154: Section 154

After a rustling sound, two figures emerged one after another from the long river of starlight.

The two of them were now dressed in casual clothes, looking radiant and refreshed.

Pipi Xi stood elegantly, her entire being exuding an intellectual beauty.

Su Ming stood tall and heroic, his dark red trench coat fluttering, possessing a strong masculine aura.

As the starlight descended, the two of them vanished simultaneously.

When they reappeared...

It was also accompanied by the scattering of starlight.

They happened to appear in a shadowy blind spot of a small town coffee shop.

Fittingly, a scene from the movie was currently unfolding.

Alex, who had just taken Claire to sneak into a funeral parlor to meet with an old black man, was now at a roadside coffee table, earnestly trying to sell Claire on his theory of Death's hit list.

While Claire was feeling her skin crawl, stuck between belief and doubt...

Carter, who was driving his girlfriend Terry around for a spin, happened to see them.

He originally intended to ignore them, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he got, and the more he couldn't let it go.

He immediately swerved the steering wheel, nearly dragging Billy, who was heading in the opposite direction, under his car.

Ms. Lewton pushed open the door and walked out of the coffee shop.

After a round of arguing, the only six survivors of Flight 180 happened to gather on the street by chance.

Watching the group argue, Pipi Xi's brow furrowed:

"...Coincidence? I don't believe it!"

Su Ming nodded in agreement, his Wall-Piercing Insight fully active:

"The Eye of Insight still needs further iteration. I can see the fluctuating threads of karma! Look, that one named Terry, tsk tsk... her luck is extremely weak, and the Star of Death is hanging high above her."

At the same moment.

Terry grew tired of the group's messy arguing.

She roared in a rage:

"I've had enough of your noise! The dead are gone, and it's all in the past!"

"Just let it go..."

"I won't let this plane crash affect the rest of my life!"

As she spoke, Terry even shoved Carter a few times, stating with certainty:

"I won't! Do you understand!"

And then...

As if she had lost her mind, the woman started rambling things like, 'I need to look forward, Carter,' and 'If you ever trouble Alex again, you can just go die.'

Alex and the group looked at Terry in stunned silence.

But they didn't know...

Death's scythe was already raised high...

A bus was speeding toward them as if out of control.

Chapter 175: Shallow Karma Liquidation Program

Su Ming and Pipi Xi's eyes had locked onto the bus long ago.

The moment a certain mechanical structure loosened, the two knew that Death's design had begun.

They exchanged a glance.

Pipi Xi asked:

"Well? Should we intervene?"

Su Ming shook his head:

"No rush! Looking at them, they clearly haven't recognized reality yet... let blood teach them what reverence is first."

As soon as he finished speaking...

BOOM!—

The speeding bus slammed head-on into Terry.

Limbs flew, flesh and bone fragments splattered, and Terry's mangled body flew over ten meters like a broken sack, hitting the road with a wet thud.

Driven by inertia, it rolled repeatedly, leaving a trail of bloody marks!

The others, splattered with blood, watched in horror.

They looked at that lump of mangled meat that was no longer recognizable, and at the bloody trail that looked like a hideous scar on the earth.

The group screamed and cursed, at a complete loss.

Su Ming and Pipi Xi walked side by side.

On the way to the scene of the accident, Pipi Xi voiced her confusion:

"Tell me about this 'Shallow Karma Liquidation System' you mentioned. I find it strange—what is the point of eliminating those who should have died but survived through 'accidents'?"

"Clearing up karma is something that happens in every world. It's just that this world chose the low-cost method of accidents, that's all."

"So, what's the point?"

"The point is that, for the world itself, this is a mechanism to clear out system junk data, which helps the world gradually move toward stability."

"The existence of just a few people can affect the stability of the world?"

"Unfortunately, in this world... it can!"

"Ah... that's inconceivable."

