Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

So, how should one obtain this treasure? The answer is actually quite simple. Since saving the world requires the emergence of an enemy that can threaten it. And clearly, a certain woman in the heart of Cairo is the perfect target.

Just how fast can Hamunaptra fly? Only Alice knows. What are the chances of the Central Continent team defeating that Indian woman? Only Alice knows that too. Even the maximum output of the Seven-Colored Magic Cannon, the extent to which gravity waves interfere with the floating fortress… all of these things are known only to Alice Margotrovd.

If she simply wanted to win the horror movie, she could end the world right now by resurrecting Ankula and returning the Book of the Dead. But she would never do that, even if it were just a simple matter; she would never allow it to happen.

Indiana's team is already down by seven points. If this world ends now, that woman will definitely be killed by the God of War because of her negative score. Although not killing Imhotep is a loss, it's still a very successful outcome.

But for Alice, if she didn't unlock her genetic potential in this horror movie, it would be a complete defeat. All her gains and achievements would be meaningless, because it would mean she couldn't return to Gensokyo to save Patchouli immediately.

For her, life, dignity, magic, memories, and knowledge are all extremely precious things that cannot be lost. However, if Patchouli's safety is placed on the other side of the scale, then all of these things can be categorized as worthless.

She would not allow herself to fail, nor would she allow anyone to hinder her success. Whether it was a human, a monster, a god, a demon, or even the world itself.

"Don't push me... I'm going all in now." Alice whispered, flicking a finger to activate the communication link with Xiao Honglu.

If the enemy isn't strong enough, then she can simply add fuel to the fire. The biggest concession she can make is repaying the Central Plains team's goodwill by ensuring they don't suffer unforeseen casualties. But beyond that…

"Xiao Honglu, can you hear me?"

"Resurrect Ankuru immediately."

Author's Note:

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

I wrote this section with a lot of trepidation, but I tried my best not to criticize the characters in the original work. If even scheming can't work, then there's nothing I can do...

Chapter 44: First Blood

Zheng Zha felt like he was going crazy. Yes, he had become incredibly strong, stronger than anyone he'd ever imagined. Single-handedly breaking through enemy lines and taking on ten thousand enemies was no problem at all. And the enemies before him weren't invincible either; he could even easily defeat them. But…

Defeating and killing are two different things.

"You monsters...do you really enjoy this kind of relentless pestering?!"

That's truly unkillable. Zheng Zha felt as if he had become Hercules in mythology, fighting against the Hydra. He could cut off one snake's head and another would immediately grow back, but he couldn't stop the snake's regeneration. And the venom of this multi-headed snake was just as deadly as the Hydra's.

Zheng Zha dodged a venomous sap by sidestepping, and with a backhand slash, he sliced ​​Imhotep, who was trying to sneak up from behind, into two pieces of yellow sand. He channeled the mixed demonic blood energy and innate true qi into the golden core of the Ghost Head Blade, and the two forces collided and oscillated, transforming into a destructive wave.

"—Fusion!"

Zheng Zha slashed back, and the turbulent particles gushing from the blade transformed into a massive blade of light stretching dozens of meters along the trajectory of his strike! The multi-headed serpent's four heads were obliterated in an instant. However, just as he took a breath and prepared to unleash a second strike, regenerated flesh had already covered the wound on the multi-headed serpent's severed neck.

The sand gathered behind him in the shape of Imhotep, only to be cleaved again as he attempted to ambush him. But in that brief moment of delay, the Indiana team's Hydra regenerated and rejoined the battle without hindrance.

This will never end...

Zheng Zha was extremely anxious. [Fusion] was the strongest move he could currently use without harming his body. He guided the mutated blood energy and transformed innate true qi into the Demon Head Greatsword, causing them to collide and unleash tremendous power. Even against Kayako in her final form during the Ju-on 2 era, it could deliver a decisive blow, but it couldn't kill the Indian Team's giant snake and Imhotep, who were clearly in an abnormal state at the moment.

As long as they aren't killed, they can regenerate. And the speed at which they regenerate is unbelievably fast. The current battle situation is less about Zheng Zha suppressing them and more about them stalling Zheng Zha here. As time passes and each second quietly slips away, Zheng Zha's anxiety grows stronger—he can already sense the location of the pupa, hear its heartbeat, and personally experience the increasingly intense presence emanating from it.

Something is about to be born, something... unsettling.

The words Alice had spoken to him before training him involuntarily came to mind: "Once enough time has passed, quantitative changes will lead to qualitative changes, and at that point... some things you don't want to happen will occur."

Is the pupa about to hatch...?

Zheng Zha steeled his resolve, instantly mobilizing the two energies within his body simultaneously. This was originally a final technique he hadn't fully mastered, intended to be used only before reaching the [Chrysalis]. It involved directly colliding the two energies within his body, then using his will to control the violent fusion energy to drastically strengthen himself. He called it—

'explode!'

