Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

"The battle isn't over yet." Zhao Yingkong raised her hand, holding the Netherfire Fang, which burned with deep flames, in her palm. "I haven't used my full strength yet."

"Is it necessary?" Alice tilted her head in confusion. "We're on the same side now, and I've already proven my strength on the deck. There shouldn't be any reason for us to go to war."

“No,” Zhao Yingkong shook her head slightly. “There’s a reason.”

"Everyone has already acknowledged you, but I haven't. If you want to gain my recognition, defeat me with your magic in a fair and square manner."

“Is that so… You’re such a stubborn person.” Alice shook her head with a hint of regret. “This temple contains a powerful curse, but curses are not entirely harmful to me.”

"You have once again started a war on a battlefield that is most disadvantageous to you."

"Very well." Alice let out a soft breath. "After all, we are comrades-in-arms, so it is only right to share some of my trump cards... Then let me tell you what kind of magic I possess."

Chapter Fifteen: Alice's Perfect Magic Classroom

The battle began with a gentle breeze, from which sharp blades emerged from behind Zhao Yingkong and slashed down towards her neck.

"What is magic in your eyes?" Alice asked softly, not at all surprised that Zhao Yingkong had managed to dodge the wind blade attack. And as the assassin girl lunged at her, the doll's threads instantly transformed into a protective net.

"Mysterious incantations? Strange rituals? Unexplained dancing? Oh... that's just too much drugs, it has nothing to do with magic."

Alice stepped to the side, dodging the fangs of hellfire thrown at her. At the same time, Zhao Yingkong crossed the barrier formed by the puppet strings. He brought his five fingers together like a knife, attempting to approach Alice and attack with hand-to-hand combat techniques.

"The essence of magic is the rule of using magical power to change the form of matter. And magical power... is everywhere."

A soft hum filled the air, and a sudden curtain of wind hindered Zhao Yingkong's steps. In that brief moment, less than half a second later, a spark of electricity crackled in Alice's palm.

thunder……

"Magic is not some mysterious, invisible element. It is actually the aggregation of information, the convergence of many waveforms floating in the air. Electromagnetic waves, light waves, matter waves, gravitational waves... and many other waveforms that cannot be distinguished with current technology. They are magic itself."

Even Zheng Zha and the others on the outskirts of the ancient city heard the thunderous roar. They were about to go over when, in the next moment, Alice's explanation of magic, transmitted through Zhan Lan's mental connection, reached the ears of all the members of the Central Continent team except for the newcomers.

They exchanged surprised glances and stopped in their tracks.

"The most primitive form of magic is actually idol worship. I don't know if you've read any papers on how mental state affects physical development, but you're Chinese, so you should know the idiom 'When a thousand people point fingers, one dies without illness.' And that's the most primitive form of curse."

Alice pointed at the assassin girl. The next moment, an indescribable weariness and drowsiness overwhelmed Zhao Yingkong. She gritted her teeth, her eyes instantly filled with confusion!

Genetic lock unlocked!

However, Alice was not afraid at all.

"Our ancient ancestors constructed the forces of natural disasters into the image of gods for worship. Their thoughts floated in the atmosphere as civilization expanded. Even as time changed and the world transformed, myths and legends were passed down. Thus, these thoughts will forever fill the air and never dissipate. And so-called magic is precisely the summary made by us scholars, who are called wizards, of the laws that guide these messages."

A wisp of flame appeared in her palm, expanding into a sphere in an instant. With a gentle push towards Zhao Yingkong's location, a violent explosion of flames erupted.

One shot followed by a second, and then a third. Although the individual shots weren't particularly powerful, once hit, the subsequent bombardment would be inevitable. Even Zhao Yingkong dared not take the risk; her figure shifted rapidly, moving through the flames like a shadow!

But that wasn't enough. Because she couldn't get close to Alice, nor could she interrupt Alice when she was about to speak.

