Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"No need, I already know."

"Everyone, gather immediately in the central square; the woman has arrived in Cairo."

Author's Note:

..........................................

The concept of time travelers is naturally meaningful; the outcome will become clear after the first world ends, which will only take a few days.

Section 39. Fear of Insufficient Firepower, Late Stage

"The Indiana team's mission has been acquired, as shown above." When everyone arrived at the central square, Alice waved her hand and unfolded a light screen in the air, displaying the details of the Indiana team's mission at the top.

[Reclaim the Book of the Dead, resurrect Ankula. If the Book of the Dead has been used by a non-plot character, kill the owner of the Mark of Death to regain control of the Book of the Dead.]

She raised her hand, and the black Book of the Dead appeared beside her. At the same time, she also revealed her smooth palm to the others.

"My method of using the Book of the Dead is to bypass the detection system directly and use external energy to trigger a change in matter. Therefore, there is no such thing as the Death Mark. In other words, there is no absolute conflict between us and the Indian team. If the battle situation is not satisfactory, the strategy can be to forcibly resurrect Ankula and at the same time control that Indian team werewolf member to make him master the Book of the Dead and imprint the Death Mark to end this plot. Does anyone have any objections to this?"

She waited for five seconds but did not hear a negative response.

"Very well, then the alternative strategy is settled. Now let's begin setting up the arrangements for the subsequent battle. I was previously in charge of strengthening your main combat forces, so I will also be in charge of arranging the allocation of combat power. Does anyone have any objections to this?"

“Just tell me what you want to do, Margot Lloyd,” Zheng Zha said, gesturing with his fist. He had gone back to change his clothes when Alice gave the assembly signal. “Although I’m not very skilled yet, I feel like I should be able to enter that [fusion] state you mentioned later. Doing some heavy lifting shouldn’t be a problem.”

"Then that's settled. I'll propose a plan, and Zheng Zha, you and Xiao Honglu can revise it. If anyone else has any objections, please state them now. If not, please remain silent afterwards."

She snapped her fingers lightly.

"After receiving information that the Indian team had started their mission, I obtained some optical signals over Cairo using a directional lens. It was not a situation to be taken lightly, so I hope everyone is mentally prepared."

The next moment, a huge light screen appeared. The members of the Zhongzhou team couldn't help but gasp in surprise, especially the newcomers. Zhang Heng was alright, but Gao Hongliang and Qin Zhuiyu practically had the word "panic" written all over their faces. If Alice hadn't happened to cast a cold glance at them, they probably would have screamed out loud.

Because what everyone saw was hell.

The Nile's waters had turned a murky, dark red, and countless fleshy or keratinous eyes, limbs, organs, and respiratory tracts grew like rampant weeds. They intertwined, forming numerous clumps of varying sizes, many with human-like outlines still discernible on their outer edges. The streets were covered in tendons and connective tissue, replaced by enormous, dark purple blood vessels. Fleshy towers rose from the junctions of these vessels, their countless tentacles pointing skyward, the ends of which seemed to have rolling eyeballs.

The entire city seemed to have become a living entity, a unified whole. Fleshy fungal carpets covered the surfaces and interiors of every building. Wooden structures melted and decomposed, while brick and stone structures remained fixed, constantly emitting bizarre substances like a factory. And in the very center of Cairo, there was a gigantic tumor, nearly a hectare in size, pulsating incessantly, like a heart or a pupa.

This is Cairo today.

The newcomers were already pale and vomiting, while the veterans were ashen-faced. This optical signal had only just been acquired, and from the time the Indian team entered Cairo until everyone had assembled, at most eight minutes had passed.

In just eight minutes, an entire city was easily wiped out. And this enormous chunk of flesh will soon be the enemy that the Central Plains team will face.

“This is super-genetic engineering,” Alice explained. “That woman can directly corrupt minds, and then use that corrupted mind to distort the body, causing it to exhibit all sorts of bizarre mutations. Just as I can endlessly draw power from curses, she must be drawing energy from the human spirit. The more people she consumes, the stronger she becomes. There should be very few living people left in Cairo now, so her growth has temporarily reached its threshold.”

"However, this is only a temporary situation. Do you see that pupa? The real entity should be there, but it could also be a decoy. I suspect that the other party is trying to complete a qualitative change in Cairo. If they succeed, our chances of survival will approach zero."

