"Are these three conditions easy enough to understand? Regarding the two individuals who cannot be engaged: from my observations and the intelligence gathered, neither of them fears the power of firearms, or perhaps your arrows, at close range, are indeed comparable to bullets in terms of impact. But since they don't fear an ordinary barrage of bullets, they certainly won't care about your mere arrows. This is the absolute reason not to engage them, unless it's in a desperate, last-ditch effort to fight back in a hopeless situation—that might be understandable." The second condition: our mission isn't to kill the enemy, but to survive for as long as possible. Even if our team doesn't ultimately win, victory would be meaningless if the three of us died achieving it. Therefore, rather than foolishly fighting them with our limited strength, it's better to preserve our lives.

"The third condition—hehe, it's not really a condition, but rather advice. If you encounter anyone other than those two members of the Indian team, you'd best attack from the shadows, waiting patiently like a hunter for the prey, rather than struggling in a difficult fight after being spotted by the prey. Consider this a piece of advice. By the way, your technique is truly superb—allowing the arrow to change direction mid-flight in the void. Such an attack is impossible to guard against. In this respect, your archery can actually surpass some firearms."

Xiao Honglü kept talking to Zhang Heng. He paused, then continued, "Let's analyze the enemies you might encounter next. Aside from that monk and the werewolf, the others you might face include a dark, thin Arab wielding scimitars; his close-combat strength should be formidable. If it's him, a single arrow from the shadows could take him down—he's not a particularly strong opponent. There's also a man who uses steel needles.

He seems able to control the steel needles with his mind, capable of piercing targets even where he cannot see them with his naked eye. Some minor logical analysis suggests he isn't as strong as he appears. In fact, his strength likely relies on the assistance of that mind-controlling Indian woman: she locks onto the target with mental energy, and he uses the steel needles to pierce them. Otherwise, his power would be confined only to what he can see.

This is even less effective than Lin Qiangdan's bullets, as he cannot launch needles into the dark void. He wouldn't know what's there, how far away it is, or if the needles might embed themselves in some piece of steel, causing hesitation, preventing the needles from being launched decisively." "Then there's a woman; she probably uses some kind of defensive technique, perhaps generating a magnetic field or something similar. Regardless, this defense can resist ordinary bullets. In a way, she is your counter, and she is the enemy you are most likely to face."

Zhang Heng pondered, then suddenly asked with curiosity, "You missed one, didn't you? The mind-controlling woman? She should be able to detect ambushes in the dark easily, right?" Xiao Honglü smiled and replied, "Didn't Zero point fire a shot before he died? That shot might not have killed anyone—after all, we lost a point instead of gaining one—but the other side must have had someone severely wounded, perhaps that Indian woman.

And that injury might be fatal and beyond saving, so she was likely executed by her own people just to prevent us from gaining a point. She must be dead! Otherwise, we would either be under mental control right now, or they would have already found us. In short, as long as that woman existed, the Indian team was an indivisible monster, and we were doomed to total annihilation.

But the fact remains that we are alive now."

At this moment, the two were heading back toward the tomb entrance from where they came. Zhang Heng still carried Zhang Jie on his back, walking in front. This tomb was incredibly complex; one wrong turn could lead them into a dead end. The passageways were dim and dark; if not for the torches mounted on the walls, the two might have been completely lost by now. Of course, Xiao Honglü's contribution was irreplaceable.

He seemed to have memorized every passage and intersection from their ingress, only needing to follow the path back. It was as if no forks existed in his mind.

Zhang Heng murmured, "So, everyone who enters this world is someone disillusioned, disappointed, or even desperate with the real world? Are you one of them?" Xiao Honglü smiled and said, "I heard it from Zhan Lan, but I genuinely am disappointed with the real world, or perhaps a little weary of it. I hated looking at the sky from inside that cage. Rather than staying in that cage, I'd rather take a one-percent chance of escaping it. At least so far, I'm not disappointed with this horror movie reincarnation world; I'm just a bit annoyed by it." Zhang Heng also smiled. He said, "It's incredible; I often forget your age when we talk, as if you were my contemporary. As for me, I was truly despairing of the real world. At that time, I ran away because I recognized someone—he was a wanted fugitive online. Especially when he saw me, I couldn't help but flee, leaving her behind. I ran alone."

"Heh, do you know why I insist on fighting? Because I want to prove that I'm not afraid to die. Truly not afraid to die. I've been afraid of seeing blood since childhood—no, I shouldn't say afraid of blood; I'm afraid of fighting, of any situation that might involve injury or bleeding. The thought of it makes me tremble and instinctively retreat, even if my heart doesn't want to."

