Wen Lie retorted, "Does that concern you?"
Zhang Jie laughed in exasperation, turning to Zhao Yinkong. "This guy reminds me a lot of you in your last horror movie—just as disrespectful to the veterans."
Zhao Yinkong was toying with her Nether Fire, spinning the dagger in her palm. The moment Zhang Jie finished speaking, she pressed her thumb against the hilt and cast a cold glance at him.
"Where is this conversation going? We don't have anything pressing to do today anyway. Strolling around is fine, and it's a good way to get familiar with the surroundings."
Zheng Zha hurriedly tried to smooth things over. As he said it, he realized he might have guessed Wen Lie's intentions.
Sooner or later, everyone would have to return to Cairo. Getting familiar with the terrain in advance would give them a tactical advantage in future battles.
"Don't worry, it won't take up much time." Wen Lie pointed ahead, turned his head, and asked O'Connell, "Al-Azhar University and the Al-Rifa'i Mosque are that way, right? I'd like to check out these two famous sights in Cairo."
"That's right, they're right over there."
As a local snake who knew the terrain and environment like the back of his hand, O'Connell glanced over and nodded in agreement.
"Then I'll have to ask you to be our tour guide."
Hearing this, O'Connell shifted his gaze to Zheng Zha.
He could still tell who was calling the shots.
Once Zheng Zha nodded with a wry smile, O'Connell finally led the way toward the street leading to Al-Azhar University.
After spending a few hours making a large loop between Al-Azhar University and the Al-Rifa'i Mosque, Wen Lie had seen what he wanted to see and suggested heading back to the hotel.
The hotel they had checked into combined lodging and dining. As dusk approached, Zheng Zha was chatting with O'Connell and generously pulled out a thick wad of banknotes, announcing that dinner was on him.
"Take the menu back and bring one of everything."
As the waiter approached with the menu, Zheng Zha was just reaching to take it and order when Wen Lie spoke up.
The waiter froze, and so did Zheng Zha.
Wen Lie swung his legs back and forth, turned his gaze to Zheng Zha, and suggested enthusiastically, "I've always wanted to go on a trip around the world, but I never had the money or the time, so I never pulled it off. This is my first time in Egypt anyway; since we've got the cash, it shouldn't hurt to try every single dish, right?"
"Of course no problem. Come to think of it, I've never had Egyptian food either. Bring one of every dish on the menu, and one main course and dessert per person—we're not short on cash."
Zheng Zha laughed heartily. Prompted by Wen Lie, he got into the spirit of it as well, handing a few hundred-dollar bills to the waiter as a tip.
Receiving the tip, the waiter, who had been somewhat hesitant, immediately scurried off to the kitchen with brisk steps.
Wen Lie sat by the window, dangling his legs and looking out with keen interest. Unlike the images in movies, twentieth-century Cairo truly possessed a unique flavor. The passing pedestrians, the hawking merchants, and the lazy cats sunning themselves in the evening light—the exotic atmosphere was palpable.
After a while, the waiter brought out the dishes. Because there were simply too many, several tables had to be pushed together.
Hummus, lamb stew, grilled fish, smoked fish, fried duck, falafel, meatballs, tagine, roasted pigeons, pita bread, molokhia soup, milk rice, crispbread cookies...
This Egyptian feast drew repeated praises from everyone. Even a passing cat outside was attracted, its pretty feline eyes fixed on the restaurant, unable to look away.
Seeing this, a trace of a smile flashed in Wen Lie's eyes. After popping a meatball into his mouth, he speared two pieces of smoked fish with his fork and tossed them out the window.
The two pieces of smoked fish landed a dozen meters away, separated by a fair distance. The black cat immediately straightened its four legs, its two eyes darting between the two pieces of fish.
"Care to make a bet on which piece of smoked fish the cat will eat first? Left or right?"
Wen Lie looked at the black cat outside the window and asked cheerfully.
Zhao Yinkong asked coldly, "What's your stake?"
Wen Lie turned his head back, let his gaze sweep across Zhao Yinkong's chest, and said, "One—no, two possibilities."
Zhao Yinkong frowned, failing to understand what games Wen Lie was playing.
Zheng Zha leaned over and said cheerfully, "Sure, I'll bet on the left."
Zhao Yinkong gave a cold smile. "I choose the right."
With the two of them picking opposite sides, no matter which piece of smoked fish the cat ate first, Wen Lie was bound to lose once.
Wen Lie shrugged, completely unconcerned.
Zhan Lan chided, "You two, really now."
"Just joking around, don't be so serious," Zhang Jie laughed loudly, looking out the window and shouting excitedly, "Look, it moved! The cat moved!"
The idlers eagerly peered outside as the black cat trotted toward the two pieces of smoked fish. First the right, then the left—it didn't miss a single one. After snapping both pieces into its mouth, it bolted swiftly into the alley across the street.
Zhao Yinkong said flatly, "I won."
"I lost," Zheng Zha laughed with carefree amusement, turning to ask Wen Lie curiously, "Wen Lie, what were those two possibilities you mentioned?"
"What a pity."
Wen Lie smacked his lips.
These two didn't seem to get it; biting down on something first didn't mean eating it first.
Whatever, let's just consider it Zhao Yinkong's win.
Although he really wanted to crack one of the great unsolved mysteries of Terror Infinity—the chest-binding cloth of the Z-cup—now didn't seem to be the time. Asking about it now would definitely get him beaten up.
Wen Lie clenched his fists and made up his mind.
Someday, he was going to get his hands on Zhao Yinkong's chest binder!
Zhao Yinkong couldn't help feeling a chill run down her spine, as if a wave of malice was washing over her.
Wen Lie picked up a cup of sugarcane juice and called out to O'Connell, "O'Connell, have you ever heard of Indiana Jones? He's an archaeologist, an American just like you."
O'Connell thought for a moment and shook his head. "Sorry, I've always operated in Cairo, so I don't know much about American academic circles."
Wen Lie shrugged. "Looks like he hasn't made a name for yet."
Qi Tengyi asked in surprise, "Isn't Indiana Jones the protagonist of Raiders of the Lost Ark? How could O'Connell know him?"
Wen Lie took a sip of sugarcane juice, turned to face the others—some of whom looked bewildered while others deep in thought—and said cheerfully, "I picked up a piece of information earlier: there's an excavator in Cairo named Sallah."
Wen Lie hadn't just been strolling around aimlessly; his primary objective was to gather intelligence. Sallah was the name he managed to dig up only after asking several people.
Zheng Zha asked in confusion, "So what?"
"It seems you haven't seen Raiders of the Lost Ark."
Come to think of it, when Evelyn mentioned Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail in the original story, Zheng Zha hadn't had any reaction that suggested he knew Raiders of the Lost Ark—much like how Zheng Zha had no particular reaction when Chu Xuan mentioned JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Either his brain was too slow, or he simply hadn't watched Raiders of the Lost Ark and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
"We can save this topic for when we get back to the room, but I understand what you mean."
Xiao Honglv looked thoughtful, the gaze he cast at Wen Lie filled with astonishment.
He couldn't figure out how on earth Wen Lie had deduced that characters from Raiders of the Lost Ark would exist in The Mummy World, nor could he understand why characters from Raiders of the Lost Ark would be in The Mummy World in the first place.
Zhao Yinkong and Zheng Zha were just as clueless about the situation, but seeing that Xiao Honglv seemed to be in the know, they refrained from discussing such matters out in the open.