Zheng Zha and his team proceeded from the central clock tower of Cairo toward the museum. The distance was neither too long nor too short. To be safe, the three teams each took a communicator before setting off toward the museum.

At this moment, in the Cairo Museum, O’Connell and the others were just arriving from the inn. Although they had an agreement with Zheng Zha’s group to steal the mummy, the trio had first left their luggage at the hotel, then casually grabbed some lunch. It was only now that they were heading to the museum from the inn.

“Do you believe it? That liquor tasted like blood—no, it practically turned into blood… I’ve never had red brandy before…” Jonathan grumbled incessantly as they walked.

Evelyn quickly interjected, “The rivers of Egypt ran crimson, all water turning to blood. That’s one of the curses accompanying the resurrection of that mummy monster. Did you see that meteor shower just now? It must have arrived in Cairo by now!” O’Connell stated coolly, “I don’t care about anything else. Once we steal the mummy, we find a ship to leave Egypt. I have no desire to get involved with mummies that have been rotting for millennia… Let the experts handle the monster. Zheng Zha and his team are far stronger than us.”

Evelyn suddenly planted her hands on her hips, blocking O’Connell’s path. She declared loudly, “Are you suggesting we abandon our responsibility? Just to escape on our own? That monster was released by us! Even with Zheng Zha’s help, we absolutely cannot flee alone!” “Wait, wait a moment.”

O’Connell glared fiercely at the beautiful woman before him and boomed, “You released the monster, not us! Don’t saddle all of us with that responsibility! We have no obligation to fight that creature for the safety of the entire world! Besides, that monster is fundamentally unkillable. Do you expect us to fight the mummy’s bones with nothing but flesh and blood?” Evelyn hastened to say, “That’s exactly why we need to find a different weapon. If my memory serves me right, the other of the two books, the Book of the Resurrection, is the best weapon to kill a mummy… And haven’t Zheng Zha and the others already obtained the Book of the Dead? We can use its power to stall the mummy, and then we dig up the Book of the Resurrection to ensure we can destroy it!” O’Connell rubbed his head as if afflicted by a headache and stated loudly, “Hold on, what does this have to do with me? Why must I do this? I’m grateful you saved me in prison, so I agreed to help you find the City of the Dead and safely bring you back! That was the promise I made to you, and I kept it. Do I now have an obligation to bear your personal responsibility? Who exactly was reading the words from the Book of the Dead back then? Who?” Evelyn froze, murmuring, “Yes, it was me… But to you, is it just some trivial promise?” O’Connell gently pushed her aside and continued walking toward the museum by himself, remarking as he went, “So, you can either stay here and save the world yourself, or follow me and leave this godforsaken place. Choose.”

Evelyn followed him, biting her lip and saying firmly, “I choose to stay!” O’Connell stared blankly at her, and after a long pause, the man ground out through clenched teeth, “Fine, suit yourself!” “Of course, suit myself. It’s none of your business!” “Suit yourself…” Jonathan shook his head repeatedly behind them as he trailed along. From his perspective, the two looked like squabbling children—both clearly cared about the other, yet they only engaged in actions designed to provoke annoyance. Truly like two childish sprites.

Before long, the trio reached the main entrance of the museum. What astonished them was seeing the two Americans walking toward them, their faces sickly pale. Their expressions suggested they had seen a ghost, their hair seemingly standing on end. As soon as they spotted O’Connell’s group, they rushed over. One American urgently stammered, “God, God, we saw it, that horrific monster! You won't believe it; it was actually digging corpses out of the desert and sucking them dry into mummies! That desiccated body is still in the hotel—it was terrifying! Good thing a cat passed by and scared it away; otherwise, we’d both probably be mummies by now…” The man’s words tumbled out incoherently until the two calmed down slightly and repeated themselves. Only then did O’Connell’s trio grasp what they had witnessed.

It turned out that after obtaining the gold, the Americans had immediately returned to Cairo to secure passage. Even though they were willing to pay handsomely, the ships wouldn't leave until the next day, forcing them reluctantly back to the inn. But as soon as they entered their room, they saw a half-rotted mummy standing by the bedside, holding two desiccated corpses it had drained in its hands. The two Americans were instantly petrified, only managing to start firing their pistols wildly. However, ordinary bullets caused no damage to the mummy, so the creature advanced step by step. Just as the two men were about to be sucked dry themselves, a cat walking past the piano startled the mummy away, saving their lives. Utterly terrified, they finally recalled Jonathan mentioning something while they were playing cards: “That’s it!” Evelyn exclaimed with sudden delight, “In Egyptian mythology, cats are guardians of the underworld, and mummies belong to the realm of the dead spirits. Cats are their fatal nemesis! Do you remember how Zheng Zha and his group always kept a cat with them? So that’s why! They anticipated encountering a mummy monster all along, which is why they brought a cat for protection. Should we carry a cat with us too?” “That’s right. A cat is a guardian of the underworld. Before it fully resurrects, a cat can temporarily restrain it. But listen carefully: only before it is fully resurrected. Once it achieves full revival… we will be powerless against it!” As the five moved from the entrance into the museum, they continued to discuss the mummy. Suddenly, a chilling voice cut sharply into their conversation. They all looked up quickly and saw the Museum Director standing next to a bearded man wearing a long black robe… That black-robed figure was the tomb guardian who had attacked them several times! Jump to