Arlotte stared at her coldly, then broke into a monstrous grin. "Was the last lesson not enough? You are no match for me. A single strike could shred you into mince, smear your flesh across my body, drain your blood to drink, and leave your skeleton for sport. Hahahaha!" Zhao Yingkong stated flatly, "Then come."

With that, she slowly receded back into the shadows.

Arlotte glanced back over his shoulder, a savage smile suddenly contorting his face. His muscles swelled violently, and within seconds, he transformed into a colossal werewolf. Without a backward glance, he lunged after Zhao Yingkong, surging into the gloom of the dark alleyway.

The remaining man and woman were stunned, looking helplessly between the two figures on either side: their captain, the Little Monk, and the overwhelmingly powerful blonde doctor, Arlotte. In comparison, they were merely a ranged attacker and a pure support specialist, possessing negligible combat ability. Even standard firearms could inflict significant damage on them. With both powerhouses gone, they were instantly adrift.

"Lamb, can you hit a target in this darkness?" the woman named Manavia suddenly asked.

Lamb shook his head. "I can't hit what I can't see clearly. If the lock is established, I can hit the target regardless of distance, no matter how far or near. But this room is pitch black; I doubt I can land a shot."

Manavia glanced at the pitch-black room behind the wall, then grit her teeth. "We need to find Imhotep first. As long as we find him, we won't have to worry about being killed. We’re already running a negative score. If we two die, who knows how many points the team will lose. Straight up, let’s find Imhotep first!" Lamb looked nervously toward that room, the continuous roars and the clang of metal echoing from within sending chills down his spine. The utter darkness made him lack the nerve to charge in, so he hesitated for a long moment.

Finally, he bit down hard and spoke, "The Captain is tough. He should win, haha. Yes, he should win. We should go find Imhotep first."

The two quickly agreed; their decision was made: escape to Imhotep.

As they passed the blood-dripping sack, both looked at it with a mixture of revulsion and greed. Lamb held up his steel needle. "What should we do? Kill her? Living like this is pitiful anyway; she won't make it back to the main god regardless. Dying sooner would be a release." Manavia produced a small, sleeve-mounted pistol from her cuff, smiling faintly. "Let me kill her, then. I recall you still have three thousand reward points unused, right? I don't have that much. Let me do it." Lamb frowned, decisively lifting the sack. "It’s too early to argue about this. Let’s find Imhotep first. If we can eliminate the rest of the Central Continent team, maybe we can even kill someone who has unlocked their Gene Lock. We’ll worry about killing her later, okay?" Manavia sighed in resignation, following Lamb into another, larger alleyway. Behind them, the sounds from the pitch-black room remained deafening.

Zheng Zha, after all, was not an assassin.

The moment he launched his attack, he unleashed an overwhelming killing intent. Thus, while the Little Monk didn't entirely evade the punch, he instinctually shifted his weight enough to avoid a vital blow. The strike merely sent the Monk flying backward, and Zheng Zha followed up with his own momentum, slamming the Monk through the wall behind him into a hall piled high with gold.

The Little Monk was, after all, a person who had unlocked the second stage of the Gene Lock. The instant he was driven through the wall, his eyes glazed over in momentary disorientation. Using the force of Zheng Zha’s fist as a springboard, he pushed off and flung himself backward. To guard against any sharp objects behind him, he summoned a giant cobra with one hand, colliding squarely with the massive serpent's body.

How could Zheng Zha allow the Little Monk to gain distance? The giant cobra was a potent weapon for mid-to-long range combat, whereas Zheng Zha excelled in close quarters. If he couldn't finish the Monk up close, retreat meant certain defeat. Without a second thought, he charged forward, flicking open his High-Vibration Particle Cutting Dagger in his right hand while channeling internal energy into his Na Ring with his left, plunging instinctively into the darkness.

The Little Monk reacted quickly. After their brief initial exchange, both sides had a rough estimate of the other's position. Without hesitation, he summoned the second head of the twin-headed cobra above his own head. This massive serpent head suddenly opened its maw and spewed a torrent of fire.

The burst of flame illuminated the hall. Zheng Zha was already within striking distance, but he was brutally forced back by the inferno.

