Zheng Zha's initial plan was to finish this opponent off as quickly as possible, so he immediately activated his "Instant Annihilation" state. Who knew, however, that this fellow managed to withstand the tremendous force of the first strike, and when the second punch landed, it was blocked by a thin layer of flame. This piqued Zheng Zha’s curiosity.

"That move is quite interesting." Zheng Zha casually threw three more punches in quick succession, each carrying the weight of a thousand mountains. Yet, this trio of blows was halted by that fragile wall of flame. Although the flame would erupt after each impact, it successfully blocked Zheng Zha’s immense power.

Reinhardt rubbed his neck and sneered, "I heard that even your clone—the strongest man on the entire Samsara Team—uses this technique. Only his power is far greater than mine, and his flames have evolved into pure black, is that correct? Once I completely absorb your power, he will be my next target, hahaha…"

Zheng Zha displayed an indifferent expression. Frankly, the situation felt akin to a seasoned martial arts master being confronted by an unarmed middle or high school student trying to rob him. While absurd and almost comical, that was the reality. The opponent perceived him as just another teenager, unaware that Zheng Zha possessed power far exceeding his own. Thus, indifference was the only emotion he could possibly harbor.

(This move has decent practical application; it can attack or defend, and its power level can upgrade as one’s own strength increases. For example, my clone’s flame is pure black. If I could master this technique, perhaps my own strength could see a massive boost. Very well, I'll play along for a while. I might as well see if I can grasp the mystery of this technique before the rest of the West Sea Team arrives.)

Zheng Zha exhaled. He didn't even draw the Tiger Soul Blade, merely waving his hand. "Come on, let me see just how talented you truly are... Don't disappoint me too much, or you're finished."

Reinhardt’s face darkened. "Are you insulting me? Go to hell..." Before the words were fully out, the flame before him violently exploded, and Zheng Zha instantly materialized beside him.

"If you have time for insults, you’d better spend it thinking about how to survive. You are facing someone far superior to you... Do you truly believe I won't kill you?"

Zheng Zha said with a cold smile, his hands constantly rotating about thirty centimeters in front of his chest, as if an invisible sphere existed between them. Though his hand movements appeared slow, their speed was rapidly approaching that of his "Shave" technique.

In truth, ever since Zheng Zha was resurrected and broke through to the mid-Fourth Tier, he had been contemplating the singularity of his attack methods. While "Explosion" and "Annihilation" possessed overwhelming destructive power, and the Tiger Soul Blade was nearly unbreakable, his attack style was simply too narrow. Even if sheer force could conquer all techniques, what if the opponent’s strength matched his own? Then he would lose his advantage. Therefore, whether it was the Tiger Soul Blade empowered by magic, the "other move" he had yet to test, or the technique he was currently employing, these were all new avenues for experimentation. This current enemy, whose resistance to damage was not insignificant, served as the perfect subject for his study.

Reinhardt wasn't about to wait for Zheng Zha's next move. Despite his arrogance, after these exchanges, he had a slight grasp of their relative power levels. As Zheng Zha’s hands continued to spin, Reinhardt spread his wings and took flight, simultaneously launching the flames enveloping his body toward Zheng Zha.

The speed of Zheng Zha’s hands gradually decreased, but different colors began to manifest in his palms. A dim black radiance appeared in his left palm, while a gentle white light materialized in his right. These two lights slowly converged at the center of his palms but refused to merge. Instead, as if possessing awareness, they maintained a clear dividing line. However, the line separating the two lights began to emit increasingly violent radiance, as if a miniature sun were igniting within Zheng Zha's hands.

Zheng Zha’s expression grew increasingly solemn, large beads of sweat dripping down his face. Just as the incoming flame reached about a meter in front of him, he roared, pushing the black and white light outward. At the same time, he yelled, "Damn it, I can't control it anymore! Go!"

