Volume 23 Chapter 7.4

"We'll rest here for today. Looks like God indeed gave this movie huge restrictions. Even this sort of weather appeared."

At one of Raccoon City's outer regions, team Africa was resting there. They had entered Raccoon City that day. It wasn't possible that they would choose to walk to the city's centre considering that they had individual flying equipment. Just as they were planning to fly in, a rainstorm had come. The fierce lightning falling had unquestionably sealed off the air route. It was alright to have a go at it if you weren't afraid of dying. Lightning was particularly sensitive to metal after all, so flying up at this time was really seeking death.

Neos had a complicated expression as he stood at the entrance to the basement as he watched that falling rainstorm, as well as that purple lightning continuously criss-crossing the sky. He felt both delightedness and helplessness in his heart.

On one hand, although all the teams would have their rate of advance reduced by this rainstorm, it would slow down their own team as well, rendering their individual flying equipment useless. They wouldn't be able to contact team China within a short time. This sort of thing was a double-edged blade, harming both oneself and others. At least, it prevented his original plan from continuing to progress.

"How troublesome. Although this rainstorm has delayed the gathering of the Angel Alliance, it's also delaying the time we find team China. Seriously, is this the heavens favouring us or fate playing a joke again?" Neos muttered.

A man and woman stood by his side. These two were veterans of team Africa. Accurately speaking, they were veterans who fought alongside Neos for a very long time, even against team China. They were Richard, who had self-created an ability called Berserker, and Aya, the mixed blood girl who used witchcraft.

Aya hesitated. "Neos, let's go into the basement. The outside is too dangerous. That mutated Licker before was already so terrifying. We don't know if there are any more such creatures in the vicinity. Anyways, let's go in."

Neos didn't reply, only taking out a chocolate to take a bite. The crunching sound wasn't obvious in the rainstorm, and he talked as he ate, "If we don't bring this information to team China, or we don't stop Adam's madness, what do these infected monsters count for? We'll face something even more terrifying... Even we may turn into those things, lacking sentience or consciousness, not even able to die if we wanted..."

Although that was so, Neos still followed the two down after thinking for a moment. This was a caretaker's room in an underground storeroom. Although it was abandoned, it wasn't too shabby. At least, it hadn't been seriously damaged, and was only very dusty. After the team Africa members carefully shut the entrance, they took out food to leisurely eat as they rested. Only Neos was sitting on a chair nibbling away at chcolate.

"It's obvious that Adam's plan had already begun. I even suspect he's initiating this plan in the real world. That way, he can return to the real world and immediately become invincible there after winning the final battle. He may even surpass invincibility to become eternal... Thus, this final battle is vitally important for him. He can't let those teams of the Angel Alliance be destroyed, while our team doesn't have enough power to shake this plan. I can't not admit that his intelligence is much greater than mine. It's futile trying to resist him with schemes and plans. If so, team China who has a friendly relationship with us is a necessary choice to stop or defeat Adam. We can also tide over this final battle with their help. As for what path to take after, that's a matter for the future..."

Neos was sighing when he thought to this point. He viciously took a bite of the chocolate, as if the chocolate was Adam. When he had completely swallowed the chocolate down, he spoke to a little girl in the team. "Snow, I'll be troubling you now. You have to keep using psyche force from now. Immediately tell me if something happens. Contact them if you see team China and tell them our location. Understood, little lass?"

The girl snow nodded understandingly. While she didn't say anything, this didn't mean everyone else didn't either. A black youth at the side opened his mouth, "Don't you think telling our team's location to team China directly is too dangerous, Neos? Such a strong team isn't something we can resist. You only said we'll contact them before. But there's no need to go so far, is there? We wouldn't even have the strength to resist if they harbour ill intentions on us. I think you're being too risky."

"That's correct. You'll be right in normal circumstances. We can't let our guard down even against teams we have friendly relationships with, especially during the final battle. But, I have my reasons I can't do otherwise. There's not much time left. I don't know what stage Adam has achieved already. If he's already at the final phase and meets up with those teams, we're finished. Although those other teams are going to die for sure, there's no need to be buried alongside them. If there's hope to resolve it, then we have to grasp it tightly. This is my order, and you just need to execute it. As for danger... this danger is far less than if Adam completes his plan. Got it?" Neos didn't care about the black youth's response, only taking another chocolate to eat.

