"I never expected things to escalate to this point. It seems we're truly in a predicament now, aren't we?" Zheng Zha murmured to himself, standing atop a modern skyscraper far from the plaza, though he was entirely alone beside him. Ever since Zhan Lan was resurrected, the connection within the team had become extraordinarily tight once more. With both her Mental Scan and Mind Chain abilities, Zhan Lan could easily locate every team member regardless of where they were in the city; moreover, thanks to the Mind Chain, team members could share their field of vision with one another, and even converse or exchange tactics directly. In short, Zhan Lan’s return instantly unified the entire team into a single entity, one possessing a shared vision and the capability for instantaneous communication.

Chu Xuan’s voice echoed in his mind: "It's not exactly an impossible situation. This aligns very closely with my projections; it hasn't deviated significantly from my plan."

Zheng Zha was silent for a long moment before replying, "…Tell me your plan then. You didn't finish explaining that day. There were plenty of other ways to lure out O’Connell and the others. There was absolutely no need to bring out the precious Book of the Dead and the Book of Resurrection. Doing so virtually gambled away nearly half of our team’s treasures. Currently, our team possesses four major Plot Items: The Book of the Dead, the Book of Resurrection, the Spear of Judgment, and the Bracelet of the Death God. The Dragon Crystal could certainly count as a half Plot Item, but you brought out half of the most crucial ones…" Chu Xuan interrupted him: "If the goal were solely to attract O’Connell and his group, then yes, bringing out those two ancient books would be unnecessary. But what if the intention is to draw Imhotep here as well? You mentioned last time that Imhotep had decided to come to America with his woman, is that correct? That mummy possesses an intuitive link to those two ancient texts. If the books were kept within your Ring of Holding, he wouldn't sense them, but if the books are revealed, he is very likely to come searching here in New York. That is the reason I proposed taking out the two ancient books."

Zheng Zha froze, asking dumbly, "Why bring Imhotep here? Do you plan to bury him again? That seems excessive. He hasn't provoked us, and there’s no need to risk potential accidents just to dispose of him. If that's your intention, then I refuse to take out the two ancient books!" By the end of his statement, his voice had grown stern.

Chu Xuan’s voice remained as level as ever. He waited for Zheng Zha to finish before saying, "No, there’s no need to bury him. Furthermore, aside from potentially gaining his assistance for this current side quest, he is also a combat asset I am considering for another matter… Do you recall that watch capable of bringing Plot Characters into the Terror Movie worlds? It requires the Plot Character’s consent to enter. Relatively speaking, the stronger the Plot Character, the harder it is to bring them in. And in various Terror Movie worlds, powerful characters are often our mission targets. Therefore, Imhotep is not only powerful but also not our mission target. Moreover, he has little inherent loyalty to this world. If possible, finding him and discussing this matter with him—that is why I wish to use the ancient books to lure Imhotep here."

Bringing Imhotep back to the ‘Main God’ space? This idea truly exceeded Zheng Zha’s imagination. After all, Imhotep wasn't someone entering the Terror Movie cycle from their real world. But if they could actually bring this immortal high priest into the Terror Movie cycle, it would be tantamount to adding an undying sorcerer to the Central Continent Team. Oh, and he could summon those massive sphinxes—though he was limited to summoning ten at a time, far fewer than the legion of the Death God, but having an immortal who could drain life in close combat and summon monsters fighting alongside the team—the significance of that was self-evident.

Zheng Zha stood frozen atop the skyscraper, lost in thought. After a long while, he finally spoke, "This proposal isn't bad… I’ll return immediately. We need to discuss it thoroughly together. Zhan Lan, call Zero Point back from outside too…" With that, he stepped forward off the skyscraper, plunging downward.

After falling perhaps ten meters, Zheng Zha retrieved the Green Goblin Glider from his spatial pouch and stepped onto it, soaring toward a location in the city. After flying for only a few minutes, he landed in a small alleyway. Since it was already night, a small glider flying over the city would likely go unnoticed by chance, right? Indeed, with normal human night vision, it would be difficult to spot a glider moving at high speed between alleys; even if seen, people wouldn't know what it was, perhaps mistaking it for a flock of bats. But what if one possessed vision superior to mortals? A strikingly handsome man with brown hair stood silently atop another modern skyscraper, peering across thousands of meters toward this location. In his arms, he held a two-year-old child. His expression betrayed absolutely no fluctuation of emotion. Conversely, several men lying behind him slowly rose from the ground, and thin tubes retracted from their bodies back into the handsome brown-haired man.

"Stay hidden, don't let the sunlight touch you… An exhibition of ancient Egyptian artifacts?" The brown-haired man whispered softly. Behind him, the bodies of those several men rapidly swelled, gradually transforming into giants nearly two meters tall…

"...Just as I analyzed, Imhotep and Anck-su-namun aren't exactly good people. In fact, if analyzed from a standard individual perspective, they are exactly like the villains in novels or movies: evil, powerful, desiring world domination. In terms of fundamental humanity, they are merely two ordinary people, just like many ordinary people… This is often seen in the Xuanhuan novels Wang Xia enjoys reading: a weak, often bullied youth, once obtaining power, naturally first thinks of strength, authority, women, and desire. In truth, even when countless justifications are used to gloss over this essence, ordinary people who suddenly gain power might become far more frenzied and dark than those who achieved it through gradual effort, because they don't appreciate the value of power; they only wish to vent, only desire power, authority, women, and desire… Similarly, Imhotep and Anck-su-namun fall into this category."

Chu Xuan stated calmly to the others while seated on the sofa: "If we truly encountered people like that, the first thing I would do is try my utmost to kill them, regardless of how kind or innocent they were before gaining power. Based on their actions, the greater their power, the greater the threat they pose to the world—provided, of course, that I share a world with them… Here, Imhotep differs greatly from those ordinary people who suddenly gain power. Before acquiring his strength, he already enjoyed immense wealth and high status, so he wouldn't care about authority or money. Similarly, the reason he became what he is now stems from his deep love for Anck-su-namun; thus, more women and desires are not what he seeks… Therefore, I speculate that he has only two remaining pursuits: first, seeking overwhelmingly powerful strength to rule the world—this is evident from his endeavor to kill the Scorpion King. Second, seeking immensely powerful strength so he can protect himself and Anck-su-namun—this can be roughly inferred from his past experiences. Only immense power could protect himself and those he cares about. These two possibilities each hold a fifty percent chance, and our chance of successfully bringing him into the ‘Main God’ space is also only fifty percent."

Zheng Zha smiled bitterly and said, "Is a fifty percent chance worth us bringing out the two ancient books? I still feel that taking out the Book of Resurrection is too risky; I cannot accept that point alone…" Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses, pondered for a moment, and replied, "A fifty percent chance is worth us taking one gamble. You must remember, the team we are chasing is constantly seeking side quests and continually growing stronger. If we were operating with the mindset of merely surviving safely… then we wouldn't have spent over 10,000 reward points and embarked on a side quest to come here. Coming to America this time—to find Imhotep, enter the Terror Movie cycle, explore ancient Maya ruins, and complete the side quest—these three possibilities justified the expenditure of over 10,000 rewards. Otherwise, do you think I would have been so reckless as to come here?"