Marvel's Death Merchant

Zheng Zha took a deep breath and said to Chu Xuan, "I no longer trust you at all! No matter how dangerous the next horror movie is, our alliance is dissolved! From now on, don't scheme against me in the slightest, or I will kill you with my own hands! I swear!"

Then, Zheng Zha walked up to Tang Xing, took a deep breath, and said, "Thank you. You are better than Chu Xuan. You are my true friend."

After speaking, Zheng Zha silently walked into his room. Ling Dian, Zhang Jie, and Zhan Lan all sighed and returned to their own rooms. Only Tang Xing and Chu Xuan, standing alone, remained in the square... He picked up the dagger from the ground and silently walked back to his room...

Zheng and Chu parted ways, but this had no impact on Tang Xing, who would change this plane of existence next.

"The Infinite Terror Dimension seems to have some talented individuals as well. I think I can try bringing them back to bolster the boss's fighting strength, but the most important goal is still to increase overall power," Tang Xing thought silently. He also prepared weapons to deal with the next plot development. (To be continued...)

Chapter 258 Ultimate Goal

"Enter the pillar of light within thirty seconds, target locked, Ju-on begins teleportation..."

"Is this finally here? A slightly more interesting world." Tang Xing thought to himself as he listened to the voice.

Six people, no, six people plus Arno, the bodyguard Chu Xuan created, stood together in the halo cast by the 'God'.

In that half-asleep, half-awake state, they lost track of time. When they came to their senses, they found themselves standing in a very ordinary room. The floor was covered with tatami mats, and the rooms were separated by paper doors. Judging from the decorations, it was a Japanese-style house.

As soon as the six of them came to their senses, they immediately began counting the number of people on the ground. It would have been better if they hadn't counted, because the count terrified them. There were fourteen newcomers lying on the ground. If you added Tang Xing and the other six, then the total number of people in this horror movie would reach the limit of twenty.

The more characters there are, the more difficult it is to make a horror movie. The last time the plot of Alien was changed, there were only fifteen characters, but it almost caused a complete flop. This time, the number of characters in the horror movie has reached an astonishing twenty, so the difficulty will definitely be much greater than the last Alien movie!

Zhang Jie sat on the ground and muttered, "Ju-on, it's Ju-on, and it's the Ju-on with a difficulty level of twenty people... We're in real trouble now..."

Zhan Lan was the first to come to her senses. She rushed to the window and looked out. It was a courtyard-style house, and she was looking out from the second floor. If you were standing outside the courtyard looking here, this house would look exactly like the haunted house in Ju-on.

Zhan Lan turned her head, her face pale, and said to Chu Xuan, "I guess you're the least knowledgeable about these kinds of supernatural horror movies, right? How about I do the analysis this time?"

Chu Xuan nodded silently.

At this moment, some new people had already gotten up from the ground. Zhan Lan did not pay special attention to them, but focused on explaining the concept of Ju-on to Zheng Zha and the others.

"The so-called Ju-on is when a person dies full of resentment. His resentment becomes a curse, and this curse usually remains in the environment where the person lived before death. Once someone enters the environment where he lived before death, that person will be killed by the curse. And in this horror movie... the location of the curse is this house!"

Zhan Lan touched her forehead and said, "In the horror movie Ju-on, once someone is afflicted by a curse, that person is doomed to die. It might be a few days later, or it might be a few weeks later; in short, that person will be killed by a ghost at any time!"

Zheng Zha sighed and said, "You mean we're actually cursed now? We could be killed by ghosts at any moment once the horror movie starts?"

Zhan Lan said with a wry smile, "Yes... this is the kind of supernatural horror film that can't be explained by science. We can't analyze how ghosts kill people, and we don't know how to avoid them... So what is our mission in making a horror film?"

All six of them simultaneously looked at their watches. The watches displayed the Ju-on mission: survive for seven days, with another option: kill the Ju-on's main body, Kagaya, once, and receive a B-rank horror movie side quest, with a reward of... 5,000 points!

