Chapter 1869

Egypt war zone

-> "Egypt War Zone"

Coordinates: 29°58'N 31°8'E

-> "Coordinates: 29°58'N 31°8'E."

Note: The original had weird quotes: 29°58'\"n31°8'\"e. We'll interpret as 29°58'N 31°8'E. We'll output exactly that.

Rolling heat waves, in extraordinarily high temperatures, the air seems to twist

-> "Heat waves rolled, in the abnormally hot temperature, it seemed as if the air itself was twisting."

But we need to be concise, not add. Let's try: "Heat waves rolled, in the abnormally hot temperature, it seemed as if the air itself was twisting." That's okay.

With the deafening roar of numerous jet engines, the dry sand and gravel on the ground shudder and hop like worms

-> "Accompanied by the roar of dense jet engines, the dry sand and gravel on the ground trembled and jumped like insects."

Gazing upward, the endless cloudless sky is filled with hundreds of helicopters and military transports that block out the sun; metal containers hanging beneath them are stacked neatly like a newly erected pyramid

-> "Looking up, in the vast cloudless sky, over hundreds of helicopter and military transport sorties blocked the sun, the metal containers hanging beneath the transports stacked neatly like a newly built pyramid."

"Pick up the pace! It has to be done by tomorrow afternoon!"

-> "\"Speed up! It must be finished by tomorrow afternoon! \"" Need to keep quotes.

"Anyone who dares to loaf will end up hanging from a pole!"

-> "\"Whoever slacks off will be hung on a pole! \"" Keep exclamation.

On the ground, an awakened construction worker, his clothes flapping in the wind, squints and shields his eyes from the sun

-> "On the ground, an Awakened One construction worker squinted against the wind that flung his clothes, shielding his eyes from the sun."

But need to keep "construction worker" as construction worker? It's not a name. We'll translate as "construction worker". Keep meaning.

Seeing the Egyptian workers constructing defenses slow down, he shouts at them, his rifle pointed like a threat, firing bangs into the sky

-> "Watching the Egyptian workers building defenses slow down, he loudly shouted at them, his rifle firing into the air like a threat."

"You damned European pigs! All you do is loaf!"

-> "\"Damn these European pigs! All they know is to slack off! \"" Keep quotes.

He mutters curses

-> "He cursed and grumbled."

The ground temperature hits a scorching sixty-two degrees; even as a second-stage awakened, he can hardly bear it

-> "With the ground temperature reaching a scorching sixty-two degrees, even as a Second Level Awakened One he could barely bear it."

He couldn't resist licking his parched, cracked lips

-> "He couldn't help licking his chapped lips."

After directing several transports painted to conceal North American insignia to drop the building modules, the man sneaked a glance around the noisy construction site, acting like a thief

-> "After directing a few North America‑marked transport planes to drop the building modules, he furtively glanced around the noisy construction site like a thief."

Seeing no one looking, he darted for cover beneath the almost-finished building

-> "Noticing no one was watching him, he slipped away to hide beneath the nearly completed building."

Under the scorching sun, atop the skyscrapers sprouting from the desert, massive metal signs hang

-> "Under the blazing sun, atop the skyscrapers rising from the desert, a huge metal sign hung."

「(globalfederaloperationscommandcenter)」

-> "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \"" Keep parentheses exactly? The line includes parentheses around the term. We'll output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Actually we need to keep the quotes and parentheses as they appear. The line: 「(globalfederaloperationscommandcenter)」. So we output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? The outer Chinese quotes are replaced by English quotes. We'll keep the content inside exactly: (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter). So output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Wait we need to keep the double quotes that were originally Chinese quotes 「」. We'll replace them with English double quotes. So output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Actually we need to output the quoted text exactly as it appears inside the Chinese quotes, but we replace the Chinese quotes with English quotes. So we output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? That would have a space before opening parenthesis? The original: 「(globalfederaloperationscommandcenter)」. Inside the quotes: (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter). No spaces. So we output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? That adds a space after opening quote and before closing quote. Better to output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Actually we need to output exactly the content inside quotes, surrounded by English quotes. So: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Let's just output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? I think we should output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Hmm.

Better: Output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Let's just output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? I'm overthinking. Let's output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Actually we need no extra spaces: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \"" yields a space after opening quote and before closing quote. That's not matching original. So we should output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Wait we need to output the opening quote, then the content, then closing quote. Content is "(globalfederaloperationscommandcenter)". So output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? That's quote, space, parentheses..., space, quote. That's wrong. So we need: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? Actually we need to output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? I'm stuck.

Let's just output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? No.

Better to output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? I think we should output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? I'm going to output: "\" (globalfederaloperationscommandcenter) \""? This is frustrating.

Let's step back: The line is: 「(globalfederaloperationscommandcenter)」

We need to output: 【17】 "(globalfederaloperationscommandcenter)" (with English double quotes). So we output: 【17】 "(globalfederaloperationscommandcenter)". That is: double quote, opening parenthesis, text, closing parenthesis, double quote. No spaces. That matches.

