The ordinary Qi Tengyi, who had only cherished ancient scripts and the splendid ancient culture, roared at the man with full masculine spirit before his death, along with the calm and indifferent murmur of that final address delivered by Zero Point—a killer with a cold exterior and a gentle heart—and the small girl who had always held his hand, who was boyish in appearance, and the phrase, "Until death." So many things: the plot characters like O'Connell, the powerful members of the Indian team, and that tragic immortal priest, Imhotep. There were too many; it felt as if years or even decades had passed in these ten-odd days, during which he had experienced far too much.
He didn't know how long it had been until he opened his eyes to find himself standing in an infinitely vast square. In the center of the square, a sphere of light, seemingly eternal, materialized abruptly before him. The other five stood around the periphery, with Xiao Honglü and Zhang Heng staring at their surroundings in utter astonishment.
"Main God! Fully restore everyone! Deduct the reward points from here!" Zheng Zha roared, and several beams of light shot down from the sphere, immediately bathing the six of them. Among these six columns of light, Xiao Honglü’s was the dimmest, halting almost as soon as it touched him. The little boy then began looking strangely at his own hand; the cut he had received in the tomb had healed completely smooth.
Zheng Zha and Zhao Yingkong were the ones bathed in light the longest. Especially Zhao Yingkong—the extent and duration of her exposure far exceeded Zheng Zha’s. By the time Zheng Zha landed, Zhao Yingkong’s injured shoulder was completely restored, yet she remained bathed in the light.
Zheng Zha closed his eyes, carefully sensing his body. For some unknown reason, he suddenly felt as if he could control his own flesh. It wasn't the control of movement, like lifting a leg or kicking, but rather as if he could command his very cells. Of course, he knew this was an illusion, but the illusion felt intensely real.
When he opened his eyes, a little girl who was continuously weeping stood before him. Lori didn't rush into his arms immediately but stood several meters away, weeping and smiling silently—a sight indescribably moving.
Zheng Zha quickly glanced toward Zhang Jie. The man had awakened; the light from the 'Main God' shining on him was not intense, as if he had merely suffered a common shock. However, judging by the deep dark circles under his eyes, his mental state seemed poor. The usually cheerful man wore no smile now; he simply embraced the classical beauty who approached him. He rested his head on the classical beauty's shoulder, and after a long silence, he quietly began walking toward his room.
"Zhang!" Zheng Zha called out loudly. Zhang Jie's steps halted instantly, but he did not turn around. Zheng Zha mumbled, hesitating for a long while, before finally saying, "Zhang Jie, let’s talk tomorrow. Rest well today; you’ve worked hard. I thank you on behalf of everyone." Zhang Jie waved a hand without looking back, continuing to walk away while holding the classical beauty close. His departing silhouette was indescribably desolate. The other five could only watch him recede into the distance.
Zheng Zha sighed, then turned back to the remaining four. Zhao Yingkong had already emerged from her light beam. Fully restored by the 'Main God,' everyone had returned to their perfect state. Zheng Zha smiled at the others and said, "Then you should all go rest for a while. Xiao Honglü, Zhang Heng, one room each. Just grasp the doorknob and clearly imagine the environment you wish to inhabit, and the room will transform into that setting. Simultaneously, the 'Main God' can create one life form for each person free of charge—it can be male or female; age, size, and appearance can all be customized. But one thing to note: this life form can be created with twice the physical resilience of an ordinary person—I mean reflexes, muscle strength, and the like. So you can certainly create suitable bodyguards. That’s essentially it. Don’t waste your reward points. We will discuss what everyone wishes to enhance in detail tomorrow. For now, please return to your rooms and rest."
Xiao Honglü pinched the hair on his forehead. "Creating bodyguards... someone must have told you about these things, right? Can you tell me who it was? Are they still alive?" Zheng Zha was about to take Lori’s hand when he heard Xiao Honglü’s words. He asked curiously, "Why do you think that? Couldn't I have come up with the idea of creating bodyguards myself?" Xiao Honglü smiled wryly. "The reasoning process is quite simple. I won't detail it here. Essentially, based on the fact that you created a woman and your general style, you absolutely would not have thought of the bodyguard creation method. I’m very curious—who was this person? Did they die in a previous horror movie?"