[Step back, Zheng Zha, the aid has arrived.]

Alice's voice suddenly appeared in his ears, and this time he didn't even think, directly dispelling the two forces that were about to collide and jumping backward. This leap sent him back more than ten meters, but he was still not satisfied, so he rolled on the spot and rolled a long distance to the side and back.

The earth shook violently.

The ground where Zheng Zha had been fighting suddenly shattered, and a gigantic maw, resembling an open lamprey with countless sharp teeth and tentacles, emerged from the earth. With a single bite, it devoured and chewed up the multi-headed giant snake from the Indian team. A cylindrical body, tens of meters in diameter, then emerged, accompanied by a strange, high-pitched scream, causing the entire city of Cairo to tremble violently.

"This is an Earth Demon, also known as a Drilling Insect, which has the power to create earthquakes." The voice in Zheng Zha's ears then changed, revealing Saito Ichi's deeply weary voice.

"I'm now in control of this thing; it will lead you to the pupa's location. Hold on tight, and ignore Imhotep; it's unkillable now."

A tentacle descended and carried Zheng Zha onto the giant insect's body. Then, the enormous creature rapidly crawled towards the very core of Cairo!

"Sorry, I might have taken a little too long." Zheng Zha easily found a foothold on the demonic insect. He glanced back and saw Imhotep, who had just recovered from his sandstorm state, being torn to pieces by a sniper bullet. The monster roared and transformed its body fragments into a sandstorm, charging menacingly towards Zheng Zha!

Ignore him.

Alice's voice came again, and the next moment, the sandstorm stopped abruptly before it touched the burrowing worm, and Imhotep's astonished face appeared on the surface of the storm.

"Ansuna?" A look of struggle crossed her face, but the next moment, Zero's sniper shot, along with the sandstorm, destroyed everything. By the time it regenerated, the burrowing worm carrying Zheng Zha was already a kilometer away.

The pupa was right in front of him, no more than 700 meters away from Zheng Zha.

The power emanating from the earth-burrowing worm was churning the land of Cairo. This creature was born with the power to create earthquakes and shake the continental shelf.

Countless pillars of flesh and blood rose up one after another, only to collapse one by one under the earthquake and the long-range bombardment of Hamunaptra. Even if a few escaped, the heat rays they projected could only burn minor, insignificant marks on the surface of the burrowing worms.

The situation is settled.

When the final protective barrier vanished, Zheng Zha could even clearly see countless human faces emerging from the surface of the [pupa]. They screamed and roared, black blood flowing from their eyes, yet their mouths curled up as if in laughter. Even Zheng Zha felt a chill run down his spine upon witnessing this.

All the mortals of Cairo are here now.

"Hey, Margot Lloyd." He gathered all his power, as if he wanted to incinerate his soul, concentrating all his energy into one furnace. "Just one full-force attack, and destroying that shouldn't be a problem, right?"

That's correct.

But it was too late.

Zheng Zha's eyes widened.

The next moment, the pupa's outer shell suddenly cracked open, and a pale, large hand reached out from it!

It was a beautiful hand—a fair hand, a clean hand, a huge hand. Even the fingernail at the tip of the little finger was bigger than the engine of a train.

The hand reached out to grab the burrowing demon worm, and then to grab Zheng Zha, who was standing at the very front of the worm.

For the first time, Zheng Zha experienced what it meant to have his mind completely blank.

No chance, no chance of survival, no hope. Even swinging their arms in a defensive gesture was impossible. It was the sheer oppression of a superior race over a inferior individual; every cell in their body screamed, every nerve cried out, yet they were utterly helpless, left only to await their impending death.

Time seemed to slow down.

"...Based on numerous arguments, I have determined that the potential of the reincarnator Zheng Zha is insufficient to assume the role of the reincarnation team leader. In order to prevent the Zhongzhou reincarnation team from splitting up and thus diminishing the potential of the Zhongzhou team, which has yet to obtain a reincarnation team leader after several reincarnation world missions, I, the guide Zhang Jie, have made this decision: to use all my strength to eliminate the reincarnator Zheng Zha here."

In that instant, as if time had frozen, Zhang Jie appeared beside Zheng Zha. He had a cigarette in his mouth and was looking at the giant hand that was growing larger and larger in Zheng Zha's vision.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

He swung his hand in a horizontal slash, but the hand blade, which was meant to sever Zheng Zha's neck, missed its mark before it even touched Zheng Zha's neck because Zheng Zha suddenly fell down.

No, it didn't slash through the air.

Because the trajectory of the hand strike ultimately touched tangible matter. With only a few millimeters of overlap, Zhang Jie's hand strike touched the tip of the white giant hand's fingernail.

