"Th-These are scriptures from the Book of the Dead."
"Let me see. These scriptures should belong to the Secret Scroll."
"Legend says the Secret Scroll records the secrets of the Queen of the Night."
"My god, this is practically a treasure vault."
Inside the tomb chamber at the top level of the pyramid, Dr. Nick held a magnifying glass and kept circling around the golden coffin.
Assistant Amy, meanwhile, stared blankly at the piles of completely rotted corpses outside the tomb chamber, now nothing but bones.
"Why are these things outside the tomb chamber?"
"They don't look like burial sacrifices either. If they were, they should've been placed inside the coffin or turned into mummies."
Another assistant, Vic, walked past carrying supplies and said, "What's strange about that? Maybe they were tomb robbers."
"Didn't you notice all the traces of battle on the way here?"
"There were also lots of animal skeletons."
The survival expert Charles, who was helping carry things behind Vic, nodded in agreement.
"Maybe there was a slave revolt after the pyramid was built. That was pretty common in history."
Amy muttered, "Maybe."
At that moment, she seemed to sense something and instinctively looked up toward the shadows beyond the reach of the light.
Then she quickly walked back into the tomb chamber, not wanting to stay alone in the gloomy, empty hall.
Within the shadows, a Black Robe crawled on all fours toward an even darker corner above.
Up there, dozens of Black Robes were gathered together, watching the hall below.
From time to time, they exchanged low, strange sounds.
If translated into human language, it would roughly be, "How much longer are those humans going to stay here?"
"Humans are supposed to be livestock for us to enjoy, yet Elder Tutankebeken won't let us touch them."
"There's nothing we can do. They're probably friends of that 'necromancer.'"
"That really is a powerful mage. Even Elder Tutankebeken lost to him."
"Stop talking. Don't let them notice us."
While the archaeology team was fully absorbed in their work, the mercenaries Karma and Tank walked out of the pyramid.
After crossing the large plaza and following the granite stairs, they reached the Gate of the Afterlife.
The moment they stepped through the gate, they suddenly saw a figure and nearly jumped.
Then they recognized it was John and finally relaxed.
Holding her rifle, Karma walked over, "Mr. John, where did you go?"
"This place is dangerous. You can't wander around alone."
Though her tone was stern, there was concern hidden in it.
As for whether she cared about Alex the person or Alex's wallet, that was hard to say.
Alex smiled.
After flattening Tutankebeken's tomb, he had given the immortal elder a task.
Then he returned to the Gate of the Afterlife.
Now that Karma asked, he used the same lousy excuse to brush it off.
Karma didn't press further. She said, "The doctor and the others are going to stay in the pyramid to conduct research. It'll probably take several days."
"We're bringing supplies over. Come with us."
Alex readily agreed, "I was just about to say that. Let me help carry something."
Karma glanced at him and smiled, "No need. We can handle this kind of rough work."
Alex didn't insist. He shrugged with a smile, "Alright then."
Following Karma through the underground path again, Alex now felt like he could reach the top floor of the pyramid with his eyes closed.
Meanwhile, Karma enthusiastically explained the situation below.
For example, she mentioned how long the stone staircase was, then said there was a huge plaza at the end of it.
Alex kept nodding, but his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.
He was looking at the information that appeared after completing the event.
[You have successfully resolved this event.]
[Current event disaster rating: D++]
["Success" reward settlement: 1. Proficiency Essence ×40; 2. Multiverse Chest ×2; 3. Magic Book "Death Devour" ×1]
[New items have been added to your shop.]
For a disaster event, the rewards were pretty good.
Another forty Proficiency Essences.
He now had three Multiverse Chests.
And there was even a magic book.
After thinking for a moment, Alex took the magic book out from his inventory.
Though it was called a magic book, it was actually a palm-sized stone tablet.
Rows of symbols Alex couldn't understand were carved onto it.
However, when Alex looked at it, corresponding information appeared on his retina.
[Death Devour: One of Tutankebeken's proudest spells. It can pull out a target's soul, dealing damage or taking control of the target, though it can be resisted or dispelled. Do you wish to learn it?]
'A free gift.'
'Why wouldn't I learn it?'
Alex sent out a thought: 'Learn!'
The stone tablet instantly seemed to age through ten thousand years. It rapidly weathered into sand and slipped through Alex's fingers.
Karma happened to glance back at him, but noticed nothing.
Meanwhile, Alex had silently learned a new spell.
———
After arriving at the top level of the pyramid, Alex saw Amy and the others.
Amy was helping Dr. Nick record his discoveries and didn't notice Alex's arrival at first.
Only after she and the doctor took a break did she realize he had come.
The moment the girl saw Alex, her sense of security immediately increased. She put down her things and ran over.
"Mr. John, where did you go?"
Alex could only repeat the same excuse he had used on Karma earlier.