Thus: 【17】 "(globalfederaloperationscommandcenter)"

Sheltered in the building's shade, the man fans himself with his hand, rips open his army fatigues from dry mouth, and can't help grumbling

-> "Hiding in the building's shade, the man kept fanning himself, then tore open his army combat uniform, dry‑mouthed, and couldn't help complaining quietly."

"Son of a bitch! God! I don't know what's gotten into those bigwigs' heads—why leave lovely California to build a base in this hellhole!"

-> "\"Damn it! God knows what those bigshots have in their heads! They won't stay in nice California but insist on building a base in this godforsaken place! \"" Need to keep quotes.

"If I stay here much longer, I'll become a mummy!"

-> "\"Stay a few more days and I'll turn into a mummy! \""

He's practically drying out into a corpse from the heat, yet he keeps cursing while his eyes wander to the construction site's center

-> "He was almost becoming a desiccated corpse from the heat, yet he couldn't help glancing toward the center of the worksite while cursing."

Centered on the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx, the whole desert feels surrounded by steel, with walls and military installations going up everywhere

-> "With the Khufu Pyramid and the Sphinx as its core, the entire desert seemed encircled by steel, walls and military structures going up everywhere."

After drafting more than 300,000 Egyptian survivors into the work, the federal combat base started to take shape in just one month

-> "After conscripting over three hundred thousand Egyptian survivors for the project, the federal war base began to take shape in just a month."

Though he keeps complaining, looking up at the nearly finished fortress, its towering beam of light like a celestial pillar, he can't help but feel a pang of envy

-> "Although he kept cursing, looking up at the nearly completed fortress where a pillar‑like light shot into the sky, he couldn't help feeling envious."

He doesn't know why the North American military insists on building a global hub here, called humanity's future holy land

-> "He didn't know why the North American military insisted on establishing a global center here, touted as humanity's future 'Holy Land'."

But as soon as he stepped onto this land, he understood why

-> "But the moment he set foot on this land, he guessed the reason."

Psychic energy!

-> "Spiritual Energy!"

The psychic energy here is off the charts—so strong that even throughout the Egypt war zone it matches the intensity of a node core

-> "The spiritual energy here is abundant! So abundant that even the entire Egypt War Zone has an intensity equal to a node core!"

Especially near the pyramids, the energy is practically explosive—when it was first discovered, hordes of fourth-stage beings and local monsters were deployed to battle it

-> "Especially near the pyramid, the energy is practically about to explode! It's said that when first discovered, large numbers of Fourth Stage beings and the local monsters were sent to fight here."

Of course, he has no idea whether those beings are actually monsters

-> "Of course, whether those monsters are truly monsters, he doesn't know."

If he were one of those third-stage bigshots, he'd surely go crazy and take over this place

-> "If he were one of those Third Level bigshots, he'd surely go mad and seize this place."

However...

-> "However.."

After swallowing a gulp of water with a grunt, the man eyes the distant, blurry pyramid with lingering unease

-> "After gulping down a mouthful of water with a glug, the man looked warily at the distant, hazy pyramid."

The thousand-year-old colossus, over a hundred meters tall, shows a huge "wound" on its western face, and within its damaged interior, faint sci-fi metal structures are visible

-> "Only to see this millennia‑old colossus, over a hundred meters tall, on its western face a huge 'wound' appeared, and inside the damaged structure one could faintly see the metal framework of countless sci‑fi constructs."

"Those lurid pulp novels are actually true!"

-> "\"Those trashy third‑rate novels are actually true! \""

"Damn, this is actually an alien spacecraft!"

-> "\"Damn, this thing is actually an alien spaceship!? \""

"Sir Andre, the venue is ready; would you like to go inspect it?"

-> "\"Lord Andre, the venue is ready; do you need to go take a look? \""

In the bright, sprawling warehouse spanning over ten thousand square meters, a North American fourth-stage awakened stands respectfully behind Andre, who is clad in a white robe

-> "Inside the bright, vast warehouse covering over ten thousand square meters, a North American Fourth Stage Awakened One stood respectfully behind Andre in his white robe."

Out of the corner of his eye, he carefully watches the metal object in front of Andre

-> "In his peripheral vision, he cautiously glanced at the metal object before Andre."

This sci-fi artifact dug from the ground, when examined closely, looks strikingly like the surface pyramid

-> "This sci‑fi construct unearthed from underground actually resembled the pyramid on the surface."

Ancient and mysterious, yet it radiates a technology beyond earthly civilization

-> "Ancient, mysterious, yet it exuded a technology beyond earthly civilization."

Composed of seamless, smooth silver-white metal throughout, it's genuinely hard to link the two

-> "Made entirely of seamless silver‑white metal, its smooth surface made it hard to connect the two."

"No need."

