"Damn it, you didn't actually come here just to sightsee, did you? We've pinpointed the city's exact location; why aren't we moving in? And all this talk about strategy, planning... No! Let's just smash through with brute force! We go in, kill everyone we see, and strike down every god in our path!" Zheng Zha exclaimed loudly. Though he barely believed his own words, he needed to force Chu Xuan to make a definitive statement.

Chu Xuan simply gazed at the sky and said, "...My clone's satellite performance is slightly inferior."

"Oh? What does that imply? That your intellect is marginally superior to his?" Zheng Zha asked, slightly taken aback.

"No. I possess something he does not," Chu Xuan stated with his eyes closed. "Absolute omniscience and omnipotence are unattainable attributes or skills within the 'Main God' system. If it were a self-created skill... that clearly transcends the bounds of normal causality, entering the realm of a causality weapon. If the clone Zheng Zha had unlocked the fifth stage of the Gene Lock, there might be a sliver of a chance, but given the current situation, his power hasn't reached that level. I imagine you understand this best."

Zheng Zha paused, then sighed. "That's right. I'm already halfway into the advanced stage of the fourth tier... It's a realm that shocks me. I don't even know how to enter the advanced fourth tier, let alone approach the fifth. I've met the clone, and he wasn't so overwhelmingly strong as to be invincible to me."

"If I had to make a comparison... I'd place him on the advanced level of the fourth tier. The difference between intermediate and advanced is practically night and day."

"Precisely. So we can basically assume the Demon Squad obtained the inheritance of an ancient ruin—that is, the heritage of a Saint or Immortal Cultivator on par with us. We just don't know which lineage or portion of that heritage they acquired, but that omniscience and omnipotence are certainly part of it," Chu Xuan murmured.

"Omniscience and omnipotence? What's that?" Zheng Zha asked, confused.

"...In short, the Demon Squad possesses what we lack, and we possess what they lack. But overall, we are at a disadvantage." Chu Xuan glanced at Zheng Zha.

"Why? Although I know we're disadvantaged, what do you mean by 'what we have they lack, and what they have we lack'?" Chu Xuan asked seriously. "The small satellites I created are based on Immortal Cultivation technology, products of recent research. While natural science could achieve something similar, the performance would be significantly worse, as is the case with the Demon Squad's satellites. This strongly suggests they lack the fundamental Immortal Cultivation techniques. Conversely, we lack the Demon Squad's omniscience and omnipotence... Overall, it's because you are weaker than your clone, and I am stronger than my clone, but in terms of 'momentum' (, shì), we are weaker overall. Therefore, we are significantly weaker than the Demon Squad."

"What who is weaker than whom? I'm getting confused. And why are you so certain you're stronger than your clone? How do you even know?" Zheng Zha questioned, clearly dissatisfied.

"...If we speak purely in terms of combat power, he is certainly weaker than me... I have a question for you: If you have two teams, one strong and one weak, and the strong team simultaneously holds the positional advantage of 'momentum' (shì), if you were the captain of the weaker team, and you were forced into a corner, what would you do?" Chu Xuan suddenly asked.

Zheng Zha finally grew serious, because Chu Xuan almost never asked others questions. If he asked Zheng Zha, it meant Chu Xuan was about to undertake some drastic action, the intensity of which would directly correlate with the answer.

"If it were me... with inferior strength and inferior momentum, if there was any chance left, that chance would only be to stir up chaos... to completely muddy the waters of the entire situation. Only then might a team that is weak and lacks momentum have a sliver of a chance; otherwise, there would be no opportunity at all," Zheng Zha stated after deep consideration.

"Exactly. Since the situation is already that dire, let's make the current situation even worse..." A moment later... "What? You want to go to this place? What's there?" Zheng Zha looked curiously at the American map Chu Xuan held, as the man pointed at a spot while speaking.

"A nuclear missile base... A small base where the U.S. military stored nuclear weapons in the Resident Evil world," Chu Xuan stated bluntly. "Here, and here, and here—these are the four nuclear base locations I know. What we need to do is..."

"Control the missile bases? Then launch the nukes to attack Raccoon City? Once all the other squads enter the city, we obliterate them all?" Zheng Zha exclaimed in sudden realization, even showing an expression of 'I knew it.'

"...No. Those nuclear warheads are irrelevant... I need the missile silos and the warhead casings there. Nuclear bombs might not eliminate the Angel Alliance, and they certainly won't affect the Demon Squad. If they evade them in advance, no team with personal flight capability will fear nuclear strikes. So, we won't use the nukes; we will disperse the virus," Chu Xuan said, taking out several metallic spheres from his spatial pouch. "These are triple-alloy sealed virus containers. Place them on the warhead casings and launch them toward Raccoon City... Then, something very interesting will happen."

