As soon as I saw it, I knew what the “Muffled Oil Bottle” intended to do. Before I could think about whether it was appropriate, he had already poured a plate of fire charcoal into the gap he had smashed open. The gap was still a bit far from the things inside, and the fat guy quickly followed suit with another plate. The charcoal that was poured in afterwards pushed the already existing charcoal further inside.

Suddenly, a series of sounds emanated from the stones, resembling the cries of a baby—sharp and piercing, utterly miserable. Logically speaking, killing such a terrifying thing shouldn’t impose too much psychological pressure, but as I listened, I still felt my heart twist in discomfort. After all, it was completely at a disadvantage now, entirely at the mercy of others.

The “Muffled Oil Bottle” looked as cold as ice and continued pouring without hesitation. A strange smell filled the air, one I was very familiar with—it was the “smell of death” from the iron block. I hadn’t expected it to truly represent death. The shadows in the stone began to shake continuously at first and then gradually came to a halt, the wailing turning indistinct.

I had always been soft-hearted, and although I had almost been caught a moment ago, the act of killing a humanoid being like this made me feel extremely uneasy. The fat guy wasn’t as sentimental as I was; though he had some doubts, he didn’t hesitate. He chuckled dryly and said, “In the next life, be sure to be reborn as a human, and don’t end up in the wrong place.”

In the end, the shadow showed no more signs of life, leaving only the gap in the stone, still emitting green smoke. I slumped down to the ground, exhaling a sigh of relief. Just as I was about to gather myself, the “Muffled Oil Bottle” said, “It’s not over yet.”

I looked up and understood what he meant. On the other side of the rock wall, three more shadows were very close to the surface. “Do we really have to do this?” I asked. The “Muffled Oil Bottle” didn’t respond but glanced at the fat guy. He nodded, raised his hammer and chisel, and walked toward another shadow. I didn’t want to watch anymore, so I just sat there and didn’t move. The fat guy murmured a few Amitabha prayers and then started chiseling. Soon, the events that had just transpired replayed once more.

By the time we got to the third one, the fat guy couldn’t take it anymore. Sweating profusely, he stood in front of the shadow for a long time and asked the “Muffled Oil Bottle,” “Hey, can we take a break before continuing?” The “Muffled Oil Bottle” shook his head, looked around, and coldly said, “No time for breaks. We have to keep going.”

When I turned to look, I was immediately startled. I didn’t know when, but all the shadows in the rock wall had already emerged against the wall, clearly visible at a glance, with at least ten more appearing, and they were visible to the naked eye. They were slowly moving towards the surface of the rock wall.

What was going on? Had they discovered our intentions and sped up? I stood up again. The “Muffled Oil Bottle” picked up my military dagger, gripping it in reverse, while the fat guy wielded the stone hammer. I was unarmed, so I picked up a rod from the ground. The three of us stood back to back, watching our surroundings.

The fat guy was already getting excited. If he really wanted to fight, he wouldn’t care whether the opponent was Arnold or a stone monster. I heard him curse a few times, saying, “Damn it! Well, I can’t stand being here any longer. Dying of hunger is worse than dying gloriously like this; let’s go all out!” After saying that, he suddenly remembered something and kicked the statue away, exclaiming, “Damn it for not showing respect! I’d rather worship a damn chicken than you!”

My heart raced uncontrollably, and I trembled involuntarily, but surprisingly, it wasn’t fear. I said to the fat guy, “What’s so glorious about dying like this? Damn it, who knows how you died?”

Just after I finished speaking, I suddenly felt a chill at the back of my neck as something fell onto me. Startled, I jumped back and touched my neck, only to find some rock fragments.

My mind raced as I realized I had forgotten that there were rocks overhead. I looked up and saw that the rock ceiling, less than two fists away from my head, had cracked open, revealing something green within the gap.

We immediately moved aside as the rock ceiling cracked almost simultaneously. A green shadow suddenly dropped down from above, followed by a piercing scream.

Under the light of the searchlight, I couldn’t see the full figure of that thing; all I knew was that a shadow fell down, lingered in the circle of light for half a second, then darted away and crashed into the campfire.

The campfire was scattered, sparks and embers flew everywhere, and the concentrated light was completely disrupted, plunging the surroundings into darkness, with only countless small points of fire burning.

This change was unexpected. I chased after that thing with the searchlight but could only catch glimpses of its afterimage.

The fat guy reacted the fastest, grabbing a burning branch from the ground, but as soon as he picked it up, the fire went out, leaving only a dark red ember.

“Son of a bitch—” he cursed, but before he could finish the word “bitch,” it turned into a muffled grunt, as if something had tackled him to the ground, followed by a series of thumping sounds.

I shone the searchlight in the direction of the noise and saw the fat guy grappling with some creature. I quickly turned the light to look for the quiet guy, but when I swung the flashlight, I didn’t find him; instead, I shone it on an incredibly hideous face.

The searchlight had an inertia, so that face only appeared for a moment, but the impact was far greater than directly seeing it. I was instantly terrified, my heart racing, and I reflexively stumbled back, shouting, “Another one is coming out!”

Fear aside, I swung the iron rod in that direction, and with a dull thud, I hit something, but it didn’t feel strong. The rod was made of solid iron and was very heavy; I couldn’t swing it a second time with one hand, so I had to pull it back and use the searchlight to shine again.

Before I could see clearly, I was suddenly jolted from behind, and I fell to the ground, rolling away. The searchlight slipped from my hand, and I had no idea where it went.

As I got back up, I realized it was a disaster; I couldn’t see anything. Just then, I heard the quiet guy shout, “Get down on the ground, don’t move!” Then came another round of piercing screams, followed by something heavy crashing down beside me.

I covered my head and curled to the side, hearing hissing sounds a few fists away, and then in the darkness, I heard the unmistakable sound of a neck breaking, followed by silence.

On the other side, the fat guy was still at it; I could hear him pounding away, shouting, “Dare to steal from Fatty! Dare to steal from Fatty!” Each strike was accompanied by a scream, and after several blows, there was no more movement from that side. He spat forcefully.

I couldn’t see what was happening over there, and suddenly everything fell silent.

I asked, “Is it all taken care of?”

The quiet guy said sharply, “Don’t talk, listen!”

I immediately held my breath, hearing crawling sounds in the darkness, so numerous that I couldn’t even estimate their number.