"I traveled back and forth twice; He gazed down at me from the sky. I led the people of Egypt away from their homeland; they were cleansed of their slavery and settled in Canaan. He commanded me to return to the place of origin, to return the staff He had given."

"I settled the people and set out again with Aaron, returning to the place of origin."

Ugos said, "This is completely different from what's written in Exodus!"

Zheng Rong replied coldly, "Of course it’s different. I thought you already understood. Does anyone know how Moses died?"

Joseph lowered his head to cut his bacon, smiling. "No one knows."

Zheng Rong said, "Since the staff is there, the body must be his. It's clear—Moses went east, passed down the Ten Commandments, and together with Aaron..."

Joseph interrupted, "A bit of explanation: Aaron is Moses’ brother and the first high priest of Israel. It's said he could directly converse with God."

Ugos was stunned. "This is a total overturning!"

"Everything’s an overturning," Zheng Rong said. "Ugos, you need to get used to overturning and being overturned. Now keep quiet and listen."

"Joseph, why do you think 'He' didn’t choose Aaron?"

Joseph shrugged and continued, "Aaron became His shell, dying on the way, and entrusted His soul to me. I returned to the place of origin, where the Sphinx was born, and Aaron completely perished."

"What?" Zheng Rong didn’t understand. "Say it again?"

Joseph didn’t repeat himself; he knew that Zheng Rong had heard it but just needed time to think. Everyone fell silent as Zheng Rong seemed to catch on to something faintly. "Go on."

Joseph continued, "Offer yourself to God and be willing to serve Him. He will depart, and you will be saved."

"God," Zheng Rong picked up on a newly mentioned word. "Which God?"

Joseph replied, "Do not take the name of your God in vain."

Zheng Rong understood. "And then?"

Joseph said, "That's all."

Almost no one understood, each harboring their thoughts as they ate breakfast.

"I'm full," Laini said politely, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Those who had finished their meal got up to leave. Lance went to organize the equipment, and both Ugos and Jin Puae walked away.

Left at the table were Xiang Yu, Li Ying, Zheng Rong, and Joseph.

Li Ying tapped a fingernail against his glass, producing a resonant hum that startled Zheng Rong back to attention.

"Assuming," Zheng Rong said, "Moses led the slaves across the sea and then returned to Egypt without a doubt. Why did he come back?"

Joseph replied, "'He' asked Moses to return. It’s very clear. We can only assume that the 'God' mentioned in 'Offer yourself to God' is the same as the 'He' Moses referred to."

"Yes," Zheng Rong agreed slowly.

Joseph continued, "Moses mentioned at the beginning 'twice I traveled back and forth,' but from Egypt to Canaan and back to Egypt is only once. What about the other time?"

Zheng Rong said, "This is the biggest mystery. First, let's piece together the timeline based on what we know."

"One: Moses received divine guidance to lead the slaves out of Egypt. Two: He brought them to settle in Canaan, and then, according to 'His' command, returned alone... No, he returned with Aaron. Three: They died in the Sphinx's hidden chamber."

Joseph nodded. "Or perhaps you could assume that Moses received the Ten Commandments after leading the slaves to Mount Saint Catherine, but that's not crucial."

"No, it’s very important," Zheng Rong argued. "The first line mentions the 'Wheel of Fate' and 'He gazed at me from the sky,' and the second line starts with 'twice I traveled back and forth.' I hope you didn’t translate it wrong..."

Joseph tapped his fork against the plate, producing a crisp sound, and laughed. "Impossible."

"Then it's obvious." Zheng Rong said, "Give me a cigarette..."

Lighting up, he squinted at Joseph. "Moses' two journeys: the first was his own escape from Egypt. Did you notice he first used 'I' and only later used 'we'?"

"In ancient Hebrew, there’s no plural form for 'we.' I inferred it from the context," Joseph explained.

"Then why didn’t you use 'we' from the start?" Zheng Rong pressed.

Joseph was stunned.

"Trust your instincts. It all makes sense then," Zheng Rong said.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Moses first arrived at Mount Saint Catherine and saw the divine disk spinning in the sky—it’s that damned thing hovering over Peru—the Mayan aliens' UFO."

"Assume that the UFO could speak and relayed some of 'His' information to Moses, giving him a staff that could part the waters so he could return to Egypt and lead the slaves away. That was the first journey—the journey to find the divine message."

"The second time, he succeeded. After leading his people to find the Promised Land and settling them, he and his brother Aaron returned to Egypt the same way they came."

"Why?" Joseph asked. "An exchange."

"Very likely," Zheng Rong answered. "We don't understand anything, nor do we have any records to refer to. The story of Moses after he left Canaan is a blank slate; we can only speculate."

Joseph fell silent. Zheng Rong continued, "'He' gave Moses the staff, along with those strange symbols and the stone tablet, to fulfill His wishes. The two sides exchanged terms, and Moses had to complete a task for Him."

"It may not necessarily have been an exchange," Joseph suggested. "It’s possible 'He' wanted to demonstrate divine power to Moses to gain absolute faith."

"Possibly," Zheng Rong nodded. "It doesn't really matter. In any case, Moses and Aaron returned."

"Aaron died on the way, entrusting His soul to me," Joseph repeated. "What does that mean? Aaron died?"

The two fell silent until Li Ying suddenly pointed to his head and said, "He moved in."

"What?" Zheng Rong frowned.

Li Ying smiled ambiguously and said no more, creating an eerie atmosphere.

A horrifying thought dawned on Zheng Rong. He stared at Li Ying in disbelief, as if trying to find a clue in him. But Li Ying only smiled gently and whispered, "Darling, you're mistaken. I will always be the me I was before."

