Marvel's Death Merchant

At this moment, Xiao Honglu smiled faintly. He gently pulled out a strand of long black hair, let it flutter in the wind, and said, "Do you know what the so-called sixth sense is? Everyone can deduce or foresee their future based on external information, only to varying degrees. Moreover, this is a subconscious action of the brain. Among them, the premonition of death is the strongest. As a result of my highly developed brain, in addition to my reasoning ability, I have an additional function: I can receive the premonitions of death emitted by ordinary people. From my perspective... this world is gray. I can see everyone's premonition of death, and you are almost entirely covered in darkness, as if you are part of the primordial darkness. You are also the only darkness I see that can devour gray."

"It sounds like I could live forever," Tang Xing said with a smile to Xiao Honglu.

Zheng Zha paused for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said, "Leaving aside Tang Xing's matter, is his death inevitable, or is it a possibility that can be changed?"

"It's just a possibility of death, like O'Connor, who teetered on the brink of death. Just now, his deathly gray was much more intense than yours..."

Xiao Honglu squatted down on the ground and twirled his hair with his fingers, saying, "We still don't have enough information, and I don't know your names or abilities. Under these circumstances, I can't make much deduction. Let's follow O'Connor and make further deductions after he comes out."

After exchanging glances, Zheng Zha and Tang Xing introduced their respective professions, abilities, stages of unlocking their genetic locks, and the importance of each person in the team. Of course, when Tang Xing introduced himself, Xiao Honglu's eyes were filled with surprise.

A moment later, Xiao Honglu withdrew his surprised gaze and lowered his head to think. After a long while, he looked up and asked, "What's this about unlocking the gene lock? It seems this is the key to the war between our team and the opposing team, right?"

Zheng Zha nodded and said, "Yes, before you, there was a very powerful person who deduced that the purpose of the 'Main God' space was to allow humans to evolve, and this ability to unlock the gene lock is the mark of biological evolution. In each team, three people have accumulated to unlock the gene lock, regardless of whether one or two of them have died. Once the cumulative number reaches three, that team will randomly collide with a team from another continent. Moreover, the 'Main God' has set the reward points for killing the opponent so high in order to make both sides fight to the death... Once they meet, if one person from either side is killed, the outcome will inevitably be a fight to the death."

Xiao Honglu gently plucked a strand of hair, held it to his fingertip, and stared at it for a long while before gently blowing on it and saying, "Is that so? If the 'God's' purpose isn't to let us survive, but to unlock our genetic locks through death... then my reasoning holds true. I've been wondering, since killing someone grants reward points, why don't both sides exchange new recruits to slaughter each other? As long as the number of kills is the same, this way they can both avoid violating the 'God's' purpose and systematically obtain reward points and strengthen themselves. So why don't both teams use this method? I see..."

Everyone looked at him with confusion. Xiao Honglu didn't explain. He silently coiled his hair into a circle. Only after the movie's male lead O'Connor, female lead Eve, and Eve's brother Jonathan walked out of the prison gate did the others stop asking why and silently follow behind the male lead. They followed the three of them for about a few streets when Xiao Honglu suddenly murmured, "About... five thousand meters, right?"

"Huh?" Everyone looked at him curiously.

Suddenly, a majestic voice appeared out of nowhere in everyone's mind.

"With one member of our team killed, the Central Continent team has a negative score of one point, and currently has a negative reward score of two thousand points. When the horror movie ends, those with negative reward points will be eliminated..."

While everyone was still in shock, Xiao Honglu pulled a strand of hair from his forehead to his face and said calmly, "If someone dies, they get a negative one point, while the other side doesn't get any points... In other words, when I learn that I'm about to be exchanged and betrayed, I will commit suicide first, causing the team that betrayed me to get a negative one point. This will prevent both sides from continuing their plan to exchange new members. At the same time... both sides will be locked in a complete battle. The 'God's' goal isn't for us to play around and get reward points. It wants us to kill each other like a gu until the strongest and most evolved person appears... And we are the worms in that gu now..."

Everyone's current status is already negative one point, and for a moment everyone felt a little heavy-hearted. In other words, they can only fight with their backs against the wall at this moment. Either kill one of the opponents, or wait for most of them to be wiped out after this horror movie is over. With negative two thousand reward points, it seems that apart from Tang Xing and Zheng Zha, no one else has a chance to survive.

"We were thinking about how to avoid fighting them before, but now we're figuring out how to take down one of their members. It's a really complicated situation," Zheng Zha said with a wry smile.

"There's nothing we can do about it; after all, this place is best suited to the law of the jungle," Tang Xing said seriously to his team members, releasing a chilling aura.

