Zheng Zha also knew that excavating several meters or even hundreds of meters deep into the cliff face would be impossible without explosives, but beneath it lay an ancient scripture. If explosives were used, the Resurrection Sutra might be destroyed, and everything would be lost; he would never forgive himself. Therefore, he immediately stated with grave seriousness, "I have always maintained that I am here to find an ancient book buried within these ruins. Nothing else matters to me. Whatever tools you need, I will buy you the best; whatever provisions you require, I can treat you to the finest feasts. If you want wine, I will procure the best European vintages for you. Do you desire women? I can even arrange a contingent of courtesans to be brought here. But I warn you one last time: if you use explosives or any other crude method to rush the work and damage the scripture beneath, I will make every one of you pay with your lives!" The engineer wiped the sweat from his brow. Faced with such an unreasonable demand from Zheng Zha, he hesitated to say anything, not just because of the imposing aura Zheng Zha currently radiated, but more so because over these past days, he had witnessed the growing numbers of the Guardian clan appearing in the City of the Dead as more gold was unearthed.

Moreover, these individuals were now appearing armed. Not long ago, a worker attempted to secretly hoard some of the excavated gold, but after being caught, he vanished into the desolate desert, never to be seen again. Thus, the engineer dared not doubt Zheng Zha's words in the slightest.

The engineer dabbed at his sweaty neck and spoke, "I understand. Please allow us a full two months, starting from today, and additionally, you must pay the workers triple their usual wages, otherwise, without their desperate effort, reaching the depths of that cliff within two months will be impossible.

Besides that, I require some new mechanical tools; these are not sold in Egypt. Having them shipped over from the European continent should take about a month. By then, we should be close to the cliff face, right?" Zheng Zha nodded. "Understood. I will pay all workers ten times their regular wages if you complete the task on schedule within two months. Have you brought the money? As long as I secure the Sun Scripture, I will have the funds," Zheng Zha asked the bearded man in black standing beside him.

The bearded man in black nodded. He clapped his hands, and immediately, several figures in black robes entered from outside the tent. Each carried a large sack, which they promptly tipped upside down. Gold bars and banknotes tumbled out incessantly. Zheng Zha pointed at the treasure on the ground. "Gold bars, US dollars, British Pounds, French Francs—I can satisfy any desire you have for currency! But you must clear the way to the Sun Scripture within the specified time!" After the engineer left with a pile of gold, the bearded man in black remarked with a wry smile, "There is an ancient saying in the East: 'Great rewards inspire brave men.' It seems these workers will start fighting to the death now. Once this job is done, they can probably enjoy themselves for quite some time."

"It's fine. In our world, gold is utterly unimportant. By comparison, the Resurrection Sutra is a treasure beyond measure. Heh heh, speaking of which, have you obtained your clan's explosives and other necessary items?" The bearded man in black nodded. "Other weaponry is manageable, but you require a large quantity of high-yield explosives. Our local supply clearly doesn't meet your specifications, so I dispatched men to the European continent to secretly procure high-efficiency TNT. It might take several more days for it to arrive here, but I have instructed them that it must reach us before the end of this month, no matter what. So, you might have to remain here for another five or six days."

In truth, Zheng Zha’s sudden need for high-powered explosives was an afterthought. It was only when searching for the Bracelet of Anubis that he realized the 'Main God' still manipulated events related to branching storylines when he was transported into a horror movie scenario, actively increasing the difficulty to the maximum. For example, in the original film plot, O'Connell and the others completed the horror movie relatively unscathed, but once he joined the quest for the Bracelet of Anubis, while he gained 4000 reward points and two C-rank branch plotlines, he faced mortal danger at every turn. This was entirely different from being merely shaken; he was genuinely at risk of death at any moment: the ten-minute time limit, the armies of the Dead God's monsters, the giant scorpion, and those two thick, unyielding granite doors—all dangers sufficient to wipe out an entire ordinary team. He barely survived that branch storyline in the horror movie by constantly courting death.

