With a desperate roll to the side, I dared not look back, scrambling up and fleeing forward without a clear path in mind. As I ran, a line of Germans suddenly blocked my way, watching me with a smirk. I braked a fraction too late, nearly slamming into them. Glancing back, I saw the Cocoon advancing toward me, slowly but steadily spinning its silk. My frantic run had put at least ten meters between us. But now... with the Germans blocking me, it was about to catch up...

"Excuse me! Make way!" I demanded of Rieske, whose German was fluent in Mandarin.

Instead of yielding, the group stepped forward, clearly intent on blocking my path. Just as I was about to shove past them, Hans sneered, turning swiftly and grabbing someone from behind. I focused my eyes and saw it was Old Li! His hands were tied cruelly behind his back, his head drooping, looking at me with an expression caught between a smile and a sob.

"Tell me, what do you want?" I managed to calm down quickly, checking that the Cocoon hadn't closed the distance. I needed time to negotiate.

"Nothing much. We told you, we want the map. Hand it over, and you can go as you please, or you can join us. If you refuse... then you and your companion will become a meal for that lovely creature behind you." As Rieske said this, he didn't look at me, but stared intently at my back. Slowly, he continued, "Perhaps you have two minutes to consider. It won't reach you in under two minutes."

I turned and saw that the Cocoon had indeed drawn much nearer. But—the map wasn't on me; Mayates knew that too.

"Old Li?" I asked him, confused. What had he told the Germans? I needed to understand the situation before acting.

Old Li subtly indicated, "Technician Luo, didn't I just give you the map? You fled in such a panic—did you lose it?"

It was too obvious a lie. The Germans weren't fools and clearly didn't believe it.

"It seems our approach was too civilized. Perhaps we should strip you down and search you piece by piece," Hans sneered. "You have one minute left. Either Luo Lian or Li Zeng, one of you must hand over the map within the next minute, or else..." He left the threat hanging, staring coldly at me.

Cold sweat beaded on my forehead. The silk spun by the Cocoon was almost upon me; I could feel its chill. Forget it. If Old Li placed the map on me, he was still a decent enough comrade! I had nothing left to worry about. Steel in my heart, I decided to charge through when they weren't looking.

But the moment I shifted my weight, the dark muzzle of a gun pointed directly at me. "Don't move!" The one holding the weapon was the young man with startling blue eyes; Rieske was the one who spoke. "Staafan, don't be rash, the gun might misfire," he said, his smile utterly false.

"Fine, I agree to hand over the map, but I want to ask..." Having no choice, I decided to concede temporarily. My voice became extremely steady as I began to speak, intending to ask what I wanted to know—where the map actually was—when I saw Mayates, unnoticed by the others, quietly move toward Old Li, then seemingly slip something into Old Li's hand.

Immediately after, Old Li said, "Forget it, don't push Technician Luo. I’ll give it to you."

Hans and the others snapped their attention to him. Old Li had turned his back to them, the antique map held in his bound hands. Hans snatched it immediately, quickly scanning it. Once he confirmed it was genuine, he glanced behind me, his expression shifting slightly. With a wave, the group dragged Old Li away.

Knowing the Cocoon was closing in, I dared not hesitate and ran after them.

Fortunately, the Cocoon wasn't fast. Within minutes, we had put a considerable distance between us, though it followed relentlessly, still trailing long, erratic strands of silk.

The Germans slowed their pace. Hans, leading the group, muttered a few words, and then another lean young man went to untie Old Li. Rieske, expressionless, said, "You are free to go. Of course, you can also stay with us—we welcome that."

Old Li didn't hesitate. "I'll stay with you." He then turned back, subtly signaling me to nod in agreement.

The map clearly indicated that our only path to survival lay on the seventh level. So, I nodded, feigning reluctance.

Hans shot a dismissive look at Old Li and me, saying nothing. Seeing the Cocoon still distant, he opened the map, glanced at it again, then at us, a sly smile creeping across his lips.

Rieske, reading the situation, exchanged a look with his other two companions, then immediately addressed us: "Hans agrees to let you travel with us... However, we aren't familiar with this area, so you two must lead." The moment he finished speaking, I felt something was wrong and was about to react when Staafan had a gun pointed at my head.

Whoever holds the weapon is in charge; this was no longer a matter of threats. I had recklessly come out without any real means of defense. I could only raise my hands and become an effortless captive.

"Good. Move!" Rieske nodded in satisfaction, ordering Staafan and another man named Mark to watch Old Li and me closely as we led the way. He positioned himself and Hans in the middle, with Mayates toward the rear.

