"We head up from here, and then we can advance toward the Desert Market. If nothing unexpected happens, we can procure supplies and camels at the Desert Market, rest up there, and then proceed. In a few days, we should reach the City of the Dead..."

O'Connell pulled out a sand table and traced the map on it, explaining the route to those around him.

The group was eating breakfast in the ship's cabin. Although they had politely invited the original freighter crew to join them, perhaps due to the effectiveness of Zhang Jie's threat the previous day, the crew had declined with even greater courtesy. The group didn't press the issue. Considering the composition of their own party—the soldier (O'Connell), the bandit (the big man in black), the bandit mole (the museum curator), the thief (Jonathan), and the tomb robbers (the American and Evie)—the rest of them cared even less about formalities. They weren't from this world anyway, so in the end, only their group ate breakfast by themselves.

"What about our allies? Where are they?" Xiao Honglu suddenly asked.

The big man in black paused, tracing a line on the sand table. He then said, "They should be somewhere between the Desert Market and the City of the Dead. Because the desert is so vast, we can only hold a position in the middle and send out scouts to search for enemy traces. This is the limit of what we can do."

Xiao Honglu nodded and said no more. Zheng Zha, however, was scrutinizing the sand table. After watching it for a long time, he said, "Let's stick to this plan. We have a few days before we reach the City of the Dead. Everyone should recuperate well during this time; the major fighting starts after that... This time, it's not about escaping; it’s a fight to the death. Oh, O'Connell, can we buy weapons and ammunition at the Desert Market? Even regular ammunition will do."

Before O'Connell could answer, the big man in black spoke up, "I have my people at the Desert Market. We have a small warehouse there. There should still be quite a few weapons inside. Although they aren't as exaggerated as your weapons, we can definitely guarantee a sufficient supply of ammunition."

Zheng Zha smiled. "Enough ammunition is fine. To deal with ordinary mummies or mummy guards, regular bullets are actually enough to shatter them... Alright, does anyone else have any questions? Upon meeting the main force, Zero Point will break off to act alone, his objective being to snipe that Indian woman. Xiao Honglu, Gao Hongliang, Zhang Heng, and Qin Zhuiyu, the four of you will join the main unit with him. With so many people protecting you, you shouldn't face any more danger. As for me, Zhang Jie, Zhan Lan, Zhao Yingkong, O'Connell, Evie, and Jonathan—the seven of us—we will continue on to the City of the Dead. We will retrieve the True Sutra of Resurrection there first, then strip Imhotep of his power, and eliminate the remaining members of the Indochina Team!"

The big man in black looked startled and quickly asked, "What about me?"

"You'll naturally stay with your tribesmen," Zheng Zha replied with a faint smile. "Strictly speaking, the battle in the City of the Dead has little to do with the two of you. The trouble we caused should be resolved by us. As long as you can hold off Imhotep's mummy guards, and possibly even intercept some of the Indochina Team members, that will be the greatest help you can offer us. So..."

The big man in black spoke seriously. "If I can fight, how could I possibly avoid battle? Moreover, as a descendant of the Pharaoh's guards, burying the High Priest Imhotep is our inherent responsibility! Even the gods would not prevent me from participating! No matter what, I must be in the group heading to the City of the Dead."

Zheng Zha sighed. "Then there will be eight of us going to the City of the Dead. The Curator is getting a bit old; he should stay with the troops."

The museum curator opened his mouth, but he only mumbled and couldn't utter a full sentence. Instead, Qin Zhuiyu suddenly asked O'Connell, "This ship is traveling downstream; where does it end up? Does it go out to sea?"

O'Connell blinked, then quickly said, "Yes, it should follow the river all the way to the estuary. There should be a sea vessel there to take over the cargo. Where the ship goes after that, I don't know."

Qin Zhuiyu giggled. This beautiful woman said, "How about this? The few of us newcomers can just go out to sea on this ship. We aren't much help anyway, and if we get killed, we’ll just be a drag on you. I highly doubt that person from the Indochina Team would know we sailed away and would keep chasing us... Look, how about this? The four of us go out to sea together. That way, we’ll be absolutely safe, and you won't have any worries when you fight, absolutely no concern about suddenly losing points or anything."

Zheng Zha paused, then asked Xiao Honglu, "What do you think? I actually think this proposal is quite good. This way, they can basically be kept safe. Their combat strength is weak anyway. If a few of us fail the fight, it probably won't matter whether they are here or not. It's better to keep them far away from the battlefield..."

Xiao Honglu ran a hand through his hair. He suddenly smiled and said, "Let them choose for themselves. Those who want to go out to sea with the ship can go. I, for one, want to stay with the main unit. Zhang Heng, what’s your choice?"

Zhang Heng paused, thought for a moment, and said, "I also want to stay with the main unit... Heh, I’ve always wanted to see a massive cavalry charge. Although the timing is a bit off now, I still don't want to miss this opportunity."

