Hearing Old Charlie’s words, the others looked at him in astonishment. He, however, acted as if nothing was out of the ordinary. “The cost of manufacturing something boils down to two things: labor and materials. An ark of this magnitude, built by the combined efforts of forty-eight nations on Earth, means that any shortage of materials is surely an issue of production capacity, not finances. Furthermore, no nation would have any reason to cut corners or slack off. Therefore, the construction cost of the Ark is not as high as we might imagine.”

The others pondered Old Charlie’s words thoughtfully. Old Charlie continued, “So, of that ten billion Euro ticket price, perhaps only a small fraction is due to a lack of funds. The larger portion is intended to bind these wealthy individuals to the project, utilizing their connections, manpower, resources, and technology to weave a vast net, ensuring the news of the apocalypse remains secret from the general populace! In this way, with the blockade network constructed by the government as the main structure, and the networks built by the super-rich—the local magnates—as the auxiliary, the spread of the secret can be minimized.”

Reef nodded. “If that is the case, then undoubtedly, the Cullen family, despite their wealth, would have no way to get aboard. Money, once it reaches a certain level, is just a number. Their influence in other aspects is too weak; they simply wouldn't qualify.”

Fang Senyan also chimed in, “That’s right. Ark tickets certainly can’t be acquired like concert tickets, where you just call and swipe a card. The builders absolutely wouldn't go door-to-door soliciting tickets from wealthy individuals capable of purchasing them.”

“I surmise that those who receive tickets will first go through a series of complex screenings, then be told the truth directly, and mandated to buy a ticket. The only freedom the chosen ones might have is perhaps selecting the number of tickets they purchase! Ark passage isn't something you can buy just because you’re rich.”

“More critically, there will certainly be extremely rigorous medical examinations before boarding to prevent bringing contagious diseases onto the Ark. Can they even pass this screening? Once the truth is exposed, would humanity tolerate a Blood Race member boarding? Even if the Cullen family is vegetarian and only drinks the blood of beasts, the beasts on the Ark are meant to prevent species extinction, and the majority are still humans! For this point alone, no one would sell them a ticket, even for ten billion or a hundred billion Euros!”

Having said this, a confident smile spread across Fang Senyan’s face. “Therefore, the Cullen family will come looking for us!”

While analyzing, the group hurried to catch up to the road and soon flagged down a passing Mitsubishi Pajero, shamelessly playing the part of bandits.

Then, 'Black Brother' drove quickly towards Racoon City, where the nearest airport was located, following the map. Black Brother’s driving skills had become increasingly proficient; the eighty-kilometer journey took only about half an hour, including the time needed to evade the highway patrol.

Since there was no immediate threat from other contractors, Fang Senyan had already allocated tasks for everyone in the vehicle. As soon as the car stopped, the group quickly split up to carry out their actions: snatching money and supplies. Fang Senyan, meanwhile, walked into the nearest coffee shop with wireless internet access.

As the coordinator, he needed to obtain that blacklist immediately. If they were to protect these people slated for assassination, their biggest hurdle would be insufficient manpower. Moreover, within these three days, Fang Senyan also had to attempt to contact and persuade the legendary figures and forces of this world?

Soon, the blacklist was laid before Fang Senyan.

Seeing the list, Fang Senyan immediately frowned, because the number of people on it reached a staggering twenty-seven! Furthermore, they were spread across nearly every corner of the globe! Given the current situation, they would have to make choices; those too far away would simply have to be abandoned.

More importantly, the National Alliance certainly wouldn't move against all twenty-seven individuals simultaneously; there would have to be a sequence, and the causes of death couldn't all be identical. Fortunately, the list already detailed the planned time and method of killing for each target.

This, at least, reduced Fang Senyan’s workload by more than half and allowed for more precise control of the situation. At this juncture, Old Charlie also proved very helpful, smoothly arranging the subsequent travel itineraries for everyone.

Thus, every returning member of the Ace Team received a detailed itinerary schedule, outlining where they needed to go and what they needed to do in the coming period, with deadlines that were sometimes precise down to the second!

