Sitting there, my mind was a chaotic mess, refusing to settle down. Old Li and Zhuoma Yangjin remained silent. I had expected at least Zhuoma Yangjin to have much to say to me, but when I glanced over, she was leaning back motionless. When I looked again, she turned her face toward me, offering a faint, slightly frightened smile.

A sudden, inexplicable melancholy washed over me, so I quickly averted my gaze, pretending I hadn't noticed anything.

After a while, feeling rested enough, and with no immediate solution for Zhuoma Yangjin’s clothing problem, I took off my jacket to offer her. To my surprise, she shook her head, insisting she wasn't cold and refusing to wear it. With no other option, I suggested we start moving, figuring we needed to get back to the surface first, no matter what.

Old Li and Zhuoma Yangjin promptly stood up without hesitation. I walked ahead, with the two of them following closely behind. Perhaps due to injury or shock, neither of them spoke the entire time, yet I had a nagging feeling that something was slightly off between them—a feeling I recognized as utterly unreliable while navigating the eerie darkness underground.

I originally thought this tunnel wouldn't be very long, but as we walked, contrary to my expectation, the tunnel seemed to stretch further and further, as if it had no end. No matter how long I walked, there was no sign of an exit. If this continued, I’d surely be exhausted to death in this tunnel. Thinking of this, it suddenly struck me: if even I, the least injured, was getting exhausted, the other two must be nearing collapse.

With that thought, I quickly turned back, only to find that there was no one behind me. Logically, they should still be there!

Wait, I still felt someone behind me?

I turned back again; it was still pitch dark.

“Old Li! Yangjin!”

I shouted their names loudly, but there was no response. A wave of terrifying numbness surged through me. How could they vanish so suddenly? Had something else happened?

But what could make two living people disappear like that?

The light from my torch was growing dimmer. This wasn't the ordinary flashlight we used on Mount Qiangbake; this was a high-end item Xu Zhiwu had bought from overseas. Even if it fell into water, it shouldn't fail this badly. According to Xu Zhiwu, this thing could run for at least a hundred hours continuously.

I’d only been down the hole for a few hours, and even accounting for the power drain from Old Li’s time in the Blood Spring Cave, it should only be a few percent depleted. How could it be dying out?

The light dimmed further, and my tension mounted. If I couldn't find them before the light failed completely, I’d be trapped in this hellhole. I certainly had no skill for navigating in absolute blackness.

The more anxious I became, the more something felt wrong, because a scent was gradually permeating the air—a smell incredibly familiar: the stench of rancid grease from the 'Faceless' creatures I encountered on Mount Qiangbake!

My memory of that odor was undeniably profound. Having nearly lost my life several times to those monsters, I had developed a deep, bone-marrow fear of that thing.

If the scent of a Faceless was present, a chilling possibility suddenly occurred to me regarding Old Li and Yangjin...

I spun around abruptly, and under the near-extinguished beam of the torch, I saw the scene I dreaded most: behind me stood a Faceless, mouth agape, staring at me. Although it lacked facial features, I could sense that this Faceless was Old Li—Old Li had somehow transformed into a Faceless without me noticing!

Wait, if he was a Faceless, what about Yangjin?

The thought flashed through my mind: Could Yangjin have become a Faceless too? But it was only a fleeting instant. In that moment of hesitation, Old Li—no, the Faceless he had become—began to advance toward me, its large, oily mouth dripping.

My head spun. I stopped thinking about anything else; the terror of the Faceless instantly consumed my every thought. I could only scramble backward frantically, one idea dominating my mind: I absolutely cannot be caught!

Strangely, the Faceless that was Old Li didn't pursue me. Could it be that Old Li retained a sliver of human consciousness? Could he still feel loyalty to his comrade and hesitate to harm me?

I stopped, though logic screamed that it was impossible. Yet, I had a persistent feeling that Old Li still recognized me.

“Old Li, it’s me, Luo Lian,” I whispered. “You recognize me, don’t you?”

The Faceless edged closer in the flickering light. I thought I saw a slight movement where its eyes should be, or perhaps I didn’t—it was uncertain. In any case, I allowed it to approach, clinging to the faint hope that he still remembered me.

