with or an intruder that must be killed? If it is the former, then we can find a way to survive by figuring out the rules of death. However, if it is the latter... death will hunt us down by any means necessary, and we will have no choice but to fight back.”

"I sincerely hoped for the former, but now... the latter is becoming more and more likely."

"Then, then aren't we doomed?" The lawyer was pale, and the woman named Huang Lilin sitting in the front seat also looked terrified.

"Don't worry, we're very strong." Zheng Zha patted Xiao Honglu's shoulder hard and said with a smile, "Don't forget, our combat power is several times stronger than it was back when we were fighting the gods and demons. Caution is a good thing, but don't be too modest."

He glanced at the newcomers again and said, "Don't worry, we veterans are all quite capable. Protecting you is no problem if we can protect ourselves. So don't overthink it. Just be careful in your daily lives."

He tried his best to encourage the newlyweds and to alleviate their anxiety as much as possible.

Just then, the car stopped.

A faint breeze swept silently across the undercarriage of the car.

Section 7. Please obey traffic rules

The car stopped not because it ran out of gas, nor because the engine broke down. There was only one thing preventing the vehicle from moving forward: the red light at the intersection.

“We’d better not go against the order of this world, at least not defy it before death strikes,” Xiao Honglu explained. “In the three Final Destination movies, more than one person was hit by a car while crossing the road. This is a rare instance in the series of movies where the same way of dying is depicted, so we’d better not break traffic rules at will.”

"After all, even the story of Final Destination 2 originated from a traffic accident. And the plane in Final Destination 1 and the roller coaster in Final Destination 3... can actually be classified as traffic disasters. So we must be careful, very careful."

"The so-called 'Grim Reaper' of this world may have very low tolerance for disrupting traffic."

He looked out the car window and noticed that a light drizzle had started to fall.

Rain. Rain is a good thing; it can conceal traces, making it difficult for special police officers chasing robbers to find them. But rain also brings chaos, changes in air pressure and temperature, and a somber, melancholic mood.

Alice's voice suddenly rang in their ears.

“Captain Zheng Zha, if the rainfall continues to intensify, the sound and light shielding barrier will become meaningless. Eliminating the dust kicked up by vehicles is already the limit of the barrier's ability. With heavy rainfall and water on the ground, the remaining traces will not be completely eliminated. And at that point, the tire tracks that appear out of nowhere on the ground will attract even more attention.”

Zheng Zha frowned.

“Do you have any good ideas, Margot Lloyd?” he asked, looking up.

“We need a place to land, or I could try to disrupt the balance of the cumulonimbus clouds in the sky to delay the rain. By the way, I just checked the city's traffic online, and if you don't make a decision in five minutes, there's a good chance we'll get stuck in traffic... I don't think that's a good thing,” Alice replied, glancing at the dark clouds in the sky. According to her estimate, if the rain started, it wouldn't stop for at least three or four hours.

"What do you think would be the best course of action, Margot Lloyd?" Zheng Zha continued to ask.

"You're the captain, you decide."

“…Then let’s postpone the rain. In the meantime, we’ll look for a place to stay.” Zheng Zha glanced at Xiao Honglu and asked, “Where would be a suitable place for us to stay? A hotel?”

“No, we can’t go to the hotel.” Xiao Honglu shook his head and gently plucked a hair. “We’re currently undocumented. Even if we hypnotize the hotel staff to cover our tracks, there will still be many loopholes. Although the government of this world shouldn’t notice us so quickly, if the worst-case scenario comes true, then we will directly confront the national powers of this world. Under such circumstances, we must buy as much time as possible.”

“We must maintain secrecy, so I recommend upscale residential areas and detached villas. We won’t be staying long anyway. By the end of tonight, I’ll probably be able to gauge Death’s true intentions towards us. If it’s the worst-case scenario, we’ll stay in the city; if not, we’ll leave the city and head to the wasteland.”

"...Using the entire city as our hostage?" Zheng Zha frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed. He had clearly made a decision.

“If the situation really gets that bad, then so be it. I have to be responsible for the team. But…” He looked at Xiao Honglu seriously. “If it doesn’t come to that, I hope to minimize casualties as much as possible. After all, we all just want to survive, and the people of this world… they are not guilty.”

