Marvel's Death Merchant

“Eve, go get the key…you go get the map and that disc. Zero, Zhang Jie, you two protect her the whole way…O’Connor, come with me to find Jonathan. He should be playing poker with those Americans right now, right? The rest of you, stay put and be on guard. If anything happens, follow the instructions of Tang Xing, Zhan Lan, Qi Tengyi, and Zhao Yingkong…Let’s go, the story begins!”

Zheng Zha stood up, took the high-vibration particle cutting dagger out of his storage ring, and then led the way to the deck of the ship's cabin.

Dozens of men in black had already climbed aboard the ship's edge. Tang Xing saw this but said nothing; he simply stepped forward and slowly activated the spatial seed on his body.

Zheng Zha only saw Tang Xing's location when a metal box suddenly fell down. A moment later, various weapons emerged from it—the towering Tracker and Terminator. To Zheng Zha and O'Connor's astonishment, the Tracker and Terminator demonstrated the meaning of instant kill in just 10 seconds. The men in black were completely wiped out by Tang Xing's high-tech weaponry.

Zheng Zha and O'Connor returned with Jonathan, while Eve, Zero, and Zhang Jie had already retrieved the disc and map. However, the cabin was now filled with thick smoke, seemingly having been completely set ablaze.

Zheng Zha didn't say much. After putting the submachine gun and dagger into his storage ring, he chuckled and said to everyone, "Are you all ready?"

O'Connor paused for a moment, then immediately smiled and said, "Of course, I definitely remember the shore is on the other side..."

Jonathan asked blankly, "Prepare what? Hey, O'Connell, what did he say to prepare?"

Zheng Zha didn't explain much. He pulled Jonathan over and threw him into the river, then snatched the pistol back from his hand. Just as he reached for Eve, the man grabbed O'Connor, and the team could leave.

"Then, let's begin," Zheng Zha said with a smile.

After saying that, he laughed and jumped into the river. Although he was in a horror movie, he was now interacting with the characters from the original film. Moreover, this horror movie wasn't as dangerous as his previous ones; at least for now, it didn't seem too dangerous. Therefore, he felt a kind of adventurous excitement. Tang Xing and the others also left the area.

The river wasn't rushing; at least, the group wasn't swept away after jumping in. Instead, they all followed O'Connor, slowly swimming towards the shore. The tour boat behind them was completely ablaze, and faintly, it seemed as if another group had jumped in from the other side of the boat.

Several members of the team weren't very good swimmers, but with mutual support, they managed to swim to the riverbank one after another. Once ashore, Eve cried out again, "Oh my god, oh my god! My tools, my clothes, and so many manuscripts are all gone! Oh my god!"

Only then did everyone realize that Tang Xing hadn't gotten a single drop of water on him. A strange expression immediately crossed their faces.

Just then, a roar came from the other side of the river. A man standing on the opposite bank shouted, "O'Connor! Hey, O'Connor! Haha, looks like you're in a really bad situation. All the horses are on our side. Haha!"

"Hey, Benny, looks like you've come to the wrong shore, hahaha..."

After the laughter subsided, they still had to face reality: they had no means of transportation. It would take half a day to walk to reach the oasis market. However, this was still relatively good, as it was close to the river and there were many small plants on the edge of the desert. Amidst their conversations and laughter, the time didn't seem to pass too quickly.

Zheng Zha deliberately walked alongside Xiao Honglu and asked in a low voice, "We're getting closer and closer to the City of the Dead. What are our chances of victory?"

"What's your standard for victory? Avoiding them? Killing them all? Or quickly completing this horror movie mission and burying the undead priest?" Xiao Honglu said, pinching the hair in front of his eyes.

"The standard for victory... is to survive, to ensure that most of us can survive." Zheng Zha thought for a moment, then nodded affirmatively.

Xiao Honglu gently pinched his hair. After lowering his head for a moment, he said, "Before that, let me ask you a question. According to you, our strongest fighter right now is Tang Xing. So let me ask you, just how strong are you? Give me a specific standard."

After thinking for a moment, Zheng Zha said, "I'm not sure about his strongest combat power, but I do know that the power manifested by the various technologies he possesses is enough to kill the rest of the team."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Honglu was also taken aback, and then said, "That's good. Originally, the chance was only about 10%, no, about 7%. After all, it's too difficult to complete the mission without anyone dying. Even without another team fighting against us, just one immortal priest with powerful magic is enough. At least I can't think of any way to safely bury it... So, I was thinking of following the movie plot and burying it step by step with the Golden Resurrection Scripture... As for the other team, to be honest, even I was prepared to be killed just now. Without Tang Xing's high technology, at least half of our team would die, at least... But now it's different. Qi Huan has such strong combat power, so our survival chance has greatly increased, basically to about 30%, I can't say for sure."