He thought for a moment and then said, "Xiao Honglu, analyze the strength of the opposing team members. Also, why did the 'God' put us into this horror movie world first?"

Xiao Honglu pinched a strand of hair and said, "Based on the information you've provided, as long as the team has or has ever had three members who unlocked the gene lock, then the team will clash with teams from other continents... What I want to say is that our team is definitely weaker than that Indian team, otherwise the 'God' wouldn't have moved us to this horror movie world first."

Chapter 341: The Plot Begins

The pieces that Tang Tian left in the "Infinite Terror" world are continuing to develop according to his original plan. Everything is not much different from before, except that Tang Xing has been added.

Tang Xing is essentially a clone; he doesn't have his own thoughts, but rather is driven by Tang Tian's beliefs, which guide him in carrying out missions.

The plot continues to unfold as it was originally intended.

Xiao Honglu was about to start pulling out his hair again when Zhan Lan, who was next to him, suddenly grabbed his hand and said, "Don't pull your hair like that, or you'll become bald."

Xiao Honglu shook off her hand and said, "No, after my cerebral cortex mutated, the reproductive speed of my scalp hair roots also mutated. Even if I pluck all my hair, it will all grow back in a short time... Because when I think, my scalp will be very itchy, and I wish I could scratch my scalp raw, so I can't scratch my head no matter what. At most, I can only pluck a hair to create a little pain... Don't worry about me."

"Qi Tengyi, do you think that if two forces were to fight each other, the one who enters the battlefield first would have the advantage, or the one who enters the battlefield later? Even if the battlefield is a treacherous swamp or jungle where the environment and creatures are deadly, the force that enters the battlefield first will still have the advantage. Whether it's an ambush or an encirclement, the side that is familiar with the battlefield will definitely have the initiative."

"Our team consists of snipers, assassins, frontal combatants, and support personnel. We're only missing engineers to lay mines and other weapons. This combination is already very strong. In addition, we have three main combat members who have unlocked their genetic locks, and one guy with terrifying weaponry. If the 'God' considers us weaker than the opponent with this kind of strength... then there's a 70% chance that the opponent has enhanced legendary magic abilities, just like Tang Xing..." Zheng Zha explained seriously.

Xiao Honglu gently plucked a strand of hair, this time without blowing it out. Instead, he twirled it in his palm and slowly played with it, looking at the hair as he said, "If that's the case, I suggest avoiding direct combat with them as much as possible. Legendary magical abilities are mostly unimaginable, and in terms of destructive power, we have the advantage at long range... Zero and Tang Xing will be our main fighting force in this battle. Let's take them out with firearms and snipers!"

Zheng Zha stared blankly, somewhat dazed. He smiled wryly and said, "I didn't expect you to be the most violent one among us. I always thought you were just a slightly smarter kid... By the way, how do you know all this? Even if you're smart, isn't it a bit much for a child to know so much?"

Xiao Honglu suddenly smiled with a hint of slyness, which made him seem very much like a teenager. He murmured, "This world has computers. Although I am being studied, I am not bound or imprisoned. I can go online to read books in my spare time. Moreover, there is a type of book in this era called 'fantasy' novels."

"It seems you have a lot of experience," Tang Xing said with a smile.

Zheng Zha was also stunned for a moment, then he burst into laughter and said, "That's more like a young man. You looked just like an old friend of mine before... or rather, a friend. You looked just like him before."

At this moment, the male and female protagonists, who were walking ahead of the group, suddenly stopped and seemed to be discussing something. Only after the female protagonist and her brother had left did the male protagonist, O'Connor, continue walking into the alley ahead.

The group exchanged glances, then said nothing more. Zheng Zha led the way and continued into the alley. But as soon as they turned a corner, O'Connor stood there, looking at the main characters with a wary expression.

“Fellow inmates, I don’t think you’re deliberately following me, are you?” O’Connor said with a wary sneer.

Zheng Zha was stunned for a moment, then he recalled that he had encountered a similar situation in Resident Evil 1, where the 'God' had placed them into the horror movie world, where they were company security guards. Now, the protagonist, O'Connor, was treating them like his fellow inmates.

Zheng Zha's heart skipped a beat, and he said with a smile, "Hehe, I heard you mention Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, before..."

O'Connor reacted the fastest, immediately reaching for his waist, but he forgot that he had just been released from prison and wouldn't likely have any guns on him. After a few moments, he noticed Zheng Zha holding a strangely shaped short gun (a submachine gun). He immediately raised his hand and laughed, "Haha, brother, you must have misheard. What 'City of the Dead'..."