"Don't worry, Brother Zheng Zha, I can guarantee that." Xiao Honglu smiled, his fingertips forming a small circle with his hair. He thought for a moment, then added a couple more sentences.

"Well, ordinary accidents can't kill us. But in the wasteland, even if Death unleashes its full power to clear the area with natural disasters like flash floods, thunderstorms, or even volcanoes, such severe natural disasters will inevitably have warning signs."

"As long as there are warning signs and prior preparations, these natural disasters will not pose a great threat to us. On the contrary, the high-tech weapons in human society may bring us a surprise attack. So, if death is relentlessly pursuing us, then we must stay in the city and at least make sure that no nuclear bombs fall at the beginning."

The light rain outside the car window gradually thinned, leaving only a few raindrops, and soon stopped completely. However, the gloomy rain clouds still hung heavily under the sky, like a block of iron hanging over the city. Faintly, a muffled rumble of thunder could be heard from the clouds.

A bad omen...

Zheng Zha felt a throbbing sensation in his temples. He looked around through the car window, his gaze sweeping across the slightly damp city streets. He didn't see many people; although there were many cars on the street, there was an inexplicable quiet. It was as if something was hidden in the urban hustle and bustle, spying on him, observing him—that gaze... made his heart pound.

He couldn't understand that gaze, nor could he find its source. He only knew that something was approaching him, slowly, quietly, but with firm steps.

It's on the street, it's outside the window, it... it's right inside this carriage!

"Brother Zheng Zha! What's wrong with you!" Xiao Honglu's urgent voice came—he suddenly opened his eyes and instinctively wanted to punch the carriage!

His fist stopped about two centimeters from the bottom of the carriage.

"No...I..." He shook his head vigorously, wiped his forehead, and sweat dripped down his arm. "I have a bad feeling. Let's get out of here quickly. If we stay any longer, something might go wrong."

The clouds in the sky grew increasingly gloomy.

Just then, the traffic lights changed, and the blocked road became clear. The car carrying the reincarnators chose a direction and drove off. They were fast, disappearing into the street a few seconds later.

And it was precisely for this reason that when a gust of cold wind swept past where the car had been parked, a newspaper that should have been carried by the wind to the car window failed to reach its destination—it fell into a puddle, quickly became wet and torn, leaving only a line of large English headlines gradually blurring in the water.

—Artificial rainmaking will be carried out in the city at 3 PM today.

Section 8. Once you've mastered operations... what? Deathmatch mode?

The location Xiao Honglu chose was a detached villa on the edge of the city's greenbelt—it was surrounded by a wide open space, with the nearest residential building several hundred meters away, and there was also a small grove of trees outside the villa that could partially obscure the view. In this modern city filled with reinforced concrete, it was like a paradise.

The villa's owner had been hypnotized by Saito and taken on vacation to Hawaii, and the cars had already been disposed of. As the group settled into the villa, the delayed downpour finally began, accompanied by thunder, and the world was instantly shrouded in a white mist.

A violent storm raged, with thunder and lightning.

People's vigilance is heightened at this time because the intensely oppressive external environment stimulates instincts latent in the human genome, amplifying the will to survive as much as possible.

And it is precisely for this reason...

“Now is the least likely time for Death to make a move. If Death wants to make a move, it will definitely choose the moment when we are most relaxed,” Xiao Honglu said, as he surveyed the hall and watched Zheng Zha, who was standing in the center of the hall, assigning tasks to the others.

Although they'd only be staying one night, the necessary preparations still needed to be complete—naturally, the people here wouldn't be like the idiotic protagonists in horror movies, splitting up and courting death—they decided to place the hypnotized characters in the lobby on the first floor, where they would be jointly guarded by newcomers and several veterans. The remaining veterans would set up the defenses, gather intelligence, and prepare for any potential attacks from the Grim Reaper.

Alice and Patchouli were in charge of setting up the position. Reconnaissance, vigilance, and intelligence gathering were assigned to Zhao Yingkong and Zero.

Xiao Honglu naturally waited for the results in the lobby on the first floor.

