"Compared to the disparity in strength between us, I believe they should be waiting for the helicopter at the corporate headquarters. This is evident from the psychic scan; although the area within a seventy-kilometer radius is undetectable, that same seventy-kilometer range indicates their approximate location. Currently, the undetectable area is precisely the center of the corporate headquarters. They have remained there for over ten minutes, meaning they can only be waiting for the helicopter to arrive."

Chu Xuan sat in the vehicle, murmuring to those around him while gripping a simple city map. He pointed to the location of the Umbrella Corporation on the map and continued, "Certain signs suggest that the captain of Team Zhongzhou possesses some capacity for strategic deduction, or perhaps someone on their team does. Those six armed helicopters earlier clearly point to such a plan. They intended to drag Umbrella Corporation into the conflict between our two teams. But they overlooked one crucial factor: self-interest."

Chu Xuan pushed up his glasses and looked indifferently at the others. "This strategy is too preoccupied with human nature. He believes—or rather, he has considered the human element too deeply. He understands Umbrella Corporation's motivations, such as leveraging their high-tech weaponry or displaying their formidable power to trick Umbrella into attacking us. This line of thinking isn't flawed, but they forgot to account for the purest form of interest. When the cost far outweighs the potential gain, especially when that gain doesn't seem easily attainable, Umbrella Corporation will invariably destroy everything, including what they can't obtain. It’s that simple, and perfectly understandable. If Umbrella Corporation were truly committed to attacking us with full force, by now there would be dozens, perhaps hundreds, of armed helicopters assaulting us. Facing an attack of that magnitude, everyone except the captain would perish here. Since that hasn't happened, their entanglement maneuver has failed."

"Next, it must be their escape."

The scarred Zheng Zha suddenly asked, "Tom, what is the extent of your psychic metal control? Can you make the helicopters explode?"

Tom shook his head wearily. "Too far. Even with Amia augmenting my psychic scanning and amplification, I can't control the helicopters to deform and explode. At most, I can control their direction of movement, perhaps pulling them down into a crash."

Zheng Zha nodded, then turned back to Chu Xuan. "Continue."

Chu Xuan’s expression remained utterly detached and calm. He stated coolly, "Essentially, their escape plan is straightforward. Facing absolute power, they only have two paths open to them. The first is to split up and flee. They might group the rookies, the non-combat support personnel, or perhaps the strategist himself into one party fleeing forward, leaving the female assassin, the archer, and the captain as rear-guard snipers. In a sprawling metropolis like this, an individual has a far better chance of escaping than a team. Therefore, we are likely facing a situation where Team Zhongzhou has split into about four groups—one larger group, and three others that are significantly combat-capable. In fact, I believe the combat effectiveness of those three individuals is in no way inferior to most members of our own team. To neutralize them, I believe we will need..."

Zheng Zha, however, shook his head. "No need to complicate things. Those three are..." He paused. "Continue. That is one possible choice they would make. What is the other option?"

Chu Xuan nodded. "The other choice is to hold position! Either split up and run, or fortify and wait, hoping that upon our arrival, they can enter into peaceful negotiations with us. Perhaps that is the result they desire."

"Negotiations?" Several people in the Demon Reincarnation Squad asked curiously.

"Yes, negotiations. When our combat strength possesses an overwhelming advantage, negotiation becomes the only card they can play, and we won't have the luxury of refusing. As long as we cannot successfully assault their fortified position, or if an assault would result in heavy casualties, we will be compelled to agree to their peace proposal quickly and then complete this mission according to our terms. Otherwise, if the delay becomes too long, and Umbrella Corporation decides to abandon them, a nuclear strike will bury both of us here."

Zheng Zha murmured, sounding puzzled. "Isn't that a rather good strategy? Why wouldn't they do that?"

Chu Xuan smiled faintly. "Because they fear that they are unfamiliar with us, just as we are unfamiliar with them. If they truly fortified their position, we would have to deliberate extensively before attacking, or perhaps even agree to their peace proposal. But because the strategist is afraid, he likely worries that under a siege, if we possess any heavy weaponry or area-of-effect magic skills, their entire team could be instantly annihilated. In such a scenario, their most probable action is to take a gamble. If escape is absolutely impossible, they will fortify. If they can escape, they will split up. In truth, isn't splitting up to flee also a gamble? Since staying together means certain death, they might as well divide, entrusting the chance to defeat us to a few powerful individuals, giving the entirety of Team Zhongzhou a much higher probability of achieving a draw or an escape."

