"Ha, no time."
Wen Lie shut the door right in her face, crisp and decisive.
Qin Zhuiyu's smile froze on her face.
It took a long time for her expression to return to normal. She stared at the door in front of her, stamped her foot in anger, a trace of resentment flashing in her eyes, and stormed away from the doorway with heavy steps.
Wen Lie clutched his long saber and lay back down on the bed, entirely unmoved by the commotion outside the door.
"That woman must have come here to steal my saber."
Wen Lie hugged the scabbard, muttering with absolute conviction.
From past experience, any woman who suddenly sidled up to him to cozy up was a hundred percent a gold-digger who saw profit to be made, and the only profitable asset he had on him was Stand: God Anubis.
He had just gotten through Gold-Digger Day; he wasn't going to fall for this trick and end up at the bottom of the Nile.
The next day, in the hotel lobby.
Wen Lie was wolfing down meat pies and drinking sugarcane juice. His left hand—which at this time of day was usually gripping his cell phone—was holding Stand: God Anubis, never letting go for even a second.
Qin Zhuiyu ate her egg crepe with an expressionless face, as if nothing had happened last night.
Gao Hongliang covertly observed the two of them, keeping his expression neutral.
Sharp-eared Zheng Zha wore a somewhat awkward look on his face, while Zhao Yinkong remained entirely indifferent.
After finishing his breakfast at a leisurely pace, Wen Lie stepped out as if nothing was the matter and retrieved the repaired scabbard from the blacksmith's shop.
"Sigh! Breaking it felt satisfying enough back then..."
Wen Lie pulled a long face as he looked at the spot where the scabbard had snapped. That band of metal looked grating no matter how he viewed it.
The long saber that God Anubis inhabited was an artwork inlaid with precious gems, and the matching scabbard was also of considerable value. After being snapped and patched up, its appearance was drastically diminished.
"Just make do with it," Zhang Jie said lazily, leaning against the window to bask in the sun. "You should count your blessings the blacksmith didn't strip the gold rim off the scabbard and replace it with iron."
Three gold rings were inlaid on the scabbard. If those were stripped off, they could easily sell for over ten thousand yuan.
"That's because Zheng Zha paid more."
Wen Lie sighed and looked around.
Zheng Zha, Zhang Heng, Zhan Lan, and Zhao Yinkong were all nowhere to be seen.
"Where are they?"
"Zhang Heng said he wanted to buy a bow. Isn't he the alternate for the Olympic archery team? Though I don't think a bow is going to be of any real use, Zheng Zha was very supportive of his attitude and took him out to buy one."
Zhang Jie patted the Desert Eagle tucked into his waistband. Could a gadget like a bow ever be as handy as a gun?
"As for Zhao Yinkong and Zhan Lan, they said they were going to the Christian quarter in the south to get some holy robes and Bibles to use as disguises."
An hour or so later, when O'Connell arrived at the hotel, the senior members of the China Team and Wen Lie had all changed into white-collar black shirts and were each holding a Bible.
O'Connell asked in astonishment: "What are you all..."
Wen Lie, Zheng Zha, Zhan Lan, and the others exchanged glances. Zheng Zha walked toward O'Connell, raised his right hand, and released a crimson flash of fire.
"Actually, we are exorcists from the Church."
Amidst O'Connell's shocked gaze, Zheng Zha said with reserved dignity.
In Cairo's Port Giza, the streets beside the dock were bustling with activity. The clamorous shouting, the neighing of horses, and the distant blowing of steamship whistles intertwined and echoed across the port, forming a unique symphony.
The members of the China Team followed O'Connell here, and beside a docked ship, they met the female protagonist Evelyn and her brother Jonathan. O'Connell stepped forward and called out: "Waiting for me?"
Hearing O'Connell's voice, Evelyn and Jonathan turned around simultaneously. Catching sight of O'Connell's appearance, Evelyn—who had just been speaking ill of him—was struck dumb with astonishment.
The last time she had met O'Connell, he had been a disheveled and filthy sight. Having spent an unknown length of time locked up in prison, O'Connell hadn't had a single clean spot on his entire body.
The O'Connell standing before Evelyn now had bathed, gotten a haircut, shaved his beard, and changed into a set of clean clothes. He looked like an absolute hunk, leaving Evelyn completely dazed.
Evelyn stammered: "......Oh, hello."
Jonathan cheerfully greeted O'Connell, slapping him on the chest.
"A fine day for an adventure, isn't it, O'Connell?"
The moment his hand moved away, O'Connell immediately flipped open his jacket and pulled out his wallet to check it.
Jonathan said awkwardly: "Oh, we're all friends here, I wouldn't try anything with you."
O'Connell chuckled: "Speaking of which, sorry..."
Jonathan said magnanimously: "No worries, happens all the time."
O'Connell put the wallet back into his inner pocket, shook his head, and said: "Not that. Today might not be a good day to set off on an adventure."
"O'Connell, what do you mean by that? Because of them? Didn't you say only you were taking us?"
Evelyn snapped out of O'Connell's seduction spell and cast a wary gaze at Zheng Zha, Wen Lie, and the others.
Jonathan asked in a joking tone: "Hey, O'Connell, you wouldn't happen to be turning on us, would you?"
"All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of the field; the grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever."
Clutching Stand: God Anubis, Wen Lie stepped up and immediately delivered a passage of scripture right to Evelyn and Jonathan.
Wen Lie took the initiative, and Evelyn's momentum faltered slightly. Born in a Christian country, she still held a certain amount of respect for pastors.
Suppressing Evelyn's momentum, Wen Lie continued: "We hail from the Burial Agency, a Christian heretic-sanctioning organization. We are agents of the Lord."
"The Burial Agency?"
Evelyn and Jonathan exchanged glances, their meeting gazes conveying nothing but utter bewilderment.
Evelyn put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and rallied her momentum once more. "I don't care where you're from, this man already made an arrangement with me. Does your behavior right now mean your creed doesn't include keeping your word?"
"He will take you to the City of the Dead, Hamunaptra, but not today." Wen Lie turned his head to look at Zheng Zha and gave him a look. "Cleric Zheng."
Zheng Zha blinked, staring back at Wen Lie in puzzlement.
Wen Lie's cheek twitched.
As expected, all that talk about communicating with looks was a lie!
Evelyn glanced at Zheng Zha as well. Seeing that Zheng Zha made no move, she said unhappily: "What on earth do you people want? O'Connell! We agreed—we set off today! The warden has already brought his men aboard the ship. If we don't leave now, do you want him to drag you back to a cell?"
Reluctant though she was, the China Team had strength in numbers, leaving Evelyn with no choice but to drop the warden's name to warn these people not to think she was someone to be bullied.
O'Connell said helplessly: "Miss, Hamunaptra is not as safe as you imagine. That tomb is guarded by the undead, along with a group of mysterious guardians. It is a city of the dead in the truest sense; more people have died there than living souls will ever go there!"
"So you hired a pastor?"
Doubt flashed in Evelyn's eyes.