Zheng Zha smiled slightly and put away his submachine gun. He also laughed and said, "Hehe, I won't say anything else. I have no ill intentions. I just hope you can take us to the City of the Dead. We will take care of your safety... In fact, we were the ones who actually saved you just now."

O'Connor looked at him strangely. Zheng Zha smiled at Zero and then pointed to the sharp steel horn on the roof of a building in the distance. It was at least a thousand meters away from there, and everyone could only vaguely see a thin steel horn. O'Connor also looked in that direction, puzzled. Then, with a slight hiss, the steel horn broke off. O'Connor turned around in shock and saw Zero putting a strangely shaped pistol into his pocket.

This was at the end of World War I, before even semi-automatic rifles existed, let alone pistols capable of breaking steel bars at nearly a kilometer. The pistol Zero had chosen was a futuristic weapon far beyond 21st-century technology. Its elimination device, its kilometer-long direct-fire capability, and Zero's sniping skills were all enough to shock O'Connor. He stared at the gun, mouth agape, motionless for a long time before finally saying, "...Don't point that gun at me, absolutely not..."

This could be considered a semi-violent threat, Zheng Zha said with a wry smile as he followed behind O'Connor, with the rest of the team following behind him. In fact, unseen by him, Xiao Honglu had been quietly watching his actions. After he had done all this, the little boy even showed a slightly approving smile on his face.

“It seems that the talent I know has reappeared. Very good, I will complete the mission. In order to find the true body, Zhang Min and I will definitely find you. Speaking of which, coming to this special plane is not bad. Although we cannot leave here or destroy this place, overall it is acceptable. It also fits the plan.” Tang Xing walked at the back, silently thinking to himself.

The plot continues to unfold, but some things that are bound to happen remain constant. Tang Xing has gained something from coming to this world; he's beginning to understand its true nature.

Chapter 342 Preparations Begin

O'Connor was almost forced to agree to Zheng Zha and the others' request, taking the ten people with him to Hamunaptra, the city of the dead. Of course, after Zheng Zha and Tang Xing readily gave him two gold bars and a few diamonds, promising to use them for his equipment and supplies, O'Connor finally felt a little better. Helpless, he could only take Zheng Zha and the others to his inn, a place that looked like a residential courtyard.

O'Connor seemed to be a regular here. As soon as he entered the hotel, he started talking and laughing loudly with a blond young man. He was basically saying, "Brother, I spent a few days in prison and luckily I didn't get hanged. I'm finally back today. Seeing you living such a good life makes me unhappy."

After his explanation, O'Connor turned to Zheng Zha and the others and said, "You guys stay here for now. I'll go sell the gold, and leave the diamonds for now. I'll also buy some guns and ammunition. Of course, I guess you probably don't need any guns, right?" With that, he smiled and pointed to Zero.

Zheng Zha laughed as well. He knew that O'Connor, the protagonist of The Mummy, was a man of his word, and he would basically do what he promised. However, because of the distance of five thousand, he took out a gold bar from his storage ring and said, "There are some reasons that require us to stay by your side, but we will not be stingy with money. Besides diamonds, I have some good stuff here. Don't worry, we also know that there are some men in black guarding the City of the Dead. If we encounter them again, we will be responsible for dealing with them. We just want to find the City of the Dead."

O'Connor looked at Zheng Zha and the others with suspicion. Without any ceremony, he casually took the gold bars, weighed them in his hand, and said, "If you want to go, you'd better hurry. I promised that woman I'd meet them in Giza Port tomorrow morning. Going to the black market at night would be very unsafe. I don't want to get shot in the back there. Let's go."

The journey was uneventful, and soon everyone followed O'Connor back to the inn. This man truly seemed like a Cairo tycoon, easily exchanging three gold bars for a large amount of cash and small gold coins. He not only bought himself a large bag of weapons but also several new clothes and leather shoes.

"...That year, we received orders to find the legendary City of the Dead, a place of boundless gold... Heh, if I didn't know you hadn't been there, I would have suspected you'd already found the City of the Dead's golden treasure... Anyway, after we'd had our fill of the yellow sand, on a day of incredible luck, we saw Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, the legendary tomb where the Pharaoh rests, containing golden and black holy books. Hamunaptra, the Pharaoh's resting place, containing priceless gold..."

"Not long after we arrived, and after only a brief digging and exploration, we were attacked by a group of men in black. They tried to kill us all, but I escaped after something very strange happened. I was almost killed by those men in black, but suddenly the ground I was standing on rose up. A human face emerged from below—perhaps the legendary ghost guarding the tomb… cough. Anyway, I was the only one who escaped alive, and then I was faced with an endless desert…"

"I was so thirsty, back then..."

