Just as they were speaking, the ghostly figure actually spoke: "Damn it all, I'm going to strike it rich today!"

At this utterance, the two couldn't help but frown, signaling their confusion: "What's going on? Is this a greedy phantom, unable to contain itself upon seeing the treasures here? Or perhaps it's just delighted by the sight of its lunchtime meal?"

Even as they spoke, those Corpse Worms that had been blocked outside the cavern entrance managed to extinguish the flames and swarmed in heaps. Seeing the dense multitude of insects, a wave of goosebumps instantly covered their skin. Scratching their heads, neither knew what to do.

Simultaneously, a vibrating sound began to emanate from the wall; the two guessed the ghost must be coming through. Yet, they felt a strange excitement, eager to see what the phantom truly looked like. Thump, thump, the wall finally seemed unable to bear the pressure, shattering with a crackling noise. Only then did the two realize it was a layer of glass-like substance. They couldn't fathom what it was, concluding the shadow they had seen earlier must have been the reflection of the monster behind it—no wonder they couldn't see the creature in the corridor before.

However, when they turned to look at the wall, hoping to find the monster, they suddenly found the space behind it empty, nothing visible at all. Had the ghost turned invisible, unseen by the living?

Didn't they say those sensitive to Yin and Yang could see spirits? Why couldn't Lu Zong see anything? Ma Xiong asked, "Lu Zong, can you see the ghost?"

The moment the words left his mouth, the fallen wall emitted another series of noises. The two quickly turned toward it and saw one section slowly beginning to bulge upward, as if something underneath were pushing it. They even forgot to breathe, staring intently at the raised part. The Corpse Worms that had just flown in were also crushed by the fallen semi-transparent wall; some dead, some mangled, they posed no immediate threat to the two, who paid them no mind, focusing solely on the wall.

A cough drifted up from below: "Ahem, damn it. Choked me stiff. What's the big deal? I'm just taking a few things; why be so stingy?" Then, they saw a fat head poke up from beneath. After catching his breath for a moment, he opened his eyes and the first thing he saw were the two men, eliciting a shriek: "Ah... a ghost!"

Seeing that the other was clearly a living person, Lu Zong and Ma Xiong immediately felt a sense of relief, letting out a breath. Ma Xiong cursed, "Damn it, why did you have to pop up here? Don't you know I died unjustly?"

Lu Zong chuckled secretly; it seemed Ma Xiong intended to treat this man as a ghost for a while.

The newcomer stopped screaming upon hearing Ma Xiong's voice. He looked at the two and grumbled, "Oh, a colleague. Damn, I thought I saw a ghost. Come on, brother, give me a hand, I'm stuck here."

Lu Zong and Ma Xiong exchanged a look at the man's wry smile; they felt much more relaxed. It was amazing that anyone could still smile in such a dangerous situation. Shaking their heads helplessly, they pointed to the slanted opening beside him and said, "Take a look at the hole next to you; it's full of thousand-year Corpse Worms. If we go over to help you, we risk being eaten by them. You absolutely must remember this favor, and make sure to repay us."

What choice did he have when one is in the thick of things? The man could only sigh and nod reluctantly. "Fine, if you save me, I, Fatty, will climb mountains or dive into seas of fire to repay your life-saving kindness. Blast it, to think that I, a dignified tomb robber, would end up in such a predicament—God must be blind."

Lu Zong felt utterly uncertain in his heart whether this fellow was friend or foe. What if they rescued him only to be harmed later? However, seeing Ma Xiong already stepping forward, Lu Zong felt it inappropriate to stop him and could only follow, secretly urging Ma Xiong to be careful.

By now, more and more Corpse Worms were piercing through the sea of fire. They had to carefully approach Fatty while constantly watching out for the surrounding insects. The distance of a few dozen steps took the two nearly ten minutes to traverse.

Reaching Fatty, Lu Zong took responsibility for clearing the stones around him, while Ma Xiong stood guard to prevent the insects from attacking them. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Fatty finally squeezed free from the debris.

After scrambling out, he quickly thanked the two, then began moving several heavy stones to block the opening until it was completely sealed. Only then did he collapse on the ground, panting heavily.

Lu Zong pulled out his canteen from his pocket, handed it to Fatty, fed him a few sips of water, and checked his injuries. Fortunately, they were superficial cuts with no serious harm. It took quite a while before Fatty could finally catch his breath. Ma Xiong, who had been struggling in the pile of stones, finally lifted his head, grumbling as he walked over, carrying a dried corpse slung over his shoulder. He reached the two and roughly tossed the desiccated body onto the ground, cursing coarsely, "Damn it, you son of a bitch are too undisciplined! Even though we are grave robbers, we have our code. What did the ancestors say? A Tufuzi [Tomb Robber] takes money, but must preserve the integrity of the corpse, not destroy the overall structure of the tomb, and show no disrespect to the remains. It looks like you're a wild one, who did you apprentice under?"

