"Crack-crack" two gunshots echoed, and he felt a gust of wind brush past his ears, followed by an immediate return to silence.

His heart was still pounding wildly. He had no idea what that sound was, nor whether he was alive or dead, in the world of the living or in hell. He managed to steady himself, taking a deep, shuddering breath, and lay perfectly still on the ground, afraid that even the slightest movement would alert a messenger from the underworld or a lingering spirit. If they didn't kill him, they might drag him away, and that would be too great a cost.

After a long while, he felt a faint tremor beneath him, accompanied by the crisp tap-tap of leather shoes on the ground. His nerves instantly snapped taut again. He fearfully cracked open his eyes, but saw only impenetrable darkness. He couldn't tell if the approaching presence was friend or foe. Regardless, caution was the better part of valor here. He swiftly dragged his body toward the edge of the path, making way for whatever entity was coming. Only now did he truly understand the proverb: better to have an enemy you can placate than one you cannot escape. If this thing decided to fixate on him, he’d be in for a world of trouble.

He thought this as he pulled his heavy frame along. He had landed awkwardly on his knee when he fell, and every inch he moved sent a sharp, agonizing pain up his leg. Yet, he bore it, not allowing a single sound to escape him.

As he shuffled along, his hand accidentally brushed against the corpse. He snatched it back in a panic. He couldn't fathom how this person had died. The sounds suggested a gunshot, but in this remote, undeveloped area, who possessed such advanced weaponry? Not even Ganda had such things, let alone Ma Xiong and his two companions.

"Could it be Ma Xiong?" he wondered, then tentatively called out.

"Ma Xiong," his voice trembled, thick with alarm.

He held his breath, desperately hoping to hear Ma Xiong’s familiar reply. But for a long time, there was nothing but the sound of footsteps; no one answered him.

His nerves tightened further. The hazy fear that had clouded his senses moments before was violently cleared by pure terror, sharpening his focus. He deeply regretted calling out Ma Xiong’s name; now, not only had he failed to find Ma Xiong, but he had also betrayed his own position.

Though both were currently enveloped in darkness, Lu Zong felt his situation was severely disadvantageous. Who knew how long the other party had been living in the dark? Perhaps they had long adapted to the cavern’s gloom, their eyes perhaps even evolving, allowing them to see his every move with perfect clarity.

Thinking this, he edged himself further into the corner.

Finally, the footsteps grew fainter, as if the person were deliberately slowing their pace, yet Lu Zong felt they were drawing closer.

"Roar!" A sudden, savage beast’s cry erupted behind him, jolting Lu Zong. He could feel the heavy, ragged breathing of the monster pressed right against his side. A shock ran through his system, and a terrifying thought immediately flashed through his mind: Was the wall I was leaning against actually the creature’s body?

The realization struck him like a physical blow. He scrambled forward instantly, trying to fling himself away from the monster’s imminent attack. But his movement had completely enraged the beast, which lunged straight at him. The wind rushing toward him seemed to steal his breath; he couldn't fathom the sheer size of the thing.

He desperately rolled to the side, but just at that moment, the crack-crack sound rang out again, this time seeming to occur right next to his ear. He felt no pain in his body; evidently, the other party had intervened to help him. Then, he felt the monster’s massive weight crash down upon him, sending a jolt of aching numbness through his entire frame. It was only because he had managed a slight dodge that the creature hadn't crushed him entirely; the consequences of that would have been unimaginable.

With immense effort, he managed to wriggle free from beneath the creature’s bulk, rubbing his aching shoulder and grimacing in pain.

"Hmph. It seems even a distinguished National First-Class Professor knows how to yelp in pain," the other voice said coldly.

Lu Zong froze for a few seconds, then exclaimed with sudden delight, "Ma Xiong? Is that you? Where the hell did you run off to? I’ve been searching for you forever, and nearly lost my life!"

Ma Xiong offered a slight smile. "What’s the big deal? I just sensed the cave was unusually dark—that there had to be some shady business afoot—so I wanted a peek. Didn't expect to scare you that badly."

Lu Zong stared in disbelief. "You’re incredible! Weren't you afraid this cave housed some creature with night vision, something that could see you clearly in the dark and treat you as its lunch?"

Ma Xiong immediately retorted, "Lu Zong, Lu Zong. After a few years away from weapons, your brain is turning to mush. Don't you know about night vision goggles? In China, you can buy those for about a hundred yuan."

Lu Zong sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, I forgot. Say, do you have any spare night vision goggles on you? Toss me a pair."

A rattling sound followed, suggesting Ma Xiong was digging through his pockets. The CIA was the CIA; it was like carrying a magic treasure bag everywhere they went.

After the commotion, he handed Lu Zong something that looked like eyewear. "Here, take this."

Lu Zong put the goggles on and looked around. He could indeed make out shapes. They all appeared red, which made sense—night vision goggles detect temperature differentials to create the image.

He gathered himself, then glared at Ma Xiong. "Damn it, why didn't you answer when I called you? You scared me half to death!"

