Vol 5. The Mummy
Chapter 1
In Thebes, Egypt, 1290 BC, high priest Imhotep engaged in an affair with Ancksu-Namun,
the mistress of Pharaoh Seti I. When the Pharaoh discovered their
tryst, Imhotep and Anck-su-Namun murdered the monarch. As Seti’s guards arrive,
Imhotep fled while Anck-su-Namun killed herself.
After Anck-su-Namun’s burial, Imhotep and his priests stole her corpse and travelled
to Hamunaptra, the city of the dead. He placed Anck-su-Namun’s organs in five
canopic jars then chanted the spell on the Book of the Dead, summoning Anck-suNamun’s
soul from the underworld. As the ceremony was about to be completed,
the Pharo’s guards interrupted it and sent her soul back to the underworld.
Imhotep’s priests were all mummified alive. Imhotep was sentenced to immortal
agony, condemned to suffer the Hom Dai curse, having his tongue removed and
then being buried alive with flesh eating scarab beetles. He was buried under high
security, sealed away in a sarcophagus at the feet of a statue of the Egyptian god
Anubis, and kept under strict surveillance by warriors known as the Medjai; for all
humanity would be doomed should he resurface.
“… This is basically the story of The Mummy that happened several thousand years
ago. And until three years ago, 1923, a unit of the French Foreign Legion accidentally
found Hamunaptra. The legionnaires attempted to open up the tomb for its treasures
but they encountered an army of Tuareg warriors. In the movie, only two people
escaped alive from the attack. The main character of the movie, Rick O’Connell and
Beni Gabor, who later was consumed by scarabs.” Lan said.
“Then where are we now?”
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This was a dimly lit concealed room. Aside from a metal window, there was nothing
else. No, there was a blonde man sitting with his head down and five black haired
men and women lying on the floor.
Zero looked around and said. “This is probably a jail right? And one that was built a
long time ago. Lan, were there any jails in the movie?”
Lan touched her forehead and said. “Yes. The main character O’Connel was one
of the only two people that escaped from Hamunaptra. He obtained the key to
Imhotep’s coffin. This key could also open the Book of the Dead and the Book of
Amun-Ra, two of the most important items in the movie. However the key was stolen
by the heroine’s brother, Jonathan Carnahan when he was in a brawl in a bar. In order
to search for Hamunaptra, Evelyn came to the jail to save O’Connel. We should be
at a time when Evelyn is about to save O’Connel. Just like the previous movies, the
movie should start when other people become aware of our existence. This blonde
man is probably the main character, O’Connel.”
Zheng laughed. “It seems like we are lucky this time around. We have eleven people
including the newbies, so the difficulty of this movie should be that high. I’ve also
seen The Mummy, but this isn’t really a horror movie though.”
Lan also laughed. “Yeah, this isn’t a horror movie, but even if it isn’t, as long as the
movie is dangerous and has a high mortality rate, it will fit God’s criteria. So our
deduction is confirmed, the movie doesn’t have to be a horror movie… Eleven man
difficulty, we just have to be careful and it shouldn’t be that dangerous.”
Tengyi was very excited. “Treasures of ancient Egypt and the legendary Book of the
Dead and Book of Amu-Ra! God, I can read hieroglyphics also, even though I am not
fluent in it. I want to read the contents of these two books! This is amazing!”
As they were talking, Yinkong looked at her watch then said. “What does it say on
the watch? It’s crammed with words…”
The others then looked at their own watch. There was no countdown this time, only
words. Zheng immediately walked near the window for better lighting.
“Eliminate Imhotep! Reward each member with a rank D reward… There was also
5000 meters under it, O’Connel?” Zheng read it out.
When he read the name O’Connel, the blonde man’s body glowed.
Zheng smiled bitterly. “It seems like we are confined within a range, 5000 meters
around him. Otherwise we will get erased by God… There are more words below.”
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“After Imhotep is resurrected, Team India will enter this world. Killing a normal member
will be rewarded 2000 points and a rank C reward, killing an unlocked member
will be rewarded 7000 points and a rank B reward. Having a member killed by the
other team will deduct one point, killing a member of the other team will earn one
point. The final amount multiplied by 2000 will be rewarded by every remaining
member.”
Everyone fell into a silence as Zheng read it. Then he turned around and looked
at the five of them. No, there were also the five newbies that were getting up. He
muttered. “So… we are going to encounter another team. And judging from this
message, this fight… will be inevitable!”
Lan and the others didn’t look at the newbies. They all turned to Zheng.
“As long as the other team is even slightly stronger than us, they will want to kill us.
Once they killed one of our member, we can only kill one of them back. Otherwise
all of us will probably be erased by the end of the movie. Who has 2000 points to
spare for the negative score? So we can only fight back… Once someone opens fire,
then only one team can leave alive!”
The five newbies got up from the ground. A woman immediately screamed as she
patted her body then ran to the corner of the room. The other four people were
making a loud disturbance. There were four men and one women this time around.
A forty something muscular bald man, a thirty something gentleman with glasses, a
twenty something young man with a baby face, and a boy about eleven or twelve
years old.
The woman was gorgeous with long silky black hair, wearing a sexy long dress. She
was 1.7 meters tall. If it wasn’t that for her scared expression, she was definitely a
stunner.
Zheng sighed as he looked at the newbies, then he turned to Lan. “Explain the
situation to them…”
Lan also nodded with a bitter smile, then she began to explain God’s world and its
rules, including death, enhancements, horror movies. After she received the reward
notification, she nodded to Zheng again.
The five newbies seemed a bit bewildered. Especially since they were in a jail, there
was no way to leave. Zheng said to them in a calm voice. “Just like what she told
you, we are currently in a horror movie. Here, you can get injured and die. You
might even die in an unimaginable way. You should know if you ever watched horror
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movies. Like getting infected by a virus, or impaled by an Alien, or sucked dry by a
vampire, or… eaten by numerous scarabs!”
The five newbies shivered, even Lan pinched him. “Tell me your occupations and
abilities. I will determine if you have the qualifications to join my team by your abilities
and character. If you can’t become a member, then I will give you a weapon and a
hundred magical bullets, and also a gold bar. Of course, you can’t be 5000 meters
away from this man…”
The muscular bald man laughed. “Gold? You joking me? I am in a jail. It’s probably
that Wang betrayed me. Stop with your stories, I won’t believe one word of it.” Then
he punched the wall and left a dent on it. It seemed like he had some actual strength.
Zheng and the others looked at him coldly. The bald man suddenly turned to the
woman. He walked over to her while laughing filthily. “Shit. How could they put a me
with a woman together? Do they want me to have some fun before execution? I will
do it. This woman is probably here to make me confess right? If you want to know
where the heroin is then serve me well. Haha… Ah!”
As he reached for the woman’s dress, a hand from behind grabbed his neck. Then it
threw him to a corner.
Zheng said. “Understood. Your occupation is a criminal. Abilities are threatening
and bullying… They are useless against our team. And you are too offensive, I won’t
give you any weapon.”
The bald man got up while shaking his head. He spit out some blood then shouted.
“Fuck. Do you know who I am? How dare you attack me from behind? I am going to
beat the shit out of you…”
Yinkong who was standing there silently the whole time suddenly ran up to him and
as he lowered his head to look at her, he felt a sudden pain on his two arms. Both
his arms were cut off in that instant and before he could cry in pain, Zheng slashed
at him with his knife then he dropped to the floor.
“Ah! Murder! The criminals are murdering people…” The bald man could no longer
keep his toughness. He was crying with tears. After getting both his arms and legs
cut off, he struggled on the floor with just his body. The blood bleeding from his limbs
soaked the floor.
Zheng took out the hemostasis spray and bandage quietly and stopped his bleeding.
Then he turned to the other four newbies and said to them coldly. “I will do this to
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everyone that threatens our team. Once he get more than 5000 meters away from
this man, he will be erased by God. Don’t test my patience…”
The glasses man immediately said. “My name is Gao HongLiang (Liang). I’m a computer
programmer. I am very confident at programming. Ahem. I wish to join your
team. No, even as a test member is ok. I don’t have any requirements, you don’t
even have to give me a weapon…” Zheng interrupted him from continuing. This man
stepped to the side quietly just like he was ordered by his boss.
The young man scratched his head and said. “My name is Zhang Heng. I am a
junior in college. I am also a sub for the Olympics archery team. I am adept at using
composite bows. My endurance is also pretty good. Hoho, can I become a team
member?”