"B-rank side quest? Reward points... five, five thousand?"

Zhang Jie suddenly stood up from the tatami mat, shouting excitedly, "Damn it! Let's go all out! A B-level side quest plus 5,000 bonus points. It's worth risking our lives! After this, brothers, eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want. Two bowls of rice, eat one, and throw the other away..."

The oppressive atmosphere from before was immediately dispelled by Zhang Jie. Zheng Zha laughed and scolded, "You really think it's that simple? Think about how terrifying the Queen is. We only got one D-level side quest each after killing it, and I only got three thousand reward points. This Ju-on main body, the Kaname, is definitely much more terrifying than the Alien Queen..."

"Yes. Besides, supernatural creatures are more dangerous than alien creatures, so we can't be so optimistic," Tang Xing said inappropriately.

Upon hearing this, all five people except Tang Xing fell silent...

Nine days have passed since Zheng Zha returned to the "Main God" space. During these nine days, they hardly spoke a single word to Chu Xuan, but instead discussed combat techniques, survival skills, and firearms handling with Zhang Jie, Ling Dian, and others. It wasn't until just before the third horror movie was about to begin that Chu Xuan approached them and took out a communication device that looked very much like a mobile phone.

“Each person has one, which allows them to communicate and talk to each other without being affected by satellite signals. The communication range is fifty kilometers. I think this should be very useful for teamwork.”

During this period, Chu Xuan hardly spoke a word to anyone else. Apart from mass-producing firearms and bullets, he was focused on manufacturing this communication device. Strangely, he used all his remaining reward points to exchange for spirit bullets, which looked almost exactly like ordinary bullets, but had strange runes engraved on their casings.

Strangely, everyone else exchanged for large quantities of spirit bullets. These were the cheapest type of item capable of harming ghosts and spirits, and could be used with any firearm. Zheng Zha's storage ring contained almost a cubic meter of spirit bullets, while he only took a small portion of armor-piercing bullets. Tang Xing also had many, including mithril bullets that combined magic and technology, as well as many nuclear weapons, which were even more dangerous to supernatural creatures.

“If we can capture supernatural creatures, it could help the boss’s plan to create artificial gods.” Tang Xing was weighing the pros and cons of coming here. He had already learned a lot from the main god.

While Tang Xing was pondering, Zheng Zha and the others were troubled by this unsolvable horror movie that was always known for killing everyone.

They sat quietly on the tatami mats. He watched as Zhan Lan began explaining the rules of the "God's" space to the newly awakened members, while he quietly recalled the content of the horror movie Ju-on.

There are three parts to Ju-on. Zheng Zha and his friends have naturally watched this famous horror movie, and they watched it in just a few days. He remembers the details and characters in the movie very well. The most impressive thing to him is that no one who is afflicted by Ju-on survives.

The beginning of Ju-on tells the story of a very withdrawn woman named Kayano. In college, she had a crush on a man, but because of her withdrawn and self-protective nature, she could only observe him from afar and record her feelings in Japanese. As a result, the man was unaware of Kayano's feelings. At the same time, the man was in a relationship with another woman and soon married her lover. Because of this, Kayano harbored resentment and kept this resentment deep in her heart.

As for Tang Xing's purpose, it's even simpler: he understands everything about this world, and with him around, the God Realm can be overthrown. Tang Tian, ​​his boss's ultimate goal, is to, once he becomes powerful enough, use the power of a higher-dimensional God to devour lower-dimensional Gods, controlling this plane to create a continuous stream of subordinates for himself, preparing to deploy them to other planes under extreme conditions. (To be continued...)

Chapter 259 The Overbearing Tang Xing

The beginning of Ju-on is that Kayako experienced many misfortunes. Her beloved cat, which she raised from a kitten, died, and her parents died in a car accident while traveling. By this time, the protagonist of the film, Kayako, was filled with resentment.

Not long after, Kayano married another man who harbored violent tendencies. Shortly after their marriage, Kayano gave birth to a child for this man, and they lived peacefully together for several years until the child grew up and started school.