Fatty lit a cigarette on the ground, glanced at Ma Xiong, and chuckled, "I guessed right, brother is in the same trade. Heh, meeting you in this ghostly tomb today is truly a blessing from three lifetimes. Don't say anything else. Heh." Clearly, he felt ashamed of his earlier actions. Fearing an argument, Lu Zong quickly stepped in to mediate, saying, "Since we are all colleagues, let's get straight to the point. Your name is Fatty, yes? We'll call you Fatty from now on. Fatty, we saw your silhouette earlier; why did it appear to have six limbs?"

Ma Xiong pointed at the corpse on the ground and said, "Look, damn it, carrying the body on his shoulder, the limbs reflected on the wall were exactly two arms and Ma Xiong's two legs—that makes six limbs!"

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong, who now seemed to have a sudden realization, and continued, "But one thing is still very strange: why could we see your shadow through the stones? Was that stone wall transparent, or was it actually glass?"

Fatty didn't pay attention to what the two were muttering about. He only looked around for a moment before turning back to them, "I don't know how you two managed to get in here. I've been scouting the perimeter of this tomb for ages and only found one wall that seemed slightly thinner, and I dug a shaft to reach this spot. How did you two arrive here? Heh."

The two found this immediately strange. Why did he have to dig a shaft to get here? So they replied, "We came in from outside. Oh, I see, you must have entered from another exit. Heh, now we have a way out."

But Fatty didn't understand what they were saying at all and asked in confusion, "What other exit? I couldn't find any exit at all, so I dug a shaft from over there. Didn't you come in from a dead man's tomb?"

The two shook their heads and said, "We arrived here after passing through a Japanese biological weapons laboratory. Wait, is the area on the other side of the wall a graveyard?"

At the mention of a graveyard, Fatty shivered violently, clearly touching upon something sorrowful or frightening, and quickly evaded, "How is that possible? How could this be a Japanese laboratory? It's clearly the tomb chamber of an ancient person. Heh."

The two exchanged a look, sensing something fishy. Could it be that the Japanese lab and an ancient tomb had been excavated and connected? This side was the lab, and the other side was the cemetery?

But what Fatty said had some logic. This area had been desert territory since the 1970s; the fires of the Sino-Japanese War could hardly have reached here. Why would there be a secret Japanese bioweapons research facility here? Was it secretly built by them?

That didn't seem right either. Building here would involve exorbitant costs, and the living conditions here wouldn't sustain their needs. So why build it here? The more he thought about it, the less sense it made, so he looked at Ma Xiong.

Ma Xiong had been deep in thought, his gaze lowered. After a long silence, he slowly raised his eyes, looked at Lu Zong, and said, "Lu Zong, is there any possibility that this bioweapons research facility was constructed somewhere else and then transported here through that big, ear-shaped time machine, traversing time and space? And that their daily necessities were also sent here via that time machine?"

Lu Zong immediately shook his head upon hearing this, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting? How could such a thing exist? How can there be something like a time machine? There must be another reason."

"But how do you explain encountering figures from decades in the past?"

Ma Xiong’s question left Lu Zong speechless. Of course, as a researcher, he didn't believe in ghosts or deities, but he genuinely couldn't explain the phenomenon of seeing the earlier versions of Gan Da and Ma Xiong. He could only stammer out, "This matter is strange; let's discuss the details when we have time later. The main task right now is to get out. Alright, everyone, voice whatever thoughts you have."

Fatty, standing aside, hadn't understood a word of their conversation, merely exclaiming repeatedly, "Our past selves! A time machine? Hey, are you two running a fever, talking nonsense? Let's discuss how to escape successfully. We can research that nonsense after we get out."

They wisely fell silent, but the feeling of unease lingered in their minds, still troubled by that realization.

They quieted down then, looking at each other's dejected figures, and neither felt good about the situation. Lu Zong, in particular, felt overwhelmingly guilty for having implicated so many people. He spoke first, "Now, everyone state your thoughts and let's discuss what we should do. Based on the current situation, if we advance, we encounter an ancient tomb. If we retreat, we enter the bioweapons research facility. However, going back is impossible, as that area is firmly blocked. If we use explosives to blast it open, the amount of explosive needed, considering the thickness of the stone door, would be enough to collapse the entire laboratory. Our only way out is to continue moving forward."

The three exchanged a look and then nodded. Looking ahead, their immediate task was to clear the stones blocking the entrance so they could proceed. But peering out through the cracks in the stone, they saw a large gathering of Corpse Worms waiting for their lunch.