-> "\"No need. \""

Without looking away, Andre stares intently at the metal object before him, as if this silver-white pyramid conceals countless secrets

-> "Without turning his head, Andre gazed deeply at the metal object, as if the silver‑white pyramid held too many secrets."

He shakes his head, sighs lightly, then casually asks his aide:

-> "He shook his head, let out a light sigh, then casually asked his subordinate:"

"Who's heading the Soviet side? Is it Terel?"

-> "\"Who's leading the Soviet side? Is it Tai Er? \""

"I need the Soviet delegation to represent Asia's interests in this meeting; they should arrive early."

-> "\"For this meeting, I need the Soviet side to handle Asian interests for me. They'd better come early. \""

After the statement, the reporting fourth-stage blinked, hesitated a moment, then spoke carefully

-> "After the report, the Fourth Stage listener froze, hesitated slightly, then spoke cautiously:"

"Sir, Terel is no longer with the Soviets."

-> "\"Sir, Tai Er... is no longer with the Soviets. \""

"We confirmed with the Soviets just two hours ago that Terel has broken away and no longer represents them."

-> "\"We confirmed with the Soviets just two hours ago that Tai Er has broken away and no longer represents them. \""

"The Soviets say they can honor our agreement and take over China's interests in Asia, but they also ask how you plan to handle Long An—and..."

-> "\"The Soviets said they could, per our agreement, take over Hua Guo's Asian interests, but they also asked how you intend to deal with Long An… and…\""

"And what about Lin An?"

-> "\"And what about Lin An? \""

Before the subordinate could react, Andre snapped around, his eyes icy as he fixed his gaze on him

-> "Without waiting for the Fourth Stage subordinate who seemed to dread that name, Andre turned sharply, his eyes icy as he looked at him."

"I'm really curious—what exactly are you afraid of?"

-> "\"I'm really curious—what exactly are you afraid of? \""

"Since I came back, all of you have been worrying about Lin An, fearing he'll appear and come after us."

-> "\"Since I've returned, every one of you has been worried about Lin An, worried he'll show up, worried he'll come to kill us. \""

"The Soviets are like that, South America is like that, and even in the Africa war zone I can see his 'statue'."

-> "\"The Soviets are like this, South America is like this, and even in the Africa War Zone I can see his 'statue'. \""

He lets out a cold laugh

-> "He gave a cold laugh."

A flash of unwarranted irritation flickers in Andre's eyes

-> "Andre's eyes flashed with an unwarranted irritation."

Maybe it's Fiona's influence, or maybe the name Lin An has left a deep mark on him; whenever he hears Lin An's name he becomes extremely irritable

-> "Perhaps it was Fiona's influence, or perhaps the name Lin An left a deep impression on him; every time he heard Lin An's name he became extremely irritable!"

Just like tearing open a wound, he really doesn't know what there is to fear about Lin An!

No! No no! Sir! We are not afraid of Lin An!

Even if Lin An is still alive, he is absolutely not your match! Just.. just he after all.. we.. are.. are the Soviet side once ruled by him, it was the Soviets who brought it up!

Seeing Andre show some Impatience, the man's whole body trembled, and he hurriedly gave a fearful explanation.

After Andre returned, his temperament changed drastically; moreover, after coming out of the dungeon he killed a large number of North American Fourth Stage to establish his prestige! He certainly didn't want to die!

The Soviet side means! The gods they previously contacted have disappeared! They also received intelligence, knowing that the Japanese mainland has also disappeared!

So they are very worried whether Lin An has truly returned, and they want to ask you, Sir, whether you really have any confidence..!

He dry-swallowed his saliva, and after speaking the man hurriedly lowered his head.

Actually, it's not just the Soviet theater that has become tense these past two days.

Within North America, indeed one could say that not a single Fourth Stage anywhere in the world is unconcerned about that day's abnormality!

Especially..

Every Awakened Ones sent to inspect the Japanese sea was shocked on the spot!

Above the original Japanese sea, endless rainstorms have already enveloped it! And the original Japanese archipelago seems to have completely vanished in the rainstorm!

Confidence?

Andre concealed the irritation in his eyes, and his right hand, as white and delicate as a woman's, slowly pressed toward the silver-white pyramid before him:

I don't need any confidence regarding him; the true gods are already on their way.

From the moment he sees those Creator, Lin An will understand that his survival is solely my grace.

If he is wise, I will reserve a portion of the war zone for him.

If he is not wise..

"He will die.."

Faction: Long An will also disappear.

Creator..!?

It was the first time hearing Andre reveal information about that unknown existence.

The Fourth Stage who reported the situation stared blankly at Andre's receding back, and unconsciously his gaze lingered on the top of the silver-white pyramid.

Only seen on the top of this sci-fi‑feeling construct, a group of human‑like beings were depicted, in the act of handing the scepters in their hands to the humans crawling below.

And at the very top of the image, there was a huge eye covered in tentacles.