"That fired university professor? The psychology one?" She laughed dismissively. "Is he really useful? From what I know, he's completely helpless in a fight."
"Some kinds of strength are more powerful than fists. I need him."
"Fine, your request is granted. I'll notify him to enter the competition." She dressed and threw me a flirty glance before leaving. "By the way, straight man—remember my name. I'm Morphine. Like the painkiller."
Morphine—fitting name. Prolonged exposure to a woman like her would be addictive, I suppose.
I sat alone in the empty room. If I inhaled deeply, I could still catch a faint trace of Selene's scent. I'd thought another woman was about to enter my life, but instead came this twisted turn.
The next trip's notification arrived quickly on my phone:
Flight: G5370
Date: 11/13
Boarding Time: 18:00
Class: F
Name: Ryan Knox
Origin: Changlong
Destination: North Senai Island
Duration: 5 hours
Prize: 1,800,000 yuan
The moment the notification went out, Jasper called me. He could barely contain his excitement: "Ryan, did you get the notification? A flight trip, first class, and the prize is 1.8 million... My God."
"Old Jasper, stay calm. With such a huge reward, there must be fierce competition. This trip will be a fight for our lives."
"That doesn't matter. The real question is—with a trip at this level, will Shiva participate? Since getting back from White Ridge Mountain, I've dreamt about him more than once..."
So that was why he was excited. I said, "I just received inside information. Shiva will likely be on this trip."
The line went silent. I sensed beneath that silence a torrent of ecstasy and anticipation—the kind of pressure that builds before a storm. For Jasper, Shiva was a gateway to truth. Through him, he could touch the far shore of psychology's ocean.
It took him a long while to compose himself before asking: "Did Selene get a trip notification too? Are you with her?"
"Old Jasper, it was actually me who brought you onto this flight..." I told him everything from start to finish, then added, "So our mission this time isn't just to come back alive—we have to rescue Selene too."
Jasper fell silent again.
"I'm sorry, Old Jasper. I made this decision for you without asking. If you don't want to go, you can—"
"No, Ryan, you did the right thing!" Jasper's voice burst through. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I should thank you. Without you, I might never have qualified for a trip at this level. Only in a trip like this can I witness the rarest psychological portraits and complete my psychological model. If I can gather these diamonds left behind by the evolution of human consciousness—even death is worth it..."
I didn't know what to say. The old man was willing to die for his research.
Before boarding, I studied our destination carefully: North Senai Island. An undeveloped, uninhabited island in the Andaman archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, facing India across the sea. The island was covered in dense forest—even military satellite imagery couldn't penetrate to its interior.
In other words, a desolate rock in the middle of nowhere. Why had Headquarters chosen this as the destination?
Besides, wasn't Shiva Headquarters' gift to the world? Why did they now want to eliminate him?
Carrying these doubts, I boarded the plane. It was an A380—the largest passenger aircraft in service, capable of carrying up to 600 passengers, nicknamed the "Flying Fortress." Even its cabin was split across two decks like a cruise ship.
I found my seat. The surrounding rows were already occupied. Beside me sat Jasper, who waved excitedly as I approached.
I sat next to him and surveyed the cabin. Almost all the competitors were new faces—no one I'd met in previous trips. This confirmed one thing: this was an extremely high-level competition. The winners of previous trips didn't qualify—Jasper and I had essentially been "fast-tracked" into a tier far above our pay grade.
Like a Bronze player forcing a Diamond-tier match. The pressure was immense.
I scanned the cabin and spotted Morphine in the front-left row. She'd gotten a wavy perm, wore glossy lipstick, and had small pearl earrings—looking even more alluring than before. She turned around and blew me a kiss.
Jasper asked curiously, "Who's that?"
"Morphine," I said in a low voice. "The one who kidnapped Selene."
"Seems like you two got pretty close."