"This monster...!" Zheng Zha's forehead almost exploded. The ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked open, spiderweb-like fissures appearing, but were immediately restored by the self-repairing magic of the plaza. "That's...that's...nearly a million people!"

Saito patted Zheng Zha on the shoulder and whispered a few words of comfort to him. Xiao Honglu finally recovered from his nausea and gently patted his chest as he asked Alice a question.

"Sister Alice, you just mentioned... super-genetic engineering? What is that? It seems to be a different concept from the mental pollution you mentioned before?"

“Ah, yes, there are indeed some differences.” Alice gave him an approving look. “So-called super-genetic engineering is a war strategy that re-encodes the genetic map inside the nucleus of stem cells, and then allows these stem cells to directly develop and differentiate into biological weapons. Cairo is now a single entity, obtaining energy by drawing on geothermal energy and decomposing Nile water. I haven’t detected any fission reactions yet, so there’s no need to worry about the enemy’s energy intensity being too great for the time being. As long as we can end the battle before dawn.”

She pointed to the flesh-and-blood towers with eyes. "These are defensive towers. I speculate that they will use bio-crystal cavities to release lasers, or possibly weapons such as sonic cannons and heat ray guns. In addition, there should also be spore artillery positions and miniaturized living biological weapons as a defensive system."

As she was speaking, the ground beneath her feet suddenly trembled, and a slight feeling of weightlessness spread throughout everyone present.

"No need to worry, I've just overloaded the gravity well. Since we don't need to consider the remaining range, a bit of roughness won't hurt. We'll break the sound barrier in five minutes and arrive near Cairo in nine minutes."

“I will use Hamunaptra’s main gun to attack the pupa to draw most of the fire. Of course, the enemy should also have enough defenses to contain my offensive. So after entering Cairo, the main combat team needs to launch a surprise attack.” She looked at Zheng Zha. “Zheng Zha, you lead the team, Zhang Jie and Zhao Yingkong will provide support. Your target is the giant pupa, while the rest of you should destroy the blood vessels and bio-factories as much as possible. The mental pollution from these super-genetic engineering carriers won’t be too great; my amulet is enough to handle it.”

"Leave it to me." "Okay." "Understood."

"Leave the enemy's small living biological weapons to Saito Hajime. Summon as many Heavenly Demons as possible. But conserve your energy. You should have already mastered the fourth chapter of the Earthly Fiend Summoning Manual, right?" Although she asked, she used a tone of certainty.

“No problem.” Saito had been wearing black-rimmed glasses since the assembly began, but when he took them off, his heavy dark circles and bloodshot eyes were startling. His voice also changed from calm to hoarse. “Summoning the Earth Demon, anytime.”

“Very good, I will inform you when the time is right. Until then, Hamunaptra’s secondary weapon systems, twenty-six plasma cannons, six curse cannons, one hundred and thirty-three sonic cannons and two light spears will be used in conjunction with your Heavenly Demon troops. You can request fire support from me at any time.”

"As for Zero, your task is to clear obstacles for the assault team from the sniper position. You're a professional, so I won't give you much command. The new recruits are responsible for taking care of Zhan Lan. I'll leave a team of tomb guards to protect you; you don't need to go to the battlefield. Xiao Honglu will stay at the central altar and be responsible for executing the secondary plan to forcefully end this horror movie if the battle goes against you. Do you understand?"

Zero nodded silently and left. Xiao Honglu also indicated that he fully understood and agreed with the battle plan.

“Very good. During this period, I will control Hamunapta to support you all from the air. I will also provide various magical support. Zheng Zha, if your raid on the pupa fails, then listen to my signal and evade in time. Once the pupa hatches, the opponent undergoes a qualitative change and the alternative plan cannot be executed, I will have Hamunapta directly collide with the pupa, and then use the apocalyptic-level magic by self-destructing the magic furnace.”

"And when that time comes... let everyone accept their fate."

"That's all. We'll arrive in Cairo in nine... eight minutes. Please make your final preparations."

Section 40: Pre-Battle Speech

Eight minutes until we arrive in Cairo...