Meanwhile, Jia Yezi's husband learned during a hospital check-up that it had been very difficult for him to give birth to the child. He also discovered Jia Yezi's diary and assumed that the child was hers. At this point, the violence in the man's mind was finally unleashed. He severely abused Jia Yezi and hid her in the attic. He also went and killed Jia Yezi to vent his anger!

But in reality, the child born to Kayanoko was indeed her husband's biological child. While being wrongly accused and tortured to death, her long-standing resentment finally reached its limit, and the house became a place of curses. She then began to kill everyone who entered the house with curses.

This is roughly what Tang Xing and his friends know about the plot of Ju-on. Although Ju-on was filmed in three parts, all three parts actually tell the same story: how Kagaya killed everyone who entered the house. In the entire Ju-on series, everyone who was afflicted by the curse died, without exception!

"Damn it, you say this is heaven? I absolutely believe this is heaven!"

Just as everyone was silently pondering, a roar suddenly erupted from among the newcomers.

A burly man from Northeast China, his face flushed red, stood there roaring gruffly, "I was clearly doing business online, I just clicked on a pop-up ad, how did I suddenly end up here? Damn it, don't think I'm stupid. You guys knocked me out from behind with a tranquilizer dart, then moved me to the house next to the internet cafe to intimidate and extort money, right? Don't think that's creative, countless people have already tried it..."

"I hereby declare that you have been kidnapped, along with that talkative fellow." Tang Xing carried a large bag of weapons on his back. A shotgun bullet chain clung to his body, exuding a cold and domineering aura.

"Uh, who are you? Don't think you can just... *bang!*" Before the man could finish speaking, Tang Xing slapped him on the head without hesitation, and the surrounding people instantly fell silent.

Tang Xing's domineering attitude silenced the others, because someone who could casually produce such weapons was no ordinary person. Finally, under Zheng Zha's arrangement, the burly man from Northeast China, who had been frightened, led the way downstairs. Seven people followed behind him. Zheng Zha glanced at these men, then began to observe the remaining three.

The person sitting there, ignoring everyone around him and just reading to himself, who looked like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy, was probably Zhao Yingkong, disguised as a boy. The person constantly rummaging through the paper door and tatami mat was probably the archaeologist Saito Hajime. As for the last one, it was Ming Yanwei.

The other three were three young men, dressed very ordinary-looking people, around twenty-one or twenty-two years old. They were likely Lu Renjia, Xiao Bingyi, and Jun Zhongding, as evidenced by their similar names. It seems they served no purpose other than acting as minor characters to advance the plot.

Just then, Zhan Lan saw the burly man from Northeast China preparing to leave. As she was about to speak to him, Zheng Zha grabbed her and said, "Let them go. This is the first supernatural horror movie we've ever encountered. None of us can help each other. If they're willing to trust us, then it's fine for them to stay with us and protect us. If they choose to leave on their own... then let them live by luck."

Tang Xing coldly replied, "Let them leave! Maybe we can see a lot of performances."

At that moment, the man who had been carefully examining the paper door and tatami mats suddenly stopped. He sighed and said, "I'm starting to believe you. It really is a layout popular in Japanese folk culture. The patterns on the tatami mats and paper door were also quite popular in Japan ten years ago..."

Just as Zheng Zha was about to speak, a woman's shout came from downstairs, along with her words... it was Japanese! This woman speaking Japanese must be a character from the story; in other words... when they can interact with characters from the story, it means the horror movie has begun!

Suddenly, a chill swept over everyone present, but they seemed not to feel it. However, Tang Xing did. Immediately afterward, he saw Zheng Zha tremble all over and then take out a submachine gun from his storage ring, starting to fire continuously at the door of the pavilion.

"The Curse... has it started? Was that due to an excessively high concentration of negative ions causing a physical change?" Feeling the cold hologram on his body, Tang Xing calculated in his mind, his vast knowledge serving him.

After the gunshot rang out, screams erupted from both upstairs and downstairs. The newlyweds downstairs immediately ran towards the street, while the six newlyweds upstairs dared not move. At this moment, Chu Xuan silently stood up.

