The Southern Flame Continent team was fortunate in that their strength happened to be just above that critical "baseline strength," allowing them to eliminate mutated zombies upon encountering them. However, they were also utterly unlucky, as their power was not yet sufficient to ignore the mutated zombies, nor was it strong enough to disregard the super virus. This level of strength could not be faked: reaching the Fourth Tier granted immunity to the virus, but failing to do so meant certain death—there was absolutely no middle ground, no scenario where reaching the peak of the Third Tier would merely result in a severe illness and nothing more.

When the Southern Flame Continent team reached the Umbrella Corporation Tower, the Central Continent team was still a considerable distance away. Furthermore, due to some unknown interference, their psychic scanning ability was completely suppressed upon entering the building, limited to a mere ten-meter radius. This narrow scope made it impossible to contact the Central Continent team, let alone scan the building's database for critical information; even ensuring the safety of their own team by scanning the immediate surroundings was a task beyond their reach. In short, the psychic controllers inside the tower were less useful than a frontline melee fighter.

“What a nuisance. Psychic scanning is almost useless inside this tower? The restrictions imposed by the ‘Main God’ are truly bizarre,” one member of the Southern Flame Continent team said with a wry smile.

Neos, however, frowned. “It’s not that simple. The presence of restrictions indicates we’ve come to the right place. To reach the Hive or Laboratory Seven, we must pass through this tower to find clues. But conversely... since this is a critical turning point for information, the difficulty here must be extremely high. Inside this tower... there might be monsters capable of wiping out our entire team.”

“Such as? Like those terrifying monsters we saw outside the tower?” Mentioning the horrifying creatures outside the tower sent jolts of icy blades through everyone’s hearts. This feeling was no longer simple fear; it was despair. Especially when the psychic controllers scanned scenes of humans being infected by the virus and transforming before their eyes, every member silently resolved to commit suicide the moment they were infected. While the Reincarnation World was a horror setting, compared to typical horror films—even those involving non-scientific ghosts and spirits—the increasing strength of the Reincarnation Squads and the frequency of their experiences had dulled the sheer terror.

But the horror outside the tower was entirely different. That viral mutation happened to living flesh directly, not after death. The pain was unimaginable. Yet, perhaps the psychological agony of the onlookers was even greater than that of the mutated. They all recalled the words spoken by the veterans when they first entered the Reincarnation World, detailing its nature.

“...If you reach a dead end, or lose the will to live... just kill yourselves... it’s better than dying at the hands of those monsters and ghosts...” This advice echoed what Zhang Jie had told Zheng Zha and the others—words born from deep despair in the face of horror. For ordinary people not yet hardened, the Reincarnation World was truly a hellish place. Now, these seasoned survivors were once again rediscovering that initial feeling, but this sensation was not the beauty of first love; it was the terror of their very first nightmare.

Neos gently rubbed his forehead, where a distinct, visible seam existed. Gradually, this seam opened, revealing what looked momentarily like an eye appearing on his forehead.

“Let’s go. My Third Eye senses are more practical than psychic scanning. I will temporarily replace the psychic controllers for now. I just hope the dangers in this tower don't manifest before we find our clues...” Neos sighed softly again and turned toward the emergency exit staircase inside the building.

(Central Continent team... If I die, this information must reach you. This is no longer just about the Reincarnation World. In the real world... if you fail, the world will be destroyed. So... how ironic that my death might be this kind of heroic one. God must be blind...) Neos thought silently as he walked, the irony mounting until he let out a loud laugh. Before the laughter even faded, a sinister voice echoed from the upper floors: “Laughing so merrily... have you seen Hell?”

“Indeed... I’ve seen Hell. Everyone who stands in my way will flounder there, like the two of you...” In the emergency stairwell, two men stood sneeringly, two or three floors above the Southern Flame Continent team. One was enveloped entirely in a black robe that covered his head and face; the other was powerfully built with bulging muscles, holding a peculiar firearm. Standing one behind the other in the passageway, their hostile intentions were obvious.

