Tang Minghao’s condition genuinely terrified me deep down, even though he appeared only slightly dazed, a bit timid, and I couldn't detect anything overtly wrong with him otherwise.

Geng Wei spat out a mouthful of saliva with irritation, saying, “A grown man, admitting he’s scared in front of so many people—you’ve completely disgraced me.” Tang Minghao continued to look at him blankly, seemingly unaware of what Geng Wei was talking about. Geng Wei waved a dismissive hand. “Forget it, forget it, I can’t be bothered with you.”

My own nerves were frayed. There was still no word from Old Li. I couldn’t stand the suspense any longer and went over to the stone door myself, bringing my face close to examine it intently, hoping to spot some hidden flaw or detail. Old Li frowned, murmuring, “How can this be? Not a single clue.”

The stone door had initially made my head spin, and then I had focused entirely on that group of “people,” paying no attention to the door’s actual appearance. Now, leaning in close, I saw that the stone door faintly emanated a shimmering, flickering red light. Thinking I must be seeing things, I quickly rubbed my eyes and stepped back two paces. The stone door looked its usual deep bluish-gray again. “Old Li, Old Li, come here.” I urgently beckoned him over.

“What is it? I’m already worried sick!” Old Li arrived, his tone clearly showing his agitation.

“When I leaned close just now, I thought I saw red coming from the door. Come take a look yourself... Am I just seeing things?” I asked.

Old Li copied my posture, leaning in close for a long moment. Suddenly, his face changed drastically. “It is... it is!” It was impossible to tell if his tone was excited or fearful.

My mind, which I had finally managed to steady, exploded again. I stammered, “Are you sure... you... you’re not mistaken?”

Old Li shook his head, then nodded, called Xu Zhiwu over, and told him that what was sealed behind this door might be countless terrifying monsters, because the stone looked somewhat similar to the stone used to imprison the monsters we had seen before. Hearing this, Xu Zhiwu didn't hesitate. “Then let’s run, quickly!”

I helplessly pointed toward those figures currently glaring at us, my meaning perfectly clear: “Run? If only we could run.” Yanzi noticed the three of us whispering conspiratorially and seemed quite displeased, though a noticeable fear flickered across her face. “What are you saying? Are you deliberately keeping us out of it?” she said, her tone fierce but clearly lacking conviction.

I glanced at her but said nothing. Sometimes, I truly didn't want to talk to a girl who knew nothing and feared nothing, especially at such a critical juncture—it was a matter of survival.

Old Li, being more good-tempered, offered a brief explanation, saying he felt he had seen this stone door somewhere before, but wasn't certain, which is why he asked Xu Zhiwu to look too.

Unexpectedly, Yanzi snorted upon hearing this. “Where you saw it, you must have seen it in Tibet.” Her words seemed laden with hidden meaning. I immediately pressed her for what she meant, asking if she knew something. Yanzi immediately forced a smile. “It means nothing. Haven't you always stayed in Tibet? Since you haven't been anywhere else, of course, you must have seen it in Tibet.” Her reasoning seemed plausible, so I didn't press further. I turned back and quietly discussed with Old Li whether we should try to force a bloody path through these “people” and fight our way back now.

Before Old Li could reply, Tang Minghao shuffled over. His face was still blank and his eyes unfocused, but he spoke coherently enough: “You should go back. These people won’t make things difficult for you if you return.” His voice was still his own, yet there was something distinctly strange about it.

Old Li asked him, “Minghao, how do you know they won’t trouble us?”

Tang Minghao shook his head and smiled faintly, “I don’t know.”

Geng Wei suddenly grew worried again. “A perfectly normal child, how did he turn into such an idiot?” Then his temper flared again. “Damn it, we haven’t seen a single piece of gold or jewelry, and now we’re seeing ghosts, with a whole crowd of things that might be people or might be ghosts…”

I was already frustrated, and now worried that the stone door was the same type used to imprison the Big-Mouth Monsters. Hearing Geng Wei complain, I couldn’t help but crudely cut him off. “Stop shouting! It’s grating on my nerves. We need to think right now.”

Geng Wei huffed. Despite his dissatisfaction, his hope ultimately rested on me and Old Li, so he stopped complaining.

Old Li also looked at me with worry, whispering, “Do you remember Chief Wang?” Indeed, he had reached the same conclusion I had. Looking at Tang Minghao again made me even more anxious; I didn't know what he would become.

Since Yanzi brought us here, she must know something about this situation. She couldn’t possibly be as clueless as the rest of us.

“See if you can think of a way?” I asked Yanzi.

Yanzi’s eyes widened, her face pale, with an air of innocence. “Think of a way? Think of what way? I was only responsible for bringing you to find the treasure; no one told me how to retreat. Zaxi only said that once the treasure is found, the exit will naturally appear.”

Old Li murmured, “Technician Luo, maybe she’s right. Treasures are always kept in extremely perilous places. We haven't encountered anything dangerous, perhaps we were just scared and mistaken... Think about it, if finding the treasure were this simple, wouldn't it defy all logic?”

Although Old Li spoke softly, Geng Wei overheard the word “treasure,” and his eyes lit up. “Right, right, Li Zeng is correct.” He said hastily.

