However, no matter what was said, if he agreed to join the "God Squad," he would absolutely have a greater chance of survival; that was an undeniable fact. But at the same time, the Central Continent Team would get a new guide and continue the ordinary cycle of horror movie reincarnations—horror movies, altered-plot horror movies, or battles against other reincarnation teams. In the best-case scenario, many people would die, leaving only a few survivors. In the worst case, the Central Continent Team would be wiped out completely.

It could be said that the gap between a team with a Captain and one without was immense. This disparity wasn't just in combat power; it was more about advance preparation, enhancements, and guidance. In essence, the Captain of a team was the true "Guide." He could fully assemble a team, forging it into a unit with formidable combat strength, rather than continuing like the former Central Continent Team—rushing blindly into horror movies with haphazard enhancements and no preparation. As long as Zheng Zha didn't die, the Central Continent Team would steadily grow stronger. This was why he chose to refuse.

His memories were here; his comrades were here; here were things he could never forget: Zhang Jie, Chu Xuan, Zero Point, Qi Tengyi. These names were deeply etched into his heart, becoming a part of him. To agree would be a betrayal! Actually, the "Main God's" regulations were somewhat humane; at least until Zheng Zha brought up the matter of the Guide and the Captain, he could have chosen to agree. Of course, Zheng Zha would have refused regardless.

Zheng Zha let out a breath and walked beneath the spherical "Main God." He slowly connected with the "Main God" and checked his reward points. Including the previous bonus, he possessed 4270 points. It seemed that completing the mission a day early resulted in four plot characters surviving when they shouldn't have.

This also rewarded everyone with 2000 reward points, plus the standard 1000 reward points, giving everyone an additional 3000 points.

"Main God."

"Heal everyone's bodies; deduct the reward points from me."

Zheng Zha sighed and then announced loudly, "Main God, heal everyone's bodies; the points will be deducted from me."

Several beams of light shot out from the sphere, enveloping each person.

Except for Zhao Yingkong and Xiao Honglü, whose light pillars were the faintest, the others were noticeably brighter, especially Zhang Heng and Zhan Lan. Their light pillars persisted for nearly a minute before receding, which Zheng Zha knew was a lingering effect from unlocking their first stage of the Genetic Lock. Thus, the healing process naturally took longer.

When everyone had finished healing, Zhang Heng awoke from his stupor. The moment he opened his eyes, he violently flipped backward, his hands mimicking drawing and shooting a bow. Once he clearly saw his surroundings, the youth managed a sheepish chuckle. "Haha, I must have been dreaming deeply. I dreamed I became Zheng Zha's enemy, constantly sniping him from a distance, even using the 'Arrow of Wind' skill. The power felt incredibly strong, haha." Zheng Zha managed a wry smile, shaking his head. "No, that wasn't a dream. Just consider it a dream then."

Xiao Honglü reacted the fastest. He glanced around. "So, does that mean we've finished the horror movie Final Destination 2? What about Zhang Jie? I really want to know the truth."

The others also looked around. Zhang Jie and the classical beauty were nowhere to be seen. Instead, Loli and a stunning woman in her late twenties were running over from a distance, causing everyone to turn their gaze back to Zheng Zha.

Zheng Zha touched the cigarette butt fragment in his clothes pocket and sighed. "Come back to my place. I'll tell everyone the whole truth." Even though the team only took three days to exit the world of Final Destination 2, a full day and night had passed in the "Main God" space. Likewise, even though Xiao Honglü had repeatedly warned the stunning woman not to venture out, she had wandered onto the "Main God" Plaza out of boredom while waiting for their return. There, she encountered Lololi, who was also waiting. They started chatting merrily, then cooked a grand meal awaiting the group’s return. Xiao Honglü's face was flushed crimson; he kept his head down, avoiding looking at the stunning woman or the others. However, the stunning woman was utterly composed. She took Xiao Honglü's hand and led him to the dining table. Besides smiling gently, her mature and alluring aura was undeniable. Xiao Honglü had managed to conjure up a great beauty.