“This is Egypt. When I call upon the name of Ra, the Egyptian sun god, in the language of a sorceress, the messages in the atmosphere concerning the concepts of the sun and fire are drawn in. Then, with the right tone, gestures, and mental state, I guide them, and they will form the corresponding shapes according to my will.”

"Interference matter waves gather hydrogen and oxygen from the air. Interference microwaves heat them up, causing them to burn. Then, gravitational waves are used to shape this hot gas into a suitable form and project it. This is the most common and well-known fireball spell in magic."

The instant Alice finished speaking, Zhao Yingkong saw a massive fireball, large enough to create an inferno covering several acres. It floated silently above Alice's head, awaiting the command to launch it.

The assassin raised his hands in surrender.

"Now do you understand? So-called magic is actually very scientific. Very materialistic. It's actually a technology tree completely different from mechanical technology, but unfortunately it has a fatal flaw, so it was eliminated." Alice smiled and casually dispelled her magic.

"Unlocking your genes must be tiring, come on, sit down and rest for a bit." Alice waved to Zhao Yingkong, and a gust of wind immediately cleared a stone bench next to her.

Zhao Yingkong didn't stand on ceremony.

"The battle is over. You won." She breathed a soft sigh of relief, wiped her sweat, and sat down. Then she asked, "What flaw are you referring to...?"

She knew Alice would answer her questions, because that was precisely the topic Alice had brought up.

as predicted.

“Because the information in the atmosphere is limited,” Alice smiled, but her expression hardly conveyed joy. “A successfully cast spell requires the manipulation of a large number of information waves. And after use, the free energy contained in these waves is also consumed. This leads to the unfortunate situation where the more people use magic, the weaker its power becomes. So wizards have to hide their magic, keep it mysterious, and not let ordinary people know about it. And it is precisely for this reason that magic cannot continue to develop, and mechanical technology has the opportunity to defeat magic.”

"Because of the electromagnetic principle?" The speaker was Xiao Honglu. A few seconds after the battle ended, Zheng Zha brought him to the front of this temple.

Alice nodded. She wasn't surprised at all; these were the words she had originally intended to say to the Central State team. So naturally, she wouldn't stop there.

"Ah, that's right. Just as it's difficult for humans to survive in an environment with less than 10% oxygen, too high an oxygen concentration can also lead to oxygen poisoning. When the Renaissance ended and electronic communication began to be widely used, the various chaotic signals in the atmosphere completely destroyed the soil in which magic could survive."

She raised her hand, and a blurry wisp of wind gathered in her palm. Then, before it could take shape, it quietly disintegrated.

"Like this. The apprentices have lost the ability to precisely control the information waves. And it has become extremely difficult for formal witches to cast spells due to too much interference."

"Of course, we anticipated this day would come, so we made a lot of preparations."

"Organ implantation, physical modification, genetic engineering, mental enhancement, magical cores... Wizards have tried every possible method to ensure the continuation of magic. Unfortunately, the final result is nothing more than creating a group of powerful superhumans. But magic... has ultimately declined."

Alice sighed softly.

"However, no matter how many failures you suffer, strength is still strength."

"As a witch, the information waves I can summon not only originate from the outside world, but also from within myself. In modern terms, this is mental power, brainwaves. We strengthen our spirit and increase our magic power through a kind of self-suggestion... or, to put it more fantastically, meditation. I know a junior who uses mushrooms as her medium of suggestion, so she can use all kinds of magic at will as long as she has mushrooms."

"And my medium of suggestion is the curse."

"This means I can turn this temple and the area it radiates outwards into my home ground."

Section Sixteen: Two sessions a day is the limit for humankind!

“That would be perfect,” Xiao Honglu asked. “Sister Alice, according to you, how confident are you in controlling Hamunaptra if no one disturbs you?”