Ma Xiong smiled apologetically and explained, "I saw you staggering, like you weren't fully in control of your body. I got curious, thinking you might have fallen prey to some dark influence, so I didn't dare interrupt. I wanted to see where you’d follow that strange sound. But then I saw a figure standing behind you, and I held my tongue, afraid of exposing myself, which would have made it impossible to eliminate the threat later. After all, this is their territory; they know it best."

At this point, Lu Zong interrupted Ma Xiong, asking with sudden curiosity, "What? You saw someone standing behind me? Are you sure it was human?"

Ma Xiong, unsure of Lu Zong’s meaning, nodded in confusion.

Lu Zong cast a look of utter bewilderment down at the ground, pointing toward the floor, signaling Ma Xiong to look there too.

Ma Xiong frowned and looked down, then shook his head at the bewildered Lu Zong. "What's wrong? It's just a person."

Lu Zong insisted, "No, look closely. Don't you notice he looks like he’s been dead for a long time? Pus is dripping from his mouth."

Ma Xiong examined the body carefully and indeed saw thick pus bubbling out of the mouth. Based on his many years of experience on battlefields, pus usually started leaking from the mouth only after a body had been exposed to the air and decomposed for about seven days—a result of internal matter fermenting and corroding the soft tissues of the brain. The notion that they had just killed someone who had been dead for nearly a week was staggering.

Lu Zong countered, "That can’t be right. I distinctly heard him roar just moments ago."

Ma Xiong frowned. "I thought it was strange too. I clearly saw him smile at me. I wondered if the creature could see and recognize me, and I was about to step closer to get a better look when I saw him lunge at you instead. If I hadn't intervened just in time, you would have been crushed and bitten to death. Look at his teeth."

Lu Zong glanced at the teeth; sure enough, a neat row of them, resembling those of a lion or tiger, was fully exposed.

He shuddered. If that dead man had bitten him, he would have been maimed if not killed outright.

Yet, they remained deeply perplexed. What exactly were these beings? Why did they look so bizarre? If they weren't human, their proportions of limbs and facial features were roughly consistent with primates. Furthermore, they were wearing clothes, albeit tattered rags, which set them apart from wild animals. But their appearance was terrifying—less pleasing than even their domestic fowl. They were baring their teeth, and most disturbingly, they looked precisely like dead people: stiff bodies, mouths oozing pus, with a few strange tufts of hair sprouting from their heads.

Ma Xiong was intensely curious about this strange race. He urged Lu Zong to cooperate so they could dissect the body and find out what made it different from a normal human.

Lu Zong gave Ma Xiong a look of exasperation. "I give up on you! What time is it? And you’re in the mood to dissect someone? Wait until you get those two beauties out of here; perhaps one of them will pledge herself to you in gratitude."

Ma Xiong’s eyes widened in astonishment as he stared at Lu Zong. "What? Those two women are missing? Why didn’t you say so earlier? You’ve made us waste all this time here!"

With that, he grabbed Lu Zong and started pulling him toward the exit.

But after only a few steps, Lu Zong abruptly stopped, nearly dragging the eager Ma Xiong off his feet. Ma Xiong turned back, looking irritated. "What are you doing? What time is it? Do you have time for jokes now?"

Lu Zong ignored him, instead walking with trembling hands to the corpse. He lifted the garment, exposing the body's skin.

One second later, Lu Zong could take no more and turned away, vomiting violently.

Ma Xiong was startled by Lu Zong’s strange behavior and quickly looked toward the corpse. He saw that where the skin had been pulled back, liquefied flesh was dripping out—there was no skin left at all. It was simply a mass of putrefied tissue, interspersed with several worm-like masses of blood-red viscera visible externally. It looked like writhing maggots everywhere. If Ma Xiong hadn't been fighting hard to maintain his composure and avoid embarrassing himself in front of Lu Zong, he would have found a secluded spot to throw up himself.

He calmed his emotions, then walked over to the heaving Lu Zong and patted his back to soothe him. After a long while, Lu Zong recovered somewhat, but his expression remained highly agitated.

Lu Zong stammered, "Ma Xiong, I am certain these people have been dead for several days. Otherwise, their skin wouldn't have corroded so quickly. Do you remember the straw effigy? That shamanistic magic used by the Sa Man tribe to control the dead. Could these corpses be controlled by a shaman's dark arts? Can they really command the deceased?"

Ma Xiong immediately shook his head and declared firmly, "Impossible. Once a person is dead, they are dead. How could they move? They must be pulling some kind of trick."

Lu Zong stared blankly at the corpse for a moment, then looked at Ma Xiong, utterly lost.

Ma Xiong pulled Lu Zong up. "Let’s go. Forget these bodies. Whether they are controlled or acting on their own, the most crucial mission right now is rescuing those two women. You know, one is an international ally, and the other was sent by headquarters. You must save both of them, even if you have to sacrifice yourself."

Lu Zong remained staring at the corpse, his expression blank, motionless in a daze.

Ma Xiong suddenly found the sight unsettlingly eerie. He stepped forward and nudged Lu Zong.