Everyone felt the urgency of time and unconditionally accepted their assignments, immediately setting off without saying much, even the still exhausted 'Third Brother' had to take on work. However, there was no other way; Fang Senyan carried the heaviest burden, responsible for multiple tasks: rescuing people, overall planning and coordination, and finally, attempting to make contact with the world's legendary factions…

Soon, Fang Senyan was aboard a swaying train, opening his laptop and typing “Elm Street” into Google Maps. He suddenly froze: “How is this possible? No search results?”

Old Charlie glanced over and whispered into his ear, “Master, you missed one letter.”

Fang Senyan exclaimed, “…Well, I didn’t even finish middle school; missing just one letter is pretty good.”

Following Old Charlie’s suggestion, Fang Senyan corrected his input to the proper “Elm Street.” But he froze again immediately; over a thousand results popped up… Well, this would have to be a slow process of searching. After a difficult period of filtering, the destination was finally locked: the small town of Springwood, Ohio.

Yes, that was Elm Street, the place where the most horrifying stories originated, where a nun mistakenly entered the filthiest, most depraved prison, was raped and brutalized by over a hundred murderers, psychopaths, and deviants, and subsequently gave birth to Freddy, a being with a distorted and twisted personality.

When he was over forty, this individual was privately killed by parents for harassing and murdering children, thus becoming the most terrifying spectral horror. His most notable trait was his ability to kill in dreams! His methods were insidious, cunning, and even possessed a degree of artistry; he was a highly mystical, evil composite entity!

Fang Senyan subsequently checked the blacklist and located a scientist and a congressman within a hundred-kilometer radius who needed protection, maximizing efficiency.

Fang Senyan’s primary objective was not immediate rescue, but to continue on to Elm Street, because if his hypothesis proved correct, the power of the most perverse and venomous supernatural demon king in history could become a brand-new weapon in his hands. Though this weapon was exceedingly evil, it could sometimes be employed for the cause of justice.

With liberal spending of US dollars, Fang Senyan was standing on the streets of Elm Street forty minutes after disembarking the train. The scenery here was quite beautiful: old houses in the nineteenth-century architectural style, the golden sunset, empty swings, little girls skipping rope and humming children’s songs—a peaceful atmosphere laced with a chilling desolation…

Clearly, what Fang Senyan needed to do now was determine the current level of development for this entity, Freddy. According to the original plot data, Freddy, claimed to be the most bizarre and powerful vengeful spirit, began appearing in 1984. Although he was repeatedly defeated during this period, he could frequently return from Hell. His last known appearance should have been in 2010.

Next, Fang Senyan searched for locations where his actions over this period might have violated certain laws of the United States, and near places hinted at in the movie plot, he found a bizarre glove. The glove was extremely old, but the fingers were fitted with rusted razor blades—an obviously vicious weapon when functional.

Then Fang Senyan went to the place where Freddy was burned alive; the aura of evil here was extremely dense. Soon, he found a deformed, blackened, terrifying skeleton; this should be the remains of the demon Freddy.

These two items were extremely important to the demon Freddy, capable of bringing him back from the dead.

Fang Senyan placed the bizarre glove onto the hand of the skeleton. Immediately, though it was evening, it seemed as if darkness had descended. A violent wind howled like a moan, screeching and whirling around them. At this moment, Fang Senyan inexplicably felt an overwhelming drowsiness. He casually raised an eyebrow, sat down leaning against the tire of a nearby car, and closed his eyes. His breathing became even and shallow, and in that environment, he fell into a deep sleep!

Yes, to communicate with the demon Freddy, one could only meet him in a dream!

To Fang Senyan, it felt like only a moment before he awoke. He was still in the abandoned parking lot where Freddy was burned, but the surroundings were enveloped in thick, gray mist.

And near his ear, he heard sounds approaching from a distance—the scraping sound of steel claws dragging slowly across hard concrete walls. Gradually, a figure wearing a fedora, with a twisted and hideous face, stood before Fang Senyan.

He wore a tattered, red-and-green striped sweater, a dingy, soft fedora half-covering a severely burned face, and his fingers were rows of sharp blades, scraping and colliding, creating a bone-chilling sound…

“Welcome to the world of dreams, sir… My world!!!” (To be continued…)