(Is there a 30% chance that everyone will survive?)

With these doubts, or rather, a bad feeling, Zheng Zha and the others followed O'Connor and his group to the largest oasis market before entering the desert. This oasis had abundant underground water veins and was practically a small town. Apart from the lack of vendors, almost all other common goods could be found, especially the necessities for entering the desert: camels.

Without hesitation, after replenishing their supplies of fresh water and food, they bought fourteen camels and began their journey toward the City of the Dead. Even when they were tired, they would only take a nap on the camels. Three days and three nights passed quickly, and they were getting closer and closer to the City of the Dead.

O'Connor and his two companions fared relatively well. Having lived near Egypt for a long time, they were quite adept at conserving energy in the desert. Tang Xing, due to the virus he carried, was no different from usual in the scorching heat. However, Zheng Zha and the others were in dire straits. Not only was it their first time riding camels, but apart from Zhang Jie and Ling Dian, none of the others had ever been to the desert before. After three days of camel riding and experiencing the harsh desert heat and cold, even Zheng Zha, whose physical strength far surpassed that of others, was finding it difficult to cope. This was even more true for the others, such as Qi Tengyi, Gao Hongliang, Zhang Heng, and Qin Zhuiyu. They had been riding camels for so long that they were trembling as they walked afterward. The four of them were so exhausted that they were almost collapsing. As a result, they all looked like refugees, covered in dust and dirt.

Chapter 345 Ruins

As dawn broke again, just as Zheng Zha and the others were becoming numb and accustomed to the desert, a large group of dozens of people on horseback suddenly emerged from the distant sand dunes. The leader was none other than Benny, who had been mocked on the other side of the river a few days earlier, O'Connor's former comrade-in-arms, and another person who had survived the City of the Dead.

“Hi, good morning, my friend,” Benny called out to O’Connell from a distance.

O'Connor remained silent, leading his group closer and closer to the opposing team. Then, the two sides stood in a row, a few meters apart, with only an empty sandy area in front of them.

An American behind Benny asked curiously, "Why are we stopping? Didn't you say we were close to the City of the Dead? If we're going, let's hurry up and go. What are we doing here?"

Benny said calmly, "My friend, be patient, it'll be quick..."

Behind O'Connor, Eve asked curiously in a low voice, "What are we doing here?"

“Here… we await the arrival of our destination,” O’Connor replied softly.

Suddenly, the American shouted from a distance, "O'Connor, remember the deal we made at the gambling table the other day? Whoever gets into town first gets five hundred dollars... Want to try and see who gets in first?"

Just as he was speaking, the sun slowly rose from below the distant sand dunes, and golden morning light shone on the earth. Under the light, a stone ruin slowly appeared on the empty desert plain. This was the legendary city of the dead, Hamunaptra!

"It seems that the story world of the Infinite World doesn't have planes. That's why it can be controlled by the main god, who is also an executor of a special plane," Tang Xing muttered to himself, having gained a new understanding of special planes.

Regardless, Tang Xing and the others followed the main group to the ruins of Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead. It was a vast ancient city, evident from the remaining stone walls and megaliths. It had indeed once been glorious, and even after thousands of years, it still retained its remnants of dignity.

After entering Hamunaptra, the group and the American team settled in together. Once everything was settled, Eve couldn't resist dragging O'Connor along to start looking for a passage into the underground. The Americans also went off to find their own passage. Seeing this, Zheng Zha and the others discussed it briefly. Tang Xing, of course, would go along to check it out. However, they didn't go underground with O'Connor and the other two. Instead, according to Zheng Zha's instructions, they began exploring the surrounding terrain.

Tang Xing's goal was to explore the tomb, so he naturally followed along. This world was currently safe; the most powerful being in the infinite worlds was only a single Jesus Bullet that could defeat it. There was no being capable of destroying the galaxy.

Ancient Egypt also had many devices that utilized the power of nature, including a system that used a few mirrors to bring light into dark caves.

The smell inside the tomb was extremely unpleasant and somewhat stuffy, but it didn't bother them. So Tang Xing simply calculated the location he needed, and the wrist computer allowed him to know a lot of things.

Meanwhile, O'Connor and his group were in a standoff with fifteen foreigners, constantly pointing their guns at each other's heads. Eventually, O'Connor and his companions seemed to give in. Led by Eve, they descended to a lower level and began digging from the top.

Tang Xing didn't offer any help; as an office worker, he could simply watch from the sidelines. Eve, meanwhile, explained some things about ancient Egypt. Then, as the group diligently dug and Jonathan accidentally stumbled upon something, a coffin fell down. Just as they were about to open the coffin, as Eve explained, they were drawn away by a scream and soon left the tomb.

Tang Xing ignored those things. After the others left, Tang Xing observed the structure of the coffin. Although it looked extremely simple, Tang Xing could still sense the dark power inside.