"...That's settled then. I've seen the Ju-on movie too. The chances of surviving in this horror movie have absolutely nothing to do with the number of people. Even if you escape to a foreign country, you'll still be killed. Even if you have dozens of guards around you, you still can't survive...I'm leaving the team now. If we can meet again alive...Zhang Jie, the food your sister-in-law made looks so beautiful."

After saying that, Chu Xuan and Arno carried their military backpacks and walked downstairs. Everyone watched as he disappeared at the bottom of the stairs. Only Tang Xing knew that this man had already decided to die, but Tang Xing didn't want to interfere, because once a person has the will to die, no one can save him.

Zheng Zha watched Chu Xuan disappear silently, then calmly withdrew his gaze and said, "If any of you six have any questions, feel free to ask us. Zhan Lan, have you received those one hundred reward points?"

Zhan Lan paused for a moment, then nodded quickly. For some reason, the scene of her first meeting with Zheng Zha came to mind. Unconsciously, the man's temperament had changed a lot in the two horror movies, and he had gradually developed the temperament of a team leader.

“Then let’s leave here first,” Zheng Zha said with a wry smile. “This place is really…very unsafe.”

The suggestion was approved by everyone. The three ordinary young men hurriedly ran downstairs, followed closely by the woman. On the other hand, the handsome young man who was calmly reading a book and the twenty-something-year-old man who had checked the room walked downstairs with composure.

Zhang Jie and Lingdian hurriedly followed behind them. Both of them could tell that, setting aside the other three ordinary young men, this handsome young man calmly reading a book and the person checking the room all possessed some talent; at the very least, they had the potential to become talented individuals. Just like Tang Xing, they exuded a sense of value. (To be continued...)

Chapter 260 The Curse Mark

This storyline is much more complicated than previous ones, and the team members basically don't possess any power that could damage the soul, which is why it's so troublesome for them.

At that moment, Zheng Zha was looking around with his submachine gun when he saw Zhan Lan staring at him blankly. So he laughed and said, "What are you doing? Hurry up and go, I'll cover your retreat."

Zhan Lan then realized her lapse in composure and quickly touched her forehead, saying, "You don't need to be so nervous. These kinds of horror movies actually follow a pattern. We should be safe for a day or two. They often attack us when we're not paying attention... Did you discover something just now?"

Zheng Zha said with a wry smile, "If I told you that I can see... no, I can feel, would you believe me? I can feel that we are all covered in a cold aura, including me. This is probably the mark of the Curse of the Netherworld... It will find us by this mark!"

Zhan Lan was stunned for a moment, then immediately started patting herself repeatedly, asking as she did so, "Are there no marks left?"

As soon as Zhan Lan saw Zhang Jie, she immediately returned to normal, gently patted herself, then pushed Zhang Jie away and hurriedly ran downstairs.

Zhang Jie was a true brother; he patted Zheng Zha sympathetically and said, "Your senses are strong; your power might have a restraining effect on them."

"Hmm, it might be somewhat helpful."

“Sounds good, Zheng Zha. You should develop your powers properly to deal with this plot,” Tang Xing interjected.

"That's true!"

Regardless, everyone managed to escape the house as quickly as possible. As soon as they stepped out the door, Tang Xing felt that the oppressive feeling that had been lingering over him had dissipated considerably, and Zheng Zha, who was standing next to him, felt the same way, panting heavily.

Tang Xing and Zheng Zha both saw the six newcomers standing outside the door. The other eight, including the burly man from Northeast China, had disappeared, and even Chu Xuan was nowhere to be found. In other words, the twenty people were divided into two groups: one group consisted of the nine who had disappeared, and the other group consisted of the five veterans and the six newcomers.

"It's 10:30 AM now. Let's find somewhere we can talk and discuss in detail how to spend these seven days, if there are no problems..."