He could sense the flow of energy in the air—some was electricity, some heat, and many other strange energies he couldn't identify. These energies formed a complex cycle that completely encompassed the entire villa. Something like a surveillance network had seeped into every corner of the villa, ensuring there were no blind spots.

Then, the unease that had been lingering in everyone's hearts dissipated somewhat.

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

"Patch, do you think their verification will succeed?" Alice sat on the top floor of the villa, staring blankly at the many surgical windows pieced together by optical signals. "I hope their guess is correct, but I also think they will fail. Thinking about it... it's quite contradictory."

She rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the few windows where people were gathered. Her gaze lingered longest on the first-floor lobby—where all the hypnotized characters were asleep. Saito had directly controlled their brains into a deep sleep where they wouldn't even dream. This way, unexpected factors could be minimized.

In the original story, the protagonists' deaths often stem from their own negligence. According to Xiao Honglu, this is 'a violation of order'. So, if these people do nothing and don't violate any order, will Death forcefully arrange an accident to kill them?

After all, according to the original novel, Claire, a character in the first Final Destination movie, survived for several months in an ordinary sanatorium. It wasn't until the protagonist of the second movie lured her out of the sanatorium that she died. This shows that Death's abilities are limited… Although the cycle of reincarnation often doesn't follow common sense, if this plan can be proven, then the entire team surviving twelve days safely would be a piece of cake.

However, this should only be a wishful thinking; the Supreme God wouldn't set up such a low-difficulty A-level mission. Xiao Honglu asked Saito to hypnotize the characters in the plot, but his main goal was actually to keep them out of the way. After all, in horror movies, as long as the protagonists don't do anything reckless, they're unlikely to die. And if it weren't for the fact that the current atmosphere in the Central Plains team wasn't suitable for targeting newcomers, Xiao Honglu even planned to hypnotize all the newcomers, letting them sleep for twelve days straight and return directly to the Supreme God's space.

One bad teammate can cause more trouble than a group of monsters, and unfortunately, at least half of these newcomers are not very reliable.

It seems highly improbable, at least from the outside.

Patchouli gently pressed her shoulder, examining Alice for any possible oversights as she replied, "It's just a very common emotion. You're being too anxious, Alice. Thinking the worst and preparing for the worst is a magician's survival strategy. Have you forgotten that so quickly?"

“I haven’t forgotten, it’s just… I’m still a little worried.” Alice shook her head slightly. “In this horror movie, I have to minimize my presence as much as possible, so there’s not much I can do. If I did things my way, I would already be… well, never mind, there’s no need.” She leaned back, her head resting comfortably on Patchouli’s lower abdomen—a very comfortable position that made her groan softly.

“This world is a bit strange. Although it doesn’t seem to be that difficult... at most, it’s a nuclear war, or maybe an asteroid will fall. If we encounter something like that, all we need to do is open the Great Library and hide inside to solve the problem.”

"After all, the Great Library has been built and developed over so many years, and it has long been integrated with us, not much different from a part of our bodies. If Death can directly interfere with the internal circulation of our bodies, then we are destined to be a group of dead people, and nothing we do will help."

"Death shouldn't be able to directly control our bodies, but I don't think it's as simple as I expected. There's something... I can't quite grasp that exists in this world. That feeling... is similar to something in the world of Ju-on. But it's also somewhat different."

"So what do you plan to do, Alice?"

"Let's follow the standard procedure." Alice snapped her fingers, and the Shanghai doll in the shadows floated to her side. A faint flash of electricity appeared, and it connected to the electronic network of this world.

"First, hack into the network, then build up military force and prepare the legion. When the time is right... then prepare the appropriate ceremony as needed. However, I suspect this project might get stuck in the second part, after all, it's the Final Destination universe. Building up local military force might encounter problems."

She felt Patchouli's hand on her shoulder suddenly stop.

“Well, Alice. Actually, I created a robot army using the local industrial system in the Ju-on world. I think it might come in handy.” Patchouli hesitated for a moment, but still spoke up.

"It's just... the quantity might be a bit too much."

