The attacker’s cold voice, like a poisoned icicle, pierced through Christina’s tense nerves, penetrating her ears that were still ringing from the explosion.
Time seemed to congeal in an invisible gel, making every suspended grain of dust clearly visible.
Christina’s pupils contracted sharply due to intense focus and the proximity of death.
They were as sharp as needles, pinning themselves to the source of the threat.
In that critical, life-or-death moment —
Bang — !
A dull but piercing gunshot rang out.
It did not come from the attacker or Christina’s counterattack, but from Lin Yu.
The massive recoil sent him stumbling backward, falling heavily onto the rough ground.
The heavy pistol naturally flew out of his hand, tracing a weak arc in the air before hitting the ground a few meters away, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
However, this unexpected shot bought Christina a fleeting chance at life!
Her reaction was lightning-fast.
Before her brain could even identify the source of the shot, her body acted on instinct forged through countless brushes with death, accurately seizing this vanishing opportunity!
She lunged into a side roll like a leopard, the sound of her tactical suit rubbing against the ground muffled by the gunfire.
Using the centrifugal force of the roll, she drew her backup submachine pistol in a flash.
Before her roll even stopped, her arm was as steady as a rock, and her index finger pulled the trigger three times in short, powerful bursts!
Puh!
Puh!
Puh!
Three short, suppressed shots rang out, aiming accurately at the attacker’s position to provide brief but effective suppression.
Taking advantage of this precious gap, Christina moved like a ghost through the lingering smoke.
After a few clean tactical rolls, she reached the cover where Lin Yu was hiding.
“I told you! Do not act on your own! The recoil of this gun is not something you can control yet!”
Christina’s voice was hoarse with anger and anxiety.
“Heh, if I didn’t act…”
Lin Yu gasped, looking at Christina’s face, which was tight with tension and fury.
“…that person would have shot you…”
Before he could finish, a cold killing intent pierced through the smoke, locking onto him like a venomous snake!
Another attacker had quietly approached at some point, their cold muzzle pointing steadily at Lin Yu.
Just as the attacker pulled the trigger, Christina’s pupils shrank into even smaller points!
Time seemed to stretch infinitely; she could clearly see the tiny muscle contractions in the attacker’s finger as he pulled the trigger.
Lin Yu also noticed the shock and fear in her eyes.
He turned suddenly to see a tall man pointing a gun at him.
The gunshot sounded particularly harsh in the brief silence following the explosion, like the sound of Death sharpening his blade, announcing the arrival of mortality!
Puh!
Puh!
Two dull, heart-wrenching shots exploded almost simultaneously!
Christina, who had taken the fatal fire in place of Lin Yu, jolted violently as if hit by an invisible hammer!
Two bright, eerie blossoms of blood instantly burst below her left shoulder blade and on the outside of her thigh.
Warm blood gushed out, soaking her black tactical suit and spreading across the fabric in large, dark red stains, immediately filling the air with the thick smell of rust.
Sharp pain surged through her body like an electric current, forcing her to let out a suppressed groan.
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead, but she gritted her teeth and swallowed the rest of her cry.
“Go — !”
Christina forced a raspy but powerful roar from her throat, enduring the tearing pain in her left shoulder and the numbness in her left leg.
Ignoring her injuries, she used her still-functional right arm to grab Lin Yu, whose mind was blank with shock.
The two of them used the lingering smoke and dust as cover, stumbling toward the dark, beast-like entrance of a nearby cave!
Swoosh!
Swoosh!
Swoosh — !
Bullets chased them like lethal hornets.
The sharp sound of breaking air was constant as they dug into the dirt and gravel by their feet, splashing bits of earth and stone.
***
The moment after Alexander hit the Artifact Containment Box.
The sound of the impact against the special metal was piercing, and time seemed to freeze.
Crack… snap…
A faint, clear sound of fracturing came from the box.
A crack, like a venomous snake, snaked across the lid inscribed with complex Isolation Runes.
Then —
Vwoom — !!!
As if an Ancient God who had slept for billions of years had opened their eyes, an indescribable golden torrent of pure light and heat erupted from the crack!
It swallowed the last rays of the setting sun, dyeing the world in a blinding white-gold!
The air became ionized and crackled, and a terrifying pressure swept out like a tsunami as the ground began to shake violently!
The light flowed and condensed in the air.
A blurry, majestic hawk-headed phantom appeared within the halo, its cold gaze sweeping across with ultimate indifference toward mortal ants.
Ra had awakened!
Alexander and Yue were both blown back by the explosion of divine power, slamming hard against the Reef Area.
Both of their eyes were filled with unprecedented horror.
Their previous battle felt like a joke compared to this reviving divine power.
Deep inside the cave, the screen of the Energy Detector in Lin Yu’s hand instantly overloaded.
A god had descended.
The moment the burning bullet shattered the runic box, the dam that had imprisoned it for thousands of years collapsed.
A powerful energy shockwave radiated outward from the Eye of Ra like an invisible tsunami!
At the center of this destructive sea of light, a figure was condensing and appearing at an unprecedented speed.
The hawk beak was sharp, carrying ancient majesty.
Atop its head sat the Uraeus, its eyes cold as it spat phantoms of flames capable of incinerating a soul.
The body was strong and magnificent, as if carved from the purest solar crystal, with liquid fire flowing inside.
By simply standing there, the surrounding space began to warp and fold, and light bent strangely around it.
It was Ra.
Not a phantom image, but the god himself — his immortal will forced into materialization and briefly resurrected through the massive divine power within the Eye of Ra!
Its gaze slowly swept across, and wherever it landed, the laws of the world wailed.
Alexander felt his Divine Sense trembling in the depths of his soul, nearly extinguishing like it had encountered an absolute monarch.
The twin guns he was so proud of seemed like ridiculous toys under that gaze.
Yue’s iron-clad will also cracked under this ancient gaze from the dawn of creation, and her body couldn’t stop shivering.
A grand, cold will containing the power of a desecrated god crushed down on their souls like a literal tsunami:
“Disturbing my sleep… stealing my authority… ants… shall be purified!”
The resurrected Ra handed down its divine punishment.
The miniature sun centered around it began to pulse violently, like a massive, ancient heart.
In the next second, a skin-crawling rustling sound rose like a tide.
From the molten gold halo flowing at its feet, from the distorted light behind it, and from every inch of air saturated by its divine power — countless Scarabs surged out like boiling golden foam.
Each one was composed of highly concentrated light energy and scorching divine power, their outlines clear and shimmering with a metallic hardness, ancient Egyptian runes flowing over their bodies.
They vibrated their wings made of light particles, the buzzing sound burning directly into eardrums and nerves.
This was a mobile divine punishment, the manifestation of the most destructive aspect of the Eye of Ra’s authority — the legion of destruction Ra used to purify the irreverent!
Bzzzt — !!!!
The insect tide erupted!
Like a burst dam of molten gold, it instantly swept through the entire Reef Area.
Their goal was clear — every living being who dared to disturb the sacred slumber.