"The power of death? It seems to be more than just ordinary death," Tang Xing said calmly.

In the evening, everyone returned to the campsite. After a simple meal, they sat together to discuss their experiences of the day. O'Connor and his two companions talked about the scene below the tomb, while Zero and the others casually recounted the surrounding environment.

After the others finished speaking, O'Connor suddenly said, "Are you planning to start a war here? Such detailed environmental reconnaissance is something only the military would do... Brother, why don't we find out together? What do you say?"

Zheng Zha chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "This is our business, at least we can't let it involve you... Besides, you'd better not get too close to those Americans..."

O'Connor shrugged helplessly and said, "Today's expedition, those Americans weren't very lucky either. It seems that three of their guides were... melted away."

"It melted?" Eve and Jonathan murmured in surprise.

"Yes, potent hydrochloric acid; they've fallen into an ancient trap."

Zheng Zha suddenly laughed and said, "There really are curses here, you know. I just don't know if there are ghosts or anything like that."

After a moment of silence, O'Connor and the other two were stunned by what they heard. Eve suddenly exclaimed, "Please, there's no such thing as ghosts or curses in this world. I only believe in what I can see with my own eyes!"

Zhang Jie suddenly chimed in, "We've seen real ghosts with our own eyes, you know. They're terrifying, incredibly terrifying... Many of our former team members were killed by those ghosts. If it weren't for bad luck, we might have been killed too, hahaha..."

Zhan Lan quickly said, "Zhang Jie, that's enough, stop talking nonsense... Eve, it's okay, don't believe him, he was just joking about what he said... Zhang Jie, do you want to lose reward points?"

Zhang Jie laughed and shrugged. Zheng Zha was about to say something when suddenly the sound of horses' hooves came faintly from afar, a large number of hooves, as if nearly a hundred people were galloping towards them.

The expressions of everyone present changed, and Zheng Zha quickly stood up and said, "Everyone, grab your weapons... a battle is about to break out."

"Looks like some more guys have arrived." Tang Xing opened his eyes and said coldly as he looked outside.

As soon as he finished speaking, more than a dozen knights rushed out from behind the stone pillars in the distance. They were all dressed in black robes. Several guides hired by the Americans fell to the ground. The group of black-clad knights began firing their guns and attacking everyone in the camp. Some of them even took torches and started burning tents and supplies. Gradually, dozens of knights rushed out from behind the stone pillars.

Zheng Zha reacted the fastest, pulling out a submachine gun and unleashing a barrage of fire. Several black-clad knights at the forefront immediately fell. Tang Xing was even more formidable, drawing a heavy machine gun. In an instant, nearly twenty black-clad knights were knocked off their horses. The power of the heavy machine gun far surpassed that of weapons of this era; the black-clad men couldn't even get close. After leaving behind more than ten corpses, the black-clad knights were forced to retreat. Before long, the black-clad knights, who had arrived with such ferocity, had vanished completely, leaving only dozens of corpses and some wounded horses on the ground.

Chapter 346 Imhotep's Resurrection

The guides hired by the Americans gradually quieted down and began to cheer and thank Zheng Zha and the others loudly. Even O'Connor and his two companions stared at them in a daze. Of course, the Americans who had just come out of the tomb did not know what had happened. They were still excitedly showing their discoveries to the people around them: several ancient glass bottles... and a thick, ancient black book!

“Hey, O’Connell, how much do you think you can sell these treasures for? Hahaha, I heard you found a wet mummy? Hahaha, that’s hilarious! Maybe you can dry it and use it as firewood…” one of the Americans holding a glass bottle laughed loudly.

"It seems to be something of value." Tang Xing looked at the book in surprise.

Seeing the three Americans sitting there so casually, Zheng Zha and the others, who were familiar with the plot, were unharmed, but O'Connor and his two companions laughed in anger. Eve suddenly took out several dry, hard beetle shells from her package and said slyly, "Look at this! The remains of scarab beetles. They're carnivorous insects that we found in the damp mummy's coffin. These insects can survive for years when they have corpses to eat... Our mummy friend was eaten alive by these insects while he was still alive."

The three Americans subconsciously swallowed, and they immediately got goosebumps. However, since they were the ones who started the conversation, they couldn't leave now and could only sit there and continue to listen to Eve's verbal abuse.

O'Connor understood Eve's meaning and deliberately said, "Someone threw the bugs in so he could slowly eat them to death?"

The three Americans swallowed hard again, and Eve deliberately replied, "Very, very slowly. He could feel the worms crawling inside his body even as he died... As far as I know, this punishment is called 'worm-eating.' It's the most vicious curse in Egypt, specifically used against the most heinous sinners. I've never heard of anyone in Egyptian history being subjected to it..."