The boy was the strangest of the bunch. He was standing on the wall and was drawing
something in air with his finger. After Heng finished his introduction, he turned
to them and said calmly. “Xiao Honglu. Twelve years old. Currently living in a neurological
institute as a research subject. I have strong premonitions… I believe your
words.”
After the three of them finished introducing themselves, everyone turned to the
woman. She was still staring at the bald man in fear. When she noticed everyone
was looking at her, she screamed. “Don’t, don’t leave me behind… I am Qin Zhuiyu.
Movie, movie star. Haven’t any of you seen my movies? I, I’m good at… right, I am
talented at acting, and my singing is also great… Please don’t leave me behind…”
She started crying as she said this. Lan walked over to her and embraced her. Just
as the men was smiling bitterly at the scene, the door to the jail was opened.
Three guards came in through the door, then they grabbed O’Connel outside. They
acted like they didn’t even see Zheng’s group or even the bald man who was screaming
on the floor. The prison door was left open after they left.
Zheng said. “Good, The Mummy has officially started. The four of you wait a minute
here.” Then he turned to the others.
“Lets discuss what to do with them…” Zheng scratched his head.
Yinkong said calmly. “The best method is… cut their limbs and leave them here. We
don’t have the energy to take care of powerless newbies when we encounter the
other team… This is the most rational method.”
Jie, Tengyi, and Lan all shook their heads, but Zero said. “Right, this is the rule of
the battleground… They are still not our comrades. It’s not worth it if the six of us
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die trying to save them… And we also can’t give them to the other team. Otherwise
we will be at negative 8000 points if they all get killed. Then we will have to kill four
people to even it out…”
“Three versus two huh?” Zheng smiled bitterly, then he turned to the four newbies.
In other words, his decision determined their fate.
“If you are afraid of the other team…” Honglu picked a few rocks off the wall, crushed
them then put them together. As he was playing with the rocks, he continued. “If you
are afraid of the other team, then the four of us can act as baits.”
“Judging from the information you have given us, you veterans should be much
stronger than normal people. That is proven from the human stick on the ground…
You also wouldn’t want any of you guys to get in danger, right. If the other team has
more people than you, better equipment than you, and more powerful than you, then
why wouldn’t they want to attack you? Even if they don’t attack you in the beginning,
how can you be sure they don’t do it in the rest of the movie? Instead of risking your
lives to test them, why don’t you use us as baits instead?”
Not only were Zheng’s group shocked at his words, the other newbies were staring
at him in a daze. He continued playing with the rocks and muttered. “Instead of
being left in this jail without any hope… I would rather choose the path with only one
out of a thousand chance of living. I think this is the same for the three of you right?
Choose to become a bait or choose to die immediately.”
The other three newbies also nodded, but Zheng was stunned. Because this boy
gave them a strange feeling, it was just like… Xuan!
Zheng took a deep breath then nodded. “Ok, the three of you are now under or
monitor, as to you…” He pointed to Honglu.
“You are now a member of this team. We won’t give you any weapon in this movie
and we will monitor you. But we will also protect you. How do you think?” Zheng
looked at the others in his team and they all nodded, then he said it to Honglu.
Honglu threw away the rocks then stood up. “I don’t have any problem with it but
when we have to run, you have to carry me… Oh right, we’ve been talking for over
five minutes already, I think O’Connel is about to get released.”
Zheng then ran outside the jail with everyone. Jie picked up Honglu and said. “Have
you seen this movie? They show you movies in a psychiatric hospital?”
“It’s neurological institute, not psychiatric hospital… Have you seen any main characters
that die in the beginning of a story? That’s why O’Connel is either going to be
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released or some plot is happening. We must stay within 5000 meters of him. So if
he leaves the jail, we will be in trouble if we can’t find his location. Once he gets too
far from us, then we will probably die like that bald man.” He twirled his black hair as
he talked.
(So similar. He and Xuan both give people an ice cold feeling, but it seems like he still
has a little bit of empathy, whereas Xuan is completely apathetic…) Zheng thought.
Then he ran over to Jie. “Did you say you have a premonition ability? We can you
foretell? The future or…”
“Death! I can foretell when death is coming… Don’t worry, if any of you are going to
die, I will let you know.” He laughed coldly then pulled a string of hair. He put it on
his fingertip and blew it. The hair then flew away.
The corridor of this jail was filled with prisoners who were looking out through the
bars. The corridor formed a half circle and surrounded a stage. In the center of the
stage was a gallows. O’Connel was standing on that gallows.
Honglu suddenly asked Zheng in a rushed tone. “Can the plot be changed? Like if
we kill O’Connel now, what will happen to the movie?”
Zheng was surprised then said. “Then… something will probably change because
the plot has changed. Like Imhotep will get resurrected instantly or we will have to
follow another character, or we will have to search for the Hamunaptra ourselves…
Are you feeling anything?”
Honglu pulled the hair in front of his forehead and said calmly. “Since the plot can
be changed, everything can happen in this movie after we entered this world. I don’t
know why but I feel like O’Connel is going to die during his execution. Even though I
don’t know how he was rescued in the movie, but if you don’t want the plot to change
from the main character dying, then you can rescue him in a bit…”
Zheng was decisive and immediately turned to Zero. “Zero, you still have the pistol
with a silencer right? Can you shoot the rope used for hanging from here?”
Zero looked at the stage then nodded. “No problem. I can see everything clearly…
If it’s just the rope, I can shoot it without anyone noticing.”
The era was after World War 1 and before World War 2 started. There weren’t any
silencers in this era so they don’t have to worry about people noticing the gunshot.
They surrounded Zero from all sides so people couldn’t see what he was holding.
Then the gallows was activated and O’Connel was hanging in midair. In the original
plot, the heroine should be persuading the warden to release O’Connel but ten sec-
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onds had passed and there was no order to release him. As O’Connel’s breath was
getting weaker and weaker, the rope snapped and he fell to the ground. No one
noticed the little bullet hole on the ground.
Zheng and the others all turned to Honglu. The boy pulled a hair and put it on his
finger tip then blew it away. He muttered “… Infinite possibilities?”
Chapter 2
Zheng’s group was well dressed compared to the other prisoners. So they easily
walked out of the jail. The guards only thought of them as visitors. And this jail
wasn’t a legit jail anyway. They waited by the entrance of the jail for O’Connel to
come out.
As they were waiting, Zheng turned to Honglu. “You said you were a research subject
in a neurological institute, then you don’t have any mental disorder?”
Honglu twirled his hair around his finger. “Right. I have highly developed central
nervous system and cerebral cortex which allow me to sense some strange things…
Like an air of death surrounding us. Some of us are going to die soon.”
The others looked awkward as he said this. Of course, anyone being told they were
about to die from a twelve year old boy would be like this. They couldn’t really get
mad at a little boy.
Zheng laughed. He crouched down then looked into Honglu’s eyes. “Are there really
ESP in this world? Premonition of death can count as ESP right?”
Honglu smiled then pulled a string of hair. “Do you know about sixth sense? Everyone
is able to infer or sense their future from the all the information around them
subconsciously. It’s just that some people have a stronger sense than others. Among
all the senses, those concerning death are the strongest. The effects of my highly
developed brain are extraordinary reasoning ability and being able to accept the signals
people send out subconsciously about the death they sense. The world through
my eyes… is gray. I can see the everyone’s premonitions of their deaths. Those that
have a deeper gray color are more likely to die… Just like you, you have the deepest
color among us.”
Zheng was surprised then he forced a smile. “Inevitable death? Or can it be
changed?”
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“Just a possibility of dying. Like O’Connel who took a walk on the brink of death. He
had an even deeper gray color than you do…”
Then the movie star Zhuiyu crouched next to him with a smile and said. “Little boy,
how deep is the gray color on me?” She put out her hand to touch his head.
Honglu slapped her hand away then sneered. “Even though the gray on you isn’t as
deep as his, but I were you, I would write down my will now… You are more susceptible
to dying than anyone else.”
Zhuiyu’s face immediately turned pale white. Her hand froze there in mid air.
Honglu then crouched down then twirled his hair around his fingers. “There isn’t
enough information. I don’t even know your names and abilities so I can’t do anymore
deductions. I will continue with the deductions after O’Connel comes out and we get
in touch with him.”
Zheng looked at the other veterans then he said to Honglu. “My name is Zheng Zha,
the temporary leader of this team. I probably have the strongest close combat ability.
