Three jailers strode in from outside the cell door, dragging O'Connell out with them. They seemed not to notice Zheng Zha and the others, nor even the screaming bald man, pulling O'Connell straight out and leaving the cell door ajar.

Zheng Zha said coolly, "That's it. The Mummy has officially begun. The four of you wait here for a moment."

He then turned to face Zhang Jie, Zero Point, and the others.

"So, let's discuss what to do about these four..." Zheng Zha scratched his head with a look of helplessness.

Zhao Yingkong stated flatly, "The best solution is... to sever all four limbs of these four and leave them here. When facing an attack from another team, we cannot afford to worry about inexperienced newcomers who have no combat ability... This is the most rational course of action."

Zhang Jie, Qi Tengyi, and Zhan Lan all shook their heads, and Zero Point also chimed in, "That’s right, it’s the law of the battlefield. They aren't our comrades yet. If we risk the lives of the six of us to save them and end up dead, the loss outweighs the gain... Furthermore, we can't leave them for the opposing team. If we do, killing all four of them results in a penalty of negative eight thousand reward points; we would have to kill four of their members just to fully offset that..."

"Three against two?" Zheng Zha gave a wry smile, turning to look at the four of them. In other words, the fate of these four now rested entirely in his hands again.

"If you're worried about other teams..." Xiao Honglv pried a few pieces of stone from the wall. He crushed them in his hand, then reformed them, continually crushing and rebuilding them as he spoke casually, "If you’re worried about other teams, then the four of us can act as bait."

"Based on the information you’ve given, having been through one or more horror movies, you should all be far stronger than ordinary people. The 'human stick' from earlier is proof of that... In other words, you also don't want the six of you to be in danger, right? If the opponents have more people, better equipment, and higher strength than you, why wouldn't they attack the six of you? And even if they don't attack initially, how can you be sure they won't attack later? Rather than risking the lives of all six of you on a test, it’s better to use the four of us as bait."

Once these words were spoken, not only were the six of Zheng Zha stunned into silence, but even the other three newcomers stared at him blankly. The little boy continued to slowly work on the stones embedded in the wall, murmuring, "Instead of staying in the cell with absolutely no hope... I would rather choose an exit with only a one-in-ten-thousand chance. I imagine the three of you feel the same, yes? Choose to be bait, or choose to be killed immediately?" The other three newcomers nodded repeatedly, while Zheng Zha and the others were already aghast. This little boy gave them a peculiar sensation, a feeling akin to... Chu Xuan!

Zheng Zha exhaled, nodding his head. "Alright, the three of you are currently under surveillance, and you..." He pointed at the little boy, Xiao Honglv.

"You are now a member of this team. However, until this horror movie ends, we will not issue you any weapons, and we will monitor you. But we will protect your safety. What do you say?" Zheng Zha exchanged glances with the others; everyone nodded silently. Only then did he speak to Xiao Honglv.

Xiao Honglv dropped the stones and stood up, stating plainly, "I have no problem with that, but if we need to run, you'll have to carry me. Oh right, have we been talking for over five minutes? I assume O'Connell, who was taken out just now, is probably being released soon."

Zheng Zha and the others finally snapped back to reality. They ran out of the cell along with the other three newcomers, following the corridor toward the exit. Zhang Jie scooped up Xiao Honglv, saying, "Have you seen this movie? Do they even show movies in a lunatic asylum?"

"It’s a mental institution, not a lunatic asylum... Have you ever seen a movie where the male protagonist dies right at the beginning? So, O'Connell being taken out means he’s either being released or some plot event is unfolding. We must stay within five thousand meters of him. If he leaves the prison, we'll be passive because we won't be able to track him. If he gets more than five thousand meters away from us, then, we'll probably be waiting for death just like that bald man."

Xiao Honglv toyed with his black hair, pulling at strands as he spoke.

(He really is similar. Both he and Chu Xuan give off a cold feeling, but his coldness seems to carry a bit more humanity, whereas Chu Xuan’s is utterly detached...) Zheng Zha thought to himself, running over to Zhang Jie to ask, "Didn't you say you have precognition abilities? Can you foresee things? The future, or...?"

"Death! I can sense the coming of death beforehand... Rest assured, if any of you are about to die, I will definitely let you know in advance."

Xiao Honglv gave a cold laugh, plucked a strand of hair, and blew gently on his fingertip; the hair vanished without a trace.

At this moment, the prison corridor was filled with inmates, all crowding the passageway to look out. Beyond the corridor was a large square, enclosed by the semi-circular shape of the hallway. In the very center of the square stood a wooden gallows, and the man standing upon it was none other than the film's protagonist, O'Connell.

Xiao Honglv suddenly asked Zheng Zha anxiously, "The movie plot can be changed, right? For example, if we kill O'Connell now, how will the film proceed next?"

Zheng Zha was momentarily stunned. "Next... the plot will likely change, causing other developments. Perhaps the Undying Priest will be resurrected directly, or maybe we’ll follow someone else, or perhaps our group will have to seek out Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead... Do you sense something?"

Xiao Honglv pulled the hair in front of his forehead closer, speaking faintly, "Since the movie plot can be altered, anything could have happened the moment we appeared here. For some reason, I feel like O'Connell is very likely to die during the hanging. I don't know how he was originally saved in the movie, but if you don't want the plot to change because the protagonist dies, you might want to save him later..."

Zheng Zha was decisive enough. He quickly said to Zero Point, "Zero Point, you still have that silent pistol, right? How confident are you in sniping the rope from here?"

Zero Point glanced out at the square from the corridor and nodded. "No problem. I can see everything in that direction with perfect clarity now... If it's just the rope, I can sever it with a shot without alerting anyone."

The current era was between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II; silent pistols were virtually nonexistent then, so Zheng Zha and the others were not concerned about their gunshots being heard. They densely surrounded Zero Point, ensuring no one could see what he was holding.

It wasn't until O'Connell was hooded and lowered onto the gallows, suspended in mid-air. According to the plot, the heroine should be negotiating with the warden to save him right now, but more than ten seconds passed, and no order came from the warden to release him. When O'Connell's struggles grew noticeably weaker, the rope automatically snapped, and he fell heavily to the ground. No one saw it, but a small impact crater materialized on the ground not far from the gallows.

Zheng Zha and the others all looked at Xiao Honglv. The little boy plucked a strand of hair, blew gently on his fingertip, and muttered, "...Infinite possibilities? Infinite..."

——————(Recommendation: Legend of the Reborn, Book ID: 112273) Click to view image link: cmfu/smenhu.cn?Bl_id=112273Legend of the RebornJump to