Thinking back, before reaching the Scorpion King's Pyramid, there was a large area of flat land covered in forest. Within those trees were countless small, short monsters. The 'Main God' surely wouldn't overlook this change in the plot. He could already imagine what kind of monsters might appear there: perhaps ten-meter-tall lions and leopards, or maybe even the short monsters magnified to ten meters. In any case, how could 'this God' allow him to enter the pyramid safely? That location promised double reward points! How could the 'Main God' hand that over so easily? Only now did he understand the true significance of opting to revisit a previous horror movie using a D-rank branch storyline plus five times the reward points. Many difficult missions required the team to be significantly stronger before they could be attempted, and some plot items required a certain level of enhancement to be usable. For instance, his Spear of Judgment—if given to a novice or someone whose enhancement focus was incorrect—would be less effective than a handgun.

Naturally, returning to a previous horror movie to gain benefits or items came with the corresponding burden of exponentially increased difficulty. This was the 'Main God's' perpetual method: using extreme danger to push individuals to the brink of death. If you survived, if you endured, and you evolved as a result, then you earned a reward. The same applied to revisiting scenarios. It was just that the Central Continent Team hadn't realized this before, which is why, during the ten-day safe periods enjoyed between each horror movie, the gap between them and the Demon Reincarnation Squad widened relentlessly.

"Chu Xuan! I absolutely need his analytical capability." Zheng Zha endlessly reviewed the horror movies he had experienced. After much thought, he could only recall the T-virus strain mentioned in Resident Evil 2. It seemed no other horror movies held any specific branch storylines waiting for him to retrieve. Thus, Chu Xuan’s existence represented the maximum realization of soft power. With his analytical prowess, he could certainly deduce the location of any potential branch storyline in any horror movie, which was precisely what Zheng Zha lacked. Several days passed swiftly. By this point, about a month had elapsed since Zheng Zha entered the The Mummy world. For the remaining two months, he would either complete the mission to find the Scorpion King's treasure and return alive, or he would simply perish in this world, taking the unexcavated Resurrection Sutra with him, unable to revive any more companions. The Central Continent Team would then suffer the reappearance of a guide and repeat the cycle of decline until a new team eventually emerged. Zheng Zha checked the weapons stored in his Nascent Soul Ring and space bag: a micro-submachine gun, spirit-imbued bullets, a Zaku light-axe, a multi-barreled gatling gun (infinite ammunition), high-explosive shells, the Necromancer Sutra, a large quantity of high-efficiency TNT explosives, and the most potent weapon in his arsenal: the Spear of Judgment! O'Connell and the others stared dumbfounded as Zheng Zha inspected his carried arsenal. Every face held a strange expression because such an array of weapons was enough to contend with a small team, yet the wielder was merely this tall, lean youth. The contrast between appearance and capability was striking. Thus, aside from the bearded man in black, who remained relatively composed while checking his own gear, the others looked somewhat dazed.

Zheng Zha looked at them and smiled faintly. "Before we set off to find the Scorpion King's treasure, there is one thing I must make clear to everyone: the journey ahead is extremely perilous. I will say this one last time: I hope that when danger strikes, you prioritize escape. Do not risk your lives for my sake, especially O'Connell—protect your woman. If any misfortune befalls you because of me, I would rather not have your company at all. One final question: are you truly willing to accompany me in pursuit of the Scorpion King's treasure?" Jonathan laughed heartily from the edge of the airship. "Naturally, we are! Even if it means death, I must see those diamonds the size of five footballs with my own eyes. Otherwise, I would die with deep regret!"

"Didn't I say they were the size of one football?" Zheng Zha casually corrected him.

O'Connell exchanged a glance with Evie. The man patted the two handguns tucked into his belt. "Accompanying you on a trip to the desert should be manageable, I suppose, hahaha. As long as we don't encounter another flood event like last time."

The bearded man in black offered the most straightforward answer. He boarded the airship carrying a light machine gun and a large bag of machine gun ammunition slung over his shoulder. Such an answer was definitive enough.

Zheng Zha took a deep breath, looking at everyone. He drew the Bracelet of Anubis from his Nascent Soul Ring and snapped it onto his right wrist. Immediately, a beam of light shot forth from the bracelet, striking the airship's gas bladder. Everyone instantly turned to look, but Zheng Zha remained still, quietly listening to the 'Main God's' solemn voice.

"Prematurely entering the horror movie world's initial plotline; difficulty coefficient increased to maximum. Completion will yield double branch plotline counts and reward points. Kill the Scorpion King and obtain his army of the Dead God, rewarding 10,000 reward points and two B-rank branch plotline counts. Failure within sixty days results in the erasure of the Bracelet of Anubis holder. Forty-seven days remain." Jump.