RNP Chapter 24 Final Destination 3
Chapter 24 Final Destination 3
(Sewage treatment, collapse, toxic gas). Smoke and dust from the factory ruins rose slowly in the distance, blending into the leaden twilight. The Zhongzhou team members hid in a warehouse of an abandoned auto repair shop. It was relatively secluded, simply structured, and had a decent view. It was the temporary foothold that Chu Xuan had chosen during his retreat.
The warehouse reeked of engine oil and rust, but compared to the sweet, toxic fumes underground, it was paradise. The group quickly rested, treated their injuries, and replenished their fluids and food. Zheng Zha carefully placed the still unconscious Zhang Jie on a pile of old tires and gave him another injection of a highly effective treatment (the team's supplies were dwindling again). Lu Renjia was tied to a pillar in the corner, still showing no signs of waking, but his vital signs were stable.
Wang Lin sat leaning against the wall, his face still pale, his temples throbbing, the headache from mental exhaustion feeling like a dull knife twisting inside his skull. He carefully laid the cracked, yellowed, and fragile contract paper on his lap, attempting to sense it with his weak mental energy. The pale gold patterns on the paper were almost completely faded, with only a barely perceptible warmth remaining at the very core, proving that it hadn't completely failed. The connection between the contract and the team members still existed, but it had become extremely weak and obscure, especially the connection with Zhang Jie, which was wrapped in a pale gold "film," isolating most of the fluctuations.
"The coverage effect is still there," Wang Lin said in a hoarse voice to Chu Xuan and Zheng Zha, who had gathered around him. "But it's very fragile. I can feel that 'film' slowly depleting, and I estimate it will only last for three to four days at most. Moreover, my contract paper is severely damaged and cannot support large-scale or high-intensity rule operations for a short period of time."
Chu Xuan pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the cold light of the warehouse's emergency lights: "During the coverage period, Zhang Jie's 'abnormal signal' was suppressed to the lowest level. Reaper lost its highest priority target, and the attack logic will enter an adjustment period. But according to the model, it will not stop. Instead, it may adopt a more dispersed and unpredictable approach, trying to relocate the threat, or indirectly force the 'abnormality' to be exposed by eliminating other targets."
He pulled up a data graph on his laptop, showing the activity changes of the "death gray lines" remaining on everyone's bodies (roughly modeled based on Wang Lin's previous description and Zhan Lan's scan): "Look, the gray lines on Zhang Jie are almost dormant, but the activity of the gray lines on the others is slowly increasing, especially Zheng Zha, Wang Lin, me, and... Zhan Lan. Death may be reassessing the threat level and listing us 'interferers' or 'key nodes' as new priority targets."
As if to confirm Chu Xuan's words, a sharp, teeth-grinding metallic scraping sound suddenly came from outside the warehouse! Immediately afterward, there was a dull thud as a heavy object fell to the ground and the crash of shattering glass!
"What's that sound?" At midnight, everyone went on high alert, pointing their guns at the source of the sound—a tall, grime-covered vent on the side of the warehouse.
"I'll go take a look." Overlord picked up the flamethrower and carefully approached the area below the air vent.
Just then, Zhan Lan suddenly covered her forehead and exclaimed in a low voice, "Watch out! Above!"
Everyone looked up and saw that the connecting bolt of one of the crossbeams of the warehouse's roof, which was made of steel beams and corrugated steel plates, was rusting and loosening at a speed visible to the naked eye! Right below the crossbeam, there were some abandoned car engines and parts, as well as several half-full oil drums!
"Accelerated bolt corrosion... altered structural stress... the goal is to trigger a collapse, hitting the oil drum and causing a secondary explosion and fire!" Chu Xuan instantly judged, "The trigger point might be the external metal friction vibration just now, or... subtle changes in air humidity and temperature being exploited by Death. Wang Lin, your danger perception is excellent!"
Wang Lin, enduring his headache, concentrated his last bit of mental energy, activating his spiritual vision and danger perception simultaneously! He "saw" that the rust on the beam wasn't uniform, but concentrated at several key stress points. The spread of the rust was extremely unnatural, as if catalyzed by an invisible force. What chilled him even more was that in the old, de-energized electrical box in the corner of the warehouse, several exposed wires were trembling slightly, their insulation cracking quietly, and a faint arc of electricity was flickering—the target might be leaking gasoline vapor!
"It's not just a collapse! There are electrical sparks too! The goal is to ignite the gasoline vapors!" Wang Lin shouted sharply. "Everyone, get out of the area under the beam immediately! Stay away from the oil drums and that electrical box! Quickly!"
