But that zombie hadn't climbed up for half the day. I opened my eyes and chuckled—ah, that’s why I heard the rattling of the chains but no ascent. The chains simply weren't long enough. Heaven was aiding me! The immediate danger was gone, and the tension that had coiled in my nerves instantly relaxed. I prepared to pull Old Li in for a much-needed rest; I was practically falling apart from exhaustion today.

“Old Li,” I said, rolling slightly inward, stretching my limbs out wide like an asterisk, lying flat on my back, inviting him to rest too.

I called out once, but Old Li didn't answer. A second time, still no reply. I assumed he was utterly spent, too tired to respond, so I stopped shouting and just lay there, breathing heavily, catching my breath.

Suddenly, a blinding beam of light shot directly into my eyes. Even with my eyes closed, it was intensely uncomfortable, especially when I desperately needed quiet repose to gather my strength. Knowing it had to be Old Li causing trouble, I shielded my eyes with my hand and snapped irritably, “Old Li, get that light away from my eyes!”

Old Li didn't answer. That would have been one thing, but he actually intensified the disturbance, wildly swinging the lamp right in front of my face.

I couldn't tolerate it anymore. I flipped over, sat up, glared at him, and hissed, “Did you not hear me say I need to rest!”

Seeing me sit up, Old Li ignored my anger and frantically pointed toward the side, urging me to look quickly. My eyes, still painfully dazzled by the searchlight’s glare, saw only a searing, bright white expanse wherever I looked. This only fueled my fury. “Are you mute?” I snapped, annoyed. “What the hell is it!”

“Luo…” Old Li finally managed to speak a single word, but his voice was shaking violently. “Luo…” The shaking continued. By now, my eyes could vaguely discern shapes. I saw Old Li’s expression was one of absolute, abnormal terror. In all the frights we’d faced since ascending the mountain, I had never seen him this afraid—his face was contorted with panic. He kept opening his mouth as if to speak, but after uttering those two ‘Luo’s, he couldn't force out another sound. His whole body trembled ceaselessly, his neck seeming unable to support the weight of his head, causing it to wobble uncontrollably. The searchlight on his head swayed in tandem, and only then did I realize he hadn't been deliberately shining the lamp in my face.

“What is it? What’s wrong, Old Li?” Sensing something was deeply wrong, I quickly stood up and steadied him.

Old Li continued to tremble, unable to form words. He slowly tilted his head to one side, motioning for me to look. The light followed, revealing the stark form of a Japanese corpse lying there, a large patch of congealed blood staining the front of his uniform, which hung in tatters. Good, I thought; the devil has been taken care of. Why be so frightened over this?

“Old Li,” I turned, smiling, and patted his shoulder. “A dead Jap, the same beast that pushed me into the bloody spring—I should be celebrating his demise! Why are you so terrified?”

Old Li seemed to snap back to reality. He first reached out to touch his own face, then tentatively touched mine—his hand was like a block of ice from the shock. The cold made me shiver, but thankfully he quickly withdrew it. He then fumbled over the front of his own shirt, let out a sigh of relief, and managed to say, “Luo… Master Luo…” His voice was still trembling, but he could articulate a coherent sentence now. “Master Luo, that Japanese man, his chest… his chest… you go look…”

The large patch of coagulated blood on the Japanese man’s chest seemed unremarkable to me. I couldn’t fathom why Old Li was so terrified. I looked at him in confusion. “This is one of Yamamoto’s group. I can’t make out the face, can’t tell who specifically. I see the blood stain on his chest, and his clothes are torn.”

“You… go look closely…” Old Li stuttered, pushing me toward the body.

I wasn’t particularly afraid of dead bodies, so I went over.

Old Li cranked the searchlight to maximum intensity and stood far back to illuminate the scene for me. I bent down for a closer look. It was Yoshino Taro, the man with the short eyebrows and small eyes who always carried that strange, large square backpack on his back. He was agile and taciturn; Yamamoto usually made all the decisions on the journey, and Yoshino rarely spoke. I had always assumed he was merely one of Yamamoto’s loyal subordinates and hadn't paid him much attention. But now, finally seeing him up close, his facial features were twisted and deformed. The torn, bloody clothes on his chest were a given, but the crucial detail was his exposed ribcage—his sternum looked as if something had tried to tear it open from both sides but lacked the strength, leaving it half-split, offering a clear, horrific view of the organs within.

A bone-chilling cold shot up my spine and instantly flooded my entire body. A terrifying realization flashed through my mind, but I dared not dwell on it. Old Li was already near collapse; I couldn't vocalize what I saw or let his composure shatter completely. I took two steps back and pretended to be perfectly calm as I spoke to Old Li. “This is Yoshino Taro, one of those Japanese devils. He’s dead now, let’s hurry and leave.” I thought I sounded smooth, but the words that finally tumbled out revealed my own trembling voice, making the short sentence take an age to articulate clearly.