Unlocked the second stage of the genetic constraint, have the bloodline of a vampire
viscount, intermediate level Qi, and one blood energy spell… This is Zhang Jie. He
has survived the most movies… This is Zhan Lan. She’s weak in combat and stamina,
but her enhancements are magical abilities. She currently has two spells that can
increase a person’s speed and stamina. Her reasoning abilities are also quite good…
This is Zero. He was a professional assassin. Skilled in long distance sniping, has a
Gauss sniper rifle that has a very long range and power. Given enough distance, he
can eliminate multiple enemies… This is Zhao Yinkong, also an assassin. But she’s
skilled in close combat. She has a dagger that can burn the souls of its victims, very
effective against spiritual beings. She’s also the second member that unlocked the
genetic constraint… This is Qi Tengyi. He is an antique appraiser, very knowledgable
with antiques. His is irreplaceable in movies such as this one.”
Honglu lowered his head and thought. “What’s the genetic constraint? It seems like
the key to the battle between the teams.”
Zheng nodded. “Yes. A very talented person who was here before deduced the goal
of God’s world is to force people to evolve. And unlocking the genetic constraint
marks the evolution of the organism. Once a team accumulates three people that
unlocked the constraint, even if one or two of them died, this team will encounter
other teams in random. God set a high reward to incentivize the teams to kill each
other… Once a person is killed by the other team, then only one team can leave alive.”
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Honglu pulled another hair and stared at it quietly. “Is that so? If God’s goal isn’t to
have us survive but rather to unlock the constraint in the brink of death… then my
deductions are correct. I have been thinking if killing a member of the other team
gives points, why don’t both teams trade their newbies away? As long as both teams
kill an equal amount, then it doesn’t violate God’s goal yet you still get the rewards
to enhance yourself. Then why don’t the teams use this method? So that’s why…”
Everyone looked at him in confusion. Honglu didn’t explain anything. He twirled his
hair around his fingers quietly until O’Connel, Evelyn and her brother Jonathan came
out from the entrance. Everyone then followed behind the casts quietly. After they
walked through a few streets, Honglu muttered. “It’s about… 5000 meters.”
“Huh?” They looked at him in confusion.
Suddenly a notification appeared in their head.
“One member killed. Team China minus one point. Currently at negative 2000 points.
Members with negative points at the end of the movie will be erased…”
As everyone was shocked, Honglu pulled the hair on his forehead and said calmly.
“Once someone dies, it will minus one point, yet the other team didn’t get any points…
In other words, when I know you are trading me away, I will kill myself first. So the
team that betrayed me will lose one point and the teams can’t continue with trading
newbies. At the same time… both teams will be forced into a battle. God doesn’t
want us to farm points easily. It wants us to kill each other like Gu, until someone
evolved to the highest stage… We are the creatures in that container…”
(Gu poison involved sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake,
scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly
concentrated their toxins into a single survivor. )
They were already at negative one point now which made them felt heavily burdened.
Their only choice was to fight. Either kill a person from the other team or the majority
of the group would be erased at the end. Aside from Zheng, most of them wouldn’t
be able to take the 2000 point hit.
“We’ve been thinking about how to avoid fighting the other team but who would have
guessed we have to think about how to kill someone from the other team now… It
feels complicated.” Zheng smiled bitterly.
He thought for a bit then continued. “Honglu, can you analyze the other team’s members?
And why did God put us in this world before them?”
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Honglu twirled a string of hair. “Based on the information you’ve given, as long as a
team has or used to have three unlocked member, then this team will encounter other
teams… What I want to say is, we are definitely weaker than Team India. Otherwise
God wouldn’t put us in this world first.”
Tengyi asked. “Why? Wouldn’t we have to go through more dangers since we are
here first? The desert, the tomb, the mummies, and that Imhotep. Aren’t these dangerous?”
Honglu started to pull another hair but Lan grabbed his hand away. “Stop pulling
your hair, you’re going to become bald.”
Honglu waved her hand away. “I won’t. My hair regeneration speed increased due
to my special cerebral cortex. Even if I pull out all my hair, they don’t take long to
grow back… My scalp gets very itchy when I think. It makes me watch to scratch, but
the itching will get worse the more you scratch. So I can only pulled my hair to create
a little pain… Leave me alone.”
“Tengyi, who do you think has more advantage in a battlefield. An army that get there
first or the later army? Even if the battle took place in a swamp where the environment
and organisms are deadly, the first army will have an advantage. Whether it’s setting
up an ambush, or surround, the group that’s more familiar with the environment will
have the first hand.”
“Our team has sniper, assassin, fighters, and support. We’re only missing someone
that can set traps like land mines. This team is already very strong and we also have
two members that unlocked their constraint. If God still considers us the weak side…
the the other team has a 70% chance of having some magical abilities…”
Honglu pulled another hair, but he didn’t blow it away. He twirled it around his finger
and said. “If that’s the case, then I suggest not engaging them face to face. Magical
abilities are unpredictable. And we have an advantage in long distance attacks…
Zero will be the core in this battle! Snipe them all!”
Zheng was in a daze. “I never thought you are the most violent one here. I always
thought of you as a more intelligent child… Right, how do you know all these? Even
if you are intelligent, this seem like too much information.”
Honglu smiled deviously. For a moment he seemed like a normal boy. “There are
computers in this world. Even though I am a research subject but that doesn’t mean I
am confined. I can go read on the internet when I have time. And in this age, there’s
a genre of novels called fantasy.”
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Zheng was surprised then he laughed out loud. “That’s how a kid should be like. The
you before was just like someone I knew… Maybe he can count as a friend. You were
so similar to him.”
Suddenly the main characters who were walking in front of them stopped. They
seemed to be discussing something. Then Evelyn left with her brother while
O’Connell walked into an alley.
The group looked at each other and without a word, then contintued following into
the alley. Right as they made the turn, they saw O’Connell standing there and looking
at them cautiously.
“Fellow prisoners, are you following me intentionally?” O’Connell sneered.
Zheng was shocked. He remembered it was the same in Resident Evil. God gave
them an identity in the movie world. They were security guards back then and prisoners
right now.
Zheng had an idea and laughed. “Hoho, I heard you talking about Hamunaptra…”
O’Connell immediately reached for his back but he forgot he was just released from
the jail and there was no gun on him. Then he saw Zheng took out a strange gun
and put up his hands. “Haha, you must be mistake, bro. What Hamunaptra…”
Zheng put away his gun with a smile. “Hoho, I don’t want to say anything else. I mean
no harm, just that I wish you can take us to Hamunaptra. I will be responsible for your
safety… In fact, we were the ones that saved you from before.”
O’Connell looked at him in confusion. Zheng smiled at Zero then pointed to a pointed
steel bar on top of a building. It was at least a thousand meters away, they could
barely see that bar. O’Connell also looked over then with a small buzz, the steel bar
snapped. O’Connell looked at them in shock just to see Zero putting away a strange
looking handgun.
It was just after World War 1, so there weren’t even semi automatics, not to mention
a handgun with a range of over a thousand meters. The gun Zero had was tech from
the twenty first century. Whether it was the silencer, or its range, or Zero’s ability, all
shocked O’Connell. He stood there with his mouth open wide and after quite a while,
he said. “… Don’t point the gun at me. Just don’t…”
This could be considered physical threat. Zheng smiled bitterly as he followed behind
O’Connell. In fact, Honglu was observing his actions without him noticing the whole
time. The boy showed a smile of acknowledgement after he took care of O’Connell…
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O’Connell was almost forced to accept their request and bring them to Hamunaptra.
Of course, Zheng then gave him two gold bars which made him feel better. Without
a choice, he brought Zheng and the others back to his inn.
O’Connell seemed like a regular here. He hit up a conversation with a blonde young
man as soon as he stepped inside. Basically about how he stayed in jail for a few
days and almost got hanged.
After a while, O’Connell turned to Zheng. “You guys stay here, I will go sell the gold
first… and buy some guns and ammos. Of course I don’t think you guys need any
guns right?” Then he pointed at Zero with a laugh.
Zheng also laughed. He knew O’Connell was someone that could keep his promise
in the movie. But because of the 5000 meter limitation, he took out another gold bar
from the ring and said. “Due to some reasons, we have to follow you around. But
we won’t be stingy with money. Don’t worry, we are aware of some people guarding
Hamunaptra. We will deal with them when we encounter them. I only wish to find
Hamunaptra.”
O’Connell looked at Zheng in confusion. He grabbed the gold bar and said. “Then
lets hurry. I promised that woman to meet up at Giza port tomorrow morning. It’s not
safe to enter the black market at night. Let’s go.”
The returned to the inn shortly after. O’Connell exchanged the gold bars for a large
sum of cash and coins easily. Not only did him buy himself a bag of weapons but also
new clothes and shoes. When they got back to the inn, he had opened up to Zheng
group.
