Hou Dayong led the way, pulling three small packets from his pocket. He handed one each to Wang Jue and me, keeping the third for himself. Inside each packet was a set of @compression suits, made of some incredibly light material. He stripped off his jacket and pants with practiced speed, quickly pulling on the suit until he resembled Spider-Man.

I began undressing, mirroring his movements, and instinctively patted the pocket on my chest, wondering where to safely place the small vial. A jolt of panic struck me! Blast it—the vial was in my jacket pocket, which I’d just tossed into the swarm of insects!

Wang Jue had just finished donning his suit and was about to follow Hou Dayong toward the wall crevice when I grabbed him and blurted out the news about the lost vial.

He froze in shock! Using the faint light filtering from the fissure, he peered down the corridor. Through the gloom, we could just make out my jacket, already hosting several clusters of the Ming insects.

What were we to do? Hou Dayong had already begun turning sideways, craning his neck, pressing his limbs together as he flattened himself into the gap, slowly inching outward.

Wang Jue and I stood inside the wall like ants on a hot griddle. If we went to retrieve the vial, it was covered in flesh-eating Ming insects. If we didn’t, we were tethering ourselves to Li Xiaohao and Hou Dayong, with an unknown fate awaiting us below.

Suddenly, Wang Jue had a flash of brilliance and urgently told me to strip off the compression suit immediately. I didn't understand his plan, but the situation was too dire to question, so I obeyed, instantly pulling off the garment I’d just put on and handing it to him.

He took the suit, turned it right-side out, smoothed it, folded it down to the size of a silk scarf, wrapped it around his hand, and cautiously approached my jacket. I stood at this end of the corridor, holding my breath and silently muttering prayers.

He approached step by agonizing step, crouched down near the jacket, gently lifted it with the hand encased in the compression suit, and then stretched his arm out, keeping the jacket at a distance from his body. Then, slowly turning the material over, he searched for the vial’s location and found it tucked in the outer pocket. He paused, took a deep, steadying breath, and carefully inserted the suit-wrapped hand into the pocket, extracting the bottle.

Watching him safely return with the vial, I let out a long, deep sigh of relief. Thank the heavens!

Wang Jue picked up the suit I had just taken off, wiped the vial clean, and handed it back to me. This compression suit was truly remarkable; after handling it among that nest of bugs for so long, it hadn’t accumulated a single stain or insect. No wonder Hou Dayong insisted on wearing one to squeeze through the wall fissure.

I changed back into the suit, tore a strip of cloth from my shirt, and asked Wang Jue to help me tie the vial securely to my wrist. Then, following behind him, mimicking Hou Dayong’s earlier movements, I started to thread myself into the wall crevice.

As mentioned, the fissure was about forty centimeters wide. While that wasn't narrow, it was still a tight squeeze for a person to traverse sideways. I straightened my back, positioning my body suspended centrally within the gap, ensuring I didn't brush against the front edge or the rear wall. Only three to four inches from my nose was the cross-section of the wall, teeming with squirming, writhing Ming insects.

Looking at those slick, fleshy, perpetually undulating creatures only inches away was ten times more nauseating than the moment I had vomited earlier. However, if I lost control and vomited into the crevice, the small bugs would certainly swarm onto me, and if even one managed to crawl onto my face or hands—areas unprotected by the suit—it would be fatal.

There was no choice; I had to endure it, absolutely endure it! While forcing my attention away from the swarm by vividly recalling beautiful moments spent with Wenshu, I shuffled forward inch by painstaking inch, until a potent scent of fresh blood drifted toward me.