The Little Monk swiftly commanded the other serpent head to aim at Zheng Zha’s retreat vector, simultaneously unleashing a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately, it was a fraction too late; the lightning only struck a golden statue, blasting it clean in half, while Zheng Zha had already melted back into the darkness and vanished.

"Hahahaha! My skill is summoning the Ancient Eight-Headed Serpent! It evolves based on the quality of what it consumes—this is an A-rank skill, hah! A powerhouse who has activated the second stage of the Gene Lock. I can tell you’ve enhanced something else, too? It doesn't matter; once I eat you, I can evolve a third head. My power will increase substantially then! Hahahaha!" the Little Monk roared, directing the cobras to writhe in a circle centered on him. Anything within four or five meters of him was practically untouchable. Furthermore, every thirty seconds or so, one of the serpent heads would unleash a gout of flame bright enough to light the entire hall. If Zheng Zha failed to hide in the shadows in time, the other head would blast him with lightning.

It was only due to the slight pause between the two heads' attacks that Zheng Zha managed to dodge each time; otherwise, a single lightning strike would have been enough to severely wound or kill him.

(No, I can't evade this. I can't get close to him. Thirty seconds is not enough time, and I can't see where the heads are striking. There’s no way to get near him.) Zheng Zha worried internally. Though his prediction held true—the Little Monk's companions had not come to his aid—his own partner, Zhao Yingkong, was surely in grave danger. He didn't believe the severely wounded Zhao Yingkong could stand against that monstrous werewolf. In a straight-up close-quarters confrontation, he had no confidence he could best the giant werewolf. Therefore, he had to finish the Little Monk quickly, or he faced the prospect of losing another companion. (The only weak spot is above the head. The only weak spot.) Zheng Zha was currently tapping into the second stage of his Gene Lock.

Endless combat instinct flooded his mind. Once resolved, he instantly grabbed a nearby piece of gold ornament and hurled it violently at the Little Monk while simultaneously charging toward the wall.

The Little Monk felt a rushing gale. One giant serpent head easily blocked the piece of gold. Then, without thinking, he ordered one head to spew fire while the other stood ready to launch lightning. But strangely, he couldn't see Zheng Zha in that direction. He looked around, and in that crucial moment, the firelight vanished again.

"Hahahaha, was your attack just a way to escape? Why not fight me head-on? Oh, by the way, your two rookies have fallen into our hands! Hahahaha! Want to know their fate? One had his heart shattered by your sniper! Hahaha, infighting, how does that negative point feel? Doesn't it taste sweet? Ah, sorry, I forgot your sniper is already dead. Hahahaha, what a pity! Otherwise, a few of us might have been sniped by now. So, do you want to know about the other new girl? That beautiful Asian woman? After my companion played with her a few times, I had the doctor chop off her hands and feet, gouge out her eyes, and cut off her tongue. Oh, and I had the doctor peel off her skin inch by inch, then sprayed her with coagulant. A complete human blood sculpture! Hahahaha!" The Little Monk roared these words, yet his eyes remained strangely calm. These words were entirely designed to enrage Zheng Zha, but what baffled him was the total absence of killing intent, as if Zheng Zha had already left the hall.

He became a part of the darkness, emptying his mind of all thought, completely discarding his human identity—he was merely darkness. Only darkness. Zheng Zha slowly climbed across the ceiling of the hall, at least seven or eight meters above the floor. To prevent even the slightest sound, he channeled his internal energy to condense at his fingertips, inserting them bit by bit into the gaps between the stones, inching his way toward the Little Monk, following the sound, following the path of vengeance! Suddenly, Zheng Zha released his grip and dropped straight down toward the Little Monk’s position. That savage killing intent instantly flooded his consciousness. The Little Monk felt it too, and as he looked up, the two snake heads were already crossing and coiling around him. One meter above the Monk, Zheng Zha was tightly bound by the two giant cobras.

"Got you!" the Little Monk crowed with a savage laugh, gesturing for the two serpent heads to tighten their grip.

Zheng Zha roared maniacally, "Got you!" Instantly, a scarlet flame erupted from his body—this was the Blood Race skill, Red Flame, which was particularly effective against spiritual entities! The two huge snake heads evaporated in the blood-red firelight, as if snow meeting a raging blaze. Zheng Zha flicked the High-Vibration Particle Cutting Dagger downward toward the Little Monk, who had jumped back.