Xu Zhiwu added, “Now that you mention it, that makes some sense…” Then he turned to me and asked, “So, should we continue?”

I remained silent, thinking to myself that Old Li had a point. Since ancient times, treasures have been hidden in secluded and dangerous spots, and we hadn't faced any danger whatsoever… And even if this stone door was made of the same material used to seal the Big-Headed Monsters, so what? On the surface, it looked normal, unlike the last time when the flowing red light from the stone was so blinding we couldn't keep our eyes open. Meaning... this should just be a stone of that type, likely without any monsters.

Yanzi spoke up again at this moment. “I know all the mechanisms set by Andowa are highly toxic. Setting aside whether these ‘people’ are alive or dead, I certainly won't touch them. Anyone who wants to test if they are immune to all poisons can certainly try.” She continued, “You’re just scaring yourselves. You were terrified by a single headlamp at first, and now faced with a crowd of dead people and a stone door, you’ve completely lost your composure. I didn’t realize you Han people were so easily unsettled!”

Her words deeply annoyed me, and I glared at her fiercely. I expected her to retort without courtesy, but instead, her face had already gone completely ashen. I had to swallow the sharp reply I was about to deliver. I couldn’t understand what this woman was up to.

Yanzi’s comment offended every man present, but seeing her complexion—as pale as a corpse—no one spoke harshly to her. Old Li even asked if she felt unwell—which annoyed me greatly. Why should we care if such a rude person was sick!

As expected, Yanzi seemed fine, putting on a friendly facade to remind Old Li, “Since you’ve seen this thing in Tibet before, why don’t you use your previous method to open the door?”

I quickly said, “Old Li…” Old Li waved a hand at me, indicating he wouldn't be reckless. It seemed he and I had developed a real understanding, as that was exactly what I intended to suggest.

Xu Zhiwu chimed in, “Anyway, not opening the door means death, and opening it only to face monsters means death too. We might as well be decisive—open the door, and at least we’ll die knowing the truth.” As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Minghao timidly whispered, “We won’t die, we won’t die... They won’t hurt us.”

Geng Wei rolled his eyes at Tang Minghao. “This is when you choose to cause trouble!”

Tang Minghao still looked lost, but his words carried a note of deep grievance: “You don’t understand! You are bad people!” With that, he scurried over to Yanzi, pressing himself as close to her as possible. Yanzi jumped back in shock, then recovered instantly and slapped Tang Minghao hard across the face. “Damn it! Faking pity! What do you take me for!”

Old Li’s face fell as well, and he quickly apologized to Yanzi, saying Tang Minghao wasn't usually like this. Yanzi spat out hatefully, “You Han people…” She only said those four words and then stopped, presumably holding back worse things to say.

I wondered privately how Tang Minghao had suddenly become so strangely perverse. Earlier, when he didn’t speak much, I assumed it was grief from his recent loss, which was understandable. But his current behavior couldn't be explained away by mourning a relative.

Geng Wei walked over, grabbed Tang Minghao’s arm, and examined him closely. “His appearance hasn’t changed; he’s still my nephew Minghao… But, how can he be like this?” He chastised Tang Minghao out of genuine anger, but his worry was also real.

“Watch him closely,” Old Li instructed Geng Wei. “If anything seems wrong, you must act immediately. Absolutely no mercy.”

Geng Wei was startled by the intensity of the demand, stammering, “H-how should I act?”

“At least tie his hands and feet securely with rope… If necessary, even shooting is an option,” I said. Chief Wang had left me with a profound psychological scar; I feared Tang Minghao might turn out like him.

Without waiting for Geng Wei’s reply, Old Li quickly interjected, “No shooting! Even if Minghao is in trouble, I forbid any of you from firing a weapon! Otherwise, don’t blame my bullets for not having eyes!”

I knew I had spoken out of turn and quickly apologized to him. Old Li ignored me, merely telling Geng Wei to watch Tang Minghao carefully and report immediately if anything felt off.

But Tang Minghao was already off. He hadn't reacted to Yanzi’s slap, and now he was lingering, stretching his neck toward Yanzi, exhibiting the mannerisms of a lecher, yet without any expression of vulgarity on his face. Yanzi froze for a moment, then sidestepped, her face flushed crimson with anger. She pointed at all of us and shouted fiercely, “You Han people! Is this how you behave? Are you relying on your numbers to bully a Tibetan person like me!”

If anyone else had said such a thing, I wouldn’t have bothered to argue, as anyone could see Tang Minghao was acting abnormally, and I would have simply agreed, “Yes, that’s exactly it.” But she elevated the issue to a political level; if this was reported back at the military post, Old Li and I would both be ruined. So, I quickly plastered an apologetic smile on my face to explain.

Unexpectedly, she really took herself seriously. As soon as I started saying a few words, she yelled, “I won't listen, I won’t listen!” Covering her face with one hand, she shoved me hard with the other. Caught off guard, I crashed violently into the stone door, followed by a piercing pain that shot up my arm straight into my chest—some sharp edge on the stone door had slashed a long gash across my hand.