Amy didn't take it seriously either. She excitedly told Alex about Dr. Nick's discoveries.
"The doctor said the owner of the pyramid used a golden coffin. In the Undying Empire, only elders had the right to use something like that."
"The owner of this pyramid probably had a status similar to the one in central Jordan."
"Too bad there wasn't any mummy inside the coffin. It was probably stolen already."
"That was an artifact."
Alex smiled, thinking that "artifact" had already left this place.
'Good thing he left.'
'Otherwise, if you people saw him, you'd probably be scared to death.'
After chatting with Alex for a while, Amy was called away by the doctor.
Everyone else was busy too. Even the mercenaries had to patrol around to make sure they could detect danger in time.
Now Alex was the only idle person left.
He sat in a corner, rubbing the Traveler's Ring on his hand.
Thinking about how the doctor and the others would still stay here for several days, Alex thought, 'Should I visit another universe to kill time?'
He had just gone to the Amazing Spider-Man Universe, and it still hadn't been a month since his last trip to the DC Universe.
So the only place he could go now was the Marvel Universe.
"Too bad I didn't bring the Tesseract."
"Forget it."
"I'll bring it next time."
Alex lightly tapped the Traveler's Ring, consumed five Dim Proficiency Essences, and exploited the bug to enter the Marvel Universe.
Black-blue flames rose up and instantly swallowed Alex's figure.
———
The helicopter swept over the land, casting a rapidly moving shadow on the ground.
From the helicopter, one could see a highway cutting through the forest and crossing rivers before finally being blocked by a wall stretching over ten kilometers.
The wall was more than twenty meters high, made entirely from dark armored plates pieced together. It was obvious that crossing it would not be easy.
At this moment, the helicopter flew over the wall and entered the world within it.
Dr. Vogelbaum, whose hair had turned gray-white, wore a headset as he said, "If anyone crosses this wall without authorization, they'll face heavy attacks."
"Vought invests a huge budget here every year to maintain the defense system along this border."
"In addition to weapon platforms and a large amount of manpower, the defense system also includes three superhumans."
"They signed confidentiality agreements and must serve here for ten years before they're allowed to leave."
"This is already the eighth year."
Sitting opposite Dr. Vogelbaum, Secretary Wilson said in a low voice, "Even the federal government didn't know this place existed."
"I checked the satellite maps. According to them, this should just be an uninhabited primitive forest."
Dr. Vogelbaum smiled slightly, "For Vought, altering a small and insignificant area on satellite maps isn't difficult at all."
"This isn't an important federal region, nor is it a border area. It's just an unnoticed little corner within a vast country."
"The federal government simply wouldn't care. Am I right?"
The Secretary of Defense didn't want to admit it, but that was indeed the truth.
Vought had clearly gone to great lengths choosing this place to hide Becca and her son.
No wonder nobody discovered it all these years.
"Look."
Dr. Vogelbaum pointed downward. Scattered houses could be seen below.
There were even public facilities.
Such as a small community hospital, a plaza, a church, a radio station, and so on.
Aside from the buildings being smaller, it looked just like a small town.
Secretary Wilson glanced at the buildings below and said, "You built a fake community for the mother and son?"
"That's right."
"The neighbors here, the friends, the coworkers, everything is one massive and carefully crafted lie."
"A beautiful lie created to keep Ryan here."
Pushing up his glasses, Dr. Vogelbaum said, "Maintaining this lie requires a large amount of funding, but it's worth it."
"If not for this, Ryan could never have remained under Vought's supervision all this time."
"However, not everything in this lie is fake."
"At the very least, Ryan's childhood friends are real."
"We adopted abandoned orphans from various places and brought them here."
"Then we had Vought employees raise them."
"In many ways, they really are like actual families."
"And those children would never know they're actually serving Vought."
Secretary Wilson looked at the doctor, "So Ryan and the other children have never left this area?"
Dr. Vogelbaum nodded, "That's correct, Mr. Secretary."
The Secretary of Defense sighed, "Then they're really pitiful."
"I don't think so."
Dr. Vogelbaum said, "Whether it's Ryan or those orphans, being able to live comfortably in this isolated place is itself a kind of happiness."
"As long as they know nothing about the outside world, they won't think they're pitiful."
"Human understanding of misfortune only comes from comparison."
"As long as they don't know, then there's no such thing as misfortune or pity."
At this moment, the helicopter began descending and landed at a landing point.
Wilson and Dr. Vogelbaum got out of the helicopter and entered a car that had already been prepared for them.
Finally able to remove his headset, Dr. Vogelbaum said, "At this hour, Ryan should be attending class at the community school."
"Only Becca is home."
"That makes it easier for us to discuss certain things."
———
A short while later, the car arrived in front of a house.
On the lawn outside, a woman was trimming flowers and plants. Hearing the car, she curiously raised her head.
