O’Connell was practically forced into agreeing to Rick and his group’s request to take the ten of them to the City of the Dead, Hamunaptra. Of course, Rick then promptly handed him two gold bars, promising they would cover his expenses for equipment and supplies, which finally balanced O’Connell’s feelings somewhat. Resignedly, he led them to the hostel where he was staying—a place that looked rather like a residential compound.

O’Connell seemed to be a regular there. As soon as he entered, he began laughing loudly with a fair-haired young man, essentially saying, “Man, I’ve been eating prison slop for days, barely escaped the gallows, and now I’m finally back! Seeing you living so comfortably, you little squirt, really annoys me…” After this exchange, O’Connell turned to Rick and the others and said, “You folks settle in here first. I’m going to sell this gold… and pick up some firearms and ammunition while I’m at it. Though, I suppose you probably don’t need any guns, right?” He finished with a grin, pointing at Zero Point.

Rick also laughed. He knew that O’Connell, the protagonist of The Mummy, was a man who kept his word; he usually delivered on his promises. However, due to the distance of five thousand (units/miles/etc., implied), he pulled out another gold bar from his storage ring: “There are reasons we must stick close to you, but we certainly won’t be stingy with money, don’t worry. We also know there are some black-clad figures guarding the City of the Dead. If we run into them again, we’ll handle them. We just want to find Hamunaptra.”

O’Connell gave Rick and his group a curious look, but he wasn’t one to refuse a gift, casually taking the gold bar and weighing it in his hand a few times. “If you want to go, we need to move quickly. I promised that woman I’d meet them at the Port of Giza tomorrow morning, and visiting the black market at night would be far too unsafe. I don’t want to catch a bullet there. Let’s go.”

The journey back to the hostel with O’Connell was silent. This man truly was like a local kingpin in Cairo; he easily exchanged the three gold bars for a large amount of cash and small gold coins. He bought himself a sizable bag of weapons, along with some new clothes and leather shoes. In short, by the time he and Rick’s group returned to the hostel, the hearty man was much less reserved and was already laughing loudly with them.

The hostel wasn't large, but the suite inside was surprisingly well-equipped. Everyone raved about the Egyptian feast they had for dinner. Afterward, O’Connell began recounting his experiences from his years in the army, especially how he and his unit managed to fight their way back through the desert after they invaded the City of the Dead three years prior.

“...That year, we got orders to find the legendary City of the Dead, rumored to hold infinite gold... Heh, if I didn’t know you folks hadn't been there, I’d suspect you’d already found Hamunaptra’s golden treasures... Anyway, after we’d had our fill of sand, on a stroke of incredible luck, we spotted Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead—the resting place of the Pharaoh, supposedly containing the Golden and Black Books, a place filled with priceless gold... Not long after we arrived, and just after we managed a brief excavation and exploration, we were attacked by a group of black-clad figures. They tried to wipe us out. I only managed to escape after something incredibly strange happened. I was about to be killed by those men when the ground beneath me suddenly erupted, and a face rose up from below. Perhaps it was the ghost guarding the tomb mentioned in the legends... Cough... In short, I was the only one who managed to escape alive, and then all I faced was the endless desert…” “I was so thirsty then…” O’Connell paused, taking several long swigs from a bottle of tequila before continuing, “I had no supplies or fresh water in the desert. It takes three days to get from the City of the Dead to the nearest oasis—and this was the desert! No horses, no camels. Walking would take at least five days. In that kind of heat and sun exposure, anyone would be baked into a human jerky…” “On the third day, I started eating snakes and scorpions, sucking out their venom to drink, then biting my lips until they bled just to moisten my throat… At night, I’d dig into the sand layers, wetting my mouth with the dampest sand underneath… I don’t know how I held on until the oasis. I must have looked like a mummy by then, haha…”

The tale was delivered plainly, but the peril and hardship involved were beyond easy description. Rick and his group offered a few quiet words of comfort, though some, like Zero Point, remained indifferent and continued eating, making the atmosphere rather strange.

O’Connell suddenly asked, “Why are you going to the City of the Dead? Based on the gold you gave me, those are the purest gold bars, and you handed them over so easily, like you’re filthy rich. Is the gold in Hamunaptra really that attractive to you?” Rick managed a wry smile, picked up his own bottle of tequila, and took a few gulps. “If I told you we weren't going to Hamunaptra for gold, but because we’ll die if we don’t go, would you believe me? It sounds completely unbelievable, I know…” O’Connell grew thoughtful. “Is it because of a curse? Never mind, I don’t know about that stuff. In any case, I promised, and I’ll keep my word. We’ll set off for the City of the Dead together tomorrow… Hopefully, this time, I won’t be fleeing back in such a sorry state.”

(It’s probably going to be difficult, and we’ll likely flee back looking absolutely wretched…) Those who knew the plot couldn't help but give wry smiles. In the story of The Mummy, O’Connell and the others release the Imhotep, forcing them into a humiliating escape back to Cairo. While supplies were generally adequate, being chased by a mummy was hardly a pleasant sensation.

“Great! Then we’ll march on the City of the Dead, Hamunaptra, tomorrow!” Rick clinked his bottle against O’Connell’s, nodding resolutely.

Just then, Zhan Lan smiled slyly. “Oh, right. Before we go to the City of the Dead, there’s one more essential thing we need to buy. It’s our best charm against evil.”

“What is it?” everyone asked in unison, including Rick and O’Connell.

“A cat!”——————(Recommendation: Shi Yue, Book ID: 11527) Click to view image link: cmfu/smenhu.cn?Bl_id=11527 Shi Yue Jump to