"So, the 'Main God' created a world, not merely a mission. In fact, I also doubt why we can return to the old horror movie worlds; this defies logic. If it were just for rest and travel, retaining the real world would suffice.

Actually, the 'Main God' has always silently revealed a truth to us: it doesn't require us to treat the horror movie cycle as a mission dictated by its rules." "It demands that we evolve, forcing us to seek out and resolve the dangers within the horror movie worlds to continuously improve ourselves. And the 'Explosion' skill you created is one such mark of your evolution," Chu Xuan stated calmly to Zheng Zha, standing on the right deck overlooking the desert beneath the airship. Over these ten-plus days, Zheng Zha had received a wealth of useful information from Chu Xuan: potential side plots lurking within the horror movie worlds, optimal and more likely survival strategies, combat methodologies against other teams, and even tips on utilizing his own skills.

Although Chu Xuan’s words were often fragmented, the man possessed an uncanny ability to deduce towards the most efficient and probable conclusions, yielding answers that maximized benefit. This resolved many of Zheng Zha’s doubts, even if some of the answers were not the best he had hoped for. Zheng Zha pondered for a moment before speaking, "I’ve considered this issue as well: what means does the 'Main God' use to measure individual strength, and consequently, determine the difficulty of the horror movie worlds?

It's impossible for everyone to face exactly equal difficulty. Otherwise, once one becomes powerful enough, wouldn't gaining countless reward points and side plots become trivially easy? That’s why I arrived at the deduction I shared with you earlier.

In other words, skills I create myself shouldn't be factored into the difficulty measurement, right?" Chu Xuan nodded slightly. "Certainly. Otherwise, the 'Main God' would truly be a 'God,' which contradicts the standard of evolution.

Since the goal is to facilitate our evolution, those who evolve must be rewarded. Self-created skills won't count towards the difficulty coefficient. Thus, as you evolve further, the difficulty you face should actually decrease, until you accumulate fifty thousand reward points and can return to the real world." Zheng Zha immediately grew excited.

"If that’s the case, why can’t we enter the forest and slaughter the monkeys? I believe with my current skill set, paying attention should allow me to dispatch them easily, especially since I possess the infinite-ammo multi-barreled machine gun." "The topic has looped back again." Chu Xuan frowned slightly. He continued, "This involves a probability issue.

My calculated probabilities suggest that the likelihood of the 'Main God' leaving a 'bug' that allows you to endlessly gain reward points is infinitesimally close to zero. Because if your strength were just enough to kill the monkeys, you could continuously enter and exit, hunting them until you hit the fifty thousand points and went home. If so, what need would you have for further evolution?

The highest probability scenario is that for every monkey killed, the 'Main God' increases your evaluation rating by one—much like the Central Team did previously. Until a certain threshold is reached, the difficulty escalates. For example, if you kill several thousand monkeys—and kill them instantly—I even suspect the monkeys might now be armed with firearms from the seventies or eighties, or perhaps something more modern.

If you kill ten thousand, I even suspect that the moment you step into the forest, missiles will be directed straight at you. So, I don't mind you taking the risk." Zheng Zha sighed, yet curiosity persisted. "What about incendiary rounds?

Since killing them counts, burning them should also count as eliminating the monkeys, right?" Chu Xuan offered a faint smile that vanished as quickly as it appeared. He went on, "Then, if a monkey is burned to death, does it count for you or for me? The 'Main God' is no fool; don't think about deceiving it.

Although we used what might be called a tricky method to enter the pyramid, this might still be a method the 'Main God' permits—otherwise, the forest should have been a tropical rainforest. However, such a tactic was merely a means to enter the pyramid; the reward for facing the direct danger vanishes. Unless you throw the incendiary round directly at them face-to-face, the topic circles back again: as you kill them, their weaponry becomes stronger, threatening you in turn.

In short, all the 'Main God's' rules can likely be summarized in one sentence: Threat equals Reward." Zheng Zha let out a breath. The inability to gain reward points from the monkeys felt like a significant loss, as it might have allowed them to resurrect three team members upon returning to the 'Main God' space this time. He still voiced some dissatisfaction, "Then, if we eliminate the threat posed by the forest, shouldn't the reward points for the Scorpion King also be reduced?