Reinhardt, who had ascended from the ground nearby, transformed into a streak of blood-light and shot toward the space behind Zheng Zha as the flame rushed toward him. It happened in an instant; even with the speed of his Blood Light Evasion, he had only traveled half a meter when a sun-like brilliance erupted from Zheng Zha’s hands. Before he could register what happened, the surrounding cluster of flames completely disintegrated. Simultaneously, a black-and-white light, intertwined, shot upward from beneath him. In virtually no time, this beam merged into a gray light, which then transformed into a dazzling spectrum of colors before condensing into a high-intensity beam barely visible to the naked eye. It blasted directly through the steel layers of the distant tunnel structure, carving out a massive pit over ten meters wide. The beam continued outward, shooting into the far distance, followed by an incredibly violent explosion from that immense distance, akin to a bomb detonating beside one's ear.

Even Reinhardt, mid-Blood Light Evasion, was violently forced back into human form.

What followed was utterly bizarre. Not only did Reinhardt stare wide-eyed at the massive hole in the distance, but Zheng Zha himself stood equally stunned, mouths agape. A long silence stretched between them until a large swarm of spider robots emerged from the other end of the tunnel. Reinhardt finally swallowed hard. "This... this counts as a draw. This horror movie is still young; we'll have time to settle the score later. I'm leaving now." With that, he transformed into a stream of blood-light and rapidly vanished, moving even faster than when he arrived.

Zheng Zha was momentarily taken aback. By the time he recovered, the handsome, fair-haired man was already far away. However, he had no energy to pursue this thief now. His hands had completely lost all sensation, as if his arms were no longer his own. Only after circulating his inner energy slowly through them did sensation gradually return, but the accompanying pain along his meridians was indescribable.

(What terrifying power. It truly lives up to the attack method of the 'Demon Cannon'—merging Demonic Power with True Essence creates truly terrifying might. Lucky I let go when I did; if I had delayed even half a second longer, these arms might have been useless. Perhaps only the physical resilience from the Submerged Dragon Transformation allows me to use this move at all. Still, it can certainly be improved. Firing the power as a beam like this doesn't seem as strong as solidifying it for close combat. Once this horror movie is over, I'll ask Xiao Dingdang about it.)

Zheng Zha made up his mind and glanced again toward the direction Reinhardt had fled. He now had a better understanding of this man's strength. Truthfully, the man was formidable, not merely a product of cultivation breeding; he possessed his own unique combat methodology. While his physical attributes and skills were largely derived from high-level abilities and stats, he could also create his own techniques and fully integrate enhanced strength into his power. This person had immense potential for growth, which explained why he could join the Devil Samsara Team—it wasn't just luck.

(Forget it. Let him go find the rest of the West Sea Team. I'll wipe them out in one go once they gather. I can't be bothered chasing them one by one. Speaking of which... why did those aliens emerge from the spider robots?)

Zheng Zha was about to proceed toward his original destination when he unexpectedly noticed that the distant spider robots had halted. Then, hundreds of aliens emerged from them. These aliens appeared somewhat slender, almost resembling human builds.

"Uh... why do they have silver light bows in their hands? Are these alien variants?"

Zheng Zha muttered a few nonsensical words. He was about to leave immediately, but the next scene froze him in place. More than twenty of those aliens suddenly drew silver light bows from their hands. As he was talking to himself, he watched hundreds of light arrows shoot out from the bows. In that moment of distraction, by the time Zheng Zha tried to dodge, several arrows had already struck his limbs.

There was no agonizing pain as he expected. Although the arrows possessed some power, protected by Zheng Zha's inner energy shield, they only managed to break his skin. This showed the arrows' power was actually quite weak. And that wasn't the crucial part. The key was that the aliens in the distance only fired once, and then they charged toward Zheng Zha.

The situation was incredibly bizarre. Zheng Zha gripped the Tiger Soul Blade but was wary of some special skill attack from the aliens. Thus, he cautiously met the charging aliens with a single, gentle slash. A wave of blade energy swept through, followed by pulverized flesh on the ground. These aliens possessed absolutely no defensive capability, all dying from that single, light swipe. This, in turn, stunned Zheng Zha.

(Too strange. Are these aliens trying to commit suicide? Their seemingly imposing attacks carry no real power, and though they seem to want close combat, they have no defense whatsoever. This makes no sense.)