As O'Connor finished speaking, he took a few big gulps of tequila and continued, "Back then in the desert, I had no supplies or fresh water. And it takes three days to get from the City of the Dead to the nearest oasis. That's the desert, after all. There are no horses, no camels; it would take at least five days on foot. In that temperature and scorching sun, anyone would be dried into a solid state..."

"On the third day, I started eating snakes and scorpions, sucking out their fluids and drinking them, then biting my lips until they bled, letting the blood moisten my throat... At night, I dug through the sand and used the wettest sand at the bottom to moisten my mouth... I don't know how I made it to the oasis, I must have looked just like a mummy, haha..."

These words were spoken in a calm tone, but the dangers and difficulties involved were beyond words. Zheng Zha and the others offered a few words of comfort in silence. Of course, Ling Dian, Tang Xing, and a few others were indifferent and continued eating by themselves, making the atmosphere rather strange.

O'Connor suddenly said, "Why do you want to go to the City of the Dead? Judging from the gold you gave me, it was the purest gold bars, and you gave it to me so easily, as if you were very rich. Is the gold in the City of the Dead really that attractive to you?"

Zheng Zha gave a wry smile. He picked up a bottle of tequila, took a few sips, and said, "If I told you that we went to the Land of the Dead not for the gold, but because we would die if we didn't go, would you believe us? It certainly sounds quite unbelievable..."

O'Connor said thoughtfully, "Could it be because of a curse? Never mind, I don't know anything about that. Anyway, I will keep my promise. Let's set off for the City of the Dead together tomorrow... I hope that this time, I won't have to come back in such a sorry state."

(It will probably be very difficult, and I'll escape back in a very embarrassing way...)

Those who knew the plot couldn't help but smile wryly. In the Mummy storyline, O'Connor and his companions released the Undead Priest, leaving them no choice but to flee back to Cairo from the City of the Dead in a very disheveled state. Although their supplies were still plentiful, having a mummy chasing after them was a truly unpleasant experience.

“Alright! Then let’s head to Hamunaptra, the City of the Undead, together tomorrow!” Zheng Zha raised his wine bottle and clinked it against O’Connor’s, nodding affirmatively as he spoke.

Afterwards, Zhan Lan also brought up the idea of ​​buying a cat as a talisman, and everyone discussed their next plans.

Tang Xing, meanwhile, began preparing his own troops, including, of course, biological weapons. Biotechnology was the foundation of the Steel Empire, followed by high-tech weaponry.

The next day, around noon, O'Connor led the group to Cairo's Giza port. Eve and her brother Jonathan were already there, and they both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw O'Connor arrive. However, they also noticed Zheng Zha and the others with O'Connor, and both of them immediately became wary.

Eve was very frank and a bit carefree. As soon as O'Connor came to her side, she immediately asked anxiously, "Didn't you say you were the only one taking us? Why are there so many men and women here? Let me make this clear, I'm not going to cover the travel expenses for so many people... You, are you O'Connor?"

O'Connor was naturally disheveled in prison, but after washing up and getting new clothes and shoes, he looked quite handsome. Before he even spoke, Eve, who had a carefree personality, was stunned. She had barely managed to force out a hesitant "Hello..." when her brother Jonathan immediately took over the conversation.

Chapter 343 Cooperation

“Haha, today is really a good day for adventure, even if there are a lot of people, it doesn’t matter… But, O’Connor, are they really reliable? No, of course, you know, I’m referring to their greed for gold. There’s not enough gold in the City of the Dead to go around for so many people…” Jonathan laughed twice, then put his arm around O’Connor’s shoulder and asked in a low voice.

O'Connor nodded and said, "Yes, the weather is certainly suitable for adventure today. As for them, they shouldn't be interested in gold, and they are more than capable of protecting us on the journey... But what I'm more worried about is..." Before he could finish speaking, he reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, looked at it for a few moments, and then carefully put it back in his pocket.

Jonathan's forte was stealing things from people's arms. He chuckled awkwardly and said, "Don't worry, I won't lay a hand on my own people. Heh, you're saying they wouldn't be interested in gold? So... they must be quite wealthy, right?"

Zheng Zha suddenly walked up to the three of them and said with a smile, "Hehe, I heard what you said... Hello, my name is Zheng Zha, and these are my partners. We are an expedition team privately sponsored by a wealthy American, and our goal is to find possible hidden places around the world... Of course, the legendary Egyptian capital of the dead is also one of the hidden places we are exploring. We will cover the expenses for the journey, and we will also provide you with sufficient security. Of course, please heed our advice during the exploration and do not do anything that could endanger everyone's lives. That's basically it."