She was no longer young, but she had taken good care of herself and was still very beautiful and attractive.
Wilson glanced at her from inside the car and said, "No wonder Homelander took an interest in her."
Dr. Vogelbaum said, "Homelander's interest in her may not necessarily have been because of her charm."
The two men got out of the car.
Dr. Vogelbaum took the initiative, "Good afternoon, Ms. Becca."
Becca stood up in surprise, "Dr. Vogelbaum?"
Then she nervously said, "Didn't we agree not to meet privately?"
"Don't be nervous, Becca. Things have changed a little," Dr. Vogelbaum introduced him, "This is Mr. Wilson, the current Federal Secretary of Defense."
The scissors in Becca's hand immediately fell onto the grass.
She covered her mouth and gasped softly, "What happened?"
She had seen Wilson on television before, so she naturally knew the middle-aged man before her was one of the most powerful people in the federal government.
For the Secretary of Defense to visit personally, as smart as she was, she naturally understood something major had happened.
———
Inside the house, Becca placed two cups of coffee in front of Dr. Vogelbaum and Secretary Wilson.
"You're saying Homelander has lost control?"
Dr. Vogelbaum nodded, "Yes. He killed Edgar and threw the federal government into chaos."
Becca sat down, "I'm sorry to hear that."
"I already told you from the start. He isn't a superhero. He's a demon."
"But unfortunately, you didn't believe me."
"So what does this have to do with me?"
She paused, then seemed to think of something and raised a finger.
"No."
"No, no, no."
"Dr. Vogelbaum, we agreed back then that Ryan would live as a normal person."
"You can't use him to fight Homelander. That man is his biological father."
'What a smart woman.'
Secretary Wilson leaned forward slightly.
"Ms. Becca, we've already tried many methods in hopes of restraining Homelander."
"But all of them failed."
"Let me describe to you what will happen if Homelander loses control."
"If he completely loses control and goes mad, this country may turn into ruins."
"According to our latest intelligence, thermobaric bombs have now been confirmed ineffective against Homelander."
"As for nuclear weapons, the best possible outcome would be injuring him."
"That is the best-case scenario I can imagine."
"I even suspect he could walk away unharmed from a nuclear strike."
"So you see, he's an uncontrollable superhuman."
"If he goes insane, the good life you currently have could disappear at any moment."
"Imagine one day everything before your eyes turns into ruins."
"Homelander descends from the sky, while Ryan, who should've had the power to fight him, fails to stop him because he wasn't prepared beforehand, and eventually closes his eyes forever in front of you."
"Can you accept that ending?"
"If you can accept it."
"Then I'll leave right now."
Dr. Vogelbaum also said, "Ms. Becca, you know very well what kind of man he is."
"You don't seriously think he wouldn't harm Ryan, do you?"
Becca covered her mouth with her hand, "I don't know…"
"Alright. Based on my understanding of him…"
"If he thinks Ryan is a threat, then even if Ryan is his son, he'll still make a move."
Secretary Wilson spread his hands, "Exactly."
"So now, I hope Ryan can receive professional training and prepare for possible disasters in the future."
"For now, we should still be able to keep him stable."
"But who knows how long that'll last."
"Maybe ten years. Maybe one year. Maybe he'll turn against us tomorrow."
"All of those are possible."
Holding her forehead, Becca said, "But how am I supposed to explain this to Ryan?"
"My god."
"This is too cruel for him."
Wilson glanced at Dr. Vogelbaum, then took out his phone, opened a video, and placed it in front of Becca.
"This should be your husband, William Butcher."
The moment she heard that name, Becca immediately grabbed the phone and pressed play.
In the video appeared what looked like a community park.
Homelander was there.
Her husband, William Butcher, was there too.
"No… no…"
Becca shook her head, already seeming to sense what was coming.
Then, a petite woman with asymmetrical short hair crashed into Butcher's arms, and her hand pierced out through his back.
"No!"
Becca suddenly stood up.
The phone fell onto the floor.
Tears poured from her eyes.
Like pearls with snapped strings, they fell onto the carpet one after another.
She shook her head and looked at Secretary Wilson.
"Who is that woman?"
"She's Stormfront, a new superhero who joined the Seven."
Secretary Wilson answered, "As far as we know, she reached some kind of agreement with Homelander."
"Maybe it was joining the Seven. Maybe something else."
"In any case, after killing your husband William Butcher, she joined the Seven."
It was as if all life had drained from Becca.
She sat back down in a daze.
"Butcher is dead?"
"He's dead?"
"My god, I never even got the chance to apologize to him."
"My god…"
At this moment, Secretary Wilson stood up, "Ms. Becca, think it over carefully. I'll come back tomorrow at this time."
"I hope to hear good news."
Then he gave Dr. Vogelbaum a look, and the two men took their leave.
A short while later, the sound of a woman crying in grief slowly echoed through the house.
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