“I’m curious. How did your Heavenly God team know we were here? More precisely, how could your Heavenly God team know that our Southern Flame Continent team also entered the ruin after you? And why intercept and hunt us here? Could it be... you obtained more than just the Tree of Life Array Diagram in that ruin?” Walking forward, Neos asked them with a hearty laugh.

“Who told you we were the Heavenly God team?” The two men upstairs exchanged a look, and the man in the black robe asked coldly, his voice filled with menace.

At these words, Neos froze. A moment of distraction passed, then he realized instantly. “That’s right, you can’t be from the Heavenly God team... If you were, you absolutely wouldn’t send people here. If you encountered the Central Continent team or the Demon team, it would surely mean certain death. And hunting us confirms the truth I need to tell the other two teams, forcing them to side with the Heavenly God team’s combatants. So... you must be members of the Demon team, right?” The two men paused slightly, then nodded with low chuckles.

The muscular man said, “You’ve got some insight, fellow. No wonder Chu Xuan said you could deliver the message perfectly to the Central Continent team. You cannot be allowed to live... Die!” With that, he raised his firearm and shot downwards.

The shape of the firearm was rather odd, featuring a long, translucent tube running along the barrel, making the entire gun resemble a child’s water pistol. But Demon team members would hardly carry such a toy. The liquid inside the tube was originally deep blue but turned deep red when the man pulled the trigger, and a laser-like beam of light appeared at the muzzle.

Neos and his team only managed to back up a few steps before a ball of light descended from above. Although the angle of the shot between floors prevented it from hitting them directly overhead, the ball of light exploded violently upon contact with the ground, its immense power akin to a small high-explosive bomb. A faint glow shimmered over most members of the Southern Flame Continent team. A few newcomers, lacking any visible protective light, were instantly reduced to dust and fragments by the blast. The sheer destructive force of the high-explosive bomb was evident in the confined space of the stairwell. However, most of the Southern Flame Continent veterans possessed protective gear.

This initial volley of explosions was successfully weathered. Neos roared "Retreat!" and the rest of the team pulled back from the emergency exit entrance to the ground floor.

“That’s a weapon redeemable only with a Double C-rank side plot!” someone exclaimed as soon as they left the emergency exit. For veterans, the most crucial activity after gaining reward points and side plot achievements was redeeming attributes or abilities suited to themselves; high-tech weaponry was part of that. Using limited reward points and side plots to forge the most suitable, most powerful, and most survivable combat strength was the most important task for veterans of the Reincarnation Squads. Thus, most veterans were intimately familiar with the low-level weapons and attributes available for exchange from the ‘Main God.’

This Fission Energy Focusing Rifle was a high-tech weapon exchanged for a Double C-rank side plot. Its power could be adjusted based on use, and it possessed unlimited ammunition. Its maximum power was equivalent to a medium high-explosive bomb, and its minimum power was no less than a small high-explosive bomb, though its range was shorter, maxing out at just over five hundred meters. Compared to other C-rank high-tech weapons, it was inferior, excelling only slightly in group combat, which is why it was often considered a lackluster option by Reincarnation Squad members—almost nobody bothered to redeem it. If someone did redeem it, it would either be a very weak newcomer hastily redeeming it after completing a side plot, or a very strong veteran who already possessed ample reward points and side plots, redeeming it occasionally for trial. Both scenarios were possible, but if a Demon team member redeemed this weapon, they likely fell into the latter category.

Neos quickly assessed the strength of the two opponents while looking at the damaged emergency exit. Only the iron railings within the stairwell were significantly damaged; the surrounding structure showed almost negligible impact. This tower seemed somehow unusual. Logically, that explosion should have collapsed that section of the staircase, yet the damage was almost negligible. It appeared the ‘Main God’ had long designated this location as one of the main battlegrounds for various Reincarnation Squads and had specifically reinforced the tower, making it virtually impossible to collapse due to mere attack fluctuations.

