Zheng Zha also pulled out the submachine gun from his storage ring, constantly pulling the trigger at the brown-haired youths flying toward him, but these monsters had gained wings and become extremely agile. Although their flight speed couldn't yet match his Green Goblin Glider, their maneuvers were incredibly flexible, and bullets struck them to no effect. What was even more astonishing was that spirit-based ammunition had almost no offensive power against these creatures, achieving the same null result as ordinary bullets.

"Damn it! Imhotep, can't you absorb more people at once?" Zheng Zha shouted, because aside from the initial person Imhotep had drained, he hadn't managed to drain a single brown-haired youth since. If this continued and he couldn't drain anyone, when would this nightmare end? Imhotep’s voice roared back, "Do you think I don't want to? Their power is too terrifying. The moment I manifested my body, they could shatter me with a slight twist. This is simply power beyond human capability!" Zheng Zha was almost provoked into laughter.

He mused aloud, "Of course they aren't human! Do you think humans possess such immense strength, such terrifying regenerative abilities? They are all monstrous freaks! Damn it, no wonder this is a B-grade side mission difficulty comparable to a giant dragon—this is far more terrifying than a dragon... far more terrifying than a dragon..." A thought struck Zheng Zha. He quickly compared the monster’s destructive potential against that of a dragon. In a certain sense, this creature was absolutely more terrifying than a dragon. As long as it was given enough time to pass its initial vulnerable stage, provided with sufficient living matter for evolution and parasitism.

Then this monster would be an absolutely unkillable demon! Imagine it: if tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people in a city were parasitized by it, even if a portion of its flesh were exposed to sunlight, it wouldn't matter, because it simply wouldn't die.

It wasn't as if every single living host could be simultaneously exposed to sunlight, right? So, as long as a single seed survived that instant death, it could continue to grow stronger and parasitize further.

It was important to remember that every single one of its cells evolved and strengthened together. In other words, once the strongest individual reached a certain level, all of the monster's cells would attain that same level, rendering the concept of a "strongest one" irrelevant.

If that were the case,

Then why was this monster only rated as a B-grade side mission difficulty? It shouldn't be! It was impossible! Unless this monster was so terrifying,

That the side mission was intentionally set with no time limit? Had the creators already determined that the team had no hope of completing the mission from the start? "Xu Xuan, can you hear me?" An idea formed in Zheng Zha's mind.

But if this idea failed, or if it was fundamentally flawed,

Then all of them would perish in this city, killed by this horrific higher life form. Therefore, he needed counsel from someone he trusted implicitly.

Xu Xuan's voice responded a few seconds later, the man's tone still detached as always. He said, "I hear you. Speak your mind."

Zheng Zha took a deep breath and transmitted his voice through their mental link. "I remember when you completed the Scorpion King mission, you completely burned down that forest to gain easy access to the pyramid. Remember that? You told me then that any mission must have multiple methods of completion. So, what I want to ask now is this: if I had chosen to fight my way through the monkeys step-by-step instead of setting the fire, would I have inevitably been killed in that forest by the weapon-evolving monkeys? That is, if I hadn't followed your method!" Xu Xuan’s voice was silent for a few seconds, then he replied, "I don't understand the implication of your question. Did you discover some weakness in the enemy during the fight but hesitated, prompting you to ask me?" (...Correct! A near-perfect sage, as expected.)

Xu Xuan’s voice continued, "No. Even if we hadn't set the forest on fire and you had fought the monkeys one by one into the pyramid, that process itself was another method orchestrated by the 'Main God' to force your evolution. Because the stronger the monkeys became, the stronger you were compelled to become to survive, forcing continuous evolution until you completely defeated them. That was likely the 'Main God's' intent. So, I repeat: the 'Main God' never sets only one path for any mission; it’s just that we haven't discovered the other paths yet. Once found, we might discover shortcuts like burning the forest. But remember, danger equals reward—the greater the danger, the greater the reward... Anything else?"

Zheng Zha exhaled. "Yes, there are a few minor points, but I’ve decided on the general direction... I want everyone to gamble on this with me. Life or death depends on this single move!"

Xu Xuan stated calmly, "What are the success odds? If the success rate is less than fifty percent... I refuse to participate..."

"Fifty-fifty... If we don't live, we die!" Xu Xuan seemed to pause for a long time before finally saying, "Then... let's stake our lives on this together. A fifty percent chance is enough for us to take this gamble!"

Zheng Zha then continued, "I already sent you the information on this monster, right? You know this creature is nearly perfect: perfect evolution, perfect body, perfect survival capability, perfect reproduction... almost entirely perfect. But why does the ruin of the ancient Maya civilization indicate this monster is an incomplete specimen? Why, after those 'Saints' died, did they still fail to rule the world? Why did the ancient Maya civilization still flourish and build pyramids? That is my question. For a creature that appears so perfect in my eyes, where is its flaw?"

Xu Xuan was silent even longer this time, taking a good while before responding, "A creature this powerful, if it could be entirely destroyed by mere sunlight, would be too unbelievable... Yes, just as you said, where is its flaw? After much thought, I can only conceive of one possible defect... They are too perfect. So perfect they don't seem like organic life, much like my own existence; something too perfect is itself a flaw..."

At this moment, Zheng Zha dodged the pursuit of two brown-haired youths. Eight of them had now caught up behind him. This number was certain to increase, so he stopped worrying about caution. He just activated the Green Goblin Glider, using sheer speed to outpace them while fleeing, shouting as he ran, "Yes, precisely. They are flawed, yet they behave so invincibly. Therefore, I can only hypothesize that their flawless evolution is their flaw..."

"Xu Xuan, we can't wait for dawn. It's only a little after one in the morning now. It's predictable that in the next few hours, there will be over a hundred of these monsters. I cannot contend with this many. Even with Imhotep's help, there is absolutely no way I can kill them all. If even one cell escapes, we haven't killed him. This must be why the 'Main God' gave us no time limit. But, as we discussed regarding the Scorpion King, there must be a way to truly kill him that bypasses the time limit. Don't even think about sunlight; it's impossible to expose every single cell to the sun. Furthermore, his cells still exist inside Erick’s body. If we don't kill him, we are doomed, so..." Zheng Zha suddenly spun around to face the eight pursuing brown-haired youths, and the dust storm that was still chasing them. He murmured to Xu Xuan, "I don't remember who said it, but a person's strongest aspect is often their most vulnerable one. Xu Xuan, I plan to challenge that near-perfect evolution of his; that is his greatest strength. From now on... everyone’s life is entrusted to me..." Zheng Zha suddenly roared at the top of his lungs, "Imhotep, get over here! I have a way to deal with this monster!" With that, he steered the Green Goblin Glider in a curved path toward the dust storm.

Imhotep reacted instantly. A dozen seconds after Zheng Zha shouted, the dust storm arrived beside him, and Imhotep’s voice boomed from within, "How do we deal with him? Damn it, hurry up and tell me! Anck-su-namun and the others are in danger!" Zheng Zha smiled at the dust storm and handed the small boy over. "Take him back to them. Remember, don't let them shatter the mummy; just turn the zombies into dried corpses. Then protect them well... Leave everything else to me!" Imhotep seemed hesitant for a long time before snatching the small boy, and the dust storm gradually receded. Zheng Zha only heard the word "Be careful," which elicited a knowing smile from him.

Once the dust storm was far enough away, Zheng Zha slowly guided the Green Goblin Glider to the ground. He smiled as he looked at the approaching group of brown-haired youths, then muttered to himself, "Come on, I'll let you evolve..."