Only after entering the Samsara World did his understanding begin to gradually change, and it wasn't until he died and was resurrected, completely shattering his inner demons, that he finally understood why the "Main God" chose failures from the real world to enter the Samsara World—precisely because failure was necessary.

This was the same logic as Chu Xuan's background. If a perfectly flawless person were placed in a world of desperate struggle where failure and death were constant possibilities, they might not possess the courage to rise again. One failure could lead to total annihilation. Take the moment the Central Continent team was down to just one member during Resident Evil 2; an ordinary person would never have the spirit to fight on. Only those who continually face failure, or have endured many defeats, can bear the bitterness of falling and then claw their way back up, step by painstaking step.

Therefore, those entering the horror movie worlds were basically people numb to reality, or those on the brink of despair. Each person had their own story, and however tragic that story, it ironically became the driving force for their strengthening—Zheng Zha, Chu Xuan, and so on. Zheng Zha first entered Zhan Lan’s consciousness world. This time, the device Chu Xuan built was far more advanced than the previous one modeled after Zhao Yingkong; not only did it exist within this world like a soul, but he could also actively absorb the memories of the consciousness world’s owner.

Even emotions hidden deep within the memories could be perfectly felt. How to describe this sensation? It was profoundly strange.

Zhan Lan's consciousness world was not a complete or coherent world; in this regard, it was far inferior to Zhao Yingkong’s world, which spoke volumes.

Chu Xuan's purported level of unlocking the Gene Lock was indeed correlated with the strength of one's consciousness, and this applied even to controllers of psychic power.

This was a bizarre world, reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, a place utterly devoid of rules. One second, Zheng Zha might be standing in a modern metropolis, watching Zhan Lan go shopping; the next, he could be flung into a horror movie setting from the Samsara World, watching monsters roar. In this lawless domain, he searched for rules, reliving every experience Zhan Lan had endured.

Watching her laugh, watching her cry… Zhan Lan was just an ordinary girl who had a period of innocent first love.

Then, she innocently lost that first love. Following that, like all ordinary girls, she went through school, growing up, slowly becoming more and more beautiful, until she met him—a genuinely good man.

And then she fell in love again. No, a true love.

He really was a good man.

Responsible, compassionate, loving, and remarkably brave. In this mundane world, men like him were exceedingly rare. Such men either became commonplace amidst worldly affairs and wealth, were corrupted by society and slowly turned bad, or they were simply incompatible with the world.

They died, or were constantly oppressed until they utterly sank or degraded. Good people are taken advantage of, just as a gentle horse is ridden hard; this saying was not without reason.

Of course, judging by Zheng Zha’s memory, there was a comedy he once watched that stated corrupt officials are deceitful, so upright officials must be even more cunning. By the same logic, if you wish to be a good person, you must be more powerful than the wicked—whether in wisdom, wealth, or even face-to-face physical combat ability. Only then can one preserve their inherent goodness. And this man was precisely such a person: intelligent, sharp, diligent. Though not yet wealthy due to his youth, extrapolating from his current performance suggested his future was limitless.

Their meeting, their courtship, and their deep love—both were kind souls who shared the same hopes and faith in romance. Thus, they loved each other profoundly, and their future promised to be fantastically happy. Had it not been for that accident, their future truly would have been as beautifully fairy-tale-like and promising as could be imagined.

But he died… Zheng Zha sighed, quietly opening his eyes. He had awakened from Zhan Lan’s consciousness space. The apparatus Chu Xuan had built this time was truly effective; it utilized cultivation-world technology, allowing Zheng Zha to withdraw from the consciousness space easily. Of course, this was only possible because he had already brought Zhan Lan up from the lower levels of her consciousness.

"Awake?" As Zheng Zha sat up in bed, a man nearby eating an apple spoke. This man was Chu Xuan.

"Obviously, I’m awake. Did you think I was sleepwalking?" Zheng Zha retorted gruffly. As he spoke, he threw off the blanket, stood up, and began to meticulously survey his surroundings.

The place where he had slept was still a ship's cabin, but it looked significantly larger than the cabin on the fishing boat. The bunks were arranged in rows of uppers and lowers. This was definitely not that small fishing boat. If his guess was correct, he was currently aboard a warship.

"How long was I asleep?" Zheng Zha asked, rubbing his temples.

"Until we left Pearl Harbor, you were asleep for a full day and night."

Chu Xuan closed the file he held, then continued speaking while taking another bite of his apple.

“…Although asking this question now feels a bit odd, don't you think your apple-eating frequency has increased dramatically lately?” Zheng Zha asked, not bothering to hide his irritation.