Qin Zhuiyu immediately looked toward Gao Hongliang, her beautiful eyes filled with pleading. Based purely on looks, she was an absolute top-tier beauty. Gao Hongliang only glanced at her twice before finally turning his head and saying, "Then, I choose to go out to sea. The two of us can go together; that way, we can look out for each other."

Zheng Zha nodded. "Then it's settled. Later, I will give you some regular bullets, two submachine guns, and we'll leave some hemostatic spray and strong bandages as well. However, we won't leave you the communicators. So, once we separate, you'll have to rely on yourselves to survive. That's how it will be. I do not want to suddenly hear about a two-point deduction, understood?"

Xiao Honglu, however, smiled and said, "No, let's leave them one communicator. Two people can share one, so we can know their status at any time, or they can know ours. After all, once they are out at sea, they don't need to worry about falling into the hands of the Indochina Team. Leaving them a communicator shouldn't be a problem... Oh, and they haven't accounted for expenses along the way. We should also give them some gold bricks. If they die after that, they can only blame their own bad luck."

Qin Zhuiyu and Gao Hongliang nodded repeatedly, both wearing relaxed smiles, though they failed to notice the detached smile on Xiao Honglu's face.

After breakfast, the group finally decided to disembark on a flat stretch of shore. The freighter crew, naturally surprised and flustered, prepared small boats for them. Soon, everyone was ashore, while Qin Zhuiyu and Gao Hongliang remained on the freighter, letting it slowly drift down the river.

The others started moving from the shore toward the Desert Market. After walking for about ten minutes, Xiao Honglu, who had been fiddling with a communicator, suddenly said, "Change of plan. The rare bait has finally been released."

Everyone looked at him strangely. Zheng Zha curiously asked, "What bait?"

Xiao Honglu handed the communicator to Zheng Zha. "Them... those two who decided to go out to sea. They are probably under mental control by the Indochina Team right now."

Zheng Zha took the communicator strangely. A single dot was moving slowly on the screen, while the other few dots were clustered at the center. Zheng Zha said with confusion, "Why do you say that? Is there something strange on this display?"

Xiao Honglu ran a hand through his hair. "Their speed has slowed down. To be precise, two minutes ago, their movement nearly halted, and only then did it slowly speed up again. But compared to the speed we were traveling by boat, the freighter they are on is practically crawling... My guess was right. That mental controller from Indochina can manipulate someone from an extremely long distance. It’s also possible they were branded with a mental imprint when we were in Cairo City. The moment they left the main group, left the strange mental shelter around us, that mental controller immediately sensed them and took control."

Zheng Zha pondered for a moment. "But we haven't been penalized any points. If they were controlled, shouldn't we have lost two points already?"

Xiao Honglu smiled. "Because that mental controller has surely gleaned our plan from their memories. If those two were killed immediately, we would inevitably become suspicious and perhaps change our strategy. In that case, they would be shrouded in mist again. Since these two have no fighting ability anyway, it's better to kill them after dealing with all of us. That way, everything will be foolproof."

"The ship stopped moving just now, and its current speed is pathetically slow. From this, we can deduce that the mental controller also has a range of influence. So, she will slow the ship down so they can catch up to collect the two, and then proceed to the City of the Dead to lie in wait for us... To cover such a long distance in such a short time, and to beat us to the City of the Dead... the only vehicle they could possibly consider is an airplane—the airplane from the original plot..."

Meanwhile, at the entrance to Cairo City, the blindfolded Indian woman said, "That is their operational plan. Captain, what should we do about these two now? Should we have the freighter turn back toward us?"

Beside the blindfolded Indian woman stood the little monk and the half-decayed Imhotep. The two bald heads looked quite similar. The little monk shook his head. "Continue to protect them while they proceed slowly... How far is your control range from you?"

The blindfolded Indian woman replied, "If they continue at this speed, I will lose control in six hours."

The little monk nodded thoughtfully. "Then maintain the ship at this speed. Arut and Ram have already gone outside the city to search for an airfield. As long as they secure a plane, it won't matter if they move beyond the limit of your control; they can easily catch up to them soon enough... High Priest Imhotep, as you have seen, we are enemies with the other team that constantly prevents your power from recovering. The enemy of our enemy is our ally. We will do our utmost to help you resurrect Anck-su-namun, but we also need your strength to defeat that team. Can your army proceed toward the City of the Dead as planned? Honestly, upon hearing that the enemy has reinforcements of ten thousand cavalry, I believe only your forces can hold off those cavalry, buying us enough time to resurrect Anck-su-namun."

Imhotep nodded and spoke a few sentences in ancient Egyptian. Then he roared loudly toward those behind him. On both sides of the street behind him, dense ranks of mummy guards roared in unison. That terrifying roar shook the heavens and the earth, as if the entire city of Cairo could capture the sound... Jump to...