"Just three of you in your team?" mocked a young man with a trendy hairstyle, standing with arms crossed.

Alexander didn't bother to reply, just shot him a cold glance. Pinocchio, instead of showing off his incredible abilities like last time, stayed in the screen, chuckling strangely, as if watching a good show.

"Can I join you guys?"

The young man with gold-rimmed glasses massaged his shoulder and stood up.

"If what you say is true, then I believe my chances of survival are much higher by sticking with you."

"A wise decision."

Alexander assessed him briefly and handed over the old rifle he had received. This rifle was smuggled through a second-hand deal from the Yalu River border by Carmen, and it seemed like a Type 53 Mosin-Nagant. Alexander wasn't well-acquainted with firearms, so this was his best guess.

The young man with gold-rimmed glasses expertly pulled back the bolt and checked the rifle, clearly familiar with handling firearms.

"I've had occasional encounters with firearms abroad; this type of old rifle is not difficult to operate. Even an ordinary person could safely handle it after several hours of training."

"If you know how to use a gun, your chances of survival are much higher than the average person," Alexander nodded.

It seemed that inspired by the young man with glasses, a few more people came over to pick up guns from the ground. Among them was a middle-aged man, strong and stocky, built like an inverted triangle, sporting a simple and honest smile. Another was a girl with long hair covering half her face, wearing headphones, who astonishingly brought her MP3 player into the spirit space. However, her attire was the same patient uniform as everyone else's. There were also two dark-skinned men, wearing safety helmets, who seemed to have been teleported from a construction site.

"Hey, Blackie, this seems like a real gun. It's my first time holding one."

"Stop talking, just put it away for now."

Their actions were stealthy, and it seemed they didn't intend to join Alexander's group. They were simply opportunists, unable to resist grabbing a gun when they saw it.

"Well, this time all fifteen script world participants are here. The recording officially begins," announced Pinocchio, starting the countdown.

"See, I told you it was all a hoax," actress Ji Ningyan sneered, still skeptical.

"The script world has been generated, 'The Mad Land of Oz' is auto-creating... unlocking all elements... ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."

All the lights dimmed, creating an unsettling darkness. A scream pierced the silence, though it was unclear which frightened woman it came from. The only light source was the countdown on the TV hill, which quickly reached the final digit, displaying zero.

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Everyone was plunged into utter darkness, and soon, they vanished into the void.

...

Beep beep—

The sound of a honking horn jolted Alexander back to reality.

Beside him were Carmen and Erik, and even the newcomers were nearby; they had been teleported together.

(That's a relief, it seems we've been transported together, so there's no need to worry about being separated from the newcomers.)

Alexander sighed in relief, realizing the teleportation had gone relatively well. However, the spirit space had transported them to a busy traffic area, with cars zooming by in all directions. Fortunately, they stood on a zebra crossing amidst a crowd of business-suited commuters and sailor-suited high school girls rushing past them.

"This is Japan, but wait, I thought the script world should be 'The Mad Land of Oz'?" Erik mused, confused.

"What on earth is going on? How did we end up here?" Actress Ji Ningyan exclaimed in disbelief, as though she had witnessed something impossible.

"Hey, that's Kyoto Tower! We've somehow ended up in Kyoto," the headphone-wearing girl blurted out, her tea-colored long hair covering half her freckled face. Her hospital attire had transformed into a school uniform, more British-style rather than the typical sailor suit.

"I... I just came here last month, how could this be?"

Ji Ningyan was utterly baffled, the strangeness of it all making Alexander and the others' words seem eerily plausible.

"Put the guns in here first."

Alexander tossed a leather bag. Holding rifles in their hands in the middle of traffic would inevitably draw attention, but he quickly realized this wasn't necessary, as passersby seemed oblivious to their sudden appearance in the road.

"No worries, the spirit space provides a cloaking effect to mask our presence initially," Carmen signaled.

"But it lasts only five minutes, so we can't stay here too long with all these people around."

"I understand."

As the two spoke, Pinocchio began announcing the tasks.

"It's time to reveal your tasks, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to 'The Mad Land of Oz.' Main Task 1: Find the protagonist, Saeki Dorothy, and protect her from harm until the play is complete and you can return. Side Task 2: Hunt the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion Man."

"So, we really are in Kyoto, Japan. Wonderful! Now we can visit the Kyoto Imperial Palace, Nijo Castle, Heian Shrine, Momoyama Castle, and Shugakuin Imperial Villa," exclaimed a woman from the couple group, seemingly still unclear about the reality of the situation, caught up in excitement.

"Let's go!"

Alexander pulled a backpack from the spirit contract, slinging it over his shoulder as he moved forward quickly.

Carmen and Erik followed suit, each hoisting a duffel bag and striding swiftly ahead.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ji Ningyan called out, panicked and helpless.

"Those who grabbed a gun, follow me. The rest of you, feel free to do as you wish—whether sightseeing or whatever else you have in mind, it's none of my business," Alexander replied, a cold smile on his face as he moved on.

"You really don't care about them?" Erik asked hesitantly. He thought Alexander was decisive but not necessarily indifferent.

"Unfamiliar territory, plus they don’t speak Japanese. Do you really think they’ll act on their own?"

Alexander chuckled, confident in his read on the group's mindset. Hardly any of them could speak Japanese, and even asking for directions would be a challenge; inevitably, they'd rely on him.

Of course, the young man with glasses and the headphone-wearing girl seemed more perceptive, able to adapt better than the others.

For a team of only three, Alexander needed newcomers, but not ones who wouldn't listen. Even if he explained the script world's dangers, the untested newcomers wouldn't understand or appreciate it. Everyone was from the modern world, used to a lack of oversight, and expecting them to suddenly obey orders was unrealistic.

Yet, environmental pressure would force a change in behavior. Alexander believed in the human capacity to adapt to new environments. The famous Stanford prison experiment demonstrated how environmental extremes could turn an average person into a cold-hearted guard.

He needed external pressure to make these newcomers submit. Without outside help, they would have no choice but to follow him.