Eve had been staring at O'Connor until Zheng Zha spoke, at which point she snapped out of her daze and hurriedly said, "Wh-what?! We didn't join your expedition! We're searching for the City of the Dead in a private capacity. Why should we listen to your advice? And forget about the fees; we can afford them..."

Zheng Zha quickly shook his head and said, "I think you may have misunderstood. Our purpose is only 'exploration,' and we are not interested in the gold or anything like that we might obtain during the exploration..."

Eve reacted even more fiercely this time, her face almost flushed as she roared, "I know! Your goal is the Black Dead Bible or the Golden Resurrection Scripture, isn't it? No way! Impossible! Even if such ancient documents truly exist, how could they possibly be handed over to some rich man? Absolutely, absolutely impossible! Such documents are treasures of history and culture. I will absolutely not hand them over to you!"

Zheng Zha noticed many people around them looking at them with surprise, and even vaguely sensed a hostile gaze. Tang Xing frowned, speechless at these impolite natives, so he instantly released a terrifying killing intent. Like endless darkness, it devoured the natives with other thoughts in their minds, and most of the surrounding people fled in panic.

Tang Xing unleashed a terrifying killing intent and led the group into the travel boat on the river.

Eve, though frightened, remained relentless. She tugged at O'Connor's clothes, saying, "You swear he's telling the truth? Whatever. They're your men! You swear they won't take those two books? Can you promise me that? Otherwise, I'm warning you..."

Faced with this boisterous man, O'Connor could only manage a wry smile, especially after seeing Zheng Zha and the others board the cruise ship. His smile became particularly bitter, as if they were not to be trifled with.

Zheng Zha had already booked most of the first-class section with his gold nugget offensive, and after receiving a gold nugget, Jonathan immediately began to fraternize with Zheng Zha and the others. Of course, anyone who had seen The Mummy would stay far away from this man named Jonathan, because he was a very skilled thief who would steal from you without you even realizing it.

"We'll continue downstream along the river until noon tomorrow, when we'll disembark at this ferry. From there, we'll travel west for about half a day. We'll reach the largest and only oasis on the road to the City of the Dead, which is also a trading post for nearby merchants. There, we'll purchase camels, fresh water, and other supplies. After that, we'll continue southwest. If all goes well, we'll reach Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead, in three days and three nights..."

O'Connor spread out a simple map of the surrounding area on the table and pointed to it as he spoke to the others.

Eve quickly asked, "An accident? What kind of accident?"

O'Connor didn't say much. He suddenly threw the package he was carrying from the ground onto the table, then opened it. Inside were pistols, rifles, and pistol and rifle bullets, enough for several people.

Eve stared blankly at the package, then stammered, "I...I must have made a mistake. We're going on an adventure, right? Or are we going to war?"

O'Connor ignored her and picked up a pistol, loading it with bullets. As he loaded the bullets, he said, "Something's not right there... There's something under the tomb, and a group of mysterious people guarding it... It's a veritable city of the dead; far more people have died there than are going there alive!"

Eve quickly said to Zheng Zha, "Didn't you say you would protect us? I only need those two books; you can take everything else... Although it's just my brother who thinks there's treasure there, I don't believe you can actually find priceless gold..."

Zheng Zha nodded and said, "I already said that we're just going there to 'explore,' we're not really interested in anything else... But are you familiar with those two books?"

Eve exclaimed excitedly, "Of course! The legendary Book of the Sun, also known as the Golden Resurrection Book, and the Book of the Dead, also known as the Black Bible of the Dead, both contain spells from ancient Egyptian legends. They've fascinated me with Egypt since I was a child..."

Just then, Xiao Honglu, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly interrupted her and asked to himself, "What time is it?"

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Zheng Zha looked at his watch and said, "It's past ten o'clock..." He paused for a moment, and then saw Xiao Honglu nod slightly to him.

While they were still at the hotel yesterday, Zhan Lan had already told everyone the entire plot of the Legend of the Gods and Demons. Moreover, perhaps because she had enhanced her mental strength, her memory was extremely amazing. In just two hours, she recounted every detail of the story, almost as if she had let everyone relive the plot of the Legend of the Gods and Demons.

Zheng Zha then remembered that they would be attacked by a group of people in black that night, and that it should be around this time.

At this moment, Tang Xing muttered to himself, "It seems quite interesting. Also, the boss should have gone to the movie world too."

Chapter 344 Attack