With a series of hissing sounds, he noticed a small pinprick of light, which gradually widened and brightened until it became a hole the size of an adult's head. He saw Ma Xiong peering in curiously from the outside.

Looking at Ma Xiong’s curious face, Lu Zong felt a mixture of exasperation and amusement. He could only shout in a muffled voice, "Brother, pull me out quickly; I’m suffocating!"

By this time, Ma Xiong had likely seen Lu Zong inside, his face flushed red from holding his breath, and realizing the gravity of the situation, he frantically worked to widen the opening further, pulling Lu Zong out. As he pulled, he grumbled, "Hey, how did you manage to crawl inside, kid? You weren't this sneaky even during the Vietnam War. You’re getting worse the older you get."

Lu Zong remained silent, merely sighing repeatedly. It was impossible to explain things to him now, and frankly, he didn't understand what had happened himself. He only vaguely remembered the bodies turning to dust, and he wasn't sure if that white, hazy powder was real or not.

He glanced casually at his own body and found that he looked no better than Ganda, who had just crawled out of a coffin. The sheer grossness almost made him vomit. He quickly found a corner, borrowed a large stack of tissues from Ma Xiong, stripped off all his clothes, and began scrubbing himself clean.

His firm, defined muscles made it hard to imagine him as a cultural worker. After a moment, he finally calmed down and put his clothes back on, though a lingering sense of unease remained.

Ma Xiong stayed beside him, rubbing his back, and occasionally needling him, "Why on earth did you crawl in there, you good-for-nothing? Really pathetic."

Lu Zong was equally frustrated and retorted, "Don't laugh too soon, kid. Who knows what shady business you've been up to since we split? Want me to start spreading rumors about you? Guess who those folks would believe—you or me?"

Ma Xiong seemed not to hear Lu Zong, murmuring to himself, "Split? Did we split?"

Although his voice was low, it was distinct in the eerily quiet space. Lu Zong clearly caught Ma Xiong’s whisper and felt a prickle of strangeness, so he asked, "What? Have you been with me the whole time?"

To his surprise, Ma Xiong looked even more confused. "Weren't we always together?"

It was then that they realized the seriousness of their situation. They hurriedly recounted their experiences to each other and discovered that each of them had encountered a completely different version of the other person.

Ma Xiong recounted, "After that mask took control of me, I had no sensation whatsoever. I just kept walking, not knowing where I was going, only feeling like something unseen was directing me. I didn't encounter any obstacles, so I have no idea where I ended up. It was only later that I seemed to walk downwards for a stretch, and then I entered a cavernous room. I felt the stillness and strangeness here and became afraid. But I couldn't help it; I just kept walking. Then, my body bumped into something hard, like wood, and I tumbled headfirst down, ending up trapped in a coffin. Do you know what I found when I woke up?"

Seeing Ma Xiong’s trembling expression, Lu Zong was certain his friend had undergone something extraordinary and urgently prompted him to explain.

Ma Xiong saw Lu Zong shaking his head constantly and let out a wry smile. "I encountered the exact same situation you just described—being sealed in a coffin."

The moment those words left his mouth, Lu Zong felt his head swell with agitation. What was going on? Why had all three of them encountered the same coffin, and why were they all trapped inside a female corpse? What secret lay hidden here?

Ma Xiong, however, did not stop because of Lu Zong’s panic; clearly, what he had found below was even more bizarre.

His expression turned horrified, as if facing something terrible. He continued hesitantly, then spoke, "Lu Zong, I don't know if I should say what comes next. Are you prepared for it?"

Hearing this, Lu Zong probably already suspected what it was. To confirm and to temper his rising emotions, he motioned for Ma Xiong to pause briefly before waving his hand dismissively, adopting a resolute air: Even if he died, he wouldn't leave a huge scar.

Ma Xiong also took a deep breath and said with a solemn expression, "Then I met you."

Lu Zong’s eyes widened, doubting what he had heard. He asked in astonishment, "What? You met me? What's so strange about that!"

But Ma Xiong’s panic did not subside in the slightest. He glanced around nervously before finally sighing and telling him, "Keep your voice down. I feel like we’re being watched. Actually, this wasn't the first time I met you after we separated."

Lu Zong laughed carelessly, explaining, "That’s nothing; I met you too. Ha."

"But I realized the 'you' I met earlier wasn't the real you. You seemed like the Lu Zong from twenty years ago when we were fighting in Vietnam. I wondered about that at the time. Then, after I parted ways with 'you,' we bumped into each other here again?"

