Fatty, having choked on water several times, finally managed to speak, "Damn it, there are so many corpse worms here! What hugged me was a corpse worm hidden inside the body. The smallest one is the size of a thigh. Hurry up and pull me up, you two."

Lu Zong and Ma Xiong each grabbed an arm and hauled Fatty up from below. Fatty coughed violently after swallowing so much water, but without a second thought, he slammed his back against the ground to try and shake off the corpse clinging to him.

But the corpse held him tightly, impossible to dislodge. Fatty grumbled at Lu Zong and Ma Xiong, "What are you two standing there for, like idiots? Come and help me get this thing off!"

Only then did Lu Zong and Ma Xiong react, stepping forward to see what exactly was binding Fatty.

Lu Zong discovered that countless tiny hooks had extended from the chest area of the corpse, gripping Fatty's clothes tightly—no wonder Fatty couldn't break free.

Lu Zong pulled out his dagger and sliced away the little hooks binding Fatty. A series of squeaking sounds followed, much like a rat's shriek. The corpse fell away from Fatty, and then a thick, leg-sized worm drilled out of the half-corpse’s belly. It merely writhed on the ground, unable to walk properly.

Lu Zong said cheerfully, "Do you know why it can't walk?"

Ma Xiong and Fatty looked at Lu Zong in confusion: "Why?"

Lu Zong burst into wild laughter, "Because I just castrated the bastard!"

The others understood instantly.

The creature squirmed on the ground for a moment before dying, and they refocused their attention on the corpse.

Lu Zong stared at the half-corpse, suddenly feeling an intense sense of familiarity. Despite the long soaking in the water and being devoured by corpse worms until its flesh was a bloody mess, the face was still vaguely recognizable.

Finally, on a sudden impulse, he thought of one person: "Rat."

He knelt down, staring numbly at the half-corpse, "Rat? Is that you, Rat?"

He was about to lunge forward when Fatty stopped him, "Lu Zong, what's wrong with you? Snap out of it. If something that filthy carries a virus, it would be bad. Don't go doing any intimate gestures. Rat? What, you know this person?"

Lu Zong remained silent for a long time, only staring blankly at the corpse, before finally managing to speak, "Yes. He was a member of our archaeology team, one of the ones who went missing. How could he be here?"

Fatty hadn't understood what Lu Zong was talking about until Ma Xiong explained the disappearance of the mummy and his colleagues.

Ma Xiong held onto Lu Zong, afraid he might do something foolish. He tried to comfort him, "Lu Zong, we’ve seen so many killings and dead bodies by now. We need to be strong, don't be reckless. If he's gone, he's gone. His death brings us vital information, though. Since his body is here, it means those people definitely passed through this location. There must be an exit ahead."

Lu Zong showed strength, though he shed no tears. Indeed, after facing so many death threats and seeing so many corpses, what was this one loss compared to that? He quickly brought his emotions under control.

Fatty had recovered from the earlier shock and said, "Look, this water seems to be flowing out from under our feet. The underground river must be ahead. If we follow the river, we’re bound to find an exit."

Lu Zong and Ma Xiong nodded, "It’s the only way." Then they stood up, tossed the corpse into the river, and walked down.

The river wasn't wide, perhaps only about two or three meters across, but the current was rapid, indicating they were descending. It remained bottomless, and they had no idea where the water flowed or what dangers might be lurking beneath the surface. For now, they could only take things one step at a time.

They noticed the current growing stronger, wondering if more corpse worms would appear ahead. All they could do was keep as far from the banks as possible, lest they be dragged into the water by worms emerging fish-like from the depths.

To their relief, the corpse worms weren't as numerous as expected; only a few appeared sporadically. Furthermore, their frequency showed no discernible pattern, neither increasing nor decreasing consistently.

But just as they started to relax, they discovered another problem: the path ahead was blocked.

If there was no path forward, where was this water flowing to?

They searched carefully and finally found a small opening tucked away in a hidden corner, just large enough for a person to slip through sideways. All the water was draining out of that small hole.

Fatty looked at the opening, then patted his waist and grumbled, "Damn it, everything is conspiring against Fatty. How am I supposed to get through?"

Lu Zong and Ma Xiong exchanged a smile. "Just bear with it. Maybe it won't take long to reach the other side, and the space over there must be large."