The inn wasn’t too big but the rooms had everything necessary. During dinner,
O’Connell began to talk about his experience as a soldier, especially the time he
entered Hamunaptra three years ago, and how he escaped from the desert.
“… We received an order to look for the city of the dead, which had an unlimited
amount of gold… Hoho, I almost suspected you’ve found the gold from there… Anyway,
after we had eaten enough sand, Hamunaptra finally came into our sight on a
nice day. The pharoh’s tomb, the books of the living and the dead, and the large
amount of gold…”
“After we reached it, we only had the opportunity to do some simple exploration
before we were attacked by a group in black clothes. They wanted to kill all of us. I
escaped after encountering a strange event. I was going to get killed but the ground
I was standing at suddenly elevated. It was the face of a man, probably the spirit that
13
guards the tomb… Ahem, anyway, I was the only one that escaped alive. Then I was
faced with the endless desert…”
O’Connell took a gulp of his tequila then continued. “Back then I had no supplies
or clean water. And it takes three days to reach the nearest oasis from Hamunaptra.
That’s a desert, without any horse, or camel, it would take at least five days of walking.
Under the harsh temperature and conditions, any human would have become a
jerky…”
“At the third day, I started eating snakes and scorpions, using their blood to moisturize
my throat… Then at night I would dig through layers of sand for the wet sand underneath…
I didn’t know how I made it to the oasis. I probably looked like a mummy by
then. Haha…”
Even though he said it in a normal tone, but the dangers and difficulties were there.
Some of them comforted him while Zero and some others were eating their meals
with indifference.
O’Connell suddenly said. “Why do you want to find Hamunaptra? The gold that you
gave me are of the purest quality. And you don’t even seem to care that much, just
like you are filthy rich. Is the gold from Hamunaptra really that attractive to you?”
Zheng smiled bitterly as he drank his tequila. “If I say I am not there for the gold,
but rather that we will die if we don’t get there. Will you believe it? It sounds so
implausible…”
“Is it a curse? Whatever, I don’t know anything about it anyway. I will do what I
promised. We will leave for Hamunaptra tomorrow… I hope I don’t have to run away
this time.”
(That would be difficult…)
The few of them that knew the plot laughed. In the plot, O’Connell’s group unleashed
Imhotep and had to run away to Cairo. Even though they had ample supplies but
being chased by a mummy wasn’t the best feeling.
“Good! Then we will leave for Hamunaptra tomorrow!” Zheng raised his tequila to
O’Connell and nodded with determination.
Lan suddenly said with devious smile. “Right, we still need to buy one more thing.
That will be our amulet.”
“What’s it?” Everyone asked at the same time, including Zheng and O’Connell.
“A cat!”
14
Chapter 3
By noon of the next day, O’Connell brought everyone to Giza port. Evelyn and her
brother Jonathan were already waiting there. They let out a sigh of relief after they
saw O’Connell but at the same time they noticed Zheng’s group who were following
behind O’Connell and showed signs of caution.
Evelyn was rather straightforward, once O’Connell came close, she asked immediately.
“Didn’t you say you are only bringing us? Why are there so many people? Just
to make it clear, I won’t pay for their expenses. You, you’re O’Connell?”
O’Connell was covered in dirt while he was in jail but after cleaning up and getting
new clothes, he looked rather handsome. Before he had the chance to reply, Evelyn
was totally stunned. “H-hi…”
“Haha, today’s a nice day for adventures. There’s no harm in having more people…
but are they trustworthy? Of course, you know I am referring to the gold. There
isn’t enough gold to split among so many people…” Jonathan laughed as he asked
O’Connell in a low voice.
O’Connell nodded. “Yeah, the weather is suitable for adventures. As to them, they
are probably not interested in gold. Plus they will protect us in the journey… What
I am more concerned about…” He reached into his pockets and took a look at his
wallet.
Jonathan was a skilled thief. He laughed awkwardly. “Don’t worry, I won’t steal from
our own people. Hoho, you mentioned they aren’t interested in gold. Then that
means… they are rich?”
Zheng walked over to the three of them and laughed. “Hoho, I heard what you said…
My name is Zheng Zha, and these are my comrades. We are an expedition group
sponsored by an American billionaire. Our mission is to find all the possible secret
places in the world… Of course, the legendary city of the dead is one of the secret
places. We will take care of the expenses in the journey and provide you with adequate
protection. Of course you have have to listen to our advice and not do anything
that will put us in danger. That’s basically it.”
Evelyn had been staring at O’Connell the whole time and didn’t wake up until Zheng
began talking. “Wh-what! We didn’t join your expedition group! We are looking for
the city of the dead as a private individual, why do we have to listen to your advices?
We don’t need you to pay for our expenses, we can afford them ourselves…”
15
Zheng shook his head and said. “I think you’re mistaken. Our mission is exploration,
we are not interested in the gold…”
Her reaction intensified. She almost shouted with her face red. “I understand it now.
Your goal is the Book of the Dead and Book of Amun-Ra right? Impossible! Even
if such ancient literatures exist, we couldn’t hand them to some rich guy. These
literatures are historical treasures, I won’t let you have them!”
Zheng noticed people around were giving them strange looks, and even sensed
some hostility. He shook his head and said. “Fine, fine, fine. We are not taking
anything ok? Just for exploration, exploration only… Aye, women… everyone is a
paranoia.” Then he boarded the ship.
Evelyn still wouldn’t give up. She pulled O’Connell’s shirt. “Can you promise they
are saying the truth? I don’t care, you brought them here! You have to promise they
wouldn’t take those two books. Otherwise, I warn you…”
O’Connell could only smile with bitterness, especially when he saw Zheng’s group
had already boarded the ship…
Anyway, he finally took care of Evelyn and by the time he boarded the ship, Zheng
had already bought the majority of its first class rooms with his gold. And Jonathan
seemingly became best friends with him after receiving a gold nugget. Of course anyone
who had seen the movie should know to avoid him, because he was a capable
thief.
“Following this river, we will get off the ship by tomorrow noon. Then we will walk west
for about half a day and reach the biggest and only oasis on the way to Hamunaptra.
That’s also a place for merchants to exchange items. We will then buy the camels
and supplies. After that we will go south west and we should reach it after three days
and nights if there are no accidents…”
O’Connell opened up a crude map on the table and said as he pointed to the various
locations.
Evelyn asked. “Accidents? What accidents?”
O’Connell didn’t say anything. He suddenly threw his bag on the table and opened
it up. The bag was filled with handguns, rifles, and bullets. Enough for everyone of
them.
Evelyn was shocked. “I… Did I mistaken anything? We are there for expedition right?
Or are we there for a war?”
16
O’Connell didn’t answer her and loaded a handgun. “Lady, that place isn’t safe…
There’s something under the tomb and it was guarded by a mysterious group… It is
literally the city of the dead.”
Evelyn immediately turned to Zheng. “Didn’t you say you will protect us? I only want
those two books, you can take everything else… Even though my brother believes
there are treasures but I don’t think you can actually find gold…”
Zheng nodded. “I told you we were only there for exploration. We are not interested
in anything else… but you seem to be familiar with those took books.”
Evelyn replied excitedly. “Of course, the legendary Book of Amun-Ra, also called the
golden book of revival (different from the movie), and the Book of the Dead. These
two books contained ancient Egyptian spells. They made me fall in love with Egypt…”
Suddenly, Honglu interrupted her. “What time is it?”
They were taken aback for a moment. Zheng looked at his watch and said. “Ten
o’clock…” He paused and saw Honglu nodded.
Lan had told everyone the plot of The Mummy in the inn last night. Perhaps due to
her enhanced mental capacity, she had amazing memory and told them every little
detail of the plot.
Zheng then remembered that they would be attacked by the Medjai at night time,
about this hour.
“Evelyn, go get the ke-… go get the map and that puzzle box. Zero and Jie go protect
her… O’Connell, come find Jonathan with me, he should be playing poker with the
Americans. Everyone else take guard here. If anything happens, then follow Lan,
Tengyi and Yinkong’s orders… Let’s go. The story starts!”
Zheng stood up and took out his progressive knife from the ring, then headed to the
deck.
Jonathan was playing poker with the Americans. One could tell his luck by looking
at his expression. There was a gold nugget next to the American sitting in front of
him. He had obviously lost the gold nugget Zheng gave him.
“Hi guys, want to play a few rounds too?” Jonathan said as he noticed Zheng and
O’Connell. Even though Zheng was holding the progressive knife, it had such a plain
look that no one would have guessed its sharpness.