Zheng Zha pondered. "Under what circumstances would they flee, and under what circumstances would they hold fast? Is it dependent on hope?"

"Precisely. It hinges on the magnitude of hope. If escape is absolutely impossible, they will certainly fortify. If escape is possible, the closer they are to the designated exit point or checkpoint, the more certain they are to split up and flee. Considering the distance from here to the city limits—seventy kilometers—this is the perfect location for them to fall into our trap!"

On the top floor of the skyscraper, Zheng Zha and the others ate and then sat quietly resting. Only Alice walked strangely over to the Licker, staring intently at the creature, odd flickers appearing in her eyes intermittently.

The male executive standing in front of the Licker sneered, "Survivor, how does it feel? The torment of the T-virus inside you, is there some kind of euphoria?"

Alice turned to him coldly. "What do you mean? Survivor? You'd better finish what you have to say, or I won't hesitate to knock out your teeth!"

The executive maintained his lewd grin. "A Survivor is a Survivor. The company's two great biological weapons: one is primarily based on the T-virus, forcefully evolving the human body, relying on the virus's strength to create powerful bioweapons called 'Trackers.' The other uses the T-virus as a secondary catalyst to stimulate the human body's potential and inherent genetic evolution, resulting in bioweapons named 'Survivors.' You are the company's foremost Survivor to date. However, tragically, in terms of combat power, your value has been instantly superseded. Trackers are many times more powerful than such Survivors. Hahaha!"

Alice suddenly delivered a fierce kick to the executive's groin. With a sharp crack, the surrounding men instinctively clutched their lower bodies. Not only that, but the expressions on everyone's faces shifted to pity for the executive. Several nearby guards appeared ready to raise their weapons, but upon seeing Zheng Zha stand up, they quickly lowered their guns behind their backs, signaling they had no hostile intent.

Zheng Zha walked to Alice's side. The girl was clearly lost in thought, visibly struggling to accept her identity as a Survivor. This was understandable; who among normal people could bear the realization that they were a bioweapon? Yet, Alice had only been momentarily disoriented—such composure was already far superior to most ordinary individuals.

Zheng Zha lifted the company executive from the ground. "I very much want to kill you right now, but killing you so easily feels unsatisfying. So, I've decided to let you suffer a bit more first, and then you'll find out. I hope you enjoy this suffering." With that, he tossed the man back onto the floor.

As Zheng Zha spoke, a massive transport helicopter slowly approached from the distance. This military transport chopper resembled a brooding hen, its fuselage ovular, capable of carrying at least several dozen people—this was the transportation Umbrella Corporation had provided for Zheng Zha and his group to leave the city.

At that moment, the silent telephone box rang again. Zheng Zha opened the box and answered. A cold male voice immediately issued from the receiver: "The aircraft has arrived. Furthermore, I have dispatched three helicopters to escort this transport. That is all. I hope to meet Mr. Zheng Zha at the corporate headquarters."

The voice was curt and finished instantly, the line going dead. Simultaneously, Zheng Zha spotted several armed helicopters appearing in the distance. Escort? This was clearly surveillance. After all, a transport chopper stood no chance against armed gunships in the air, a fact the Umbrella board members were surely well aware of.

"No matter what, everyone should board the plane first."

Following the prior arrangement, upon entering the transport, Zheng Zha immediately threw the two pilots out of the helicopter. Carlos then took control and lifted the aircraft. The surrounding armed choppers didn't even land; they waited until the transport gained altitude, then closely followed the gunship, all heading toward the city's exit checkpoint.

The speed of the aircraft was breathtaking. Compared to the cautious driving of ground vehicles, the difference in velocity was night and day. In mere minutes, the group was tens of kilometers away from the city checkpoint. Just a little more flight time, and they would easily complete this horror movie scenario, evading the attacks of the Demon Reincarnation Squad.

"Hello everyone, I am Zheng Zha."

Jill, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly spoke in the man's voice, and it was exactly Zheng Zha's tone. Everyone stared at her, but she continued unhurriedly, "Forcibly breaking through the psychic interference cannot last long. I will be brief. We are very close to the checkpoint, and it will take us considerable time to reach you there. Therefore, you must land, and then we will settle things by our respective capabilities. Rest assured, the story characters we need are still on the plane, so we will not destroy it. Zheng Zha, the pre-copy version of me, come meet me. I am waiting for you."

As the voice faded, an urgent alarm suddenly blared throughout the entire transport helicopter, and simultaneously, the helicopter began to plummet rapidly downward—jump to