As Zhang Heng spoke, his body couldn't help but tremble, but he still murmured, "I went to see a psychotherapist. The hypnotic treatment revealed that it was due to the abuse inflicted by my stepfather when I was little. He beat me constantly over the smallest things starting from age six, so I instinctively recoil from harm. But! I actually ran away then! Even though I bit my tongue and returned a minute later, those thugs and that murderer were already gone, driving away in a car, taking Ming Yanwei with them! I can never forgive myself for abandoning her!"

"Then she disappeared. Given her personality, suicide is a strong possibility. I don't have the face to see her, afraid of meeting those calm, almost cold eyes. Afraid that she wouldn't even utter a single word of reproach. I am a coward! I truly didn't dare!"

"So I killed people. Using the compound bow from the training team, I shot those thugs down one by one. Every time, I shot with my eyes closed, and afterwards, I would vomit and suffer for a long, long time. Until the moment I shot that wanted criminal dead, I took a bullet to my abdomen. I just wanted to die right then and there. So I went home, opened my computer, intending to look at the last few photos of her and me. And then..."

"...and then I entered this world." Xiao Honglü understood the unspoken conclusion. Although he was only a teenager, he was very aware of these adult emotions. So he didn't say anything more, just followed quietly behind Zhang Heng, listening to the sound of their footsteps.

"Wait! Listen carefully."

Xiao Honglü suddenly stopped. He lowered his voice to a near-whisper.

Zhang Heng startled, quickly straining his ears. He thought he heard faint footsteps coming from the depths of the corridor. He exchanged a glance with Xiao Honglü. With perfect synchronization, they stomped out the torches lining both sides of the corridor. Then Zhang Heng handed Zhang Jie over to Xiao Honglü: "Stand over there in that corner. Do not move an inch. Not even slightly. Even if my attack fails, they won't notice you, don't worry."

Xiao Honglü suddenly spoke up: "Move to my other side! Wait for my signal. The moment the light flares up, if my shout is 'Go!', that means shoot the woman while aiming for the man. If my voice is 'Come!', it means shoot the man while aiming for the woman. If I say nothing, but the light flares up, then shoot anyone you like and run deeper into the tomb to draw their attention and protect me and Zhang Jie. Can you do that?"

Zhang Heng nodded swiftly, without hesitation moving to the other corner. The torches on the ground were gradually extinguishing, and the two of them, along with Zhang Jie, slowly melted into the darkness.

Not long after, two sets of footsteps approached from the gloom, accompanied by male and female voices filtering through the dark. The male voice muttered, "She's probably close to death. Even with the hemostatic spray, moving like this while bleeding constantly means she'll run out of blood soon."

The female voice replied, "Then let me kill her. I wonder how many points we'll lose for this. You can't let me be erased, can you?" The male voice grunted in dissatisfaction. He said, "Nonsense! Who knows how many Reward Points you're still hoarding? Wait, something seems off ahead."

The woman quickly spread her hands, and a faintly visible protective layer appeared around her. The man immediately said, "The Captain's order was for you to protect me! Not to keep yourself safe alone!"

The woman snorted, "I'll naturally take care of your damn skill during the fight. At this moment, I can only project one defensive shield. Ugh, it's so dark ahead; why don't we retreat and find another passage?" The man peered cautiously ahead, "I won't retreat. The Captain and the Central Continent's Captain might have already settled their fight. In any case, I hope we can find Imhotep quickly. Could the bugs have eaten the torches here?"

The woman quickly grabbed a torch from the wall and handed it to the man. "Go check it out, and shout loudly if there's danger. Don't worry, I'll reinforce the shield around you now, alright?" The man gritted his teeth, glanced at the large cloth sack in his hand, and considered handing it to the woman, but then decided against it out of caution. Thus, he clamped the sack tightly between his shoulder and jaw, while holding a torch in his hand. He was too greedy to give up the Reward Points he was about to gain, forcing him to proceed in such a cumbersome manner.

The man cautiously advanced with the torch, scanning his surroundings. Where could the enemy be? There's nothing here..." Before he could finish speaking, a youth came into view, drawing a longbow and staring coldly at him. The arrow on the bow was sharp, its tip reflecting the firelight with a brilliant golden-red sheen!

"Come on!" Xiao Honglü yelled. Two arrows from Zhang Heng's bow pierced the air, shooting toward the man. The moment the bowstring snapped, the woman cast a protective shield over the man. Then, both she and the man watched silently as the arrows approached his face. When they were still dozens of centimeters from the shield, one long arrow struck the tail end of the other long arrow. Then, the direction abruptly changed! The man only saw the leading arrow pass his face and shoot backward. When he turned around, a long arrow was embedded precisely in the center of the woman's forehead, its sharp tip piercing deep into her brain!