Zheng Zha was thoroughly perplexed. Seeing the swarm of spider robots in the distance begin to retreat, he didn't bother chasing. Instead, he circulated his inner energy and continued toward his objective, constantly thinking about how to notify the other team members so they could rendezvous at the goal. Unbeknownst to him, the other two teams, guided by the West Sea Team's psychic controller, were already approaching the objective safely.

"I see now. I finally understand the danger of this horror movie. The threat isn't aimed at any specific tier of Samsara Team; rather, the stronger the team, the more dangerous this world becomes."

This team had also encountered those inexplicable aliens—they fought poorly and lacked offensive capability, seeming only to exist to seek death. Everyone was baffled, except Xiao Honglü, who suddenly laughed. After a moment, the teenager began to explain, "Those aliens are probably still in an experimental phase, not yet utilizing the genes and abilities of our Samsara Team members to their fullest. We don't know when the aliens stole our genes, but our earlier inferences are now fully confirmed: the aliens are indeed here to steal our genes, which is why they let us enter this alien headquarters."

Seeing that the others looked confused, Xiao Honglü continued, "This should be obvious if you think about it carefully. I once watched a sci-fi movie about aliens invading Earth, but at the end, those aliens all died from Earth's microorganisms and viruses. It’s true—just like the common cold viruses Europeans brought to the Americas, which caused devastation. Not to mention two completely different planetary environments. For those aliens to overcome environmental differences and survive on many distinct planets, they must have a unique method for handling this hurdle. I imagine the red plants you first saw, and the act of feeding human flesh to those plants, might be one of those methods."

He paused, then pinched his hair. "If they are strengthening themselves by absorbing genes, then for these aliens, the genes of our Samsara Team members would be incredibly attractive. Once they perfectly merge with our genes, they will undergo a massive evolutionary leap. This must be the true difficulty of this horror movie world. A difficulty for ten or more people simply didn't fit the previous scenario. If my guess is right, these aliens will get stronger, and the rate of that strengthening will increase rapidly, until they match the power of our Samsara Team. And before that..."

(It all depends on whether Chu Xuan's plan can succeed...)

"That boy is amazing..."

Far away from Xiao Honglü and the others, Julian of the West Sea Team frowned and muttered to himself. He had firmly decided he must recruit this boy into his team. Although it would cost a spot, the boy was absolutely worth it. As for that utterly foolish captain... let Reinhardt die in this horror movie world. That single spot is far more important than Reinhardt, and besides, Reinhardt clearly isn't Zheng Zha's match. Even if he escaped, without Julian's help, Reinhardt could never even scratch Zheng Zha. Thus, Julian made another decision: to abandon this thief.

(He is coming for me now. Killing him would require extra effort. If the Central Continent Team manages to merge with him, things will turn unfavorable for me. I also can't let him fail to find me, or he'll definitely get suspicious. He already harbors murderous intent toward me; if he becomes suspicious, this thief might immediately cause trouble. If that happens, wiping out the entire Central Continent Team becomes impossible... I'll give him a small reward first, let him kill those three Central Continent Team members. Even if he absorbs their power, I doubt he can beat me...)

With his mind settled, Julian finally responded to Reinhardt, who had been constantly calling out to him.

"I cannot go fight Zheng Zha with you. His power is too great; even if I join you, we’ll be useless against him, as your power is insufficient to even injure him. So, you should first go kill a few strong members of the Central Continent Team and absorb their power before confronting Zheng Zha. This Central Continent Team truly lives up to its reputation for defeating the Celestial Being Team; our previous assessment underestimated them. Of those three, only the girl seems ordinary; the other two are very formidable. One excels at ranged attacks, capable of breaching even alien energy shields, and the other specializes in dissolving into sand to evade attacks, seemingly immortal. They are perfect targets for you to absorb their abilities. Then I will join you to fight Zheng Zha. What do you think?"

Reinhardt scanned Zhang Heng's group via Julian's mental probe. He clearly saw Zhang Heng shooting his bow and Imhotep dissolving into sand. Both abilities seemed magnificent. Reinhardt calculated for a moment, then agreed: "Fine. Send their coordinates to my mind. You hide somewhere, and once I absorb their powers, I'll rush to join you in attacking Zheng Zha... We underestimated him previously. The true body of the strongest individual on any Samsara Team—his strength cannot be dismissed. We absolutely must kill him and drain his power; then I will be the strongest person in the entire Samsara Team, hahaha..." As the words fell, he transformed into a stream of blood-light and sped toward Zhang Heng's group.