"What are you talking about?" Joseph asked in confusion.

Zheng Rong snapped back to reality, running through countless possibilities in his mind—the biological bomb, 'His' host, a human shell... Zheng Rong’s voice trembled. "'He' is a Mayan alien."

Joseph said, "I thought you already knew."

"No, no," Zheng Rong sat up straight. "Aaron became His shell, meaning that after Aaron and Moses' long journey, they reached the mountaintop again, where He inhabited Aaron’s body."

Joseph understood immediately. His first instinct was to jump up, knocking over his chair, and step back in fear, staring unblinking at Li Ying.

Li Ying smiled dangerously at Joseph.

"Sit down," Zheng Rong ordered. "Listen to what I have to say."

Lance rushed into the dining room. "What is it? If it’s nothing important, don’t come over," Zheng Rong said.

"You all can continue talking," Lance replied. "I plan to take him on the helicopter now." He attached a small alloy shackle to Li Ying’s shoulder to prevent escape.

Zheng Rong had wanted to keep Li Ying a little longer, but seeing Joseph’s expression, he gave up.

Lance led Li Ying away, and Joseph's face was one of disbelief. Zheng Rong said, "Aaron died on the way. By then, his brother was no longer the same person."

"Yes," Joseph confirmed.

"Moses was able to realize Aaron was dead; that’s the sign of a parasite. Li Ying is normal, without any abnormalities," Zheng Rong explained.

Once Joseph understood the reasoning, he sighed in relief and sat back down.

"So, we can deduce three conclusions," Zheng Rong continued.

"One: 'He' is a Mayan alien, or more accurately, some being or beings aboard the UFO. Two: 'He' intends to use human bodies to accomplish something. It’s possible He has no physical body, only a soul..."

"Three: Aaron, as His host, soon died."

Joseph's forehead was covered in sweat. "This is terrifying."

"Why choose Aaron and not Moses?" Zheng Rong asked.

Joseph steadied himself and answered quickly, "There could be many reasons. The stronger one's faith in Him, the easier it is for Him to... um, move in."

"'I am in you, and you are in me...'" Zheng Rong repeated coldly. "You just said it yourself."

Joseph finally calmed down. "Okay, let me organize my thoughts."

"Wait," Zheng Rong said. "The last line: 'He will depart, and you will be saved.' Do you think it has any further meaning? Where did He go? Did He tell Moses?"

Joseph slowly shook his head. After a while, he replied, "Another meaning of 'saved' is 'to gain eternal life.' As for where He went, He didn’t tell Moses."

Zheng Rong nodded, signaling for Joseph to leave.

The cigarette in the ashtray burned to its end, the butt breaking off.

Zheng Rong pondered silently for a moment and then asked, "Did you understand any of that?"

Xiang Yu shook his head.

Zheng Rong laughed in frustration. "Then why sit here for half the day if you don’t understand?"

"I was protecting you," Xiang Yu smiled as he used his fingers to gently brush against Zheng Rong's face.

Zheng Rong enjoyed the intimate gesture, like a black cat bringing misfortune to someone under the desert sun.

"I think I can piece it together," Zheng Rong said slowly.

Xiang Yu wiped his mouth with a napkin like a gentleman, helped Zheng Rong put out his cigarette, and spread his coat open for him to wear.

Zheng Rong slipped his hands into the coat pockets, his eyes a bit dazed, and walked towards the elevator.

----------------------------------------

In the underground hangar, Gukat was performing a final preflight inspection as the helicopter's rotor blades began to spin.

Zheng Rong stood before the military helicopter and instructed, "Prepare about ten days' worth of supplies."

"Not heading back to Northern Ireland, boss?" Gukat asked in confusion.

Lance opened the cabin door and asked, "What’s going on?"

Zheng Rong said coldly, "Who said we're going back to the Northern Ireland underground city? Did you ask me?"

"Right now, the most important thing is to bring Li Ying back and operate on him. He’s the military's number one wanted criminal..." Lance protested.

“What meal?” Jin Puae poked her head out from the cabin. “Are we eating again?”

Zheng Rong: "..."

Lance told Jin Puae to go back inside, then turned to Zheng Rong, irritated. "What exactly are you planning to do?"

"I have another place to go. You all go; I’ll go by myself," Zheng Rong said.

"We must return to Northern Ireland first," Lance insisted.

"Those who are willing to follow me, get off the plane," Zheng Rong declared.

"What’s going on? You’re not going home?" Joseph asked. "I need a massive computer language system to analyze the arrangement on that stone tablet..."

Ugos leaned out. "I need to test the water samples we got from underground..."

"Well, have a safe journey then." Zheng Rong turned. "Brother, let's go."

Xiang Yu glanced at Lance, then followed Zheng Rong.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Lance stepped off the helicopter, shouting, "What are you trying to do?"

Zheng Rong turned and looked at Lance, not saying a word.

Lance asked, "You agreed to return to Northern Ireland first, for Li Ying’s surgery."

Zheng Rong replied coldly, "I changed my mind."

Zheng Rong recalled his conversation with Laini last night—saving Li Ying was nearly impossible, and he wasn’t ready to face that reality.

"And so?" Lance asked, suppressing his anger.

"I'm going to ancient China, Xi'an, Mount Li. It’s up to you if you want to come," Zheng Rong said.

Lance: "..."

"Or I'll go with Xiang Yu. He can guide me," Zheng Rong continued.

Xiang Yu thought for a moment. "I’m not very familiar with it... but I could try."

Lance relented again. Three hours later, the helicopter left the hangar. The scorching sunlight poured down from the opening above the underground city, and the rotor blades churned golden dust, heading east.

The next stop—Xi'an.