“...Understood. To meet the Central Continent team safely, we must eliminate these two. It doesn't matter if they are from the Demon team; they must be eliminated!” As Neos retreated from the emergency exit, his mind raced, encompassing why the Demon team knew their location and why they sent members to ambush them—countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

The Third Eye attribute hadn't actually increased his intelligence much. Intelligence isn't a quantifiable data point; those so-called IQ scores are merely cumulative points tallied after answering certain questions, vastly different from genuine wisdom. For instance, some individuals might appear mentally deficient but be geniuses in specific fields like music or mathematics—can their intelligence truly be categorized as low? Therefore, intelligence cannot be entirely converted into data, at least not with current human technology. The Third Eye attribute Neos enhanced didn't instantly grant him thousands of intelligence points like leveling up in a game, propelling him to Chu Xuan’s level. It only increased his reaction speed—his thinking speed was more than three times that of an average person, and he also possessed low-level telekinesis.

In the span of mere seconds, his rapid thought process allowed him to roughly deduce the Demon team’s objective. If the Demon team truly intended to prevent the Southern Flame Continent team from meeting the Central Continent team, then the Demon team’s Chu Xuan must be plotting to make the Central Continent team and the Heavenly God team mutually devastating. Such a gamble... the Demon team was playing with fire.

“Damn it. Doesn't he know that once that chain reaction starts, creatures below the Fourth Tier won't be able to resist? And even those above the Fourth Tier—what confidence do they have in killing Adam at that point? Blast it... I can only hope the Central Continent’s Chu Xuan hasn't thought the same way, using the Heavenly God team as bargaining chips to weaken the Demon team’s strength...” Neos reached this conclusion in less than ten seconds.

He didn't hesitate. He used his psychic powers to communicate with the others: “Fall back! Go up through the other passage! Richard! We will create an opportunity for you. Once you close the distance, kill one of them at all costs! I will support you with telekinetic force... Aya! Prepare the killer wasps! We need to trap them in place! At least confine them to the second floor.”

With a series of commands issued, the Southern Flame Continent team, as a Reincarnation Squad guided by intelligence, swiftly activated their combat formations. A coordinated combination, practiced countless times, meant that even if the opponent was a tier stronger, resistance was not impossible. As everyone retreated toward the other passage, Neos continued to ponder the Central Continent team’s potential choices... or rather, Chu Xuan’s possible strategy.

“If the Central Continent’s Chu Xuan also has the same idea, using the Heavenly God team as bargaining chips to weaken the Demon team... could both teams have fallen into a trap? Could Adam be the one taking advantage while they are preoccupied to complete his plan?”

“Precisely... This is a risky move, the only living move left. Life is like chess; if all options lead to death, why not make one final desperate gamble?” Adam, at this moment, was remarkably relaxed. He was outside Dracula City; the city was so vast that it would take considerable time for the virus to reach him. He didn't even feel anything yet, and none of the psychic controllers had registered anomalies. On his command, everyone in the Angel Alliance, veterans and regular members alike, was taking it easy in this ordinary supermarket. Some had even brought out computers and were playing games using their portable batteries. The Angel Alliance seemed less like they were here for battle and more like they were touring a horror movie world.

Adam was equally at ease. Before him sat a mahogany table with a half-finished game of Go. Song Tian, it turned out, was a master of the game, his strategy remarkably sharp, much like his knife techniques. Although his endgame seemed slightly weaker, his aggressive opening forced Adam into a defensive posture. They were currently locked in a decisive middle game, where victory or defeat would be determined.

“You mean you plan to complete that plan while the Demon team and the Central Continent team are busy calculating against us?” Song Tian’s chess moves were sharp, but his gaze was calm as still water. While observing the board, he asked faintly.

“That’s the general idea, but not entirely... To be precise, what I used initially was an open strategy (Yang Mou). I intend to complete the plan regardless of how they found out, or whether Luo Yinglong told them. Stopping me would be simple: kill you and me, along with a significant number of veterans backing us. At that point, both the Demon team and the Central Continent team would suffer severe losses. We are not an ordinary Reincarnation Squad; we are the Heavenly God team, one of the top three powers,” Adam said with a smile.

“Oh?” Song Tian looked up at Adam, his calm gaze instantly turning as sharp as a blade. Though it lasted only a moment, the veterans behind Adam instinctively looked away, feeling momentarily as if a sword had been thrust toward them.

“Your strategy is flawed. What if those two teams unite against you? Aren't you worried?” Song Tian lowered his head back to the board and inquired.