Everyone reacted quickly. Zheng Zha carried Zhang Jie on his back, Ba Wang grabbed Lu Renjia, and Ling Dian, Li Shuaixi, Zhao Yingkong, and Ming Yanwei covered Wang Lin, Chu Xuan, and Zhan Lan as they moved rapidly to a relatively open area on the other side of the warehouse.
The very next second after they left their spot!
Boom!Boom!Boom!
With a few sharp cracks, the crucial bolt on the crossbeam finally snapped completely! The heavy steel beam crashed down with a piercing whistle! It landed squarely on the pile of engines and oil drums!
Boom! Crash!
The oil drum was smashed flat, and the remaining gasoline splattered everywhere! At the same time, the falling steel beam smashed the outer casing of the nearby electrical distribution box!
Sizzle—!
The expected spark suddenly exploded! Although the power outage prevented a sustained arc from forming, that instantaneous spark in the gasoline-vapor-filled air was enough!
boom!
A small, bright flame suddenly shot up from the oil stain and then quickly spread along the flowing gasoline!
"Fire extinguisher!" Zheng Zha roared.
Ba Wang and Li Shuaixi had already rushed to the old dry powder fire extinguishers hanging on the warehouse wall, tore them down, and sprayed them wildly at the source of the fire! The white powder temporarily suppressed the fire.
But the crisis was far from over! The collapsed beams damaged the roof structure, and several adjacent corrugated steel panels began to loosen and deform, causing more dust and debris to fall. Although the fire was temporarily suppressed, the gasoline was still slowly evaporating, filling the air with a strong smell of gasoline and the pungent odor of dry powder.
"We can't stay here! The roof might collapse further, and if there are any more sparks..." Chu Xuan quickly analyzed, "Evacuate immediately through the small door on the east side! It leads to the waste disposal area at the back, which is relatively open!"
The group moved again. This time, they were more vigilant, constantly watching for any unnatural movements above, below, or around them.
Although the second wave of death's attack was averted thanks to advance warning and swift response, its intricate and precise manipulation of subtle environmental changes sent chills down everyone's spines. This was no longer a simple car accident or explosion; it had transformed the entire environment into a deadly trap, where every seemingly unrelated detail (rusted bolts, an old electrical box, residual gasoline, even a random external sound) could be linked into a fatal chain of events.
They escaped to a junkyard, which was filled with discarded car frames, tires, and scrap metal. Although it was chaotic, at least there was open space overhead, and there was no immediate risk of collapse. The group hid behind a pile of tires, panting heavily.
"The attack frequency has increased, and it's become more... 'refined'." Zhan Lan's face was pale. Her mental scan made her more sensitive to abnormal changes in the environment, but it also brought a greater mental burden. "If Wang Lin hadn't seen the sparks beforehand, we might already be..."
"Death is learning and adapting," Chu Xuan said calmly, but his eyes were serious. "It has discovered that concentrated, high-intensity attacks are easy for us to anticipate and neutralize, so it has shifted to a more dispersed, more covert, and more environmentally dependent pattern. This pattern is more difficult to predict in advance because it may start from any tiny 'coincidence'."
"What should we do? We can't keep running around like this forever, can we? There are still seven days left!" Overlord kicked a discarded tire next to him in frustration.
Wang Lin pressed his throbbing temples, trying to think. The contract was unreliable for the time being, his mental energy needed to recover, and the prophetic information was already blurred... All they could rely on now was the team's own observation, analysis, and collaboration, as well as Chu Xuan's powerful computing abilities.
"We need to change our strategy," Wang Lin said slowly. "Passive warnings and reactions will only make us more and more passive. Death is using the environment, and so can we."
"You mean, actively modifying or controlling the environment to disrupt the logic chain of death?" Chu Xuan immediately understood.
"That's right." Wang Lin nodded. "The Grim Reaper needs specific 'props' and 'scenes' to create 'accidents.' If we can identify and remove or destroy those key 'props' in advance (such as unstable structures, flammable materials, and aging circuits), or actively create some 'counterintuitive' interference (such as reinforcing places that may collapse in advance, actively sealing places that may leak, and creating an oxygen-free environment where sparks may be generated), we can greatly increase the difficulty for the Grim Reaper to design traps, and even force it to reveal its intentions."
Chu Xuan's eyes flashed with data: "Feasible. But this requires extremely high environmental control and predictive ability. We need to divide the surrounding area into different risk levels, monitor all potential hazards in real time, and intervene in advance. This requires a lot of computing power and manpower."
