The alien let out a soft rumble from its stomach before raising its head again. This time, its gaze was fiercer, fixed unblinkingly on Lu Zong. A chill ran down Lu Zong’s spine. Had he really provoked this thing just to save Fatty? What a pointless exchange that would be. He instantly regretted having saved the fatty.

“Fatty, hurry up and get over here to protect me! This thing has its sights set on me,” Lu Zong called out.

Fatty shuffled over, trembling, and glanced at the creature’s eyes. He shuddered violently. “It looks like those eyes hold some kind of dark power. I’ve heard stories that aliens control things using only their will. I wonder if this one can. Its eyes must be able to control our thoughts. We shouldn’t look at them.”

Lu Zong took a look and sure enough, the blue light emanating from the creature’s eyes was dazzling, causing a wave of dizziness. He quickly averted his gaze. “It seems we’re in deep trouble.”

No sooner had he spoken than the thing lunged toward him. Lu Zong shouted, “Quick, dodge!” and threw his body to the side, but to his surprise, the creature still managed to clamp down on his pant leg. He hadn't anticipated its speed would be this terrifying.

Fatty scrambled forward to check if the creature had bitten Lu Zong’s rear end, only to find it had merely snagged the cuff of his trousers. He quickly slashed at the fabric, yelling, “Lu Zong, run!”

Lu Zong bolted as if pursued by the hounds of hell, and the creature immediately sprang after him again.

If it connected this time, it would land squarely on Lu Zong’s head. At that thought, Fatty felt a shock run through his core, powerful enough to nearly force his soul out of his body.

But just as it was about to strike Lu Zong’s head, the creature abruptly halted. It detected a strange sound, like the rushing of wind, sweeping in from behind. The creature stopped its attack and began to slowly ascend. Lu Zong followed the trajectory of the monster’s gaze and saw, suspended directly above the alien’s head, a corpse. Or, more accurately, a white shadow cradling a body floated above the alien’s cranium. The monster had stopped hunting Lu Zong because it was tracking this corpse.

Lu Zong was stunned by the sight, uncertain what this white shadow truly was. He looked over at the bewildered Fatty and asked, “Fatty, does this white shadow look familiar to you?”

Fatty nodded. “Yeah, it does. Could it be the Queen? Our Loulan beauty?”

Lu Zong looked again but held back from offering an opinion. If it were truly her, then ghosts must genuinely exist in this world.

Suddenly, the wind behind them picked up intensity. Lu Zong hurried to Fatty’s side and grabbed him, reasoning that if they were blown away, at least one of them would have an anchor.

The gale grew stronger, and both men felt themselves nearly lifted off the ground. Lu Zong urgently shouted, “Ma Xiong, Lu Sha, have you found the exit yet?”

The moment the words left his mouth, the fierce wind slammed into them. They felt a sudden lightness, then began to soar. Before they could process what was happening, they were thirty meters in the air, gazing down at the scene below with a sense of tragic grandeur, as if overlooking a vast kingdom.

“What is happening?” Lu Zong asked, bewildered, looking from the scene to Fatty. Now, he seemed to perceive a magnificent palace, with himself situated at its very center. Beneath them lay a massive pit filled with swirling blue mist. He didn't know what lay at the bottom, but his instincts screamed that it was no place for the living.

With that thought, he struggled violently, desperate to escape this precarious position. If he fell vertically, he would land directly in that pit. He looked down at the blue abyss and, almost incidentally, spotted three small black dots.

He said to Fatty, “Fatty, look below. Do you see five small black dots? I wonder what they’re for.”

Fatty peered down. Indeed, three small black dots were moving in a perfect equilateral triangle configuration. Then, as if a realization struck him, he warned Lu Zong, “Do you think those three could be Han Chong, Ma Xiong, and Lu Sha?”

Fatty’s words jolted Lu Zong into recognition. Of course! Those three dots were the tops of their heads! Wasn't he supposed to be finding an exit for them? How did they end up down there?

He shouted, “Ma Xiong! Han Chong! Lu Sha! Can you hear me?”

But there was no response from below, as if they were all deeply asleep—or perhaps already dead.

He shouted again, “Lu Sha, is that you? Are you alright down there? Hey, you three, wake up!”

Just then, Lu Zong felt a sudden release of tension in his body and began to drop straight down, letting out a sharp cry as he fell.

Fatty plummeted alongside him, also screaming hysterically.

Finally, amidst their cries of distress, they hit something. Yet, they didn't strike the ground; instead, they hovered suspended within the blue mist. They both froze, looking at the three figures below who were sleeping soundly. Lu Zong shouted, “Hey! Hey, Ma Xiong, wake up! Now is not the time to be sleeping!”

But no matter how loudly he called, Ma Xiong remained languidly asleep. Fatty leaned over and checked his pulse and breathing before sighing in relief. “They’re alive. Heartbeat and breathing are normal, actually even more regular than before. They’re just asleep.”

Saying this, Fatty let out a massive yawn himself. Lu Zong snapped, “Fatty, don’t sleep! There has to be a trap here; otherwise, we wouldn’t feel this comfortable.”

Fatty laughed softly. “Even if we died in this environment, it would be worth it. Damn, this feels better than a hot spring soak. Look, the three of them are already asleep. We two won’t be able to resist the pull of this drowsiness either. Instead of fighting it, we might as well give in.”

With that, he promptly fell into a deep sleep.

Lu Zong watched Fatty sleep so soundly that he, too, began to feel drowsy. He suspected the blue gas was the culprit, but he admitted that dying this way might not be so terrible—and perhaps they wouldn't die at all.

So, he closed his eyes and drifted into a profound slumber.

He dreamed he was adrift in a vast ocean, the blue water washing away the grime from his body. The comforting sensation felt almost dreamlike... though, in fact, it was entirely a dream.

He drifted endlessly in that blue expanse, the blue substance caressing him, bringing immense comfort. He slowly fell deeper asleep. Within the dream, he was still dreaming, unable to distinguish reality from illusion, merely continuing to sleep, eyes closed, savoring everything around him. He felt a familiar tranquility in that peace—the serenity that precedes death.