O’Connell was a bit confused, he asked Zheng. “What’s happening? You’re acting
strange…”
17
Before he finished the sentence, gunshots came from across the ship and the back
of the ship started smoking. While everyone was in shock, one of the waiters fell to
the ground as blood came out of his chest.
The Americans were the first to respond. They immediately pulled out their guns and
began shooting. O’Connell wasn’t slow either, he quickly swept the gold nugget and
the cash on the table then ran toward Zheng.
Zheng held onto his knife and took out his submachine gun. “O’Connell, protect
Jonathan and meet up with the others in the cabin.”
O’Connell pulled out two handguns and muttered. “These men in black… How did
they find out we are going to Hamunaptra? And there are so many of them…”
“Yea, this is too freaking many…”
Zheng remembered in the original movie, there were only about ten assassins that
attacked the ship. Aside from lighting it on fire, there weren’t enough of them to kill
everyone. Yet perhaps the involvement of Zheng’s group made the assassins feel
threatened, there were several dozens of them and even more climbing on the ship.
The power of his submachine gun could rival the heavy machine guns of this era.
Zheng sprayed at the edge of the ship, breaking it and causing ten of the men in
black to fall off. Everyone looked at him in shock for a moment.
Since normal bullets weren’t expensive, Zheng sprayed liberally and shot a lot of the
men off the ship.
“Still good…” Zheng had been protecting O’Connell and Jonathan’s backs. “Fortunately
these problems can be solved with guns. I miss being about to solve things
this way…”
Jonathan turned around and asked. “What can’t be solved with guns?”
“Like spirits and…”
Zheng suddenly sensed danger and stepped in front of Jonathan with his knife, blocking
two stray bullets.
“… and luck.”
Jonathan was also shocked. He patted Zheng on the shoulder and said. “Nice bro.
Nice… handgun.”
It was as though stealing was an instinct, Jonathan pulled a gun from Zheng’s pocket
without thinking and began shooting. Zheng and O’Connell laughed as they shook
their heads.
18
It didn’t take long for them to reach the others. Evelyn, Zero, and Jie had brought
back the puzzle box and map. The ship was smoking at all sides by this time.
Beside the group were ten men in black lying on the floor, with a finger sized hole
in their chests. Yinkong was cleaning her nails with a napkin. No one would have
guessed this little girl just killed ten people barehanded by that indifference look of
her face.
Zheng put back his knife and gun then smiled. “Are you all ready?”
O’Connell replied immediately with a laugh. “Of course, I remember the shore is at
this direction…”
Jonathan was in a daze. “What ready? Hey, O’Connell, what did he mean by ready?”
Zheng didn’t explain anything. He threw Jonathan into the river and took back his
gun at the same time. Evelyn screamed and grabbed onto O’Connell when Zheng
reached for her. Zheng couldn’t help but took back his hand when Lan suddenly ran
into his arms. Zero and Yinkong already jumped into the river.
“Then… let’s go.”
He also jumped with a laugh. Even though this was a movie but he had already
interacted with the characters. Furthermore this movie wasn’t as dangerous as the
ones before, as least for now. So he got a little excited with the adventure.
The river wasn’t flowing too fast. The group didn’t get washed away by the stream.
They followed behind O’Connell to the shore. The ship behind them was already
engulfed in a flame. They could faintly made out another group also jumped off the
ship.
Although none of them were particularly good with water, they managed to swim to
the shore helping each other. Once they got on, Evelyn screamed. “My god! My
tools, my clothes, and all my writings are gone. God!”
Land had it at ease through the whole thing. She grabbed onto Zheng during the
swim while holding onto a black cat with her other hand. When they reached the
shore, the cat was still staying in her arm without moving much.
Suddenly, a cunning man shouted from across the river. “O’Connell! Hey, O’Connell!
Haha, it looks like you have it rough. The horses are all on this side. Haha!”
“Hey, Beni. Looks like you are on the wrong side of the river. Haha…”
They had to face reality after laughing. Without any tools for transportation, the group
19
had to walk over half a day to reach the oasis. There were some desert plants on the
way and between some chatting on the way, time wasn’t unbearable.
Zheng walked beside Honglu and asked him in a low voice. “We are getting close to
Hamunaptra. How much chance do you think we have?”
“What is victory condition? Avoid them? Kill them? Or finish this movie as fast as
possible, eliminate Imhotep?”
“Victory condition… survive. Have the majority survive.” Zheng thought about it then
nodded with determination.
“The probability would be 10%, no, 7%. It’s too difficult to keep everyone alive. Even
without an opposing team, Imhotep alone would be difficult enough. At least I can’t
think of any way to eliminate him… So, follow the original plot and use the Book of
Amun-Ra to bury him… As for the other team, to be honest, I am prepared to get killed.
You shouldn’t have too much hope. At least half our team will die…”
(At least 5 people?)
Carrying this thought, or perhaps premonition, Zheng followed O’Connell to the
largest oasis. This oasis had an abundant source of fresh water. It was just like a
mini city. It had most ordinary merchandise, especially camels.
The group didn’t take much time. After restocking fresh water and food, and buying
thirteen camels, they continued on the way to Hamunaptra. Even when they got tired,
they would only take a nap on a camel. Three days and nights passed and they were
closer and closer to Hamunaptra.
O’Connell and the other two characters had been living near the desert so they knew
how to conserve energy. But Zheng and the others had it rough. Not only was it their
first time riding camels, Jie and Zero were the only ones that had ever been to a
desert. So after three days on the camel and the hotness of the desert, even Zheng
was feeling rough, not to mention the others. Tengyi, Liang, Heng, and Zhuiyu were
stumbling after they got off the camels.
It was another midnight. Just as the group was getting accustomed to the desert, a
group of several dozen people on horses rode toward them. The leader was Beni,
another person that left Hamunaptra alive.
“Good morning, my friend.” Beni shouted at O’Connell when he was still quite a
distance from them.
O’Connell didn’t answer. He moved closer to them with the group.
20
An American standing behind Beni asked. “Why are we stopping? Didn’t you say it’s
closer to Hamunaptra? Hurry up, why stop here?”
Beni replied calmly. “My friend, be patient…”
Evelyn also asked in a low voice. “What are we doing here?”
“We wait… for our destination to appear.” O’Connell also answered in a low voice.
Then the American shouted. “O’Connell, do you still remember your promise when
gambling that day? Whoever enters the city first gets 500 bucks… Do you want to
see who enters first?”
The sun was rising as he talked. Sunlight shone on the desert and a ruin gradually
appeared. This was the legendary city of the dead.
Several days of hardship on foot. Everyone was excited when they finally saw the
destination.
However, it was more complicated for Zheng’s group. The only way they could return
was eliminating Imhotep. But in order to do that, they had to revive him. Then they
would have to face both Imhotep and another team. No, they must also kill one
member from the other team to save the majority of this team. Words could not
describe how they were feeling right now.
Zheng’s group moved over to the ruin of Hamunaptra. This was a magnificent ancient
city. One could tell its glory from the remains even after several thousand years.
Once inside the Hamunaptra, the two groups settled down together. Evelyn then
dragged O’Connell to search for the entrance to the underground. The Americans
were also looking for their entrance. Zheng discussed with his group and decided
not to go with O’Connell. In contrast, they began to explore the terrain.
“The underground tomb is only a hundred meter deep. O’Connell won’t be more
than 5000 meters away from us after he entered the underground. So it’s ok if we
don’t intervene with the plot. Let’s get familiar with the surroundings first.”
“Zero, find a place that’s suitable for sniping. Jie, Tengyi and Honglu go look for a
place suitable for fighting. Best if you can record them… The rest of you keep an eye
out at all directions. Fire your gun once you see an enemy… Then everyone, let’s
fight for our lives… At least have the majority of us go back!”
21
Chapter 4
Zheng stood on top of a stone pillar looking at the desert. The height of this pillar
was at least ten meters. It was probably once the center of support of a temple. It
had not fallen even after thousands of years.
All there was on the desert was sand and more sand. He had been standing there
for over two hours. Though he had no problem standing under sunlight for so long
with his stamina.
“Hey, how much longer are you going to stand there. You probably climbed up there
with the intention of avoiding me right?” It was a voice of discontentment from the
bottom.
Zheng was paired with Lan. The two of them were responsible for looking out the
north west side of the desert. He climbed up this pillar for convenience at overlooking
the whole area, however Lan didn’t have the ability to do as he did.
Seeing that Zheng didn’t respond to her, she stroke the cat in her arms then shouted.
“Hey! Don’t try to ignore me. You’re acting strange, ever since we came in this movie,
you’ve been acting distant from me. It was the same when we were in the river. You
could have carried me when we swam but why didn’t you do it? You know I am
carrying a cat.”
