Everyone exchanged a look. Apart from the two rookies and Anck-Su-Namun who paled, everyone else was more unperturbed. Zheng looked at everyone, sighing. “I’ll deploy the team. We need to split into two squads to initiate the plan.”

“...And that’s the deployment of the two squads. Also, this is the item I exchanged using the points and ranked rewards from killing gods and demons in Lord of the Rings, the Pirate Crew’s Rope. Before, i already had the feeling we’ll split up. However, team Devil may have clones of us, and other teams may have exceptionally strong psyche force users. This Pirate Crew’s Rope is important for distinguishing between real and fake.”

Zheng suddenly took out many white coloured ropes from his Na Ring. It looked ordinary. It had several runes on it, and it looked like this rope was meant for the wrist considering its size.

“It’s like this. All those with this rope on are members of team China. When you die... it’ll return to my wrist. I hope that apart from the rope on my wrist, there won’t be any others. Comrades, I hope to live on together with each and every single one of you!” Zheng said loudly to the rest. When he finished speaking, he used strength to bind the rope tightly on his wrist.

The rest of the team did so on their wrists as well. Everyone looked at each other, and apart from Xuan, they placed their wrists side by side, forming a giant circle together. Every person of team China had their own rope on their wrist. This rope could only be removed by the exchanger Zheng, except... in death.

“Then... let’s do this!”

***

Team Devil...

“What a good thing! A virus with the characteristics of fourth stage genes?” Clone Xuan said softly, a fanatical expression on his face. Everyone kept their calm in the face of this strange event.

Clone Xuan finally recovered his cool after whispering a few sentences. “Technology wise, this is a virus that should not exist. At least, based on current standards of science. Unless, he has a new type of technology that far exceeds the current standard? Xiaoxue, use the Godseal Board. Check the technology he used to create this virus. If possible, exchange it. I want a copy.”

The woman besides him paused, before taking action. She began to flip through the paper in her hands. After looking through for a while, she said in surprise, “Xuan, checking and exchanging it requires over 30,000 causality points. Our causality points aren’t enough. How strange, why do we need so much? Inconceivable...”

“Understood. No need to continue. He definitely doesn’t have a complete version of this technology, and it’s a very powerful one. He should have either a fragmentary rune technology or Cultivation technology. Xiaoxue, check what Cultivation treasures he has on his body.”

“670 causality points used. He has the Bell of the East Emperor, Jade Disc of Creation, Revised Magic Cannon, Human Consciousness Controller, Power of Faith Energy Converter, Lifeforce-powered Extreme Farsight Eyes, Consciousness Expanding Device... these.” Xiaoxue recited the Cultivation treasures team China’s Xuan had. By the tenth item, not only her, but everyone looked subconsciously at clone Xuan. They were all secretly thinking that they really were indeed the same person.

“Understood. The Bell of the East Emperor and the Jade Disc of Creation shouldn’t have been created by him. My scheme was mistaken. Although we had been monitoring them before, we didn’t have enough causality points to check their situation in the movies team China experienced before we got the Godseal Board. That had required too much points, and the spacetime backlash that would bring would have affected our whole team. No, in truth, it’s actually already started to affect us.”

Clone Xuan let out a breath. He pushed his spectacles up as he look at the sky. For a time, no one knew what this man was thinking as he stayed silent not saying a word.

(Yes. Perhaps we’ve already been affected by the spacetime reversal. If not for our causality points not being enough, we’ll have known sooner that team China obtained an ancient legacy, and we could have constantly monitored them, hence discovering the original Xuan creating this super virus. It’s because we didn’t that there was a deviation in Xuan’s scheme. Is this... luck?)

Zhang Xiaoxue thought inwardly. For a time, she was deeply absorbed in it, and she only responded when clone Xuan snapped his fingers.

“I understand. If my original wants to use an overt scheme against us to battle, we’ll just ignore it. Xiaoxue, use the Godseal Board to create the vaccine. Every member who hasn’t unlocked the fourth stage will receive one, then we’ll all enter Raccoon City directly. We’ll eliminate the squad from team China going to the Hive, as well as team Celestial that’s similarly in the city.”

***

“As my clone, that’s what he’ll do, as my overt scheme is simple, sending people to nuclear missile bases and firing a super virus, while another squad goes to the Hive to obtain the clue on the Seventh Underground Laboratory. If he splits up as well, he’ll be foregoing the situational advantage they have to use force against force. This is definitely beneficial to us who are in an inferior position situationally wise. This holds true no matter which group team Devil attacks. So, if it were me, I would focus my forces to attack on one front, and I’ll attack the one that you’re at...” Xuan pointed at Zheng.

“But, didn’t you say before your clone released information that he wanted to work together against team Celestial?” Zheng asked uncomprehendingly.

“Correct, they do want to deal against team Celestial. But they want to deal with us too. In other words, who said that when we scheme against team Celestial, we can’t scheme against the other side at the same time?” Xuan laughed coldly, snapping his fingers. “Do you still not understand? This final battles has two most crucial points are... the results of your battle against your clone. This is enough to change the whole ending of the war. The second is the victory of the team members. This can change the conclusion of your fight with your clone. The two complement one another. Whichever reached its conclusion first will influence the other. If it were me, I would definitely assign people to whittle at your combat strength before the battle with clone Zheng starts. I may even do it myself personally. When your power falls, you won’t be able to beat clone Zheng. So, the tendencies team Devil will have is simple. They’ll all rush to Raccoon City. They’ll defeat our squad before the virus kicks in for them, while attacking you at the same time.”

“Now, I just have one more doubt I need confirmation for.” Xuan suddenly said. “Can their omniscience see the movies we’ve experienced in the past? If not...”

“The omniscience my clone has will instead become the crux of our victory.”

***

In team China’s other squad, the dimensional bag Zero carried had over a hundred metal spheres. These metal spheres were filled with viruses.

Only one metal sphere was an exception. It didn’t have a virus, only a piece of paper. There were some letters and numbers. The letters were simply meaningless words and short sentences, while the numbers were even more incomprehensible. And this was the one exception among metal spheres, one filled with a paper message...