Chapter 244

Chapter 244

The food truck navigated through the white fog, with Qin Yu demonstrating his prowess by finding numerous keys to unlock the anomalies. Ji Xinghai also showcased his abilities by 'persuading' the shops that had been stationed here for years.

The students and Extraordinaries strolling around in "Heavenly Delights" were taken aback when they turned their heads and saw a new shop appear by the lake; another one appeared as they turned again, leaving them stunned.

"Did the manager go to restock?"

Indeed, it was restocking.

They had come to this city specifically to absorb its unique domain and expand their sales network, but since there were these various resource-type anomalies, it would be a waste not to absorb them.

Of course, any benefit comes with trouble, and the greater the benefit, the more trouble it brings.

These troubles were the local survivors.

"More survivors are coming." Several bullets pattered against the car window, but the food truck, being an anomaly, was unaffected by them.

Then stones and bottles filled with burning alcohol followed. While these items posed no real threat to the anomalous vehicle, they left scorch marks on the beautiful food truck's body.

Seeing these ungrateful humans, the food truck, which was always meticulously maintained, was so enraged that its engine was practically smoking.

"Manager, they..."

"Run them over." Ji Xinghai placed the final card on the house of cards, completing the three-story structure.

Upon receiving the order, the food truck lit up all its lights, the light strips changing colors rhythmically. It accelerated to eighty miles per hour in a second.

Seeing the speeding food truck, the initially aggressive survivors hurriedly dodged. The truck crushed the leg of one survivor who couldn't evade in time, causing a crunch as the already brittle leg shattered into pieces.

The other survivors were so frightened that their guns fell to the ground.

"Murder! Murderer!"

These cries didn't travel far in the white fog, but before they could vent their anger, the terrifying truck turned around and accelerated towards them once again.

This scene sent them screaming and scattering in all directions. Even the survivor with the broken leg crawled away frantically.

This time, there was no more taunting; they watched the truck leave with trembling lips.

"I've never seen such 'innocent and cute' survivors," said Ji Xinghai. Although he had only seen survivors from three cities, the survivors in Door City were particularly unique, with a naive recklessness.

Qin Yu, who was checking the map, looked up upon hearing this: "They are like fish raised in captivity. Though their movements are restricted and they face the risk of death, as long as they occupy several resource-type anomalies, they can ensure a comfortable existence. Here, anomalies are not enemies but protectors, feeders, and ultimately, executioners."

The survivors here did not naturally become this way; they are the result of mutual choices. Those who sense danger leave, while those who crave comfort stay.

But those who remain due to their inherent weakness eventually realize they cannot leave Door City. Thus, the more they recognize the problem, the more they need to justify their choice.

They will drive away outsiders to protect their 'food source.'

The survivors in Door City have no special abilities; they dominate the city merely because of their human identity and the tolerance of their kind.

Extraordinaries who visit Door City do not want to kill. Humans already struggle to survive, and they cannot afford to kill each other. Moreover, there are plenty of anomalies in nearby cities waiting to be dealt with. So, when they find the survivors unwelcoming, they leave.

Students are different.

Those who reach the final stage are battle-hardened, though not necessarily bloodthirsty. If not for the mission requirement to end the time loop and ensure the safety of the locals, they might have wiped out everything.

After all, they are just NPCs, lacking basic human rights in the eyes of most students.

As for Ji Xinghai, he treats everyone equally. If you don't hinder him, all is well; if you do, you die. He truly means it when he says he's not a good person.

"Have we reached the airport?"

"Five minutes away." The food truck emitted a cute electronic voice.

"Hmm." He put away the cards, took a sip of water, and ate a snack to replenish his health and mana.

Up ahead was Door City International Airport, where a large domain anomaly resided. It was rumored that many anomalies formed from air disasters were absorbed by one international passenger plane, which then became the dominant anomaly.

The food truck entered the tarmac via the fire lane, and among the dull gray planes, only one red-and-white aircraft stood out, with two ground crew members conducting final checks.

In theory, staff should perform rigorous pre-flight inspections, down to every screw. However, these two crew members merely touched things here and there, appearing busy but actually slacking off.

"Ah Qin, are the remnants of other anomalies still here?" Ji Xinghai surveyed the area, focusing on the other planes.

Qin Yu, who was observing the planes to confirm their models and flight routes, replied: "Three planes haven't been fully absorbed yet."

"Then they can settle their scores now." There was a gleeful tone in Ji Xinghai's voice, almost urging them to fight.

The food truck drove towards the remnants of the other planes. The ground crew members working on the red-and-white plane looked up, seeing the anomalous vehicle approach. Though puzzled about how a car anomaly could be here, given the chaos of the world, they shrugged it off and continued their work.

They hadn't realized the severity of the situation.

As part of the death loop anomaly, the ground crew members cared little about their work, knowing that something would go wrong anyway. They were eagerly awaiting new victims to board the plane and become fresh fodder.