Julian inwardly sneered continuously while moving toward Zheng Zha's location, deep in thought.

(I must eliminate this threat during this horror movie. Otherwise, as his power grows, he might use brute force to harm me, relying on sheer strength over skill. Although I’ve decided to concede some benefits by letting him kill a few Central Continent Team members to placate him, I can't let him get too comfortable. I must stall until I eliminate Zheng Zha. Yes, I’ll play it out this way.)

Meanwhile, Xiao Honglü's group, just like Zhang Heng's trio, received Julian's location hint and began searching in Zheng Zha's direction. Suddenly, the scope of the map in their minds expanded sharply. The locations of Zhang Heng's group and Reinhardt appeared simultaneously on everyone's view. Everyone could see Reinhardt, a streak of blood-light, rapidly closing in on Zhang Heng's group, destined to catch up in mere minutes.

What was the West Sea Team's psychic controller trying to achieve? Why reveal the location of their own team captain? And to reveal Zhang Heng's location as well? Could this be a trap?

(A trap is possible, but the probability is low. The most logical explanation is that the West Sea Team wants to prevent us from meeting Zheng Zha too soon, so they are using the safety of Zhang Heng's group to distract us, delaying our contact with Zheng Zha. But this action is purely redundant in the current situation, unless... the West Sea Team is experiencing internal strife. Perhaps the person trying to create a diversion isn't us, but the West Sea Team captain himself. He intends to keep the captain occupied while he eliminates Zheng Zha, intending to reap the rewards later. Only this explanation fits everything before us.)

Xiao Honglü held a silver metal chip and secretly transmitted his thoughts to the others with his mind. While he deduced the reason behind the West Sea Team controller's maneuver, he still frowned.

(This is tricky. This is an obvious strategy, laying everything out before us, yet we can’t counter it. If we don't fall for the bait and go rescue Zhang Heng and the others, we don't know the strength of the West Sea Team captain, nor whether Zhang Heng and the other can hold him off... This is troublesome.)

Xiao Honglü pinched his hair in distress. At this stage, there was little he could do. The initial strategy was set; now he was caught within the unfolding situation. Wisdom held little sway; success now depended on pure strength comparison. Only someone possessing overwhelming power could break the deadlock; otherwise, everyone remained trapped within the current confines, waiting to see how the deadlock would resolve.

Before Xiao Honglü could speak, An Suna rushed in, "The flame on that person looks very similar to the Blood Race flame Zheng Zha uses. Could it harm Imhotep?"

After Imhotep joined the Central Continent Team, he had sparred with them in the "Main God" space. Although he possessed immortality, magical artifacts or skills could still harm him, especially Zheng Zha’s Blood Flame—a flame that damages the soul, making it his natural nemesis. If his soul were completely incinerated, his immortality would naturally cease to exist.

"Uh, yes, that is Zheng Zha's Blood Race flame, but its power seems even greater than the original source flame... There's nothing for it. Zhao Yingkong, go help Zhang Heng and the others. If it's you, you should be able to defeat the West Sea Team captain..." After thinking for a long time, he suggested Zhao Yingkong.

To everyone's surprise, Zhao Yingkong shook his head with firm resolve. "No, that person's strength isn't impressive. Zhang Heng plus Wang Xia, plus a minuscule fraction more, can definitely handle him. I am going to fight the West Sea Team's psychic controller..."

"Huh?" Xiao Honglü and the others froze, staring intently at Zhao Yingkong.

Zhao Yingkong’s complexion flushed slightly. Her skin was already clear and delicate; even in her androgynous attire, this faint blush added a touch of feminine allure, making her look breathtakingly beautiful.

