The perpetually silent Chu Xuan suddenly spoke, simultaneously withdrawing a small sphere from his spatial bag. He pressed the small sphere a few times, and a brilliant light immediately shot out from one of its apertures. This light illuminated the interior walls of the aircraft, instantly projecting a holographic scene into the air.

"Xiao Dingdang... when did you make this thing? Uh, I'll hold off on questioning the creation of this device for now; I'm used to it by now... but can you tell me why the image is showing the scene above the White House?" Zheng Zha scratched his head, asking with a familiarity born of habituation.

"The instant teleportation and hovering function of the Yellow Turban Warrior, and then upon it... Chu Xuan murmured, staring at the image.

"No need to say more, I already know what's going on. Let's watch the movie, Xiao Dingdang..." This conversational pattern was thoroughly familiar to the veteran members of the Central Continent Team, though the newcomers still exhibited amazement. However, everyone's attention was fixated on the scene unfolding in mid-air. After all, the ceaseless opening of the fortress's cannon muzzles shown in the projection was incredibly spectacular. The massive lower section of the fortress began to slowly part.

A deep sapphire glow emanated from within, appearing profoundly beautiful and deep, yet as is often the case with beauty, it was lethally potent. This deep blue light represented far more than mere fatality.

It was the color of annihilation... As everyone watched, the deep blue aperture opened wider and wider. Then, inside the fortress, two beams of light—one black and one white—began to spin and cycle continuously. The two beams collided at the muzzle, and upon impact, they erupted into an indescribable spectrum of myriad colors. In an instant, this radiantly colorful beam violently blasted toward the ground... "Magic Drive Cannon!" Those who had witnessed the firing sequence of the Magic Drive Cannon—Wang Xia and the others—all sprang to their feet, crying out in utter horror. In the next second,

Zhang Heng, snapping back to reality, roared, "That's a Magic Drive Cannon! It's completely different from the plot... Zheng Zha, it's still dangerous here! Extremely dangerous!" Zhang Heng and the others had personally witnessed the destructive power of the Magic Drive Cannon; it was absolutely a world-level weapon capable of shattering heaven and earth.

Looking at the beam from the fortress's Magic Drive Cannon, the combination of black and white colors—representing True Essence Power and Demonic Energy—was clearly not as condensed as the one they had fired in The Mummy movie. This was because Chu Xuan had utilized the energy conversion properties of the One Ring. However, the thickness of this beam was in a completely different league.

The Magic Drive Cannon beam in The Mummy was, at most, one-hundredth the width of the beam fired by this main cannon. If the power difference was also a hundredfold... why would they need so many aerial fortresses? One shot could wipe out an entire continent.

No matter how fast or high they flew, they would never escape; they were certainly doomed! "Damn it... Are you kidding me? A Magic Drive Cannon... the one capable of sinking Tokyo in a single blast?" Zheng Zha also shot up, roaring back in absolute terror.

Zhang Heng hesitated for a moment, and Zero Point immediately interjected, "The beam doesn't look as condensed, but the appearance and firing pattern... it truly is a Magic Drive Cannon..." As he spoke, the explosive shockwave from the beam resonated up from the deep earth. With a thunderous roar, a colossal mushroom cloud, hundreds of meters high, erupted where the beam struck, and the shockwave frantically spilled outwards in all directions.

The first few skyscrapers in its path vanished into fine dust instantaneously, before the shockwave even reached them. The shockwave traveled so swiftly that it crossed one-tenth of the urban area of Washington in an instant. At this speed, it would catch up to the aircraft in barely twenty seconds, tearing it to shreds.

For a moment, nobody could process what happened. Those who did react were pale with fright. The shockwave’s speed was so immense that the speed of sound couldn't keep up. In mere seconds, most of Washington was utterly pulverized into powder. It was only then that Zheng Zha sharply regained his senses. Casting aside all else, he could only bellow, "Everyone, fasten your seatbelts tightly and hold on!" Then, Zheng Zha kicked off the floor and bolted toward the tail of the aircraft. As he ran, he began constantly unlocking his Gene Locks. By the time he reached the tail, he had only just broken through the second stage and entered the third. There was no time to slowly ascend to the fourth stage. In the third-stage state, he slammed a kick into the tail wall of the aircraft. With a shriek of tearing steel, Zheng Zha shot straight out through the breach.

