Over the Pacific Ocean.
The flight to Tokyo reached cruising altitude. Most passengers had already fallen asleep.
Nobody noticed the plane's course had deviated slightly from its original route.
The Japanese-American captain, over a dozen flight attendants, and the same number of passengers gathered in the rest area, sitting cross-legged in a traditional style.
The captain pulled out something thick and sturdy that resembled a laptop computer.
Several people bowed reverently. Not long after The Hand's Five Fingers meeting concluded, the white-haired, parchment-skinned Madame Gao appeared on the screen. Her eyes were extremely cloudy, her clothing extremely ancient.
"Madame."
"Madame."
Everyone bowed and saluted together.
Madame Gao went straight to the point. "How many people are currently on the plane?"
The captain answered respectfully, "Including us, one hundred seventy-five people total."
"Too few, too few, too few! Black Sky requires more hatred and slaughter. This time you'll need to offer your flesh and blood." Madame Gao spoke casually.
"We will die willingly for Madame!"
Several people all showed fanatical expressions. They lowered their heads in unison, their slogans perfectly synchronized.
A vague, ominous premonition jolted Bella awake. It was nowhere near as intense as when she'd encountered the Grim Reaper, but it wasn't exactly a gentle breeze either.
In other words, a moderate premonition of death—neither faint nor overwhelming—had appeared.
What's going on?!
She abruptly stood up from her seat, her eagle-eye vision scanning the surroundings.
"Miss, please sit down. Don't disturb the other passengers." A flight attendant approached, speaking gently.
Bella glanced at the attendant—not an enemy, no hostility directed at her, but she didn't seem friendly either.
She could understand that. Airlines claimed to offer service with a smile and treat passengers like royalty, but how was that actually possible? Smiling on the surface while cursing internally—there were plenty of people like that.
She assessed the plane's condition. The flight was stable, the surroundings quiet. It didn't seem like anyone was hijacking the plane.
However, that sense of danger premonition still lingered in her heart, never dissipating. She asked, "The plane hasn't had any problems, right? Are there issues with the power systems? Or is the pilot experiencing health problems?"
"Please return to your seat immediately. Our flight is very safe." The attendant's response was bureaucratic.
"...Something's wrong. There's definitely a problem!" Bella hesitated briefly before stepping forward, preparing to go to the cockpit and check personally.
"Miss! Please don't disturb everyone's rest. If you continue making a scene, I'll call security!" The attendant grabbed Bella's arm, her voice rising sharply.
This person has a problem! In Bella's vision, the attendant was shifting from a neutral state to a hostile state.
"I'm just going to the bathroom. I'll be right back." She used a psionic blast to knock out the attendant—though considering this was an ordinary person, she only used about ten percent of her psionic power.
Shaking off the attendant's hand, she walked toward the cockpit.
She hadn't taken two steps before two more flight attendants blocked her path, one in front and one behind. A thin man quickly ran up from behind. He flashed the handcuffs at his waist—apparently the air marshal.
"You're all... working together? What is your airline doing?" Bella was confused. Her feeling was like checking into a hotel only to discover it was a black-market operation. Were there no good people on this entire plane?
She didn't hesitate further. With three punches and two kicks, she knocked down several people. They clung to her legs like madmen. Somewhat irritated, she forcibly pried their fingers open and pushed aside several bewildered passengers. The successive obstacles delayed her for nearly half a minute.
Before she could enter the cockpit, the plane suddenly dropped altitude over the Pacific Ocean. Then, as if passing through some tunnel, it vanished completely above the ocean.
Holy crap! The plane shook violently inside. Turbulent air currents continuously collided with the aircraft. Surrounding passengers crushed together into a mass. Bella felt like she was on a roller coaster. She had no time to check the cockpit situation. Seeing an empty seat nearby, she forced her way through the crowd, sat down heavily, then fastened her seatbelt, preparing to withstand the upcoming impact.
With a thunderous "boom," the plane collided violently with the ground.
Even with Bella's physical constitution, she felt dizzy and extremely uncomfortable.
The plane fractured in the middle section. The front half of the fuselage rolled forward like a wheel for two complete rotations.
Bella was in the front section. She gripped the seat with one hand while bracing against several passengers pressing against her with the other. Her strength was formidable, but when seventeen or eighteen people pressed together, even she struggled to hold them back.
One rotation, two rotations! When the momentum finally dissipated and the fuselage crashed heavily to the ground, she saw stars and felt completely disoriented.
She pushed the passengers off with difficulty. She herself was nearly exhausted.
I can't pass out. I can't!
She kept giving herself mental suggestions. It seemed like a long time passed, yet also like only a minute.
She slowly regained control of her body. Wiping her face, she forced her eyes open, trying to become more alert.
Not daring to linger inside the plane, she stepped over numerous unconscious passenger bodies and headed outside through the fracture point.
Midway, she spotted one of the flight attendants who'd obstructed her earlier, unconscious in a seat. Without another word, she grabbed this person. This attendant definitely knew some inside information.
Stumbling along while dragging someone, she struggled to exit the plane.
In front of her stretched a beach. In the distance stood a patch of waist-high reeds. The sun was about to set, its dim twilight casting her shadow with an eerie quality.
Hmm? Bella rubbed her forehead, looking left and right.
This place gave her an extremely strange feeling. The most direct sensation was that gravity here was greater than before—not by much, but enough to make her body feel heavy and sluggish.
The air also retained an energy that both excited and frightened her. There was magic here! Though very faint, very sparse, it existed!
Where am I? Am I still on Earth?
For a brief moment, Bella even thought she'd transmigrated again.
She secretly called out to Pyramid Head. No problem—Pyramid Head could be summoned.
She contacted the Flying Dutchman tattoo on her wrist. Jason could be summoned too.
She knew she hadn't transmigrated. Otherwise, she'd have no ability to summon these two powerhouses across countless dimensions.
Not far away lay a small stream. She dragged the attendant by the ankle toward the water, intending to drink a couple of gulps.
But the warning in her heart surfaced again—don't drink it!
What kind of godforsaken place is this? Even the water can't be drunk?
Fine, she wouldn't drink! With her constitution, she could hold out for a while.
Sitting heavily on the ground, she felt utterly depressed. Was it her fate to have plane crash disasters? She'd avoided it for two years but still couldn't escape?