"Division of labor," Zheng Zha interjected. "Chu Xuan, you're in charge of calculations and planning, identifying the most dangerous areas and how to handle them. Wang Lin, Zhan Lan, you're in charge of reconnaissance and early warning, reporting any abnormalities immediately. Ling Dian, Ba Wang, Li Shuaixi, Zhao Yingkong, Ming Yanwei, you're in charge of execution—reinforcement, demolition, clearing, and isolation. I'll handle mobile support and protection. As for Zhang Jie and Lu Renjia…" He glanced at the two still unconscious men, "Find a relatively safe place to settle them, and have someone guard them."
"Okay." Chu Xuan quickly started working, pulling up the previously scanned map of the waste site and surrounding area. Combining it with the real-time perception data provided by Wang Lin and Zhan Lan, he began to build a dynamic risk model, marking out potential "dangerous nodes"—loose metal piles, containers that may contain residual chemicals, old transformers, animal nests (which may attract snakes, insects, rodents, and ants), and any minor hidden dangers that could become the first domino to fall.
In the following days, the Zhongzhou team seemed to transform into a professional "environmental hazard mitigation team." Instead of blindly fleeing, they proactively took action to eliminate potential hazards within a limited area (centered on the waste dump, with a radius of one kilometer).
Zero used a sniper rifle to precisely break a leaning, abandoned lamppost in the distance that could fall towards their hiding place. Ba Wang and Li Shuaixi used tools and found materials to reinforce several seemingly unstable piles of scrap metal. Zhao Yingkong and Ming Yanwei carefully inspected every suspicious container and pipe to rule out the risk of chemical leaks. Zheng Zha, on the other hand, used brute force to move some large pieces of scrap that were too heavy and could roll away and cause injury.
Chu Xuan and Wang Lin monitored the entire area at all times. Chu Xuan's calculation model was constantly updated, predicting the next "coincidence point" that Death might exploit. Wang Lin, relying on his gradually recovering mental strength and spiritual vision, as well as his damaged but still remaining sense of danger, scanned the subtle changes in the environment, looking for any unnatural energy gatherings or rule disturbances.
This proactive defense strategy has been somewhat effective. Several subsequent attacks by Death—including a "just" gust of wind that overturned a poorly stacked metal plate, an "accidental" short-term heavy rainfall that caused localized flooding (attempting to cause electric shock or suffocation), and even a swarm of wasps that were "inexplicably" provoked—failed to cause serious damage because the target threat had been eliminated in advance or the environment had been altered. At most, they only caused a false alarm or minor scratches.
However, Death clearly did not give up. Its attacks became even more unpredictable and elusive.
On the afternoon of the fifth day, while the group was clearing a pile of waste, Li Shuaixi accidentally cut his finger. The wound was small, and he didn't pay much attention to it, simply bandaging it before continuing to work. However, a few hours later, he began to experience symptoms such as a low-grade fever, and the wound became red, swollen, and suppurating.
"Tetanus? Or a bacterial infection?" Zhan Lan asked worriedly after the examination. "But it's deteriorating too quickly."
Chu Xuan took a sample of the pus (using a simple device for rapid analysis), his brow furrowed: "It's not ordinary bacteria. It's a mixture of anaerobic bacteria and some unknown toxin, extremely active and resistant to antibiotics. Abnormal microbial communities and chemical residues were detected on the tools and scrap metal near the wound... Death is exploiting microorganisms and chemical contamination."
It was as if Pandora's box had been opened; over the next two days, various "biological" and "chemical" attacks followed one after another. Ming Yanwei was collecting water when the source was "accidentally" contaminated by a dead animal, resulting in mild poisoning. Ba Wang touched a metal plate whose surface coating contained a slowly releasing neurotoxin, causing him temporary numbness in his hands and feet. Zhao Yingkong, while on a covert reconnaissance mission, was bitten by a swarm of flying insects carrying an unknown virus that "happened" to be migrating by, and developed a persistent high fever.
Death's attacks have expanded from physical environmental destruction to the biological and chemical levels, directly targeting the human body! Moreover, these attacks often have short incubation periods, are rapid in onset, and are virtually impossible to defend against. The team's medical resources (treatment injections, antibiotics) are being rapidly depleted, and non-combat casualties are beginning to occur.
"It's testing our weaknesses, searching for the most effective way to kill us." Chu Xuan looked at the fallen team members and the rapidly dwindling medicine, his voice still calm, but his speech faster. "Physical attacks have been contained by our proactive defenses, so they've switched to using more covert biochemical attacks. The next phase might be on the psychological level, or... directly targeting the ability we rely on most."