Zheng couldn’t help but crouched down then looked down to Lan. “I am not ignoring
you. It’s just that we are going to encounter another team and we are already at
negative 2000 points. If we don’t kill a person from their team, then we are at risk of
wiping… Do you think I have to mood to say, hi let’s go on a date?”
Lan looked at Zheng seriously. However she couldn’t make out his expression due
to the sunlight. She replied a little depressed. “Stop treating me like this, please…
I’ve never thought about having an affair with you even though… but I have my limits,
I won’t destroyed someone else’s relationship. You don’t have to avoid me. Really… If
it’s because of the issue with Jie and you don’t know who to trust, then you can forget
about what I said for now. Can you treat me like you used to? Just like a friend…”
Zheng was silent for a moment then sighed. “Isn’t it good enough right now? As a
comrade, I can protect you and you can support me… This is good for both you and
me, isn’t it?”
The two of them fell into a silence. It was awkward as they just stared at each other.
Then the sun set and the sky began to darken.
22
“… A mummy jumped out once we opened that coffin. For real, the mummy was still
moist after several thousand years.” Jonathan described their adventure inside the
tomb. Zheng’s group looked at each other. That mummy was probably Imhotep, just
that he hadn’t been revived yet.
During the night, everyone went back to their camp and ate a simple meal. They sat
together and discussed what happened during the day. O’Connell and the other two
characters of course talked about the tomb while Zero and the players talked about
the terrain.
O’Connell waited for the players to finished then asked. “Are you planning to have
a battle here? This seem like something the military would do, scouting the terrain
with such detail… Bro, if there’s a problem we can solve it together, how’s it?”
Zheng laughed. “This is our problem, we can’t drag you in… Also, you better not get
too close with those Americans…”
O’Connell shrugged. “The Americans weren’t lucky today. It seems like three of their
guides were… melted.”
“Melted?” Evelyn and Jonathan asked.
“Yes, with acid. They triggered ancient traps.”
Zheng suddenly laughed. “There are true curses here and maybe ghosts or spirits.”
O’Connell and the other two were silent for a bit then Evelyn yelled. “Please. There
are no ghosts or curses in the world. I only believe what I see.”
Jie came over and said. “We have seen real ghosts with our eyes. They’re so, so
scary… That ghost killed a lot of our former team members. If it wasn’t luck, we might
have died also. Haha…”
Lan said. “Jie, that’s enough… Evelyn, it will be fine. Don’t believe him. He was just
joking… Jie, do you want to lose points?”
Jie laughed then shrugged. Zheng wanted to say something then suddenly he heard
a large amount of horse footsteps, like over a hundred people were riding toward
them.
Their expressions turned and Zheng stood up immediately. “Prepare your weapons…
There’s probably going to be a battle.”
Just as he finished talking, ten knights in black robes came out from behind the pillars.
A few of the guides the Americans hired immediately fell to the ground. The knights
23
began shooting at the people in the camps and some of them even burned their
camps and supplies with torches.
Zheng was the first to respond. He took out a submachine gun and sprayed at them.
The knights in the front immediately fell off their horses. Then Jie and Zero also took
out their guns and joined. Their weapons were just so much more powerful than
the guns in this era. The knights couldn’t even get close to them. After another ten
corpses, the knights began to back out, leaving behind several dozen bodies and
some injured horses.
The guides calmed down then shouted at Zheng’s group with thanks. ocon and the
other two characters looked at them in shock. The Americans just now came out
from the tomb and didn’t know what happened. They displayed their findings in
excitement, a few glass bottles… and a book in black!
The three Americans walked over to Zheng with the glass bottles. An old professor
took the black book into his tent then tried to open the book.
“Hi, O’Connell. How much do you think these are worth? Haha, I heard you found a
moist mummy. That’s so funny. Maybe you can dry it in the sun and use it for a fire…”
One of the Americans laughed out loud.
Zheng knew that the plot was moving normally when he saw the three Americans
here. Evelyn took out a few beetle shells from her bag with a sly smile. “Look at what
this is. The remains of the scarabs. They are a meat eating insect. We found them
inside the mummy’s coffin. These scarabs can live for several years when they have
a body to consume… That mummy friend of ours was eaten by these scarabs. Oh
and he was alive when he was being eaten.”
The Americans swallowed and felt goosebumps all over themselves. But since they
were the ones that came over to initiate the conversation, it wasn’t easy for them to
leave. So they could only keep listening to Evelyn.
O’Connell understood her intentions and said. “Someone throw the scarabs into the
coffin and let him die slowly?”
“Very, very slowly. He could feel the scarabs crawling inside his body before he died…
From what I know, this punishment was called the Hom Dai curse, the most vicious
curse in Egypt. They were used on the worst sinners. I never heard of it used on
anyone in Egyptian history…”
One of the Americans asked in curiosity. “That’s quite something. Why didn’t they
use this punishment? Don’t you think it is… cruel?”
24
Evelyn rolled her eyes. “The reason they don’t carry it out is because of the consequence
from the punishment. The Egyptians used to believe that if the victim arise
from the dead, then they would bring forth the Ten Plagues of Egypt. The revived
sinner will have unparalleled strength and bring distruction to Egypt.”
The Americans suffered another round of verbal violence and went back to their
tents. Of course, Evelyn had her attention on that book in the professor’s hands the
whole time. She lay down and faked going to sleep. The other people also went to
sleep soon after. The players looked at each other, they all knew what was going
to happen. Evelyn would steal the Book of the Dead and accidentally read it out,
reviving Imhotep.
Everyone was feeling contradicted. On one hand their mission was to eliminate
Imhotep so they had to revive him first, but once he was revived, they had to face
both the mummy and the other team. This feeling of knowing they were putting
themselves in more danger yet they had no other choice was horrible.
As time came to midnight. Evelyn sneaked toward the professor’s tent, took the book
from his hand then sneaked back.
“Do you know this is called stealing?” O’Connell muttered with his eyes closed.
“But… you and my brother call this borrow.” Evelyn laughed. She took out the puzzle
box from her bag and placed it against the book.
O’Connell got up and asked curiously. “I thought the Book of Amun-Ra is gold colored…
Never expected it to be black.”
Evelyn shook her head. “The Book of Amun-Ra is gold colored but this isn’t it… This
is the other book, I think it’s the Book of the Dead…”
O’Connell became serious. “Book of the Dead? Then why are you playing with it?”
Evelyn laughed. “It’s only a book. There’s no harm from reading a book…”
Zheng suddenly said from closeby. “Then you must know how to read hieroglyphics.
Tengyi, you also know how to read it right?”
Both Evelyn and O’Connell were shocked. They immediately gestured Zheng to
lower his voice then they heard Tengyi said. “If it’s reading the characters and understanding
their meaning, then I know how to do it… as long as the characters aren’t
too uncommon.”
Evelyn roller her eyes. She flipped open the book. When she did so, a chill wind
swept through them, flickering the bonefire.
25
Evelyn didn’t pay much attention to it. She read in a low voice. “……….”
Right as she finished, Zheng, Zero, and Yinkong immediately got up. They couldn’t
calm down due to a sense of danger. This sensation was so strong it was making
them anxious. One part of the danger came from below and the other part from the
hills to the west.
The old professor also woke up and shouted. “No, you can’t read them!”
Zheng was the first to respond, he pulled out his knife and quickly climbed up a
nearby pillar. He looked out to the west and could faintly made out a bunch of people
standing on a hill. Yet due to limited vision at night, he couldn’t make out how many
people were there.
Pah!
Zheng instinctively moved the knife in front of his face and a rock hit the dagger. The
force coming from that rock numbed his arm a bit and he fell off the pillar.
Luckily he reacted in time and kicked the pillar when he was still midair. He rolled on
the ground when he landed, avoiding any injury.
The rest of the camp also woke up but before they could ask what happened, they
heard the sounds of insect wings flapping from afar. Several seconds later, they
finally saw what made the noise. It was a group of countless locusts flying toward
them. Just the sight of it was enough to give them goosebumps.
O’Connell picked up Evelyn and followed everyone else into the tomb. Zheng was
staring at the west, that sensation of danger was preventing him from even turning
his head. Fortunately Jie and Zero saw it carried him into the tomb.
Afar from Hamunaptra, that sensation slowly moved away…
This was their first time entering the underground tomb. Everyone was running in
panic. The players were separated during the running and by the time people calmed
down there were only Zheng, Zero, Jie, Heng, Tengyi, and Zhuiyu left. The others
ran into another path.
