Defeat the Enemy of Destiny! "But how do we get back?" This must have been the question on the minds of the rest of the Central Continent team, except for Chu Xuan and Xiao Honglü. None of the others knew how to return to the laboratory from Resident Evil 1, not even the two who had previously experienced that horror movie world. The pair who had some clue remained silent, lost in thought since Chu Xuan had asked Xiao Honglü a few questions earlier, leaving them both staring blankly.

"You two, what on earth are you two doing? Playing charades? We've been walking for four or five hours. Just how big is this desert? Don't tell me we have to walk for a month before we see civilization. Damn it, I wish two or three zombies would show up!" Cheng Xiao grew increasingly restless as he walked, finally unable to hold back and shouting loudly.

No sooner had his voice faded than a large, ominous cloud mass drifted over from the distant horizon, accompanied by a faint, humming sound.

"Crows?" The advantage of mental scanning was that every detail of the battlefield was crystal clear. For mental power, there were no blind spots; even areas invisible to the naked eye were perfectly mapped in the mind, just as if seeing them face-to-face. That dark mass turned out to be tens of thousands of crows gathered together; their sheer number made them look like a solid black expanse.

A concentration of crows this vast was no longer an aggregation of individual birds, but a hive mind, similar to bees or ants... and a terrifying one at that.

"Aren't you bored? They're all yours."

Zheng Zha clapped Cheng Xiao on the shoulder and, acting as if nothing was amiss, turned and continued walking. For team members who had only recently entered the survival world, or for weaker survival teams, such a sight would be deadly—requiring at least one death to escape. But for the Central Continent team, which had reached a certain level of power, these crows were hardly worth a fuss. Never mind anything else, Wang Xia's bombs alone could easily sweep them away.

Cheng Xiao blinked.

He quickly called out, "Come on, man! My Nanto Suichō Fist is devastating in close-quarters, one-on-one combat, but dealing with this many crows... Do you want me to collapse from exhaustion?" Zheng Zha didn't answer.

He just chuckled. As the crows drew nearer, Imhotep finally couldn't stand it any longer. He released Anck-Su-Namun's hand, which he had been gripping, and stepped straight to the front of the group.

He took a deep breath, and the sand on the ground immediately gathered in front of him, the grains seeming to come alive. They continuously moved and piled up into a colossal face, an enlarged version of Imhotep's bald head. It lacked any sense of handsomeness, instead conveying a terrifying grimace. This massive sand head sucked in the air, then exhaled, sending a vast wave of sand soaring hundreds of meters into the sky, completely engulfing the dive-bombing flock of crows. In the space of just a few seconds, the entire black mass of crows vanished. In the resulting mound of sand, numerous desiccated crow carcasses remained.

"In the desert, I can exert my full strength. If there were a structure like a temple nearby, I could even summon a Sphinx." Imhotep exhaled and smiled at the others.

"...No temple here, but what about a church? Could I summon a Sphinx there?" Overlord asked suddenly, curiosity piqued, while pointing toward a direction in the distance. Scanning with his mental power, he confirmed the presence of a semi-ruined church, surrounded by the remnants of other buildings. This must have been a small village once.

"Huh? There are people?" Zhan Lan focused her mental scan, meticulously searching the area around the church. In the cellar beneath the church sat seven or eight people, and others were located in the basements of separate houses. Judging by their ragged clothing and packed bags, they didn't seem to be residents of this town.

"Let's go ask them where we are... and maybe we can pick up a satellite signal tonight."

The Central Continent team carried enough Green Goblin Gliders that they didn't need to travel on foot. However, the miniature satellite Chu Xuan launched didn't possess the full functionality of a real one, such as maintaining a fixed low-Earth orbit and rotating with the planet. Once launched into outer space and completing one orbit around the Earth, this small satellite would drift out of low-Earth orbit. This meant that twelve hours later, it would fly over this area, and if the Central Continent team flew too far using the gliders, they would miss the signal window, and the satellite would be uselessly far off course.

"That may be true... but shouldn't a satellite signal cover a vast range? Even if we fly for a while, we shouldn't escape the signal radius, right?" Faced with the team's collective confusion, Chu Xuan merely glanced at them without answering. Instead, Xiao Honglü sighed, "There’s no point asking that question. How big is that miniature satellite? Calling it 'miniature' is generous; it's practically a micro-satellite. How much functionality can such a tiny device possess? The fact that it can even fly is astonishing enough—are you expecting it to have a high-powered transmission device like a real satellite? Don't joke. Just getting the signal back is a miracle!" The others considered this; a device that could be held in one's hand truly couldn't possess the complex features of a genuine satellite. In that regard, Chu Xuan's technological prowess hadn't entirely defied common sense, even if it was already quite exaggerated; his evolutionary path was still far from that of a true genius.

The other group of people nearby watched them with curiosity. These were survivors hiding in the ruins. According to them, they had arrived at this ruined town two days prior. They had lost many people during a crow attack and planned to wait for the flocks to pass before heading south. This location was close to the southern border of the United States, beyond which lay less developed Third World countries.