Outside the plane, suspended in mid-air, Zheng Zha plummeted downwards instantly, dropping dozens of meters. It was only then that he transitioned from the third stage to the fourth. His body froze momentarily in mid-air, then began to expand. Two draconic wings burst forth from his back. With a powerful flap of his wings in the air, while simultaneously employing "Moonwalk" and "Shave" with his feet, he propelled himself towards Space One at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

"Explode!" As Zheng Zha neared the tail of Air Force One, he had intended to use his "Destruction" state. But the sheer power of that technique was too terrifying; it could easily pierce the massive steel plating of an aircraft carrier, let alone a mere airplane. If his true goal was to propel the aircraft forward, "Explode" was the maximum force he could safely unleash! Zheng Zha reached the tail and delivered a ferocious kick. Though this kick appeared savage and carried enormous inherent power, it was delivered using precise leverage. Under the fine control of his "Subtlety" technique, the force of this single kick was evenly distributed across the entire plane.

A kick hundreds of times more powerful than the one that broke open the wall only managed to cause a slight indentation in the steel surface. However, utilizing this impetus, the aircraft violently accelerated forward.

Thus, Zheng Zha continued kicking madly behind the plane, and the aircraft's speed increased relentlessly. When it reached a velocity comparable to his "Explode" state, the entire plane began to emit a hissing sound. The material of the aircraft could barely withstand such rapid acceleration. Inside, the passengers were crushed against their seats, unable to move. Gradually, ordinary people began bleeding from their noses and ears; their limits of endurance were fast approaching.

Zheng Zha clearly felt the violent shuddering of the aircraft.

The Subtlety Realm allowed him to not only control his own strength but also perceive the most minute changes in the surrounding environment. Some external panels and internal components of this aircraft were on the verge of disintegration and collapse.

If this continued, without even needing the impact of the shockwave, the aircraft would certainly be destroyed by his own efforts.

(—I have done all I can. The rest must be left to fate’s decision...) Zheng Zha sighed, halting his kicking. He did not fly back into the plane. Instead, he flapped his wings and ascended to the top deck of the aircraft, then turned to face the boundless shockwave behind him.

The alien fortress in Independence Day, its original plot altered.

Its main cannon’s power was more than ten times that of the original narrative, its destructive capability already surpassing an atomic bomb, comparable even to a hydrogen bomb. Although it was confirmed that its power was significantly less than the Magic Drive Cannon possessed by Zheng Zha and his team, it was still a horrifying degree of terror. The approaching shockwave alone encompassed the entirety of Washington. Viewed from a distance,

It resembled a monstrous beast from the apocalypse, its savage teeth fully exposed... The speed of the approaching shockwave gradually slowed. Through the turbulent air, the resulting mushroom cloud and rising dust could be seen. From afar, the entirety of Washington appeared to have been utterly wiped from the Earth by that single blast. Beneath where the beam struck, a pit thousands of meters deep had formed. An area of land several times the size of Washington was leveled completely by the shockwave. However, as the wave traveled this far, its energy waned. By the time the aircraft coasted forward at high speed from inertia before slowly returning to its normal velocity, the shockwave was reduced to a mere rushing wind, carrying fine sand and grit that made Zheng Zha’s skin itch. The exterior hull of the plane emitted a faint, brushing sound... "We're safe... We almost died right there."

Zheng Zha re-entered the aircraft cabin. The interior was in chaos and disarray, people running everywhere. The extreme acceleration had caused several elderly government officials to go into shock or faint. Fortunately, there were no fatalities. Air Force One, being the US President's transport, was well-equipped and staffed. These cases of shock and unconsciousness were quickly treated. It was only now that the President recalled the individuals who had saved them, and the method of salvation sounded utterly unbelievable.

While the Americans were busy, Zheng Zha had gathered the Central Continent Team members for a quiet discussion. Their topic centered on the relationship between the Magic Drive Cannon and the main cannon of the alien fortress. Previously, the team had not been overly concerned about this horror movie world. They had endured so many perilous junctures and terrifying worlds; a plot-based film like Independence Day shouldn't pose much of a worry. But this single blast shattered every lingering trace of their casual attitude.

"...Regardless, our next objective remains unchanged: we will accompany the US government delegation to Area 51 and use the captured UFO to infiltrate the alien headquarters. We don't need to worry about the subsequent battle for now..." Zheng Zha turned to Chu Xuan, "Chu Xuan, I need your input on this."

Chu Xuan was replaying the recorded cannon strike footage repeatedly. He looked up upon hearing Zheng Zha and said, "Many clues are still incomplete. I currently have two major questions. First, to what degree has the plot of this horror movie been altered? Is it just the main cannon's power that has been magnified? Are there a series of other changes? This is the first question, which pertains to the various reactions we might need to make, such as whether we should still proceed to Area 51 as originally planned... Setting those aside for a moment, my second question is..." "If we are the protagonists, meaning we side with humanity. Then where does the danger for the opposing faction, the West Sea Team who sides with the aliens, stem from in this horror movie? If one faction knows the original movie plot and possesses alien technology and absolute military might, they become invincible in this film. With no danger and no responsibility, all they have to do is wait for us to deliver ourselves to them, kill us to gain reward points and side plots..." Chu Xuan paused here, adjusted his glasses, and then continued, "Perhaps their point of danger lies in... If this is the case, then perhaps the 'Main God's' objective might be... But if that is true, then our assumptions regarding the final battle will be severely contradicted, and the 'Main God's' true intention might be..." While Chu Xuan was speaking, Zheng Zha had already activated the third stage of his Gene Lock. He listened to Chu Xuan while constantly thinking, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't keep pace with the leaps in Chu Xuan’s thought process. He could barely grasp the latter part of what was said.