The tomb was pitch black and filled with a rotting smell. Fortunately Heng picked up
a torch before he entered the tomb. Otherwise it would be difficult to even take a
step.
Even so, Zhuiyu still said with dissatisfaction. “Ew, smells so disgusting. Even worse
than the last time I had to film in an old temple.”
26
The men ignored her. Zero asked. “Zheng, did you see the other team just then?
How many people do they have?”
Zheng said with a bitter smile. “I didn’t get a clear look. It was too far and dark… But
the other team should be very strong. They threw a rock at me from that distance
and I had to block it with my knife.”
He held out his hand and you could see a rupture on his hand between the thumb
and index finger. Although it didn’t seen like a big deal but to be able to rupture
Zheng with an enhanced body would require such power. Because even blocking a
bullet would not had caused this.
Zheng shook his head. “I don’t think they threw that rock. It would take someone that
has at least ten times a normal person’s strength. Furthermore it requires accuracy
as good as Zero’s… That was probably a magical skill, or some sci fi weapon. But I
can’t think of any weapon that uses rocks as bullets.”
They suddenly heard a scream as they were talking. Everyone took a look at each
other then pulled out their guns. Zheng, Zero, Jie, and Tengyi also swapped in the
magical bullets. Heng and Zhuiyu followed closely behind them and ran toward origin
of the scream.
At the same time, eleven people stood on top of a hill ten thousand meters away from
Hamunaptra. A few of them were wearing typical long robes for the desert while the
others were wearing monk clothes.
“Deserts are so much better, even though they don’t have the smell of the dead sea
but being able to touch the sands is a bless… Haha, the sea in Deep Rising can go
to hell and that octopus also.” A black, muscular giant man laughed.
Standing in front of him was a young monk. “Minima, how is the 80 Percentage
Power enhancement from Younger Toguro? Even though it’s one of the cheapest tier
B enhancements but it should be quite powerful when combined with your fighting
style. Did that rock hit the target?”
The giant laughed. “Yup, not bad. The power is almost terrifying. If we just kill a few
more people and get my reaction speed up to par when we go back, then… Haha, I
won’t be scared anymore even if I have to go face to face with an Alien.”
The monk laughed. He looked toward Hamunaptra and said. “… Be careful of that
man. The throw had enough force and Lamu’s psyche power gave you the accuracy.
Yet that man was still able to block the rock and avoided any damage from the fall.
He’s probably one of the strongest in that new team. If they have three people as
27
strong as him… Then let’s treat them as having equal power, keep a distance until
the movie ends… Shanaia, how is the three newbies doing?”
A woman with white skin and dressed in typical Indian woman’s clothes said respectfully.
“Leader, the three newbies have been hypnotized. Arot is checking their potentials.”
The monk looked behind him. There was a blonde European man in a white lab coat
holding on to the chins of two men and a woman. After a minute, he said. “Leader,
these three newbies are horrible, but one of them has an ok brain, probably worked
in an office in the real world.”
The monk moved his vision back to Hamunaptra and muttered. “Then undo his hypnosis
when we go back to God’s dimension. If he has no use then make him into a
fodder like the other two. My summoning creature is about to level up…”
Shanaia said. “Leader, what should we do now? Go into the tomb to fight them or
get in contact like usual?”
He thought for a moment. “No, Team China has just awoken. We don’t know their
power level and they probably don’t know the conventions when encountering other
teams. If we get in touch with them we may get attacked first… The plot is at unleashing
the boss of this movie. We will go to Cairo first and find a chance to get in touch
with them to make agreements… or wipe them!”
Zheng was moving deeper into the tomb. They’ve been hearing the sounds of countless
little things moving on the ground ever since that first scream. As they moved
deeper in, the sounds were getting louder.
Right as they made another turn, they saw O’Connell, Jonathan, and several Americans
running toward them. O’Connell shouted. “Run, there are a lot behind!”
(A lot? A lot what?) Zheng and the others looked beyond them and suddenly lost the
desire to ask. There were countless scarabs chasing after them. One of the guides
suddenly fell to the ground and the scarabs immediately entered his body. It only
took a few seconds before he was fully covered in a thick layer of scarabs. When he
appeared again, he had became a skeleton.
Zheng’s group of six began to run at full speed along with O’Connell. The skeleton
behind them was horrifying. It was indescribable how it feels to get eaten alive.
Zheng, Zero, and Jie were running the fastest. They quickly passed by O’Connell’s
group then suddenly they heard someone tripped. Their hearts stopped for a mo-
28
ment. Zheng turned his head to look behind with panic and saw the movie star Zhuiyu
was on the ground. The scarabs were just one meter away from her.
“You guys run!”
Zheng was getting so anxious that his eyes turned bloody red. Every team member
that died was negative 2000 points. They couldn’t afford any losses now. As Zhuiyu
was about to get eaten, he overcame his fears and sprinted toward her.
He picked her up with a hand then jumped as hard as he can while his other hand
grabbed onto a rock on the ceiling. He and Zhuiyu just hanged there in midair. The
scarabs ran passed them from just ten centimeters below.
Just then another woman’s scream echoed through the tomb.
Chapter 5
After the scarabs ran past them, Zheng released his fingers and jumped down.
Zhuiyu began to cry when she reached the ground and cursed this place and all
the men as she cried. When Zheng sighed and walked deeper into the tomb she
followed him while still crying.
“… All men are assholes, always walk away after toying with women. That stupid
director, those stupid rich people are all dogs. I just have to lift my skirt to satisfy you
and you will…”
Zheng turned around and slapped her on the face, knocking her to the ground and
silencing the complains. He said to her in a cold tone. “I don’t care what depressed
you in the real world! But this is the world of horror movies! Stop talking full of
complains, the one that just saved you is a man!”
Zhuiyu dazed for a moment. She spat out a tooth then jumped at Zheng while crying.
“So what if I am talking about men? How dare you hit me! Do you believe that I will
kill myself right now and drag you all along with me!”
“Fine!” Zheng took out his gun from the ring and pointed it at her head. “You want to
die right? Just say it and I will help you! Don’t fucking think I am joking with you. You
think we come here to play? Become strong then go back to the real world? Fuck, if
you are not determined to live and just keep complaining, if I were you I will just kill
myself! Say it, do you want to die?”
29
Zhuiyu was scared for real this time. She couldn’t say a word and tears just kept
falling down. Then she said with a trembling voice. “No… I don’t want to die. Don’t
kill me. Please don’t kill me!”
Zheng put his gun back then glanced at her. “Don’t think of yourself so precious
once you entered this world. There is only one rule to all living beings here. That is
to live… Follow close to me unless you want to be sucked dry by the mummy.”
Zhuiyu behaved herself afterward but her eyes were filled with hatred staring at
Zheng who was running in front.
After running for a while, they heard a cry around the corner. A woman’s scream
followed it shortly after. It was Evelyn’s voice.
Zheng thought ‘shit’. He could tell what was happening there. Evelyn encountered
Imhotep while he was still in his mummy form. Zheng ran toward their direction.
After they made the turn, they saw Evelyn looking into the deeper part of the path
in fear. On the opposite side of her, O’Connell just came out from around the corner
with the Americans and the other players.
O’Connell saw Evelyn then ran over and grabbed her. “Hurry, what are you waiting
here for? There are a lot of bugs behind… wah!”
They all ran over to Evelyn then followed her vision. What they saw scared all of
them.
A mummy with rotting flesh and many parts were just bones left. This mummy still
had eyes but those eyes were filled with blood vessels, looking at all the people in
front of him. Then he opened his mouth and shouted.
O’Connell and everyone else were dazed then he also began shouting and pulled
the trigger on his rifle. Zheng and the others also began firing their guns. The mummy
got shot to the ground.
After shooting the mummy away, O’Connell grabbed Evelyn and began running away.
Zheng said to his team in a hurry. “Jie, bring them outside. Zero, stay with me to check
on the mummy’s wounds… We used magical bullets just now.”
The mummy was shattered on the ground. Zheng and Zero looked at him and saw
that he was quickly recovering the parts shattered by O’Connell’s gun, just like a body
made of sand. While the wounds that were caused by the magical bullets were still
there. It wasn’t until after the bullet fell out of the wound before it slowly recovered.
30
“It’s not effective… And this is when he is still at his weakest form. After he sucked
the Americans dry then he will have enough power to summon sandstorms. Then
the magical bullets would become even less effective… Aye, tea India probably get
used to the environment by now also.” Zheng said.
Zero fired a few more rounds at the mummy then said. “Let’s leave this place first.