Alarm bells rang in Wang Lin's mind. His most relied-upon ability? His mental strength? Chu Xuan's computational ability? Zheng Zha's combat prowess? Or... the teamwork itself?
Just then, Lingdian, who had been guarding Zhang Jie and Lu Renjia, suddenly reported via communicator: "Wang Lin, Chu Xuan, Zhang Jie shows signs of waking up. Also... Lu Renjia's condition is not right. He's talking nonsense, and the content... is very strange."
Everyone rushed back to the makeshift, relatively clean isolation shed (built using found plastic sheeting and frames). Zhang Jie's eyelids twitched; he seemed about to wake up. Meanwhile, Lu Renjia, in the corner, was tightly bound, but his body was struggling violently, his eyes rolled back, and he kept uttering broken, malicious words:
"...Death...eyes...looking...at...everyone...order...disrupted...punishment...deception...the box...is about to open..."
His voice was hoarse and distorted, unlike a human voice, more like the synthesized sound of some kind of machine or vengeful spirit. Even more terrifying, as he murmured, Wang Lin saw in his spiritual vision that the originally dim gray lines of death on Lu Renjia's body had become clearer and thicker again, and like vines, they began to spread to the others in the shed, especially... Zhang Jie, who was about to wake up!
"Is he leaking Death's 'rules'? Or has he been used as a new 'signal amplifier'?" Chu Xuan's eyes sharpened. "Stop him! We can't let him continue! This will interfere with the coverage effect and might even re-mark Zhang Jie!"
Zheng Zha stepped forward, about to knock Lu Renjia unconscious.
"Wait!" Wang Lin suddenly shouted. He stared intently at the gray lines spreading across Lu Renjia's body and the violent fluctuations of the pale golden "film" on Zhang Jie's body. An extremely dangerous thought flashed through his mind, "Chu Xuan! You said that the Grim Reaper's attack is based on logical chains and probability. It may not have 'consciousness' itself, but rather resemble an automatically running 'program' or 'set of rules,' right?"
"Theoretically, yes." Chu Xuan nodded.
"What if we... actively input a huge, contradictory 'error message' or 'logical paradox' that exceeds its processing capacity into this 'program'? Would it temporarily 'crash' or 'become chaotic' for an even longer period?" Wang Lin's tone carried a reckless madness. "For example, using Lu Renjia, this deeply corrupted 'signal source,' to reverse-engineer information that completely conflicts with the Grim Reaper's established 'death order' and 'punishment mechanism,' but still possesses a certain 'rule weight'?"
Chu Xuan's pupils contracted sharply: "You mean... using the power of the contract, combined with Lu Renjia as the 'medium,' to forcibly alter or interfere with the Grim Reaper's local 'judgment rules'? For example, claiming 'this place is exempt from death for a certain period of time' or 'a certain target has been removed from the list'? But this requires an extremely large amount of rule power, and it is very likely to encounter a backlash from the Grim Reaper's 'set of rules.' Lu Renjia will die instantly, your contract paper may be completely shattered, and even you yourself..."
"I know the risks," Wang Lin interrupted him, looking at the cracked, barely breathing contract in his hand, then at his collapsed teammates, the struggling Lu Renjia, and Zhang Jie who was about to wake up. "But this is the only chance to break this increasingly passive, increasingly deadly cycle. The coverage effect is almost worn off, the medicine is running out, and the team members' condition is deteriorating. Death's next attack might be a mental shock or a direct strike targeting our abilities. We have to take the gamble!"
Zheng Zha looked at Wang Lin's resolute eyes, then at his weakened teammate, and slammed his fist heavily on the nearby support structure, causing the plastic tent to shake violently: "Damn it! We're betting! Wang Lin, what do you say we do?!"
Chu Xuan paused for two seconds, quickly calculating, then looked up: "The success rate is less than 15%, but the success rate of passively waiting to die is close to 0%. We can try. It requires maximum willpower resonance and energy support. Everyone, prepare!"
Wang Lin took a deep breath, pressed the tattered contract paper to his forehead, and mobilized all his restored spiritual power to communicate with the remaining core rules. He walked up to the struggling Lu Renjia, ignoring the chilling gray lines spreading across the other's body, and placed his hand on the top of Lu Renjia's head.
"Using the remnant contract as the guide, and this different body as the medium," Wang Lin's voice was deep and solemn, carrying the unique rhythm of the contract's laws, "altering the order of death, declaring exemption—within this realm for three quarters, death retreats!"
What he read aloud was not the actual contract terms (that required voluntariness and precision), but a "declaration" containing the intent of rules. With the last power of the contract paper and Lu Renjia, the "medium" deeply connected with death, he forcibly instilled a contradictory instruction into the "rules of death" of the surrounding space!