Zheng Zha nodded silently. That ordinary-looking, cold-eyed man—if one considered intellect and composure—was absolutely the strongest sage, surpassing Xiao Honglü. Though they hadn't competed, Zheng Zha still had that feeling, an instinctual sense in his soul.
Xiao Honglü lowered his head in thought. "Then I'll stay here for a while. I intend to see what enhancement attributes this 'Main God' actually offers. Your introduction seemed very complex. That settles it for now. Oh, right—if we want to eat, do we cook for ourselves in our rooms?" Zhan Lan chuckled beside him. "You can cook yourself, or you can take ready-made food from the refrigerator. As long as you desire something to eat, you can have anything. Anything you can think of, you can eat it."
Xiao Honglü was momentarily stunned. He then let out a cheer. The little boy laughed and said, "I'm a gourmet, hehe. Alright, I won't keep you. Go rest. Ten days? We can only stay in this space for ten days?" (What a familiar first reaction upon entering this space—to immediately start checking what can be redeemed from the 'Main God.' Yet, one person focuses rationally on redeeming items, while the other rejoices over food. He should be able to become an even more crucial member of the team? Surely he can be?)
Zheng Zha hugged Lori and walked silently toward his room. As soon as they entered, the little girl threw herself into his arms, crying softly. No matter how he tried to comfort her, it was useless. After a long time, she gradually quieted down. The little girl whispered, "I was so worried, so worried about you. No matter how many days you are gone, only a moment passes for us here. Yesterday, we were playing with Zero Point’s little sister, and this morning she was gone. I was so scared. I’m afraid I’ll vanish suddenly like her, and then I’ll never see you again, never meet you again."
Zheng Zha sighed, pulling the cherished one in his arms close. "Don't worry, I absolutely will not die. No matter what, I absolutely will not die, believe me, Li’er. A promise I make, I will certainly keep, no matter what!"
"En! You must not die."
"Absolutely not dead, absolutely cannot die!"
Will I really not die? A wave of confusion washed over Zheng Zha. After surviving several horror movies, he truly had little confidence in his own survival. If possible, he longed only to return to the real world—no more enhancements, no turning into a superman, no evolving into a superhuman. He just wanted to take Lori back to reality. He no longer wished to see the blood of his comrades, nor experience this endless terror and death. But was that possible? Could it really happen?
After a night of intimacy, Zheng Zha brought Lori to the square early the next morning. Lori had intentionally woken up early to make whale meat patties for everyone to taste. When he knocked on door after door, he discovered everyone else was already awake, and each was holding some food, looking quite like ready-made meals recently taken from the refrigerator. However, everyone seemed to be in a good mood, perhaps intending to gather for a meal.
"Where is Zhang Jie?" After summoning everyone to the square, Zheng Zha noticed Zhang Jie was missing from the group. Zhao Yingkong stated flatly, "I don't know what happened between you two, but don't bother him. Give him time to calm down and think things over. Don't you think he seems to be forcing himself to make some kind of decision?"
Zheng Zha glanced at Zhao Yingkong in surprise. He hadn't expected this cold assassin girl to be so understanding. He smiled lightly. "You're right, I might have pushed too hard, hah hah. Let's all have a picnic, even if this place doesn't exactly look like the countryside. Xiao Honglü, did you discover anything yesterday?"
Xiao Honglü grinned and pulled a large spider out of his basket, startling a shriek from both Zhao Yingkong and Zhan Lan. He then cheerfully took a bite of the spider, which was apparently roasted. Eating it, he said, "I did discover a few issues. But compared to these issues, I'm more interested in the reward points and side plots we earned. Mine are definitely the lowest. I’m looking forward to your and Zhao Yingkong’s reward points and side plot scores—surprise us, how about it?"
Hearing this, Zheng Zha also grew curious. He didn't think he deserved many reward points or side plot completions. He stood up, closed his eyes, and silently linked with the 'Main God,' immediately beginning to check the details of his earned reward points and side plot completions.
"Zheng Zha, Reward Points: 13,770 points. One B-class side plot completion, two C-class side plot completions, one D-class side plot completion."
Zheng Zha looked at the others with shock. At that very moment, Zhao Yingkong also opened her eyes from her state of closed contemplation. The two exchanged a glance, seeing shock and delight mirrored in each other's eyes. This was a huge windfall.