We probably can’t kill him until we get the Book of Amun-Ra… Let’s think about team
India first. Are they strong?”
Zheng fired at the mummy again then turned around and began to run back the way
he came. “Yes, very strong… And they didn’t come to Hamunaptra like we planned.
I can sense that they were getting farther and farther away. I don’t know if they are
waiting to ambush us in the front. Haha, Zero, do you believe that I can lead everyone
back alive?”
“Nope.” Zero was running behind him and answered calmly. “We won’t be able to all
live. Someone will definitely die… but I believe that you will keep leading us, at least
you won’t abandon anyone and run away alone.”
“Is that so? Haha, that’s disappointing… Then, let me continue to lead you guys. No
matter if we live or die, I will not abandon my comrades!”
The mummy shouted again behind the two of them…
Once Zheng and Zero exited the tomb, he instinctively raised his gun, because there
were several dozen men in black pointing their guns at the two of them. His team,
O’Connell, and the Americans were all under their control.
O’Connell laughed. “See, I told you I already killed the mummy. You are making a
fuss about nothing!”
Zheng sighed and said. “No, the mummy is not dead. He’s a monster, normal bullets
are useless against him. No, all types of bullets should be useless against him.”
No one aside from the players knew what he was saying. The leader of the men in
black, a man with a tattoo on his face, said. “All of you leave this place at once! Don’t
ever come back… This is the city of the dead. If you come back again, I don’t mind
making you dead!” Then he led his group down into the tomb.
To be honest, after what they just experienced, no one wanted to stay here. So they
went back to their camp quietly and packed their stuff. Then left on their horses and
camels.
The players followed at the back of the group. It wasn’t until now that they had a
chance to look at their watch. Usually once the plot started moving forward, their
31
restrictions would also disappear. And of course they were no longer restricted by
distance when they look at their watch.
Zheng said. “Now that we are not restricted by distance, what should be do next?
Wait here for team India? Since we are more familiar with this place… or follow
O’Connell and go along with the original plot? Honglu, do you have any suggestion?”
Honglu was riding on a camel in the center of the group. He replied calmly. “No, I
don’t have any good suggestion, but I have two questions… 1. What is team India’s
mission? Eliminate Imhotep or something else?”
“2. Does team India also know of the special effect of the Book of the Dead and want
to obtain it?”
Zheng was confused. “What do you mean by special effect?”
Tengyi said with a little embarrassment. “When I came out from the tomb, I picked up
the book and took a look. The moment I touched the book, I received a notification
from God about obtaining a quest item… It said I can learn black magic. If I know
hieroglyphs then it won’t cost any points, otherwise every spell costs 1000 points.
But I must return to God’s dimension to learn it…”
They all looked at Tengyi in surprise. Then Honglu said. “Even though I don’t know
the reason but we can also use Book of the Dead. Oh, does it take a lot of points to
learn a spell in God’s dimension?”
Lan replied. “Not only points but also lots of ranked rewards. Like I have two simple
spells that can increase your stats temporarily, yet it took me several thousand points
and rank D rewards. Offensive spells will need rank C or even B rewards to learn.
Only 1000 points for one…”
Tengyi said humbly. “I’m sorry… I can read hieroglyphs.”
Everyone fell into a silence then after a minute Zheng, Zero and Jie pulled out their
guns, Yinkong also took out her dagger. They controlled their camels to run over to
the Americans… The Book of the Dead was currently in the hands of the professor.
The Americans didn’t notice the group until Zheng moved in front of them and
blocked their way. That was when they saw the guns in shock.
“Hey, bro, this isn’t funny…” One of the Americans shouted.
Zheng sprayed at the ground in front of them and they stopped their horses. Everyone
aside from the professor also put up their hands… They had seen the power of
32
these guns, which were enough to tear them apart at such close distance.
Zheng said in a calm voice. “I don’t want to say much. Hand me the Book of the
Dead. It isn’t useful to you… And the mummy will come after you if you have it. I think
you don’t want to see that monster anymore right? Give me the Book of the Dead…
I can give you gold in exchange.”
The Americans were giving each other signs, preparing to take out their guns at any
moment. The professor held onto the book tightly, and stared at Zheng.
Once they heard the word ‘gold’, the Americans’ eyes lit up. “Gold… how much gold?”
O’Connell and the other characters also came over to the Americans, but Zheng
ignored them. He took out a gold bar from the ring and said. “Ten gold bars like this
just for a book. Do you think it’s worth it?” Then he threw the gold over.
An American catched the gold bar anxiously. It felt heavy as he held it. It was real
gold, several fingers thick.
He pinched it then bit it with his teeth then said to his partner. “Real, it’s real… this is
a real gold bar!”
The other American also took over the gold and did the same thing then he looked at
Zheng with greed. “Ten… fifteen gold bars! Give me fifteen gold bars then we have
a deal!”
“Ok, fifteen!”
Zheng didn’t care. He took out another gold bar from the ring and as he was going
to take out another one, an American suddenly pulled out his gun. However he
didn’t point it at Zheng but instead he shot the professor at once. Then the American
grabbed the book from the professor’s hand.
The Book of the Dead was stained with blood…
Zheng threw fifteen gold bars on the ground and looked coldly as they were overjoyed
with the gold bars. He took over the book with one hand. A thick and black
old book.
The book absorbed the blood within several seconds just like a sponge. Yet nothing
changed about it. It felt cold to the touch.
“Obtained quest item… Enabled learning of black magic. The user requires blood
energy, psyche force, mana, Nen, Xian energy, or faith energy to learn. Can learn
through deciphering the words or through God. Learning costs 1000 points… User
holding onto this book in the movie will be able to use the spells in the book.”
33
Zheng was standing there in a daze. He had received God’s notification and they
totally shocked him.
Enhancements were expensive, and learning skills were even more expensive. His
Red Flame spell was one of the lowest tiered spell for vampires but it still cost him
a rank C reward and 2000 points. Compared to enhancements, skills were more
effective in combats.
“How’s it?” Jie ran over to him when he saw Zheng in a daze.
Zheng didn’t know what to say and just laughed. “Shit… we hit the lottery… This book
is so thick, don’t know how many skills it has. And they’re also black magic, spells
that should be aimed at killing. Haha…”
Everyone came up to him. O’Connell and the characters were confused but also
came up. The two Americans packed their gold then carried the American that was
injured by the mummy away on horses.
Zheng let everyone touch the book. All the veterans looked shocked while the newbies
thought they were making a big deal out of nothing. Honglu asked. “Is it expensive
to learn spells?”
Zheng nodded. “Very expensive. Not only spells but anything that can improve your
combat abilities instantly is expensive… It takes both a large amount of points and
also ranked rewards. This book is equivalent to a high power level. Once we can
use the spells within it, we can instantly improve our team by several folds!”
Honglu touched the book with curiosity then he crouched down to play with the sand.
“Those blood energy, psyche force, mana… what are they?” He asked.
Zheng answered. “I don’t know about the others but blood energy came with my
vampire enhancement. It’s highly corrosive and difficult to use. Blood spells are also
very expensive…”
Honglu sighed. “I think I get it… This book is a double edged sword, at least for
now. Possessing it means danger… First, Imhotep will chase us to get back the book.
Second…”
“Do you think team India knows of its existence? Even though it belonged to the
movie world but you get a notification once you touch it. Judging by the value of the
book, team India would want to get their hands on it no matter what. They’re very
likely to go all out on us…”
34
The others looked at him in confusion. Jie asked. “Aren’t we going to fight them
already? We have to kill one of their member anyway, otherwise most of our team
will be erased at the end.”
“There are many ways to fight. Like snipe, ambush, set traps, hit and run… but if they
know of the secrets of the book already then they will probably monitor the movie
characters. Once they found out that the book is gone, they can figure out we have
the book. We won’t be able to ambush them anymore. And there’s one more thing I
am worried about…”
Honglu pulled another hair and said with a bitter smile. “… If you can learn black
magic from the Book of the Dead, then… what about the Book of Amun-Ra? What
spells can you learn from the golden book? I think it should be on the same level as
this one. If team India knows of the secrets of these two books already, I can only
think of two possibilities. 1. They plan to ambush us in Cairo then follow the original
plot to eliminate Imhotep and obtain these two books. 2. They ambush us in Cairo
and take our book then come back here to find the Book of Amun-Ra. This is is what
I am worried about the most… do they have the same mission as us?”
Honglu stood up and clapped his hands. “Our mission is to eliminate Imhotep. What
if their mission is to protect him or… kill the main characters of the movie? They might
be able to force this movie to end before we can kill one of them. What should we
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