The cracks on the contract paper widened instantly, almost shattering completely! Wang Lin felt as if his spiritual power was being swallowed by a black hole; his head throbbed with pain, his vision blurred, and blood gushed from his mouth and nose! Lu Renjia let out an extremely shrill scream, his body convulsing violently, countless twisting black lines appearing beneath his skin, as if something was about to burst out! The death gray lines on his body danced wildly, fiercely clashing with the rule intent that Wang Lin had poured in!
At the same time, all the team members, including Zhang Jie who had just woken up and was still in a daze, felt an invisible force pulling at their spirit and will. It was Wang Lin asking for and guiding everyone's belief and support through the remaining contractual ties!
"Hold on! Send all your thoughts of not wanting to die to Wang Lin!" Zheng Zha roared, his red and white energy surging wildly, not as an attack, but as a pure "will to survive," which was transmitted through the contract connection!
Zhan Lan, Lingdian, Bawang, Li Shuaixi, Zhao Yingkong, Ming Yanwei, and even the sick, all gritted their teeth and gathered their strongest will to live, their trust in their teammates, and their hatred for death into that invisible resonance!
Chu Xuan calmly manipulated several energy devices, adjusting the collected (weak) environmental energy and the fluctuations of everyone's life magnetic fields to be as synchronized as possible with the rules and intentions emitted by Wang Lin, and subtly amplifying and guiding them.
Om-!
A silent yet soul-chilling tremor erupted from Lu Renjia's center! In the air, the omnipresent chilling aura and faint gray lines, representing the gaze of death, twisted, rippled, and became chaotic, like the surface of a lake tossed with a boulder! It was as if two different sets of "rules" were vying for control of this area!
Lu Renjia's screams abruptly stopped. His wide eyes lost all their light, and his body went limp, his life force completely gone—as the "medium" and the center of the conflict, he could not withstand the tearing force of the rules and died instantly.
Wang Lin also groaned and fell backward, but Zheng Zha caught him. The contract in his hand finally shattered completely, turning into countless tiny fragments that shimmered with the last glimmer of light, drifting in the air and then vanishing into nothingness.
The contract is ruined.
But it seems to have had an effect.
Inside and outside the warehouse, the suffocating, omnipresent sense of deathly oppression had actually... weakened! Not disappeared, but became blurred and chaotic, as if it had lost its clear direction and logic. The remaining gray lines in the air became intermittent, appearing and disappearing.
Chu Xuan quickly operated the equipment, monitoring environmental data: "The local 'death rule' shows signs of disorder and conflict, and the logic chain calculation appears to be blocked. The range of effect... covers approximately 500 meters around us. The duration... is unknown, but it is estimated to be short, perhaps only a few hours."
"It's a success... for now?" Zhan Lan asked weakly.
With Zheng Zha's support, Wang Lin managed to stand, wiping the blood from his face. Looking at Lu Renjia's corpse and the scattered fragments of the contract in the air, he felt no joy, only heaviness and a sense of emptiness. The contract was his most important asset, now completely destroyed. But in return, he had gained a brief, chaotic "safe zone."
Zhang Jie was now fully awake. He struggled to sit up, feeling the power firmly sealed within his body and the chaotic but no longer primarily targeting deathly aura outside. He looked at Wang Lin and the others with a complex expression, opened his mouth, and finally only managed to say in a hoarse voice, "...Thanks."
"Stop talking nonsense, can you still move?" Zheng Zha asked.
Zhang Jie tried to move his hands and feet, and said with a wry smile, "I'm a little stronger than the average person, but my previous abilities... are temporarily gone."
"That's enough." Chu Xuan put away the equipment. "The chaotic period is our last chance. Immediately retreat to the edge of the city and find the most ordinary, inconspicuous, and mobile environment to hide in. After the Grim Reaper's 'rules' resume, there will likely be a 'delay period' for rescanning and repositioning. We must use this time difference to completely disappear from its 'sight' until the mission is over."
There was no time to hesitate. The group grabbed what they needed, helped the wounded, and discarded most of their conspicuous equipment and supplies. Like ordinary refugees, they quickly left the junkyard and blended into the gradually darkening edge of the city.
Wang Lin glanced back at the ruins gradually being swallowed by the night, and at the invisible "rule field" in the air that was still chaotic but slowly adjusting itself.
The baptism of death is far from over. But at least, at a great cost, they have torn open a temporary opening and won a glimmer of hope.
The next few days will be a silent escape in the shadows, a race against time, and a game of hide-and-seek with the recovering rules of death.