They traveled through time at the same time, but the villainous scientist

Chapter 492 Plan
"The Final Destination series is quite simple, telling the story of a group of survivors who escaped a certain disaster and were subsequently hunted down by a supernatural force."

This supernatural force follows the order in which the survivors die, killing by creating a series of coincidences.

Its behavior is fundamentally different from all other known vengeful spirits.

Zhang Qi continued.

"The formation of an evil spirit requires two prerequisites."

First, there is a powerful obsession that can distort reality, usually stemming from extreme negative emotions such as hatred, anger, or despair.

Secondly, there exists a medium of energy capable of carrying this spiritual power, such as 'Primordial Qi'...

Chu Xuan nodded and analyzed.

Then he turned on his computer and pulled up some information he had compiled about the "Final Destination" movie series.

"The Grim Reaper of this world is indeed quite special..."

First, there's the motivation: Death isn't seeking revenge, but rather to 'correct' a disrupted 'death sequence'.

Secondly, there's the method. Death's killing methods are quite intricate, consisting of countless coincidences.

It uses every variable in the environment to pry open the first domino, and then waits for the final result to occur.

Moreover, in the end, it often only affects a small number of the dead, which is far too inefficient…

Chu Xuan continued, "The Grim Reaper of this world does indeed have considerable research value."

"There's another point, and that's the range of Death's influence."

Even when the survivors in the original story fled to another country, they could not escape the pursuit.

This indicates that its influence range is quite large, possibly even on a planetary scale…

Zhang Qi nodded; Chu Xuan's analysis coincided with his judgment.

This is precisely why he chose this world as the testing ground.

"Therefore, it is most likely not an evil spirit."

It's more like a mechanism, a rule, or even an inherent self-healing program of this world.

When a 'BUG' occurs in the system, that is, when someone escapes death, it will activate and begin 'debugging'.

A planetary system that enforces 'death' as ​​an absolute law.

This is indeed an excellent observational sample for your 'Gaia hypothesis'.

Scientific research, in essence, is about deducing laws about the nature of objective phenomena.

But the question is, how do we 'observe' this phenomenon?

Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses and asked Zhang Qi.

His question went straight to the heart of the matter.

Conventional physical instruments, whether electromagnetic wave detectors or high-energy particle scanners, will completely fail when faced with an abstract entity like "Death," which cannot be directly described by physical laws.

Instruments cannot measure the quality of "coincidence" nor capture "fate".

"Therefore, we need some unconventional equipment."

A slight smile curved the corners of Zhang Qi's lips.

He stretched out his hand, palm up.

With a barely perceptible spatial fluctuation, a fist-sized prop, resembling a miniature globe, quietly appeared in his palm.

The object had the texture of the purest crystal, yet its interior shimmered with a faint light, like melted starlight.

The outlines of the continent and the ocean are delicately drawn with some kind of silver thread, exuding an ancient and profound aura, as if it were not a model, but a reflection of the real world.

Chu Xuan's gaze was immediately drawn to it.

He didn't ask how it came to be; that wasn't important.

He was concerned with its functionality.

"This is an observation tool I made based on the magic theories in the Type-Moon universe," Zhang Qi explained, his fingers gently brushing across the surface of the crystal globe, causing shimmering light to ripple.

Scientific observation methods do exist, but the required equipment is too large to be carried around in the cycle of reincarnation.

In comparison, the props from the mystical side are more direct and convenient.

Of course, this thing is far inferior to a tool like Chaldea that can directly observe the past of Earth and predict the future.

This thing can only record the fluctuations of Earth's will...

But for them at present, it is enough.

If Death doesn't think the same way they do, starting construction on Chaldea directly would just be a waste of resources.

Chu Xuan silently accepted the crystal globe from Zhang Qi and nodded.

"So, our goal is to find the survivors from the first movie?"

"That's right..."

Zhang Qi nodded, tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and the data stream on the computer screen disappeared instantly, replaced by a concise electronic file.

The file is titled "Report on the Flight 180 Air Disaster," and in the very center is a woman's ID photo.

The woman in the photo has blonde hair and blue eyes, but her eyes reveal a kind of exhaustion and nervousness from being overly frightened.

[Name: Claire Rivers]

[Status: Sole registered survivor of Flight 180 crash]

Current Location: Lakeview Mental Health Center

"In order to escape the attack of death, Claire locked herself in a mental hospital."

She chose a room with padded walls, away from any sharp objects, appliances, or even windows that could cause an accident.

She was trying to create an environment with 'zero variables'.

Zhang Qi explained.

Why doesn't Death make a move?

Is it that you don't want to harm innocent people? Or is it that you can't do it?

Chu Xuan seemed to be deep in thought. The fact that the Grim Reaper could create accidents meant that it had the ability to interfere with the physical world.

But if that's the case, there are obviously even more efficient ways to kill people.

If he remembers correctly, this female protagonist lived for a long time in this way.

"This is what we need to verify..."

As Zhang Qi spoke, he took out another file folder and handed it to Chu Xuan.

Chu Xuan opened the file package, which contained his identification documents, a visit application for a mental illness research scholar, and the handwritten approval from the director of the sanatorium.

The applicant's name was clearly listed as two names.

"To 'visit' a patient with a mental illness as a researcher."

"That makes perfect sense. So, let's go."

Chu Xuan nodded, and then left the room with Zhang Qi.

After that, we drove to the hospital at our destination.

Using the forged documents from the psychologist, Zhang Qi and his companion easily slipped in and arrived at the special ward.

Pushing open the door, a slightly stuffy atmosphere rushed out.

The room was very clean, and sunlight streamed through the gaps in the blinds, casting dappled patterns of light on the floor.

A blonde woman sat on a chair by the window, silently watching the bustling street outside, her eyes vacant, as if her soul had already drifted far away...

(End of this chapter)