By noon the next day, O'Connell led the group to the port of Giza in Cairo. The heroine, Eve, and her brother, Jonathan, were already waiting there. Only upon seeing O'Connell arrive did the two finally breathe a collective sigh of relief. However, they also noticed the group accompanying O'Connell—Zheng Zha and the others—and immediately, both exhibited expressions of caution.

Eve was quite frank, with a rather careless nature. As soon as O'Connell reached her side, she urgently questioned him, "Weren't you supposed to take us alone? Why are there so many men and women now? Let's get this straight, I won't be footing the travel expenses for this many people... You, are you O'Connell?" O'Connell, naturally, had been looking disheveled from his time in prison, but after cleaning up and dressing in new clothes and shoes, he exuded a certain masculine handsomeness. Before he could speak, the careless Eve was momentarily stunned by his appearance. She managed to force out a strained "Hello..." just as her brother, Jonathan, immediately took over the conversation.

"Haha, today truly feels like a good day for an adventure, even if there are more of us... However, O'Connell, are they really reliable? No, of course, you know what I mean—when it comes to greedy pursuits of gold. There isn't enough gold in the City of the Dead for this many people to share..." Jonathan laughed twice, placing an arm around O'Connell's shoulder as he asked in a low voice.

O'Connell nodded. "Yes, the weather today is indeed suitable for adventure. As for them... they shouldn't be interested in gold, and they are more than capable of protecting us during the journey... However, what worries me more is..." Before finishing his sentence, he reached into his chest pocket, pulled out his wallet, glanced at it a few times, and then carefully put it back.

Jonathan, whose greatest skill lay in pilfering objects from people's pockets, managed an awkward chuckle. "Relax, I won't hit my own people, hehe. You say they aren't interested in gold? So... they must be quite wealthy, right?" Zheng Zha suddenly walked up to the trio and said with a smile, "Hehe, I heard that, didn't I... Hello to you both, my name is Zheng Zha. These people are my companions; we are an expedition team privately sponsored by a certain wealthy American, aiming to find hidden realms that might exist around the world... Naturally, the legendary City of the Dead in Egypt is one of these hidden realms. We will cover the costs of the journey, and we will also provide you with ample security. Of course, we ask that you follow some of our advice during the exploration and avoid doing anything that might endanger everyone's lives. That's basically it."

Eve had been watching O'Connell intently until Zheng Zha finished speaking. She snapped back to attention and urgently retorted, "Wh-what are you talking about! We haven't joined your expedition team! We are searching for the existence of the City of the Dead as private individuals. By what right should we heed your advice? We don't need your funding; we can afford all of this ourselves..." Zheng Zha quickly shook his head. "I think you may have misunderstood. Our objective is merely 'exploration'; as for any gold obtained from the exploration, we are not interested..." Eve's reaction became even more intense; her face nearly flushed red as she shouted, "I know! Your objective is the Black Book of the Dead or the Golden Book of Resurrection, isn't it? Don't even think about it! Impossible! How could such ancient documents, even if they truly exist, be handed over to some rich man? Absolutely, absolutely impossible! Such documents are treasures of historical culture, and I will never hand them over to you!" Zheng Zha noticed that many people around them were looking on with surprise, and he could even faintly sense hostile gazes. Thus, he could only shake his head helplessly and say, "Alright, alright, we won't take anything, is that satisfactory? It’s just 'exploration,' only 'exploration'... Sigh, women... all of them are paranoid."

With that, he led his group onto the tour boat floating on the river.

Eve, however, was still unwilling to let the matter drop. She tugged at O'Connell's clothes. "Swear to me that what he said is true? No matter what, they are the people you brought! Swear they absolutely will not take those two books? Can you guarantee that for me? Otherwise, I warn you..." Facing this unrestrained young woman, O'Connell could only offer a wry, bitter smile, especially when he saw Zheng Zha and the others already boarding the tour boat; his smile looked particularly wistful... Regardless, O'Connell finally managed to pacify Eve. By the time he boarded, Zheng Zha had already used his gold-nugget offensive to secure the majority of the first-class cabin. After receiving a single gold nugget, Jonathan immediately started acting like an elder brother to Zheng Zha and his group. Of course, anyone who had seen The Mummy would steer clear of the man named Jonathan, as he was a highly capable thief who could effortlessly lift items from one's possession without notice.

"We follow the river downstream until noon tomorrow. We will disembark at this ferry crossing, then travel west for about half a day. This will bring us to the largest, and only, oasis on the road to the City of the Dead. It also serves as a local trading post where we will purchase necessities like camels and fresh water. From there, we will continue heading southwest. If nothing unexpected occurs, in three days and three nights, we will reach Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead..." O'Connell spread out a simple map of the vicinity on the tabletop and pointed to various locations while addressing the others.

Eve immediately asked, "Unexpected? What kind of unexpected events?" O'Connell didn't say much more. He suddenly took the pack he was carrying and tossed it onto the table. He then opened the pack, revealing it was filled to the brim with pistols, rifles, and an abundance of ammunition for both—enough for several people to use.

Eve stared blankly at the contents of the pack, saying foolishly, "Did... did I misunderstand something? We are going on an exploration, right? Are we going to war?" O'Connell ignored her, instead picking up a pistol and loading a bullet. While loading the weapon, he said, "Miss, that place is not right... There is something beneath the tombs, and a group of mysterious people are guarding those tombs... It is truly the City of the Dead; far more people have died there than those who are about to enter alive!" Eve quickly turned to Zheng Zha. "You said you would protect us, didn't you? I only need those two books; you can take everything else... Although my brother thinks there's treasure there, I don't believe you can actually find any priceless gold..." Zheng Zha nodded. "I said earlier, we are only going there for 'exploration'; we really aren't that interested in other things... However, Miss, are you very familiar with those two books?" Eve immediately brightened up and said excitedly, "Of course, the legendary Book of the Sun, also known as the Golden Book of Resurrection, and the Black Book of the Dead, also known as the Black Book of the Dead [Note: user repeated the name, translated as Black Book of the Dead again], these two books contain the ancient Egyptian legends' spells, which captivated me since childhood..." Just then, Xiao Honglü, who had been sitting quietly, abruptly interrupted her, asking on his own accord, "What time is it?" Everyone was momentarily taken aback. Zheng Zha glanced at his watch. "A little past ten..." He paused, then saw Xiao Honglü give him a slight nod.

Back at the inn yesterday, Jan Lan had explained the entire plot of The Mummy to the group. Perhaps due to the reinforcement of her mental abilities, her memory was astonishingly sharp; she had managed to recite every single detail of the story in just two hours, virtually allowing everyone to relive the narrative of The Mummy.

Zheng Zha then remembered that they were supposed to encounter an attack from a group of people in black clothing tonight, and the time should be around now.

"Eve, go get the key—go get the map and that disc. Zero Point, Zhang Jie, you two protect her all the way... O'Connell, come with me to find Jonathan; he should be playing poker with those Americans right now? Everyone else, maintain a defensive posture here. If anything happens, follow the instructions given by Jan Lan and Qi Tengyi, and Zhao Yingkong... Let's go, the story is beginning!" Zheng Zha stood up, retrieved the High-Frequency Particle Cutting Dagger from his storage ring, and led the way toward the passenger deck.

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