Infinite Gods Reign Supreme

Chapter 64: Return...The Curse of Tabad

—Gene lock, unlock!

Time seems to slow down, and perception stretches dramatically in the mind. The health and well-being of hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people hang in the balance in this instant; this one and only opportunity must be seized firmly.

Indians are human beings too! At least they have the appearance of human beings!

Si Ming abruptly turned his head, and the summoned space opened up beside him. He watched as Yu Zhiwei's face first turned white, then blue, and then black. Her clear black and white eyes also rapidly turned blood red.

Four guardians of the Mind Flayer, come forth!

They didn't care about their surroundings anymore. Four figures in black cloaks appeared beside the group of reincarnators. An invisible barrier of psychic energy was erected, and Jacob, reacting in kind, suddenly gathered a ball of white light in his hand.

"I...I'll scatter you all!"

An invisible surge of psychic power was released, instantly blasting all the tables, chairs, and benches within the Mind Flayer's protective barrier into dust. Even the enhanced Celestial Team Reincarnators felt discomfort. But the next moment, a warm, protective aura shone upon the Reincarnators.

'Peng——'

Valentina suddenly tackled Yu Zhiwei, poking her with Willow Leaf White Orchid as she did so. The radiance of ice-attribute dust crystals was then released, instantly freezing a patch of white frost onto Yu Zhiwei's body.

"Never mind, never mind, little baby, forget it." Valentina yelled, tossing up her holographic cloak. The two huddled together vanished instantly along with Jacob's protective aura. Amidst this, Yu Zhiwei's sharp, resentful howl rang out.

“Quack—!”

Si Ming then slowly turned his gaze away.

Ah, once again you prevented a major disturbance. You protected the ears and mental health of countless people. Si Mingming, you are so gentle, practically the gentlest person in Asia.

He sighed as he looked on.

Standing to the side, the newcomer, Almalia, snapped her jaw shut.

"Um..." The rock-and-roll Slavic magical girl blinked her big, bewildered eyes. "Has our Celestial Team... always been like this?"

“Everyone has their moments of madness, you’ll get used to it.” Si Ming waved his hand. “It helps maintain mental health, but this is indeed the first time this has happened…maybe everyone is finally more relaxed.”

"Yes, is that so..." Almaria forced a smile. She was now starting to doubt whether joining the Celestials had been the right choice. Then—

Si Ming patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't be so reserved, laugh out loud. Don't you really like heavy metal? I thought you'd just pick up a guitar and do a solo. Singer."

"Uh... well... actually, I'm not a heavy metal type..."

Almaria suspects she might be a hidden social phobia. For some reason, she's now somewhat nostalgic for the days when she had a patriarch to look after her… Damn, even rebellion needs an object of rebellion! How can she possibly rebel in a place like this?
Does that mean I have to wear a formal suit and tie, put on a stern face, and act like a model student?

She was conflicted, but Si Ming's gaze had already passed over her. His eyes swept over Luo Yinglong and Song Tian, ​​who were both 'I have much better willpower than you,' and then landed on the surrounding structure of this world.

It is a hotel.

A high-end hotel catering to the wealthy, located near the city center—the area where the reincarnators were situated was the hotel's rooftop playground. Judging from the air and sunlight, it should still be seven in the morning. Earlier, the sounds of bustling activity, accompanied by the aroma of curry commonly used in Indian cuisine, had been emanating from the market not far from the hotel.

It's still early, and there's no one else on the rooftop. Even if there were, it wouldn't be a big problem.

Si Ming thought for a moment, then reached into the inside pocket of his cloak. The next moment, a room key—something that no one but a god could possibly have placed silently—appeared in his hand. The text translation component of his nanosuit activated, and the hotel's promotional text on the back of the key came into view.

"Tabbad Luxury Hotel".

Tabad.

Si Ming tilted his head and put the room card back into his pocket—given the average immunity and cellular activity of the reincarnators, as long as they overcame their psychological barriers, Indian food would taste as harmless as apples soaked in mineral water. Even so, he wasn't particularly keen on experiencing Indian cuisine firsthand.

after all……

—Perhaps I can finally see Song Tian's cooking skills.

He was lost in thought, ignoring his teammates' playful banter. Almaria took out her guitar, seemingly about to play but looking unsure what to play. Meanwhile, Siming had already reached the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the foreign streets below.

It was crowded and bustling. The coexistence of the modern and clean upscale neighborhoods and the filthy and noisy slums perfectly matched his imagination of Indian cities.

Then...

"Hmm?" His gaze lingered on an ordinary Indian man crossing the street. The man continued walking, heading straight into the hotel where the reincarnators were standing. And from this man, Si Ming sensed something unusual.

He wasn't a follower of evil spirits, and there were no signs of high energy on his body. But he had a gun hidden under his clothes.