The next moment, the pale, giant hand shattered inch by inch, and from the broken pupa, an invisible yet tangible howl swept across the surroundings. The pupa was not dead, but it was severely damaged. And the mortals that fought against the pupa had already lost all life.

Zhang Jie took one last drag of his cigarette and removed the last bit of the cigarette butt from his mouth.

"You must survive, Zheng Zha."

His body crumbled like sand. Every cell died completely, becoming meaningless organic residue.

Meanwhile, Alice, located in Hamunaptra, lowered her eyes.

"The pupa has hatched, and the anti-gravity field from Cairo has disappeared."

"So... the target is the remains of the [Chrysalis]. Gravity Well, completely overloaded."

Author's Note:

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

Just to clarify, Zhang Jie was killed in a direct confrontation, not instantly killed by the main god.

Section 45. Listen Up (Your Bell Rings)

"Zhang Jie—!"

As the person before him passed away, and his thoughts and reason returned to Zheng Zha's mind, endless anger and sorrow surged forth along with them. As if a chain within his head had snapped, he stomped his feet down, and amidst the low hum of the burrowing demonic insects, shot towards the tattered [pupa] like an arrow released from a bow. Wings constructed of crimson energy silently appeared behind him. Demonic blood energy descended from his brain, while innate true energy rose from his dantian. The two collided abruptly at his chest, and an immense surge of power instantly filled his entire body.

He felt his mind was clearer than ever before, and the turbulent energy surging within him seemed like a ball of yarn with a loose end. He could completely control it with just a little concentration.

The [Explosion], which was more powerful and harder to control than [Fusion], was completely under his control in that instant.

The next moment, the man wielding the demon-headed greatsword arrived before the damaged [Chrysalis]. Without hesitation, he unleashed a strike powerful enough to cleave mountains and split seas, a torrent of violent energy slamming into the cracks in the [Chrysalis] in an instant!

He flew back at twice the speed he had come. The unparalleled power shattered his attack in an instant, sending him flying like a bullet. He was like a cannonball, suddenly piercing through both the inner and outer walls of Cairo and crashing directly into the desert outside the city.

A huge explosion was then heard from outside the city.

There was no information indicating he was still alive. However, the battlefield was now far behind him.

The pupa was cracking open, and from the fissure struck by Zheng Zha, a gigantic, pale hand reached out with a flick of its finger. Then came another hand, and then a third. When the pupa's form completely disintegrated, an incomparably noble and majestic giant humanoid figure appeared.

If there were any ordinary people here, they would probably kneel down and worship immediately. Because what appeared here was a living bodhisattva, as if a myth had been reborn, whose mere physical form was enough to reach the heavens.

Her beauty defies description, and her power is beyond words. Her divine form sits atop a six-petaled lotus throne formed of flesh and blood, each hand forming a different mudra, her boundless majesty pressing down on the spirit of every living being in Cairo.

Alice stared at her.

"Three faces and six arms... Manjushri? Guanyin? No, one arm is missing, and there's only one face. It seems the timing was right; you've already fallen from the critical point of qualitative change."

“An external Bodhisattva? Hmph…” She shook her head slightly. “No wonder you joined the Indian team. After all, you and I should be the same, coming from a different world completely different from others.”

She manipulated the puppet strings around her, watching as the enormous [Holy] being cleaved the burrowing demon worm into two dead pieces.

She heard Saito Hajime fall unconscious. Her gaze swept across the area, and Zhao Yingkong, who was fighting fiercely in the outer city, had just killed the missing Indian team's psychic.

With everything in place, all that remains is...

The next moment, the core control area of ​​Hamunaptra suddenly detached. The upper level was the sniper tower where Zero was located, the middle level was the main control area where Alice was located and the resurrection altar where Xiao Honglu was located, and the bottom level was the shelter where the newcomers and Zhan Lan were located.

In an instant, Hamunaptra became a ghost town. Except for the four monuments that remained suspended in the main control area, the entire fortress accelerated to its maximum speed towards the enormous, sacred direction. In the blink of an eye, the ten-kilometer distance was covered, and when Hamunaptra reached the monster, three hands pressed down on the fortress's foundation!

The tearing air created a massive white tide behind the fortress, the aftershocks of which swept across the banks of the Cairo River, pushing the surging waters to the shore in an instant!

However, this is meaningless.

With a mass of hundreds of thousands of tons and kinetic energy exceeding twice the speed of sound, Hamunaptra's impact should have leveled Cairo in an instant. However, it ultimately accomplished only of shifting the monster's form backward a few meters. The remaining force was channeled into the ground, causing an earthquake exceeding magnitude 10, which rippled the earth like waves, shattered countless layers of flesh, and caused the Cairo River to flow backward. But the monster… remained unharmed.

"Mimetic Magic Furnace, self-destruct." Alice issued the second command.