She immediately lowered her head slightly: “That person’s mental power control skill can attack others, inducing hallucinations or mental confusion. My other self seems very familiar with the secrets of this technique, so I…”

As she spoke, the shy demeanor Zhao Yingkong had adopted suddenly dissolved into a light giggle. The adorable shyness vanished, replaced by an open, bright laugh directed at the others: “That’s right, I want to fight that person. I have a few questions about mental power control I need to ask him… Hee hee, Xiao Honglü, I hope this doesn't mess up your plans?” With that, she lowered her head and leaned close to Xiao Honglü’s face.

Xiao Honglü blushed and leaned away slightly. The sweet, floral scent of the girl rushing toward him instantly quickened his heartbeat. After all, he was still just a boy in his early teens. After creating a bit of distance, he frowned and said, “It’s not that Wang Xia and the others absolutely can’t go. If we’re going to save Zhang Heng and the others, we must defeat the captain of that West Sea team. If he keeps chasing us at his speed, there’s no escaping. We have to defeat or kill him right there… Fine, Wang Xia, Cheng Xiao, you two go help Zhang Heng.”

Hearing this, Cheng Xiao immediately shouted, “Are you kidding me? My leg is broken! Do you think I’m a monster like Zheng Zha, who could probably still live even if his head was chopped off…?”

Xiao Honglü offered no reply, merely looking towards Zhao Yingkong: “Since this is your idea, Cheng Xiao’s injury falls to you. And while you’re at it, show us the marvels of unlocking the fourth stage of the Gene Lock…”

This was undeniable. Although Zheng Zha was indeed a powerhouse who had unlocked the intermediate level of the fourth stage Gene Lock, he had only recently broken through to this realm. He was unaware of many of the intricate uses of the intermediate fourth stage. In terms of understanding the Gene Lock, how could he possibly compare to the true Zhao Yingkong? After all, she had already reached the preliminary level, or perhaps even close to the intermediate level, of the fourth stage Gene Lock many years ago.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yingkong walked over to Cheng Xiao. The young girl looked at him with a sweet, charming smile.

The man instantly felt heat rising to his face and ears. He had just managed to utter, “Wow, the child-faced little fairy is smiling…” Before the words were even out, Zhao Yingkong had already grabbed his shattered thigh bone and squeezed hard. Two crisp crack sounds echoed as the bone was forcibly rejoined. The intense, stabbing pain caused Cheng Xiao to immediately foam at the mouth and pass out.

Zhao Yingkong’s smile grew brighter, but the expression in her eyes became colder. Smiling, she used her finger to slice open the skin on Cheng Xiao’s thigh, then she sliced her own palm. She then placed one hand flat against the mended thigh bone. In less than a few seconds, Cheng Xiao suddenly woke up with a loud cry. He stopped his idle chatter and desperately reached for his wounded leg, yelling, “It’s so hot! My leg is on fire!” As he spoke, he started slapping at the injured limb.

Zhao Yingkong cheerfully flipped open her hand. She giggled, “The fourth-stage Gene Lock truly possesses some miraculous skills, such as controlling cellular genes, allowing recovery speed to increase by hundreds or thousands of times—it’s not impossible. However, doing so massively drains one's potential life force; it can only be used once or twice occasionally… Cheng Xiao, if your leg grows crooked, don't blame me.”

Cheng Xiao stopped slapping his broken leg, which was now a uniform, deep scarlet as if it had been dyed. The pain at the fracture site was clearly unbearable, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. He reacted quickly, pulling a box of golden needles from his robes and swiftly inserting them into several acupoints on his thigh and body. Only then did his expression gradually relax.

After another ten seconds or so, the crimson tinge slowly faded from the fractured leg. Cheng Xiao pulled out the needles. Only then was his shattered leg finally reconnected.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Cheng Xiao saw Zhao Yingkong’s lovely, charmingly smiling face and was about to try and take advantage of the situation. However, before he could speak, Zhao Yingkong’s expression instantly turned icy. She had reverted to her other personality and paid no attention to anything Cheng Xiao said. She raised her foot and kicked him square in the face, sending him flying several meters away.

Cheng Xiao, however, just laughed heartily and jumped up from the ground. He wiped the blood trickling from his nose and declared, “Good! Let me go and witness that person’s strength again. He broke my leg last time… It’s time for me to break his leg this time!” He leaped up.