Chapter 44: Curse: The Beginning

Thud!

Thud!

Two sounds of landing, yet Chu Xuan didn't even turn his head.

He ignored them entirely, his face filled with fanaticism, as he walked off toward another laboratory by himself.

As for him and Zheng Zha, this pair of brothers in misfortune, after serving their purpose as energy-supplying guinea pigs...

They struggled on the ground for a good while before slowly picking themselves up.

With weak legs, they managed to limp out of Chu Xuan's room, supporting each other as they arrived beneath the Main God.

Looking at the two pale-faced, trembling men who were hugging each other in an exceptionally "intimate" manner, Zhan Lan frowned and said

"What are you two doing? Are you playing for each other?"

"Come, let me support you!"

Without regard for Zheng Zha's protests, Zhan Lan forcibly pulled him close and slowly walked him back to the room.

Leaving only Li Xiao, a single dog, standing lost in the wind.

"Wait, you guys..."

"Sigh..."

Fine, Li Xiao admitted that with Chu Xuan in the team, even the healing abilities of a Jade Ruyi were not enough.

No, they were far from enough.

The Jade Ruyi could only treat external wounds, but it had no way to deal with poisoning, curses, or other negative effects.

Though his pockets were empty after his recent bout of painful reflection, it didn't stop him from checking the market prices.

"Horror movies don't have the Main God to repair the body. Sigh. I'll have to go all out again!"

Soon, several carefully selected items appeared on the large screen in his mind.

[Immortal Bean: Upon consumption, instantly removes all damage and all negative effects, restoring the user to 100% status. D-rank side plot, 2000 reward points.]

[Three Pure Ones Talisman: Aside from fatal damage, any other injury can be healed within one hour, restoring at least 70% of peak combat power. 500 reward points.]

[Bodhi Seed: After consumption, grants the effect of the Wood Deity Body for six hours, slowly recovering all damage. 600 reward points.]

[Ice Condensation Pill: A pill refined by ancient cultivators. Upon consumption, it freezes all injuries; vitality, immunity, and recovery capabilities increase a hundredfold. As long as the injury remains fatal, the slumber will not cease. D-rank side plot, 500 reward points.]

[Hibernation Pod: A crystallization of future technology that can evade small-scale temporal forces, putting a person into deep sleep and a state of suspended animation. D-rank side plot, 1000 reward points.]

[CH325 Injection: Within five minutes, significantly increases human cell vitality and regenerative capacity, granting the ability to regrow severed limbs. Side effect: extreme exhaustion of physical strength. 300 reward points.]

[Pseudo-Ma Talisman: One of the Twelve Talismans, originally the magic within the body of the Fire Demon "Holy Lord," representing healing and restoration. It allows the holder to remove all abnormal influences caused by external forces and ensures the holder will not be eroded by external forces.]

[Three-Thousand-Year Peaches of Immortality...]

[Life Insect Essence...]

[Dragon Essence...]

[Phoenix Blood...]

The further down he read, the more Li Xiao's eyes gleamed with desire, though naturally, the prices rose accordingly.

Known or unknown.

Just as Zhang Jie had said at the beginning, there were too many to finish reading.

After a long while, Li Xiao faced a reality: he had no money.

***

The tenth day since returning from the Alien world.

Everyone had made their final preparations.

Even Arnold, who was by Chu Xuan's side, wore a combat suit custom-made in the real world.

Looking at the seven people all dressed in uniform black combat suits, the group finally felt like a team.

Except for Gin, who still wore his black trench coat.

Seeing the white, slender long blade strapped to Gin's back, Zhan Lan asked Li Xiao curiously

"What's that on his back? A weapon you exchanged for?"

"A Katana?"

Li Xiao, who had been looking down at his book, raised his head only when he heard someone tagging him.

"That's right. It is both a weapon and a prop."

Rather than complaining about the long blade on Gin's back, Zhang Jie and Zero were more concerned with the book in Li Xiao's hands.

"Wait, why have you suddenly become so studious these past two days? You're always clutching that book after training every day," Zhang Jie asked curiously.

Li Xiao gave a faint smile.

"Didn't that... what was it, that philosopher say? Books are the ladder of human evolution."

"Reading is also a way to become stronger. Besides, I love reading; reading makes me happy!"

Hearing this somewhat nonsensical logic, Zhang Jie's mouth twitched.

Seeing this, Zhan Lan and Zheng Zha exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.

Laughing, Zhan Lan said, "Brother Jie, just let him fool you."

"That book he's reading—Zheng Zha and I tried to snatch it away two days ago. It's *The Actor's Self-Cultivation*."

Never mind Zhang Jie; even Zero glanced over at the title.

Only Chu Xuan remained unchanged, maintaining his consistently indifferent expression.

Furthermore, through this period of interaction, thanks to Li Xiao, Chu Xuan had not drifted too far outside the team.

Thus, the group had somewhat discovered some of Chu Xuan's "unusual" traits.

After all, his lack of emotion was quite obvious.

Moreover, Chu Xuan did not care to disguise himself too much; after all, researching enchantment patterns from scratch was exhausting enough.

Seeing that the time on his watch was nearly up, Chu Xuan suddenly pulled six old-fashioned mobile-style communicators from his coat.

After handing one to everyone, he said

"I modified these based on communicators brought back from the real world. They can bypass the communication barriers of ordinary technological worlds."

"They won't be interfered with by any other signals, and the calling distance is fifty kilometers. I think this will be very useful for a team."

During this time, except for Zheng Zha, who possessed a spatial ring, and Li Xiao, who had capsule technology, everyone else carried a military backpack.

Fortunately, thanks to state support, the contents were sufficient to handle most ordinary situations.

As for weaponry, everyone was equipped with a full set of both long and short firearms.

Furthermore, a large number of psionic bullets, modified and engraved by Chu Xuan, had been loaded.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, Chu Xuan had not yet engraved the Dongfeng missile, which was over twenty meters tall and over a meter in diameter.

When Zhan Lan heard Li Xiao expressing regret over this, she was so exasperated she laughed.

In her words

"You are simply never satisfied!"

***

"Enter the pillars of light within thirty seconds. Target lock transferred. Ju-On transmission beginning..."

Within the Main God Space, twenty gentle pillars of light projected from beneath the massive white sphere.

Signaling the start of a new journey.

This time, it was not six people, but eight.

Chu Xuan's Arnold and Li Xiao's Gin.

They had both followed their hosts into the pillars of light.

Compared to the excited and nervous crowd, Li Xiao was still looking down at the book in his hands.

He was repeatedly pondering and studying every sentence within it.

When that solemn and majestic voice rang in his mind, Li Xiao let out a sudden sigh of relief within the pillar of light.

It seemed his exchanges had not changed the difficulty of the next horror movie.

But then again, twenty people in a *Ju-On* scenario was, in a sense, already at the ceiling level.

This was what they called "better than the worst, though not the best."

Speaking of which, Zhang Jie, I really want to thank you!!!

The darkness seemed to last only an instant.

When Li Xiao's soul returned to its place and he regained consciousness from his half-dreaming state, his first instinct was to look at the newcomers on the ground.

The presence of a certain figure caused his heart to sink.

*(Why is she still here? Is history truly unchangeable!)*

Despite the turmoil in his heart, Li Xiao maintained his faint, unchanging smile.