"Ah, the implantation of the 'Eyes' caused a massive drain on bodily energy. Even when inactive, the energy consumption rate is more than five times that of an ordinary person jogging. Therefore, I require substantial intake to compensate for this deficiency. These apples are a new strain I cultivated using genetic modification techniques in the Main God Space. They contain high-calorie transgenic fructose; the caloric content of one apple exceeds that obtained by an ordinary person eating a lavish meat-and-fish meal. Furthermore, the 'Eyes' also have an energy storage function, so eating more apples generally aids in energy reserves…" Chu Xuan explained casually.

"Dexter, you’ve really 'evolved' too," Zheng Zha muttered, rubbing his temples again, feeling a headache coming on at how much this fellow Chu Xuan was starting to resemble that character.

After a long moment, he finally asked, "Were there any casualties during the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor?"

"No…" Chu Xuan replied while turning his gaze away.

"Hey, you’re being too evasive! You just averted your eyes…" It turned out the Central Continent team had indeed raided Pearl Harbor. Even without Zheng Zha's combat support, the remaining members of the Central Continent team possessed formidable strength. Under a sudden assault, they could wipe out an entire legion or fleet within ten minutes, and that was without deploying the Demon Energy Cannon. Aside from close combat and individual fighting prowess, Wang Xia’s bomb mastery skill was perfectly suited for such battlefields. As for the others, Zhang Heng’s arrow volley alone could instantly kill tens of thousands. Ling Dian’s Gauss sniper rifle could pierce the hull of a battleship. Even if the others hadn't contributed, these few alone would have been more than enough.

After a show of intimidation and might, coupled with Wang Xia detonating several micro-nuclear bombs, they successfully coerced a hundred or so US Navy personnel, along with a high-speed destroyer, and departed Pearl Harbor heading for the Diaoyu Islands.

"That's the general situation; everything went smoothly."

"Smoothly my foot! What was the meaning of firing a Demon Energy Cannon toward Midway Atoll?" As soon as Zheng Zha woke up, the team members had gathered as usual to discuss the next course of action. Upon hearing Chu Xuan's handling of the situation, Zheng Zha immediately exploded in anger.

Because behind this destroyer, at least three aircraft carrier battle groups were in pursuit. Ahead, the navies of Japan, South Korea, and several other nations were lying in wait to intercept. In essence, this destroyer had become a public enemy to most of the world's major powers.

Before Chu Xuan could respond, Xiao Honglu spoke up first: "Relax, relax, Chu Xuan was right this time; this is merely the beginning of the layout. Since there's a chance we can’t catch the East Sea team, we must force them to slow down and wait for us. That's precisely why we needed to utilize those countries' fleets. Moreover, this destroyer is equipped with a scrambler made by Chu Xuan; those fleets can't detect us unless they are face-to-face with us. We'll continuously monitor their communications, and when we finally detect the East Sea team's whereabouts, that will be the moment we launch our coordinated team assault!"

Zheng Zha actually understood that Chu Xuan's actions were justifiable, and given his personality, he would certainly do this. First, use overwhelming power to intimidate the US Navy at Pearl Harbor, while simultaneously revealing some power or weaponry beyond ordinary human comprehension. Afterward, deploying the Demon Energy Cannon could not only coerce the US Navy personnel into piloting the destroyer away with them but also ignite the greed of all nations, prompting them to dispatch their navies to intercept ahead of time, thus effectively trapping the East Sea team.

"But it was still too risky. Setting aside the naval forces, how do we deal with aircraft and missiles?" Zheng Zha grasped these details instantly; after all, this was what they always did: strategize with intellect, overcome complexity with force. However, no matter what, this operation was too dangerous. If their position were discovered by the US and these other nations, they would face a massive barrage of aircraft and missiles. In this boundless ocean, even Zheng Zha couldn't withstand such concentrated, high-powered attacks. Therefore, the Central Continent team was likely to suffer casualties—heavy casualties. This was why Zheng Zha said Chu Xuan and the others had taken too great a risk.

"Aircraft and missiles?" Apart from Zheng Zha and Chu Xuan, the others all displayed an odd, half-smile expression. If one needed to describe it accurately, it would be a "bitter smile."

Perplexed, Zheng Zha was led out of the cabin. The world outside was pitch dark. Although it was neither night nor dusk, visibility was poor, unable to see ten meters ahead. Torrential rain poured from the sky, and monstrous waves threatened to swamp the destroyer. Looking up at the continuous purple lightning bolts, in such a perfect storm, anyone who dared to take to the air was doomed. Moreover, guided missiles could not penetrate the thunderclouds in this weather. Thus, as long as this perfect storm persisted, the only entities capable of discovering and attacking the destroyer would be ships sailing on the sea.

"Alright, let's set those immediate threats aside for now. Now, let’s discuss how to deal with the East Sea team," Zheng Zha said, retreating from the deck back into the conference room, letting out a breath.

Chu Xuan, however, abruptly interrupted him: "The method for dealing with the East Sea team can wait… The consciousness space. Tell me about Zhan Lan’s consciousness space."