Chu Xuan's lips twitched slightly. Though faint, the expression could only be described as a 'smile.'

(He smiled? Is he incredibly excited about spreading this virus? And thinking about it—triple-alloy sealed virus containers... What kind of virus is this?) Zheng Zha took the spheres, his hands trembling. In a flash, he saw Cheng Xiao's pale face beside him and immediately asked, "Do you know what this virus is? Did you see Little Dingdang experiment with it?"

"N-no... I heard it was a new type of virus created by mixing your genes with the T-Virus evolution fluid. It's the latest model... Listen to me. Do not, under any circumstances, release this virus near yourself. I personally saw Chu Xuan turn a piece of raw meat into a monster. I swear!" Cheng Xiao said with a wry smile, patting Zheng Zha's shoulder.

Seeing how earnestly he spoke, Zheng Zha's trembling intensified.

Xiao Honglu suddenly interjected, "Chu Xuan, is it okay? Even normal missile detonations cause explosions. Won't the heat instantly kill the virus?"

"......It's fine. It has been specifically tested under extreme heat. Next... Zheng Zha, you handle the team assignments." Chu Xuan gave a thumbs-up, then spoke seriously.

"Wait, wait a minute!" Zheng Zha called out loudly. "Although I don't know what monstrous virus you've created, are you really planning to let this thing spread in this world? What about us? This virus sounds terrifying. I can alter my own genes to eliminate any invading virus, but what about everyone else? Will your virus kill your own team members?"

"...Rest assured. Since there is a virus, there must also be an antidote. The Z-Type II virus vaccine has been produced, but we gain only as much as we lose. This virus is modeled after the genetic chain unlocked when you initiated the fourth tier of the Gene Lock, combined with the evolutionary pattern of the T-Virus. In other words, it possesses some characteristics of the opened fourth-tier Gene Lock—it can alter genes autonomously. Even with the vaccine, it can only resist this virus for about eight hours. Afterward, it becomes ineffective because the virus has already mutated the genes. Re-injection won't work because the virus the vaccine targeted is gone. What takes effect is the novel virus after genetic transformation. Unless one has already unlocked the fourth-tier Gene Lock and can adjust their genes optimally to eliminate the virus, no other living being can be spared."

Chu Xuan spoke gravely. "Therefore, before this operation, I am revealing the full truth. This operation is extremely dangerous. One slip-up, and you could turn into a monster or be killed by one. Furthermore, you will have no chance of revival. Similarly, our team's situation is severe. Facing the Demon Squad's supreme advantage, coupled with the Angel Alliance likely viewing us as their primary opponent, we are essentially in the weakest position among the three factions... Zheng Zha, you cannot participate in high-level combat before facing your clone. Thus, our team's actual strength is the weakest of the three factions. Make your choice: deploy the virus, inject the vaccine, and enter Raccoon City, or forgo my plan and proceed directly to Raccoon City for combat. The choice is yours."

Everyone looked at each other. Except for the two newcomers and An Suna, who looked ashen-faced, the others seemed relatively calm. Zheng Zha exchanged glances with the group and sighed: "...Alright, I will assign the teams. To carry out this plan, we must split into two teams..."

"...The above is the member distribution for the two teams. Additionally, these are the items I exchanged using the reward points and side-story plots earned from killing gods and demons in Lord of the Rings. The 'Pirate Member Rope'—though the name sounds strange, its effect is excellent... I had a premonition we might engage in divided operations, but since our clone might exist in the Demon Squad, or other teams might have strong psychic individuals, this Pirate Member Rope is crucial for distinguishing true members of our team."

Zheng Zha suddenly pulled out dozens of white ropes from his Spatial Ring. The ropes looked ordinary, only adorned with runic patterns on their surface. Judging by their size, they were meant to be worn around the wrist.

"...Henceforth, anyone wearing this rope is a member of our Central Continent Team. If they die... this rope will return to my wrist. So, I hope to see only my own rope on my wrist, and no others. Comrades, I want to survive alongside all of you!" Zheng Zha declared loudly to the others, tightening the rope around his own wrist as he spoke. The other team members also fastened their ropes. Everyone exchanged glances; except for Chu Xuan, everyone held up their wrists and placed them together, forming a large circle... The Central Continent Team—everyone wore their rope unless they died; only the exchanger, Zheng Zha, could remove them.

"Then... Operation begins!"

Location of the Demon Squad...

"...What a marvelous thing. A virus possessing the characteristics of the fourth-tier Gene Lock?" Chu Xuan muttered obsessively for a few moments. Those around him looked unsurprised by his fervor. After murmuring, he slowly calmed down and stated, "Technically speaking, such a virus should not exist, at least not with current technological levels unless he possesses technology that surpasses current standards. Zhang Xiaoxue, use the Investiture of the Gods List to check the technology he used to create this virus. If possible, exchange for a copy of that technology; I want one."