At this point, Lu Zong was completely stunned. He didn't know how to process this. Did that mean the Ma Xiong he had just seen wasn't Ma Xiong at all? If not Ma Xiong, then who was it? Could it really be the Ma Xiong from twenty years ago?

This was too incredible for him and Ma Xiong to accept. He shook his head, pondering for a long time without finding any answers, and finally gave up. Besides, when he had seen Ma Xiong earlier, Ma Xiong had just been struggling with being controlled by the mask. Moreover, the person he rescued from the coffin was Ganda, not Lu Zong.

And if Lu Zong had met another version of himself, was that other self also the one from twenty years ago? Everything remained unknown.

He suspected that if this scenario were true, Ganda must have experienced the same ordeal. He said to Ma Xiong, "Ma Xiong, now is not the time to think about this. We need to find Ganda first. More hands make light work, and Ganda is more familiar with this place than either of us. Let’s find Ganda first."

Although Ma Xiong feared nothing, the atmosphere in this eerie cavern still instilled a deep dread in his heart. He nodded and suggested, "Since we were both found in coffins, let’s search the coffins. Maybe we can find Ganda there."

Lu Zong agreed, nodding. "I also encountered Ganda before, and I found her in a coffin, too. Let's look around. Maybe we can find those two girls too?"

The thought of the two girls sent a tremor through Lu Zong’s heart; he felt he had failed them. They had entrusted their lives to him, yet he couldn't even figure out the ancient city before they were captured by the Shaman. A wave of anguish washed over him.

Ma Xiong also wore an expression of profound grief. However, if Ganda had been the one captured, he probably wouldn't be looking like this.

He looked at Lu Zong, who was mourning deeply, and patted his shoulder to encourage him, "Hurry up and get moving. This isn't a good place to linger; we need to be cautious."

With that, he started moving, pacing around the perimeter, searching for an exit to see if there were any coffins outside.

Lu Zong remained motionless for a long time, simply staring blankly at Ma Xiong’s busy figure. It wasn't until Ma Xiong got angry, stood up, and cursed fiercely that he reacted: "Lu Zong, what are you standing there for like an idiot? Don't you know our lives are at stake? Time is life! If we don't find an exit soon, we'll starve to death in this cursed place—we don't have much food left!"

But Lu Zong remained perfectly still, his brow deeply furrowed in intense concentration, as if he had discovered something strange. Ma Xiong seemed to guess this and quietly walked over to his side, asking calmly, "What is it, Lu Zong? Did you find something?"

Lu Zong asked Ma Xiong in an equally calm tone, "Ma Xiong, how did you end up in this burial chamber? Did you hear me calling from outside and then drill your way in here?"

Ma Xiong also seemed to recall something, letting out a startled "Ah," then staring blankly at Lu Zong’s face for a long time before exclaiming in shock, "Yes! If you hadn't reminded me, I would have completely forgotten! Why are you in this hole?"

Lu Zong countered, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? If you must know, I've been in this hole the entire time."

But Ma Xiong’s eyes widened, disbelieving what he saw. "How is that possible? I’ve been here the whole time!"

Now, the two of them finally realized the central oddity and looked at each other simultaneously. Then came the silence—a serene, incredibly peaceful, terrifying silence.

Finally, Lu Zong broke the quiet. "Something is wrong. This burial chamber must hold a secret, or we wouldn't have been here the whole time without noticing each other. Tell me, what could possibly prevent us from seeing each other?"

Ma Xiong scratched his head, stammering out, "I think... perhaps... perhaps we encountered some kind of... some kind of higher dimension phenomenon. I read about it in a book once. It suggested that Earth isn't the only space inhabited by humans. Space is only truly singular when combined with time. That means, in a space that cannot be measured by time, space isn't unique. There might be a temporal void right around us, perhaps allowing us to jump to the past or the future. Could it be that we weren't in the same space just now?"

Lu Zong concentrated thoughtfully. If that was the case, it perfectly explained the bizarre event where they each met a different version of the other. Moreover, Lu Zong suspected that the large, ear-like hole they encountered was a passage through time, a tunnel where time couldn't be measured. It aligned almost perfectly with what Ma Xiong described.

Although Lu Zong had somewhat accepted the existence of supernatural phenomena by now, he hadn't reached the point of embracing concepts involving spacetime travel. He remained somewhat skeptical. He countered, "While what you said explains things, I still can't believe time travel is actually possible. I think we should search thoroughly. There must be some mechanism or trap keeping us here."