“I never imagined things would turn out this way. In the last world, we were struggling to survive against an evil spirit that only knew melee combat and was only a dozen meters in size. But now…” Zheng Zha smiled, looking at Zhang Jie and Zhao Yingkong, who had come with him to the very edge of Hamunaptra. “If we hadn’t encountered Margot Lloyd, and the Indian team hadn’t joined that powerful newcomer, perhaps this battle wouldn’t have been so different from the final battle in Ju-on.”

He held in his hand a massive, ghost-headed sword with a gold core and an exterior forged from various heavy metals—a special weapon Alice had prepared for him after collecting his combat data. Although it only took a few seconds to create, for Zheng Zha, this special weapon would undoubtedly push his burgeoning power to an even higher level.

"Assuming the past is meaningless, Captain Zheng Zha," Zhao Yingkong replied calmly to Zheng Zha, toying with her Netherfire Fang. Her gaze pierced the dark night, sweeping into the distance as if she wanted to take in the entire world.

Tonight is a full moon, and there isn't a single cloud in the sky. Looking north from here, you can see a tiny, almost imperceptible arc at the edge of your field of vision. That's Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It's our destination, and also a dead city.

No, it didn't die; it just changed its form of existence.

Zhao Yingkong could almost hear the heavy heartbeat coming from that distant place. It was the pulse of the earth, the primordial sound of a deity, a transcendent being that, from birth, would stand above all living beings, gradually awakening from its slumber. An endless sense of emptiness and loneliness enveloped her because of this gaze, filling her with fear, making her tremble, and making her...blood boil.

She gently pressed her hand to her chest.

Is that so...? So this is what I longed for? I longed to fight against such a powerful monster. If this is what I truly felt, then...

Zhao Yingkong let out a soft breath.

"Be careful, that's not something you can easily deal with." Zhang Jie, a cigarette dangling from his lips, stared intently at the horizon. "As the most senior member of the Zhongzhou team, let me share some of my best experience with you. Listen carefully."

"Zheng Zha, Ying Kong, you should know about the Gene Lock, right? You know there are five levels of the Gene Lock, right? Let's leave the fifth level aside for now. Do you know how big the difference is between each level of the Gene Lock?"

Although he was speaking to the two of them, his gaze never wavered. It was as if he were talking to thin air, or muttering to himself.

"Assuming identical enhancements, experience, physical attributes, and weaponry, do you know how many warriors who haven't unlocked their gene locks can defeat a warrior who has unlocked the first stage of their gene lock?"

“Ten people,” Zhang Jie replied immediately. “Although there are some fluctuations, and some exceptional monsters can fight a hundred against one, the exchange ratio for most first-tier gene lock reincarnators to ordinary veterans is around ten.”

"There are ten people in the first tier, and the exchange ratio between the first and second tiers is also ten people. Unless the battle situation is exceptionally complex or the person who unlocks the second tier is exceptionally talented, ten warriors with the first tier gene lock can basically take down one second tier powerhouse."

"At the third tier, the difference becomes significant due to the varying levels of enhancement. The third tier essentially allows enhancements to reach their limit. If one only possesses D-level or C-level enhancements, a third-tier powerhouse can at most defeat three to five second-tier warriors before falling. This is because the potential of such enhancements is inherently limited, and their maximum potential is limited. However, with A-level, AA-level, or even S-level enhancements, a third-tier reincarnator can easily kill dozens of second-tier warriors with similar enhancements... Of course, this specifically refers to reincarnators like you; those like Alice, who have honed their power to its extreme through countless years of training, don't count."

"So, let's guess, what is the exchange ratio between the fourth and third orders?"

"Tens? Hundreds? Thousands?" Zhang Jie shook his head with a wry smile. "All wrong, it's meaningless!"

“If the first tier is one, the second tier is ten, and the third tier is tens to hundreds. Then the fourth tier is hundreds of thousands, millions! There’s no need for them to even fight each other. With just a wave of the hand or the blink of an eye, the difference between victory and defeat can be made worlds apart!” He took the cigarette out of his mouth and pointed the butt to the far north.

"And that guy probably hasn't even unlocked the first-tier gene lock yet. But her current power level is already at the limit of the third tier, and she's infinitely approaching the fourth tier. Once that pupa hatches, she'll probably be able to touch that power that determines everything... That monster."

