Just as the thought struck them, they arrived before the carnivorous vine. Unexpectedly, they didn't see the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus glaring at them; it seemed it had hidden itself out of fear of the black hole.

Ma Xiong exclaimed, "Hey, where did the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus go? We need to find it quickly. That thing has lived here since it was little; it must know how to escape this terrifying black hole."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Ma Xiong's voice echoed again: "Look over there! That white thing coiled around the vine—isn't that the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus? It looks like it’s clinging to the vine to keep from falling. Good, we'll do the same; let's all climb onto the carnivorous plant."

Ma Xiong looked at Lu Zong, patted his head, then muttered to himself, "That's not right. I don't have a fever, so why am I talking such nonsense? That carnivorous plant is our enemy. How can we climb onto it for refuge right now? That's practically inviting the wild pheasant into the stew pot. I refuse."

Lu Zong explained, "Don't worry about that. Look at the vines around the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus—they’re all drooping listlessly. It must have anesthetized that section of the vine, making the plant non-aggressive. I think if we just climb near the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus, we’ll be fine. Right now, the Fetus is struggling to anchor itself to the vine, and its mouth is occupied. It poses no threat to us for the moment. Listen to my command: we all rush over together in a moment. Even when disadvantaged, we must put on a show of strength."

The three exchanged glances, then nodded, signaling their agreement. This time, Ma Xiong didn't forget his desire for revenge and said, "Lu Zong, since you came up with this plan, you lead the way."

Lu Zong nodded without hesitation, saying, "Of course. Haven't you noticed the black hole behind us is about to swallow us whole?"

Then he dropped behind the others and scrambled toward the vine in haste.

Ma Xiong curiously glanced back—hell, the ground beneath his feet was starting to fissure, and the deep hole was less than three meters away. Shouting in panic, he bolted forward. The other three followed close behind, charging ahead with long strides.

Finally, just before the black hole could consume the four of them, they all swiftly climbed onto the vine and lay there, gasping for breath.

Lu Zong looked at the floor tiles crumbling beneath his feet and said, his heart still pounding, "If we had fallen from here, even if we didn't die, we'd be crippled. Thank heavens my reaction was fast enough."

Ma Xiong, however, was furious: "You little brat run so fast when danger strikes, yet you couldn't bother to warn the rest of us."

Lu Zong replied with a wounded air, "Boss, don't you understand psychology? If I had told you there was a massive hole behind us earlier, your legs would have turned to jelly, and you would have fallen already."

Ma Xiong seemed not to comprehend and kept blaming Lu Zong. Lu Zong sighed with a smile, "Honestly, trying to do a good deed only to be accused. It’s not that thugs are scary; it’s when thugs are uneducated."

Fatty burst out laughing at their bickering. "When will you two ever be serious? Fatty can’t stand it anymore. Unlike you two, with your slight frames and light weight, my physique carries considerable heft. I might just break this whole vine net sooner or later, and then we can all perish together, at least having company on the road to the underworld."

Ganda’s smile was extremely strained as he said, "Quickly, look below you! What is actually supporting us?"

Ganda’s words finally drew everyone's attention. They suddenly remembered the floor had completely collapsed—so what was this plant anchored to? Why hadn't it fallen along with the rest?

When they looked down, they nearly fell off in fright. They saw that the floor was entirely gone. The only thing preventing the plant from plunging was a thick iron chain, about the circumference of a grown man's arm, spanning perhaps ten meters, anchored to both sides of the tunnel wall. It swayed precariously, threatening to give way at any moment.

Fatty wailed louder than ever, shouting, "Oh my God! I wonder if this vine can handle Fatty's weight. Maybe we’re all about to crash down together soon!"

Ma Xiong comforted him, "Don't worry, you don't need to worry about us. If it can't hold on, we’ll toss you off first. That way, we avoid mutual destruction and preserve the seed for the revolution."

Fatty was indignant and cursed, "Damn it, I want to see which bastard dares to provoke Fatty! Fatty will tear him to shreds today!"

As soon as the words were spoken, they felt the entire carnivorous plant shudder violently, nearly throwing them off. The vine was finally reaching its limit, tilting about ten degrees to one side.

Since Fatty was sprawled across the highest point, he experienced the steepest angle of tilt. A slight downward glance would reveal the pitch-black abyss below, bottomless and chilling to the bone, compounded by the roaring sound—it was impossible to guess what creature lurked down there. If it turned out to be a volcano, things would be dire.

Terrified, Fatty flattened himself against the vine, squeezed his eyes shut, and muttered nervously, "If anyone gives Fatty a rope right now, Fatty will marry him."

Lu Zong suddenly noticed a vine near Fatty slowly creeping toward him. A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. It seemed the creature intended to shake Fatty off its body; perhaps it truly couldn't bear his weight.

He suddenly recalled what Fatty had just said: "Damn it, I want to see which bastard dares to provoke Fatty! Fatty will tear him to shreds today." Now, it was the carnivorous plant attacking him—what irony. If only Fatty could actually fight this vine.

When Lu Zong looked at Fatty again, the vine had already wrapped around his midsection, binding him to the other tendrils. It seemed the plant intended to make Fatty fall into the depths along with a part of itself—it was despicable that such a method of mutual destruction was still in use, Lu Zong thought with contempt for the plant.

He wanted to warn Fatty, but he was afraid the sudden shock would cause Fatty to lose his grip and fall. He couldn't bear to lose Fatty, the group's source of joy. Besides, falling for nothing was such a waste; at least falling while clutching the vine would be something.

Lu Zong looked at the torch in his hand, steadied himself, aimed precisely, and with a forceful throw, the torch zipped away toward the vine.

The vine seemed to sense the heat; when the torch was just two meters away, it recoiled rapidly. The torch shot directly toward the vine wrapped around Fatty. Intimidated by the torch's heat, the vine ensnaring Fatty loosened its grip. The torch struck Fatty, and with the restraint gone, he panicked, released the vine with both hands, and plummeted straight down. A tragic cry rang out: "That son of a bitch bit my butt!"

The three were petrified, trembling, watching the vertically falling Fatty, paralyzed by indecision.

Suddenly, Fatty’s descent paused mid-air. It turned out Fatty’s backside had landed squarely on the Ice Crystal Jade Fetus. The Fetus couldn't withstand Fatty's weight and actually ripped free a section of the vine before falling away.

Fatty’s body continued to drop next, accompanied only by the desperate cries of the three: "Fatty! Fatty!"

But Fatty never heard those sounds. He was gone. The three watched their torch fall into the abyss, their eyes unblinking. Lu Zong mused that in his final moments, Fatty had finally realized his life's worth—at least he had eliminated an Ice Crystal Jade Fetus, which was surely a monster.

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