Old Li finally reached within inches of my face. The intense smell of putrid grease flooded my nostrils, sickening me to the point of near-vomiting. Still, I held myself rigid, until he suddenly lunged forward, grabbing my arm and opening his mouth to bite. Only then did I snap back to reality: he must have one of those crystal black scorpions in his head, just like Wang Weicheng that day, having long lost his mind. How could he possibly remember me?

To him, I was nothing more than food.

At that critical juncture, my right hand suddenly tightened as if violently yanked by something, and my entire body was dragged along, tumbling.

Under the chaotic, shifting light, I looked up, and my heart sank by more than half. The thing pulling me with immense force was none other than Yangjin, who had also transformed into a Faceless!

She was a Faceless too. This time, I was surely doomed!

My mind became a jumble. The surrounding odor of rancid grease grew thicker, seeming to congeal my very thoughts in that overwhelming, disgusting smell. My thinking grew sluggish; more accurately, my mind held only one thought: I am going to die. I am really going to die this time.

Despair settled over me, making even the impulse to fight feel sluggish.

The two Faceless figures were pulling my body, almost tearing me in half. Breathing became increasingly difficult, and my consciousness began to fade.

Just before I felt I was about to lose consciousness, an image of the giant-mouthed monster randomly flashed through my mind. They could bite off half a person’s back in one go—what if it discovered two intruders—the Faceless—on its turf, became enraged, and devoured them both?

“Impossible,” I murmured hazily to myself.

It truly was impossible. If what I witnessed were real and actively happening, even a hundred Lians would be dead, let alone only one.

But I didn't know the truth then. All I recalled was passing out, ripped and bitten by the Faceless forms of Old Li and Zhuoma Yangjin. Then, I plunged into total darkness, yet even in the dark, I could clearly see my own body lying unconscious on the ground, with no trace of Old Li or Zhuoma Yangjin nearby.

Then vast swathes of darkness surged toward me, enveloping me completely, leaving no escape.

In that moment, an unprecedented wave of despair and solitude intensified as the darkness swept in. I could even see my own unconscious form on the ground, as fragile and helpless as a child abandoned in the wilderness. The world was immense, yet I was utterly alone...

An overwhelming sorrow crashed down upon me, as if my heart were being struck again and again, yet not shattered—leaving just enough breath to cling desperately to life.

“Luo Lian, you are so lonely,” I gave a bitter smile, pushing through the heavy darkness to kneel beside my own collapsed figure. The darkness wasn't dense; as my hands parted it, it scattered like smoke.

“If the big-mouthed monster comes, how will you escape?” I worried. “Look how horribly that German died... If it could kill instantly, that would be better, but what if it doesn't?”

I spoke to my unconscious self as if talking to an intimate friend. I didn't register it as out-of-body experience or anything of the sort at the time; I simply felt deep pity and worry for the helpless Luo Lian on the ground, but it wasn't the feeling of worrying about myself.

Speaking of the big-mouthed monster, it arrived just as I mentioned it. The instant my words fell, the darkness that had surrounded the "me" on the ground began to tremble, as if meeting its nemesis. Truly, the darkness surrounding me was trembling, and a terrifying atmosphere instantly permeated every molecule of air. Then, all the darkness suddenly scattered, fleeing, leaving me collapsed on the ground like an unprepared infant.

Alarmed, I rushed to drag, to shake the "me" on the ground, but no matter how hard I tried, "I" remained perfectly still, unresponsive.

Before I could devise another plan, the big-mouthed monster lumbered over. It ignored the "me" beside it and extended its drooling maw, first sniffing me, then sniffing my face. I could feel my face enveloped by its foul odor.

I must not let it bite me! I immediately snapped back to my senses, forgetting the fear, and leaped up, charging straight toward the big-mouthed monster. In my hand, I somehow gripped a dagger, which I thrust with all my might directly toward its neck.

However, the dagger felt like it struck cotton; I felt nothing at all. The big-mouthed monster didn't even glance at me, seemingly unaffected, not even frowning, continuing its sniffing exploration over my body. Perhaps because I was curled up, making the back hard to reach, it seemed slightly hesitant.

One stab failed; I lunged for a second. I absolutely could not let it bite the unconscious self on the ground, absolutely not! Cold sweat poured down my face, and casting caution aside, I relentlessly drove the dagger into its neck, stab after furious stab.