"Is that so?" Zheng Zha raised an eyebrow, then suddenly chuckled. "So this is what Margot Royd meant by 'qualitative change.' That guy probably doesn't have any enhancements at all right now."

"You're not worried at all?" Zhang Jie glanced at Zheng Zha with some surprise. His gaze then shifted, and he noticed that Zhao Yingkong also looked calm. Although her fingers were trembling slightly, it was probably not out of fear.

“Because at least we still have a chance to fight, right?” Zheng Zha looked at his two companions. “Margot Royd gave me a long lesson, and she also prepared a lot of enhancements for me. You probably don’t know, but since the end of the meeting, my second-tier gene lock has been in a semi-open state—right now I could definitely kill the me who just arrived in God and Demon Legend in one hit. Even a third-tier powerhouse wouldn’t be without a chance to fight, right?”

"Besides..." He punched Zhang Jie hard in the chest.

"This is your first time teaching us, I'm more than happy to have you here. Worried? What's that?"

Zhang Jie shook his head with a wry smile, just as he was about to say something more. A flapping sound of wings came from behind them.

Saito Hajime's Tenki army has arrived. This means that the war is about to begin. In their sight, the top of Hamunaptra's pyramid splits open, and seven-colored light converges there.

Author's Note:

..............................

The post office is finally open... and I finally mailed the contract.

Section 41: The firepower is truly insufficient...

[The mental manipulation of Zhao Yingkong was successful. She should be able to release her dormant personality in the upcoming battle... Although the seal was of high quality, at least a very small portion of its power should be released.]

Seeing the three commandos already in a state of combat readiness on the screen beside her, Alice, in the main control room, nodded gently.

[Zheng Zha's magic supply connection is ready; energy can be supplied within a ten-kilometer radius of Hamunaptra. Zhang Jie has also agreed to the proposal, and it can be implemented at any time.]

[Maximum firing range will be reached in 15 seconds.]

Alice's pupils gradually turned red, due to the increased blood flow to her lenses caused by her brain working at full power. Her blood, bone marrow, and tissue fluid were all mobilized, useless physiological functions ceased, and hundreds of puppet threads extended outward from her ten fingers, bringing all measures within the main control hall under her control.

[We will now proceed with the final confirmation in sequence.]

[Xiao Honglu has arrived at the Resurrection Altar; the special item is now available for activation.]

[Saito Hajime has arrived at the designated location. Information link established. Heavenly Demon command system connected. Earthly Demon control system will be ready in seventy-six seconds.]

[Zhan Lan and the new team have arrived at the designated location. The structural work is complete, and the special response plan is ready.]

[Midnight has entered sniping position; no abnormalities reported.]

[The raiding team has entered a state of combat readiness. Energy detection and the mimicry magic reactor have both returned to normal.]

[Now, all weapon systems activated, main weapon charging begins.]

A flame ignited in her eyes. Immediately afterward, all the crystals in the main control hall flashed with light!

The aurora borealis appeared in the night sky.

From the troposphere to the ionosphere, endless free energy is drawn in, converging at the tip of the floating Hamunaptrao like fireflies chasing a light. Space is distorted by the high concentration of energy, light is stretched, and the entire top of the fortress is completely enveloped in a seven-colored radiance.

The next moment, the whole world was lit up in an instant.

From Hamnata to Cairo, tens of kilometers of desert along a straight line melted away in an instant! Tens of thousands of tons of air were directly ionized, and enormous lightning bolts spread across this sea of ​​sand. And half a second later, pure white light burst forth from Cairo's location.

A nuclear explosion with a yield of approximately six million tons was generated.

A visible shockwave emanated from Cairo and spread outwards. A grayish-white column of smoke, one kilometer in diameter, rose rapidly, reaching an altitude of six thousand meters within two seconds, before plummeting downwards as a mushroom-shaped cloud. The Nile River also dried up, and the rising water vapor mixed with ash and dust in the air, forming massive, highly toxic rainfall.

Thirty seconds later, the level 10 gale formed by the shock wave disintegrated and dissipated in front of Hamunaptra's protective barrier.

Damage detection...

[The main body of Cairo has lost 17% of its mass, while the [pupa] has lost less than 1%. Mass defense devices have been detected.]