"Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon."
"I am the captain of this flight, GB180. It is my honor to fly with all of you to the beautiful city of Gusu. Today is also a special day for me personally, it marks the twenty-fifth year of my career as a pilot, and at the same time, this is my final flight mission before retirement."
A faint burst of static came through the broadcast, followed by the captain's slightly smiling voice.
"May we all have a pleasant and safe journey on the road of life."
As soon as he finished speaking, the cabin fell silent for a moment, then erupted into warm applause and good-natured blessings.
"Congratulations, Captain!"
"Twenty-five years of safe flying, that's incredible!"
"Let's share the good luck, may we have a smooth journey!"
Chris Veynor clapped twice along with the crowd, his expression blank and his heart unmoved.
The captain's final flight before retirement?
As a somewhat well-known web novelist, at least eighteen different airplane-crash storylines instantly flashed through his mind that could begin with this premise.
But reality was often even more absurd than fiction.
He turned his head and looked at the girl in the window seat beside him, 11A. Her name was Kimberly Lyrelle. They had just met. She was also a student from Evershade University.
"You don't look too good. Are you airsick?"
"No."
She shook her head. "I just finished my last chemotherapy session. The doctor said I'm completely cured now. I can finally live the college life I've been dreaming of."
Chris nodded and silently made a note in his mind: Death Flag +1.
The two chatted a bit more about their majors and their expectations for university life. Then Kimberly said she needed to use the restroom, and the conversation paused.
With nothing to do, Chris suddenly heard an elderly man in the front row speaking excitedly in a hushed voice on the phone.
"…Yes, Academician Ken, we succeeded! The clinical trial data for the CRISPR-T7 gene-editing technology are flawless! Humanity has taken a historic step in conquering cancer, and that step was taken by us! As soon as I get off the plane, I'll immediately hold a press conference…"
A major technological breakthrough in curing cancer, and the scientist is about to reveal it to the world.
Death Flag +2.
Chris had intended to put on his headphones and rest for a while, but his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Huh?
Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling?
Behind him diagonally, a young couple was leaning against each other. The girl rested her head on the boy's shoulder, her face full of happiness.
"Baby, when we get back this time, I'll take the six hundred thousand bride price we've saved and go propose to your family!"
"Mhm!"
Death Flag +3.
Chris's temples began throbbing.
Further back, a burly man with a straight posture was carefully wiping a family photo. Beneath his palm was a retired veteran's commemorative bag. His skin was dark and his eyes sharp, but at the moment that sharpness was wrapped in a layer of gentle moisture.
He murmured softly: "Lily… wife…"
This is bad!
A soldier returning home in glory.
Death Flag +4.
On the other side of the aisle, a young office worker wearing a plaid shirt was excitedly showing his parents a screenshot of a lottery ticket on his phone. Behind the numbers was a long string of zeros.
"Dad, Mom, one hundred million! A full one hundred million! I won a lottery!!"
"From now on, I'll never have to work again. I can take you around the world!"
A bespectacled guy nearby was startled at first, then leaned over to look at the screenshot. His eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
For some reason, he suddenly grabbed the plaid-shirted young man's arm.
"Big brother! Let me borrow some of your luck!"
After getting permission, the guy rubbed both hands vigorously over the phone screen, as if trying to absorb the good fortune.
Then he took a deep breath, summoned the courage of his entire life, and dialed a phone number.
"Hello? It's… it's me… um… I've liked you for ten years! Would… would you be willing to have a meal with me?"
The other side of the phone seemed to remain silent for a very long time, so long that the bespectacled guy's face turned the color of pig liver. Just when he was about to give up, a tiny voice came from the receiver.
"Okay."
"She agreed! She agreed!"
Winning a hundred million. Confession successful.
Death Flag +5, Death Flag +6.
A retiring captain, a cancer survivor, a great scientist, a returning soldier, a loving couple, a lottery winner, someone whose confession succeeded…
Weren't there a few too many winners in life on this flight?
He can't watch this anymore.
Chris took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Stay calm. It's probably nothing serious.
Based on his many years of experience reading web novels, at times like this, there was usually a prophet-type character to complete the final loop.
There wouldn't… really be some strange person, would there?
At that moment, two flight attendants pushed a meal cart past him, their quiet conversation clearly entering his ears.
"Did you hear? Before boarding, there was a man who suddenly went crazy and kept shouting that he wanted to get off the plane."
"I heard. It was like he was possessed. He kept saying the plane couldn't take off, that people would die if it flew. The captain even went to comfort him personally, but in the end, airport security still dragged him away."
"Seriously, there are all kinds of people. Luckily, it didn't affect us…"
The final puzzle piece clicked into place.
Cold sweat instantly soaked Chris's back.
All the coincidences, all the Death Flags, all the ominous feelings converged at this moment into a single, crystal-clear and terrifying conclusion: This plane will have an accident.
No!
He couldn't just sit there and wait for death!
He had to do something.
But what could he do? Rush to the cockpit and warn the captain?
He would definitely be subdued as a troublemaking lunatic.
Shout loudly and tell everyone to get off the plane?