Zheng Zha finally couldn't help but ask, "Hey, say it clearly! What have you figured out? What have you understood? Why can one detail in this horror movie lead you to contemplate the 'Main God's' objective? And how does that relate to the final battle? For God's sake, if I’m going to die, I want to die knowing why!" This time, Chu Xuan didn't deliberately make it difficult for him.

The man put away the image player and then stated flatly, "The 'Main God' would never arrange for a team to enter a horror movie world just to amuse themselves, like casually obtaining reward points and side plots. Such a thing is out of the question. But based on the current situation, the West Sea Team is likely to be exactly that kind of existence. They face virtually no danger near the alien headquarters. If, according to the original plot, two people flew a UFO to the alien HQ, the West Sea Team, being intimately familiar with the plot, would have countless ways to destroy that UFO. Thus, they stand at the pinnacle of guaranteed victory. Against this backdrop, where lies their danger in this horror movie? If the 'Main God' hasn't encountered a BUG, there can only be one possibility: the three-day survival condition. Their condition for returning to the 'Main God' space must also be surviving three days. Although they are near the alien headquarters, they have absolutely no way to influence or control the aliens. Therefore, following the plot’s progression, they can only watch helplessly as the nuclear weapon detonates at the alien headquarters, and that time limit is certainly within three days. That is where their peril lies."

Zheng Zha and everyone around him listened, stunned. Zheng Zha pulled out a strand of hair from his forehead. After thinking for a long time, he said, "You mean they either survive most of the time safely, then watch helplessly as the nuclear missile reaches the alien HQ, dying powerless within the three-day limit; or they try to change things by influencing the aliens, perhaps by seizing a UFO to escape the headquarters. But from that moment on, they will be considered enemies by the aliens, and the aliens will launch an attack against them?"

"Precisely," Chu Xuan snapped his fingers. "There can be no completely invincible team, nor a completely invincible 'momentum' []... But if this deduction holds, the 'Main God' likely intends for our two teams to join forces. They possess the 'momentum' derived from memorizing the layout, crucial locations, etc., of the alien headquarters, along with the UFO seized from the aliens. We, meanwhile, possess formidable combat power, superior to the West Sea Team’s military might. The 'Main God's' intent is likely for both sides to unite to defeat the aliens—that is the true purpose of this horror movie world."

Zheng Zha froze at this, his expression slowly turning grim. "You mean our Central Continent Team will have to fight side-by-side with these 'farmers'?"

"No." Chu Xuan shook his head again. "That contradicts our initial objective. Even doing so would increase our confidence in dealing with the aliens and completing this horror movie world, we absolutely cannot risk such an attempt for the sake of their spiritual power controller. My point is, if this deduction is correct, then the 'Main God's' intention for our two teams to unite is deeply intriguing... Is the 'Main God' supporting the Angel Alliance? Is it planning to have the majority of reincarnation teams form an alliance to curb your clone? Or perhaps... has your clone grown to a point where it threatens the 'Main God' itself?"

This line of reasoning could only proceed so far. Chu Xuan was a man, not a god. Even for him, given the current volume of information, this deduction was the conclusion. Unless more concrete information emerged, the correctness of this inference remained questionable.

(But I feel this deduction is likely correct. After all, the West Sea Team captain openly stated that my clone might have developed a technique capable of bypassing the 'Main God' to control members of other reincarnation squads. If that is the case, my clone is equivalent to possessing half the 'Main God's' authority...) Zheng Zha sighed silently. He closed his eyes, meticulously recalling the battle with his clone in the 'Main God' space. The clone from that time, fighting the current him, was still at a decisive disadvantage...

(Someone like that... my clone has grown to such a horrifying extent. Can I truly catch up to him? No, simply catching up is... Can I truly surpass him? He, having endured those experiences, the devil he has become in his heart... Can I surpass him?)

Regardless of Zheng Zha's internal struggle, the aircraft continued its flight. Aboard Air Force One, the US President and government officials were already planning a counterattack against the alien fortress. The American air force was assembling, but, ignorant of the plot, they had no idea this counterattack would be futile; the human military forces would be utterly routed...

The plane flew onward. As time passed, the night deepened...