"...Maybe those countries haven't been infected by the virus." That was their exact sentiment. Perhaps in the eyes of those born in developed nations, any Third World country was sparsely populated or entirely rural. Fueled by this notion, many survivors of the biopocalypse began fleeing to these nations... bringing the bio-virus with them. Perhaps they weren't the source of the infection, but with such mass migrations, the scenario of Resident Evil eventually unfolded across the globe.

These refugees, trying to escape the US, were extremely curious about the Central Continent team, not just because of their composure, but because they weren't carrying weapons. Not even a handgun. Who knew where they came from, daring to enter a town without arms, and with women and children among them—most of them East Asian. Were they refugees who had entered from a Third World country?

A man stepped forward from the group of refugees, a sturdy Caucasian in his thirties. He approached the Central Continent team's campfire. "Excuse me, did you come from Mexico? What is the situation like over there now?" Seeing the man's polite approach, Zheng Zha replied courteously, "We didn't come from Mexico... Is this the southern US border? Do you know the approximate location?"

The sturdy Caucasian man paused. "We gathered people from near San Antonio. That city is completely overrun with zombies and monsters now. We can't go east or north at all. If we stay longer, we won't find food, so we planned to try heading to Mexico... Where are you folks from?"

"San Antonio?" Zheng Zha was unfamiliar with the US geography, so he looked toward Chu Xuan and Xiao Honglü. Since Chu Xuan was busy calibrating his satellite receiver, Xiao Honglü spoke up after a moment's thought. "We came by boat. We were previously living on a small island in the Gulf of Mexico, but the virus broke out there too, so we had to sail to the US... Who knew this place would also be crawling with the virus."

"Tell me about it," the man sighed. "Zombies everywhere, monsters everywhere... even the crows attack people... I truly wonder if humanity has a future. I hear the military and the government have vanished... We're probably just running one day at a time. Say, would you like to come with us? We're heading to Mexico." The man gestured to his group. "We started with several hundred people, but many died along the way—some turned into zombies, others were attacked by various monsters. But we still have nearly a hundred left. How about it? Join us. There's strength in numbers. If we go to Mexico together, maybe we'll find a way to survive."

"No, thank you," Zheng Zha took over the conversation. "We need to head north to find some relatives, and based on the surrounding situation, Mexico doesn't sound very safe either..."

The man paused again, trying to persuade them. "There shouldn't be any survivors left to the north. Even if there are, they are few. You haven't seen those big cities—the zombies keep mutating, and several new types of monsters have appeared. Even those zombie dogs are starting to change, and worst of all are the Blood Claw monsters. If you meet one, someone definitely dies; they only stop chasing the rest of us when they're full. Don't go there; it's a death trap."

Xiao Honglü and Zheng Zha exchanged a look. The young man suddenly asked, "We wanted to ask, do you know the exact location of Raccoon City?"

"Raccoon City?" The sturdy Caucasian's face changed drastically. He cursed vividly, completely losing his composure, before roaring angrily, "Those government bastards! That was the first city infected. No other city had problems; we only heard it was a leak from a research institute there that spread the virus. The government initially said they would drop a nuclear bomb to destroy the city, then kept stalling with excuses, and in the end, they never used the bomb! That's what allowed the virus to spread everywhere, ravaging the entire world! Damn those useless donkeys who took our hard-earned money and did nothing! If I ever find out which idiot ordered not to use the nuke, I'll kill him with my bare hands!"

(You probably won't get the chance; this must be the 'Main God' altering the plot. Just as suspected, the clue is in Raccoon City—no, it has to be in the underground laboratory where the virus leaked...)

Zheng Zha exchanged glances with the others; everyone understood something immediately. If the city had been destroyed by a nuclear bomb, it would have reduced the burden for those entering it, which was absolutely inconsistent with what the 'Main God' always displayed—a tendency to eliminate more teams. This was exactly what the 'Main God' would do, so the intended nuclear strike never happened. Of course, according to the original plot, even if the bomb had hit, the virus would still have spread, as infection wasn't limited to humans; birds, rats, and even insects could be infected...

The rest was Xiao Honglü's task. He inquired in detail about the location of Raccoon City, then questioned the sturdy man about the mutated monsters—details that won't be listed here. Meanwhile, Zheng Zha intently watched Chu Xuan's satellite receiver. Images were continuously displaying on the small device, seemingly high-altitude photos taken from outer space.

"...There are still some humans surviving in the city, but not in large numbers. Additionally, there are many cryo-form biological entities and non-humanoid beings—let's assume these are virus-infected. We've also identified creatures not present in the original plot, like this cryo-organism about 400 meters long, which looks like a massive collection of flesh. It's probably another variation mutated by the bio-virus..." Chu Xuan murmured as he reviewed the photos. Suddenly, he stared intently at one picture for several seconds, then tossed it to Zheng Zha. "A survival team, six people in total. Team identity unknown, strength unknown. Their location is roughly in the opposite direction of our northwest, near the edge of another city. What do you think?"