My face heated up, and I quickly covered with a deflection: "She's just a pawn. But the power behind her is unfathomable. We can only play it by ear if we want to rescue Selene."
"So you have a plan?"
"Sort of... one."
"What plan?"
"Play it by ear."
Old Jasper rolled his eyes. "That's not a plan at all."
I knew it wasn't. But there was no alternative. Their objective was to "kill Shiva," and whether we could even accomplish that was an open question. Even if we did, once we'd served our purpose, there was no guarantee Headquarters wouldn't dispose of us like used tools.
While I was strategizing, the cabin door closed. The final passenger boarded. When I saw who it was, my eyes went wild with alarm!
Lucas—or rather, Shiva—was boarding the plane!
Just as I was about to lose my composure, a sharp pinch on the back of my hand made me turn. It was Old Jasper, giving me a meaningful look—a clear signal to stay quiet.
I looked at him, confused. He gestured subtly around the cabin and whispered: "Look at these people's expressions."
I scanned the cabin and was stunned! These passengers were either resting with eyes closed, lost in thought, or looking out the window—not a single one had their gaze resting on Lucas!
That meant no one here knew he was Shiva!
Every person in this cabin saw Lucas as just another ordinary competitor!
A chill ran down my spine as I recalled what Lucas had said during the last trip: "Everyone who has seen Shiva's true form must die."
Now I understood—this was no empty threat. Everyone who'd witnessed Shiva's true form was dead, which was why no one in all of Death Trip knew Lucas's identity!
Even Morphine hadn't glanced at Lucas!
This was unfathomable—she didn't recognize Shiva either?
Then it hit me. Lucas must have altered his appearance—plastic surgery or some other disguise. He was no longer the same person as before. His obvious goal was to evade Headquarters' notice.
So Lucas had long known Headquarters would come for him.
Three years ago, there had been an aviation trip that ended in a plane crash in Nepal. All passengers died—only Lucas survived... I understood now. He'd engineered that crash to conceal his identity as Shiva!
In other words, Jasper and I were the only ones on this entire plane who knew his true identity. I finally grasped why Old Jasper had pinched me—we needed to keep this secret, to hold the initiative.
So I sat quietly and watched Lucas walk past.
He noticed me too, his expression flickering slightly—since by all rights, Jasper and I shouldn't have qualified for a competition at this level. Seeing us here was unexpected.
But he recovered instantly and greeted me casually: "Oh hey, what a coincidence—running into familiar faces. Thanks for looking after me on the White Ridge Mountain trip. Please take care of me again this time."
I forced a calm nod and watched Lucas pass by.
The plane had taxied onto the runway and was about to take off. The flight attendant's sweet voice came over the intercom: "Welcome aboard the A380. This flight's destination is North Senai Island. Flight duration: five hours. Total passengers aboard: 182. This trip has no combat-restricted zones—all areas are open for combat. The prize is 1.8 million yuan. Additionally, for each boarding pass collected from another passenger, an additional 400,000 yuan will be awarded, with no upper limit. The trip will now begin. Good luck to all."
Jasper and I exchanged a look. No combat-restricted zones? That meant no shelters—not even the option to forfeit mid-trip.
The only option left for everyone: fight to the bitter end.
Then a second announcement came: "Per Headquarters' notification, this trip includes an additional reward. All surviving passengers will receive direct qualification for a 'Headquarters Tour.' Survivors will have the opportunity to enter Headquarters and witness with their own eyes the core secrets behind how the world operates."
The cabin erupted in excited chatter, every face lit with fervor. I understood—they'd endured countless Death Trips, and reaching a competition of this caliber was no longer about money. Just as Quinn had said, he kept competing only to reach the end, to see what kind of power could make his brother willingly walk to his death.
Now that power beckoned from ahead, waiting for them.
So this was the "additional reward" Morphine had mentioned—the one Shiva couldn't refuse.
And Shiva, like Quinn, had boarded this flight solely to see that "power" with his own eyes!