“Worried? Of course, I’m worried,” Adam continued smiling. “The Central Continent team and the Demon team must have already allied. To be exact, the Central Continent team probably linked up with the Demon team in the previous horror movie world. Do you remember? In that last movie, the Central Continent team strangely allowed Miyata Kuraki’s group to capture a member of the Central Continent team. That never made sense to me. But now, I think I understand. That was the Central Continent team covering up traces of the Demon team contacting them. If I had known earlier that the Demon team possessed a degree of omniscience, I wouldn't have taken such a drastic gamble. But since I’ve reached this point, I must see it through decisively. Even if both teams attack us combined, we only need to focus all our might on one team’s members, resulting in one team suffering heavy casualties while the other remains largely unharmed. I believe they know I will make this decision, so they won't dare to attack us rashly.”

Song Tian shrugged dismissively and said no more, seemingly lost in the intricacies of the Go board, perhaps encountering a difficult juncture.

“It’s like your current decision: if you charge in directly, your later position will be weak, and you risk being completely surrounded and annihilated by me. If you don't charge in, I will connect my pieces and claim the ultimate victory. They face the exact same dilemma...” Adam smiled, gazing out the supermarket window. He stared intently outside for a long time before finally saying, “For the first time... they are forced to treat me as a true opponent, rather than arrogantly dismissing me as mere mortal intellect, or only considering themselves as opponents. Let me see, Chu Xuans, how will you break the inescapable situation I have set?”

The Neos of the Southern Flame Continent team was unaware that he had already guessed part of the final battle strategy of the three major powerhouses. At this moment, he was fully engaged in commanding the battle against the two Demon team members.

Overall, the two Demon team members were not excessively powerful. This made sense; although Demon team members boasted the greatest potential in the entire Reincarnation World, potential varies among individuals. These two likely possessed potential far less than that of Zheng Zha, and given the principle that Reincarnation Squad skills should not overlap, some individuals with great potential might not even be present. Therefore, Neos wasn't overly concerned about the attack from these two alone. What truly worried him were the mutated monsters outside the tower, rapidly closing in.

(Two people: one muscular, armed with high-tech weaponry—but we can’t assume he only uses that; this person is likely a formidable melee fighter. The other is obscured by the robe, which doesn’t seem suitable for close combat, suggesting a ranged fighter, possibly even a mage. And there are only two of them... one of them should have an area-of-effect skill.) As he reasoned, the Southern Flame Continent team maintained a brisk pace, already ascending to the second floor via another passage. Aya’s summoned killer wasps were limited in number and dared not attack the two men aggressively, instead harassing them and barely managing to confine them to the second floor. As the Southern Flame Continent team emerged from the emergency exit onto the second floor, a ball of light suddenly flashed down the nearby corridor, followed immediately by a massive shockwave of an explosion. Fortunately, the team was far enough away that the shockwave only scattered their formation temporarily, causing no casualties yet.

“Alent, fog!” The man in the robe, though his robe was a dull gray, began constantly pulling spices from his bosom with one hand while simultaneously making strange gestures with the other, chanting magical incantations. He then pointed forward, and the entire second floor was instantly filled with a grayish, dense fog, reducing visibility to zero.

Without Neos needing to direct them, Richard and another man in half-plate armor exchanged a look. Richard drew a massive battle-axe nearly two meters long, while the other man pulled out a heavy chain flail. They struck the wall simultaneously from left and right. With a sharp crack, only Richard actually shattered the wall. This was not a load-bearing wall, but a thin partition, the kind separating two workspaces in an office building. Though the half-plate man's strength didn't match Richard's, the heavy flail still struck with tremendous force, yet it only managed to dent the partition. This showed that all the objects within the skyscraper had been reinforced manifold, easing the concerns of personnel who relied on terrain advantages.

Richard and the other man did not pause. Richard charged forward immediately after delivering a powerful axe swing, and the half-plate man followed closely behind him. Both men bulldozed their way through, knocking over unknown objects in their path.

The others only heard a chaotic series of crashes from that direction, prompting everyone else to prepare themselves. Before Neos could utter a word, a man and a woman nodded at each other.