Zheng Zha quickly took the photo. It was full of color gradients representing temperature; he couldn't understand it, so he asked, "How do you know they are a survival team? Couldn't it just be a gathering of ordinary people?"

"...They are advancing toward the town. Ordinary people wouldn't enter a city at this time, so there's at least an eighty percent chance they are members of a survival team," Chu Xuan explained.

Zheng Zha was still puzzled, turning the photo over in his hands for a long time before saying, "Just tell me straight, I can't see them entering the city in this photo. It's just temperature colors and things."

Chu Xuan glanced at him, muttering something like "the wisdom of mortals," before stating calmly, "If we draw a straight line between them and the town, there are many zombies whose heat signatures are beginning to dissipate along the path they've crossed. Between them and the town, there are many normal zombies. This proves they are fighting their way toward the city after taking down zombies. Furthermore, for a standard six-person human team, taking down this many zombies without any casualties is very difficult unless they have something like an armored vehicle. However, based on the number and distribution of downed zombies behind them, and their current position, they haven't advanced very far in several hours. Therefore, their speed is just normal walking pace. They encountered zombies in the wilderness and fought their way through. Another point: among the defeated zombies, there are mutated creatures whose heat signatures resemble Crawlers... Based on combat strength and direction of travel, there is at least an eighty percent chance they are a survival team."

"A survival team..." Zheng Zha sighed. "What do you think? Should we use the Green Goblin Gliders to attack them? Although there are only six of them, that's still six people. Every ten kills earns one exemption from being erased. In that case..."

Chu Xuan didn't answer. He suddenly asked, "Are you not confident you can defeat the clones?"

"...I understand. What is your intention?" Zheng Zha sighed, instantly grasping Chu Xuan's meaning. The significance of the final battle... For the Central Continent team, if not for other teams, it was no longer just about survival, but about fighting a decisive battle against the Demon Team and the Celestial Team to claim the title of the strongest team in the survival world... and potentially gaining the "Protagonist" qualification that Chu Xuan speculated about. The latter possibility was too ethereal, but securing the strongest position carried a tangible reward: the surviving members of the Central Continent team would be guaranteed safety from erasure, provided they entered Laboratory Number Seven and stayed there for three hours. The prerequisite, of course, was not being interfered with or attacked by an overwhelmingly strong team. The only entities capable of posing a fatal threat to the Central Continent team in the entire survival world were the Demon Team and the Celestial Team, perhaps with a few abnormal individuals, but those threats were ultimately less significant. Therefore, if the Central Continent team was determined to fight and win the final confrontation, the clause about killing ten people to avoid erasure held little meaning for them anymore.

"Killing ten people to avoid erasure is meaningless to us now. If we rashly eliminate any survival team we discover, first, we risk exposing our location, and second, we risk showing a flaw. Based on these two points alone, we fall into a passive state of 'momentum.' Remember, the survival world is full of endless skills, attributes, and items. Satellites aren't exclusive to us," Chu Xuan stated calmly, holding up another image—a space photograph... showing a small, triangular satellite. This picture was taken by Chu Xuan's own miniature satellite.

"Then we ignore them?" Zheng Zha frowned.

"No..." Chu Xuan put down the image. "We will take the Green Goblin Gliders tomorrow morning after dawn and find this survival team. At glider speed, we should catch up around noon. They will likely be near the edge of a town by then. We won't kill them, but we won't let them go easily either..."

"Oh? How will you do it?" Zheng Zha frowned. "Don't tell me you plan to cut off all their limbs and leave them alive. That's more despicable than killing them, and I absolutely won't agree to that!"

"...From the Wisdom of Mortals." Chu Xuan glanced at Zheng Zha again before saying, "We will tell them the location of Raccoon City and offer them some assistance, ensuring they can at least reach Raccoon City alive..."

"Why? Aren't you worried they are members of the Angel Alliance?" Zheng Zha's brow furrowed deeper.

"It doesn't matter anymore...," Chu Xuan murmured, looking up at the sky. "Whether they are or not, it's irrelevant now... Celestial Team, Angel Alliance... We will settle things with them in Raccoon City! At the same time... the battle you desire should be..."

"Yes, we will settle matters with the Angel Alliance and the Celestial Team in Raccoon City!" Far from the Central Continent team, at the location of the Demon Team, Chu Xuan calmly told his companions.

The others were stunned, and a few immediately cheered. "Damn it, we should have done this long ago! Did they think they could get away just because they escaped us once? And they even formed some 'Angel Alliance'! Haha, we'll wipe them out right there!"

"Right! Did those guys think forming a team of Captains made them powerful? We can easily take care of them!"

"Me too..." As they cheered and clamored, they fell silent when Chu Xuan snapped his fingers, once again awaiting the words of the man with glasses.

"I have delivered the necessary hint to Zheng Zha's group; the Central Continent team will coordinate with our actions then... Before that, I will begin personnel assignments now."

"Target: Celestial Team!" Jumping to...