“Leave… leave… let’s go,” I said, moving to pull Old Li along.

Old Li replied with utter defeat, “Go? Below us is an abyss. How do we go?”

Only then did I register our predicament: we were trapped on a narrow ledge, flanked on three sides by bottomless chasms, with the fourth side being the cave wall. Below us, zombies were still frantically tugging at the chains, trying to climb up. What to do? What to do? Old Li had lost his nerve. If I panicked too, all hope of survival would vanish.

Sometimes, overwhelming fear eventually burns itself out, leaving only a desperate focus on escape. I forced myself to calm down rapidly. Though my limbs remained icy and weak, and my voice still shook, my mind regained clarity. First, stabilize Old Li and urge him not to be afraid. Then, take the searchlight from his head to survey our surroundings.

There were distinct footprints on the ground here, messy, overlapping, and quite fresh, though impossible to count how many people had passed through. Three sides dropped into the abyss, shrouded in a thick mist whose depth was unknowable. My instinct screamed that falling in meant being smashed to pieces, leaving no corpse intact. Then, I saw the chains—a full six chains, as thick as those anchoring the zombies in the cavern, spanned the abyss, stretching toward the opposite side. The situation on the far side was indistinct, merely suggesting a dark cavern opening.

These chains showed signs of freshly ground-off rust, perhaps from people sliding across to the other cave. Yet, it seemed unlikely, as the soil where the chains were anchored on our side appeared terribly loose, the mud and stones shifting easily, as if a casual tug could yank them all out.

I hesitated, reluctant to commit to a decision. I reached out and tugged one of the chains. With the slightest pull, the surrounding dirt and stones bulged up slightly, then settled back down when I let go. I pulled harder again; the soil bulged once more but didn't disintegrate. It looked ready to be uprooted at any moment, yet when I exerted nearly all my strength, the chain didn't budge an inch.

“Master Luo, what do you think?” Old Li had also settled down somewhat. He came over and mimicked my actions, pulling on a chain to test its stability.

It was certain the anchor points here were secure, but we had no idea what the other end of the chain was attached to. If it was tethered to a zombie, that would be disastrous. Seeing Old Li regain some composure, I shared this concern. He frowned, thought for a moment, and said, “It shouldn’t be a zombie… Look, there are wood splinters caught between the links. It must be a rope bridge.” His voice still held a slight tremor, and his confidence was noticeably low, but recovering this much in such a short time was remarkable for most men. Seeing him regain some footing made me feel slightly more secure.

Just then, a low "Hah" sound drifted from behind us. I gasped in alarm and spun around: Yoshino Taro, who had been lying dead on the ground, had just moved his limbs. “Hah…” he muttered indistinctly.

“Could he not be dead?” I asked Old Li, bewildered.

He looked back at me just as confused. “M-maybe,” he replied uncertainly.

Yoshino struggled, twisting, attempting to stand. He strained, pushing down with both hands, failing several times to rise. But with every struggle, the wound on his chest tore slightly wider, and his internal organs seemed perilously close to spilling out.

Yoshino wasn't alive; no living being could survive such injuries.

“Old Li, Yoshino’s chest wound looks exactly like the injuries on those desiccated corpses we saw when we entered the cave,” I finally voiced the fear I had suppressed. “And he isn't acting like a living person now.” Saying this, a chilling numbness spread through me, leaving my mind utterly blank.

“Then… let’s run,” Old Li muttered after a pause, trembling slightly.

“Run?” I mechanically repeated, lost. “How do we run?” As I spoke, I watched as Yoshino slowly managed to stand up, still making that “Hah-hah” sound from his mouth. Despite the gaping chest wound, no more blood was flowing.

“I…” I widened my eyes, almost unable to believe it. Yoshino had genuinely gotten to his feet, moving with an agonizing slowness. As he swayed, his entrails shifted visibly, and he seemed to be starting to walk toward us.

“Corporeal Transformation!” The moment Old Li shouted the words, he lunged, grabbing one chain and leaping off the ledge. His body hung suspended in mid-air. “Hurry!” he urged, using his hands to pull himself forward.

I flinched, then scrambled to grab another chain, mimicking Old Li’s jump. The real, biting cold of the metal shot instantly from my palms through my whole body. My limbs felt weak, my body dangling in the void, and I lacked the strength to switch hands and move forward. Clearly, I could hear Yoshino’s slow footsteps, pausing with each step.

Thump… thump… thump… My heart felt ready to burst through my chest. I kept telling myself to hold steady, to get across to the other side of the chains, but it was useless; my hands wouldn't obey. After exhausting every ounce of energy, I managed to inch forward one painful step. This single movement felt as arduous as traversing a thousand miles.

Yoshino had reached the edge of the chains. He turned his head woodenly and slowly flexed his arms and legs.