According to your theory." "No, because intelligence is also a form of evolution." Chu Xuan suddenly laughed, his face bright as he faced the rising sun. The airship—which was actually the Green Goblin's Skateboard incorporated as one of its propulsion methods—arrived at the edge of the forest after a day and night of travel. Throughout the journey, everyone remained highly vigilant, still somewhat shaken by Imhotep’s previous methods.

Even though the airship’s current speed likely far surpassed any sandstorm Imhotep could conjure, the group was unwilling to risk battling through the sand at such a high altitude. Fortunately, they reached the forest edge safely. Upon descending from the airship, everyone finally let out a collective sigh of relief.

Even if they encountered Imhotep again now, they would no longer fear his undead nature. The Book of Resurrection lay in Zheng Zha’s hands, and coupled with Evie's ability to instantly perceive the resurrection spell used by the Necro-Mummy, Zheng Zha only needed to recite the incantation at Imhotep, and a single bullet would suffice to end him. "But we were lucky not to run into him while flying.

We won't be afraid even if we meet him now," Jonathan laughed heartily after disembarking. O'Connell followed, muttering while adjusting the pistol on his waist, "Keep bragging. I remember who was running so fast when we saw those monkeys last time." Jonathan chuckled unashamedly.

In a certain regard, his thick skin was practically impervious to harm; he was certainly the most shameless among them. Simultaneously, Zheng Zha exchanged greetings with the others before silently heading into the forest. This was the result of his discussion with Chu Xuan.

His jade pendant still retained some energy, only bearing some cracks, and Chu Xuan’s conclusion was based on the highest probability, not absolute fact. Since the risk seemed manageable, the two had agreed to test the monkeys' offensive capabilities to a certain extent. If their evolution wasn't too terrifying, killing a large batch of monkeys at close range with incendiary rounds would still be beneficial, potentially netting several thousand reward points.

As the others began setting up camp, Zheng Zha ventured into the forest alone. The sensation was familiar: upon entering, he felt distinctly uneasy, as if numerous eyes were constantly observing him. Since this was only a probe and wouldn't require an extended battle with the monkeys, Zheng Zha immediately activated the first stage of his Gene Lock.

At this level, he traversed the gaps between trees almost without touching the ground. His speed was more than doubled. In mere minutes, he had already flown past the forest's outer perimeter, heading towards the center.

While running, Zheng Zha’s heart suddenly skipped a beat; a feeling of imminent danger struck him. Before he could react, there was a thunderous boom, and he was violently flung over two thousand meters away. The jade pendant in his palm shattered completely.

A moment before, a bullet, moving too fast for the naked eye to track, had slammed directly into his chest. Although the protective layer deflected the impact, the sheer kinetic force still struck Zheng Zha. Furthermore, the gunshot sound was terribly familiar—it was unmistakably that of a military sniper rifle, one he had personally used in his fight against the Devil Reincarnation Team.

A military sniper rifle possessed enough power to pierce tank armor. While significantly weaker than a Gauss rifle, a direct hit would certainly leave a massive hole in a body. Even with Zheng Zha’s current physical conditioning, a hit to the arm, even a graze, would result in a bloody crater.

A hit to the chest, even non-vital, meant certain death, as the immense force could damage internal organs near the muzzle. Such was the terrifying power of that rifle. The jade pendant was destroyed, leaving Zheng Zha completely exposed to the sniper threat.

Cold sweat immediately drenched him. Without thinking, he unleashed "Explosion." As the two energy sources converged around his heart, he pushed off the ground and darted among the treetops. Using the foliage and branches as cover, he fled frantically deeper into the forest.

Barely a second or two after he moved, crack-crack sounds of gunfire erupted behind him. He didn't even need to look back; the spot he had just occupied must have been riddled with bullet holes. Had he been even slightly slower, death would have been certain.

The cold sweat poured down like rain, unable to dry even in the wind generated by his speed. He managed only a choked whisper: "Burn them all! This is too monstrous!

If this keeps up, won't the monkeys start chasing me in Gundams?" He leaped towards...