Zheng Zha put the submachine gun back into his storage ring and was about to tell the newcomers about his arrangements when Tang Xing, who was standing next to him, was also preparing to help analyze the situation. Suddenly, they both saw everyone staring in disbelief at the second floor behind him, with undisguised fear in their eyes.

Instinctively, Zheng Zha and Tang Xing turned their heads. They saw, behind the shop window on the second floor… a woman, deathly pale, lying there, her black eyes fixed on them. What kind of eyes were those? Qi Huan couldn't describe his feelings at all; it was as if countless venomous resentments were hidden in those eyes—cold, deathly, terrifying…

Tang Xing saw Zheng Zha lose control of his emotions once again. He frantically swept his submachine gun towards the second-floor shop window, but there was no longer a pale-faced woman behind the window. There were only shattered glass windows and walls riddled with bullet holes.

Zhang Jie and Zero grabbed him from both sides at the same time. Zhang Jie shouted, "Zheng Zha! Calm down, we're safe now! Hurry up, the Japanese police might be here soon!"

After saying this, the two dragged the limp Zheng Zha along the road, quickly leaving the mansion behind. Zheng Zha glanced one last time, and that pale figure appeared once again in the second-floor shop window…

"The birthplace of Ju-on, and also a reward point. I refuse to believe that a 1000-ton nuclear bomb can't destroy this place." Tang Xing also saw the white figure, but only glanced at it indifferently. Just as he was leaving, he threw out a timed nuclear bomb. However, one of the newcomers looked at Tang Xing in surprise, clearly quite astonished by his appearance.

Have you calmed down yet?

Zheng Zha took the frozen can of cola handed to him by Lingdian, and forced a smile, saying, "Thank you so much for earlier... It seems I've become a burden to the team."

The group was sitting in the shade of a small park. After Zero and Zhang Jie brought Zheng Zha here, Zero disappeared. When he returned, he had brought back a large amount of frozen canned cola and packaged food. This saved them from eating the compressed food they had exchanged. Although the food did not cost many exchange points, it was a consensus among the five of them to save money wherever possible.

Zheng Zha took a sip of cola, the icy sensation making him feel much more refreshed. Zhan Lan then said, "Zheng Zha, are you really alright? I've already told everyone about your ability to sense the curse. You're the only one among us with that ability. We all depend on your senses to survive."

“I can also sense that aura, but it seems Zheng Zha’s sense is more accurate,” Tang Xing said at this moment, which made everyone nod.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zha said with great delight, "Tang Xing, you're right. My feeling is accurate, but it also makes it hard for me to calm down."

Zheng Zha's words were quite reasonable, and Tang Xing expressed his understanding and agreement.

At this moment, the handsome young man who had been reading suddenly spoke coldly: "You are too impulsive. When you encounter something you don't understand, the first thing you should do is not panic, but try to understand it. This person is much better in comparison. He actually threw a nuclear bomb when he left. Although I don't know his purpose, it must have some effect... And it's a shame that you are so strong, but you are actually a good-for-nothing."

"Your judgment is absolutely correct. It's just a nuclear bomb; consider it a fireworks display for everyone." Tang Xing said nonchalantly, seeing Zheng Zha's stunned expression, completely disregarding the expressions and cold sweat on the faces of the others.

"A nuclear bomb? Treating a nuclear bomb like fireworks? He's a complete madman," Zhang Jie thought to himself. The others broke out in a cold sweat, speechless at Tang Xing for the first time.

After Zheng Zha finished his daze, they indeed saw a mushroom cloud where they had just left. Tang Xing, of course, received the reward points. Upon hearing the sound, Zheng Zha seemed to feel much better and continued with a wry smile, "Yes, I was too impulsive. Compared to Tang Xing, who seized the opportunity... And although it sounds unbelievable, we have indeed entered a strange cycle... Let me introduce myself first. My name is Zheng Zha, the acting captain of this team."

This was the result of a discussion among the five of them. During these nine days, because the other four of them had developed a lot of opinions about Chu Xuan, Lingdian also joined Zheng Zha's team, and the result of the discussion was that Zheng Zha became their captain.