“Let’s look at the time.” Alice thought for less than half a second. “Within 24 hours I can control the outer barrier of Hamunaptra and the mausoleum guards. After 48 hours I should be able to control the various traps and spells in the ruins, and be able to mobilize the magic power in the ruins on a large scale. If I can drag it out to 72 hours, I can even try to touch the core of Hamunaptra and make it my own.”

"I see..." Xiao Honglu twirled the end of his hair, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"Wait a minute, if Imhotep were to fight you for ownership, Alice, what are your chances of winning? You know, he's the high priest of ancient Egypt. In the original story, he even unleashed the Ten Plagues of Egypt; he's incredibly powerful," Saito suddenly asked.

Alice glanced at him.

“I remember we brought a cat.”

"Ah...oh, sorry." Saito scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.

In Egypt, cats are the natural enemies of the dead. Before Imhotep could kill the person who awakened him and complete the resurrection ritual, a single meow from a cat was enough to send him packing.

Xiao Honglu then continued to explain his plan.

"In the original story, the Americans would quickly unearth Imhotep's coffin, find the Book of the Dead, and then Evelyn would recite the resurrection incantation that very night to awaken Imhotep."

"The curse that awakens Imhotep must be borne by the Americans, because we cannot be certain whether burying Imhotep, who has not completed the curse of 'killing the one who awakened him,' would count as completing the mission. So we'd better not take the risk, lest the curse fall on our own people, which would be troublesome if the mission couldn't be completed. I've also considered a plan to have the Book of the Sun beforehand, and to feed the Americans to Imhotep immediately after his resurrection and bury him... but I think the Lord God would not allow us to take advantage of such a loophole."

"Furthermore, I don't think any of you would want to retreat after having such a significant advantage, without even seeing the Indiana team. So this strategy is PASS."

Xiao Honglu nodded slightly when he saw Zheng Zha's approving expression.

"Then the battle plan is revised as follows."

"Alice is in charge of deciphering Hamunaptra, and before that, we need to find the Book of the Sun and the Book of the Dead. Since someone has to bear the curse, we won't interfere with the Americans' excavation. Judging from the plot of the second part, Imhotep's resurrection doesn't necessarily have to happen at a specific time and place, so we can delay this period until Alice has deciphered Hamunaptra to a certain extent, and the Supreme God personally intervenes to advance the plot."

"In other words, after tonight, if any unreasonable changes occur to Evelyn, Imhotep's remains, the Americans, or those grave keepers, then we need to immediately release Imhotep through Evelyn or Alice, triggering a team battle. Then, we can decide our next move based on the enemy's strength and attitude. What do you all think?"

“There’s something I can add.” Alice raised her hand and took out a piece of white paper with a simple sketch on it. “The original text mentions that the two scriptures were placed at the feet of the two statues. So, when I analyzed the architectural layout of Hamunaptra just now, if there are no surprises, the statues should be in these places. This should save some time.”

“Very good.” Xiao Honglu looked at Zheng Zha, indicating that it was his turn to step forward at this time.

Zheng Zha took a deep breath and picked up the simple map.

“Zhao Yingkong and I will be responsible for finding the scriptures. At midnight, you will go to the highest point to be in charge of sniping and observation. Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan will be responsible for checking the surrounding terrain to see if there are any defensive loopholes. Saito Ichi will be responsible for protecting Xiao Honglu and the newcomers, and at the same time, keep an eye on Evelyn and O'Connor to make sure they don't cause any trouble. As for the temple, I'll leave the matter to you, Margot Royd.”

He looked around, and only then did he begin to show the demeanor expected of the captain of the Central Plains team. Seeing that no one raised any objections, he nodded.

"Then let's proceed with Xiao Honglu's proposed plan... By the way, I remember that according to the original story, the tomb guardians are supposed to launch an attack today?"

“Don’t worry about that, they won’t come today.” Xiao Honglu gently plucked a strand of hair. “I used them to set a trap. If nothing unexpected happens, after witnessing Alice’s abilities, they will concentrate their forces and launch a full-scale attack this time. And for an operation of this scale, unless the enemy commander is an idiot, they won’t launch an attack immediately after the forced march. So, we have at least a day.”