He would probably be arrested as a mental patient first.
His brain spun rapidly. Amid the chaotic thoughts, one idea flashed through like lightning.
He didn't know what form the danger would take, an explosion? Disintegration? Or something else?
But he had watched enough disaster movies and real crash documentaries to know that survival rates for different seats in a plane crash could vary drastically.
Even though he didn't know which seat was the safest, he knew one thing: He had to change the current situation.
As his gaze wandered, he suddenly remembered Kimberly's seat number.
11A!
Wasn't that the seat number of survivors from two plane crashes in his previous life?!
Seeing that Kimberly still hadn't returned, Chris practically sprang up like a launched arrow.
Without the slightest hesitation, he plopped down into the window seat 11A and buckled his seat belt at the fastest speed possible.
Such decisive and swift actions naturally attracted the surprised gazes of the surrounding passengers.
Chris ignored them. He pressed his entire body tightly against the seat, gripping the armrests with both hands so hard that his knuckles turned white.
He didn't know if changing seats would help, but he had to gamble.
It was the only thing he could do.
Sorry, classmate.
Your new life deserves celebration, but I only have one life.
If you come back… You can sit on my lap.
BOOM!!!
A tremendous explosion suddenly erupted from the rear of the plane without any warning, like the roar of an ancient beast!
Immediately afterward, the entire fuselage shook violently and catastrophically.
"Ahhh!"
Screams instantly tore apart the warm atmosphere inside the cabin. Oxygen masks dropped from overhead and swung wildly. The luggage compartments burst open, and countless items rained down like a storm.
The plane lost balance and began plunging toward the ground at a despair-inducing angle.
Weightlessness!
Extreme weightlessness seized everyone!
Chris felt as if his organs were about to surge out of his throat.
Outside the window, the sky and the earth spun and rolled wildly, blue sky and brown land twisting together into a vortex of death.
He saw the scientist who had conquered cancer. His glasses were long gone, and his face was filled with a terror that knowledge could not explain.
The couple preparing for marriage held each other tightly during the fall, fulfilling their final vow with their lives.
He also saw Kimberly standing in the aisle. Her petite body was tossed upward in the chaos and slammed into the ceiling. The last light in her eyes carried endless regret and sorrow.
Flames began spreading from the wings like a fire dragon, instantly devouring the entire fuselage.
A scorching wave rushed toward him. His skin carbonized in an instant, and unbearable pain pierced every nerve.
In the final moment before his consciousness faded, only one thought remained in Chris's mind.
So… changing seats didn't help after all…
…
"Dear passengers, Flight GB180 to Gusu is now boarding. Please bring your belongings and proceed to Gate 1A…"
The familiar announcement. The familiar noisy crowd. The familiar bright lights of the airport hall.
Chris suddenly opened his eyes.
He found himself sitting in a chair in the waiting area, still holding a boarding pass in his hand.
GB180, seat 11B.
Subconsciously, he touched his face. His skin was smooth, without the slightest trace of burns.
Looking down at his hands, they were also completely intact.
People around him were walking hurriedly, their faces carrying either the anticipation or fatigue of travel.
Everything… had returned before the plane took off?
Just now… was that a dream?
No!
That was definitely not a dream!
The scorching pain of being devoured by flames, the tearing agony of his body, the despair of falling, all of it remained vividly imprinted deep within his soul.
He had been reborn again.
While he was still stunned by this reality that defied common sense, he finally realized a fact he had overlooked for a long time.
That's right.
He was a transmigrator.
On Earth in his previous life, there were countless horror legends and urban myths. People were almost instinctively wary of raising Death Flags and treated it as a taboo.
But in this world, there was nothing like that.
Even the supernatural or horror-themed film culture was extremely niche and was restricted from entering the big screen.
Just as countless thoughts filled his mind, something deep in his consciousness seemed to break out of a shell, causing his head to ache violently.
An ancient, heavy thread-bound book suddenly appeared within his awareness.
"The Book of Eternity"
[Life Rewind: Can consume mental energy to restart the host's future life until death.]
[Inheritance After Death: After restarting, based on comprehensive factors such as the lifespan, evaluation, combat power, treasures, etc., of that life, you may choose one to inherit, or give up the choice and randomly draw a trait, skill, or item.]
Chris froze.
Wasn't this the blank heavenly book he had bought from an old charlatan's street stall at a Temple before boarding the plane?
He never expected…
That it would be his Golden Finger.
Before he could recover from the shock, a line of new golden text slowly appeared on the page.
[This life simulation has ended.]
[Survival time: 33 minutes.]
[Life evaluation: G.]
[A textbook-level "Final Destination" opening. You accurately identified numerous flags and then chose to grab a seat…]
[But… Did you think you were playing musical chairs? That grabbing one would let you live?]
[Even a hamster knows to run around when its cage catches fire instead of finding a supposedly lucky corner and waiting to die. Your survival instinct is commendable, but your train of thought is far too bizarre. It is recommended that after restarting, you first schedule a visit to the neurology department.]
[Settlement complete. Please choose: Inherit the previous life or random draw.]