The two were already moving cautiously toward the corridor, firearms held ready.

"...Do not fire carelessly. Be careful not to hit our own people. You two will provide cover, Xue Ling’er. Focus the spiritual power scan into a line. Lock onto only the two targets; this should extend the scanning range by about double. Aya, prepare to use your sorcery to attack that Blackwood figure at any time. The rest of you follow me up to the third floor."

Neos touched the eye-shaped slit between his brows.

He then issued instructions to the rest, and as soon as the words left his mouth, he had already spun around and sprinted toward the emergency stairwell.

The others froze. They had expected Neos to commit the entire team's strength to engage the two attackers. Who knew he would abandon the assault on the pair and flee first... or perhaps it wasn't fleeing, but under the current circumstances, his action looked exactly like a retreat.

"Cap-Captain... those two are members of the Demon Squad. Can those few people really hold them off? What you're doing seems..." A youth, running close behind Neos, mumbled worriedly.

"Seems somewhat ignoble? Indeed, those two are Demon Squad members; no one knows how strong they truly are. We don't know if they possess special abilities, but we have no path of retreat left. Don't you realize? We are surely doomed... The mutated creatures outside this building, and that unknown viral infection—perhaps parts of us are already slowly mutating. So, this skyscraper is a desperate end for us. If we wish to survive, or perhaps secure a chance for revival in the future, the only hope is to convey everything to the Central Continent Squad!" "Let's take a gamble. A gamble that Heaven has not yet abandoned our South Yan Continent Squad, a gamble that my intelligence is still sufficient, a gamble on the integrity of the Central Continent Squad... a gamble on whether a miracle will descend!" At this moment, the South Yan Continent Squad was divided into two factions: one engaging the two Demon Squad members, the other rushing upstairs with Neos. Meanwhile, the Central Continent Squad was still ten-odd minutes away from the skyscraper, the Demon Squad was already approaching the direction of the Hive, the Heavenly God Squad was nearly ten hours away from the virus-infected zone, and simultaneously... Zhao Yingkong smiled as she faced an acquaintance.

"Long time no see, my dear brother."

A man approached her slowly, the distance between them spanning roughly a few thousand meters. Tall buildings surrounded them; they stood on a street.

"Indeed, a very long time... my little apple. You seem to have grown much stronger. Have you truly recovered your former self?" The man slowly approaching from afar was Zhao Zhuikong. He too wore a smile, but his was somewhat terrifying, as his eyes were utterly cold, holding nothing but killing intent. Behind Zhao Zhuikong trailed several men and women who followed trembling. All of them bore injuries, clearly having been beaten severely—the perpetrator could only have been Zhao Zhuikong himself.

"Oh, let me first introduce my 'companions.' They were 'kind' enough to bring me to find you after a chance encounter. I must thank their spiritual power controller, or little apple would have had to continue waiting for me in solitude."

As Zhao Zhuikong walked, he suddenly clapped his head as if realizing something, then smiled and turned toward the people behind him. The moment his words fell, the head of one person suddenly vanished. The surrounding people hadn't seemed to register the event before the body simply stood there until a high jet of blood erupted from the neck. Panic erupted as the others screamed and tried to run back, but none made it more than a few steps before their heads also disappeared, reappearing stacked one upon the other in Zhao Zhuikong's palm. He hadn't moved or struck, yet the heads materialized as if by magical sleight of hand.

"There. Now no one will disturb us, my lovely little apple. Let me see your growth. That nearly invincible genius from before... how far have you progressed now?" The man smiled as he drew a dagger of deep crimson. The color was truly a pure, deep red, like a ruby gemstone. The small dagger appeared remarkably lovely and beautiful.

Zhao Yingkong quietly shook her head. "As I predicted... Brother, you have walked down the wrong path. You are mistaken... This result is not what we wanted, Brother..."

"Shut up! My little apple, you only need to wait peacefully for me to pluck you! Why say so much useless nonsense?" The smile on Zhao Zhuikong’s face gradually faded. He advanced with a cold expression, his pace not overly fast, but the distance between them steadily shrank.

"...Do you know? I have never blamed you, not even now, I have never held it against you..." "Brother..." She leaped toward him.