“Why do you say that?” Liang Wan could only look at the various wounds on the black glasses man’s body with her naked eyes, thinking to herself that it was you who were going to lose, not me. However, checking wounds upon seeing someone had already become a professional habit for her as a doctor.

“He was too close to the center of the explosion. In such a small space, an explosion with such tremendous power can injure the internal organs,” the black glasses man took a deep breath. “You should understand this better than I do. Even if he’s not dead now, he won’t last long. There are no miracles in situations like this.”

Liang Wan sighed. She couldn’t see his expression behind the sunglasses and wondered if there was any guilt in his eyes.

Bringing a high school student into such a situation would naturally lead to this kind of outcome. Even if it wasn’t this explosion, there were countless other possibilities. Although today’s children are very different in mindset from those of the past, they are still just children.

“Protecting a person is much harder than harming one,” the black glasses man glanced at Su Wan’s watch, “Li Cuo’s behavior is different from everyone else’s. Wu Xie was lucky this time, but it’s a pity; it’s my fault.”

Liang Wan sighed again. She didn’t want to blame anyone; if she wasn’t a match for him, she shouldn’t speak carelessly. She sat down and asked, “Why is this child so important?”

The black glasses man looked around the room. “There’s a core principle in archaeology: no one believes that what they see is 100% of the actual situation. All clues point to 99.999999% of the truth; all efforts are aimed at increasing the number of nines after the decimal point. But no one deludes themselves into thinking it can reach 100. In the archaeological system from a thousand years ago, people often operated around the 50% mark to prove and disprove.”

Liang Wan looked at him, unsure of what he wanted to say but didn’t interrupt.

“Until later, we discovered that kind of snake. We found traces of this snake for the first time in some relics along the ancient Silk Road. These snakes were valuable commodities at the time. From the many skeletal features of the snake, it seemed to belong to a tropical species that lived in rainforests, suitable for humid and hot environments. However, snake bones appeared in large quantities in ancient cities along the Silk Road, indicating that they were being circulated.” The black glasses man continued, “This is very strange. The Silk Road was a path of alternating death and wealth. Death represented the extreme danger of this route, making large-scale trade in living creatures unsuitable for it. Later, through chronology, we indeed found that the trade in these snakes along the Silk Road disappeared within the first ten years after the route was established.”

“At least that’s how archaeologists understood it, but we don’t see it that way,” the black glasses man said. “This is regional trade because neither end of the trade route had these snakes. The sudden appearance of snakes along this trade route indicates that the source was at some point on the Silk Road. At that time, there was an opportunity; I went there for an investigation with a large group of people, and it turned into a mess. Fortunately, an elder helped me a lot, and I managed to come out alive. Luckily, I brought a snake with me.”

This type of snake has a pair of eyes, and on its forehead, there are scales that can open, revealing a patch of red and black patterns resembling a pupil, much like a third eye. This third eye looks somewhat sinister, but if it is removed, the snake will immediately die. The snake brought out by Heixiaozi from the snake swamp does not have a third eye; it only has a crest-like protrusion on its head. This is a domesticated breed, likely a subspecies developed through hybridization or selective breeding. Wild snakes are black and extremely fierce.

The social structure of these snakes is very similar to that of ants, with countless juvenile snakes that are not reproductively capable, while the male snakes and the queen snake remain dormant in the nest.

“I brought this snake to a friend because a predecessor mentioned that it carried a message. However, my friend isn’t very perceptive; he tends to be a bit slow in everything he does,” Heixiaozi sighed. “He’s also quite stubborn and believes that the message must be contained within this snake. He wanted to dissect it, and as a result, he got bitten. After being taken to the hospital and waking up, he became a different person. He received the information.”

The pheromones of the snake can convey very concrete messages, and at that time, he gradually began to understand this principle. Many things that had puzzled him before were now explained.

This was a critical clue within the entire mystery, carrying significant meaning, but he couldn’t comprehend how he had managed it.

After finishing his last puff of smoke, Heixiaozi said, “Li Zu also has this ability.”

Liang Wan felt a bit skeptical; the organ known as the vomeronasal organ still has many aspects that are not well understood. While there is some basis for this claim, Liang Wan found it somewhat ridiculous to hear others speak so eloquently about it outside of his professional field.

“People who come to places like this can never truly know what has happened here before. We are always guessing; the more complex the situation, the more possibilities we can speculate. But Li Zu can tell us what has actually happened here,” Heixiaozi said. “He can restore the original appearance.”

“Why do you want to know what happened here? Or rather, Boss Wu, why not come here yourself and play house with these snakes?”

“I can’t tell you the reason,” Heixiaozi replied. “Wu Xie doesn’t personally go in because the pheromones of these snakes have side effects. The side effects are irreversible.”

“What side effects?”

“Personality changes,” Heixiaozi said. “It may only take a few seconds to absorb these pheromones, but their effect on your brain lasts a very long time. It’s as if he copies a segment of memory, an experience, directly into your brain. After those few seconds, your feeling could equate to ten years, or even a hundred years.” Heixiaozi looked at Liang Wan, “What do you think happens to a 30-year-old person who suddenly becomes 100 years old?”

Liang Wan was somewhat astonished. “That long? Is that even possible?”

Heixiaozi replied, “What he wants to do probably isn’t based on a century. We don’t know what he did afterward. When I saw him later, I felt like he had already lived for several thousand years. In any case, he can no longer come into contact with these things; he has reached his limit.”

“Li Zu is our only hope now,” Hei Xiazi said. “Unfortunately, he is going to die.”

Liang Wan sighed. She was affected by the man’s state and felt a sense of sadness. She somewhat understood what they were fighting against and the burdens they carried. Although it had nothing to do with her own goals, seeing this man’s pain was still moving.

“What can I do for you?” Liang Wan asked.

Hei Yanjing suddenly turned his head and smiled. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that for a long time. Can you find Li Zu and try to keep him going for another three days? I can teach you how to get out of here.”

“Aren’t you able to move yourself?”

Hei Yanjing smiled slightly and stretched out his hand. Liang Wan saw something moving beneath his skin, and she took a step back in fright.

These things were the size of buttons, densely packed just beneath the surface of his skin.

“It’s very difficult when some people are gone,” he said, lowering his hand and tossing his backpack to Liang Wan. “This deal is very fair. Will you accept it?”