The world has turned into Hell's Game, why should I stay human?!

"Doctor, do you think those dark elves have caught up?"

With nothing better to do, Liu Zheng and Doctor Nile started chatting.

"They're slave traders, not comedians. They wouldn't pull such a stunt, would they?"

Doctor Nile hesitated for a moment.

"Hard to say, believers in gods, you know, they can be a bit..."

Liu Zheng pointed at his head and shook it.

"Who are you calling nuts?"

Doctor Nile slapped away his tentacle.

"And you seem to have forgotten, I'm a believer too."

"Just pointing anywhere. And gods are not the same anyway! Look at our God La, protective and generous, not like those who demand corpses and blood. Clearly, he's a true god, the more people believe, the better."

Liu Zheng flattered.

"Well, it's not entirely without demands."

Doctor Nile said honestly.

"In the past, during rituals to the gods, we occasionally used human sacrifices or killed followers of Seth (Lord of the Red Land, god of desert and storms, later viewed as an evil god)."

"But later, we replaced them with 'Ushabti' to substitute the living."

"What's Ushabti?"

He asked.

"Clay statuettes. 'Ushabti' in our text means 'the responder,' always ready to answer the master's call to labor."

Doctor Nile replied.

"Oh, clay figurines? We have those too. But ours are buried with the dead; does tricking the gods work?"

"What do you mean by tricking? Watch your words, kid."

Doctor Nile glared at him.

"You can't use them directly; you have to use a spell to give them vitality."

Doctor Nile said, reciting a long spell.

"Don't understand."

Liu Zheng looked clueless and innocent.

"Of course you don't. It's a high-level language only priests and nobles learn. Roughly, it means, oh Ushabti, I need to work in the afterlife, as it's labor every dead must do. And when I need to do these tasks, you should do them for me. Farming land, irrigating, moving accumulated sand, and transporting fertilizer to the other side of the river. You should say: 'We will do it, we are coming!'"

Doctor Nile translated.

"Uh...how to say it, sounds pretty folksy, like a landlord squeezing labor."

He squinted slyly.

"The important thing about a spell is the spell itself, the content is just translation, you ignorant fool!"

Doctor Nile's tone was full of disdain towards the illiterate.

"Alright, alright, you're cultured, you're in charge. Now where did those dark elves run off to?"

Liu Zheng spoke discontentedly.

"If I'm correct, what do you wager as a prize?"

Doctor Nile looked at him sideways.

"Saying 'You're amazing' should be enough, right?"

Liu Zheng said seriously.

"Your cheek is thicker than Niu Ma's."

Doctor Nile eyed him.

"That's impossible. My boss's eyelids are thicker than my cheek; there's no way in Metropolis someone has thicker skin than my boss!"

He defended Niu Ma.

Niu Daji wanted to chime in but felt something was off, so wisely chose silence.

"Niu Ma would slap your face swollen bigger than its butt if it heard you. Forget it, let's not argue; those dark elves should be here."

Doctor Nile pointed under the car.

"You mean they're under the chassis? No way! Even if they managed, the undercarriage can't hold that many!"

Liu Zheng was incredulous.

"Kid, do you have any idea? If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll get off, and you can go to Ten Thousand Great Mountains alone."

Doctor Nile was angry enough to puff up his bandages.

"Alright, alright, just livening the mood. Please continue, carry on."

"Learn more of Niu Ma's good traits, less of the bad. With your attitude, who dares to marry their daughter to you?"

Doctor Nile scolded.

"But my boss found a wife, didn't he?"

He retorted.

"Only a fellow race would marry him. Let him try finding someone from another race."

"Why don't you find Sasha a stepmother then?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"I just don't want to. If I did, those wanting to marry me would line up from the clinic to Ten Thousand Great Mountains."

Doctor Nile said confidently.

"Doctor, does your god's priests have any taboos?"

"Yes, but not many. Why do you ask?"

Doctor Nile asked suspiciously.

"No wonder you're telling tall tales here."

He squinted slyly.

"Hmph, can't be bothered with a junior like you. Those dark elves must be hiding in the shadows under the armored car."

Doctor Nile finally solved the mystery.

"Oh? Makes sense."

Thinking of the previous battle scenes, Liu Zheng nodded.

"If we now use the Sun Power to eliminate all surrounding shadows, will they be wiped out?"

His eyes turned, a sinister plan arose.

"Uh, that's possible. No wonder you're human; even Niu Ma can't compare to you in conniving."

Doctor Nile was taken aback, evaluating him.

"Too kind, too kind. Brother Bai San, can we cast spells in Porcupine Way?"

Liu Zheng asked Bai San.

"I'm afraid not, Mr. Liu. Porcupine Way is maintained by the array and the mana of a great immortal; casting spells inside might cause it to collapse."

Bai San shook his head.

"Okay, that's a real shame. What a shame!!!"

He lay on the ground, shouting at maximum volume.

"Are you afraid those dark elves can't hear?"

Doctor Nile scratched his ear.

"Yeah, just scaring them. I've got a hundred ways to finish them off, a hundred ways!!!"

"Alright, alright, stop howling, you're deafening us."

Doctor Nile stuffed a scepter into his mouth.

And under the unseen car bottom, a piece of darkness "lit" briefly, then returned to calm.

After the armored car quietly drove for half an hour, a glimmer of light finally appeared ahead.

"We've arrived, Mr. Liu."

Bai San said.

"Good, Lao Si, speed up."

Liu Zheng commanded.

"Sure thing."

Lao Si floored it, and the speed immediately soared to 200km/h.

A few seconds later, everyone's view turned from darkness to brightness.

The intense light made them squint, but fortunately, they were extraordinary beings and quickly adjusted.

"Your two bases have quite the stylistic difference, huh."

Seeing the scene, Liu Zheng couldn't help but comment.

If one base was a historical film set, this was a construction project site.

The rows of double-layer painted steel board houses and standalone simple administration buildings gave him such a strong sense of déjà vu, he wanted to mix concrete and lay bricks on the spot.

They emerged from a garage, the shutter door automatically closing, covered in crawling snake-like talismans.

"Well, that base is our Bai Family's old home, so it's hard to change. This one is newly built, so it's more up-to-date."

Bai San explained.

"Definitely up-to-date. If you build a few villas next to it, you could open a resort."

"That would be too conspicuous. If the sanitation department investigates, it would be a hassle."

Bai San shook his head.

"Damn, is this illegal construction?"

He was shocked.

"Yeah, land is so expensive. A plot this size would cost over a billion if bought from City Hall; collecting enough herbs to make that back would take forever."

Bai San stated matter-of-factly.

"Man, then what if City Hall finds out?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"No worries, these things aren't valuable. When the time comes, activate the array for self-destruction and escape. Even if City Hall shows up, push someone out to take the blame, pay a fine, it's still cheaper than buying land."

Bai San said with confidence.

"Okay, okay, truly business isn't deceitful."

He gestured a thumbs-up with his tentacle.

"With a fifty percent profit, anyone would take risks; for a hundred percent, they'd break all human laws; for three hundred percent, they'd commit any crime, even risk being hanged."

Trust in old Marx indeed!