Fatty continued to look displeased as he eyed the small hole.

"How do we get across?" Lu Zong stated, "Clearly, we need a boat."

Ma Xiong asked, "Right, but where are we going to find a boat?"

Suddenly, Fatty burst out laughing. The other two turned to look, only to see that Fatty was sitting on a hollowed-out log—a log large enough for one person to lie down in, and quite long; all three of them could probably fit lying down.

Fatty climbed in to test it and exclaimed happily, "Hey, it fits perfectly, damn it!"

Ma Xiong quipped, "It’s more suitable to call it a coffin."

Fatty pushed the makeshift boat into the river with effort. Sure enough, it floated. Fatty started waving his arms and dancing with joy. He then lay down to test it further, and the boat sank by almost half its depth. Lu Zong and Ma Xiong watched the submerged wood in alarm, their worry for Fatty growing.

Fatty waved them both to lie down as well, readying the vessel for departure.

Originally, they had planned to send Fatty across first, then follow together, so the boat wouldn't collapse under excessive pressure. However, they reconsidered: if Fatty went alone, and he encountered danger, there would be no one to help him. Being together meant they could look out for each other. Besides, even half-submerged, the boat might still manage if two more people got in, possibly making it ride higher in the water.

So, the two of them boarded the boat.

Fatty gave a strong push with his hand, and they flowed into the small opening, carried by the current.

Fatty was chattering excitedly, boasting that Fatty was finally riding in a boat and intended to enjoy the ride thoroughly.

Lu Zong and Ma Xiong, however, didn't close their eyes for an instant, constantly monitoring their surroundings, ready to enter emergency alert mode at the slightest anomaly. In such a confined space, there was no room to maneuver. Ultimately, they could be undone by those insects.

They realized that although the tunnel was small, it concealed mysteries. The ceiling was riddled with openings the size of human skulls; they couldn't guess what lived inside, but it was safe to assume they housed corpse worms. However, Lu Zong couldn't fathom how such massive worms, and so many of them, could be concentrated in one small cavern. It implied one thing: there must be a large mass of corpses nearby.

He started to worry inwardly, fearful that startling the worms would cost them their lives.

He considered telling Fatty, but feared that alarming him might cause an uproar, which would only wake the worms more easily. So, he kept silent.

The passage was smooth; they neither disturbed the worms nor were they attacked. They moved like phantoms, attracting no notice.

Suddenly, Fatty, sitting at the front, let out a loud scream. A chill went down the spines of the other two, and they whipped their heads toward Fatty's direction. At some point, a head had appeared directly above Fatty, its eyes staring intently at him—no wonder he shrieked.

Lu Zong noticed the skull protruding from one of the overhead holes. Fatty’s shout would surely alert the worms, so he ordered the three of them to paddle together in unison, hoping to pass through the passage swiftly.

But Fatty’s scream seemed to have disturbed others. Bloody heads began to emerge from various holes in the ceiling, dangling cruelly, their almost rotten eyes dripping blood.

All three couldn't help but scream, then paddled faster. Things looked grim.

To their horror, the heads began to fall like rain, landing in the water and floating on the surface, blocking the boat's progress. The three of them ignored the risk, grabbing the heads and tossing them toward the rear of the boat, then resumed paddling furiously to increase their speed.

After the heads dropped from the holes, only empty black sockets remained. These were, essentially, the dwellings of the corpse worms. They were packed tightly, each hole thick as a human waist—giving an idea of how large and thick those worms must be. They wondered when the worms would suddenly leap out and suck them into the holes, just like the heads they had just dealt with.

The three trembled uncontrollably, nauseous at the thought of those worms burrowing into their bodies. Now, all they wanted was to row with desperate speed, to get through this place quickly.

But the worms did emerge from the holes. Because the holes were dark, only the white glow of their eyes was visible from the outside. This alone was enough to terrify the trio. They dared not breathe.

The corpse worms, seeing the three below, let out excited shrieks. They must not have seen such fresh food in a long time. Fatty cursed angrily, "Damn it, how many times have we been treated as food since we entered this cave?"

Ma Xiong and Lu Zong exchanged smiles, but the smiles were strained; their composure was gone.