"It's easy to understand if you apply physical rules and the logic that requires them to give way to the idealistic, and then add a variable. In such an idealistic world, people like them who narrowly survived a certain-death situation possess a certain potential!"

Pausing, Su Ming smiled and asked back:

"That would be the degree of mystery... Think about it, aren't they like potential system bugs, or a new source of the supernatural that could explode at any time?"

Pipi Xi was speechless. Viewing it from an Angel's perspective...

Weren't they, in their current situation, also facing the karmic liquidation of the known universe!

—The Ultimate Fear?

While Pipi Xi was lost in thought, the two arrived at the scene.

Su Ming stepped forward and nodded to Alex, whose pupils were slightly dilated:

"Alex?"

The young man was stunned. Claire tugged at the blonde boy's sleeve and asked in a low voice:

"Calm down, Alex... perhaps you should explain what's going on with this Asian man?"

"He is..." Recovering slightly from the accident, Alex looked at Su Ming awkwardly.

"You can call me Omar. I'm from the DelMayCry Agency... I'm a private investigator!"

As he spoke, Su Ming glanced at the pile of mangled meat with interest, clicked his tongue twice, and said nonchalantly:

"Sorry, looks like I'm late."

Claire had a sudden realization. This was it...

From the moment this Asian man appeared, she felt something was wrong.

Thinking back now, Claire was shocked to realize that this person was too cold—it was an inhuman indifference that treated other lives as trivial!

Cold sweat broke out on her forehead. Ignoring her manners, Claire grabbed Alex's collar.

Leaning in, she growled in a low voice:

"Damn it, Alex, what the hell are you up to?"

"Relax, Claire! I remember now. On the night Tod died, an agent recommended an excellent professional to me..."

"A psychic? An astrologer?"

"I'm not sure, probably the same kind of person."

"Fuck!" Claire ran a hand through her blonde hair and asked helplessly, "Are you sure he can solve the problem we're facing?"

"But it's a hope, Claire. We have no choice!"

The other survivors overheard their conversation.

Carter, who had just lost his girlfriend, remained unmoved.

Ms. Lewton wiped the blood from her face, looking at her two students with hesitation.

As for Billy... the kid hadn't even come to his senses yet.

Sighing, Su Ming pulled out a chair.

As he sat down, he said:

"I saw the situation just now. Unfortunately, Alex, you and your classmates have been marked by the world itself as potential threats... If you don't understand, think of a computer system virus. The problem now is that the world's antivirus software is targeting you."

"Oh right, sit down and talk..."

Exchanging a glance with Claire, Alex sat across from Su Ming.

"But I don't understand, Mr. Omar. We didn't do anything..."

"No! Just by being alive, you are guilty!"

"Why? Why!"

Claire's eyes turned red.

He waved his hand, signaling Claire to stay calm.

Then, ignoring the gasps of others, Su Ming telekinetically summoned several chairs, making the dumbfounded group sit down.

He used this practical action to intimidate them.

"Amazing!—"

Ms. Lewton covered her mouth and cried out in surprise.

Good.

This was the desired effect!

Of course.

There were side effects too.

People on the streets who were watching the accident scene looked in this direction with excitement and trepidation, and some even raised their cameras.

There were also many people hurriedly calling the TV stations.

However.

That didn't matter.

Su Ming said with a half-smile:

"Alright, now to answer your question. Because you were supposed to die in that plane crash, but because of the anomaly that is Alex, you survived!"

"What kind of hellish explanation is that?"

"So, we just have to die, is that it?"

Hearing this, Carter cast a complex gaze at Alex.

If the Asian man in front of him were just trying to sell this crooked logic with words, the furious Carter swore he would show him the sharpness of an American-style quick-draw.

But... he wasn't!

That ability to control objects from a distance had once made him question his life... Wasn't the world supposed to be materialistic?

"Because you survived a certain-death fate, you've gained a certain trait. Unfortunately, our world is a bit sensitive to that, so... you understand."