"Really? It's good that you have a plan." Zheng Zha laughed heartily, patting Xiao Honglu on the shoulder forcefully. "Then, if everyone has no objections, let's proceed according to this plan."

Naturally, no one objected this time. Everyone immediately sprang into action, quickly taking their assigned positions.

A minute later, Alice walked into the temple alone.

“Ancient heritage.” She gently stroked the various reliefs and patterns inside the temple, as well as the huge statue that remained as pristine as ever after a thousand years.

This place is shrouded in a powerful curse; any ordinary person who comes into contact with it will suffer physical discomfort and a string of misfortunes. If one stays in the temple for more than three minutes, they may even suffer immediate cardiac arrest and die. But for Alice, these curses are nothing short of the best replenishment of her magical power.

"This level of curse is far too weak." She shook her head slightly.

She still remembered the curse she and Patchouli had suffered hundreds of years ago in the ancient city deep in the sea. The unspeakable whispers eroded their bodies and corrupted their souls. If her medium of suggestion hadn't been a curse, capable of drawing power from it, neither of the two witches would have escaped alive.

It was precisely because Alice could feed on curses that she and Patchouli were able to drag their broken bodies along for hundreds of years. Although she no longer possesses powerful magic, her mental resistance remains.

She took a deep breath.

"The purity is average. It seems that too much time has passed, and the Pharaoh's curse has been mixed with too many impurities."

"Even if all the curses are converted into magic power, the quality is not high enough to reactivate my magic furnace. My combat power might increase by one or two times, but it is still far from a qualitative change."

This is a world of reincarnation, not Gensokyo, not that sanctuary where non-human beings spend their twilight years. Defeat means certain death, and there's no second chance. Therefore, every decision must be made with utmost care and caution. Yet, when making a decision, one must be swift and decisive.

Alice, however, is clearly not lacking in decisiveness.

Author's Note:

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

Today is special, so there will be two updates.

As for the bonus chapter or something... emmmmmmmm, let me think about it.

Section Seventeen: Someone Plans to Do Something Terrible

As agreed beforehand, the Book of the Sun and the Book of the Dead would be handed over to Evelyn for initial research after being found. To prevent Evelyn from causing trouble, Zheng Zha decided to give the harmless Book of the Sun to Evelyn first, while keeping the Book of the Dead hidden until the right time to give it to Evelyn to trigger the plot.

“We'd better not let our relationship with the main characters get too strained, after all, there are still Mummy 2 and Mummy 3 storylines to come. Evelyn and O'Connor are also reincarnations of an ancient princess and a chief guard. Perhaps we'll have to deal with them again later,” Xiao Honglu explained.

Of course, this was a pre-arranged plan, and the reason Xiao Honglu specifically emphasized it was because when Zheng Zha and Zhao Yingkong obtained the two ancient books, the main god whispered a hint in their ears.

[Acquired story item: The Book of the Sun/The Book of the Dead. Allows the learner to acquire Light/Dark spells. Learners must possess one of the following powers: Blood Power, Spiritual Power, Magic Power, Telekinesis, True Essence, Immortal Essence, Divine Power, etc. The learner can either decipher the incantations themselves or have them imparted by the Main God after returning to the Main God's space. Learning requires 1000 reward points... Before returning to the Main God's space, the learner must possess this book to use the skills within...]

This is a spell, a legendary magical ability of immense power. And besides the professional witch Alice, Saito Hajime, who doesn't possess much combat strength, happens to understand ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and can decipher the spell. How could Zheng Zha not be tempted?

Keep in mind that his current trump card, the vampire skill 'Crimson Flame,' cost him two thousand reward points and a C-rank side quest! Now, with just a little time, he can master more skills, which is equivalent to raising his combat power to the next level!