Although everyone secretly chuckled inwardly, they maintained outward composure. Gazing at the table laden with delicacies, they began to eat heartily. After everyone was finished, Zheng Zha and the others exchanged silent glances. The stunning woman was incredibly thoughtful; she took Lololi to clear the table. The others waited silently for the two women to leave before Zheng Zha pulled out the cigarette butt—a symbol of his straightforward path—and quietly recounted Zhang Jie's origins, along with the power of the Central Continent Captain and his choice.

"That's basically it. While the 'Main God' throws people into brutal horror movie worlds, what it desires is evolution, not tormenting them to death for sport. The reason we faced such difficult horror movies before was likely due to the coexistence of a Guide and a Captain. Now, I am the Captain of the Central Continent Team."

After finishing his explanation, Zheng Zha tucked the cigarette butt back into his pocket. The other four were clearly still processing the information, each lost in their own thoughts.

After a long silence, Xiao Honglü finally spoke. "Why did you refuse? Was it because you couldn't bear to leave us four? In fact, even with just the four of us, we'd have a very high survival rate against a typical horror movie, wouldn't we? But you? Once you told us, you lost the chance to leave. Joining that other squad virtually guarantees survival in most horror movies." Zheng Zha smiled. "There's no need to say such things. Since I chose to stay, saying anything more is pointless. You’d be better off thinking about the benefits my Captain powers can bring. But before that, I want to erect a stone tablet in our Central Continent Team's plaza. The 'Main God' has an exchange option for such a permanent tablet. Once we redeem it, any words carved upon it will remain, even if all of us die or leave this horror movie reincarnation cycle, the tablet will still endure."

The duration is one hundred years.

Xiao Honglü knelt on his chair, picking at a strand of his hair. "There are many types of these stone tablets, right?" Zheng Zha nodded. "Yes, there are many kinds. For example, the one outside where messages are left requires ten thousand reward points from each member, but its duration is eternal, and you can even specify the time or condition for its appearance. The one I chose is the cheapest kind. It only requires two hundred reward points from each member. I currently have 3710 (having spent 50 points healing everyone), and I assume you all have over 3000 points too? Spending two hundred points won't be an issue."

Xiao Honglü let out a breath.

He thought for a moment and then said, "There are truly too many things exchangeable at the 'Main God'—attribute enhancements, various skills, high-tech weaponry, legendary magic arms, all sorts of auxiliary items. There must be tens of thousands of items. It's impossible to review them all manually. Well, now that we have you, the 'Quick Reviewer,' we won't waste any more reward points or sub-plot points."

Zheng Zha pointed at himself and repeated, "Quick Reviewer," but before he could finish his wry smile, Xiao Honglü interjected, "Then what is your next horror movie? Please don't tell me it’s another extremely terrifying one?" Zheng Zha’s smile genuinely turned bitter as he muttered, "Whether it's a blessing or a curse, I don't know. The 'Main God' arranges the difficulty of the horror movie based on the strongest member of the team. I’ve unlocked the third stage of the Genetic Lock, and the next film is Alien 4."

The others had already heard Zheng Zha's explanation: the lower the installment number in a movie series, the lower the difficulty, and the higher the installment, the greater the difficulty. Although this film series was generally considered sci-fi horror with lower overall difficulty, this was the fourth installment, causing a momentary silence among the group.

Xiao Honglü plucked a strand of hair from his forehead. "Actually, everyone doesn't need to be so tense. Based on our current strength, only a few situations might threaten us. First, fighting other reincarnation teams—this could be the greatest danger, or perhaps no danger at all upon meeting. Both sides see the other as a source of massive reward points and sub-plot points, but equally, they could easily be killed, like the India Team. Second, a horror movie with a sudden plot alteration, like Alien 1 you encountered, where almost everyone nearly died. Third, disaster films, war films, large-scale sci-fi, or films like the Final Destination series—these are the scenarios most likely to result in total annihilation. However, based on the 'Main God's' estimation of strength, it won't throw us into those unless we are already very powerful. Therefore, even Alien 4 shouldn't be too difficult; we just need to exchange for more high-tech and heavy weaponry."

Zheng Zha's bitter smile persisted as he mumbled, "Once a team has a Captain, in the horror movies the team undergoes, all the members who created the circumstances must participate as well, unless a D-rank sub-plot point is used to redeem them. In other words, in this horror movie, those two women must participate too." He gestured slightly toward Lololi and the stunning woman in the kitchen.