The three Americans finally snapped out of their verbal abuse, and one of them asked curiously, "So powerful? Why don't they carry out this kind of punishment? Don't you think it's...cool?"

Eve rolled her eyes and said, "Sorry, the reason they didn't carry out this punishment wasn't for any other reason than that they were afraid of the consequences. The Egyptians at the time believed that if a sinner who had been eaten by worms were to be resurrected, it would bring ten great calamities to Egypt. The resurrected monsters were said to be incredibly powerful and would bring destruction to all of Egypt..."

The three Americans, having made a fool of themselves and endured another round of verbal abuse, exchanged a few more casual words before returning to their respective tents. Of course, Eve's attention was actually fixed on the black ancient book in the old professor's hands. She said a few perfunctory words, then lay down and pretended to sleep. The others chatted briefly before falling asleep as well. Tang Xing and the others exchanged glances; they all knew what was about to happen. The protagonist, Eve, had stolen the Black Book of the Dead and, unintentionally, recited the words of resurrection from it, finally raising the undead priest Imhotep back to life.

Sure enough, around midnight, Eve tiptoed toward the old professor's tent. She gently took the ancient black book from the professor's hands and then tiptoed back.

“You know what? This should be called theft,” O’Connor murmured with his eyes closed.

“But… according to what you and my brother said, I call this a loan.” Eve chuckled, took the disc that served as the key out of the package, and then placed it on the cover of the black ancient book.

O'Connor slowly got up. He said curiously, "I thought the Sun Sutra was golden... I didn't expect it to be black?"

Eve shook her head and said, "The Book of the Sun is indeed golden, but this isn't the Book of the Sun... This is another one; I think it should be the Bible of the Dead..."

O'Connor said seriously, "The Bible of the Dead? And you still play with it?"

Eve smiled and said, "It's just a book, and there's no harm in just reading..."

Zheng Zha suddenly spoke from not far away: "So you understand ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, right? Qi Tengyi, you understand ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs too, don't you?"

Eve and O'Connor were both startled. They quickly gestured for Zheng Zha to be quiet. Then they heard Qi Tengyi say with a smile, "If it's about reading the words and understanding their meaning, then I should be considered fairly knowledgeable... as long as the words aren't too obscure."

Eve rolled her eyes and nonchalantly opened the black ancient book. Just as the book was opened, a strange, eerie wind swept in, causing the fire among them to flicker.

Eve, a rather oblivious person, didn't care. She touched the words in the Bible of the Dead and murmured, "Sun, Moon, the Nine Lands of the Underworld... Rebirth, rebirth, rebirth!"

As soon as the words were read aloud, Zheng Zha, Ling Dian, and Zhao Yingkong suddenly sat up. A strange sense of danger made it impossible for them to lie still. This feeling of danger was so strong that just experiencing it quietly was enough to make them nervous. One sense of danger came from underground, while another sense of danger came from the sand dunes far to the west.

The old professor suddenly woke up and shouted, "No, you can't read it aloud!"

Zheng Zha reacted the fastest. He drew his dagger and rushed towards a large stone pillar not far from the group. Using the sharpness of the dagger, he easily climbed down from the bottom of the pillar. Standing on the pillar, he looked towards the distant sand dunes to the west. He vaguely saw a group of people appear there. Because it was dark at the moment, he could not see how many people there were.

"Snapped!"

Zheng Zha instinctively raised his dagger to block in front of his face. A small pebble struck the front of the dagger with a crisp sound. The force of the pebble made his arm go numb, and he was knocked off the stone pillar.

"I hate it when others strike first. I'll teach you a lesson!" Tang Xing muttered to himself, looking at the location of that squad.

Then, Tang Xing released the Jericho missile, the weapon Iron Man had researched. Although it's unclear whether it's now under God's protection, that's no longer important.

On the other side, fortunately, Zheng Zha reacted in time. While in mid-air, he kicked off the stone pillar wall and fell to the ground at an angle. Although he rolled several times, he was unharmed.

Then, countless locusts appeared from afar, swarming towards the crowd like a tidal wave. Just looking at them was enough to send chills down one's spine.

Eve no longer cared about the Bible of the Dead; she ran with the others toward the entrance to the underground tomb.

Chapter 347 Indian Team

This was the first time everyone had entered the underground tomb, and everyone was running around in a chaotic frenzy. Upon entering, Zheng Zha and the others were swept away by the crowd. After everyone calmed down, only Zheng Zha, Ling Dian, Zhang Jie, Zhang Heng, Qi Tengyi, and Qin Zhuiyu remained together; the others had disappeared into some side passage. Tang Xing was nowhere to be seen.

The entire underground tomb was dark and filled with a putrid smell. Fortunately, Zhang Heng had grabbed a torch when he came down, otherwise the group would have had a hard time moving around in the maze of passages. Fortunately, everyone managed to gather together safely.