However, the humans in Door City were increasingly becoming anomalies themselves, and their energy was too weak for even minor anomalies to bother with. But without orders, they had to continue lurking, unsure when they could extend their reach...

"Can we inspect the plane?"

Ji Xinghai appeared beside them like a ghost, followed by dozens of ghastly, blood-stained anomalies wearing flight crew uniforms.

The two ground crew members glanced at the clearly human Ji Xinghai and then at the raging anomalies behind him. This strange combination left the inexperienced anomalies bewildered.

"Can we inspect the plane? If so, can you step aside?"

After a moment, Ji Xinghai added politely: "Thank you."

All the anomalies behind him smiled sinisterly and rolled up their sleeves.

"..."

When enemies meet, their eyes burn with hatred.

At the slightest disagreement, they would start fighting. The two ground crew members were no match for these vengeful and eerie opponents, who quickly tore them apart.

The bloodthirsty entities turned to look at the only human present, their eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"What are you looking at me for? Check the plane. Or do you want to kill me?"

Confronted by his half-smiling gaze, the originally enraged entities immediately wilted, forcing a servile grin, even changing their previously aggressive stance to one of caution.

"Thoroughly inspect the plane inside and out. They are the original eerie entities in this domain, capable of repeating past events, but you are not. You only have one life; once it's gone, it's gone." Ji Xinghai was unperturbed by their testing. It was like taming wolves; they needed to know who the alpha was, but their aggressiveness couldn't be completely suppressed.

"These two are dealt with, but there are other crew members still around." Seeing that they were all crowding under the plane to check, Ji Xinghai reminded them about other threats.

He seemed to enjoy the chaos. However, the entities didn't dare disobey. Two of them began circling the plane for inspection, while the others went inside.

The original captain, co-pilot, and other crew members, unaware of anything, were pretending to conduct inspections in the cockpit and cabin.

These entities, unlike the driver of the food truck who sought death, were numb to their work, performing necessary checks without much attention to detail—typical "accident-prone crew."

It seemed that this plane, while devouring its kind, had gathered all elements that could cause an air disaster: negligent ground crew, irresponsible crew members, and various other factors.

The plane itself seemed to relish the joy of exploding with its passengers.

What a nuisance. Nothing compares to the food truck.

By now, the entities he brought had encountered the original crew of the plane.

Ji Xinghai took out some pine nuts, cracking them as he watched the brutal scenes flashing past the plane's windows.

The upgraded eerie remnants were truly powerful, using claws, teeth, and everything else to tear the captain and others into pieces so small they couldn't be reassembled.

They only stopped after all the crew members were dead, but their manic desire to destroy everything remained, instinctively craving something...

Their gaze met Ji Xinghai's again.

He smiled warmly. "Do you need help calming down?"

"!"

Driven by a strong will to survive, the crew identified seventeen hidden faults, with engine failure being the first.

This plane had a dual-engine system, but both engines were faulty this time.

It seemed determined to cause trouble.

In addition, there was hydraulic failure (all three systems malfunctioning), landing gear issues, pressurization problems, and metal fatigue leading to a critical component breaking...

In short, if this plane took off, it would explode on its own without any external cause.

After finishing his own pine nuts, Ji Xinghai took Qin Yu's, knowing they would cause trouble but not expecting it to be so extreme: "Repair and recheck."

Repair and recheck.

Repair again, recheck again.

Following the 'Aircraft Safety Checklist' strictly, they conducted thorough inspections three times, confirming everything was fine. Ji Xinghai waved them away: "Go up. I don't need to teach you how to fly the plane, right?"

"No, no, Boss, we got it."

The entities, having experienced two intense confrontations, were now thoroughly cowed, like wolves who had firmly established their place in the hierarchy. They dared not show their fangs or claws to him anymore.

"We're going up." They split into two groups, heading to the cockpit and cabin respectively.

All the crew members from other domains were professionals. The unprofessional ones had already been eliminated.

Actually, Ji Xinghai didn't care because he knew how to fly a plane. If necessary, he could kill all the entities and fly it himself.

"Do your jobs properly; don't worry about anything else." He knew the eerie domain formed by the plane would likely cause more trouble, so he was giving them a heads-up.

"In a bit, I'll be dealing with some people; just focus on your tasks."

The entities wouldn't dare interfere; they scurried away faster than cockroaches.

The plane was checked, and the crew was in position.

Whether original or not, they were in place.

Once the cabin door closed, everything restarted. The previously empty seats filled with people, who continued their scripted conversations, turning to see the new flight attendant's bloodied face.

Hiss.

The reemployed flight attendant nonchalantly wiped the blood from her face, put her detached eyeball back in, adjusted her collar, and flashed a standard smile, speaking clearly and brightly: "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard this flight. Please pay attention to the following safety announcements..."

The passengers' eyes widened.

Did they get on the wrong plane?!