The girl beside him, startled, immediately began flipping through the papers in her hand. After searching for a while, she exclaimed in surprise, "Chu Xuan, checking and exchanging for this requires over thirty thousand Karma Points. We don't have enough Karma Points. This is very strange; why would it cost so many Karma Points? Unbelievable..."

"Understood. Stop searching. He definitely hasn't obtained the complete technology, and it must be an incredibly potent technology. If I'm not mistaken... he must possess fragmented Rune Technology, meaning fragmented Immortal Cultivation Technology. Zhang Xiaoxue, check what Immortal Artifacts he possesses." Chu Xuan pondered briefly, then immediately instructed.

"...Cost: 70 Karma Points. He possesses the Eastern Emperor Bell, the Jade Tablet of Creation, Modified Magic Cannon, Human Consciousness Controller, Faith Power Energy Converter, Ultra-Long-Range Life Energy Eye, Consciousness Expansion Device... these." Zhang Xiaoxue murmured the list of Immortal Artifacts possessed by the Central Continent's Chu Xuan. By the tenth item, not only she, but every surrounding member of the Demon Squad was sweating profusely, subconsciously looking at their own Chu Xuan, thinking that they were indeed the same person.

"Understood. The Eastern Emperor Bell and the Jade Tablet of Creation—these two should not be his creations... My strategic layout was flawed. We monitored their movements, but we didn't have enough Karma Points to investigate the terrifying movie situations the Central Continent Team experienced before we obtained the Investiture of the Gods List. That would have cost too many Karma Points, and the resulting temporal backlash would affect our entire team... No, it has already begun to affect us." Chu Xuan let out a breath, adjusted his glasses, and looked toward the sky, utterly silent, leaving everyone wondering what he was thinking.

(Yes, perhaps we are already being affected by the temporal backlash. If we had enough Karma Points, we could have known in advance that the Central Continent Team obtained the ancient inheritance and continued surveillance, discovering that the original Chu Xuan created such a super virus. Because we lacked that knowledge, his layout deviated... Is this luck?) Zhang Xiaoxue thought internally, becoming lost in thought until Chu Xuan snapped his fingers, bringing her back.

"Understood. Since the original me intends to engage us in open conflict, let's ignore his open scheme... Zhang Xiaoxue, use the Investiture of the Gods List to create the vaccine. Everyone who hasn't unlocked the fourth tier can receive a dose. Then, all of us proceed directly to Raccoon City... to eliminate the Central Continent Team's detachment heading to the Hive, and the Celestial God Team, which will also be in the city. That is all."

"...As my clone, he will definitely make the decisions mentioned above. My open scheme is simple: send people to the nuclear base to launch the super virus, while the other team goes to the Hive to obtain clues about Experimental Base Seven. If he also sends a detachment, it means ignoring the advantage of 'momentum' (shì) for a direct clash of power. This is absolutely advantageous for us, who are already at a disadvantage. Whichever side the Demon Squad detachment attacks, the result is unavoidable. Therefore, if it were me, I would definitely concentrate forces on one side, and only the side where you are located..." Chu Xuan pointed at Zheng Zha.

"But didn't you just say the clone sent a message proposing we team up against the Celestial God Squad?" Zheng Zha asked, confused.

"That's right, we will deal with the Celestial God Squad, but they will also deal with us. In other words, who says that while scheming against the Celestial God Squad, we can't scheme against the other party?" Chu Xuan asked with a cold laugh, snapping his fingers again. "Haven't you understood yet? The key to this final battle lies in two points... First, the outcome of the fight between you and your clone—this is enough to change the entire course of the battle. Second, the victory or defeat of the team members—this is enough to influence the outcome of your fight with the clone. The two are interconnected; whichever concludes first will affect the other. If it were me, I would definitely send people to deplete your combat strength, or even attack you personally, before you fight the clone. This would ensure you are no match for the clone. Thus, the Demon Squad's movement becomes simple: they will send their entire team to Raccoon City to eliminate our team before the virus takes effect, while simultaneously attacking you."

"Now, I have only one point of doubt to deduce..." Chu Xuan suddenly said. "Can they use that omniscience and omnipotence to learn about all the previous horror movie worlds we experienced? If not, then..."

"...The omniscience and omnipotence possessed by my clone... might ironically become the key to our victory..."

In the Central Continent Team's other contingent, Ling Dian's spatial pouch was filled with hundreds of metallic spheres, all containing the virus... Only one sphere was an exception. It contained no virus, only a slip of paper with words and numbers. The words were nonsensical phrases and short sentences, and the numbers were even more inscrutable. This was the sole anomaly among all the spheres; it contained the paper note... Jump to.