Section 9: Before the First Night

Zheng Zha pushed open the door to the second floor and entered the side hall, his gaze sweeping over Saito Ichiro, who was sitting on the sofa reading a newspaper. He was about to speak when he noticed the sofa directly opposite Saito Ichiro suddenly tilt at about thirty degrees without him noticing, making it easier for him to walk over and sit down. The kettle and water glasses on the coffee table between the two sofas also floated up automatically, pouring out two glasses of water at a comfortable temperature.

Saito picked up one of the glasses and made a 'please' gesture.

“You really know how to use your abilities, much better than me.” Zheng Zha’s facial muscles twitched slightly, then he walked straight to the sofa opposite Saito and sat down. He raised his water glass and drank it all in one gulp, the slightly warm liquid immediately soothing his throat.

Saito Hajime continued reading the newspaper.

"Hey, do you have a moment? I'd like to talk to you." Zheng Zha glanced at the newspaper in Saito's hand, then lost interest after realizing it was just an ordinary daily newspaper. "...What are you looking at?"

"It's nothing, just the weather forecast." Saito turned his head, folded the newspaper, and put it aside. He gently pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and looked at Zheng Zha with a questioning gaze.

"What do you want to talk about? Personal matters or business?"

"...Both, I suppose."

“Then it’s a private matter. Wait a moment.” Saito nodded, then glanced at the ceiling. Something invisible seemed to flicker in the air, and certain channels of communication were immediately severed—he looked at Zheng Zha again. “Alright, now there’s no need to worry about leaks. No sound or image will escape from here during the rest of the conversation. After all, this villa only has four floors. Although it’s raining outside, you should know that many people here have very sharp ears.”

"Actually, it's not that necessary to keep it a secret..."

“It’s absolutely necessary,” Saito Hajime replied. “You asked, I answered. I said, you listened. These things aren’t really suitable to be passed out from here. It’s not good for harmony.”

“Harmony?” Zheng Zha recalled the definition of 'harmony' in his mind. “We’re not at odds, so we probably don’t need this… Okay, it’s no big deal.”

"I mainly wanted to ask what your opinion is of Margot Lloyd and that Miss Patchouli. The two of them... make me feel a little uneasy."

Do you think there's something wrong with them?

“…No, that’s not what I meant. Margot is a teammate I can fight alongside, and although I haven’t seen Miss Patchouli fight yet, I’m sure her abilities and character are trustworthy.” Zheng Zha scratched his head, and finally sighed helplessly, his whole demeanor looking somewhat dejected. “I’m just wondering if I’m up to the job of captain.”

"Leaving aside planning and deployment, even in terms of direct combat ability, I can only have a slight chance against Margot Lloyd by launching surprise attacks in confined terrain. And apart from that, even my ability to mobilize resources and command forces is..." He shook his head with a wry smile: "Although Margot Lloyd didn't tell me in detail about what happened in her real world, I can roughly guess from those few words. That vastness, that epic scale... I am ashamed of myself."

"To be honest, I'm not really angry about her manipulating memories and creating illusions in the Ju-on world. As far as I know, the others aren't really angry either. Everyone is quite convinced of her abilities. The only reason they show dissatisfaction is because she is clearly qualified to take on the responsibility of the captain, but she deliberately refuses it."

He looked at his hands, exhaled softly, and a vortex of power, mixed with demonic blood energy and innate true qi, quietly appeared in his palm.

“I feel I’m a terrible captain. Strength, intelligence, decisiveness… I’m not top-notch at any of them. The only reason I’m in this position is because Margot Lloyd wants me to take on this responsibility. I can even sense that she’s trying to erase her own presence, to make herself a mere foil. But…”

“I’m very distressed. I…can’t understand Margot Royd.”

After saying this, he seemed to have a heavy burden lifted from his heart, and he felt much lighter. He looked at Saito Hajime and asked sincerely, "I know that asking the person directly is the simplest and most appropriate way when you encounter something like this. But I still feel that I need some advice before that."

"Can you give me some advice, Saito Hajime?"

"A suggestion." Saito Hajime spread his ten fingers, then overlapped them, forming a triangular tower in front of him. "Why are you asking me for advice? I'm just a newcomer to Ju-on. You should go to Zhan Lan, Zero, or even Xiao Honglu if all else fails. But why me?"