What the hell?

Si Ming's brow furrowed slightly, but quickly relaxed. He remembered that India had the second-highest gun ownership rate in the world, second only to the United States. A guest who could afford to stay in a high-end hotel naturally had the ample funds to comfortably carry a gun for self-defense and combat.

but……

"Why bring a gun to a hotel?" A thought flashed through my mind for a moment. Then…

'Bang—bang bang bang!'

Gunshots.

More than one gunshot rang out.

The reincarnators who had been playing around on the rooftop stopped. A commotion and shouts erupted from the hotel below. Valentina's eyes flashed with a deep blue light. Her prosthetic implants were fully activated, and in an instant, she easily breached India's virtually nonexistent network defense system. Signal sources of all sizes in the nearby streets were then under her control.

"Taking over... What the hell? There aren't any security cameras in hotels here in India... Found it, someone was filming with their phone... A young man was killed, he looked like a hotel employee. Strange, why didn't the killer just run away?"

The reincarnators hadn't even had a chance to cause trouble yet.

But the trouble struck directly on the heads of the reincarnators.

Yu Zhiwei, who had been stabbed several times in the kidneys, sneered and stretched out a yawn that was oozing blood but would eventually recede on its own.

"This is India. Hmph... I bet this isn't a simple murder. There's a 90% chance there's something shady going on in this hotel. We can still leave now, otherwise, in ten minutes at most, we'll probably be in deep trouble."

"Run away?" Luo Yinglong's lips twitched, as if he wanted to laugh. "I'll avoid his sharp edge?"

“To be precise, we’re avoiding their direct confrontation,” Valentina corrected. “We’re a team now, so if we’re going to run, we’ll run together… Wait, something’s not right! Why are there so many signals around here?”

Siming's hand was already on the spiral staff.

But the next moment, what came from all directions was the sound of police sirens—many Indian police officers, armed with weapons, ran out from the streets in all directions and surrounded the entire hotel. Each of them was fully dressed and equipped, as if they had been prepared before the shooting even began.

"Surround the hotel! There are terrorists here!"

"No one is allowed to escape! Surround them all!"

"Go! Team A, attack! Team B, cover! Move out immediately!"

Their response was swift.

Their actions were well-organized.

If this were the United States, such a rapid response police force might have some justification. But the problem is, this is India, and those police officers are all clearly of Indian descent.

Siming stroked the handle of the spiral staff.

"It was a premeditated operation... Such a large-scale operation, just to seal off this hotel. It seems there's some Indian guy who's determined to take over this hotel."

“And they want to make all of this as reasonable as possible.” Yu Zhiwei pulled out a large gas mask from somewhere and put it on, as if the air here could pollute her. “As far as I know, unless it’s absolutely necessary, Indians are too lazy to play these ‘cover-up’ tricks and will choose to take direct action.”

“It seems to be something shameful,” Jacob nodded. “Something that cannot be seen by the world.”

"And right now, it's exactly one week after we finished the main storyline of the Curse." Si Ming glanced at the HUD panel of the bio-nanosuit. After successfully connecting to the network, the time and international news were refreshed on the corner of his eye. "When the incident on the island reached its greatest impact worldwide—the truth was well hidden, but almost the entire world was working on cutting down mountains and destroying temples."

The sirens were still blaring.

He looked at Valentina.

"Ranger, find out who these Indian police officers are trying to arrest."

He quickly received a definite answer.

"It's a man named Lava, the owner of this Tabad luxury hotel... He's in the room right below us. He has a gun in his hand and looks like he's about to commit suicide... Wait, he's passed out! He was just knocked out by the traveler's shout!"

"Huh?" Yu Zhiwei leaned back sharply. "How come this has to do with me?"

It's true that she was involved, because the Mind Flayer's psychic barrier didn't actually separate the underground area.

"Looks like we're destined for this side quest." Siming tapped the ground with his spiral staff. "Everyone, if you don't seize a gift from heaven, you'll suffer the consequences."

He made the decision.

No one else objected—they had returned to hone their skills and prepare for the upcoming first Celestial Team battle. Now that they could train and get paid at the same time, why wouldn't they accept?
He nodded to Valentina, who immediately understood. A wide range of electronic systems in the hotel then began to malfunction. The Indian police who came to arrest Rawa were briefly delayed, giving the reincarnators ample time to reach their boss's office downstairs.

And at the very moment the door was pushed open—

—【An additional side quest has been triggered, with difficulty increased to maximum—Completely end the curse of Tabad within thirty days. Success will grant all members two C-rank side quests and a reward of 4000 points. Failure will deduct double the side quest rewards and reward points.】

—[If a reincarnator's resources are negative, they will be removed during the next settlement.]

The most difficult level is double C.

This is also quite fitting for the evaluation of the Celestial Team.

(End of this chapter)