The black youth was angry, but he suddenly asked after thinking for a moment. "You keep going on and on about danger, Neos. What is that danger? What did you see in those ancient ruins? It wasn't a team battle that time, so how did you know team Celestial had entered those ruins as well? You didn't allow us to go in either. Did you find some treasure inside?"

"...It's not that I don't want to say. It's that I can't." Neos pointed at his heart as he laughed bitterly. "It really is a treasure. A very crazy one. If I obtained that core, I may have made the same thing as Adam. The temptation is irresistible after all. What a crazy treasure, or perhaps, it was the Saints, Magicians and Alchemists who are crazy."

"If Adam completes his plan before we can find team China, or if even team China can't stop him, I'll seek my own release. This is my advice to everyone. Death... may be a better release."

"Death is the best form of release... Are you saying that team Celestial is seeking release? They wish to die?"

***

In Raccoon City at the same time, in a building far from team Africa. The building used to be a hotel. The rooms inside were mostly still whole. Team China just directly went inside to live, due to their confidence that was born from their skill.

Considering the six, even a mutated Licker or Nemesis couldn't harm them as long as they were a little careful, despite them lacking a psyche force user. The rain was pouring outside. Zheng had decided to rest here for the night due to this weather stopping their individual flying equipment and it already being night time.

When Zheng was discussing with the rest the next step forward, he suddenly asked Xuan curiously about team Celestial's activity. Clone Xuan had made his move already after all, while team China was basically making a move against team Devil. If so, Adam was simply allowing the other two teams to scheme, and was just dumbly at the side without any reaction.

"Three possibilities. One, Adam's dead. Two, Adam has already started plotting in secret, or even teamed up with team Devil. Three, if these guesses are wrong, team Celestial is withholding something that'll let them disregard us two teams, and even gives them the confidence to suppress you and your clone. Oh... one more possibility. Death is the best form of release, and Adam hopes to die."

Xuan's reply made everyone frown. The final possibility could be easily eliminated. If he wanted to die, Adam wouldn't have gone to the stage of perishing together back in Lord of the Rings. Although they would perish together, he had actually been doing it for the sake of surviving. As for the first three... apart from the preposterous possibility of Adam already being dead, the second possibility had a large chance.

Zheng repeated the Xuan's answer. After thinking about it, he couldn't understand why, so he ignored the answer. He only asked Xuan, "Alright, putting aside team Celestial for now, how do you thing the six of us should deal with team Devil? If your plan to lure the enemy is successful, we'll be facing a fierce attack from team Devil, with team Celestial participating as well. Do you think the six of us can handle it? Or should we keep retreating and resisting, waiting until the time the virus launches?"

"No... " Xuan answered directly. "We can't rely on the virus for victory. I said that long ago. This final battle will still rely on a battle of kings and soldier against soldier to resolve. And it's not the six of us. It's the five of us and you... You can't participate in each and every battle outside of with your clone, while that's what my clone wants you to do. He just needs to use several people to deplete your energy before, then the conclusion of the battlefield can be rewritten. You need to trust them. Even without you... they can still do well. And, is it just you here with a fated enemy?"

Zheng looked around upon hearing that. There was Heng with a serious expression. There was the gently smiling Yingkong, who was radically different from that cold expression before, or that original personality with coldness hidden in that gentle smile of hers...

They, or everyone in team China, weren't weak. It was exactly the opposite. They were actually strong!

"And fate has slowly started to abandon team Devil. It's hard to predict the end of this battle. We're not completely without any situational advantage." Xuan looked out at the falling rain outside the window.

"The virus variation differs from the original. Its adaptability is great, and it can infect living things through contact with water. If we spread the virus to the sky or the whole city in this rainstorm, it'll be much more effective than in dry conditions. It'll spread through the whole city much faster than my original expectations, and the rainstorm will also restrict individual flying devices. In other words, team Devil with their psyche force user and us without one will have the same rate of advancement. The use of a psyche force user will be reduced to the utmost lowest. This is our fortune, and team Devil's misfortune. They're too unlucky, and perhaps this ill luck will persist..."

Xuan took out an apple and took a bite. "There's something else we are slightly better than team Devil in. He and I are the same person. However, we have one more strategist. If Honglu still has the intelligence he's displayed in the past... We're not exactly completely lacking a situational advantage in this battle."

"The Hive! We'll give team Devil a pleasant surprise there."