This meant Old Li and I had lost all leverage; we were now merely scouts or bait. If things went south, they would certainly sacrifice us. The only way to survive was to prove we were indispensable—they definitely couldn't navigate these so-called Seven-Story Pagodas without us. With this realization, a thought struck me, and I formed a plan.

"Old Li, on the level above, how did you find this entrance? I was too busy fleeing earlier to ask you," I adopted an air of one with nothing left to lose, ignoring the gun near my temple, and asked Old Li.

Old Li, unaware of my scheme, replied muddledly, "Bagua alignments, the compass."

I prodded gently, "The Bagua, that’s something only your Taoist school understands, right? And didn’t you mention the Four Symbols and Two Forms too?" I emphasized "your Taoist school" deliberately.

It finally dawned on Old Li what I meant. He seemed to wake up with a start. "You mean that? It's just simple formations, nothing extraordinary. That Cocoon earlier was positioned on an inauspicious point. If one doesn't panic, one can calmly use the compass for orientation and evade it easily..."

This worked. Rieske immediately pressed forward to walk beside us, asking, "You said you can determine the presence of monsters based on orientation?"

Old Li gave him a somewhat haughty look, then turned his head aside. "You could put it that way."

Rieske, having hit a wall, didn't get angry. He turned back and began muttering to Mayates in German. I don't know what Mayates said, but Rieske stopped bothering Old Li with questions. I thought this tactic had solved the problem, but they remained silent, and my tension mounted again.

We continued forward, and suddenly, Old Li declared with surprising mastery, "This is the entrance to the third level. No need to walk further."

Everyone paused, startled, stopping in their tracks. Old Li glanced at me, told me to step aside, and asked me to watch if the Cocoon was still pursuing us.

Everyone took two steps back, though Mark, who had the gun pointed at Old Li, stayed right beside him, the weapon never leaving his head. Old Li glared at him coldly and unceremoniously shoved him aside. Mark was about to flare up, but Hans stopped him, perhaps advising him to remain calm.

Then, Old Li slowly drew the compass from his chest. He began pacing the Bagua alignments in a practiced manner.

The Germans watched Old Li's actions silently, their eyes wide. After a moment, Old Li pocketed the compass, lightly tapped the ground three times with his foot, muttered something solemn under his breath, and then stomped his foot sharply before quickly leaping away. With a soft sound, a hole about two meters in diameter appeared where he had stomped.

"This is it," Old Li said to Rieske, his face emotionless.

Astonishment was evident on the faces of Rieske and the others; Old Li's display of skill had stunned them. On the first level, Old Li hadn't shown any of this; he was clearly feigning mystery, showing off his abilities to prove he was indispensable.

Old Li swaggered over to me, managing a triumphant smirk when he thought they weren't looking.

However, Hans and the others wouldn't allow Old Li to approach me. As soon as he neared, Rieske immediately said, "Li, Luo still has more important tasks... Both he and Mayates have critical duties. You come here."

I instantly realized they were targeting me and my expression hardened, ready to explode. Old Li quickly restrained me, tugging my sleeve and urging me to stay calm. Then, unhurriedly, he said, "Without Technician Luo, I doubt I could have performed as I just did."

Rieske heard this and began conferring quietly with Hans for a long time. Finally, Rieske came back and agreed, but he stressed that everyone should cooperate and avoid any tricks.

Old Li and I nodded, agreeing for the moment.

They then turned away to discuss matters amongst themselves, leaving Mayates completely out of the conversation. As they talked, Mayates's face grew progressively paler. He looked pleadingly at Old Li and me, wanting to speak, but glancing at Hans and the others, he dared not.

We didn't understand German, nor did we know what Hans was discussing, nor why Mayates was so fearful. Before we could figure anything out, Staafan and Mark walked over to Mayates without a word, grabbed his arms, and dragged him toward the opening, all the while saying something. Mayates struggled, his face contorted in terror, but no one paid attention. They watched helplessly as the two shoved him down the hole.

Rieske, acting as if nothing unusual had happened, told us, "We have asked Mayates to scout ahead and check the situation. If there is no danger, everyone can come down." His words were so polite, so high-sounding, even using the word "asked." I felt a surge of revulsion.

After being pushed down, Mayates immediately shouted up, calling everyone's names, urging us to hurry down, saying everything was fine. When we peered into the hole, he was indeed fine, standing there waving cheerfully, beckoning us to descend quickly. His demeanor showed none of the distress from moments ago when he was coerced by his supposed comrades.

Then, without any stated reason, Rieske again ordered men with guns to "invite" Old Li and me down first.

It wasn't a great height; our bodies sustained no injury upon landing. But Mayates, who had been waving and shouting at us moments before, was gone. Not a trace remained, as if he had evaporated into thin air.